Good Bye NICU, Welcome home!

Ok, so I have not updated this in a really long time...soooo much has happened! First, I'll start with the last few days in the NICU: We celebrated the girls 1 month birthday and they wore new outfits (that I had to iron...really?) Memorial day weekend, Nick's Aunt had come to visit and while his mom and she were visiting the girls, they both took whole bottles. Overnight, they both took most of their bottles and were nursing VERY well...on Monday, I asked a nurse when would we stop giving them 1/2 of their feed (after they nursed well, they would drop 1/2 of the full amount of the feed down their tube). The answer I got was confusing- when they start doing better with the bottle...hummm. I didn't really say anything then, but it didn't really make sense to me. The girls never really showed any signs of being hungry, and I wondered if we keep them full, when will this ever happen?!?! Later that day, another nurse hinted that maybe we should not give them the rest of the feed if they nursed well the next time, and I was all for that! (she wasn't our primary nurse, but talked to our nurse and said she would be the one responsible) So we didn't give them more, they slept for about 3 hours and woke up hungry! Imagine that! After this, as they said would happen, the light just went on. We were told the course of action for discharge after this point is that they will set a minimum mL that they have to take w/o dropping the extra milk down their tubes (i.e. they have to take 36mL out of a 50mL feed), after a few days of that (when they don't need to put any milk down the tubes), they will pull the tubes completely and do feeding on demand and look to see consistent weight gain over another few days. Also, because they were doing better nursing than bottle feeding, they talked about to having us stay in a suite with the girls for 24 hrs to see if they would gain weight- they hinted that they might have us do this by the end of the week (WOW). We were told to watch some videos and bring in the car seat for the car seat challenge- getting ready for discharge!! About midweek, Lailey pulled out her tube, and the nurse didn't put it back in...not "until we need it" wink wink. A little later, Kennedy did the same thing (oops, says the nurse)- the tubes NEVER went back in, they took all of their feeds consistently w/o needing any minimum to be set- we owe it all to our nurse that was willing to give them a little push!! After 2 days of weight gain, there was talk of going home "not before friday, but maybe sat, sun or mon". Thrilling!! Thursday night, a nurse called the dr and discussed us going home fri (June 4th), since the girls were doing so well...dr agreed and discharge was slated for the next day! There was a catch though, they needed to show a weight gain overnight, but they had steadily gained weight all week, so we weren't worried. So we excitedly went out for our "last" dinner, did some baby shopping and cleaned the important parts of the house. On our way home, we called the NICU to check in and got depressing news- Kennedy lost weight. I was devastated and angry. Angry because the NICU had been having trouble with their AC and it was FREEZING in there all day. For fear that they would lose weight, I kept putting an additional blanket on them during the day while I was there, but came back to find the blankets removed each time...So I spent the evening busy, but fearful about the news we would receive the next day. We called in the morning, and got the same news, with the addition that Lailey hadn't made a notable gain either. UGH! Now we may not bring EITHER home...I wanted to scream and cry and stomp my feet, because I KNEW it was from the temperature in there (maybe not, but I had to blame something). Nick had taken off and we went to the NICU to feed the girls and we had a "swaddle bath" lesson from the OT scheduled for 10am (which I HIGHLY recommend if you have a newborn- it is WONDERFUL). We waited throughout the morning to talk to the Nurse practitioner or doctor, who typically do rounds mid-morning to see what the verdict was- we hadn't gotten a definite no, but a yes seemed unlikely, given the circumstances. After waiting all morning, the NP passed through, however we missed her- our nurse went and talked to her and thanks again to nursing advocates, we got the thumbs up to bring BOTH of them home! BOTH! I wanted to do a dance, as I thought for sure that only Lailey would be coming home that afternoon, if either of them. The NP was called to a delivery, so we had to wait, but we didn't even care...we went to lunch, packed up their stuff and loaded the car...this seemed surreal! We got to share the good news with our 2-south nurse friends and were able to get a pic together on the way out. What a bittersweet moment! I had been at that hospital everyday for almost 3 months! We owe sooo much to everyone there and it was sad to say goodbye...I still feel a little sad when I think of all of the wonderful people there. How can you ever express your gratitude for what they did for us?

