31 weeks... back to the hospital

This week's appointment certainly could have gone better. Luke's BPP was 8/8, which is great. Paisley, though, was showing an elevated Doppler of the blood flow through her placenta. Due to her recently slowed growth and the fact that this is an acute change for her, they decided to admit me to keep an eye on her. Also, to start the second and final course of steroid injections to prepare for delivery at 32 weeks. I was admitted on Thursday, and received the steroids that night. Friday morning we had a repeat scan and her blood flow looked better, however they diagnosed me with mild preeclampsia. Friday night was the final dose of steroids, and now they're monitoring the babies with daily NSTs, and my blood pressure. My medication (which I've been on the entire time) has been increased in an effort to keep it low enough to buy more time. I'm currently on what the doctor considers the optimum dose and hopefully that will keep things in check. We have another scan first thing Monday morning, and perhaps we will learn more then.

I really am grateful for as far as we've gotten - these babies could have very well been born at 23 weeks! I've kept them in for 8, nearly 9, additional weeks and their outcomes are so great compared to what they could have been. I'll just be thankful for every additional day they keep cooking.


How far along? 31 weeks 
Total weight gain/loss?  about 40ish... not including all of the water weight I've gained in the past few weeks 
Maternity clothes? These days it's mainly yoga pants and mens Hanes t shirts :)
Stretch marks? Yep
Sleep: What's that?
Best moment this week: Lots of face time with the babes
Movement: Loads. NSTs are near impossible because of how wild & crazy they've been. I've had an ultrasound of some kind every day trying to pin them down
Food cravings: See-food diet :)
Sexes: BBG! 
Names: Clinton, Luke & Paisley 
Labor signs: None!
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss most: Home, sleep
What I am looking forward to: 32 weeks... hopefully
Weekly wisdom: Don't take your own bed for granted, ever. haha

30 weeks

This week we had another growth scan. Baby A (Clinton) weighs 3 lb 1 oz (and my bladder certainly feels every bit of that!) Baby B (Luke) is still smallest at 2 lb 4 oz. Baby C (Paisley) weighs 2 lb 13 oz. Since it appears her growth may be slowing as well, they did biophysical profiles on both Luke and Paisley. Both babies look good, although small. They're still talking about capping me at 34 weeks. While my aches and pains are grateful for that (and boy are there many,) I wish we could keep them growing longer.

Some interesting info... once we reach 32 weeks, the docs will no longer use mag to protect their brains (and reduce the risk of CP) should I go into labor. After 32 weeks, the risk is about the same as a full term baby. I also can't receive the second round of steroids until within a week of delivery - anything further out and the benefit just isn't there anymore. That being said, if she feels I'll be delivering within a week, she'll administer the steroids - otherwise, I'll receive them at 33 weeks to prepare for delivery at 34.

34 weeks is October 15. At this point, less than a month. I can't wrap my head around how soon that really is. Fortunately we are just about set and ready for them... it just makes me beyond sad that we won't be bringing them home with us right away.


How far along? 30 weeks 
Total weight gain/loss?  about 40ish... starting to retain fluid 
Maternity clothes? These days it's mainly yoga pants and mens Hanes t shirts :)
Stretch marks? Yep
Sleep: So uncomfortable all the time, so sleep isn't exactly going so well
Best moment this week: Reaching our 30 week goal. Next goal: 32
Movement: Clinton just LOVES to kick me in the cervix. The other two are getting cramped I can tell but don't like it when I rest the kindle on them :)
Food cravings: See-food diet :)
Sexes: BBG! 
Names: Clinton, Luke & Paisley 
Labor signs: None this week!
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss most: Doing the little things... and sleeping painlessly... and being able to roll over in bed
What I am looking forward to: 31 weeks... 1 week closer :)
Weekly wisdom: Devour as many books as possible before you don't have time to read again

29 weeks

Our nursery is finally complete (pics to come soon!) All that's left is to put the sheets on the cribs and set up the monitors. So exciting :)

At our 29 week appointment, the babies looked good - great heart rates, and Luke scored 8/8 on his BPP. Next Wednesday we will do another growth scan and see just how big these babies are :)

I'm kind of enjoying bed rest this week... I'm always sooo tired, so happy to not have anything to do. However I would certainly like to not be so tired anymore.

How far along? 29 weeks! 
Total weight gain/loss?  about 35 lbs I would guess
Maternity clothes? These days it's mainly yoga pants and mens Hanes t shirts :)
Stretch marks? Yep
Sleep: So much insomnia this week! On top of achey hips
Best moment this week: Getting out a bit... in the wheelchair, of course
Movement: I can tell they're definitely getting cramped in there
Food cravings: See-food diet :)
Sexes: BBG! 
Names: Clinton, Luke & Paisley 
Labor signs: None this week!
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss most: Being able to stand up easily... or sleep through the night
What I am looking forward to: Wednesday - 30 weeks! And another growth scan
Weekly wisdom: Having nothing to do is severely over rated.

28 weeks

The babies look good this week! Luke got 8/8 on his BPP. Grow, baby. Grow!

How far along? 28 weeks! 
Total weight gain/loss?  about 35 lbs I would guess
Maternity clothes? These days it's mainly yoga pants and mens Hanes t shirts :)
Stretch marks? Yep
Sleep: Better because I'm at home, but my hips are posing major issues. I have to roll over frequently, which is an event by itself... and when I'm sick of that, I come to the chair... and the kitties think it's play time at that point. But, naps!
Best moment this week: Coming home!
Movement: So much!
Food cravings: Whatever I see lol
Sexes: BBG! 
Names: Clinton, Luke & Paisley 
Labor signs: None this week!
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss most: Being able to just get up and do things, like put all of these baby gifts away
What I am looking forward to: Finishing up the nursery
Weekly wisdom: Having nothing to do is severely over rated.

