Week 30 and 6 days...

Monday morning, E was standing on the stool at my sink brushing her teeth with the hubby. I was in the bathroom with them changing out of my pj's into my clothes for the day. E turned around to me and this was the exchange:

E: Oh Momma! Your belly is SO beautiful!
ME: Oh Thank You Sweetie! Did you hear that dear? E says my belly is beautiful.
HUBBY: {smiling} Well of course it is!
E: Papa! Look! Momma's belly is Great!
HUBBY: {smirking} Great BIG!!!

So much for my 'special moment' with E... HA!!

So Wednesday is 31 weeks......and we are extremely pleased!

We also saw our OB doctor Monday; she walked in the room and told us that we were 'her good news of the day.' She was very happy to see us still doing well, and having reached 30 weeks. She told us she -really- wanted to see us go another month (get to 34 weeks). Actually, we would not mind that either....the longer they stay in, the better off they will be when they arrive, which means a shorter stay in the hospital for them.

We took measurements and the sonogram indicates that Baby Girl A is measuring 3.7 pounds and Baby Boy B is measuring 3.3 pounds (+/- .5 pounds). I am measuring 36 weeks in gestational size, have gained 31 1/2 pounds and measure 44 inches in circumference; which means I have expanded by 4 inches in 4 weeks! YIKES! When the doctor came up with the 36 week number, she speculated that I might be growing out on the sides instead of just out the front.....now that is depressing....I am going to look like I swallowed large inflatable doughnut before this is all said and done. :-\

The babies have not really moved from their previous positions. Baby Girl A is still on the left side, facing 'out', in the breech position (head up, feet down). Baby Boy B is still on the right side, but is now more on his right side...last week he was facing 'in', more on his stomach....he is still kinda in an "L" shape with his head down and his feet curving over to line up beautifully with his sister's head! :o)

The babies enjoy several rounds of WWF a day....and they can go into the night and wee hours of the morning. It just takes one of them to start moving around to cause the other one to 'respond' with jabs and kicks.

The doctor is very pleased with their movement and amniotic fluid levels. Their heart rates and other internal organs are still looking great. The placenta previa is still in tact, with no indication of bleeding or rupture - SUPER DUPER YAY!!!!

She also told us that she will be 'on call' next week, and that we will be seeing her associate, Dr. W., on Monday. We asked what would happen if we rupture while she is on call....will Dr. W. call her to come in and deliver the twins? Or will Dr. W. deliver the twins? She kinda laughed and said "well, you just never know when a call will come in when you are on call. I might be in the bath tub, or just stepped out for a basketball game, or maybe I just poured a second glass of champagne for myself." She basically went on to tell us that ultimately, her idea is that both her and Dr. W. will be there to deliver the twins, a sort of 'tag-team' event if you will. She said she will bring me a glass of champagne when this is all over.....I asked her to bring the bottle :o) She laughed again, but said sure!

We also discussed the possibility that I may have started dilating. I keep getting the sensation of what I call "a foot falling out" when I stand up. She said, 'well, it could very well be a foot falling down, but because the placenta is blocking the cervix, it is staying in.' Now, if that train of thought does not freak you out just a bit, you need to go back and re-read this paragraph :o\

Bearing that in mind, we are keeping our eye on the week by week progress. We learned that we were a few day off in our counting, and that the weeks start on Wednesdays instead of Saturdays. This means tomorrow marks Week 31 and Christmas Eve marks Week 32. So we are a few days farther along than we had originally estimated. I will take every day that I can get! :o)

Last week we had a Momma Jo visit. E was very happy to see her. Momma Jo brought with her the first Christmas Presents to go under the tree. So now we have started trying to teach E 'Christmas Present Etiquette.' In the previous two Christmas' the presents did not appear until the day before Christmas, and then they were not really noticed. But she definitely noticed the boxes under the tree this time. She wanted to open them immediately. She does not do good with grasping time yet, so to tell her she had to wait 2 weeks to open them just went over her head. We also had to explain that she could not throw them or jump on them either :oP

On Wednesday afternoon, the hubby took the afternoon off and he, Momma Jo and E went to the Dallas Aquarium (way too much walking for me to go). They really enjoyed themselves. I got a full report from E of all the animals she was able to see when they got home. Momma Jo was a little disappointed that E did not want to take her hood off for the majority of the Aquarium visit....interferes with the picture taking :o) I'm attaching some of the photos she managed to snap.