So now we are home! I felt like we were going to get in 8 car accidents on the way home, but we made it! Nick was able to take the week off, so we could get adjust to life at home...it was weird not to have to go anywhere and to all be home at the same time!! All the days seem to run together now...feeding, sleeping, baby laundry, dishes (for bottle washing mostly) then its time to feed them again! We went to our first dr's appt and they are both gaining weight at a good pace. I can't complain about their sleeping schedule- 3 to 4 hours at a time. Dr says we still have to wake them up to eat in the middle of the night for a little while longer. Some nights I think they would actually sleep the whole night...we accidently slept through our alarm one night and I woke up about 5 1/2 hours later (oops!). The nursery is coming together and the baby stuff is slowly making its way out of the dining room (finally!). Nick went back to work this week- he was very sad, but only has two more weeks and then is off for the summer! My actual due date is this Tues (June 22) so the girls will finally be a corrected age, rather than a gestational week, or a negative number ;). Ok, gotta go make bottles!! Here's some pics:

1 month birthday outfits:

First family picture!

"Formal" Picture day- Last day

Photographer @ NICU:

Swaddle bath lesson:

Going home! June 4, 2010

Nurses from 2-south...We will miss you!

GOING HOME!!

First night @ home

First bath @ home

Cuddles!

Week 3

This week the girls have really lived up to their NICU "label" : feeders and growers. Nothing very eventful, just learning to eat orally (am I @ work?) and getting bigger! Both girls have had a few apnea/heartrate drops mostly during feedings or shortly after. However they are not too concerned with these because they aren't sure if they are actually "spells" of bradycardia or just a drop because of reflux (I guess they can look the same). Nursing is going a little better...but still fluctuates from day to day...today was a great day, yesterday was terrible. Just hoping that the good days get a little more frequent. The girls are allowed to try feeding orally 3-4 times per day now, so the nurses try a bottle feeding overnight. Lailey is doing better than her sister, but still only takes about 1/2 of what she needs. The biggest event of this week was Lailey joining the 5lb club (which was actually in week 4, but close enough)!! As of today, Lailey weighs 5lbs 3oz and Kennedy weighs 4lbs 13oz! They have really packed it on this week :)

I have two showers to look forward to this weekend! It will be great to see everyone, since I really haven't been able to hang out with anyone since before (or outside of) the hospital! Even though I feel better and REALLY want to tackle cleaning the house and setting up the nursery, my body has decided its not ready yet :( Hopefully next week! I think the girls will be home in a few weeks- someone told me last week that they might be home in 1-2 more weeks, but I don't really believe that anymore...there's a lot of feeding/breathing things that need to be learned first! But, we'll be patient and the girls will let us know when they are ready!! Here are some new pictures (happy Natalie ;) ?? )

Kennedy in her big girl bed:

Lailey's 5lb club picture, doesn't she look excited?!?

Daddy's first bottle with Kennedy:

Lailey in her big girl bed:

Holding hands!

WEEK 2

Its surprising to me that these girls have really only been on this earth for a little over two weeks! I was reading the last post and thinking, "Wow, I can't believe that was only last week." So much has changed (for the better!) since last week! First, Lailey's IV was completely removed. Saturday, I was home alone and got a phone call from the NICU at 9:30pm. I think my stomach dropped through the floor...however they were quick to say "everything is ok"! Phew- they were just moving the girls downstairs to the other NICU- they said that this NICU was where they moved babies that are stable, and it is the last step before sending them home! This NICU is on the 2nd floor (where I was for the past 2 months), so I get to visit all my nurse friends everyday :) When they moved the girls down, they moved Kennedy into a regular crib because she was maintaining her heat well. Lailey was moved down in her isolette, however they removed the heat to see how she would do. She was in her own crib by Monday evening! Now that they are maintaining heat and in cribs we can hold them as much as we want... Hooray! Drs discontinued the caffeine that both girls were receiving to prevent apnea spells and have not had any spells since that has happened ...knock on wood. Also, I have been attempting nursing with both girls during two of their feeding times. Now that I can drive, I can get to the hospital for their 8:30/9:00am feed, then Nick and I go up together for their 5:30/6:00 feed. We can only try nursing for two feeds a day for now because they burn up so much energy trying this new skill that if we tried any more, they would burn more calories than they take in. Neither girl is truly "nursing" as of yet, but we're trying! Lailey is doing better digesting her food and is tolerating the fortifiers which increase the calories of the breast milk. They attempted to increase the calories before, however she could not digest it and they has to go back down. She finally gained a little weight (2oz) and has plateaued around 4lbs6oz. Dr says if she doesn't gain by Monday, they will increase the calories again. Kennedy continues to gain weight and now weighs 4lbs3oz- Maybe Lailey is just waiting for her sister to catch up! Saw the nurse practitioner on Tuesday and she had said that if they remain apnea free and begin to eat orally and gain weight, that they may be able to go home within 2 weeks!

