So as I sit here, okay lay here, I am wishing contractions and back pain away. Little girl has been way active today and I am starting to pay for it I think. I had to monitor and send that into Matria and when she called me back she had counted 7 perfectly shaped contractions and a handful more square (we think that baby girls head is butting up against the monitor during a contraction). Well 4 an hour is my threshold. So I am now up at 2 in the morning watching The Bachelor that I TiVo'd last night.
Oh the fun! Heres to no more contractions today!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
33 Weeks Today!!!
I am so excited to make it this far in my pregnancy!! We never thought that we would. My Dr keeps telling me that the only reason that he thinks that I am this far is because Little Bit is breech. She is moving around so much, sometimes I think that she is going to reach out of my belly and grab whatever happens to be sitting on my belly at that time. :)
Today was my umteenth 17P injection. Let me tell you - I screamed through this one. It hurt so bad. David is great with giving me my shots he really is a pro - but for some reason this one hurt to high heaven! I called my Matria nurse just to make sure that this was somewhere in the realm of normal. She told me that it is very common for these to hurt worse with each time that I get them. She said that because they are done in the same general area each week scar tissue is built up and then it is painful to have to push the very thick injection through that tissue. Great! I only have 3 more of these so I guess that I can handle the pain - I mean it is for a good cause right?
I am really needing to get my butt in gear with my school work. I am such a procrastinator!
Okay so I have realized that I haven't updated on the boys in a while. Other than our trip to the ER for Aidan. Aidan is really starting to get sooooo cute - I mean he was cute to begin with but now he had just hit mega cuteness! He is starting to give me kisses. Well not only me - everyone. The best is when he tries to kiss Isaac - Isaac wants nothing to do with it! Aidan ends up chaseing him down - grabbing his clothes and holding on until Isaac falls down - in tears - then Aidan gets on top of him and lays on on Isaac! It is so funny! I know that this is bad but whenever I want a laugh - I tell Aidan to go give his brothers kisses! It is a hoot and a half! They are both starting to play peek a boo now too. I know we are way behind the times with this one but.... They have been playing it for a while now with blankets or towels - but now when you say peek a boo they cover their eyes! It is cute. After a while Aidan gets board with that and wants to cover my eyes! Man I love these kids!
These kids can also throw down some major tantrums!! Here is the kicker - they have watched us for long enough telling Ethan to "change his attitude" and if needed go and sit on the stairs until he can change his tude. Well now when Aidan throws his fits all we have to say is "Aidan - No, go sit on the stairs until you are done." He will then walk over to the stairs and sit down until he is done crying - then he will get up and go play happily! WOW! Isaac just throws himself down to make sure that he lands on something that looks like it will hurt so that we feel sorry for him. I guess that they both are working it in their own ways.
They both can say sister! When I ask them where their sister is they will both come and pat my belly - they normally try to lift up my shirt so that they can see it! Isaac loves to put his head on my belly and just leave it there. I really think that he is going to be a great big brother - I think that they all are - but I think that Isaac is really going to have a soft spot for his sister!
Well I am off to do homework......... maybe.......
Today was my umteenth 17P injection. Let me tell you - I screamed through this one. It hurt so bad. David is great with giving me my shots he really is a pro - but for some reason this one hurt to high heaven! I called my Matria nurse just to make sure that this was somewhere in the realm of normal. She told me that it is very common for these to hurt worse with each time that I get them. She said that because they are done in the same general area each week scar tissue is built up and then it is painful to have to push the very thick injection through that tissue. Great! I only have 3 more of these so I guess that I can handle the pain - I mean it is for a good cause right?
I am really needing to get my butt in gear with my school work. I am such a procrastinator!
