33 Weeks and Thankful!!

We are officially 1 week away from our doctor's "jumping up and down point"! WOO HOO! We can't wait for that 34 week appointment on December 2nd, but I'm actually 34weeks on November 30!

Since Thanksgiving is this week, we are hoping that this will make the time fly by. My Dad and Patti are going to be coming down to spend Thanksgiving with us and we are soo excited! My dad bought tickets to the Cowboy's game on Thursday, so he and Cody are super excited to sit in the club seats at the new stadium. I'm excited to have Patti as company!

In light of the upcoming holiday, Cody and I would like to share a few things that we are Thankful for...

• We are Thankful for a wonderful Lord and Savior who has provided and cared so dearly for us.
• We are Thankful that we found each other ♥
• We are Thankful for Awesome parents and family that make every experience in our lives that much more fun, because they make it a point to be involved!
• We are Thankful for not 1, but 2 healthy babies that will complete our home.
• We are Thankful for our friends who are always there for us.

We are Thankful for so much more, but we wanted to give you a little preview of some of the top things in which we are Thankful.

Cody and I have been preparing for the arrival of these littles ones very early on in the pregnancy, which has turned out to be a blessing since I got put on bedrest. Everything is washed, put together, put away, and complete and the nursery is patiently waiting to be filled... We recently made a purchase for our kid's first CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS...here is a picture...



Thank you for checking in on us! We are Thankful to have you there for us!!
Lastly, Here is my 33 week picture!!

32 Weeks...

First off, I would like to say we are sooo excited to have made it to 32 weeks! Each week is such a milestone in the development of our little ones and we are blessed to have made it this far!!

Yesterday, I had my 32 week appointment with my OB and the Perinatologist! Both went pretty well! Maddox is weighing in at 4lb 10oz and Lukas is weighing in at 4lbs 12oz! So little sister is giving her brother a run for his money! She is measuring in the 90th percentile and he is measuring in the 95th percentile! Keep in mind that the measurements now can be off +/- 1lb.

We got a few 3D shots of Lukas's face....



I would love to be able to show you Maddox as well, but as a typical woman she wasn't ready for her close-up. I guess we will finally get to see her when she makes her grand appearance!

My doctors were both pleased with the progress and didn't feel the need to see me for another two weeks. My cervix has shortened quite a bit since the last appointment, but they said that this is going to happen beings that I have over 9lbs of baby pressing on it! They said if I make it to 34 weeks, I will have made it to a "jumping up and down point" for them. At 34 weeks, they said my treatment will become more lax and that they will no longer stop any type of labor!

We are now praying for a 34 week appointment on December 2nd! We hope we can make it to that milestone! However, if I have learned anything in this entire pregnancy experience it is that my time and God's time can be two totally different things and despite what time I deem to be the "right time", he knows the best time for these little ones to be here!!!

Lastly, My 32 week picture...and I'm measuring 37 weeks!!

31 Weeks

Well Well Well...I have finally gotten around to updating my blog this week! Nothing much has been going on this week, just trying to make it through till next Tuesday when I have my next two doctor's appointments and a Sonogram.

However, even though this week is pretty uneventful I have had several visits from friends to help pass the time...Thank you Katie, Jessica, and Richard for having lunch with me or just coming over to hang out and give me some company, it is appreciated more than you'll ever know! I'm also excited to see Kelly and Betsy tomorrow for our Ladies Bible Study!!

Today I am anxiously awaiting my Mom and little brother, Lyle to be here. They are coming down for the weekend to give Cody a break from cooking and entertaining me! I'm soo excited to have the company, especially since Cody will be working this weekend =(

Everything with the pregnancy has been going great. The babies are moving soo much, and it is no longer the sweet little taps and kicks...they are moving with a purpose and it is definately known on this end!!! As some of you have noticed and commented, they seem to be favoring my left side and there is typically a body part sticking out. Much to my dismay, it appears my "Snooze Button" aka my belly button is fighting a losing battle. It is trying soo hard to pop..but I'm trying soo hard to not let it! We shall see in the near future.

Cody has already started pestering his two children. He presses down on their space and acts like he is playing the piano on my left side...this makes them very unhappy and they kick and move in return. However, he does make it up to them when he reads to them every night :) So far he has read them tons of nursery rhymes, "God Gave Us You", and "I'll Love You Forever".

