BIRTHDAY BOYS!!

At 33 weeks and 6 days, Keaton and Camden decided to make an appearance!!

Keaton: Born 11:24 AM, 4 lb, 17 in

Camden: Born 11:40 AM, 4 lb 4 oz, 17 in

At 4:54 AM on Wednesday; October 8, 2014, I woke up to my water breaking.  It felt like a gush of water and I jumped out of bed.  As I walked to the bathroom, water was trickling down my legs.  I went to the bathroom and it just felt like a lot of liquid.  I walked to the bed and gently woke Andrew up.  “I think my water broke.”  I called my OB/GYN’s night answering service.  The OB on-call told me to head to the hospital.  Andrew and I got there around 6:00.  Because I wasn’t completely sure if my water broke, the nurse was going to test to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid.  However, when she saw that I had soaked the pad on the hospital bed, she said that my water definitely broke and that we were having the babies today.  Up to this point, I was only having what felt like Braxton Hicks contractions.  They weren’t painful at all.  After being in the hospital for about 30 minutes, they were starting to hurt and they were 5 minutes apart.  They rapidly became more excruciating.  My cerclage and pessary were quickly becoming a problem.  I was going into full labor and they were still in place.  After checking my cervix, I was dilated to 3cm with the cerclage stitches still intact.  The OB/GYN on-call wanted to give me an epidural before removing everything but it was too late, they needed to be removed NOW.  Everything that happened at this point was THE MOST pain I have ever felt…  The OB/GYN pulled the pessary out.  This was a quick, hard sting.  It hurt a lot but it was only for a quick second.  The OB/GYN then went to remove the cerclage.  Her and the two other nurses had to use a weighted speculum and another speculum that was in the shape of a hook to open the vagina up as much as possible.  Then she had to dig and search around for the cerclage stitching.  I was in so much pain and it felt like it was going on F.O.R.E.V.E.R.  Andrew was holding my hand and I think he was encouraging me to breath and I think he was telling me I was doing a good job.  To tell you the truth, I don’t really remember what was going on.  It took all I had to try to deal with the pain because on top of the cerclage removal I was also having full blown contractions.  Later, after delivering the twins, I was told that the babies were so ready to be born that they were ripping through my cervix because the cerclage was keeping them in.  After what felt like an eternity, the stitching was removed.  My cervix was checked again and I was at 5 cm.

I still wanted to deliver my twins naturally without any drugs, but the doctor strongly recommended that I get an epidural because of the small chance that I might need a c-section.  She said that I’ve already been through so much pain and that I need the break.  Andrew really wanted me to have the epidural and convinced me to go ahead with it.  It was like night and day.  After the epidural, I felt so much better.  I was even able to relax and close my eyes for a little bit.  Then Andrew and I were taken to the OR for the delivery.  Both babies were vertex, or head down, so the plan was to deliver vaginally.  I was shaking uncontrollably.  The nurses said that this was normal, it was just the hormones and adrenaline.

In the OR, I was checked again and was at 7 cm.  I stayed at 7 cm for about 45 minutes.  Ever since Andrew and I arrived at the hospital, the nurses kept commenting on how busy it will be because of the moon.  (I guess there was a lunar eclipse?)  Because I didn’t have any changes for that 45 minutes, the OB/GYN that would be delivering my twins (not my regular OB/GYN and not the OB/GYN that removed my pessary and cerclage, but the daytime on-call OB/GYN) had to go deliver two other babies before me.  The boys’ nurses kept coming and going to assist with the other deliveries.  This gave Andrew and me time to rest a little.  The lights were dimmed and we slept for a few minutes.  After the 45 minutes, I was finally at 10 cm.  Time to meet our little guys!!

I was able to deliver both Keaton and Camden vaginally.  🙂  I heard both of them cry.  I started crying when I saw each of their faces.  It wasn’t for very long because each baby had a team of 3 nurses that took them right away to take care of them and make sure they were okay.  After they were attended to and swaddled, I was able to see them up close.  I was only able to hold them for a few seconds before they were taken up to the NICU.  After the babies were gone, I was kept in the operating room for another hour to tend to my torn cervix.  They had to remove some of it that was irreparable and then they stitched up what they could save.  Surprisingly,  I didn’t have any perineal tearing.  I was finally taken back to the Labor & Delivery room to recover.  I would be able to see the boys after a couple of hours when the epidural wore off.

I didn’t really realize how fast everything progressed until after it was all done.  My water broke at 5:00 AM.  I started having contractions at around 6:30 AM.  Then I delivered Keaton at 11:24 AM.  Sixteen minutes later, Camden was born.  Not even 7 hours.  I was so convinced that labor would be so much longer than that.

32w2d – Nursery!!

Hello!!  Time for another monthly update! 🙂

Starting at 29 Weeks, my OB/GYN has been conducting a biophysical profile with every prenatal appointment.  She wants to make sure the babies are okay and not under any stress.  What is a biophysical profile?  It’s an ultrasound test where 5 fetal attributes are checked.

Biophysical Profile – 30 Minute Test (can extend up to an hour if baby happens to be napping)

1. Baby’s Heart Rate
2. Activity Level:  Movement in the 30 -60 minute period.
3. Muscle Tone:  Muscle reflexes in either the hand or foot.
4. Imitation Breathing: Baby practices breathing and lungs go up and down at least 5 times.
5. Amniotic Fluid Amount

Baby either passes or fails.  If the baby fails the biophysical profile, then a non-stress test will be conducted.  The babies have passed every test so far.  Praying that they keep passing until they are born.

My perinatologist let me have a prenatal massage!!  AHHHH, I needed it so bad.  With the extended bed rest, the relaxing ligaments, and the side sleeping; my whole body has been in pain and agony.  I wish I could afford a personal masseuse to visit me every day.  First thing I would get if I ever won the lottery.  😀

I have been wearing my Mini Cradle Belly Band whenever I leave the house.  A friend I met through my sister gave it to me.  She, too, was pregnant with twins and had to be put on hospital bed rest.  This little thing has helped to alleviate some of the pressure off of my pelvis when I walked around earlier in the pregnancy.  However, with the babies gaining so much weight, it’s starting to cut off the circulation and not helping as much.  I’m debating if it’s worth sizing up or just to hold out until the babies are born.

I’m wearing black yoga pants and the white mini cradle belly band on top. It helps support some of the baby weight off of my hips.

Little bit of a close up.

A peek of the front of my belly. The linea negra is there and my belly button has completely flattened out.

32 Week Growth Scan:

• Baby A: heartbeat at 162 BPM, estimated weight at 3 lbs 11 oz
• Baby B: heartbeat at 144 BPM, estimated weight at 4 lbs 3 oz

I’ve also had my series of steroid injections (Betamethasone).  One on Thursday (at 32 weeks) and the second one 24 hours afterward, on Friday (yesterday).  Why am I having steroid injections?  Well, my cerclage and pessary will be taken out at 36 weeks.  Both my OB/GYN and perinatologist are convinced that I will go into labor immediately after.  Even though at 36 weeks the babies have a great chance of survival, the doctors want to be cautious and make sure their lungs will be strong enough to handle breathing outside of the womb.  The shots weren’t that bad.  They are about the same size as the shots that I had to take for the IVF process and they’re injected into the butt.  I had a series of 2 injections, one on each cheek.  I asked if there were any side effects with me with the betamethasone.  They said no, but there is a chance I may get a little revved up.  I’ve been having some very light cramping and I’ve had insomnia the last two nights.  (I’m running on one and a half hours of sleep from last night.  Hopefully, I’ll get some decent sleep tonight.)  I’ve also been sooooo thirsty!!  Which means I’ve been going to the bathroom non-stop.

