Week 35

I'm just really shocked I've made it this far. I was so worried about making it to 34 and now I feel like I am going to make it to 38 weeks, and then have to be induced. This pregnancy is an emotional roller coaster. One day I feel like the babies are coming that evening and the next I feel like I could be pregnant forever! I do know that they should be out by July 4th! I think my organs will have the best time celebrating their independence from being displaced, kicked, and overworked!

On Friday, June 1st, one of the doctor's in the practice had us pretty freaked out about the size difference between the babies. Even my normal ob agreed we should look into it further. On Monday, we had our ultrasound and it was definitely an experience. First of all, they didn't even have me down for an appointment! The lady never scheduled it. Feeling like my babies were going to be delivered that day (per my ob- he wanted me prepared that if her growth had slowed, stopped, or the discrepancy had gotten bigger, they would deliver soon), I was already on edge when we arrived. I explained that I HAD to have this ultrasound and they worked me in. On the way back to the room, the tech (not the one I normally have) started explaining to me that ultrasounds are not necessarily to have each week and was I completely sure that I even needed one. UM YES, I think I know what is going on WAY more than you do!!! The ultrasound turned out alright and both babies were doing well. Unfortunately, Jay wasn't able to stay long enough to go the rescheduled ultrasound but luckily my mom was able to be there with me :)

After waiting another hour and a half, we finally saw the doctor. I hadn't seen this doctor my entire pregnancy and I got the feeling he had NO clue about my history. He walked in, listened to the heartbeats (which Dr. James normally doesn't do if I've JUST had an ultrasound), measured my tummy at 38 weeks (when I questioned why I measured at 46 last week, he measured again and told me that now I was measuring at 44.... amazing the change between 38 and 44 in a matter of minutes!), and asked if I had any questions... Um YES! I asked about the ultrasound, he said a pound difference is no big deal and everything would be fine. Um excuse me, but do you know that I've already been referred to a specialist for this and you're saying it's no big deal? The difference between doctors AMAZES me! I also know that this doctor does not specialize in multiples and this could be a reason for his responses. I left the appointment a little bewildered and felt stupid for worrying so much about the difference between the babies when everything seems completely fine. There are just so many ups and downs! I'm confused about why he didn't check my cervix, not that I'm complaining but I was told I was 2cm dilated two weeks ago, shouldn't that be check out?

My consultation is that I'll be able to see my normal doctor (Dr. James) on Tuesday and hopefully get more answers.

The remainder of the week and weekend have been fun. It was good to have my mom in town for a few days to help me out and keep me company during the days. Errands are so much more fun when you have someone to run them with you! My mom will head out of town on Thursday morning and my Dad flies in to stay with us on Thursday night. My sister and my mom will drive up from Atlanta on Friday and hopefully my little sister will get some time off of work to hangout with all of us this weekend. And who knows, maybe Jay will be able to celebrate father's day this year!




Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

How Far Along: 35 weeks 

Pregnancy Countdown: who knows at this point, but no more than 20 days!

Size of babies: A Coconut. The babies weigh between 4.2 to 5.8lbs and should be between 17.2 and 18.7 inches long.  Their exact weights are Emma Cate- 4lbs 11oz and Holden- 5lbs 9oz (from ultrasound on 6/11)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm still up around 40 pounds give or take. I lost 6 lbs between doctor visits so my weight is everywhere. I'm not eating different, just fluctuating my water weight.   

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all the time. I'm down to about 4 outfits, which you will see repeated on this blog. I'm done buying maternity clothes and am enjoying lounging in sweats and old navy maternity tanks.

Gender: Girl- Emma Cate and Boy- Holden.

Movement: Lots. No major flips but lots of kicking each other and kicking mommy! I'm feeling it in my ribs, my bladder, behind my belly button, everywhere! I also learned that Emma Cate is sunny-side up, facing out and Holden is facing towards my back. That is one of the reasons I don't feel his kicks as strongly as hers.

Sleep: Goodness. It is terrible. I already wrote about last Sunday and how I was up at all hours and throwing up. I've been taking my heartburn meds earlier in the evening and that is helping a little. I'm back to chewing a pepto when I wake up around 1am to settle my stomach acid. It is soo tough to roll over and get out of bed.

What I miss: summer cocktails, my usual summer routine, cooking, walking, being on my feet for more than 30 minutes without pain!

