Week 34

We ended up at the hospital AGAIN last night. My contractions started coming too frequently and the medication I'm on wasn't doing the trick.

As the nurse was settling me into the maternal assessment center at Abbott, she said she wanted us to be prepared for the possibility that the doctor might want to proceed with a c-section that night!

We were a bit stunned. Reality came crashing in.

Having passed the 34-week mark, we've moved into the zone when twins are typically born and they would be okay if they were born now. So it's common for doctors to stop measures (such as the meds I'm on) to prevent labor.

However, it turned out that the doctor on duty was my regular OB, Dr. Kreider. We were pleased to see her. She thought it would be better to give me a shot of terbutaline (which is stronger than the stuff they have me on at home) and see if that slowed things.

It did. So she sent us home.

But before we left, we scheduled the c-section. That made it even more real! So the scheduled date is 7:30 am on Dec. 31st. Yep -- New Year's Eve. The plan is to try to make it that far.

Of course, an emergency c-section might happen anytime between now and then if the babies show signs of distress, or if I develop complications (such as high blood pressure) or if I go into full blown labor that they can't stop.

In the meantime, I get to continue sitting at home bored out of my mind. Jamey is working furiously to finish at least one of the units on the duplex rental property that we bought a few months ago. He's behind schedule and has found more problems than he anticipated over there. We had hoped to get at least one unit rented before the babies came, but that's looking highly unlikely right now. UGH.

We had an ultrasound on Thursday that showed the babies are still doing extremely well. The little girl looks like she's got really chubby cheeks! That's a really good sign cause it means they are putting on fat -- one of the last things that develops. They have been moving a lot and the doctor is really pleased with how they seem to be faring. That's reassuring!

However, the ultrasound also showed blood vessels near my cervix -- something they call "vasa previa". Apparently this is a huge problem if you're going to deliver vaginally. The blood vessels are from the placenta (in this case, for Baby A) and apparently they often rupture when your water breaks, usually resulting in death for the baby due to blood loss! It's usually not diagnosed until after delivery.

My doctor isn't terribly concerned about it since we're doing a c-section anyway (babies are still laying sideways). I just hope I don't go into full blown labor before then. We're going to talk with the doctor more about this at our regular appointment on Tuesday. I just don't want to take any chances that something bad might happen.

That's about it for now. I'm crazy bored and will welcome any visitors, any time. Bring on the distractions!