Saturday, March 15, 2008

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!