Back to blogging

It's time...I've been such a slacker since the babies were born. Understandably I've been busy, but I've decided that I really want to journal the babies' growth and milestones. It's been fun looking back on all my pregnancy posts here, and I want to continue. So here we go.

Danny and Katie are now just over 6 months old. They are the 2 sweetest and cutest babies in the world. (Yes, I am biased and I don't care!) Honestly, they really are such good babies. They certainly have their moments of fussiness and crankiness, but overall they are happy and well behaved. They started sleeping through the night at around 3 months, which was wonderful. Amazingly, they don't wake each other up! They're just now starting to notice each other but haven't really played much together. I can see them (especially Danny) getting ready to try and sit up on their own. Pretty soon they'll be teething and crawling and standing! I cannot believe they are halfway to a year old. In some ways it has taken forever but in others it has flown by.

It was a long and difficult road to get here, but I wouldn't change a second of it.

Their 6 month professional picture:

4.5 months later...my very detailed birth story

Um hi. Yeah, it's been a while. I'm a total slacker on the blogging but I've been busy! I finally managed to type out my birth story. I had journaled everything while in the hospital so it took this long to type everything out!

It's super long and detailed, but I wanted people to know the gory details of a c-section birth - AND the recovery!

Late Thursday morning I got a call from the OB telling me my platelet counts were going down and they wanted to deliver me today rather than tomorrow. We get to the hospital around 1:30pm or so, and I am quickly taken to a room. I figured nothing would happen for at least a few hours, since I had eaten breakfast at 10am and they wanted my stomach empty for about 8 hours. However at around 2pm they mentioned something about starting in an hour.

They give me an alka seltzer to settle my stomach (yeah right) and Brian changes into his scrubs. They then put these pads around my legs which supposedly would prevent blood clots by massaging my legs and keeping blood circulating. Believe me, it’s not nearly as good as it sounds. The anesthesiologist (Dr. Friedman) asks if I can walk to the OR down the hall, so he and the nurse help me get over there. As I walk in I’m amazed at how clinical it all is. I know that sounds stupid, since we’re in a hospital and this is a surgery, but considering birth is supposed to be so natural and instinctual, this seemed weird. The room was cold and I started shaking a bit. There were so many people doing so many things, that I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. Thankfully the anesthesiologist was really concerned about me and talked me through everything. He and the nurse helped me up on the table and he started prepping the spinal and gave me an oxygen tube. I could feel him painting on the numbing agent and he told me exactly what he was doing. He warned me the needle was coming, and said I would feel burning and tingling, which I did. Pretty soon my whole lower body was warm and tingly, then I felt nothing. It is a very strange feeling. I get myself adjusted on the table and the shaking gets worse. A lot worse. But it’s only from the chest up. The nurse said that is normal and due to the cold and the spinal.

Brian comes in and holds my hand (as it shakes uncontrollably) and they pull the drape up so I see nothing. Dr. F keeps asking me how I’m feeling, and other than the shaking I feel OK. The other doctors have arrived and suddenly I feel pulling in my abdomen. I really don’t know what is going on, but I feel pressure and pulling. Soon, I hear someone say “here’s a bottom” and before I know it I hear a cry. Baby A is born, and it’s a girl! Katharine Allison is here! For one brief second I see this amazing little baby covered in vernix appear above the drape and I gasp. This is our daughter! I barely have time to process that before they whisk her away to clean her off. Less than one minute later we have another baby! Daniel Owen arrives one minute after his sister. We also get a fast peek at him over the drape, and then he’s off to be cleaned and measured. I wish I could hold him but I know he needs to get examined. The rest of the surgery goes relatively quickly, though I still have no idea what they’re doing. Soon enough though, the babies are cleaned off and they bring each to my chest so we can see them up close. They look beautiful and perfect! To our surprise, Kate is chunkier than Danny, which goes against the ultrasound measurements. Katharine Allison was born at 3:59pm at 5lbs 8 oz and 16 inches. Daniel Owen was born at 4:00pm at 5lb 0 oz and 18 inches. After giving each baby an all too short kiss, they get wheeled away again, back to the nursery.

Brian soon departs for the nursery to check the babies, and they finish up with me. At this point I still have no feeling in my lower body but they need to get me off the table and into a bed. So somehow they manage to turn me over to my side, and I swear, I feel like I’m floating on air. I have no idea what is supporting me below, but it must be something. I somehow make it back to the bed, and they tell me that because of my continued blood pressure issues and to prevent seizures, they’re putting me on magnesium sulfate. I had heard horror stories about this drug and was so glad I didn’t have to get it during my pregnancy. I never thought about the possibility of needing it post partum. Basically, it makes you feel like a zombie. It causes extreme lethargy, hot flashes and headaches. They added the magnesium sulfate (along with pitocin) to my IV. This is in addition to the morphine drip, a catheter, and the aforementioned leg massages things. I was told I was basically a prisoner to the bed until I was off the magnesium. It made sense because I truly couldn’t move on that stuff.

