Four Months

Bryce and Kayla turned four months old on December 17th. Our wedding anniversary was on the same day so my parents kept them for the weekend. Kevin surprised me with a trip to the Center for Animal Research and Education in Bridgeport, Texas. It was an awesome surprise and a nice change from the same ol' same ol' dinner and movie dates we've had in the past.

The twins are doing well. They have been in size one diapers for about two months are still in 0-3 month clothing for the most part. Most 3-6 month outfits are still too long for them. Bryce has some 0-3 month blue jeans that are still way too big for him and they fall off with every kick. We have a dresser with one side for Kayla and the other side for Bryce. One drawer is for 0-3 month, the next is 3-6, and then 6-9 month.

They started sleeping in their own room on December 7th and sleeping 5-6 hours a night. On Christmas Eve and Christmas, they slept throughout the night! They haven't done it since then. Kayla seems to wake up because mom and dad aren't with her and then Bryce wakes up because he's alone. The past couple of nights, we've put them in the co-sleepers in our bed and they were able to sleep a little longer.

Our last doctor visit was on December 20th and Bryce was 23.5 inches long, 11 lbs., 9 oz. and Kayla was 22.75 inches long, 11 lbs., 10 oz. They are both in the 5th percentile, approximately for height and weight. Bryce did pretty well with his shots. He cried for a couple of seconds, saw Daddy and then started smiling. Kayla cried and held her breath for a while. She continued crying until we started walking out with them. The doctor suggested starting them on rice cereal. We tried it a couple of times but neither of them were ready. Everything that I have read said to wait on feeding them cereal until closer to six months.

Milestones for Bryce this month: coos, smiles and giggles, rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy, kicks his feet in an effort to crawl, pushes up on his hands and elbows when on his tummy, puts EVERYTHING in his mouth (even tried sucking on Daddy's nose once), holds his head up even with his body, smiles when Mommy sings, loves baths, loves being held up above us, and grabs toys/pacifiers. He is a happy and laid back baby. He seems to only get mad when he's hungry or wet. He gets bored VERY easily. He has to be moving or doing something constantly.

Milestones for Kayla this month: babbles a lot, smiles and giggles when Mommy says "I love you", loves "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Silent Night", holds head up even with her body, pushes up on elbows and hands when on her tummy, loves to sit up next to Mommy and Daddy or in the Bumbo seat, is fascinated by the lights on tv, loves the swing, watches when Mommy or Daddy walk by her, turns her head towards sounds (vacuum in particular), reaches out to be picked up, could care less about getting baths, points at everything, and sucks on her fingers. She sleeps and fusses a lot when not being held.

We went over to my parents' house for Christmas. The kids had more gifts than I was expecting. I didn't even think about having to open presents for two babies. They got a jumperoo and baby laptops from us. They love the jumperoo, even though they don't reach the floor just yet on the lowest setting. The box we put underneath works great. My grandmother gave them piggy banks and we put some money in there for them. They got a couple of lullaby CDs and a sea turtle night light that they seem to like.

Here are Christmas pictures:

Nearly 4 Months

I know, I know. I haven't been good about updating the blog. In the past month, we've all been sick twice and still are. We took the kids to the hospital for a stomach virus last month and this past Sunday, we took Kayla to the doctor to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. She's been really fussy and stopped up. Luckily, she just has an upper respiratory infection, which should clear up on its own.

Bryce has started rolling over. He has rolled over from back to tummy and tummy to back. Kayla hasn't yet. They're both "talking" a lot, though. We went to Kansas right before Thanksgiving and Kayla discovered the Braums sign. She nearly broke her neck trying to look at it. She loved it. Bryce and Kayla are both holding their heads up pretty well. Bryce seems like he's getting annoyed that he can't move around. They're both eating between four and five ounces. We switched to Similac Sensitive and they're not constipated anymore. Bryce is now pushing himself off the ground with his arms...funny boy. They've been going between five and six hours between feedings at night now. Bryce can usually go a little longer than Kayla. They're still sleeping in the bedroom with me on co-sleepers and Kevin sleeps in the nursery on an air mattress. We'll probably put them in their nursery in the next few days.

Work has been hectic to say the least. There is so much to be done and not enough time. We have been strongly encouraged to get ESL certified before the end of the year. I'm still behind on professional development that I missed out on while I was in the hospital having Bryce and Kayla. I have to get this done before my next days off so I don't get docked those days.

Kevin put up the Christmas tree the weekend of Thanksgiving and I decorated it. We haven't put up Christmas decorations since we've been together. That's all I have for now. I'll try to make time to update more often.

Back to the Grind...

I started back to work on October 13th. I thought it would be harder than it actually was. I was happy to be back. Staying at home with Kayla and Bryce for 18 hours a day had taken its toll after the second week so I needed a break. I love them, of course, but I also need time for myself. Sadly, work is my "me" time. I am happy to be back, though. My mom is keeping them during the day while I am at work and I'll take them to daycare on the days that she can't take them or needs a break, and then my Grandmother takes them on Fridays. I feel very blessed to have family nearby who can help out.

Things at home seem to be getting easier. It has taken a while but we're finally fitting into some sort of routine that works. The babies are still eating about every 3 hours during the day and about every 4 hours at night. I'm learning to multitask and manage my time better. I haven't had to bring anything home to grade, which is nice. All of my extra time at work is devoted to getting grades done, contacting parents, and making assignments so that I don't have to do any of it at home. I have made a "work stays at work" rule this year so that I can enjoy being at home with the kids.

Since I last wrote, the kids had their 2 month checkup. They did great and they had their vaccines, which apparently they weren't so fond of. Kevin took them to the doctor that day since it was on October 18th, only a few days after I started back to work. Part of me is glad that I wasn't there because it tears me up to see them cry. At their 2 month check up, Bryce was at 9 lbs and Kayla was at 8 lbs 11 oz without their diapers. Kevin took them back to the doctor on Friday because they're still constipated. Their weights were up to 9 lbs 12 oz for Bryce and 9 lbs 4 oz for Kayla, with diaper. Kayla has seemed to lag behind Bryce more than she did at first. The doctor told us to stop doing the Karo syrup and start them on 2 oz of apple juice twice a day in between feedings and then he changed their formula to Similac Sensitive. We'll see if it helps. So far, I haven't seen much of a change. I know that I shouldn't, but I do feel guilty and like a bad mother for not being able to breastfeed and give them the nutrients they need to help their stomach. This just kills me knowing that they're going through all of this and I am at the mercy of the doctor. Both of them have been really fussy lately and Bryce will scream at the top of his longs for an hour straight. Kayla spits up a lot. It has been better, though, since we changed the formula. Hopefully things start turning around for them.

Charla

At last we have a smile!

Kayla has smiled before but it was in her sleep. Today, I smiled at her and she smiled back!!! I have waited so long for this. My heart melted when she did that!

Daycare

I will be going back to work on October 13th. My mom is watching them a couple of days a week so I need someone to keep them for the rest of the week. Kevin will most likely watch them on Fridays. For the other part of the week, they will go to daycare. I enrolled the kids in the BISD District Daycare, Site 1 and they had a trial run yesterday while I cleaned house and took a nap. I must be stronger than I thought because I didn't cry. Maybe because the daycare is part of my school district or because everybody that I work with who uses them raves about how good they are. The kids are still so young that they don't totally know what is going on so they don't cry or reach for me when I turn to leave. It is still difficult leaving them with anyone and every second they are away from me, I miss them. Going back to work and being away from them all day everyday will be the hard part. I don't want to miss their important milestones...first smile, laugh, etc.

Milestone since my last post...Bryce rolled over from his tummy to his back on September 25th. He kicks those legs so hard! He and Kayla both are incredibly strong. No wonder it hurt so much when they kicked me while I was pregnant.

Kayla has been a little fussy the past three days. She cries until we pick her up or give her a pacifier. She never did that much before. Luckily, Bryce was the fussy one for a while and he has gotten better which makes me more available for Kayla when she needs me to hold her. Things seem to be settling down a little more here at home. We are figuring out a routine that works for us and I am actually getting some things done around here. Although, they are done in little segments of time, they still get done and that is all that matters. It is still rough not getting more than four to five hours of sleep a night. I am looking forward to the nights when they can sleep more than two or three hours at a time. It will be another month or two before that happens because they were so tiny when they were born.

Kevin has been at a training for work in Richardson yesterday and today so he isn't getting home until 7 or so. I hate that he has to spend three plus hours a day driving, and on very little sleep. I've been trying to let him sleep in as late as possible but still allow me a couple of hours of sleep before he leaves. Luckily, this is the last day to go. Next week should be back to "normal" if we even know what normalcy is anymore.

