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...