Best Day EVER!

Twenty-Five Weeks today! We were very excited to celebrate today. Babies continue to do great - they are getting easier and easier to get and stay on the monitors. Today, little A had the hiccups while we were listening and I could feel them but didn't really know that's what that was. I learn so much when they are on the monitors.
The lab woke me up this morning at 6 AM for bloodwork. Then they came in 40 minutes later and gave me the Glucose Drink-Y-U-C-K! Well, not the taste so much, just the downing pure sugar at 6:40 in the morning! An hour later the lab came back and took my blood AGAIN. All that to say, WHEW, no Gestational Diabetes! The worst part was the sugar let down afterwards...I felt terrible-like I had eaten too much cotton candy at the fair or something! (And I couldn't WAIT to brush my teeth after-I could just feel the cavities)



Now, the rest of the day was SPECTACULAR!! My sister, Amy, and her girls, Abby and MalMal came to visit. The girls brought a movie got comfy with popcorn and everything. Meanwhile, Amy took pity on my terrible and neglected toes and gave me a pedicure!! Here are my toes before-oh goodness-they were so long and awful.

Amy soaked my feet, exfoliated them with some good-smelling scrub, trimmed my toenails and cuticles and wrapped them up with hot towels! It was oh so heavenly!

My color of choice today was Strawberry Margarita and MalMal and Abby even shared their flower stickers with me for my big toes!

We had so much fun. Amy picked up lunch after that - Pizza and fried zucchini from Joe's - another awesome treat!

While we were finishing up lunch, some worker-men came in and put up some drapes in my room. (All the rooms got them obviously) They are very nice although I think I am about to get WAY OFF SCHEDULE. I was really tired this afternoon from waking up early and then all my activities, that I had to take a little nap. Well, that nap turned into a 2 and 1/2 hour nap due to the now darkened room I have! I can only imagine what time I am going to wake up tomorrow morning-we will just have to keep them open!






My wonderful day was finished with a good rain storm that left the most beautiful rainbow outside!

SHOUT OUTS!!!

Now, some might say that the best things come in the little turquoise box from Tiffany's...and while this is true, there is also the little royal blue bag that holds just as wonderful a treasure! My first shout out goes to Amy! She sent me Swiss chocolates via her sister who was just in Switzerland visiting. I was soooooo excited. It even had Springlii chocolates that those stingy Swiss won't export. While you can get Lindt chocs here, they are SOOO fresh when actually eating them in Switz. Amy, this was such an AWESOME gift and so made my day. I did share with my nurse last night-but only a little! Brad and I are loving it and sweetly remembering our time with y'all. We miss you so much and can't wait to see you!!

My second shout out is to Brad! We officially have cribs! He stayed up late the other night and put one together and took pictures all along the way because he knew I would want to see! He got the other one done on Sunday so our babies have beds to sleep in when they arrive (even though they will hopefully sleep together for a little while in one crib)

I love the cribs-they are very plain-I didn't want to get into something to girlie just in case we are having boys and didn't want to get two of the same convertible cribs in case they were a boy and a girl. I didn't want two of the same big beds in two different rooms one day. If they end up being the same sex-they are going to share a room as long as possible anyways and our bedrooms don't fit two full beds once converted...all that to say...we got two plain dropside cribs!!

My last two shout outs go to Brad's mom. For some reason the pictures aren't coming thru I think b/c Brad took them on his phone. BUT, the bedding is SOOOO cute! I love it and it looks perfect with the paint. I will have him take pictures with our camera later so you can see it.

And finally, a special shout out to our wonderful friends-The Clems, The Johnstons, The Schlegels, Scott, and Jeff! The pulled a FAST one on me on Saturday and planned a little surprise Baby Shower for us. It was complete with Sprinkles cupcakes-YUM-and Miranda even made me Shower PUNCH-which I again LOVE-and I had a tiara and balloon...everything. They absolutely SHOCKED me-I turned RED and was sweating when they all came it b/c I was so surprised. Jeff gave us all new names from the baby name book and Justin and Chad actually fixed my shower head. They are so handy and I had the BEST shower (the get clean kind) after they fixed the drizzle that was! It was so much fun and y'all made me feel so special and loved. I love all you guys and can't wait to raise our babies together-Jenny, Jamie, and Miranda are all pregnant-16, 15, and 14 weeks along. Jenny took the pictures so I will post those when I get them...I am SO annoyed that we didn't take a belly shot with all of us mommies! Please come back so we can do that :) We truly have the BEST friends!

Of course, I could do many more shout outs but that is all I can write for now. Everyone has been so wonderful to bringing us dinner, to movies, sonics, cookies, magazines, books, presents, I mean EVERYTHING. The nurses just laugh at me and ask me, "What did you get today?" I always share too! Believe me - nothing like keeping your nurses happy!

As for the medical update...we will be 25 weeks tomorrow!!! YES! We had a sono yesterday and everything is stable. I have my Glucose Test tomorrow-which of all things pregnancy related, I have always dreaded this test for some reason. I am praying for NO gestational diabetes! :)

Have a great Wednesday!

