1. I had an appointment with Dr. Kates.
2. Scott was running behind so I had to go by myself...at least for awhile.
3. Scott went to the wrong doctor's office...
4. It took a LONG time to get the bio-physical profile done (usually only takes about 10-15 min.)
4. The babies weren't moving very much (or at all for Baby A) so I had to drink lots of Tang.
5. Tang is yucky.
6. I still had to roll from side to side to get her to move.
7. Dr. Kates was concerned so he sent me to the hospital for a non-stress test.
8. You get to lay in a real bed that is comfortable and has a pillow when you have a non-stress test at the hospital!
9. The nurse at the hospital is WAY better at finding heart beats than the nurse at the doctor's office.
10. It took almost an hour to get enough movement from Baby A to make the nurse happy...Baby B was jumping all over the place by this point :) However, she was impressed that I wasn't have ANY contractions at all...apparently by this time usually twin patients are contracting more than I am. And she didn't make me drink any Tang. I'll take it ;)
No worries, though...babies are fine, I am fine...Scott didn't get to work until lunchtime, so I'm sure he's fine-although probably a little stressed :) I get to spend my afternoon napping, so I think I'm definitely in for a great rest of my day! Maybe one of these days I'll get to have an appointment that is uneventful :)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
32 weeks!
Whew! I feel like I'm getting bigger by the minute! 32 weeks is a big milestone, at least according to Dr. Smith...if the babies were born now, they would have to spend some time in the NICU but would definitely be okay! We're hoping to make it 4 more weeks to 36 and get nice, chubby 6 pound babies! All the appointments this week went well--Baby B's varix hasn't grown and there is no sign of a clot, so that is good news. No signs of pre-term labor, and that's great news! Both babies are transverse (laying sideways), for the second week in a row...it's looking more and more like it will have to be a C-section. As long as they're healthy, we don't care!
Here you can see some progress--two car seats and less baby stuff in the living room! Yay!
Here you can see some progress--two car seats and less baby stuff in the living room! Yay!Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Non-stress? Not really!
Today was my first non-stress test. A pretty simple 20 minute test where they put a contraction monitor on your belly, as well as heart rate monitors for each of the babies. I was supposed to press a button when I felt the babies move, and it records their heart rates at that time or something like that. That's how it's supposed to go. What really happened is this:
They were about half an hour late calling me back--I'm used to waiting when I go to the doctor's office, so I wasn't concerned--but when the nurse came and got me she apologized for the wait and explained that they had just had a set of twins that weren't cooperating with the test so it took a little longer. I think it was a sign! Today was not a good day for twins and non-stress tests!
I got in the chair and they laid me back and strapped the contraction monitor on. Right on top of Baby B, actually, but I figure they know what they are doing so I don't say anything. The cute little nurse then proceeds to try to find Baby A's heart beat. She can't. She moves it around and around and is now trying to find ANY heart beat. She can't. I'm not worried, seeing as how the babies are moving and all...she asks me how they are positioned and I tell her exactly where they are. 10 more minutes, still no heart beats. She leaves to go find another nurse. Nurse #2 walks in and takes the monitor...she moves it around and around, still no heart beats. Lots of comments on how much the babies must be moving and how I'm just not far enough along for this to be easy, it should get better the next few weeks, etc. She FINALLY finds Baby A's heart beat, way down low, by pressing the monitor in really REALLY HARD. I'm supposed to hold it there because we lose the heart beat if it isn't pressed in so far. She then starts pressing really hard and moving the second monitor all over to try to get Baby B's heart beat. She finally finds it way over on the left side, and kind of down in the middle.
Let me stop here and explain that there are no babies on the left side of my belly. Baby B is really high and laying sideways, and Baby A is breech, sitting and leaning to the right. So there are no babies over on the left side. But I digress.
