Babies:: 32 Weeks

Sunday night I was hanging out on the couch eating a very yummy "special chocolate malt" from Winsteads and Vince was giving Ben a bath-then all the sudden my vision got weird. It wasn't blurry but there was lots of spots & lines-I have never had something like this happen before. So I sat there for a few minutes and it didn't get better so got up to tell Vince. He had me lay down and took my blood pressure. My bp wasn't great but it wasn't dangerously high, my neck was sore from laying around for days so we thought maybe it was a pinched nerve. After about 30 minutes my vision got better and my neck was still sore but Vince was rubbing it and had the heating pad on it and it was feeling better. So we called it a night and went to sleep. Monday morning when I first got up my vision was fine but within a few minutes I had a headache and my vision was getting weird again. At this point Ben is watching tv in our bed, Vince is in the shower getting ready for work and I'm trying to figure out if I should call the doctor or wait until our doctor/ultrasound appointment at 1:30pm. We decided since it had been over an hour and it wasn't getting better we should call the doctor. The nurse told us to come in and they would squeeze us in. We had to wait a bit for our ultrasound but both babies were fine. Plenty of fluid and they were practicing breathing. So that was great news!

My mom came and grabbed Ben right after the ultrasound thank goodness-he was losing patience fast sitting in the office. The nurse took my bp a few times and it was in that 140/90ish range. Dr P came in and said it was off to the hospital. Headache, high bp and vision issues are not things to mess around with. Before we left she did check my cervix and there was no change from Thursday so that was good news! We got put in labor & delivery triage and spent the next few hours there. My headache was awful and they wouldn't let me have anything for it until all my test results came back so I laid in the dark with an ice pack on my head for what seemed like forever. The babies were on the monitors and were still looking good. Finally I was allowed some tylenol about 1:30 and then got word we were getting moved to a real room for a bit. Most of my blood work was back and was looking good but Dr P wanted Dr Wickstrom the Maternal Fetal Specialist to see me. We had seen her after our 12, 18 and 22 week anatomy scans so we knew her and knew she was really nice. So at this point my headache and vision was better my bp was running at my "new normal" and the babies were doing good so we thought we would be on our way home soon. Then Dr W came in the room and we were not prepared at all for what was about to happen. She said after looking at my blood and urine results that we had two issues-first my iron levels were very low but more seriously she was concerned that I was at risk for a seizure. She was very concerned that my brain was swollen and that we needed to do something immediately. She explained that the course of treatment was to start a 24 hour magnesium iv drip. The magnesium is a muscle relaxant and it relaxes the blood vessels to help prevent seizures. She warned us that the next 24 hours were going to be very unpleasant. The mag was going to make me really sick-and the first 30 minutes was going to be the worst because she was going to push a very large dose in and fast. She said I was going to feel like I was on fire. The decision was made by Dr P & Dr W to wait until the 24 hour mag drip was over before they addressed the iron issue. And we were told to prepare for a long hospital stay. Before I could even begin to process anything I was getting changed into a gown and my iv line was getting placed. Then basins of ice water and wash clothes were brought in the room to help keep me cool. Then is started...5:37pm and I just kept telling myself I just needed to make it until 6:07pm and the "worst" would be over. 

I was one of the lucky ones I guess-while I felt super sick & hot I didn't literally feel like I was on fire. About 10 minutes in a nurse practitioner from the nicu came down to talk to us. This was our second unexpected blow in under an hour. We were told to be prepared for the babies to be born the next morning at exactly 32 weeks and what we should expect from "32 weekers". Talk about another Holy Shit moment. No one had even made a slight mention about the babies being born early. My parents had Ben and Matt brought up my hospital bag (that I had just packed Sunday) and had packed a bag for Vince. And now he was headed back to our house to get the diaper bag and our camera so we were prepared for the delivery. So the very long night wore on and on. We were told a decision would be made in the morning based on how my bp was throughout the night, how the babies were doing, how new blood work came back and how my 24 hour urine catch results came back. We were up all night long. The babies and I had to be monitored constantly. And the babies were not happy about being on the monitors so the nurses were constantly having to readjust the monitors. I wasn't allowed any ice, water or food after midnight in case they had to take the babies in the morning. That made the mag drip even worse since I was so hot and thirsty and couldn't do anything but rinse my mouth out with water. I can easily say it was one of the worst nights ever. Tuesday morning Dr P came in to see us and said that while we were still waiting on the 24hr urine results everything else was looking good. She didn't think that I had developed pre-eclampsia , or that babies would not be making an appearance today and that I more than likely had a pregnancy induced migraine. But with a history of pre-eclampsia and being pregnant with twins they needed to be on high alert and overly cautious. She said we had to wait for the final results and Dr W needed to come see me before we could turn off the mag drip. But she did allow me to have ice chips & water. I can't even tell you how good those damn ice chips were! I managed to take a little nap but woke up feeling even worse. After another zofran and tylenol dose I felt a bit better. Dr W came in about 1:30 with the news that we could stop the mag drip! But she wanted to immediately start the iv iron drip. That meant one more hour of the babies and me hooked up then we would be free to get up for a shower. She was in agreeance with Dr P with that I hadn't developed pre-eclampsia as of yet but she wanted to monitor me one more night. After my iron treatment I got to take one of the best showers ever! No more monitors on my belly constantly, no more blood pressure cuff but I still had to have the iv attached for fluids until bedtime.

