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I honestly thought I would have news for you today, but after an uneventful ultrasound I'm afraid we're all sort of still in the dark! Here's what I can tell you though:
My cervix is still really long (4cm for those keeping track!), Baby A is still in a good position, and Baby B has actually moved. She is still, however, transverse to some degree. It remains to be seen whether or not she is adequately positioned to attempt a natural delivery, but she seems to be heading in the right direction. The computer was broken so whatever algorithm they use to calculate their weights could not be used, so we have no idea how big they are. Well, we know they are BIG, but how big remains to be seen.
Basically, we wait until Tuesday to find out how we will proceed.
I'm a bit of a train wreck though. It's hard to get comfortable, sleeping is a nuisance and it hurts to walk. But those things are so inconsequential in the larger scheme of things. It's sort of comical, because normally when you feel so poorly there is cause for concern. In this case, it's completely irrelevant that I feel bad, because the girls are as happy as little clams in there. They don't need to go anywhere! So with no photo to entertain you with and no news to update you with, I leave you with the same state of dissatisfaction that I'm feeling! All the best though to everyone.
Well, you'd think that the end would be in sight, wouldn't you? But no, these little girls are going to hang on as long as they can. And who could blame them, really? It's warm, safe and never lonely!
Seriously, though, everything looks fine for now. I'm not showing any movement towards getting ready to deliver. Even the contractions that landed me in the hospital in the first place are just one of those things to put up with. My cervix is still locked up tight as a drum, and Baby A's head is still high. Unfortunately, it's looking very seriously like the girls will be delivered by C-section. Here's the plan:
1. I will have a final Ultrasound next Thursday which will show us the position of Baby B. She's the one in the transverse position (lying straight across my belly from right to left). Baby A is in a good position, but Baby B's shoulder position makes it unlikely that she will "fall" neatly into place once A is delivered. Because they are SO big, the option of just reaching up and pulling her out by her feet is unlikely. It's too risky; and
2. I will have another appointment with my OBGYN on the 2nd of December to make our final decision. At this time, I'll be 37 weeks. We'll book our date for the C-section (or induction if things take a "turn" for the better) around the 38 week mark.
Of course, I could just go into labour, but it doesn't look likely at this point. I'm healthy, hardly any swelling, normal blood pressure and weight gain. The girls are swimming around, gaining weight and developing as they should. We can't ask for more than that. I will take this opportunity to complain a little bit. I'm having some pelvic pain, and it's really hard to turn over in bed. And let's face it; I'm HEAVY! It's a lot of weight to lug around in the front. If I could just get them to move around to my back.....
Ivan's folks are here helping out. Ivan's still as busy as can be these days. He's handling the deluge of pregnancy hormones quite well. And I promise you, these are emotional times! Sometimes I wonder if my sanity has not flown completely out the window. I know it's time to stop watching a Baby Story. I liken it to the weird obsession I had with reading nautical disaster books while at sea. No good can come from watching other women going through labour or being sliced open while their husbands sit useless and helpless at their heads. This is one area where perhaps I could have used the mystique. But still I watch. It's a sickness, I know.
Well that's all from Tari's bed for this week. No news is good news in this case, so you should not hear more until next Thursday. I wish you all the best, and if anybody has some spare time, I could use a Christmas decorator.
Whew! Made it to 34 weeks finally and we're all still hangin in there! We had an Ultrasound today and things looked really good. Baby A weighs 5lbs 15oz, and Baby B weighs 5lbs 9oz. These would be great weights for a singleton pregnancy at this stage, and so just tremendous for twins. That said, it's still a lot for me to carry around. My cervix measured long today with very little change from when I was discharged from the hospital. And finally, there is no longer an abnormal amount of fluid around either baby. We've finally shed the term polyhydramnios from our reports, much to my tremendous relief!
We're all packed for our hospital stay. I suppose we'll find out next Wednesday at our OBGYN appointment what the plan of attack is. Will they schedule a C-section in case I go beyond a certain time period, or will they just let me go on my own. It's really hard to say. Baby A is in a good position for natural delivery still, but then again Baby B is still in her unfortunate transverse position. Doctors seem to vary on how they would proceed in this case. The girls are officially big enough to be delivered naturally so that lends some hope. Time will tell.
Otherwise, the bedrest thing seems to be working out very well for us. The girls are happy, I'm rested and getting lots of knitting done. Ivan seems to have found his groove and is happy as long as I stay where I'm put! I do try my hardest to oblige him. We really do want to get to 36 weeks. Though he's starting to talk more like 38 weeks. I just nod and smile. 38 weeks!! Can you imagine? Maybe he could take over for a bit?
I'm home! I was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday because I was experiencing frequent Braxton Hicks contractions and my cervix had shortened. I was put on a 24 hour course of inter venous drugs designed to stop the contractions of the uterus (and incidentally lower blood pressure). I was also administered two doses of steroid to hasten the development of the girls' lungs should they insist on making an early appearance. By Sunday, though I was exhausted from a lack of sleep and so made a bargain with my Dr that if he released me from the hospital, I would continue my bed rest from home. He agreed, providing an ultrasound of my cervix showed no further shortening and that my contractions were neither regular nor increasing in intensity.
Thankfully, my cervix had actually lengthened (bed rest works!), and my contractions were and have been inconsistent ever since. I am now happily at home in my bed where I spend all of my time.
This has to be be or will become hard on Ivan, I imagine. Each morning he gets up, looks after himself, River and then makes my breakfast and prepares my lunch for the day. This he leaves in a cooler by the bed. He then goes to work, runs errands and returns home to walk River. Once that's done, River is fed and Ivan cooks supper for us which we eat in the bedroom together. Any house work that needs to be done is done after supper clean-up. Then Ivan prepares his lunch for the next day. He also must take me to the numerous apointments that I have to attend in order to keep track of this amazing pregnancy. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't just drop me back at the hospital and leave me there one of these days! But that's it, that's what it can take to keep twins healthy and safe. I suppose it's a good warm up for their arrival!
It's hard to imagine, but really after next week they're safe to arrive. We'll try to do better than that for them, since they will surely have a stay in the NICU if they come at 34 weeks. But already they are each 4lbs 12 oz. Actually, that was one week ago, so they're probably over 5lbs now! The lowest weight that we would be comfortable with is 5lbs 8 oz. This makes them big enough to sustain a natural delivery and more likely to be able to nurse right away. Preemies have a hard time co-ordinating eating and breathing and often have to be fed by a tube. They can always learn to nurse later, but it does make it harder, and of course, I'd have to pump all of my breast milk. And I'll be honest, once the girls are here, I want to wrap them up and bring them home! So if we can get them to 37 weeks, they will be considered full term for twins and could potentially be good to go. That's 4 weeks from now. And that is a LONG time when you're as big as me!