I have to say...this parenting thing is nothing like I had ever imagined. Your meals, showers, bathroom breaks, and everything else about your daily life revolves around your child/children's schedule. You know you're a parent when you can do all of this and be perfectly content. I never understood this all until now. I would do anything in the world for them. Indeed...it is the hardest, but most rewarding job in the world; one that I would choose again in a heartbeat!

6 Weeks (on 9-28-10)

I can't believe Kayla and Bryce are already six weeks old! It seems like just yesterday Kevin and I were walking into the hospital alone for our cesarean. This has been such a life changing experience for us. Things are crazy most of the time but I wouldn't change it for the world. Both babies are drinking about three ounces every two and a half to three hours. Last Monday Kevin's mom and brother came down from Kansas to visit and help out with the babies. On Monday night, Bryce cried nearly the whole night. I called the doctor and made an appointment. One of the other doctors diagnosed Bryce with reflux and prescribed him Zantac liquid twice a day. Kayla was spitting up a lot too so we took her in a few days later. Our normal doctor gave Kayla some Prevacid to be dissolved in water. They have both been constipated for a couple of weeks, too, so we started giving them Karo syrup in their bottles a couple of times a day. That, along with the reflux medication, seems to be helping.

Kayla and Bryce both lost their umbilical cords within the first two weeks of us being home. Bryce rolled over from his belly to his back on Saturday. Everyone says the babies aren't supposed to sleep on their tummies but that seems to be the only position they prefer, especially Kayla. I will not let them sleep on their tummies without me being awake and watching them though. We got a new play yard this week! Kevin's mom brought it down with her so we're using it out in the living room. Kevin and I are sleeping in shifts now. Otherwise, we don't get much sleep. Right now, Kevin sleeps from about 6 or 7 until midnight or 1 a.m. and I sleep from then until about 6 or 7. It seems to be the only thing that allows us to get a decent amount of rest. The hard part is spending time together and getting things done around the house. When you're by yourself, it takes an hour to feed, burp, and change both of them. If you're able to get them to go directly back to sleep, you have an hour and a half to two hours to do something around the house. It takes hours to watch a one hour tv show because we have to keep pausing it if they start crying (mainly Bryce who screams at the top of his lungs.)

Before we figured out the constipation issue, we had been having a rough week. Bryce and Kayla both were fussy and crying quite a bit. I started taking Reglan to increase my milk production on September 14th. By the 16th, I was jittery, anxious, and starting to feel depressed. I was completely exhausted, too, and I felt like I couldn't hold the babies without dropping them. I called the doctor and they called in an antidepressant and ordered a lot of sleep. I called Amie, my cousin, to take them for the weekend so Kevin and I both could get some sleep. Luckily she was willing to help out and drove the hour to come get them. I thought the sleep would help but it didn't. It seemed to get worse. On the way to pick up Kayla and Bryce, I thought about the Reglan. I wondered if what I was feeling was side effects of the medication. I looked them up on the internet and sure enough, everything I was feeling was indeed a side effect of the medication. I stopped taking the Reglan and the Lexapro (antidepressant) and within 24 hours, I was back to normal!

We had our first professional pictures of the kids done on Friday. They look adorable.

Love,
Charla, Kevin, Kayla, and Bryce

Kayla and Bryce: 2 Weeks!

Kayla and Bryce are two weeks old today. It's hard to believe. They had their check up with Dr. Readinger and both of them exceeded their weight goals! Bryce now weighs 5 lbs. 7 oz. and Kayla weighs 5 lbs. 5 oz. They gained 7 oz. since Thursday and they are now 2 oz. above their birth weights. Bryce's umbilical cord fell off yesterday. Kayla's fell off on the 25th and Bryce's circumcsion ring fell off on the 24th. They had their 2nd newborn screening today. I hate seeing them in pain. Kayla did a little better than Bryce. She stopped crying at the last blood spot. Bryce, on the other hand, cried for a while after he was done. The technician had to prick his heel twice because he wasn't bleeding very well. Poor baby. It broke my heart. His whole heel is now bruised because the tech squeezed so hard. :(

I picked up my FMLA paperwork from Dr. Bradford today and she gave me 8 weeks to heal before going back to work. I know it's less money for us, but it's more time I get to spend with Kayla and Bryce.

Feeding them every 3 hours is exhausting. It seems to bother Kevin a little more than it bothers me. He went to work one day last week and he's planning on going in a few days here and there. This week, he'll go in on Wednesday and Thursday. We're still not sure what we're going to when I return to work but we're looking at options. My mom offered to take them 3-4 days a week and Kevin can take them on Fridays and another day if he needs to. Luckily, the district daycare offers drop ins at $35 a day. It's not cheap, but it is an option if something comes up and my mom or Kevin can't watch them.

Being on bed rest for the last two months of my pregnancy took its toll on us. There are so many things that need to be done around the house. By the time we take care of their needs, we're too exhausted to do anything else. We're even too exhausted to make food or even eat for that matter. I called and asked my mom yesterday if she could come over and help out this week while Kevin was at work. I also asked if she would bring over food. She said yes, thankfully. Hopefully, I will have a chance to straighten up and clean around here a little bit.

I am healing pretty well. I had an enormous amount of swelling in my lower abdomen for the last 3-4 months of pregnancy. To allow for drainage, Dr. Bradford used staples instead of stitches. The staples were removed on Saturday, August 21st, the day before I went home. It didn't hurt near as bad as I thought it would. At least until the staple remover got caught on one of the staples. The nurse had to get another staple remover to remove the one that got stuck. Then, she put steri strips over the incision as a precautionary measure. I peeled those off this previous Saturday, August 28th. The burning in my abdomen isn't as bad as it was at first. I haven't had to take the harder pain medications since I've been home. Ibuprofen 800 mg seems to work just fine, and even those I haven't had in a couple of days. My abdominal muscles are coming back, too! I wasn't allowed to use those for a while. I had to use only my arms to get up out of bed. For the first week, I couldn't roll over on either side so I just basically twirled myself around on my back and oozed myself out of bed. Finally, when I got back home, I was able to lay on my side again.

The swelling in my abdomen and face have gone down considerably. It looks like I lost 10 pounds out of my face alone. As of yesterday, I am officially back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I still have some swelling to lose, but once I lose that, I will end up weighing less than I was when I got pregnant. I still have congestion but I can't take anything because decongestants raise blood pressure. I can't get my allergy shots, either, because I'm taking beta blockers to lower my crazy blood pressure.

The diabetes is completely gone! I was switched to solid foods after two days in the hospital and my blood sugar was checked throughout the day. I wasn't on insulin the entire time I was there but they had to monitor me to make sure I didn't need any. My blood pressure was normal for the first couple of days, too, so we thought that had resolved also. Unfortunately, on Thursday night and Friday, it started creeping back up. That was when Dr. Bradford ordered the blood pressure meds. My blood pressure was in the normal range when I saw Dr. Bradford last Thursday. Hopefully, we can stay this low so she can take me off the meds.

That's all for now,
Charla

First Week Home

The first few days home have been rough to say the least. It has been tough adjusting to the concept of being a mom and a partner in a larger family. This was my opportunity to bond with Kayla and Bryce, and to settle into a routine. As usual, things didn't go as planned. Kevin's mom had been staying at the house since the day they were born. We were butting heads back when I was in the hospital and it progressed when I came home. It has made this transition even more difficult.

On Monday, we were at the pediatrician's office because Bryce had pus coming out of his circumcision site. The doctor said everthing looked fine and he had actually started healing sooner than expected. His plastic ring fell off on Tuesday! On Wednesday, Kevin's mom went to a hotel and Kevin went to work, which left the kids and I alone. Everything went well and I felt like I bonded with them, as I had wanted to. Kayla's umbilical cord fell off! I love them so much. Going back to work is going to be hard. I wish I didn't have to go back. Kevin said he missed them, too, while he was at work.

Today, Thursday, I had another check up with the OB. My blood pressure is staying low and I have a follow up in about two weeks. The kids went to the pedatrician to have a weight check. Bryce is back up to 5 lbs. and Kayla is up to 4 lbs. 14 oz. so they gained 3 oz. since Monday. They are right on track with where the doctor wanted them to be!

That's all for now. I'll post more later.

Birth Day and First Few Days in Hospital

WOW! What a week! Our cesarean was originally planned for Friday, August 20th. On Sunday, August 15th, I noticed that I wasn't urinating as much. I had an appointment with Dr. Howard on Monday so I figured I would just let him know. When I told him about it, he said that I needed to contact my doctor and let her know. His suggestion was to go ahead and deliver them. When I got home, I called Dr. Bradford. She said that her first inclination was to go ahead and deliver them but she wanted to talk to Dr. Howard first. After she called Dr. Howard, she called me back and said to pack my bags because we were delivering at 7:15 on Tuesday morning.

