D-Day!

DISCHARGED!

The day is officialy here!  I am being released from the hospital, one day shy of 6 weeks exactly.  Words cannot explain how excited I am.

As I mentioned before, I will be staying just next door to the hospital in a house built by the Children's Health Foundation.  It is a house for people from out-of-town, whose children are sick in the hospital.  While we don't technically fit that criteria, we do have babies on the way who need to remain close to the hospital.  I am still on strict bed rest, and I will be having regular appointments with the doctor, weekly ultrasounds, and NSTs twice a week.  In a lot of ways, though, I am now just a "normal" 33 1/2 week pregnant lady with twins.  Hooray!!!!

I'll post a more detailed report of how things are going at 34 weeks.

Now, to figure out what to eat tonight to celebrate my first non-hospital meal...

Surviving Hospital Bed Rest

As I near the end of my hospital bedrest stay (*fingers crossed*) I have been thinking about what the experience is like.  For anyone who ends up in the hospital on bed rest like me (not that I wish it upon anyone), I thought it would be helpful to write a post about the things that have helped me get through my time.  I have found it extremely helpful to read other stories of ladies who have been through similar situations.  Somehow it gives me the strength to keep on going on those days when it is especially tough.  At the end of this blog, I gave some links of some of the stories that helped me through.  So far, I have spent just under 6 weeks on hospital bedrest.  The one nice thing I should mention is that I live in Canada, so healthcare is provided and I did not have to pay out of pocket for my mandatory time here.

These are some of the things I would suggest to get you through the time.  Eventually, it will all feel like a blur as the days roll into each other, but this does provide you a sense of normalcy in an otherwise not normal situation:

1. Create some sort of a daily routine.  Getting up at the same time, getting ready, and having a "plan" of how you will spend your day helps create a rhythm for your day.  The plan could be as simple as reading a chapter in a specific book, or going for an ultrasound in the afternoon.  Something about having a routine makes you feel more human, and less like a blob in the bed.
2. Get "ready" every day.  If you are able, take the time to shower, get dressed, and get yourself ready (hair, makeup) for the day.  I understand you may not be able to get up and out of bed, but you can still brush your hair and put it up, wash up, or do something to make yourself feel ready.  I made a point to shower every day, even when I didn't need to.  For one thing, this kills time, and for another, it provides a breaking point between days and, again, makes you feel more human.
3. Develop a good relationship with the nurses.  At the hospital I am in, there are 70 nurses who work on this unit and L&D.  Usually I meet a new nurse every day but there are a few who have been around more that I have gotten to know.  I found that if I was friendly to them, they were friendly right back, and willing to help me out and give me privileges when able to.  I even spent some time making a little gift for them.  I took a glass jar and used magazine clippings to make a thank you collage on the jar.  Then I filled it with hard wrapped candies and left it for the nurses.  They loved it, and it definitely got me in the "good books."  
4. Use a sleeping mask/ear plugs at night to get a good sleep.  I had a much easier time sleeping in a private room, but I would definitely recommend whatever sleep aids you need to get you through the night.  If you are up in the night, the next day seems that much longer as the day/night kind of blur together.  Getting a good night's sleep sets you up to enjoy the next day much more.  
5. Take up something crafty to do with your hands.  Reading and watching TV occupies the mind, but sometimes it is just nice to DO something.  Knitting, crotcheting, scrapbooking... anything that engages the mind and the hands is great.  
6. Call in as many visitors as you can (and ask them to bring you food!).  At first I was overwhelmed by the amount of people visiting, but it really does help the time go by.  There were only a handful of days that nobody came to see me (when DH was back at home), and these were the longest days.  
7. If you can't have a lot of visitors, make sure to sign up for an online support group.  There are some great sites where you can connect with other moms on bed rest (Check out www.mamasonbedrest.com to start).  I didn't have internet available for the first month, so I didn't get plugged in, but I could see how this would be an invaluable resource!  
8. Be sure to keep your body healthy and happy as much as you can.  I was given bed rest exercises to do (every hour, which I didn't follow).  I did a good stretch a few times throughout the day and moved my leg muscles whenever I remembered.  I also took a jam-like substance called Fruitlax every day to keep those bowels moving.  You will get so sick of the nurses asking you about your bowels, but it is best to do what you can to keep them in action, because the alternate is not very fun.  
9. Keep a journal of your time.  I did not explicitly keep a journal (apart from these blog posts), but I had a notebook I used.  Every day I wrote down the date and put down anything that happened that day...ultrasounds, baby growth information, blood levels, etc.  This helped me to remember details (in case the nurses asked me later) and keep track of my time in the hospital.
10. Make the room your own.  In whatever way you can, bring touches of your world and yourself into the room.  Plants work great to bring life to boring hospital colours.  Bring in pictures of family, pets, your house... things that you will miss seeing on a daily basis.  Use your own pillow and/or blanket.  My dear mother-in-law, bought me a beautiful bamboo humidifier that you could put essential oils into.  I didn't want to overwhelm the ward with the scent, but I'd put a slight drop into the water just to bring a pleasant small.  It also became the talk of the town and every one who visited my room would comment on it (that, and the collection of baby clothes I had hanging from the shelf).  
11. When you have a bad day, just get through it.  Some days will be especially tough, and you may be grumpy and cry all day.  But the next day always starts fresh!  Even when you think you can't make it through any longer... you DO.  You don't really have a choice.  This helped me gain perspective when I felt I was losing it.
12. If possible, have benchmarks to look forward to and celebrate them when you reach them.  For me, these were the two week increments of pregnancy (28, 30, 32, 34 weeks, etc.).  DH and I would always celebrate with some treat. One week my dog came to visit and I got to go outside and see her.  One week I was given a pass to go out for dinner.  Even when I had to stay in, some days I would dress up, get myself ready, and DH would bring in fast-food.  Anything to provide a break from the monotony helps.  

