No more waiting

After three weeks of hospitalized bedrest we've decided to move forward with delivery.

This decision is not something we took lightly. We are only at 31 1/2 weeks. Since we discovered baby boy's growth restriction and my pre-eclampsia, we've been standing and staring at a gray line. Crossing that gray line means we have reached a level where the pregnancy is dangerous to me, and is no longer beneficial to baby boy.

Over the weekend, my blood pressure began to creep up and my meds were increased, my platelets dropped again, and today's growth ultrasound wasn't as promising as we hoped it might be. All of these conditions on their own would not be cause of great concern. All of these conditions together are signs we could be, at any time, jumping over that gray line.

After much much talk with the MFM OBs, we have decided to be proactive, and deliver these sweet bundles tomorrow. The delivery will be via c-section. Am I excited about that? Nope, not really. But I am a big girl and I can handle it. It's not my ideal delivery method, but I've accepted it. I've known for quite awhile this is how it would go down so I've had time to deal with it. I am sure tomorrow morning on the OR table I will be a ball of nerves, but I have two great men by my side. I have no doubt they will be a great support to me.

These last few weeks on bedrest have given me good memories. I have experienced a ton of love and support from friends and family and also from people I have never even met. Lots of visitors (and most brought food... can't go wrong bringing this girl food), an invaluable amount of quality time with Guy and Dror, wheelchair rides through the subway, beautiful flowers, great nurses and personal housekeepers and chefs.

I will get a better picture tomorrow morning but for now here's a 31 weeks pic:

In less than 12 hours we'll be heading in for surgery. 

The world will be blessed with two sweethearts. 

A couple will become a family of four. 

It's going to be an awesome day.

I'm still baking babies

After almost two weeks, I am still on hospitalized bedrest. I was admitted into the hospital for Pre-eclampsia with severe features, and I'll be here until the babies are born. For the first week, it felt like we were walking around with blindfolds on. We just didn't know what to expect, and the situation was making us very antsy. We still don't really know what to expect but I think we've accepted that. We are living in a world of the unknown for now. We've decided to let the pregnancy play out, and wait until something pushes us to deliver.

In the beginning of my bedrest, I worried a lot about my husband and kids. I stay at home with my kids so my husband isn't use to handling the kids' day to day stuff. The routine had completed changed for everyone. It's hard being here when I know I am needed at home. Thankfully, we have family that can help us out.

The hardest part of being on bedrest in the hospital is not being with my kids . They are my life. They are my 24/7 job. It's weird going from being needed by 4 amazing creatures to being taken care of by the nursing staff here.

The good news is that my levels are staying stable. I haven't had any high pressure readings that have landed me back in labor and delivery. I take pills to control my high blood pressure twice a day. I almost feel like I shouldn't be here, but whenever I tell my doctors they say "but you really do need to be here."

We had a growth ultrasound last Monday where we discovered that baby boy has a intrauterine growth restriction. If I understand it correctly, it means that his placenta isn't functioning at 100%. We will have weekly ultrasounds to watch his progress.

The babies are monitored every morning. I usually have it done right after breakfast. I laugh every time with the nurses because baby girl plays hide & seek and dance party USA every single day. Baby boy is such a good little guy. He can be found right away, but we all know his current living quarters don't let him go too far since his sister is taking up much of the space. We joke that when he is born he is going to go into full on stretch out mode. After the nurse finally finds baby girl, monitoring goes well, and the babies do great.

There are good and bad things about being on bedrest in the hospital.

Some of the bad: getting wake-up calls at 5am for blood draws, having to sit in a bed most of the day, having an IV at all times...

I've had four different IV's since I've been here.

Some of the good: someone cooks for me, I'm spoiled by Guy and Dror (they have brought me coffee, chocolate, and a new book), my daughter paints my toenails...

Such a sweet girl

Last Tuesday I was given a walking pass. We have a great pedestrian subway that connects the hospital to many places to eat and shop at. Guy and Dror have been kind enough to take me out of my room most days. I have to ride in a wheelchair, which feels odd. It's so great to bust out of my room though.

Yesterday my daughter came to hang out with me. She pushed me in my wheelchair. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how she would do but she didn't complain once, and only banged into the wall, door frame and elevator a few times.We visited the public library, a few stores, ate pizza, and then had coffee and dessert. Then we came back to my room and watched a movie. It was an excellent day. I miss her so much and I'm pretty sure she misses me too.

On Friday we reached a big milestone... 30 weeks! Please keep saying a prayer for us and sending positive thoughts. I think it's working!!

Preeclampsia with severe features and a hospital stay

In my last post I talked about my high blood pressure readings. Because of the high readings, and the levels of protein found in my urine, I was told to start taking my blood pressure at home.

Tuesday, the day after my appointment, I went to a local pharmacy to pick up a blood pressure machine. While I was there I took my blood pressure. The reading wasn't very good, something like 149/95. I hoped I was just getting an incorrect reading. Once I got home I tested myself again. Still high. I rested on my left side for 15 minutes. Took the test again. Still high. At this point I'm not sure what to do. So I continue to rest and test. After many high readings, I called my husband and told him I would need to go to OB triage to be monitored. He came home to be with the kids, and I left for the hospital. I've been here ever since.

