Madeline and Benjamin Webster were born Wednesday, Dec. 31st at about 8:45 a.m. after a successful planned c-section. The great news is that, although they are 3 weeks early, they each weighed in just above 6 pounds! That's a great size for twins born early!!
Will post more later!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
2 days!
I can't quite get my head around the fact that in 2 short days I'll be a mother -- to two babies, no less!
It's such a weird feeling. A mixture of excitement and fear and the unknown that is indescribable. I have no doubt that I'll be a good mother and that I'll be able to handle it all, but I'm still awed by the enormity of change that will take place in my life.
Jamey and I keep talking about it as the "biggest day of our lives." And it certainly will be!
It's such a weird feeling. A mixture of excitement and fear and the unknown that is indescribable. I have no doubt that I'll be a good mother and that I'll be able to handle it all, but I'm still awed by the enormity of change that will take place in my life.
Jamey and I keep talking about it as the "biggest day of our lives." And it certainly will be!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Week 36
We hit week 36 today! That's a really great milestone for twins. So we're down to 5 days and counting til the scheduled c-section!!!
This morning we had our last ultrasound. All good news. Babies measured just shy of 6 pounds each and they "passed" all their tests (in terms of practice breathing and umbilical cord function, etc).
This morning we had our last ultrasound. All good news. Babies measured just shy of 6 pounds each and they "passed" all their tests (in terms of practice breathing and umbilical cord function, etc).
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Me and the babies are doing well. Here's me on Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncle's house. Don't I look huge?
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Status quo
I'm holding my own and the babies aren't showing any signs yet that they're going to show up in the immediate future. Hopefully that means we can celebrate Christmas with my family without going to the hospital!
My belly has gotten enormous, though, just in the last week or so. The doctor measured it yesterday at 48 centimeters (from sternum to pelvic bone). To put that in context, a women with a single baby usually measures about the same as whatever week her pregnancy is in. So 40 centimeters would be full term. Yikes. The good part is that my belly just sticks straight out -- it's all babies, nothing extra!
Merry Christmas to everybody! Hope you have a great holiday with your families and friends.
My belly has gotten enormous, though, just in the last week or so. The doctor measured it yesterday at 48 centimeters (from sternum to pelvic bone). To put that in context, a women with a single baby usually measures about the same as whatever week her pregnancy is in. So 40 centimeters would be full term. Yikes. The good part is that my belly just sticks straight out -- it's all babies, nothing extra!
Merry Christmas to everybody! Hope you have a great holiday with your families and friends.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Letter to Santa
The Pioneer Press asked me (and a few other staffers) to write letters to Santa this year. They were published in today's paper. Mine, of course, has to do with the twins.
You can read it online here or pick up a copy of today's paper (Section E).
Babies are still staying put and we're hopeful to make it to Dec. 31st. Each day is getting harder for me, though. I feel like my belly has expanded several inches just in the last couple of days! UGH.
You can read it online here or pick up a copy of today's paper (Section E).
Babies are still staying put and we're hopeful to make it to Dec. 31st. Each day is getting harder for me, though. I feel like my belly has expanded several inches just in the last couple of days! UGH.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Practice at the hospital
I got to have a bit of "practice" at the hospital this week. Tuesday, at about 6 pm, I started bleeding. This was a bit alarming because the week before the doctors thought that I had a condition called "vasa previa" -- meaning that blood vessels from Baby A's placenta were covering my cervix. With this condition, bleeding is extremely dangerous for the baby.
Jamey wasn't home, so I called him and he started driving back here from the rental property. But it had been snowing all day and traffic was snarled. He didn't think he could get back here fast enough. So he called one of our neighbors and she and her daughter came over and called an ambulance to come get me.
So I got to ride in an ambulance! We didn't hit nearly as much traffic as they had expected and got there in the usual amount of time.
The bleeding actually stopped fairly quickly and never got very bad. But they put me on the baby monitors right away to make sure the babes were okay. And they were fabulous, as usual. They were moving around like crazy (a good sign that they are well oxygenated and healthy) and their heartbeats were right where they should be. I was having my usual amount of contractions.
