tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21900097912234350302024-03-14T00:00:12.424-07:00One Day At A Time : Intertility, IVF and Our Journey Through the NICUMeganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-78984353463445574932014-12-31T21:40:00.000-08:002014-12-31T21:56:37.942-08:00HomeHome. Finally. I don't think I can do justice on describing how wonderful it is to be home! It is by no means glamorous. We eat, sleep and watch TV all day long, but it is wonderful!<br />
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Justin and I have worked out a pretty good system for now. The kids eat every 3 hours. Justin takes the early morning shift. He wakes up at 2:00 am and feeds the kids until he goes to work. I then wake up at 8:00 am and take care of them all day. Justin gets home from work around 3:00, and then goes to bed at 8:00 pm and I stay up until 1:00 am or so.<br />
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One of the good things about being at the hospital is the kids are on a great schedule already. And because we spent so much time up there, the transition from hospital to home and been really smooth. I thought my days would be crazy, and I would need my Dad over hear all the time to help me out. But the kids have been little angels. They are starting to wake up more and more by themselves every 3 hours. They are able to put themselves to sleep (most of the time). I just wrap them up tight and put them either in their mamaroo's or their crib and they snooze all day in between feedings.<br />
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The one thing I was really worried about was the dogs. I was not sure how they would handle having the kids home. After 3 months of us being at the hospital, I figured the dogs knew their smell from us. And to my pleasant surprise the dogs have done great with the new adjustment. Helo especially loves the babies and is really protective of them already. When they cry in their bedroom he will run in and check on them. He loves to give them kisses (I'm sure they are tasty). He also loves to steal their blankets, and take rides in their mamaroos. Bridgette on the other hand is pretty indifferent to the whole thing. We expected as much, and she has been through the whole new baby thing before.<br />
I think Helo and Bridgette have a pretty cushy life right now. We all hang out on the couch all day long. And since we are worried about them acting out we have let them sleep in the bed with us pretty much every night now. I don't mind as much anymore because I have now become a much better sleeper. I used to toss and turn all night, with the dogs annoying me all the time. Now I can fall a sleep within minutes, and wake up without ever having moved. That is one change that I am really liking. <br />
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The night before they came home I was in a bit of a panic. I kept thinking of all these things that I needed to do. Lots of little things that really didn't matter. Justin gave me the best advice. He said, "come to bed, we will learn how to live again tomorrow."<br />
You never know what life is going to throw at you. Who would of guessed that I would have gone through everything we did to get here. But like the title of my blog, we just have to take it one day at a time, and do our very best. One of my very favorite quotes is "tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it...yet" I'm sure I will make lots of mistakes, but I am doing the best I can, and with my Heavenly Father's guidance I know that I can accomplish anything.<br />
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This is probably my last post on this blog. I decided to switch back over to our family blog. You can continue to follow our story if you so desire. http://justin-megan.blogspot.com/ (be aware this blog has not been updated since 2012)<br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-4882905988956882912014-12-31T20:01:00.000-08:002014-12-31T20:50:25.744-08:00Day 101101 days in the NICU! I asked the doctors if I got a prize for making it to 100 days. They just laughed at me.<br />
We were so incredibly blessed to be able to have both of our babies come home on the same day.<br />
I don't even know how I would of been able to have one baby home, and one at the hospital. luckily I didn't have to find out.<br />
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We were also really lucky to be able to bring them home at all so soon. They were not really eating all of their food yet. However, they let us take the kids home on their NG tubes. So that meant we had to learn how to put the tubes down there little noses, and feed them the remaining food that they cannot take orally.<br />
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Wilson HATES his tube. The night before we took him home, he pulled his tube out 3 times. It took me a few times to get the tube in the right place, but its really quite easy (besides the horrible screaming coming from your baby in the process.) The goal is to have them eating their food within a month.<br />
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It was a bitter sweet day taking them home. We were able to meet so many wonderful people in the NICU.There is no way I could ever repay them for taking care of my sweet babies. I would not even have them if it was not for the great staff.<br />
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Being home is wonderful. Seeing my cute babies in their cribs sleeping, or playing is the greatest feeling in the world. My Heavenly Father has blessed me so much this year. For so long I have felt almost useless. Not being able to have children was like having no purpose for me. I felt in a total slump, like my life was not going to move forward. I know its not true, and that if I was not able to have children in the end, their is still purpose. But I can't deny that is how I felt. I have never felt so fulfilled as I do having my babies.<br />
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People have been telling me to get ready to have no more time for myself, and this and that, and basically my life will never be the same. You know what I am glad. I am ready for my life to change. I am ready to have no privacy, having no time to shower, or brush my teeth, smelling like sour milk, and being sleep deprived. If that's what has to happen to have this little ones in my life then bring it on. I have never been more ready. Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-72087684916096492852014-12-31T18:57:00.000-08:002014-12-31T18:57:38.159-08:00Christmas Photos!One of the great things we got to do in the NICU was get some Christmas photos done. Its one of those things that make you feel like your life is semi-normal.<br />
The results were fantastic!<br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-41674198588709150262014-12-08T20:55:00.000-08:002014-12-08T20:55:08.452-08:00December 4thThe day finally arrived that my babies were suppose to be due. Everyone was telling me that it would probably be a hard day. I thought it might be as well, but in the end the day was just another day. I barely even thought about it.<br />
I am so happy that my babies are hear and doing so well. I definitely would not have liked to spend all this time at the hospital, but its not all bad. I have met some really wonderful people along the way, and I have been able to see my babies grow in a way that most mothers don't get to see.<br />
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The last week was probably one of the toughest I have had in a while. I watched 2 babies go home in a couple of days. It is so wonderful to see the joy of a family taking home their baby. But, on the other hand it totally sucks. What about my babies? I want mine to go home. Why are they not going home, that baby has only been hear for a few days.<br />
The rush of emotions that went on for a couple of days was pretty overwhelming. In the end I just had to remember that my babies were in the best place possible, and the doctors and nurses were doing everything they could to get them home.<br />
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Wilson and Ella are still doing great. They we are still working on eating all the food that is required. Today we were able to decrease the amount of food that they are eating in hopes that it will wake them up more, and they will be more hungry, thus eat better. I hope this is the change that gets them home.<br />
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Justin and I are also trying to spend more time at the hospital with them. I have started to go up at 8:00am, and staying until 5:00pm or so. Justin then
will then come up and stay until 10:00pm. The reason behind this is the
kids eat better for us. When we are up there we have more time to spend
with them, and work with them on eating.<br />
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Hopefully only a couple more weeks at the most and my kiddos will be home! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-965593694627217002014-11-22T22:39:00.001-08:002014-11-22T22:39:35.526-08:00Together At LastI'm sure Wilson and Ella have no idea the other one exists, but I still feel bad that they have not been together really at all since they were born.<br />
Justin and I really wanted to take some pictures of them together, so one Sunday we got them all dressed up and took some pictures.<br />
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These are just a few of my favorites.<br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-89016467593601804332014-11-22T22:35:00.000-08:002014-11-22T22:35:00.233-08:00Spa DayA few weeks ago we were able to give the kids their first baths. It was so much fun, and luckily they liked it too.<br />
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Our awesome nurse Traci was there to assist us, and with her help it was a success. We bathed Wilson first, and he was a little unsure at first, but ended up really liking it and making lots of bubbles for us, but luckily there was no "code brown." (Yes I am referring to poop in the water).<br />
