No news is good news....

I am happy to report that the babies are still growing inside of me. I have absolutely no big news to report which is good.

As of tomorrow I will be 31 weeks. Yeah!! Of course that also means I have been on bedrest for 11 weeks now!! That is just insane. Today is one of those days where it is much harder to be cooped up inside. It is beautiful outside and I want to go for walks and play with my kids outside. It is much easier when it is cold and snowy outside to not be too jealous.

Next week will be the busy one. I am supposed to start my weekly non-stress tests. I am also supposed to go in for another ultrasound. I still need to schedule both of them. As much as I want to see our babies and how much they weigh I am scared going back there since they tried to admit me last time. My doctor says I can tell them just to check the babies and not me and that my doctor will do that. So that is a relief. Thus I have my 32 week appt. with my doctor next Thursday afternoon and that will be the beginning of weekly appt's and getting checked.
The end is in sight though. My doctors guess is that I will deliver between 32 and 34 weeks. I have been having a lot more contractions but just take terbutaline. I have graduated to the land of back pain and heartburn. I never had those when I was pregnant with Ethan and Lizzie.

So we just keep taking it day by day. Thank you everyone for your concern and thoughts. We will try to keep you up to date but if I am too slow please just bug me.

ultrasound and lizzie updates.

Well yesterday was one of those crazy days medically for us. We are glad today is a new day.

In the morning I went in for an ultrasound. Babies look good and are doing great. Yesterday they weighed 2 lbs 11 oz. and 2 lbs. 1 oz. Fluid looked good too. Then they started checking my cervix and I was 80% effaced and starting to dialate. I wasn't even at a one yet but was starting to dialate. It's bad news when 2 doctors start whispering right in front of you. The Fetal Maternal medicine people were ready to admit me for at least a couple days to monitor me or keep me there on hospital bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy. They were even giving me a gown and everything. Well they called my doctor and he let me go home. I was so grateful!
I went and saw my doctor yesterday afternoon and he said just continue to take it easy. Knowing my history my body might be able to go a little longer. After all with Lizzie at 31 weeks I was dialated to a 3 and 90% effaced and with bedrest was able to keep her in for five more weeks. So as long as I continue to be good I can be home. I am 29 weeks right now.

As for Lizzie, Jim met with the urologist surgeon yesterday afternoon. She has yet another infection and are recommending surgery as soon as possible. They want to try a different procedure where it would just be outpatient. We are trying to figure out timing with possiblity of babies coming soon and then we will get it scheduled.

Like we don't have enough to worry and stress about right now, let's just add a surgery to everything :)

Still on bedrest....

I have been on bedrest for 8 weeks now. I have 50 days or less to go. There is a light starting to form at the end of this bedrest tunnel. Full term would be April 1st but we are just hoping for March sometime. I still have bad days but overall things are going pretty well. I am 28 weeks which we are very excited for.
Babies are doing fine so far and I have another ultrasound scheduled for Feb. 14th. I still go in for my weekly progestrone shot, have every other week appt's with my doctor ( which will be moved up to every week soon), have already gotten the betamethasone shot ( steroid for babies lungs) and should start my weekly non stress tests soon.
The babies are constantly moving. Between two bodies, and 8 arms and legs it feels like they are always having a dance party. There movements have become pretty forceful lately.

I am excited to get off bedrest but know the alternative is going to be able to move around but be utterly exhausted as we attempt to take care of newborns plus Ethan and Lizzie. I am not sure which is better :)
Here is a picture of me at 28 weeks.
I was reading in a twin book the other day and on average twins go through 960 to 1, 440 diapers in their first 8 weeks!!! That is counting about 8 to 12 diapers per baby per day. Crazy!!!!!

Lizzie

Well this is and will be a busy month for Lizzie medically. On Saturday February 9th she got her first pair of glasses. She has had a lazy eye for a little while now and when Jim took her into the eye doctor we found out she is far-sighted in both eyes. It might explain her lazy eye (in that she is straining to see things close up). They are going to watch her for a little while to see how the eye does and if it doesn't get better then I think we are promoted to a patch or eye surgery. I've been trying to get a good picture of her with glasses but right now she is in a phase (I hope) where she thinks the camera is a place to make the funniest faces.

On Tuesday Feb. 12th Lizzie goes in for yet another round of tests up at Primary's to check her urinary reflux issue. If a problem is still there she will need surgery again. Jim and I REALLY do not want to go through that again. We would like to be optimistic but...... He meets with the Urologist on Thursday to go over the results of the tests.

Then later this month she has her 4 year pediatrician appt.

Playhouse

In December we got bunkbeds for Ethan and Lizzie. We moved Lizzie over to Ethan's room and they will share for awhile and we will put the babies together in Lizzie's old room. In 2 or 3 years we will change the arrangement when and if Ethan is ready to have a room in the basement. Anyways, Jim made a huge fort out of the boxes from the bunkbeds. The kids think it is just the coolest thing. They decorated it with markers and crayons. It even has doors and windows too. Just to explain Lizzie's attire, the kids have taken to wearing Jim's t-shirts to bed instead of their pajamas. They even pick his t-shirts over princess and Lightning McQueen pajamas.

Bedrest and pregnancy update

I am being optimistic and will be happy to announce that as of Wednesday January 9th I have made it to 24 weeks along in our pregnancy. It is a good milestone because it is the age of viability. When you are counting every day it's a big deal :) This means the babies have a 50% chance of survival, they would be hospitalized for a very long time and chances of adverse health conditions are very high. But at least they have a chance of surviving.

Our next target goal will be 28 weeks where they have a 90% chance of surviving but would still have to be in NICU for quite awhile.

Next one will be 32 week and then after that hey why not make it to full term for twins which is 36 weeks :) Actually mine and the doctors goal is just to get me to 32 weeks (March- which is only 8 weeks away!!) and anything after that will just be bonus.

My body has actually felt much better since I have been on bedrest which is good.

I don't think I can count how many time people ask me what I do all day and if I am bored. I have already been on bedrest 3 weeks (since Dec. 13th) and it hasn't been too bad. Most of you probably remember I have done this before with Lizzie. I read a lot, catch up on our photo album , do some church indexing, etc. They kids are usually with me from about 3 oclock on (with a family member here of course) every day which is so nice. They are great company and make the time go by fast. Jim has been an incredibly patient, understanding and helpful husband despite all the roles he is try to do right now. We have also been very blessed with a lot of help from family and friends making it so much easier to get through this.

Christmas

Here is our update for Christmas..... We actually had a really nice Christmas. I stationed myself on the couch for most of the day so I could still be on bedrest but actually be there for Christmas morning.

The kids were very cute Christmas morning and thought it was so cool that Santa ate their cookies and the reindeer ate the carrots they left out. I think Lizzie was most excited about the Princess Scooter she got and her Pinkie Pie My Little Pony.

Ethan was really excited to get the Mouse Trap game that he asked Santa for and has already played it more times than should be counted :)