Last growth ultrasound at 31w4d

It is hard to believe that in three days I will finally get to meet my girls after all this time. We had our last growth ultrasound this morning, and they looked amazing! Sophia and Cecilia were 3 lb 10 oz and 3 lb 11 oz respectively with only a 2% difference in all their measurements..which is absolutely perfect! They share well already! I am beyond relieved and excited (oh and anxious, nervous, kinda freaking out). They were a bit shy today so we weren't able to get any pictures of their pretty faces, but I will see them in three days so it isn't too big of a deal. We did, however, see a little bit of hair on each of their heads..so adorable. Looking back at the last seven months, and especially at the last 53 days I have spent inpatient, I'm amazed how far we have come. Since learning that we were having twins at 9 weeks, and at 14 weeks learning exactly what was in store for us having Momo twins, it has been an emotional roller coaster. In retrospect I'm not quite sure how I managed to get through it, but in the words of one of my favorite singer/songwriters Jackson Browne, "The only way through it, is through it". My husband and I are ready to be parents, and we are especially ready to return to a semi-normal way of life. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed! I know I have said that numerous times, but I can't stop thinking about how wonderful it will be. My c-section will be on Thursday at 8 a.m., and I will try to post information, updates, and pictures by that night or Friday at the latest. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement throughout this whole ordeal!

31 Weeks! 7 more days to go!

Well we are down to one week before our girls join the world! My blood pressure is back down, and I am doing very well...except for the anxiety and excitement of going home. The preeclampsia was luckily just a scare. I know that we will make it through these next seven days, and my girls will be here at 32 weeks exactly as planned. The nurses say I should be able to finally go home next Sunday at the very latest. This makes me extremely happy! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and see my kitty. I know it will be hard not to take the girls home, but this is the best place for them to mature and get big! My husband is excited to have me back home too. I hope everyone has wonderful and safe holidays. This will definitely be a different holiday experience for us, but we are so thankful that the girls have done so well for this long.

Just 11 more days

So it was bound to happen that there would be a scare. Everything just seemed to be going so well for so long. The nurses and I have been noticing that my blood pressure has been slowly going up for the last few days and yesterday it was high enough for the doctor to be concerned about preeclampsia. For those of you who are unfamiliar with preeclampsia, WebMd defines it as being marked by high blood pressure accompanied with a high level of protein in the urine. Women with preeclampsia will often also have swelling in the feet, legs, and hands. Preeclampsia, when present, usually appears during the second half of pregnancy, generally in the latter part of the second or in the third trimesters, although it can occur earlier. So yesterday I had a CBC which tested the liver enzymes and luckily those were perfect, which is a great sign. I have no major swelling issues and not many of the other symptoms of it besides the high blood pressure. They are doing a 24 hour collection of my urine to test it for proteins, and I probably won't know the results of that until tonight or early tomorrow morning. They gave me the first of the two Betamethasone shots (steroids) last night for the girls' lungs just in case we have to deliver before the 31st as the only way to stop preeclampsia if I am in fact diagnosed is to deliver the twins. All of this is precautionary of course, and I have faith that everything will turn out just fine, and this all is just a sign that my body is starting to get a little tired. I know that the twins and I can make it through these last 11 days, we are fighters!! The doctor was also concerned with blood clots in my legs, because I have been on bed rest for so long. Yesterday morning I was told that I was going to have to get two shots a day of Heparin (an anticoagulant) to avoid blood clots. I got two yesterday and one today before I told my doctor that I couldn't handle them anymore. They were absolutely awful and very painful, so I made a deal with my doctor to wear the T.E.D. stockings which are like very thick and tight pantyhose instead of getting the shots until delivery....YAY!!! I didn't think I was going to make it if I was going to have to get those shots everyday. I'm not good with shots, especially ones that burn so terribly. Luckily my doctor is pretty awesome and understanding. I will know more tomorrow about the possibility of preeclampsia, but the girls' heart rates are still doing very good which is a very hopeful sign that everything will be just fine. I don't even need the nurses to put the monitors on anymore, I am officially an expert at putting and keeping them on! I'm so glad that Tim was here during all this craziness, otherwise my stress levels would have been 10x as bad as they were already. It is very important that we keep these girls in until 32 weeks, because at this point every single day makes a difference in prematurity. I would like to say happily that Kelly, a momo mom that I met online before I went inpatient delivered her girls Brooklyn and Brienna successfully on Thursday and that everyone is doing well. I am so happy for her, and her family has given mine hope. I will update more later this week. I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe Christmas holiday!!

Official Date!