Okay so I have realized that I haven't updated on the boys in a while. Other than our trip to the ER for Aidan. Aidan is really starting to get sooooo cute - I mean he was cute to begin with but now he had just hit mega cuteness! He is starting to give me kisses. Well not only me - everyone. The best is when he tries to kiss Isaac - Isaac wants nothing to do with it! Aidan ends up chaseing him down - grabbing his clothes and holding on until Isaac falls down - in tears - then Aidan gets on top of him and lays on on Isaac! It is so funny! I know that this is bad but whenever I want a laugh - I tell Aidan to go give his brothers kisses! It is a hoot and a half! They are both starting to play peek a boo now too. I know we are way behind the times with this one but.... They have been playing it for a while now with blankets or towels - but now when you say peek a boo they cover their eyes! It is cute. After a while Aidan gets board with that and wants to cover my eyes! Man I love these kids!
These kids can also throw down some major tantrums!! Here is the kicker - they have watched us for long enough telling Ethan to "change his attitude" and if needed go and sit on the stairs until he can change his tude. Well now when Aidan throws his fits all we have to say is "Aidan - No, go sit on the stairs until you are done." He will then walk over to the stairs and sit down until he is done crying - then he will get up and go play happily! WOW! Isaac just throws himself down to make sure that he lands on something that looks like it will hurt so that we feel sorry for him. I guess that they both are working it in their own ways.
They both can say sister! When I ask them where their sister is they will both come and pat my belly - they normally try to lift up my shirt so that they can see it! Isaac loves to put his head on my belly and just leave it there. I really think that he is going to be a great big brother - I think that they all are - but I think that Isaac is really going to have a soft spot for his sister!
Well I am off to do homework......... maybe.......
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
32 weeks!!!!
I have a 32 week picture - but I lost my cords to download it off of my camera so until then you will just have to imagine my 32 week baby bump - Maybe if I feel up to getting a gussied up I will take another picture but by then it will be a 33 week picture.
So today I had my 32 week appointment. I can't even believe that I made it to 32 weeks! My Dr can't believe that I made it to 32 weeks. It is all by God's grace - believe me! So I will give you a rundown of my appointment. Starting this week I will have the works done each week at the Dr's. I start weekly appointments, weekly Non-Stress Tests, weekly growth ultrasounds and weekly cervical checks. Oh the joys of a High Risk pregnancy!
So on to the fun stuff. I officially weight 177. That is only 2 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. It also means that I have not gained any weight in 2 weeks. If I may sidetrack here for a minute. Weight is a very sensitive issue for me. I have spent majority of my life being overweight. I also remember being told by my mother that if I was anything like her I would gain obscene amounts of weight, when I was pregnant with my first. I was very fortunate to loose close to 30 lbs during the first 4 months of my pregnancy with Ethan. I did eventually gain that plus 10 more lbs back, still giving me a pre-birth weight of 215 lbs. I can say that it was really cool to come home from the hospital weight less than when I got pregnant! I was very unsuccessful of losing weight - even despite pumping/breastfeeding for the first 4 months. We then found out that I had a thyroid dysfunction and was put on pills to help with that - but alias still no major weight loss. Then I got pregnant with the twins. I was close to 190 lbs when I found out that I was pregnant. This pregnancy too, I lost weight in the beginning. I had just started to put it back on when I delivered prematurely at 33 weeks. I was pretty close to 190 - 195 when I gave birth. Here again I came home lighter than when I got pregnant! I lost some weight really fast while I was breastfeeding - well mainly pumping - but when I stopped all the weight came back on fast. I then spent the next year or so trying to loose weight and doing a pretty good job of it! Being diagnosed with Epilepsy helped I am sure - because the meds took away majority of my appetite. I made it down to 175 when I found out that I was pregnant. During the first 6 weeks I lost another 10 lbs. Probably due to moving to a new state and all that stress! So now I am at 177. Officially up 12 lbs, but really only 2 :) I wouldn't normally be worried about this - but read on and you will see why I am a bit concerned.
