31 Weeks!

Today we hit the 31 week mark! Not much has changed over the past week. Both babies look great on their monitoring everyday and my contractions have stayed pretty normal. One more week before we hit our next big goal of 32 weeks so we are hoping that everything stays the same. 

Dillon has been here with me since Tuesday so we were able to spend Christmas together. We didn't do anything too special, we are just thankful that we are still here with the babies still inside me! 

Also, thank you to everyone who sent us down some Christmas goodies. We have definitely been enjoying them!

Six Weeks Down!

Once again I have been asked to post more baby bump pictures. Here I am today at 30 weeks and 2 days. I feel like I have gotten huge and a lot more uncomfortable just over the last couple of weeks. All of the extra belly weight has put a lot of strain on my back too so physical therapy was in today to go over some stretches I can do to help that so hopefully they work.  

We also had a formal ultrasound today to see how the babies are growing.  We were definitely surprised with how big they have gotten.  Last growth ultrasound was three weeks ago and Baby A was 2lbs 4oz and Baby B was 2 lbs 10 oz.  Today, Baby A is up to 3lbs 9oz and Baby B is 4lbs 2oz! Baby A is considered in the 50th percentile while Baby B is in the 70th percentile.  Although these are only estimated measurements, we are very encouraged with how big they are.  The doctors had not seen the ultrasound report yet, but they had looked at the pictures and by the pictures they thought everything looked just fine.  They will be back in the morning to go over the full ultrasound with us.

Today also marks 6 weeks since I have been here.  Over the weekend, Dillon and I were able to talk to the doctor about the rest of our stay here.  As long as I stay stable, I should be able to go home on bedrest at 34 weeks.  At that point Bellingham would be able to deliver the twins safely if I were to go into labor.  We still have 4 weeks to get to that point so we are not getting our hopes up, but it is another good goal for me to shoot for.  It would be really nice to go home for a little bit before they are born.

Although 34 weeks would be huge, we still ask for prayers that we can atleast get to that 32 week mark!

30 Weeks!

Today we hit 30 weeks!  Things have been going really good since our last little scare.  I have still been contracting all day everyday, but they don't seem to be as consistent and strong as they were.  Both babies have also looked really good on the monitoring the last couple days.  I am very anxious to see them again on the ultrasound on Monday!

Dillon was able to come down this weekend.  He wasn't able to because of work last weekend so it had been almost two weeks since I had seen him.  He was very surprised with how big I had gotten over those two weeks.  I guess that is a good thing, it means the babies are growing!

Other than that not much new to report.  Each day is a goal met, but our next big goal is to get to 32 weeks. Please pray that these next two weeks are very uneventful for us and that we can meet our goal of 32 weeks.

Eventful Night

Last night was a little more exciting than it has been down here in awhile.  I went off my ibuprofen Sunday at midnight and have noticed that i was contracting a little more often, but the contractions were not getting painful and they weren't consistent so I was not too concerned.  Last night my contractions started coming every ten minutes apart which was not normal for me.  The nurse decided to hook me up to the monitor to make sure the babies looked fine through the contractions.  Both babies looked great, but I was still contracting every ten minutes.  The nurse was going to talk to the doctors and see what she thought and before I knew it, the doctor was in here with an ultrasound machine to make sure both babies were still head down just in case I was in labor.  Both babies were head down, which is what we want when I do go into labor.  She then decided to check for dilation.  My last check I believe was two weeks ago and I was at 3 cm.  Last night, even after all the contractions, I was still at 3cm!  The contractions I was having were not changing my cervix in any way.  It was about 11:30 pm after they were done checking and since the babies looked great and I was feeling the contractions the monitor was picking up, I was able to come off the monitors and was told just to keep track of contractions. They were not too concerned about me going into labor last night, but wanted to know if anything changed and if so, they wanted to check me again.  The contractions started to space out a little more and although I didn't sleep very well, I was able to fall asleep. Today has been a little more quiet. I am still contracting more than I was last week, but the doctors have said that this is probably my new normal without having the ibuprofen in me all day long.

We also had a fluid check yesterday. They typically do not do another fluid check after going off ibuprofen, but they could tell that I was a little nervous about the fluid so they offered to do one.  Both fluid levels were in the normal range.  The doctor who did the ultrasound was very encouraged by how both babies looked on the ultrasound and just by looking could tell that they have definitely grown since she did the last ultrasound!  Our next formal growth ultrasound is on Monday and I am very anxious to see how much they weigh now!