The babies had to pass a 30 minute "test" on the monitors before bed and then again at 6:15am but other than that they got to be left alone too. I only had to have my vitals taken every 4 hours so we actually got good sleep Tuesday night and woke up to the news we had been waiting for we got to go home! I had to continue bed rest and come back to the hospital Friday and Monday for more iv iron therapy, blood work, bp monitoring and baby monitoring and then go next Thursday for my regular weekly ultrasound/doctor appointment. I have been told we will be making more trips to labor & delivery before its all said and done. And we have been warned that the likely hood of making it to even 36 weeks isn't great now but our new goal is 34 weeks. Everyday I can keep them in my belly is said to be 3 less days in the nicu. So now we are taking it day by day by hopeful day.

Babies:: Weeks 29, 30 & 31

Week 29: This week was uneventful as far as my pregnancy was concerned. Ben had his second snow day of the week the day of my weekly doctors appointment so he got to come along. His favorite part is getting to hear the babies heartbeats! He even got upset and started telling Dr P that she forgot to listen to his sisters heart-it was so cute! That Saturday we kept with tradition and grabbed my parents and headed to Sheehan's Irish Imports and picked out crosses for the babies. I knew there was something we were forgetting to do for the nursery and then it finally hit me-they needed their Irish crosses. When I was pregnant with Ben and my parents were out helping with the nursery we went to the local Irish shop and picked out one for Ben so it only felt right to continue the tradition with them. We haven't gotten them hung yet but its on the project list for this weekend!

Week 30: This week was a bit more drama filled than previous weeks. At my doctors appointment I had my normal 4 week ultrasound. Both babies looked great! Sister weighing in at 3lbs 7oz but still head up. Brother weighed in at 3lbs 8oz still head down. The pictures we get now aren't great because the babies are so much bigger and the babies are so smashed. I really feel bad for them! During my actual doctors appointment I had 2 high blood pressure readings...143/90. The danger line is 140/90. I also had some white blood cells & blood in my urine and that meant I had a uti. Luckily my 3rd blood pressure reading dropped enough after laying on my side that I narrowly escaped a trip to labor & delivery. My antibiotic for the uti said to take with food so I waited until dinner to take my first dose. Vince was at a work function so it was just me and Ben that night so we had breakfast for dinner! About 30 minutes later my eyes started itching which I thought was weird, then my ears, then my throat got really itchy and swollen which was starting to get scary and then I got a rash & welts on my arms. I dug the drug info sheet out of the trash and realized I was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. Thank God for my sister-in-law Angela being a nurse practitioner. I knew I could reach her faster than calling the doctors answering service and waiting for a call back. I will totally admit I was freaking out a bit that I was home alone with a 3 year old and didn't know if the reaction was going to keep getting worse. Angela told me to take a Zyrtec & Pepcid and then she had me call Vince to have him come home immediately, then call the doctors office and then call 911 if it continued to get worse. Thank God the meds started to work, Vince came right home and the doctor on called back and confirmed that Angela had me do everything right. So after about an hour I was still just a little itchy but by morning I was good as new! So now I get to add that family of antibiotics to my allergy list along with Benadryl. The rest of the week was less dramatic thankfully! Vince was on a mission last weekend and got all the bottles and binkies boiled & washed, the car seats tested out in my truck, washed the swing & bouncy seat covers and installed the video cameras for the new baby monitor!

