Our NICU Story – First 48 hours

Sorry for not being so active since the girls were born, but it has been a little busier around with them here…

So going back in time to when the girls were born, and we already knew that they were heading to the NICU for further development, as they left mommy’s warm belly 6 weeks too soon… This was the best thing for both mommy and babies…

After birth they were wheeled away to the NICU with Daddy by their side as they were finishing up on Mommy. By the time I left recovery (after gaining feeling back in my legs and being able to lift my bottom up on my own) I was rolled down to NICU to see the girls, and they were soooo tiny, in their separate isolates, to regulate their temperatures. The nurse came in and said “these are great babies, they paste the APGAR and have no need for any of the regular instruments just the gavache tube for feedings” I was so happy to hear how well they were doing. They were hooked to monitors to keep track of their vitals; heart rates, and oxygen in take. I was rolled away to my new room on the 7^th floor and this was crazy!! (side story)

So being on the 7^th floor which is the recovery for C-sections and having left my nice cushy comfortable spoiled care in ante-partum on the 5^th floor for 6 weeks, I was shocked at how they treated me up there, I could barely move because of the C-section and my best friend was the button for the pain killer to keep flowing into me as much as I needed, which was A LOT!! The nurses and techs were nice but very abrupt and a bit invasive. They would come in while sleeping to change the pads and other things and check vitals and drain the catheter and leave the light on! How I hated this!! I could not rest!! Then my nurse came in at 1:00 AM to tell me that I need to walk!! What do you mean walk?!? I just had mayor surgery?!? But in all true reality this is what helps the healing process go better, it is to get up and walk and take the pain to recover faster. It does help, it really does this is what makes you heal faster, walk and stay on top of the pain DO NOT LET IT GET TO YOU! So after a very longggg night the day came and I was looking forward to go and see MY BABIES!!, however the nurses had a different plan I was not allowed to go as I had the epidural/spinal tap thingy still in my back and I was not allowed to go down to the NICU with this in. So the anesthesiologist had to come in and take it out, well this took foreverrrr! Finally they took it out and I was wheeled away to go see MY BABIES!! YAY!!!

Reaching down to the 3^rd floor and checking in with the nurse at the front, I get to go in and see my girls but before that everyone has to do a 3 minute scrub and then some hand sanitizer before going into their room, and seeing them through the isoletes. They were so precious and so tiny. We spoke to the nurse and she explained to us that Isabelle (Baby B) had a Apnea and a Bradycardia or Brady as they call, this happens since they’re brains and nervous system is not full developed they forget to breathe and this lowers their heart rate, they put a bit of oxygen and she got back to normal. We were scared to hear about this happening even though we knew that things like this would happen, being that the girls were premies. She then asked us if we wished to carry them and I didn’t hesitate at all she took the babies out of the isoletes and we got to Kangaroo them which were AMAZING! I was so happy to be able to hold them and kiss them and give them all my love and warmth. We stayed with them for a long time until we got hungry and had to go back upstairs to eat. I would go back late that night to see them again and touch them and say goodnight to them.

The next morning I was told by my nurse that I was cleared for discharged. I was shocked it had not even been 48 hours since the C-section and it was already time to go home, and then my babies are still here, I don’t want to leave them… I want to stay with them at all times… Reluctantly I went home later in the day after I spent time with the girls and felt in a good state of mind to leave them and go home calmly.

The girls were doing really great according to the nurses again I got to hold them and Kangaroo them I even got to try to see if they would latch on my breast to feed them, pumping was hard as the milk did not come through yet as it thought the babies were still in, and I had not gone into labor. Unfortunately they could not latch on yet, and I was only pumping out drops of colostrum, they would always say any little bit helps so I would send down drops of milk to mix in their formula which they were eating through the gavache tubes. After spending the day with the girls, we decided to head on home, as I was being discharged and we would come back and see them the next day.

I was very somber and quiet on the way home all I kept thinking about was the girls, and also I was in pain because of the C-section, to make matters worse, there were no pharmacies open so I could not fill my prescription for the painkillers. We ended up at Walmart and getting the most extra strength Motrin type pills they had to mend the pain until the next morning to go get the pills. My lovely adoring husband had set up the room so it will all be easy for me to be able to reach things, sleep with making mayor movements, as we have a platform bed and it takes a lot of abdominal movements getting in and out of the bed.

