basically, i have been in the hospital since wednesday with preterm labor (contractions) and have been on a horrible medicine that has been keeping them away... i had thought i would be in the hospital for the next two weeks for sure while on this medication to keep contractions at bay. then, they would let me go off and deliver whenever it would happen.
and here is the latest that i posted on facebook... a bunch of stuff has happened between posts.... its too confusing and you just want to get the big picture anyhow!!!!
i was told about this pump as an option for controlling contractions on friday or saturday. i was told that it had to be approved by my insurance company, so i immediately dismissed it as a possibility. as most of you know, our insurance is not hardly covering a dime of my pregnancy issues. well, today doctor crane came in and mentioned about the pump (they had to wait until monday to deal with the insurance company.) some lady called me from the hospital and got all of my information and called to try to get approval for me. i NEVER thought it would happen. i wasn't even hoping because i just thought no. of course, you know where this is going--- i got a call back that i am approved! they approved 100% of the cost!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!
what does this mean? instead of being here for another 2 weeks on magnesium, i have the chance to go home! and i wont be on magnesium! that is a double bonus!!!! so, it is kind of like a pump people with diabetes have. it is small and portable. there is a thing that goes into my leg with this little needle that is later removed (squeemish me is ok with this, so it is not actually bad!) then, medication gets pumped into me as needed (terbutaline) and is controlled by people behind a computer somewhere. they also will have a contraction belt that i will wear 2 times a day for an hour each so that they can make sure the contractions are kept at bay. i can also put this on whenever i think i may be having contractions. the results are then sent into the people via phone line. the people are then able to change the levels of doses of my meds to control the contractions and speak with my doctor accordingly. it is basically like being in the hospital, but without having the person actually present. the whole thing is really complex and amazing!!!!
that being said, it is our hopes that this medication works and that i will be able to go home. it could be as early as tomorrow or it could take a few days. i am not getting my hopes up completely, but i do hope this works. it would be nice to be home with my husband!!!
so, with that being said, i really can't believe that God did this for me. he is really amazing! plus, he has gotten me through all of this anyhow! he gave me the encouragement that i needed today before any of this happened! that was good enough for me! this is just shockingly amazing! it also gives me a little hope that maybe maybe the insurance will cover more? we are getting help with that as well.
i really can't tell everyone enough what all their comments and prayers have meant to me throughout all of this! just little comments on facebook have been totally encouraging! i can't believe how many people care! so, thank you all so much! please keep praying for the girls!!!! they are doing well despite the preterm labor. it is my body that thinks it is time to go, but they are happy inside still! they are growing great and have done amazing throughout everything! if the pump works, i could even go to 36 weeks! crazy!!!! it would be so good for the girls, too!!!
8.6.09
4.6.09
how many trips has it been?
so, is it bad when you loose track if how many times you have been to the hospital? i think it has been 5 now. once for dehydration, 3 times for spotting and 2 times for contractions.
yeah- i am in the hospital again. my doctors appointment is every wednesday for my non-stress test and ultrasound. yesterday i went in for my appointment, and the ultrasound went great- again! thank goodness! the girls are looking amazing! they only do measurements every other week, so we did not get any this time. they are probably over 4 pounds we are guessing from their weights last week. so, going into the non-stress test, i had a feeling that i was contracting. i couldn't feel it literally, but i just knew. sure enough, i was contracting. i was then checked out in the office to see if i was dialated and the male doctor (who has a larger finger) said no, but i was 90% effaced. it mattered this time because i was close to being fully effaced- that means that my cervix is getting thin and has to do with being dialated. they all work together, though it is super confusing.
luckily, after our experience the week before, matt insisted i take my mom with me, since he was in the middle of refinishing thewood floors in the bedroom and nursery. so, i had someone to go directly with me to the hospital and be with me! smart boy! i wasn't feeling the contractions until after i was waiting to have my cervix checked. i started questioning all the movements i have been having. it turned out, when i was hooked up on the monitor at the hospital, that they were in fact contractions. they felt like the girls stretching- not like my stomach was contracting. however, they quickly stood out to me and became very uncomfortable. at the worst, they were on the verge of painful. matt arrived as quickly as he could- with packing the 500 things i wanted from home! apparently, he learned from last time! what a great guy!
the contractions got super close together- up to 2 minutes apart at times. it was crazy! they ended up hooking me up to an iv and giving me magnesium to stop the contractions. this is the worst of all the options- i was told my my hilarious nurse! she kept me laughing and that was good! so, i got the crash dose of magnisium, which makes you so hot you want to rip your clothes off and run around--- literally! it is INSANE! so, i made it through that, and then i had to get the steriod shot in my butt to help get the girls lungs a little help. the magnisium was slowing the contractions a little bit, but not enough. they ended up increasing the dosage then. the contractions started to slow down then and through the night.
around midnight, they came in and checked my cervix again, and i was dialated between 0-1. i forgot to mention that another person had measured it at 1 when i first arrived at the hospital. however, they use their fingers, and someone with a bigger finger may not feel what one with a smaller finger feels. hence, the difference. this all means that i may have been dialated at the doctors office where the man with the larger finger measured me, but we will never know. after they checked my cervix and saw the contractions settling down, i was FINALLY able to eat for the first time since before noon!!! i ate like one of those starving people in the movies... i am so glad i was alone! i had a loose turkey sandwich that was the best sandwich of my life-- and i hate tuekey!!! i was like a monster.
