I have a feeling this will become a recurring theme until these two show up. Contractions started at 2am this morning...every 10 minutes. I stayed in bed hoping they would stop. Because my contractions seem to have fun for several hours and then poop out Roger and I decided to just wait them out. By 6am though we decided 4 hours was enough and called the doctor. Of course they wanted us to come him. We gathered everything up just in case. We arrived in triage, got all hooked up and I had 1 contraction and then 2 TINY ones and then nothing. They checked my cervix, which is dialated to just under 3cm, very soft and a little more than 50% effaced - and our little lady is way down in my pelvis but I cannot remember what station she said I was. Now, ultimately we are very happy that the babies are still cookin'...however, the frustration and exhaustion of being on edge constantly is well, not a whole lot of fun. I found out later this afternoon that I now have a urinary tract infection. My nightstand is covered with bottles and medications, ointments, tums etc. When it rains it pours.
So - we came home, tired and crabby. Dad was very generous and allowed Roger to take the rest of the day off so he could catch up on the sleep, which is exactly what we did.
So, as much as I try to be cheery and bright with the news...today is just not one of those days!
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Another day down. I'm counting down the days until we hit that next big milestone (32 weeks) which will happen on Friday. Contractions were very few today but have picked up this evening, not a lot at this point but enough that I'm writing them down. UGH! My itchy belly has turned into some sort of rash and I told Roger last night that he was going to need to tape mittens on my hands so I would leave it alone...his reply was; "we are SO not doing this ever again!" Gotta laugh. If it's not one thing it's another!
Two of my coworkers came to visit today, which was SO wonderful. It was good to get caught up, get the scoop about work related issues etc. They also brought all the Valentine cards from the students, which are always fun to look at...I like the chocolate that comes along with them too!
In my mushiness last night I forgot to mention that another twin mommy who has been such an incredible support to me came to drop off a big box of clothes yesterday. She's been wonderful and has openly and honestly answered all of my crazy questions. She has twin boys who are just BEAUTIFUL!!! Honestly, they are so cute!
The hand-me-downs I've been receiving from friends and family are amazing! I've been told that babies go through 3-4 outfits per day....they will definitely come in handy!
Okay, time to lay down for real now. Till tomorrow!
Two of my coworkers came to visit today, which was SO wonderful. It was good to get caught up, get the scoop about work related issues etc. They also brought all the Valentine cards from the students, which are always fun to look at...I like the chocolate that comes along with them too!
In my mushiness last night I forgot to mention that another twin mommy who has been such an incredible support to me came to drop off a big box of clothes yesterday. She's been wonderful and has openly and honestly answered all of my crazy questions. She has twin boys who are just BEAUTIFUL!!! Honestly, they are so cute!
The hand-me-downs I've been receiving from friends and family are amazing! I've been told that babies go through 3-4 outfits per day....they will definitely come in handy!
Okay, time to lay down for real now. Till tomorrow!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Who's the lucky girl?
As I reflect on the last few weeks, on all that Roger and I have been going through, what my body is doing, the babies etc....I realized just how lucky I am. Roger has been not only dealing with the emotional stress of all of this - he has also had to take on the remaining tasks of preparing for these two, dishes, cooking, laundry, cleaning, packing for the hospital, waiting on me, taking care of the dog and of course his job. I have been blessed with such an amazing man for my husband and I honestly could not make it through this without him by my side. He gives me strength, love and faith.
AND
This is no surprise to me but I'm being reminded in the most wonderful ways of how supportive and loving my friends and family are. Meals, simple phone calls, cards, emails, prayers, coming to let the dog out during the day, checking in on me etc. Roger and I are truely blessed and we're excited to share this journey with all of you!
AND last but not least...
I have met the most wonderful group of ladies on the TWINS Magazine website. We are all due with twins in April. These ladies have been such an inspiration and incredible support to me throughout this pregnancy too! It's been so nice to chat with people who are going through the same thing and this has created quite a strong bond!
SO - that's all the mushy, gushy stuff for now...until the next hormone surge!!!
AND
This is no surprise to me but I'm being reminded in the most wonderful ways of how supportive and loving my friends and family are. Meals, simple phone calls, cards, emails, prayers, coming to let the dog out during the day, checking in on me etc. Roger and I are truely blessed and we're excited to share this journey with all of you!
AND last but not least...
I have met the most wonderful group of ladies on the TWINS Magazine website. We are all due with twins in April. These ladies have been such an inspiration and incredible support to me throughout this pregnancy too! It's been so nice to chat with people who are going through the same thing and this has created quite a strong bond!
SO - that's all the mushy, gushy stuff for now...until the next hormone surge!!!
Monday, February 20, 2006
Hi ho, hi ho, back to the clinic we go!
After having a steady increase in contractions we decided to call the doctors office to be safe. They of course wanted me to come in so they could check my cervix. Wouldn't ya know it my cervix has dialated a little more with all of these contractions. From 1.75cm to 2.75cm dialated. Not the news we were hoping for. So, the Nifedipine was increased to 20 mg every 4 hours and we were luckily sent home. The OB we saw said that some docs would have sent me to the hospital, however he prefers to let people go through this part at home where they are most comfortable. We were very appreciative of this! Basically it's any time now...these babies are just ready to greet the world. We're still hoping that this increase in the medication will give us another week or week and a half. I'm still holding out for a miracle! We go to see our regular OB on Thursday and we'll see what he has to say!