Will be back soon to continue with Our NICU Story as the girls were in the NICU for 17 days…

Ciaooooooo

Welcome Imani & Isabelle

I know... Its been a while since my last post, with good reason I have been absent to be with our new addition to our family Imani & Isabelle...

Soooo to follow my last post the day came and went and now I will tell about how the day went... Going back to June 28th the day was CRAZY... I was sooooo NERVOUS and AFRAID of the surgery just the thought of the c-section was driving me BONKERS!! So it started at 12:00 AM with one of the nurses coming in the room to put in the IV which she placed in the worst spot ever, right in the middle of my elbow.. UGH :-S... Then back to bed, for a few hours and then a wake up at 5:00 AM to take a shower which is needed before going in for the surgery (side note: will go more than 24 hours without a shower) and then at 6:00 AM my nurse came in for some final good wishes and the waiting game began until the call came in to go down for the surgery...

I was scheduled for surgery at 9:00 AM however I was not taken down to the Labor/Delivery floor until like 8:00 - 9:00 ish... It was nerve wrecking dealing with the time its like it took forever!!

Once I got down to the L/D floor it was time for a few questions, my pressure was really high due to nerves I was going crazy in my mind... The anesthesiologist came in to explain the epidural which was sooo scary for me, THANK GOD for my HUSBAND that was there with me at all times, talking me through the whole ordeal as he knew I was very scared of everything (never had any major surgeries) she was wonderful and super helpful as well through the pre-op, op and post op... so now we wait until the meds kick in and numb the lower half of my body, which felt sooo WIERD.. took a while for this to happen completely... I was rolled into the operating room at 9:48 AM I looked at the clock when they rolled me in.. LoL...  After a few minutes, my hubby came in an huge team of doctors and nurses it was a lot of people in there, I had my Hubby next to me, the anesthesiologist that placed it in, and another anesthesiologist, that I believe was like higher then the lady that did the injection... at 10:14 AM he tells my husband look over and take the picture Baby A is coming out and after a few seconds I heard her cry, and my heart melted as tears were rolling down my face... Not even a minute after I hear the second cry of Baby B which was born at 10:14 AM which is soo cool... still crying as I hear their first cries, it was the most amazing and wonderful feeling in the entire world...

Imani
(ignore time and date)

Isabelle
(ignore time and date)

While on bed-rest I kept hearing about the cords, the cords and the cords, that is all that we kept hearing the doctors and nurses kept talking about, the entanglement of the cords and here is the proof of how bad the cords got with these little ladies...

After the girls were out and the doctors were doing there thing and putting me back into one piece our family has now grown from a party of 2 to a party of 4...

Proud Mommy & Daddy with Imani & Isabelle

The girls were so great Imani was born with 3 lbs and 6.4 oz and was 16.5" long and Isabelle was born with 3 lbs and 10.8 oz and was 15" long, they were so tiny and so beautiful, our hearts were filled with joy, happiness and love for our little girls... They passed the APGAR test and did not need to be put on oxygen at all and were placed into their isolettes for body temperature control and gavache tubes for feedings...

The healing process began immediately after being sown back up and the girls taken away to the NICU with daddy following them, at exactly 10:48 AM I was rolled out of the OR and placed into the PRE-OP/Recovery area, where I and the nurses waited for the meds to stop working and to be able to gain feeling in my legs and start moving them around, so I can leave that area, rolled up to NICU to see the babies and then rolled up to the recovery floor... The wonderful button connected to my back was the BEST thing ever to help with the first 24 hours of recovery, also walking... YES it HURTS LIKE HELL!! I will not lie it hurts!! But it helps it really helps... Staying on top of my meds and walking helped me to quick recovery while in hospital... I was able to see my girls after the first 24 hours... 

So that was the story of how our girls came into this world and what a whirlwind of a journey it has all been since we found out about our MoMo Girls Imani & Isabelle... Now we have a great future ahead of us and I will keep you all posted as things happens and they grow... Will be back soon with their NICU story...

