Today is just another day. Was up late last night off and on, took my prevental for contractions at 3 am and was up by 7:15 for the usual breakfast call, weight and Thursday morning ultra sound. My boys look “good, but not great” as the doctor said. Jason now has too much fluid in his sac so today I am on sugar patrol. I told him I don’t just sit around and eat junk and he said I know you don’t but breads, fruit and peanut butter all has candy. I was thinking up and that’s what you all feed me! Today it’s a limited movement kind of day for me due to the abundance of fluid to prevent the sac from breaking. Dr. Rowe said it’s like filling up a balloon with water…too much and it pops. As for Reece its still just one little artery in his cord that still shows signs of resistance. They always comment about how little literature and information there is on his situation because of it being so rare. They laughed and said we should write a case study up and get it published. I almost wished they would use me for science just to prevent somebody else’s baby from being teeny tiny!
I now weigh 143 pounds. It jumps around. Two weeks ago I was 145, 4 days later 148, Monday 144 and today 143? It might be because the first week on bed rest was at home and I ate GOOD food. Then I got here and they forced me with stuff and I gained and now I can’t even identify what is on my plate sometimes so that makes it difficult. Yesterdays broccoli I thought was the worst, but today’s chicken sandwich looks like it was used to mop the café kitchen. The bread is soaking wet and the chicken has random meet and burned charcoal pieces stuck all over it LOL. I called the chef and am waiting on a new one…
As for the contractions they go up and down all the time. Last night in the hour of monitoring I had 4 true contractions. This morning I was contracting when they did my ultra sound and then while on the monitor I was having continuous braxton hicks…so we are still good, but Dr. Rowe did say he might need to boost the medicine with something strong before long.
I think that’s about it for now. Ryans Mom came up yesterday and brought me new PJ’s so I am about to shower and change (again). They look super comfy and I was in need of some new ones! Thank you so very much! My parents also came up for a few hours and took home stuff that I wasn’t using and we sat around chit chatting. On a side not my aunt sent a fun little gift package of random stuff and the coolest thing of all was the blessing ring. Ill have to take a picture when I get off the monitors to show you. It’s a ring and you add all your little blessings, notes and positive encouragement to it as you go through the pregnancy. Its really sweet! I added my two peas in a pod necklace from my cousin and the charm my aunt also got to it and it hangs nicely on my wall. Today I think Amy & baby Dom are going to come by to say hello and visit. Ryan was supposed to be here tonight but woke up with a soar throat and headache. My Dr. told me absolutely no one should visit if they have symptoms of anything (even a headache) till they have been symptom free for a minimum of 24 hours. He said this a precaution with all that’s going on right now. Anyways it sucks I won’t be seeing my Ryan Shea tonight, but I think Mom and Ashley might come by this evening. Hope you all have a great day!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
So much to be thankful for!
Today has been one of mostly relaxation with a few uncontrollable laughs followed by tears of fear, joy and more laughter. I woke up this morning in one funk of a mood. My head was pounding, my nurse took an hour ½ to change my bed sheets (and still hasn’t brought me my meds) and the café brought me all the fixings for my baked potato for lunch, but no potato. I really think it’s comical that I allow those types of stupid things to steer my day when really it doesn’t matter what so ever as long as I stay pregnant and these babies make it here one day in several weeks from now!
Eventually the pain from my headache went away after reading a woman’s blog who has been generous enough to share all of her ups and downs through her pregnancy as well as the joys she has found since with her twin boys Blake and Owen were born. She too faced growth problems with her identical twin boys who had TTTS. I find her blog to be very relatable in that it’s comforting to know that others have faced and have overcome many of my same fears. It’s not to say that my story will end up with the same happy ending, but at least I know my boys will either be in our happy home or in Gods. I really enjoyed reading the blog today because we share so many of the same perspectives and her strong faith is inspiring.
I also read a funny little email about the joys of little boys that I MUST post because I about rolled out of my chair laughing so hard and I swear my stomach muscles literally got stuck…not to mention I am sure I have black under my eyes because I put mascara on today…if you don’t feel like reading and want to go with the blog just skip over the next little bit. Be advised that if you don’t read you might possibly miss out on the funniest kid story ever!!!
Here it goes…
My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we are in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never
have I wished this more than last week at Costco. Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall: ''Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?'' At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity. Cade continued: ''Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh ... Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!'' I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely was waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, ''Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!''
''No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies...Oh! Mommy!'' He started to gag at this point.. ''Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!'' As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall.. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four
flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone. ''Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!'' He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door.
''Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at? Mommy, You wooking at the wady's feet?'' More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. ''Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'' He started pounding on the door. ''Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!'' I saw that my wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud.. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit
of my dignity and privacy? But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.
Funny? Yah I thought so! I could just see my two little mini-Ryan’s having to tag along in the prime of their toddler hood pulling the same innocent stunt. Oh boy do I have much to look forward to! Packages just arrived….
I swear I am so blessed. Katy Cline and her husband chance just sent me beautiful flowers and a box of fresh fruit! Yummy! Like I have mentioned before the bananas around this place look like they were used in a game of wall-ball! Yesterdays actually oozed all over my dresser and ended up in the trash. Not much of a snack if you ask me. Thank you so very much Katy for the treats and goodies and for the flowers that add a special touch to my room!
Okay well my nurse just came in for my second dosage of contraction stopper medicine and I think I am going to go back to reading more blogs. I have had visitors again this week and appreciate each of them very much. My parents were here on Sunday and brought down my mini fridge, my Ryan has been here nightly and Monday Ryan’s Dad and Aunt popped in for a quick visit and hello. In the next hour Ryan’s Mom should be swinging by and then my parents will be here again later this evening. One thing I can say that’s been great about the hospital is the time I have been able to spend with Ryan away from all other distractions. It’s nice for the first time ever not to be pregnant and long distance in Tyler.
Eventually the pain from my headache went away after reading a woman’s blog who has been generous enough to share all of her ups and downs through her pregnancy as well as the joys she has found since with her twin boys Blake and Owen were born. She too faced growth problems with her identical twin boys who had TTTS. I find her blog to be very relatable in that it’s comforting to know that others have faced and have overcome many of my same fears. It’s not to say that my story will end up with the same happy ending, but at least I know my boys will either be in our happy home or in Gods. I really enjoyed reading the blog today because we share so many of the same perspectives and her strong faith is inspiring.
I also read a funny little email about the joys of little boys that I MUST post because I about rolled out of my chair laughing so hard and I swear my stomach muscles literally got stuck…not to mention I am sure I have black under my eyes because I put mascara on today…if you don’t feel like reading and want to go with the blog just skip over the next little bit. Be advised that if you don’t read you might possibly miss out on the funniest kid story ever!!!
Here it goes…
My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we are in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never
have I wished this more than last week at Costco. Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall: ''Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?'' At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity. Cade continued: ''Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh ... Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!'' I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely was waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, ''Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!''
''No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies...Oh! Mommy!'' He started to gag at this point.. ''Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!'' As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall.. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four
flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone. ''Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!'' He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door.
''Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at? Mommy, You wooking at the wady's feet?'' More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. ''Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'' He started pounding on the door. ''Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!'' I saw that my wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud.. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit
of my dignity and privacy? But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.
Funny? Yah I thought so! I could just see my two little mini-Ryan’s having to tag along in the prime of their toddler hood pulling the same innocent stunt. Oh boy do I have much to look forward to! Packages just arrived….
I swear I am so blessed. Katy Cline and her husband chance just sent me beautiful flowers and a box of fresh fruit! Yummy! Like I have mentioned before the bananas around this place look like they were used in a game of wall-ball! Yesterdays actually oozed all over my dresser and ended up in the trash. Not much of a snack if you ask me. Thank you so very much Katy for the treats and goodies and for the flowers that add a special touch to my room!
Okay well my nurse just came in for my second dosage of contraction stopper medicine and I think I am going to go back to reading more blogs. I have had visitors again this week and appreciate each of them very much. My parents were here on Sunday and brought down my mini fridge, my Ryan has been here nightly and Monday Ryan’s Dad and Aunt popped in for a quick visit and hello. In the next hour Ryan’s Mom should be swinging by and then my parents will be here again later this evening. One thing I can say that’s been great about the hospital is the time I have been able to spend with Ryan away from all other distractions. It’s nice for the first time ever not to be pregnant and long distance in Tyler.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Contraction Update
After taking the Abuterol last night it seemed to help with the contractions. The side effects of that stuff is rather intense. As I laid in bed I could feel my pulse throughout my whole body…you name it and it was throbbing. I got a goodnight sleep, but of course like any normal person I had dream after dream about something going wrong. Ryan told me I need to relax and not worry. I told him I agree, but it’s different from a Mommy point of view than it is a Daddy point of view.