Okay now that I am done with my weight rant - back to my appointment. I started out with my ultrasound. We had the fun one first - the growth scan. She is officially breech and her head is lodged very uncomfortably under my ribcage. At 32 weeks and 3 days she weighs in at 3 lbs. A little small. She is in the 15%. They are looking at 32 weekers to be closer to 4 lbs. She has only gained 10 oz in 4 weeks. The good news is that she has always been in the 15 - 20 % during all of her growth scans. My Dr's words to me were that he would have been concerned but he has met my husband and children - he just thinks that we don't make big babies. He is okay with that - he said the smaller they are the easier they are to deliver! All that joking aside - with an possibility that she could make her entrance into the world sooner rather than later, I would like her to be a bit bigger. We will be doing weekly growth scans to make sure that she is continuing to grow at the right rate. If there is any question - they will take her. My Dr says that there is nothing that I can do to help her gain weight - and is not concerned with my lack of weight gain. He said that this is what most woman dream of during pregnancy. He said that she is completely healthy and there is nothing to worry about. He is the Dr and has seen more babies/moms than I have been pregnant with - right? I should just trust him - right?
Okay then on to the not so fun cervical u/s. The good news is that everything is holding strong at 2 cm. I am dilated but it is something to be expected at this stage in the game. Her being breech is most likely a good thing and the reason that I am still pregnant. I just really hope that she does turn within the next 4 weeks!!! I was then stuck on the monitor for the NST. It was quick and easy - I did have a few contractions but nothing to worry about. She looks great on the monitor. After all of that fun stuff - I then saw the Dr. It was really quick. He said that he isn't in the office for the next two weeks so at the beginning of April we will really start to hammer out the details for the end. He would like to deliver me at 37 weeks. It really works out great too because that is the week that he is on call at the hospital. That is pretty amazing because he is only on call once every 2 months! I just hope that her lungs are ready by then! I did also reiterate the point that is she doesn't turn and a c-sec had to happen I would need to be highly drugged. :) He said not to worry about it - it would all be fine.
Well that was about it for my appointment. Things are moving along rather well. It is amazing that I am still pregnant - and I think that we just might make it to 37 weeks!!! Right on!
If you actually read all of this - kuddos to you!
So today I had my 32 week appointment. I can't even believe that I made it to 32 weeks! My Dr can't believe that I made it to 32 weeks. It is all by God's grace - believe me! So I will give you a rundown of my appointment. Starting this week I will have the works done each week at the Dr's. I start weekly appointments, weekly Non-Stress Tests, weekly growth ultrasounds and weekly cervical checks. Oh the joys of a High Risk pregnancy!
So on to the fun stuff. I officially weight 177. That is only 2 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. It also means that I have not gained any weight in 2 weeks. If I may sidetrack here for a minute. Weight is a very sensitive issue for me. I have spent majority of my life being overweight. I also remember being told by my mother that if I was anything like her I would gain obscene amounts of weight, when I was pregnant with my first. I was very fortunate to loose close to 30 lbs during the first 4 months of my pregnancy with Ethan. I did eventually gain that plus 10 more lbs back, still giving me a pre-birth weight of 215 lbs. I can say that it was really cool to come home from the hospital weight less than when I got pregnant! I was very unsuccessful of losing weight - even despite pumping/breastfeeding for the first 4 months. We then found out that I had a thyroid dysfunction and was put on pills to help with that - but alias still no major weight loss. Then I got pregnant with the twins. I was close to 190 lbs when I found out that I was pregnant. This pregnancy too, I lost weight in the beginning. I had just started to put it back on when I delivered prematurely at 33 weeks. I was pretty close to 190 - 195 when I gave birth. Here again I came home lighter than when I got pregnant! I lost some weight really fast while I was breastfeeding - well mainly pumping - but when I stopped all the weight came back on fast. I then spent the next year or so trying to loose weight and doing a pretty good job of it! Being diagnosed with Epilepsy helped I am sure - because the meds took away majority of my appetite. I made it down to 175 when I found out that I was pregnant. During the first 6 weeks I lost another 10 lbs. Probably due to moving to a new state and all that stress! So now I am at 177. Officially up 12 lbs, but really only 2 :) I wouldn't normally be worried about this - but read on and you will see why I am a bit concerned.