Remember, you WILL make it through!  What you are doing IS the best for your baby(babies), even when it feels like it is the worst for you.  Once you get to the end, you will be happy you stuck it out and put the health of your baby first.  

Here are a few other blogs with tips:

http://www.modernmom.com/blogs/lori-bregman/how-to-survive-bed-rest

http://broadwaybabies.wordpress.com/2011/12/

http://futuresupermom.wordpress.com/tag/hospital-bed-rest/

All sorts of excitement

Not a post about the babies... I feel like I have to clarify that with each post, as the time is drawing nearer and nearer.

I received some great news today!  This morning my doctor came in and sat down to have a "chat."  She said that the medical team had been speaking about me yesterday. DH and I had informally decided it might be best for us to stay in Victoria until the birth.  We've got a nice routine down here, the staff all know me, we have some family here, and DH is able to stay in the housing next door, rather than a hotel further away.  And, since I've been so stable, the medical team decided that I could be discharged early next week (when DH is back in town) to stay at the Children's Foundation Housing next door too!  I'd still be on strict bedrest, and would go to appointments at the maternity clinic and be monitored at the hospital BUT, I don't have to stay at the hospital.  HOORAY!!!!  This is the best news EVER!  I had spoken to a doctor about this possibility yesterday but she sounded like it just wasn't worth it for me.  She said that I'd probably be more active than I realize, and half the time, ladies are discharged and back in the hospital 24 hours later in active labour.  I am resolved for that NOT to be me.  As long as someone is with me at the house, all I will have to do is walk from the room to the dining area.  I still won't do cooking, and I will have a wheelchair if I want to move around a bit more.  It will be so nice!

Of course this means DH and I are committed to staying here probably another month at least.  Even if the babies come early, there is no way we would go home before then.  I am sad because I do miss my house, my town, and especially my DOG. I feel like she is going to forget who I am in this long absence.  But I do love the city of Victoria and am very happy to have my babies delivered here.  I also feel like the medical staff here are very capable and deliver a lot of twins, so that gives me confidence.  Wahoo!

The other thing that happened is that I was moved to the Motherbabe Unit (where moms go after the babies are born).  I guess the Antepartum unit was busy and full and they needed a room, and since I am the most stable patient, I was moved.  It will be interesting being on the floor with a lot of new babies, but it's only a few nights.  I just told my babies they can't be triggered into making an appearance even if they hear all these other babies crying all around them.

To top it all off, I still have a nice view.  What a good day!

