Docs Appt Mar 28, 2008-30 weeks

Protein levels were good today but my blood pressure was up. Instead of my normal 100/70 it was 120/90. She asked me if I had a headache today and I did but I hadn't thought much of it. I just assume it's allergies. She told me to drink more water and I know I need to but it's hard for me to do. I'm not a big drinker and I just don't think about it. I GAINED AL LOT this time! I weighed 124. I seriously think Easter had a lot to do with it. I'm been eating lots of left overs and I ate a lot of food at mom and dads. So I gained 5lbs in 2 weeks! That kinda explains why I feel so big and awkward these last 2 weeks...........because I AM! The nurse said I'm still small and under average. When I think about the nurse telling me to gain 50lbs I realize that I'm all baby and belly weight. My belly top to bottom measured 32 centimeters which she said was good. It's 2-4 more for twins and mine was 2 more than normal. I'm feeling like the babies are putting a ton of pressure on me very low and they are. They said they were low the last time and this time they checked my cervix again. My cervix is still good to go so the babies are just low and getting heavier. At the point the girl is kicking like crazy. She's making up for lost time. Their kicks are getting painful now. His in my ribs aren't as bad as hers are down low. She keeps kicking a nerve that sends pain down my left leg and the weight is causing my left leg to go numb. Sometime she kicks me in my bladder and guts which makes me jumps and hurts. For some reason my left side is tender. When I lay on my side with my legs bent, she seems to get stuck in the crease of my leg. They told me when I had my ultrasounds about how low the babies can be and I'm feeling it now. They are getting stronger for sure! I'm so tired!!!!!!!!! I am up at least every hour and sometimes every 1/2 hour peeing. It's getting harder and harder to get in and out of bed and I'm feeling dizzy mostly at night. I ran into the edge of the door the other night and scared myself. lol I experienced my first leg cramp in my calf. OUCH...........the worst part is not being able to reach it to massage it out. lol I asked the doc is it can make your legs sore for a few days and she said she had that happen too. My calf turned into a ball. The midwife that I saw today complimented me once again on having no stretch marks. It is pretty amazing. I don't want to hold my breath but my skin has done some pretty amazing stretching. I'm debating on getting another massage. My mid back had really been achy but I'm not sure about that experience again. :) I've had swelling in my right ankle mostly but not much considering and the docs said I'm doing really well with not gaining weight and fluid other than my belly.

Almost 30 weeks...

Feeling very huge, tired, out of breath and uncomfortable. lol I'm getting to the point of being embarrassed to go out. People stare, and people that know me get the "YOU'RE HUGE" shocked look on their face. At this point, I really don't wanna hear how big I am.......I certainly FEEL it. I don't want to imagine how much bigger I'm gonna get...it actually scares me. I'm thankful I'm all belly but it certainly makes it hard to hide. :) Two babies are no joke!