We made it to the hospital at 4:30 a.m. and they attempted to hook me up to the monitors. The nurses had trouble getting the babies on the monitors so they called Dr. Bradford at home. She came up to the hospital and hooked me up to the monitors herself. It took, overall, about an hour and a half to get the monitors to pick up their heartbeats. A nurse anethesist came by the room about half an hour before the surgery and got information from me. At promptly 7:15, the nurses wheeled me into the operating room for surgery. I moved myself onto the cart and I was told to sit on the side and put my legs up on a stool so they could do the spinal block. I leaned on the nurse's shoulders while they gave me a topical anisthetic. There was more discomfort than pain. I was expecting more. It felt like I was having acupuncture because it felt like electricity shooting down my spine and legs.

When she was finished, they had me quickly lay down on my back. I felt nauseated so they gave me some medication to help soothe me. The curtain was put up and the nurses asked what the babies' names were. I said, "Kayla and Bryce". When I looked to my left, I saw Kevin and my mom enter the room. Kevin sat down beside me and grabbed my hand. I was shaking from the medicine. I started feeling nauseated so the nurse gave me more meds. I felt the lifting of my belly as they prepared me. Then they used tape to hold it in place. The nurse next to me let me know when they made the incision. I was so nervous, but excited. It seemed like time flew. The next thing I know, one of the surgical team said, "here's Bryce" and held him up above the curtain. He was screaming and flailing about. I had tears in my eyes and it became hard to breathe. I was so happy. Then I heard everyone in the room say "awwwww". When I asked what happened, the nurse said Bryce had crossed one of his legs over the other.

Only a minute later, at 8:05 a.m., I heard another loud cry. It was Kayla and she wasn't even fully out of the womb yet. I looked up at my mom and saw that her eyes were red. It was nice to know I wasn't the only emotional one in the room. I sent Kevin over to look at the babies to make sure they both were healthy. He came back over and said they looked great. I was relieved. While Kevin and my mom were looking at the babies, I threw up. This was one of my fears but the nurse stuck a suction tube in my mouth to take care of it. My blood pressure had gotten low in the meantime. I was still shaking and my teeth were chattering throughout the whole surgery. It felt like the room was freezing. I had two blankets on my chest but they didn't help. Finally, the doctor closed up the incision and the drape was taken down.

The nurses used a board to move me from the operating table back to my hospital bed. I still couldn't move my legs at this point. Kayla and Bryce were placed in between my legs and we were wheeled back to the labor and delivery room where I started. My dad was waiting in the room. The nurses tested Kayla and Bryce's blood sugar. Bryce's was a little low but not too bad. Kayla's was in the 40's so the nurse had to bottle feed her immediately to get her sugar up. One of the nurses asked if I was able to breastfeed but my teeth were still chattering and I was exhausted so I said no. Over the next couple of hours, I was in and out of sleep. I could still hear some things going on around me at the same time. When I finally woke up, I had stopped shaking. The first thing I saw was Kevin holding one of the babies. He seemed to be mesmerized by them. I fell in love with him all over again. Since I was awake, my mom handed me one of the babies, and then the other one. I loved them immediately.

After a couple of hours, the nursing staff wheeled me up to the postpartum floor. I was still falling asleep but I remember the nurse saying that Kayla was cold so they rushed her off to the warmer. Poor Kayla. She had low blood sugar and now she was cold. I felt so bad for her. While Kayla was in the warmer, the lactation consultant came by and worked with me on getting Bryce to latch on. I was still so exhausted that I was falling asleep throughout the whole feeding.

I had a total of an hour and a half sleep the night before the surgery and maybe another hour throughout the rest of the day. That night, Kevin stayed with me at the hospital and we both took care of them. It was exhausting. I probably got another hour of sleep, along with Kevin. The next night, I didn't sleep at all. These first couple of days, my blood pressure had seemed to drop. On Thursday, my blood pressure started to creep up. By Friday, it was in the 150's over 90's. On Friday night and Saturday, it had elevated to 180/110. I was dizzy, nauseated, and I had a headache. The doctor started me on blood pressure medication again. On Sunday, we finally got to go home. Kayla had explosive vomiting as we were getting ready so we thought we would end up staying another day.

We have been so blessed!

36 weeks: We have a date!

I saw Dr. Bradford yesterday. Everything looks great with the babies. I have had itching just about on every part of my body since Tuesday. Showers and baths seem to help but of course, I'm not a fish so I can't stay in the water all day. I've drowned myself in baby oil and every kind of lotion I can find but nothing lasts long. My eyelids even itch! Because of the itching, the doc ordered a blood test to check on my liver function. Everything came back normal. The only conclusion now is either dry skin, allergies, or hormones. I guess it could be a combination of all three. It isn't pleasant at all, though. Stretch marks have spread in a week! My whole stomach is nearly covered in them and boy do they itch. Once again, nothing helps for more than five minutes. The doctor just said I'll have to deal with it until the birth. I'm going to go crazy.

Speaking of birth, we planned a cesarean date. Since 37 weeks is considered full term, we set up the cesarean for Friday, August 20th at 7:15 a.m. We have to be there at 4:15 and we can't be late. I can't eat, drink, or chew gum for at least 8 hours prior to the surgery. Urgh...that is going to be a rough morning. Maybe I'll be too nervous to notice the hunger and thirst. The doctor gave me a rundown of everything to expect. I will check in, hooked up to an IV and monitors, I'll meet the anesthesiologist and nurses, and they will go over my medical history. Then, they'll take me to the operating room and prep me for surgery. The doc will put tape over my belly to lift it up so she can make an incision in the right spot and a nurse will put a sheet below my neck to separate me from the surgery. I am allowed to have two support people there, so my mom and Kevin will both be in the room with me. Mom will be taking video and Kevin will be taking pictures. If the babies are taken out of the room, I asked Kevin to go with them. Mom will probably stay behind to support me unless the babies go to different places. There is going to be an army of medical personnel in the room! Without the actual baby team, there will be 9 people there, including me and my support people. Each baby team includes 3 medical people, so add 6 to that 9. There will be a total of 15 people in the room! Wow! It's going to be a party in there. I have to say that I am excited.

I can't wait to meet these mysterious little creatures who have been moving around in and distorting my belly for several months now. It's amazing that I haven't even met them yet and I already love them more than anything. I am a little nervous that these little tiny people are going to be ours and will rely on us for everything for a while. It's incredible to think that one week from today, our family will go from two to four! We are going to be parents in a mere 7 days. Wow!!!!!

Here are some of my last pregnancy shots at 35 weeks:

Love,
Charla, Kevin, and Babies

Progress

I saw the Nurse Practitioner on Thursday. Everything looks good. She did a cervical exam and I'm already 75% effaced (thinning of the cervix) and 2 cm dilated. She asked what I was at the last exam but I hadn't had an exam before that. The doctor performed an FFN test about 4 weeks ago and my cervix was closed. I know that some women, at 2 cm, can go weeks without delivering. I don't know how long I've been this way so it could be days or two weeks before I deliver. Since the boy is already head down, we're waiting on the girl to turn. If she doesn't turn around, we'll have to do a cesarean. It's all up to her now.

Sunday, August 8th - I had a rough weekend. The pain in my pelvis and back are a lot more intense. I've been nauseated for about the past week and I've had some cramping on and off too. I haven't really felt conractions yet. I have had some tightening of my belly, though, but it seems to occur when the babies change position and "ball  up" to one side. This morning I woke up and did not feel the babies move at all. They usually move when I wake up and at night before I go to bed. I hadn't felt anything in about 14 hours. Since these guys normally move a lot, I was worried, in addition to the increase in pelvic and back pain. We went up to Maternal Observation to make sure. As soon as the nurse put the monitors on, they started moving...a lot. They didn't pick up any contractions, which is good. She did another cervical exam. I was holding Kevin's hand at one point and it hurt so bad that I dug into his skin with my nails. I had no idea it was going to hurt that bad. It didn't hurt when the NP did it. Uncomfortable, yes, but painful, no. I refuse to let anyone else do an exam like that on me. The odd part is that when the nurse knew it hurt, she seemed to be even more forceful. This nurse said that my "outer cervix" was dilated a little but the "inner cervix" was still closed. That's not what the NP told me yesterday so I'll have to verify it with Dr. Bradford the next time I see her.

I am completely miserable at this point. I've been congested since the middle of July and it's hard to hear anything. Unfortunately, I can't get a decongestant because they increase blood pressure. Just my luck! I'm in pain too. It hurts to walk, sit, and lay down. I can't get comfortable anywhere. I have an appointment with Dr. Howard on Tuesday and I see Dr. Bradford on Thursday. I am tempted to call Dr. Bradford to schedule a c-section. The baby girl still isn't head down, so it's not advisable to do a vaginal delivery in case she still doesn't turn after the boy is delivered. I'm praying that God gives me patience here. I only have a week and a half left. Hopefully I can make it.