TWENTY-FOUR!!

We did it! Since the first day I got here, my doctor has said, "We've just got to make it to 24 weeks first!" And now we've done it Woo Hoo!!

The next goal is 28 weeks so here we go!

I am so interested in the "Gender Poll"! I wish there was a way to track why you vote like you do because I think it is so funny. I must admit I was slightly - and I emphasize SLIGHTLY - tempted yesterday during my sono b/c Brad wasn't there. Not that he is the one that doesn't want to know-really I am the one who insisted that we not find out, but I thought, "Ooooh, I could so find out right now and not tell anyone!" And trust me, I could completely keep it a secret, from EVERYONE, including Brad. But that thought quickly passed and I wouldn't want to be that sneaky and dishonest!! Besides I LOVE not knowing and waiting for my precious surprises!!

As for the babies, they are both measuring 1lb 8oz and we were able to see Baby B swallowing! That is a good sign of development at this point. Sweet and private Baby A just continued to hide all curled up-I feel like I have his/her little spine memorized by now!

I have finally started gaining weight again. I gained 4 lbs so that was good-making up for the loss earlier. I'm sure it can be contributed to the dinners I request from Brad, the VHC drinks, and all the goodies that everyone brings (Like tonight, Uncle Bart is bringing us BUBBA'S chicken-oh yummmm). I have cut off the "snacks" that the dietician ordered for me...seriously...I cannot eat another turkey sandwich at 7:15 at night ANYMORE. I just asked her to put it on hold for a little while...

Ok, that's all for now. I survived the first month with a breeze and look forward to the next 2! Heehee! I can't say that it has been bad at all. I have no swelling. I don't have to endure the heat outside. I sleep GREAT (how sad is that). I get to see more of my friends and loved ones more often than normal. I have made new friends with all my nurses. I get to see my doctor daily-you know-just in case you have that one question but don't want to call kind of thing. I don't have to fill up my car with expensive gasoline. I get to watch Wheel of Fortune every night!! Most of all, I know my babies are ok morning and night when we hear their heartbeats and weekly when we have sonos!! Really, I could go on and on but then y'all would think that I had gone nuts here. I just believe in the beauty of the silver lining-attitude is 99% of the battle right?

Official Hospital Photos

Here is my Room! You can see I have lots of beautiful flowers, plants, balloons, etc.

You can see here my BEAUTIFUL T.E.D. (anti-embolism) hosery! I am a lucky girl and get to have 2 pairs so that I can wash one and wear one! I guess they figure one pair per baby :) In all honesty, they are really comfortable and I rarely have leg aches anymore. They only bother me in the late afternoon when the sun comes thru my window and I get smoldering hot.

Now here are some fashionable boots! They are compression boots that prevent blood pooling as well. They give this puff of air and get tight every 30 seconds-the only reason they are a pain is b/c I have to take them off to walk to the bathroom and that is just a whipping. (and my legs by the way are the same size-I don't have one giant left leg!)

Here we are on our first wheelchair ride. This was actually July 4th but I am just now getting it posted. We took another ride tonight to see a friend Amy that had a baby boy last night. We didn't get to talk to her b/c she was trying to feed him but maybe I can swing by again tomorrow!

And here I am at 23 weeks. The belly is a-growin'! For some odd reason I thought that if I was in the bed - that belly wouldn't get as big but I was obviously DUMB! It IS growing!!

Last but not least, I wanted to take an anniversary picture of me and Brad. Not our wedding anni but the anniversary of the night we first met. I usually never remember things like that but it was on Jeff's birthday and I always know that is on July 18th! So, we officially met 8 years ago tonight at Pappasitos Restaurant and we have been friends ever since. He is such a trooper and so unselfish. He comes to see me morning and evening and I know is worn out...in fact he is asleep in the rocker beside me right now...but then again...he is watching baseball and that's enough to put anyone to sleep :)

What a Shower!!

I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful our shower was on Saturday - and I WASN'T EVEN THERE!!! Although I truly felt like I was and everyone went out of their way to make me feel included and special. My sweet sister-in-law, Allie, brought me a plate of the most delicious food. MaryKay of course couldn't have me eating it on a paper plate to go-OH NO-she is so wonderful and prepared my plate on her china! (After my cheerios mishap I was SO hoping I wouldn't spill and break her china!) Everything was soooo yummy-they even brought me punch - which I LOVE any SHOWER PUNCH so I was very thrilled about that.
As for Brad and his experience...He had a great time. He was rather nervous that everyone would be staring at him while he opened gifts but I should have told him everyone is always just visiting and eating and not really paying attention so closely. The hostesses took great care of him and he had 3 little helpers that were right at his feet opening each gift. Abby, Mal, and Reid were so excited with each gift and he would just count 1-2-3 and then let them open. They would just squeal at each thing and made several comments about "This one is for the girl and this one is for the boy!" (Humm, maybe they know something I don't??) They think they are getting boy and girl cousins.
I loved getting to watch the video too. I feel like I was there. It was very fun for me too. Brad and I both were OVERWHELMED at the extreme generosity of everyone. These babies are so loved by so many and truly are our little miracles.

