Summertime Blues!

Well, a lot has changed and Dustin and I are really thankful that God works in the way that he does. I was going to be going to school this last term and was really excited about it, however Dustin had a heart to heart with me as well as my parents and I felt that their concern was legitimate. Even though I didn't like postponing my plans and what I wanted to do I felt that they all made valid points and chose to please them instead of trying to do it all on my own. Thank the Lord I am not enrolled in school right now. On Wednesday the 6th I had a normal OB appointment for the twins and was told that my cervix had shortened and changed so much from the last time I had been there that I needed to be sent over to Emanuel for high risk pregnancy with the chance of going into pre-term labor. I had been having contractions the night before my appointment so it was a little unnerving to think that we could already be having these babies. We went over to Emanuel and I was admitted and shortly after Dr. Winkler (fabulous doctor!) came in and did a preliminary ultrasound to make sure that the babies were still doing alright. The boys were doing great! They both looked active and about the same size, which is something they look for to see if there is any twin to twin transfusion. They started me on the monitor to see how often I was contracting and how big they were. When they saw that I wasn't making it all up they decided to put me on some Niphedepine for the contractions. Also, as a precaution they decided to give me two doses of a steroid to help the babies lungs and brain develop faster. I got one shot of it on my right hip and I would get the next shot the next day. We were stuck there for the night. Dustin and I made all the arrangements we needed to for Boston and looked forward to the next day when we thought we would be able to go home. We weren't so lucky. After a series of tests and exams they decided to keep me another couple nights to make sure they could stop the contractions. One night I was having them so often that they gave me three doses of the contraction medicine and an ambien to sleep. I got ambien each night except for the last. That seemed to have stopped the contractions to their liking. We stayed there til Mother's day on the 10th just for extra observation and to ensure I would be ok with monitoring myself from home. On Thursday they had run a fetal fiber-nectin which was a test that could sense the hormone that is secreted when you go into labor. I tested negative meaning that the hormone was not present. This was reassuring to the doctor's because even though it isn't 100% accurate it is a fairly good piece of information and something that they rely on quite a bit. I was super excited to go home and see Boston who I had only seen once since being admitted. My first Mother's day and I got a wonderful present, going home on bedrest! At least I would get to see my baby! 

Now we are just waiting around and hoping that the twins bake until I am 32 weeks along. The doctors at Emanuel probably wouldn't stop my labor if I got to that stage in the pregnancy. The survival rate for the twins, even now, is 95% and of that 95%, 85% are perfectly healthy. The survival rate doesn't change much from week to week after about 28 weeks but the chances for healthier babies goes up. So that's what we are hoping for.