XOXO,
Charla, Kevin and babies

34 Weeks 6 Days

Yesterday was Kevin's 34th birthday. He was a mere 28 when we met. To celebrate, we had a coupon for The Keg Steakhouse, so we ordered some food from there. I love their steaks and mushrooms! Kevin took the day off because I was having what seemed like round ligament and lower back pain, along with contractions. Kevin drew me a bath and the pain subsided. He was afraid I was going to go into labor while he was at work, so he just stayed home. I haven't had any pain or contractions since then.

I am definitely at the miserable point now, or past it anyway. Since the doctor put me on blood pressure medication, I had to stop taking my allergy shots. I'm paying for it now. I've been congested for about two weeks now and my hearing is muffled. I don't know what medication I can take but I need to find something because I would like to be able to hear the babies' first cries when they arrive. Since the doctor won't let me go for longer than 37 weeks, we have, at most, 15 days left. I don't know whether to be excited or scared.

People have told me that the babies don't move as much the further along you get. These guys haven't backed down much. The past few days have been very eventful for them. They are transforming my tummy into all sorts of shapes. The girl is gearing up for a career in the circus and the boy is shooting to be a soccer player. I called Dr. Bradford's office yesterday to make an appointment and they told me that she was on vacation. Hopefully the babies will hang on until she gets back. I'm sure they will. They seemed quite content inside my belly at our last appointment.

NAMES!
We have our names...well, first names anyway. We're still debating on middle names. My aunt Sheri and uncle Kevin were smart about this one. They didn't tell anyone Connor's name until he was born. Good idea. I started out mentioning the names we liked to people. Since people felt the need to give their opinions on every name I mentioned, I just stopped. I'm not going to let someone ruin the names we really like. For example, I loved the name Allison for a middle name. I mentioned it to my cousin Jodi and she nearly had a cow! Her twin sister and my cousin, Codi, has the same middle name so she was completely against it. I was bummed because Kevin and I both really liked the name and her reaction ruined it for me. So now when people ask, we tell them we don't know. On that note, I will not say what names we have picked out. I will just say that we have them picked out, or at least first names anyway. :)

That's all for now.
Charla and babies

Home Sweet Home: 34 weeks +

Dr. Bradford released me from jail the hospital at 11 p.m. on Friday. She was supposed to come by my room after lunch but by 9:30, we still hadn't seen or heard from her. I started to worry so I had one of the nurses page her. They updated me every few minutes, saying they still hadn't heard back from her and that Labor and Delivery couldn't get ahold of her either. Finallly, around 10:00, Dr. Bradford called the nurse back. She was in the middle of surgery so she was relaying messages through a surgical nurse. She said I could go home and that I needed to follow up with Dr. Howard (high risk doctor) on Monday and I should see her on Thursday. I called today to schedule my appointment with her but I was told she is on vacation this week. Gasp! What did she just say? My doctor is on vacation this close to me giving birth? Then, the nervousness set in. I hope the babies can hang in there for another week so a strange doctor doesn't have to deliver them.

I saw Dr. Howard today and both babies look WONDERFUL! Kevin has missed the past few of these BPP sonograms so I was happy when he said he could make it to this appointment. Both babies were moving like crazy. They were breathing well and hiccuping, which is a good exercise for their diaphragms. The boy is still in the cephalic, or head down, position with his body kind of flopped over hers. His arms were all over the place until he finally rested his left arm on top of his head. When the sonographer pushed on my belly, he did manage to push back at her. :) When it was time to see sister, he couldn't handle the fact that she was getting attention and not him. He put his bottom, male parts and all, and legs on top of her body and in her face. You could see her trying to push him out of the way. It was so hilarious. They're getting so big that we can see lips, eye sockets, noses, and even the chubby outlines of arms and legs. How awesome! We're almost there but I am so excited to see them. The good Lord sure is trying to teach me patience.

As far as my health goes, I am doing better. My blood pressure was below 130/80 at the doc's office today. Whew! I dodged going back into the hospital. Blood sugars and everything else are doing great. I threw up four times yesterday in about a half an hour's time. It worried me because it seemed like I wasn't keeping anything down. Kevin called the doctor's office and they told us to go to the hospital. Ironically, after they called back, the vomitting stopped. So I stayed home. I threw up again today...twice. My conclusion is that I started taking my meds in the morning instead of the evening. Prenatal vitamins are bad about causing nausea. Being congested doesn't help either. My ears have been stuffed up for the past two weeks. Kevin bought me some Benadryl to act as a decongestant. Hopefully this will work.

Babies should be here no later than August 19th, which will put me at 37 weeks. Hopefully they come a little sooner so I don't have to miss as much work. They seem to be doing quite well in there, though. He is ready to show himself but she seems to want to stay for a while longer. It doesn't look like she's planning on changing position anytime soon. If that is the case, we will have to have a cesarian. It's not ideal, but if that is what is best, I will do it.

Love,
Charla and babies

Just Shy of 34 Weeks

Tomorrow, I will have made it to 34 weeks (the magic number!) Hooray! After my meeting with Bradford yesterday, she moved me to a room with a view of the street and gave me wheelchair privileges for 20 minutes a day. The protein dipstick showed a protein level hovering around 1+ and 2+. My blood pressures are still not stable. They're slowly creeping upward. She increased my blood pressure medication last week. She increased it again this week, and again today. She said I will not make it three more weeks. At some point, she said, we're going to look at each other and say, "we're done." She doesn't want me getting sicker just to buy a few more days. With the dipstick showing higher protein levels, she is having me do another 24 hour urine collection. We should know more tomorrow. If I continue going down the path of wavering blood pressures and protein, we're going to call it and take them early. They look great on the sono. They're probably close to 6 lbs now. During the BPP (biophysical profile) today, the girl was awake and moving. The boy, on the other hand, would not wake up. The doctor had to nudge my belly three times to get him to move. Poor thing. He's just like his mommy.

That's all I have for now. I have a headache and I only had about 2 hours of sleep.

Charla

Are We There Yet?

I am getting anxious to have these babies. Being pregnant is wearing me down. I'm uncomfortable no matter how I lay. My skin itches, I have swelling in my abdomen, I'm congested and can't take my allergy shots, and my blood pressure is still hovering in the 150's/80's with blood pressure medication.

I woke up with a serious headache this morning, and it still hasn't gone away. Because of my headache, the doctor had them draw blood from me today. The results showed my liver tests to be normal again, but my platelet count has dropped. This is another thing they're watching for. They'll probably take more blood in the next couple of days to see if the platelet count is changing.

Kevin came by and stayed for a few hours. He had to leave, though, to go take care of pets. I wish he could stay the whole time I'm here. It's hard dealing with this alone. I know there are people praying for me, but I could use someone to advocate and question the staff when need be. It's a great stresser for me to do it all the time, especially when I'm exhausted and feeling like crud most of the day. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I am strong. I can muddle through the tough stuff to meet my babies for the first time.

Charla, Baby Boy and Baby Girl

33 Weeks - We Made It Another Week!

I just had another sonogram about an hour ago. Both babies are still measuring about two weeks ahead. Praise the Lord! Two weeks ago, their estimated weights were a little over 4 lbs. This week, the boy is measuring at 5 lbs 7 oz and the girl is measuring at 5 lbs 3 oz. Wow - that is 11 lbs of baby and I'm not even full term. The boy is head down in my pelvis. I take it he's ready to come out now. The girl is not in as much of a hurry. She's still in a transverse (across) position on the top of my belly. She made it a point to let the doctor know she didn't care to be watched. She punched my belly when the sonogram wand was on top of her. Silly girl. :) I hate that Kevin missed another sonogram. He's missed the last three growth sonograms that we've had on them so I am disappointed. This may be the last one we have and he wasn't there for it.

I have no family staying with me to advocate for me if I need it and it wears me out having to watch everything the nurses do to me to make sure it's what I need. I'm exhausted. When I first got here, one of the nurses walked in and asked if I needed anything. I told her it was time for my insulin and dinner. She honestly looked at me and said, "Insulin? I don't have orders for insulin." She walked out of the room and a few minutes later, came back in with the medicine cart and said, "Oh, we do have orders for insulin." That seriously worried me. I have had to remind them about insulin three times now.

Yesterday, the nurse gave me insulin before breakfast, as she should have. Although, with the insulin, I am supposed to eat within 15 minutes. After giving my insulin, she did my vital signs and listened to the babies a little, which probably took 10-15 minutes. She went to go get my tray and I didn't see her again for another 15 minutes. This wouldn't have bothered me as much if I weren't looking out for my son and daughter too. Luckily, I had some crackers on hand and I helped myself until she finally came back. By the way, the nurses have to bring me my food since I'm on a diabetic diet. They have to check it first. Last night, I got my insulin and then my tray. The food on the tray was definitely not what I circled on the menu, nor is it anything I would have eaten. I asked the dietary person to get me a salad instead, since I wasn't sure what I had actually ordered. 30 minutes later, I was able to eat. Now, I have to ask them to bring the tray in here and check it first before they do my insulin. They were on the ball a little more the last time I was in here.