Okay now that I am done with my weight rant - back to my appointment. I started out with my ultrasound. We had the fun one first - the growth scan. She is officially breech and her head is lodged very uncomfortably under my ribcage. At 32 weeks and 3 days she weighs in at 3 lbs. A little small. She is in the 15%. They are looking at 32 weekers to be closer to 4 lbs. She has only gained 10 oz in 4 weeks. The good news is that she has always been in the 15 - 20 % during all of her growth scans. My Dr's words to me were that he would have been concerned but he has met my husband and children - he just thinks that we don't make big babies. He is okay with that - he said the smaller they are the easier they are to deliver! All that joking aside - with an possibility that she could make her entrance into the world sooner rather than later, I would like her to be a bit bigger. We will be doing weekly growth scans to make sure that she is continuing to grow at the right rate. If there is any question - they will take her. My Dr says that there is nothing that I can do to help her gain weight - and is not concerned with my lack of weight gain. He said that this is what most woman dream of during pregnancy. He said that she is completely healthy and there is nothing to worry about. He is the Dr and has seen more babies/moms than I have been pregnant with - right? I should just trust him - right?
Okay then on to the not so fun cervical u/s. The good news is that everything is holding strong at 2 cm. I am dilated but it is something to be expected at this stage in the game. Her being breech is most likely a good thing and the reason that I am still pregnant. I just really hope that she does turn within the next 4 weeks!!! I was then stuck on the monitor for the NST. It was quick and easy - I did have a few contractions but nothing to worry about. She looks great on the monitor. After all of that fun stuff - I then saw the Dr. It was really quick. He said that he isn't in the office for the next two weeks so at the beginning of April we will really start to hammer out the details for the end. He would like to deliver me at 37 weeks. It really works out great too because that is the week that he is on call at the hospital. That is pretty amazing because he is only on call once every 2 months! I just hope that her lungs are ready by then! I did also reiterate the point that is she doesn't turn and a c-sec had to happen I would need to be highly drugged. :) He said not to worry about it - it would all be fine.
Well that was about it for my appointment. Things are moving along rather well. It is amazing that I am still pregnant - and I think that we just might make it to 37 weeks!!! Right on!
If you actually read all of this - kuddos to you!
Friday, March 7, 2008
My son eats wood AND goes to the ER all in the same day
Friday, March 7, 2008.
Who would of thought that something this cute could do this much damage?
So I went to go and get the brothers up from their nap this afternoon and found that Aidan had taken a chunk out of his crib and ate it. Why would I think that he ate it? Because the amount of wood splinters on the floor were no where near adding up to the amount of wood that was missing. He was happy so I didn't think anything of it. I took them downstairs and starting changing butts. I had just finished changing Aidan and was starting to change Isaac when Aidan proceeded to puke up wood and blood. Lovely. I cleaned it up - in my best "trying not to freak" mentality and called his pediatrician. While waiting for her to call me back - I called David at work to tell him what was going on. He was way busy and there was no way that he could leave at that point. The Ped beeped in - she said to head straight to the ER of one of the children's hospitals in St. Louis. He could have aspirated some wood or because of the blood he could have some stuck somewhere. I then lost it and started crying. Aidan is normally a fireball, but now he is just sitting on my lap and will not let me put him down. I called David to tell him what we need to do - He said that he doesn't think that we need to do that - and that he has no way of leaving work to take him. He thinks that we just need to watch him and see how he does - if he gets worse we can take him in when he gets off work. I don't have a car - so I really couldn't argue with him. Well not 2 minutes after I hung up from David - Aidan pukes again - more blood and more wood. I called David and told him that he would be coming home from work right now or I was calling 911. At that point Sherri called us (she is the awesome woman that is arranging all of our childcare) I pretty much lost it on the phone. She was at my house in 2 minutes. She brought her daughters and her niece too. We then ended up deciding that Sherri would take me and Aidan to the ER and the other girls would stay and watch the other boys. So Sherri, Aidan, Cori (her oldest), and I all head to the ER.