They are bathed a little differently so they don't get cold. They are swaddled in a blanket and then put in the water. You then wash one limb at a time and tuck it back in the blanket when your done. We then got to dress him up in some cute clothes for a few hours. My aunt Kim got him the cute outfit. He was so stinkin' cute! And smelled so yummy. ( I don't think he was excited as me).<br />
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Ella had her bath second. She was in heaven right from the very beginning. I think this was the start of a lot of spa days. Her cute outfit was from my Mother. She looked so cute! <br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-8088660573600788832014-11-22T22:17:00.001-08:002014-11-22T22:51:48.033-08:00Eating UpdateMy last post was about my kiddos and their progress with nursing. They were 33 weeks then, and they are now 38 weeks. The last month has been extremely stressful. There is still not much I can do for them, and now they are finally old enough that we can try and learn to breast feed. However, things did not go as smoothly as I would of liked them to. I did not expect them to be perfect by any means, and catch on right away. But, I was hoping that after a few weeks there would be considerable progress. They were just not catching on. So after a lot of thought, and prayer, and talking with friends who have gone through similar things, we decided that it would just be best to bottle feed them. I still pump everyday, and they get half breast milk and half formula, but this just seemed like the best option.<br />
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So how are they doing? Ella is my little rock star when it comes to eating. Currently she can take up to 3 bottles in a 12 hour period. That is pretty awesome. We are working toward eating 75% of her food orally. Once she has done that they will feed her ad lib. So, when she wakes up, they feed her. If she can continue to eat her food this way for 48 hours, then she can come home!<br />
We are pretty optimistic, and I'm really hoping she will be home within the next couple of weeks.<br />
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Wilson is working hard, but not quite there yet. He has had a set back because of his stuffy nose. The previous oxygen machine he was on (high flow nasal cannula) was humidified and heated air. When they switched him to a regular nasal cannula, where the air is just coming from the wall, it is only slightly humidified and not heated. This has caused him to have a really stuffy nose.<br />
Because of this he can't breath as well, and we think this is causing him to not eat as well as his sister. They tried putting him back on the high flow machine to see if it would help clear his nose up. It really did not do much, so they gave him a head box. The head box is his own little humidifier helmet. It pumps in nice warm humidified air along with the oxygen he needs. This has really helped his nose. He no longer has booger rocks (as I like to call them).<br />
Wilson also has reflux issues. Over the last few days it has started to act up more and more. The doctors are not overly concerned about it because he will eventually grow out of it. However, it does interfere with his eating as well. Hopefully we can figure something out to help him.<br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-70371902571432960702014-10-20T07:31:00.001-07:002014-10-20T07:31:44.623-07:00Breast FeedingDisclaimer: if you don't want to read about my experiences with breast feeding (or more accurately the lack of) I will not be offended. <br />
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The twins are actually to young to breast feed right now. Currently their corrected gestational age is 33 weeks. They have not learned how to coordinate everything that it takes to successfully breast feed, like swallowing, breathing and sucking. </div>
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Since day one I have been pumping to get milk for them. This was really important to me because a) I know breast milk is important for their development. And b) providing them milk was the only thing I could do for them right from the start.<br />
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Pumping has been a frustrating battle. Trying to buy the stupid pump was problem number one. Our insurance will cover one 50%, the only problem with that is you had to buy from one of their authorized dealers. We went to Alpine Medical first and we had it all worked out, and when it came time to pay it ended up being a lot more than we thought. We ended up buying it on Amazon for less, and we can add it to our medical expenses this year on our taxes. <br />
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Another battle is providing enough milk for two. The babies did not even start getting milk for a few days, so that helped buy me some time as my milk slowly came in. I opted for donor milk if I was not producing. I think they got a day of donor milk (mixed in with what could provide), before I was producing enough. "Enough" was very little thankfully. They start feeding the babies 3ml per feeding and go up from there. They were also getting food every 6 hours, and then it bumped up to every 3 hours. Their current schedule is around an ounce (30 ml) of food every 3 hours.<br />
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I was able to keep up with them until about a week ago (so about for 5 weeks). For some reason my production of milk declined. I was pumping every 2 to 3 hours, pumping at night, drinking lots of water, and trying to eat extra. I was doing all the things they told me to do but it was still low. There are lactation specialists up at the hospital, and Justin really wanted me to talk to them. I knew they would not tell me anything I did not already know, so I didn't want to. It was such a sore subject for me I knew if I startedt talking to someone I would probably just cry like crazy. <br />
I finally ended up asking by OB. I had an appointment with her, and she recommended Fenagreek tea. I'm not a fan of tea, so I bought some supplements instead.<br />
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Fenagreek is some nasty stuff. They say it tastes like maple syrup, I just think it tastes gross. It also makes you smell gross. Besides these two horrible things, I think (combined with other things) has helped with the increase of milk.<br />
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I was up at the hospital one day, and I ran into an occupational therapist (lactation specialist) so I decided to ask her if their was anything else I could do. She was a very nice lady, but she pissed me off greatly with the "help" she provided. Her answer to my question was medication, and to be happy with what I had. I was furious by the time she left the room.<br />
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She also told me the medication can cause depression. With that fact alone I knew it was not an option for me. And after some research online I found that the medication is usually prescribed for a week, and during that week your milk can increase, and when you stop, your milk production goes back down. <br />
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Right after this experience I finally used up all my stores in the hospital, and ran out of milk. I found this out later, but, our sweet nurse told Justin first, and he told her not to tell me right away because I was still upset about the OT. I was a little less mad when she told me, and we decided to start doing half formula half breast milk for the time being. If we end up having a good supply they will give them all breast-milk. I still would prefer to feed them breast-milk all the time, but it has decreased my stress level a little not worrying about producing enough.<br />
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When the babies oxygen needs started to decline, they were able to get their feeding tubes moved from their mouths to their noses. The good being, I could now start practicing latching with them.<br />
Carla, our amazing nurse, found me a different OT to come help me. At the time I did not know that she knew of my bad experience. The other OT was much better, and I like her a great deal more.<br />
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We started with Ella, since she was the first to have her feeding tube moved. I have to say this experience was one of the most amazing of my life. To be able to have that connection with my baby was amazing to me. I was struggling with not feeling like a mother, and feeling pretty useless to my own children, and even though we were just practicing, having her in my arms, seeing her try and latch on was life changing to me.<br />
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The steps to actually feeding a preemie baby is a pretty drawn out process. For starters they cannot coordinate breathing, sucking and swallowing. And I am told the hardest part is teaching them how to latch on, which is currently what we are trying to do. They have both latched on a few times, and to see them try is the cutest thing. Before we practice I have to pump so there is not milk for them. The reason being if I were to have a let down it would overwhelm the babies, cause a bad experience, and have them not want to try again. What I end up doing is pumping, and then when they are trying to latch on I have to squeeze just a drop for them to taste, and hopefully get them to latch. <br />
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Within a week or so we can start to give them more milk, and have them actually suck more. I still have to pump, but not a fully. After that we can try feeding them with bottles. Around this time I am going to be spending a lot more time at the hospital. Since I want to breastfeed, they need as much practice as possible, and since bottle feeding is so much easier for them, they don't want them to reject the breast because they know they have an easier option. So ideally they will have me in the day, and bottles at night.<br />
