BEDREST (part 2)

Okay, where did I leave off?

We were waiting for a room to be admitted into...

Yes. So, we got a room and they set me up in a real bed.

At this point I think they took off the boys monitors and said they'd just be monitoring them

every 4 hours or so. The contraction monitor was to remain on for the duration of my stay in the hospital.

I think dinner was sent up, and I kept thinking how I wished we were back at CDH (Central DuPage Hospital where I delievered Cale....WOW they had awesome food, a flat screen tv mounted to the wall and brand new everything. We were spoiled, I realize...).

Anyway, at least we had a television and the bed was comfty enough.

A neonatologist came in to talk to us. She was very informative and kept telling us "she didn't want to see our babies yet!" I have read SO much about preemies (partly fearing I may be a preemie mom, and partly because I like to have all the information I can for what I'm going through). I can't remember if she told me anything I didn't already know, but it was mostly new info to Tim. She told us survival rates were good at this point, but the babies could have trouble with their lungs, hearts, brains, eyes...well, alot of stuff. She said that each day they spend inside would be several less days in the NICU. 32+ weeks was a much safer time to deliver! ;)

We waited to see my OB until pretty late that night. It seemed like each nurse that came in to had some trouble keeping both boys on the monitor for 20 minutes. It took them quite a bit of time to find both their heartbeats (they move CONSTANTLY!) and then keeping them in one spot for 20 minutes. I swear my stomach was gelled and exposed for 2 days!

A few times they'd come in and say "do you feel that contraction?" Nope. I'm really not good at knowing if it is a contraction or the boys moving.... Seems kinda silly NOT to know though...

But, after the doc came and said it was best to stay overnight and the rest of the next day (because the steroid shots for the baby's lungs had to be 24 hours apart), I figured there was no point in arguing. I was pretty wiped out by the time Tim left for home. I quickly fell asleep around 10pm, but was woken up almost every hour or two for one thing or the other:

Medication to stop contractions

Empty IV bag (and IV monitor beeping)

Medication for the baby's heart and lungs

blood pressure check

monitoring the boys (which was suppose to be 20 minutes, but took over an hour each time)

Honestly...it was a nightmare. I got a total of 1 1/2 hours of sleep. Broken. Sleep. I remember that at one point in the middle of the night (around 4am) I asked my nurse if I could have something to help me sleep. She said she could ask the doctor, but what they usually prescribe is something that would knock me out until lunch and she didn't think he'd give it to me then.

What's the difference, I thought. I'd be stuck in bed until after dinner at the earliest....

But I didn't get anything, and didn't sleep anymore after that.

In the morning after the nurse change I was thrown through a loop. My new nurse wasn't the friendliest of people... She did take notice that I was exhausted and pumped some Benadryl in my IV (which helped me to sleep for another hour or so).

By the way, that was the only thing they used my IV for (which is annoying, because those things hurt so bad!!)

I spent most the morning with the lights off and my eyes closed hoping for sleep. But around lunchtime I figured I could use a shower. Tim was home with the boys, so I asked my friend Alicia (who has been extrodinary during these past 2 weeks) to bring me some clean clothes and hang out for a bit after she finished up work.

We chatted for about an hour, she left, and then I think I took a quick nap before Tim brought the boys over to see me.

NOTE: my boys did fine. I'm not sure they really even noticed I was gone...but honestly, I was a mess! It felt like my arms were chopped off...they are such a part of me that I just wasn't sure what to do without them. Yes, it was technically only 2 days, but I kept wondering how I'd cope if I was here long term!! I knew they were being well cared for (by Daddy and friends) but again, I needed my arms!!

Cale thought it was great to sit on my hospital bed with me and eat his chicken nuggets while watching TV. Megersa was confined mainly to the stroller but didn't seem to be bothered by his new surroundings. Cale asked about the IV and the "jelly" on my belly. He was scared to hear the baby's heartbeats so loud (whomp, whomp, whomp)...so the nurse turned the volume down.