Memaw & Paw arrived yesterday early afternoon. They left AR just in time to avoid all the REALLY bad weather that hit. They will be here with us for the next two weeks, helping us with the last minute arranging and organizing for the twins. I am VERY grateful. I am sure for the next post we will have some Christmas activity pictures to share with all of you.

I guess that is all for now.

Love to all,
Cherise

Week 26 and 2 days...

So uncomfortable does not even BEGIN to describe my current condition. I was curious so I asked the hubby to measure me around 'my equator' (basically the circumference of my girth measured at the belly button): as of today, I'm 40 1/4". WOW!!!!! I never did measure how big around I achieved with E, but Memaw does tell me that she has pictures to prove I was Quite Large....ah, ya gotta love yer ma, no matter what she does! :oP

I have reached that point in our pregnancy where I'm not supposed to do anything....our next goal date is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I'm doing all my best to make sure we make that date and then some.

Well that statement is a little misleading. I actual do very little...period. Mostly due to the fact that I still have pretty severe sciatic pain and am having to wear a pregnancy support belt - like a weird pregnancy girdle of sorts. On top of that, my back hurts from all the weight in the front (see the measurement listed in the first paragraph). And I have been extremely tired....like I spend up to 16 hours a day unconscious...I did not have all of this with my pregnancy with E.

We had our pregnancy glucose test last week, and that came back fine, but turns out, I'm anemic. So back on the Iron Pills I go....and supposedly this will help with some of the extreme fatigue I have been feeling. The Doctor is worried about me having enough blood flow for the delivery, and then the stamina to care for the newborns afterward. Lord knows I can't be sleeping 16 hours a day with twin newborns!!!

We had another ultra sound today, and everything is progressing as they should be. Baby Girl A is measuring 2.3 pounds, and Baby Boy B is measuring 1.9 pounds. They are arranged Horizontally and Stacked....kinda like they are in bunk-beds. Currently, both of their heads are on my left side...so they have not gone into the 'head down position' as of yet...not that it will matter with a c-section. I'm not showing any signs of preterm labor, and the placenta previa HAS NOT MOVED ONE INCH (sigh). So we are still on track for the mandatory c-section.

At our last meeting with Doctor G (last week), the hubby and I asked some more questions about the delivery. I did confirm that the hubby and Memaw can both be in the delivery room with me, just like when E was born.

I did ask what would be the procedure with regard to them if the mandatory hysterectomy comes to fruition (in the event the previa becomes accreta). She informed us that she would probably ask Memaw and the hubby to step out at that point...but my thought is, the babies will be out, so they can follow them while Doctor G finishes up whatever needs to be done. I will also remain conscious (via epidural) as long as 'things don't become dicey.' If dice happens, she will knock me out completely.

We did ask her what are her preliminary plans at this point for our c-section delivery. If things continue to go well, and we get to schedule the c-section ahead of time (versus a preterm labor situation), she will schedule it for a Friday. She said she intends on having my blood typed and crossed and units waiting in the OR before she ever begins to cut. She also said she plans to 'be quick', at which point the hubby asked why. She said she will have no choice but to cut thru the placenta to get to the babies; so she wants to go as fast as she can to get the babies out, and then start to assess what additional steps need to be taken.

She also wants to tie my tubes while in there, because an additional pregnancy after this high risk one will put my life in jeopardy. Enough said! But truthfully, the hubby and I had already decided we were done having kids after this pregnancy...if we had started earlier in our lives we might have more, but I'll be 39 when the twins get here, so we are calling it 'perfect' with the three we will have been blessed with! :o) Besides, as the hubby put it, we are ready to 'start getting on with the process of Raising Kids, and end this business of Having Kids.' Sounds great to me!

