27 weeks from University Hospital

As many have already heard, I have been admitted to University Hospital. Here is the story:

Friday morning I woke up feeling pretty good, better than earlier in the week actually. I went to work and then that afternoon I had a regular OB appointment. I took the van from downtown, headed to the doctor and afterward I was meeting up with Brian at his work where they were throwing us a baby shower. At the OB she measured my belly, 38 weeks for a single pregnancy, which is right on track and then she did a regular, internal exam. The first thing she said when the exam was over, "Well, you're done at work." Then she explained I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I got dressed and called Brian. It was almost 2:30 at this point, and the work baby shower was supposed to start at 3. His co-worker drove him straight to the hospital to meet up with me. Meanwhile my OB sent me straight to a high risk ultrasound where they saw I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes (I felt nothing; had no clue) and funneling, and Brian got caught up with what was going on. From there I was wheeled (this would be the last time my feet would hit the floor in 48 hours) to Labor & Delivery triage. Everything kind of sped by after that.

At Christ they don't deliver babies earlier than 32 weeks because they don't have a NICU set-up, so I was prepared for transfer to University Hospital. Prior to my transfer I had an IV started with Magnesium Sulfate, to start the process of stopping my contractions. Brian has appropriately named Magnesium Sulfate, "Hot Juice". This stuff makes the body extremely HOT! I also got a steroid shot of Celerum (not sure on the spelling) to help speed up the growth of the babies lungs. Then I had a fun ride in the ambulance to University.

When I got to University I was put into a room in Labor & Delivery and admitted. Not long after I saw the high risk doctor and he measured my cervix at 2 cm. I was hooked up to a machine to monitor my contractions and each of the babies. At this point I was now having contractions every 2-3 minutes (still not feeling them) and they had started a steady dose of 2mg "Hot Juice" every hour. Brian's parents came later that night and we saw the doctor again. He explained what the "Hot Juice" was for and that he would be increasing me to 3mg because I wasn't "green" enough and I was still having regular contractions. From there things got a little hazy for me. The difference between 2 and 3mg of "Hot Juice" was dramatic and I felt the effects immediately. It makes you very hot, stiff, achy, and wiped out. Apparently it can also cause nausea, but I was lucky enough to miss that symptom, which is good because I wasn't going to be allowed any food or liquid until after I was off the 'Hot Juice". A couple of hours later the doctor came back and saw that my contractions were still regular and he measured my cervix at 4 cm. I started to panic at this point. He went over the "Hot Juice", second steroid shot and decided to have us meet with a specialist from the NICU to prepare us for what may come.

Meeting the NICU specialist was extremely scary, but fortunately also very good in getting the information ahead of time. He went over the different array of treatments we could expect as well as the first few hours and days typical in NICU.

That night was hard. I was strapped to a monitor with three constant feeds, one for each baby and one for the contractions and if a baby came off the monitor the nurse would have to come back in and get them back on. I couldn't really get comfortable and the "Hot Juice" was causing me to feel terrible. Some time that night I faded out and don't remember much. The 3mg of "Hot Juice" was causing me to have oxygen level trouble and I wasn't reacting well, so the doctor decided to put me back onto 2mg.

Saturday morning and afternoon I was in and out of it. It was just a long day. Brian and his parents switched off sitting with me and I tried to just stay calm and focus on getting to the next day. Late that afternoon, 24 hours from the first steroid shot I was given the second shot. From there all I had to do was focus on getting to Sunday. Then I could be taken off the "Hot Juice" as long as the contractions were stabilizing. Saturday night my nurse was fantastic. The babies were both so active and kept floating off the monitor. Eventually I was able to just pass out and slept the whole night.

I awoke Sunday morning with an oxygen mask on and in complete confusion. I'd slept through my levels dropping off, the babies needing to be monitored and re-monitored over and over and an oxygen mask being put on. I felt like I woke up somewhere else. Fortunately I was doing much better and told I was going to get to come off the "Hot Juice" later that morning, and that I would get to eat! The last meal I'd had was Friday around noon. I'd purposely eaten light because I knew I was going to Brian's work baby shower and I wanted to indulge in cake. I wasn't necessarily hungry throughout all this time, but I was starving Sunday morning. When the food tray came, it was the best french toast, cheerios and juice I'd ever eaten! :)

Sunday afternoon after eating I had my catheter removed and I was able to walk again. And then I was moved to my new room in the "anti-partum" wing and I was able to shower! Even better than getting to eat, was getting to wash my face and hair! It was such a relief and made me feel tons better.