I felt better seeing them, but I think they may have hurt my case a little bit. When the doctor came to examine me again (and decide if I could go home) she took a glance at my wild children (who were now becoming increasingly bored by the confinement of the room) and asked about help. She reminded me that I was going to be on strict bedrest. It seemed like she wanted to know if I knew who were gonna watch my children. ...and made sure I stayed off my feet.

So, I fudged the story a bit saying we had people lined up (though a plan to accomplish that was in the works...), and despite her advice to stay another night, I insited I'd be fine to go home.

They can't MAKE you stay at the hospital...

So, 27 hours after arriving, I was on my way home. :)

BEDREST...how I got here. (part I)

Where have I been recently?

Sitting or laying around...

and being forced to do so. :(

As of Jan 31st, I've been ordered to finish the rest of this pregnancy on bedrest.

I still feel like this all came out of nowhere and I'm having my share of trouble complying with the decision...

Here's the story:

Last Monday, Tim and I got the opportunity to go to my High Risk OB appointment alone! Kinda like a mini date. :) We planned to go to Red Lobster afterwards while we took advantage of free babysitting.

The appointment was at 2pm, and luckily we were able to get in right away (you know how waiting rooms go!). Per routine the Ultrasound Tech started on the belly, and we could see boys moving around on the monitor. She measured their "giant" heads, legs, hearts, arms...everything. It's always a beautiful experience to see your children from the inside out. The boys looked great! Thad (baby A) measured in at 2 lbs, 12 oz, and Shepherd (baby B) is showing to weigh 3 lbs! Their weights indicated they were in the 54th and 67th percentile (and this was in comparison to singletons)!!

Starting at week 24 the doctor ordered the fFN test and a transvaginal ultrasound to see if my cervix was shorting. (Perhaps this is too much information, but it's the key ingredient to the recipe of my bedrest.) Last month my cervix was 37 cm (where they like it to be at least 30 cm) and it presented itself as closed tight. Great news for 6 months.

A WHOLE different story at 7 months.

The u/s tech did what she needed to and basically stopped short. She called attention to the doctor (who was just a few feet from her). We heard alot of "uhhhs and oohs" and I wasn't sure what I was looking at. Last month the scan looked like a long paperthin line among blurriness on the screen. But last week I saw what looked like a V with little feet nearby. I had no idea what was going on and at first I didn't think anything was wrong. Is that one of the baby's feet? I asked.

It was, and the feet were kicking into the canal. I started laughing. I have nervous laughter...and it's very odd. The tech said she only measured 2mm (basically nothing left) for my cervix and I started laughing more (yes, it's VERY odd). The V seemed to grow as I laughed and they told me to stop because it was like I was 'bearing down.' My laughter quickly turned into crying when the doctor called the hospital talking steriod shots for the babies lungs, bedrest and a possible long hospital stay.

Wait, what?

Why was this happening? Everything was fine. Perfect in fact. Last time I saw Dr. Hodor he told me I would have no restrictions...and that I was doing everything right!

But something changed.

He checked for dilation. He said I was dilated 1 cm.

Dilated already? Was it my fault? I had been to the gym like 6 times since the last visit (I figured I finally had the energy and wanted to maintain some muscle in the last few months.) He said it wasn't anything I did, but that all this probably started happening over the past 2 weeks... I felt no different from the past weeks.

Nevertheless we were sent right over to the hospital. Nervous laughter began again and Tim and I joked about how we should just blow it off and go to Red Lobster first! :)

But when I got there and they hooked me up to monitors, gave me an IV and the first steroid shot, my tune changed again. They were admitting me they told me and started me on terbutaline...medication to stop contractions (which I guess I was having some of). We were in the Triage part of Labor and Delivery for over 2 hours until we were taken to another room. The nurse was nice enough, but with no TV for distraction and no new information given to us, Tim and I just grew silent. He was off and on the phone with people to watch our boys for the duration of the night and updating close family on our situation.

