what’s going on in my neck of the desert

well, it’s been a long time since i last posted. since then i have grown quite a bit in the belly area, but unfortunately do not have any pictures of it. i kept planning on taking another photo, specifically on the day i was 30 weeks. obviously, i didn’t snap that photo, and i regret it because the following day i landed myself in the hospital totally unexpectedly!!

 

here’s what happened:

 

thursday, october 21st (30 weeks + 1 day) i went to my regularly scheduled perinatologist appointment to have an “ffn” (fetal fiber nectin, a test that will tell us if i will go into labor in the next 10 days to 2 weeks),  to check my cervical length (not dilation), and to monitor the boys. totally routine for a twin pregnancy at 30 weeks.

 

as i watched the monitor while they measured the length of my cervix i noticed the numbers on the screen. my heart sank because i knew it was bad! two weeks prior at my previous appointment my cervical length was 3.3 which was fine. they had told me that as long as i am above 2.5 there are no worries, but if the cervix ever shortened to 2.5 they would become concerned that the babies are coming soon.

 

in order to get an accurate number they measure the cervical length several times. as i watched, i saw numbers like 1.7, 1.3, 1.5. so, they called the doctor in to talk with me. he tells me that they are concerned that my cervix has shortened significantly and past the point of concern. they want to monitor my contractions (i hadn’t been having any painful contractions, just braxton hicks type tightening, for months, which is totally normal for me!) and check my cervix for dilation. after that fun exam they told me i was dilated to a 1 and they were sending me directly to the hospital.

 

as i drove myself to the hospital, somewhat shocked, i call my friend who is watching my other children and mitch to break the news to them. the rest of the afternoon and the next day was filled with blood draws and monitoring, iv’s with nasty medicines like magnesium to slow the contraction (which give me major weird hot flashes in my hands and ears and eyeballs) and shots of steroids to mature the boys lungs.

 

they kept me in the hospital for 4 days totally expecting me to have these babies. by sunday, they realized that the contractions were under control, but not stopped. they had taken me off of the magnesium drip and given me a medicine that i could take at home to relax the uterus.  they checked my cervix again and i was still at a 1, no change was good!  so, they sent me home with a prescription and orders for strict bed rest and instructions to only get out of bed to go potty and to shower every other day. they told me to call on monday to my ob to schedule a follow-up appointment for that week.

 

i got all settled at home, had a minor breakdown when i saw the kids and then pulled myself back together and resigned myself to spending the duration of my pregnancy laid up in my bed.  i was extremely good about my sentence instructions. mitch made very sure that i was obedient to the doctors orders.

 

on tuesday, october 26th, 2 days after my release, i went to my follow-up appointment and it happened again.  after checking for dilation my ob sent me back to the hospital!!  in those short 2 days i had dilated from a 1 to 3.5, without any painful contractions!  as i left the office on my way back to the hospital, my doctor said, “don’t schedule an appointment on your way out because i won’t be seeing you in the office again while you’re pregnant!”  i was so bummed!

 

so, it has been 8 days since my second admittance to the hospital.  things are still under control. i am given my “control the contractions” medicine every 6 hours and monitored for contractions and listen to the boys heartbeats twice a day. i am able to get out of bed to go potty and shower every 3 days. i eat hospital food 4 times a day, and lay around in a hospital gown. i watch re-runs, read books, nap, write thank you notes, talk to friends and family, enjoy visitors, skype my kids and husband daily, and miss them every moment they’re not with me.  i’m getting to know the nurses really well and am starting to settle into my new life. and now we just wait…

 

the boys are sounding great on the monitors and growing like crazy.  the doctor said that if i make it to 35 weeks (3 more weeks, the day before thanksgiving) they could send me home to go into labor on my own.  however, they are shocked that i am still pregnant now!  i get the feeling that they think i won’t make it that far!  i don’t know that i share their skepticism and i hope to prove them wrong!  hey, we’ve done it once before when the doctors and midwives said my complete placenta previa with mahea would not move and i would have to have a c-section!  it moved and i didn’t have a c-section.  we have a way of surprising the medical community, so i say “why can’t we do it now?!!”

 

these are the ones i miss every hour of every day:

this picture is hanging on my wall in my hospital room so i can look at them whenever i want or need to!

 

things that i have missed while in the hospital: kale’a’s 7th birthday party, halloween (the girls did come to the hospital dressed in their costumes, though).