i got about 2 hours of sleep that night because the girls are on constant monitoring for their heart rates when i am in the hospital. between me moving and them moving, we were constantly loosing their heart rates! they put these round things on my stomach that are probably as big of round as a pop can. they use one for each baby and then another for contractions. they put gel to help conduct the scientific stuff i cant explain right now, so they can be a little slippery. oh and they use belts around your waist to try to help keep them steady. needless to say, it is a constant battle to keep these girls monitored!
i am a little drugged up and super tired here, so i hope i make sense! throughout the day today, my contractions decreased to 1-2 an hour!!! yipeeee!!! i felt horrible though. the magnesium has horrible side effects like weirdo vision (i felt like i was cross eyed and had trouble focusing) and headaches. also, i am not allowed to drink hardly any water or something bad will happen. (i sound like a little kid, but i can't remember what happens- i just know i dont want that to happen.) i also feel a little like a wet noodle, so getting up and going to the bathroom is not always the easiest. i was lucky because grandpa joe, our neighbor sarah, and my mom and paul all came to visit in the afternoon. they were one right after another, so time flew by! yes, matt was there too! he stayed all day and evening. i feel bad for him because it has to be boring!
so, right now i am waiting for them to do this test that tells if my body is producing something it only produces when it is going to go into labor. it is only 1% inaccurate at determining that a woman will not go into labor within the next 7-10 days. it does not determine that she will for sure and when. so, we will get that back somewhere in the night... let us pray for negative!!! we need at least 3 more weeks!!!
yeah- i am in the hospital again. my doctors appointment is every wednesday for my non-stress test and ultrasound. yesterday i went in for my appointment, and the ultrasound went great- again! thank goodness! the girls are looking amazing! they only do measurements every other week, so we did not get any this time. they are probably over 4 pounds we are guessing from their weights last week. so, going into the non-stress test, i had a feeling that i was contracting. i couldn't feel it literally, but i just knew. sure enough, i was contracting. i was then checked out in the office to see if i was dialated and the male doctor (who has a larger finger) said no, but i was 90% effaced. it mattered this time because i was close to being fully effaced- that means that my cervix is getting thin and has to do with being dialated. they all work together, though it is super confusing.
luckily, after our experience the week before, matt insisted i take my mom with me, since he was in the middle of refinishing thewood floors in the bedroom and nursery. so, i had someone to go directly with me to the hospital and be with me! smart boy! i wasn't feeling the contractions until after i was waiting to have my cervix checked. i started questioning all the movements i have been having. it turned out, when i was hooked up on the monitor at the hospital, that they were in fact contractions. they felt like the girls stretching- not like my stomach was contracting. however, they quickly stood out to me and became very uncomfortable. at the worst, they were on the verge of painful. matt arrived as quickly as he could- with packing the 500 things i wanted from home! apparently, he learned from last time! what a great guy!
the contractions got super close together- up to 2 minutes apart at times. it was crazy! they ended up hooking me up to an iv and giving me magnesium to stop the contractions. this is the worst of all the options- i was told my my hilarious nurse! she kept me laughing and that was good! so, i got the crash dose of magnisium, which makes you so hot you want to rip your clothes off and run around--- literally! it is INSANE! so, i made it through that, and then i had to get the steriod shot in my butt to help get the girls lungs a little help. the magnisium was slowing the contractions a little bit, but not enough. they ended up increasing the dosage then. the contractions started to slow down then and through the night.
around midnight, they came in and checked my cervix again, and i was dialated between 0-1. i forgot to mention that another person had measured it at 1 when i first arrived at the hospital. however, they use their fingers, and someone with a bigger finger may not feel what one with a smaller finger feels. hence, the difference. this all means that i may have been dialated at the doctors office where the man with the larger finger measured me, but we will never know. after they checked my cervix and saw the contractions settling down, i was FINALLY able to eat for the first time since before noon!!! i ate like one of those starving people in the movies... i am so glad i was alone! i had a loose turkey sandwich that was the best sandwich of my life-- and i hate tuekey!!! i was like a monster.
i got about 2 hours of sleep that night because the girls are on constant monitoring for their heart rates when i am in the hospital. between me moving and them moving, we were constantly loosing their heart rates! they put these round things on my stomach that are probably as big of round as a pop can. they use one for each baby and then another for contractions. they put gel to help conduct the scientific stuff i cant explain right now, so they can be a little slippery. oh and they use belts around your waist to try to help keep them steady. needless to say, it is a constant battle to keep these girls monitored!
i am a little drugged up and super tired here, so i hope i make sense! throughout the day today, my contractions decreased to 1-2 an hour!!! yipeeee!!! i felt horrible though. the magnesium has horrible side effects like weirdo vision (i felt like i was cross eyed and had trouble focusing) and headaches. also, i am not allowed to drink hardly any water or something bad will happen. (i sound like a little kid, but i can't remember what happens- i just know i dont want that to happen.) i also feel a little like a wet noodle, so getting up and going to the bathroom is not always the easiest. i was lucky because grandpa joe, our neighbor sarah, and my mom and paul all came to visit in the afternoon. they were one right after another, so time flew by! yes, matt was there too! he stayed all day and evening. i feel bad for him because it has to be boring!
so, right now i am waiting for them to do this test that tells if my body is producing something it only produces when it is going to go into labor. it is only 1% inaccurate at determining that a woman will not go into labor within the next 7-10 days. it does not determine that she will for sure and when. so, we will get that back somewhere in the night... let us pray for negative!!! we need at least 3 more weeks!!!
