Yesterday was our 29 week appointment and the main focus of this appointment was my blood pressure issues. My blood pressure is still high. I thought that it would be significantly lower since my back quit hurting but surprisingly it was still high, which was very disappointing. It was 155/100 which is a slightly lower than last week but not enough to count. I still haven’t had any protein in my urine which is a good sign. I asked her how long they would let me go with high blood pressure and she said she wasn’t sure. She handed me a slip to set up my pre-admissions interview at the hospital which I had already done. I told her I was scheduled for April 7th and she suggested that I try and move it up a little sooner because she wasn’t sure if I would make it that far. I did my usual routine and got up on the scale. Bryan’s new thing is to adjust the weights to where he thinks my weight is before I get on the scale and see how close he can get it. He has been right on the past two weeks in a row. I have gained 4lbs since my visit last week. I don’t know how because these babies sure don’t leave much room for food. I think they have gone through a growth spurt. I am also measuring 40 weeks which is equal to a 9 month singleton pregnancy.
The nurse took us back to the room where we waited for Dr. Berg and Bryan had to listen to me complain about my blood pressure, I am sure this really helps keep it down. Dr. Berg did her usual ultrasound and the babies are still breech. I forgot to ask if there is still time for them to reposition but I am guessing they have run out of room and we will be having a c-section. We discussed my blood pressure and Dr. Berg explained the lab she would be ordering. She ordered some more blood work and a 24 hour urine collection. Yes, that’s right! I have to collect my urine for 24 hours. This test will tell them if my kidneys are tolerating the elevated blood pressure.
Dr. Berg explained that we needed to stop by the hospital and get a kit. The look on Bryan's face was priceless. He quickly said, "Kit! You mean she has to do this at home?" Dr Berg laughed and told him yes I would be doing this at home. He asked where I will keep it and she told him in the kit is a large brown jug that I will use the little catching device aka a “hat” to fill the jug and to keep it cool like in the refrigerator. He freaked out and said, "You are not putting that in with our food!" By then Dr Berg and I were laughing and he said, "She can go stay with her parents!" I could tell she got a real kick out of how squeamish he is so she said, "You have heard the apple juice stories right?" She explained the importance of getting every sample or you have to start the collection process over. So as we left Bryan could not stop talking about how gross it was and on and on until we stopped at the hospital and picked up my kit. I got back in the car with my bag full of goodies and Bryan said, "Seriously, I can drive up to Orofino and drop you off tonight." I told him I would find some other way to keep it cool during the day and then I will put it outside at night.
So the majority of my day has been collecting and transferring samples from the hat to the jug. I will turn it in tomorrow and then they will draw the blood work that goes with it (Dr. Berg did say that she does not anticipate any of the lab work to be abnormal, which is reassuring). I will also have my first of my bi-weekly non-stress tests tomorrow. In order to keep a close eye on how the babies are tolerating my blood pressure, Dr. Berg wants me to go up to Labor and Delivery to be hooked up to the monitors twice a week until the babies are born. It usually only takes about 15 minutes but our babies hate being hooked up to the monitor so the nurse said it could take several hours. They can also monitor my blood pressure while I am up there which has been more difficult for me to do on my own since I have been off work.
We have another appointment next Tuesday and we can repeat the fetal fibronectin test, the test that tells if I have an increased chance of going into labor in the next two weeks, if I chose to. I have not decided because it is pretty uncomfortable. I guess I will wait and see if Dr. Berg will use the results to determine her course of action or if it’s just for my piece of mind.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
7 Month Appointment
Today was our 7 month appointment. Which had been highly anticipated since all of the new developments in the last couple of weeks, but this morning I woke up with the worst backache I have ever had in my life. It has been coming off and on for the past couple of days but was the worst today.
I tried everything I could think of this morning before our appointment to get it under control including stretching, a warm bath, Tylenol etc, but nothing helped. I tried really hard to be cheerful and pleasant when they checked me in for our appointment but ended up crying from the pain. I told the nurse, “I know my blood pressure is going to be high from the pain” and of course it was. It was the highest it has been throughout the whole pregnancy, 160/100. This had everyone one a little concerned because this is pushing the limit as to how high they will let your blood pressure go. The nurse said, “We want to keep those babies in there a little longer but I don’t know how much further we are going to get you”. Thankfully there still has not been any protein in my urine so that has been reassuring.
After getting my weight (I only gained 3 lbs since my six month appointment) I got parked on my left side again. Dr Berg came in shortly after and said, “Uh Oh, you have been sentenced to your left side huh?” She rechecked my blood pressure and it was 114/64, which is very close to my pre-pregnancy blood pressure. She was pleased to hear that I had been taken off work because if it hadn’t have happened last week, it would have today.
