I already shared this on Facebook but wanted to blog it too. Friday afternoon Dr. Drake called with my lab results for the cholestasis. I had blood drawn on Wednesday to check for bile acid in my blood. This is how they determine if you have cholestasis. The results take 2 days because they have to send it to Utah. So she called Friday and I do have cholestasis.
What is cholestasis? Here is what Americanpregnancy.org says: Pregnancy hormones affect gallbladder function, resulting in slowing or stopping the flow of bile. The gallbladder holds bile that is produced in the liver, which is necessary in the breakdown of fats in digestion. When the bile flow is stopped or slowed down, this causes a build up of bile acids in the liver which can spill into the bloodstream.
This bile in the blood causes extreme itching, especially of the hands and feet. For me it is been mostly my feet. The itching becomes almost unbearable at night. It keeps me from sleeping and I have only been getting a couple of hours of sleep at night - literally two to three hours. I have to get up several times and run my feet under ice cold water to try to numb the itching.
However, the itching isn't the main concern. The elevated bile causes stress on the babies livers which can cause fetal distress, preterm labor, and stillbirth.
Dr. Drake said that singeltons in moms with cholestasis are usually delivered at 36 weeks but twins they will deliver earlier. I will be 35 weeks on Tuesday. We see Dr. Drake Monday at 2:45pm to figure out the plan for delivering the babies. She said they will deliver them this week. It could be Monday. It could be Friday or any day in between.
I am full of emotion right now. I am also so scared. While we know some twins that have been delivered in the 35th week and went home in three days with Mom and Dad we also know twins delivered at 36 weeks who stayed in the NICU almost three weeks. Our goal from the day we found out we were having twins was to have the babies come home with us. If they have to stay in the NICU we will deal with that and of course we want them to be in the best place for their health. But that doesn't make it any easier.
I truly appreciate people who are letting us know they are praying for our babies and for us. I appreciate people sharing their thoughts and prayers that things will go alright and their HOPE that everything will be fine. I hope it will too and I spend every spare moment asking God to keep our babies safe and healthy.
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:22-24
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
34 Weeks
I'm 34 weeks pregnant with Ainsley and Benson!
Wow has this last week has been rough. My feet are ridiculous. They are pretty constantly swollen but it is MUCH worse after I work. I mean they are really sort of disgusting. What's worse is they itch! Like crazy! The sort of itching that makes you want to grab a sharp metal object and scratch until it hurts so bad you don't notice the itching. I am have cholestasis labs repeated tomorrow to check for bile acid in my blood. I don't think that's what it is because what I've read suggests that causes more itching on the bottoms of the feet so I'm thinking this is more just because of the swelling and hormones. The only real relief I find is to run them under cold water to numb the itching some and then have Jeremy slather lotion on them...since I can't reach them. The itching is disrupting my already sleepless nights. Last night I got less than two and a half hours of sleep. The OB gave me a script for Ambien to try. I was really surprised they were alright with Ambien while pregnant but I suppose it's also not healthy to get less than three hours of sleep per night.
I had a Non-Stress Test this morning that went really well. I had an excellent nurse who found the babies heartbeats right away and they stayed on the monitors. They were reactive and we would have been done in about 20 minutes but the nurse had to wait for the doctor to approve everything so we were hooked up about 45 minutes. Totally fine with me though since I fell asleep! Then I headed over to my OB appointment. Had my hemoglobin checked and it was good so the iron supplement is working. Ainsley is still head down and Ben is transverse. I really don't see how they could move since they have to be running out of room but as long as she stays head down we can try a vaginal delivery.
Next week we have an appointment with Dr. Drake and a growth check then an NST at the hospital then an OB appointment so I'll get to spend about 4 hours at the hospital. I need a good book - any suggestions?
Other than that, we got the nursery done which is a huge task off the to-do list. We have car seats in the cars but still need to get them inspected for proper installation. We started packing a hospital bag. I also had my final baby shower this past Sunday. It was so fabulous and my girlfriends put in so much work to make it amazing. I can't thank them enough and I feel so lucky to have such great friends.