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Being in the NICU is a total roller coaster of emotions. At first I cried when I had to go the hospital, and wished that I could just stay home once in a while. Now when I go up there, It takes all my effort to leave them. There are also days where me and Justin are mad, or sad, or any other emotion you can think of. We had an experience with a nurse that made us so mad we had to leave and come back after she was gone. But, I am so grateful for the care they are getting, and I am even more grateful for the progress they have made. </div>
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Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-62816562567086572452014-10-18T14:28:00.001-07:002014-10-18T14:30:31.000-07:00One MonthI can't believe my babies are one month old, and more so a month of driving to the hospital every day has gone by fast. <br />
Life has been so crazy I have not been able to blog, but Wilson and Ella are doing well. A little after a week they were able to move into the low birth weight room. It has been so nice being in there. We get our own room (there are normally two babies in one room, so with twins we get our own).<br />
Another great thing about the U, is we can have the option of asking nurses that we like to be primary nurses. So every time they work they take care of our babies. We have been able to find a few nurses that we really like.<br />
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The first month also had some terrifying moments. First, Ella got an infection and a few days later Wilson got one too. At first they thought it was a UTI, but the cultures they grew from Ella's diaper never grew anything. So in the end I don't think we actually know what the infection was. Wilson's diaper grew something, but I don't know if we know what his was either.<br />
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Ella gave us the biggest scare. She started to destroy her red blood cells. We were pretty sure it was caused by the infection, but they ended up doing a lot of blood tests to see if there was any other problems. With drawing so much blood, and her destruction of red blood cells she had two blood transfusions as well. All the scary tests came back negative, and the diagnosis they came up with was "unstable hemoglobin." What that means we don't really know. They don't treat the condition it's just something that's there, and to keep in mind, especially when she is sick. Justin and I are in the process of getting blood test since this condition is hereditary.<br />
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They both recovered well from the infections, which was a great relief. They have been doing great ever since.<br />
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Some other things that happened, they got eye exams. That really didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, they are underdeveloped. The occupational therapist has been coming in and doing exercises with them, moving their legs and arms and such. Their oxygen needs have also been slowly decreasing. During Ella's infection she had to go back onto a c-pap machine. She stayed on that for a week or so, and then went back down to the high flow machine. She is doing great with that, actually better than her brother.<br />
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The latest news is they are working on controlling their own temperture. They started with turning off their beds so the bed does not adjust to the babies temp automatically. The best part about this is they now get to wear clothes. They are so cute in their little jammies. After about two days of that, Ella's bed now has the top open. And soon Wilson will be in an open crib (most likely later today).<br />
<br />
We are so greatful they are continuing to do well. Wilson especially has grown, he is 3.12 lbs today, and Ella is 3.2 lbs. they are the greatest little blessings. Life is not really what I expected it be. Before they were born I thought l would be sitting at home feeding and changing diapers, along with lots of sleep deprivation. It has turned out a lot different than that.<br />
<br />
I honestly don't feel like a mother most of the time. I do when I am with them, and there is definitely that connection between us. But, when I am home I basiclly sit around because I'm so tired all the time, feeling like a lazy bum because I don't have a job (I actually did start catering weddings again, my first night back was two days ago, and that has helped). Getting out of bed before 10:00 am is nearly impossible, due partly because I'm up every few hours to pump, and partly because of depression.<br />
<br />
I'm not one that normally struggles with depression, and I'm pretty sure it's postpartum related. I've also had a bad case of "life sucks". There was a few days where I would cry constantly throughout the day if I was alone, most frequently in the car if I had to drive myself to the hospital. I would just dwell in the fact that life really is not fair. Why did and do I have to go through all of this crap?? Years of infertility, high medical bills, lost jobs, never ending crap happening while I was pregnant, and now my kids in the NICU, and it seems like everyone around me is having happy, healthy babies. It was just constantly one thing after the other.<br />
Justin was the most helpful in solving my blues. Once I finally told him what was bothering me, he simply told me that it was OK, and that I was right, and had a right to feel that way. Just hearing him say that made me feel better, and honestly most of my negative feelings went away after that. Just knowing someone understood, and did not think I was crazy for thinking these things made all the difference. It's just another reason why I love my husband so much.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-53008917451679961292014-09-15T19:31:00.001-07:002014-09-19T08:47:06.176-07:00First Week in the NICU<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6wXGLJIZjbk/VBxN-p1NZ6I/AAAAAAAAAwo/6vlorJ4_jK4/s1600/IMG_2702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6wXGLJIZjbk/VBxN-p1NZ6I/AAAAAAAAAwo/6vlorJ4_jK4/s1600/IMG_2702.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilson under the lights</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Monday the 15th, will mark 1week of Ella and Wilson in the NICU. They have been doing fantastic, and we could not be happier.<br />
The biggest worry to me was their breathing, and their little lungs developing.<br />
With
babies that small their lungs are really delicate of course, and they
do not want them to deflate all the way because they most likely cannot
get them inflated again, this is because they tend to be really sticky
inside.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ET98wTujZWM/VBxNzHxxUbI/AAAAAAAAAwY/kT7LXpi5P9Q/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ET98wTujZWM/VBxNzHxxUbI/AAAAAAAAAwY/kT7LXpi5P9Q/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ella under the lights</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
They started out intubated. It is kind of scary to see
them hooked up. Luckily we were warned on what it was going to look
like, so we were not too freaked out. The machine pumps really fast,
sending lots of little bursts of air into their lungs. This prevents the
lungs from deflating, but it also makes the babies shake or vibrate.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIZdW5y1V5Q/VBxN58pmONI/AAAAAAAAAwg/lubtfazVOPc/s1600/IMG_2680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIZdW5y1V5Q/VBxN58pmONI/AAAAAAAAAwg/lubtfazVOPc/s1600/IMG_2680.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cuddly little boy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Wilson
was only on this machine for a day, and Ella was on it for about two.
They then went down to a C-Pap machine. This machine is more gentle.
They just have a nasal cannula, and the machine gently pushes air into
the lungs to keep them open. Once again Wilson and Ella were only on
this for a couple of days, and then they were able to breath on their
own.<br />
Currently at one week they just have a nasal cannula and are
hooked up to oxygen that can we adjusted. They are breathing all on
their own now, and there oxygen levels have been between 21% (which is
what we normally breath) and about 30%.<br />
I am so grateful that they
are doing so well. I think a big part of their success is that I had
steroid shots. The first round was a few weeks ago, and then I had
another round the Saturday and Sunday before they were born.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n4rtpc-ckeI/VBxNsQZKwHI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/jpjcPMiWtf0/s1600/IMG_2697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n4rtpc-ckeI/VBxNsQZKwHI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/jpjcPMiWtf0/s1600/IMG_2697.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad changing Ellas diaper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWngDLAjlsg/VBxODZbkeYI/AAAAAAAAAww/T6piljfcAQk/s1600/IMG_2707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWngDLAjlsg/VBxODZbkeYI/AAAAAAAAAww/T6piljfcAQk/s1600/IMG_2707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWngDLAjlsg/VBxODZbkeYI/AAAAAAAAAww/T6piljfcAQk/s1600/IMG_2707.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A big yawn for a little girl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</a><b>Update</b>:
I wrote the first part of this blog early this morning, and then we
went and saw them this afternoon. They are still doing great, but they
have there oxygen turned up a little more. Premature babies sometimes
forget to breath. We have only ever seen Wilson and Ella do really well,
and excel and make strides everyday. Today however, as we sat by
Wilson's bedside he was having these episodes of not breathing (they
call them A's and B's). He never fully stopped breathing, but he would
drop from 70 breaths per minute down to 20 breaths per minute. His heart
rate would drop from the 160's down into the 90's. It completely
freaked me and Justin out. We know that this is just something that
these babies do, and they will probably struggle with this for a while.