Lailey learning to suck her thumb:

Best Smile ever! (Kennedy)

High 5 daddy! (Lailey)

This week I also got to celebrate my first mothers day, which was absolutely amazing...It meant so much after these crazy/confusing/scary past few months!! Nick made me breakfast, we went up to the hospital, and went to Kyle's and Jen's. Nick's parents were able to come to the hospital and hold the girls too...Nick gave me a beautiful ring with the girls' names carved into it- a perfect present :) He also made a huge steak dinner on monday (which I have been craving since I was in the hospital) so I got a whole extra day of celebrating!

Kennedy and Nana:

Lailey and Pops:

HAPPY 1 WEEK B-DAY

Today the girls are 33 weeks, technically...or negative 7weeks old. For some reason this has seemed like a REALLY long week! I feel like they were born a month ago!

Kennedy is still doing great. She remained off the vent and hasn't needed any assistance breathing. She is still g-tube fed, but is at the max amount and was just increased a couple mL's because she has started to gain a little weight back. Her IV was removed completely a couple of days ago since she is tolerating feeds so well! I was able to observe the PT last week and she says that everything looks good so far (are there standards for negative 7 week old babies?).

Lailey is doing well too-she's had a few more complications than Kennedy, but nothing too serious. She stayed on the warming table thingy a few more days than Kennedy (who went into an isolette almost immediately), but is now in an isolette. She needed some photo therapy due to jaundice. She had on these super funny "shades" which looked like tinted swim goggles haha (that's right, we laughed at (with) a preemie baby with jaundice) they were sooo cute! We forgot the camera, but thought we could get a pic next time, since they told us she would need the light for a couple of days...however the next day, no sunglasses, no light needed anymore! Great news, but maybe they will put the goggles on her just for a photo op...is that mean? She also has had trouble digesting and they were not able to increase her feeds at all for awhile, but as of Monday, they have been able to increase them and she is almost at her max too! Hasn't gained weight yet, hopefully soon. She still has her IV, however they were able to remove the lipids that they were adding to it. They removed her vent after a few days and moved her to a C-Pap...she looked sooo uncomfortable :( After a day or so of that they moved her to a nasal cannula with forced air. They were going to do 6hrs with the cannula, 6hrs with C-Pap, but she was doing so well with the cannula that they decided to do 9hrs cannula, 3hrs Cpap. That didn't last long, and now she's just on the nasal cannula with forced air- no O2 added, just room air and she is tolerating this really well. The nurse even said that when she pulls the cannula out, her O2 stats don't drop, which is a great sign! Yesterday they even got her dressed for the first time :) This is good news, not only because its so cute, but it means they aren't watching her chest for signs of distressed breathing!

We have been doing "kangaroo care" with the girls everyday for an hour, which is the most wonderful hour of the day! The nurses always say they feel so mean putting them back to bed because they do so well during that hour! They can only be out of their isolettes for about an hour a day so this is the only time we can hold them. We have gotten to change their diapers (which may not sound like such a great thing to all you parents out there, but it is for us! ) and get Kennedy dressed a couple of times, other than that, we aren't allowed to do too much. Therefore, after a while of staring at them through the isolette, we wonder what to do?? We don't feel like leaving them, but we feel awkward hovering! So strange. Both girls also have started to suck on their pacifiers (Lailey sucks so loud you can hear it outside the isolette!), so hopefully their feeding tubes will be moved to their nose soon so we can start bottle/breast feeding, or at least practicing! Ok, I think that's it for now...we have started a journal so that we can write down specific information like weights and feed amts so that we can actually see the progress...we are told so many things that we'll get home and say "Wait, what did the nurse say about____?" So hopefully this will help us remember what day it is!!