The hostesses and I - LOVE these girls!
After the shower Jeremy and I drove up to Ledges State Park to check out the leaves. We were a little early and most trees were still green but it was still a nice drive.
(Don't look at those cankles!)
I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who reads this for all your sweet comments every week and on the nursery. They really mean so much.
I hope you all are having a good week!
Wow has this last week has been rough. My feet are ridiculous. They are pretty constantly swollen but it is MUCH worse after I work. I mean they are really sort of disgusting. What's worse is they itch! Like crazy! The sort of itching that makes you want to grab a sharp metal object and scratch until it hurts so bad you don't notice the itching. I am have cholestasis labs repeated tomorrow to check for bile acid in my blood. I don't think that's what it is because what I've read suggests that causes more itching on the bottoms of the feet so I'm thinking this is more just because of the swelling and hormones. The only real relief I find is to run them under cold water to numb the itching some and then have Jeremy slather lotion on them...since I can't reach them. The itching is disrupting my already sleepless nights. Last night I got less than two and a half hours of sleep. The OB gave me a script for Ambien to try. I was really surprised they were alright with Ambien while pregnant but I suppose it's also not healthy to get less than three hours of sleep per night.
I had a Non-Stress Test this morning that went really well. I had an excellent nurse who found the babies heartbeats right away and they stayed on the monitors. They were reactive and we would have been done in about 20 minutes but the nurse had to wait for the doctor to approve everything so we were hooked up about 45 minutes. Totally fine with me though since I fell asleep! Then I headed over to my OB appointment. Had my hemoglobin checked and it was good so the iron supplement is working. Ainsley is still head down and Ben is transverse. I really don't see how they could move since they have to be running out of room but as long as she stays head down we can try a vaginal delivery.
Next week we have an appointment with Dr. Drake and a growth check then an NST at the hospital then an OB appointment so I'll get to spend about 4 hours at the hospital. I need a good book - any suggestions?
Other than that, we got the nursery done which is a huge task off the to-do list. We have car seats in the cars but still need to get them inspected for proper installation. We started packing a hospital bag. I also had my final baby shower this past Sunday. It was so fabulous and my girlfriends put in so much work to make it amazing. I can't thank them enough and I feel so lucky to have such great friends.
The hostesses and I - LOVE these girls!
After the shower Jeremy and I drove up to Ledges State Park to check out the leaves. We were a little early and most trees were still green but it was still a nice drive.
I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who reads this for all your sweet comments every week and on the nursery. They really mean so much.
I hope you all are having a good week!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Nursery
Ainsley and Benson's nursery is finished!
Take a look!
As you walk in the door.
The inspiration (bought before we were even expecting).
Their "Coming Home" outfits - washed and ready to go.
As you step into the room.
Cribs.
Bedding.
Monograms.
Rocking Chair.
Shelves.
Strange babies and some pink for my Grandma Betty!
Diapers and Wipes.
A Full Closet.
Now we just have to wait patiently for them to get here...
Take a look!
As you walk in the door.
The inspiration (bought before we were even expecting).
Their "Coming Home" outfits - washed and ready to go.
As you step into the room.
Cribs.
Bedding.
Monograms.
Rocking Chair.
Shelves.
Strange babies and some pink for my Grandma Betty!
Diapers and Wipes.
A Full Closet.
Now we just have to wait patiently for them to get here...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
33 Weeks
I am 33 weeks pregnant with Ainsley and Benson!
According to The Bump the babies weigh between 4.2lbs and 5.8lbs and are between 17.2in and 18.7in long. They are keeping their eyes open when they're awake. They are starting to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Their bones are hardening and they're going through more major brain development.
As far as pregnancy symptoms, I'm having it all. I am always hot! Especially at work, where even if it is 60 degrees outside it's, for some unknown reason, 75 degrees in the pharmacy. Thank goodness for fans. I actually had an older gentleman I was giving a flu shot to tell me I needed to wear sunscreen because I was all red from being so hot! Heartburn is still ridiculous but I'm sleeping on the couch in the recliner now so that is helping. Otherwise if I lay down in bed I wake up within about 20 minutes choking on stomach acid - gross, I know.