Eventually I told Justin I needed to leave. Sitting there not being able
to do anything was to stressful. I knew the nurses were there and
watching, and that they would take care of them.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgssyI_yRJY/VBxOJSRSNnI/AAAAAAAAAw4/MApucnYRYuM/s1600/IMG_2714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgssyI_yRJY/VBxOJSRSNnI/AAAAAAAAAw4/MApucnYRYuM/s1600/IMG_2714.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilson loves to be on his tummy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Both
are also doing well with eating. At first they are just on just
vitamins. Wilson was able to start food very quickly, and Ella followed a
couple days after. She had some icky green bile in her tummy that
prevented her from starting as fast.<br />
Right now Wilson currently
takes 15 oz of milk every 3 hours, and Ella takes 10 oz of milk every 3
hours, and the amount goes up quite often.<br />
Its interesting how
they are fed. They have the food in a syringe, and the tube goes
directly to their tummies. Before they feed them they check how much is
left in there stomach. They just suck it out with the syringe, and then
put it back in. They told us yesterday, as long as the residual is less
than half of the last feeding, they don't worry about it.<br />
They
recently changed the way both of them are fed. There heart rates would
drop when they had a feeding, so they changed it so over a course of 30
minutes there food is slowing injected through the tube into the
stomach. This makes it a little less overwhelming for there tummies.
They have been tolerating the feedings much better since they changed to
this method.<br />
<br />
They also get a brain scan. They usually
wait to do this between day 7 and 10. We will not have the results from
these for the next couple of days. Update: The brain scans came back clear, there is no bleeding in their brains. <br />
<br />
We are just so
thrilled on how well they are doing. They will hopefully be moved to a
new unit in the NICU within the next few days (it just depends on
space). The great thing is they will have their own room together. And
we will also be able to hold them. Right now they are on Minimal
Stimulation . This means we can only touch them when the nurses do their
cares. At 8:00 am, 2:00pm and 8:00pm we can go help by changing their
diapers and taking their temperatures. At that time we can also<br />
touch them. But coming soon I will be able to hold them. That will be an exciting day.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-aWngDLAjlsg%2FVBxODZbkeYI%2FAAAAAAAAAww%2FT6piljfcAQk%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2707.JPG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aWngDLAjlsg/VBxODZbkeYI/AAAAAAAAAww/T6piljfcAQk/s1600/IMG_2707.JPG" -->Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-88564035032555417152014-09-14T19:52:00.000-07:002014-09-14T19:52:05.639-07:00Home Sweet Home...againAfter a few days in the hospital, I got to come home on Friday afternoon. It was nice to know that I was really coming home this time, and I did not have to go back (at least to stay...visiting everyday does not count). It was hard to leave the babies there, but really not as hard as I thought. I knew I could not take care of them, and they are also in the best place they could possibly be. I also can't do anything for them, but of course love them, look at them, and change their diaper at specific times in the day. I'll do another post about their first week in the NBICU next.<br />
<br />
Before I went home I had to get a bunch of stuff done. I got a flu shot, and a T-dap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) shot. I also needed to get my staples out. For some reason the thought of getting the staples taken out was terrifying. I'm usually pretty easy going, and things like that don't bother me, but I would just shake, almost uncontrollably at the thought of it. My nurses kept telling me not to worry, and that it was not bad at all. She said most patients say its about the pain equivalent to getting your eye brows plucked. I believed them, but I was still terrified. I felt really dumb.<br />
It finally came time to take them out, and I of course was shaking, but I think I did a pretty good job at calming down. Of course they were right, it barely hurt at all. Most of them I didn't even feel when they took them out. There was a few in the middle that hurt pretty bad, but she said they were imbedded a little, so it was a little harder to get those ones out. Even though it really didn't hurt much, I am still glad that It was over quickly.<br />
<br />
We finally got home. I was very excited, except that I had to climb a flight of stairs to get in. I was going really slow, and Justin went up ahead of me. He walked in, and I was only about half way up the stairs and he yells down to me "someone cleaned the house". I pretty much broke down into tears. Of course it was my wonderful mother that cleaned the house that morning. It was just about the greatest gift I could of asked for. And then a few hours later she brought us dinner.<br />
<br />
It is now Sunday and my third day home. I was ambitious and went to an hour of church. For the most part I feel OK. I'm really sore, and really tired. I don't know how other people do it. I can't image trying to recover from a c-section and then taking twins home a few days later. I have a great respect for those that have. I would of needed an army.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-30818400779308454112014-09-11T22:19:00.001-07:002014-09-19T08:51:43.838-07:00The Day My World Changed Forever<br />
<br />
I spent all Sunday in Women's Special Care. The contractions had calmed down and were really far apart again, and I generally felt OK.<br />
However, later in the evening I started to not feel that great. Me being stupid, and not really knowing what was going on, I just thought I needed to go to the bathroom. I had my nurse, Emily, give me Milk of Magnesia, and I drank of can of prune juice, but I was still in terrible pain. The pain was way low in my back, and going down into my hips. It started out not so bad. But around 1:30 am or so I could not stand the pain any more. I called the nurse in to see if she could give me anything else. She looked at me, saw how I was breathing, and said "I think you are in labor". She had Justin try and time how far apart my contractions were based on how I was breathing. She wanted to check the babies, but the contractions were so close together, and much more painful. I could not lay on my back, so she could not get access to my belly to find the babies on the monitor. At this point I was in so much pain I did not care what happened next. They wheeled my over to Labor and Delivery, and because of the location of the pain they could not do anything either. They did however tell me the babies were coming, and they were going to deliver via c-section.<br />
I already knew that it was going to be a c-section. I had been told previously that even though baby A was head down, it would just cause too much stress to go through a vaginal delivery when they were so tiny.<br />
The few seconds I had in between contractions I had to do something to get ready. So basically it went, contractions, sign a consent form for c-sections, contractions, put on a belly band, contraction, tried to listen to the babies heart tones, contractions, examine my cervix (I was dilated to about a 5 or 5.5), contractions, cut off belly band. Plus sometime in all of this the IV in my hand started to BURN! I made them change the IV over to the other hand.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NvWppV9Um2A/VBxQL1Gng1I/AAAAAAAAAxE/ryg_HA3HNWk/s1600/IMG_2664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NvWppV9Um2A/VBxQL1Gng1I/AAAAAAAAAxE/ryg_HA3HNWk/s1600/IMG_2664.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First minutes. (and yes that is a regular sized post-it note)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
During this time Justin was holding my hand, and telling me that I was not squeezing his hand hard enough. I think that changed as time went on. He also got to go change into some scrubs so he could be with me during the c-section.<br />
He could not come with me at first. I was wheeled into the operating room, and they told me he could come in a few minutes and join me.<br />
First, they transferred me from my bed to the operating table. Once again each step was happening in between a contraction. I sat on the edge of the table with me feet hanging over and they gave me a couple of warm blankets and a table to rest my arms on. Then came my best friend again, the anesthesiologist. He was a super nice guy, really calm, and told me exactly what to expect. He felt around on my back, told me this was going to be the worst part, a sharp poke, and it may burn or sting for a minute.<br />
It really was not too terrible, it did burn, and I did make some kind of noise when the needle went in. It was probably less than a minute before my feet and legs started to tingle. They helped me lay down on the table, and said that they were sorry but I was going to feel really exposed for a few minutes, but not to worry, we were all friends. I was in so much pain and completely terrified, that laying on a tiny metal table completely exposed was the least of my worries. While they were cleaning me all off, and getting me all draped, they also strapped my arms down. I honestly think that was worst part to have my arms pulled out and strapped down. I understand why they did it, they did not want me trying to swat at them during the procedure, but it was still terrible.<br />
