Messages

1

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Baby girls have arrived

« on: July 09, 2012 at 11:15 PM »

Thanks everyone!! Abby can I ask how much it cost for the genetic testing? I have heard its expensive but I am very curious as to whether my girls are identical. They look a lot alike and have a few features that are the same but they were also di/di so I just assume they are fraternal. It might be nice to know for sure as we do get asked a lot

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What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: help..i cant do this anymore!!!

« on: July 04, 2012 at 06:18 PM »

Hi Katie, I am so sorry that you are having to go through all of this.  Bells Palsy on top of hospital bed rest - its terrible.  I just had my twin girls 2 weeks ago at 36 +5 weeks after doing 3 months of bed rest - 8 of them in hospital 2 hours away from my family.  It was possibly the hardest thing I have ever done and I can remember feeling the same way as you - that I couldn't do it anymore, and that I didn't want to do it anymore.  I was always given the impression by my doctors that I would not make it out of the hospital until delivery either - but then I made it to 32 weeks and I was allowed to go back to the hospital in my home town, and my doctor there agreed to let me do my bed rest at home.  After 34 weeks I stopped doing strict bed rest - although by that time I was so weak and so huge with my twin belly that moving around the house was very difficult.  I eventually made it to 36 +5 and was induced as I was already 6cm dilated and my doctor figured it was as good a time as any. 
Hang in there, try to take it day by day, and I hope that your bells palsy goes away soon.  I know its hard to imagine right now, but before you know it you will look back at this time and be thankful that you stuck it out, and it will all be a distant memory :-)

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Pregnancy Complications: PPROM, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and more / Post Partum Rash

« on: June 29, 2012 at 06:35 PM »

Hello.  Just wondering if anyone has suffered from a post partum rash here.  I just gave birth to my twins 9 days ago and while i remember my skin on my belly being pretty itchy at the end, it was nothing compared to what it is now.  I developed quite a few stretch marks at the end of my pregnancy and now it seems that these stretch marks have become very red and inflamed.  They burn and itch intensely and so far I have not been able to find anything that has helped to relieve the itch.  I went to my GP yesterday and he took a quick look at them, told me they looked very itchy and painful (thanks!) and prescribed me a cortisone cream.  So far its not helping but I am sure i need to just give it time.  Today I developed an itchy blister like rash on my foot.  I am not sure if the two are related.  I feel like I am close to losing my mind with the intense itchiness.  I can't handle anything touching the skin on my belly - which is hard when you have 2 newborns to care for plus a two year old. 
Just wondering if anyone has had this, and if so - what did you do to relieve the itching?
Thanks.

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What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: im new here

« on: June 29, 2012 at 06:14 PM »

I agree with the others - you WILL make it!! I am not sure why you are on bed rest, but I was also put on bed rest at 23 weeks for Incompetent cervix.  I was pregnant with di/di twins and spent 8 LONG weeks in the hospital.  Doctors gave me little hope of making to 28 weeks, and once I made it past that milestone they told me there was little to no chance of making to to 32 weeks.  Eventually i was induced at 36 weeks 5 days and neither of my girls needed any NICU time. 
As for advice, what worked for me was to take it day by day, but to not focus too much on the numbers that the dr's are always throwing out at you.  I would be sent for weekly ultrasounds for my cervix and every week it would be a bit shorter - but the nurses would continuously remind me that all that really was important was that my girls were still baking.  Get lots of good books, a computer with lots of movies/tv shows, a journal, and let anyone come visit.  I remember it being pretty lonely in the hospital, but the day they let me out of there it was as if it never happened.  And now that my girls are here its all just a thing of the past. 
So stay positive and I wish you the best on this journey.  Its a rough one but worth it in the end :-)

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What's Your Story? Tell us. / Baby girls have arrived

« on: June 27, 2012 at 12:45 AM »