27.5.09
contractions at week 30....
ok, so i went to the doctors today and had my routine ultrasound. the girls are growing so well! audrey is 3lb 13oz and hailey is 3lb 8oz! they are in the 66th and 55th percentile or something close to that! they looked great! audrey is breach and hailey is head first. they are keeing audrey as baby A and hailey as baby B, but hailey is actually in the position to come out first (which is the whole point of the A & B labeling system). however, they want to keep their lables because that is how they keep track of their medical histories.
after the ultrasound, i had my first non-stress test, which was going really well and the girls were moving like crazy and their heart beats were good. i thought we were in the clear, then the nurse told me i was having contractions and they would be sending me over to akron city for further testing.
funny thing is, this was the one day matt did not come with me! i had a weird feeling and told him he that i really wanted him to come. he brushed me off, and wished he was there! he had waited to mow the lawn until i thought i was in the clear in the non-stress test. well, when i found out, i couldnt get a hold of him. so, i texted our neighbor and asked him to please pry my husband off of the lawn mower because i am having contractions and have to go to the hospital. matt called me back and i assumed he was coming. about ten minutes later, i decided to make sure. here he didnt know what to do, so he just kept mowing the lawn! poor guy! now im afraid of what he will do when it is for real!
so, they were SWAMPED at the hospital and i had to wait a long time before getting placed in a really nice private room in labor and delivery rather than being in triage. they hooked me up and got contractions with their equiptment, too. it took like 2 or 3 hours for them to come and check my cervix (which was still closed) and i was 50% effaced. they also did a test that shows whether or not i am likely to go into labor within the next 7-10 days. it has a 1% inaccuracy rate. my test came out negative, which means i "should" be ok. so, they called my doctor and i was actually allowed to go home without any restrictions! it only took about 6 hours... and scared the crap out of my mom and a bunch of other people! everyone thought i was going to deliver the girls tonight!
so, here is the scoop, i asked the doctor and she said that until 34 weeks, they try to stop contractions that would lead to delivery. then, they will not let me go past 36 weeks (im pretty sure she said 36, not 38). so, that is our latest episode... let us hope that the girls stay in there for the next four weeks!
ps. the horrible picture of me was taken on May 11th...
10.5.09
holy kicking!!!
the crazy kicking has begun... and it is only going to get more insane!!! the girls have started to disrupt my sleep! i don't feel like being prepared for night feedings yet!
also, i can barely run to the store and get a few things anymore. walking in a store gets to me in about 5 minutes! not cool! the girls are starting to weigh too much for me to carry! i guess it is good because that keeps me from being crazy and doing everything!
also, i can barely run to the store and get a few things anymore. walking in a store gets to me in about 5 minutes! not cool! the girls are starting to weigh too much for me to carry! i guess it is good because that keeps me from being crazy and doing everything!
5.5.09
poor matt....
the pregnancy grumpies have set in big time this week. poor matt. it can't be fun to deal with me right now! and to think, we are supposed to (and hopefully will) have 3 more months to go! oh my! i already look like i am full term with a single baby, according to many people. until now, the size of my belly hasn't been much of an issue, but this week i have become incredibly uncomfortable most all the time. on the flip side, i am feeling the girls more and more, which is a comforting reminder of why i am so miserable! i just try and stay focused on what is growing in my belly!
2.5.09
the weirdest thing...
yesterday, i was driving down the road, and looked down to see an elbow, fist, knee or foot poking out of my stomach! not all creepy like in a horror movie, but within the womb! hehe! i touched it and it was totally bony and was so one of my babies! then, within a matter of seconds, she moved and it was over. i am sure we will have plenty more of these moments, but it is exciting when you have the first one! i think it was hailey! audrey gave me the first movements, and hailey gave me the first tummy bulge! i am glad they have started taking turns!
28.4.09
baby shower no. 2!!!
sunday was baby shower #2! it was really nice! i got to to see a lot of people i had not seen in a very long time! it was an open house, but for some reason everyone came at once in the middle of the shower! i can't blame them, because that is probably when i would go to an open house! so, i did not get to talk to everyone as much as i wanted, which was a total bummer! everyone got us things we really needed, which was great! we got things that we would never have thought of until we needed them! matt took pictures at this shower, too. they are on our photo site! if you want to copy any of them to your computer for free, all you need to do is join shutterfly (which is totally easy and free). then, you left click on the picture you want. the option to download the picture will come up and voila!
http://mattfischer.shutterfly.com/
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