Fight for Preemies

November is Prematurity Awareness Month and as many of you know, there are too many premature births that happen every year. Hundreds of thousands of premature births happen every year.

From the day that we found out we were expecting twins, we also unfortunately learned a lot of scary statistics. Personally, we were warned against sharing our news of twins too soon, because often they don't survive the first few weeks of gestation, we also were searching in ultrasounds to make sure that both of our babies had their own individual "sac."

It was hard, because here you are over the moon with excitement, but also having to face reality. There were also many other conversations about premature delivery, NICU stays, birth defects, etc.

I did everything I could to have a healthy pregnancy - I started prenatal vitamins early, I had regular checkups and care during my pregnancy, I ate a healthy diet, exercised, and tried to take care of myself and the babies as best as I could.

Unfortunately, Maddy and Libby were born early ... at 33 weeks and 2 days. We spent a total of 17 days in the NICU (Libby) and 26 days (Maddy). We were very lucky that they were healthy, but just needed to gain weight and learn to eat. As crazy as it sounds for a full-term baby, preemies often don't have the strength to nurse or take a bottle. We met several families whose babies had been in the NICU for several months and who would require extensive care.

I will always be grateful to the March of Dimes and our local Family Support Network ... these organizations provide research and support that we needed. I often think about what would have happened if we didn't have the research and the knowledge that we have now. It's scary and I'm thankful.

Maddy ... all 3 pounds, 2 ounces of her.

Libby, 4 pounds, 9 ounces and on the CPAP in this photo.

Maddy, almost 17 months, checking out the leaves.

Libby, almost 17 months, finding the perfect leaf.

The next day

It was now Saturday and I had an OK night. Some sleep, but I still felt like I was awake every hour, but luckily the racehorse feelings seemed to be gone. A few sporadic contractions, but none close together. I had to take my medication every four hours, so I had finally gotten some better sleep late in the morning and just slept in as long as I could.

I came downstairs and had a little to eat. The bad thing was by this point in my pregnancy, I was always hungry, but I seemed to "fill up" so quickly so it was a bummer when you feel like you can eat as much as you want, but then aren't able!

I had played on the computer for a bit, watched some TV, and talked to a few friends on the phone. Hubby was around to make sure that I had water, the remote, etc. My parents were on a vacation at a NC lake with a lot of my family (I was told NO by my OB about going on that trip), so we had spoken with them briefly. They were planning to drive to see us on Sunday.

Later that afternoon, our friend Chris stopped by to see Hubby and me. After joking with him that it was safe for him to sit on the sofa with me, we all chatted for a while then he and Hubby went out in the yard to inspect the yard or talk about man things or whatever it is that men do.

I was hooked on the Food Network by then and was watching a marathon of Bobby Flay's Throwdown show. This episode in particular. I had already decided that eggplant Parmesan sounded wonderful and that I was going to ask Hubby if he would go to Positano, our favorite Italian restaurant to pick up some takeout for dinner.

As I was contemplating my dinner, I felt a little bit of fluid leaking. Not really a gush, but more than a trickle. I got up to go to the bathroom and thought maybe I had just lost control of my bladder. Isn't that what pregnant women are supposed to do? I went to the bathroom and realized that I had no control of what was coming out. Uh-oh! I was trying to remember the COAT acronym for what to do when your water breaks.

It seemed to stop, so I had to go upstairs to get cleaned up. I came back down to look for Hubby. He and Chris were no where to be found. Another Uh-oh! I called the nurse and she told me that we should make our way to the hospital. I remember "talking" to Zoe, one of our dogs about "what the heck should I do?" I picked up the phone to call Hubby only to spot his cell phone lying on the coffee table. Uh-oh again!

I went back to the front door and saw Hubby and Chris. Whew. I guess judging from the look on my face, they knew something was up. We had been joking with Chris about being our "coach" in the delivery room since there would be two babies and we had actually been told that we may want to have a 2nd person in the room with us. Chris asked if he could do anything, but we quickly told him no and that we would call him soon.

Hubby and I got upstairs and he helped to calm me down a bit. I threw a few things back into my bag that really wasn't unpacked from our trip earlier this week. Hubby asked if he could shower, I said yes as long as it was quick, we called another friend to check on the dogs for us, and off we went to the hospital.