Ultrasound 29 weeks

We have good news again! Babies look great. They now are 3lbs each! She looked at my cervix and said it's still in good shape as well! So far the contractions aren't doing anything which is good. She said it's going to be very hard for me to tell when to go to the hospital. She said if I'm at all worried about it go...but I'm going to be having more than 4 an hour at this point. The other great news is at this point if the babies are born they won't have any long lasting health problems from being premature. :) She said the 30 week mark is another milestone that means the babies are likely to do very well if born. They would be in the NICU but the outcomes would be very good. She said if I go into labor anytime after 34 weeks, they won't stop it because the outcomes are even better. She said if I don't go into labor before 38 weeks (YIKES) they would do a c-section then and not allow it to go any further. She said anything past 38 becomes high risk for still birth just like anything beyond 42 weeks with a single baby becomes high risk. She said if I have any symptoms other then contractions to go to the hospital. She also said starting at 32 weeks the doctors with put me on a monitor every 2 weeks to check the stress on the babies and monitor their heart rates. She said I look great and it's a good sign that I'm not gaining any other weight other than my belly, she said that will make things easier for me. She said some women are huge by this time. Nick asked what happens if I get completely miserable, and she said SHE WILL. lol She said I could take tylenol PM to help me sleep at night and it's just something you've gotta get through. As far as the babies positions....they are STILL the same. Boy is very head down, very low and the girl is head up. The doctor said that they are pretty comfortable and most likely will stay in those positions. She said the boy as low as he is won't move but the girl still could although most likely not. She's sitting on his head and his feet were on her head. They are pretty tangled up in there at this point as far as their limbs. It's hard to tell who's arms are who's. I did confirm that it is the boys butt that keeps popping out from under my ribs and sticking out my side. It hurts! When I push it back in he kicks. lol Her head pops out from under my ribs on the other side. I can't imagine them getting bigger. They are going to be poking out everywhere! Not many pictures this time....she took some heart and belly shots of them together but most of the shots are very abstract at this point. The feet and legs are so much bigger and thicker then last time but they move so much it's hard to catch any good shots. We could see them practicing their breathing by their chests inflating with the amniotic fluid. Pretty cool. She still has her hands up at her face and was opening and closing her mouth. He has his head down toward my back so we couldn't see his face at all this time.

The doctor got this shot of the girl. It was so cool because she was blinking her eyes. It's her head sideways and you can see her left eye open in this shot.

Follow up

Good news, yesterday my blood pressure and protein levels were normal. :) My blood pressure has consistently been 110/70. Now we're anxious for the ultrasound tomorrow. :)

Docs Appt Mar 14, 2008 & test results

I went to the doctor for my normal 2 week check up. I was supposed to have the new female doctor but she got backed up and I ended up having another female doc who I hadn't heard of. She was really nice though. Dr Hassinger. I gained another lb since the last visit so I'm now up to 119. I thought that was pretty good being that I was sick. Blood pressure was still good 110/70. It's been that 5 or 6 times in a row she said. The babies heartbeats were good. Boys was 145 and girls was lower than his this time at 142. One thing is I had a little bit of protein in my urine which they want to make sure is not an early sign of Preeclampsia. We certainly don't want that, especially this early on. The doctor said she isn't too worried though because my blood pressure was still good and stable so I just need to go in Monday and have them test urine and blood pressure again. I asked how my diabetes and anemia tests went and she said the diabetes test was good but that I was a little anemic so she's asking me to take additional iron along with a stool softener and to try to eat more red meat. It kinda explains my craving for beets and broccoli salad since both are high in iron. How awesome is it that your body knows this stuff?

I told her about my contractions and told her that I had called the doc on call when I was having them every 10 mins and told her that he said they weren't real contractions unless they hurt regardless if I was pregnant with twins or not. She about had a fit. She said I absolutely should have come into labor hall and had a monitor check them out and I should have been examined. I told her I was frustrated because I was told to call if they were frequent regardless of if they hurt or not and then when I did, I was told it was nothing. She said she would certainly talk to that doctor and make sure they are all on the same page. She said it IS different if you're pregnant with twins and they need to be able to catch preterm labor as soon as possible. She said, even if it is nothing, it's better to come in and make sure. She said if they happens again, if any doctor tells you to wait, just tell them you're going to labor hall to be sure and GO. She asked when I was having the contractions and I told her pretty much whenever I'm on my feet for any length of time and it doesn't have to be long. Yesterday I walked around the house once and the contractions started. I sat down and drank water and they slowed down again. She said I pretty much need to be a couch potato from here on out. It's okay to get up and move around for your circulation but then make sure you sit back down and rest. She said she wanted to check my cervix before going into a weekend to make sure nothing was happening. In 2 secs she told me my cervix is still closed and she thinks its about 2 inches long yet which is good. She said she felt a head that was very low which explains why I feel the need to pee constantly but that it was okay and nothing to be concerned about. The boys head and the girls feet have been low for awhile now. When I get my ultrasound Wednesday, they will take a measurement of my cervix and we'll see how these babies are laying. They are becoming more overlapped now which makes things harder to see.

