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

24 Weeks and 2 grandma visits...

So life here on the Deaton Ranch has been moving right along....albeit slowly and largely :o)

I'm a couch-potato for all intents and purposes. I get to venture out about once a day, but if I over do it, I'm house-bound for 3-4 days to recover. My sciatic pain in my right leg is bad enough to warrant me wearing a pregnancy support belt (like a girdle) everyday....if I don't, I can't walk or stand or sit for very long.....and if I keep going anyway, I become bedridden, cuz laying down is the only way for the pain to stop.....which is not fun. Just call me the poster child for Slug-girl!

Also, I'm now big enough, that if I lean back too far in a chair or on the couch, I'm like a turtle on it's back.....stuck! :o|

Oh well, all for a good cause....

This month we have been blessed with two separate visits from both sets of our parents.....

First, MommaJo came for a couple of days to help me clean...YAY!!!! It was GREATLY appreciated! E really enjoyed her time with MommaJo! So much so, that on Thursday afternoon when the hubby went to pick her up from school WITHOUT MommaJo, E was very upset about it! :o( But we reassured her, that MommaJo would be back!

While she was in town, we went over to have dinner with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Alan and their gang. MommaJo did not get to attend the House Warming/Decade Birthday Party at their house over Labor Day weekend, so we took advantage of Uncle Alan's cooking, and brought her over to check out the new place. She took some pictures from our visit.

The next week, Memaw and Paw came in for a couple of days to cook and freeze some meals, and to so some sewing projects for me.....YAY!!!! Again, it was GREATLY appreciated! And again, E really enjoyed her time with both of them......Paw is a great 'tickler', and she is a fool for it! The house smelled so good for the three days of cooking! And now the freezer smells good too!!! Unfortunately, we suck and do not have any pictures from that visit....and yes, when the hubby brought home E from school to NO Memaw or Paw, she was very upset.....but we reassured her, they would be back!

Then we went to see the Specialist last Friday, for a follow up ultrasound, to check on the twins. They checked for all the internal organs on both babies. Everything was where it was supposed to be! The Doctor that was operating the ultrasound machine was very nice.....she was looking at Baby Girl's (Baby A's) brain, and she said "look! she has a pretty brain! you can tell her you saw it even Before she was born!" She was a really nice Doctor who obviously loves her job. After she took all the initial photos, the Specialist came in and reviewed them, and then took some of his own. They were 'ooh-ing' and 'ahhh-ing' over the pictures so much, we finally asked what was the big deal....did they get a new machine or something? No....they said the pictures are so clear and pretty because 'I'm not fat'... !!!! ...HA! I thought, good thing you are not ultra-sounding my butt! :oP God love them, I think they called me skinny!! :o)

He also checked on the previa, and it is still right where it was when they first discovered it. He also did a check to see if it has advanced to a definite accreta state, but he did tell us the test is just a visual test..."guestimate" if you will....and that we really won't know until Dr. G goes in to deliver the twins...but we are hopeful that the previa will NOT advance to accreta. We have a couple of profile shots of each baby and one shot of Baby Boy's (Baby B) foot.....don't you just LOVE baby feet!?!?

And then today we went to our regular OB appointment.....heartbeats sound good....moving around good....all the usual 'good' stuff....we go back in two weeks, but we don't have to see the Specialist again, unless Dr. G discovers something 'new' and wants a second pair of eyes.

I'm also attaching a little video we took of E dancing the other night....she LOVES to dance....she loves just about any kind of music as long as it is not TOO loud, and she lets us know when it is.....so far, she is not a fan of thrash metal, but we are totally polluting her with 80's music.....she likes to get her dance on before she goes for her bath....in this video, she is rocking out to Rick Springfield (yes, we went there...)

On another topic, the hubby's cousin, Isabell, and her hubby Charlie, welcomed their twins Ike and Sophie into this world on Monday. Ike's water broke late last week, so they put her in the hospital to monitor the kids and administer some drug therapy for the twins to help with their lung and brain development...they made it until Sunday, which was 32 weeks for her, and then stopped the drugs.....she went into labor on Monday and had them shortly there after.....Ike delivered first, but then Sophie started doing 'toe touches' in-utero and got stuck, so they had to delivered her via c-section. Both babies are in the NICU, but doing fine according to the latest email correspondence from Grandma.

We can't wait to see pictures of Ike and Sophie! That is a hint, by the way...

And we send a hearty Congrats! to Isabell and Charlie!!

