Growing Boys

Yesterday we had an ultrasound for the twins and the boys continue to amaze Drew and I - Baby A is measuring at 3 lbs 5 ozs. and Baby B is measuring at 3 lbs. 7 ozs. (yes, that means both boys at 30 weeks are already bigger than Cole was when he was born at 31 weeks (3 lbs. 3 ozs.)).  And yes, that means I am HUGE!  But I am huge in a fabulous way so I cannot complain - our boys are growing bigger and stronger every day and that means Drew and I are doing something right!

Back on February 15th I went on bed rest at home on the orders of our doctor in hopes that we could prevent any long term hospitalization to avoid preterm labor.  While bed rest at home was difficult, the days did seem to go by relatively quickly.  My office has been extremely supportive throughout this long, difficult journey and they were supportive of the idea of me working remotely.  Continuing to work from 6:30 - 3 in bed, a daily nap from 3 until Cole got home from class, finally emerging downstairs to have dinner and watch Cole play, and then giving Cole his last bottle of the day was a wonderful routine that somehow got me through the long days.  

Sadly, all our efforts of avoiding hospitalization weren't enough.  Last Tuesday, 3/12, while I was at a routine follow up with Dr. Walker I showed significant signs of preterm labor during my ultrasound (including having 8 very strong contractions in 40 minutes).  We are extremely fortunate I was where I was when all this started.  Dr. Walker was able to give me a muscle relaxer shot that immediately slowed down my contractions.  Within an hour I had been admitted to the hospital for more long term medications and close monitoring.  While we were hopeful that I would be able to go home after a week long stay, the doctors have decided it is in the best interest of the boys' and my health for us to stay here for the duration of the pregnancy.  

To be honest, being away from Cole has made this the hardest week of my life.  While Mom & Drew are going above and beyond to make sure I see him on a very regular basis - it is definitely not fair to ask a 17 month old to visit his mom in the hospital for any extended periods of time.  There are way too many cords to pull and buttons to push - the most enticing things ever for Cole - and unfortunately completely off limits : (  I think the hardest part is when he just wants to be picked up and sit in bed with me - we're on 24/7 monitoring for the babies heartbeats and my contractions so I've got monitors constantly hooked up.  Definitely not conducive to cuddling with my Little Man.

While the last couple weeks of bed rest, whether at home or in the hospital, have been extremely challenging I just keep telling myself we are doing what is absolutely best for the twins.  And in the full spectrum of life, this is such a short amount of time that we can sacrifice for the overall future health of our baby boys.  My new mantra is "each day these munchkins stay put translates to 2 less days the boys will need to be in the NICU" - that alone is enough to keep me in this bed indefinitely.  

The great news is, with the help of a lot of medications, and the forced bed rest, we seem to be succeeding at holding true labor at bay.  Dr. Walker is extremely confident that we're going to make it to 32 weeks (just 2 weeks from now) and still optimistic that we can make it to 34.  But like we said, we're taking it one day at a time and saying our thanks for each day we can cross off our list.  And of course, we are exceptionally grateful for all the efforts of our doctors and nurses to keep this pregnancy going as long as possible - they're obviously doing their jobs very well.

I apologize for the long winded post (and not even a single picture!) but we wanted to make sure everyone was aware of our current status.  All our best to everyone and we will try to do a better job of posting updates and pictures :)