The Hospital Stay

Welcome Abby and Jimmy!



We stayed a total of 5 nights in the hospital; from Monday, August 23 until Saturday, August 28. The babies were able to room in with us in the mother/baby unit since, thankfully, they were completely healthy and didn't need to spend any time in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).

Unfortunately, it was a tough couple days since both babies developed jaundice and the doctors determined that they needed to be under UV lights in order to reduce the bilirubin in their blood. So from Wednesday morning until Friday night, both Abby and Jimmy had to lay in their bassinets under huge UV lights and were only allowed out from the lights for a short time to take a bottle.

I initially was attempting to breastfeed, but it didn't go as planned and since both babies needed to eat as much as possible so that they would be able to poop, which gets rid of the bilirubin quicker. So, we fed the babies formula right from the beginning. I still worked with the lactation consultants thinking that maybe I would do some breastfeeding (or at least pumping) in combination with formula, but after realizing how much work it would be to maintain my supply (which hadn't even arrived yet) and feed both twins by myself, both Jim and I decided to stick with just formula. I didn't have the heart to tell the lactation consultants though. :-(

It was quite sad to not be able to cuddle with Abby and Jimmy throughout the days and I was upset to see them under the UV lights. They were unable to lay in any clothes or be swaddled, so they just laid there, with eye masks on to protect their eyes, in nothing but a diaper. I was heartbroken for them. And both Jimmy and Abby, but mostly Jimmy, had bouts of uncontrollable shaking. The doctors explained that most likely it occurred because of an underdeveloped nervous system and it would get better with time. It was so hard to see. Especially since they both would do so much better when they were swaddled and/or were being held- but we couldn't do either.

I won't post many pictures, since it is so sad to see, but here's one just so you have an idea of what they had to go through.



Luckily, on Friday both Abby and Jimmy were cleared to be only on the Biliblankets so we definitely made up time with cuddling them at that point. See below for proof!





Every night Jim and I decided to send both babies to the nursery so that we were able to get a little uninterrupted sleep. We usually would send them around 1pm after they ate and would go pick them up (or have them brought back) around 6 or 7am. Little did I know at that point, that that would be the longest stretch of sleep I would get for a long time!

My recovery from the c-section went well. I was in a lot of pain off and on, and usually it occurred when I forgot to request pain medication. I had a lot of trouble getting into and out of the bed the first couple days and would need Jim to help pull me up into a sitting position so that I could attempt to get out of the bed. So the first couple days, Jim did most of the diapering and bottle preparations since I was kind of tied to the bed.



While we were in the hospital, we had a lot of visitors stop by to meet Abby and Jimmy and check in on us. Jim's mom and my parents stayed at the hospital for most of the labor process (sorry guys, that was a long time!) so they were there to meet Abby and Jimmy just an hour or so after their arrival. Then thoughout the next couple days, my parents (Grandma and Grandpa Balow), Jim's mom (Grandma Frybarger), Jim's dad and step-mom (Grandpa Frybarger and Bubbe), Jenny and Ed (Aunt Jenny and Uncle Ed), Shannon, Andrea and my uncle Tim (Great Uncle Tim) stopped by to visit. It was so nice to be able to visit with everyone and to introduce them to the babies. Unfortunately, most of the time the babies were under the UV lights and weren't able to be held for too long. But we did sneak in some cuddle time for the babies! Shhh...don't tell!

Here are a couple pics of our company:













The last night we were there (Friday), Jim and I took advantage of the education opportunities the hospital provides and watched the "Happiest Baby on the Block" video on the television in the room. We learned all about the five "S"s and how to put them to good use when the babies were fussy. I can't believe how loud they want you to SSSSHHHH in the babies' ears. Oh my!

And then it happened... the day we were released. OMG - I cannot believe they let us take the babies home. We had no idea what we were doing, didn't they realize this?! We are solely responsible for these two little miracles - OMG it was scary, but oh so exciting to be going home!

Here we are on our way out!



Oh and I should mention that it is shocking all the attention that twins create . On the way out we had a ton of people point and make comments about the "twins" and even had people stop us to chat with us about them. It was only just the beginning, I have learned!