33 Weeks + Babies update

33 Weeks pregnant with twins.  In the home stretch now.  If I make it 3 more weeks, I even get to go home and give birth in my home city.  C'mon babies!  Here's a recap on how things are:

Mood: After my hormone surge last week I think my body has resettled again.  I haven't had any meltdowns (so far) this week.  The only tears have come when I decided to spend a night watching YouTube videos of twin births.  That was emotional!  I haven't felt as overwhelmed, or anxious about being in the hospital.  I actually find myself "nesting" in my little hospital room, as weird as that may sound.  It's like I have kind of turned myself off from the outside world and am tuning in to my inner world in preparation for these babies.

Food: Blech... so sick of hospital food!  Fortunately, I can't eat a lot at once anymore, but I am hungry more often.  Snacks have become my best friend, and it is great when someone brings me something from the outside world.  My blood sugar has been very stable so I've even been allowing myself a few treats (shh...don't tell).  Still loving fruit and cold beverages.  I wonder if that will suddenly stop once I give birth?

Body: Well, in some regards I wouldn't call it the most cooperative, but I guess it's doing alright.  Since the bleeding/clot incident on Tuesday I have been spotting all week, which is expected.  My cervix is still the same length (2cm) and not dilated (hooray!).  In some ways, I think my body is doing great at keeping these babies in, kind of like it did with my first pregnancy where I had miscarried but my body didn't want to let it go.  Maybe I will go to full term!  I must say I am very uncomfortable.  My last measurement showed that I was almost 39 weeks in size, and both babies are head down.  I have a lot of inner hip/groin/crotch pain, especially at night and when switching positions.  My weight had dipped down a few pound last week (but I think it's because I hadn't eaten much the previous  night and was hungry).  And those darn stretch marks have made their appearance known.  I have a few new ones on my inner upper thigh, and some just above my crotch.  Oh well!

Movement: Babies are getting more and more active... or maybe it's just that I feel every kick and squirm since they are running out of room.  Baby B gets the hiccups all the time.  I think Baby A has started to as well, but I feel it within, and not so much on the outside.

Sleep: Sleeping good through the night with about 2 trips to the bathroom.  Taking a daily nap too.

What I miss most: Walking (especially in this lovely fall weather), drinking wine, being able to bend over enough to shave my legs, my dog!, my home, fresh coffee

Notable moments: DH got to come to the ultrasound this week.  I didn't realize how few he has been to but this was only his 3rd time!  It was a full growth scan so he got to see quite a bit (though he said it was a bit boring waiting for all the measurements, haha, what a guy response!).

Oh, and I never did give an update on the babies!  Fluids and placentas and everything looked great.  Baby A is measuring (drum roll please....) 4lb,5oz and apparently has long legs.  Baby B still has a big head (90th percentile) and is measuring 5lb,2oz!  The report said that they have had "excellent growth."  That means I'm carrying close to 10lbs of baby!!!  Also, during the ultrasound we couldn't get a profile of B since he/she was facing towards my back, BUT, the tech was able to point out little tufts of hair on the head!  That was so incredible.  I definitely cried then.  I love babies that come out with hair and I was hoping ours would.  Baby A's head was too low to see if there was hair or not.

Also, I still have not been able to get into the "closer" hospital, but I'm not sure I want to at this point.  We have a good routine here and the staff all know me and my case.  This week DH got into the Children's Hospital housing next to the hospital and it is so nice!  I was even given pass to go hang out there in the afternoons twice this week.  I slept in a real bed, and drank tea that was fresh and hot, and it was just lovely!  Hopefully they have room for him to stay here next week too.  Getting out of the hospital for a few hours makes a huge amount of difference to my sanity!

Here are some pics from the house (they even have volunteers bring in some meals/desserts, and downstairs there is a theater room, a gaming room, a computer room... it is seriously so nice here!).  If the babies do come early, at least I know we will be in a great place!