We also had another nice visit with Momma Jo last week. E really enjoys her time with all of her grandparents!

E is growing like a weed! She is 2 1/2 years old right now, and boy do we know it on some days! She is just getting us ready for when she will be a teenager, I think :o) Most of the time she is just great. She likes to play 'bat'....which means she holds the bat and you throw the ball so it hits the bat....she is practicing on actually swinging the bat and hitting the ball all on her own, but for now it is just easier to let her swing and you aim for the bat.

She also likes to help out in the kitchen. She is very interested in whatever you are cooking, and likes to help pour stuff and stir stuff....she also will let you know when stuff is boiling, by running up to you and saying "hurry! it's cooking!"

We are practicing with her daily on the concept of 'baby brother and baby sister.' She is catching on, and now calls most of her dolls 'baby brother-sister.' She also insists on having at least TWO around her, which is GREAT, considering there -will- be two around from the beginning! Practice makes perfect!

She has really settled into her school, and has decided 99% of the time, this is where she would like to spend her days....she gets to play with other kids her age and learn cool new stuff....and she sings all these nursery rhymes. Ones that I, frankly, had forgotten about. And of course, you have to ask permission to sing with her, or she will tell you "no, mommy, don't sing!" I don't blame her....Aunt Chantelle is the one who could always sing....definitely not momma! :o)

Love to all,
Cherise

Twins update at 19 weeks 3 days...

After a 24 hour delay to see our OB doctor, we saw Doctor Graham on Wednesday morning...(her office called to ask us to reschedule our Tuesday appointment to Wednesday, due to Dr. Graham being up all night Monday night performing an emergency c-section to deliver twins....talk about Karma!)

We were very relieved to talk to Dr. G. After seeing the specialist, I have to admit, I have been more than a little pent-up over this past weekend. The 24 hour delay just depressed me. But getting to talk with her, and have her answer our questions and concerns, really put us both back on even ground.

She said that she had experience in treating patients with cases just like mine, and being very successful at saving not only baby but mother as well. She also told us that we will not really be able to tell how bad the previa is until she goes in to do the c-section, but we will have a better idea a little farther along in the pregnancy.

She is so funny. She was trying to reassure us and said "it is really hard to say this without sounding like I'm bragging on myself, but before I entered civilian life, I was pretty famous in the military." She went on to tell the following story:

She was an OB doctor in the military (Air Force, I think), and 'in charge' of the OB department for the National Naval Medical Center (where all of the Army, Navy and Air Force personnel are treated...so to speak). She was coming onto her shift to be On Call, and checking in with the Interns and Residents. It was also the 'changing of the guard' time with the Interns...the old class had moved up to Resident status and a new class of Interns was coming on. The old class Interns were telling her what was on board for the day, which included a scheduled c-section. But upon looking at the patients information, she looked at the Intern and told them they were not going anywhere....the patient had a history of c-section births and had an indication of placenta previa. This patient had never seen her before and the Intern had been taking care of her during her pregnancy. She told him, 'you are staying thru to see this one to the end with me.' She rescheduled the c-section to after lunch, to guarantee that the nursing staff was fully awake and on their game. She also ordered 4 units of blood to be hanging before she ever got started. Long story short, it turned out to be the worst possible case scenario of placenta accreta, requiring immediate hysterectomy to save the mother's life; she delivered a healthy baby and did in fact save the mother....but she ended up putting 37 units of blood into her before the surgery was all over. Her heroic efforts quickly spread throughout the military, and an internal email went around basically saying "if you have a high risk OB patient, send them to Graham."

So!

We are in the Best Possible Medical Hands! She has successfully dealt with patients in our exact situation before. [Whew!]

She went on to tell us that the next 4 weeks are important, as they will get us to 24 weeks, which means viability for the babies. But the following 4 weeks, 24-28 are The Most Important....28 weeks will get us past most of the pre-term labor complications with the babies (for us, this will be Thanksgiving)....she ultimately would like to see us go to 37 weeks, as would we, to ensure the babies are good to go from the moment they are born.

