No Visitors for Now

I went by the hospital for a couple of hours mid-day today to check up on Sarah. She is really starting to feel the effects of the magnesium sulfate and would prefer not to have visitors for the time being, as she is very uncomfortable and not as clear-headed as she'd like. They're taking good care of her and keeping an eye on everything, so I'll have more to report when I get home tonight after going to the hospital after work.

The Home Stretch?

Whilst I was asleep last night more exciting stuff happened. Sarah was continuing to experience contractions, among other symptoms, and they moved her back to labor and delivery and put her on magnesium sulfate to inhibit the contractions. This drug is more effective than the other, but it has many unpleasant side effects. Sarah will be confined to the bed until at least tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 1) morning, and might not leave it until the babies are born. The chances of Sarah coming home before the babies are born really aren't that good anymore, unless there is a significant change, which is unlikely. The doc came by and said his goal is to delay delivery until 32 weeks, and he is optimistic that we can make it that far, with treatment.

While I will be able to take off work for a month (thanks to leave donated to me by generous coworkers), the doc said to expect the babies to be in the NICU until they reach 36 weeks in gestational age, which is 5 weeks from tomorrow. This will make things a little tight, but I may have received some donations that I don't yet know about, so there may be more.

So here we go. Hopefully we can meet or beat the doctor's goal of 32 weeks, but if we don't we know the babies are in good hands. Please continue to remember us in your prayers during this exciting but stressful time.

OK, I Admit It

So today was eventful, to say the least. We had an appointment at 2:30 with our high risk doc, complete with a consult with a geneticist. After that, we were to go to our regular OB fresh from our results with the high risk guys. Here's what really happened.

We get to the high risk doc at 2, 30 minutes early. At around 2:45 they tell us that the docs have had an emergency and were delayed. They also told us that there were two people ahead of us, at 30 minutes each. We were a bit worried, because our regular OB appt was at 3:45, and they go home at 4. So, after talking to both offices, we went to our regular OB first, at 3:10, having been told we had 30 minutes. We rushed over, and they rushed us in, no waiting. ---{we interrupt this compelling narrative to bring you these pertinent medical findings...SARAH's gestational diabetes test was negative, and her belly is similar to that of someone 38 weeks pregnant with a singleton...we now return you to the stirring play-by-play}--- While Sarah was finishing up and making our next appointment with our regular OB, I headed straight back to the high risk OBs, which are literally down the hall, to let them know we were done. This is were it gets fun. The girl at the desk tells us that they called our name, and we weren't there, so we would have to reschedule. Yes, this is the same girl who told us we had 30 minutes, something she denied ever saying. So I'm mad. I'm so mad that I walk out of the office, down the hall, count to 30, and go back in to reschedule. Shortly thereafter, Sarah catches up and is told we have to reschedule. She gets as mad as I was, but she has more hormones running through her than I do. Suffice it to say that voices were raised, denials were made, and tears were shed. Not the sad kind, the angry kind. Eventually, word comes in from much higher up than the front desk girl, and they work us in. ---{more medical information...the babies are roughly 3.5 lbs each and are still similar in size...EMMA's head pushes both on SARAH's bladder and cervix, explaining a lot of phenomena SARAH has experienced...SARAH's cervical length is roughly 0.4 cm, and a week ago she was 1.5 cm dilated...and don't tell me you don't do the metric system; the measurements are no more arbitrary than imperial measurements...if it helps, there are ~2.5 cm per inch and a quart and a liter are roughly the same size...we now join your story in progress}--- Our doc, who is very nice and helpful, is not comforted that Sarah has not yet had a steroid shot, in light of the medical findings. ---{blah blah blah medical blah blah blah...severely premature infants may have underdeveloped lungs, because they are not yet producing their own surfactant...this can lead directly to Respiratory Distress Syndrome, also called hyaline membrane disease, in the neonate...to try to reduce the risk of this outcome, pregnant mothers with threatened premature delivery prior to 34 weeks are often administered at least one course of glucocorticoids, a steroid that crosses the placental barrier and stimulates growth in the lungs of the fetus}--- So, it turns out that, rather than being turned away for another appointment, Sarah was admitted to the hospital overnight for administration of steroid shots, one tonight and one 24 hours later. They will monitor her tonight, as steroids can sometimes cause labor ---{hey! medical stuff is my job!}--- although the doc doesn't expect that to happen. He was encouraged that our fetal fibronectin test last week came up negative, and expects Sarah to be released tomorrow evening. Since we finish up 31 weeks tomorrow, my goal of 33 weeks looks better and better. We are much more at ease now that the steroids are being administered so we can get the babies out of the NICU as soon as possible after they're born. Just to be safe, though, tomorrow I'm bringing her seasons 2 and 3 of Veronica Mars and a portable DVD player, in case she has to stay an extra day.

