Quiet Times

After the excitement of seeing the babies and finding out their genders last Thursday, I've been enjoying a bit of quiet since then. Of course having my girls stay with their grandparents for a couple of days will contribute to the quiet, but any way you look at it, things have been relatively quiet.

Actually, Friday was a bit of an interesting day for me and the babies. As I took the majority of Thursday off for the ultrasound and to spend some time with B & R, I offered to work open to close on Friday so one of my coworkers could have an early day. 

The day itself was good, lots of people stopping by my class asking about the ultrasound and the babies' genders. Yes, my coworkers and student's parents know the genders. For those closer to B & R, you will know soon enough as well! 

The day was a light day with only three babies. I enjoyed my time with the little ones, getting to play with them and hold them a bit more than I normally would be able to. 

Late in the afternoon, I started getting a dull back ache. I just chalked it up to a longer than normal day for me.

Shawn and I decided to go out for a nice meal as the girls were not home for the evening. He made reservations at one of my favorite steak houses and we were off! Sometime during dinner, my back ache became more pronounced and some cramping came with it (a few light contractions came along, but they were very infrequent and not even worth timing). All of this did shorten my dinner a bit, but I wasn't concerned. After all, I had just pulled a 10 hour work day, which is something I'm not used to anymore. I knew that with a bunch of water and a good night's sleep I would be fine by morning.

Saturday came and, as I had guessed, I was feeling much better. The back ache was gone and I wasn't having any cramping or contractions. I told Shawn that I wanted to take it easy that day and give me and the babies some time to rest. He was good with that and we spent a nice morning just relaxing and being together. 

I did notice that the babies weren't as active on Saturday as I usually notice them to be. The funny thing was that baby on my right was more active than baby on my left, which is hardly ever the case. Hmm... What's going on in there, little people?

This morning as I was awakened by our children (they apparently missed waking me up for two days and were paying me back this morning with multiple awakenings today), baby on my left was protesting me moving around and rewarding me with big kicks. Not to be outdone, as soon as I would finally settle down after putting a child to sleep, baby on my right would give me a couple good kicks so I wouldn't forget that they were there as well. Yeah, happy babies in there! 

I'm glad to see that they aren't any worse for the wear of a longer day on Friday. They apparently just needed a day to rest as well. I totally get that.

So, now we are on Sunday. We are having another low-key day today with lots of snuggling and easy activities. The weather is kind of forcing this as the temps have once again dipped down into the low single digits with the windchill around -20. I'm not complaining, I love wearing sweatshirts and my new cute slippers while snuggling under blankets. This is perfect reading or movie watching weather! 

This week will be a busy one with both of our girls going to work with me, I have a full class of kids all week, New Year's celebrations (we still have no idea what we are doing for that!), and I'm sure something else will come up. 

Oh, I forgot! We finally were able to tell our girls the babies' genders. First we asked what they thought the babies were. Annalies (2.5 yrs) guessed two girls, Natalie (6 yrs) guessed one boy, one girl. They were so cute when we told them the results! Both were happy with the results. I also told them the babies' names. Natalie immediately started associating the names with "close names" of people she knew. They approve of your choices, B & R. :-)

So, that's been my weekend. The babies are currently having quite the little dance party as I'm reclining, and I'm enjoying every minute of it! Have fun, little miracles!

19 weeks 5 days

A Sneak Peak at the Babies

Well, hello there little ones! One of my favorite things about being pregnant is when I get a sneak peak of what's going on inside. Today was the big day when we were able to see the babies again. How fabulous to see them for the few moments we were given. It just makes them seem so real and gets us all excited to be able to hold them in a few months!

B & R came up for this appointment. They actually came up last night and once they arrived in our frozen tundra, they came over for a little visit with us. It was fun to catch up as it has been almost 2 months since we last were together. I was amused at their reaction to my growing belly. Yes, I did see them sneak peaks at my mid-section! Hey, its their kids I'm carrying, so I would be disappointed had they not been interested. (R said that I look bigger in person than the Sunday pictures show. I believe it!  I feel bigger than the pictures show, too. At least this bigness has a good reason!)

After a couple hours visit, we made plans to meet again at the clinic for the appointment and said good night.

This morning, I went to work for a couple of hours then left for the appointment and to meet B, R, and my husband, Shawn. I was led back to the exam room, properly covered up, and the tech went back to get my entourage. Once we were all comfortably settled in our room, the show began! I told her that we were interested in finding out the genders if the babies would cooperate with us.

