A little fun while on bedrest!

So what do you do while you're stuck in the hospital and bored? Make a belly cast. I saw this on tv and decided it might be fun. I have no idea what we will do with this but it was fun and came out really well. Tanner did a great job, he said it was like prepping a car before having it painted and was very careful to smooth out as much as he could so there will be less sanding to do before we paint it. The box came with a ton of pictures and ideas of what to put on it so I think eventually it will have their names and birthday and stats on it. If nothing else it is fun to look at I still can't believe that 10 pounds of baby fits in there.

TO DELIVER OR NOT TO DELIVER

We have had a very exhausting past few days but are happy to report everything is going well right now. After being released from the hospital on Wednesday night I went home to rest on Thursday and Friday with instructions to maintain bedrest and call the doctor on Friday to see if I needed to be seen again. I tried to rest both days but started having difficulty breathing, especially at night, on Thursday and having increasing contractions so I went back to the hospital Friday afternoon where I was admitted again. After seeing how much difficulty I was having breathing I was started on oxygen which seemed to help but again in the middle of the night it got worse. Long story short after running some tests it was determined that I had fluid around my heart and lungs contributing to my difficulty breathing. At 4:30 am it was decided that I would need to be transported to the hospital in Boise and probably delivered later that morning. That was very scary and overwhelming but all my nurses/friends in Meridian were great and kept me company till the ambulance got there. Upon arrival in Boise I had a chest x-ray which came back clear and an echocardiogram which also came back ok so the maternal fetal medicine specialist said there was no reason to deliver right away. Later that morning my body was able to get rid of the excess fluid (about 3 liters) and I could breathe better and be taken off the oxygen. The contractions slowed down and my blood pressure stabilized still elevated but not increasing. That evening I was transferred to their antepartum unit until I am ready to deliver. The past few days my labs have been slightly increased but not bad enough that it is time to deliver. The babies have been d0ing well through all of this and are extremely active still. They plan to do a growth scan on Tuesday to make sure they are still growing and I can't wait to see how big they are. Everyday is unpredictable right now and I have no idea when they will have to deliver me so right now we are thankful for every day these babies get to stay inside and keep growing. We still dont' have names but I have the name book at the hospital and we are seriously considering opening it and narrowing it down soon!

33 weeks and our road is getting bumpier

Warning another rambling but information filled post



At my 33 week appointment both babies were extremely reassuring during their non stress tests my blood pressure was still slightly elevated but came down quickly if I lay down which is supposedly reassuring and more reason for me to maintain at least modified bedrest at home. I am still very swollen in my feet and legs and my hands are definitely getting there. In fact my lower extremity swelling was so impressive a student nurse at the office was even called over for a quick peak. Oh the joys of being on the other side! Anyway I was sent home Monday afternoon feeling pretty good, took it easy on Tuesday and then Tuesday night about midnight I started having some fairly regular contractions at 12:30 I took some medicine to try to slow them down, an hour later that hadn't affected them at all so I got up and got a drink and a snack hoping that would stop them, it didn't so I tried another big glass of water and a warm bath that seemed to make things worse because when I got out I was more uncomfortable and they were about every 5 minutes. If I was full term this would be good and I could stay home and continue to start the early labor process but at 33 weeks this was bad. I mustered the courage to wake my poor, hardworking, sleep deprived (no he was not awake with me at all during the night) husband to take my 45 minutes to the hospital. He did so kindly and after driving 85 mph to get there even with constant reassurance that the babies would not be born upon arrival we were admitted to triage. Sure enough I was contracting, they gave me some fluids to see if that would slow them down and a double dose of the meds I take at home and then they started to get more painful, great. About 7 in the morning my doctor decided to admit me and give IV hydration and scheduled meds to hinder contractions. This seemed to help because the contractions definitely slowed but then the nausea and shakiness set in from the extra medications so I was given something for nausea and a sleeping pill since I hadn't slept at all that night. By 2:30 in the afternoon I felt much better, my doctor came and checked my cervix and said I was still 1 cm dilated which is good and that if everything stayed looking good I could go home that night. Well my heart rate continued to be high between 120 and 140 so I got to have an EKG which came out normally they suspect the high heart rate is from me being smaller and having 2 large babies and twice my normal blood volume and that it will correct itself after delivery. So I behaved myself for the rest of the evening and was sent home around 7 pm. I am now on bedrest at home and taking medication at home around the clock to hinder contractions and feeling pretty good today just bored and frustrated at all the things I want to do but can't from the couch. Thank goodness we got a laptop a while ago it has been a lifesaver. On the upside Tanner installed the carseats last night and after the carpet cleaner comes tomorrow he plans to put the swing and pack n play together so we should have some more updated pics this weekenAnyway the babies are doing well I had to have 2 shots of steroids to help their lungs mature in case they are born early but I am still optimistic that we can hold out just a little longer. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

