The Twins are here.........

Derrick and Elissa have arrived,

They were born around 6:50 pm last night. March 30,2010. Due to having developed Toxemia they had to deliver the twins early. Derrick weighed in at 5.4 oz. and 19 inches long. Elissa weighed in at 6.2 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

Mommy & Babies are doing well, and are expected to go home Sat. Further updates & pictures will be posted soon.

36 Weeks (GROWING)

Oh my goodness it seems like I grow SO much Every Day!! After only a week from the last time I posted a picture, here is my belly now..

The goal was for me to make it to 36 weeks, then the Dr said I no longer have to be on bed rest or take that medication that makes me swell so badly! Today is that day! YIPEE! Although he is out of town until Sunday night, I am now safe to go into labor, if I do. I prefer to have my Dr deliver me, but if they decide to come before he returns... so be it. LOL.

36 weeks

Thursday I will be 36 weeks pregnant, which is ultimately what the Dr. wanted me to make it to. My Dr will be out of town until late Sunday night, and I will see him again on Tuesday, which will be my last visit with him before my scheduled C-Section on Tuesday April 6th at Noon.

I went in today for my routine appointment and saw another Dr. in his practice. Everything went well. My blood pressure was high again, but went down before I left there. I also had fetal monitoring again today and everything there as normal.

Labor & Delivery

Last night I was having a lot of contractions and a strong sharp pain in my lower left side. After calling the Dr. on call, it was recommended that I go to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. I was having contractions about 7 minutes apart and my blood pressure was really high (again). They hooked me up to the machines, watched my contractions, and kept a close eye on my blood pressure. Both babies were doing fine. After about 2 1/2 hours, my contractions slowed a little bit and my blood pressure went down, and they believe the sharp pain is my ligaments stretching from the babies growing, so they sent me home. I was advised to continue the medication that I am on to slow the labor process and stick to the bed rest. I have my next appointment with the Dr. on Tuesday.

Fetal Monitoring

I had my fetal Monitoring appointment today and it went well. Everything still looks normal. Heart beats are great and amniotic fluid level is normal.

35 week belly picture

Right now all that is happening is the babies are GROWING... and boy is my belly growing too!

35 Week Check Up

Well, I made it past the weekend that the Dr. was out of town... but apparently I missed the day he told me that he will also be gone all next week.. which of course is my 36th week. I have not dialated any further, so apparently the medication he put me on is helping. Although, I am now 90% effaced. There are 3 Dr's in his practice, so if I shall go into labor while he is gone, the other two Dr's will do the C-Section, however, I really want my Dr. So the goal is now to stay pregnant until he gets back... (which will be march 27th). I know that the longer the babies are inside, the better off they are, but at the same time I am soooooo incredibly uncomfortable and SWOLLEN. The medication I am on causes excess swelling, on top of the natural pregnancy swelling as well as headaches. The babies are growing rapidly, which again is good, but with the growing babies and the excess swelling I am HUGE! ok, there, I am done venting, lol... waiting, waiting, waiting.

34 week Ultra Sound

I had my 34 week ultra sound, no pictures to post.. at this point they are to big, so the pictures are not very exciting (you can't really tell what your looking at). They did measure the babies and both of them are measuring at 5lbs each, so that was really great news. Especially since I will be delivering these babies early, it gives me comfort to know that they are at a good weight at this point.

I am really being good and sticking to laying around and doing nothing. Friends and family have been amazingly generous bringing me Jamba Juice, lunch, dinner etc... its been nice having the company off and on too... daytime tv Sucks!! LOL.

Dialating

Went to the Dr. yesterday and I am 80% effaced and 1/2cm dilated already. He said DO NOT HAVE THOSE BABIES THIS WEEKEND.. lol, because he will be out of town. I am to continue the medication he put me on, and do NOTHING. He is really hoping I can hold off on delivering for 2 more weeks, which would put me at 36 weeks. That is what we are pulling for. So much for the April babies that I so badly wanted.. but at this point, when its safe for them to come out... I WANT THEM OUT.

Contractions

I had my 3rd Fetal Monitoring testing this morning and both babies still look great. Their heartbeats are normal and there is still a normal amount of amniotic fluid, which of course is good news. I have been having a lot more cramping lately, which I guess are contractions. Most of the contractions have been throughout the night when I am sleeping (trying to sleep, I should say). While I was hooked up to the machines I learned I am having a lot more contractions than I was aware of. The nurse called my Dr. and he said its ok. Continue with the medication he put me on to slow the "process", continue with the bed rest and I have an appointment with him tomorrow. We shall see what he sais then. I am 33 weeks and 5 days as of today!

The Nursery is DONE!

Yay!! The nursery is complete and ready for Derrick and Elissa!! Grandma and Grandpa came over today to help install the valances, fix the bumpers in the cribs (which I apparently installed wrong, LOL) and they had fun helping.

And the completed room:

The music mobiles are up. The valances and changing pad cover are coming today and the hanging lights that we are putting up will be done this weekend... then the nursery will be complete and waiting for those babies!! :o)

I had my second day of fetal monitoring and their heart beats look great... amniotic fluid looks good too. next appointment is on Tuesday!

Picture of 32 weeks

I know I am 33 weeks pregnant this week, but I came across this picture of Fraternal Twins at 32 weeks and wanted to share... This is what our babies look like at this stage.

Thinning Cervix

I started the fetal monitoring yesterday. This is a procedure where they strap on monitors to my belly to record the babies heart beats, do an ultra sound to keep tabs on the amniotic fluid and watch for contractions. I have to do this twice a week from here on out. The reason for this is to monitor Derrick. The larger he gets the more oxygen and nutrients he demands and because of his 2 vessel umbilical cord, they need to make sure he is getting everything he needs. The results from yesterdays tests all came out good.

I also started my once a week visits with the Dr. and although I am not dilating, my Cervix has started to thin out already, which of course we don't want yet. He prescribed a medication that I have to take every 6 hours to help slow the process. He also reiterated the importance of my bed rest for the next three weeks. He said if we can make it past three weeks then the babies should be developed enough to come home with us if I were to have them early. Any earlier than 3 weeks then they will probably be in the NICU for a while before getting to come home... so we are working on that.

The C-Section has been scheduled for April 6th (Tuesday) but I have not been given my time slot yet.. I will find that out at my visit next week.

We have our Baby Care Basics class tonight. This class will help prepare us for the babies. It will teach us (more for Danny :o) how to diaper, sponge bathe, and care for infants etc.. It should be fun and I am hoping it will boost Danny's confidence for when the babies arrive.

The Bedding

So the bedding arrived today and I was so excited. I put everything on the cribs, and I am not sure if I really like it or not???? It seems so plain and boring??

Toxemia Scare

After some extreme swelling of the hands and feet (double the size) I gave the nurse a call and she was worried about toxemia. She scheduled me to go in and see the Dr. After a brief Dr. visit I was told there is no toxemia, but they did put me on a more "strict" modified bed rest. I was told to not sit for long periods of time, I should be laying on my side(s). Yay for me!! *insert sarcasm*.

I have a little over 5 weeks left and after some wonderful encouragement from my moms of multiple group, family and friends, I am confident I can do this bed rest thing without completely losing my mind... maybe only partially. :o)