When we got there they checked him over for signs of distress. He had a little bit of tenderness in his tummy but that was really it. Found out that wood doesn't show up on an x-ray so that was out of the question. We just needed to wait and see. We were there for close to 3 hours and he ate a Popsicle. The Dr. seemed to think that he threw up all of the wood that he ate and
there was really nothing more that we could do. The stomach acid will help to soften - not break down - any remaining wood and he should pass it normally. We were told to watch him for the next couple of days and then bring him back if he starts showing any signs of distress.
So now we are left with the question - How do we keep him from eating his crib??
Just in case you are wondering - yes I do feed my kids 3 meals a day and proper snacks :)
Who would of thought that something this cute could do this much damage?
So I went to go and get the brothers up from their nap this afternoon and found that Aidan had taken a chunk out of his crib and ate it. Why would I think that he ate it? Because the amount of wood splinters on the floor were no where near adding up to the amount of wood that was missing. He was happy so I didn't think anything of it. I took them downstairs and starting changing butts. I had just finished changing Aidan and was starting to change Isaac when Aidan proceeded to puke up wood and blood. Lovely. I cleaned it up - in my best "trying not to freak" mentality and called his pediatrician. While waiting for her to call me back - I called David at work to tell him what was going on. He was way busy and there was no way that he could leave at that point. The Ped beeped in - she said to head straight to the ER of one of the children's hospitals in St. Louis. He could have aspirated some wood or because of the blood he could have some stuck somewhere. I then lost it and started crying. Aidan is normally a fireball, but now he is just sitting on my lap and will not let me put him down. I called David to tell him what we need to do - He said that he doesn't think that we need to do that - and that he has no way of leaving work to take him. He thinks that we just need to watch him and see how he does - if he gets worse we can take him in when he gets off work. I don't have a car - so I really couldn't argue with him. Well not 2 minutes after I hung up from David - Aidan pukes again - more blood and more wood. I called David and told him that he would be coming home from work right now or I was calling 911. At that point Sherri called us (she is the awesome woman that is arranging all of our childcare) I pretty much lost it on the phone. She was at my house in 2 minutes. She brought her daughters and her niece too. We then ended up deciding that Sherri would take me and Aidan to the ER and the other girls would stay and watch the other boys. So Sherri, Aidan, Cori (her oldest), and I all head to the ER.
When we got there they checked him over for signs of distress. He had a little bit of tenderness in his tummy but that was really it. Found out that wood doesn't show up on an x-ray so that was out of the question. We just needed to wait and see. We were there for close to 3 hours and he ate a Popsicle. The Dr. seemed to think that he threw up all of the wood that he ate and
there was really nothing more that we could do. The stomach acid will help to soften - not break down - any remaining wood and he should pass it normally. We were told to watch him for the next couple of days and then bring him back if he starts showing any signs of distress.
So now we are left with the question - How do we keep him from eating his crib??
Just in case you are wondering - yes I do feed my kids 3 meals a day and proper snacks :)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
7th Trip to L&D - March 5th
Oh joy! Another trip to Labor and Delivery. I distinctly remember telling David that we would not be making this trip again unless my water broke or I had a baby sticking out of me. I am just getting so sick of this! I thought that the terb pump would totally stop these contractions and allow me to make it to the end with no more speed bumps.
I should go back and say that during the weekend I started having some cramping. I wasn't to worried about it because I wasn't having any contractions with it. Then Sunday night came and I started to get a really intense lower back ache. I just thought that maybe I had a bad day in bed and that is why my back is hurting. So now we fast forward to Monday morning. I did my normal hour monitoring and called it in. About 20 minutes later my Matria nurse called me to give me the results of the strip. I had a few contractions. She asked about cramping and backache. I told her that it was getting pretty bad. She had me give myself a demand dose of terb and then we upped my doses that I get hourly and also moved my boluses from every 4 hours to every 3. I told her that I had a Dr's appointment later in the day and she told me to let him know what was going on.