32 weeks (warning rambling and information overload)

32 weeks and getting bigger, you know you're big when you're outgrowing your maternity clothes. The funny thing is I don't feel that big or realize how big I am until I catch a glimpse in the mirror or see a picture. I guess that's a good thing.

As of 32 weeks my seemingly easy pregnancy has hit a few bumps. In the last few weeks I have started to get a lot of swelling in my legs, feet and hands which can be normal but uncomfortable. My blood pressure which has been fairly stable suddenly increased not terribly high but high enough that I had to have labs done which thankfully all came out normal. My cervix of steel suddenly started to feel the pressure of 2 babies and I am now a good 1 cm dilated and 50% thinned out. Thankfully I had another FFN and again it was negative so we are hoping we get at least another 2 weeks of baby incubating as my contractions seem to be coming more often and getting a little more uncomfortable. We had a growth scan of the babies and were shocked to hear their estimated sizes. Baby A is approx. 3 lbs 15 oz in the average range for even a singleton but Baby B is approx 5 lbs 8 oz which is huge even for a singleton. We were hoping for a 5 lb baby at 38 weeks but the Dr. says not to be concerned at the size difference he probably takes after Tanner and she takes after me. I am now going to the hospital twice a week for non stress tests of the babies which consists of monitoring both babies heart rates at the same time and my contractions for about 20 minutes. Thankfully both babies are fairly cooperative at both staying on the monitor and being reactive which means they are both still ok in there. Because of my increasing contractions and increasing blood pressures I have now been put on bedrest which came as a bit of a shock to me. I still feel like I have way too much to do to get ready to bring two babies home so my mom has been helping with baby laundry, meal preparation and last minute shopping. Tanner has been getting car seats and strollers ready and I have made arrangements to have the house and carpets cleaned. We are still hoping to maintain the pregnancy for a few more weeks but every doctors appointment that I go to now I worry that today will be Delivery Day. Tanner pleads with the babies every night for just 2 or 3 more weeks till he finishes planting and will then have a little more time it is very cute and I hope they listen. I still remain of the opinion that if we don't have names that they won't be ready to be born :)

Anyway I know there is a lot of rambling and information and I apologize but it has been a crazy week.

A few gifts from the shower

The girl is gonna know how to accessorize thanks to Auntie Ainslee and Michelle
I just love these special twin onesies

One of Tanner's Mom's friends Jackie made these adorable matching hats. Hers is cherries and his is sweet peas. I can't wait to see the babies in them and get some good pictures.

We had a diaper raffle at the baby shower and got a ton of diapers. Tanner is slowly starting to get used to the idea that he may have to change a diaper or two in the next few years :)

More weekend fun

Since it was such a nice weekend my Dad decided to get out his latest classic car and give the out of town girls a ride.

We celebrated my first Mother's Day with an early lunch at the Texas Roadhouse before my family had to catch a plane back home.

Shower Fun

We had a great turn out for the shower and are so blessed that so many people came out to celebrate the soon to be arrival of our little ones.

Tanner's Grandma Wing, aunt Kay and Mom Kim

The out of towners. My aunt Cindy, cousin Adele and Grandma Mayne all flew in from Colorado and Arizona as a surprise just for the weekend. I am so lucky to have such supportive family.

My Mom Judy and I. What an excited Grandma to be!

Long time friends Michelle and Darcy. We've grown up together since jr. high and they are very excited to meet these little ones.

Friends from work Ainslee, Amy and Cindy they all worked a 12 hour shift the night before and managed to get up early and drive from Boise just for the shower. What great friends. I hope they all get to be there and take care of us when the babies are born.