Cravings: The list so far of things I've craved the most this pregnancy: Icees, Mac and Cheese, Chocolate Ice Cream, Rusty's baked potatoes, and Coke, baked goods, and popcorn. New things this week: I had a HUGE craving for cake or a pancake and made a fun-fetti cake for myself at 11pm. Also, I am chewing ice like a manic. I know this is the most annoying habit but I just can't stop!

Symptoms: lots of contractions (some are getting painful to try and walk through and I have to stop and wait it out), acid reflux, getting incredibly hot (and I mean INCREDIBLY hot...I can't even blow dry my hair without taking breaks and even then I still sweat), extreme pressure when I stand up or walk, stretch marks, itchy skin on my stomach, gas, feeling like my ribs are going to break from all of the kicking. I am super uncomfortable and I've really slowed down. It takes me forever to walk from the car to a store.  I've also swollen so bad that my stomach is hanging over and jiggly at the bottom. It used to be really tight everywhere but now I feel like someone that has lost weight but has a lot of skin leftover. I don't know if that makes sense but its the best way I know to describe it.

Best Moment this week: learning that both Emma Cate and Holden are growing! She's still a peanut in the 19% percentile but their discordance rate has remained at 16%.

I haven't been taking any pictures! I'll do better next week!

Your baby's the size of a coconut!

He's about 17.2 to 18.7 inches. From here on out, he won't get much longer, but he's plumping up. He's now about 4.2 to 5.8 pounds, and he'll put on a pound or more of baby fat before birth.

Sleepy Sunday

I know I need to do a 34 week update and as soon as I stop being lazy and get my laptop out I'll work on that. Until then...

The remainder of the week has been
(thankfully) uneventful. I pretty much slept all of Wednesday away after my rough night of sleep. I think I was only awake for maybe 4 hours of daylight :) I went into work for the teacher workday on Thursday and it was so nice to see people! I am thankful to one of my coworkers for climbing in the back of my car to install both carseats.

On Friday morning I had a routine doctor's appointment and everything is still looking great! All he did was listen to heartbeats, check my blood pressure and check the protein levels in my urine. Everything came back great and I've even lost 6 pounds from my visit the week prior. All of that weight was water weight and I'm excited to not be so swollen!

Jay and I enjoyed a date night at Harpers on Friday evening. We attended infant CPR on Saturday morning and Jay is quite the cpr and infant care specialist. He has proven that he is an expert at swaddling and diaper changing. Im glad I can count on those skills to come in handy at 3am :) Towards the end of class I started having some major contractions and they were coming around 5 minutes a part. We made it home and after some rest on my left side they subsided. Thankfully towards the end of the afternoon i was feeling sooo much better and we were able to attend a party celebrating our good friend Brian's graduation from his MBA program with tons of friends last night. It was so great to see everyone. I wish I would have gotten a picture!

Unfortunately things weren't so great when we got home last night. I woke up around 1 and proceeded to get sick all over the floor beside the bed.
Poor Jay was so sweet to clean up my mess while I continued to get sick in the restroom. I was finally able to go back to sleep only to be awoken again at 2:15 and again at 4:30. I woke up on my own around 10 but have slept on and off until 2:30. I'm not sure what is going on. I'm just feeling weird. I can't really pinpoint exactly why. Being a bum on the couch is working out well for now :)

Rough Night

Recently, I've had some anxiety about sleeping. Every night since I got back from the hospital I've had really crazy dreams.

Last night around 7:30 or so I went to use the restroom and noticed that I had lost my mucus plug. We put in a call to the doctor (evidentially it's
no big deal, they just ask that you call
If you're less than 36 weeks). Thank goodness we did not have to go into the hospital to be checked out!

We continued on our evening. Around 9:00, I started having the same horrible pains that I've had almost every night since last Friday. They were really really bad on my right side and nothing I could do would make the pain go away. Finally around 11 the pain subsided enough for me to go to sleep. The only way I can describe the pain is that it feels like someone is ripping my oblique (thanks Al) muscles a part. I woke up around 1 to use the restroom and minus the uncomfortableness of trying to get out of a tall bed and waddle to the bathroom, I felt okay. At 5:30 I was having a dream about flying through the streets of Chicago at a really really fast speed and woke up to worst headache I've ever had. I woke Jay up thinking something was totally wrong. The headache continued along with the same side pain I'd been experiencing but this time along my left side. Finally I gave in and took some tylenol to relieve my headache. At 7:08 it is still here but not nearly as bad. I also took my blood pressure and it was 150/109 on one arm and 116/72 on the other. I don't think my at home cuff is super reliable.

