Looking Good

It was THIS big!! 

Just had my second (and final) steroid shot to speed along the babies lung maturation just in case they deliver in the next few weeks.  The needle is quite large and they give you in the shot in your hip/glut area.  Fun times!  I requested an ice pack for 10 minutes prior to numb the area and it helps tremendously.  I hardly even know if they have done it or not.  I don't know why the ice pack isn't the norm for everyone.  I can't imagine the shot without it.  Yikes!

So all is going really well here and I'm thinking I will be able to go home tomorrow.  It's kind of surprising to be going home when my cervical length is so incredibly short...but I guess after the shots there is not much else they can do for me here at the hospital.  I haven't been having contractions anymore so I'm off the medication for that. They were never painful anyways so they were more of a "false labor" thing than anything significant.  No more IV fluids needed either.  It has been a cake walk here.  I get monitored twice per day and that's about it.  

The last bit will be one more ultrasound in the morning to see if the cervix has shortened any further.  If not, I suppose I will be going home to continue bed rest there.  If it has...then it looks like I will be here until 32 weeks or so.  I'm not sure why 32 weeks and not until the end...but that's what the nurse read in my chart (as put there by the perinatologist).  I guess bed rest is bed rest ....home or hospital.  Of course I'm probably a little bit better behaved at the hospital...but mentally it's nicer at home.  Plus, you get much more rest at home--here I have people coming in and out at all hours.  I think I slept a total of 4 hours last night, and that was broken up into 3 separate chunks!  I need all the rest I can get...I'm about to have twins!  I may never sleep again!  

Back in L&D

Back in the hospital :(

Boo hiss.

I had my regularly-scheduled DR appt this morning.  Babies looked good on the ultrasounds--good heart rates and good fluid levels.  However, the cervix has shortened again.  It has gone down another centimeter in the past two weeks and is now 5 or 6mm (that's a 1/2 cm for all the non-metric folks).  Very short.  Dr sent me to hospital for monitoring and for another round of steroid shots for the babies lungs.  You can only do the series of shots twice so this will be my last round.

I've been in the hospital since noon so for almost 8 hours at this point.  I spent most of the afternoon on the monitors (was having contractions every 5 minutes when I came in--but I couldn't really tell--they let me know that after seeing it on the monitor) and on an IV drip for hydration.  They just let me get unhooked form all of that about 20 minutes ago--so freeing!  Yay!!

So I'll be here at least for 48 hours so I can get the next steroid shot and then have one more ultrasound before they HOPEFULLY let me go back home.  I guess if the cervix remains "stable" and doesn't get shorter over the next 2 days they will let me go back on bed rest at home.  There isn't really anything extra they would be able to do for me here.  When my body goes into labor it will just go into labor...whether I'm here or at home.  So that is that.  And here I am.  Blah!

My mom, Myke & Chloë came to visit and brought pizza for dinner.  Apparently, as they were walking into the hospital Chloë said "Mommy's house"!!  Does she think I live here?  I've only been here 8 hours!  Oh, man!  It was great to see them though--and nice to get non-hospital food!

So, the longer they babies stay in, the better.  Duh.  I'm not nearly as concerned this time around as I was about 6 weeks ago when I was first admitted for shortened cervix.  It's an entirely different ball game and prognosis for babies of this gestational age.  

Next goal is now 32 weeks!  The goal of going to eat dinner at the table at 30 weeks is now out the window.

Sunday

Not too exciting to report.  We've had a nice weekend.  Chloë had a little friend's birthday party on Saturday morning--which I made Myke and my mom take her to.  Myke loves nothing more than attending childrens' birthday parties, let me tell ya.  ;)   Myke actually attempted to make a pact with me before Chloë was born.  He said he would change every poopy diaper if he didn't ever have to attend a kid birthday party.  I quickly accepted.  The deal has fallen through.  I've definitely changed poopy diapers so he definitely will be going to some birthday parties :)

Today our friends Stephanie & Nate came and picked Chloë up and took her with them on an outing to the petting zoo and a couple of nearby rides with their daughter, Sammy.  This gave my mom and Myke a nice break.  A break to do other things than toddler-wrangle, anyways.  Mom checked out a few neighborhood yard sales and Myke hit up Home Depot to get some items for his to-do list projects.

