In the Hospital to Stay

Don't know how much sense I am making at this point...  went into pre-term labor about 10 p.m. Wednesday night and have been in the hospital since.  I am on a powerful  IV medicine to try and stop the labor and buy some time for the girls to develop.  The doctors do not allow the medicine for long-term use due to side effects to mother.  So they are going to start weaning it probably tomorrow and hope that with other meds and hospital bedrest  I can at least make it to Wednesday (33 weeks).  I am starting to dilate and delivery appears imminent.  We have met with the specialist who will take care of the babies in the NICU and she is confident due to their size (each over 4 lbs.) & health on ultrasounds.  It is still very scary & not what we had hoped for.  Not what you picture in the movies as they will likely be here several weeks following my return home.  We are trying to take one day at a time and so far I have only had one crying spell last night when my pains were unbearable.  Other than that, we are okay.  I am eating some and able to sleep on and off.  I am hooked up to several IVs, bp cuff, cathetar, etc. and have to have blood drawn every 6 hours.  The nurses are wonderful and I have a whole new respect for what my patients go through.  It is SO hard being away from home and being totally helpless. Thanks to Hilary, Libby, Mauree, Ashley, AG, Eddie, mom, dad, Fr. John, and others for their visits and goodies.  So many of you are calling and checking on us that I cannot individually mention.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  Every day they are "baking" is equal to 3 days they would have to spend in the NICU.  We love you all!

Happy 17th Birthday, Corkie!

You have lived a long and happy life, Corkie.  I can't believe I was an 11 year old girl when I picked you out and brought you home.  We have been through a lot together.  Your daddy thinks you are well on your way to age 21 to break the oldest dog in the U.S. record and make us famous on the Today Show. Keep up your daily schedule of lots of beauty sleep, chasing the cat, eating the cat's food, and of course begging for your favorite dog treats.  We love you!

Crazy 8s

I copied off of Jenny's blog...  Feel free to post on your blog, too.

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1.  Meeting my 2 girls and everything that goes with bonding with them, kissing them, rocking them, seeing what they look like and how their personalities are similar or different

2.  Seeing Patrick  holding them BOTH

3.  Introducing them to the whole family and revealing their names

4.  16 weeks off work

5.  Getting back to Jazzercise and working off my pregnancy belly

6.  Summer weather

7.  Having a busy household

8.  I know it will be awhile, but being called "mommy" 

8 things I did yesterday:

1.  Paid off my medical bills, for now at least

2.  Balanced the checkbook

3.  Wrote thank-you notes

4.  Took an afternoon nap

5.  Attended our last labor & delivery class

6.  Opened the windows until the rain hit about 2:00

7.  Read 5 chapters in my new book

8.  Ate A LOT-- I can't get enough lately.  I ate donuts, cereal, grapes, strawberries, ice cream, spinach enchiladas, spaghetti, granola bars,  fruit snacks, just to name a few.

8 things I wish I could do or want to do:
1.  Go do a Jazzercise routine right now!  I feel so unfit and lazy!  I need to dance!

2.  Eat a big club sandwich with a cherry coke (can't have deli meat or caffeine right now).

3.  Go for a walk.  I miss our spring walks this year through the neighborhood.

4.  Get my hair highlighted.  Another one of my pregnancy sacrifices.  I am NOT liking my hair right now.

5.  Be a stay-at-home mom.  I am so nervous about how I am going to juggle all the responsibilities of twins and going back to work.  I don't know how I am going to leave my two miracles at daycare, and I haven't even met them yet.