I am happy to report that both babies are measuring perfectly for their age. They are about 11 oz each, which is the 54% for their gestational age. I'm perfectly happy with them staying in the 54%! If your average full term baby is 8lbs, I would be very happy with a couple of 5 or 6 lb babies.

It was also nice to see that, as I have been reporting, the baby on my left is definitely the busy little baby! Left baby totally cooperated with all of the measurements, with a heart rate of 144 beats per minute. I think B is claiming this baby. Baby on my right was a bit more subdued, but was also moving for us. However, this baby was laying with one arm right across the chest where we were trying to see the heart for measurements. We had to take a break from baby on the right for a couple of minutes to see if baby would move to get the measurements. Right baby's heart is beating at 146 beats per minute and by default, R is claiming that baby.

The little stinker on my left has completely changed positions since my last ultrasound on Friday. This baby is now in a breach position, which means its head is up and feet are down. Baby on the right is still head down. There is still time for both babies to move, so I'm not too worried yet.

The tech also measured my cervix, which is measuring long at 4cm. This is perfect for where I am with this pregnancy. As I get closer to delivering these babies, the cervix will get shorter and thinner, but for now, we want long and thick. Thankfully, with the crazy contractions from last Friday, its great to know that my body is NOT getting ready for delivery. Schwoo!

All in all it was a really great day. Shawn and I were able to celebrate with B & R the news of their healthy little babies. They also shared with us the babies' names, which are just perfect for them! I'm so excited for R & B to be able to take these babies home and make them a part of their family!

I know, I know. Now you are yelling at your computer "Quit stalling and tell! What are they? Two girls? Two boys? One of each? Tell ME NOW, Shawnee!" And, I will tell the world. But not now. Sorry. It's not my news to tell! I want B & R to have the joy of sharing with their family and friends the big news. I will post the genders, but not until I have been given the all clear by the baby's parents. :-)

What a wonderful day getting to know these two little miracles!

Baby Fun

I want to share a bit of fun my coworkers and I are having with the babies. This sign appeared on my class doorway today. Votes are coming in! What's your guess? 

The sign reads:

"With four little feet

And twenty little toes

Will they have two

Christmas Belles,

One of each, or

Christmas Beaus?

Guess the genders of the

Twins Shawnee is carrying!"

The ultrasound pics are from the babies at 12 weeks.

To keep the surprise going, I'm not going to tell when my ultrasound is. B & R want to let their family and friends know themselves, so I will announce it here once I've been given the all clear. :-)

Having fun with little miracles!

A Quiet Weekend (baby-wise)

After the insanity of Friday with all of the contractions and visit to MAC, I'm happy to say that this weekend has been relatively uneventful and quiet, baby-wise. 

I did have some contractions on Saturday, but I'm talking about 12 all day. Nothing I was concerned about or needed to be assessed for. A definite improvement over the day before.

After I'm done working today, I have two days off for Christmas, so I'm hoping a bit of extra rest and down time will help keep everything calm in there.

The babies didn't seem to mind the contractions, they've been as busy as ever! Apparently, 10pm is the new time to party for these little ones. Lots of activity going on!

I'm hoping for another quiet day, and, with a lighter than usual class size, I should be able to relax and not do as much.

18 weeks 5 days

Enjoying some quiet time with small miracles.

Unexpected Happenings

Let me start this post by saying I'm okay and the babies are okay. Now that I've stated that fact, here's what I've been up to the past 6ish hours.

Around 11ish this morning as I was rocking a baby at work I noticed a contraction happen. It wasn't painful, but I definitely noticed it taking place. Hmm...  About 7 minutes later I felt another one. This happened a few more times when I decided to do something about it. 

Having a bit of experience with preterm labor, I did what I knew my doctor would tell me. I drank a huge cup of ice water (25oz), changed my position from sitting to standing and finally laying down, I ate some food, and I started timing these silly contractions. 

11:51

11:58

12:02

12:04

12:06

12:14

12:16

12:19

12:22

12:27

12:35

It was somewhere around the 12:02, 04, 06 part that I started getting concerned. I called my doctor's answering service (they are only in the office a half day on Fridays) and told them what was going on with me. 

Meanwhile, my director arranged for me me to leave work and she covered my class. As I was packing up my daughter I received a call back from the on call doctor.

After the preliminary questions, what's going on, for how long, how far apart, what have I tried, etc, she told me to go to the maternal assessment at the hospital.