Week 31: Seeing that week 30 was a little crazy I figured this week would be pretty uneventful. But boy oh boy was I proven wrong. Thankfully Vince came with me to my standing Thursday doctor appointment this week-because it started off bad and just kept getting worse...first I had 3 high blood pressure readings of 146/90 even after laying on my side, my left leg was super swollen, and if that wasn't bad enough my cervix had started to soften and I was a finger tip dilated. So I got a ticket straight to Labor & Delivery. Dr P wanted my blood pressure monitored, my contractions & the babies monitored, have radiology ultrasound my leg for a potential blood clot and finally wanted to give me the first of two steroid shots to help mature the babies lungs in case they decide to make an appearance in the next few weeks. We had done the blood pressure song & dance in     l & d with Ben numerous times so that didn't really scare either one of us. But the potential blood clot in my left leg and having to get steroid shots for the babies really scared us. We got to l & d and I got admitted right away didn't even have to stop off at triage it was straight to a delivery room. My nurse got me and the babies all hooked up to the monitors and then did the lab work Dr P had ordered. Then I got my first steroid shot. The second shot has to be given exactly 24 hours later. Luckily my blood count and kidney function tests came back great! There was a bit of protein in my urine but not enough for major concern. And my leg ultrasound showed no blood clots! I took it all as a really good sign because then they gave me a late lunch to eat and even a diet coke! So after about 5 hours I got released with moderate bed rest orders. Meaning I need to really cut back even more and rest rest rest on the couch. No trips to the grocery store but I can take Ben to school. We went back to the hospital today for my second shot and my blood pressure was 127/76 so it looks like the bed rest is already working! All I can say is thank goodness for a wonderful husband, mother and mother-in-law who are making sure Ben, the babies and I are well taken care of for the next few weeks. I go back to the doctor on Monday so lets hope that the bed rest is really working and my blood pressure stays in the normal range & my cervix hasn't dilated anymore.

Ben's 1st Trip To The Dentist

I had been dropping the ball hard core on getting Ben into the dentist. At his 3 year well visit in November Dr S told me to schedule his first dentist visit. It sat on my to do list for months and I would always see it or think about it after the office was closed. But finally I called and got him scheduled at the "Dino Dentist" a pediatric dentist close to the house. We had really talked it up to Ben and explained what would happen like getting his teeth counted, pictures of his teeth, brushing them with a special toothbrush and so on. He was so excited it go on Wednesday! And he did great considering it was his first visit! No tears just a little hesitation about laying back in the chair that was it. He let the dental hygienist take x-rays, count his teeth and brush & floss them! And he let the dentist check out his teeth again and even apply a fluoride treatment. He got a great report on all 20 of his teeth and got rewarded with a new backpack full of goodies, a slushy and a gold coin he traded in for a new bed ball! After his appointment I was so proud of him so we called BaPa to see if he was free for a last minute lunch date at Ben's "favorite special pizza place" also known as D'Bronx to celebrate! BaPa was free so that made our celebration lunch that much better!

My Heart...

My heart has belonged to a blond hair, freckled faced, blue eyed boy for over 3 years now and what a better way to celebrate it even more than for Valentines Day! I love this holiday! I am a sucker for all things having to do with Valentines Day-food, home decor, clothing, craft projects, ect. But this year we didn't get all of our decorating done, or all of our craft projects made or all of our special treats made but I did my best. And yes I know Ben is 3 years old and has no idea that I was disappointed that we didn't get everything done this year-just means I already have some fun projects for next year! But we did manage to have a fun Valentines week starting off by decorating sugar cookies with GG & Uncle Matt, Ben made special Valentines and even mailed some to his cousins (which I failed at getting pictures of), made Valentines for his friends at school, made chocolate dipped wafer cookies with sprinkles and of course my favorite chocolate covered strawberries! Ben was also super spoiled with presents and treats by Mommy, Daddy, GG & Grandma! He also got a very special Valentine from Aunt Dorie in the MAIL (this kid loves getting mail)!

Babies::: The Nursery

I am so glad to say that the babies nursery is officially finished and we got it done 4 weeks ahead of my goal! We had done such a traditional nursery for Ben that I knew early on that I wanted to do something totally different for these babies. I wanted it to have a vintage-classic feel and I knew I wanted navy to be my main color regardless of the babies sexes. So first things first was to clear out the office so we had a clean slate to start with. Even empty you can see it's a pretty small room but it all we got so its gotta do!

First up was the issue of the cribs. 2 babies means 2 cribs!  Ben's crib we obviously bought in Pittsburgh but we now live in KC so we didn't really have the option to go back to the same baby furniture store and just buy another. So we searched and searched and found a few stores that had the same crib the closest store was in St Louis and the crib would be special order and had to be picked up during the week which was going to be a huge inconvenience. And the other few stores we found had crazy order and/or shipping minimums. Then my parents graciously offered to buy each baby a new crib as their gift to the babies. I knew immediately what I wanted...2 Jenny Lind cribs. I had been obsessing over them on Pinterest and knew they were the perfect size for the room. And they would fit the nursery theme so much better than Ben's crib would. But I struggled on which color to get black-cherry wood-white...my original plan was to paint them both but that plan changed down the road for various reasons. I settled on white just in case I changed my mind on painting them and figured the white would be the easiest to paint over if we did paint them. The cribs arrived the day we got the babies genders confirmed so things got really real that day! I picked out the bedding not long after but we waited until it went on sale in mid-December to get it. And it looks just perfect with their new cribs!