This morning I got up and they were performing a pelvic exam on with in minutes of my eyes being open. It’s shortening but still closed which is good. They also performed another test called Ferrah F….something. The test is designed to detect a certain chemical or hormone being released by your body. The chemical or hormone if present means you can expect labor within a two week time frame. Luckily, God answered my prayers last night and many others and the test came back normal. This means we should be able to get up to 28 weeks even while having very irregular and slight contractions. 28 weeks is still the goal for now because that would put Jason at 28 weeks and Reece at 23 weeks which is just barley viable for my little man. Dr. Rowe has alread said that at 26 weeks each baby is looking at a 50/50 chance of survival.
Just thought I would share the updates and thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the prayers. They are monitoring me right now for contractions again. It’s showing that I am having Braxton Hicks. I also just chugged prune juice (gag me) to see if maybe I am a little crampy for other reasons.
This morning I got up and they were performing a pelvic exam on with in minutes of my eyes being open. It’s shortening but still closed which is good. They also performed another test called Ferrah F….something. The test is designed to detect a certain chemical or hormone being released by your body. The chemical or hormone if present means you can expect labor within a two week time frame. Luckily, God answered my prayers last night and many others and the test came back normal. This means we should be able to get up to 28 weeks even while having very irregular and slight contractions. 28 weeks is still the goal for now because that would put Jason at 28 weeks and Reece at 23 weeks which is just barley viable for my little man. Dr. Rowe has alread said that at 26 weeks each baby is looking at a 50/50 chance of survival.
Just thought I would share the updates and thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the prayers. They are monitoring me right now for contractions again. It’s showing that I am having Braxton Hicks. I also just chugged prune juice (gag me) to see if maybe I am a little crampy for other reasons.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Preterm Labor Contractions
Tonight marks the start of a journey I was not yet ready to make. About 7:40 my nurse came in and we talked about the usual…last time you ate, dizzy, nausea…and the list goes on. She asked if I had any contractions and I said honestly I wouldn’t know at this point because I am not sure what are babies moving, muscles stretching and actual contractions. I told her I felt tightness, but not pain.
At 8 I started getting monitored and about 9 she came back in and looked at the report and informed that I was indeed having preterm contractions. I too had already slightly picked up on it because I could see the small curves form on the screen when the tightness occurred. Between 8 and 9 I had a total of 10 contractions and she left me on a little longer. Between 9 and 9:30 I only had one and then after 9:30 till I came off about 9:50 I had about two. They are only counting contractions that last longer than 30 seconds at this point. I asked the nurse what was the norm and she said for twins its not alarming, but you shouldn’t see signs of contractions prior to 32 weeks and at that we usually treat them unless there’s 6 or more in an hour.
Sooooooooo lets cross our fingers, hope and pray that the doctors can keep me on hold for several more weeks or that they vanish and this is just a small spell that’s occurring. They are going to monitor again in the morning and depending on what it looks like and what the doctor says they may or may not put me on an IV of magnesium sulfate. For now I have taken 2mg of Albuterol and need to drink lots of liquids…so that is what I am going to do!
Keep us in your prayers please!
At 8 I started getting monitored and about 9 she came back in and looked at the report and informed that I was indeed having preterm contractions. I too had already slightly picked up on it because I could see the small curves form on the screen when the tightness occurred. Between 8 and 9 I had a total of 10 contractions and she left me on a little longer. Between 9 and 9:30 I only had one and then after 9:30 till I came off about 9:50 I had about two. They are only counting contractions that last longer than 30 seconds at this point. I asked the nurse what was the norm and she said for twins its not alarming, but you shouldn’t see signs of contractions prior to 32 weeks and at that we usually treat them unless there’s 6 or more in an hour.
Sooooooooo lets cross our fingers, hope and pray that the doctors can keep me on hold for several more weeks or that they vanish and this is just a small spell that’s occurring. They are going to monitor again in the morning and depending on what it looks like and what the doctor says they may or may not put me on an IV of magnesium sulfate. For now I have taken 2mg of Albuterol and need to drink lots of liquids…so that is what I am going to do!
Keep us in your prayers please!
A better explanation of what is going on...maybe?
So a couple of updates…This morning at 5 am I was awakened for my glucose test (take II!) and had blood drawn at 5, 5:30, 6, 7 and 8. I use to hate giving blood, shots etc but I am really starting to get use to it and it doesn’t really bother me near as much. I did get rather dizzy and light headed from the glucose drink, but the doctor said that is normal because of the large amount they require you to drink so quickly. About 7am my breakfast was brought and I couldn’t eat it because of the testing and then headed off to ultra sounds.
