34 weeks

There has been so much going on but I finally found a few minutes to update this blog.    It's been a pretty rough week but I'm happy to report that we seemed to have survived and have achieved a major milestone.  34 weeks.  This number is extremely meaningful to all twin-carrying women because it is the final frontier of baby safety.  Our babies have reached full fetal maturity and the likelihood of major health or developmental problems has dramatically dropped!  woohoo!!!!

Onto the events of the past week.  I think Dan would agree when I say its been the most difficult week of our pregnancy yet.  I have been hospitalized 4 times in 7 days.  Last Monday during my regular appointment it seemed that I had quickly developed a severe form of pre-eclampsia.  For those that don't know what that is, its a form of pregnancy induced hypertension that can range from mild to life threatening for the mother and babies.  Dramatic, I know. It's a cluster of symptoms that show up as a reaction in the mother's body and its like my body is just really angry at the placenta. If my body could talk it would be saying something like "thanks for these last 9 months, but honestly, I'm done now."   Maybe even a white surrender flag should be waving around.  There is nothing that a mother has done/could do to bring it on and the only cure is delivery. Twins are a major risk factor with this condition, but its a fairly common pregnancy complication. Also, after I deliver, the doctors say I'll feel better within hours. 

Back to the appointment... It's Monday and the doctor walks up to me (I'm only 33 weeks pregnant) and she says, you are very sick and we need to take the babies out. Probably now.   I melted down. It was NOT time yet.  I cried. I headed to Labor and Delivery and I got a bunch of testing and monitoring and the good news was that after a number of hours things started to calm down.  I ended up staying until Wednesday and was discharged to strict bedrest at home with instructions to come back if anything changed. The plan was to see how long we could manage it through bedrest, monitoring, fluids and diet before my body really tanked and we called this pregnancy quits.  So over the next few days I got worse and then better and then worse again, with lots of sickness, discomfort and frustration.  I would get sicker, go into the hospital, stabilize and then head home just to do it again within 2 days.   The doctors monitor me and the girls and make sure all my body chemistry is holding out.  It's lots of blood draws, monitors, cords, samples, etc.....  It's all a little scary, and the "lets wait and see how sick we will let you get" has been so hard on both Dan and I.  

By the end of the week I was able to talk with some specialists and they confirmed everything my regular doctors thought and told me the same plan: "Let's see how long (day by day) we can keep you going so that these girls get as many days in utero as possible"  They warned me that I will get sicker and I will become more and more miserable. (oh joy!)  They also said we would absolutely not let me go past 37 weeks (May 18) regardless of how good the pre-eclampsia was. I received some steroid shots for the babies lung's to help speed up development in case things got really bad, really quick. 

So everytime we would head into the hospital, we'd wonder:  are we having babies today?  The packing and unpacking, anxiety, anticipation, questions, mysteries, sickness, ... ugh. It's exhausting. 

So today is over, which means it's another day done.  That is a good thing for our girls.  I'm sick, but hanging in there.  My mom reminds me that this is all part of the lifelong sacrificing for your children because you love them. I'm looking forward to knowing that my girls are healthier (and clearly more likely to be geniuses) because we did out best to stick out some seriously sick times! 

So it's week 34 and I could very well deliver the babies this week, who knows what my health will be like and how I'll make it through the week.  I head into the doctor first thing in the morning so we will see how it goes.  

I'd also like to mention that Dan and I are so appreciative for all the support and prayer from everyone.  I've been totally incapacitated and Dan has had to manage a lot.  People dropping off dinners, visiting, calling and just letting us know they are here for us if we should need something has been so comforting. Thank you to everyone. We're already planning a killer "thank you party" for sometime this summer :)