Next I knew I wanted something different from the standard changing table or dresser changing table. I finally decided I wanted to use an antique buffet as a changing table. The one we have in our dining room is one of my favorite pieces of furniture we have and not just because it was was my grandparents. Once I decided what I wanted it was time to actually find it and harder yet finding it in our budget. This took some time searching craigslist.com everyday and going to consignment furniture stores weekly but eventually it paid off and I found exactly what I wanted. But it was a bit more than we wanted to spend so I made the store an offer and much to my surprise they accepted it. The next day we picked it up and it was ours!

My mom (and her amazing painting skills) offered to paint it for us. She did a ton of research and found the right paint type we needed that would stand the test of time and be baby friendly. The color choice was a bit more tricky-we picked a navy but after it dried to looked more royal blue than navy blue. So my mom repainted the whole thing again a different shade. Isn't she just the best??? And this time it turned out just as I had envisioned it! It is by far my favorite piece in the nursery.

About this time I fell in love with a lamp from Pottery Barn Teen. I tried to talk myself out of it because I didn't want to spend the money. But after thinking about Ben's nursery and the Johnathan Adler giraffe lamp he had I decided it was only fair to keep with the lamp tradition. I ordered it and then got the confirmation email and it said it was on back order until February 6, 2014. Crap. It was the end of October and February seemed so so so far away but I decided to wait it out. I called and checked on it mid-January just to make sure the order hadn't been canceled since it had been so long. And I was told they were expecting a shipment in a few days and I was early in line for it so I should get it soon! Yay! And a few days later I got an email saying it had shipped and would be at our door in just 3 days! Ben & I waited all day for the UPS truck and finally at 6pm he showed up! I opened the box and loved it even more in person! So I would rank this a close second on my favorites list in nursery!

Since we were having a boy & a girl I decided that I didn't want to repaint the walls but wanted to have some sort of accent wall. After some searching I decided that maybe stenciling one of the walls would be an "easy" project and give me the look I was going for. I was away with a few girlfriends for the weekend when Vince decided to start stenciling and turns out it wasn't going to be the "easy" project I thought it would be. So after a bit more research and a bit of pleading with Vince we gave it another go and this time we Vince got the hang of it. It took a full 2 days of him working on it, some curse words and a few beers but he got it done and boy was I one happy girl! We tackled potty training & stenciling the same weekend probably not one of our best decisions but after 2 days we did accomplish two pretty big goals! This is when the decision got made not to paint the cribs. The white cribs went really well with the newly stenciled wall so we decided to save the hassle and leave them white.

After trying every single configuration possible at least twice the only way the room look "right" to me was with one of the cribs in front of the windows. Obviously the wood blinds would need to go from a safety standpoint. So more research began and we decided on baby friendly cordless blackout roman shades. We went with navy after much debate between white, tan or the navy. I figured the navy would block the sunlight best and also hide dirt from the little fingers that I know will be grabbing at them. I had Pottery Barn Kids come out to measure just to be sure we were ordering the right size and they arrived a few days later! Vince installed them without much trouble and they look great!

Storage was up next. I had envisioned nice bookcases/cabinets on each side of the buffet for the babies to have their "special stuff" on and for me to have some added storage. Well after many hours searching I kept coming up empty handed or finding something way outside the budget I had to move on to plan b. My plan b was to just hang individual shelves so now it was onto researching shelves. I found the winners at Ikea but hadn't ordered them yet when I stumbled upon the perfect shelves on a random trip to Lowes. Poor Vince had another project and this one was going to be a huge pain as we had to hang three on one side of the buffet and then had to perfectly line them up and hang the other three shelves on the other side. Luckily while it was pretty time consuming we didn't have any major issues.

Now that all the major projects had been tackled it was time for the fun part...the details! We had newly installed shelves that we needed to fill! So Vince & I went to the River Market Antique Mall to look for some treasures. We found some really cool nursery rhyme blocks from the 1920's that I had to get! Vince insisted on getting sister this little antique tiara and we found some cool old glass nursery jars. I had commissioned a lady on etsy.com to make 2 prints to frame for the babies and I just love how they turned out. Later I picked out their first banks like I did for Ben. My mom got each of the babies their first stuffed animal like she did for Ben. The rocking chair is from Ben's nursery-I still can't believe we will be rocking 2 more babies in that chair!  Everything in their room has a special meaning or story behind it which I absolutely love.

And then there was the last minute design change I thought Vince was going to kill me over. I had made some art to hang above one of the cribs but then I found these 2 sibling plaques and I had to have them! They were so perfect-perfect colors and perfect because one said brother & one said sister which is what we call the babies and had that perfect vintage feel to them.

So without further ado here is the babies nursery...

Note: There are 6,769 girl names that start with the letter A. And there are 577 boy names that start with the letter W. So good luck guessing...you'll have to wait until the babies make their debut to see if you were right!