They watch these heart beats for a few minutes, and I'm thinking that they must be monitoring Baby A twice, because they sound exactly the same, and the second reading (supposedly Baby B) is really light, and they keep losing it. Lots more comments about how he is just moving too much to find a steady reading. Finally the first nurse decides she is going to take the readout to Dr. Smith and see what he has to say. (Note: I am not supposed to see Dr. Smith today.) She comes back, and sure enough, it's the same heart beat twice. I ask if I can get up for a minute, because I am about to faint from laying on my back so long and having them dig into my stomach. I lay back down, and we start over. Baby A, right away. Baby B, not so much. I AGAIN tell the nurse exactly how high Baby B is...and again, she can't find a heart beat because she is looking low and to the left. After about 10 minutes of this, they decide to go GET Dr. Smith, and have him bring in the ultrasound. It takes him approximately 32 seconds to come in with the machine, find the baby on the ultrasound, and put the heart rate monitor EXACTLY WHERE I HAD BEEN POINTING. He says we have lots of good readings for Baby A, so we can take that monitor off (yay!) and just watch B for 20 minutes. Nurse #2 leaves.
We finally got all the readings, and once they found Baby B's heart beat, it was good and strong and he was doing lots of moving. Dr. Smith came back in a few minutes later just to make sure everything was going okay, so we ended up seeing him I think 3 times when we weren't supposed to see him at all. No wonder the doctors there are always so busy! We also got to talk to the original nurse, who was now the only one in there with us. It was really neat to get to talk with her--she has been through lots of the same infertility problems that we have, and she actually has boy-girl twins herself! They were adopted, and they got them at 10 weeks old. She also has an older son whom they were able to adopt right after he was born--they took him home from the hospital! Her family even attended the same church that we do a few years ago. It was nice and refreshing to realize that the people that work there are real people too. Plus we got lots of good twin tips!
So all in all, everything turned out okay--the babies are healthy, and that's all that really matters. Hopefully next week our 20-minute test won't take 2 1/2 hours!!!
They were about half an hour late calling me back--I'm used to waiting when I go to the doctor's office, so I wasn't concerned--but when the nurse came and got me she apologized for the wait and explained that they had just had a set of twins that weren't cooperating with the test so it took a little longer. I think it was a sign! Today was not a good day for twins and non-stress tests!
I got in the chair and they laid me back and strapped the contraction monitor on. Right on top of Baby B, actually, but I figure they know what they are doing so I don't say anything. The cute little nurse then proceeds to try to find Baby A's heart beat. She can't. She moves it around and around and is now trying to find ANY heart beat. She can't. I'm not worried, seeing as how the babies are moving and all...she asks me how they are positioned and I tell her exactly where they are. 10 more minutes, still no heart beats. She leaves to go find another nurse. Nurse #2 walks in and takes the monitor...she moves it around and around, still no heart beats. Lots of comments on how much the babies must be moving and how I'm just not far enough along for this to be easy, it should get better the next few weeks, etc. She FINALLY finds Baby A's heart beat, way down low, by pressing the monitor in really REALLY HARD. I'm supposed to hold it there because we lose the heart beat if it isn't pressed in so far. She then starts pressing really hard and moving the second monitor all over to try to get Baby B's heart beat. She finally finds it way over on the left side, and kind of down in the middle.
Let me stop here and explain that there are no babies on the left side of my belly. Baby B is really high and laying sideways, and Baby A is breech, sitting and leaning to the right. So there are no babies over on the left side. But I digress.
They watch these heart beats for a few minutes, and I'm thinking that they must be monitoring Baby A twice, because they sound exactly the same, and the second reading (supposedly Baby B) is really light, and they keep losing it. Lots more comments about how he is just moving too much to find a steady reading. Finally the first nurse decides she is going to take the readout to Dr. Smith and see what he has to say. (Note: I am not supposed to see Dr. Smith today.) She comes back, and sure enough, it's the same heart beat twice. I ask if I can get up for a minute, because I am about to faint from laying on my back so long and having them dig into my stomach. I lay back down, and we start over. Baby A, right away. Baby B, not so much. I AGAIN tell the nurse exactly how high Baby B is...and again, she can't find a heart beat because she is looking low and to the left. After about 10 minutes of this, they decide to go GET Dr. Smith, and have him bring in the ultrasound. It takes him approximately 32 seconds to come in with the machine, find the baby on the ultrasound, and put the heart rate monitor EXACTLY WHERE I HAD BEEN POINTING. He says we have lots of good readings for Baby A, so we can take that monitor off (yay!) and just watch B for 20 minutes. Nurse #2 leaves.