I'm not sure what all these pains mean. I'm hoping that they mean labor is coming soon and are not signs of preeclampsia or HELLP syndrome. I feel confident after my visit with the doctor yesterday that everything is fine, it's just so strange. I drank a big glass of juice and both babies responded well so I know they are doing ok in there.

Almost 34 Week Dr. Appointment

I had a follow up doctor's appointment this morning that went really well! I was a little rushed getting there and afraid that my blood pressure was going to be high but fortunately my doctor was running a little behind and I had to wait 30 minutes for my appointment. Now that I have nowhere to be I don't really mind the waiting.

My blood pressure was 128/76 which is really good for what is has been. Dr. James and I were both really happy with that number. During the appointment, he listened for the babies heartbeats (160s for Holden, 150s for EC- both in their normal range) and measured my belly. I jokingly asked him what I was measuring at... 46 weeks! Can you imagine? No wonder everyone is staring at me like I'm going to go into labor at any point. That number actually made me feel better about myself knowing that the reason I feel like a 600lb woman is because I am "46 weeks" pregnant!

I asked him some questions about NICU and he told me that he didn't think I would make it to 36 weeks but since the babies have always been "happy", he didn't anticipate a long NICU stay but did assure me that they would be going to the NICU for a few days to a week and to expect that. I am starting to do a little research on NICU and what happens and what I can expect. He told me that best case scenario, I would see the babies lifted over the drape (assuming we have a C-section) and then they would be taken down. Worst case, they would take them right away and I wouldn't get to see them.

Next, I talked to him about the ultrasound that I have scheduled with the specialist. My ultrasound is scheduled for 36 weeks and 2 days. Thinking that I'll go into labor within the next two weeks, this ultrasound seemed pretty pointless. Dr. James wanted me to keep the appointment just in case but also understood where my concerns were coming from. If we waited until then, it was possible that I would deliver shortly after and the ultrasound wouldn't provide any benefits to the twins is their was an issue with growth. He scheduled me for an ultrasound on Monday (a little less than a week away) in his office. At this ultrasound he told me that they would be able to see how the twins were doing on growth. If their growth was off again, he would send me to the specialist earlier. Most likely if there was a difference in growth they would go ahead and deliver the babies but that would be up to the specialist. He did told me that the ultrasound in his office would give us a good idea if we were going to be told to deliver the babies when we see the specialist in order to prepare ourselves. That was all probably very confusing and I'm too tired to read back through it and fix anything so sorry if it doesn't make sense!

It's absolutely crazy to me that these babies will be coming so soon. Everything at the house is ready, the gear is ready, its just nerve-racking thinking about US being ready. Our life is going to change in ways we will never know and it is hard for a control freak like me to fathom. I am just so excited and anxious but still want to savor these last days as wife and daughter and not yet a mother.

What's Going On

Per request of my sister, Allie, who is bored sitting in her classes (she's in school to be a physical therapist) here's a status update.

We were released from the hospital around 3pm on Sunday and I was excited but nervous about leaving. To be completely honest, I can't really tell when I'm having a contraction. Occasionally I'll feel something tighten in my stomach but sometimes I feel that and I'm not contracting at all! I figure that when I go back for contractions, I'm going to make sure they are the kind that you see in movies, wife gripping husband's hand, clenching teeth, screaming curse words, the works.

Sunday evening was pretty tame, I took my vistaril to help me sleep and had some crazy crazy dreams.

Yesterday was second official day on bed rest at home. The last time we tried it was last Tuesday when I was sent to the hospital after my doctor's appointment. I was pretty bored and tried to enjoy the calm but didn't want to nap because I wanted to go to bed at a reasonable time. I was a pretty good patient and stayed in my pjs all day. I went a little stir crazy yesterday evening and jumped on the opportunity to help Jay cook dinner. It's been forever since I've been in the kitchen and I miss it sooo much! We had chicken and bean burritos from this month's Cooking Light. I even got Jay to try substituting greek yogurt for sour cream. My other sister, Bo, stopped by to show me all the cute clothes she bought for work (she starts her big girl job on Monday!) and I am so jealous! I want to be a normal person size!