---{LATE BREAKING NEWS!...SARAH just called from the hospital...they moved her to an antepartum room...the nurse told her that around the time her anti-contraction medicine was wearing off she was experiencing 8 contractions an hour...SARAH felt she was having 2 per hour during this time...our girl has a high "contraction" threshold}---

So, we're in the home stretch. It appears that 2 weeks is on the outside of what we have to go, but we'll take everything we can get. The babies start putting on that cute baby fat that keeps them warm from here on out, and that's very important. Every day we can delay their delivery will help, so please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Homestarloween Costumes

We have 3(!) appointments with doctors tomorrow, so we should have lots to post tomorrow night.

In the meantime, most of you know that I am a huge Homestar Runner fan. Every year the cartoon features a Halloween toon, in which all the characters are in costume. Even funnier, however, are the instances in which Strong Bad (the antagonist and "criminal element" of the toons) makes fun of real people who dress up as Homestar Runner characters for All Hallows Eve. Pure comic gold. I can't wait to see this year's installment.

29.5 Week Belly Shot

Before our late run to Labor and Delivery Triage on Monday night, we made sure to take a belly shot, just in case. Here you have it, 29.5 weeks pregnant with twins. I think she carries if off very well. The lack of focus is my fault. I have a new camera and I haven't quite gotten the focus down just yet.

Once More, With Feeling

Monday night we made our third trip thus far to Labor and Delivery Triage (but only our first in 3 weeks!). Sarah wasn't having more contractions than usual, but they were more painful. She hasn't been sleeping well, thanks to all this, which compounded the issue. So, we went in and they monitored the babies' heartbeats. They also tested for fetal fibronectin and checked for dilation. The fetal fibronectin test was negative, which was encouraging, because 97% of the time that means there will be no delivery for the next 7-10 days. Obviously this isn't infallible, but it is encouraging. We're at 1.5 cm dilated, which is more than we'd like, but isn't catastrophic by any means.

They prescribed terbutaline to reduce the amount of contractions, since it worked so well in triage. It has to be taken every 4-6 hours, but should allow Sarah to achieve more restful sleep and relaxation, which are also very good. So it looks pretty solid that we'll make 30 weeks, if not 31. I'm still shooting for 33, but we'll take our victories as they come. Please continue to remember us in your prayers, we really appreciate them.

One other good thing came out of the trip last night. We have made great headway on packing our "gotta go" bags. Sarah worked up a list, and I had started getting things together the past few days, but last night we scrambled around for 30 minutes getting some essentials together in preparation for delivery, just in case last night was the night. Now we're going to keep those bags pretty much as they are and maybe add a few things to them.

Lastly, a special thanks to the friends and family who have cooked us meals and helped around the house. Since Sarah is at fairly complete bedrest, these kindnesses have been greatly appreciated.

Tornado Scare

Last Thursday Sarah had to take the 3-hour glucose challenge test for gestational diabetes. This entails a 10 hour fast, followed by a nasty orange beverage and a blood draw every hour. I was waiting for her last blood draw when I couldn't help but overhear some conversations about a tornado in downtown Pensacola. I got up and went to the window facing South. I saw a very black cloud, but didn't see a tornado. Seconds later, nurses and staff came out of everywhere, ordering everyone away from the windows and into the hallway, because a tornado was coming. After waiting around for about 20 minutes, we decided to leave and go home. The weather was awful, but we experienced no tornadoes.

Once again, we believe the hand of God was protecting us and our babies. I've included the track of the tornado, as provided by the National Weather Service. With a black rectangle, I've noted on the map the location of the Sacred Heart Hospital Airport Medical Park, our location during the tornado. The tornado was on a direct path to our location but stopped a half a mile short. Whew!



I've included a photo of the tornado, also from the NWS. It is an amazing thing to see for someone who hasn't been around tornadoes very often (except in the middle of hurricanes, of course). Pretty wild.