Baby A - Imani & Baby B - Isabelle

Ciaoooo....

The Decision has been Made!!

Sooooo... we have 33 weeks and we are still going... The Dr.'s have a made a decision and we will be welcoming our girls on Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 34 weeks...

The decision behind it is due to the spacing for the girls as they are growing and losing space in the oven, and the tangles are getting really bad, they are having more and more decels when I sit up, or when I get into bed we can see their heart rates drop every time... Also they are still head down, so that also makes it hard for me to sit up without putting pressure on them...

On Monday night me and my darling husband entertained ourselves by doing a belly cast of my belly, it is great to finally have some kind of keepsake, as I did not have a baby shower or get to take my preggo pics but I will have a belly cast. It was really fun to do and it came out really nice...

Yesterday they did a doppler ultrasound for the cords to make sure that everything is still flowing well to them, and all seem to be flowing great... We are very happy and excited to have a date finally and we will get to see our little girls... Also my mommie got in yesterday from Aruba, and I was soooo happy to see her and have her be here with me during the next couple of days...

Today we will be getting all of my personal items ready to change rooms, as after the c-section I will be moved to another floor, and the plan is to have all of that set before hand to make it all easier...

As for tomorrow our schedule will start around 12:00 AM when they will come in to put the IV in, for all the medicine needed for the surgery, at around 4:00 AM I have to wake up and take a shower to then let the nurses do bloodwork and then head downstairs to labor and delivery to get the spinal tap and to then get the BABIES out!! YaY!!!

Will keep you posted on how it all went after the surgery and all the details on the girls...

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!! YaY!!!

32 weeks and counting....

We have officially reached 32 weeks and 4 days that our girls have been baking in the oven, and we have also reach our 31 days on bed-rest... We are reaching great milestones and we are staying extremely positive throughout our entire journey...

The doctors have a made a few changes to my patient care since my last post and we are very aware of their state and keeping the positive thinking flowing...

I had an ultrasound done this past Friday and I was so happy I got to see the girls, and learn of how their growth is progressing through the weeks... So Baby A is now 3 lbs 3 oz and Baby B is now 2 lbs and 12 oz they are making progress as the weeks go by they are only 7 oz apart which is nothing to be worried about so are the nurses and doctors saying...

After a few days and the babies doing very well on the monitor, with their occasional variables that seem to be common, the doctors did feel the need to check the cords, so on Sunday we did another ultrasound however only to check on the cords, the tangles and how everything is flowing through the cords..

I wasn't giving a clear explanation until the night doctor came in and explained that they will be doing these every 3 days, as they feel that the babies are a bit on the smaller side and would like to make sure that everything is flowing well through the cords, we are always happy to hear a detailed explanation from our Dr.'s and RN's as it makes the process for us more easier knowing all that is going on with or MoMo Princesses...

Also mommy and daddy have started to spoil the little princesses we got them their first little outfits for them to wear when they leave the hospital... we are very excited and can't wait to meet our little darlings...

Tomorrow is another day... Ciaooooo

Updates... Updates...

Soo after my last post, a lot has happened and it has been a bit of a roller coaster with all the occurrences that have led up to a lot of new things in my in-patient care...

Friday, we had a bit of an incident happen, me and my hubby were enjoying lunch when Baby B had a drop in her heartbeat (as I was sitting up to eat) and then she moved away from the monitor (she tends to do a lot) my RN for that day came in with a group of nurses (keep in mind I was mid bite of my food) and started to lower the bed, take out the oxygen mask, move my food out of the way and were acting as something was going really bad, my husband moved out of their way and let them do what they needed to do, all I kept doing was look at my husband with a face of what is happening... She started moving the monitor around searching for Baby B after like 1 min, she called the doctor in with the sonogram machine to search for the baby, the Dr. came in and in like 30 sec he found the baby, around the same area she has always been posted, and the gave me a face like, this was a waste of time and smiled, after they got Baby B back on the monitor my RN dropped the most insane comment: "I don't have the patience to search for babies heartbeat," my response was "I noticed" she apologized for what happened and left the room. I was just SO MAD and ANNOYED with the whole situation that just took place, it was all because she got paranoid and had no patience!! Later on the day one of my favorite RN's came in and we told her what happened, she looked at my strip for the day, and said "They did all of that for a regular decel," and she apologized for them putting me through all that stress over nothing that was extremely urgent.

