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.