Jay has been busy working around the house trying to get things perfect for when these babies arrive. I'll admit that it has got to be tough to be married to be. I don't know when I became a perfectionist (borderline OCD) but my standards are high and I'm not the happiest person (to put it lightly) when they are not met. Jay is trying really hard and I'm trying really hard to learn patience. It is truly hard to sit back when laundry needs to be done, paperwork needs to be filled, dishes cleaned, etc. Jay completed one of my project requests last night and I'm really happy with the result. In the past we had a semi gallery wall in our family room. It never quite looked right and I was so ready to say good bye to it! I told Jay I wanted to move it to the basement stairwell. He was nervous about doing the arrangement all by himself (remember what I just said about being a perfectionist) but he did an awesome job and it makes me happy every time I open the door to the basement. I can't wait to add to it with pictures of our babies!!!

I also had a special treat last night when my bff, Mary Clare stopped by with a frozen meal for Jay and I. I was so nice to hang out for a little bit and catch up. I've become quite the hermit now that I am so pregnant and appreciate these little visits so much!

On the pregnancy front, last night was a bit rough. I started having the same extreme side pains as I did when we checked into the hospital on Friday evening. After about an hour and a half they subsided. During that time I tried to lay in every position possible, squeezed Jay's hand, and yelled like a crazy person. At one point I was on all fours on the ground and Jay asked if it would help if I tried to "go potty". He immediately realized he had said it in the exact same way he does to Boomer and we both died laughing. We think the pains are just babies moving around on my round ligaments although they feel like little midgets are tearing my muscles apart.

I also had some CRAZY dreams last night and wish I would remember more of them. I can't tell if it is the vistaril or what but I would like them to stop so that I feel like I am actually getting sleep. I'm also having really bad night sweats. Jay thought that my water broke last night it was so bad. I'm just ready to be back to normal....

Here are a ton of pictures from the past week:

 

33 weeks 1 day

  

My favorite hospital breakfast and watching Desperate Housewives. So thankful I got an iPad for Christmas this year! 

Dad to be after checking back into the hospital on Friday night

labor and delivery room

labor and delivery room

monitoring 

 

feeling absolutely miserable with pains in my sides

  

ready to go home on Sunday, June 3rd 

33 weeks 4 days

comparing bellies 

Jay cleaning- the gallery wall I was talking about is to the right of him with the black frames

I don't know if I mentioned this before but when we checked into the hospital on Friday night, the "iv lady" was unable to get my iv started and poked me 6 times. These are some of the bruises left over. I also have to mention that I NEVER bruise. I can run into a table corner at full speed and nothing will ever show up so these were pretty bad. 

comparison pic

on the left I was 20 weeks in the hospital with kidney stones

on the right I was 33 weeks in the hospital with high blood pressure

I thought I looked big at 20 weeks!

yes these babies are creepy, BUT I am so proud of my mom. She just got a monogram machine and is learning how to embroider! These are the first things she's done. I asked her to put them on these old dolls my sisters used to play with so that I could get the full effect :)

"Emma Cate"

twinsies

 

Boomer 

I have missed this little booger so much! I think he was happy to have me home. Evidently while I was in the hospital he wouldn't eat or use the potty. I am nervous about what will happen when we bring the twins home. Poor guy.

new gallery stairwell

Ready to go home?

This morning I knew I was going to be releases so I got up got dressed in yoga pants and a tank, fixed my hair a bit and told Jay to come get me at 12. At 1 they decided to monitor me and guess what... Contractions were coming at 9 min a part. No real cause for concern but my dr has decided to keep me until at least 3 to see how I'm doing. I was given more vistaril to try and calm things. It appears that labor will be happening within the next two weeks. Hopefully well head home at 3 and then just keep an eye on them at home.