We have a "Before-Twins-To-Do-List" that we started awhile back and have been slowly plugging away at over the past couple months.  Luckily, we tackled some of the big organizational projects before I got put on bed rest so I was able to help out with the work.  For example, we cleaned out and organized our rooftop storage area, we went through the tubs of Chloë's baby clothes in search for unisex items that we can use for the boys, cleaned our closet, and just did a bunch of overall cleaning out of the house to make room for the two new members of the family.  Our house just isn't big enough!  Either that or we have just accumulated WAY too much unnecessary stuff over the years.  I think the latter is the more likely culprit.  Maybe a mix of both.

Today he bought a ceiling fan to install in the boys' room/guest room, a new door handle and lock for our storage area (we had to break the old one off after Chloë locked it from the inside and we couldn't find a key--luckily, she wasn't inside it when she shut it!), and grass seed for our little yard.  We have ripped out some large bushes on the side of the yard to make it a bit more spacious.  It's a small townhouse-size yard so every foot of extra space will help.

I told you there wasn't much exciting news to report.  A pretty low-key weekend.  I'm 29 weeks along today.  My doctor appointment is Tuesday morning and I'm really looking forward to it.  I want to see how everything is looking AND I can't wait to get out of the house.  I haven't left the house/yard since my last doctor appointment on March 1st.  That sounds more insane than it feels.  I've definitely been in the acceptance phase of bed rest (I'm convinced that bed rest people go through stages somewhat similar to grief or alcoholism recovery).  That said, I've started to get more frustrated and sick of it the past few days.  I just want to go walk around the block and breathe the fresh air.  I know it's for the best, though, and I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel.  So I just keep going and try to think about the reality that in a few months when I'm changing a million diapers a day and functioning on one hour of sleep per night I will probably be ready to give my left leg if it means that I could just have ONE day of bed rest again :)

Gramma & Chloë reading on the porch

Testing out the Joovy Big Caboose again...with Mickey Mouse in one of the seats

Chloë & Sammy - big hugs!

weeeeee!

carousel ride

Feeling Soooo Relaxed....Ahhhh :)

Big excitement from the land of bed rest today (well, it's exciting for me anyways)-  I just had a fabulous prenatal massage!  It was so incredibly relaxing that I can barely muster up the willpower to type this right now.  My body feels like jelly collapsed here on my bed....ahhhhh!  It was 75 minutes of heaven!  The massage therapist came over and set up her table, pillows, and music right here at my home.  I didn't realize how tightened up my body had gotten after 5 weeks of minimal movement--the massage and stretching of my arms and legs that she did really did wonders to loosen everything up.   Thank you to the awesome group of ladies who went in on this to surprise me with such a generous gift!  I feel so undeserving for all that people have been doing for me lately.  I feel so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends.  I can't say that enough.

Our friend Heather was back in San Diego to visit for a couple days and to give my mom a day off from "Chloë-wrangling".  The weather was amazing yesterday so she took Chloë on a bike ride down to Belmont Park, which is a little oceanfront amusement park a couple miles from our house.  Chloë got to ride a couple rides and play some arcade games.  She won a few tickets which she traded in for a grape lollipop (lollipops are her favorite thing right now and she usually only gets one after using the "big-girl potty" so it was as special treat for her).  After that they rode their bike to a local burrito shop called Taco Surf for a yummy Mexican lunch.  Needless to say, Chloë was pooped after that--she napped for 3 hours!  I think Heather was tired, too!

Riding the boats!

lollipop!  

The weather was beautiful yesterday so Chloë took her easel out on the front patio and did some artwork after nap.

one of the masterpieces! 

Lastly, here is a picture of the belly that was taken yesterday.  This t-shirt was given to me back in the fall from some friends.  At the time it looked SO HUGE that I never thought I'd fit in it.  I figured it would be more of a sleeping shirt.  Well, I was wrong.  Five months and 30lbs later it is one of the only shirts I have that I fit into.  Depressing.  Most of my shirts are just too short now and end up being mid drift shirts.  No one wants to see that!  Good thing I'm on bed rest and don't need too many cute outfits.  I'm just looking for comfort at this point!  I'm definitely almost as big as I was at 9 months with Chloë.  I know there are 2 babies this time...but still!  I don't know how much bigger I can handle!  

