Thursday, January 31, 2008

Off work - Day 4

Yep, I'm bored! It's difficult because I can't go out and do much. For the past two days, I've been going to a store, but I can only handle 1 store a day! I do have a book I'm reading, and I have netflix, but everyone I know works! However, it IS nice to just relax - it's just hard to get used to!
I'm glad Lost starts back up again tonight! I wish some other shows would play new episodes.

I also can't believe I'm 31 weeks! Time is flying by! I can't believe in a month or two the girls will be here! I'm pretty nervous. Taking care of two newborns at once! But at least I am having twins first. I think having a singleton first would be tougher. I'm really nervous about breastfeeding - there is still so much I don't know about it, and can't really until they are here. And of course that makes me nervous because I like to be prepared. I'm also concerned about a schedule. A lot of twin mommies seem to follow a strict schedule, and that is something I don't want to do, although I would like some sleep. I guess I will just see how it goes.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I called the doctor yesterday to let him know I went to Triage, and he wanted to see me today. Well, he checked me and I AM FINE!!!! I'm not really dilated! He said the nurse probably shouldn't have said I was dilated. Then he went into this whole explanation about dilation, and how the outside part, yes, he can feel a "dimple" but the inside part is closed and that's the part the matters. Plus, my cervix is not thinning at all and that happens before you dilate. Also, my FFN came back negative, and it being a negative is a good, strong negative. Now, he did prescribe me procardia, which works like terbutaline but without the horrible side effects. He said I could take it if I start having contractions, instead of going to triage. He also said just knowing that I have that will make me feel better - and it does!

I think I wrote about how awful the nurses were with the internal, so I'm not surprised that they were wrong. He said of course, to take it easy, listen to my body, but I am fine! The girls will cook a lot longer!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Adventures in Triage

So, you know that Friday was my last day at work. And I think I mentioned how long I had to stay and I had to work a lot. No taking it easy. I really should have relaxed more!!

At about 7:00 I started having some Braxton Hicks contractions. I ended up having 5 or 6 in 1 hour! I remember my doctor saying not more than 4 in an hour! So, I called Triage. They told me to drink a big glass of water and lie down. If they didn't go away in an hour, go in. So I did that, and they slowed down. Then I went to bed. Well, every time I woke up I was having one. Then at 1:00 I decided to stay awake and count them. I had about 5 in a little less than an hour! So, I told hubby we had to go in.

I was hooked up to the monitors, and yes, I was still contracting. They did the FFN test and an internal - those were NOT FUN. Now, I have been to triage before and had both of these done, and they were not bad. But apparently, this night nurse did not have much practice or something! When she put the speculum in it felt like she was ripping me apart! Even when she swabbed, it was so painful! Then, she did the internal, and again, not so good! Then, she couldn't find my cervix. So I had to have another nurse do an internal. Going in, she was better, but she also had problems finding it. Finally, she found it. I am 1 cm dilated, but my cervix is still long, thankfully!
They gave me a shot of terbutaline to stop the contractions, and that worked. I really don't like terbutaline. It felt like I had about 10 venti lattes, and all cracked out. My FFN test came back negative! That is the test they do to see if you are going to go into labor in the next 2 weeks. Because it came back negative and my contractions had topped, I got to go home.

Yesterday, I put myself on bed rest and drank TONS of water. Early in the day I was still contracting - about 3 an hour, but they cleared up. Today I've only had a couple! So I am taking it easy. The girls need to stay put!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Anon - Thank you for the apology. I appreciate it!

Sarah - Thanks for the comments :) They were great to hear! I'm planning on getting the EZ2Nurse pillow, which should be great for tandem feeding! And I know my hospital has lactation consultants as well as all the nurses know about breast feeding and how to deal with some of the issues.

Last night part of my belly got hard, and it looked like both of the babies were pushing out on each side. But then I started thinking, maybe it;s not the babies? Maybe it's a Braxton Hicks?? I have no idea! Sometimes it is hard to tell, and I wish I could tell because my doctor wants me to call if I have 4 or more an hour. I guess I will just ask him about it at my next appointment.