We finally got all the readings, and once they found Baby B's heart beat, it was good and strong and he was doing lots of moving. Dr. Smith came back in a few minutes later just to make sure everything was going okay, so we ended up seeing him I think 3 times when we weren't supposed to see him at all. No wonder the doctors there are always so busy! We also got to talk to the original nurse, who was now the only one in there with us. It was really neat to get to talk with her--she has been through lots of the same infertility problems that we have, and she actually has boy-girl twins herself! They were adopted, and they got them at 10 weeks old. She also has an older son whom they were able to adopt right after he was born--they took him home from the hospital! Her family even attended the same church that we do a few years ago. It was nice and refreshing to realize that the people that work there are real people too. Plus we got lots of good twin tips!
So all in all, everything turned out okay--the babies are healthy, and that's all that really matters. Hopefully next week our 20-minute test won't take 2 1/2 hours!!!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Updates...finally!!!
I'm back! We have been so crazy here lately...the basement is almost done, the nursery is almost done, the babies are almost here...it seems like time is flying and there is definitely not enough of it! We've been keeping busy with doctor's appointments and house projects...I'll try to be better about updating more frequently!
This is what I looked like at 30 weeks. This week we had our regular appointment and our ultrasound, and on the ultrasound they found out that Baby B has an umbilical vein varix. This is basically a varicose vein of the umbilical cord--it's herniated a little bit where his cord enters his tummy. It's nothing to be too worried about, but it needs to be watched closely--since the vein is wider there, blood could pool and cause a clot. If this happens, the babies have to be born relatively quickly so the clot doesn't travel into the baby. Dr. Kates told us blood clots are rare--but so is the varix in the first place. We've been moved up to weekly ultrasounds to monitor the progress. This week they measured the babies and Baby A weighs 3 lbs, 6 oz and Baby B weighs 3 lbs, 2 oz! That's 6 1/2 lbs of baby and lots of weeks to go still!
This is what I looked like at 30 weeks. This week we had our regular appointment and our ultrasound, and on the ultrasound they found out that Baby B has an umbilical vein varix. This is basically a varicose vein of the umbilical cord--it's herniated a little bit where his cord enters his tummy. It's nothing to be too worried about, but it needs to be watched closely--since the vein is wider there, blood could pool and cause a clot. If this happens, the babies have to be born relatively quickly so the clot doesn't travel into the baby. Dr. Kates told us blood clots are rare--but so is the varix in the first place. We've been moved up to weekly ultrasounds to monitor the progress. This week they measured the babies and Baby A weighs 3 lbs, 6 oz and Baby B weighs 3 lbs, 2 oz! That's 6 1/2 lbs of baby and lots of weeks to go still!
This was yesterday, at 31 weeks! Look how much bigger I've gotten in just one week! These babies are really growing fast! We had our usual lineup of appointments...Dr. Smith said everything looks great, I don't have any signs of preterm labor or anything so I should hopefully be okay for a few more weeks! He wants to start giving me non-stress tests, so next Tuesday will be my first one. I'm not quite sure how they work, but I'll let you know on Tuesday! He says with the babies being monitored by the NST (non-stress test) at the beginning of the week and ultrasound at the end of the week, we should be able to keep them in there for as long as possible. We went to Dr. Kates in the afternoon, and the varix hasn't gotten any bigger nor has it developed a clot. Yay! It was a day of good news! Next week we start having THREE appointments a week! Whew!
Last Friday we painted the nursery! You can't really see the border, but it has blue, pink, and yellow Hawaiian flowers with little green leaves. The crib sheets are Hawaiian and are bright colors as well, so it should look really cute!
Here is Scott starting to assemble the cribs...it took awhile! Luckily, the second one went much faster than the first! I tried to be helpful but mostly laid on the floor and watched :)
Here are the cribs, all put together! I will post more pictures when the rest of the room gets done. This weekend we have to find a dresser to go in the closet, and then I can get everything washed and put away! I can't wait to have it finished and ready for the babies, whenever they decide to come!
I also have pictures from my baby shower a few weeks ago--as soon as I can figure out how to make a slide show I will put them up. I received the most lovely things and can't wait to use them!!!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Guardian Angel
I have an angel! My sweet angel and her two adorable and oh-so-lovable angel babies made a casserole for us last night and brought it over. It could not have come at a better time--it sure is getting harder for me to get up and do things, and I certainly haven't been making many meals lately!