We were quickly admitted ... it was eerily quiet. I think we were the only people in the waiting room and there really didn't seem to be anyone else in the admitting area. I think I even asked about it, because it was so quiet. We were told that most Doctors didn't schedule c-sections or inductions on Saturday evenings, but what about all of those other women out there having babies?

I met yet another Doctor from my practice who was on call that evening. Dr. G was extremely personable and I liked her immediately. It was determined that my water had broken, that Baby B was still breech, and that since I was now 33 weeks and 2 days, had received two of the steroid injections, it was safer to go ahead and deliver the babies. I was given the option to try for a regular delivery since Baby A was head down, but strongly advised that I may end up with a C-section for Baby B. Since I didn't want to risk pain and suffering to all parts of my body, I opted for the C-section ... plus, it just seemed to be safer to get the babies out.

We still thought we had quite a while to wait, but Dr. G told us that everything would be happening in about an hour. She had one other patient in active labor, but we would have our C-section before or after her delivery. We frantically made a few phone calls to our parents and told them the news. I think we could hear car doors slamming and tires peeling out as soon as we hung up the phones.

The rest happened so fast, it's a bit of a blur. I was about 4 cm dilated by this point and having some pretty big contractions. I'm glad I was able to experience a little bit of labor, just to understand what it was like. I was disappointed that my birth experience was nothing like what I had hoped for, but I was just worried about the safety of our babies and wanted what was best for them.

We had a ton of people in the room with us - our Neonatologist, Dr. R, our OB, Dr. G, a slew of nurses, my wonderful Anesthesiologist who took tons of photos, told me about his twin boys, and was just a true pleasure, plus other staff - respiratory therapists, etc. All pretty much standard for any twin birth.

At 9:48 PM, we were told that we had a baby girl who was extremely pink, very small, and had a good set of lungs! At 9:50 PM, we were told that we had a breech girl. She was slightly bigger, very pink, and took her a little while to cry. Baby A was 3 pounds, 2 ounces and 15 3/4 inches long. Baby B was 4 pounds, 9 ounces and 17 3/4 inches long. Two girls?! We couldn't believe it. I think Hubby muttered something about two weddings so he better start saving money.

Both girls were taken to the NICU and Hubby stayed on the heels of Dr. R like he was told. I went to recovery and laid there in amazement of what had just happened. My head was just swimming trying to take everything in. They told me to rest, but I had this crazy surge of excitement. I didn't feel tired and I just wanted to see my girls.

I was finally wheeled upstairs to the 3rd floor and got to hold my first born baby for the first time. Baby A opened her eyes and I could have stayed with her on my chest all night. Warm, sweet, tiny ... with dark hair and long fingers. We hadn't decided on names, so she was still Baby A when this picture was taken.

We couldn't hold Baby B because she had been hooked up to a C-PAP to help with her airflow. She seemed so much bigger and equally sweet and soft. It was so hard not to be able to hold her close. She had the cutest little toes and feet that I just wanted to grab.

Hubby and I were instantly in love. They have by far been the best thing that has happened to me and I love them more than I could have ever imagined. It is still amazing to me that a year ago they had just arrived into our lives and now we are preparing to celebrate their 1st birthday.

So by now ...

It was Friday and I've been on bed rest only since Tuesday, but at home since Thursday afternoon. I was determined that I could still work from home (and had a Doctor's note to prove it), but when I called to talk to my company I was told that my FMLA was started on Wednesday.

I found this totally unfair since I had no say in the matter whatsoever and honestly, I was apprehensive about having to start my twelve weeks of FMLA. All I could think about was what if my babies aren't born for four more, six more, seven more weeks and I have to go back to work in such a short amount of time after they are here? When I posed my questions, there was no clear answer, so I just had to believe that everything would somehow work out.

I had a nice talk with the 2nd in command at my (former) company and I quickly realized that nothing I did or said was going to change anything. I may or may have not said "f*** it" after I got off the phone and laid back down on the sofa to watch some rerun on Bravo.

On Friday night, I was sore from staying in one position, so Hubby brought home a heating pad which really did offer some relief. I also took a bath because the thought of standing in a shower was a little overwhelming. My belly felt so heavy and it's easy to imagine that a teeny little baby could just slip outta there.

I started having some pretty regular contractions for a while on Friday evening. I called the nurse and I monitored them like she suggested, but they subsided before they got too regular. I had also been switched to a new medicine to stop the contractions that hopefully would help me from feeling like a racehorse.