Woo Hoo!! We have the official date of the c-section scheduled and in the books. The Tice twins will join the world on Thursday, December 31, 2009. My surgery starts at 8 a.m. Is is such a relief just to have the date set so that I can start to mentally preparing myself for motherhood, and the next stage of NICU care. As long as these girls behave themselves for the next 16 days, we will have New Year's Eve babies. I can't think of a better way to close 2009! This next year is sure to be an adventure for Tim and me, and I am so excited! I talked to the doctors this morning, and they said that the cord dopplers looked good...so now it is the waiting game (not that it wasn't before)! Wish me luck in maintaining my sanity this last couple of weeks!

29 weeks 4 day Growth Ultrasound

Well we officially have approximately 17 days to go, a little over two weeks! Tim was able to stay for the ultrasound again this morning. Our girls are growing beautifully. Sophia was at 2 lb 14 oz and Cecilia was 3 lbs!! I was very happy to see that Sophia caught up a little bit from the last ultrasound. I was really hoping to reach 3 pounds so I can't complain at all. They were both active, although a little less than last time because of the lack of room they are experiencing as they grow. It really helps me to see them each time, because the hospital stay has really started to wear on me. At day 39 inpatient I'm extremely homesick and ready to get back to a semi-normal life. Although when I am able to see my daughters on ultrasound and be reassured that they are growing well, I am able to remind myself of why I am here. The doctor was a little concerned about the umbilical cords again. He thought that the knot was more on Cecilia's side than Sophia's. That makes a lot of sense because in the beginning of my hospital stay, it was obvious that Cecilia was a lot more active than Sophia considering how hard it was to keep her on the monitor. She is my little trouble maker. They worry that as she moves now she is pulling on the knot. Tomorrow I will talk with my doctor more and hopefully learn more about the status of the cords and the doppler on the cords, and I will update the blog then. I can say with all honesty that I'm so very impatient at this point. I am restless and so ready to see my girls. I know that it is important to keep in mind that they have already beat the odds by making it this far. We have little miracles on our hands here. Tim and I visited the NICU on Saturday morning. That was overwhelming to say the least. It is quite impressive though, and it made me feel at ease that my girls will be getting the best possible care in this area. We saw some of the other tiny babies fighting, and I know my girls will fight just as hard. There were babies in there that weighed less than the twins weigh now, which despite their desperate situation gave me hope. I know that our journey with the NICU stay will be just as trying as the time we are going through now, but I will be able to be with my husband and family more and that will give me strength. For now until that point we will just continue the constant monitoring and hope and pray that the girls manage to stay in just a couple more weeks. I will update soon with what the doctors have to say and an official date for the c-section when it is put on the books! I will also have the ultrasound pictures from today up this weekend. Thank you everyone for your prayers, thoughts, and words of encouragement. They mean more to me and my family than you could ever know.

28 Weeks-Half Way Mark

This week has proved to be as frustrating as it has a success. We have made it to 28 weeks which is a pretty significant milestone. According to the March of Dimes, 96% of babies born after 28 weeks survive and are at a lower risk for developing long term neurological problems It is important, though, that the girls stay in as long as possible for the best possible outcome. Even if they make it to 32 weeks, which is our goal, they are still considered extremely premature and will need a lot of help in the NICU. Talking to my doctor, he is convinced by his 20 years of encountering Momo twins that constant monitoring and taking them at 32 weeks produces the best and safest outcomes, and I am inclined to agree with him from the extensive studying I have done in this area. During my ultrasound on Monday, I noticed that the technician didn't really spend much time looking at the cords. This raised a lot of concern in my mind, and I brought it up to one of my doctors on Tuesday. Wednesday the doctor took me back to the ultrasound to check on the status of the cords herself. We noticed that they were all tangled together, which made me nervous enough seeing it for myself. Today my other doctor told me that they did find one true knot in the cords, possibly two. What does that mean exactly? We keep doing what we are doing. I am on the monitors pretty much 24/7, and the nurses are diligent in watching the heart rates to observe any major decelerations or accelerations that would raise concern. The babies base line heart rates have in fact lowered since I was first admitted but not enough at this point to make the doctors too nervous. If they lower anymore though, I will be moved to labor and delivery to continue my monitoring there in case of an emergency that way I will be that much closer to the OR if God forbid that becomes a necessity. As well as the twins have been doing, we have to remember that this is an unnatural situation that has the potential to turn volatile at any moment. This reminds me and continually maintains my resolve in having the monitors on and laying here in bed. My girls and I are fighting a battle of inevitability, and we are determined to come out of it victorious. Right now I am just trying to maintain my anxiety and keep my stress levels under control. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I will update more soon.