This incident was a snowball effect for a bunch of weird events....

Saturday, got woken up at 6:30 AM to be put on oxygen, and to get like buzz shocked on the belly, because the girls were not moving enough for them, then went back to sleep got re-awaken at 8:00 AM to an ultrasound machine being rolled in my room, and being moved around on the bed from side to side  to accommodate this machine for my first BPP (bio-physical profile) ever... The girls were suppose to get and 8 out of 8 meaning, good heart rate, muscle tone, movement, amniotic fluid and breathing exercises. They did great on all aspects except for the breathing only Baby B did a bit and the other one was chilling, after being poked a bunch of times to get them to wake up quiet an experience.

Sunday, another day another early morning wake up at 8:00 AM for another BPP this one was way better then the one they did the day before, according to the ultrasound tech, this was suppose to be done on a daily basis until the doctors felt that there was no need for it anymore, and on this morning the girls were way more cooperative and did they perfect and scored 8 out of 8 all across the board, so no more BPP's after that day. The rest of the day was to relax as much as possible and try and make sense of all that happened...

Monday - Thursday, were all great days for the girls... They were doing great on the monitor and didn't  have to do any additional testing just back to the normal patient care of being on the monitors and keep things going as we were doing before "the incident" as mentioned above....

Well that's pretty much it for now... will have more to tell soon...

Tomorrow is another day... Ciaoooo....

31 weeks and counting...

We have now reach 31 weeks, and we are very happy to in the hopes of reaching our goals...

I haven't been posting much lately since my days are very repetitive... However this week we got some great news, this is... The doctors have made the decision that they are very optimistic about having the babies at 34 weeks, and since we are all doing such great progress this is great news to hear, as when we first got admitted they were thinking more along the lines of 32 weeks... Which I was SO NOT happy with...  But now we are more calm and happier knowing that they know the babies are doing well enough to go longer...

Both me and my husband are hoping to do the c-section on July 4th, that would be such a great celebration for our MoMo Girls having a grand celebration every year on their birthday!! And also we'll be pushing more towards our goal 35 weeks as by then I will be 34 weeks and 6 days... HiHiHi... trying to sneak in some more baking time... LOL.. ;-)

And to make this better for our girls I have to get another round of the BETA steroid shots for the girls lungs... MAN I HATE THEM SHOTS!!! I got my first shot yesterday, and it was painful!! I just hate needles anything that has to do with medical needles I despise... I'm getting the second shot today, and I will not doubt that it will be just as painful as the first one... I know I'm being a big baby about these shots, and it is best for the girls, but  I just can't stand it.. hahaha... Staying in the positive that is all I'm trying to do is just staying in the positive...

I am still on continuous monitoring, and the girls are doing great on the monitors, they go in and out as they are very much some wiggle monsters, especially Baby B.. this habit has now reached Baby A which was more laid back and now is wiggling more and more everyday... They like playing hide and go seek with the nurses, which we think is hilarious... The pics show me connected to to the monitors with the girls heartbeats...

I appreciate all of my visits I got throughout this week!! THANK YOU!!

Things I know:
- Speak up about your nurses it helps more than you think!!
- When inpatient, having a rooms with a view is AWESOME!! It helps so much!!
- Cleaning ladies here make swans!! And have been real nice...
- I got tired of the food after 3 weeks... LoL
- Movies helps the time go by a lot, BTW knitting is not bad either, I'm doing a scarf for winter :-)

Will keep you posted... Tomorrow is another day... Ciaooooooo!!

30 weeks and counting...

So I am 30 weeks today, and counting to reach our goal of 35 weeks...

We had our ultrasound today, and the girls were behaving pretty well, they have been very good girls the past few days, they are cooperating allot to being on the monitors all day even though they still move around like CRAZY... hahaha... they love to kick and move when the nurses come in to do readjustments or just need to get them back on the monitor after a shower...

So here is what we got from the ultrasound.. Baby A which is located on the bottom, is 2 lbs and 12 oz and Baby B which is located on the top is 2 lbs and 6 oz, that means they are still growing getting all the nutrition that they need from Mommy...