After getting to triage, they hooked me up to the machines, and once again I was producing high readings. The monitoring started out pretty normal. Nurses and doctors coming and going. Blood work, many blood pressure readings. After about two hours (7:00pm) of being in triage, the nurse opened the door, and showed me a wheelchair. She told me I had a room ready in L&D. At this point I still thought I would be going home that night. Silly me.

I went to L&D and was hooked up to about a million cords. The nurse took my blood pressure again. It showed a ridiculously high number. She rushed out, and within two minutes, I had an IV started, and meds were being pushed through to lower the pressure. A few minutes later my pressure was taken again and it was in the 150's/90's. They also started a magnesium drip... I suggest you try to stay away from this stuff unless you enjoy headaches and puking.

After all of the drama we waited for the OB team to come up with a plan, and finish up a C-section. About 10:00pm a team of about 5 doctors came in, and didn't waste much time in telling me that I would be induced that night. I had a hard time hearing this info, but I acted brave, and told them I understood what was happening and why. After they left I completely broke down. My nurse comforted me since I had no one with me. The memories of this moment still brings tears to my eyes. It was very surreal. L&D nurses are so awesome.

Now I had the duty of calling Guy and Dror, and giving them this heartbreaking news. I dreaded telling them their babies would be delivered at just over 28 weeks. How horrifying! They were aware I was being monitored, but I don't think any of us were thinking delivery at this point. When they answered the phone I told them the bad news right away. They immediately put me at ease. They didn't panic or lose control. They would start making arrangements to get to MN ASAP.

Sleep was out of the question for the rest of the night. Doctors and nurses came and went throughout the night. The plan was to give me meds to soften my cervix, and start pitocin at some point. The goal was to deliver Wednesday afternoon/night. This would mean Guy and Dror would miss delivery, which we already assumed.

As the night rolled along, the Chief OB came in with another update. They decided to hold off on delivering for the night. My levels seemed to be stabilizing, the babies were doing great, and she just wasn't comfortable in making the call to deliver. We would wait for the MFM doctors (Maternal Fetal Medicine) to review my file in the morning. Hallelujah!!

Someone was watching over us, because the MFM doctors came in the next morning to tell me as long as everything stayed stable, and the babies looked good, we would do what is called "expectant management." This meant I would make the call as to when we would deliver. Obviously if something in my levels changed I would lose that privilege though.

Wednesday I was moved to a Antenatal room where I would start my hospitalized bedrest. The babies and I would continue to be monitored closely. The guys were all set for a long flight to MN, and... we were expecting a huge snowstorm. Perfect timing (sarcasm)...  But as long as I could stay stable, everything would be fine.

Wednesday and Thursday went by without incident. The only struggle was that G&D's connection flight from Chicago to MN was cancelled due to the snowstorm. Again, if I could just stay stable everything would be okay.

Friday morning brought good news. G&D were on their way to MN. Even though the weather was still bad, the flight would go on as planned. The morning cruised by with no bumps. The afternoon was different story. Just as G&D were coming up the elevator to the birth center, I was being wheeled back to L&D because of more high blood pressure readings.

G&D came into the room just before the nurse started hooking me up to all of the monitors. We all hugged, and then the monitored started. It wasn't a great way to start off their visit, but the nurses and doctors were able to stabilize everything again. While being monitored we were able to meet with the MFM doctors and a member of the neonatal team. I had already heard everything, but it was nice for G&D to hear it directly from the hospital staff.

Today is Sunday, and I've had a symptom free day! I won't be able to leave the hospital until after the babies are born. Hopefully we have some time before that happens. For now, we will take it one day at a time.

Here is my last at-home bump picture:

Biophysical Profile Test and Preeclampsia

Yesterday we had our first weekly monitoring test. The test was preformed by ultrasound, where the tech watched for movements and breathing. Both babies scored an 8, which is perfect. I was thinking the test would be a bit more invasive, and include being hooked up to machines. But it was simple and fast.

After the ultrasound, I met with my OB. First I had my weight and blood pressure checked by the nurse. The nurse took my blood pressure 3 times. I was thinking maybe she wasn't getting a clear reading. Then she asked if my bp was normally high. My inside voice screamed "NOOOO" but I calmly told her that it's usually low. She was getting a reading of 130/80. She told me to sit tight and she'd recheck in a few minutes. So I sat. I knew it wouldn't show a lower number. I was not feeling high energy or anxious so there were other reasons why my bp was reading higher than normal.

She retested and got a reading of 130/82 every time. Grrr... So babies are doing great, but now we have a blood pressure issue. After talking with my OB for a bit, she sent me to get lab work done. I had a blood draw and a urine test. Later she called to tell me the levels of protein in my urine were higher than they like to see. Nothing major is happening right now. We are still only monitoring the situation. For now the babies and I are being monitored twice a week, and I need to check my blood pressure at home a few times a day.

I wrote this post last Tuesday morning........... things took a wild turn later that day. I'm writing that post now.