At the Dr's appointment I told him about the cramping and back pain. His words were "I'll be concerned if you want me to be. But if not then I think that we should just see if we can get another week out of you." I think that at this point I was okay with that. I was just checked the week before and was still closed and 50% effaced. The cervix that I had left was firm. Now I wish I would of had him check me out then. I left the office with an appointment in 10 days.
Fast Forward now to Wednesday. I woke up with some pretty strong contractions. I told David this and his words to me were, "Its my day off and I am not going anywhere." Well after monitoring we discovered that I was contracting regularly - every 8 minutes. My Matria nurse had me do a demand dose and then monitor an hour after that. Another demand dose and another hour monitor. At that point she told me that she has done all that she is able to so I needed to call my Dr and then most likely a trip either into the Dr's office OR L&D.
Off to L&D we go. I packed my bag, I fully was not expecting to come home from this one. We arrived and was given a bed and hooked up to the monitor. Contractions were regular. Because I was already getting the terb - they really did nothing. I had a Dr. check me and we then found out that I am 1 to 2 cm dilated, and my cervix was really soft. The plan was to wait an hour and then check me again to see if I had any change. An hour passed and I was checked again - no change, still 1 to 2 and soft. I got an fFN test and that came back negative but because I was contracting regularly they weren't going to let me go yet. Well after 3 bags of IV fluids, my Terb and procardia my contractions settled down and I was able to go home. I was asked to be checked before I was let go just to make sure that nothing had changed :) Still no change.
Here again on the way home we made the declaration that there will be no more trips to L&D unless fluid is gushing from my body or body parts are hanging from me. We will see how long that lasts.......
I should go back and say that during the weekend I started having some cramping. I wasn't to worried about it because I wasn't having any contractions with it. Then Sunday night came and I started to get a really intense lower back ache. I just thought that maybe I had a bad day in bed and that is why my back is hurting. So now we fast forward to Monday morning. I did my normal hour monitoring and called it in. About 20 minutes later my Matria nurse called me to give me the results of the strip. I had a few contractions. She asked about cramping and backache. I told her that it was getting pretty bad. She had me give myself a demand dose of terb and then we upped my doses that I get hourly and also moved my boluses from every 4 hours to every 3. I told her that I had a Dr's appointment later in the day and she told me to let him know what was going on.
At the Dr's appointment I told him about the cramping and back pain. His words were "I'll be concerned if you want me to be. But if not then I think that we should just see if we can get another week out of you." I think that at this point I was okay with that. I was just checked the week before and was still closed and 50% effaced. The cervix that I had left was firm. Now I wish I would of had him check me out then. I left the office with an appointment in 10 days.
Fast Forward now to Wednesday. I woke up with some pretty strong contractions. I told David this and his words to me were, "Its my day off and I am not going anywhere." Well after monitoring we discovered that I was contracting regularly - every 8 minutes. My Matria nurse had me do a demand dose and then monitor an hour after that. Another demand dose and another hour monitor. At that point she told me that she has done all that she is able to so I needed to call my Dr and then most likely a trip either into the Dr's office OR L&D.
Off to L&D we go. I packed my bag, I fully was not expecting to come home from this one. We arrived and was given a bed and hooked up to the monitor. Contractions were regular. Because I was already getting the terb - they really did nothing. I had a Dr. check me and we then found out that I am 1 to 2 cm dilated, and my cervix was really soft. The plan was to wait an hour and then check me again to see if I had any change. An hour passed and I was checked again - no change, still 1 to 2 and soft. I got an fFN test and that came back negative but because I was contracting regularly they weren't going to let me go yet. Well after 3 bags of IV fluids, my Terb and procardia my contractions settled down and I was able to go home. I was asked to be checked before I was let go just to make sure that nothing had changed :) Still no change.
Here again on the way home we made the declaration that there will be no more trips to L&D unless fluid is gushing from my body or body parts are hanging from me. We will see how long that lasts.......
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