Baby B is the wiggle monster, she is always moving around and being extremely active and as for Baby A, she is way more laid back and chilling on the bottom still wiggling around but not as much as her sister....

Today has been a great day, and we are very happy and excited to hear the momo's are doing well... We're going to keep counting and hope to reach our goal of 35 weeks...

Will keep you posted... Tomorrow is another day... Ciaoooo

Nurses Dilemma

Soo... It has been almost 2 weeks that I have been admitted to the hospital, it was a bumpy start but were getting better and better as the days pass by... 

My new dilemma right now, are my nurses... I already fixed one problem... haha... NO MORE 4AM VITALS CHECK!! YAY!!!! hahahaha... Now I am looking into re-arranging my nurses around so I could be more comfortable during my wonderful time here at the hospital...

Some nurses I really like a lot and some of them I don't like that much, they do their job correctly however they personalities just don't make me feel so comfortable with them...

So far I have about 5 day nurses that I absolutely like how they work and how thorough they are and having them take care of me... And about the same number of the night nurses that have the same characteristics as the day nurses just they are more laid-back... 

Well the dilemma is that I feel bad about being so selective about the nurses, but its whats best for me... We are the ones that are here for the long haul... and whatever that will make us feel better will make time go by better...

Tomorrow is another day... Ciaooo

3 Day Combo...

Since I have been now put on continuous monitoring my days have been scrambled into basically the same story every day... It doesn't change much, with the exception of visitors and actually getting to walk for a bit...

On Wednesday my mother in law came to spend some quality time with me and thought me how to knit, so now to make time pass by I knit throughout the day, its very old lady of me, but I actually like it, and by the end  I will have a new scarf out of it... LoL :-D

Thursday was an uneventful day... I just got to watch a bunch of movies... Hahaha.. LoL I'm a movie buff, so watching movies all day is not such a bad day for me... hehehe :-D And hubby made spaghetti with meat sauce, which was AWESOME... wayyyy better than hospital food... hahahahahaha

Friday was a nice visitors day again, visitors make my day go by faster.. My mother in law and sister in law came to visit us for few hours and we had a nice time talking and laughing takes the mind off things... Also my husband told my Doctors to at least give me some time to walk and get some fresh air, which was AWESOME!! They gave me 20 min of the monitor to go take a walk on the patio... I loved it, and I was so excited to be able to get out the room... LoL..

I'm looking forward to the weekend maybe I will have something new to tell... This weeks task is to plan the baby shower so that will be keeping me plenty busy...

Tomorrow is another day... Ciaoooo...

It gets better... Tuesday...

Today is another day... After a longggg and frustrating Monday, I had a great Tuesday morning... NOT... LOL 

I was woken up at 6:45AM to a tall Doctor, with no name, telling me that if I have an issue with being on the monitor I could deny care. First of all I was half asleep as he was talking to me, secondly I don't like to be woken up, and third I never ever said to anyone that I don't want to be on the monitor, I just get frustrated with not knowing... And I explained that to him as well. After he was done, and left, I went back to sleep as the night before was long....

As my night before, this morning was basically going on the same page, strapped on to the NST monitor for the babies heart beat, vitals check every 4 hours, and collect urine for the preeclampsia test. That is basically how may day went by for the most part. I could not have my lite exercise in the room, no shower, breakfast was a bit hard to eat, but I made sure to eat and feed my girls well. 

By the afternoon I was still hooked up to the monitor, and I was not coming off of it anytime soon, as my day progresses and I speak with my husband, I just got used to the fact that I will not be coming of the monitor and that from this point forward I will be on continuous monitoring. The only suckie part is I don't even get an hour off, all I got today was 10 min to take a shower... That's it just 10 min to stretch my legs a bit and have a nice shower... Right after the shower, the RN was standing outside the door waiting for me to weigh in and then back on the monitors... MAN not even 1 min over... LOL... 

Ate myself a nice little lunch, watched a movie, and have adapted my mindset to being on the monitors at all times... No more urine collection, at least they took that away... LOL... it was not a fun experience doing that... 