Hospital Day 3-6

Hospital Day 3
May 31st
I'm back tracking here and trying to get all the details right but excuse me if something doesn't make sense. Day 3 in the hospital started on the evening of May 30th and lasted during the day on May 31st. Everything has been pretty standard. I get monitored every 8hours, babies continue to look great. I'm having a few contractions during the monitoring but nothing major


Hospital Day 4
June 1st
I was released from the hospitalin the morning on June 1st. Jay and I had a few minutes to get our things together before we had to head to our scheduled ultrasound at the OB's office. We had a quick lunch, ran by Bo's to pick up shoes (jay took mine home with my dirty clothes the previous day!) and went for the ultrasound. At the ultrasound we learned that the babies are both growing. Emma Cate is weighing in 4lbs 6oz and Holden is 5lbs 4oz. The doctor we saw was a bit concerned about the difference between the growth. Luckily, both babies are growing and that's a really good thing, they just want to know why Emma Cate isn't growing as much. We have an ultrasound scheduled with the specialist within the next two weeks. The discordanence rate is 16%. Anything beyond 20% is a need for concern so were just being cautious.

After the ultrasound we went home to rest and relax. Jay had a few errands to do so I hung out on the couch and waited. Bo came over to borrow our car and hang out a bit. Around 6pm I started having really weird pains in my side. Jay swore they were round ligament pain and they probably were but the pain was so bad I was in tears and couldn't walk upright. I could only lay on my left side to get the pain to subside. After some discussion we decided to call my practice and they sent us straight to the hospital. We checked in at labor and delivery and learned I was having some pretty good contractions. They wanted to keep us overnight to be sure they didn't progress into labor contractions. It was slightly embarrassing seeing the same doctor that had discharged us only a few hours prior. Luckily it was my primary doctor who was on call and he made me feel like I'd make the right choice. I was/am also at 2cm still and haven't progressed so that's awesome. The following morning, I was moved to antepartum.

Hospital Day 5
June 2nd

I spent Saturday in the hospital just hanging out and being monitored. I was continuing to have strong contractions and was taking vistaril to help settle things. I didn't see a doctor today, it was pretty much just resting up. I did continue to have great care by my nurses and they came in and kept me company. Around dinner time, Jay and his mom came by to visit. I started having contractions again and they decided to monitor me. They were coming pretty strong so they gave me more vistaril and continued to monitor me. The vistaril didn't do much so I just went to sleep.

Hospital Day 6
June 3rd

I woke up this morning feeling really strange. I was super dizzy and lightheaded. Luckily some apple juice seemed to do the trick. I met with my primRy doctor this morning and told him I was ready to go home! He said he would release me when I wasn't feeling lightheaded, probably around 12. Im just hanging out in bed until I get the okay to go. My discharge instructions are to call if anything changes. I'm praying everything will just stay the same and maybe the contractions will go away :). I have doctors appointments scheduled for Tuesday and Friday so I'm thinking I can keep myself out of the hospital until then :)

Yay!

Nothing too major but Jay called me this morning with great news that he found the ultrasound pictures when he was cleaning up last night! I'm so relieved and excited to get working on this pregnancy book/album!

Hospital Day 3 update will be coming soon. I'm still here (it's Day 4). Waiting to see the doctor and possibly have some ultrasounds/scans to check on the babies and my kidney function.

Week 33

As you can tell from my previous posts, I'm in the hospital. Today is Day 3 and I'm doing pretty well with the exception of a severe pain I felt in my back and lower front side last evening. I'll update a Hospital Day 3 post with all of that information later on this evening.

The week started out great! After my scary appointment on Thursday, I had a good doctor's appointment on Friday, babies looked good, blood pressure was doing well. My preeclampsia bloodwork panel came back negative and I was un-diagnosed with preeclampsia. I saw Dr. James at this appointment he had me take home a lovely jug that I was to use to collect urine for 48 hours and bring back to the office on my Tuesday visit.

Shortly after the appointment, I ran home to get everything packed up, met Jay and headed to the lake for Memorial Day weekend. We had a great weekend. Lots of relaxation and boating. I had a little bit of an issue while on the boat on Sunday with some contractions but nothing major. My acid reflux continued to be a problem (no surprise) and my blood pressure was 140/100 so a bit elevated but I wasn't too worried because I had an appointment on Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday was my first official day off work and I was a disaster. Blame it on the hormones but I got into a major funk. I decided to put together an online album of my ultrasound pics mixed in with my weekly posts and pretty much flipped out when I couldn't find any of the ultrasound pics (and still can't). I went to my doctor's appointment a little frazzled. I blame it on the combination of heat and hormones. At the doctor, my urine test came back negative for any protein, further ruling out preeclampsia, but my blood pressure was super high (150/100). I was also 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. I was instructed to go get my hospital bag and check in with labor and delivery.