I'm going to skip past the phone calls to my husband, B, someone to watch my kiddos, and a couple others on the way to the hospital. Let's just say that in the 25 minutes to get to the hospital, people were notified of the situation.

Once I arrived, I was quickly hooked up to a monitor to track the contractions which were still every 2-4 minutes apart, asked to give a sample, and arrangements made to have an ultrasound to check my cervix for any progression.

During the ultrasound I mentioned to the tech that I didn't know the genders and I wouldn't complain if she happened to peek. (She wouldn't, darn it!) Instead, she concentrated on their heartbeats. I'm happy to report that baby A on my left is beating at 138 beats per minute, baby B on my right is beating at 140 beats. Both babies are head down, which could explain why I'm feeling lots of kicks up high!

Anyway, the cervix looked good, long and thick like it should be at this point in the game.

When I was back in my triage room, we had the test reaults back. Apparently, I am getting a bladder infection. Thankfully, I haven't had any symptoms at all (bladder infections can be really painful!). My nurse told me that bladder infections are one of the most common causes of pre-term labor. I knew that infections could cause that, but hadn't experienced that yet. 

The bladder infection was the cause of my contractions. The treatment for this is to put me on an antibiotic, encourage me to increase my fluids, and use the bathroom more often. 

I was told to go home with a prescription for an antibiotic, take it easy tonight, and the contractions should stop sometime in the next 24ish hours.

I'm currently home reclined on my couch in the family room. My two little girls requested some of their favorite Christmas shows to watch, my husband is on his way home with a Chipotle burrito for me, and I'm still having contractions. 

I can deal with the contractions as long as I know the babies are okay. They've been busy kicking me pretty steadily all afternoon, but as long as they are okay they can kick all they want!

Busy little miracles!

Giving it a Shot

I finally received the phone call I have been waiting for. The pharmacist called and let me know that the progesterone finally went through insurance. Good news, right? 

When I picked up the meds, there were four little vials of liquid for me. I chatted with the pharmacist (who's name is Sean, by the way) and he said that this med was ordered without the alcohol preservative so it should be less painful than the progesterone I had to take every day the first trimester. It's a different compound as well, still in the sesame oil, but different other things that should make it a bit easier on me. No arguments here!

I also asked Sean about the 18 gauge needles that were given to me. (Think pencil lead sized pointy  things going into your leg or arm). I'm fine with drawing up using a freaking huge needle, but then to use the same thick, now dull, needle to stab myself with does not sound like something I will willingly do without a fight. Sean was totally understanding and quickly gave me some 1 inch 28 gauge to switch out and use to administer the meds. Schwoo! Much better!

So that is my tale. I picked up the meds on Wednesday, but thanks to an unexpected trip to the ER with our two year old for a head gash and some stitches, I wasn't able to do the shot that night. Last night was crazy with dance class, so I think I'm going to give it a whirl tonight. Shawn will be home tonight and we can tag team baths and bed time. I should be able to squeeze in a few minutes to ice, stab, and heat.

Other than all of that, the babies are well. They have their active times and have been cooperating with life and the busyness of the Christmas season. I'm so thankful to be feeling better now. Christmas parties and foods are here and I want to eat!

Enjoying each small miracle in my life!

Where are the Babies?

I have some adorable little people in my life. My little daughter, Annalies, is two years old. She is the funniest toddler I know! Some of the stuff she comes up with is so stinkin' hilarious and has us just rolling with laughter. Today was one of those days. 

After work, Annalies and I were cuddling and just chatting. I could tell she was a little annoyed with my rounded belly, but she figured out a way to snuggle up with me after a while. All of a sudden, she sits up and starts rubbing my tummy. I asked what she was doing and she said "rubbing mommy and the babies." 

Annalies then started "counting" the babies. According to her, there are "three-four" babies. (I didn't think I was that big yet!) She could have cared less when I was correcting her that there are only two. She is just insistent that there are "three-four" babies. 

The next thing I knew, she was lifting up the hem of my shirt and peaking at my belly. When asked what she was doing, she responded "I wanna see the babies! Uh oh! They are hiding still! No babies there. *sigh*"

She's two. I've got fourish months to get it through to her that there are only two babies and they are staying inside of me until the doctor helps them out. Then she'll get to see them. She knows that they are not coming home to stay with us but will be staying with B & R. She's good with that fact (I think she's glad that she's not going to have to share mommy and daddy with two babies.)

Between my sweetie daughter this afternoon and being able to snuggle with one of my new little ones at work today, its been a fun baby day!

Having fun with small miracles!