The patient care technician that I have today is getting on my nerves. Everytime she comes in, she asks for my name and date of birth. So, even though I've said it 10-15 times today, she still pronounces my last name wrong. I know that I do not have an "o" in my last name anywhere. On top of that, she will come in and do my blood sugar and then come in 30 minutes later to do my vitals. She could do them at the same time. Other technicians and nurses take the advantage while they're in here and do them at the same time. So, I've had very little sleep. The people next door had their kids here and they were noisy so the nurse brought me a fan so I could sleep. That was the best sleep since I got here! God Bless this nurse!

Dr. Bradford came by this afternoon around 4:00. She said the babies were looking great and she was happy with the progress we're making. She is concerned about sending me home with my blood pressure being wacky so she wants to keep me in the hospital at least another few days. She wants to do another round of labs, also, in a couple of days to see where I am. When I asked her about delivery, she said that she is definitely not letting me go past 37 weeks. With as fast as they are growing, I'm sure we won't have that problem. As far as how they are delivered, we're not sure. It all depends on their position. If they stay in the position they're in now, she will recommend a cesarian. If one comes out head first and the other tries to come out breach, she will want to do a cesarian. Going through both methods of birth equals to longer healing time. We'll see what happens. It's all up to them right now.

Hugs and Kisses,
Momma and babies

32 Weeks, 6 Days: Hospital Update

The results came back on my 24 hour urine collection. They were 535, a little elevated. When pregnant, they give you up to 300. The odd thing is that when I did the 24 hour urine collection last Friday, it was over 1,000. When I was in the hospital last time, the collection taken by her office produced a result of over a 1,000 as well but when I got to the hospital, it had dropped to 400. The doctor came by this morning and I asked her what was causing the drop in the numbers. The collection method hadn't changed so there shouldn't be that much of a discrepancy. She said she wasn't sure but she put in a call to the representatives at the labs to figure out what was going on. She seemed irritated by it because she doesn't know which result to rely on.

On a positive note, my blood pressures have been better, thanks to the increase in blood pressure medication. The results from Monday's blood test came in and they showed that one of my liver function tests was 2 points out of the normal range. She said it wasn't anything freak out over yet but we will definitely be watching it to see if it changes.

Last night, she was talking like we had days left and today, she sounded like we had a week or more. She said she can't really say for sure simply because things can turn on a dime and change the course of action quickly. So, now, we wait. We wait for either the babies to come on their own or for a drastic change in data to cause her to take them now. Either way, we need to make it to at least 34 weeks. According to the doc, we have done everything possible to help the babies when they are born. It is possible that if they are born at 34 weeks, that they will be able to go home within a few days. It is also possible that they will have to stay. It depends on their weight, their ability to keep their own body temperature, and whether they can breathe and feed.

She wants to keep me here another day to see what the high risk doctor has to say. If we get his "seal of approval", she will let me go home. This is definitely a glimmer of hope. :)

Charla

32 Weeks...What's New?

I saw Dr. Bradford on Wednesday and all was fine. My blood pressure was a little higher (in the 140s) and I had a trace of protein in my urine so she asked me to do a 24 hour urine collection. I saw Dr. Howard on Thursday and my blood pressure was still high so he increased my blood pressure medication from once a day to twice a day. The sonogram was cool. I saw little fingers on the babies for the first time. They were still practice breathing, which is still awesome to see. At one point, I saw a hand up by the girl's face. I mentioned how cute that was to the sonographer. She said, "Um, that's actually the boy's hand." Great, so now my son is already smacking his sister on the head and face. Ha! As silly as it is, it was so adorable. I can't wait to meet these little people.
On Friday night, Kevin checked my blood pressure and it read 180/100 before I took my medication. 20 minutes after, it measured at 160/80, and an hour afterwards, it measured 146/60. Saturday morning, we checked it again about an hour after I had taken the medication and it was 150/95. With it being so high, I called the doctor's office and spoke to the doctor on call, Dr. Robbins. She suggested that I go to Maternal Observation to be monitored. They hooked me up to monitors and checked my blood pressure. Babies heartbeats were fine and my blood pressure went down a little. Dr. Robbins came by and increased my BP medication dosage to three times a day and said that I needed to follow up with Dr. Bradford on Monday.

Sunday, we had a birthday party for all of the family's summer birthdays: me, Amie, my husband - Kevin, my uncle Kevin, and my dad. Amazing how so many people in the family have a summer birthday. That's about half the family and we're about to add two more to summer birthdays!

Kevin had a dream a couple of months ago that the babies would be born on July 21st. If that comes true, we're looking at Wednesday. I am completely uncomfortable. My fingers are swollen and numb. They get worse when I lay on my side, which is what the doctor wants me to do. My legs are swollen and I have swelling/cellulite/pain or whatever in the lower part of my abdomen. As much as I want them delivered as soon as possible to relieve me of this uncomfortableness and pain, I know they need to incubate as long as possible.

Anyway, I followed up with Dr. Bradford today. The results of my 24 hour urine collection showed a urine protein level of over a thousand. My blood pressure was 115/65, which is better. She was concerned for my welfare and the babies so she admitted me to the hospital...again. I knew she would so I had my bags packed the night before and they were in the trunk of mom's car. Dr. Bradford said she wants to keep them in there for at least another two weeks before we consider the possibility of taking them early. If any of us are in danger, we'll do it sooner.

We went straight to the hospital from her office. The staff wasn't nearly as on top of things as they were when I was admitted last time. I find myself asking more questions and verifying everything with the nurses. They make mistakes and I don't want them to make them on me if I can help it. They might be getting tired of me, but someone else needs to look out for me. I know what needs to be done and when. When they do something different, I question it. Thank God I did because they almost gave me the wrong insulin. Luckily I said something so they were able to call the doctor and get it sorted out. I'm supposed to have snacks throughout the day, also, but that never happened. They were also supposed to give me my meds at 9 o'clock but they never did. Luckily, Kevin brought me mine from home so I took them on my own.
I'm also getting annoyed and restless. I haven't even been in here a day yet and I'm going nuts. My back muscles are hurting and there's nothing to do. My family aren't coming to see me, or at least they didn't last time. It's depressing being here all day by yourself. I know it's almost over, but it's hard.

Charla

Doc Update: Week 31

We made it another week! Whew!! I saw Dr. Bradford on Tuesday and everything looked good. She increased my insulin by adding two units before dinner since my blood sugars were higher around then. She did an FFN test, also, which predicts if pre-term labor will occur. So far, I have gained about 29 pounds. For being pregnant with two babies, that is fabulous! The doc originally said I should gain anywhere between 40 and 60 pounds for twins so I'm doing well.

I had another appointment today with Dr. Howard, the high risk doctor. They tried to hook me up to heartrate monitors but neither of the babies were having it. The nurse never could get a good heartrate for either one since they were moving so much. She tried for about 10 minutes before giving up and just putting me in the sonogram room. They did a biophysical profile and a growth for both babies. When they measured the femurs on both babies, they were measuring about 33 weeks (2 weeks ahead!) They estimated the weights to be 4 lbs. 4 oz and 4 lbs. 6 oz. I was so shocked at how much they weighed that I didn't even pay attention to which one was which! Last I read, they should be weighing between 3.5 and 4 lbs. now. On top of the growth spurt, I saw their diaphragms moving today! They call this "practice breathing". Their lungs still aren't mature but the diaphragm movement helps prepare them for breathing on the outside. I could not only see the diaphragms moving, but I could also see the up and down movement of their bellies. How amazing! I hate that Kevin missed this. He had to work so my mom went with me instead. Finally, they both look like they are trying to work their way towards a "head down" position. The boy is already there. The girl looks like she's turning that way. Their feet and butts are right next to each other on the left side of my belly. The girl's head is on my right side, about even with my belly button. It won't be much longer before these babies make their debut to the world. :)

Love,
Charla and fast-growing babies

30 Weeks - We Made It!

30 weeks may not seem like much to celebrate but it is to me. Considering I was in the hospital at 27 weeks, I didn't think I would make it this far. My next milestone is 34 weeks. I'm taking it week by week though. I saw the high risk doctor last Friday and he did a sonogram. All looks good with the babies. My blood sugar and blood pressure both look good also. He did an FFN (fetal fibronectin) test to see if I would go into labor in the next couple of weeks. It was extremely painful. I had this done once before at my regular doctor's office and it didn't hurt like that. Right then, I made the decision that my regular doctor would be performing those from now on.

I saw Dr. Bradford this Wednesday and she said I was doing really well. She wants to see me again next Tuesday for a checkup and I will see the high risk doctor again on Wednesday. He is supposed to do a biophysical profile to check the growth of the twins then. They do this to make sure they are getting the nutrients and growing like they should be. Basically, they do an assessment of whether the babies are better off inside or outside the uterus.