I am happy to announce that my baby girls arrived safe and sound on June 20th.  I was 36 +5 and induced by my doctor.  We had planned to do the induction on the 20th but as i have learned throughout this pregnancy - things never seem to go as planned.  On June 19th i started having pretty regular and somewhat uncomfortable contractions.  I decided to stop by my midwives office before heading off to my NST just to let her know what was going on.  She checked my cervix and discovered i was now 6cm.  She told me to go home quickly and grab my hospital bag as she was sure the babies were coming a day earlier than planned.  When i arrived at L & D they ran the NST and saw that i was contracting regularly and i was immediately admitted as they could not safely let me go home.  The Dr on call was going to break my water for me just to get labor going but when they re checked me about 5 hours later I was still only 6cm so it was decided then that I should just hold out until the next day and go ahead with the induction as planned.  So that is what we did.  The next morning my doctor broke my water at about 10am.  I had an epidural placed as a precaution for twin delivery and I decided to go ahead and have some pain meds in my epidural as I felt like I had suffered enough over the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy.  My contractions picked up after a small amount of oxytocin and the next thing I knew i was feeling like it was time to push.  At the hospital their policy is to do all twin deliveries in the OR just to be safe.  When I told them that I was ready to push panic set in among the staff as the OR was not ready for me.  A c-section had just been done and the OR was not clean.  They told me to try my hardest not to push while they quickly prepared my room for delivery just incase.  Soon enough I was being rushed down to the OR and about 30 mins later my first baby girl was born at 2:01pm  She weighed in at 6lb 3oz and came out crying.  She was whisked away from me pretty quickly as they NICU team wanted to check her over to be safe.  11 mins later my second baby girl was born and weighed 5 lb 7oz.  Both were perfectly healthy and no NICU time was needed.  What a relief!!!
We stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and then I was ready to go home.  My son who is almost 3 has been through so much with this roller coaster pregnancy and we really felt like we needed to get home to be a family together again.  So far things have been pretty good.  The girls (who have yet to be officially named) are pretty sleepy and weight gain is our main issue.  Their big brother is being amazing and he is just so happy to have 2 sisters to love (we will see how long that lasts :-) )
I am so grateful to have found this forum as it was a great source of info and comfort for me during my 3 month stretch of bed rest.  For those of you beginning your bed rest journey, I wish you luck.  Its a long tough road, but I really do believe that it works and it is worth it in the end.  I did a lot of crying while hospitalized for those 8 weeks and there were some very dark days, but being able to hold your baby and not have to deal with the NICU was so worth it in the end.  I wish all of you the best of luck on your journey and my best advice is to set small goals and not listen too much to the doctors who tell you that you are going to delivery early.  They told me that the whole way along and I ended up being induced. 

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Monday Roll Call for June 18

« on: June 18, 2012 at 10:59 PM »

Hey Everyone.  I am still here, 36 + 3 and going strong.  Well actually I feel like I am falling apart - the pain of carrying twins has really caught up with me and I am pretty miserable.  I can't seem to find a single position that is comfortable to be in and I am so ready to be done now.  My doctors is inducing me on wednesday, so the end is really in sight now.  This week I have had so many people tell me what a miracle it is that my babies have stayed inside cooking for so long, and in a way I find this a bit insulting.  I correct them every single time and remind them that what has likely kept them cooking for so long is the fact that I layed in a hospital bed for 8 weeks and a regular bed for about 4 weeks - that is no miracle!!
So my long journey of bed rest is coming to an end.  I am so grateful that I found this site as it was a great source of support for me during such a long and difficult time.  All you women are inspiring and I wish you all the best on your journeys.  I will definitely update you when the girls make their arrival.  I am a bit nervous of being induced, but my doctor is hoping that all he will have to do is break my water and the rest will happen naturally!!

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Monday Roll Call for June 11

« on: June 12, 2012 at 06:20 PM »

Hey Everyone!! I am still here 35 + 4 today.  I can't say that I am doing strict bed rest these days but I am definitely on house arrest, and I only leave to go to the dr, or the various tests that I have to go to every week.  I can't actually believe that I am still holding these babies in.  I am still 4+ cm dilated and fully effaced and the u/s tech told me on friday that she had never in her 12 years experience seen a babies head as low as mine is.  So much for an incompetent cervix!!! My doctor is going to induce me next wedensday if I am still pregnant then.  I will be 37 weeks at that point and I guess around here they consider that full term for twins. 
As for fathers day - I am not sure.  My son and I might make a card for him and see if I can manage a car ride to the park for a picnic if the weather is ok. 