Justin was then able to come in. He told me that he called my parents and told them that I was having the babies, and that they loved me. He was so sweet, during the procedure he tried to keep me calm. He rubbed my arms and my shoulders. I was still nervous or terrified or something, and through the entire procedure my arms were shaking like crazy. I could not calm down and get them to stop shaking.<br />
When Wilson came out they let Justin go and try and take a picture, the problem being they whisk those babies into the NICU and he barely got to see them. (there is a little window from the operating room into the NICU that they just quickly pass the baby through when they are born).<br />
One of the sweet nurses asked if we wanted her to go snap a few pictures for us. She went and took a few pics. I thought that was super sweet of her.<br />
They then proceeded to clean and sew me up. Having a c-section is totally bizarre. All I could feel was them tugging, lots of pressure, and a suction every once an a while. Eventually someone came over and told us that the babies were all hooked up, and breathing, and doing well. I had never felt so relieved in my whole life. I felt like maybe I could calm down a little. I really didn't though. I was still shaking like crazy. I also remember the sound of them stapling me up, that was really weird. I could not feel it, or see it, but I knew what they were doing and the thought of it was really strange.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SR305JjDRF8/VBxQPnnB7SI/AAAAAAAAAxM/SFsBhzStEtE/s1600/IMG_2665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SR305JjDRF8/VBxQPnnB7SI/AAAAAAAAAxM/SFsBhzStEtE/s1600/IMG_2665.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wilson Floyd Parkinson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They wheeled me back into Labor and Delivery and let me rest for a little bit. Not to much time passed before my parents showed up. I did not expect them to show up at 3 am but they were there to be with me. I did not realize how big of a comfort it was going to be to have them there. I am so blessed to have such amazing parents.<br />
I pretty much got to rest and the nurse would come in and check my belly. The nurse that checked my belly was so nice, but so mean. I felt like she was trying to stick her hand all the way though my stomach. It was so painful. My Mom said they were probably trying to push the gunk inside of me out as much as they could. That made sense, but oh my goodness it hurt!<br />
A few hours later they took me back to Women's Special Care. By this time we still had not been able to go see the babies. I knew they would not let me until later that day, but I think Justin was getting a little anxious. They said they had other babies coming into the NICU, so we had to wait until everything calmed down before he could go over there.<br />
When they finally let Justin go over, he took my parents as well. I told him to take lots of pictures for me. Justin has been such a sweet dad. You can just see how much he loves our babies. And to watch him interact with them is priceless. I always get a little teary thinking about it.<br />
I think I was finally able to go around 5pm or so. Once I had my catheter out, and had eaten something they wheeled me over.<br />
I was really terrified to see them. In my imagination they were so tiny they could fit in may hand. Being able to see them was a huge relief! They were small, but not as small as I thought they were going to be. They are probably between 13 and 14 inches long. But still so tiny, and there skin was very very red. But they were doing well, and all hooked up to help their breathing, and we were told they were doing just great.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XLJv1xHuoPc/VBxQTHfE_cI/AAAAAAAAAxU/07pCfPzPclo/s1600/IMG_2670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XLJv1xHuoPc/VBxQTHfE_cI/AAAAAAAAAxU/07pCfPzPclo/s1600/IMG_2670.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stella Grace Parkinson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They are so tiny, but they are ding so well, and improving everyday. We are so blessed to have these two special little people join our family. They already have so many people that love them and pray for them daily.<br />
I feel incredibly blessed to have my wee little ones, and to have such amazing friends and family. This is truly what life is about, I would of never gotten through these trials without their strength. I thank my Heavenly Father daily for these wonderful little babies of mine. Things may have been difficult to bring about, and things never went as planned, but it all has a purpose and I have learned and grown so much. We have a long road to go before they can leave the hospital, and I'm sure that will not be easy. But, I am still so grateful, and so blessed, and have never been happier.<br />
<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-57480808951004823602014-09-11T17:42:00.002-07:002014-09-12T06:01:35.373-07:00Back to the HospitalMy bed rest at home lasted a glorious 2-1/2 days. Saturday morning, the 6th of September, I woke up and knew everything was not OK. I had not been feeling that great the days I had been home, but I did not feel like I needed to worry. However, Saturday was different. I was having contractions more often and just generally feeling crappy, and I had started bleeding again. I woke Justin up and told him I was not feeling well. He knew exactly what that meant. He got up, got ready, grabbed the hospital bag and set out.<br />
On the way up to the hospital I was still having frequent contractions, but they were not that painful, and they lasted maybe 30 seconds.<br />
As always it was the same routine. I was taken up to OB Emergency, got checked, babies were doing great. It turned out that my Cervix was now completely thinned, and I was dilated to 3cm. They sent me over to Labor and Delivery to get started on Magnesium and get more steroid shots.<br />
I only know horror stories about Magnesium, I was not that excited to start that up. It is used to help protect the babies brains in pre-term labor, mostly to decrease the risk of cerebral palsy.<br />
It also has other side effects of stopping contractions because it is a muscle relaxant.<br />
My Aunt was on Magnesium when she had her twins and she said it was terrible. It made her hot, go red in the face, he mind go crazy, and she wanted to jump out the window. I had also been told multiple times in the hospital that Magnesium is just terrible.<br />
I admit it was not fun, it was also pleasantly not what I expected it to be. The only side effect I got was being really really warm! My actual temperature never increased, but I was dying of heat. This was a weird sensation for me because I am never warm! I asked Patti (such a sweet lady, and great nurse) to get me a fan. We had it directly blowing on me all day and all night full blast. Justin was so cold, I felt terrible. The instant that fan was not on me though, I could barely breath.<br />
I did not sleep all night, not a wink. I was really tired Sunday morning. My contractions had really calmed down, but they wanted me on the Magnesium for 24 hours so I had to wait until about 10ish to get the IV out. I then had to wait for a room to open up so they could move me over to Women's Special Care (my home away from home).<br />
<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-65903836793080773322014-09-05T16:23:00.001-07:002014-09-19T08:52:22.662-07:00Home Sweet HomeI ended up staying in the hospital for 2 weeks. Justin would come up sometimes in the mornings, and after work to spend the evening with me. My Dad would come up and spend most of the afternoons with me. We watched a few movies, and chatted. I also got some other visitors, like my puppies (Thanks Becca and Tony for watching them), and lots of treats.<br />
Outside of that I was on my own. I stitched, and read, and watched videos, and tried to fill the time as best that I could.<br />
The worst thing about the hospital is waking up at 5 in the morning. The doctors do their rounds between 5 and 6. The University of Utah is also a training hospital, so I would get a student doctor and then the resident. They were very rice, so I really didn't mind much. The nurse then came in around 6 to listen to the babies heart tones. Also, the aide would come in and do my vitals around the same time. Between 7 and 7:30 is shift change. So my night nurse and my day nurse would come in and spend some time going over my stats, and why I was there. I would get a little bit of sleep, and then my breakfast would come in around 8 or 8:30. Most days I would just fade in and out of sleep until about 10, and then finally wake up for the day.<br />
Almost 2 weeks into my stay the attending high risk doctor brought up the possibility of coming home. I was pretty excited. I had been pretty stable and boring for the last week, and hospital food was getting really old, really fast.<br />