On another note, Kevin is doing really well at his job. He just got put in charge of something major on his project. We don't know if it comes with a raise or not, but it definitely looks good for him if he does a good job. He just completed another project and they went out to celebrate last night after work. He has done so much around here that I don't mind if he goes out. He deserves it. Since July 4th is coming up, he has a four day weekend so we get to spend some time together. I ordered some stuff online from Target and Babies R Us so we'll go through that in the next couple of weeks. We still need to get the crib put together and the room straightened up since it won't be much longer before they arrive. There's so much to do but I still can't wait!

Hugs and kisses,
Charla and babies

29 Weeks!

We made it past 28 weeks without having the twins! I am so happy that we made it to this milestone. After being admitted to the hospital, I was worried they were going to come really early, making them stay in the NICU for weeks or even months. I don't want to do that to them or us. If we can make it to at least 34 weeks, we're in good shape. They might have to stay in the NICU for a week or two, but we can handle that better than a couple of months.

I saw Dr. Bradford on Monday and things are looking good. My blood pressure is good, my blood sugars are staying in a good range, the swelling hasn't come back, and I haven't gained any weight. In fact, I lost about 10 pounds while I was in the hospital and after being home for a week, I haven't gained any of it back. The doctor thinks it was mostly water weight from all the swelling. To date, I have gained a total of 24 pounds with the twins so I'm right on track. One article I read said that with twins, the goal is to gain 25 pounds by your 20th week. If that's the case, then I'm doing exceptionally well. The doctor hasn't said anything about it so I am pleased with that. Dr. Bradford wanted me to see the high risk doctor, Dr. Howard. I've seen him twice in the hospital but never in his office. Her nurse scheduled an appointment for me this Friday. He should do another sono that day. Then, I'll see Dr. Bradford again next Wednesday for another follow up.

Names?
Everybody keeps asking us if we have names. To be honest, we have kind of narrowed it down to a handful. We are pretty set on first names for both babies but the middle names are up in the air a little more. I don't want to tell anyone in case we decide to change it at the last minute. I change my mind all the time so that is a definite possibility.

Every week that passes, I get more excited to meet these babies that are tumbling around inside my belly. They are movers for sure. At the hospital, they gave the nurses a run for their money. Every new nurse that came in said that she had heard my babies were troublemakers. Apparently. It took one nurse an hour to successfully hook me up to the monitors. I don't know what we are going to do if they are this active once they are born. Either way, I can't wait to meet them. I can't express the joy everytime I see my belly move. I stop what I'm doing and just watch them. I can't help but smile. What an amazing experience.

Hugs and kisses,
Charla and babies

Hooray! Out of the Hospital!

I got dismissed from the hospital on Thursday, June 17th. Dr. Bradford came in that morning and said that I will be allowed to go home, provided I stay on bedrest for 23 hours a day. I have bathroom "privileges" and I can eat dinner at the table sometimes, but that is it. She wants to see me weekly until the babies are born. Hopefully, they hang in there for another four weeks or more. Protein level has gone down, blood pressure has gone down, and blood sugar is being managed with insulin. Now that I am home, I have to take blood pressure medication, which means no more allergy shots. The blood pressure medication is a beta blocker so if I have an allergic reaction to the shots, they will have a harder time reversing the reaction with epinephrine since it acts on the beta receptors. Aside from blood pressure medication, I am also on two different types of insulin. One is given at night and the other is given in the morning. I have to test my blood sugar several times throughout the day, also. Hopefully this is temporary.

Being on bedrest is tougher than I thought. Kevin's parents came down this weekend to help us move more stuff from the rental house in Fort Worth here to our Aledo house. We have entirely too much junk that I would like to just toss in the dumpster. It is becoming evident that we have no room, even for the babies' stuff. We need to do something. Good Will, here we come! What's rough about this whole bedrest thing is that there is so much that I want to do. I want to have control over everything that happens and I have very little control on bedrest. I feel helpless. If there's something I need from the store, I have to wait for Kevin to go get it. It's an absolute pain. I haven't been able to go get Father's Day cards or gifts at the store, either. That really bothers me since this is Kevin's first Father's Day. My mom and my cousin, Jodi have offered to come by and help us get organized. They've also offered to bring me food to help take the load off of Kevin. I am so thankful to have such awesome family.

That's all I have for now. I'm still catching up on lost sleep from being in the hospital. Sadly, bedrest there doesn't necessarily mean resting.

Hugs and kisses,
Charla, Baby Boy, and Baby Girl

An Unusual First Week of Summer

My summer officially started on Monday, June 7th. I had an appointment to have a glucose challenge test done that day. I drank the orange soda, they drew my blood, and I saw the doc. They sent me home to collect urine for 24 hours and I was to go back in on Tuesday. They found protein in my urine, which is caused when elevated blood pressure overrides normal kidney and liver functions and causes them to not filter protein properly.

When I went back in on Tuesday, the results from the urine collection resulted in a urine protein count of 6,000 when protein should not even be found in urine at all. My blood pressure was high and the results from my glucose challenge test were a 171 for blood sugar. Normal is 100 or below. Based on this, she wanted me to come in on Thursday for a 3 hour glucose tolerance test. I went in to her office, fasting, as I did on Monday. They took my blood before I took the drink and once I took the drink, I was to have my blood drawn every hour for three hours. After I drank the orange soda, I started feeling nauseated and then I finally threw up. They stuck me in one of their patient rooms while I waited on the doctor to see me. Because of the amount of protein in my urine, my high blood pressure, and my high blood sugar level, she sent me to the hospital. Her reasoning was to reduce the amount of variables, like car rides, various foods, etc. so she could get accurate data to analyze.

So, here I lay in a hospital bed in room 368, on the 3rd floor of the Jones Tower at Harris Methodist in Downtown Fort Worth. It is Saturday, June 12th and I have been here since Thursday. Since I have been here, my urine protein level has gone down. My blood sugar has gone up and down. Last night, it hit 208, so they had to give me insulin - 4 units. Today, it hit 154, and I got another 2 units of insulin. During my last recheck, it was at 139. It's still not normal, but it is going down and I didn't need insulin. I had to get two steroid injections to develop the babies' lungs in case they came early, which is a good possibility. At this point, the doc said they will most likely not make it to full term (37 weeks), and that they will probably be born sooner rather than later. Our goal is to keep them in their incubator (me) for a little while longer. I am 27 weeks now so we need to make it to at least 30 or 32 weeks.

On the flip side, my second baby shower is tomorrow. This is one for family and friends. Since it doesn't look like I will be leaving the hospital anytime soon, we are having the baby shower here at the hospital. If we don't have a conference room, we will have it out in the waiting room next to the elevators. It's not ideal, but hey, it will work for now.

I'm exhausted so I will leave it at that. I will update more tomorrow.

Hugs and Kisses,
Momma, Baby Boy, and Baby Girl

Routine Test Not So Routine

I went in to the doctor's office yesterday to have a one-hour glucose challenge test done. When I arrived at 8:30, I hadn't eaten since 11:30 the night before so I was starving. At 9:00, I went down to the lab to have my blood drawn. No big deal. When the doctor finally saw me, they said my blood pressure was high. They had me lay down on my side and then they took my blood pressure again. It was significantly lower after I laid down. She asked me a few questions and then said she was concerned that I might have preeclampsia. She had me take two jugs home to collect urine in for 24 hours, stay on bedrest, and asked me to come back today at 1:00 for more blood work.

Today, I went to the lab to drop off my "collection" and get my blood drawn. When the nurse called me back, we noticed I had lost two pounds. The doctor said this was water weight. We went through the same thing as yesterday with the blood pressure. It was high when I was sitting up but it decreased when I laid down. Based on this, she determined that I would spend the rest of the pregnancy in bed, horizontal, for 23 hours a day. She said I have mild preeclampsia and we can probably keep this at bay for a while by keeping me on bedrest. She told me not to worry because this is not uncommon with twin pregnancies. The doc also mentioned that at some point in the pregnancy, she would hospitalize me, but she didn't know when that would be. For now, she wants to treat this on an outpatient basis. If things weren't bad enough, my glucose test results came back. My blood sugar level was 171, well above the normal range. I have to go back on Thursday morning, fasting, to take a three hour glucose tolerance test and she wants to see me at the same time. From now on, she wants to see me on a Monday and Thursday basis until she says otherwise.

I know that everything will work out, but I still can't help but worry about the health of these two babies.

24 weeks

We went to the doc on Thursday, May 20th. Everything looked great with the babies! I still have quite a bit of swelling in my hands and feet but I am surviving. The boy is laying in a breach position, or head up, with his head on my right side and the girl is laying transverse, or side ways, with her head on my right side. I have to go back on Monday, June 7th to have a glucose screen. They want to make sure I don't have or am getting gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes causes more complications with mom and baby. The babies usually come out a little larger in moms who have this.