Andrew and I had our pre-admittance and tour today with a Maternity Navigator at the hospital we will be delivering the babies.  We went over the necessary paperwork so that we wouldn’t have to worry about that when I come in during labor.  We went over my birth plan and necessary hospital procedures.  Then we went around to the Labor & Delivery wing, the Mommy & Baby rooms, and the NICU floor.  It was nice to know how everything is set up and where to go.  It relieves a little of the stress and the trepidation to know where we’ll be staying for 2-4 days depending on if we have a vaginal delivery or an emergency cesarean section.  The nurse that helped us was actually one of the NICU nurses and reassured us that the babies will be well taken care of.  We’re praying that our boys won’t have to spend time in the NICU but it’s reassuring to know that they will be able to watch and care over them.

Now the fun part! 🙂  The Nursery!!!  (And other rooms with baby stuff.)

Navy Blue and Gray Chevron Nursery with the sunlight coming in. 🙂

Both boys have the navy blue music & star decals over their cribs. I used black & white cards to hang from the picture mobiles to stimulate baby’s vision. As newborns, babies prefer high contrasting images and up-close faces.

Both boys have matching crib sheets. I have them layered with waterproof mattress pads to make baby “blow outs” easy to clean at 2:00 in the morning. 🙂  The pillows will be taken out before babies are put to sleep.  I don’t want to worry about SIDS…

Changing table complete with a diaper organizer and a Diaper Genie. 🙂

Dresser is organized by sizes for each drawer. Baby A’s clothes on the left and Baby B’s on the right side. We got a speaker system at the baby shower which will be used as a sound machine and to introduce them to Andrew’s favorite bands!

I’ve started organizing their closet. Diapers and wipes are on the other side.

Nursing corner with the recliner and MyBrestFriend twin nursing pillow.

Converted the “desk” in the kitchen to another changing table so that we wouldn’t have to go up and down stairs for every diaper change.

Graco Twin Pack ‘n Play so that the babies would have a place to hang out downstairs.

The Little Loungers (or Rock ‘n Plays) that we will be keeping by our bed when we want the babies in our room.

There are still things I want to put up on the walls of the nursery but I can’t get them framed until I’m off of bed rest.  I also plan on putting up infant photos once we get those taken.  I’m think we’re pretty much set with all that we need for the babies for when they come home from the hospital.  My nesting instinct had kicked in early and I had plenty of time to prepare with my bed rest.  Andrew had been coming home from work the past 3 months with boxes from Amazon, Target, BuyBuyBaby, and JCPenney either sitting on the front porch or in the garage after I had already emptied them.  🙂  What can I say?  Sitting all day in house all by myself makes me want to shop online.

How far along:  32 weeks (8 months)

Total weight gain: I have gained 46.5 lbs!!!  My weight gain has been consistent every week.  Last month I was gaining a pound a day for a week but recently it has been about 1-2 lbs a week for the last month.  I feel huge…  I’m fast approaching my husband’s weight.  If/When I do surpass him, that will be a sad day.

Maternity clothes:  All I wear are t-shirts and shorts while I sit on the couch.  They’re not maternity t-shirts so they don’t completely cover my entire belly when I stand up.  You can see a little skin on the very bottom of my belly.  When I leave the house for a doctor’s appointment I always wear maternity clothes and the belly cradle strap to help alleviate the pressure.

Stretch marks:  They’ve arrived.  I have 2 patches of very faint stretch marks, one on the bottom right and the other on the bottom left below my belly button.  They’re not really noticeable unless you’re looking right at them.  I can only see them if I have a hand mirror to see on the underside of my huge tummy.

Sleep:  I have good nights and bad nights.  On a good night, I can get somewhat comfortable and I only get up to go to the bathroom 2-3 times.  On a bad night, I can’t seem to get enough support for my belly/back and I end up getting up 6-8 times to go to the bathroom.  On top of my pregnancy pillow I’ve added 3 more pillows to my “fort” to help.  It’s also very difficult to switch from side to side.

Best moment of this month:  PRENATAL MASSAGE!!

Miss anything:  I miss being able to sleep on my back.  My shoulders and back are so sore from sleeping on my sides.

Movement:  It feels like they’re wrestling in there sometimes.  Both babies are moving a lot.  They’ll even push back if I press on them through my belly.  Sometimes, when they’re really active, I just like to watch my tummy.  When I see the bumps move across my belly, I feel so warm and I already feel so much love for them.

Food cravings:  No weird food cravings, but I’m really loving the Filipino food my dad brings me for lunch sometimes.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not really.

Have you started to show yet:  My belly is measuring at 45 1/2″ this week.

Gender:  My two very active boys!!

Labor signs:  Braxton Hicks contractions:  They happen every day and more often when someone other than me touches my belly.  It’s like being tickled; I can’t bring it on myself but, when Andrew touches my belly, the muscles start to tighten up.

Belly button in or out:  It has completely  flattened out.

Wedding rings on or off:  Off; I’m wearing them on a chain necklace now.  My hands get swollen on and off during the day.  My feet and ankles are always swollen and look so fat!  I can even feel them jiggle a little when I walk.

Happy or moody most of the time:  I’m happy that my babies are healthy and that they are still growing inside of me, but I can get so moody and emotional over the littlest things.  I get irritated and whiny when my legs get sore and slightly cramped.  I get mad and confrontational when my husband forgets something or does anything that annoys me.  I’m lonely and sad when I’m home by myself all day.  I cry watching YouTube videos, Netflix shows, and reading either heartwarming or heartbreaking stories on Facebook or in the news.  I’m on an emotional roller coaster with so many ups and downs.

Looking forward to: Only.One.More.Month. until I get my cerclage and pessary removed!!  Then I’ll be off of bed rest and can move around again to try to induce labor naturally!!  YAY!!!!

28w2d – Third Trimester!!

Yay!  Another monthly update!  Okay, what has happened since the last time I’ve blogged…

I really need to spread these updates out because these blog posts are getting way too long.  It’s so much easier to read when they’re short and sweet with lots of pictures!!

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this yet or not, but I’ve been going to doctor’s appointments weekly.  Ever since I was discharged from the hospital, I’ve been seeing both my OB/GYN and perinatologist on alternating weeks.  As soon as my perinatologist appointments stop, which may be in a couple of weeks, my OB/GYN will see me every week until delivery.  My husband tries to make it to all of the appointments but there are times where he isn’t able to get off of work because he has so much to do.  I guess it’s a good thing I’m on bed rest.  I don’t know how my job could handle this ‘baby’ schedule.

In my last post, I had mentioned an on-going yeast infection.  My OB/GYN had swabbed and tested me to make sure it was truly a yeast infection or if it could be bacterial vaginosis.  It turned out negative for both.  It seems that the Crinone and the pessary are what is causing the inflammation and there is nothing to worry about.  It is a bit uncomfortable, but I’ll just have to deal with it until I’m told to stop with the Crinone (which would be at 30 weeks, I believe) and when the pessary and cerclage are removed (originally at 34 weeks but my perinatologist wants to play it safe and take them out at 36 weeks).