Then on Wednesday morning the nurse came in and said, I just got your discharge orders. Say what? I knew it was a possibility but didn't know it was official. I called Justin and he came down and got me, and we packed up and went home. I have to go up to the hospital twice a week for stress tests, but that is a small price to pay to be able to stay at home.<br />
Its really wonderful to be home. I get to cuddle with my puppies and watch movies all day and stitch or pretty much do whatever. I am sure I will get sick of it pretty fast considering I had to quit my job to stay home on bed rest. But, once again, if it helps the babies stay in longer, I am willing to be bored out my mind.<br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-84366600432390539162014-08-27T09:09:00.000-07:002014-08-27T10:39:38.263-07:00The Verdict The verdict is in, I am officially at the hospital until babies decide they want to come.<br />
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I spent the weekend in the hospital, and got my cervix checked again on Monday morning. As we suspected it had shrunk even more. </div>
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The attending high risk doctor, Dr. Branch, came in and talked with me later that day and said they would feel better if I was here. There is nothing much they can actually do for me, just keep an eye on me, and give me drugs when needed. But when these babies decide its time to come, they are probably going to come fast. </div>
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We need to try and keep them in to at least 28 weeks, and everything after that is even better. I want to do whatever is best for these kiddos, so if that means sitting in a hospital bed for an undetermined amount of time, then that is what I will do. </div>
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It has not been too bad so far, today marks a week since I was admitted. And tomorrow will mark 26 weeks into my pregnancy. I have been staying busy with cross stitching and movies mostly. Justin comes to see me most mornings before going to work, and then comes and spends the evening with me. My awesome dad comes to see me most days and brings me cheese. There is a movie rental machine downstairs so we watched The Secret World of Walter Mitty the other day. We will probably get to watch a a lot more movies together. </div>
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Periodiclly I get other visitors either family or hospital staff. Its nice to break up the day with that.</div>
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So my new boaring adventure has started. I want to say hopefully it does not last long, but hopefully it does last long so these babies have a better start when they decide to come. </div>
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Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-64377856195967101392014-08-22T05:31:00.001-07:002014-08-27T10:37:11.947-07:0025 WeeksUsually I wait a few weeks before posting again, but there is never a dull moment with this pregnancy. If you remember from the last post I was admitted into the hospital because of my short cervix. Well guess what! One week later I was getting my cervix measured again, and it shrunk some more. This time by almost half.<br />
This week has been a repeat of what happened last week. I am currently sitting in my hospital bed typing away because I am bored out my mind.<br />
There is not much they can do for me right now, they just want to observe me, and have me close by if something were to happen. They are telling me I may get to go home on Monday, it just depends on how my cervix looks again on Monday.<br />
My honest feeling, or maybe its just wishful thinking, is that these babies will probably come earlier than I would like, but I still have a few weeks to go. My goal is to get them to at least 30 weeks. However, I am thankful for every day that they stay in, and grow bigger and stronger. I am also thankful for my amazing husband who brings me whatever I need to stay sane, including flowers, skeins of floss when I run out of a certain color, clean clothes, candy, pictures of my pups (who I miss terribly), and whatever else I may need or want.<br />
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We are still trying to get as prepared as possible. From last week's visit we had a bit of a fire list under us. Justin went home that weekend and worked his tail off. Jake and Justin painted the nursery on Friday and Saturday. Justin Went to Ikea on Saturday with his cousin Becca and her husband Tony and they helped get cribs and a dresser. He then spent the rest of the weekend building furniture. We got the car seats and stroller purchased, and they came on Tuesday. There is still lots to do, but I have wonderful help from my parents, and we have a lot of great family who is willing to help us out with whatever we need. Even if what I need is pretzels, and picking up packages and bringing them to the hospital for me. (thanks Dad)<br />
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Things I have learned from being in the hospital...<br />
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<ul>
<li>It's not that great when the Emergency staff welcomes you back.</li>
<li>Keep a good attitude, its probably going to be a long road, and a bad attitude will just make it longer. </li>
<li>Learn to let people help you. (This has been one of the hardest lessons to learn, and I am still learning)</li>
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I'm sure I have learned more, but those are the ones that stand out the most. </div>
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-16816104233876574102014-08-21T19:58:00.000-07:002014-08-27T10:34:48.796-07:0024 Week UltrasoundJust another routine ultrasound....wrong....<br />
We originally went in thinking that this was just a routine 24 week ultrasound. The babies looked great, and we were just waiting for the OK to leave. Thats when the ultrasound tech came back and said, "i'm sorry, you cant go home. Your cervix is really short, and we think you might be having contractions. We are taking you over to OB Emergency."<br />
This totally took us off guard, but we went with it. I guess my cervix was slightly short on the 20 week ultrasound, but not terribly abnormal so they did not worry about it. This week is was a good .5 centimeter shorter.<br />
They wheeled me over to OB Emergency, and hooked me up to the contraction monitor. Sure enough I was contracting about every 2 or 3 mintes. I was totally oblivious to the contractions. What really made us a little nervous is they took us over to Labor and Delivery next. Was I really in that much risk at having these babies right now. We were really confused.<br />
I hung out in Labor and Delivery for the night while they monitored me and gave me something to stop the contractions. Pretty much after the first pill they stopped, but I spent the night, and then in the morning they took me to the Women's Special Care Unit.<br />
The next 36 hours was uneventful, so I will spare you the details. I hung out, monitored the babies every few hours, and got a lot of cross stitching done.<br />
The funniest part is Justin and I were hanging out in the room, didn't really know what was going on. We didn't know how long they were planning on keeping me, or anything really, when Dr. Edmunds walked in. Dr. Edmunds was the one that assisted in on the surgery I had just a few weeks before. He walked in and was like "Hi, I was just talking about you today." I guess every other week at there board meetings or what not, they talk about the cases they have worked on, and he had brought up mine since it was particullary strange. We had a good laugh, and he asked what had brought us in today, he had just been walking by and noticed my name. We had a little chat, and he said he was not working that week, but he would go find the Doctor for me. She came in a few minutes later, and the first thing she said "that was you he was talking about today?" And we all had another good laugh.<br />
I ended up staying in the hospital from Wednesday evening until Friday afternoon. I took the rest of the weekend easy. And then went back to work on Monday.<br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-47721735000259439562014-08-21T19:14:00.000-07:002014-08-27T10:32:11.990-07:00Ovarian TorsionThis was by far the worst weekend ever. On July 27th, I got up to go to church and was in a lot of pain. Pain was nothing new, but this by far had been the worst. I still got ready for church and I was waiting for my mother to come pick me up. We were headed to a fair-well for one of my work buddies (my first mate). As I was sitting on the couch waiting I came to the realization that there was no way I was getting out of the house. So I called my mom and said I'm sorry I'm just in too much pain. I was so sad.<br />
I decided to call the after hours OB line and they told me to come in as soon as I could to get checked out. Justin was busy at church that day too. He didn't have a teacher for his class, no one to help get things set up but he left it all so he could take me to the emergency room.<br />
The car ride to the hospital was terrible. I was writhing in pain the whole time, I couldn't sit still. I made Justin pull over on Beck Street so I could throw up....I didn't, but it would of made me feel better. We got back on the road and finally made it to the hospital.<br />