The Girls are here!

So Tuesday I woke up, well got up (because there was no sleeping Monday night) at 4:30 to take an all important last shower before my final monitoring session. The girls were monitored for the last time and I was taken down to L&D where everything happened soooo fast. IV's, catheters, ultrasounds to check the positions and all of a sudden the OR and the thing I dreaded the most- spinal...Which was awful! They must have tried it 5 times- I say they because it was actually the student, not the actual anestesiologist who was attempting it. He would hit bone and hit my siatic nerve 3 times...worst pain ever. Finally the actual dr tried it and got it in 2 attempts- the one that actually worked bearly hurt...ugh! Everything was still going so fast- they tested me for pain and I had non so they started the section- i was wondering where the heck nick was and he was wondering what the heck was taking so long! Finally he got in there, sat down for about 3 sec (or what seemed like 3 sec) and then we heard the best sound in the world- Lailey crying as the Drs pulled her out (8:49am, 4lbs 4oz, 17 1/2in). They hunted around for Kennedy and she was born at 8:51 am, 3lbs 9oz, 16 3/4in- no crying at first but Nick says she started when they put her on the warming table. Nick was able to peek over the drape for both girls, thinking that he would get a little woozy, but ended up being just fine (DAD POWERS!). We also got a picture of the umbilical cords and the knots and twists. We were really really lucky by the looks of it..




Sorry if that grossed anyone out... I got stitched up and went right to recovery for a few hours. Don't really remember the rest of the day, but I do remember getting wheeled up to the NICU, where I almost threw up on our brand new babies :( People told me lots of things and I tried very hard to stay awake while they were talking but I'm pretty sure I kept drifting off! Oops. Came back to my room and slept on and off for the rest of the day. I think Nick did to, but he ran up to the NICU a few times to see what was going on.


Kennedy was on the vent for a couple of hours, but then ripped it out herself, was put on some oxygen, but that too was removed soon has been breathing room air since. She is in an isolette and is only on the feeding tube and IV fluids. Lailey was on the vent until last night and now she is on a C-Pap. They also moved her from the warming table to her own isolette...steps in the right direction. Both are tolerating feeds well, which they increase by very small amounts every 12 hours. Today I got to do what they call "kangaroo care" (they put the baby on your chest- skin to skin for about an hour) with Kennedy. They say its very important for very small babies. Nick got to hold Lailey- the first time she has been able to be held! Hooray!



Kennedy:





Lailey still on the vent- she looks sooo angry, she looks better now, but I don't have a picture of that right now:


I have had a recurring fever which has been attributed to nothing so far. Possibly a UTI, possibly a reaction to the surgery in general. So they put me on an antibiotic and resting has helped. Hopefully it goes away soon. All I can say is thank god for Percistat (sp?) :) Hope to be home on Saturday!

Birthday Eve

ARGH! 8 hours from now I will be on an operating table! More nervous than excited, unfortunately...thus why I am still awake. Tried to stay busy all day so I didn't really have to think about it. Lots of visitors today which helped pass the afternoon. I am excited to see what our daughters look like! I think they will have Nick's (big) nose (....don't tell him ) and he thinks they will be bald but grow up to have blond hair and blue eyes. I ordered "NICU approved" preemie clothes and they came today (great timing!) so that was fun to open - they're soooo tiny and cute! Now the girls can be fashionistas in the NICU! Hoping and praying that everything goes smoothly tomorrow...off to try to get SOME sleep....

31 weeks

This past week has been a bit more eventful than the past weeks. On Saturday (also Nick's Birthday), our wonderful friends organized a benefit for us which turned out to be a ridiculous success. The "benefit team" received an overwhelming amount of donations/baskets and I was bowled over by all the people that came to show their support! Nick and I were both speechless- people are unbelievably generous, even in these tough economic times, we just couldn't believe it!! Everyone raved about how great the event was and how well planned it was - I'm thinking our friends should be professional benefit planners!!

