33 Weeks

I've managed to make it to 33 weeks so far, despite the adventure of Baby A's water breaking on Tuesday.  It's been an eventful, yet boring last couple of days.

Once they got me checked in on Tuesday, they gave me the first of two steroid injections, used to develop the babies lungs faster in preparation for possible delivery.  I also got started on a magnesium IV drip, in addition to antibiotics.  The magnesium, or The Mag, was to help provide neural protection/development for the babies and to slow the labor process.  The high dose of antibiotics was to help prevent infection due to the water breaking.  In addition to being drugged up, I was also hooked up to monitors for the babies - pretty much like a non stress test, only the monitors stayed on continuously.

The drugs and the monitors were a constant for all of Tuesday and Wednesday.  I had some minor contractions at first, but nothing major, only Braxton Hicks type contractions.  I have not had ANY leaking or bleeding the entire time I've been here.

Tony has stayed the night every single night so far, sleeping on the little sofa couch in the room.  He did go to work on Wednesday for about half day, then went home to pick up a few things for the both of us and pick up the house a bit.  Other than being constantly monitored, Wednesday was fairly uneventful.  I did get the second steroid shot, and The Mag and IV antibiotics continued.  My day was mostly filled with letting people know I was doing okay and the babies were holding tight.

Let me tell you about The Mag.  It wasn't too bad at first, but it definitely has unpleasant side effects.  It makes you really hot, so I've been freezing poor Tony out.  He's a trooper though and just keeps layers of clothes on.  The Mag also made me feel pretty woozy.  I had a hard time focusing my eyes on anything.  I had a friend come visit and I had to apologize to her because I just couldn't look at her for very long during our conversations because I couldn't focus enough to really see her.  Of course she understood.

I was mostly fine while laying in bed, but when I got up to go to the bathroom, I was starting to get a little bit more dizzy and feel sick with each trip.  At about 4:00am Thursday morning, I was really feeling out of it.  I thought a lot of it was because I wasn't sleeping well and sooooo exhausted.  I could not keep my eyes open to save my life, but I also couldn't make myself sleep while my eyes were closed.  I was supposed to continue The Mag for another 10 hours, but at 4:00am, they decided to take me off of it because it was making me so sick.

I was trying to be a trooper and do what was best for the babies, so was willing to stay on it, but they said it was okay.  The steroids were in effect and The Mag was just making me too sick.  As it wore off throughout the day on Thursday, I did feel more like myself again.  The only remaining side effect is that I am incredibly swollen from the tips of my toes all the way up to my waist and into my back.  My thighs have never been so huge, not to mention what it's done to my lady bits.

Tony went to work again on Thursday, but it was very hard for him to concentrate.  Most especially because Thursday was a little bit more stressful.  Baby A took a dip in her monitoring that morning, so the doctor ordered an ultrasound to check on things.  I had called Tony to let him know there was a little concern, so of course he was on pins and needles waiting for more news. 

During the ultrasound, Baby A did great.  However, Baby B was lethargic and wouldn't move.  He had a stable heart rate, but didn't meet the other standards they were looking for.  I knew there was a problem when I got back to my room and was about ready to eat lunch, and the nurse took my tray away right as I was about to dig in.  I told her it can't be good if I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything.  She confirmed that they were very concerned.  I called Tony and he immediately left work at that point.  They were preparing for a possible c-section that night.  They hooked all the monitors back on me for the rest of the day and continued to watch the babies heartbeats and movement patterns.

By that afternoon, they determined that it was just very bad timing for the u/s because both babies looked great after that point.  They had most likely just been feeling the effects from the steroid shots and The Mag as well, which made them pretty sluggish.  As the meds wore off throughout the day, both of them were doing fantastic and have been having Kung Fu matches inside.  They have been very, very active babies since that scare.

The doctors now think there is every reason to believe I may hold onto these babies until next Saturday, when I will reach 34 weeks.  At that point, they will induce.  They believe that at 34 weeks the babies are developed enough not to have significant health complications, but the continued risk of infection and placenta problems that could potentially occur because of the water already breaking just become too high, so they will induce at that point in time.

Yesterday, they did a repeat u/s on the babies, just to be sure everything was okay.  Both of them scored 8/8 and looked fantastic.  They seem to be pretty content hanging out on the inside.  My vitals have stayed very stable.  In fact, my blood pressure has dropped lower than it has in a long time!  It was hanging around 117/66 most of the day yesterday.  Woo-Hoo!  No temperature.  No sign of infection or of labor.

We also got a tour of the NICU yesterday.  Even if our babies make it to the 34 week mark, they will still spend at least a little bit of time in the NICU, a minimum of about two weeks and up to maybe four.  It is totally dependent on how our babies are doing.  It was very important to both Tony and I to get this tour so we could mentally prepare ourselves for the first time we see our own babies in there.  It is so difficult to see little tiny babies hooked up to machines.  I know it will be even more difficult when it is our own.  One thing I am very certain of though, is that we are in one of the best facilities in the state for NICU care.

For now, we are just riding the tide and hoping to make it to next Saturday!  We are celebrating the fact that we have at least made it to 33 weeks.  The babies are being monitored twice daily, and they continue to check my vitals  about the same.  The main target right now is finding a way to hopefully reduce the swelling in my legs and lady bits.  If the swelling doesn't come down, I may not have a choice and be required to have a c-section, which is not high on my list of plans.

There is so much more I could tell you about, but this catches you up to date with the most important part, and that is that I am still pregnant and the babies appear to be doing great.

Just hanging out in my new home