We got upstairs, and then I threw up which was fun, throwing up in the hall way with everyone watching. We finally got in a room and they started checking me out. The babies turned out to be fine. Their heart rates sounded good. They narrowed it down to either being my appendics or an ovarian torsion. This is something else I had never herd of before. Apparently your ovaries can twist and the blood flow gets cut off. This is actually what it ended up being, but it was a long road to figuring it out.<br />
They did some blood tests, so basically we just had to wait. I was still in the worst pain I had ever been in. I actually asked Justin for a blessing. Jake, his brother, came up and they did that for me. After that I was finally able to get some pain killers. They started with morphine. I was so excited, bring on the pain killers. But to my despair the morphine did absolutely nothing! It made me feel weird in the head (more so than usual... Just kidding) but it did not even touch the pain. They switched me over to a synthetic morphine which then helped, but I could only get this every 4 hours I think. I didn't actually take all the pain away, but it settled me down a little and I was able to hold still for more than 2 seconds and I could breath a little better.<br />
After a while they still didn't know what was wrong. They took me downstairs to get an ultrasound to check the ovary. It ended up being not very helpful. I pretty much tried to sit as still, which I didn't really succeed at. I watched the two sweet girls that took me down there look at me with extreme pity. Like I said the ultrasound was not very helpful. They did tell me the ovary looked like it did have a little less blood flow, but all in all it was pretty inconclusive.<br />
There next step was to take me in for a MRI. They took me back up to my room to get me ready.<br />
This is when everything turned around. They had just put me in the wheel chair and we were headed down the hall and another nurse stopped us. She yelled "don't go the doctor wants to see her first." It was not just any doctor it was MY doctor.<br />
When Dr. Adelman walked in I think I just about lost it. I was so happy to see her. She was just in her street clothes, she said she stopped by to see a patient and they told her I was here and so she was like "ok I'll check on her too."<br />
She said we were not doing an MRI. She was going to get me prepped for surgery and go in and see what the problem was herself. No matter what ended up being the problem, she was still going to have to do surgery. So why do a MRI and keep me in pain longer than I needed to be.<br />
Within about 30 or 45 minutes I was being wheeled into surgery.<br />
Right before I went down they gave me another shot of the synthetic morphine so I was pretty calm. But I told the anesthesiologist he was my new best friend. He was pretty awesome. They were still getting the room prepped when they took me in, I got to talk with them, and joke around. They were pretty fun. Finally, he gave me the good stuff and the last thing I remember is Dr Adelman coming in giving me a pat on the arm, smiled, and I was out.<br />
I then woke up in recovery and they gave me ice chips and I slowly woke up. My Mom and Dad and Justin were in the waiting room, and according to my mother, Justin was getting a little impatient. It look me a lot longer to come out of the anesthesia then they had originally said. But I was finally awake and the took me up to the Women's Special Care unit.<br />
They were so awesome up there. My nurse took the best care of me. But unfortunately I soon started to bleed. It was not too bad but was just another thing to add to the list of awful things happening.<br />
The short version from here is I was pretty much a mess, couldn't do anything for myself, and Justin an the nurses we amazing. I stayed the night and by the morning I was a lot better. I could walk around by myself, and the doctors said I could go home. I chose to stay just a few hours longer. I was still bleeding and kind of worried, and to top it all off it was Justin's birthday.<br />
The resident doctor that assisted with the surgery, Dr. Edmunds, came and told me that my ovary was barely getting any blood. They got in there and it was twisted almost three times around, and it was purple. They ended up untwisting it and it turned pink pretty fast, so luckily it didn't die and they didn't have to remove it. They also ended up tacking the ovary down onto my pelvis so it would not twist again.<br />
They were totally baffled on how this happened. They said there is no room inside a pregnant woman, let alone a 22 week pregnant woman to have an ovary get twisted. They jokingly asked if I had been out doing cartwheels. In the end I'm just glad it got fixed.<br />
It took about a week for the swelling to go down in my stomach. I have three little incisions from the surgery, and now it's been a little over two weeks and I haven't had any more problems....with my ovaries. continue reading and you will get to see what fun we had next. (Spoiler alert: I'm typing this from a hospital bed).Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-11111670237767793242014-08-14T11:04:00.000-07:002014-09-19T08:54:24.663-07:0020 week Ultrasound<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DRkJ-jLzZiw/VBxRbUn0vXI/AAAAAAAAAxg/7J6jT1pqcrM/s1600/20%2BWeek%2BUltrasound%2B(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DRkJ-jLzZiw/VBxRbUn0vXI/AAAAAAAAAxg/7J6jT1pqcrM/s1600/20%2BWeek%2BUltrasound%2B(6).JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top: Baby A(boy) Bottom: Baby B(girl)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
20 weeks is always the big ultrasound. We were pretty excited to see the babies. Normally at check ups we just get a quick peek and hear their heart beats. But this time we got a good glimpse of what was going on.<br />
First she needed to determine which baby was Baby A and Baby B. Baby A is the baby that is going to come first, and it helps to determine them for future appointments.<br />
they had some difficulty figuring it out. Both baby's were right there and she could not determine 100%. So we had to do a quick vaginal ultrasound to find out for sure. That posed another problem because of the Placenta Previa. We didn't want to cause irritation and start up bleeding again. She had to call my doctor and get the ok. The doctor gave the Ok, and Baby A turned out being the baby on the right and also the boy.<br />
It was fun to get the see the babies so much. It was so fascinating to see there brain, spine, cute little feet and hands. It's amazing that they can pick out the kidneys and other body parts so easily.<br />
The other good news was that Baby B is a girl!Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-85272360097412123962014-08-14T10:44:00.001-07:002014-08-27T10:22:26.466-07:0016 Weeks - Placenta PreviaSo for every few weeks I am affirmed that we made the right decision to stay at the U.<br />
I will take you back to a Tuesday evening in late June. I was not feeling that great but really that was no big deal, I never feel that great. We had plans to go to Salt Lake to hang out with Justin's brother. I tried to put on my happy face, and I drove out there to meet them. We brought in dinner that night and later we were sitting around, (I was laying on Justin's lap on the couch) and I knew instantly something was wrong. I calmly went to the rest room and sure enough I had started to bleed.<br />
I quietly went out to Justin and said I think you need to take me the hospital. So we got up, excused ourselves and left. Since we were in Salt Lake already it was nice to be so close to the hospital. We went right up in about 5 minutes. Justin dropped me off at the ER and I checked in, and they took me up to the OB Emergency.<br />
This was my first experience up there, and I have decided the OB Emergency room has 1. The most uncomfortable beds ever! And 2. The contraction bands they make you wear when you get there are just about the most uncomfortable thing I have ever worn. So on top of being totally scared out of my mind, and that I was loosing my babies, they make you extremely uncomfortable.<br />
They started with an ultrasound to check out the babies. They ended up being just fine. Bouncing around and looking good. They said their fluid was good, and their heart rates looked good. We were also able to find out that one of them is a boy! We could not obviously tell the gender of the other sadly.<br />
After some further investigation they determined that I had Placenta Previa. As this being my first pregnancy I was like "say what?" That is something I had never heard of before.<br />
Placenta Previa, for those that are as clueless as I was, is when one of the babies placentas is partially or fully covering the cervix. Apparently the cervix is rough, so as the placenta rubs against it, it then can cause bleeding. Since it was so early in the pregnancy they said as my uterus grows the chance of the placenta moving higher (where it should be) is pretty high. I just needed to be careful and watch my activity level because that can cause more irritation between the placenta and cervix.<br />
They continued to monitor me and we ended up going home at about 3:00 in the morning when the bleeding calmed down. They gave me instructions on what to watch for and determine if I needed to come in again.<br />