I had a non-stress test Tuesday then an OB appointment. The NST was "reactive" meaning the babies did what they were supposed to but it did take about an hour and twenty minutes. Ben wasn't wanting to cooperate but some apple juice did the trick and got him moving and doing what he should. The OB was uneventful as usual. Ainsley is still head down and Ben was breach this time. Another NST and OB appointment next week then an appointment with Dr. Drake at 35 weeks for a growth check.
People keep asking if we have everything ready. While my checklist is getting shorter I always think "Can you ever really be 'ready' for twins?" I think not. We will definitely be flying by the seats of our pants for awhile! All advice is welcome. If you have any "must haves" or advice you found especially helpful PLEASE let us know. We KNOW we don't know what we're doing. There are things you know you know...nevermind...
So, I think that's it for this week! I have another baby shower this weekend that my wonderful girlfriends are hosting and I can't wait to see everyone! I hope you all are having a great week!
According to The Bump the babies weigh between 4.2lbs and 5.8lbs and are between 17.2in and 18.7in long. They are keeping their eyes open when they're awake. They are starting to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Their bones are hardening and they're going through more major brain development.
As far as pregnancy symptoms, I'm having it all. I am always hot! Especially at work, where even if it is 60 degrees outside it's, for some unknown reason, 75 degrees in the pharmacy. Thank goodness for fans. I actually had an older gentleman I was giving a flu shot to tell me I needed to wear sunscreen because I was all red from being so hot! Heartburn is still ridiculous but I'm sleeping on the couch in the recliner now so that is helping. Otherwise if I lay down in bed I wake up within about 20 minutes choking on stomach acid - gross, I know.
I had a non-stress test Tuesday then an OB appointment. The NST was "reactive" meaning the babies did what they were supposed to but it did take about an hour and twenty minutes. Ben wasn't wanting to cooperate but some apple juice did the trick and got him moving and doing what he should. The OB was uneventful as usual. Ainsley is still head down and Ben was breach this time. Another NST and OB appointment next week then an appointment with Dr. Drake at 35 weeks for a growth check.
People keep asking if we have everything ready. While my checklist is getting shorter I always think "Can you ever really be 'ready' for twins?" I think not. We will definitely be flying by the seats of our pants for awhile! All advice is welcome. If you have any "must haves" or advice you found especially helpful PLEASE let us know. We KNOW we don't know what we're doing. There are things you know you know...nevermind...
So, I think that's it for this week! I have another baby shower this weekend that my wonderful girlfriends are hosting and I can't wait to see everyone! I hope you all are having a great week!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Maternity Pictures
Have you seen all the scary maternity pictures that are out there? I don't want to offend anyone if your into this sort of thing but some of these pictures are downright ridiculous in my opinion. For example...
How do you even find a photographer to do this? Is there a special section for naked photographers in the yellow pages?
Adam and Eve much?
I don't even know what to say about this. Her poor children!
So, I was a little reluctant to have maternity pictures taken. However, we have the greatest photographers ever and I knew if anyone could give us some non-freakish pictures it would be John and Mackenzie at Stalzer Photography. I made sure to ask Mackenzie if they do non-naked maternity pictures and since they do, we went last night and had some taken!
Here are all our favorites:
And she edited out all my stretch marks - yay!
I think they all turned out great. Now for the hard part...deciding what to order!
My most sincere thanks to John and Mackenzie for taking these wonderful pictures - you guys rock!
So, I was a little reluctant to have maternity pictures taken. However, we have the greatest photographers ever and I knew if anyone could give us some non-freakish pictures it would be John and Mackenzie at Stalzer Photography. I made sure to ask Mackenzie if they do non-naked maternity pictures and since they do, we went last night and had some taken!
Here are all our favorites:
And she edited out all my stretch marks - yay!
I think they all turned out great. Now for the hard part...deciding what to order!
