Day 29

So today is Day 29.... 21 to go to our 32 week goal! We are SO blessed to have friends and family here everyday to help our days go by faster!

Weighing In....

Charlotte's profile.... so sweet!Aubrey's little face.... She looks squished in there! HA!
This morning we had an ultrasound to check on our little girls! The doctor said that everything looked good. The blood flow is good still and we even got a few pictures of them. We are spoiled and have gotten used to the good pictures of them we usually receive at Dr. Krishon's office. The pictures we receive here at the hospital are a little harder to see, but I sure do LOVE to see pictures of Aubrey and Charlotte!

It looks like Charlotte is weighing 2 lbs 14 oz. gaining 6 oz from last week and Aubrey is weighing 2 lbs 5oz gaining 1 oz from last week. I was worried about the weight gain of Aubrey, but our doctor assured me that it is fine. It is hard for me not to compare them, but I guess I better get used to this! These are two different babies that have two different personalities. It is hard for this momma (and daddy) not to worry! We have to keep praying for these little toots! That is what has helped us get this far!

Another day in paradise....

22 days down...... 28 to go until 32 weeks! A lot has been going on this week! One would think that on hospital bed rest a person would have a lot of time. Surprisingly we are always quite busy! We've had a lot of visitors this week and even got a prize for our door! My kind friend Jessica and her mother made this super cute twincesses wreath that we hung up outside! All of the nurses that come in LOVE it as well as I do!
On Tuesday evening, we got to see our little girls! Dr. Kirshon did an ultrasound to check on them (27w4d). We could see that the cords were still tangled, but the blood flow was great and that is what matters! Our little ladies are getting SO big! Aubrey weighed 2lb 4oz gaining 4oz from the previous week and Charlotte weighed 2lb 8oz gaining 14oz! So happy that they are doing so good.
I am getting used to this diabetic diet..... They gave me an extra 200 calories a day (Thank goodness) and I have gotten one extra starch during dinner. That makes me super excited! Nothing worse then getting cut off by the food service when I am ordering my food because I have "run out" of starches! I am not going to lie....there are times that I am starving BUT it is getting easier to figure out what I can eat and making the most of it!
We got to meet with one of the Neonatologists that will be taking care of Aubrey and Charlotte yesterday. He was very thorough and explained to us all of the different things that could possibly be a concern for our girls depending on how early they are. Very smart man with good bedside manor! He was very positive and gave us lots of insight on our future to come. We are going to tour the NICU tomorrow to see what is in store for us. Can't wait!
Still going strong here!

Diabetic??

Everyone talks about being tested for gestational diabetes and how gross it is.... I was well prepared to do the test and drink the gunk, but never thought that I would fail it! Little did I know that the odds of developing gestational diabetes are higher when pregnant with multiples.

On Thursday morning, I was woken up at 5:00am to begin the testing for the 1-hr glucose tolerance test. They drew blood, made me drink the nasty, sugary drink, and came back an hour later to take my blood again. My blood sugar levels came back elevated so Dr. Kirshon requested I do the 3-hr glucose tolerance test the following day. I was a little nervous about the possibility of having gestational diabetes, but I have heard from many friends of mine about failing the first test and passing the second. So, I knew there was some hope.....

On Friday morning, I was woken again at 5:00 to begin the testing. They drew blood, made me drink the sugary drink (which was double the concentrate from the previous day....UGH), and then returned many times to draw blood and collect urine samples. They came back at the 30-minute mark, 1-hr, 22-hr, and 3-hr mark. LOTS of needles! All of that sugar on an empty stomach after fasting made me sick. Laying in the bed for the majority of the morning helped the nauseous feeling pass. :)

I had some friends come visit on Friday for lunch and took the opportunity to eat as many french fries as I could, just in case..... It was a good thing I did! After interpreting the results that afternoon, my doctor said that I am borderline. He put me on a 22oo calorie diabetic diet with 4 finger pricks a day to check my blood sugar for the weekend. If all is well, we will reassess on Monday.

It has been interesting not being able to order all of the carbs that I LOVE to eat. I am still able to eat many things and they send me yummy snacks 3 times a day. Just understanding the system of choosing my food from the menu is hard for me. If I could eat french fries, chips, and sour candy all day, I would be perfectly happy! HA!

My finger pricks so far have all been well below where they need to be, so things are looking up. Whatever it takes for these little girls that I love so much already.....