There is one thing I forgot to mention before that I learned in the breast feeding class. I keep thinking about it because it's amazing. She was talking about how they are trying to encourage skin to skin time before breast feeding. (baby lays bare chest on mom's bare chest) I remember hearing about this from our friends that had the premature baby. She said in the NICU they use this skin to skin technique with the babies to help regulate the babies body temp since premature babies have trouble maintaining their temperature. They use fathers and mothers for bonding experiences. This is the cool part, a mother's body temperature will change in order to regulate the babies temperature. So, if the baby is cold, when put skin to skin the mother's temperature will go above normal to warm the baby. In the same way, when placed skin to skin, if the baby is overheated the mother's temperature will drop below normal to cool her baby. How awesome is that? The NICU especially encourages this skin to skin contact for emotional bonding and for the babies physical needs. The father can't do the same thing but they still encourage the fathers to participate for premature babies for bonding and even the father's normal temperature will help warm the baby. I think to myself......how in the world can you not believe in God with the little miracles our bodies perform? Who else could create such a thing in our own bodies to take care of our babies? It's amazing to me. In the classes the teachers would mention "mother nature" as being the one who creates all these things. "Mother nature" is GOD and they aren't mysteries, they are MIRACLES!

Christmas 07 Picture

I forgot I had this one....poor mariah got cut off. :(

Lots of Contractions

The last two days I've had lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. They seem to really start around dinner time until I go to bed. Last night was a little frustrating. I was told by the high risk doctor at my ultrasound appt to call my doctor if I have four contractions in an hour EVEN if they don't hurt because it could be a sign of preterm labor. I've also read this in my twin books and online as well. I can't say I've exactly listened so far because I easily have four in an hour but by drinking water and laying down I can usually get them to stop or at least slow down. Last night was different. They just kept coming. They didn't hurt but they were consistently 10 mins apart and water and laying down didn't stop them. I waited a few hours to make sure they weren't stopping and I decided to call the doctor on call. It was a doctor from the practice that I haven't had yet. His response was "unless they hurt they aren't real contractions so drink water and lay down". I told him I'd been doing that for the last few hours and they weren't stopping. He said not to worry about it and if they start hurting to call back. I told him what the high risk doctor said about it being a sign of preterm labor and that I was calling because she told me to and he said if you feel like it you can go to labor hall and have them monitor your contractions. It was strange, I was frustrated that I was being told different things again but yet I didn't feel anxious about it. Nick left and went to the Y with Jordan and I told him to keep his phone on but I didn't feel like I really needed to go to the hospital. I'm hoping when I do need to go I get that sense of .....OK THIS IS IT. lol I felt like I was going a little nuts so I looked it up on the twin site I visit and my twin books and sure enough....it says to take frequent contractions that don't hurt seriously. I go to the doctor on Friday to see a new female doctor. I'll see what she says. The contractions became less intense and I fell asleep and I am fine so far today. I just keep praying God gives me that sense of when to take it seriously. I'm sure if I have painful ones, I'll be ready to have them check me out. :)

Worship Music & Morphing Belly

The babies love worship music. Every sunday in church as soon as the drums start, they start kicking. They kick the whole time we're singing and now that they are kicking harder and harder it almost startles me at times. lol

When I'm laying or sitting down I can see arms and legs moving across my belly. Every once in awhile her head will pop out from under my ribs which is really strange looking and it hurts until I can move it back. It's neat to be able to move their feet around with my hands and sometimes they give me a kick back. Nick always tells me to stop pestering them but I love to be able to touch them and have them react to me besides I think they like it. :) I wish I could feel the girls feet easier but she seems to still be breech and her feet don't poke out like his do. I'll be anxious to see how they are laying on the next ultrasound....I'll be 29 weeks next week when we see them again!

Bigger . . .