Not much has changed since Sunday. My new room is slowly becoming my new home. The doctor's plan is for me to be here until the babies are born. Right now the goal is 30 weeks, and today I am 27 weeks 2 days. Every day the babies stay with me, is 3 less days in the NICU. Getting those steroid shots to them was huge because it increased their lung development and they are getting big and strong every day. Each morning I am strapped to the monitors for an hour to watch the babies and contractions. Today was a long monitoring as neither baby wanted to sit still for the hour. The nurses had to chase them all around and eventually I ended up in a weird position, holding one of the monitors for the entire hour! I also had an ultrasound today and got to see each of the babies practicing their breathing. As for contractions, I'm still having regular ones, but I'm not showing any cervix change and I haven't been having any strong, regular contractions. As long as my cervix doesn't change...we are all good!

My mom flew in Sunday night and will be staying with me for at least the next few weeks. My mom and Brian's parents are splitting day shifts to stay with me, and then Brian heads over after work and stays over night. He doesn't have to commute for the time being. :) I'm day by day settling into the permanence of my surroundings, and staying positive that the longer that I am here...the better the babies will be.

So...that is where I am today. Brian and I appreciate all the well wishes from everyone. We are truly blessed to have our parents help as they have been awesome, and although we can't wait to introduce Maggie and Jack to everyone...everyone will have to wait for now!

I'll try to keep this updated as the time goes by...it'll give me something to do. :) For now I'm going to enjoy some time with Brian, get strapped up to monitor the babies and contractions and then settle in for the rest of the night.

26 Weeks

Here I am at 26 weeks. The belly has been growing a lot lately. Each day I actually feel a bit bigger, and I've started to become amazed at how streatched out I am. I'm also curious to see how much I'll grow in the next 4 weeks!

The babies have each become more active at different parts of the day, mostly late morning and mid afternoon. If I lay on my side, whoever is on that side moves around a bit and the movements are getting stronger. I've been feeling OK, but I've also began the struggle of getting comfortable, especially at home. Last night I tossed and turned to find the right "spot". Fortunately I am still able to eventually fall asleep, and Brian's been good about back rubs when my muscles just can't take anymore. I think I'm definetely getting close to that "point" in pregnancy everyone has been talking about.

Tomorrow is my 1-hour Glucose test and I see the OB Friday afternoon. Friday afternoon is also a Babies Shower at Brian's work. This Sunday is my Family Babies Shower and then next Tuesday is my work Babies Shower. Then we'll be all done with showers and we'll work on getting everything together for the babies. I'm still focussing on mid-July, so that we can relax and feel "ready" or as ready as can be. :)

And the rings are off!

My swelling hasn't been utterly extreme, but with the humidity and my body temperature being higher, I guess my fingers just finally had enough. I've been wearing my rings because although getting them off is tougher, they haven't been tight on my actual finger. Well today, it started to hurt. So they are sitting here next to me, all alone. :( Perhaps I'll stick them on a chain and wear them as a necklace, I don't know. It's not too big a deal, but I love my pretty rings, and I feel so naked without them on. In other news...

My very good friend, Jackie, welcomed her first baby into the world this past Tuesday. Alexis Nicole weighed in at 9 lbs. 3oz. and 21.5" long! We went and visited the new family yesterday and met Alexis. She is adorable! There is always something about how "perfect" c-section babies look! Apparently she has her nights and days all confused, but if they get that turned around mommy will be a happy camper. She's been sleeping over 8 hours during the day! Jackie looks fantastic and I can't wait to visit with them again soon, and perhaps this time I'll remember to actually use the camera I purposely put in my purse! Seriously, I don't know where my mind has gone lately.

This past weekend was pretty relaxing, as weekends go. Saturday early afternoon we toured Christ Hospital and now know where we'll be and "some" of what to expect while there. Obviously not much can prepare us for the real thing. It was good to see everything ahead of time. There were some interesting questions from others on the tour, my favorite came from a guy about our age "So, how long do you typically spend in the labor room?" Poor guy has no clue!

Saturday afternoon was Brian's cousin's graduation party. It was outside under a tent, and although it was 91 degrees at one point, I wasn't terribly uncomfortable. I was able to go inside to cool off in the air conditioned house when I needed to, and otherwise it was good seeing the family and hanging out.

And finally, Happy "day-after" Father's Day! I can't wait until next year when we have 2 babies to celebrate holidays, like Father's Day. The babies got their daddy a box of Sour Patch Kids. Brian is going to make such a great father, as he is a wonderful husband already!

Couples Baby Shower

This past weekend our friends gave us an awesome couples baby shower. Everyone had a great time and we were lucky to have all of our friends come together to celebrate the babies. We played some fun games, I won the baby food game! The babies are very lucky, we got tons of great gifts from everyone! It was a wonderful shower...thanks to Sarah, Erin & Angela (not to mention Chris, Chad and Nick)!

Cute invite Erin made


The "theme" of the shower Two Peas in a Pod


Presents!!




Jack and Sarah's cute daughter Addison enjoyed helping me open presents


The excited parents


Wilma also enjoyed the excitement, she was so good with the kids.