On Monday morning I had my NST as usual, however I was startled when the resident crashed into the room with the portable ultrasound about 2 hours after. He said he notice some repeated drops in one heart rate and wanted to just check things out. He said everything looked ok, but just wanted to be on the safe side and sent me to Labor and Delivery immediately. There they could monitor me for 4-6 hours straight and look for more decels. Nick rushed from work and , from what I've heard, started everyone talking...my mom even heard (at her school in ATTICA) that I was in labor! Ahh the telephone game is always interesting. My Dr came to L&D right when I got there and told me he thought the resident was being extra cautious, and if he (my dr) looked at the tracing, he would NOT have sent me to L&D. This annoyed me. I didn't mind the continuous monitoring, but I did mind that I had to have an IV put in because I couldn't eat (in case I had to have surgery)- all seemed a little excessive, since I wouldn't have even been there if my dr would have seen the strip first!! So after 5 hours of continuous monitoring, no food or drink and a lovely IV in my hand (which had to stay there fro 24 hours), they sent me back to my room b/c they found nothing concerning. So initially it was a bit scary, then a bit annoying, but I guess this is why I have lived in the hospital for the past 45 days.

Today the sonogram was initially concerning, however ended up ok. Baby A measured 4lbs 6oz, and Baby B measured 3lbs 10oz (both measured 3lbs 4oz two weeks ago). The peri was very concerned with baby b and her lack of growth, compared to the amount of growth that baby a experienced. So, the peri remeasured at found baby b to be closer to 4lbs 0oz. Phew. She says they are both acting fine and do not appear to be in distress - both practice breathing, moving etc...so she doesn't "think" we need to be worried. That's the crazy thing about this pregnancy...nobody knows anything for sure...not by any fault of the drs, just the nature of the problem. ugh.

Nick and I were having several discussions and concerns about when to deliver. Our OB wanted to do it right at 32 weeks while everything looked good. He says, why push it? Which made sense, however one of the perinatologists suggested, if everything looks good, why not wait til 34 weeks and gain the benefit of being bigger for delivery. So, we continued to think long and hard about it...however after the scare on Monday, and noticing more frequent decels during the strips, we both believe our question was answered for us. Get 'em out so we can stop worrying about what's happening from hour to hour. So we were initially scheduled for 4/27 at 3:30, however I didn't really want to wait ALL day...so I asked if there was another day with an earlier time. Was scheduled for 4/28@ 10:30, however today, our OB came in and said there was an opening on tues 4/27 at 8:00am...So, that's the day! Less than one week! GULP....

30 Weeks

Today we're 30 weeks +1day! Made it through another week! A few scares this weekend, all of which turned out to be ok. First was leg pain, which they automatically think -BLOOD CLOT, and sent me for a venus doppler. Results came back negative, just random pain I guess. Also we had one scary heart rate acceleration where one baby's heart rate was over 180 for longer than 20 minutes. I freaked out, and didn't like that the nurse was ridiculously calm- she said just to wait a few more minutes (which seemed like 100 hours watching that monitor). And, huh, it was like this may have happened to someone else before, because, as she predicted the heartrate dropped back to a normal range. Phew... Other news we received this week was that the dr wants to deliver the babies exactly at 32 weeks which will be April 27th. Says its better to get them out healthy once they hit this milestone than wait and possibly contend with an incident in utero, which would not be caught until the next monitoring...Seems logical to me, so Lailey's and Kennedy's birthdays will be a week from Tuesday (April 27, 2010), if everything goes as planned!! So, I'm trying to keep occupied so I don't have to think about the actual delivery...I think the surgery is what is freaking me out the most, weird. Growing a little tired of daytime tv...and WHAT HAPPENED TO RACHEL RAY?? It's not on anymore...soooo disappointing! If anyone knows where she went, please fill me in! Biggest event of the week: trip to the cafeteria to get a real drink...not water or Shasta! Maybe I'll eat there next time-at a REAL table in a REAL chair, where my food hasn't sat in a cart for an hour! Whoa, that's craziness.