I was hoping for some sleep that night and also asked Hubby to sleep in the bed. I realize that this sounds strange, but I had become so uncomfortable sleeping in the past few weeks, I knew that I wasn't a fun bed partner. I also had to get up to got to the bathroom several times a night, plus I was sleeping with two pillows under my head, and two to three under legs, propping up the belly, etc. so there wasn't really any room for him. I personally think he was more comfortable by himself anyway!

So I was off to bed with prayers for safe babies to stay put!

And the next several days

Were spent on bedrest in the hospital. I was on monitors 24/7 so I was able to see the heartbeats of Baby A and Baby B ... we didn't know the genders back then, nor had we decided on names.

The monitors also showed contractions which sometimes I could feel and other times not at all. I was lucky to have several visitors (friends from work, and my in-laws) who kept me in magazines and books.

Hubby stayed with me at the hospital, including sleeping on an awful fold out couch. If any of your significant others out there have to do this, have them request an extra egg crate pad ... according to Hubby it made a world of difference. Luckily, I had a laptop and wireless, so I think the majority of my time was spent online, napping on my left side, and eating. Every time I turned around, I was getting a meal or a snack. It's hospital food, but I found out that the sugar cookies were pretty darn good.

I received the second steroid injection for lung development, more meds to keep my contractions at bay, and I also had an IV of fluids to keep me hydrated. Another word of caution, that IV of fluids will make you gain about 7 pounds in three days and you'll go home feeling and looking similar to a beached whale.

I also found out that one of my yoga buddies who was about 28 weeks pregnant with twin boys had been admitted. Since we really couldn't get up and about, we commiserated with each other on the phone.

I was released on Thursday to spend the rest of my pregnancy on bed rest at home, taking Terbulatine to stop contractions. They upped my dose since I would no longer be on monitors and it made me feel like I was on speed. Not that I could get much sleep anyway, but with having to get up to go to the bathroom every hour and feeling my heart race wasn't a very relaxing few days.

So the next few days, I spent a lot of time with Zeus and Zoe, lying on my left side trying to enjoy daytime TV.

It's hard to believe ...

One year ago, I was 32 weeks pregnant and on my way to a Non Stress Test (NST) at the hospital, followed up by a weekly appointment at my OB's office.  

The appointments were first thing in the morning, so Hubby and I drove separately so we could go to work after they were finished.  Hubby was great - he went to the majority of the appointments, especially ones where we were going to have an ultrasound.

The NST went well - they could see both babies and the heartbeats were good and strong.  Baby B was still breech.  After that, we headed over to my OB appointment.

I was excited to have made it to the 32, almost 33 week mark and I was excited to go to my prenatal yoga class that night.  I had a meeting at work, so I was a bit anxious to finish up and head to my office so I could be there in time for the meeting.

I had just started my weekly appointments the week prior, and I was also rotating with different doctors.  We had a new one for us & she was extremely nice.  Dr. A asked me if I had a pelvic exam last week and I said, "Yes.  Everything's fine."  You kind of want to say, "Yep, still closed up tight ... just like a vault." but it's just not appropriate.  Anyway, she examined me and determined that I was 2cm dilated.  Whaaat?  She told us she was going to go look at my chart or some nonsense.  I'm sure my chart was lying on the table in the room and this is when she calls over to the hospital and tell them that she's admitting someone.

So, she comes back in the exam room and her face says it all ... we're heading to the hospital. She told us to go home, pack a bag, grab some lunch, and head over.  I swung by work to tell them what was going on and we went home, called someone to check on the dogs, packed a bag, and nervously ate lunch, and headed to the hospital.

The whole time, you're just kind of wondering what's going to happen ... will I be on bed rest for the duration?  Am I going into labor?  Is everything OK?

I settled in, got hooked up to monitors to monitor the babies and me, started meds to stop contractions (yep, those Braxton Hicks were the real-deal), and received a steroid injection to help lung development.

Looking back, I really thought that I would just be on bed rest for the duration of my pregnancy.  Little did I know that two little babies had other plans for me.

c-ch-ch-changes

Not quite those kind of changes, but it's amazing what 1 day an 1Dr.'s appointment make. We had our weekly non-stress test and exam yesterday. The NST looked great, so we headed over for our exam. We were just chatting before my exam, when she asked if they checked my cervix last week. I replied yes and everything was fine. The Dr. checked to discover I was 2cm. dilated. She checked a few other things in my chart and directed us to have lunch and head to the hospital for further monitoring. After I was hooked up to the monitors, they also discovered that I was having contractions. Who knew? Not me!