We are 23 weeks today and had a doctor visit yesterday! It was mainly to check my cervix and it was again stable at a 22!! My doctor was more than happy with that and actually gave me "sitting up" priviledges today. WooHoo-I will do better with eating and the laptop now! I do have to pack on the pounds...I lost a few again - most likely due to the kidney stone nonsense but now I drink 2 of the Ensure type drinks VHC with stands for VERY HIGH CALORIES. They are 560 cals each...they taste oh so yummy-not really but over ice they are managable and better than hearing Brad freak out about me losing weight :) He has been more than wonderful but that is a whole other post!

I'll keep updating as long as y'all keep reading :) Thanks for EVERYTHING, everybody!!

We're One Pounders!!!

We had an appointment with the perinatologist this morning and here is the official update...
Cervix length: 22 (AWESOME) and very stable he said!
Baby A: Measuring 22 weeks 2 days-EXACT-and weighs 1 POUND 1 OUNCE!!! He/She is head down on the left side and NEVER wants to take pictures but LOVES the shower...as soon as the water hits my belly, he/she starts kicking! It is so funny! The doctor said "Baby A growing beautifully!"
Baby B: Measuring 22 weeks 3 days-a little bigger-weighing 1 POUND 4 OUNCES!!! He/She always wants to be photographed and is breeched on the right side. B is pretty mellow but still gives me good kicks all the time. The doctor said again, "Baby B is slightly bigger but also growing beautifully!"
Needless to say, I started my morning off very good. He said there wasn't anything that he could see that he was concerned about on the babies and although he cannot predict the future, he would guess that we will at least get to 28 weeks but probably even beyond that! I will take that...I want to get into the 30 week markers at least so that was wonderful!!!

As for me: I am doing great. Sorry it has taken me so long to update the blog, but my first computer crashed. (Thanks Connie for the replacement!) Then I had a most eventful weekend beginning on Saturday. I started having some unusual pain on my left side and cramping and starting worrying that I was having contractions. After being on the monitor for about 25 minutes, the pain got unbearable and I then knew I was having a kidney stone. I threw up for 6 hours and they were doing everything they could for me - demerol, percacet, phenagren, zofran, IV fluids, EVERYTHING...nothing helped really-we were just chasing the pain. However, all finally got under control by that evening and although I stayed pretty doped up thru Sunday and Monday, I did pass the stone on Monday at 5 pm. It was soooooo small-the size of a sesame seed...ridiculous!!! But I did it and pray I don't have another one!! I was so thankful that I was already here at the hospital...see there are advantages to being here :)
I feel great now and have had lots of visitors. I have enough to read and eat and am so thankful for all of the goodies and treats. Couldn't think of a single thing I might need at this point. Brad is wonderful-and exhausted-but hanging in there. He is representing at my shower tomorrow and can't wait to hear how that goes! I will certainly post pictures!
Thanks again for all the letters, flowers, snacks, magazines, and books. For all the phone calls too-sorry if I haven't gotten back to all of you. My phone never rings unless someone walks in my room like a nurse, doctor, or visitor. I will return them as I can...if not just call me again :)

TEN DAYS ALREADY!!!

One step closer!! Today we are 21 weeks and doing great! We went to the doctor for a sono on Monday afternoon and got a very good report. My cervix was a 25-26 which is a MAJOR improvement from the 8-12 it was just a week ago! My doctor said that it just proves that we are doing the right thing with all of this. He told me yesterday that we are out of the danger zone regarding any complications from the actual cerclage procedure and he anticipates it working fine. He feels that we will have no problem getting to 24 weeks (viability) and then his gut tells him that we can get to 30-34 weeks...that is what I have been wanting to hear!

As for my stay here...honestly it isn't bad at all. The nurses are so wonderful and don't let me do a thing-in a good way. I sleep great at night-they don't come in at all to do anything and unless I call them in the day they don't bother me. So I basically chill! It is nice. Just what these babies need.

My excitement today consisted of waking up and fixing a bowl of cheerios. I crawled back in bed ONLY TO SPILL THEM EVERYWHERE! All over the bed, floor, EVERYWHERE! It looked like the cheerio factory exploded in here! Oh to have had the camera-I will have to get that up here. Nothing like paging the nurse to sayI needed new sheets at 8 in the morning! Hopefully, that will be all the excitement for the day :)

Ok, I will keep you all posted on the progress better now...I HAVE A LAPTOP!! An underwriter that Brad does a lot of business with just volunteered her laptop for me...I don't even know her name! How sweet is that?? This will certainly keep me occupied now-and most of all connected to the world outside 367!

Thanks again for all the phone calls, prayers, visits, cards, flowers...We feel so blessed and thankful for all of it! Ten days down, 100? to go!!