I’m still experiencing Braxton Hick contractions every day.  They are not regular or painful, which is good.  Usually re-positioning my body or drinking water helps with getting rid of them.  I think their frequency is starting to slow down, or maybe I’m just not noticing them as much.  I feel that when the boys are more active they bring on the contractions more often.  The perinatologist confirmed that baby movement can cause localized contractions, where my uterus will tighten up in one area but will be relaxed everywhere else.  She has checked to make sure my cervix is not feeling any more pressure and she confirmed that everything is good.  Now that the babies are getting bigger, the weight is being more evenly distributed to my hips and pelvis rather than just all on the bottom of my uterus and on the cervical opening.  This explains why my hips and back are starting to get extremely sore and achy.  (I need to find a prenatal masseuse that makes house calls…)

Andrew and I got the car seats installed in the car!!  I had reached out to my “cousin’ who is a fireman.  (He’s not my real blood-related cousin, but in the Filipino culture all of our close family friends are referred to Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.)  He has a co-worker who has been trained and is a certified car seat inspector.  He showed us the proper way to install and use the car seats.  We’ll have to visit him again after the babies are born so that he can check on the position and level of the seats.  Now that the car is ready for baby passengers, I feel good!  🙂

We purchased 2 of the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seats. They’re rated #1 in safety!

Installed in the back seat of the Jeep!

I’m able to report on a new pregnancy symptom this month…  I’ve started leaking.  This may be a bit of TMI but I’m going to talk about it anyway.  If you don’t want to read about personal stuff, then skip to the next paragraph.  🙂  I was actually sitting on the toilet when I noticed it.  I was getting ready to take a shower which was why I was completely naked in the first place.  I had to go to the bathroom and so I sat on the toilet.  All of a sudden I felt a drip on my belly.  First thing I thought was that the water from the shower had somehow splashed out.  Wait, there is no possible way that could have happened, it’s not physically possible.  The shower door was shut and the water couldn’t “jump” up over the glass because the shower head is below the top of the  enclosure.  I felt another drop.  Then I looked at my nipple.  There was clear liquid coming out of it!!  I couldn’t believe I was leaking already.  This started happening at 25 weeks.  I did a little research and found out that this is normal and the clear liquid coming out of my left breast is called colostrum.  I have been leaking through my tank tops and t-shirts, so I ordered a nursing bra and some disposable breast pads.  I haven’t leaked out of my right breast yet.

Andrew had his Beer & Diaper Shower 2 weeks ago!  My brother-in-law, Melissa’s husband, threw it for him at his place.  How it works:  Everyone that comes must bring a pack of beer for the party and a case of diapers or wipes for the daddy-to-be.  We ended up with a good supply of diapers and two huge cases of baby wipes!  Mostly Huggies and Pampers with some Honest and Target brand diapers sprinkled in there!  All different sizes from Newborn to Size 6!  This is great because it gives us a lot of variety to test out what will work for the babies.  If the babies, Andrew, or I don’t like a certain brand, then we can just return or exchange them for what we do like.

The growing pile of diapers at the shower.

What we ended up with. I wonder how long these will last. 🙂

I had my glucose test last week at 27 weeks with my OB/GYN.  I was kind of apprehensive about doing this test.  I kept reading how dreadful the drink was, if you failed you’d have to do the horrible 3-hour glucose test, and how the results could affect the rest of your pregnancy.  I even googled:  “How To Pass The Gestational Diabetes Test” on several occasions.  What to eat and drink during the weeks and days before they draw your blood.  Truth is, you can’t really do anything to fix the results you want.  You either have it or you don’t.  It depends on the way your body handles sugar, not what you eat or drink.  The instructions said to avoid sweets, fruits, and sugars for at least 6 hours prior to testing and DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING 1 hour prior to drinking the glucose beverage.  This would be easy since  my appointment was at 9:30 in the morning and I just didn’t eat breakfast.  Once you start drinking the glucose drink, the bottle had to be done within 5 minutes.  Then no food or drink (except water) until blood is taken at exactly an hour later.  The drink wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  It tasted exactly like Fruit Punch.  I was pretty hungry anyway, so gulping it down wasn’t a struggle.  I showed up to my appointment and they withdrew 2 vials of blood exactly 1 hour after I finished the drink.  It was around 11:30 when the rest of my prenatal appointment was done and I was able to leave the doctor’s office.  I should’ve brought a snack with me because I was dizzy with hunger on the drive home.  I kind of scratched the wheel of our new car pulling through a drive-thru as I was hurrying to get something to eat.  I got a call 2 days later with the results.  NO GESTATIONAL DIABETES!!!  Yay!!  The only concern they found was that my hemoglobin was a little low and they said I was slightly anemic.  They suggested that I take an iron supplement and stool softener daily.  But I’ve been doing that since I was discharged from the hospital.  So now, I’m taking my iron supplement in the morning and my prenatal vitamins at night because the calcium in the prenatal vitamins can offset the iron.

The glucose beverages that my doctor’s office carries; orange or fruit punch.

I chose to drink the fruit punch flavor. It tasted pretty good. 🙂

I have a date now!  My scheduled C-Section (if the babies don’t come early) is November 7th at 7:30 AM!!  I’ll be 38 weeks and 1 day.  I am so excited.  Now my mom and step-dad (who live in Houston) and Andrew’s dad and step-mom (who live in Little Rock) have an actual target date to be in town by.  My mom has actually offered to get a temporary job here for a few months so that she can help out with the twins.  She’s a traveling registered nurse and already has her license in our state so it’ll be fairly easy for her to find work.  After talking to Andrew about this, we both agreed that it would be good to have the extra help around the house while we get used to caring for two babies.  Plus, these babies will be her first grandchildren and she wants to spend as much time as she can with them.  She’ll stay in the guest bedroom until she goes back home to my step-dad.

Something else big happened…  Andrew’s cousin wrote a book about pregnancy and it released this month!!  It’s entitled “The Wonder Within You.”  It goes through each week of pregnancy with great detail and real-life mommy stories.  How does this book differ from all of the other books about pregnancy?  There are great 3D ultrasound images within its pages, there are web links and QR codes that take you to the website filled with incredible 4D ultrasound videos, there’s space to put in your own notes, and above all else:  I know the author!!  It’s on sale at all major bookstores.  I ordered mine early through Amazon.com and got it in the mail last weekend.  Just in time, too, because my 3D/4D ultrasound happened last Tuesday and it was at the same place where all of the images from the book came from!  I got my book signed by both the author and the person responsible for all of the great 3D/4D ultrasound images the day I went in for my session!  The twins weren’t really cooperating for the ultrasound.  For most of the time they had their backs facing out.  We have a lot of great pictures of their butts!!  Towards the end, at about an hour or so after we started, Baby A started facing towards us.  We got some pictures of his face, him yawning, and even of him opening his eyes!  Baby B was shy and didn’t want his picture taken at all.  Great news is that we found out that both babies are head down!  Yay!  They just need to stay like that from now on.  🙂  We left the imaging center with a CD of all of our pictures, a DVD of the entire session, and 2 gift bags (one for each baby)!!

http://www.thewonderwithinyou.com/

Baby B’s precious little hand!

Baby A’s cute little butt!

Baby A was all about the spotlight but Baby B was too shy to get his picture taken. 🙂

Thursday was a very busy day for me!  We had another perinatologist appointment with a complete growth scan and we had a “Meet and Greet” with a potential pediatrician!  The growth scan went well:

Baby A: measuring 27w3d, 2lb4oz, 151BPM
Baby B: measuring 28w2d, 2lb8oz, 147BPM

This is the largest gap we’ve seen so far with the twins.  We were told that this is normal at 28 weeks.  Since they are not identical, their differences will start to become more apparent.  Baby A is definitely way more active and Baby B is starting to grow faster.  Both are healthy and have a good amount of fluid!   The pediatrician was only across the parking lot from the hospital so it took us 5 minutes to get there from the perinatologist office.  The practice was recommended by my OB/GYN because they are affiliated with the hospital that I’m delivering in and she’s familiar with them.  I picked one of the two male doctors to interview.  The waiting room and office was pretty nice with colorful walls and lots of space.  The women behind the front desk were friendly.  The pediatrician turned out to be a very nice, personable guy and answered all of our questions.  He has the same views as Andrew and me on circumcision, breastfeeding, and immunizations.  I think we’ve found our pediatrician!!

