A {not so} Quiet Little Saturday

My usually uneventful days took quite a turn today!  Here's what happened:

- I woke up around 5:00 a.m. with pretty uncomfortable contraction pain that would not go away.  For the next two hours, I couldn't lay down or get comfortable, which was oh-so-much-fun.  My nurse started monitoring my contractions around 7:00, when they seemed to magically go away.  Figures.

- Around 11:00, I started to see a strange blind spot in my right eye.  This same occurrence is actually what originally prompted me to be admitted to the hospital "for a few hours of observation."  That was 26 days ago.  Today the blind spot lasted about 20 minutes, and my doctor assured me it wasn't pre-eclampsia related, so she didn't want to jump the gun and deliver.  Ok, so we'll keep on keeping on.

- About an hour later, my doctor called my room. {Which let me just say, super confused me.  There is a phone in my room that I have only ever used to call and order meals, so when it rang today I was very perplexed.  Do I answer it??  Well, yes.  Turns out the doctors can call you on these things!}  Well she explained that she had been thinking more about me and had talked to the on-call neurologist and thought it would be a good idea for me to get an MRI.  This would determine if I just happened to have some sort of weird visual thing going on that was just appearing during pregnancy, or if it was in fact somehow caused by pre-eclampsia.  Oooooook then.

- So I had an MRI.  And I freaked out.  As soon as they moved me into the big "donut," I panicked and asked them to take me out.  Super claustrophobia, which I didn't really realize I even had.  After a few minutes of catching my breath, the tech promised me he would talk to me through the entire process and let me listen to music.  My nurse came down too and advised me to just keep my eyes closed the entire time, before I even went into the machine.  So I gave it another try and managed to survive.  I never opened my eyes once and prayed in my head the entire time, to keep me distracted.  I think I went through an entire rosary!  First MRI officially completed.  Add it to the list of things I never thought I'd do ever.  Thanks a lot pregnancy.

- A therapy dog named Mackie came to visit me!  He was a dachshund and was all cute and wiggly.  I got to give him some treats, which let's be honest, was really all he cared about!  He also gave me his official "trading card" (like a baseball card).  I should have asked him to autograph it!

- My mom came for a visit and my sister Kelly surprised me by coming too!!  She came in from Oklahoma City to see me, which was really fun.  Kelly and Mom brought me a little stuffed kitty and some fun doodle books to entertain me.  Oh and some new make-up, which is much appreciated.  I am starting to look like that person who hasn't seen the sun in weeks (well, because I am that person), so a little color on my cheeks could help!

- Mark and I ended the day with Hospital Date Night, which consisted of Chii's to Go and a Redbox movie.  It ended this crazy day on a high note for sure.  Whew!

Conversations with Grandma

Last night, I was talking on the phone with my mom, who gave me a great idea for the babies:

Mom:  I was reading this website that tells how the babies are developing each week and what is happening to them inside the womb.

Amanda: Oh yeah, I've seen sites like that.  Aren't they growing fingernails this week?

M:  Yes!  And they can hear you and recognize your voice, so you should sing to them.  Then when they are born, when you sing to them they will know you and your voice.

A:  Ok, yeah.  I can sing to them.

M:  Yes, you should sing them that one song... what's it called?  What Do Foxes Say?

A:  Uh.. What Does the Fox Say?

M:  Yes!  You should sing them "What Does the Fox Say!"

A:  Ha, yes, ok.  I can sing them that.

M:  Yes!  You know, ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding


And there you have it.  My mom, Hippest Grandma on the Block, knows "What Does the Fox Say."  In fact, she "discovered it" in our family weeks ago and emailed us all to look it up.  That's what happens when you teach high school kids.  You are in with the latest Norwegian pop music sensations!

Operation Stocking

When Mark and I got married, I started making him a stocking.  This was in 2010.  Every year, my big plan was to have it finished by that Christmas, and every year the holidays would come and go with no stocking.  The problem is that I would get into the holiday spirit by about Thanksgiving every year, so I'd pull it out and start working on it.  Then I would get busy or get to a step on the stocking kit that was especially labor-intensive, so I would put it away for a few days, weeks.... and it would never get finished.  And who wants to work on a Christmas stocking after Christmas has passed?  Come January, it would inevitably get stashed away for another ten months.