Baby Care Class & 28 week tests

I debated on whether to go to the Baby Care class since I'd been feeling so bad but I felt like I was good enough and I'm glad I went because it brought my spirits up. I'm not sure if I had the stomach flu or if I was throwing up and sick from nasal drainage. I've never thrown up that much drainage before and once I start throwing up I can't seem to stop until I get all my food up. I went to the doctor today and she told me another medicine to try that's safe when pregnant. I REALLY miss my allergy meds and I realize how much they help me now when I can take full dosages.

The Baby Care class was awesome. The woman teaching it was older woman who was hilarious and she has been a nursery nurse for many years. At the start of the class, the girl beside me started having contractions 2 mins apart so the teacher kindly told her to GO to the hospital. She's not due until April 21st and has already had her contractions stopped several times. Some of the things we learned were the same as the other class. We learned about SIDS again and ways to prevent it. I know before these classes I tended to agree with the opinion that they make a bigger deal out of things now-a-days than they did for our generation and yet somehow we survived. But now that I've met two of the people who work with babies full time at York Hospital and I've changed my mind. The CPR teacher who works in the NICU, as well as this long time nurse made me realize how far things have come. I knew this before but when you think about your own babies being born at a vulnerable state, it makes even more sense. Babies at only 24 weeks are survivable outside the womb now and survival rates of premature babies are WAY up from when we were born. It's amazing what they can do now. Cases of SIDS are way down as well. So whether we're hyper sensitive about baby care now-a-days or not, the facts are LESS babies are dying, more are surviving and these people know what they are talking about. It was interesting to hear the older lady talk about going through the transitions over the years...from laying babies on their bellies to their backs. I know that if our babies are in the NICU we will get LOTS of training on how to care for them before they can come home. She showed us how to give babies a bath, passed around the circumcision tools, watched a video, changed a diaper and swaddled a stuffed animal. I talked to the lady afterwards about cloth diapers and I always get the crazy look when I ask like I'm nuts. But I asked her her opinion. She said they will more likely get diaper rash and she suggests using disposable over night and when you may not be able to change them right away. She said the disposable pull the moisture away from them and it gels so it's not irritating their skin. She also said there is the argument that the water, energy and soap used can equal the cost of the diapers. I'm not sure about that theory but we'll see. She said she doesn't miss cloth at all because the disposable is so much easier and faster. She said the diaper genies may work to hold the cloth until you're ready to do wash but since right now we're planning on using both kinds, I'm not sure how that would work. I will wait and see how things go.

I spent all day at the docs and at the hospital but I wanted to get everything taken care of at once. I had blood drawn for anemia, diabetes and got my RH Negative shot. They forgot to have me drink the stuff for the diabetes test so I asked about it and got it done before I left. The RH Negative shot I'll get at least 2 more times, before and after birth and if there would be any bleeding in the meantime. I keep reminding Nick about it so he remembers if I don't because they seem to forget. It's rare and with seeing different docs all the time it can easily be overlooked.

I go to the docs on the 14th to meet a new doctor and hopefully they will have results of all the tests. Next ultrasound is the 19th!

Baby CPR & The Stomach Flu?

Monday we had a baby CPR class which was really good. i took adult CPR at my work before and it's very much the same only you use 2 fingers on a tiny chest. We practiced and they gave us lots of info. They talked to us about having to retrain our parents with some of the newer research. They talked to us about SIDs and even though they don't know the exact causes why some babies don't arouse themselves to breath, there are ways to reduce the risk. Premies can stop breathing on their own in general so it's especially important for them. Ways to reduce the risk are: 1. Infants must sleep on their backs 2. Don't over-clothe your baby 3. Keep baby from getting sick by making people wash their hands before holding them and keeping everything they come in contact with clean. 4. Baby's crib should have a firm mattress with no quilts, pillows, bumpers or toys. (now that I already have 2 bumpers) When swaddling make sure they are swaddled under the arm pits so the blanket can't get to their face. She said the same thing about sleep positioners, to make sure the cushions are under the arm pits. 5. Don't expose babies to tobacco smoke and 6. Breast feed when possible for their immune systems. We had 2 teachers for the class and the one works in the NICU so it was nice to get the "premie" info from her. When we told her we were having twins she said then most likely she would be seeing us in the future. She was really nice and helpful.