Keep saying prayers and sending good vibes!!!!
Keep saying prayers and sending good vibes!!!!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
And then again....
So it seems I spoke too soon. I was celebrating Friday afternoon for only having 2 contractions all day. Well wouldn't ya know it? 7:30pm rolls around and they start up again, and continue every 15 minutes until about 11:45. We decided to just hold out due to what happend on Wednesday. The same thing happened last night too. Starting at 7:30. Roger made me lay in bed with my feet up and they eventually slowed down around 10:00. I think my body is trying to make me crazy! The anxiety the contractions create is unbelievable!! Ugh!
Otherwise we had a nice day yesterday. Dad came over with lunch and Aunt Kathy (aka Big Money) came to do our taxes. It was really nice to see her and we're hoping she brought some of her Georgia weather with her. Later Troy came over with Noodles (yum, my favorite) and lots of dvds to occupy my time this week! It was nice to have some visitors!
This morning Greg and Gina brought over some mobiles they found yesterday. Roger, Greg and Gina put them together and we set them up on the cribs - they're so cute!
I'm hoping for minimal contractions today!!!!
Otherwise we had a nice day yesterday. Dad came over with lunch and Aunt Kathy (aka Big Money) came to do our taxes. It was really nice to see her and we're hoping she brought some of her Georgia weather with her. Later Troy came over with Noodles (yum, my favorite) and lots of dvds to occupy my time this week! It was nice to have some visitors!
This morning Greg and Gina brought over some mobiles they found yesterday. Roger, Greg and Gina put them together and we set them up on the cribs - they're so cute!
I'm hoping for minimal contractions today!!!!
Friday, February 17, 2006
The Metamorphosis
2.17.06
So, as you can see the most recent posts show up first and all you need to do is either scroll down to see the others and/or on the far left hand side click on a post. I thought I'd try my hand at posting pictures...a little arrangment I like to call "The Metamorphosis". Hope you all enjoy watching me turn into a WHALE!!!
I've only had 2 contractions all day and I feel great!!! Much less anxious although I'm constantly on high alert for the next one! My belly is stretched to capacity as it itches like I've got poison ivy...okay, maybe not quite that bad! I'm fully expecting some stretch marks within the next week - and I was thinking maybe I could get away without any - HA HA HA!!!
I spoke to the doctors office today to fill them in on what happened on Wednesday. OB is happy that contractions have slowed WAY down and wants me to continue taking my meds every four hours instead of every six as that seems to be doing the trick for now. I was hoping to be able to stop the around the clock doses but alas it is not to be - better safe than sorry I suppose and hey I'm up every hour to pee anyway.
Here's hoping for an uneventful weekend!!
So, as you can see the most recent posts show up first and all you need to do is either scroll down to see the others and/or on the far left hand side click on a post. I thought I'd try my hand at posting pictures...a little arrangment I like to call "The Metamorphosis". Hope you all enjoy watching me turn into a WHALE!!!
I've only had 2 contractions all day and I feel great!!! Much less anxious although I'm constantly on high alert for the next one! My belly is stretched to capacity as it itches like I've got poison ivy...okay, maybe not quite that bad! I'm fully expecting some stretch marks within the next week - and I was thinking maybe I could get away without any - HA HA HA!!!
I spoke to the doctors office today to fill them in on what happened on Wednesday. OB is happy that contractions have slowed WAY down and wants me to continue taking my meds every four hours instead of every six as that seems to be doing the trick for now. I was hoping to be able to stop the around the clock doses but alas it is not to be - better safe than sorry I suppose and hey I'm up every hour to pee anyway.
Here's hoping for an uneventful weekend!!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Review
Here is our attempt to summarize the events of the last few weeks....
On Tuesday February 7th we saw our perinatologist for our monthly ultrasound. It's always a joy to see our two little munchkins and soak up any information they can tell us! We found out that they were both weighing approximatley 3.5 lbs, which is wonderful and bigger than expected! They looked terrific. The newest development was that my cervix had shortened from a long 4cm to 2.3cm and looked to be starting to dialate. The perinatologist recommended that I stop working to keep pressure off of my cervix and that I speak to my OB. We were a little nervous with that information but figured all would be fine. Michelle saw our OB the next afternoon. He determined that she was dialated about 1cm, told her she was to be done working and sent her to the hospital for monitoring. After arriving at the hospital, and getting hooked up to all the monitors Michelle was having contractions every 8 minutes and her cervix was dialated to 2cm. At this point things happened pretty quickly.
Michelle was quickly hooked up to an IV from which she received magnesium sulfate to try to stop labor, penicilin for the possibility of Strep B, and fluids. Due to the side effects of the magnesium (dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, extreme hot flashes and in general a very drugged state) she also had to have a catheter put in. And last but not least she was given the first of two steroid shots to speed up the development of the babies lungs. This was how things stayed from Wednesday evening until Friday mid-morning. Miserable and scary!!!