 

How far along:  28 weeks (7 months)

Total weight gain: I have gained 37 lbs!!!  THIRTY-SEVEN!  I’ve been weighing myself and recording everyday since the very beginning.  Once I hit 27 weeks, my weight gain has dramatically increased… at least 1-2 lbs a day!  This is great news, but if I keep gaining at this rate, I’m going to be HUGE!!

Maternity clothes:  Same old frumpy clothes while I’m on bed rest.  I’ve totally outgrown all of my maternity bras, so I ordered and started wearing nursing bras.  I’m also wearing breast pads for the boob leakage.

Stretch marks:  Not yet.  I’m putting on extra tummy rub oil during the day because I know that my belly will start getting bigger faster.

Sleep:  Not too much trouble sleeping.  I’m starting to get more fatigued during the day.  Up to this point, I have been able to sleep on my back.  Now it is starting to hurt and I have trouble breathing when I switch laying from one side to the other.

Best moment of this month:  Seeing my babies in 3D!!  🙂

Miss anything:  I miss my old body.  I used to be able to run up the stairs, touch my feet, breath easily, and move without pain.

Movement:  They’re twitching, rolling, punching, and kicking all of the time.  Earlier in the month Baby A seemed to be facing down and was punching all of my lower organs.  (The bottom of my uterus where the cervical opening is, my bladder, my rectum, my intestines…  It was so uncomfortable and sometimes painful if he got a good jab in.)  Now, they are both kicking me up in my ribs and in the middle of my belly where my belly button is located.

Food cravings:  No weird food cravings.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I think I’m starting to get acid reflux if I eat too much at one time.  I don’t feel queasy or sick but it feels like food wants to come up because my stomach is too full.  This also makes it difficult to breath sometimes.

Have you started to show yet:  My belly is measuring at 43 1/2″ this week.

Gender:  My two growing boys!!

Labor signs:  Still have random Braxton Hicks contractions.

Belly button in or out:  Ummm, neither?  It has basically just flattened out.

Wedding rings on or off:  They are still on.  I hope I don’t start swelling up during this last trimester.

Happy or moody most of the time:  I think I’m good and happy most of the time, but I get irritated so easily.  My body is just achy and sore, so if anything makes me more uncomfortable I start getting moody.

Looking forward to: Maybe start working on getting the nursery finished…  It’s started and looks good, but there is still a lot to be done.  We have everything we need; we just need to start bringing it all together.  Once it’s done, I’ll take pictures and include them in a separate post.

Twin Rubber Ducky Baby Shower :)

First thing’s first…  I want to thank my seester, Melissa, for planning and throwing the best baby shower in the history of all baby showers, EVAR!!

My sister-in-law designed the baby shower invites! We also used the same ducky design for the gender reveal cakes!

Before the shower… This was my position for most of the party. Stuck on the couch.

My sister started decorating.

There aren’t very many pictures of the individual decoration ideas, so I’ll explain what she did.  There was a lot of “Pinterest-ing” beforehand.  🙂

• She hung baby shower garlands on the fireplace and in the dining area. (Party City)
• There were dangling rubber ducky swirl decorations from the ceiling. (Party City)
• There was a rubber ducky centerpiece on the kitchen counter and rubber ducky confetti on the dining table. (Party City)
• Big rubber ducky mylar balloon on the dining table. (Party City)
• Mini rubber duckies with mustaches strategically placed all over the house. (Amazon.com)
• Mini rubber duckies in small vases filled with blue water.  (Pinterest; Special thanks to step sister-in-law, Meredith, for loaning the glasses.)
• 2-tiered, blue with white trim cake (top was vanilla, bottom was chocolate) with mommy and baby rubber ducky toppers.  (Hy-Vee)
• We even had matching baby shower plates and napkins. (Party City)

Decorations!!

The table before all of the guests (and food) arrived.

The decorated fireplace with one of my favorite wedding pictures.

Moved to the dining table for some pictures.

Daddy and Mommy (to be)

Some of the early party guests!!

Time to eat. You can barely see me on the couch with my lap table! 🙂

Baby Games!! This one is where everyone guesses how big my belly is. Melissa is taking the real measurement!

Cutting the cake. The rubber duckies on the plate were sitting on top. The yellow “Mommy” duck and the two blue “Baby Boy” duckies.

Time to open presents!! The other baby shower game was “Gift Bingo” where each guest wrote down what they thought I’d be getting on a blank bingo card beforehand. As I opened the presents, they’d mark off the boxes. Of course, first to get a bingo won! 🙂

We gave out two different party favors:

• “It’s a Boy!” Lollipops (Party City)
• 2 tea lights enclosed in blue tulle circles wrapped with a note that read:  “Burn these candles on the night, Once the stork has made its flight, With the flicker of the flames, Please say a prayer in babies’ names.” (Pinterest)

—

I had another sonogram and prenatal appointment today.

During the ultrasound, the babies’ heartbeats were measured.  Baby A was at 168 BPM and breech or head up.  Baby B was at 149 BPM and vertex or head down.  I was a little surprised and disappointed that my cervix wasn’t measured.  With all that has happened, I figured my cervix would be monitored at every visit.  At least I got to see my babies again.  That’s always the highlight of my doctor’s visits.

Next, Andrew and I met with my OB/GYN.  I had my usual list of questions.  I asked why my cervix wasn’t measured during today’s ultrasound.  Since pessaries aren’t that common, ultrasound techs are not very comfortable around them yet.  My OB/GYN would rather have my cervix measured at the perinatologist’s office where they’re a little more familiar with these type of situations.  TMI warning:  I also asked about my on-going yeast infection.  I’ve had one ever since I was given antibiotics at the hospital and it WILL NOT GO AWAY… I wasn’t surprised when I first got it.  I always get a yeast infection after given antibiotics.  I was surprised how hard it affected me.  The itching, the inflammation, the odor.  I was given the pill to treat it while I was still admitted in the hospital. (If you’ve ever had a yeast infection, you know what pill I’m talking about and how it’s a miracle drug!)  I was also given a prescription for another pill for whenever I was done taking the rest of my antibiotics at home.  When it didn’t go away 2 weeks later, I was given another prescription for the “yeast infection” pill.  Why won’t this thing go away?!?  My doctor says because of my pessary and the Crinone (the progesterone vaginal inserts), there is a lot of things going on “down there” and everything is all out of wack.  The good thing is that I was assured that the yeast infection will not affect the babies.  Phew!  I was really worrying about my boys.  Other topics discussed during my appointment included the first draft of my birth plan…

MY BIRTH PLAN – This is for an ideal birth.  If anything unexpected happens this can all go out the window and my trust goes to my doctor and the medical teams.