I had my shower for work yesterday. It was nice! Got TONS of clothes, but it was nice because they were all larger sizes. We have a ton of newborn stuff, so it was nice to get larger items! Some did get us matching outfits, and I will probably take a couple of them back. I also got a few little toy things which was nice because I have NONE! There is still a bunch of stuff we still need to get. Mostly little stuff, but it adds up!

Of course my pregnancy brain is getting to me and I can't remember if I wrote about my OB appointment or not. Ok, I just checked and I did :) So today is my last day of work! I'm excited! I do feel a little weird just because I'm the type of person who works all the time and I feel obligated, so leaving in the middle of the year is rough. BUT it is what's best for my babies, and that is the most important thing now! I am looking forward to relaxing.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

So much to write about!

Monday night we had our multiples class. I was really looking forward this class! I was hoping they would talk about how to handle 2 babies at home. I expected that, actually. Well, she didn't really discuss that! Most of the time was spent talking about c-sections. And her attitude just made me mad. She was pretty negative and went on and on about how most of us will have c-sections. Sure, that is probably true, but you can be a little positive! Our childbirth class instructor is so positive! She always stresses how if the babies are in the correct position, I won't have to have a c-section and she has told me some stories about twin mamas who give birth naturally! I know that a c-section is possible, but I like hearing positive things. The instructor of the multiples class also made it sound like just about all of our babies would end up in the NICU. No, that's not necessarily true! Sure, it's a possibility, and I'm glad for the info she gave us, but don't make it seem like that is what WILL happen. And did she discuss anything about when we take them home? Not really. She quickly went over breastfeeding by showing us the different positions. I pretty much already knew those. And that's really all she said about after. I realize they have a class you take before you go home from the hospital, but honestly it is geared toward women with singletons. It's much different if you have twins!

Plus the class was difficult for me because there were two women in there who were having triplets. I almost started crying. Then hubby kept looking at me and asking if I was ok, and I know he was concerned, but I was trying really hard not to cry. Asking me about it was just making it worse. But I made it through without breaking down.


Today, I had another doctor's appointment! This one was with the other OB in the office. He was nice. I originally had him as an OB but switched to Dr. O because this other one didn't want to run tests on me, just wanted to diagnose me. I'm just glad today he was nice! I got another ultrasound and he printed out some pictures, but they are really awful. They are too smooshed and you can't really tell what is what. I did get a nice picture of the tops of their heads!! :) They are both head down and their heads are right next to each other. Everything looked good! He had me schedule an appointment for a more detailed ultrasound to get a better growth scan. That is in about 4 weeks. Then, we had a conversation that I found amusing!
Dr.: Are you still working?
Me: Yes
Dr.: When do you plan on stopping?
Me: probably next Friday
Dr.: How about this Friday?

Of course, that is fine with me! :) He said he was being proactive and didn't want me going into pre-term labor and then having to spend 4 weeks on hospital bed rest. I guess he takes his twin mamas out between 28-30 weeks.

And that is fine because I've been not feeling so great this week at work. My belly is getting really heavy and I've just been so tired! I think it will be good to just be home and relax. Of course, I'm not particularly good at relaxing! I get bored really easily. So hopefully I can find things to do to occupy my time! I'm sure closer to the end I will get really anxious and excited to meet the girls, so I know that will be difficult! But I do think it's a good idea to stop working.

Friday, January 18, 2008

No news IS good news!

A different nurse called me back today, and I passed!!! She said something at the end of her message about not eating too many sweets, but I could barely understand her. So, not sure if I was borderline, or if they just say that to everyone who takes the 3 hour.

Mel, yes, Dr. O is always on vacation!! I'm just glad he will be here in March! I have to go see the other doctor in his office for my next visit, and I am not looking forward to that. I originally had this OB, but switched after he told me I had PCOS without looking at my medical history OR doing any tests. Sure, he was right, but lucky guess. I'd rather get the tests done and be sure. I'm sure he will be fine - he is nice enough. I'd just rather see Dr. O!

Last night I noticed the car seats I wanted were back in stock, so I ordered them. I think I got the last one! 1 shipped today, the other is not available yet. So, at least I am in line for one! :)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

No news is good news?