It was a fun night, and everything was great for a a few weeks.<br />
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<br />Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-57722273871784982462014-07-29T10:59:00.001-07:002014-08-27T10:19:45.157-07:00Finding A New Doctor<br />
When I found Dr. Person, it was so easy. I just knew he was the right doctor. Now I had to find another one. I could not decide what to do. I had two options for hospitals. I could stay at the U or go find a doctor out by St. Marks Hospital. (Yes there are more hospital options but these were the only two I was willing to consider).<br />
My sister in law was a nurse out at St. Marks, and I asked her what her recommendation would be since she worked with them in labor and delivery. She new exactly who to refer, a Dr. Yamashita. He went straight to the top of my list. I also wanted to check out the U's Labor and delivery unit.<br />
Dr. Peterson actually offered to give us a tour on our last appointment with him, so Justin gave him a call and we went up for a look.<br />
We were really impressed with the U. A lot of it had recently been remodeled. The delivery rooms were really large, and the post pardum rooms we felt were bigger than the ones at St. Marks.<br />
I had a couple of options at the U for doctors. There were two OBGYNs in Centerville. I told Dr. Peterson I was leaning toward Dr. Adelman, he said she would be a great choice.<br />
We decided to try Dr. Adelman first. Her education was what impressed me the most. We also thought staying at the U would be best. We didn't have to transfer records, it just seemed like the best choice.<br />
First Impressions<br />
I had my first appointment set up for around 11 weeks. It was nice that everything was already familiar. Centerville is where most of my appointment were before, I was familiar with most of the staff already, so right off I was glad we stuck with the U.<br />
When the Dr. came she was not what I expected (or what anyone would expect as a doctor).<br />
But I instantly loved her. She was very petite, with short curly hair and huge nerdy glasses. But she was perfect. She was professional but with a sense of humor. She was like " oh! Another set of twins curtsey of Dr.Peterson. Just as I deliver one set I get another." <br />
She was great. She explained everything, left you with zero questions. We looked at the babies quickly to check their heartbeats. Everything was great, we made our next appointment and left. We got into the car, and I asked Justin if this was someone he would be comfortable with. He said absolutely. We were totally on the same page. She was great, and we had made the right decision.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-49880527862933098532014-07-29T10:25:00.000-07:002014-08-27T10:15:45.968-07:006 Week UltrasoundAt six weeks we were able to go in and see the babies. Not that they looked liked babies, but it was to make sure that the two eggs implanted or just one. It turned out there was two. The coolest part was we got to listen to the heartbeats. At 6 weeks old you could plainly see a fluttering of heart on a baby the size of a grain of rice. This was our last appointment with Dr. Peterson, it was sad because he was the one that made this possible for us, and now I had to go find a new doctor.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-7158170552649566342014-07-29T10:17:00.000-07:002014-09-12T06:47:18.666-07:00OHSS - Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome I can't say I was not warned about OHSS. The Dr. told us there was a risk of this if we were to immediately implant after the 5 days of fertilization. The way to avoid it was to freeze the eggs for a couple of months, let your body calm down from all the stimulating drugs, and then implant. Seriously, after going through everything we had so far, I'm curious to know if anyone has the self control to wait two months before implanting. I know I did not have the patience.<br />
And I paid the price.<br />
The Sunday after the implant I started feeling a lot of pain. Gradually, and then it just kept getting worse and worse.<br />
I went into the doctors office and they told me that my ovaries were the size of tennis balls and they would probably keep getting bigger before they got smaller. (She was right, they got up to grape fruits) But also some good news, that this probably was happening because the IVF worked and I was pregnant.<br />
I was put on a Gatorade diet. I had to drink around 64oz of Gatorade a day to keep my electrolytes up. I did some blood tests and went home.<br />
I can't remember exactly but I think I was in that office at least every other day for a while. The nurses all knew me and they took good care of me. There is really not much they can do for OHSS, but I also had a lot of fluid built up in me because my kidneys were not fully functioning. The only relief they could provide was if there was big enough fluid pockets they could "tap" me. Basically they would stick a catheter up to where the pocket was and let it drain. I had two taps, and a total of about 3 liters of fluid taken out. The relief only lasted about a day, but it was worth it.<br />
I also ended up taking a bunch of work off. I would go in about 2 or 3 days a week at most. It was incredibly painful to sit or do anything. None of my clothes fit because I had two grapefruits and fluid inside me, and had gained around 20 pounds in a matter of about a week.<br />
The OHSS eventually went away. They tell you it lasts 10 to 15 days, mine lasted about a month. I did eventually loose the 20 pounds, along with another 10 pounds because I could barely eat anything. <br />
But in the end I was pregnant with twins.Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-46245804883350166532014-04-10T09:26:00.000-07:002014-08-27T09:51:03.747-07:00ImplantationAfter the egg retrieval my little eggs get fertilized for 5 days. Andrology calls and gives updates every couple of days. The Monday following by retrieval we went in for the implant. <br />
I was so happy, Dr. Peterson was the one that was going to do my implant. It was basiclly the exact same things as before with an IV, same room, but Justin got to stay with me and we got to see everything on the monitor.<br />
He showed us the two little eggs implanted when we were all done. It was a pretty cool day. I also got to rest for 3 days afterwards. Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2190009791223435030.post-50561171242034881662014-03-15T15:24:00.001-07:002014-08-27T10:14:36.604-07:00Egg RetrievalThe egg retrieval was nothing like what I expected it to be. I really did not know what to expect. But the retrieval was Wednesday, it is now Saturday that I am typing this, and I still hurt. It fells like I have done a trillion sit ups. No joke. It hurts to walk, or sit. Most of the time the only comfortable position is lounging. Don't even get me started on trying to fall asleep at night.<br />
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But anyways. 8:45 Wednesday was our appointment. I had to take a shot at precisely 9:15 the night before so that it was in my system for 36 hours before the retrieval. I had to take the shot at Justin's Grandmothers house that night. I told her I was sorry, but I had to go shoot up in her bathroom real fast. We smiled, and she said, no problem, I don't mind as long as its you. I just love her. (She also told me that night she would find me another husband). <br />
We got to the office, we went to the room, I got my vitals checks (my blood pressure was the highest I had ever seen it, normally its really good) and got in my gown. One of the doctors came in and told me all the wonderful things that could go wrong during the procedure and made me sign a consent form (also not good for my blood pressure) and then I got my IV. <br />
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The sad part was Justin was not able to be with me during the procedure. They told me most people just sleep through it. They give drugs to help with the pain, and they said it really only hurts with the initial poke through the ovaries. They were wrong FYI.<br />
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So they put you in a chair, in the normal position for a visit to your OB. But then they move the chair so your legs are above your head. Its cold and uncomfortable, but luckily they do give you drugs quickly. They also told me I would not remember the procedure, another lie. I remember, and I remember that I was in a lot of pain. I remember the nurse stroking my arm trying to calm me down. I did eventually fall asleep because I don't remember going back into the room. But I did wake up in my room, and Justin and the nurse was there.<br />
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It then was the normal waking up from lots of drugs in your system. They gave me crackers and juice, and when I was ready we went home.<br />
Justin was really disappointed because the doctor said I would be really loopy and fun.Wrong, I was just really tired, and I remember having a hard time trying to talk. <br />
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In the end they retrieved 14 egg, 13 of which were mature. Meganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955821910098256349noreply@blogger.com0