My Surreal World

I alluded to how I am feeling about being pregnant in my post yesterday.  Sometimes I still just can't believe this is happening. It's like I am going through all these motions (staying in the hospital, growing my belly, eating healthy, going to ultrasounds) with one part of my brain while there is another part that refuses to believe it. Well, maybe "refuses" is too strong of a word. It's more like part of me is in awe that this is actually REAL.  That side is sort of detached in a way. I don't know if it is self-preservation from being worried that something will still go wrong, or just a sense of shock and disbelief that  soon we will be parents to two little munchkins.  I mean, I haven't even bought any cute outfits or done shopping for them, apart from the necessary things needed for babies.  Maybe part of it is not knowing the genders too. I'm sure I'll go crazy wanting to go shopping once they arrive.

The fact that they are twins is even more mind blowing. I don't know how I will get used to the "twin hype" that I hear that Twinkie moms (moms of twins) experience.  This has never been on my radar. I guess I see these babies as such individuals that I don't think of them as "twins" in the way most people do.  I just feel like we are adding two babies to our family at the same time. The fact that we are adding any babies at all is what is extraordinary to me.

I don't know when it is going to sink in that this actually is happening. I feel like its not going to be until we are actually at home with these little beings trying to figure out what to do!  Even then, I am sure it will seem surreal.  

I am so grateful for these precious lives. I feel like we don't deserve such an incredible blessing, but I can't wait to experience them all the same. 

Settled down

Just thought I'd write a quick update to let you all know that things have settled down.  You can tell which patients are high priority based on how much the nurses are in and out of the room.  Today I hardly saw the nurses at all.  Haha!  The bleeding pretty much stopped and I wasn't having cramping or contractions today.  I think the clot had just irritated my uterus.

So, all in all it was an uneventful day today, which is just fine in my books.  I am starting to feel like these babies will come soonish.  When I think about how we are nearly 33 weeks, it really hits me that it is highly possible that in 2-3 weeks we could be parents!  Even though I'm sitting in a hospital, reading birth/baby books, and growing larger day by day, I still feel shocked that these will actually be MY babies.  That I will be a mom.  That we will be a family.  It is pretty extraordinary.  And how cool is it that my body is growing two babies as we speak.  I still can't get over that.

So, I'll leave you with a picture of our family-to-be.  DH jokes that our babies are going to look older than us, since we are both such baby-faces.  I just think they will be cute!

A Little Excitement (32w4d)

Nope, no babies yet... I'll just clear the air with that one first off.

I had been planning a post entitled "Quiet on all fronts" until today, when that changed.  Warning: This is a TMI post so if you're sqeamish you may want to skip.

The past 3 days I have suddenly developed a case of diarrhea.  You may remember that this is something I faced all throughout pregnancy until I got into the hospital.  Here, I have had to take something to keep myself regular.  So the development back to diarrhea was a bit unexpected.  Additionally, when I went to the washroom the other day, I noticed a bit of fresh red blood when I wiped.  I was told to keep an eye on it and found that it only happened after a bowel movement, but it was coming from the vaginal area.  Strange.

Well, today I woke up and got up to go to the washroom.  I noticed a bit of blood on the sheets and as soon as I moved to walk, I felt something come out of my lady parts.  I recognized the feeling right away and knew it was a clot.  Sure enough, I went to the bathroom and there was a clot almost the size of my fist in my underwear (gross!).  I cleaned up and called in the nurses.  I wasn't sure if that is what the mucous plug is like, but it seemed much bigger to me.  They confirmed it looked like a clot and put me back in bed with a NST.  Sure enough, I was contracting and had an "irritable uterus."  I was also cramping pretty bad and my back ached a lot.  I was hooked up to an IV (just in case) and breakfast was cleared away (though I begged for some ice chips to moisten my dry morning mouth).  The doctor came in to do an internal check of my cervix and said that it was closed and dry, and about 1cm in length.  

I've been resting now for a few hours and it seems like things have settled down a lot. We are hoping this is the clot from earlier that has just passed now (though I don't know why it hasn't been noted in the past few ultrasounds?).  Hopefully things will quiet down and go back to normal and we'll wait a few more weeks for these babies to arrive!  For now, I am just being monitored and playing the "wait and see" game. DH was at home (3 hours away) but planning to come down today, so I called him this morning and told him to get on the road right away, just in case.  He is on the way down now.  

So that's my story this morning.  I'm so happy to have made it this far with this difficult pregnancy, but hoping these little rascals stay in there a bit longer.  I'll do my best to keep you all posted.