Today is the Day - 38 weeks & 6 days

   We finally made it to the end of this pregnancy and the beginning of the birth.  Today is the big day.  It has been a very long week.  Due to the diagnosis of decreased fetal movement, we have been to triage every day for additional testing and some much needed peace of mind.  

   The schedule for today is one last appointment with the doctor for a final check on the baby and to see how I'm progressing so she can decide what medications to give, what dosage and when to induce labor.  Then we check into the hospital at 7pm.  Their estimate is that the baby will be born sometime between the afternoon of the 29th and at the latest the morning of the 30th.  We are still hoping for a vaginal delivery which means it will take longer and move a bit slower.  At this point we don't really care.  Our birth plan is for a healthy baby, whatever else happens, happens.  So in between now and then I am having my last prenatal massage, then having dinner before we check into the hospital.  The rest of the day will be spent trying to remain calm and keeping busy.

   I am filled with all kinds of emotions today.  I am excited to have actually made it this far and the thought of finally holding my baby in my arms is overwhelming.  It has been such a long journey.  It's surreal that this moment has actually come to be.

   I am extremely nervous for the birth, there is just so much that could go wrong and when there is a chance of something going wrong with us, it usually does.  We recently found out that the umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck.  Our doctor told us that it happens to 1 out of 4 babies and usually they can slip it off during labor, yet its just another thing to cause us worry.  We are still dealing with the diagnosis of decreased fetal movement and they show concern over that too.  I am happy that the pregnancy is almost over and these pregnancy worries will go away soon.  I'm looking forward to being able to just look at the baby and see that he is ok instead of having to wait for an appointment and the doctor freaking us out before we know all is ok.  

   And finally sadness, it really hits home today the loss of Baby B.  Every time we went to our appointments this last week it comes up as part of the questions the nurses as me.  

  Looking forward to writing my next post and announcing the birth of our son!

Thanks for Reading,

HEATHER

Week 24 - Kicks & Viability

   Finally at week 24 we felt the baby kick!!!!!  This is amazing and exciting and just down right awesome news.  Most folks feel the baby starting around week 15 so we are 2 months late to the party.  Both of my placentas attached in the front so we weren't quite sure we would get to the feel the baby.  Actually Ryan always felt we would but I was never sure.  Anyways on Friday I woke up to about 5 clear as day kicks, I guess the baby got up before me :)  I couldn't wait to text Ryan and tell him the good news.  When Ryan came home, he put his ear to my stomach and about 30 seconds later, the baby kicked and it physically made Ryan's head jump a bit.  It was amazing.  I am so glad we both got to feel this on the same day.   Since then, like clockwork, our baby kicks every morning and every night when I lay down.

   Week 24 is the viability week.  It means that if for some reason, I gave birth today, our baby would have a good chance of surviving.  It would still be in the NICU and wouldn't be good, we are really only talking about basic survivability, but it's still great news to make it here.  3 months ago, I couldn't even imagine getting this far.  Hitting this milestone the same week we finally felt kicks has been a huge accomplishment for us.


   Mentally and emotionally we still have lots of issues we are working through and will still continue with weekly therapy appointments.  Since I can now feel the baby on a daily basis we are going to try and go longer than ever week to our OB check appointments, but nothing crazy, instead of every week we are going to go every 1 1/2 weeks and see if we are comfortable in doing so.  Our doctor is leaving the decision up to us and if 10 days seems too long, we will move back to weekly appointments.  For now though, it's really starting to feel real for the very first time and hopefully that turns into some comfort on our end.

Thanks for Reading,
HEATHER

9 Week Update

According to my pregnancy app Nurture, the babies are the size of green olives.  The main development between last week and this week is that they started to grow arms and legs.  Finally the babies are starting to look more human and less blobbish.

Baby A is on the left with the head on the left, Baby B is on the right
and was moving too much for a good photo today
so that's why it is all blurry

Today we went in for another ultrasound scan and measurements.  Bath babies measured perfect!  They both measured 9 weeks and 1 day which is right on schedule.  They both also had heart beats over 170 which is also wonderful news.  The most exciting part is that we could really see the babies moving today.  Baby A is now referred to as my little dancer.  We don't know the gender yet, but for some reason I want to refer to her as a girl.  Anyways, you could see her head shaking and her arms moving up and down.  The first time the doctor said she was wiggling, the truth is I couldn't see it.  But then later on he went back and she was moving a ton.  It was so amazing to see.  And now for Baby B, otherwise known as my yogi.  This one was head down with feet up in the air doing a headstand.  The doctor again said this one was moving but I never was able to see it.  They are starting to take on a more human form, but there is still a lot of blob action going on.

As for me, I'm doing OK.  I am on day 6 of no bleeding.  That is a huge sigh of relief.  The cramping is still there though.  Cramping is normal, except that mine only comes on when I stand up and it comes on really strong.  Because of this, he isn't comfortable letting me off bed rest, so he ordered bed rest for two more weeks and then told us to discuss it with our high risk pregnancy doctor and see what she says.  So two more weeks of bed rest for me.  But really, all that matters is that the babies are doing good.

Seeing movement on the screen is amazing.  Then not only can you see the heartbeat, but you can hear it too.  It is truly amazing and we both feel so very blessed to make it here.

Thanks for Reading,
HEATHER