6.  Get a mini-van.  Doesn't look financially possible right now with daycare for two.

7.  Go swimming.  Not brave enough for a maternity swimsuit.

8.  Fast forward to Week 36 to ensure the babies are healthy and ready to come.

8 shows I watch:
1.  All My Children

2.  Dancing with the Stars

3.  LOST

4.  Desperate Housewives

5.  Amazing Race

6.  48 Hours Murder Mystery

7.  Bachelor/ Bachelorette

8.  Army Wives

8 people to tag:
1.  Laura

2.  Rachel

3.  Libby

4.  Amy

5.  Kristina

6.  Hilary

7.  Melissa

8.  Jennifer

Introducing My New Fate

Well, it seems like my good luck has run out...  I went to the doctor on Thursday and everything was PERFECT... blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, exam, ultrasound, swelling, etc.  My doctor continued to brag saying that I am a real trooper, carrying twins better than she carried one.  She even went so far as to say that I would be a great candidate for a regular delivery (no C-section) based on the position of the babies (less than 30% of twins are delivered traditionally).  I could continue to work with no restrictions.  I was on cloud 9... then I had to go upstairs in the hospital for one hour of monitoring.  A few minutes into the monitoring, highly engrossed in my new novel, the nurse busts in the room... "Are you in pain??"  NO!  WHY?  She informs me I am having contractions.  She positions me to try and stop the contractions.  They inform me the doctor will be paged if the contractions don't stop in 5 minutes...  I AM IN SHOCK at this point but am sure there is a mistake.  The next thing I know, there is my previously happy, optimistic doctor in my room telling me I am in possible pre-term labor at 30 weeks.  She is ordering a shot to stop the contractions and a steroid shot to be given to mature the girls' lungs just in case they come.  My first reaction, "Do I need to call my husband?  This sounds serious."  I am still in total shock, feeling no pain or contractions.  So the doctor says she will be back in an hour.  In the meantime, I call my mom and Patrick who meet me at the hospital.  It was quite an adventure.  It all happened so fast and luckily I didn't have time to actually think of the possibly scary results.  Well the contractions didn't really stop completely but there was no dilation, therefore, it was not considered pre-term labor but could easily be headed down that road.  So I was told bedrest and I had to return to the hospital on Friday for another monitoring and the 2nd round of steroid shot to mature the lungs.  No contractions detected on Friday so I am not sure what my final restrictions are (will find out tomorrow).  Initially I was told strict bedrest, only getting up to go to the bathroom, but am hoping that I can have some sort of modified bedrest.  I am going crazy!  And I feel terrible that Patrick is doing everything... laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, and cleaning.  I feel so useless and the frustrating part is that I feel FINE.  I just have to keep telling myself that these babies have at least 5 more weeks to stay inside and grow and that in the end, this will all be worth it.  I hate being off work and using my maternity leave for this instead of when I will really need it.  But the nurse informed me Friday via phone that 32 weeks at bedrest is the clinic's policy, and I will be 31 on Tuesday so I guess I am just a week off.  Glad we made a good investment on New Year's Day with our new king-sized bed.  I sure don't know how I would still be making it in our queen at this point. Patrick had to lift me out of the bed this morning!!  I swear I grew overnight.  I am beginning to feel like a whale!  We'll keep you posted.

Update on Babies

Here is the only picture I have from my 5 baby showers... still waiting on my camera charger so I can upload more. This is one of my oldest and dearest friends, Susan, who gave me a PERFECT shower on April 18th at her mom's beautiful home.  We had such a great time.  More in a later post. What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been.  I apologize to everyone reading that deserves a thank-you note.  They are slow in coming.  For those of you that are mommies, just remember how much it took to prepare for 1 baby and multiply it by 2!  We are still sorting through and trying to organize everything.  We are overwhelmed by all of your love and generosity.  It is crazy how a big house with lots of empty closets is now busting at the seams, and they aren't even here yet!  I am sorry for not updating everyone on the girls' progress.  I had my fourth "growth and anatomy" ultrasound yesterday at the hospital and everything is great.   The doctor's RN called me herself and said that my doctor was "so pleased" and just couldn't wait to tell me until my appointment Thursday!  The babies are measuring exactly within the same normals.  Baby B is 3 pounds 7 ounces and Baby A 3 pounds 4 ounces, which is in the 98th percentile!  They are both head down and have all the necessary organs, bones, etc. and are even practice breathing which means their lungs are developing.  I am now going to the doctor every week as I am now considered what a normal woman would be at full-term.  When I go on Thursdays I also have to be admitted to the Labor & Delivery floor for an hour long non-stress heart test where the babies' heartrates are checked to ensure they are not in distress.  It is painless but boring!  Not to mention there is no telling what all of this is costing.  (Patrick calls me a frugal Jew as I worry constantly about money!)  Anyway, I guess the cost of ensuring a full-term pregnancy is priceless.  Our goal is still a 36 week minimum which is only 6 weeks from today!!  Of course anything over that is icing on the cake.  I have gained 40 pounds and am still working.  I am starting to really fatigue and swell by the afternoons so am now only working 4-5 hour days but 7 days a week to keep my full-time status... another reason my house is so disorganized and my thank-yous are delayed.  By the time I get home and prop up my feet, watch my soap, and get in a nap--Patrick is home.  But I still prefer this schedule over bedrest. I need to save as many of my days as possible to be home with the babies not killing time in bed.  Well, I am going to run put the meatloaf in the oven.  Tonight is class #4 of our labor and delivery class.  That's another reason we have been so busy--between baptism preparation classes, labor and delivery classes, breastfeeding classes, and childcare classes we feel like we are back in school!  Patrick calls me the star student as I think I am the only one that is actually paying attention and taking notes.  Hey I am going to need all the help I can get!!