Lately I've had to get used to others doing for me what I usually do for myself (and others). While I appreciate all the help, I sometimes feel useless. And while it's getting easier to accept the help, it's very difficult for me to ask for it. I didn't expect pregnancy to be so difficult. Not being able to do the simple things, like laundry and cleaning the bathtub, has been a very humbling experience.
Scott has been working really hard on finishing the basement...it's getting close! We have been very lucky with all the help we have been getting--yesterday my dad, Scott's brother Kevin and Scott's dad came over and helped. I spend all of my time upstairs, which gets lonely. The TV and computer don't really talk back :) It was so nice to have my friend stop by, even if it was just for a few minutes.
Thank you, Vicki, for everything. The dinner was DELICIOUS--we gobbled it right up! And it couldn't have come at a better time. I appreciate you so much!
Lately I've had to get used to others doing for me what I usually do for myself (and others). While I appreciate all the help, I sometimes feel useless. And while it's getting easier to accept the help, it's very difficult for me to ask for it. I didn't expect pregnancy to be so difficult. Not being able to do the simple things, like laundry and cleaning the bathtub, has been a very humbling experience.
Scott has been working really hard on finishing the basement...it's getting close! We have been very lucky with all the help we have been getting--yesterday my dad, Scott's brother Kevin and Scott's dad came over and helped. I spend all of my time upstairs, which gets lonely. The TV and computer don't really talk back :) It was so nice to have my friend stop by, even if it was just for a few minutes.
Thank you, Vicki, for everything. The dinner was DELICIOUS--we gobbled it right up! And it couldn't have come at a better time. I appreciate you so much!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Tagged by Julianne!
Answer the following using the first word that pops into your head (and remember, use just ONE word!)
1. Where is your cell phone? couch
2. Your significant other? amazing
3. Your hair? up
4. Your mother? bubbly
5. Your father? quiet
6. Your favorite thing? Scott
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? slurpee :)
9. Your dream/goal? babies!
10. The room you’re in? living
11. Your hobby? sewing
12. Your fear? snakes
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
14. What you’re not? sarcastic
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? nursery
17. Where you grew up? Kennewick
18. The last thing you did? ate
19. What are you wearing? jammies
20. Favorite gadget? microwave
21. Your pets? none
22. Your computer? nice
23. Your mood? cheerful
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? Cadillac
26. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
27. Favorite store? fabric
28. Like someone? husband
29. Your favorite color? pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? yesterday
I tag Vicki, Megan, and Heidi!
1. Where is your cell phone? couch
2. Your significant other? amazing
3. Your hair? up
4. Your mother? bubbly
5. Your father? quiet
6. Your favorite thing? Scott
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? slurpee :)
9. Your dream/goal? babies!
10. The room you’re in? living
11. Your hobby? sewing
12. Your fear? snakes
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here
14. What you’re not? sarcastic
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? nursery
17. Where you grew up? Kennewick
18. The last thing you did? ate
19. What are you wearing? jammies
20. Favorite gadget? microwave
21. Your pets? none
22. Your computer? nice
23. Your mood? cheerful
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? Cadillac
26. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
27. Favorite store? fabric
28. Like someone? husband
29. Your favorite color? pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? yesterday
I tag Vicki, Megan, and Heidi!
Baby Brunch!!!!
We had a great time in Portland last weekend! It was nice and relaxing--we had lunch with Adam and Staci, Angela made us dinner, and of course we had the baby brunch!! It was just lovely--lots of good friends and lots of good food! Always the best combination for a perfect party :) We didn't do much else, just a little shopping--although it's hard to shop when you're not supposed to be on your feet for more than 30 minutes at a time. We managed it though! Here are some pictures from our wonderful brunch. I'll put them up, although I want everyone to know that I am NOT as fat as these pictures make me look :(
Thank you Angela for such a fantastic weekend!!! I love you!!!
Cute baby balloon
Opening presents
Angela, Sara and I
Thank you Angela for such a fantastic weekend!!! I love you!!!
Cute baby balloon 
Adam and Staci
Dave, Sara (hidden :) ) and Scott
Lovely gifts
Ben and Angela, world's best hosts and the cutest engaged people I know :)
Opening presents 
Sara and Dave
yay for cute baby dresses!
Angela, Sara and I
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