3 More Weeks of REST

We saw Dr. Magnussen today and she said, "Three more weeks of rest." We are now at 25 weeks 2 days, and she said babies born at this point do usually survive, but not without a lot of complications and/or help. She said babies born at 28+ weeks do a lot better, and so that was our goal right now. She told us that there is really nothing we can do to prevent prematurity other than rest, and she had no evidence that even rest works, but at least we know we are doing all that we can do. She also told us a little more about our last u/s where they said my cervix was dilated 1cm internally... basically my cervix is "nice and thick" still, but the fluid sack inside my womb is dipping down slightly into the canal from all of the pressure of the weight of the babies and the fluid I'm carrying. (I also asked HER if the kicking that the lower baby is doing to that area could have caused this and she flat out said, NO.) Theoretically, she says, this could cause me to begin to dilate and have contractions leading to preterm delivery. She followed by saying her gut is that we will be just fine, that we will not go into preterm labor from this, but that erring on the side of caution is wise. After which she reinforced that confidence with the fact that if she did feel real concern at this point she would have me admitted for hospital bed rest, but she didn't feel that was necessary. She also said every new day is a blessing and a victory. The closer we get to term the better, and that after 32 weeks I could go skydiving even if I wanted to (not literally).

Wednesday, July 23 (two weeks from this Wednesday), we will go to West Point for an u/s to check on things. We will have our tech from the hospital there to do the u/s and have the chance to video our little guys inside my womb. Hopefully I can post the video here. Then we will meet with Dr. Magnussen about the results.

Off to rest I go....

6 months tomorrow and placed on bed rest

i spent a few relaxing days with my best girl friends at the beach and ended up coming home with a nasty bug that may have been a blessing in disguise. matt and i went to see doc mag yesterday morning after i was up sick to my stomach all night. she admitted me to the hospital in west point for fluids and observation due to dehydration. i actually felt human again this morning, which was great. she also scheduled an ultrasound this morning to check on the babies, assuring us she felt all would be fine.

the ultrasound showed two healthy energetic babies weighing in at 1.9 lbs and 1.6 lbs, about a week ahead of schedule. the u/s also confirmed they are in fact both boys. this time instead of head to head, they were laying head to feet. one baby kept putting his foot in the other one's face.

everything with the babies looked good, it was my cervix that created an issue. my cervix is dilated 1cm internally. an external examination showed no sign of dilation, which is good. however, without this unplanned u/s we wouldn't have known about the internal dilation, so i guess we are fortunate.

doc mag told us that the greatest risk to twin births is prematurity and that she nor we could really do anything about premature labor other than rest at this point. so, i had a choice: go home and rest or be admitted to the hospital for them to make sure i rested. i can get up for the bathroom and a shower or a cup of coffee but that's it until our next doctors appointment which is june 7th. i'm terrified. both of being stuck to the bed and of the potential for premature birth.

the nurse said that babies are not considered viable before 26 weeks. we are 24 weeks, though they're fortunately measuring 25 weeks. she also said that babies born between 26-31 weeks would have to go to jackson. babies 31-34 weeks go to tupelo, and beyond that can be delivered and kept in west point. i'm praying for 12 more weeks in the womb. that's three whole months!! the nurse did say there was a chance that the cervix could close back up and my bed rest sentence relieved a bit. one of the boys kicks me square in the cervix a lot, and she said that could actually be what has thinned that area. hopefully now that he's growing larger, he'll shift upwards and stop poking in that spot. he has already moved up some. this was the first time we could get a look at him. every other time he was so low in my pelvis that we couldn't see or hear him very well.

prayers requested! 12 weeks please. no less than 10. love you all. here are a couple more pictures from this morning's u/s:
this one is of a leg/foot extended

this one is a profile picture with the other baby's foot positioned directly above this one's nose

22 weeks 3 days

We went to the doctor again today. Initially, Doc Magnussen was proud, "ONLY TWO POUNDS this time! that's good." Then she measured me and made a "whoa" face.... i measured 30 weeks. To me that made sense seeing as I measured 28 weeks 2 weeks ago... but apparently that was cause for a "whoa" face. Awesome.