Day 13

Well......so far so good! It is officially day 13 and we are still going strong! We had an ultrasound on Sunday, my 29th birthday, and the girls were doing great! Blood flow was good and their weights were good! Aubrey weighs 2 lbs and Charlotte weighs 1 lb 10oz. Monitoring is going well. Some days the girls cooperate more than others, but my monitoring strips look good! Our days are filled with visitors and it for sure helps pass the time. We have been trying to take pictures of all of our visitors but haven't been so good at it. We remember some days, and others not so much! SORRY if I haven't taken your picture! I'll get you next time.... The plan is to get them printed and hang them up on our autograph wall. I'll have to post pictures of our visitors as we go along! :)

Just another day

Well.... John and I have officially been here a week now! Today is day 8 and I will hit the 26 week mark tomorrow! Believe it or not, we have been occupying our time very easily! We have had so many visitors already and many more want to come..... that is a great thing! Our autograph wall is filling up for sure! Now to get the pictures I took of our visitors developed to hang up in here....


The girls are doing so good! Monitoring has been a different experience every day. With them being so small still, it sometimes proves to be difficult because all of the moving they are doing. I am still monitoring 3 times a day for 30 minutes, but that 30 minutes usually turns into an hour. We usually do monitoring first thing in the morning at 8am, in the afternoon around 4pm, and at night at 10:30pm. By the time we find two different heart beats, make sure they are going to stay there, and get a "good" 30 minute strip, it just takes longer! :) On Monday during my morning monitoring, the girls were not cooperating. The doctor on call ordered me to stay on for 4 hours! My mom and Grandma came that day to visit, so they got to hear their heartbeats for a long time.

One of my dear friends and parent of two former students of mine, had her sweet baby boy yesterday. She had a C-section so she will be here for a couple of days! I have a friend to visit now here! John and I went to see the little one yesterday and he is absolutely precious! He weighed over 7 lbs and he still looked so small to me. Holding him, it hit me that my sweet little girls will not weigh that combined when they are born. Just put things into perspective.....


John and I are so fortunate to have such good people that truly are concerned and rooting for us and these sweet little girls! Thank you for all the prayers, calls and texts, and sweet cards. I am so lucky to have the privileges that I have! I can walk around, go outside, and even do little things like take a shower daily and use the restroom. There are so many women here that are on strict bed rest and can't do those things. It is amazing what you will do for your baby...or babies! :)

Making It Feel Like Home.....

Today we decorated our room to help it feel a little more like home! Jessica came up today and brought me some scrapbooking supplies, poster board, and goodies. We hung up name banners left over from a baby shower and added some ultrasound pictures. We also made "autograph walls" for friends and family to sign. When we have visitors, they can sign and write a message. I'd like to take pictures with my visitors and have them printed every so often to add to the room too. :)

I think we are getting settled in more here. I have been released to walk around and go outside if I'd like when not being monitored. I ventured out today and was outside for about 5 minutes..... WAY too hot out there for me!

The girls are doing great! Their heart rates are very similar during our monitoring sessions and sometimes confusing for the nurses....they are not sure if it is the same baby or not! HA! We are getting used to where the babies like to hide, especially Charlotte, and it is getting easier to find them.

Here's to many more weeks of this......

We Have Arrived

One of our best friends..... for now! :)
Hooked up to the monitor

We have made it here.... it has been a long journey so far and so much more to overcome! We spent our first night at the hospital last night. The first of many for sure! At our appointment with Dr. Kirshon yesterday, everything looked good. Aubrey weighs 1lb 8oz and Charlotte weighs 1lb 5oz. We were able to see the cords tangled on the ultrasound, BUT the blood flow was great! At our appointment, the doctor and his staff got the necessary information and paperwork in order super fast for us and we were on our way across the parking lot to be admitted at the hospital! The whole admitting process was a snap! We went straight to the Antepartum unit and they had me in a room within 5 minutes and hooked up to monitors within 30 minutes!

So far, the nurses and staff here are terrific! Very kind and informative! We began continuously monitoring the babies heart rates. The doctor wanted to start off this way to see how they were doing. With babies that are 25 weeks, they are still so small and move quite a bit! It proved to be a challenge to have both of them on the monitor for long periods of time. I did get a chance to shower though so that was nice!

Around 11:00, the nurse came in with great news! My doctor had made the decision to take me off of continuous monitoring for now! We will be monitoring them 3 times a day though, just not all day and night! This will be a lot less stressful for me and the nurses. It is very stressful watching the monitor and seeing that one of their heartbeats is not being monitored because they are moving. We know that it only because they are moving, but we also know the importance of making sure we are getting accurate readings. The nurses had to come in frequently to get them back on and I had to lay down flat on my back to make sure we could find them..... Needless to say I am relieved now! Although, if I have to.... I have to! Bring it on!

All in all, we are getting settled in here and making my new home, my home! John is such a trooper! I love my husband for all that he is, does for me and for the safety of our girls, and the wonderful father he has already proven he is.