We have officially made it to our third trimester, 28 weeks.  I am so excited, and blessed!!!  We really weren’t sure if we would get this far a few weeks ago.  I also had an ultrasound this morning, and again shocked the doctors and nurses – my cervix has gone back up to a 16!  Alot better than that 6 we had 5 weeks ago.  There is still no dilation, and Max’s head is putting quite a bit of pressure on it – and it is still just getting better.  Proof positive that prayer works. 

I got more pics today, I’ve just got to find someone that can scan them in (hint, hint, mom) since I am not accessible to a scanner and sweet hubby has already broken the computer at home – what in the world would he do without me!!!

The fun continues!  About 1am my IV started beeping, I had an occlusion where the line had gotten bent.  No biggy, but the nurse did take my blood pressure because I was feeling a little loopy.  It was obviously a little low, so for the next 3 hours, I had my blood pressure cuff go off every 15 minutes and a manual check by the nurse every hour.  Didn’t get much sleep – but my blood pressure finally started to cooperate.  Was a little sleepy today, but that was fine. 

During both my 2pm and 8pm monitoring sessions, the little ones would not cooperate.  The first nurse got so mad that “baby B” (Kate) wouldn’t stop moving, that she tore the monitors off and said if the doctors wanted to see an hour long monitor strip, they would have to come hold her on themselves! 

About 4:00pm, I finally had the IV Therapy team come in and put in my PICC line.  The whole process was really amazing – It took almost an hour for them to get all the items set up (They use an ultrasound to guide the line into a vein in your arm, then into a major artery near your heart), but only about 5 minutes to get it in.  I was honestly a little scared that it would be uncomfortable, but the only stick I even felt was the lidocaine (did I spell that right?) numbing the injection site.  In fact, when they were done, I asked when they would be done threading the line.  Had no clue that it WAS done! 

A few hours later, I noticed a leak on the floor.  Seems the fluid line (luckily not the magnesium line) had come loose, and was all over the floor.  The nurses got it fixed pretty fast, but I had to have new lines and bags so there wouldn’t be any chance of infection.  Again, I cannot wait to tell these little munchkins what they put me through – I may leave out the fact that I didn’t hardly feel that PICC line thing, and that I get chocolate ice cream or cokes delivered to me bedside at the click of a button, and that I am getting to meet Titans football players …………. There are just some things they don’t have to know

For the most part, my days here are pretty uneventful.  Today was not.  I have to be hooked up to the contraction monitor and monitors for the babies heart rate 4 times a day for an hour, and my first one is at 6:00am.  Well, this morning the little boogers wouldn’t cooperate (Kate will go crazy and kick Max and knock him off the monitors), and I ended up on the monitors for over 2 hours with nurses having to come and readjust them constantly.  This afternoon my hand started hurting pretty badly, and started bleeding around my IV.  The nurse took it out, and couldn’t find a good vein to put a new one in.  While we were waiting on Anaesthesiology to get here to find a good vein, the vein my IV had been in started spurting blood!  It didn’t hurt, and for some reason, didn’t even alarm me, but the nurse was a little frazzled.  So, now I am waiting for Anaesthesiology once again to get a PICC line put in.  I am glad they won’t be poking me anymore – after 7 IV’s!!!  I can’t wait to use all of this to remind these kids how much they owe me!!!  It’s like I’ve said, though, I don’t care if they hang me upside down by shackles as long as these babies are healthy and happy.  As active as they are, I don’t think that will be a problem.

Just had my ultrasound and talked to Dr. Fortunato.  My cervix is exactly the same as last week, which is good news.  As long as we can keep it there, we can make it another week.  Our first big goal was to make it to week 28, and they seem to think that will not be a problem, and that our next big goal is 32 weeks.  Since I had the steroid shots, they should be absolutely fine if they were to come then.  Of course, they would have to be here for a while for growth reasons, etc., but should be fine.  My goal is still to get them big enough to not have to even go to the NICU.  Isabella did it – we were expecting a preemie with her, and she came out 8 lbs. 12 oz. 

Chad and I both feel much better knowing that they are growing well, that I am being monitored constantly, and that everything is staying stable.  Thanks for your prayers – we can never tell you how much we appreciate them.

Not much new with me and the twins, am having another ultrasound in the morning, but I did want to say congrats to our close friends Michael and Deb (Michael is Chad’s oldest and closest friend from elementary school).  They welcomed their new son, 6 weeks before schedule, but he is doing great! 

I also wanted to thank a few people for everything they have done for us over the past month – especially Pamela and the Ford family for making Izzy one of their own.  All of the people who have kept Chad and Izzy fed while I am not there to cook (I can hear Chad laughing now).  Our family members who have spent alot of money on gas getting up here to see me and to drive Izzy back and forth to gymnastics.  Everyone from the church who has come by, called, and sent loads of cards that help me stay motivated in faith that God is continuing to keep His hands on these babies and on me.  Chad and I are truly grateful for the outpouring of support from everyone!

Tomorrow is Chad’s birthday, and I hope that this ultrasound will be wonderful news to make it a special day for him.  Happy birthday baby!  I love you, Izzy loves you, and Max and Kate love you, too.

I had my latest ultrasound this morning, and my cervix did drop back down to a 9, but is still holding strong with no dilation.  The ultrasound tech measured the babies to get an estimate on the babies weight, and they both are 1 oz. shy of 2 lbs, so they are growing well, and are measuring great for their gestatioanal age(I am 26 weeks today).

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.  I’ll keep you updated.

Hey – it’s karen!  It’s been a long couple of weeks, but I am now able to sit up enough and not too swollen to type – so things are getting much better.  I had another ultrasound today, and my cervix has doubled in length (from a 6 when I came in, to a 15 today), and the dilation is still closed (it was 1.5 when I got here).  I still can’t believe I am talking about my cervix, and that Chad is so open to talking about it !

Thank you all for your prayers for me and Max and Kate – they really are working – it is very rare and unusual to have such a lengthening.  It usually only gets smaller.  My doctor was very, very pleased today, and it really set my mind at ease.  For now, I will stay on the magnesium IV since it seems to be working, and I am still on strict bedrest, but I don’t have a contraction monitor anymore – I am just monitored every  6-8 hours, I have bathroom priveleges now (maybe that is more than you want to know) and I get to have a shower every other day – all of 5 minutes! But the most important thing is that the babies are great – They put them on the doppler monitor every 8 hours, so I get to see and hear their little hearts beating, and the nurses all joke with me that they are going to be strong willed and feisty, since they move so much while they are boing monitored (Kate fights it – she tries to hide every time).

Alot of you have said that you could never do this, etc., but trust me – when it comes to safety of your children – it really isn’t hard.  In fact, I think it is harder on Chad than me.  And Isabella is such a resilient little thing – she thinks that this is what every pregnat woman goes through.  She tells everyone that mommy is taking care of her babies!

I will be having another ultrasound on Monday to get accurate measurements of the babies sizes – and Tuesday I will be 26 weeks, which is considered a huge milestone around here – especially since I have had the steroid shots.  Today, though, it seems as if everything is going great, and these babies won’t be here for a while.  I’ll keep you updated!