My goals now are to continue to stroll the three miles at the Riverwalk at least every other day as I can, continue to rest between activities, and to learn to eat a higher fiber diet. 25-30 grams is what is recommended/day. The diet change conversation has actually caused me to fuss and cry and become very angry (poor Matt). Yes, really. There are so many things that you try to do for yourself and your growing babies while you're pregnant with twins (or just pregnant in general), and feeling like you've been doing it wrong all this time can be defeating. Or worse, feeling like the food choices you've made for the last 22 weeks are something to be scolded for.... ANYHOW, I've made a chart and am slowly beginning to feel empowered rather than defeated by 'one more thing I must do now.'

I somehow forgot to get permission from her for my beach trip this weekend, but I'm going dagnabbit. I need some RnR with my girlfriends. I've lost the ability to think/react based solely on logic or reason and am completely emotionally driven these days, so Matt could use the reinforcement they will bring me.

Nap time....

belly: 22 weeks

big Phat... (madi and ivey know this tune)

Our doctor's appointment on the 3rd went well. Two rhythmic heartbeats. A rounding belly for me. I measured in at 28 weeks... mind you, I was only 20 weeks 2 days at the time of the visit. Doc Magnussen was not concerned and told us my measurement was perfectly ok at this stage of our twin pregnancy. ((my lord)). She told us it was time for me to hang up working and pick up napping and eating more iron rich foods. So, this is my last week at school.

We have movement! I can feel them moving around progressively more and more as the days go by.  I love feeling them wiggling about. Sometimes the tightness is overwhelming, and sometimes "baby b" (or perhaps both of them?) pushes on my cervix which does not feel especially wonderful. Still, overall, feeling the movement is comforting and makes me so happy. I'm ready for Matt and Madison to be able to see or feel them too.

Nursery time! I'm going to take pictures along the way. First: cribs and curtains...

Thoughts for today

We go back to see Dr. Magnussen on Monday. All I can say is that I feel as tired, round, and sore as a singleton mom at 8 months, and as ill as I did the first trimester, but different. Now it's sudden OH rather than lingering ohhhh...

School's out in a couple of weeks and I'll be able to try and begin conjuring up work from home and begin work on the nursery. Aiming for a  s i m p l e, happy space. Possibly mini cribs? We'll see...

Think we've narrowed the name choices down to two sets...

Carson Graham / August Wriley Sergent   (Carson / August)
(or)
Lucas Graham / Carson Wriley Sergent    (Luke / Carson)

...Matt likes Carson/August. I like them both equally. Trying them both on for size.

U/S#2!!!

Today, we had our second ultrasound to make sure we were growing healthy babies and find out their sexes. We're having BOYS!!

(So you know, in our case, "Baby A" is the baby sitting highest up and "Baby B" is sitting lower) Baby A was in the spotlight first. Dr. Magnussen was able to view him very well from head to abdomen to genitalia – which he was VERY PROUD to be showing off for us. Baby B, however, is sitting so very low that good imagery of him was more challenging. She was able to get decent measurements of him, and sneak a peak at his genitals. Although, she warns that even though he appears to be a boy, due to the position and angle we were looking at him, there is a slim chance of him not being a boy... though she feels confident that he is in fact a boy.

They each had a heart rate of 141, measured about the same, and weighed in at 10 oz each. They were both really active and so fun to watch. We got a good show, but not really any clear images to share. Below is "Baby B." You can see his profile from the chin down; arms folded, knees toward the chest, feet crossed. Both boys are sitting transverse (meaning, horizontal) and side by side one another. They looked like they were playing with each other in there.

We go back again in two weeks. Today, we are 18 weeks 2 days into the pregnancy, and are so far doing well. She did tell me that I have to rest and take it easy because the biggest concern is premature labor. I told her I had been feeling excessively tired sometimes, some simple chores causing my heart to pound... her response, in true Doc Mag fashion: don't do that.

Tomorrow, Madison turns 15 years old! I'm actually thinking she likes knowing she still holds the throne as the only daughter; based off of her excitement over the news that we were having two boys. We are all very happy. Let the naming begin...