29 Weeks!

Not much new to report today except we have made it to 29 weeks! One more week closer to our next goal of 32 weeks.  Both babies continue to look great on the monitors. They are continuing to show their heart rate increases that the doctors and nurses like to see and are moving around a lot.   I am also doing pretty good.  The last few days I have been nauseous and tired, but that has seemed to pass and I am feeling much better. Other than that, nothing new which is a great thing!

Pictures and Other Fun Things

Today marks one month since I have been here.  Although it seems like it has been a long time since I checked in, time has gone by somewhat fast. If I can make it to 34 weeks, they have said I could possibly go home so only 5 1/2 more weeks to go!

I have been asked to post some pictures so here is one of me at 23 weeks. This was right before my last appointment in Bellingham before being admitted to UW.

Here I am today at 28 1/2 Weeks.  

Since I have been here, I have also learned how to crochet.  I have been making mostly baby hats and baby headbands and my mom has made a baby blanket and has been working on earwarmers and scarfs.  Here are a few hats I have made.  Since no one else knows the genders of the babies besides us, I have been making gender neutral hats, some with flowers and some without, just to keep everyone guessing!

 

I also had a fluid check again today just to make sure everything looked fine.  Both fluid levels were great so the plan for ibuprofen stays.  My last dose of ibuprofen will be Sunday at midnight. Today again, they assured me that if the babies are going to come early, they are going to come with or without the ibuprofen.

Ibuprofen Update

Not much new to report today except that we did come up with a plan for ibuprofen.  As of now, they have decided to leave me on it until this coming Monday.  They did not do a fluid check today, but will do one tomorrow and assuming nothing changes, Monday will be the cut off date.  The doctors feel that at this point, it is better to keep the babies inside me and if ibuprofen is helping with that, they do not want to take me off. Other than that, today has been an uneventful day which is a very good thing!

Monday, December 9th

Today we had an ultrasound to check the fluid levels of both babies.  Since I am on ibuprofen, one of the risks is that the fluid levels go down.  Both fluid levels were still in the normal range but have gone down quite a bit since last week. For tonight, they have kept me on the ibuprofen, but we will re-evaluate again tomorrow and determine a plan.  If I do not go off the ibuprofen tomorrow, I will for sure be off of it by next week. After a certain point, the ibuprofen can start to affect the babies kidneys and urine output so they want me off by 30 weeks.  Also, the doctors do not feel that by going off the ibuprofen I will go into labor so that is a good thing.

On my monitoring this morning, Baby B had two drops in heart rate.  Rather than my normal 20 minute monitoring, I was kept on for an hour and a half just to make sure everything was fine.  My monitoring has always been really good so the doctors were not too concerned about the drops.  They figure the babies umbilical cord had maybe got kicked or slightly pinched, which the doctors assured me was completely normal.   For a little peace of mind, I asked to go back on the monitors tonight and everything looked great. No more drops in heart rate!

As we decide on a plan for ibuprofen tomorrow, we ask for prayers that we make the right decision as to when to quit taking it. Both Dillon and I are nervous that by going off of it, these babies might decide to make their appearance, but we also do not want to harm them in any way.

28 Weeks!

Our first goal was to make it to the 24 week mark and our second goal was to make it to the 28 week mark. Today we have hit 28 weeks! Dillon is down here for the weekend so we decided to tour the NICU.  Hopefully we do not need to be there, but just in case we wanted to be prepared.  The NICU moved just over a year ago to a different floor of the hospital and got all new equipment. It seemed to be staffed with plenty of nurses and the equipment looked top notch which calmed some of my nerves if our babies have to spend some time there. We also had a NICU doctor come chat with us a little bit and talk us through what a 28 weaker's stay in the NICU would look like.  Both Dillon and I were very encouraged with what he had to say and now knowing the difference between being born at 24 weeks or 28 weeks, has made these past four weeks in the hospital well worth it!

We have made it to 28 weeks, but we know that the babies still need many more weeks to develop fully. We ask for prayers that my body cooperates, the contractions slow down and that these babies stay put for a little longer.