Another L&D trip - and 36 week bump

Yesterday, during my normal NST and OB appointment check-up, my blood pressure was running high again. This time it was pretty high; all three checks were in the 150s/100s. So the dr. sent me to the labor and delivery unit at St. Joes to be monitored and make sure it goes back down.

After about 3 hours of monitoring, I was sent home with the instructions to increase my blood pressure medication. All my blood work came back normal and the babies were doing awesome on their monitors. So, another scare for no reason.

But things are getting close now! When I was in the hospital, the nurse informed me that I was having contractions every 8 minutes or so. I was shocked to hear that since I was feeling fine and didn't notice anything. So I of course am optimistic that all my contractions will be unnoticeable and easy. Haha! Everyone laughs when I mention that... I wonder why?!

My normal doctor is back in town this weekend (August 14/15) and on call both weekend days. I am not expecting anything to happen that soon, but you never know. Otherwise I spoke with Dr. D about scheduling the induction (which she still wants to do by 38 weeks) for a day when she is on call. So my awesome hubby printed out the on-call schedule one day while he was at work and it turns out Dr. D is on-call August 14 and 15 (too soon), August 18 (37 weeks), and August 23 (two days shy of 38 weeks). So, if the babies continue to enjoy their comfy and cozy environment, and my blood pressure behaves itself, then it is very likely I could be heading in to the hospital to be induced on August 23! Who knows though - it really could be any day now! AH!

So, here I am at 36 weeks. I decided to wear the same gray shirt I wore for most of the other pics so you could really compare the weeks.



Next week we have a growth ultrasound (our last one!) - scheduled for Monday. This will be the last time we "see" the babies (most likely) before they are out and about and we get to meet them!! Woohoo! Hopefully, both babies have gained over a pound (or more) each since the last ultrasound. Last time they were 5lbs and 4lbs 14oz, so hopefully they are both over 6lbs by now. I will keep you updated!

31 week update - warning: long!

On Wednesday, July 7th, we went in for our regular OB check-up. The appointment wasn't until the afternoon, so I worked in the morning and then met up with Jim to head off to the appointment around 3pm.

When we arrived at the office, we were called in right away - which was shocking because Dr. D usually runs behind a bit. On the way back to the room, we stopped at the scale for a weigh in... my absolute favorite part of appointments (ha! ya right). Well, my weight was up 8lbs from the last appointment only two weeks ago. Yikes! I guess I should lay off the cake and ice cream now!

When the nurse took my blood pressure, we were disappointed to hear it was 142/94. Eh - not good. I reminded the nurse that sometimes they use the bigger cuff since I am bigger than most girls. So, the nurse took my BP again with the larger cuff - but it didn't help....my BP was again around 144/96. Not good.

When Dr. D came in, she expressed concern with my blood pressure reading and took it again herself. And again, it was high; near the same numbers. After doing a reflex test (result: rapid reflexes) and checking the swelling in my hands and legs/feet (incredibly bad - though I blame the heat since it was 95 degrees), Dr. D explained that she is worried I may be in early stages of pre-eclampsia. She pulled me off work that day and to make sure things weren't progressing to pre-ecamplsia, Dr. D sent us to Labor and Delivery at St. Joes hospital to make sure everything was ok. Oh, and I should mention, earlier in the day, I think I had my first couple contractions. Nothing regular, but definitely nothing I had felt up until that point. So after telling Dr. D about the possible contractions and then having the high BP reading, with rapid reflexes (sign of neurological issue, which I guess goes hand-in-hand with pre-ecamplsia and swelling), Dr. D thought it was best to go to L&D for monitoring. What really scared me was when she said she is worried that we are going to have some premature babies. I wasn't worried about her telling me about the pre-eclampsia until she brought up how she thought the babies would be her soon and be premature. Now I know that most likely the babies will be early and may end up in the NICU, but it seemed more real once she said it that day, and that it could be any day that the babies may arrive. And that scared me. This was the first time I was really worried that my body was starting to have issues with the pregnancy and that it would be my fault if we do have premature babies. Up until that point, I have been really impressed with my body and how it has been handling the pregnancy...but now I am nervous and I hope we make it at least a couple more weeks.

Anyway....we were off...well, after stopping at home to get a couple things to keep us entertained if we ended up being there for hours (ipod, magazines, etc).