Happy 10th Anniversary

Summer 2008

Today is our 10th Dating Anniversary.  We have always celebrated April 29th as a special day but figured we better live it up because our wedding anniversary (July 20th) will undoubtedly be busy this year with two 3 or so week old infants to care for.  So we went to Shogun's Japanese restaurant and Coldstone Creamery tonight.  Sorry no pictures, my camera charger is MIA, which is another reason I am behind on my blogging.  I have had 5 baby showers I promise to catch up on soon...  I can't believe Patrick and I have been an official couple for 10 years!  Our love story is not your typical boy meets girl and falls in love...  We actually met in November 1998; we were 18 years old!  Was I really ever that young? Patrick's dad worked with my stepmother, and they thought it would be a good idea to introduce us.  I didn't want anything to do with it.  But somehow he had met my roommate, Jennifer, at a frat party and was conveniently invited over to our dorm room.  Well, I was NOT trying to make an impression so I was in my typical flannel pajamas by 7:00 p.m. painting my nails propped up in bed.  I might have said Hi or a few words here & there.  Patrick thought I was a complete snob, and I thought he was a dork.  Somehow we kept running into each other on campus and he kept e-mailing me and calling me.  We developed a friendship and had our first real date that February.  Well, that was a disaster as well and we both decided we were better off as friends. So from February on, we were seeing each other often, talking on the phone, e-mailing, going to church together, but NOT dating.  Everything kind of came to fruition on April 29th, 1999 (Dead Day) when we realized we were a couple and could not live without each other.  The "L" word was finally said. That summer we quickly fell in love, and I was dropped that next Christmas (a pre-engagement where the guy gives his girl his fraternity letters).  We dated 2 years and got engaged, another year and we were married.  Patrick is the greatest husband in the world.  He spoils me rotten. He knows when to make me laugh, when to let me cry, and when to let me be.  He is smart (how many people could teach AP Physics?), funny, sensitive, and caring.  He does a million little things that show me he loves me such as cooking me pancakes for breakfast, writing me poetry, leaving me silly voicemails, filling up my gas tank, giving me neck massages--you name it.  He is SO excited to finally be a daddy, and I can't wait to share this next chapter in our lives.  It's funny we both admitted the other night that we were secretly a little bit sad that it wouldn't just be the two of us anymore.  Don't get me wrong, we have wanted children for years, but now that it is a few weeks away, we are a little scared of the unknown and of not spending quality time together.  We are so fortunate to have had these 10 great years of "us" time which have included GREAT vacations and happy everyday memories that I will forever cherish.  I am the luckiest girl in the world.  I am a firm believer in soul mates and am thankful to God every day that I found mine.

It's About Time for the Minivan!

This one's for you Becky...  Becky, my former co-worker, knows how much I have secretly desired to have a mini-van, always jealous of hers.  She believed, even when I didn't, that one day I would have kids (maybe twins like her & her sister) and would finally get my mini-van.  In fact, that was the first thing she said when I told her I was pregnant, "now you can get your minivan!".  So yesterday Patrick & I test-drove and have pretty much decided on the Honda Odyssey, which works out well because my friend, Hilary's husband sells them.  (They have boy/girl twins born in December).  It will be tough since both of our cars are paid for now--adding a car payment along with diapers and daycare but with two carseats, two animal carriers, and all the extras I think it will be a necessity.  We will have many road trips considering two of the three sets of grandparents and all great-grandparents are a good 3 hour trip away.  I went to the doctor Friday for my glucose and anemia tests and a regular check-up.  I am now on a 2 week schedule and still no talk of bedrest which is great.  I am really feeling the pregnancy now... hard to tie my shoes, get out of chairs, very achy in the belly, etc. but well worth it.  There is a little concern that has popped up that I will share... on my last ultrasound Baby A measured a week and a half behind where she should, just on her torso measurement which is something new because they have always measured the same.  So out of caution and since I am considered high-risk, the doctor has referred me to the only high-risk OB clinic in the state, 3 hours away for another ultrasound and consultation to ensure that everything is okay.   Their biggest concern is that one baby is getting more nutrients than the other... not sure how they would fix that but didn't want to go there yet.  Patrick & I have been skeptical since the past ultrasound so we are not worrying too much yet.  The ultrasound tech was very rushed and not as friendly as others in the past.  Instead of taking 3 measurements and averaging them, she only took one. She did comment that the position of Baby A was curled up at that moment and was hard to get an accurate measurement.  So we are confident that everything is okay but are looking forward to the appointment as peace of mind.  We will keep you updated.  Please keep our babies in your prayers that they are growing and healthy.