Here I Lay...

Well, my week definitely took a turn on Tuesday. It all began on Monday. During school I was feeling cramps and when I got home from school I felt awful all over. My body just felt completely exhausted and I was still feeling the cramping. I wasn't too worried about the cramping because I was distracted by the pain in my hips. I went back and forth about if I should call the doctor and decided Tuesday morning that I would call. I left a message with the nurse and they returned my call at around 2:00 when I was outside at recess. Luckily, I had brought my phone out with me just in case. I first told her about the hip pain and she gave me a few things to try. I then told her about the cramping and she said for that I would need to come in a.s.a.p. so she could put me on the monitor. I debated about going because I felt like I was going to go all the way there and they would tell me nothing. But, as soon as I dismissed my class I headed out the door to the doctor. I'm glad that I did. When I got there the nurse took me to a small room with a bed and monitor system. She hooked up the monitors to my stomach- one for my uterus and one for the babies heartbeats. She monitored Presley first then moved to monitor Parker. They did not like the monitor, they were moving around like crazy. She had to press down pretty hard on my stomach to pick up the heartbeats which I'm sure invaded their space. I laid for awhile having no clue what any of the information being printed meant. I started to get the feeling there was a problem when the nurse asked me if I had just felt a cramp. Then awhile later she asked me how many weeks I was. Her face started to look very concerned. I started putting together that the little mountains on the paper printing were probably contractions. I tried really hard to stay calm but I broke down. I tried to focus on the wall paper border around the ceiling of the room- it was covered in angels. I kept telling myself God is taking care of me and the babies. My doctor wasn't there that day so I saw one of the other doctors in the practice. She checked my cervix and said things there seemed good. She said I could just have an irritated uterus (not getting enough water, food, or over worked myself.) So, she said to go home shower, eat a good dinner, and rest for a little bit. She said if the contractions didn't go away within two hours to go up to the hospital. I was so upset and confused. By this time it was almost 5 so Eric was able to come pick me up. I just left my car at the doctor and my parents went to get it for me later. Nothing changed when I came home so Eric and I were on our way to the hospital. The hospital monitored the babies and the contractions the same way the doctor's office had. They confirmed I was still having the contractions and put a call in to the on call doctor for instructions of what to do with me. The doctor wanted the nurse to give me a shot to stop the contractions. When the nurse came in and was preparing the shot she started telling me about it- it was going to make me feel sick, raise my heartrate, etc. Well, my heartrate was already ranging 120-130 which is too high. The nurse then realized my heartrate was too high for her to give me the shot. As she was telling me about the shot the monitor started beeping again telling her my heartrate was too high. So, she put in another call to the doctor who told her to give me a pill. After taking the pill they monitored me awhile longer and got the results back of another swap test. The swab test is taken from the fluid inside me. It measures the chance of labor within the next week to two weeks. The test was negative which is a relief.
So, they sent me on my way and told me to call my doctor in the morning for further instructions. My doctor prescribed me the same pills they had given me in the hospital- Procardia- to take every 6 hours. Now that I have had 4 doses in me things seem better. The only time I have issues is when I get up to walk around. When I get up my stomach becomes completely hard and stays that way until I lay back down. Weird. In a week if things calm down they said I can resume normal activity. I'm not sure I feel comfortable with that. The last thing I want is to get things under control only to aggravate it again. I see the doctor next Thursday so I'm going to share my thoughts about that with her.

We are very thankful for all the prayers and support from our family and friends. It is great to know how many wonderful people we have in our lives.
I pray that angels look over our babies-


Tomorrow I am 24 weeks. Here is what it says online about weeks 24 with twins-
By 24 weeks your twins are proportioned like newborns but thinner - their "baby" fat hasn't yet developed. Although they're getting heavier every day, their skin still appears wrinkled because they need to gain more weight. Their lips are distinct and their eyes are formed, though the iris (the coloured part of the eye) still lacks pigment. The pancreas and the thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands, essential in the production of hormones, are developing steadily. Tiny eyebrows and eyelids are now visible.

Even this early, the first signs of teeth appear in the form of tooth buds beneath the gum line. Before you know it, your twins will be born, and soon after, their first teeth will come through.

Your twins' lungs continue to develop and mature to prepare for breathing. They're swallowing but they normally don't pass their first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Your babies are making breathing movements. They have no air in their lungs yet but it's essential practice for when they are born.
More than half of twins are born before term (before 37 weeks). If your babies were to be born before 24 weeks, they would only have a small chance of survival (less than 10 per cent) even with the right care. Every day in the uterus makes a difference at this stage. Their chance of survival rises rapidly after 26 weeks, and from 32 weeks they should survive if they are growing normally.

So, short goal right now (mine and Eric's) is 10 weeks. That would put the babies at 34 weeks. I would love to make it to 36 or 37 but we'll focus on a short goal first. :) So here's to counting down from 10.