On Friday it was determined that the contractions had slowed down enough that Michelle could be taken off the magnesium (THANK GOD) and started on an oral medication, Nifedipine. They kept us at the hospital until Saturday afternoon for monitoring. The contractions decreased and became irregular. We were sent home on bedrest with Nifedipine and instructions to call if Michelle experienced 4-6 contractions per hour. Our own bed and a shower was like heaven!!!!
Even though the homecoming was wonderful it also posed it's own problems. It seems Michelle has just enough contractions to make us crazy but not quite enough to go back to the hospital. We felt more confident as the days passed though and our poor dog is much happier now that we're back home! Luckily we have family next door who were willing to take care of her while we were away!
All seemed fine until last night, Wednesday, when the contractions started coming every 15 minutes for about an hour and a half. Back to the hospital! Luckily they slowed themselves down eventually and there was no change to Michelle's cervix. We were able to go home!!! We were given the okay to increase the frequency of the Nifedipine.
SO!!! After all that...we see the OB weekly now with ultrasounds still every 3-4 weeks. Baby A (our little lady) is head down...WAY down, they can feel her head in Michelle's pelvis and Baby B (our little man) is still transverse or sideways. As long as Baby A continues to stay head down we will attempt a vaginal delivery, regardless of Baby B's position...the doc will deliver him breech if need be. Of course a c-section is always a possibility. We realize it's out of our hands now and we just need to be flexible and go with whatever will bring our babies into the world safely! Our OB is expecting/hoping we will make it another few weeks. Our goal right now is to make it to 34 weeks, we're 31 right now. Who knows? Maybe we'll surprise everyone and last until 37 weeks!!
That should catch everyone up! Thanks for all of your support and prayers! Keep it up, as much as we are so excited to finally meet these two, it's too early just yet! We'll keep you posted as to any new developments!
On Tuesday February 7th we saw our perinatologist for our monthly ultrasound. It's always a joy to see our two little munchkins and soak up any information they can tell us! We found out that they were both weighing approximatley 3.5 lbs, which is wonderful and bigger than expected! They looked terrific. The newest development was that my cervix had shortened from a long 4cm to 2.3cm and looked to be starting to dialate. The perinatologist recommended that I stop working to keep pressure off of my cervix and that I speak to my OB. We were a little nervous with that information but figured all would be fine. Michelle saw our OB the next afternoon. He determined that she was dialated about 1cm, told her she was to be done working and sent her to the hospital for monitoring. After arriving at the hospital, and getting hooked up to all the monitors Michelle was having contractions every 8 minutes and her cervix was dialated to 2cm. At this point things happened pretty quickly.
Michelle was quickly hooked up to an IV from which she received magnesium sulfate to try to stop labor, penicilin for the possibility of Strep B, and fluids. Due to the side effects of the magnesium (dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, extreme hot flashes and in general a very drugged state) she also had to have a catheter put in. And last but not least she was given the first of two steroid shots to speed up the development of the babies lungs. This was how things stayed from Wednesday evening until Friday mid-morning. Miserable and scary!!!
On Friday it was determined that the contractions had slowed down enough that Michelle could be taken off the magnesium (THANK GOD) and started on an oral medication, Nifedipine. They kept us at the hospital until Saturday afternoon for monitoring. The contractions decreased and became irregular. We were sent home on bedrest with Nifedipine and instructions to call if Michelle experienced 4-6 contractions per hour. Our own bed and a shower was like heaven!!!!
Even though the homecoming was wonderful it also posed it's own problems. It seems Michelle has just enough contractions to make us crazy but not quite enough to go back to the hospital. We felt more confident as the days passed though and our poor dog is much happier now that we're back home! Luckily we have family next door who were willing to take care of her while we were away!
All seemed fine until last night, Wednesday, when the contractions started coming every 15 minutes for about an hour and a half. Back to the hospital! Luckily they slowed themselves down eventually and there was no change to Michelle's cervix. We were able to go home!!! We were given the okay to increase the frequency of the Nifedipine.
SO!!! After all that...we see the OB weekly now with ultrasounds still every 3-4 weeks. Baby A (our little lady) is head down...WAY down, they can feel her head in Michelle's pelvis and Baby B (our little man) is still transverse or sideways. As long as Baby A continues to stay head down we will attempt a vaginal delivery, regardless of Baby B's position...the doc will deliver him breech if need be. Of course a c-section is always a possibility. We realize it's out of our hands now and we just need to be flexible and go with whatever will bring our babies into the world safely! Our OB is expecting/hoping we will make it another few weeks. Our goal right now is to make it to 34 weeks, we're 31 right now. Who knows? Maybe we'll surprise everyone and last until 37 weeks!!
That should catch everyone up! Thanks for all of your support and prayers! Keep it up, as much as we are so excited to finally meet these two, it's too early just yet! We'll keep you posted as to any new developments!
Welcome!! 2.16.06
Welcome to our brand new blog site! Our purpose is to create an efficient way to communicate with friends and family about our adventures in twinland. A lot has already happened and there is more to come. For those of you that are interested, here is your medium.
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