Luckily, in the past few days my blood pressure has gone from 150/100 down to 112/60 (while I was sleeping) and has been in between all other times.



Pregnancy Highlights:

Today's Date: Thursday, May 31st, 2012

How Far Along: 33 weeks 1 day

Pregnancy Countdown: who knows at this point!

Size of babies: A Durian (what is that?) The babies weigh between 4.2 to 5.8lbs (I'll get more exact measurements at tomorrow's ultrasound) and should be between 17.2 and 18.7 inches long. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: According to the doctor's scale I'm up 40 lbs. I'm just still hoping it is mainly fluid because I just don't see how I could have eaten that much!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all the time. I wore two non maternity (but still tankini) bathing suits at the lake this weekend and was definitely rocking the beer gut hanging out. At least it was just family!

Gender: Girl- Emma Cate and Boy- Holden.

Movement: Since I've been in the hospital, Holden has been my squirmer! I still can't really feel him all that well but the every 8 hour monitoring shows him moving all over the place.

Sleep: Continues to be rough but I'm enjoying my time at the hospital. I am waking up around 2 with acid reflux and supplementing my prilosec with Maalox. Last night I had MAJOR pain in my tummy and some demerol helped eradicate it and let me sleep peacefully until 10am!

What I miss: feeling normal, being able to do things for myself

Cravings: The list so far of things I've craved the most this pregnancy: Icees, Mac & Cheese, Chocolate Ice Cream, Rusty's baked potatoes, and Coke, baked goods, and popcorn.

Symptoms: braxton hicks, acid reflux, getting incredibly hot, cramping, extreme pressure when I stand up or walk, stretch marks, itchy skin on my stomach, gas, feeling like my ribs are going to break from all of the kicking. I've also swollen so bad that my stomach is hanging over and jiggly at the bottom. It used to be really tight everywhere but now I feel like someone that has lost weight but has a lot of skin leftover. I don't know if that makes sense but its the best way I know to describe it.

Best Moment this week: Learning that some of my sweet friends/coworkers donated days to allow me to continue getting paid while on my best rest. And spending time with my family at the lake!

Headed to the lake!

The dock from the house

The gorgeous view!

 
Bo and Jay arrived in the boat!

No more walking for this mama. We peed our pants at Harris Teeter while I drove this car around. It also ran out of batteries about half way through the shopping trip and I would have to remind my mom and sister to come get/pull me when they got too far ahead!

32 weeks 6 days. Just got home from the doctor's office getting ready to head to the hospital and decide to snap a possible final belly pic. 

waiting on Jay to arrive home to drive us to the hospital. This is the mess that has been driving me crazy! I'm hoping it will all be gone/cleaned up when I return home!

proud Daddy, not sure of what is in store for us but ready to go to the hospital at 32 weeks 6 days

one last close up of the giant belly

waiting to get my first round of steroids. Definitely faking that smile!

This was taken as soon as we arrived and I was waiting for the babies to be monitored

First night in the hospital. Jay sleeps really well on the tiny couch! Ha!

Second round of monitoring 12am. Jay snoozed through this one. Emma Cate's monitor is on the left, my contraction monitor is in the middle and Holden's is on the right.

evening entertainment in the form of baby heartbeats

everything is looking good

Hospital Day 2

My blogger and my iPad are not getting along so my 33 week post will have to wait until I get my computer set up tomorrow...

So when we left off yesterday, my blood pressure had gone back up. Around 9pmmy night nurse, Martha, who was an interesting character, brought me my nightly meds cocktail of Prilosec and prenatal vitamin. I was exhausted but wanted to stay up until 12 for my scheduled baby/contraction monitoring. Jay was trying to get some rest and quickly grew annoyed with my requests to get me things. He finally was out for the night around 11:30 only to be woken up for the monitoring at 12. It took Martha awhile to get me all hooked up and she brought in another night nurse, Ashley, who I remember from last time I was here who is super nice and friendly. The babies looked great and I only had 2 or 3 contractions. Nothing major. Ashley gave me an ambien and some muscle relaxer to get the blood flowing to my uterus to try and calm the contractions.