The doctor, though, couldn't determine if it was vasa previa that caused the bleeding or something else. He said they needed a Level 2 ultrasound machine and the only one available to them was locked up in a perinatal office that had already closed for the day. So I would have to wait until Wednesday. He also wanted to continue monitoring me and the babies to make sure the bleeding didn't start again. If anything went wrong, we would be having a c-section that night!
So off we went to the birth unit to spend the night. Since we seemed to be doing just fine, Jamey went home around midnight, but neither one of us slept very well.
Wednesday they couldn't get me in for an ultrasound until nearly 2 pm. So I just had to lay around all morning (they did let me take a shower at least!).
The ultrasound showed no signs of vasa previa. But I seem to have some of my own blood vessels right near the cervix and apparently one of them ruptured when I was going to the bathroom! This isn't as much of a problem as vasa previa, especially since I'm having a c-section.
So we're back to the usual routine -- bedrest and hoping we can make it to Dec 31st. The doctors say the babies would be okay if born now, but they would be much, much better if we can get another couple weeks.
Jamey wasn't home, so I called him and he started driving back here from the rental property. But it had been snowing all day and traffic was snarled. He didn't think he could get back here fast enough. So he called one of our neighbors and she and her daughter came over and called an ambulance to come get me.
So I got to ride in an ambulance! We didn't hit nearly as much traffic as they had expected and got there in the usual amount of time.
The bleeding actually stopped fairly quickly and never got very bad. But they put me on the baby monitors right away to make sure the babes were okay. And they were fabulous, as usual. They were moving around like crazy (a good sign that they are well oxygenated and healthy) and their heartbeats were right where they should be. I was having my usual amount of contractions.
The doctor, though, couldn't determine if it was vasa previa that caused the bleeding or something else. He said they needed a Level 2 ultrasound machine and the only one available to them was locked up in a perinatal office that had already closed for the day. So I would have to wait until Wednesday. He also wanted to continue monitoring me and the babies to make sure the bleeding didn't start again. If anything went wrong, we would be having a c-section that night!
So off we went to the birth unit to spend the night. Since we seemed to be doing just fine, Jamey went home around midnight, but neither one of us slept very well.
Wednesday they couldn't get me in for an ultrasound until nearly 2 pm. So I just had to lay around all morning (they did let me take a shower at least!).
The ultrasound showed no signs of vasa previa. But I seem to have some of my own blood vessels right near the cervix and apparently one of them ruptured when I was going to the bathroom! This isn't as much of a problem as vasa previa, especially since I'm having a c-section.
So we're back to the usual routine -- bedrest and hoping we can make it to Dec 31st. The doctors say the babies would be okay if born now, but they would be much, much better if we can get another couple weeks.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Maternity photos
A few weeks ago we had our wedding photographer, Michelle DuPuis, come and take maternity photos. Here are just a few of the pics....
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Let the boredom begin...
I'm officially on bedrest. My doctor decided on Tuesday that working and spending too much time up and about is now putting me at too great a risk of pre-term labor. By laying low, we hope to keep the babies in there for another 3-4 weeks. So basically, we want to get past Christmas, if not longer.
I don't have to lay in bed all day, but I won't be doing housework or grocery shopping or anything like that. So, lots of movies and books and stuff like that. I do have a few things to do to get ready for the babies (my nesting!) so I'll use my limited energy for that.
I'll be eager for any visitors or distractions anyone wants to provide! As most of you know, I don't sit still for long. So this is going to be a challenge.
I don't have to lay in bed all day, but I won't be doing housework or grocery shopping or anything like that. So, lots of movies and books and stuff like that. I do have a few things to do to get ready for the babies (my nesting!) so I'll use my limited energy for that.
I'll be eager for any visitors or distractions anyone wants to provide! As most of you know, I don't sit still for long. So this is going to be a challenge.
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