So that's about it for now, looking forward to another day ahead, and hoping they may take me back down to 3 tests a day and not continuous so I can go back to my little routine, but as I have stated before it is all about what is best for our MoMo's...

Things I learn today, having a great support during this experience is invaluable! Very happy with all the support I get from my husband and my families both here and in Aruba that all will be well...

Hasta manana... Ciaooo...

Monday Bluess....

First of all I don't like Mondays to begin with, its like the worst day out of the week, the weekend is over, you gotta go back to work, and the day just takes foreverrrr to finish. There is no changing that feeling about that at all especially not after all that happened today.

The morning started out well, had breakfast, vital check, shower, lite excercise and first NST of the day, I was on the monitor for about an hour and 20 min and all was well with the girls. After that watched a movie, ate lunch and got a visit from the clinical social worker, so I can learn about the NICU process, and to get a tour as well of the NICU floor. Very happy about this, I was looking forward to it, as I like to know as much as possible of what lies ahead. It was a very interesting visit, and I learned alot, which is great for me.

Here is where it all went down hill... I got back to my room from he NICU tour, and found the RN and my AMAZING HUSBAND waiting for me to get back, he just got out of work and came after. (I LOVE HIM SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE FOR ME) My RN was waiting as I needed to do my 2nd NST test of the day. So she hooked me up to the monitors and 4:00PM and around 5:30PM she comes in and says there was a variable with the babies and we need to extend the test 6 hours more. OK. No problem, so by 10PM, I will be off right? Lets hope for the best she says. So I settle myself in for a long night, and also besides that, the day before with the visit we had, my pressure had gone up ONCE because they checked me right after I just finished walking and it was a bit high than normal, so now they want me to collect my urine for 24 hours to test for preeclampsia, besides being hooked up on the NST as well.. My Monday is turning into a freaking frustration.. I said I hate Mondays!!... Jump ahead to 10:30 PM the night RN comes in and tells me; "The doctors said to keep you on till the morning"... "Are you serious right now", is what I felt to say to her.. But instead I got frustrated and was like why? And I have to collect urine throughout this, why? No response, just there was a variable with the babies... So I tell her my frustration, about being on the monitor for like 8 hours, having to collect for the test, and write how much and what types of fluids I am taking in. It was just all too much for me to handle and I just got so frustrated with the whole situation... After talking to my husband and calming down, I settle myself in for a long night, and just keep in mind that this is whats best for these girls to come out as healthy as they possibly can...

Keeping my mind positive and going with what is best for these MoMo's... Tomorrow is another day... Ciaooo

Weekend Wrap Up...

Saturday started it off way better than Friday night ended... I got a new RN whom was very thorough with  us, which is the type of nurse that we like to have. She was very honest with us and as was I with the experience I had the night before with my last NST test. We started the morning of, with shower, breakfast and exercise. And then the first NST test of the day. We went over what happened the night before then we searched for a solution to comfort both me and have the girls showing on the monitor the way they are suppose to be. So I sat up higher on the bed, and they placed the monitor on, she found the girls and we started at 10:30 ish and was on the monitor for about 1 hour when the RN came in and explained to us that I had to stay on longer, due to Baby A had a variable drop for longer than 30 sec, so I needed to stay longer on the monitor till they got a good 1 hour strip of both babies, and Baby B was a bit to steady for them and there was not much of a fluctuating flow on the chart that they would like to keep them on for a longer time.

