Sunday, July 28, 2013

Kaden & Logan have arrived!

I am so happy to say that the boys have arrived safe & sound :)  I never got around to doing a 36 week post because I just didn't feel like it!  I woke up on Wednesday July 24th to low back pain and a painful contraction.  That continued about every 5 minutes so I decided to get up and shower "just incase" something should happen.  The contractions and back pain continued despite the shower and resting/water.  I was supposed to have my regular OB appointment at 10:30 that morning but around 8:45 I decided to call the office and see what they thought and they wanted me to go to L&D.

My mother in law came and picked me & Ethan up and off we went.  When I got hooked up I was contracting every 1-2 minutes and they were painful!!  When they first checked me I was a loose 1cm and completely effaced.  The midwife said she would call the OB and that likely if I continued past 2 cm we would be having babies that day ( remember I wanted a repeat csection).  About an hour later she checked me again and I was a 2 so they decided we would be having the boys!

Things moved pretty quickly from there.  About an hour later I was taken back and given my spinal and 25 minutes later Kaden Lucas was born weighing 5lbs 13oz and 19in long.  One minute later Logan Charles was born weighing 6lbs 10oz and 19in long.  Those are good size babies for 36 weeks +2 days!  After about an hour in recovery the boys started to become a little noisy with their breathing so they went to the nursery for a couple of hours.  Once they came back to our room, they didn't leave again!  We spent 3 days at the hospital and came home yesterday.

The boys are very laid back, still pretty sleepy since they are "late preterm".  My milk is finally coming in I think but we are supplementing, trying to nurse and also pumping every time so that part is exhausting!  The home nurse came today and while Kaden is back to his birth weight (which is awesome at 4 days old), Logan is down 8oz (10%).  I will have another visit either tomorrow or Tuesday and hopefully his weight will have gone up.  I really want to be able to nurse the boys, but if my supply doesn't pick up I'm not so sure.  It is exhausting trying to nurse, then bottle feed, then pump for two babies.  Totally worth it, but exhausting!

We are completely in love and cannot imagine life any other way now.  Ethan is very excited about them and wants to help whenever possible which isn't always so helpful :) 
Proud big brother seeing the babies for the first time!

Kaden (L), Logan (R)

snuggles!  Logan (L), Kaden (R)

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

35 weeks (with twins)

How far along? 35 weeks 1 day
 Total weight gain/loss: +53lbs.
 Maternity clothes? Yes, but very few that fit over the belly!
  Stretch marks? I've always had them, but now a whole new crop growing around my belly button :(
Sleep: I'm not sure what that is anymore.  I usually don't sleep more than an hour at a time between going to the bathroom and having to move around from being so uncomfortable. 
Movement: Has slowed down a bit.  No big rolls or movements, more kicks and hiccups.
 Food cravings: sweets
Gender: TWO BOYS!!!!! Kaden & Logan
Labor Signs: still having contractions off/on.  The doctor stopped the Procardia last week and the boys are still cooking!
Belly Button in or out? still in, but completely flat and starting to protrude on the top.
 What I miss: Feeling normal.  Not having horrible tingling pain & numbness in my hands.  I'm guessing it is carpal tunnel but it is horrible!!!!
What I am looking forward to: Meeting these babies! C-section scheduled for August 1st!
Milestone: I feel like every day is a milestone at this point.  Made it past 35 weeks.  I'll feel even better once I get past 36 weeks, then it's almost baby time!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

33 weeks with twins & labor scare

How far along? 33 weeks 5 days
 Total weight gain/loss: not sure since I didn't get weighed this week.  I am quite swollen so my guess is close to +50
 Maternity clothes? Yes, but very few that fit over the belly!
  Stretch marks? A few new ones around the belly button
Sleep: I'm not sure what that is anymore.  I usually don't sleep more than an hour at a time between going to the bathroom and having to move around from being so uncomfortable. 
Movement: Has slowed down a bit.  No big rolls or movements, more kicks and hiccups.
 Food cravings: sweets
Gender: TWO BOYS!!!!! Kaden & Logan
Labor Signs: Yes, spent two days in the hospital for pre term labor. 
Belly Button in or out? still in, but completely flat and starting to protrude on the top.
 What I miss: Feeling like myself.  Being able to walk more than 5 steps without feeling dizzy or out of breath. 
What I am looking forward to: Getting past 34 weeks (Monday) so I can deliver in town.  I am SO READY to meet these babies!
Milestone: Well I made it through two rough days in the hospital with PTL.  Next big goal is two days away so that I can stay in town.  Also if I go into labor again they won't stop it after Monday.

I woke up last Monday July 1st feeling kind of off.  Ethan went to daycare that day (his one day of the week) and I am so glad he did.  I had horrible low back pain that progressed into more mentstrual like cramping as the day went on.  I was feeling some contractions off & on, but mainly just these nagging back/menstrual pain.  I pretty much laid in bed or the cough all day, drank lots of water and it just wasn't going away.  I called and talked to a nurse at 4pm and she said I need to go to L&D to be checked.  Thankfully my inlaws were home and they took me to the hospital and subsequently ended up taking care of Ethan.

When I got to L&D I was contracting every 1-1.5 minutes and it was very painful.  I was having to breath through them and could barely talk.  They gave me Procardia and started an IV.  My cervix was closed but I have 50% thinned out.  After an hour, the medicine still hadn't worked so they gave me another dose of it and really started pushing the IV fluids.  At that point my hubby got there and he was surprised how fast and strong they were coming.  We though for sure we were going to be meeting our babies that night. 

The 2nd dose of procardia didn't work so they decided to admit me and start magnesium sulfate.  AKA devil drug.  They list of side effects they go through before even starting the medicine is horrific.  The nurse I had was wonderful and said if I stopped breathing please let her know.  Ok, will do!

They do a loading dose over a half hour then change to a slower dose that can be given for 48 hours to stop contractions.  I started feeling bad immediately.  Flu like sx, achy all over, super tired, and major headache.  After 3 hours on the medicine I started to feel horrible chest pain and couldn't take a deep breath.  Things happened quickly after that.  They called a rapid response, turned off my IV, did an EKG and I'm not sure what else.  After 20 minutes of stopping the Mag I started contracting ever 1-2 minutes again.  The doctor decided to give the procardia one more try.  If that didn't work I was going to be transferred to the University of Washington 2 hours south because my hospital doesn't deliver before 33 weeks if they can avoid it. 

Thank goodness the Procardia started working after about an hour.  I'm also thankful my cervix never started to dilate or they would have done my csection that night.  I spent another day and a half in L&D to monitor babies, contractions, and see if the medicine would continue to work.  I am now taking Procardia every 8 hours until I either go into labor again (which may happen) or I make it to my c-section.  I started swelling in the hospital and it is only getting worse.  My Blood pressure is also still borderline high which is odd because Procardia is a b/p medicine to lower it.  OB is slightly concerned I might be developing Pre-Eclampsia but that it is being masked by the medicine.  I also already have really low platelets which is the other thing they look for.  So I am keeping a close eye on my swelling and b/p multiple times a day.  The medicine is giving me horrific headaches and making me feel crappy overall. 

33 weeks 4 days. Puffy & tired.

My next appointment is Thursday July 11th.  I have called the OB office 3 times now to see if they have scheduled my c-section.  It was supposed to be scheduled a week and  a half ago, and they still haven't done it.  I just want an end date at this point.  Carrying twins, especially two large babies like I am, is taking its toll.  I know that it is all worth it and the end is near, but I just want to be able to move around like a normal person!  Plus I just can't wait to snuggle these babies :)