• My support system would include Andrew and I would like him with me at all times.  My doctor has no problem with this.
• Induction and Augmentation:  I don’t want to be given any more medication when going into labor.  I would rather go into labor naturally.  (This means no pitocin, which is a drug that makes your contractions stronger if the doctor wants to speed up the process.)  My doctor agrees with me.  I probably won’t have any problems going into labor anyway because chances are that I will go into preterm labor.
• Environment:  I know that I will be giving birth in an operating room because of the twins but would it be possible to have light music playing in the background and have the lights dimmed?  We can probably have light music playing but it’s going to be loud in the operating room because each twin will have their own medical team and they will all be talking.  We won’t be able to dim the lights because it’s an operating room and it will have the bright, white lights.
• I want a natural, vaginal birth where an epidural catheter is placed in my back in case of an emergency cesarean section but no meds will be administered unless it is determined that a c-section will be performed.  My doctor wants a vaginal birth as well but Baby A is in a breech position and a cesarean section will be done if he doesn’t turn around.  At this point, it’s not likely that he will flip.
• If I am able to have a vaginal birth can I try a variety of pushing positions?  Because I’m having twins, my doctor wants to be able to monitor Baby B at all times.  The only way she’ll be able to do that is with me on my back.  She won’t be able to give me any flexibility on this.
• I want both Andrew and I to do skin-to-skin with the babies as soon as they’re born.  My OB/GYN totally agrees and wants the babies to do skin-to-skin within 5 minutes of being born, vaginally or by cesarean section.  If I am unable to do this right away because of a c-section procedure, Andrew will be able to take off his shirt in the operating room and hold the babies.  
• I want to breastfeed as soon as possible.  I will be able breastfeed the babies immediately as long as the babies are healthy.
• Andrew will cut the umbilical cords.
• The boys will be circumcised.

Things to look forward to:

• Glucose Test will be done at my next prenatal appointment in 2 weeks.
• Andrew will be interviewing possible pediatricians for the babies.
• Another perinatalogist appointment next week.
• Andrew’s Diaper Shower – It’s the boys’ turn to celebrate by bringing a case of beer and a case of diapers to a party that my brother-in-law is hosting!
• Finishing up my online childbirth classes with Andrew.
• And of course…  more bed rest

24 WEEKS!! (24w2d) – Milestone and Thank You

We made it to 24 weeks!!  😀

Our next goal is for the babies to make it to 34 weeks.  Yay…  10 more weeks… or 2 1/2 more months… on bed rest…

At first, bed rest wasn’t all too bad.  I started on all of my lists:  what to pack in my hospital bag, questions to ask the OB/GYN, questions to ask the perinatologist, questions to ask the ultrasound tech, what I will need for the boys, my to-do list for my husband, my to-do list for my dad,  my own to-do list.  I’ve started to record all of my daily weights, when I feel kicks, and how often I get contractions.  I’ve gotten caught up on my personal emails.  I’ve organized all of the paperwork that has been piling up on my desk.  Etc, etc, etc…  Andrew and I even have a routine down.  In the morning, we both get up at the same time.  He helps me down the stairs and gets my breakfast ready.  When he leaves for work, I plop down on the couch in the living room and stay there until he comes home from work.  When he gets home, Andrew makes dinner.  Then he helps me upstairs, where I take a shower and plop down on the bed until he joins me for bed.  During the day, my dad comes over to make and feed me lunch.

Now, it’s getting more and more difficult.  I hate not being able do anything.  I feel so lazy when I have to ask Andrew to do something for me while I sit on my ass doing nothing.  Last week, my dad was helping us install an oven because our old one finally broke down.  I kept having to ask him to do this and do that because I couldn’t even get up to put things away or clean anything up.  I got so frustrated.  My temper was getting short.  All of a sudden I just broke down in tears.  (I don’t think my dad was prepared for that.)  I want to get so many things done.  My nesting instinct is hitting me full blast and I can’t do anything I want to do to prepare for the boys.  I want to clean, I want to organize, I want to go shopping.  I also miss being outside.  I want to take a walk.  I want to enjoy the sun and feel the breeze.  Andrew has taken me on a couple of car rides.  It’s not the same but it helps a lot.  Just being out of the house makes me feel good.

I love my doctor’s appointments.  I actually change out of my PJs and fix my hair a little.  I get to drive to the doctor’s office and get off of the couch for an hour or two.  I also get to see my baby boys!!

My last visit was a sonogram with the maternal fetal specialists last Monday (23w4d).  They did a growth scan and checked my cervix.  I still get Braxton Hick contractions and actually had one while we were doing the ultrasound.  The perinatologist was able to see what my cervix does during a contraction and found out that while my cervix is doing well, 5 cm long when relaxed, it funnels a bit whenever I have a contraction and shortens to a little above 2 cm.  Great measurements but she didn’t like the fact that it’s still funneling.  So now, I’m on more meds to help stop them from happening so often.  These new pills make me tired and dizzy but they’ve been helping with the Braxton Hicks.

Baby A: measuring 23w3d, 1lb4oz, 155BPM
Baby B: measuring 23w4d, 1lb6oz, 150BPM

I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to everyone that has been there for me!!!

• My Husband (Andrew) – for staying with me at the hospital, for putting up with me, for making sure that I get everything and anything that I need and want,  for taking care of Bernoulli, for taking on all of the home/house responsibilities, for keeping me happy!!
• My Sister (Melissa) – for visiting me almost every day at the hospital, for keeping me company while I’m stuck at home, for just being someone I can talk to!
• My Dad – for visiting me at the hospital, for taking care of Bernoulli while Andrew was with me at the hospital, for feeding me lunch every day, for painting the house, for helping to get the nursery ready, for installing the new oven, for just hanging out and watching TV with me!
• Andrew’s Cousins (Especially Heidi) – for the flowers that were sent to me at the hospital, for all of the thoughts and prayers sent for the family, for the food they’ve sent to help Andrew with dinner, for hanging out with me when I’m home alone, and for the very thoughtful gift that Heidi gave me after all that she’s already done!
• My Brother-In-Law (Andy), Sophie, and Jude – for visiting me at the hospital, for the handmade drawings, for coming over and hanging out with me at home, and for the DQ Blizzard!
• My Mother-In-Law (Ingrid) – for seeing me at the hospital, for calling to check up on me, for bringing me lunch, for cooking chicken and rice for dinner, and for the thoughtful presents to help keep me sane during the long days of bed rest!  (A lot of you will be getting homemade knit hats for Christmas.)
• My Brother (Victor) – for visiting me at the hospital and for taking Bernoulli on a walk when I can’t!
• My Sister-In-Law (Val) – for bringing me lunch and keeping Bernoulli company with his cousins Captain and Remington!
• Andrew’s Co-Workers (Especially Nate and Susie) – for the thoughts and prayers, for always asking Andrew how I’m doing, for the food from Adrian’s Cafe, for the gift card to have a months worth of dinners pre-made for us!
• Andrew’s Friend (Kyle) – for visiting us after I was released from the hospital and for bringing us Chipotle!
• My Filipino Family (Tita Ellen, Eileen, Elaine, and Cassey) – for visiting me at the hospital and for bringing me lunch!
• My High School Friend (Megan) – for visiting me at home and giving me a pedicure in bed because I haven’t been able to reach my toes in a month!

How far along:  24 weeks (6 months)

Total weight gain: 27 lbs.  Hopefully, all of that weight is going to the babies!!

Maternity clothes:  All I’ve been wearing are sweats and tank tops because of bed rest.  No cute maternity clothes now, except for when I go to a doctor’s appointment.  😦

Stretch marks:  Not yet.  🙂

Sleep:  New meds are making me tired and dizzy.  No trouble sleeping at night.

Best moment of this month:  It’s a secret!!  🙂  **aquasquirt

Miss anything:  I miss being able to clean my house.  My nesting instinct is hitting me hard and I can’t do anything about it…

Movement:  ALL OF THE TIME.  I’ve started recording the kicks but it’s hard having two babies.  I can’t tell which baby is kicking me because they’re always moving around.  It seems like they are in different positions every time we get a sonogram.