So the stocking was never finished.  Well I recently suddenly found myself with {a lot} of time on my hands, so I asked Mark to bring the stocking kit up to the hospital.  And what do you know, in a matter of days, I have it finished!

Everyone who I showed it to all had the same idea - might as well start working on two more for the babies, while I am sitting here all day with endless time.  At first I kept thinking noooo, I won't really be here that long.  (Ha. Wishful thinking.)  I'd just get another one started and have it sit for years and years.  But then it really started to sound like I will actually be here for weeks and weeks still (tear), so Mark and I got on Amazon and picked out a couple patterns for our little babies.  Why not?  Let's see if having entire days with NOTHING on the agenda will help me get these whipped out in no time, or at least in time for the twins' first Christmas.  What do we think?  Can I do it??

Womp, Womp

Well, it's been a couple of days since I've posted and sadly it's not because I've been so happy and peaceful while resting at home.  Nope.  I am back in the hospital again.  Boooo!

I made it (almost) three full days at home, and they were completely worth trying to do bed rest there.  I had my first appointment back with my doctor on Thursday morning, and despite having nothing but good blood pressures at home, once I got into her office, I was measuring 150/110.  Which I have since learned is high.  Very high.  So the process of getting up and dressed, riding to see my doctor, and walking in and up to her office was just too much.  And as she told me, if it's going to get that high whenever I get up and come in to see her, I just can't be at home.  Womp, womp.  So cue the wheelchair.  They whisked me back up to my same hall, two doors down from my original room.  My first day back here, I was very weepy - just mad and disappointed that I was back again so soon.  Well they take tears pretty seriously here, as I was offered antidepressants if I wanted them.  I told them I wasn't depressed, just bummed to be back inside these four mauve and hunter green walls again. (For real, is there a worse wall color than mauve?!?)

After one day of being 100% bummed out, I decided there's nothing I could do and cheered up by Friday.  I still hear of mommas who are in these rooms for 3+ months, so I can surely handle another 3 weeks.  I've had a steady stream of visitors since coming back, with flowers and meals and other goodies for the twins, so that helps the time go by.  I'll work on getting some pictures posted up here, so everyone reading can see where I'm living these days, and what kinds of adventures I'm up to while being in bed for roughly 23 hours a day (I figure the 734 trips to the bathroom each day must take up about an hour!)  In the meantime, thanks again for everyone's thoughts and prayers while we camp out here.  I hit 34 weeks today, so those babies are still doing good and cooking on the inside!

Breaking News!

We interrupt our regular blogging with this breaking news --- I am at home!!  Yes.  Home.  In my own bed, on my own sheets, and showering in my own, made-for-a-grown-up shower. (Did I ever mention the hospital shower was a whopping 2 feet wide and shaped like a tiny triangle??)

Yesterday morning, when my doctor came by to see me, she told me she had a "proposal" for me.  I could go home and continue on bed rest there.  Everything they were monitoring for me was staying so steady, that I could go home, check my blood pressure several times a day, promise to stay in bed, and come back to be checked twice a week in the doctor's office.  HECK YES.  I called Mark, who left work to come pack me up and we happily signed the paperwork and left. The nurses said there was a good chance that I would eventually be readmitted, but I told them that if I even got to spend two days at home and then had to come back, it would be so worth it.  So for the past 24 hours, I've been at home.  It's been so fantastic!

To make yesterday even more of {The Best Day Ever}, my sweet Book Club friends surprised me by all coming over last night and bringing a delicious HOMEMADE dinner!  After two weeks of eating hospital food and take out, I had two large helpings of a regular meal from home.  My friend Christina had told me last week that she wanted to bring me dinner this week, so when she asked yesterday if she could bring it up last night, I happily accepted with the change of bringing it to our HOUSE instead of the hospital (woo!).  So when the doorbell rang and Christina walked in, imagine my surprise when three other friends followed her in the door!

We all enjoyed the yummy dinner (me laying on the couch).  It was the perfect end to my first day back at home.  Laying in your own bed all day is so, so, so much better than a hospital bed!  Hopefully I can stay here for the remainder of my pregnancy.  Fingers crossed!