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

Weddings & Sonograms

So the Texas Deaton clan drove up to Kansas City for Uncle Bin's wedding this past weekend. The event was held in a really cool old hotel that they have converted to a resort and spa The Elms Resort. They are really big into Truman there! :o)

At any rate, the hubby, E and I drove up to KC on Friday morning. It was a long ride, about 9 hours. E did pretty good, considering. At one point, the only thing she liked was when the hubby would spontaneously roll down the windows in the truck and all manner of stuff would start flying around. She thought that was hysterical! And we in turn, thought she was hysterical! You should try it, driving about 70 mph :o)

We arrived around 7:15pm, and took a pit stop at Bin and Carmen's house so E could get out and play with some cousins before we tried to drive up to the hotel and check in for the weekend. Memaw and Pa were there too, so it was a big fun time for all the little girls! E and Bella played really well together, and the twins (which are a little over one now) are getting so big! They can stand up, but not quite walk yet. I can -finally- tell them apart...if they are together.....if it is just one, I'm batting a 50-50 average....go figure. But they sure are CUTE!!!

So a little after 8pm, we headed up to the hotel with Memaw and Pa following us. Thank God for GPS!!! It was a little squirrely in the dark, but we all made it. E was so tired, but was NOT interested in sleeping on the air mattress we brought for her. She decided that the best place for her to sleep was between the hubby and I....and 'sleep' is being generous! She is a little talking windmill in her sleep...she gets that from the hubby!

After a restless evening, we hooked up with Memaw and Pa, and Tim's family for breakfast....and then went exploring the hotel and property. We located the outdoor hot tub and the indoor heated swimming pool....and the SPA!!!! Memaw and Aunt Courtney opted for mid morning massages....me being just shy of 4 months pregnant, I opted to watch the kids :o)

Saturday was fun playing with the cousins and going through the rehearsal. Then we all caravaned back down to Kansas City for the rehearsal dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. E enjoyed eating her very first soft taco and trying the cheese dip. Pa gave a toast, that I'm sure, Bin could not wait -to end-!!!! But all in all, we really enjoyed meeting Carmen's family. They are a great bunch of folks who also can laugh at themselves as much as we laugh at ourselves.....so we all got along great!

After returning to the hotel, everyone without kids hooked up at the gazebo and sat around and talked and drank and laughed, and some of those with kids hit the indoor pool. As for us, E fell asleep on the car ride from the restaurant, and we took advantage of it, and fell asleep too! We are so 'party poopers'! :o)

Sunday morning we got to watch Bella until picture time, which started at noon. She and E just had a big ole time playing and running around outside. Then it was on to getting everyone dressed and ready for pictures and then the wedding started at 2pm. It was a nice ceremony, filled with funny moments....like when Carmen was doing her "repeat after me part" of her vows and got to the "in richer or poorer" part, she said "in richer or richer" and everyone, including the minister busted out laughing.....she just looked at all of us and smiled and shrugged her shoulders as if to say "what?".....hysterical! Later on, I told Carmen that we all needed a laugh, and Bin piped up and said "hey man, we have already done the poorer part....there is only one way to go from here, and that is UP."

The reception was great. After eating all they could, the kids decided someone just HAD to boogie.....so they took to instigating the dance craze that followed. There are some great pictures of the kids dancing with various people, and one short video of E dancing with her cousin Andrew below.

Eventually we dwindled out of the reception and regrouped later on at the indoor pool. All of us with kids that would be going into cars the next day for the long rides back to our perspective homes decided it was an EXCELLENT idea to wear them out in the pool! It worked :o)

Our ride back home Monday was pretty uneventful and remarkably quiet. Both E and I did a lot of sleeping on the ride home. And everyone was happy to get to sleep in their own beds Monday night :o)


New Topic:
On Thursday, the hubby and I went for our 17 week sonogram and were told we would be having One Boy and One Girl! We are very excited! This sonogram showed them both to be doing pretty good, and growing according to plan. We even got a really funny sonogram picture of Baby Boy with his butt in Baby Girl's face!!!

We also received some bad news. The girl is Baby A, or the one lowest/closest to the 'exit'. I have been diagnosed with a condition called Full or Complete Placenta Previa. It is the girl babies placenta that is causing this issue.

What this means for me is No Lifting of any kind, including picking up E. My life of Leisure just became more leisurely....I will be having ultrasounds every two weeks to see if it moves, and hopefully it will. If it does not, I have just won a door prize of One Scheduled C-Section! We are all just hoping and praying that it does not get worse, and I end up on some kind of bed rest or worse.

If bed rest does occur, the Grandma's are all on alert and have volunteered to come down and help out whenever we need them.

