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
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
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.
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!
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!
Friday, August 13, 2010
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
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
Friday, August 6, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
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
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
Monday, August 2, 2010
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
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
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