Cody has also been building, constructing, and piecing together all of the wonderful gifts we received at the shower. Here is a picture of our Snap-N-GO Stroller. It is soo lightweight and easy to use. All you have to do is Snap in the carseats and Go..hence the name Snap-N-Go....



Lastly, here is my GIGANTIC 31 week picture =)

30 Weeks

We have made it to 30 weeks!! We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and another one on Tuesday. Both went very well.

Lukas Glen, a/k/a "Chunk" is weighing in at 4lbs 2oz and is in the 95th percentile for his weight.

Maddox Avery is weighing in at 3lbs 6oz and is in the 60th percentile for her weight.

We were soo relieved that both of these Angels are measuring big for their age! However, we are praying that Maddox maintains her size and starts catching up to her big brother soon. The doctor said as long as she is staying in a normal range they aren't concerned; however, if she starts falling further behind they will definately have to keep a closer eye on her to make sure that she is still getting plenty of nutrition.

They measured my cervix and it has lengthened from 24mm to 34mm after two weeks on bedrest and Terbutaline! It makes bedrest so much more bearable knowing that it is actually helping!!!

My FFN came back negative, so it looks like we can rest assured that we have at least another two weeks with these babies! WOO HOO!!!

My doctors say they think we will make it to at least 34 weeks, but they don't see me making it to 38 weeks! Also, they told me that they typically deliver twins at 37 weeks, because they find that leaving them in there longer can actually be harmful on the twins. So if you guessed our due date for after 38 weeks, you might want to edit it!

We are praying that when God is ready for these babies to be here, regardless of when that time is, that they will make their grand entrance completely healthy and won't have to stay in the NICU.

Thanks for keeping up with our journey and we can't wait for you guys to meet them!!!

Now for the best part...the 30 weeks picture :) I am measuring 35 weeks!

29 Weeks

Alot has happened recently and I haven't updated my blog, so beware this is going to be a longer post. I'm going to try to separate it into categories to make it easier to read, and also because now that I'm on bed rest I have lot's of time on my hands, lucky you =)

Let's start with the fun stuff...

BABY SHOWER

I had my baby shower this weekend on Saturday and it was more than I could ever have asked for. The theme was "Two Peas in a Pod" and my hostesses: Katie, Kristen, Lindsay, Missy, & Erika all pitched in to make this day super special! I feel so grateful to have had soo many friends and family come to make this day absolutely unforgettable. We received soo many wonderful gifts for our little kiddos! Thank you to everyone who came, sent wishes, and shared in this time. Cody and I feel very thankful to have you in our lives!!!

GESTATIONAL DIABETES....I THINK NOT!!

Last Tuesday, I went in for a 1 hour Blood Glucose screen to test for Gestational Diabetes (GD). I failed the test on Tuesday, and had to schedule a more accurate 3 hour test on Friday. I had to fast from 9 pm on Thursday until the test was finished at 11 on Friday. I also had to drink double of this sickeningly sweet drink on an empty stomach, sit in the waiting room and get my finger pricked every hour to test my blood glucose levels. Luckily, my Mom was there to keep me company!! I passed this test with flying colors..which means NO Gestational Diabetes for me!!

BED REST...BOOOOO

As I briefly touched on last week, I am now on modified bedrest. What is modified bedrest you might ask...? Basically, I am suppose to be sitting with my feet up or laying in bed on my side for the majority of my day. This is suppose to take some of the pressure off of my cervix, so that it doesn't dilate or thin anymore. I am allowed to get up to use the restroom, make a quick bite to eat, or take a shower with the understanding that I need to be off of my feet within a few minutes. I'm not allowed to do any type of housework and I'm not suppose to leave my house other than for Doctor's appointments.

Needless to say, this has been a bit overwhelming, because as most of you know I'm not a sit around type of girl. I'm starting to feel better about the entire situation, but I still have rough days where I feel like I can't do this anymore. However, I keep reminding myself that this is a small price to pay for two precious babies!!!