On Friday, I saw the babies move through my stomach for the first time! How awesome to see our babies physically move for the first time. It's one thing seeing it on a screen and quite another to see it outside your belly. Kevin laid his head down on my belly tonight. Our daughter kicked him in the head! Amazing. We went to lamaze classes this weekend and we learned a lot. There are still a lot of decisions that need to be made as far as the birth plan goes. It is a little intimidating making all of these decisions because you want to do what is best for you and the baby. Time will tell. I'm still researching everything.

Until next time,
Charla

Bedrest - 23 weeks

I went back to see Dr. Bradford again today. I was just sure she would release me from bedrest. I was wrong. She said that I was severely dehydrated and I had an elevated ketone level in my urine. She did another urinalysis and noticed that I had a bladder infection. She is sending another sample to the lab to confirm her diagnosis. Meanwhile, she has me on an antibiotic. She did another pelvic exam and took a culture for a fetal fibronectin test. This test will help to rule out preterm labor. The pelvic exam, alone, is unable to rule it out. At the same time, my cervix is closed and looks "fantastic."

She asked me if I had ever had anxiety. I told her that I had experienced some during college several years ago, but not necessarily lately. She asked about my stress level. I thought, "where do I begin?" I told her about our lawsuit and the problems with our house. She was concerned that Kevin and I both were experiencing a lot of stresses so she suggested marital counseling. Mostly to strengthen our marriage before the babies are born. She said once they're born, it will increase our stress level times ten. Of course, I called the insurance company to find out if they covered marital counseling. With our luck, they don't. Awesome. Not totally sure how this is going to work out now. I will admit that I am extremely worried about giving these babies a good home and a good life. I want to be the best mom ever and I'm scared that I won't live up to mine, Kevin's, or their expectations. I want them to have a great place to live, along with all the necessities, and even extras. Hopefully, we'll be able to give them those extra things.

For now, we decided on buying cribs for both babies. I couldn't help but think that a playard wouldn't be strong enough or soft enough for them to sleep on. We purchased a few sets of clothes and a record book for the baby boy. We're still waiting to see what we'll get from showers before we buy anything else. If we get gift cards, we can go buy the cribs. Is it possible to be excited and scared at the same time?

Pelvic Pain - 22 weeks

So I've seen the doctor three times in the past week. I went last Tuesday because I was leaking clear fluid. Luckily, it wasn't amniotic fluid. All she could do was guess what it could be. My regularly scheduled appointment was on Thursday and all was well. On Friday, I started feeling pelvic and pubic bone pain. I googled it and most of the information I found said that it was my body preparing to have the babies and for the most part, it wasn't a big issue. However, in some cases, it could be an indicator of dilation. I called the doctor just to be sure. The nurse said I could come in yesterday at 1:30. I went ahead and scheduled it, not thinking about my baby shower that my co-workers had planned. I looked at my days off and I got docked a half day last Thursday when I was there for 75% of the day. With the issue of my day off and the baby shower, I called to reschedule for today. A few minutes later, the nurse called me back and said they needed to see me today. When I talked to her the first time, she didn't seem like it was much of a concern, which is why I thought I could reschedule it. I left work at 2:00 yesterday afternoon and they got me right in. My back and pelvis was still hurting. When I laid down on the table for the exam, my back and stomach increased in pain. She had me roll over on my side and it got worse. It hurt so bad that I was crying. The doctor was concerned so she hooked me up to a contraction monitor. The monitor didn't show anything but I was still in pain. She sent me over to Harris Hospital to have a high risk doctor evaluate me. They didn't pick up any contractions or funneling of the cervix but I was dehydrated. After strict instructions to drink lots of water, they released me. I arrived around 4:30 and I left shortly before 8:00 with instructions for bed rest until I was cleared by my doctor. Whew! What a day.

I stayed home from work today, per doctor's orders. My baby shower at the school had to be canceled. I was really looking forward to my shower so I'm bummed about having to cancel it. My cousin is planning a shower for family and friends around June 13th. We were going to do it on the 30th but with it being Memorial Day weekend, a lot of people would be out of town so Jodi asked if I could do it on the 13th. We'll see what happens. Kevin's co-workers have generously offered to throw us a shower next month too.

So far, the babies have been doing so well. Most of the movement has been coming from the boy, or so I thought. For the first time, I felt movement today in the upper portion of my belly while I was resting today. It was the girl and I couldn't stop smiling. On the other hand, mommy is worn out and uncomfortable. At least 13 more weeks to go! I can do it.

21 Weeks

Baby girl and boy are still doing well. Neither have names yet, but we're trying to get the list narrowed down. I had my 20 week check up a week and a half ago. The technician was able to see four chambers of the girl's heart, a femur, a tibia, and fibula. She had her hand in front of her face at one point. Both seemed to have all of their organs. He couldn't see the boy's heart very well because of the way he was laying. He was curled up with fists next to his head. We'll check again during my next appointment on May 6th. Hopefully he'll be laying in a better position so we can see his heart clearly.

It's amazing being able to see them on the screen every couple of weeks. I can't imagine having to go a whole month without being able to see them. Going two weeks is tough as it is. It's starting to sink in a little more that babies are coming and soon. Kevin and I are both guessing they'll be born in about 12 weeks. It's a little soon, but with the babies measuring right on target or a week ahead, they may not wait until August. The weeks are going by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I got the call from the doctor saying I was pregnant. The movement in my belly is becoming more constant. It feels like little pops (like a rubberband) or muscle twitches. They seem to move around more when I'm eating or at night when I'm getting ready for bed. Kevin has felt the movements a few times but as soon as he puts his hand on my belly, they stop. I am so excited about meeting the other half of my family in a few months. I cannot wait to have them in my arms!

Kevin is becoming more excited too. He is really worried about the house situation. He wants to make sure they have a proper place to live. I can honestly say that I am proud to have him as my husband and my babies' father. He is going to be a great dad and I can't wait to see him in action.

Carpal tunnel is getting rather bothersome. I now wake up and my fingers are numb. I hear it goes away when they're born. I've put up with it for a month. I can handle three more. I have swelling in my hands and feet also. It gets worse when I stand or walk for very long. It should also go away when they're born. Kevin and I keep wondering if I will end up on bed rest throughout the summer. I hope that's not the case, but hey, if that's what needs to happen in order to have healthy babies, then I'll do it.

On another note, I'm still not sure what hospital they'll be born in. My doctor is affiliated with Baylor All Saints and Harris Methodist in downtown Fort Worth. I was born at Harris and from what I hear, they have a great neonatal unit. I'll ask her at my next appointment.

Halfway There!

Today, I am 20 weeks along. I have been seeing the doctor every week to have my cervical length measured and to check blood pressure, weight, glucose, etc. since twin pregnancies are at a higher risk.

I cannot express how excited I am to have finally reached the halfway point of this pregnancy. It has been rough thus far, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The thought of meeting my new family is so exciting.

It's a Boy and a Girl! (18 weeks)

It has been a while since I've updated. At my last appointment, we found out that with 99% certainty, we are having a boy and a girl. The little girl is up higher and the boy is lower. Right now, they are right underneath my belly button. I can feel fluttering every now and then but it isn't as constant as I would like. I want to be able to feel them move all the time. I can't wait. Both are doing well. They have strong heartbeats and their gestational age is a few days ahead of their actual age. At this rate, they may run out of room before their due date. (Hopefully not too much sooner.)

We've purchased a few onesies and some diapers. I made a registry at Babies R Us and Target so I wouldn't forget any of the stuff I liked. It's never too early to start planning for these little ones. We're still living in the rental house in West Fort Worth. It sucks. This house is too small and it is in such horrible shape. I trip over something everytime I walk around and I'm worried that I'm going to fall and hurt the babies here soon. We're still in this lawsuit with the builder. Our trial date is set for June. I'm praying that they will just buy it back. Kevin and I don't like living there. We have the lot that we want to build on but we have to sell this house first. We just sent an email to a broker to have it listed on the MLS websites. Hopefully we can sell it soon so that we have time to get this other house built and a nursery set up before the babies are born.

This pregnancy has taken its toll. I am fortunate to not be vomiting anymore. Or at least I haven't in the past three weeks. Whew! Now, I have carpal tunnel in both wrists and swelling around my right ankle. It kills me to stand for very long and my wrists are in pain every morning. It is difficult to turn door knobs, brush my teeth, or anything else that requires me to grab or hold anything. It's not too bad compared to what some women have. I can handle it. If I deliver at 36 weeks, then I am half way there!

I'll write more soon.