Over the weekend we put the bedding together in the cribs.


Jack's Crib


Maggie's Crib



This week is 25 weeks. I can't believe how big I'm getting...


Dresses are becoming far more comfortable. I think I'm coming up on another big growth spurt too, when I move I feel like I've done 100 crunches, except for rather than having abs of steel, I've got what feels like a bowling ball there instead. :) The babies are growing though...good and strong.

What's in a name?

Who knew choosing a name for two beings that you've never met or laid eyes on would be so difficult?! The boy name came fairly easy to us. We knew we liked Jack, just needed to match it with a good middle name.
Jack Brian Keller

JACK
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: JAK
Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of JOHN. It has long been regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man". It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as 'Jack and the Beanstalk', 'Little Jack Horner', and 'Jack Sprat'. American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name.

In English Jack means "god is gracious". Jack holds no special family connection, but obviously Brian is from his Daddy!

We had more trouble with the girl name. We knew we loved Maggie, but couldn't decide if we wanted to go with Margaret. Finally we went with what WE both like!
Maggie Lily Keller

MAGGIE
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English
Pronounced: MAG-ee
Diminutive of MARGARET

In Irish, English, Scottish and Greek Maggie means "pearl". Maggie comes from Margaret, which is my maternal Grandmother's name and Lily comes from Lillian, which is my paternal Grandmother's name. We didn't even "set out" to name her with both family names, but it worked out.

So there you have it, Jack Brian and Maggie Lily. :)

24 Weeks

It's been quite a week so far, and it's only Wednesday. Both I and the babies are doing good, but I've been feeling pretty "yuck" the past few days.

Here's my growing belly at 24 weeks:


Like the pants and shirt I'm sporting... Brian's! :)

I had an ultrasound and OB appointment Tuesday afternoon. The ultrasound was good, the babies were both pretty active by the later part of the afternoon and Maggie was all about the spotlight, whereas Jack couldn't really be bothered. After the ultrasound I saw the OB. Fairly typical appointment, I met another doctor at the practice and I really like her. She did an internal exam because of the Braxton Hick's contractions I've been having, and although my cervix isn't dilated, it is "softened". To ensure it wasn't also shortening, I had another ultrasound this morning. All is good though and I'm measuring perfectly. Speaking of measurements, my belly is measuring the perfect 4 weeks ahead, 28 weeks! The babies are each 1.5 pounds and growing right on track. As for my weight, I've gained a total 25 pounds. Here are some pictures of the babies from the ultrasound yesterday:


Maggie's cute little profile


Maggie's face in 3D. Hard to see, but there are two eyes, a nose and mouth in there.


This is the only good shot we got of Jack, his face. He was pretty camera shy...sound familiar...?

Each baby is active at different parts of the day. Jack is more of an early afternoon guy while Maggie varies between afternoon and evening after dinner and I've settled in for the night. I have fun watching them kick through my shirt while at work sometimes! :)

So I've taken the past 2.5 days off from work, but I'm returning tomorrow with the hope of completely feeling better! :) The nursery is slowly coming along. The painting is complete, the closet is put back together and the new door handle was put on tonight. We may pick up the crib mattresses tomorrow...which means I can put the bedding on after I wash it!

This weekend is our Couple's Baby Shower! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

23 Weeks, Nursery coming together and Mama's got a new ride

It's been a productive past few days. Friday we picked up the paint for the nursery and then over the weekend Brian primed and painted the nursery, and hung the new roman shade over the window. I love the color!

It's coming together, but there is still a lot to be done. :)

My mental list includes: paint baseboards, hang and paint crown moulding, organize closet, install closet doors, purchase changing table, glider, ottoman, and dresser, figure out room placement, buy rug, make and hang window treatment and finally the little touches like wall shelves, wall hangings, etc, etc.

Yesterday we bought the ultimate "mom" vehicle, a MINI-VAN!

Meet our new 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. Two sliding passengers doors (automatic on the passenger side), seats 7, and has home link and navigation features (you know, those "extras"). Isn't she perrrrrrty? :) Now we have something to haul the 4 of us around in, along with our stuff, and we will even have room for other passengers. :) We never knew buying a used car was so much work, but we waited it out until we found the perfect fit, and they even threw in new tires for us!

And finally, here is my belly picture for 23 weeks:

I'm still feeling pretty good. My ankles and hands have been swelling, but nothing too extreme. The worst has been the allergies! Last night I tried some breathe right strips and that did the trick. I was actually able to sleep through the night and get this...breathe! I still have "attacks" at work that I just have to muddle through. I feel the babies fairly regularly now. Jack is much more prominent and pretty much on schedule with his movements. Lately Maggie has been getting stronger, especially in the evening after I've eaten and we're settling in for the night. More and more Brian gets to feel them and I can now see Jack kick through my clothes. It's awesome!