Train Wreck

Let me just start off by saying the girls are wonderful. Mathilde, or Tilly as we're calling her lately, and Alexis (Lexi) are blossoming and flourishing as the days pass. They're gaining weight and interacting just a little bit more with their world. They've had an exciting week traveling back and forth from home to the hospital while Mom recovers from a massive infection. That's where I come in.
Monday night I awoke to find myself bleeding copious quantities of blood. Given the snow storm and the fact that we had the girls to contend with, we quickly called an ambulance and I was whisked away to the hospital by two diminutive but fit young women. Once in the hospital it was determined that I had an infection in my uterus, and an ultrasound revealed that huge clots had formed and were preventing my uterus from shrinking back to it's normal size. At first it was thought that a 10cm piece of placenta had been left over from my C-Section, but that proved likely not to be the case. In 10 percent of C-sections, this type of infection can result.
I had an emergency D&C to remove the clots and clean the uterus and then spent the next two days in the post delivery ward with Ivan and the girls. My hemoglobin test results revealed that it had slipped from 139 to 59 as a result of the massive blood loss I had suffered. I was offered a choice between a blood transfusion and iron therapy via intravenous delivery. I chose the iron therapy. In the mean time, Ivan had to pack the girls up twice a day to return to the house to feed River and let him out. I had made a deal with the hospital that I could keep the girls in with me since I was nursing, but I could never be left alone with them since the nurses would not be available to assist me. So they tagged along with Ivan wherever he went. They fared no worse for the experience though, and I pumped enough milk so that Ivan could take "meals" with him.
We're all home today, Christmas Eve and so grateful for it. I'm tired and weak and look like Casper, but I'll recover. And I have Ivan and the girls. I am so eternally grateful for my family and I look forward to a quiet time with them tomorrow. We will enjoy Kraft Dinner and a little bit of wine for our Christmas Supper, and probably sleep until noon. (If the girls will let us. Right!) . If you were looking for a reason this season to be grateful, think of us. We just might not have made it. Merry Christmas everyone.

They're Here! Meet Mathilde & Alexis Lightwood

Greetings from the Lightwood household everyone! They have arrived at last; those long awaited Lightwood ladies. They are from left to right: Alexis Sophia Lightwood, born at 1027 on Friday 12 December 08 and weighing 6lbs 4.5oz and Mathilde Josephine Lightwood, born at 1026 the same day and weighing 6lbs 14oz. The elective C-section was quick and easy and both girls were quick to arrive in our room after some precautionary treatments in the nursery. Three days later, Mom and girls were deemed fit to go home and begin to find a routine at home. Our first night at home with the girls was tough, to be sure and sleep was seldome and fleeting. That said, today's visit from the Public Health Nurse deemed the girls to be in excellent health with no jaundice, and little weight loss.
Thanks to everyone for their phone calls and support over the pregnancy, and many apologies for not getting the info out sooner. More to follow in the near future.

38 Weeks

We made it! 38 weeks, babies are full term and ready to meet the world. Sort of... We're scheduled for an elective C-Section for this Friday, Dec 12. I'm slightly dilated, but with all the excess amniotic fluid in there, the girls are acting like little corks and just can't engage in my pelvis to get things going. They could break the water around Baby A, but there is an increased risk of cord prolapse (having the umbilical cord slip through ahead of the baby and wrap around the neck). Also, we could deliver Baby A after a really long and tough labour (first baby and all) only to have to deliver Baby B by C-section because she's slipped down into a transverse position. So, after weighing all the risks, we with Dr Carrier have decided to go ahead and safely deliver them by C-section. He will do the surgery.
We're excited about meeting these girls finally. It's been a very long pregnancy in some ways. It could be said that it slipped by quickly too though. And of course I am nervous about what Friday will mean. Ivan and I will be parents to two infant girls. The profoundness of that is still sinking in.
So, the next entry might just be a week from today if we can find a second to update the blog! I look forward to posting pictures. All the best, and please wish us luck!

37 Weeks

Wow! Here we are, 37 weeks pregnant with twins. I could have never predicted that we would have made it this far. Truth is, my body is no where near ready to give birth. How is that possible? Today's visit to the Dr (if we understood him correctly) has left us with a decision to make over the next week. We can wait. We can literally sit it out and wait for me to go into labour on my own and risk a C-section anyway, or we can call it a day next Wednesday and ask for an elective C-section. I don't think my Dr would push me in either direction, he knows how uncomfortable I am. But the girls are well above average for even a singleton pregnancy and they're only getting bigger.
As for me, I'm done. We stopped at Canadian Tire on the way home. I'm no longer on bed rest and I was thinking that maybe I could use gravity to help things along, but it seems that I can no longer walk. That's unfortunate! But as you can see from the accompanying photo, I am now too large to make use of my legs! But I can do one more week. I will do one more week.