I didn't hear from the nurse today about my 3 hour test! I hope that means something good! Mel, I know you said Dr. O'Hara called you, but he is out of town right now (wwaaahhhhh!!!!!!). But when I failed the 1 hour the nurse called 2 days after. I will call tomorrow, and am hoping for good news!

Today MIL also emailed her flight info! So, it is getting more and more real. And time is slipping away! I am freaking out a little bit because we have no money right now, but still plenty to get and plenty to do before the girls arrive! I am also hoping the car seats I want come back into stock at Babies R Us! Normally I would just get them from somewhere else, but I have gift cards I could use for one of them. I just feel like there is hardly any time left!

MIL is coming on March 29th. I counted to see how many weeks I would be, and I would be 39 weeks. So, I have a feeling I will have delivered by then, but there is a chance that I could deliver that weekend. It might be a little weird having her around right after they are born, but I'll deal with it. Then again, it might also be nice, perhaps she could cook! :)

I also came across some pictures of babies born at 29 weeks. And yes, while that is way too early and I want mine to stay put for a lot longer, I couldn't believe that they were actually babies at this point! It's still very surreal that I have 2 little girls inside me!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

3 Hour Glucose

I failed my 1 hour glucose test, so I had to do the 3 hour! I knew it was going to be bad, since you have to fast. I get hypoglycemic symptoms when I don't eat, so I was NOT looking forward to it! As I was driving in to the lab, I started to get some of the symptoms. I was hoping to get the drink fast so that they would go away. Well, I guess I didn't get the drink fast enough, because the first hour was pure hell. I didn't get all shaky, sweaty, and light-headed though, which was good. But I did feel awful and couldn't concentrate!

When I went back so they could draw my blood she asked how I was feeling, and I told her. I then told her I get hypoglycemic episodes and her response was,
Well the drink has sugar in it, so you should be ok."
Um, yeah. I just told you I felt awful.

However, after that I did start to feel better. The last hour and a half wasn't so bad. But even after the test, and after I ate, I still felt off all day. It was no fun! I think I will find out my results tomorrow. I really hope I passed!! I have a feeling I probably didn't though. I am at a higher risk because I have twins and because of PCOS. We'll see!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Shower!

What a tiring, but fun, weekend! I had my shower on Saturday and it was a lot of fun! It was at our house, and I was so exhausted by the end! In fact, I am still tired from it!!

But it was great. We had all our friends there and it was great to see people we hadn't seen in quite awhile! We also got some great gifts! What surprised me was that most everyone got us very useful stuff! Even the clothes we got - which weren't that many - were all useful. No cutesy outfits that the babies will wear maybe once. Everything was practical, so that was nice! We also had guests bring a children's book instead of a card, so we got great books to start off the collection!

I'm not sure if I'll ever fully recover from it though! ;)

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

28 Weeks!

I had my 28 week appointment today. Unfortunately, my OB is out of town all this month, so I had to see the NP this time. She is nice enough, but I really like my OB. She did an u/s and the babies are squished!! She couldn't get a good picture of Sofia at all and she did print one out for Maya, she was sucking her thumb! But she is smooshed and it looks like her face is flat. Really awful picture.

I also had the glucose test. So many people have said how awful it is. Well, it wasn't that bad! I'm glad so many people said it was awful because I think in my mind I had a picture of how awful it would be, and since it wasn't that awful, it was fine. I thought it was going to taste like orange soda syrup, but it wasn't even as bad as that. And either it wasn't quite as sweet as everyone said, or I just have a really sweet tooth! They gave me 5 min. to drink it, and I downed it in about 3 minutes. I hope I pass, but I have a feeling I won't.

My shower is this weekend, I am so excited!! Not sure that too many people are buying off the registry though. I do hope we get some items we need!

Monday, January 07, 2008

Thanks for all the suggestions! I went ahead and ordered a shirt from Motherhood. It's one I already have, just a larger size. It will work!

Tomorrow I'm going to talk to my boss and tell her when my last day of work will be! I'm thinking I want to shoot for Feb. 8, but Feb. 1 might be my last day. It all really just depends on how I feel. Originally, I was goin to tell her I wasn't coming back this year, but I'm going to hold off on that. I'm sure she must know this is why I'm going to talk to her, but I just hope she doesn't stress out too bad.