Food cravings:  No cravings.  Just eating what’s available.  Andrew has gotten me surprise Peanut Butter M&Ms and Peanut M&Ms that I can’t stop eating once I open the bag.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope

Have you started to show yet:  My belly is huge, measuring at 41″ this week.

Gender:  My two boys!!

Labor signs:  I’m having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions.

Belly button in or out:  Inny

Wedding rings on or off:  On

Happy or moody most of the time:  I get depressed when I’ve been on bed rest throughout the week.  It’s better on the weekends when Andrew is home and takes me on a car ride.

Looking forward to:  My baby shower tomorrow!!!

Admitted into the Hospital – Cerclage and Pessary

VERY LONG POST…  Sorry.

Wednesday 7/9/2014:

I went to my scheduled appointment with my OB/GYN to see how my week’s worth of bed rest did.  (This  is the first doctor’s visit that my husband was not able to attend with me because of work.  He was scheduled for two presentations during a company-wide sales meeting.)  I had my sonogram first.  The ultrasound tech was able to get the measurements she was not able to see during the 20-week anatomy scan.  Everyone looked great.  Still boys!  Baby A had a heart beat of 143 BPM and Baby B’s heart rate was 148 BPM.  They were both wiggling and moving around.  I love seeing them!  The ultrasound tech then checked my cervical length.  She wasn’t happy with what she saw and said to wait while she grabbed the doctor.  After about 5 minutes, she came back and told me to get dressed.  My OB/GYN wanted to do a speculum exam.

I met with my doctor after she looked at my ultrasound results.  She said that the ultrasound technician didn’t notice any cervix at all.  She wanted to see what my cervix was doing with her own eyes and conducted a vaginal exam with a speculum.  She said that there was very little cervix left and I had a lot of watery discharge (she thought my water broke).  She wanted me to see a perinatologist right away… TODAY.  Her assistant would make the arrangements for this afternoon and would call me to let me know when to go to St. Luke’s Hospital.  St. Luke’s??  Why am I driving all the way downtown for an appointment?  Supposedly, they have one of the best high-risk obstetrics department and most capable NICU in the area.  I had a whole list of questions for my doctor but she said she didn’t feel comfortable answering them until she heard back from the perinatologist.  She did have one definite answer.  Bed rest until delivery…

I texted my husband the news.  He said he was sorry and wished he could’ve been there.  I told him that I’d be up at St. Luke’s for my next appointment and that I would keep him updated on what they said.  I wished him luck on his presentations.

I arrived at St. Luke’s Women Center and checked in.  I had to have another sonogram done.  This ultrasound tech did another full anatomy scan on my two boys.  It was nice to see my babies again and get reassured by a second person that they are both doing well and growing just fine!  Something funny:  At my OB/GYN, Baby A was always on my left side and Baby B on my right.  At the perinatologist office, they called Baby A the baby on my right and Baby B was on my left.  The baby that they called Baby A was the closest to the opening of the uterus.  Anyway, onto my cervix.  She did a transvaginal ultrasound to check my cervix and didn’t like what she saw.  She stepped out to see if the doctor wanted to look at my cervix in person.  She came back 10 minutes later and said to get dressed so that they can wheel me into another room to meet the doctors.  What?!?  Wheel me into a room?  Meet the doctors?  I’m seeing more than one?  After I got dressed the ultrasound tech brought a wheelchair into the room and told me to take a seat.  I was about to say that I didn’t need a wheelchair.  That I felt fine.  But I sat down and did what I was told.

After taking my weight, blood pressure, and temperature; I was told to wait in a small conference room.  As I waited, I noticed that my phone’s battery was at 20%.  I had been waiting in several different waiting rooms all day and had been on my phone to pass the time.  I remember thinking that I would need to charge my phone when I get home before I could call Andrew and tell him what had happened today.  Finally, THREE different doctor’s joined me in the room.  They had received my sonograms from my OB/GYN’s office and compared them to the sonogram I had just gotten done there.  They were at a standstill on what to do moving forward.  They all had good, bad, and controversial reports on how a cerclage and a pessary would help me: a 21 week pregnant woman with twins.

What is a cerclage?  Basically, the stitching up of the cervix.  If you were to look at the cervix through the inside of the vagina, it kinda looks like a donut.  As you go into labor, this ‘donut’ starts to thin out and open up.  A cerclage is stitching that goes around that ‘donut’ or cervix.  Once the doctor has stitched it up, he or she pulls the thread and closes it up like a drawstring bag.  This keeps the sac(s) and baby(ies) from coming out.

Simple Diagram of How a Cerclage Works

Better Showing of the ‘Drawstring’ Stitch

What is a pessary?  It’s an Arabian pessary, to be precise.  A traditional pessary is actually used for older women to help support a uterus that is falling out.  An Arabian pessary has just recently been developed for pregnant women who have an incompetent cervix that is unable to keep a baby or babies in.  It is a donut shaped plastic tool that is inserted into the vagina and used for extra support in keeping the cervix closed.

An Arabian Pessary

Simple Diagram of How a Pessary Works

They decided to do another speculum exam on me to see what was going on down there.  I got wheeled to another hospital room and had the exam done by two of the doctors.  Results?  I had no cervix, I was actually starting to dilate (almost 1 cm), and membrane was starting to bulge out…  They decided that I needed a “rescue” cerclage immediately.  If nothing was done and if they were to let this continue, I would be delivering these babies in a week.  I was admitted into the hospital and taken to a NICU hospital room.

I think I was in shock at this point.  I really didn’t know what was going on.  Doctors were talking to me and I understood only very little of what they were saying.  I only knew that I couldn’t go home and that I had to stay overnight at the hospital and have surgery first thing in the morning.  And that Andrew wasn’t there with me.  As soon as I changed into the hospital gown and was put in bed, I called Andrew.  I figured he was done with his speeches because it was already 4:00 and he was scheduled to start his presentations around 2:00 that day.  No answer.  I texted him telling him that he needed to call me back ASAP.  Nothing.  What was he doing?  He knew I was going to St. Luke’s.  Why wasn’t he answering.  I texted back again saying to call me NOW!!  His text back was all scrambled, indicating that he was texting in a hurry.  He was about to get on stage and speak.  I knew that he was speaking in front of his entire company, including all of the managers and executives.  This was when the tears started to fall.  My nurse saw me crying and got me a box of tissues.  I decided to call my sister.  At this point, my phone also started to beep at me.  MY BATTERY!!  My sister answered and I told her I was in the hospital.  That was all I could get out because Andrew was calling on the other line.  I told my sister that Andrew was calling and that I needed to talk to him.  I switched over and, in between hysterical sobs, I told Andrew that I was admitted into the hospital and that I needed surgery.  He was coming over.  My phone died.

As I was waiting for Andrew to come and somehow find out what room I was in, the nurse started doing her thing.  I got my vitals taken (blood pressure, pulse, and temperature), my IV was put in, and my bed was put in a trendelenburg position.  I had to lay down with my head positioned below my hips so that gravity could help with keeping the babies inside my uterus.  I had to be like this until the surgery, which meant I had to sleep like this that night.  I was not allowed to get out of bed so the nurse put a catheter in so that I wouldn’t have to get up to go to the bathroom.  To top it all off, I could barely breath because my nose was so stuffed up from crying.  I have never been admitted into the hospital before.  This was a great first experience!! (Can you sense the sarcasm?)

Example of how my bed was positioned.  (I wasn’t at such a severe angle, though.)

Finally, Andrew showed up!  Oh, I was so relieved to see him.  I was so glad that he was able to find me and that he was there with me.  He came up to the bed, leaned down, and kissed me.  I told him he wasn’t allowed to miss another appointment again.