The good news is both of the boys still look healthy from the outside looking in. The fluid in the sacs is still abundant, heart rates look great on both and even their measurements have remained consistent. Reece is 21 weeks and 1 day and Jason is right at 26 weeks. There’s still a gap there, but it would be alarming if suddenly one caught up to the other so this is good progress. In addition to Reece weights 14 ounces while Jason is 1.8 pounds! I am currently at the start of my 26th week so we need to hang on still a bit longer! The problem still appears to be with the cord. Dr. Rowe and the ultra sound technician were able to get a good view and compare the cords today. Usually babies have a white thick liquid that surrounds them in the womb and helps protect the cord. Reece lacks a lot of this around his cord and so his appears to be “scrawny”. Also a healthy umbilical cords cross section kind of looks like a Mickey-Mouse head consisting of the vein and two arteries. (See the picture with this blog) Jason’s looks normal. Reece’s has the vein and then one bigger artery and one smaller artery that’s kind of more lop-sided which is probably a good reason for the blood restriction that has been occurring. I hope that helps explain what is going on a little bit better. It’s the best I can do to explain what I understand. The doctors said its rare and they don’t see it too often, but when they do they have no understanding of what causes one artery to be bigger than the other.
As for me, there’s no word yet on my glucose results. One slight alarm we had while doing the ultra sound is that my cervix is beginning to “funnel”. In other words the sac of liquid is starting to fall into my cervix which could results in fluid leakage or early contractions soon if not monitored carefully. The doctor has noted in my files to only monitor the heartbeats now 1 hour each day and to monitor for contractions every 8 hours. I am also suppose to record any type of pressure I notice…the only problem is I don’t really know what it’s suppose to feel like. I feel as though my belly is tight all the time and I always have pressure up in-between my ribcage where both of their heads are because both boys are breech.
Mom also talked t the insurance case manager and asked he at what point are the babies able to survive…they responded that the goal for now is 28 weeks, then 32-33, then 34 is considered the golden week with twins. So in case your wondering here is where I would be…Keep in mind Reece is behind and would be 3 ½ to 4 weeks smaller.
28 Weeks Means May 16th
32-33 Weeks Means June 5th -12
34 Weeks Means June 17th
The good news is both of the boys still look healthy from the outside looking in. The fluid in the sacs is still abundant, heart rates look great on both and even their measurements have remained consistent. Reece is 21 weeks and 1 day and Jason is right at 26 weeks. There’s still a gap there, but it would be alarming if suddenly one caught up to the other so this is good progress. In addition to Reece weights 14 ounces while Jason is 1.8 pounds! I am currently at the start of my 26th week so we need to hang on still a bit longer! The problem still appears to be with the cord. Dr. Rowe and the ultra sound technician were able to get a good view and compare the cords today. Usually babies have a white thick liquid that surrounds them in the womb and helps protect the cord. Reece lacks a lot of this around his cord and so his appears to be “scrawny”. Also a healthy umbilical cords cross section kind of looks like a Mickey-Mouse head consisting of the vein and two arteries. (See the picture with this blog) Jason’s looks normal. Reece’s has the vein and then one bigger artery and one smaller artery that’s kind of more lop-sided which is probably a good reason for the blood restriction that has been occurring. I hope that helps explain what is going on a little bit better. It’s the best I can do to explain what I understand. The doctors said its rare and they don’t see it too often, but when they do they have no understanding of what causes one artery to be bigger than the other.
As for me, there’s no word yet on my glucose results. One slight alarm we had while doing the ultra sound is that my cervix is beginning to “funnel”. In other words the sac of liquid is starting to fall into my cervix which could results in fluid leakage or early contractions soon if not monitored carefully. The doctor has noted in my files to only monitor the heartbeats now 1 hour each day and to monitor for contractions every 8 hours. I am also suppose to record any type of pressure I notice…the only problem is I don’t really know what it’s suppose to feel like. I feel as though my belly is tight all the time and I always have pressure up in-between my ribcage where both of their heads are because both boys are breech.
Mom also talked t the insurance case manager and asked he at what point are the babies able to survive…they responded that the goal for now is 28 weeks, then 32-33, then 34 is considered the golden week with twins. So in case your wondering here is where I would be…Keep in mind Reece is behind and would be 3 ½ to 4 weeks smaller.
28 Weeks Means May 16th
32-33 Weeks Means June 5th -12
34 Weeks Means June 17th
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