Charla

13 Weeks

We had our 12 week appointment with the doc on Feb. 25th and it was the first time we had actually seen a head, torso, legs and arms of each baby! It was even more exciting when we saw one of our little jumping beans kicking his or her feet. I looked over at Kevin and asked if he saw it. Of course he said yes. I am still nauseated and throwing up every day or so. The doc has instructed me to be proactive with my use of phenergan. She wants me to take it even before I feel sick so I can improve the quality of my life and not throw up so much. One day, I actually threw up six times starting at 1 a.m. She also said that if I continue to throw up, it's possible that I'll end up having to have an IV started to rehydrate. I still have to take the phenergen every 6 hours or so because the nausea is so bad. I missed half a days work last Thursday because it was so bad. I'm exhausted too, but then again, with two babies, it makes sense. I'm praying that I will not have this nausea for the entire pregnancy. Even if I do, the extension of our family is worth it.

At 12-1/2 weeks, I swear that I could feel the little flutterings of the babies. It felt like butterflies, but it isn't anything I have ever experienced. I haven't felt it in a day or two, but I think they changed positions on me. I can't wait to feel and let Kevin feel the kicks of both babies. I think we have another three weeks to go for that. At our last appointment, the sonographer said he could tell the genders during the next sonogram, which will be again on March 15th. Hopefully he can see something that day! I can't wait. Vomiting and nausea aside, this is a truly amazing experience.

Charla and Kevin

10 Weeks

It was snowing on the day of our last doctor's appointment (Thursday, February 11th) so they moved up my appointment by an hour and a half so they could get out of there earlier. I saw the sonographer first. Both babies are strong and active. One had a heartbeat of 170 bpm and the other had a hearbeat of 180 bpm. The sonographer said that he would be able to tell us the sex in about four weeks. I'm so excited.

Two hours after I got there, I finally saw Dr. Bradford. She had been called away to do a delivery. She came into the room wearing her surgical booties. She confirmed that everything looked great and requested that I see her again in two weeks to hear the heartbeats with a doppler. Normal pregnancies require you to see the doctor every four weeks. Twin pregnancies require every two weeks since they are considered high-risk.

The past few weeks have been challenging to say the least. I have had nausea everyday and I throw up every other day. This has decreased from twice everyday. Most pregnant women don't actually throw up but the symptoms are exaggerated with twins. I can't sleep past 8 hours at a time, even though I'm more exhausted than I've ever been. I start to feel nauseated because there's no food in my stomach. There have actually been times that I've woken up at 4 a.m. to grab a bowl of cereal just so I would have something to throw up. The first trimester is a rough road, but it will get better.

At this point, so many things are going through my mind. Kevin and I want a new house. We're in a rental, which is less than 1,000 square feet. It's extremely small, doors don't close all the way, and cold air from outside is let in. The toilet doesn't work well. I could go on and on. Kevin is talking to the guy at the bank about what we can do to get a loan approved so we can get this new house started. Ultimately, we need to sell the other house to do so. It's complicated by the ongoing three year lawsuit with the builder of our other house. Kevin and I have been in this lawsuit since we got married so we haven't had much time together without some kind of stress. It kills me that some people have no pride in their work and they can't take responsibility for the terrible job they did. Of course, it's all about money and it's all about them. Where are the people who truly care about others? I'm convinced that they don't exist anymore.I do not want to raise two babies in this house...even for one minute. I have always dreamt of being able to decorate the nursery and have everything set up when they arrived. I am really worried that this won't happen and that we will have to move again with two babies.

On the flip side, we are already shopping for baby stuff. We got some unisex clothes the other day and a travel diaper changer. We're still debating on a crib and changing table. We actually found a perfect one at Babies 'R Us. It has the crib and the changing table connected. We have plenty of time to look, so we'll see.

Kevin is starting to get more involved. He is helping me out a lot. Most of the time, I can't stand for very long without nausea so Kevin takes over and does whatever I can't. Of course, I'm sure I will have to pay for it when I feel better. Time will tell.

TWINS!

That's right...twins! We waited to see the doctor for about an hour before we had the ultrasound done. I had been sick with a cold (and morning sickness) for the past week. I missed three days of work because of it. As soon as I got in the doctor's office, my head started to feel heavy, so I stood up and walked around. Then, I started to feel nauseated and light-headed so I grabbed a wet paper towel and put it on my neck. The nurse saw me and asked if I was okay. I asked if they had some crackers, which she was able to provide me, along with some Sprite. It helped for the moment.

When I finally got called back, the doc performed a transvaginal sonogram (since the babies are so small). I have been reading seven different pregnancy books, so I had an idea of what to expect and what to look for. I knew that we should be able to see the heartbeat on the screen but I figured it was a little too early to hear it. Dr. Kaufmann asked how many babies we wanted and when we said two, he said, "Your wish is my command." Sure enough...two little black areas showed up on the screen. After a little manuevering, we saw a grey shadow...Baby A. Then a second grey shadow...Baby B. The nurse pointed out the heartbeat and when they saw both heartbeats, they turned the sound on. I couldn't look away from the screen! How amazing! Baby A had a heartbeat of 117.19 bpm and Baby B had a heartbeat of 131.58 bpm.

It still hasn't totally sunk in yet. Two of everything: crib, clothes, stroller, bouncy seat, etc. and DOUBLE the diapers! We're going to be swimming in diapers! It's going to be a challenge, but people do it everyday. I'm sure we can handle it. The toughest part for us will be picking out names. We're struggling finding one name that we both like, much less two.

I have another appointment with my new OB next Thursday so I will write more then. In the meantime, I will continue to struggle with this cold and morning, noon and evening sickness. :(

Heartbeat Pics:

Baby A

Baby B

5-1/2 Weeks

I am completely exhausted, yet I can only get 8 or 9 hours of sleep. I used to be able to sleep 12 or 13 hours. Sunday was the first day that I really felt a wave of nausea. I slept with a trash can next to the bed. I have placed a trash can in the storage closet of my classroom in case I need to duck away. Gingerale and saltines - that's what I take to work for when I get sick.

The doc had my blood drawn again yesterday to check my hCG levels again. As of 4:30, my levels were 42,432. Wow! That's higher than I was expecting for how far along I am. Based on my calculations, the levels should have been right at or a little below 20,000. Some people attribute high hCG levels to multiples and others have attributed it to a boy. While my mother in-law hopes for a girl, Kevin and I hope for a healthy baby.

Thursday, January 21st will be my first ultrasound with the fertility specialist. I will be 7 weeks by then and we will hear a heartbeat. I picked an obstetrician! I haven't met her, but I hear she is one of the best in Fort Worth. My 8 week ultrasound with the OB will be on January 28th and I can't wait. Kevin is happy but the excitement hasn't hit yet because there's nothing to see. I know he will be excited when he hears the heartbeat and sees the little one for the first time. I know that I will be crying!

Charla

Baby Coming Along

Yesterday I had another blood test and after anxiously awaiting the results, the call came in at 5 p.m. My levels increased from 236 to 1938. Wow! Things are looking good for baby Hawley. I need to go back in on Monday, January 11th to have my levels checked again. I made an appointment with an ob/gyn who was recommended to me. She is one of the best doctors in town. My 8-week ultrasound will be on Thursday, January 28th. We will get a heartbeat that day. I can't wait!

At this point, I'm feeling a little nauseated at the smell or taste of certain foods; meats mainly. I gag when I brush my teeth and I'm hungry every two or three hours. None of which is normal for me. My skin is extremely dry and it feels like I'm itching all the time. I have heartburn and I sneeze constantly because I can't take any of my meds. All of this is uncomfortable but it's a small price to pay for this little ball of cells that will soon be baby Hawley!

Charla

Pregnant! (4 Weeks)

A few months ago, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which makes it more difficult to get pregnant. We decided that because of the difficulty, we would start trying to have our first child now. After talking to the doctor, he suggested clomid to produce an egg. A few days later, I went in for an ultrasound. I had a follicle that was 14 mm. According to the nurse, 18 mm is minimum for a viable egg. The following Monday, I went back and the ultrasound showed a 17.97 mm follicle and another approximately 13 mm. I was instructed to go home and inject myself in the stomach with Ovidrel, an hCG hormone which induces the release of an egg. What are the odds? On our third anniversary, December 17th, I went in to have my first intrauterine insemination done. This procedure involves the "washing" of sperm and injecting it into the uterus through the catheter. The procedure took all of five minutes and then another ten minutes laying there afterwards.

On December 31st, the anniversary of our wedding reception, I returned for a blood pregnancy test. The nurse called me later that afternoon with good news. According to the beta hCG test, anything above a 5 indicates a pregnancy. My level was 236. Normal at this time is 5-420. She wants to see me again on Monday to make sure my levels are still rising. As of now, I don't "feel" pregnant. I haven't experienced any symptoms, other than a little mild cramping last night. I've told a few people but I don't want to make a formal announcement until I get the first ultrasound and/or blood test results that show an increase in hCG levels. I'll write again when I know more.

Charla