She did her usual ultrasound to find the placement of the babies which are both feet down at this time. She believes this may be the cause of some of my back pain, since two weeks ago Baby A was transverse and was lying across the lower part of my belly. Both babies’ heart rates were great; Baby A (Braylon) 148 and Baby B (Kaden) 154. She also measured my belly which has again grown 2 centimeters in the last week. I now measure 35 centimeters although, I am only 28 weeks.
We talked about the Braxton Hicks Contracts I have been having and decided it would be worth doing a Fetal Fibronectin Test. This test is used to help predict if a mother is at risk of going into preterm labor in approximately the next 2 weeks. At 3:30pm this afternoon we got the results which were negative, this means that the odds that I will go into labor in the next 2 weeks are highly unlikely. She also checked my cervix to be sure the contractions were not causing me to dilate and my cervix was still closed.
Because my blood pressure was so high during this appointment I have to go back weekly for the next two weeks. She has decided to leave me off strict bed rest at this time but I have to spend the majority of my day off my feet.
After a long nap this afternoon my back finally started to feel a little better and actually popped when I sat up which relieved about 50% of the pain. Hopefully it will continue to improve and my blood pressure will be back down at our next appointment.
I tried everything I could think of this morning before our appointment to get it under control including stretching, a warm bath, Tylenol etc, but nothing helped. I tried really hard to be cheerful and pleasant when they checked me in for our appointment but ended up crying from the pain. I told the nurse, “I know my blood pressure is going to be high from the pain” and of course it was. It was the highest it has been throughout the whole pregnancy, 160/100. This had everyone one a little concerned because this is pushing the limit as to how high they will let your blood pressure go. The nurse said, “We want to keep those babies in there a little longer but I don’t know how much further we are going to get you”. Thankfully there still has not been any protein in my urine so that has been reassuring.
After getting my weight (I only gained 3 lbs since my six month appointment) I got parked on my left side again. Dr Berg came in shortly after and said, “Uh Oh, you have been sentenced to your left side huh?” She rechecked my blood pressure and it was 114/64, which is very close to my pre-pregnancy blood pressure. She was pleased to hear that I had been taken off work because if it hadn’t have happened last week, it would have today.
She did her usual ultrasound to find the placement of the babies which are both feet down at this time. She believes this may be the cause of some of my back pain, since two weeks ago Baby A was transverse and was lying across the lower part of my belly. Both babies’ heart rates were great; Baby A (Braylon) 148 and Baby B (Kaden) 154. She also measured my belly which has again grown 2 centimeters in the last week. I now measure 35 centimeters although, I am only 28 weeks.
We talked about the Braxton Hicks Contracts I have been having and decided it would be worth doing a Fetal Fibronectin Test. This test is used to help predict if a mother is at risk of going into preterm labor in approximately the next 2 weeks. At 3:30pm this afternoon we got the results which were negative, this means that the odds that I will go into labor in the next 2 weeks are highly unlikely. She also checked my cervix to be sure the contractions were not causing me to dilate and my cervix was still closed.
Because my blood pressure was so high during this appointment I have to go back weekly for the next two weeks. She has decided to leave me off strict bed rest at this time but I have to spend the majority of my day off my feet.
After a long nap this afternoon my back finally started to feel a little better and actually popped when I sat up which relieved about 50% of the pain. Hopefully it will continue to improve and my blood pressure will be back down at our next appointment.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Keeping the buns in the oven!
So I have officially been taken off work until at least 6 weeks after the babies are born. Between my blood pressure issues and my new onset of contractions Dr Demeyer, Dr Berg's partner, decided it would be best if I stayed off my feet as much as possible in order to keep the babies in my belly a while longer.
Fortunately I had all weekend to prepare for this. My parents came down for a very relaxing visit last Friday. We went to lunch and a movie. During the movie the babies were really active so we all kept feeling my belly. About half way through the movie I noticed my tummy was getting hard as a rock and then it would go away for a while, then it would get hard again. I was so unsure that I had my mom feel to tell me if she thought they were contractions or just babies moving, but she agreed that they were probably Braxton Hicks.
I had recently read that Braxton Hicks are normal throughout pregnancy but to call your doctor if you have four or more contractions in an hour. After I got home from the movies I did everything they told us in Lamaze class. I emptied my bladder, grabbed a glass of water, and plopped down on my left side and started counting and timing them. Even after trying all the techniques to stop the contractions they kept coming, although not regularly, I had 4-5 in one hour so I decided to call up to Labor and Delivery. They agreed that it was worth checking into and told me to come get hooked up to the monitor.