April 7, 2010

29 Weeks and 1 day today. So far I've been inpatient for 4 weeks, 3 days, 9 hours and 34 minutes. Not that I'm counting. So many little exciting things happened last week! We got to move to a new room next door to my old one, which feels remarkably larger than my other room, even if its only by a couple of feet. The weather was so nice and Nick was able to take me outside a few times. Jenkins even brought the dog so I could see her while I was out there! Got to see my nephew on Easter while I was outside, however the nurse that we told wasn't thrilled with the idea. I'm not really sure why because there are kids in the lobby every time I go down there...not really sure what the difference is. Got to eat a whole TON of Easter food from sisters-in-laws- sausage, pierogies, mac & cheese, broccoli salad, LAMB CAKE, ham, 1000lbs of chocolate...mmmmmm delicious. I am attributing all this good food to the good news we got at the sonogram today- girls are weighing 3lbs, 4oz. Dr Mcdonnell said this was an average weight for one baby and it was on the bigger side for twins! She called them "superstars" because they looked like they were doing so well! Both babies were still practice breathing and Nick was able to come to the sonogram since he has the week off! So happy!! This place was starting to wear on my patience, but after today's news, I feel renewed and feel like there IS a point in me being here...not to say that I'm not ready to get outta here, just feeling a little less down about the whole situation.

March 30, 2010

HOORAY HOORAY! Today is our 28 week milestone! Dr's say this is an important milestone because the risk of long term health issues significantly decreases after 28 weeks. Next milestone is 32 weeks, when it drops again. I asked about whether or not we will go past 32 weeks, and it seems like we won't. So, as long as everything stays as it is, we will have babies sometime during the last week of April (the 27th is 32 weeks exactly). So, we're hoping and praying that we make it that far!

No hospital news is good news, although it makes for a boring blog. I'm pretty sure there is a Dr. Marijuana, a Dr. Taco and a Dr. Potato that work here, as I keep hearing them paged over the PA. I hope Dr. Potato doesn't do my c-section... I would be afraid his long white arms would fall out during the surgery... Hope he's not wearing his "angry eyes" :)

March 25, 2010

My plan was to update this a little more often, so I apologize to those who are checking and looking for new information. However, I am glad that nothing really significant has happened over the past week...at this point, uneventful is good! The days seem to go by surprisingly fast, I can't believe that on Sunday, I will have been here 3 weeks already! I have had a ton of visitors which have helped the time go by as well (thanks everyone)! Friday night friends came for pizza and wings and we ended up playing games - I felt "normal" for about 6 hours :) Tuesday, the babies reached 27 weeks, which is one week closer to our first big milestone~28weeks!

A quick update with the sleeping situation (from my last post). The overnight nurse did the scan at 6:15am however, the day nurse took me off the monitor. I typically go back on around 10am, so when it got to be 1:00, I asked what time they were going to put me on. The nurse replied that they weren't going to do the day scan, because the one at 6:15 counted as the day time one. (WHAT!?!?!?!) I was shocked and, in retrospect, should have just told them I wanted them to do it anyway, but I didn't and just waited for my dr to come later that afternoon. When I told him what happened he was LIVID! I'm glad, though...why else am I stuck here if they aren't going to monitor me? So this event spawned a "strict" monitoring schedule ordered by my doctor. Every shift still comes to ask me when I would like it, except day shift (who, i believe, got their a#@*& handed to them) - they come to do it right at 10am, no matter what! So that situation is MUCH better- I sleep from 10ish-4:30ish without interruption, phew...

Monday morning I had my glucose test (at 5am - ick), and failed it :( So tuesday morning I had the three hour one. So, I felt pretty crappy those two days...The three hour one was bad enough, however the secretary sent my last vile of blood down to the lab with the wrong name on it...So, they had to take another vile (the 6th vile of the morning!!). However, I had already eaten breakfast by the time they caught it. I thought I was doomed for a restricted diet and finger pricks for the remainder of my stay, however the results came back ok! I knew my "normal" sugars would have been fine, but since I've been here, everyone has been bringing me yummy treats that I HAVE to eat (all at once, not that i'm complaining) and the beverages you can order with your hospital meal are pop or juice, so I have been drinking pop like its my job...I typically don't even drink pop, especially the full sugar version! So now I'm just trying to not eat sugar ALL day, just part of the day ;)

I had a sonogram on Wednesday and the doctors said the babies looked good. Weights were 2lbs 9oz and 2lbs 6oz...I looked up mean weights for gestational age of 27 weeks and most of the information I found said they should be around 2.2 lbs! So it seems like we're right on track. Dr's seemed shocked that they were that big! We also had our NICU tour on Wednesday, and everyone there seems very nice and supportive. I found it comforting that they have a suite that they let you stay in for a couple of nights before they send the babies home. They use this to let you have a trial run managing the babies and any equipment that they are being sent home with by yourself - and if you have problems, the nurses are just across the hall.