27 weeks... home!

I finally made it home (on bed rest) on Friday at 27w2d. I am so happy to at least be comfortable again, with my hubby and my kitties. I was able to go through the baby gifts from the shower with help from my sister, and wow do we have so many things!

The babies are looking good... Luke (B) is a little behind, as he's been for the past month. He's still growing, and his cord flow looks good, but we are going to start weekly biophysical profiles for him this coming week. This way, should anything go awry, we can catch it asap (such as decreased blood flow through the cord, or his growth slows or stops.) Hopefully he will just be a little one, and will continue plugging away nice and healthy for at least a few more weeks. If we could get to 30 weeks, let alone 32... 34... 36 weeks...

In the meantime, we take it one day, one week at a time. We've already made it to 27+5 (today)! Accomplishments!


How far along? 27 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss?  about 35 lbs I would guess
Maternity clothes? These days it's mainly yoga pants and mens Hanes t shirts :)
Stretch marks? Yep
Sleep: Better because I'm at home, but my hips are posing major issues. I have to roll over frequently, which is an event by itself... and when I'm sick of that, I come to the chair... and the kitties think it's play time at that point. But, naps!
Best moment this week: Coming home!
Movement: Two babies had alternating hiccups yesterday, that was fun :)
Food cravings: Pretty much anything, but nothing healthy. We're talking pizza, fries, chocolate. PSLs!
Sexes: BBG!
Names: Clinton, Luke & Paisley
Labor signs: None this week!
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss most: Being able to just get up and do things, like put all of these baby gifts away
What I am looking forward to: Wednesday - 28 weeks!
Weekly wisdom: Having nothing to do is severely over rated.

26 weeks

I was granted a pass so that I can attend my shower today! Currently waiting (rather impatiently) for Mr. Husband so I can blow this pop stand for a few hours. :)

I'm still on a rollercoaster of hormonal emotions but I suppose that's to be expected. Otherwise I'm getting a lot of reading done... and thanks to friends & my parents, I'm watching a ton of computer TV (because daytime basic cable stinks... and they conveniently have to bug me as soon as something comes on that I want to watch.)

The latest news is that we'll reevaluate the situation at 28 weeks to maybe go home (a week and a half!) The doctors here are very conservative... which is awesome for safety reasons. But I'm so ready to be home... There are so many baby things to play with! Even though I'd still be on bed rest, at least I'd be home to direct the chaos of putting everything away so that I can still be involved if I can't do it myself.

How far along? 26 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss?  about 33 lbs
Maternity clothes? These days it's mainly yoga pants and mens Hanes t shirts :)
Stretch marks? Yep
Sleep: haha, because this hospital bed is so cozy... lots of naps, though
Best moment this week: Baby shower today!
Movement: They're so wiggly!
Food cravings: Still anything that isn't hospital food
Sexes: BBG!
Names: Clinton, Luke & Paisley
Labor signs: None this week
Belly button in or out? In, but I think it's starting to flatten
What I miss most: Being home with my hubby and my kitties
What I am looking forward to: My shower... today!
Weekly wisdom: Having nothing to do is severely over rated.

23 weeks... Bed rest

23 weeks this week. Mangoes.

The evening before my 23 week appointment, I noticed a small amount of green mucus on the tp (sorry for the tmi.) I realized it clearly wasn't normal, but there wasn't much so I made a mental note and moved on. Friday morning, there was a significant amount of it so I decided I should probably call the doctor just in case. My appointment was at 2:40 but they wanted to see me at 10 instead. The ultrasound went well, and the babies measure in at 1.4 oz, 1.3 & 1.3. The doctor examined me because of the discharge and learned that my cervix had shortened, and I was 1 cm dilated. She immediately had me placed on a monitor and admitted, where we found out I was in fact contracting.

The next few hours are a blur of activity and meds... Magnesium to protect their brains and slow labor, pills to stop contractions, steroids to mature their lungs... 23 weekers are just at the cusp of viability, however the prognosis is quite grim. Per the neonatologist, only 2-3 out of 10 23 weekers survive birth, and only 1 of 10 who survive do not have some sort of neural damage. Furthermore, 23 weekers can deliver through 4-5 cm, so while 1 cm dilation is nothing for a full term baby, it's significant for these babes.

As of today, Saturday, the contractions have stopped... The last contraction was around 2:30 am. I was taken off of the mag around 9, but I refused to go without the contraction monitor. There hasn't been a contraction all day, so as of 9 pm I let the nurse talk me into taking it off. I was using it as a security blanket all day... Which they think is making me more nervous. I remain 1 cm dilated and their cultures came back to show I have a yeast infection... Not loss of my mucus plug as previously thought.

And so, this is it. Bed rest. A full month before the date I set for myself in my mind.. and I had really hoped it would start before any dilation occurred, of course. At our last appointment 2 weeks ago, everything was fine. My cervix measured normal length. This happened fast, but who knows when it started because I didn't feel any contractions until after midnight last night (which they continuously mention is s good sign.)

Obviously this is not best case scenario; but it could be worse so I am grateful for the stability, no matter how fleeting it could possibly be. It seems I'll be in the hospital for the foreseeable future. Per the doctor this morning, I could potentially go home for bed rest if I become a "barnacle" here at the hospital. Here's to hoping. And, per our doctor,  with every day in my belly cutting 3 days off our NICU time (not to mention the significant growth occurring,) I'll have to take it one day at a time and hope they stay nice & snug in there.