365 days since...

we became Megersa's legal parents!!
Legally Yours. (Click on the link to read my blog post about that day.)
It's amazing what happens in a year!
Such a whirlwind of events took place after Jan 27, 2010.
This is M, one year ago:

And now, here's a pic of Megersa taken a few days ago:

It's truly amazing what can take place in a year!!
For instance:
God called us to move to Maryland. Tim was offered his job here at Mountain View Community Church...
We packed up and left everyone in IL (still trying to sell our house there if you feel inclined to pray about it)...and moved into our townhome here.
Then, after only 9 days after arriving in MD, Tim's mother and I boarded a plane with Ethiopian Air to pick up Megersa.
A few short months after his homecoming, I guess Tim and I figured the adjustment was going well and we talked about adding to our family again (this was assuming it would take awhile)...
And a birthday present to me (July 31), God gave us twins to wait for.

The winter seems to be a waiting game for us with our children:
Cale was born in early April,
Megersa came home in mid-March,
and we're expecting the twins to arrive somewhere around those two dates...

I love our growing family!

copy-catting

Normally, copy-catting drives me a little bit crazy...

But in these 2 instances, I think the benefits are DANDY:

1. in Megersa:

Megersa's words, specifically...
This kid is a fountain of speech! At almost 17 months, he will try and say pretty much everything you ask him to say. A full blown 'copy-catter'. M now affectionately refers to himself as "Sussa" and not only mimics words, but understands their meanings (about 75% of the time). It's helped tremendously in our communication skills and his discipline (since we now KNOW when he understands what we are asking).
I regret to admit he's figured out what "mine" means...because when he and big brother get arguing about a toy, nothing gets resolved. The volume of their demand: MINE! gets louder, but neither gives up. *sigh*
I do very much enjoy that he walks around the house saying "Mommy, mommy, mommy..." because if you remember, only a few short months ago, we were tuned into the 'all things Dada, all the time' channel, and I was feeling left out.
Wanna know what he calls Cale? "Ca-ca." (Yes, it's very funny...turns out when he was saying "Cole" before - he meant cold.)

So, that's the 1st copy-cat scene.
The 2nd comes to a fault at my expense:
2. in Cale:

Chores FOR CALE. :)
See...I enjoy the blog 'It's Almost Naptime' very much. ((It's on my blogroll if you're interested.)) So much in fact, that the stories of her son Shepherd sparked my interest...and now Tim's and my joint decision that Baby B will be named Shepherd! ;) At any rate, just a few days ago blogger 'Missy' wrote about "The joys of child labor."
This I had to read!

I'm not exactly sure the ages of her children, but I know at least one of them is similar to Cale - so I went with her line of chores. Things I thought Cale would be able to accomplish.
I developed a morning chore chart AND and afternoon chore chart for him.
So, how is it going?
Swimmingly, actually! He loves the clip art I put next to each chore, and he very much enjoys marking off (or "checking") each chore he's completed. I have yet to give him anything but verbal praise, and as long as that works, there doesn't need to be anything furthur.
Please forgive the terrible quality of these pictures. Yet again, my current camera has failed on me. It's beginning to be a bit annoying.
I'm pretty sure last year around this time I also had a broken camera.
At any rate, here are the chore charts: And here are his chores (since it's basically impossible to see each one):
In the AM:
Put pajamas in hamper if dirty, or on dresser if clean
Brush your teeth
Put diaper in KITCHEN garbage. (yes, he still wears one at night)
Put on your clothes: shirt, pants, socks, undies.
Pray with Mommy or Daddy and give everyone a hug.
When you take out toys, put them away. (this is meant to be accomplished before naptime)
Clean up your dishes after breakfast.
Turn off lights and fans upstairs (which is his favorite)

In the PM:
Clean up after your snacks.
Set the table for dinner.
Clean up your toys before bedtime.
Brush your teeth before bedtime.
Tell Mommy, Daddy and Megersa "I love you."
Put on your pajamas.
Read a Bible story.
When you go potty, flush the toilet.
Wash your hands and face (This applies always when dirty, but specific to bedtime to earn the "check.")

You've heard the saying: "It takes a village to raise a child."
I'm beginning to think that perhaps my village is part cyber. :)

Dream Mommy

Cale always has the most random things to say.