Finally someone that would actually explain in detail as to why things are happening and what needs to be done when a situation like this happens... Very happy with this RN.. So far after 3 days I got a good feeling from 3 RNs that seem like they are very thorough with the job that they do. After another hour or so on the monitor they took it off, because they got a good clear strip from the girls, and it was right in time for my first visit!! My mother in-law and my two little sister in-laws... So grateful to them for visiting, they brought me some nice home cooked meal and they did my nails for me... So now I can look and feel cute in the hospital too... LOL :-D... Half way through my inpatient mani-pedi, the Anesthesiologist came in to explain to us our options for how anesthesia will work, and what options I will have available for when we go in to have the girls. Very scary but interesting stuff to learn about. After that, they brought me a nice comfy blow up mattress that would make it more comfortable to sleep on the bed, and also some leg massager thingy to help with circulation (suppose to use 8 hours out of the day) but I rather just walk, don't want to laying in bed all the time. After the family left, it was time to freshen up, and get hooked up to the NST test they started it later in the day around 6:00 PM, I asked the RN if she could change my night RN to one that would be as thorough as she was, as that is more helpful to us, and that is what we got, I was on the monitor for 2 hours, and did not have to take an NST later that night, which was the most relaxed night I had.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sunday same routine as the past few days wake up, shower, breakfast and exercise. After relaxing for a few had our early morning vital check mommie is doing great, and introduction to my new RN (another nice and thorough one) and a quick visit from the on call doctor, we were hooked up to the NST monitor for about an hour and ten minutes this time, as the girls were being extremely cooperative... YaY!! :-) they are getting used to the tests... And they did awesome on the strip for the full time, and we are very happy to have them doing so well.

Since our family has now relocated to the hospital my wonderful husband goes to work and then comes back to the hospital today he brought pizza... Yay!! Yummiieee.... it was delicious. Got some relaxing time, coloring and vitals check, by the way this is every 4 hours daily, even at 4AM ughhh stop cutting into my sleep time... LOL...

Later in the afternoon we had a wonderful visit from our friends Izzy and Christine, whom are also going through their first pregnancy... We are so happy for them, and they journey they are embarking on.. They were so wonderful to visit and be with us for a good amount of time, talking, laughing and joking, they came in right when I was doing my second NST test of the way which was only 1 hour long, these girls are getting so great and cooperative now with all the tests. It's amazing how great they are doing so far! We made a discovery: There is a patio on my floor which is AMAZING, I can get some fresh air, and feel some sun. We took a walk out there with our friends got some fresh air and had a few laughs before coming back in to order some dinner and just enjoying our company for the day.

After our guests left, and dinner had digested, it was back on the NST for the last one of the day, with the exception of the vitals being done every 4 hours... :-/ Haha.. All in all it was a great first weekend in inpatient care, which is not going as bad as I thought.. The most important thing is to keep thinking positive, and ask all the questions you feel like it, because then if you are like me and my husband you learn more and know what to expect, well at least as much as possible.

Tomorrow is another day... Will keep you posted... Ciaoo

Day 2

6:30 AM Good Morning, whispers the night RN nurse when she comes in to put saline solution in my IV so it doesn't clog, and keep the flow open. Right after comes the Tech in lets get some vitals... hahaha every thing is good. Now back to sleep.... not happening feel the door open a few minutes later, just turned my back and kept trying to sleep.

Finally decided to wake up at around 7:30 ish, and get started with a new routine, take a shower, have breakfast yummie pancakes and oatmeal. Then some exercise walk around the room back and forth a few times, to keep the blood flowing in the legs to avoid blood clots. After a few minutes to sit, and relax get the heart rate down, and the first NST test of the day... 1 hour and 20 min this time, the girls were behaving very well this time, so the test went great, they got a nice strip of their heartbeats.

After lets watch a movie, have some conversation, fix everything around the room, accommodate to our liking, and make the bed comfy with my own sheets...hahaha... Then lets have some lunch yummie cheeseburger with baked potato and broccoli, very healthy and very delicious. Exercise around the room again so that the food can settle and then relax for a bit, get some more things from the house, my husband went to pick up a few things. Here comes the RN time for the second NST test of the day, and another vital check again, and everything is good with mommie, lets check on the girls... So went on the monitor at around 2:00PM did not come of it until 10:00 PM maybe even later, because the girls were not cooperating well, however was not getting any feedback of what was happening or even why is was still on the NST. Somewhere in between the NST and getting frustrated I had to get the second round of BETA shots for the girls lung development... OMG that needle hurts sooo much, I literally was running from the RN when she poked me with the needle. Besides that I was in such a low laying uncomfortable position that it was putting pressure on my neck and back, and as well on the girls that they kept seeing the drop in their heart rate that was the reason they kept me on so long...

Finally around 10:30 PM ish I could not take it anymore and turned on my side so I can go to bed comfortably that is when the night RN came in and took me off the monitor, then a last vital check all is well with mommy again... And finally we can go to sleep...