TERBUTALINE PUMP AND MONITORING

Last week, I was also put on the medicine Terbutaline. This is an asthma medication that is used Off-Label to treat Pre-term labor, by relaxing the uterus muscles. The medicine is delivered all day via a Terbutaline Pump that is connected into my thigh and then I clip the pump onto my pants:



I have to change the site and switch legs every 5 days to prevent infection and to give the tissue in my leg a break. Every 4 hours, I receive a larger dose of the medicine. The side effects have been pretty mild. My heart rate is elevated and that sometimes makes me feel like my heart is racing. The side effect that is most prominent is Trembling or the Shakes. I constantly shake from the medicine, but I've gotten pretty used to it. The worse part about this pump is that I cannot take a bath with it on :( I LOVE baths so this makes me cranky; however, when I change the site I get to sneak a bath in before I start the next line in the opposite legs!!!

Twice a day, I also have to hook myself up to a monitor and lay still for an hour to monitor for any contractions. I then send this data wirelessly to a home health service called, Alere. Around 10 minutes after receiving the data an on-call nurse calls and tells me how many contractions I had in that hour. If I have 6 or more contractions I have to give myself a demand dose of this medicine via the pump. That has only happened one time, if it starts happening more often they will up the dose of my medicine.

29 Week Picture
At 28 weeks, I was measuring what a person having a single pregnancy measures at 33 weeks. I say that so you realize why I'm getting soo big :)



Lastly, We go in next week for our 30 week appointment. They will perform a full growth sonogram to see how these babies are growing as well as another FFN to see if preterm labor is possible in the next 2 weeks! Please keep our appointments in your prayers...we are in the homestretch and can't believe it!!!

Welcome to my 3rd Trimester!!!

Today, I am officially in my Third and FINAL trimester! It is hard to believe that we have come this far already!

Today we went to the Perinatologist to check everything out and things weren't exactly what we had wanted. This may be TMI for some, so skip to the next paragraph if you are easily grossed out by words like cervix! My cervix has made some changes and has started to shorten and dilate slightly. The doctor hooked me up to the monitor to monitor the twins heart rates as well as my contractions. I started contracting pretty regularly in the appointment, so my doctor has decided to take some precautions.

Starting tomorrow, I will wear a device that is essentially an insulin pump that will periodically deliver Terbutaline, an asthma medication, instead of Insulin. It's like a small IV and box that I will wear everyday. I will also have to monitor my contractions twice a day for an hour at a time...the machine will transmit the data to a home health system who will monitor and adjust my meds as needed. This will stop any contractions that I am having and hopefully stop any more changes in my cervix! The medicine does have a few side effects, but it was definately the lesser of two evils when I was given the option of that or Procardia. I was given a small dose today and it worked like a charm in stopping my contractions and the side effects (increased heart rate, pounding of the heart, and the jitters) were pretty mild. I am also confined to couch/bed/propped up feet all day rest. No more galavanting the greater DFW area for me!

Our doctor also ran an Fetal Fibronectin (FFN) and it came back negative, which means they are 99.9% sure I will not go into preterm labor in the next 2 weeks. If the test had come back positive she would have been much more aggressive in my treatment.

Cody and I are trying to stay positive about the entire situation. We feel truly blessed to be in such good hands, and we feel that our doctors are taking all the necessary precautions.

Our babies are also in the hands of the ULTIMATE PHYSICIAN who tells us: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

On a lighter note, I am leaving you with the 28 week picture....GET EXCITED!!!



:

27 Weeks

I'm one week away from my Third and final trimester! Woo Hoo! This week is pretty uneventful, but I'm conserving energy for my super BUSY week next week!

Next week, I meet with my Perinatologist on Monday then Dr. Tatum on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, I interview a prospective Pediatrician.

Dr. Tatum is going to test me for gestational diabetes. Please pray that the test goes well and I don't have gestational diabetes! I have to fast from 9:00 the previous night until after my test the next day..which can take up to 3 hours...YIKES! You guys are lucky you don't have to be around, because I get CRANKY when I'm hungry :)

I am soo excited, because my baby shower is next week on October 24th! I can't wait to see all the friends and family that are coming to see me and the kiddos!

I'm attaching my 27 week picture...if I look scared in the picture it's not because I'm getting ready for Halloween...look at the belly and I have several weeks to go!!! Eeeeek!