My most sincere thanks to John and Mackenzie for taking these wonderful pictures - you guys rock!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
32 Weeks
I am 32 weeks pregnant with Ainsley and Benson!
There's been a lot going on the last few days. First I had TWO baby showers this past weekend which were fantastic. It was so great to see so many family and friends. And of course the babies got spoiled like crazy! They got so many wonderful gifts - now we just have to find a place to put everything!
Then I got sick. I started to get a sore throat Friday night and felt tired and icky on Saturday. Sunday night I felt down right miserable and didn't go to work Monday. I'm calling it a cold and I'm totally blaming Jeremy. He hadn't felt well last week but we thought it was just allergies. Apparently not though and he decided to share with me - how nice. I was a whiny baby all weekend but Jeremy has been taking care of me. I will say the worst part about having a cold when your pregnant is that everytime I cough I seriously wonder if I'm going to pee my pants! So far, so good though, in case you were wondering.
Today we had two appointments. The first with Dr. Drake, the perinatologist. The second with Dr. Newland, one of the OBs at The Iowa Clinic. Everything is looking good! They checked the babies' growth at Dr. Drake's office. They are estimating Ben at 4lbs 4oz and Ainsley at 4lbs 8oz. As far as when they will be here, Dr. Drake said she usually sees twins delivered around 35 weeks on average. That would be just THREE MORE WEEKS! I am under the impression they won't let me go more than about 38 weeks. Now, that being said, today I am measuring the same as someone who is 39 weeks pregnant with one baby. If I go 6 more weeks I'll be measuring like 45 weeks pregnant - YIKES! We did start our non-stress tests today and I now start going to the doctor every week. We have a lot to be thankful for in that the babies are healthy and I am healthy (besides the cold and feeling 8 months pregnant with twins)! We have been very fortunate to avoid any problems with blood pressure, diabetes, and many other things that can complicate a pregnancy. Now we just have to wait patiently for them to get here!
The nursery is ALMOST ready to share - I can't wait!
I hope you all have a great week!
There's been a lot going on the last few days. First I had TWO baby showers this past weekend which were fantastic. It was so great to see so many family and friends. And of course the babies got spoiled like crazy! They got so many wonderful gifts - now we just have to find a place to put everything!
Then I got sick. I started to get a sore throat Friday night and felt tired and icky on Saturday. Sunday night I felt down right miserable and didn't go to work Monday. I'm calling it a cold and I'm totally blaming Jeremy. He hadn't felt well last week but we thought it was just allergies. Apparently not though and he decided to share with me - how nice. I was a whiny baby all weekend but Jeremy has been taking care of me. I will say the worst part about having a cold when your pregnant is that everytime I cough I seriously wonder if I'm going to pee my pants! So far, so good though, in case you were wondering.
Today we had two appointments. The first with Dr. Drake, the perinatologist. The second with Dr. Newland, one of the OBs at The Iowa Clinic. Everything is looking good! They checked the babies' growth at Dr. Drake's office. They are estimating Ben at 4lbs 4oz and Ainsley at 4lbs 8oz. As far as when they will be here, Dr. Drake said she usually sees twins delivered around 35 weeks on average. That would be just THREE MORE WEEKS! I am under the impression they won't let me go more than about 38 weeks. Now, that being said, today I am measuring the same as someone who is 39 weeks pregnant with one baby. If I go 6 more weeks I'll be measuring like 45 weeks pregnant - YIKES! We did start our non-stress tests today and I now start going to the doctor every week. We have a lot to be thankful for in that the babies are healthy and I am healthy (besides the cold and feeling 8 months pregnant with twins)! We have been very fortunate to avoid any problems with blood pressure, diabetes, and many other things that can complicate a pregnancy. Now we just have to wait patiently for them to get here!
The nursery is ALMOST ready to share - I can't wait!
I hope you all have a great week!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
31 Weeks
I'm 31 weeks pregnant with Ainsley and Benson!
I keep having "Oh Crap!" moments where it suddenly dawns on me that we are having TWO babies! In a few weeks! It was such a long journey to get to this point that I really still have a hard time grasping it. I mean, we are getting everything ready, we are preparing, but I just can't picture it.