Because of my restrictions, I couldn’t get into the nursery that night to see the babies, so I relied on Brian to go check on them and bring me back updates. He was so amazing to me during this whole time, from making sure I was comfortable, to relaying information to me, to keeping everyone else informed and out of my way if I needed to rest. The babies were doing well, but needed to stay in the Special Care nursery because they were having some breathing troubles and needed extra oxygen.

Thursday night was pretty bad for me. After my time in recovery I was taken to a regular room and got to see my parents and in-laws. After everyone left I kept getting checked out. My mouth was so unbelievably dry, so I was allowed ice chips which were a godsend. I also started feeling very itchy in my face and eventually all over, which was a s/e of the morphine. They could give me Benadryl, which would make me even groggier. Yet even between the painkillers, the mag, and the Benadryl, I couldn’t truly sleep – I just felt completely lethargic. It was also hard to sleep with nurses coming in every hour to check my BP, my catheter, my reflexes, and my belly (they just cut it open and yanked out 2 babies so guess what – it HURTS when you press on it!) Plus, the Benadryl wasn’t helping the itching, so I got another drug (Nubian) which helped but not completely. I was also itchy on my legs from the pads all over me. They started getting sweaty and were just annoying from the constant pulsating. But I knew they had to stay on til I got off the magnesium.

After a terribly long and sleepless night (and mind you, I STILL hadn‘t seen my babies since I delivered) I saw Dr. Adibi from my OB practice in the morning. He said because of my blood pressure he wanted to keep me on the magnesium til about 5 that day (total of 24 hours). I was really really hoping I could get off it that morning so I could see the babies, so that news was so disappointing. As soon as I left I started crying because I felt cheated out of spending time with my babies. Every mother wants to be with her child, and I was chained to the bed while they were in the Special Care nursery. I was denied the basic right of bonding with my babies right away, and I was worried I would never feel that bond. I was jealous of every mom who got to be with their baby right away. They couldn’t bring the babies to me because of all the tubes and monitors, but a sneaky nurse who heard about my crying found a way to sneak them out of the nursery and into my room so I could hold each of them for a minute. She wasn’t supposed to do that, but I so needed that and I was utterly grateful to her.

Finally, at 5pm, they took me off the mag. They took out the catheter and I was allowed out of bed. I put on my robe and hopped into a wheelchair, because come hell or high water, I was going to see my babies. They looked so tiny and fragile hooked up to all the monitors, but they were beautiful.

Everything else about Kate and Danny in the NICU and Danny being transferred to CHOP is a whole other story.

Halloween babies!

Well, the last couple of days have been interesting to say the least. I went to the hospital on Monday night for my usual non-stress test. I had dropped off my lovely pee jug that morning so I was hoping to find out the results. I did. They found mild amounts of protein in my urine. That combined with the swelling and elevated blood pressure confirmed what I was fearing - I have pre-eclampsia. The doctor on call at the hospital wanted to keep an eye on me and see if anything changed, so they admitted me Monday night. I had to collect my urine once again and they checked my BP every 2 hours. They kept saying there was a good chance I could deliver this week, before I hit 35 weeks, but they wanted to keep monitoring things. So I had been mentally preparing myself to deliver today and having the babies spend a week or so in the NICU. It wasn't my ideal situation, but I had come to terms with it.

So this morning the doctor comes back after reviewing my labs and I'm certain she's going to say we're doing the C-section today since my protein counts had gone up (up from 380 on Monday to 550 today when they want 300 or less). Instead, she says that being on bedrest at the hospital has helped bring my blood pressure down enough that they feel OK with the babies cooking another week. Plus, my protein counts are at the low end of mild pre-e (severe is considered 5,00 or more and I was only at 500). So I was released today and am on bedrest - I can get up to pee and can shower quickly and walk downstairs, but that's about it. I also need to collect my pee yet again and come back Friday and Monday for more labs and non-stress tests.

I am so happy that the babies will cook for another week, but I had been preparing myself to deliver today that it seems weird I won't be meeting them til next week. Obviously this is the for the best, since they will be born at 36 weeks and will most likely need very little if any NICU time. As of Tuesday they are measuring well - Danny is 5lbs 3 oz and Kate is 5 lbs 1 oz, which is exactly on target.

The hardest thing for me was coming to terms with the fact that it wasn't the babies who were ready to come - it was my body that was failing. I know it's not my fault or anything, but I feel bad that my body and this condition is what's basically threatening them.

So the wndrtwns have a birthday - October 31!

My first trip (and fall) to L&D

Well, yesterday I was my usual graceful self and managed to trip over a computer wire in my office. Thankfully, I fell straight down on my knees, not my belly. I could feel both babies moving afterwards and I didn't have any bleeding or leaking, which is good. But it still freaked me out, so I called the OB. I was scheduled to start having non stress tests this week anyway, so they decided to have me come in for that a few hours earlier, so I left work right away. Brian met me at the hospital and we went up to the maternity ward for the first time.

