25 Week Pictures

Cute!

Just as cute!

Mommy at 25 1/2 weeks.  This post was a week in the making.

These are actually more like 24 1/2 week pictures of the babies; my usual schedule of visits to Johnstown is off a bit between the availability of the doctor and my childcare. (Love you, Liz!) I have had the same ultrasound tech three out of the last four times I think, which is neat cause I feel like she's getting to know me and the babies.  This was a quick visit to check fluid levels, etc, and everything looked fine. I talked to the doctor a bit more about end-of-pregnancy scenarios and this time he sounded more willing to take the pregnancy past 34 weeks if the babies continue to look as healthy as they have, but definitely no longer than 36 weeks.  Now that was before my weekend hospital stay; I think at this point Zach and I will be feeling pretty happy if I manage to not go into labor before 34 weeks.

One little note: if you actually view my blog (as opposed to using a reader) you might have noticed that I've changed my lilypie ticker a bit.  A few times, actually; I couldn't decide what end date to use and I realized I had put in the wrong starting dates. But I fixed my own errors and I've decided to optimistically set if for a 36 week pregnancy.  So May 6 is the date to which we're counting down. This weekend shook me up a bit; now every day feels like a little victory.

How I Spent My Saturday Night

Last night I had the dubious pleasure of an overnight stay at Indiana Regional Medical Center.  While the accommodations were sparkling clean and the staff was friendly and helpful...restful it was not.  Be assured, Mommy and babies are both fine but we were there just in case.

I've been having sporadic BH contractions for quite a few weeks but yesterday afternoon while looking at a magazine on the couch with Austin I noticed them consistently over a period of about 40 minutes.  Feeling contractions while completely at rest is unusual for me; I usually feel them when I get up from sitting or lying down, or when I climb a flight of stairs.  So I decided to lay down for awhile and drink some extra water, knowing that's what my OB would tell me to do.  The contractions abated except for when I got up to answer the phone. Then Zach called me downstairs to eat dinner and they started up again. So after dinner I called the doctor, who indeed told me to get off my feet and drink fluid, and that if they continued I would need to go to the hospital for monitoring. After feeling a few contractions while lying on the couch, we decided I should go to the hospital.

That was about 7:00, I think. I headed off to the L&D floor where the friendly nurses (and I mean that; I've never met a staff person at our hospital I didn't like) hooked me and the babies up and watched us for awhile.  No contractions detected. My doctor initially told them to watch me until 11 or so, but a few hours later he called back. He had changed his mind and decided I should be monitored overnight just in case.  So my wonderful friend Liz popped over to my house to get a few necessary items for me and brought them up and I prepared for a long night.

Sometime after midnight, following another session of monitoring the babies' heartbeats (they were on the monitors on and off; I had a uterine monitor on constantly), the nurse finally turned off the light and left me to try to get some sleep.  I was on my right side and felt a few contractions.  The nurse popped back in and adjusted the monitor.  A few more contractions.  She came back in and told me to lay on my back for awhile and see what happened.  Nothing, basically.  So after a bit she turned the light off again and I lay on my left side.  More contractions, maybe 6-8 in 45 minutes.  So lights came back on, doctor was called, an IV started to make sure I was super hydrated, and a drug administered to stop the contractions.  And I didn't have any more for the rest of the night.  And I even got an hour or two of sleep, which is an hour or two more than I was expecting.

My doctor came in to see me this morning and checked my cervix.  The good news is that these contractions are not causing any changes in my cervix; in other words, they don't seem to be signs of preterm labor.  The bad news...there's no way to tell at what point they will start causing cervical changes. So basically I'm just supposed to rest as much as I can, drink a lot of water, and if we have any concerns about the contractions I feel, back to the hospital I go. Not as black and white as I'd like the advice to be but there you go. Zach and I have been discussing how we can even further reduce the amount of activity I do while keeping his extra burdens to a minimum.  (Example: Esther is about to cease being a cloth-diapered baby.)

The last few days have been very hard for me emotionally and physically. Even though I know we're doing what's best for our babies, it is difficult not to feel terribly inadequate as a wife, mother, and homemaker.  It is so easy to worry about the possibility of early labor or having to go on bed rest.  My Bible reading plan brought me to Psalm 33 this morning while I was waiting for the doctor and I was so thankful for these words:


The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope for His lovingkindness,
To deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us,
According as we have hoped in You.


My hope and strength is not what delivers me, it is the Lord.  And He will lead us through the remaining weeks of this pregnancy, however many they may be.

Rest Day

This has been a busy week.  Actually, pre-pregnancy it would have been a rather average week, but a minimum of activity makes me feel quite busy these days.  Hosting a book group at my house Monday evening (and the cleaning required beforehand), making cookies for Austin's Tuesday preschool class, morning and afternoon doctor appointments yesterday and craft group last night...it's really not so much to do but I am just exhausted after the last four days!  And I can feel the consequences: more Braxton Hicks than I was feeling last week, despite staying well hydrated..

So today is a Do Nothing day.  It's raining outside, which makes staying in and Doing Nothing even more appealing.  Of course "nothing" is not exactly nothing when there is a three year old and a one year old on the premises, but I'm doing my best.  I brought the computer and a big stack of diapers downstairs this morning in an attempt to minimize trips up and down the stairs.  I'm spending lots of time on the couch while I watch the kiddos play. (Which takes a lot of encouraging; despite the DOZENS of toys in this room they seem to think that if I'm sitting on the couch they should just sit on the couch, too.)  We may very well break our one video a day rule.  And hopefully by the end of the day I will feel better.

23 Week Pictures

Do I look big?  I feel big.  This shirt will be retired after this wearing; wouldn't be keeping me decent if not for the Bella Band.

And that, friends, is a belly that only has 2.5-3 pounds of baby in it. The babies weigh 1 pound 5 ounces each, give or take 3 ounces, according to Friday's ultrasound.  Let's just try not to dwell on what it will feel like, adding nine more pounds of baby, okay? For my sake.

But the babies look healthy and that's what counts. Their growth is right on target, they are super-active, and fluid levels, bladders, blood flow, etc. look like they should.

The rather significant thing to come out of my US appointment last week was my MFM telling me that he feels there is more and more data supporting delivery of monochorionic twins at 34 weeks.  He says we'll definitely look at how the babies are doing and possibly go as far as 36 weeks, but I had the distinct impression that he favors an earlier delivery.  I've been doing some research myself today and finding mixed opinions, but enough that supports his idea to convince me that if he says deliver at 34 weeks, I won't argue.  That will probably mean some NICU time for the babies, something I'd really been hoping to avoid, but if it gives them a better chance at life and long-term health...obviously that's the priority.  An early delivery also means I will almost certainly choose to deliver at my MFM's hospital, which is 45 minutes away but has a NICU.

So 34 weeks...that is only 11 weeks away.  Whoa.  Lots to get ready before then, very little energy to do it with.

Storytime Cuteness

While reading a story with Austin before rest time this afternoon:

"Why does that pig have tutus all over him?"

Love it. :)