So!

If you are the praying kind, please keep us in mind!

Love to all,
Cherise







Link #1 to Some More Wedding Pictures

Link #2 to Even More Wedding Pictures

Link to Wedding Slide Show

The Monster Came Back....

So, remember the post about the scary monster in E's butt??? Yea, that was funny...well joke's on me.

That monster left her and came over to visit me......rat bastard!

About two weeks ago, I started to not feel well on a Thursday night. It became evident immediately that I had some kind of stomach bug. I was really hoping for a 24 hour bug...but I was not that lucky....by Friday night, I was beginning to think this could be a serious thing. On Saturday morning, I called the doctor's office, and the on call nurse called me in a prescription. She said if I was not any better by Sunday, I would have to go to the ER.

Needless to say, I was not better by Sunday. Funny thing about Sunday....the hubby was supposed to leave to go out of town for 2 days to NY for business. I woke him up around 7am to tell him he could not leave....and that I thought I was dying (drama much?)

We called back to the doctor's office, and they returned my call with the "go directly to the ER" response we were expecting. So we gathered up E and headed to Baylor. I guess we got checked in around 9:30am or so....they immediately hooked me up to an IV to try to put some fluid back into me.

They came in and drew blood, and then changed out my IV to one with 'sugar' in it...per my OB's orders....and everyone reassured us the babies were just fine....evidently I'm a great filter....so they are happily growing, and I'm in hell...that seems fair.

We were in the ER a LONG time....long enough that, thankfully, some of our friends came down to Baylor and picked up E to go and play at their house. Around 4pm, we were moved upstairs to an official room, and told we would be staying there over night, and until my levels 'looked better.'

So up we went....at this point they moved my IV from my right arm to my left (thank God! 'Cuz I'm right handed, and that was an issue). They came in twice and drew blood....again.....I went thru about 7 IV bags in the first 20 hours of being there....pretty miserable....

Sunday night the hubby went home so both he and E could sleep in their own beds....E had school on Monday, and he would not have gotten any sleep staying in the room with me....with all of the 'vital check interruptions' and me going to the bathroom all night (remember....SEVEN bags of IV.....gotta go somewhere).

Needless to say, it was not a very restful night....but the hydration worked....The hubby dropped off E at school Monday morning and then came back down to Baylor to stay with me.....another set of friends picked up E from school and brought her over to their house to play and eat dinner....we have really great friends!

Nurses came in again to draw blood Monday and by 6pm, my doctor came by to say that my levels were good enough to be allowed to go home.....but that I had a virus, therefore, no antibiotics...and that it had to run it's course.....so leaving, but still pretty sick....

Today is Saturday, and today is the first day that I have felt just 'pregnant sick' not 'virus sick.' So 10 days of ICK!

And all along, the babies are just fine.....totally weird.....I was told that while you are pregnant your immune system is suppressed quite a bit, so pregnant women tend to acquire more illnesses while pregnant than when not....so unfair!

But it all will work out in the wash, I'm sure.....we go back to the doctor this week for a Baby Check....that will ease my mind.....yes, yes, I know.....I'm neurotic :o)

Love to all,
Cherise

Week 11 Twins Update:

So we have made it to week 11 with the twins. We went to the doctor today and had another sonogram.

Despite my intense nausea, both babies are doing great! We were able to see arms, and legs, and even fingers on them. While we were having the sono, at one point, both babies looked like they were sucking their thumbs! {Note to self, start saving for braces now...}

Our doctor is great! We are very happy with the attention she is giving us and these babies, starting with -another- sono next week to start some more detailed measurements.

I will also be seeing an additional doctor, as our doctor put it, 'for another set of eyes.' She will be monitoring not only the babies and their independent progress, but me as well, to make sure we can make it as far along as possible. She said that while twins born as early as 24 weeks are viable, they do have lots of problems. So we want to get closer to 32-36 weeks. She also told us that she will want to see us every week starting at 28 weeks, so that will be a change from when I was pregnant with E. I think I got to 32-34 weeks before I had to go in every week....oh well!

So to help ensure we make it to 2009, there will be no traveling or anything energetic after November 1, 2008. We will be celebrating the holidays in Big D this year!

And speaking of big, boy will I be!! ;oP
I'm already pretty big for just 11 weeks, and I've only gained 4 pounds! I'm going to be obnoxiously huge when we are full term. I might even brave posting a picture at that time...we shall see....we shall see....

We hope to find out the sex of the babies around the end of September, so you guys will just have to stay tuned!

Love to all,
Cherise