34 Weeks, 1 Day and Two Babies

Well, we didn't make it to 35 weeks like we had hoped. On Tuesday we were told Erica had pre-clampcia and H.E.L.P. and needed to deliver immediately. We then found out and the girl was breech so we were forced into a C section. Nuts. So away we were whisked to the O.R. At 1:35 and 1:36 our boy and girl were born on December 29, 2009.

Finnigan - 4 lbs 13 oz - 1:35PM

Cassidy - 3 lbs 9 oz - 1:36PM

While Finn is bigger, Cassidy is a scrapper and is eating better than her brother. She is constantly moving her arms and legs. Finn has spent a lot of time napping and feeling better from needing some ventilator time to help him breath.

Erica has been dealing with some pain but it is getting better every day. We over did it a bit today but she is going to get some rest tonight. We hope she'll be back home Sunday and that the babies might join us in 2 weeks. Hope you are all well and we'll be in touch soon! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

Erica, Brendan, Cassy and Finn

Four days, two bottles of pee, and a partridge in a pear tree. Still in the hospital, still pregnant and I have holiday spirit oozing out my pours.

THis week was marked by a pre-eclampcia scare and conscious avoidance of all crap christmas movies on TV and there are a lot of them. Due to my level of Pillsbury doughboyness, sudden weight gain and my blood pressure creeping higher, the Docs thought I might have pre-eclamcia. This lead to a sudden interest in my giant ankles and hobbit feet and of course my urine. Let me tell you if you haven't spent 24 hours collecting your urine on ice and putting it on display like a raw bar then you're missing out. Good news is I am pre-eclampcia free and the babies get to bake a little longer.

Here is this weeks update. It is crazy to think there will only be a couple of these entries left! To everyone writing replies on the blog page, I don't have access to the internet in the hospital and Brendan has to post all my entries. I promise I will get back to all of you once I am home.

How far along? 33 Weeks and 3 days.

Total weight gain/loss: Up 51 lbs. I suspect some of this is from the water weight around my ankles, wrist and face. Hell, everywhere!

Maternity clothes? Yes. I might be progressing to a big burlap sack.

Sleep: Thanks to the sweet kiss of Ambien I am lucky to get any sleep at all.

Movement: Yes. Constantly. No wonder my uterus is exhausted.

Food cravings: None.

Gender: A boy and a girl

Labor Signs: When the barametric pressure drops all the women on my unit contract at the same time. It like a chorus line of naughty uts.

What I miss: Since I was hospitalized right after Thanksgiving I missed the whole Christmas season. I'll be glad when tomorrow is over because I won't feel like I am missing out on so much, outside of life of course. :(

Milestones: According to Dr Luke, guru of all things multiples, 33 weeks was a developmental touchdown. I would do a touchdown dance but the babies might fall out. I am hopefully going to be released from the hospital on my own recognizance on New Years Eve. We hope to make it all the way home before I start going into labor.

32 Weeks

Getting to 32 weeks is a lot like New Years Eve. You look forward to the day, full of promises of bacchanalian exuberance only to find yourself lying in a pool of your own vomit. Getting to 32 weeks had been such a fixation, it felt like by the time Monday came that I half expected to see a team of nurses break out into spontaneous song to commemorate this fertile benchmark. Alas, my cupcakes and streamers were replaced by anti-contraction meds at midnight, 2am, 4am, 6am, so on and so on for the remainder of each day. Good news: babies are still baking; bad news: no musical extravaganza.

How far along? 32 Weeks! Hell yeeeeeahh!

Total weight gain/loss: 52 e-fing lbs! I guess a diet of cheese quesadillas and a workout routine of walking to the bathroom doesn't promote a slender pregnancy.

Maternity clothes? I have graduated to monster sized panties this week!

Sleep: Is great if I can get to sleep by 10pm as the medical crew starts their daily parade at 6am.

Movement: Baby gladiators dukin' it out for space.

Food cravings: Anything not from the hospital

Gender: A boy and a girl

Labor Signs: Tons o' contractions and they seem to escalate in frequency and intensity every 3 days. No standing up pictures because we were on contraction monitor time too often.

What I miss: Doing stuff and when my best friends weren't nurses.

12/7- 31 Weeks!

So I was re-committed to the hospital on Tuesday. My sucktastic cervix was down to 1cm! Yikes! I can't blog from the hospital because their internet hates certain sites, blogger.com included. Up yours hospital internet....

My solution to all this forced Amish-style living? Write down my bloggity thoughts and force my husband to post them for me. So, here are some rambling thoughts I have come up with in the last week (sorry for the crazy long post):

* I've been granted 30 minutes of pool therapy. And let me tell you, the hospital-issued swimsuits are sexy as hell. Swimsuit Illustrated had better watch out because when I squeeze myself into one of those checkered XXL plastic beauties, I don't just look like a table at your local BBQ bistro, I may just make you drool... The best part? When I get out of the pool and the butt of my suit is full of water, just like a giant full diaper, and I have to squeeze it empty, regardless of how many onlookers there are.

* I love most of the nurses with one notable exception. This would be the woman who asked Brendan if we believed in Jesus and then later told me (repeatedly) how swollen my face was, called my legs "sausages," and then said, "I don't know you so maybe you always look like this." Bite me Nurse Ugly. I also don't like the dietician. I have nicknamed her "Captain Obvious" but not to her face. The other nurses who work here? They rule. I've got one who calls me sweetie, honey, and calls the babies "love muffins" and "doll babies." Usually this would make me nuts but she does it in a way that makes her positively huggable. I also have a french nurse whom I love but I haven't seen much of her...sigh...

* I've noticed there's a weird smell whenever I get up from bed. This happens regardless of when my sheets were changed and the smell is always a little like onions. There's not a lot to say about this. It's just weird.

And now for your update! Here's hoping for at least 3 more!

How far along? 31 Weeks! Word

Total weight gain/loss: I haven't weighed myself since last Tuesday morning when I was 40 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Pajama city. But I love my maternity lounge wear (Thanks Mom!)Stretch marks? I am still proud of my shiny stretch mark-free belly

Sleep: Muh. The hospital staff wake me up every 2 hours to take medication. It does not make for restful evenings.

Movement: A ton. The nurses always act surprised at how much the babies move and kick.

Food cravings: Nope. Hospital food kind of sucks. I'd love a home-cooked meal right bout now.

Gender: A boy and a girl

Labor Signs: Contractions. I'm now alternating between 2 different kinds of medications every 2 hours. It definitely helps a lot and I'll go several hours without a contraction (I think). But they tend to pick up in the evening, regardless.

What I miss: Seriously? My husband. I see him for a couple of hours every day but I am most homesick for him.

Milestones: Getting to week 31. Being told I looked thin by a resident (I love a good liar!)

On and I saw a fourth woman on "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" give birth in the toilet. What the hell?

Doom & Duffel Bags

Damn you feeling of imminent doom and destruction.

I have a doctor's appointment at 1:30. Growth ultrasound (!), cervical check, and probably a fetal fibronectin (my third!) to see if I'm going to pop out these babies in the next 2 weeks.

As of this morning?

Contractions are under control- CHECK!

Buuuuut, I'm having a little trouble in the bowels. Seems this could be a sign of pre-term labor (read- DOOM! DOOM! DOOM!). It also interferes with my water drinkage as my stomach is a cesspool of gurgles and misery.

Also, I'm feeling a little pelvic pressure here and there (DOOOOOOOOOOM!)

My conundrum? To pack a hospital bag or not....hmmm....I think my little chant, "Long, strong cervix" may not have worked the magic I was hoping for.... Damn