Monday, January 20, 2014

25 & 26 Weeks - And Bedrest?

25 weeks
26 weeks--don't I look funny with my hair like that?  haha.
I'm not drying it these days since it requires me to stand for too long. 
 How Far Along:  26 weeks
How Big are the Babies?  size/length of cucumbers or green onions
Maternity Clothes: Yes!
Movement:  Well, yes, they're pretty active.  But over this past weekend, there's been some unwanted "excitement" involving OB triage, being admitted to the antepartum unit to monitor for contractions...  they were super busy and active until we got home late Saturday, and they've seemed to chill out the past few days.  But they are rumbling and tumbling around in there, for sure!  When we had our ultrasound on Friday, Baby A had his legs up over his head the whole time--it was so funny!  Doing his yoga :)
Belly button in or out? My little innie is flattening out!  
What I miss:  I've been put on bedrest... so I miss normal life for sure. Read below for more deets. 
Milestones:  Well, reaching 26 weeks is major for these little guys.  24 weeks is the earliest that a baby has been born and lived, and their chances of survival only grow as the weeks go by.  Obviously, I do not want them to be born anytime soon, but this is good news.
Food Cravings:  Nothing really, but fruit is still delish.
Aversions: I don't think there's anything right now!
Symptoms: I'm having tightening in my abdomen a lot more than usual... maybe these are the contractions everyone is concerned about.  And some back pain.  The great thing is my swelling has decreased significantly.
Biggest Moment this week: So, we went in for our routine ultrasound on Friday to check their growth, etc.  They both looked great.  Baby A weighs approximately 1 lb 11 oz and Baby B weighs 1 lb 14 oz.  At the very end, we checked the length of my cervix, routinely.  Unfortunately, the ultrasound tech saw that mine had shortened by 1.5 cm in the past 4 weeks, which isn't good.  There is also "funneling" of my cervix, which indicates that it might be dilating on the inside.  The Radiologist came in and talked to me about everything, asking if I've been having any contractions, etc.  Nothing that I knew of... this is my first pregnancy!  I don't know what aches and pains are good or bad.  My OB was notified and she sent me to the hospital OB triage to be monitored for contractions.  We stayed there for about 4 hours.  They only saw uterine irritability--no contractions.  But the doctor on call was very serious about everything and said that it's very important that we keep these babies in (agreed!) and that I need to be on bedrest until I see my doctor again.  I got a steroid shot and was told to come back 24 hrs later to get the second shot--these are prophylactic in case the babies come in the next few weeks--the steroids help build up their little lungs.  He also wanted me to come back the next day to get a test done-- fetal fibronectin.  If it's positive, I will be admitted; if it's negative that's great.  So, I was planning on returning 24 hrs later at 3pm Saturday, but I was woken up at 3 am by intense tightening in my belly and back pain.  I moved to the couch but really was uncomfortable for the next few hours.  I didn't know what to do, but finally around 6:30 am I paged the on call doctor, and she told me to come in now.  Sigh.  So, we went back to OB triage and I ended up being sent to the antepartum unit for observation.  Over the course of 8 hrs, they saw 5 contractions, which wasn't too bad, and my fFN test was negative.  Praise God!  So again I was sent home on bedrest.  I have a follow up with my OB tomorrow, and we'll find out if bedrest is going to last or if it'll just be for a little bit.  I'm obviously hoping to not have to be on bedrest!!  I would love to be able to keep working and lying around all day long is NOT fun to me.  Especially when I have so much I feel like I still need to get done :(  I'm definitely taking this week off of work.  This is all a little nerve wracking (to say the least), but I'm continuing to learn how to trust God in the midst of difficulty.  We're holding onto His promises of life!

What I'm looking forward to: My appointment tomorrow!

2 comments:

  1. keep us posted! praying for you and your babies! :)

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  2. So fun to follow along with your pregnancy! And glad you have made it so far! There was a baby in the NICU when Sophie was there who was 23 weeks at birth. Isn't that crazy ?!? And 22 is the VERY earliest they can be born and survive (obviously, the earlier they are, the more problems arise). Sophie was 25 weeks, and is doing great today (4 yrs. old), so if you do end up delivering early, just know that they can do really well despite being premature.

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