Monday, October 31, 2011

WORK!!!

So a year from Christian getting laid off and the same day he received notice from unemployment that our benefit was running out at the end of the month, Christian found out that he got a job. He is working for Change Anything in Marketing. He is contracted with them for one month and they can make a decision from there. No matter what, we get paid in November. It is such a relief. I have really loved to have the help with the babies, especially at night but this is so worth it. Awe it is nice to have employment. We have been so blessed to have what we need when we need it. It has tried our patience but we knew that we have been taken care of. This is just one more prayer that has been answered.

catch up!!

It has been a little while. Sorry this may get long but I am trying to do some of this for me. At around 34 weeks I went in for an appointment and to get an ultrasound. It was then that we found out that our little ones were growth restricted. The little girl more than the boy. I was also dilated to a 3. The OB wanted them to be able to get as big as they could but with their restriction there is a fine line before they are better off out than in. The OB referred me to a Maternal fetal Medicine doctor at the hospital. I had already been going to the hospital for non stress tests weekly. Oh this is also when I was put on bed rest. I went to maternal medicine and they figured out that baby girl's growth had been restricted since about 28week and continued to slow until about 32 weeks where it appeared to have stopped. So this meant that I went into the hospital pretty much everyday. And my blood pressure was all over the place so each time I would go in for my 40 min visit I would end up staying there for half the day or more.

The friday I turned 35 weeks I went in and my blood pressure had shot up to 181/93. They ended up keeping me for about 8 hours. Every 1/2 hour the story would change. First they were going to take the babies immediately and then they were just monitoring me and back and forth until about 3pm when they finally let me eat and then they let me leave at about 5pm.

I went back into the OBs on the following Monday and he said it was the recommendation of the Maternal fetal Med. doc and he agreed that I needed to deliver the babies as soon as I turned 36 weeks.

So Friday the 14th of October, I went into the hospital, and they prepped me for surgery. My first was a c-section and then the next two were VBACs. The OB said I could try VBAC but that there would be a higher risks. I was honestly at peace with a c-section, which is strange since I was so against surgery if it wasn't necessary with Landon and Caitlin.

Just before 9am we went into the OR and they did the spinal and we were well on our way to having our babies here. We were hoping that the extra week and a half since the last ultrasound that they would be a little bigger but they were saying then that they would be about 3lb 8oz and just over 4lb. Luckily they were a little bigger than that.

Maci joined our family at 8:51am weighing 4lb 4oz and 16in long. She took in a little bit of fluid and sounded are gargly. But they suctioned her out and she was doing great.

Beckett came just a minute after at 8:52 weighing 4lb 9oz and 16.5in long. He didn't cry for a bit after and they had to work with them but within a couple minutes he was doing great as well. I was so nervous that they would need more intensive care and that would have to be whisked away. But they were able to stay in there and get cleaned up and I even got to see them before going to the nursery. Nursery, not NICU. Everyone was shocked by how well they were doing. I was informed it was good that they got them out because even though they were doing well, they were definitely growth restricted.

Right after surgery I was super itchy. I figured it was the morphine and percocets and everything else they pumped me full of during surgery. After the dr's stitched me up, the nurses looked at me and my face was turning purple and within a couple of minutes my whole torso was also purple. They pumped me full of more drugs for the allergic reaction. We still don't know what caused it. Also my blood pressure was going up and down. So they did blood work on me again. Because of my blood pressure over the last couple of weeks, I have been tested A LOT for pre eclamspia. It was negative again.

Friday afternoon the pediatrician came in and said he was shocked at how well they were doing but that by that night they would be in the NICU and that we had a 2% chance of bringing them home with us. We made it through the night with no NICU. Again the pediatrician came and said well, for sure tonight they will go to the NICU. And again they were wrong. Every day they were shocked. The babies were really doing well. Maci had to go into the warmer in the Nursery a couple of times but that is it. We stayed in the hospital for 4 days and then they discharged the babies. By then they, had even returned to their birth weight. This doesn't usually even happen with full term babies.

My blood pressure was still a mess. And by day 4, I tested positive for pre eclampsia. I would not wish that on anyone. I have never felt so horrible. I didn't sleep at all that night. I ended up staying another day. What were the chances that 4lb twin premies were discharged before their "healthy" mom. Luckily the pre eclampsia was getting better after 24hours and they were able to discharge me later that day. I am so glad that I was able to go home.

Since then......we have gotten almost no sleep. We have to wake the babies every 3 hours. But they are doing great. We have had a couple of dr appointments for the babies and still the dr.s are amazed with how well they are doing. We are saying they just don't know they are little. They eat like they are big. They act like they are big. They lift their heads against gravity. Beckett rolled to his side at the dr office and they are gaining weight. As of last week, just over a week old Maci was 4lb 10oz and Beckett was 4lb 13.5oz. They are ready to be big kids.

The kids are doing great with them. Cait calls them her babies. And aside from a couple of tantrums she has been doing awesome. Landon and Brenten are the biggest helpers, especially if they are watching one of their shows. They will both just sit and hold them any time I need.