Gloomy Day

Well the weather here in Dallas today was as gloomy as it comes, which also happened to match my mood.  Today was the day when I really started to dread being in this room, and I just couldn't bear to think about how much longer I'll be sitting here, starting at these walls.  I think the weekends are harder, because I can imagine everything I would be doing at home, or I think about how all my friends in town are running around having normal, fun weekends, while I'm still trapped here.  A couple of the nurses were trying to cheer me up this morning, and they told me how it's totally normal to get the blues about being here.  And I know it's normal - I can't see how anyone wouldn't eventually crack when they are in here for weeks on end!  But it still makes it hard to be living it, waiting and wondering how much longer it will go on.  So the clouds in the sky must have made me feel extra gloomy today.

Some good things did come out of this weekend though!  I had lots of great visitors, and really enjoyed getting to see friends.  My friend Stephanie and her hubby Mark (who are expecting a baby just weeks after us!) came by in their burnt orange with some AMAZING cookies from JD's Chippery.  I have basically been eating them as meals ever since :)  And then my other good friends Virginia and Roth brought dinner for Mark and me with their sweet daughter Audrey, who was so fun to have running around our otherwise borrrriing room.  Seeing friends is refreshing and helps the days go by faster.  Oh and I almost forgot!  My entire work team from school snuck out of inservice to bring me lunch on Friday, and then Laura and her little guy Jimmy came over that afternoon with stacks of US Weekly magazines and other goodies to keep me occupied.  Let me just say that I am catching up on my celebrity gossip thanks to Laura - did you know Jennifer Anniston is preggers?!? ;)  Plus, my parents and my sister and Mark's parents came back up this weekend, which is always great.  And OF COURSE, there was the Texas-OU game this weekend, which was a great little surprise that definitely made Saturday a great day!

This weekend I also scored some official "wheelchair privileges" from the doctor on call, which means - wait for it - I can cruise in a wheelchair and go anywhere in the hospital!  I actually cried tears of happiness when the doc told me this.  The idea of leaving the room was like Christmas morning.  So Mark has been pushing me around for a bit each day.  We've ventured down to the cafeteria to eat at a table, away from my bed, which is lovely.  He's become pretty good at navigating the hospital with all his comings and goings in the past 2 weeks, so he showed me all the "cool" places, like the restaurants, atriums, hallways and not one, but two!, Walgreens.  He makes things like Walgreens exciting and novel, which let's face it, after 13 days in one little room, a closed Walgreens is still pretty awesome.  You can look in the windows!

So weekend number 2 is behind me, and I'm glad to see another week start.  I came in here with the babies at 31 weeks and tomorrow we'll hit week 33, which is great for the twins.  So here's to making it to 34!

The Latest

Hello Readers!  There are apparently a lot of you out there, since my blog stats went from about 9 readers to over 100 readers.  Which I am perplexed by, but hey, welcome aboard!

The news with me is that I do officially have pre-eclampsia, thanks to a high protein count in my latest 24-hour urine test (yup, I got to do that one again, and this time no one threw out the pee half way into it!).  My protein count was 330, and anything over 300 counts as pre-eclampsia.  So the thing I was waiting to possibly get, I did indeed get.

So what now?  Well, with my current condition, it is still better for the babies to be on the inside, so we aren't ready to deliver just yet.  Basically, as my doctor explained to me, we are waiting for something else to go wrong, thus making my case of pre-exclampsia risky enough that it would be better to deliver the babies.  Pre-eclampisa does not hurt them, but it is harmful for me, especially when it starts to worsen in other areas.  So we are waiting for any of the following to show up, and then it will be baby day:

- consistently high blood pressure
- a sharp drop in my blood platelet count
- a bad headache that will not go away
- "flash swelling," or sudden extreme swelling in my face, hands or feet
- naseau or vomiting
- etc., etc., etc.

It is a little strange waiting around to suddenly feel really bad, and knowing that it's going to happen eventually, but we still love to buy the twins some extra days to grow and develop inside!  So no birthdays just yet.

One last thought for today.  The TV here is a little on the lame side.  I have all day to watch television, but I don't have HGTV or TLC.  Whhhhat?!  Whose idea was it to stick a bunch of pregnant women into small rooms for weeks on end with no HGTV??  For the first three or so days that I was here, I totally had TLC.  So I got to watch What Not to Wear and A Baby Story all day.  Then all of a sudden, the channel went away!  Now it is just static.  I think it's even worse that I had it and now it's gone.  So sad.