I started work again today afer being off for 2 weeks. It was hard to go back! I'm just not in a working mood. And my feet were swelling again! Really weird because before break they were swelling, during break, they didn't swell. Today, I mostly sat down, and they still swelled! During break I don't think I was lying down more - I was mostly sitting. I guess that I probably did walk around more at work than I do at home, so I guess that's what did it.

It's getting pretty difficult to get around. Some days are better than others. Yesterday was pretty bad because my tail bone was hurting me all the time! he tail bone pain was better today - thank goodness! On a site I visit there is a woman, pregnant with twins who is about 3 or 4 weeks ahead of me. And I will admit it - I am a bit jealous of her! She posted how she is feeling great and still working and not planning on stopping (she's also a teacher). It's amazing to me that she's not having any aches and pains! I definitely have to move a LOT slower and can't do much. I get tired so easy! I know every person is different, and I am glad I haven't had any more complications! I think a part of me feels bad for stopping work. I am the type of person who works hard, and I like what I do, so it feels weird taking time off for myself, and my babies. I know it will keep me sane and more comfortable, but a part of me still feels bad.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Why, why, why do no stores make any clothes that look good on pregnant women with LARGE bellies??!!?? Right now, I look full term, and I still have quite a ways to go. I've heard this complaint from other women who had this problem near the end of their pregnancy. So it scares me a little because I'm having this problem now.

I've been trying to find something to wear to my shower next weekend, and it's not working! I went to so many stores: Motherhood, Target, Old Navy, and JC Penney. I could find nothing! I can't wear dresses because it makes me look like a tent. The I think if the dress were more form fitting, it would look fine, but all the dresses just hang off my belly and make me look huge. So I try to find a shirt. Well for some reason, they want to put these crazy prints on maternity clothes. Not real smart! Crazy prints do NOT look good when you have a huge belly! Please designers - can you make plain shirts! And dark colors! I also couldn't find any form fitting shirts which look better on me since really the only part of me that is getting bigger is my belly. I guess I should be grateful for that at least! But it does make it difficult to find a good size. Right now mediums fit everywhere except for my belly. Larges fit my belly but are huge everywhere else and make look big. It's annoying.

Anyway, after spending way too long at stores tiring myself out, I came back home. I was so frustrated. I almost started crying in JC Penney! Thanks hormones! I do have a top from Motherhood that I like, but it is getting tight on me, so I decided to go online and see if they had it in a large. Thank god they did! So I am getting that shirt. Of course, since I waited so long I have to pay extra for quick shipping, but oh well. It's better than looking like a tent!

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Hospital Adventure

Sunday night, I started having some cramping. I was a little worried, but I laid down and it finally stopped and I went to sleep. Monday morning I started having some mild cramping again. I was not happy! So I just laid down and tried to rest. Then at about 1:00 I got a much sharper cramp that lasted for 1 minute. Four minutes later, I got another. Now that really scared me because before then, they were just mild and constant. I tried calling my doctor's office, but of course they were closed. Why do these things always happen on holidays?? So we decided to go into triage at the hospital. I was worried, but I also didn't want to go because I knew they'd tell me I was fine. But better safe than sorry!

We got to the hospital and they strapped these things on me to monitor the babies heartbeats and then one to monitor any contractions I might be having. It was funny because the first nurse really had a hard time getting them on the right spot. So then another nurse came in, who must have had much more experience with twins. She got them on right away. It was also funny because the girls did not like the pressure on my belly! They were kicking like mad! I could see the sensor things go all over the place! They checked my cervix, and it was fine too.

I told her I was having cramps that were pretty much constant, except for the 2 I had earlier. No tightening of the belly or anything. So they decided I was having cramps caused by constipation. No. I don't think so. I know what poo cramps feel like, and this was not it! But, they had no other explanation, so I took it. I'm hoping that it is just my uterus growing. They also sent in my urine sample to test for a UTI, and at my appointment next week I should find out about that. I'm glad nothing was wrong, but a little annoyed they assumed it was constipation.

Other than that, I've been doing well! Normal aches and pains, and a much slower pace, but good! I'm not looking forward to going back to work next week, but I keep telling myself that I only have 1 month and then I am done with work!