So we settled in and they opted to give me steroid injections to help the babies lungs develop, and also gave me meds to stop contractions. So far, so good. No more regular contractions and the babies look great.

It looks like I'll be home tomorrow, but will more than likely be on bed rest at home for the duration. So worth it if we can help these babies stay put a few weeks longer. All I can say is thank goodness for a wonderful hubby who has stayed here non-stop, his lap top, my co-workers for bringing me a stash of magazines, sweet nurses, great in-laws that made the 2 hour drive to check on us, cell phones to stay in touch with family and friends, and let's not forget that lovely pill called Ambien to sleep in a hospital room.

iQuestion

In preparation to "pack my bag", one item that will definitely be included is my beloved little iPod. I already have various songs and mixes that range from "new running mix" and "half" (for the Nashville half marathon), to "slow down" (that has Michael Buble and other slow stuff), but I'm looking for suggestions for my hospital music.

While I really think that some of the half marathon tunes may get me through, I feel like I've listened to them over and over and want some new stuff.

Musically speaking, I tend to gravitate back to the familiar, so my list has a bunch of music from the 80's and 90's and aside from hearing new-ish stuff on the radio, I'm a little bit out of touch. Basically, I like a little bit of everything with the exception of most country music. I know, I know. How does a girl from TN not like country?

One song that I may have to include as a joke is Push It by Salt & Pepa. Hee, hee. So, help a girl out and list some favorite tunes or artists and I'll give them a listen, so I don't end up listening to "push it real good" over and over!

Tick tock, tick tock

Why is it after 3:00 AM and I am wide awake, and have been off and on since 1:00 AM?

Could it be ....

Heartburn? nope, not tonight.

Can't get comfortable and need to rearrange pillows every 5 minutes? no, I actually felt pretty comfortable.

The babies are moving so much that it feels like they may be wrestling? they are moving around quite a bit, but nothing that drastic.

I'm hungry? well, that could always be the case, but I drank some milk and don't feel hungry.

I need to pee? Been there, done that.

Or is it the fact that I feel like my "mind" just won't turn off, plus it could have something to do with the brownie and chocolate sauce that I had for dessert tonight that has me wired from the caffeine in the chocolate? Ding, ding, ding ... we have a winner!

At this point, who the hell really knows? Hubby is snoring soundly, the dogs didn't make a peep when I came downstairs and poured myself a glass of milk and came into the office, I've updated photos on facebook, checked e-mail, watched Elton John on Classic VH1, watched part of an HGTV show, blogged, have debated about trying to read, and most importantly have wondered how the hell am I supposed to get up and go to work in a few hours? I am not a happy camper without sleep.

Ok, thinking about counting sheep and sweet dreams. Heading upstairs to try this again.

P.S. Just for the record, I noticed that the time of this post reads 2:15 AM and I can assure you that it is actually 3:15 AM.

Birth & Baby 101

Well, Hubby and I finally had our "Birth & Baby" class this weekend, AKA, what to do and when, who to call, and how to avoid having social services called to your home.

While I was a little disappointed that the videos weren't circa 1970, there were a few posters showing labor poses with the women dressed in tights and leotards. Hmmm, how does that work?

Three things we did learn ...

1. During Labor, Hubby knows not to stay 2 inches away from my face and ask me how I'm doing. This will result in lots and lots of expletives from me or actual hitting. (One of the guys in the video was up in his wife's face the entire time and it would have driven any normal person insane).

2. There are still "those guys" that have to act like the class clown and ask questions such as "So, is taking the baby on a motorcycle a bad idea" and "So, how bad is alcohol for a baby?" I just really felt sorry for his wife who rolled her eyes at him through 80% of the class.

3. We learned all sorts of terms like "cheerio to a bagel" and what that represents. If you don't know, I'll tell you, but if you think really hard about it you can figure it out. All I can say is bagel=scary and it has nothing to do with breakfast.

Makin' big babies

Yesterday, I had an appointment for an ultrasound, then 2 hours later, I had to go back and see my Doctor. A little nerve-wracking to split up the appointments, but I was out of there in record time. I may need to schedule all of my appointments like this.

Everything is looking great - I'll be 30 weeks on Thursday. How did that happen? Time really seems to have flown.

When our X-ray tech was measuring the babies, I was anticipating 2 1/2 pounds each. That would have given them about a 1 lb. growth spurt since our last appointment, a month ago.

