Hanging in there...34 weeks

The babies seem pretty content where they are...They both move around a lot, and give me plenty of hiccups and heartburn.

I'm still having contractions, but if they get very close together I can lie down on my side and they'll slow back down.

I saw my doctor today and did more fetal monitoring. He said that after Monday, he wouldn't worry at all about delivering the babies. They usually don't need NICU at that point unless there's an unforeseen problem. He also said that the contractions actually help the babies to mature faster.

I'll have another ultrasound late next week to check the position of the babies again. Right now we think they are both breech, which would indicate the need for a c-section delivery. There's just not much room for them to flip around at this point since they're both probably about 5 pounds.

We'd love for them to stay in there until 37 weeks, though I know I'll just get more uncomfortable with every day that passes. But it's all for the good of the babies. I'm sure they'll be born on their birthdays. :)

Restricted activity...

I feel like I've been grounded, except instead of being grounded from TV or computer, it's from housework and cooking... hmmmmm, this might not be too bad.

Tuesday morning at the doctor's office they put the external fetal monitors on, and the contraction monitor. My Braxton-Hicks contractions have been every 20-30 minutes for about a week, but during that 30 minutes on the monitor, they came every 5 minutes. So they promptly sent me next door to the hospital to be monitored more closely for the day and see if they could be stopped.

At the hospital, I was again hooked up to all the monitoring wires, and yes, Alyna still doesn't like to be found. We finally found just the right position that if I held the monitor pressed down at just the right angle, we could hear her heartbeat. So all day I had to periodically make sure to track her rate for at least a minute.

I wasn't dilated or progressing at all, which was a good sign that we could stop or slow the contractions.

They were still coming every 5-6 minutes apart a couple hours later, so I was fed lunch which was really good for hospital food. It was a club sandwich, salad, and carrot cake.

After lunch they slowed down, but then sped up a lot... so they gave me a shot of a relaxing medicine in my hip. I joked with the nurse that the shot hurt worse than the contractions which still just feel like the tightening of a blood pressure cuff around my abdomen. They slowed down again but only to about 7-10 minutes apart. So at 4 pm they gave me a shot of a medicine to stop the contractions. I had one more contraction about 10 minutes later, and then nothing for 50 minutes, so I was discharged.

Barry probably had it rougher than me, because I kept calling him and telling him not to leave work. I just knew they weren't going to deliver me today. At only 33 weeks, they would do everything they could to not let the babies come yet. The babies were moving around just fine and had strong heartbeats throughout.

So Wednesday, I didn't do much at all except watch TV. Today (Thursday), I went back to the doctor for more fetal monitoring. Again, my contractions had only been every 20-30 minutes this morning, but as soon as they put me on the monitor they went to every 10-15 minutes. I'm not sure if it's psychological, or something the babies are doing, or just a fluke.

So I was sent home after 1 1/2 hours of monitoring, and I'm not on bed rest, but I am on restricted activity. Thankfully, some ladies from church have volunteered to come over tomorrow and clean the house. Barry was really getting overwhelmed with all the yard work and indoor chores too.

So we're praying that the babies will wait at least until 35 weeks... although they should be okay even if they were delivered after this weekend at 34 weeks. They just might need a little time in the NICU at that point. Oh, and the closest NICU is in Lubbock, 1 hour 45 minutes away.

Please keep all of us in your prayers.

32 weeks, and counting...

I had my first round of fetal monitoring today. It was a challenge to find both babies and get them to stay on the monitor. Alyna kept moving away from it after about 15 seconds. Ryan just kicked and punched at the monitor a lot. Finally we just decided to try to get Alyna to track for about 60 seconds and call it quits. The doctor said it should get easier as they get bigger and don't have as much room to move around.

Everything is looking great. They are a good size, have strong heartbeats, and are moving well.

I have been having some contractions, but that's normal since my uterus is full term size. They aren't very regular, so it's not really a worry about pre-term labor yet. I just need to stay well-hydrated and take it easy. I know a few things that trigger them, like bending over to do anything, so I just have to watch out for those activities. Barry may have to start doing more dishes and laundry in the coming weeks.

This weekend is the baby shower. I'm excited... mostly so that I can get organized. We were given a whole tub full of boy clothes of sizes newborn up to 3T. They are all really nice too...

So we're just wanting the babies to wait about 3 more weeks, and then any time is fine. Keep us all in your prayers.

31 week update

This weekend marks the 31 weeks point of my pregnancy.

I had an ultrasound today, and the babies are both looking healthy and gaining weight. Ryan weighs 3 lbs 6 oz, and Alyna weighs 3 lbs 4 oz. It's right where they should be...even for a single baby. So I'm carrying almost 7 lbs of baby and I am the size of a 37-38 week pregnancy (considered full term), and I still have 6 1/2 weeks to go.

Alyna has flipped a somersault... previously her head was down and feet were up, but now her butt is down and head is up. She and Ryan are head to head now. Hopefully in the next 6 weeks one of them will flip again and descend for a natural birth.

From this point on, most babies gain almost half a pound a week, so I'm not so much looking forward to how much stretching that will do to me.