As I know many of you are anxious to hear the babies names and we seem to be in need of ideas we decided to have a suggestion board at the baby shower. Unfortunately I'm not sure we have found the right names yet although topping the suggestion list are This/That and Hot/Spicy.

There were more gifts than I could ever imagine and we are humbled at the generosity of our famiy and friends. Opening gifts was exhausting but so much fun.

Thank goodness Tanner had the foresight to purchase our new car sooner than later as it was full top to bottom with baby gifts and diapers. Good thing I didn't have a long drive home.

The Spread

The food at the baby shower was a hit. My mom, friend Marilyn, my Grandma, my cousin and my aunt worked many long hours to make sure it was just perfect. We had a build your own fruit parfait bar with fresh fruit, homemade puddings, home made angel food cake and whipped cream. Delicious!

We also had homemade, handstuffed chicken salad creme puffs that were sooo good and fresh veggie trays. The ladies got out all the fine crystal dishes and made it look so fancy.

When the guys saw us preparing all the food they wanted to come to the shower too. They didn't but they did enjoy the leftovers!

The cake was adorable complete with matching pink and blue booties, oh and very tasty too. The same lady that made our wedding cake and Tanner's childhood birthday cakes made the baby shower cake so that was fun.

That husband of mine :)

Mother's Day, Our Anniversary and my birthday all came early this year Tanner informed me this afternoon as I pulled into our subdivision to discover a brand new Chevy Traverse sitting in our driveway complete with a big red bow. We have been car shopping for quite a few months and earlier this week decided what our new purchase would be. Today while I was sleeping after working last night, Tanner went to Nampa and bought the new car I had been hoping for. It is perfect for our growing family which means it accomodates 2 infant car seats with room for Tanner to put his seat back far enough to drive comfortably. It also has a third row which is comfortable for adults so Grandparents can travel with us or it folds down to accomodate all the gear we will soon be traveling with. While I will definitely miss my Prius this is a necessary step for our growing family.

Starting to get the nursery ready

We have finally started to get our nursery set up, all of their bedding is now finished. It is hard to tell from the pictures but his bedding is blue and green stripes on the outside and the inside is blue with white bubbles/circles. Hers is the exact same except for pink and green stripes on the outside and pink with white bubbles/circles on the inside. Mom Mayne and friend Marilyn worked so hard to make sure they turned out just perfect and we couldn't be happier. Tanner worked hard to get their cribs set up and did a great job. We are very thankful to our cousins the Filewicz-Ross family for giving us their old crib we know our little girl will sleep just as well as her older cousins. Anyway more pictures to come as we get the rest of it put together, it is just so much fun to see their room all set up and to think that they will be here in just another month and a half.

31 weeks, YIKES!

We have been very busy the last few weeks trying to prepare for the babies arrival, we have decided that they just can't come early because of one small detail, we just can't come up with names for them, any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Tanner has been very busy with farming and planting and with the weather not cooperating it has been an exhausting start to the year. We are also in the process of trying to buy a new car which will accommodate our growing family and have had not much luck finding exactly what we want so we are starting to compromise and think we have finally found one that will meet our needs, more on that in the next few weeks hopefully.
During my last few OB appointments I passed my glucola test (thank goodness), have been maintaining good weight gain, have had repetitive negative fetal fibronectin tests, and though I have been contracting have managed not to dilate my cervix at all. I am currently still working 3, 8 hour shifts a week but my Dr. wants me to cut back some more in another weeks or so. Both babies are growing steadily Baby A was measuring 2 lbs 13 0z at 29 weeks and Baby B was measuring 3 lbs 1 oz. I can't believe they are already that big. We will probably have another grownth scan this week and fully expect them to be closing in on 4 lbs each. Both babies are currently breech which definitely causes some rib discomfort, they are very active and get the hiccups a lot ( I guess they get that from their mom). Our little boy has the chubbiest cheeks, I just can't wait to kiss them!

Our little girl seems to have a much longer, narrower face. I love how you can see all the spirals in the umbilical cord in this picture.

My belly picture at 30 weeks, I can't believe I have over 6 lbs of baby in there!