We got info on car seats too. Any car seats older than 6 years shouldn't be used. No after market products should be used such as head rests, harness covers, padding or liners. Never use a seat that's been in a crash. (they even said not to used any used seats but ours we know where it came from) Have base installed by a car seat safety tech. They gave us info on that. The rear center position is safest but with two babies that's a little difficult. Do not use suction cup sun shades only static ones if any. (now that we have them lol) Use only soft toys made of cloth in the car. Dress babies in normal clothes with no bulky clothing and then once they are strapped in cover them with a blanket. She reminded us of how our purse falls off our shoulder when we have a bulky coat on...the same thing happens with their shoulder straps. They want the straps snug against their shoulder. Oh and the car seat shouldn't mover more than an inch. Are we gonna remember all this???

They take the practice dummies and peel their faces off and clorox them. I'm glad too because that night I started feeling sick in my stomach and then at 1:30 began vomiting. Nick and I used the same baby dummy during class, so I hope he doesn't get it. I didn't realize how miserable it would be to have the stomach flu at 27 weeks pregnant with twins. When I throw up the contractions start and the babies aren't happy about it either. They kick and carry on afterward. It was the strangest thing because I could get mild foods like toast down but not liquids. Soon as I'd drink more than a sip, I'd start gagging. I was concerned about getting enough liquids to keep me from having contractions. Ice pops pretty much were the solution. Nick kept telling me to call the doctor and they said as long as I can keep ice pops down and not have more then 4 contractions in an hour I'd be okay. I have had more than 4 but they have always stopped shortly after so I've let it go. Being sick this time and the added aches and throwing up has made me wanna stay home until all these viruses stop going around. I'm so exhausted, dizzy and weak. I'm ready to get over it already, so I can eat and drink again regularly.

Last night it was funny, Nick made me a soft boiled egg and toast to try and I was in bed with the bowl on my belly and the babies started kicking so much that they knocked the glass bowl off my belly. I caught it but it made me realize how strong they are getting. They react to you now too. If I feel a foot I can move it around and I usually get a few kicks back when I press on them. The girls head was sticking out from under my ribs yesterday and that was an odd feeling. It also looks weird to see my stomach morphing into different shapes as they move. lol

Docs Appt Feb 29 2008, Swelling, Massage

Ali & I (27 weeks)

Now I'm going to the doctor every 2 weeks which makes me feel better. :) They checked the babies heartbeats and as usual the girls was a little faster. They measured me and I measure 29 centimeters which she said is in the normal range. Women with single babies usually measure the amount of centimeters equal to the number of weeks pregnant. Twins of course measure more. I had 6 contractions in the car on the way to the docs appt so they wanted to make sure they weren't doing anything. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor for a half an hour and of course the contractions stopped. lol I was to push a button every time they kicked which was constantly between the two of them. We could hear their heart beats and them swishing all over the place in there. Blood pressure was good still as well. And I gained another pound and a half.........now at 118.

I've been swelling in my ankles now. Usually when I'm on them I pay later. For some reason this am my right ankle really aches and is swelled. I woke up that way and it hasn't gone down much yet. My right wrist is throbbing too but it's not swollen, I think it's just carpal tunnel acting up.

We go to a baby CPR class tonight and then a Baby Care class Thursday night. We're almost done with all the classes. :)

I went to get a massage that mom treated me to since the doc recommended it. I won't go into detail about it. lol It really felt good for my sinuses. That night I had ligament pain so I'm not sure if it irritated it or not. After I had the massage I felt like I was going to pass out and the lady made me drink a bottle of water and relax before I left. I felt like that all night then. Even though they don't do deep tissue massage when you're pregnant it still released oxygen into my blood and made me off balance. She did give me some suggestions for sleeping. She said to elevate the bed, get breathing strips, and eat protein before bed. So I'm going to try those things since they are relatively simple and cheap. :)