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Finally =D

« on: June 10, 2012 at 10:59 AM »

Congratulations!!!! That is so amazing that you made it past 37 weeks.  You worked so hard to keep that little girl in for so long and you are definitely an inspiration to the rest of us!! Good luck!!

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Accomplished

« on: June 04, 2012 at 12:43 PM »

Congrats Mommaof3!!! You have done such an amazing job, and I know how hard you have worked and struggled to make it this far.  We were both on hospital bed rest at around the same time and I always read your posts and felt somewhat comforted that there was someone else who was going through the same torture as me - with being so far away from family. I wish you all the best from here on out!!!

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Happy June! Roll Call for Monday June 4th

« on: June 04, 2012 at 12:16 PM »

Hey Everyone.  I am now 34 weeks 3 days and no one can really believe that I have made it this far.  I have now done 11 weeks of bed rest and when I look back on it i feel like the time really has flown by.  I am not being very strict with my bed rest anymore.  I don't leave my house unless its for an appointment but I do putter around trying to do a bit of nesting here and there.  The problem is that I am so weak now and my belly is so huge that my poor back can only handle a few mins of standing before I have to lay flat again. 
This past saturday I started having regular contractions that were strong enough for me to notice, but not strong enough for me to have to stop what I was doing.  I tried laying down, drinking water, having a warm bath but they persisted and started to get stronger, so I called my midwife and she came over to check and observe me.  It turns out I was 3cm dilated with about 1/2 cm of cervix left when she arrived at my house at around 4pm.  We sat around for about an hour and the contractions kept getting stronger and were 2-3 mins apart so she rechecked me to see if there had been any change and my cervix had changed a little bit and was now 4cm and paper thin.  My midwife told me to call my mom and get my things together for the hospital.  I couldn't believe that this was it....and neither could my husband.  When my mom arrived to take care of our son we were out the door and straight to the hospital where they were all waiting for us.  I guess 34 week twins get a lot of attention there because I could not believe the commotion that took place in our room.  Anyways, long story short, I was contracting every 2-3 mins but they were not getting stronger and after about 2 hours at the hospital they started to go away.  My cervix held strong at 4cm and the dr decided that I should stay the night incase they picked up again, but they never did.  I went back home sunday morning and since then have had occasion bouts of regular but not too strong contractions.  Not too sure how much longer I will be pregnant for at this point, but I am laying low and hoping to make it a few more weeks 

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Roll Call! May 28,2012

« on: May 28, 2012 at 01:57 PM »

Still here, doing my bed rest at home now.  I have been home for 10 days and so far so good. I am 33 + 3 today and I honestly never thought I would make it this far.  I have been extremely uncomfortable the past few days.  My belly is HUGE and my back is not used to supporting the weight.  I am having pretty much constant cramping, and the other night I had a few stronger contractions but they disappeared pretty quickly so I never bothered following up with them.  I saw my OB last thursday and he said we are not going to bother checking my cervix anymore because we know that it is pretty much fully effaced at this point and checking it now could induce labor.  Also since the babies are fine we are going to only do one more ultrasound before my due date.  He also told me that if I hadn't gone into labor by June 20th on my own that he would induce me that day.  So the clock is ticking down now, and I am feeling the need to get organized here.  Too bad I can't actually do any of it myself.  I go for a NST tomorrow and other than that I am laying low this week trying to keep these girls baking for as long as possible. 

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: So done with bed rest

« on: May 26, 2012 at 05:47 PM »

Hospital bed rest was the hardest thing I think i have ever had to do.  I am also pregnant with twins and was diagnosed with IC at 23 weeks.  I never had any contractions but when my cervix got to 1cm with funnelling they wanted me in hospital.  I was there for 8 long weeks - and finally last week when I reached 32 weeks I was allowed to go back home.   I definitely found that some days were worse than others, and after about 4-5 weeks there seemed to be more bad days than good.  Have they told you if there is a target goal that you need to reach in order to go home - like 32 weeks?? I can remember having the same feelings as you and feeling really selfish for having them.  I just had to remind myself that laying in a hospital bed was the better option to watching my babies potentially fighting for their lives, and living with long term issues from being born so preemie.  I did a lot of crying by myself in my hospital room - mostly because i missed my son so much.  I can remember looking out the window on saturday afternoons and seeing all the pregnant women who were there for their prenatal classes and thinking how unfair it all was that they were living life as normal and here i was confined to a hospital bed.  The only thing that I can tell you from my experience of hospital bed rest was that the day they let me go home it was as if the whole long experience was a distant memory.  You have done so well making it to 29 weeks.  And when you reach 32 weeks thing will look even better for your twins!! Good luck and stay strong and just think of this as a long term investment!!