Usually they are just some funny quotes that I log away on the computer or put up on my facebook status (soon to become a blog post); but today's randomness stemmed from something subconscious:

This morning Cale came bursting in my room waking me from a very bizarre, yet deep dream-sleep...to ask me why I wouldn't come down from the ceiling.

Before I could laugh, I noticed his sobbing eyes and the fact that he was truly devastated by this dream.

I asked him to tell me about it:

Apparently I was on the ceiling...and wouldn't come down. That was the only fact that I could get out of him until he calmed down a bit. After he climbed into bed and snuggled under the covers he started asking me what was behind the door. (The door on the ceiling, of course...) He was still upset about the ordeal and seemed slightly annoyed I didn't know the answer to his question. Continuing on, crying as he went, he told me there was a "mosquito-kitty cat" that scared him. I wasn't sure what to say to him, but I reassured him I also did not like his fictional creature. Again, he questioned why I didn't come down after he called for me and started crying. I tried to explain what I decided to describe his alteration of me as "Dream Mommy." - Sometimes dreams are funny, sometimes dreams are scary...sometimes we dream about people we know, but dreams are not real. Weird things happen in dreams because we are asleep. When we wake up, the dreams go away. Sensing he was still confused between dreams and reality, I asked him if he could touch "Dream Mommy," and he said no. He said Dream Mommy wouldn't talk to him. I told him to give me a hug and asked him if he could feel me and hear me talk to him. He said yes...

Thinking I had distracted him by telling him to go downstairs and get started on the breakfast food I layed out for him last night; he left.

I closed my eyes and rolled over; but not 10 seconds later did he start up again. He came barreling up the steps, VERY upset that I wasn't going down with him, and he started into his dream again....

I rolled out of bed and threw on my robe. We both sat at the table, and shortly Tim joined us. Tim was concerned that Cale wasn't able to shake the dream (even with the distraction of food), and tried to talk to him...but Cale seemed to be looking through him. ((I wondered for a second if he was still asleep....)) He was having a really hard time shaking this. It was very bizarre.

However, after about a half hour of discussing how dreams are not real and how "Dream Mommy" is not REAL Mommy, we were able to move past it and get ready to go to MOPS.

Thank goodness we had something to do today that was fun for him, because the grudge he held against Dream Mommy probably would have interferred with his attitude toward Real Mommy the rest of the day...

I'd like to know...how do you explain bad dreams to your kids?

Wordless Wednesday

A rare family photo taken this past Sunday. Too bad Cale wasn't smiling.... The big belly at 26 weeks, 4 days:

i have a brand new...hair do :)

My evening was full...

1. Full of vomit:

Megersa deemed his broccoli unfit to eat (did I mention he can voluntarily vomit?).

2. Full of poop:

After cleaning up the vomit, I decided both boys would benefit from a bath.

Until someone pooped in the tub...POOPED! And it wasn't Megersa! NOT. OKAY!

3. Full of squiggles:

After cleaning up the poop from the boys, the tub and the drain, I decided they were going down for an early bedtime.

Until I got distracted...

After slicking the boys down in lotion and dressing them in their clean, snuggly jammies, I reconsidered their direct deposit into bed... I started working my magic on Cale's hair. He NEEDS product and it NEEDS to be right after bathtime. Otherwise, it's a mess. A hot mess.

I brushed it out, put in the product, and gave him his awesome Jimmy Newtron flip in the front.

Next up: Megersa.

Normally he detests getting his hair done, but today...he stood up while I vice gripped him with my knees in attempt to dread it with the new product I had purchased at the dollar store. It smelled GOOD! To my pleasant surprise, M was content. Content to play with the things I normally do not allow him to mess with...and he allowed me to pull and twist his hair for almost a half hour without. complaint. He didn't try to wiggle away, and was delighted that Cale oohed and aahed over his "squiggles" as we are now affectionately calling them.

They ARE squiggly.... (and adorable)

Observe:

the Goober and his "squiggles" (aka Mommy's attempt at locks):

(Mommy dangles fruitsnacks in order to get a good shot:) Cale showing Megersa how to "cheese!"
vomit, poop, unruly hair and all...I LOVE these two!