I fell asleep around 1 but was woken up twice during the night with acid reflux. I finally called for Malox at 2:30 and that did the trick! I was woken up a few times during the night for my vitals check but I was so groggy I barely remember. I know on one Of them my bp got really low like 116/68. I woke up around 9am to have another round of monitoring. Babies looked great and no contractions. I fell back asleep until noon when Jay got here. I think I had another round of monitoring then too. Every time they've done the monitoring, everything has been perfect so they are all running together. I also saw dr wicker today (thankful that both my obs have been on call) and he wants to keep me here longer for observation so I may go home tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday. He said that I definitely won't make it to 38 weeks but well try our hardest to get close! He also diagnosed me with gestational hypertension which is basically pregnancy induced high blood pressure. He doesn't see a need for blood pressure medication at this time.

Later in the afternoon, jay and I worked hard at getting my short term disability claims filed. Now that I'm out on bedrest, I have to file short term disability for the bed rest plus the kidney stones on one claim and the will have to file another claim once the babies arrive. My work doesn't offer any time of maternity leave beyond the 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA and I am out of sick days so these claims will really come in handy!

On another note, Jay informed me that several of my coworkers got together and each donated a day to me so that I wouldn't have to take an unpaid days before the babies arrived. This made me burst into tears and is just the sweetest most supportive thing. I am beyond thankful.

Back to the hospital. The remainder of the day was pretty quiet with great blood pressure readings all around 130/80. I was able to take a nice long shower and dry my hair. I'm taking advantage of every opportunity to dry my hair never knowing when I'll be stuck on strict bed rest! I got to enjoy a quick visit with my mom and sister beforenthe headed out to continue moving her in. It was so nice to have someone to talk to for just a few minutes. Im not one if those people that could endure hour long hospital visits :) my introvert has decided to emerge!

Jay and I got into a little spat later in the afternoon. I'm so stressed about everything that needs to be done at the house, especially the picking up of little things and organizing. The stuff i normally take care of in y little ocd way. I think I am nesting from afar and freaking out that I can't be home to do things thus turning me into a very bossy and demanding person. I in turn stress Jay out. When I'm stressed, my adrenaline rushes and I go into overdrive. Jay doesn't respond the same way and just sort of shuts down. He got so overwhelmed that ended up leaving before it was time for my evening steroid shot. I was pretty upset he wasn't here for it but I manned up and it wasn't too bad. My mom headed over to our house to help him get started and pretty soon all of the picking up was almost done (or so I'm told). Jays just going to work on a few more random things and I think my mother in law is coming this weekend to help clean our house and I'm so thankful for all the help from our parents.

It's probably not a shock that after my little stressful incident, my blood pressure went back up (147/97). I really need to work on being calm. My right foot also started swelling and they are going to put me in these cuffs that help move the fluid in my legs. My job tonight is to relax and take it easy! My new nurse is super sweet and it should be a good night :) I'm not minding the hospital because I'm forced to do nothing. I worry that if I were at home I'd have a strong urge to get things done around the house but these babies are so much more important than the state of our home. Things I'm loving about being here include the best care from a sweet group of nurses, the medical attention and knowing that if things take a turn I've got everything I need here, the "turd" ice (soo yummy), and the meal delivery (so nice not worrying about what to cook. I'm majorly missing my pups and asked Jay to sneak Boomer in tonight (soph is still at the breeder's house with her pups). Will update again tomorrow!

Back in the hospital

Please excuse any typos. I'm blogging from my phone.

I had somewhat of a stressful morning for it being my first day off work. I got it in my head that i really wanted to put together a photo album of all my pregnancy pictures and uultrasounds thus far. I couldn't (and still can't) find the clear plastics envelope that contains all of the ultrasound pictures. I freaked a little and went on a mad search. After some tears and a frantic phone call, Jay decided to come home from work to help me look. No luck. I hurried to get ready and headed off to my scheduled Ob appointment. I was so off that I forgot to bring the jug of urine that I had been collecting for the past 24 hours. Thanks mom for dropping that off for me!

At the doctor, my blood pressure was 150/100. I had been having contractions so the dr I was seeing decided to check on my cervix only to find that I was 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. He gave me instructions to head to the hospital and gave me a list of reasons he was sending me.
1) rule out pre term labor
2) rule out preeclampsia
3) get rid of some of the fluid I had been retaining
4) get steroid shots for babies' lung development

I held it together pretty well in the office but I could tell the dr was worried about me. He assured me that even if I delivered today, the babies and I would both be fine. He also told me he thought I could make it to 34 weeks.

