April
 
 

April 1, 2004  (25w5d)
I had another appointment with Dr. Sumner's office today.  What a way to spend spring vacation!  Well good news all around.  All is well, the babies all look good, my cervix is holding very well (4.3 cm) and my blood pressure was 112/70.  I am measuring 39 weeks pregnant at this point.  It does start to make things a bit more on the uncomfortable side.  I get to take the glucose tolerance test next appointment, which will be in two weeks.  Being that it was a festive day, we had a little fun on the way home...we called grandma and Aunt Darlene and asked how quickly they could get the hospital.  After a small bit of excitement, I just told them we were checking drive times and that everything was fine, since it was April Fool's Day.

April 15, 2004  (27w5d)
My cervix had started to thin (2.8 cm), but at this time he thought it was caused by the increase in weight from the babies.  I measured 40+ weeks so my appointments were changed to weekly appointments.  They drew blood for the Glucose test and the results came back at 81.  The number that shows gestational diabetes is 145, so that is very good.  They asked about contractions and I said that I hadn't had any.  They decided to hook my up to a monitor to check.  In a 30 minute period, I had a very mild one, that I was not able to feel, so they concluded at that point I was not having contractions that were purposeful at that point.

April 18, 2004 - Shower in Noblesville  Click here to see the invitation
We had a great day with weather and visitors.  The babies received so many gifts, it was so amazing.    We had packages from Ohio and Illinois, and friends from Ohio.  We had a lot of family here too!  They will be so loved!!

April 22, 2004  (28w5d)
Well today had to be the day to make trouble, I guess.  My cervix had thinned to 1.4 cm and that is a little too close for him.  He asked if I was still teaching and I said that yes I was, he said you were?  So that meant bedrest has officially started.  He also prescribed a terbutaline pump and a home monitor with a high risk nurse, who I will need to send information to 2 times a day.  He also prescribed a series of steroids so that if we can't delay the delivery, the babies lungs will have a chance to mature before they arrive.  When the took my blood pressure even after hearing all of this news it was still 112/72.  He said that was a good sign, but he wants to see some improvement or my condition holding steady by Tuesday afternoon, otherwise there s a good chance I will be in the hospital.  So much for not causing trouble!

April 26, 2004  (29w2d)
Bed rest is not fun!!  It stinks!!  I am not doing very well.  I am having trouble breathing and feel a bit jittery.  The home nurses say that some of that is normal.  Chad didn't seem to think so, he called the doctor's office and asked.  They wanted to know if I could finish a sentence without having breathing trouble.  When he told them no they wanted me to go to the hospital for a possible reaction to the medicine.  I shut the pump off and seemed to get a little better but not fully recovered. When we checked in, they sent me for a chest x-ray which initially came back with a diagnosis of heart failure.  They admitted me to the high risk maternity ward and I spent all day Tuesday being worked on.  I had a echocardiogram and a EKG to rule out the heart failure and it did.  They knew from the initial x-ray, that I had fluid in my lungs, so they gave me 2 rounds of lasix to pull of the excess fluids.  That helped but the next day they gave me another x-ray which showed pneumonia, since I was pregnant that meant that I had to stay until it was all cleared up.  In the meantime I was given an ultrasound to assess the babies, they were all fine.  Baby A was 2 lbs and 1 ounce, Baby B was 2 lbs and 14 ounces and Baby C was 2 lbs and 15 ounces.  Baby A flipped and she is heads down sitting right on top of my cervix.  They all passed the biophysical profile which measures breathing, fluid level, heart rate and movement. They check their heart beats each day, which is kind of cool to see them so often, but at the expense of living in the hospital.