33 Weeks and counting!

Everyone is just keepin on truckin!  The babies are doing great, they are measuring about 4 1/2 lbs.  Their growth has normalized, which is good because that means that the diabetes is under control.  Stacy is as uncomfortable as ever and can't wait for the babies to be born (but they need to cook a little longer!)  The doc says that if she makes it to 37 weeks, he'll go ahead and induce her, but he also says that they could come at any time.

I've been having fun pushing on the babies and feeling them push back.  We also know that their hearing works because I gave her belly a raspberry the other day and they nearly jumped out of her belly they were so startled!  We're both excited and nervous as the day approaches.  I don't think we're nearly as ready as we need to be, but at the same time, who ever is?

31 weeks 3 days

We're still trucking along! Stacy is dealing with the diabetes well, in fact after my last post she got a visit from her nutritionist who told her that she wasn't eating enough!  The idea is to keep her blood sugar consistent throughout the day so she needs to plan for having snacks between meals.  The biggest change in her diet has been simply keeping track of the number of carbs she is having at a time, and spacing them out over the course of the day.  It seems to be working, her numbers are almost always below 120 which is what her doctor wants to see, and she hasn't had to have any insulin shots which is great.

She is getting pretty tired of the drudgery of the daily routine though.  Every day the babies get monitored twice, her finger gets pricked 4 times, she has 3 meals and 3 snacks, and drinks 120oz. of water which makes her get up to pee a dozen times a day.  She can only shower every other day, she can sit up for no more than 30 minutes while she eats, and she's only allowed to leave her room on Tuesday's for her weekly ultrasound.  All the rest of the time all she can do is lie in bed... I'm trying to keep her entertained, but I think she just has a major case of cabin fever... who can blame her, it's been 52 days since she was admitted!   Thank goodness I have the summer off and can come up to see her every day because she'd be stark raving mad by now if she didn't have the company!

On Tuesday we go in for another ultrasound where they measure the babies.  Two weeks ago they were nearly 4 lbs. so it'll be interesting to see how big they've gotten.  We still have no clue when the babies are going to come, but her doctor told us that if the babies decided to come today, he wouldn't be concerned at all.  I guess that means that we're past the point of major complications due to premature delivery.  I'll update the post again later this week with the new measurements! Thank you all for your prayers and continued support.  We feel it, and love you for it!

Tough Weekend

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Stacy's had a rough weekend, if it's not one thing it's another.  She found out Saturday that she has gestational diabetes.  As if that isn't bad enough her doctor seems to be on a crusade to make her lose weight while being pregnant, and so has not only cut out her carbs completely but has also reduced her meat portions which is ridiculous.  Stacy is always hungry now and thats not a good thing for a pregnant lady...  She's being a trooper though and is trying to do what her doctor says.  At least the babies are OK and still in there!  We should go in for another ultrasound tomorrow and will get the babies measured.  Wish us luck!

Week 29

Well we made it through another week.  Stacy had a miserable time last week on the magnesium sulfide drip.  She said it was the worst feeling she's ever had.  She had a headache, jaw ache and well, pretty much just ached all over and felt generally bad.  But it worked!  Babies stayed in and she's doing fine now.  She's back in her regular room in the High Risk OB area. 

On Monday we got new sonogram pictures that I'll scan and post later today.  The sono showed that her cervix is still at 9mm which is great, that means that it hasn't shortened at all from last week, but her OB doesn't want her going home because her cervix is so short that the babies could slip out and die before they could get to them so she's for sure staying at the hospital until they're born. 

We don't measure the babies again until next Monday, but their cheeks are getting all chubba chubba so they seem like they're doing fine.  They're getting big enough now to where the nurses don't have to hunt for them as much as they have been when they do their daily monitoring, which is good for babies and mama.  Her doctor is very impressed that the babies have stayed in there as long as they have, but he still thinks they're going to come sooner rather than later.  At least we're past the 28 week mark which was the major hurdle we were looking to surpass, so it's all gravy at this point. 

But gravy is good!  Keep praying for more gravy!  We're sure that prayer is probably the only reason everything is going as well as it is...  Thanks everyone!

27 weeks 6 days

We're almost to week 28!  Stacy started having some abdominal pain Sunday and it got a lot worse on Monday so we went to the doctor to get an ultrasound.  Babies still look great, both are almost 3 lbs. measuring in the 75th - 90th percentile.  The amniotic fluid looks good and her cervix only shortened one centimeter.  That's the good news;

The bad news is that the doc thought that the pain she was having was pre-labor contractions and recommended that she be moved to labor and delivery for magnesium treatment.  The magnesium is supposed to suppress the contractions, ease the pain and reduce the risks for birth defects like cerebral palsy.  So far she's had pretty regular contractions, about 8-15 minutes apart, but the doctor can't tell if she's dilating yet.  He is pretty sure that the babies are going to come by the end of the week though, which isn't ideal, but if we can make it to Thursday, at least we'll have met our primary goal of 28 weeks.

Keep the prayers coming!  We need them doubly so this week.  Thanks!

26 weeks and 5 days.

We had another ultrasound today.  Babies are doing great!  No measurements today though.  Stacy's cervix is down to 10 mm so the shrink rate has decreased which is a good thing.  Hopefully the trend will continue and the babies will stay in for at least another 2 weeks.  Stacy's thinking it will actually be longer though so we're staying positive!  That's all for now, thanks for checking in.

26 weeks!

Today marks 26 weeks exactly!  We want to get to at least the end of week 28 so we have about 3 weeks to go.  We had a new ultrasound on Tuesday.  The doc says she no longer has placenta previa, which is exclent news.  There is no doubt, both babies are boys!!!  Stacy won't let me post the pictures for proof though...  Both babies are healthy and active!  They give the nurses a very difficult time every time they come to monitor them. 

The only bad news for now is that Stacy's cervix has shortened quite a bit from the time she was admitted.  The doc has put her on more restrictive bed rest and it's making it that much harder for her.  She is trying to keep her feet elevated higher than her head to take the pressure off of the cervix. 

That's all for now, please keep the prayers coming, they're working so far!!

Recent Sonograms

Just wanted to share the most recent sonograms with everyone.

New Blog

After much encouragement to create a single place where people can go to get updates on the babies I created this blog. For those who don't know Stacy and I are expecting twin boys! Stacy is currently 25 weeks and 4 days into the pregnancy. The babies are healthy and active, Stacy said just this morning that baby "B"anana was kicking all over the place trying to get comfortable.

Unfortunately a little over a week ago Stacy started having some bleeding. It wasn't anything major but she called the doctor anyway and they told her to come in immediately. She did and after a brief exam, sonogram and consultation with a high risk specialist, Stacy was admitted into the hospital. She's been diagnosed with Partial Placenta Previa, a condition where the placenta covers a portion of the cervix. I don't know all the specifics, but I do know that this is bad because she could start bleeding unexpectedly and suddenly loose the babies or her own life, so the doctors are being very careful. She's on full bed rest, she doesn't have any chair privileges and is only allowed up to use the restroom and shower.

The good thing is that this condition is fairly common with multiples and as long as she follows doctors orders, she should be fine. At this point we're hoping to at least get the babies to 28 weeks (typical singleton pregnancy is 40 weeks) where the survivability rate is around 95%. They'd still have to spend some time in the NICU, but they'd be alive. Anything after 28 weeks further reduces the risks of neurological defects, blindness and hearing loss.

Bottom line we need everyone's prayers so keep em commin!