I went home to grab my bag and Jay met me there. We (very slowly- hello I might be in labor!) drove to the hospital. We got checked in and the nurse began to monitor the babes. The looked great. Blood pressure, not so much. Ive already forgotten what it was. I wasn't having contractions but rather an irritable uterus. The nurse talked to us about magnesium and other measures they may have to do for the babies. Luckily my primary ob was on call. He spent some time going over everything with us. My high blood pressure has nothing to do with preeclampsia and they've ruled that out. It is simply induced by pregnancy. Which will only cause a problem if it continues to rise and if so, we'd need
To deliver early.

Around 6:30 I was moved to an antepartum room. Around 7pm I got a lovely shot of steroids in my tush to help mature the babies' lungs in case
They would have to deliver soon. When i was first moved to my new room, my blood pressure was 127/76 and i thought i was doing awesome. My last blood pressure was 154/97. The difference was that I was laying down during the first one and sitting up during the latter. So unfortunately, it doesn't look like my blood pressure is going anywhere :( They may start me
On blood pressure meds tonight to see what happens.

Be back later with more updates!

US Weekly

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is reading US weekly. My parents have always had a subscription come to their house and it usually gets passed along between my sisters. Occasionally, if I catch it at the right time, I too get a chance to read this weeks celebrity gossip. I highly enjoyed catching up at the lake this weekend. So much in fact that I commented that I would REALLY like a subscription of my own for my birthday (which isn't until November). Imagine my surprise this morning when I found a living social coupon for a year's subscription for $34. Wooo whooo! I am in no way getting paid to write this, I am just shameless asking that if you are interested in a getting a subscription, you go through the link below. If three people go through the link below, I get mine for free. If you purchase it, you'll also get a link to use so that you can get it for free. Genius. Also, I'm sure the frequency of my posts will increase as I am officially on maternity leave. Have a happy Tuesday!

http://t.livingsocial.com/deals/345348?ref=email-jp&rpi=63132148

Holden and Emerson

Holds- you have been quite the mover today! Jay and I went to see What to Expect When You're Expecting and the loud movie theatre definitely got you going (and maybe the giant coke I drank!). I'm trying to decide if you like loud bass like your mama or if you hate loud noises (also like your mama). I'm just so glad to feel you squirming around in there!

The movie was cute. I cried maybe
6 or so times... Hormones. The biggest shock of the movie came at the Ed when Cameron Diaz had her baby and decided to name her Emerson. Emma Cate- we promise we picked out your name before we saw the movie and sorry if it becomes too popular!

Tonight I started experiencing lots of back pain. It seemed like it was stemming from my right kidney (the one that had the stone and drain). I tried several things to get comfortable and nothing really worked. Around :30 I realized that a "birthing ball" might be the answer. Luckily my mom was still in town and happened to be at target with my sister. She picked one up for me, Jay blew it up and I've been pretty happy ever since! It's also crazy that Holden has been moving a lot more while I've been sitting/bouncing on it. So glad I got one of these!

Hope you had a great Memorial day weekend. I've got an expanded post in the works of our fun family filled lake vacation and I would just like to stop and pause for a moment to thank all members of our military who have fought an are currently fighting for our freedom. Thank you! And if you haven't read pioneer woman today, head over there and leave a quick comment. She is donating one dollar per comment to a military charity.

One on one time

Since moving head down, Holden has been pretty chill especially compared to Emma Cate. Holden rarely moves and his heartbeat is always slower then Emma Cate's. Usually all I ever feel are her crazy squirmy movements. Today I woke up around 4 (after sleeping straight through the night from 11 on! No throwing up or choking for the first time in a long time!!!) and couldn't go back to sleep. I did a little reading on my phone and was presently surprised to feel some movement coming from my right side. I think it started with some play time, a few little kicks towards his sister, which of course she answered back with a few of her own. Kicks turned into a round of baby hiccups and finally some snuggle movements as he went back to sleep. I'm really thankful to "get to know" each baby one on one before they arrive. It is so fun interpreting these movements and making guesses about their personalities. As much as I want them to spend 4 more weeks inside my tummy, I am sooooo excited about meeting them :)