My sister, my dad, and Andrew’s mother came and visited me that night.  Between the doctors, the nurse, and me, everyone got up to speed on my condition.  My incompetent cervix was just unable to take the pressure of the babies and was starting to open.  The babies were literally falling out of me.

My very first hospital stay!

You can kind of tell that my bed was angled down a bit. I had to eat my dinner like this. Thank you, Melissa, for feeding me!

Thursday 7/10/2014:

Andrew spent the night on the couch in my hospital room.  He called into work so that he could be there for me!  The doctors came in around 8:30 AM to briefly explain how the procedure was going to happen.  I’m not allowed any food until after the procedure, which meant no breakfast.  I was to have a spinal anesthetic or an epidural.  This way, the babies wouldn’t be affected by the drugs.  They were going to go in and make sure that membrane wasn’t still continuing to try to push its way out.  Then they would proceed with the rescue cerclage and sew up my cervix.  They were not sure about the pessary.  They would see how the cerclage held up first.

At 10:00 AM, my bed and I were wheeled out and taken to the operating room.  I was transferred onto the operating table which was also in the trendelenburg position.  I was given the epidural and hooked up to the heart rate monitor.  I was awake during the entire procedure.  I could feel pressure as the doctors did their work, but it wasn’t painful at all.  After the cerclage was pulled shut, the main doctor decided to go ahead and insert the pessary for added support.  He said that while I was already here and under anesthesia it wouldn’t hurt to have the added insurance of the pessary to keep everything in place.  It was a successful surgery.  The doctors were very happy when everything was done.  I was wheeled back to my hospital room where Andrew was waiting.  Another good thing?  I didn’t have to be in the trendelenburg position anymore!  My bed was put back in a flat, horizontal position.

Here are our procedures and goals going forward:

• The cerclage and pessary help prevent my cervix from opening too soon, but it does not prevent my water from breaking or me going into pre-term labor.  So I must continue on strict bed rest.
• The ultimate goal is to keep the babies in at least until 24 weeks.  This is when fetal viability chances start to go up.  Even though the chances are around 50% (smaller for twins), 24 weeks is the earliest a baby can be born and survive with extensive medical intervention.  If I make it to 24 weeks and then go into labor, the cerclage and pessary will be taken out right before delivery.
• Ideal goal is to keep the babies until 34 weeks.  At 34 weeks, if I have not given birth yet, the cerclage and the pessory will be taken out.  This is because any time after 34 weeks, my doctors will be comfortable if I naturally go into labor.
• HOPEFULLY, I can make it to 38 weeks.  In that case, I would then be induced.  This is my best case scenario.  I want to keep my boys in a long as possible.

The perinatologists are almost certain that I will give birth early.  So my goal right now is just 24 weeks.  Our boys need to stay in for AT LEAST 3 more weeks.

My brother visited me that afternoon after he got off of work.  My sister and dad came by again that night.  It’s nice to see family when you’re stuck in a hospital bed.

Another life milestone happened:  I used a bed pan again.  This time it wasn’t for peeing…

Friday 7/11/2014:

For the rest of my stay at the hospital, the doctors and nurses monitored me to make sure everything was going well and that the cerclage and pessary were doing their jobs.  I had a little bit of watery discharge and some spotting that morning, so I was checked to make sure that my water didn’t break and that the cerclage was holding up.  Everything was fine.

Highlights of the Day:

• My sister visited me again that morning.
• I was finally allowed to recline up!  Up until then, I was only allowed to lay flat on an uncomfortable bed.
  

  I could finally sit up to eat!!

• After being reclined for a few hours, I was allowed to go to the next step…  sitting upright!!
  

  I’m sure I’m telling whoever is on the phone with me how exited I was to be able to sit upright!!

• Next step was getting my catheter taken out so I can get up and use the restroom on my own!
• I was moved to a different room in the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital.  Softer bed and a window!!
• I got flowers from my husband and my husband’s cousins!!
  

  Andrew got me the sunflower and his cousins sent the bright flower arrangement!

Saturday 7/12/2014:

Highlights of the Day:

• I was finally able to take a shower!!  I had to use hospital toiletries, but at least I was clean!!!  🙂
• I got visitors!!

Family friends were in town for a get together that I couldn’t attend. So they came to visit me!!

Visitors from both coasts!! Eileen from San Francisco and Elaine from Orlando! 🙂

• My sister, her husband, and the step-kids came to visit me later that day, too!!

Sunday 7/13/2014:

Highlight of the Day – I was able to leave my hospital room!!

Andrew and I asked if I would be allowed to get wheeled outside of my room… We got the go-ahead!!

This was the first time I was able to roam around the hospital I had been cooped up in for the last 4-5 days.  I got an idea of exactly where my room was, I was able to see what the hospital looked like, and Andrew was able to take me outside and I could have the sun on my face!!

This whole hospital visit made me realize all of the little things I take for granted.

Monday 7/14/2014:

It seemed like it took forever to get discharged from the hospital.  The day before, the doctors told us that we would probably be out by noon.  They only had to do a final speculum exam and a sonogram to make sure everything was good.  The speculum exam was done that morning.  I had a little bit of a yeast infection from the antibiotics I was taking, but that wasn’t too concerning.  For the next 3-4 hours we were waiting for a spot in the sonogram room.  This was probably the most frustrating and boring time out of our entire hospital stay.  Andrew and I wanted to go home so badly.  And the only thing holding us back was the sonogram.  After Andrew bugged the nurse for the third time, we finally were able to go downstairs.  Everything looked good.  Andrew and I were able to ask all of our remaining questions and I was set up for my weekly follow-up appointments with the perinatologists.  I was out!!!

Tuesday 7/15/2014 12:00 AM:

Back at the hospital…

Andrew’s friend came over with dinner Monday night, Chipotle!!  (Kyle is such a great friend!)  After eating, I started feeling my tummy get tight.  I didn’t notice this before and I was confused by it.  Later that night I told Andrew.  I googled what contractions felt like, because I had no idea.  I’ve never been pregnant before.  I called my mom and I also talked to Andrew’s mom.  To be on the safe side, Andrew said to call the hospital.  The on-call nurse asked what exactly I was feeling.  My tummy would get hard for a few seconds, then get soft.  After a few minutes it would get hard again and then get soft.  Did this happen more than four times in an hour?  Well, yes…  Four would happen over the course of 20 minutes.  I was told to go back to the hospital.  Ugh, I didn’t want to go back to the hospital.  I immediately regretted making that call.  Andrew was the voice of reason and said it’s better to be safe and find out what is happening.  We drove back.  It was midnight when we got there.  One of the night nurses strapped a contraction monitor around my torso.  Yup, I was having contractions.  A resident doctor came in and checked my cerclage to see if there was any tension on it.  Nope, the cerclage and pessary were still good and my cervix wasn’t going anywhere.  One of the perinatologists was called and told what was happening.  Everything should be fine.  My uterus was just irritated and I was having Braxton Hicks contractions.  I need to drink LOTS of water and rest.  If the contractions started to become painful, then I was told to come back.

The nurse that was helping us said that, normally, if a patient called with my exact same symptoms they would have automatically called it Braxton Hicks and wouldn’t have asked them to come to the hospital in the middle of the night.  But because of my incompetent cervix, the cerclage, and the pessary, they wanted me to come in and have it checked out.  We left the hospital at 2:00 AM.  At least we didn’t have to spend the night at the hospital again…

 

My boys are still in the womb and they are already causing me a lot of trouble!  Oh well, boys will be boys…  🙂

20w2d – We’re having…

Fourth of July Gender Reveal… 2 Baby BOYS!!!!