Basically what a non stress test (NST) does is monitor the babies' heart rates, and checks to see if they accelerate with movement (which they should). It also measures any uterine contractions I might be having. Katie was being quite stubborn and wouldn't let the nurse get a good reading on her heart beat. This of course scared us, even though the nurse and I could both feel her move. The nurse eventually had to get an ultrasound machine to be able to see exactly where her heart was. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she found the heartbeat. Remind me to ground Katie later for being a brat :)

Danny was much more cooperative than his sister and she found heart rate right away. So there were 2 monitors strapped to my belly, then a third was placed to measure my contractions. Plus an absurdly tight blood pressure cuff that I swear was going to cut my arm off. Oh, and I was supposed to stay perfectly still through all this. That was fun. Plus, I'm supposed to go back and do this twice a week.

Overall, the wndrtwns did very well and were moving around a lot. There was no reason to believe that the fall caused any problems. That was certainly a relief. I was told to drink a lot more water - it's possible that dehydration was causing the sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having the last week or so.

Oh, and today is a bittersweet anniversary - it was exactly one year ago today I found out I was pregnant the first time.

The end is in sight

The end of working, at least. Initially, my OB was OK with me just working up until about a week before the C-section, provided there were no issues with the babies. But she was ready to pull me out right away if there were any problems. Last week I went to the perinatologist (high risk Dr.) and everything is fine with the babies, but he still wants me to stop working or at least work from home starting around 33-34 weeks (which is about 2 weeks away). His concern is not about actually working (I sit at a desk most of the day) but the 45 minute commute each way. He would rather I not be in the car for that long and be too far from a hospital in case I have contractions while driving, etc. So he's recommending I at least try working from home for a couple weeks and then stop working altogether around 35 weeks.

So now I need to have that conversation with my boss. He'll be fine with it - he has 2 kids and his wife is currently pregnant again so I know he'll understand. I was just looking forward to saving as much of my vacation and sick time as possible for after the babies get here so I could get paid in full rather than the 70% I'd get from STD. But I'll do whatever I need to. I've been having some sporadic contractions, so I don't want to take any chances. So now I guess I need to finalize my maternity leave plan!

I promise, those are not track marks

One of the things that most pregnant women have to do is take a glucose tolerance test. This is usually done around 26-28 weeks or so. Most only have to take 1 test - it takes an hour and if you pass, you're done. This glucose test will determine if you are at risk for gestational diabetes - a serious but treatable condition that rarely shows symptoms, so it's really important to get this test done. As usual, with twins I'm considered high risk for GD so I took the test seriously.

The one hour test was manageable. The worst part was drinking the nasty orange drink. I have never been able to chug anything, so it was tough trying to get it down in only 5 minutes. But I did, and I sat and waited an hour to get my blood drawn. I felt sort of queasy during the wait and then afterwards til I could eat, but it wasn't too bad. I left thinking, "Well, I'm glad that's over, and I'm sure I won't have to do it again."

Not so much. A couple days later my doctor calls and says my levels were slightly elevated and they want me to take the 3 hour test. Here's the kicker - the numbers they want to see are 135 or below. I had 136. Yes, 136. I was off by 1 freakin' point. Just my luck.

So I scheduled the 3 hr test, and decided to just take the whole day off from work in case I felt sick. I was supposed to fast for 12 hours, then drink a glucose drink twice as strong as last time and wait another 3 hours. I had a feeling that if I felt queasy after the 1 hr, this would be even worse. So I fasted, but made sure to stuff myself with high protein snacks right before the fasting started so I wouldn't be super hungry. Surprisingly, I felt pretty OK. I got the drink down and then began waiting. The blood draws were the worst part. I had to give a baseline blood sample before drinking, then another 3 every hour. I have terrible veins and phlebotomists and nurses always have issues finding a good vein from me. So trying to do this 4 times in 3 hours was not pleasant. I ended up with 2 prick marks in my right arm, one in my left, and one in my left hand. And they're nasty looking, too. I looked like a heroin addict or something with all these holes and bruises. It's been over a week now and I still have the bruises.

(Oh, and because I must be a glutton for punishment, I scheduled my Rhogam shot for the same afternoon. So that was another needle prick and another bruise - this time in my upper arm. Good times.)

So now it's over. I felt a little dizzy afterwards but was so happy to get home and be able to eat. After eating and resting for a while at home I felt good, so it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. Oh, and this time, I actually passed :) Yay!

I'm it!

I've been tagged by Erin (E_Sharp)


The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

1. I have a severe phobia of bats - I get freaked out seeing them even for a second on TV. I don't even like to listen to people talk about bats.
2. I didn't get on an airplane til I was 24 years old.
3. When I was 10 my parents and I drove cross country in an RV. We saw the Grand Canyon and rode up the CA coast. It was awesome.
4. I hate to have food touch each other. Those disposable plates with the 3 separate areas are one of the greatest inventions ever.
5. I sometimes wonder if there will ever be something I can excel at. I feel like I am so average at everything I do. Even the things I think I'm good at - I'm really just average.
6. I despise wearing closed toed shoes. I would wear flip flops and sandals all year long if I weren't afraid of my feet falling off from the cold.


Now, who should I tag?
1. Stephanie (alpacabunny)
2. Tamara (lovelifeinthesouth)
3. Sara (Calhoun)
4. Mandie (Just Boo)
5. Jennifer (Chrysallys)
6. Mandy (mandybr)