Cute Shirts

Cute little shirts for the twins and for Chloë made by Myke's sister!  I was thinking of purchasing something similar (since I'm not creative like her at all!) but glad that I hadn't yet.  Thanks, Marifran :)  

Life in Bed: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

A few people have commented lately on the fact that I seem so positive throughout this entire situation--or at least from what they can tell from my blog.  The truth is, for the most part, I do feel positive about the situation.  I feel like what I'm doing (or not doing, ha!) is really helping and that keeping off my feet is letting my body rest and keeping the babies in.  The law of gravity at it's finest.  Today is officially marks FOUR WEEKS that I have been on strict bed rest.   I did have a bit of bed rest early in my pregnancy for an unrelated reason but it was more "modified bed rest" and I mainly just had to keep off my feet when I could and just not lift anything.  I had much more freedom.  That was a dream compared to this--if I only knew how good I had it then!

Anyways, I've kept my spirits up by trying to focus on the positive about this.  First of all, it has really reminded me what amazing friends, family, and neighbors Myke and I are so blessed to have.  So many people have stopped by to keep me company, brought me books, magazines, and movies, taken our dog on much-needed walks, brought food or sent "bed-rest goodies" over, run errands for us, taken Chloë out for awhile to give Myke and my mom a much-need break, and overall just put themselves out there as a pillar of a support for us during this time.  We are so lucky to have the support system that we have and I can't imagine getting through this without it!

Even just getting emails from people updating me on what is going on in their lives has been great--my laptop is my main form of connection with the outside world right now so keeping up with people that way is vital and definitely helps keeps me sane.  So keep the messages coming! :)

We are also lucky to have our parents who are willing and able to come out to help us in anyway needed at the drop of a hat.  It's a lot to ask for someone to take care of a very active (and sometimes saucy!) toddler on a full-time basis.  We are happy to not have had to enroll her in full-time daycare and that instead she gets to spend this time with her grandparents, currently "Gramma".  Chloë requires a lot of attention, not to mention the other household duties that my mom is currently covering (making meals, laundry, pet care, grocery shopping, cleaning, trying to nurse my neglected plants back to life, cleaning out Chloë's drawers and closets of clothes that no longer fit her, sorting through items for the new babies, etc...the list is never-ending).  My parents have been a HUGE help to us, and we know that Myke's parents have offered to come out and take over when and if (more likely WHEN) my mom needs a break.  All of this just gives us an enormous sense of peace of mind.

Also, I try to keep in mind that lounging in bed, reading, aimlessly browsing the internet, watching TV and just doing lazy things like that will probably NEVER happen again for the next 18 years, so I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible!  Breakfast in bed every day!  Sweet!

I TRY to always focus on the above positives, but believe me there are (many) times when I'm just OVER it.  I miss not being able to pick up my daughter.  I haven't put her down for a nap or bed in over a month and I miss that.  I miss rocking her, reading to her and tucking her in.  I miss playing with her.  I miss the small things like picking out her outfits and brushing her hair.  I miss just being her mom and I sometimes fear she is going to forget who I am (even though I see her multiple times per day and know this is irrational) or she'll just wonder why mommy is so "lazy".  I miss walking my dog outside.  I miss just BEING outside. Sometimes I just want to jump out of bed and go for a jog in the beautiful weather we're having (ha! like I'd make it to the front gate without collapsing from a heart attack--I'm so out of shape from this I get winded when I walk down one level of stairs now!).  I miss cooking, and I didn't even really like cooking to begin with, I miss sitting in the sun, I miss the freedom to be able to walk down the street to get a coffee, I miss dinners out with Myke or with friends.  Mainly, I miss the freedom of being able to do what I want to do when I want to do it.

Bed rest really messes with your body as well. Like I mentioned above, I get winded now just doing the simplest of things lately.  I sleep on my side at night and when I need to switch sides it's quite the production.  I'm sure this is true of any pregnant person, bed rest or not, but I think the effort is definitely intensified due to my decreasing muscle tone.  It's difficult to watch oneself get increasingly out of shape.  Not that I was ever a marathon runner, but I was a pretty active person.  With my first pregnancy I was active the entire time and, as many of you know, was hiking just hours before Chloë was born.  This time I was able to get in ONE prenatal yoga class before being put on strict bed rest.  One.  I'll have a long road ahead of me to get back to a place that I'm comfortable with once all is said and done.  Lastly, I'm sick of relying on others for almost everything.  Whenever I need my water bottles refilled, a snack, or something else that isn't within reaching distance I have to call my mom or Myke on their cell phones and ask for it.