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Monday Roll Call for May 21

« on: May 21, 2012 at 12:27 PM »

I am still on bed rest - can't remember now if its 9 or 10 weeks.  I am now 32 +2 and was finally allowed to go home after being in the hospital for 8 LONG weeks!!  The situation with my cervix has not changed at all, the length varies from about 5mm to 1cm and there is still funnelling.  I am so happy to be back at home with my family, its like bed rest isn't that big of a deal anymore - I just hope that I can be strict with myself because if something happens and I get re-hospitalized I think it will be so hard on my son.  I have been told to continue the prometrium until I am 34 weeks and then I can stop. I continue to get bad menstrual like cramping with back pain throughout the day, but so far it has not caused me to dilate at all.  I also have significant pelvic pressure which i attribute to the fact that I am carrying twins (and baby a's head is engaged now). At this point i am so happy that i have made it to 32 weeks because it never seemed possible 9 weeks ago.  My next big goal is 34 weeks!!

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Finally back home

« on: May 21, 2012 at 12:03 PM »

Thanks ladies.  I am definitely being as strict as possible with myself - regardless of what the doctors tell me because I really do believe that it has been the bed rest that has kept these girls in for as long as this.  Mommaof3 - I am so happy for you that you are also back home with your little ones.  It really is amazing how being back home can lift your spirits and make it all seem doable again.  And I have to agree with you about being so weak after all those weeks of laying in a hospital bed.  I keep saying that even if I wanted to do all these things that there is no way I could physically do them.  My stomach is HUGE at 32 weeks with twins - far bigger than I was at full term with my son.  My back hurts with everything that I do and just changing positions in bed or on the couch gives me very strong braxton hicks, so I am definitely laying low!!
One thing I have really noticed since getting home is the intense urge to nest.  Our house is a mess, nothing is ready for babies, and I just want to de clutter, clean and organize.  I have decided that I am going to have to get some close friends over to help me do all of this!!

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Making the Best of Bed Rest / Finally back home

« on: May 19, 2012 at 11:12 AM »

I have been on bed rest for 9 weeks now with IC. I am now 32 weeks with twins.  I was hospitalized 2 hours away from home for a total of 8 weeks and it was like torture being away from my friends and family - especially my 2 and a half year old son.  I was always told that when I reached the 32 week mark that I would be able to be transferred back to the hospital in my home town as they would be able to handle 32 weekers in their NICU.  I couldn't believe it when they told me that my doctor had agreed to accept me back to my hometown and that they were going to let me continue to do my bed rest at home.  I have been home for one day now and I am happy to say that the hospital experience is already becoming a distant memory to me. 
WHen I was being discharged I asked the Dr what my level of activity should be at home.  My cervix is considered to be dynamic now - and at the last U/S it was measured at 1cm with funnelling and membranes in the cervical canal.  The dr told me that I could be as active as I felt because they don't really know for sure that it has been the bed rest that has prevented me from going into labor.  I found this very hard to believe.  I do truly think that laying in bed for most of the day and basically getting up to shower and use the bathroom is what has allowed me to make it this far in this pregnancy.  I have to admit that I am already finding it harder to lay down as much with my little guy being so excited that I am home again, but I am in no way shape or form going to take myself off of bed rest at 32 weeks - that just seems crazy. 
Does anyone else find that their dr's are skeptical that bed rest helps?  I have an appointment with my regular OB this week so I will see what his take on the matter is - and until then I am going to be taking it extremely easy, because having babies at 32 weeks still seems extremely early to me!!
I hope everyone is surviving their bed rest ok :-)