The National Weather Service has more about the tornado here

Behold: The Nursery

After several weekends, we've finally got the nursery into shape. Obviously, we're going with a Winnie the Pooh theme. Classic Pooh? Traditional Pooh? Baby Pooh? How about, all of the above. We've even got an "Ice Cream Tigger. We'll run around the room, panorama style.













I also took some close-up shots around the nursery.





So at least the room is ready. We've got a lot of work to do with some of the other things, but we're getting there.

Babies Shower

A baby shower was thrown for us at our church this past weekend. Everything was very lovely and we got so many nice things. We both went so Sarah could follow doctors' orders by staying in the recliner the whole time, without the strain of having to lift and open the gifts.



We only had a short time to attend, so we showed up 30 minutes late so everyone could get their food and get settled. Once we got there we got right down to business.



We received many very important items from our registry, from a breast pump to bedding to a mattress to diapers to a Florida Gators hat and socks.



We also got many very nice outfits and toys for the twins.




Additionally, we were given several homemade quilts and blankets. We know these items took a lot of time and effort and we are very grateful.




I wanted to wait to post until I got the nursery together and could show everything off in its proper environment. However, after working all weekend, it's still not ready, so that will come later. In the meantime, thanks again to everyone who came to the shower, and especially to those who threw the shower. We are so grateful for your hard work and for all the time you spent.

We also were brought a home-cooked meal today, which was fantastic. We've been living off of a lot of eggs, pizza, and cereal. While we like having those things for dinner, it was a very welcome change to have something different. These kind souls also helped out with some cleaning, and provided some company for Sarah, which is always welcomed (it gets pretty old sitting around the house all day). Thanks so much.

The Most Exciting Pregnancy EVER

We had to go into the labor and delivery triage tonight. As we know, since we have twins, everything happens sooner. The doctor was reassuring tonight, and said the best thing to do was nothing, as in, nothing but bedrest.

We have been planning for the babies to be early, just not this early. That is not to say that they're coming soon, but it'll probably be before Thanksgiving, which was our target. That said, the doctor was very reassuring about their prognosis from here on out. We've gotten past the really scary stage and things get better every day from here on in.

So basically, all the stuff I've been planning to do this month in the nursery and elsewhere now have to be done now. Welcome to the busy.

Vitals

I forgot to update the babies' statistics in the last post. Both kids are right where they should be in terms of size and organ development. They are both a little over 2 lbs, and they are no longer big headed, big bellied, and short legged; everything seems to have evened out.

Also, Emma is no longer breach and has flipped upside down from a month ago. She's now head-down, while Joseph has switched sides as well. His head is now to Sarah's left, and he is transverse above Emma. Last month, both their heads were meeting to Sarah's right; now their feet are there. They are still quite active, but they'll be running out of room for too much squirming before long.

Enter: The Ban-Hammer

We had our latest high risk appointment today. After 2 weeks of modified bedrest we got the order today to go on complete bedrest. While disappointing, this news really wasn't unexpected, and we understand the importance of avoiding preterm labor as long as possible. For example, the chance of survival of an infant born at 28 weeks is twice that of one born at 24 weeks. We're at 27 weeks on Thursday, and tests indicate that we shouldn't have to worry about the babies being born in the next two weeks. Our next goal is 30 weeks (Oct. 25), and if we reach that, we'll set a new goal.

One thing that is complicated by this is Sarah's baby shower on Oct. 6. The doc gave us the go-ahead for an hour or so if we can get a hold of a wheelchair. It'll be the most efficient baby shower ever! Sarah is really looking forward to being able to leave the house (and not for a doctor's appointment), even if it's for a short time.

But, hey, chin up, we've got some pictures for everyone. First off, we finally get a decent profile of Joseph.



We've also got a pretty cute one of Emma sucking on her hand.

WOW

We just had our 1000th visitor since we've been keeping track in early July. I can't award a fabulous prize to the visitor that pushed us over this milestone, because the visit was from Missouri, New York, Florida, or D.C. Of course, we really hit 1000 a while ago, since we missed 2 months of tracking, but it's still cool, nonetheless.

For those of you tired of all my meta posts, we'll have new stuff tomorrow, and hopefully more ultrasound pictures. Stay tuned...