Of course, for the first hour that I was there the contractions had stopped completely. I told the nurse “Maybe I’m crazy”. My blood pressure was also elevated so they decided that since I was there they would go ahead a do some lab work before sending me home and while waiting for the results keep me hooked up to the monitor. I asked if I could use the bathroom in the meantime and right when the nurse had taken me off the monitor I had a contraction. I said “Here you feel. Is that a baby or a contraction?” She said “Oh, no. That is definitely a contraction”. I had two contractions before making it to the bathroom and then three immediately after she hooked me back up to the monitor that I did not even notice.
The nurse had me lay on my left side and called the doctor on-call. They decided it was worth monitoring for another hour. During that hour I had two contractions that I could feel and several that I could not feel. Because they were so irregular they felt that it was safe to send me home on bed rest until I could get into my doctor. Dr. Bigsby told the nurse I was lucky to have worked this long, they use to take twin moms off work, complications or not, at 20 weeks. The nurse warned me that this may be reason enough for my doctor to consider taking me off work. I cried and contracted some more but thankfully Bryan was there to give me a pep talk and convince me that we would be okay. He said, “All that matters is keeping you and the babies healthy”.
Since my doctor is out until Thursday, I was scheduled to see her partner on Tuesday. He checked the babies’ heart rates, which were great, and talked to me about these contractions. He felt it was necessary to take me off work. I knew it was coming, so I wasn’t surprised. I called work and set up all my insurance stuff and Bryan and I went to Costco to stock up on food for me to snack on during the day. We also went to Hastings where he insisted that I pick out at least one movie. He also tried to find some games for the Wii that I could play sitting down but all the ones I would enjoy were rented out.
Although I will miss work and the people that I work with, I have come to terms with the fact that I will have to lay low until these little guys get here and do all that I can to make sure they don’t get here too soon. I have decided to not stress about whether or not my position will still be available after my 12 weeks of FMLA (Family Medical Leave of Absence) is up and figure that everything happens for a reason. My new job is keeping these buns in the oven.
We have our regular scheduled 2 week appointment Tuesday the 16th so I should have more information about what’s going on then.
Fortunately I had all weekend to prepare for this. My parents came down for a very relaxing visit last Friday. We went to lunch and a movie. During the movie the babies were really active so we all kept feeling my belly. About half way through the movie I noticed my tummy was getting hard as a rock and then it would go away for a while, then it would get hard again. I was so unsure that I had my mom feel to tell me if she thought they were contractions or just babies moving, but she agreed that they were probably Braxton Hicks.
I had recently read that Braxton Hicks are normal throughout pregnancy but to call your doctor if you have four or more contractions in an hour. After I got home from the movies I did everything they told us in Lamaze class. I emptied my bladder, grabbed a glass of water, and plopped down on my left side and started counting and timing them. Even after trying all the techniques to stop the contractions they kept coming, although not regularly, I had 4-5 in one hour so I decided to call up to Labor and Delivery. They agreed that it was worth checking into and told me to come get hooked up to the monitor.
Of course, for the first hour that I was there the contractions had stopped completely. I told the nurse “Maybe I’m crazy”. My blood pressure was also elevated so they decided that since I was there they would go ahead a do some lab work before sending me home and while waiting for the results keep me hooked up to the monitor. I asked if I could use the bathroom in the meantime and right when the nurse had taken me off the monitor I had a contraction. I said “Here you feel. Is that a baby or a contraction?” She said “Oh, no. That is definitely a contraction”. I had two contractions before making it to the bathroom and then three immediately after she hooked me back up to the monitor that I did not even notice.
The nurse had me lay on my left side and called the doctor on-call. They decided it was worth monitoring for another hour. During that hour I had two contractions that I could feel and several that I could not feel. Because they were so irregular they felt that it was safe to send me home on bed rest until I could get into my doctor. Dr. Bigsby told the nurse I was lucky to have worked this long, they use to take twin moms off work, complications or not, at 20 weeks. The nurse warned me that this may be reason enough for my doctor to consider taking me off work. I cried and contracted some more but thankfully Bryan was there to give me a pep talk and convince me that we would be okay. He said, “All that matters is keeping you and the babies healthy”.
Since my doctor is out until Thursday, I was scheduled to see her partner on Tuesday. He checked the babies’ heart rates, which were great, and talked to me about these contractions. He felt it was necessary to take me off work. I knew it was coming, so I wasn’t surprised. I called work and set up all my insurance stuff and Bryan and I went to Costco to stock up on food for me to snack on during the day. We also went to Hastings where he insisted that I pick out at least one movie. He also tried to find some games for the Wii that I could play sitting down but all the ones I would enjoy were rented out.
Although I will miss work and the people that I work with, I have come to terms with the fact that I will have to lay low until these little guys get here and do all that I can to make sure they don’t get here too soon. I have decided to not stress about whether or not my position will still be available after my 12 weeks of FMLA (Family Medical Leave of Absence) is up and figure that everything happens for a reason. My new job is keeping these buns in the oven.