I was shocked when she measured Baby A at 2 pounds and 14 ounces, who ranks in the 50th percentile for weight. Then, came the ringer ... Baby B measured at 3 pounds, 6 ounces, well into the 80th percentile. We were shocked and amazed. Our Doctor was very pleased with the growth of both - typically he sees twins in the 10-20% percentile. Everything looks OK so far with the difference in their weight. They will keep checking it, just to make sure one doesn't grow too rapidly and or take over all of the nutrients!

WOW. Still can't believe I have 6 pounds of baby in there. I think this is always how I felt after a huge mexican dinner!

Fooling myself

I think that my Fresca over ice is just as good as Hubby's Hoegaarden beer with an orange.

Yes-sir-ee-bob, I sure do. And, I'm sure that Fresca will taste just as yummy with a burger and sweet corn here later tonight.

Why does the start of summer remind me of gin & tonics and cold beer? Not nice to do to a 7-month pregnant woman!

The "dreaded" orange drink

Is it bad that I didn't mind the glucose tolerance test drink today? It tasted like a Sunkist or other orange-flavored beverage, plus they served it over little pellet ice, so I was fine with it. Don't know my results yet, so I have abstained from the bag of Starburst jellybeans in the cupboard, just in case.

Now, I start having appointments every week and have also started rotating Doctors. I know this is normal, but I really like my Doctor and am not looking forward to seeing someone new every week. Especially when they ask you questions like, "So are you feeling a lot of good movement from the baby? I mean babies?" Just a little thing, but I'm sure TWINS is scrawled in bold somewhere on my chart. Details, details ...

Tennis ball = pregnant woman's best friend

In my prenatal yoga classes, we always take a tennis ball & rapidly roll our bare foot back and forth on it. It is heaven. I think this would be good for anyone - pregnant or not, after a long day of walking or on their feet. You can also get a good stretch by placing one heel on the tennis ball and pushing down with your weight. Then, alternate your feet. We also use this time to stretch your arms overhead and lean them to the left, then right.

I had been doing this at home on occasion, until I noticed that Zeus & Zoe kept taking the tennis balls as their own toys (because obviously they don't have enough toys of their own). Just doesn't have the same effect when covered in dog slobber. I may just need to stick to this exercise at yoga from now on.

Higher Ed

Over the next two months, Hubby and I will be taking a series of classes to prepare us for for these two new additions to our home often referred to as Baby A and Baby B. First on our list, Infant CPR. I know I was certified several years ago, but if I had to perform it right now, I would probably freeze.

Next month, we have the power weekend class called "Birth & Baby". We've been told this is full of breathing techniques for relaxation, a tour of the delivery wing, c-section information, etc. I'm sure this class also contains some great 1970's footage of some real life births. And did I mention that lunch is included, since we're doing the super duper power weekend?

In the meantime, I'll be taking Breastfeeding I and II. I'm sure Hubby was glad that he was able to opt out of that one.

As I've really been thinking about these classes - does anyone fail? What if we made a D+ or a C-? What can they do? As far as I know, these babies are coming this summer whether I'm ready or not! Somehow I imagine that these classes will make for a few good posts. Hubby is also looking into the Daddy Bootcamp workshop. Not for exercise, but apparently learning the basics of parenting from a Dad's point of view. I'm totally imagining Scott Baio's class on "Scott Baio is 46 & Pregnant."

Whinin'

It's hard to believe that it's almost 24 weeks into this pregnancy and I feel very lucky that I've made it through without a lot of morning sickness or any major scares. For the most part, I've felt really good with the expected days of exhaustion here and there and a few hours of pain in my rib cage due to Baby A (I think) enjoying a good stretch after I eat a meal.

But, can I just whine about something for a minute? Part of the good side of pregnancy is that your hair and nails grow like weeds. However, I have a new crop of baby hair at the front of my hair that will not stay down no matter what. I use product, I use Chi Silk Infusion that typically tames any fly-aways, I've done the "lick the thumb and smooth it down" method, I've even rubbed my hands through my hair after applying hand lotion, but nothing seems to work.

It's been one thing to get used to my growing belly and swollen ankles, and the worry of stretch marks and labor pains, but this? Really? I'll take the new hair, but couldn't it have cropped up somewhere else? Like somewhere other than the top of my head?? I'm gonna go pat my hair down now.