Got to eat Panera today and Nick is bringing me DQ later (more sugar, oops)! Funny how little things are so exciting now :)

March 19, 2010

So not too much has happened this week...I asked my dr to nix the 12am vitals and he said that would be ok. So the next night I was awoken at 12am anyway-he had forgotten to write the order (at least he admitted that he simply forgot and didn't blame it on something else!). So, he went right down and changed it (yesterday). So last night I again was woken up at 12am...and I have to say I was kind of mean to the poor nurse. In my defense I had a migraine and had JUST fallen asleep...still, I didn't mean to be mean. Sorry nurse :(. Then they didn't come in at 4am to do the scan...I finally called down to the nurses around 6:15 and they explained that the dr changed the orders to have the scan at 6am (which doesn't really make sense since the nurses shift is over at 7). So we'll have to talk about that AGAIN....ugh. Maybe this will be sorted out by the time I check outta here.

Overall, girls continue to look good. Good heart rates and some good accels. Sonogram I had on wed showed that "baby A" was "breathing" and the tech said that you don't normally see that this early! Good news...

Also wanted to share a funny story about my nephew. The hospital won't let anyone in under the age of 14 because it's flu season. This makes him very upset (he's 3). I was talking to him on the phone (he was on his way to the hospital after church with my sister-in-law to drop off flowers) and he tells me my drs are mean because they won't let him in the hospital. I said, well, they just don't want anyone to get sick, so they say you have to be 14...how old are you? He says "3. No, I'm 14". hehe. So, he and my sister-in-law meet Nick in the lobby of the hospital to drop off the flowers. While they are talking, my nephew decides to go up to the lady sitting at the information desk and he tells her "I'm 14" and tries to convince her to let him in the hospital! Haha...oh dear, is this a precursor to the fake ID? Watch out Kyle & Jen :)

March 16, 2010

Today is 26 weeks for me and I've been inpatient for 1 week and 2 days. I almost can't believe that its been over a week, however time seems to be slowing down considerably. Thus, I'm thinking that becoming a blogger may occupy some time :) Things are starting to straighten out, finally, the beginning of the stay was a bit crazy. When I came in to be admitted, it seemed like they didn't know I was coming. No one was at the admissions desk, so we were sent to L&D, where we were told that we had to spend 24 hours there. This was not the plan, since we purposefully scheduled the admit date on the weekend so that Nick wouldn't have to take a day off to move in all my stuff! By 1:30, however, we were told that we could "check in" to our room. Another surprise when we got up there- nurses told me I was on bedrest and could only go to the bathrom! Not at all what the dr's had told me! So needless to say, Sunday was FRUSTRATING. Saw the Dr the next day and he said that I could take a shower- he wrote "bathroom privelages" in the orders, and he said "the shower IS in the bathroom, right?" So we got that cleared up. I was still confused though why I wasn't allowed to walk around- I mean I had been ok to work with no restrictions! I asked this question to the perinatologist (which I see 1x/week @ the sonograms) what the reason was for bedrest and she explained it was if you were in preterm labor, or your cervix was shrinking. OK, I said, why am I only allowed to go to the bathroom if none of this is happening currently to me? She didn't see any reason why I wasn't allowed to walk...geez...So she wrote a "note" in my chart, which I have since learned, doesn't necessarily mean a dr actually wrote the note! So, after 3 days of getting this verbally ok'd by the dr, the nurses FINALLY saw it written in the orders and didn't act all nervous if they found me up and around in my room! So, this week things have started to get straightened out. Now all we have to do is work on getting more sleep- nurse comes in at 10pm to give me my pills, midnight to do vitals, 4am to do vitals and 45 min monitoring (which can actually take almost an hour and a half or more), then the resident comes in between 6-7, then a.m. nurses around 8. Soooo thats fun, but I guess its "getting me ready for babies" as people say...however, I'm pretty sure no one else had to get themselves ready for babies and be woken up 100 times a night BEFORE the baby came!