After checking in to L&D, we were called back right away. They hooked me up to two heart rate monitors to keep track of the babies' heartrates and hooked up a contraction monitor. I also had a blood pressure cuff hooked up that would occasionally take a reading. When we first got there, after right after having some blood taken, my blood pressure reading was 150 (something) / 103. YIKES! After seeing that number I started to get really nervous that I was actually developing pre-ecamplsia and the babies were going to be born sooner rather than later. But after a couple more readings, my bp started to decrease and head back into the "normal" range. Whew! Also, the contraction monitor didn't record any contractions. After they monitored the babies' heartrates for 40 minutes or so, and after a couple normal bp readings, and my lab results came back normal, they decided to release me to follow up withe Dr. D on Friday.

On Friday, July 9th, we went back in for my blood pressure follow-up and had an excellent reading of 130/82 (or somewhere right around there). Whew! Also, my weight was down 4lbs. from Wednesdays reading (much better) and my lab results were perfect. Dr. D said that my blood uric acid level was in the normal range (Normal: 2.6-6; Mine: 3.8). I had no idea what that meant, so she explained it and said that if my blood uric acid level was high, then I would be well on my way to pre-eclampsia. Instead she was pretty confident from the blood results, that we have many more weeks ahead of us with (hopefully) no more pre-eclampsia scares. Fingers crossed!!

So now I am going to Dr. D's office twice a week for the NST test (non-stress test). Read more about the test here... I can't explain what the purpose is yet because I need to read up on it! :-) Not only will I be going in for the NST, but they will also be monitoring my BP at each appointment, just to make sure it is still staying in the normal range. And then the next week, we go back in for a growth ultrasound... I am super excited to see what the babies are weighing in at again! Hopefully close to 5lbs each!

Whew - so that's the updated. If you made it this far, congrats! I know it's not a fun read, but now you are at least updated!

Oh, and here is my 31 week bump pictures... bigger and bigger and bigger... no going back!

25 Week Update(s)

Well, the appointments are coming every two weeks now, and soon to be every week. Wow - it is amazing how fast the time is going.

Last week, I had to go to Labor and Delivery for a quick check. I woke up in the morning with a lot of pressure, so when I called the Doctor's office and spoke with a nurse, she recommended that I go to L&D to get checked out.

After monitoring the babies heart rates, checking for contractions and doing some other (embarrassing) exams, it was determined that Baby A was most likely laying really low and causing the pressure. So after an hour or two, we were sent on our way. Thankfully, all was well.

Today we went in for our Growth Ultrasound to check the growth (duh!) of the babies. They did measurements of both babies' heads, bellies and femurs. The babies' heads and bellies were measuring in the 26 week range, and the femurs were measuring in the 27 week range. The u/s tech made a comment about how we're gonna have tall babies! Duh! ;-)

Once the measurements were completed, the u/s tech was able to estimate their weights. Baby A is estimated to weight 2lbs.; Baby B is weighing 2lbs., 2oz! Woohoo - those are some good size babies.

Which explains why I look like this:


Also entertaining during the u/s was watching the babies move around. Baby A is head down, the first one to exit during delivery (non-c-section delivery), with it's feet up near Baby B. Baby B is still transverse, laying long horizontal across my belly (babies are forming a 'T'). So during the u/s, we were able to see why Baby B is so cranky most of the time... Baby A's feet are kicking right into Baby B. It seems like Baby B is taking a beating on a regular basis from it's sibling. Hehe - poor Baby B.

Later in the day I went in for my 2 week OB check-up. I was seeing a different Doctor today since they recommend you schedule appointments with some of the other Doctors in the practice to get to know them too - cause who knows who will be "on call" when labor starts.

My weight was good (I guess); I am up 22 lbs (I think) now. My BP was good and there was no evidence of protein in my urine (sorry if that is TMI), which is good, since if there was protein, it could possibly indicate the start of pre-eclampsia.

So that's the update. Both babies appear to be doing well, as am I! I am just now starting to get more uncomfortable at night, and now that it is getting warmer out, I am noticing the swelling picking up. I am almost to the point of not being able to wear my wedding rings anymore. Boooo!

Next appointment is scheduled for June 11th - I'll be 27 weeks (and 2 days!) by then - whew - time is flying!