All in all the second day was not a fun experience at all, not getting the proper information from the nurses around me, both me and my husband are the type of people that like to know of what is happening with the girls and why things happen. It was the most frustrated I felt since I came into the hospital...

Tomorrow is another day let's hope for the best for both mommie and MoMo Girls...

The first 24 hours

The day starts with a appointment at our Perinatologist at 28 weeks  at 7:30 AM for ultrasound and consultation. After receiving a heads up from the midwife over at the High Risk Clinic at my last pre-natal visit we already knew what was up ahead... Inpatient Care....

After waiting 40 min we first started with the ultrasound and getting all the measurements of the girls. Which were great as Baby A (the first one they find) was 2 lbs and 1 oz and Baby B (the second one) was 2 lbs and 2 oz, which is great that they are growing so well, last 3 hour ultrasound Baby A was 1 lbs and Baby B was 14 oz. So we were very happy with their amazing progress. At this point the tech went on to look at the cord insertion for Baby A which was easy to find, however Baby B was not cooperating with the tech at all. At that point the tech went to get the Perinatologist whom came in and told us that due to the cords being tangles I should be admitted immediately for inpatient care or go home and have daily visits to the MFM clinic for NST (Non Stress Test) on the babies.

Since we did our research and already knew that inpatient care is the best option for the babies, that thats the decision we took immediately. We spoke to the doctor and explained that we had some personal and work related things we had to take care of before I could get admitted.

By 2pm we came back to the Hospital to get admitted, and then after finishing the paperwork by 2:50 PM we came up to the antepartum floor and waited for 1 hour or so to get the best room with a view, since I was going to be here for a long time they wanted me to be as comfortable as possible. Once in the room, I had to put on that ohhh so fashionable and comfy hospital gown (NOT!!) and the nurses started with the vitals tests, IV being put in for bloodwork and then by 5:00 PM the ohh soo wonderful first NST test (3 times a day for 1 hour) unless the babies don't cooperate then it takes longer.

After the NST test I got the first of the two BETA shots for the girls lungs development in case they come out sooner than expected.... OMG that little needle hurts, keep in mind I am sooooo afraid of medical needles so not a good thing to deal with while staying in a hospital. But I'm keeping in mind that all of this is what is best for our girls and that is what is most important of all.

As for having a nice restful night, forget about it... :-) With vital checks every 4 hours and then being woken up for the second NST test at 10 PM for another 1 hour and 30 min, with non cooperative MoMo girls, we were not enjoying our first night... It gets better...

That was quite an eventful day!!

Things I know:
- The room service is pretty good.
- Good thing I brought a lot of colorful clothes, and my own bed sheets.. lol

Stay tuned for more to come... Ciaoo...

The beginning of our MoMo Journey

Our story begins December of 2011, the feeling started very normal, not much of a morning sickness and immediate feeling of being pregnant, it felt more like a stomach virus or a not wanting to eat much for breakfast and during the day. After a week or so of feeling this way and no period coming any time soon, we decided to take an at home pregnancy test that came out positive.

OMG WERE PREGNANT!!

It was wonderful news to share with friends and family as we had my family visiting from Aruba for Christmas and it was a great Christmas gift to share with not only them but with my Husband's family that live closer to us.

After all the festivities, we went in to our first pre-natal visit at 9 weeks, where I got the paperwork for all the initial blood-work and all other examinations. Our next visit was at 12 weeks, where we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time, so we though we were having a singleton pregnancy.

Our next appointment was at 14 weeks where we had our first ultrasound. As the ultrasound tech started we were making small talk and she turned around and said to us "Ooohh my goodness there's two babies, there's a head and another head." And from that point we were just in complete SHOCK!!... hahahaha :)

And this is where our MoMo Journey begins!!

After the ultrasound we met with our 1st Doctor which got EXTREMELY nervous, and was like twitching and shaking of how nervous he got as the babies were in one sack with one placenta, which our MoMo Girls that we are anxiously awaiting the arrival for... After a few more pre-natal visits to make sure that there really was no membrane visible we were referred to our now Perinatologist and high risk OB clinic that is now taking care of me and the girls up until their arrival...