So a lot of people ask me my due date which is November 15th. It is VERY unlikely we will make it to that date. My personal goal is to get to 37 weeks. When we found out we were having twins the first thing I wanted to was to be able to bring them home from the hospital with us. This seems like a no-brainer with one baby (most of the time) but with twins it isn't always the case. I feel like if we can make it to 36 or 37 weeks we will have good size, healthy babies that will get to come home and never have to see the inside of a NICU. Fingers crossed!
The Bump says the babies are between 15.2 and 16.7 inches long and weigh 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. It says "He's getting so big, he's probably crowding your lungs." HA! You should see me try to counsel patients at work - I'm practically gasping for air. I'm sure people think I'm a total lunatic. Whatevs.
It also says this week, "Can you believe all five of baby’s senses are fully developed? He also keeps getting smarter. That’s probably good to know, since you might actually feel a little dumb. You’re not! It’s just that many moms-to-be find themselves acting absentmindedly during the third trimester." Yesterday I went to Target to look for two things - a storage container for diapers and wipes and a small table to put by the rocking chair. I left with a cardigan. Not because I couldn't find what I was looking for but because I couldn't remember what I went there for. Seriously.
Also yesterday I got my massage! Jeremy had given me a gift card for a massage several weeks ago and I just used it yesterday. It was quite nice! I was actually really nervous at first because I'd never had a massage before but it was SO relaxing. I would definitely recommend it. I went to Massage Heights here in Ankeny. I'd also like to say that they were hopping! It was crazy busy for 1pm on a Monday I thought. Am I the last person to know how great massages are?
I got these in the mail yesterday!
These are the twins' baby books! I ordered them off Etsy. Go figure.
The pages inside are really cute and modern.
I have two showers this weekend - one with Jeremy's family and one with mine. I'm very excited to see everyone!
I hope everyone is having a great week!
I keep having "Oh Crap!" moments where it suddenly dawns on me that we are having TWO babies! In a few weeks! It was such a long journey to get to this point that I really still have a hard time grasping it. I mean, we are getting everything ready, we are preparing, but I just can't picture it.
So a lot of people ask me my due date which is November 15th. It is VERY unlikely we will make it to that date. My personal goal is to get to 37 weeks. When we found out we were having twins the first thing I wanted to was to be able to bring them home from the hospital with us. This seems like a no-brainer with one baby (most of the time) but with twins it isn't always the case. I feel like if we can make it to 36 or 37 weeks we will have good size, healthy babies that will get to come home and never have to see the inside of a NICU. Fingers crossed!
The Bump says the babies are between 15.2 and 16.7 inches long and weigh 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. It says "He's getting so big, he's probably crowding your lungs." HA! You should see me try to counsel patients at work - I'm practically gasping for air. I'm sure people think I'm a total lunatic. Whatevs.
It also says this week, "Can you believe all five of baby’s senses are fully developed? He also keeps getting smarter. That’s probably good to know, since you might actually feel a little dumb. You’re not! It’s just that many moms-to-be find themselves acting absentmindedly during the third trimester." Yesterday I went to Target to look for two things - a storage container for diapers and wipes and a small table to put by the rocking chair. I left with a cardigan. Not because I couldn't find what I was looking for but because I couldn't remember what I went there for. Seriously.
Also yesterday I got my massage! Jeremy had given me a gift card for a massage several weeks ago and I just used it yesterday. It was quite nice! I was actually really nervous at first because I'd never had a massage before but it was SO relaxing. I would definitely recommend it. I went to Massage Heights here in Ankeny. I'd also like to say that they were hopping! It was crazy busy for 1pm on a Monday I thought. Am I the last person to know how great massages are?
I got these in the mail yesterday!
These are the twins' baby books! I ordered them off Etsy. Go figure.
The pages inside are really cute and modern.
I have two showers this weekend - one with Jeremy's family and one with mine. I'm very excited to see everyone!
I hope everyone is having a great week!
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