We have our regular scheduled 2 week appointment Tuesday the 16th so I should have more information about what’s going on then.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
6 1/2 Month Appointment
Yesterday we had our 6 1/2 month appointment. We went over the results from our 25 week ultrasound and the babies look great. Baby A is transverse which means he is lying across the lower half of my belly and Baby B is breech and is curled up on my left side, but Dr. Berg says they still have time to move into the right position for delivery. If they stay put then I will have to have a c-section, which I have pretty much prepared myself for.
The other good news is that I did not gain any weight since our last appointment. I was pretty excited. Although my weight gain has been within the average of 6-8 lbs per month, it's still a little sad to step on the scale and watch it leap its way up. The bad news is that my blood pressure was high again. It was 148/100 which was the same as last time but since it has been consistently high these last couple of visits I have earned the diagnosis of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension.
According to one of my pregnancy books, the more babies you are carrying, the more placenta you've got (you can 1 or 2 placentas with twins; in my case I have 2). The added amount of placenta (along with the added hormones that come with two babies) can sometimes lead to high blood pressure, which may in turn may progress to preeclampsia. Preeclampsia affects one in four mothers of twins. It is described as high blood pressure and protein in the urine.
Fortunately, all of my urine dips have been "perfect" which means there has been no protein. Unfortunately, my blood pressure issue has also earned me some limitations. I am now restricted to less than or equal to 8 hour shifts at work. Dr. Berg wanted to restrict me to 6 hours but with some negotiation I was able to get her to agree to eights. Our schedules at work are a mixture of 8 or 12 hour shifts and I was afraid 6 hours would make it too hard to schedule. In order to get her to agree to 8 hour shifts I had to agree to spot check my blood pressure at work and rest on my days off. This means no housework like vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, etc. I have to spend the majority of my time off lying around rotating between lying on my left and right side. She has decided to let me try this before taking me off work completely and as long as my blood pressure stays the same I can continue to work. If it increases to 160/110 I'm "done," as they put it. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed and doing as I am told. We have another appointment in two weeks.
Back on a positive note, the babies are really active now and I can tell who is who when they are moving, except when they are kicking each other. They have grown so much that during some of the ultrasounds it is difficult to tell who's limbs belong to who even though they are in separate sacks. Their movements have gotten so big, not only can you feel them from the outside you can see them now too. They are also reacting to touch and sound. If I push quickly on my belly they kick/hit back and if I put headphones with music on my belly they move around and kick. Lying on the couch and feeling or watching the babies move has turned into one of our favorite past times.
The other good news is that I did not gain any weight since our last appointment. I was pretty excited. Although my weight gain has been within the average of 6-8 lbs per month, it's still a little sad to step on the scale and watch it leap its way up. The bad news is that my blood pressure was high again. It was 148/100 which was the same as last time but since it has been consistently high these last couple of visits I have earned the diagnosis of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension.
According to one of my pregnancy books, the more babies you are carrying, the more placenta you've got (you can 1 or 2 placentas with twins; in my case I have 2). The added amount of placenta (along with the added hormones that come with two babies) can sometimes lead to high blood pressure, which may in turn may progress to preeclampsia. Preeclampsia affects one in four mothers of twins. It is described as high blood pressure and protein in the urine.
Fortunately, all of my urine dips have been "perfect" which means there has been no protein. Unfortunately, my blood pressure issue has also earned me some limitations. I am now restricted to less than or equal to 8 hour shifts at work. Dr. Berg wanted to restrict me to 6 hours but with some negotiation I was able to get her to agree to eights. Our schedules at work are a mixture of 8 or 12 hour shifts and I was afraid 6 hours would make it too hard to schedule. In order to get her to agree to 8 hour shifts I had to agree to spot check my blood pressure at work and rest on my days off. This means no housework like vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, etc. I have to spend the majority of my time off lying around rotating between lying on my left and right side. She has decided to let me try this before taking me off work completely and as long as my blood pressure stays the same I can continue to work. If it increases to 160/110 I'm "done," as they put it. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed and doing as I am told. We have another appointment in two weeks.
Back on a positive note, the babies are really active now and I can tell who is who when they are moving, except when they are kicking each other. They have grown so much that during some of the ultrasounds it is difficult to tell who's limbs belong to who even though they are in separate sacks. Their movements have gotten so big, not only can you feel them from the outside you can see them now too. They are also reacting to touch and sound. If I push quickly on my belly they kick/hit back and if I put headphones with music on my belly they move around and kick. Lying on the couch and feeling or watching the babies move has turned into one of our favorite past times.
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