She also reassured us that a hysterectomy would be necessary only with the worst case scenario of accreta. And these chances are small in comparison. In most cases, the placenta just detaches once she is in there, so no problem.

She said that she wants to see us every two weeks, but we will not necessarily do a sonogram every time. But if it will make me feel better, we can come in every week!

She did say that as long as I felt up to it, I could make dinner or do little shopping trips, or do a little laundry...the mundane things of life....but no lifting and no long trips.

We did talk about hospitals, and which one to go to in what type of situation. So the hubby and I are all clear on that plan.

Basically, we are back to being mostly calm, but still careful, and just waiting....

We are just looking at the next 4 weeks....and then will move on to the next 4 weeks...and so on, and so on.

So please keep us in your prayers and thoughts!
Love ya,
Cherise

The Specialist Speaks...

So today we met with the Maternal-Fetal Specialist doctor. Both he and his staff were very reassuring and nice.

Shall we start with the good news first? Yes, I think so too.

He confirmed that we are in fact, having one boy and one girl. Both babies are doing great and are measuring right where they should be at 20 weeks. All of their parts and organs and limbs and stuff all look great! So YAY!

Moving on to the not so good news: when he saw the Previa, he stopped and said "WOW! Now -that- is previa. You have -complete- previa, not a moderate or mild case...Complete."

So the bottom lines from this visit are as follows:
(1) Previa babies tend to be smaller on average, but we can't really tell at this point how small she will be, we will just have to watch them and see how the weight thing goes.

(2) There is a chance that the previa will NOT move (due to my previous c-section) and turn into something called Placenta Accreta. Kinda scary sounding...could mean I end up with an ordered 'C-Section' and a side dish of 'Mandatory Hysterectomy' that we were not counting on.

(3) The specialist said that if our OB was anyone -other- than who we are using, he would have to be way more involved in our pregnancy....basically, he said our OB Doctor ROCKS!!! Which we knew....and is why we use her :o)

(4) There is a chance that before we get to the end, I will end up hospitalized. He looked at the hubby and said "You will basically become a Single Parent." We had already wrapped our minds around this possibility, so this was not -new- news for us to consider.

(5) And lastly, I'm not to pick up anything 'heavier than a spoonful of gumbo.' Which by the way, is FINE with me! As long as it is PAW'S GUMBO! :o)

We go back to see our OB on Tuesday of next week, and will see what she has to say about all of the above....and add anything else that we need to be aware of...

If I could drink, I would be.....so all of you out there that CAN drink, please do so and think of me :o)

I'm a little (okay a lot) freaked out by this latest round of info, but I'm glad we have the info. If you are of the praying kind, please keep all of us in your prayers....these next few months will be hard on all of us....E is already kinda taking it on the chin with me not being able to pick her up and play with her like I used too....the hubby is pulling triple duty as employee, hubby and father....

We can definitely use any and all positive thoughts and prayers!

But hey! The Twins Are Doing Great!!! And in 4 more weeks they will be viable, should anything tragic happen, so that is really, really soon.....so we are keeping our chins up - all three of mine :oP

Love to all,
Cherise

Good News!

Well, E has been getting better and better with school. Today when we picked her up, she said "I want to go back to school." Yay! She likes it! So despite the small tearful goodbye in the mornings, which we still have, she really does enjoy her time, and friends and teachers. We are so lucky to have found such a wonderful place to have her attend. E made the hubby a nice "Happy Father's Day" picture, which was laminated, and contained her palm prints. It is Very Nice, and he just loves it!

Also, I've decided NOT to go back to work......
On account of being P R E G N A N T!!!!! We just found out, and are not very far along (like 2 weeks), but we are VERY excited! It took almost 1 year, and WAY TOO MANY drugs, but it finally worked!!! We think the new baby will be born around the same time as E's birthday, late February/early March 2009.

And I know the burning question on all of your minds: How Many Are In There??? Well, we won't find out if we are having more than one until we are at least 8 weeks along, so we will ALL have to be patient. But for now, we are just hoping for a healthy BOY!!! :) But we will take what ever comes along.....and however MANY come along!

More Later!

Love to all!