I am so excited to announce that we are having two sweet, little baby boys!  I’m not sure if I can put into words how excited Andrew is.  (The picture above is a good representation of how he feels…)  However, I can say that I am truly happy and extremely ecstatic to know that I’ll be the mother of Andrew’s sons!!  Am I sad that I won’t have a daughter to dress up and share girly stuff with?  Maybe a little, but I had secretly wanted to have two boys.  Both Andrew and I suspected two boys early on.  I’m not sure why Andrew thought that, other than the fact we was wishing really hard for two boys.  I think I just had a motherly inclination.  Call it a “feeling” that I might be having boys.  I also didn’t have any morning sickness, which has shown to be a characteristic in women carrying boys.

Two Blue Cakes = Two Boy Babies!!!  🙂

I’m having a rubber ducky themed baby shower.  So we had baby ducks on the cakes with the saying, “Waddle it be?” on top and Baby A/B on the bottom.  My brother and brother-in-law were recording our reactions as we cut into the cakes.  One of these days I’ll figure out how to add them onto this post.

Baby A is a BOY!!

Baby B is a BOY!!

Other things that have happened…

MOVEMENT!!  I felt distinct kicking from the outside of my belly earlier this week!  I felt a kick from my right side (Baby B) last Monday while I was at work.  I was sitting back in my chair with my arm resting on top of my belly when Baby B actually kicked hard enough to move my arm.  I felt Baby A (from my left side) kick the very next day as I was getting ready for work.  It’s such a huge relief to finally be able to feel them and be confident that it’s them and not gas!!  Andrew was able to feel movement for the first time today!  He’s working on a new song right now and he was playing what he had for the babies.  He had his hands on my belly, just in case they liked his song!  🙂  Well, one of them did and kicked his fingers!!

My sister has started her IVF meds!!  Right now, she’s on day 3 of Follistim and Menopur.  If you’d like to read her blog, go to:  http://melissaewilliams.wordpress.com/  It’s a great blog where she gets pretty detailed and explains everything very well.

As I said in my last post, I’m on bed rest until Wednesday which is when I have my next sonogram appointment.  I’ve been laying, sitting, and reclining (for the most part) at home.  It was difficult to be still during the gender reveal and Fourth of July festivities.  I also have my best friend from college staying with us this weekend while she’s in town for a wedding.  We went out for lunch but other than that I’m stuck at home.  I’m hoping that I can at least go back to work on Thursday.  Maybe I can negotiate with my boss some sort of arrangement to be able to sit at my desk all day and do paperwork.

How far along:  20 weeks (5 months)

Total weight gain:  19.5 lbs.  I’ve been told it’s all in my belly.  Hope they’re not all lying to me to make me feel better.

Maternity clothes:  Just about everything I wear is maternity.  Only thing non-maternity I’m wearing is my underwear…

Stretch marks:  No stretch marks.  I’m just waiting for them to start appearing.

Sleep:  I’m sleeping fine.  It takes me a few minutes to get comfortable at first.  I am having a lot vivid dreams.  I actually woke up crying a couple mornings ago because of a dream that seemed very real.  I was getting chased by a stalker.

Best moment of this month:  I’ve got two “best” moments…  Finding out that we’re having two baby BOYS!! And Andrew being able to feel one of the babies move.

Miss anything:  I miss not worrying about walking around.  I know bed rest if beneficial but being stuck on my butt kinda sucks.

Movement:  I feel the babies from the inside all of the time.  I just recently started feeling them on the outside of my belly.

Food cravings:  Food, I crave food.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I only get uncomfortable if I eat too much.  It feels like my tummy might be starting to shrink.  I get fuller faster.

Have you started to show yet:  Yup, my tummy is measuring 40″ around my belly button.

Gender:  Two handsome boys!!

Labor signs:  Nope

Belly button in or out:  It’s still an inny.

Wedding rings on or off:  On.  No swelling in my arms or hands yet.

Happy or moody most of the time:  I’m pretty happy.  However, I’ve been snapping at Andrew a little more often.  Will someone just tell him that I’m right all of the time??

Looking forward to:  Childbirth Class this week at the hospital I’ll be delivering in!  Also, more baby shower planning!

19w6d – 20 Week Anatomy Scan

So we have good news and we have bad news…

The good news first!  Both babies are healthy, growing, and moving around!!  They are both head down and butts up, kicking Mommy up by my ribs.

Baby A was very active and eager to have his/her pictures taken:

• measuring a little ahead at 20w1d
• weighs 12 oz
• heartbeat is at 146 BPM

 

Baby A gave us great pictures!

Baby A’s Foot 🙂

Baby A still looks like a cute adorable alien!

Baby B was also active and kept burying his/herself behind Baby A.  Baby B didn’t want to face us and ended up looking towards my back.  The ultrasound technician couldn’t get all of the measurements she wanted, but we have another sonogram in a week where we can get the heartbeat and face shot:

• measuring a little ahead at 20w1d
• weighs 11 oz

Baby B’s healthy spinal shot.

Another foot, except this one belongs to Baby B. 🙂

Both babies were moving around so much.  I’m so happy that they are active and growing.  Pretty soon they will kick hard enough for Daddy to feel them!!

We had to look away when the ultrasound tech took pictures of the babies genitals.  It took all of Andrew’s will power not to peek.  He wants to know their genders so bad.  The ultrasound tech is 99.9% sure of both babies genders.  (I don’t think they’re comfortable saying that they know with 100% certainty…)  She wrote it down on the sonogram pictures and sealed them both in an envelope.  My sister will be dropping off the pics at the bakery today!!  Can’t wait until Friday!!!

 

So now, the bad news.  After measuring the babies, my cervical length was measured.  The ultrasound tech said everything looked okay.  But after taking a few more measurements, she said she wanted to show my doctor something.  After I got dressed (because the cervical length had to be taken with a transvaginal ultrasound), the technician said that the doctor wanted to talk to me.  As Andrew and I waited for my OB/GYN, we tried to guess what could be wrong.  Andrew thought that the doctor would confirm that I would definitely need a C-Section.  I thought that I would be told to take it easy and not stay on my feet for long periods of time.  After the doctor looked at my ultrasound results, she gave us the facts.  My cervix measured normal at 2.9 cm.  However, when the ultrasound tech would put pressure on my uterus, my cervix would start to funnel and it shortened to 1.5 cm.  Not good.  My shortened cervix could lead to preterm labor.  Now I am on bed rest for a week until my next sonogram.  If my measurements improve, then I can go back to work.  If not, then she’ll be extending my bed rest.  For how long?  That I’m not sure.  I’m also on progesterone again.  My OB/GYN has prescribed Crinone, another vaginal insert, that I must take every night before bed.

I had no idea I would be put on bed rest so early on.  I’m only at 20 weeks.  I suspected that bed rest would be in my future, but I still have half of this pregnancy to get through…  It’s a long time until November.  I want to keep these babies in for as long as I can hold them.  My little jelly beans need to be healthy and continue to grow.  I just pray that they keep kicking Mommy for another 4 months.

19w – Half Way There!

But Melanie, half way is 20 weeks…

Well, since my doctor won’t allow me to go past 38 weeks, this is my half way point!  🙂

Anatomy ultrasound in a week and then the gender reveal on the Fourth of July!  I am so excited.

 

I wish I knew of something like this for women carrying twins:

http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/you/the-exhibit/your-beginning/make-room-for-baby/interactive/

Blessed…

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.

– Elizabeth Bibesco