I do not plan to go a week between posts, but last week was a doozy.
I allowed myself a few outings on Monday (two doctor appointments and a trip to Target) on Monday, and then started bed rest in earnest on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, we had our growth scan for the boys. They were both measuring aprox 25w1d, which is great, since I was 24w1d! I can't remember the weights, but over a lb, and closer to 2 than 1, so that is positive. I haven't gained any weight since I left the hospital, but the babies are growing,and I am eating often and protein-fully, so until someone gets worried, I'm going to keep on, keeping on.
The less positive piece is that my cervix, which was still over 2cm long, but was showing a bit of funneling at the top. The bed rest injunction became very real to us at that point.
But then the real fun started. When we got the car we both had messages from a friend of my moms telling us she was in the hospital, with what sounded like a stroke or a TIA. Oy. I called my siblings, and my husband went to tell my father and take him to the hospital. My mom is 81, and has been having trouble with her blood pressure since she had a surgery on her finger in June (beta day, actually!) Her doctor has been sort of lackadaisical about dealing with it, which pissed her off, and made her not want to ask for or more help. My siblings and I had been talking to each other and her about getting checked out by someone more responsive (noticed her speech was slurring, seemed unsteady, a couple of driving incidents with a teen aged granddaughter in the car etc). So we were all aware that she needed some sort of assessment. Although I'm not happy it got that far, at least in the hospital, she got throughly checked out.
And then I started having contractions. I couldn't tell if they were braxton hicks or not, and after the funneling info, I was spooked. I called my doctor, and my husband hightailed it home from the hospital, and we got an iphone app to time them, I took a warm bath, and things finally calmed down, just to start up again the next night, and add to that excruciating right hip pain. By the time I woke up on Friday, I was a weepy mess. We went and saw my doctor. He monitored me, no contractions, but I did have blood in my urine. Turns out, more kidney stones for me! Oy. Not as bad, by any measure, as the ones in October, but still, pretty awful.
Mom was still in the hospital, awaiting some sort of heart scoping procedure, since they'd found a hole in her heart during her echocardiogram. For some reason, they didn't do the procedure...hoping to find out more later. She is doing pretty well, and is finally going to start seeing some specialists. Whew. And she's pissed enough to FINALLY change primary care doctors. Whew.
I'm finally getting used to the 'big boy' kicking these two are doing. The first 2 weeks of it really freaked me out, especially since Ziggy (baby A) liked to work my cervix over, quite frequently. But now its more familiar, and it feels like a chance to communicate with both of them. I'm still having the BH contractions, but they are not as frequent or as scary. I think the super long ultrasound irriated my uterus (listed as one reason for BH contractions on the internet). My sister said she had them starting around 5 months with all her pregnancies, sometimes all day every day, so hopefully that will bode well for me and pushing--no more than 5 or 6 pushes for each of her births!
The other big news is that we hired a nanny...for us. Husband was trying to do everything himself, which mostly meant he was exhausted, and running himself ragged, and feeling as if (and it was true), he was not accomplishing anything he needed to at work. He is our only breadwinner, and a partner in his company, so not getting work done is not an option.
We placed an add on Wednesday, and interviewed the first two people who where qualified on Friday and Saturday, and made our choice! She is awesome. She is applying to graduate school, and cooking is her hobby. She reads the same food blogs and has the same subscriptions that I do, and she is funny, and laughed at our jokes. At this point, we are concentrating on having her supply meals for us. We are running on takeout and frozen food, which is not how I want to feed these boys.
I'll update more often, than once a week! Typing laying down is very challenging.
Several years ago I was on bedrest from weeks 12-36. It was quite a time, especially without Internet, but it was manageable. Hiring some help is a great idea. I wish you were close and I would come visit! Friends stopping by was a real spirit-lifter. I also had the gal who cut my hair come to the house to do it. And yes, those ultrasounds always triggered contractions.
Posted by: Jill | November 08, 2010 at 11:14 AM
Glad you hired some help! Sounds like you needed it.
Very scary the medical emergency with your mom, but I hope all the specialists she will be seeing will take good care of her.
Posted by: Summer | November 08, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Oh wow, it sounds like you have been through quite a bit this past week. I'm glad that your mom is doing better, and that the doctor doesn't seem too concerned about contractions. Take bedrest seriously, you are doing such an important job! I'm glad that you guys hired someone to help out with all of the stuff that you need to get done -- let someone else deal with those responsibilities, and you focus on growing the babies!
Posted by: Erin | November 08, 2010 at 02:09 PM
Good idea to get yourself a nanny!
I hope your mom is feeling better soon - and I hope you get no more kidney stones or BH contractions!
Posted by: a | November 08, 2010 at 02:39 PM
Hope your mum feels better soon also.
We had someone bring us meals towards the end and oh, it made a HUGE difference.
Love how upbeat you sound. I was on bed rest for a few weeks here and there and then basically the last 3 weeks to swollen to move and to be honest, I quite enjoyed it. I read, watched tv, slept, ate and ate and ate and just spent time with my guys inside me.
Enjoy your communing with your guys :)
Posted by: EB | November 08, 2010 at 04:23 PM
Wow, you have been through a lot! Please please rest with gay abandon! It's very important! Very smart to hire a nanny! I'm thinking of you and your two little ones and hoping everyone stays where they are for the duration. You're doing great! (( hugs))
Posted by: Tireegal | November 08, 2010 at 04:39 PM
Sounds like a challenging week indeed. Hope everything settles down and you can enjoy bedrest. A challenge in itself I'm sure. Keep on! You're making it work.
Posted by: Paige | November 08, 2010 at 05:38 PM
Oh no! So much drama. I'm so sorry about the kidney stones and your mom's troubles. I hope that both are cleared up quickly.
Posted by: Sara | November 08, 2010 at 05:41 PM