So those are my complaints...I somehow haven't gone too stir-crazy and have kept myself pretty busy.  I still haven't watched even one entire movie in the past 4 weeks.  Let's end on something else that's positive about bed rest--I don't need to buy many maternity clothes.  I can basically just rotate a few pairs of sweatpants and the shirts that I already have.  Lol..I know that sounds very sexy!  Is this what "letting oneself go" is all about?  Poor Myke.  At least I make sure I take a shower everyday.  I have that going for me.  Going to end here.  I'm sure I've already left you with quite the mental image of me lounging in sweatpants and a big t-shirt eating bon-bons.  Nice.

In the end this isn't about me....it's about the health of two tiny babies.   You just do what you have to do and hope for the best.  I'm so happy that I'm not sick, that I'm not physically unable to walk and confined to bed for life, that I can move and and talk and see and hear.  My bed rest is temporary.  For others stuck in bed it may be a lifelong thing.  I'm blessed that my bed rest is for a good reason...there is an end to all of this...and it's only a few weeks or couple months away!  

Busy Bees

It has been a really busy past couple weeks around here with Myke's birthday, my parents in town, Chloë's birthday party this past Saturday, then one of her little friend's birthday party on Sunday, and then her actual 2nd birthday on Monday.  Pheww....we are birthday'd out!

On her actual birthday (Monday), Chloë went to breakfast with my parents at "The Broken Yolk" where she got to eat Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes with a birthday candle in it!  The staff even sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  Myke had to work and I had to lay in bed, so obviously we missed the event, but here are some photos from my mom's camera: 

Grandma fell asleep!

Yum!  Fresh Fruit!

The next day (3/1) Chloë started school!  I still can't believe my little Chlo-bear is in preschool!  She has visited the classroom a few times but yesterday was the first day that we actually dropped her off and left her to fend for herself.  I had a doctor appointment that morning and I had scheduled it at a time that worked perfectly for me to ride in the car to drop her off at school for her first day (even though the school is a short 2 blocks away, we drove so I could be part of it).  So she was at school from 9am-12pm and apparently she had a great first day.  She was excited to be wearing her "Chloë" backpack the she got for Christmas and seemed ready to go. She wasn't clinging or fussing at all.  That always makes it easier on the parents!   Here's the big girl right before heading out the door to school!  Her new "cheese" face sure is pretty, isn't it?! :)

Walking in with daddy

Other than that, other news is that my dad left us to head back to Virginia yesterday.  It was nice having both my parents out here to help.  They have done so much for us.  

Putting together a dresser for the boys' room

Also, my doctor appointment went great yesterday.  The babies both have good fluid measurements (amniotic fluid) and the cervix measured at 1.8cm.  That means it has basically stayed stable (though still short) for the past 2 weeks!  I'm very happy about that, of course.  Dr. Schrimmer was pleased as well and said it means what I have been doing must be working (though he always reminds me that there is no solid scientific proof that bed rest does anything at all...but it seems to be helping and in his own personal experience with multiples he feels that is bed rest can really help prolong pregnancies).  I got excited and asked if I could start eating meals at the table with the rest of the fam.  He said maybe in two weeks if I'm still "stable".  So that is my next "big" goal--getting to get up and eat meals at the table.  It's all about the little things!  I'm 27 weeks and 3 days right now.  At 28 weeks the survival rate of preemies is above 95% so it's a huge milestone in the gestational world.  Only a few more days!  So that's another "goal" for me.  Other than that, nothing to report from me.  I'm feeling fine-- no signs of labor or anything.  Maybe I'll just hold at 1.8cm and carry the twins to full term!  Only time will tell.

On another medical-related note, Myke has been on a gluten-free diet for over a month now since we found out he has celiac's disease.  I think I mentioned before that he never had any of the symptoms that people usually associate with gluten intolerance (like digestive issues, bloating, nausea, etc).  So we were really surprised when we found out that gluten was the reason for the high enzyme levels in a routine life-insurance-related blood test he had done over a year ago (yes, it took a long time for doctors to finally pinpoint what was causing his liver numbers to be off the charts).  Well, the good news is that he had his liver function numbers retested last week to see if a month of gluten-free-living had helped and sure enough his numbers were MUCH better!  They check the AST/ALT numbers and one of them was back within the normal range and the other was just a point or two above normal!  So we were THRILLED to hear that.  It means his liver is repairing itself and not working overboard to function anymore.  It's just nice to know that we have found the culprit and are able to fix the issue.  

Wahoo!