Short hospital stay

Saturday early afternoon I was at our semi-annual twin sale helping with a light duty task while seated. I got up to go to the bathroom and felt a sharp pain in my lower belly.  The pain kept getting worse and I was barely able to drive myself home. An hour later Shannon and my cousin Emily got home. After not being able to get myself off the couch to walk to the bathroom and shaking with chills, I finally conceded to a trip to the ER. They took me right to the Labor and Delivery floor. I was running a fever and in unbearable pain. An ultrasound revealed the baby was just fine and there was no impact on my cervix. However, I was having contractions 1 minute apart and could not tell at all. They started an IV for fluids and antibiotics, drew blood, and got me ready for a room in Antepartum. Epic fail for the first nurse trying to put in the IV. I finally had to cut her off after she rooted around in my arm for the vein she couldn't find for quite some time.

Unfortunately, it was a teeny room with a roommate. The worst part was that she ordered in extra spicy Thai food for dinner that stunk up the whole room. Kudos to the nurse who got me a fan to be pointed out the door to help clear the smell.

They pushed Tylenol trying to get my fever down and kept the IV fluids going throughout the night. Not enough fluid to make me have to go to the bathroom. Yeah, right. Every hour or two I was calling for the nurse. It took both her and Shannon to get me out of bed and help me walk to the bathroom. I was in tears the pain was so bad. Contractions were still 2-3 minutes apart and I was feeling them less than half the time. At least I got to enjoy breakfast in the morning.

Sunday morning my ob, Dr. Kindred, rounded to check on me. I had gone from a closed cervix to dilated to 2-3 and very thin in less than 24 hours. They moved me to a Labor and Delivery room immediately, expecting Baby Mo would come that day. All food and liquid was stopped and the IV fluids were increased. They didn't want me to have a full belly in case I delivered. A terrible stab to my thigh welcomed the first sterroid shot to help with his lung development. Contractions remained 2-3 minutes apart until Sunday night when I decided to have some IV pain meds to help me sleep. Thankfully late Sunday night the original pain in my lower belly subsided greatly and I could get out of my bed and walk on my own. The nurse said my contractions were improving, which meant 2-5 minutes apart. How is that improving? My unexplainable fever finally broke. I also got the 2nd nasty steroid shot. Rather than the standard 24 hours apart, they administered them 12 hours apart just in case.

Monday morning Dr. Kindred rounded again. He was shocked that I didn't deliver. Contractions were 2-8 minutes apart and there was no change to my cervix in the past 24 hours. He ordered the IV be stopped, allowed me to eat breakfast, and suggested I move around a little more to see what happened. He was considering discharging me. "The baby will come quickly with the condition of your cervix so just pay attention to your contractions." Now how am I supposed to do that when I have been saying I can't tell I'm contracting? Talk about making me nervous. Basically we are making sure I am not left alone. I enjoyed breakfast, took a shower, and they decided around noon to discharge me. Then I waited over an hour and a half for an electronic signature to authorize my discharge. They finally just let me go.

Instead of coming home with a baby, I came home with these beauties...10 pounds of weight gain in my legs from the IV fluid. Painful and very difficult to walk.

I had a follow up OB appointment this morning. Weekly appointments from here on out. Limited activity for 2 weeks so we can try to make it to 36 weeks and avoid NICU time. Suggested something else for my heartburn that is awful--or what's another word for awful? Sleep inclined. The swelling will go down in my feet but probably very slowly. Lay flat and elevate my feet above my heart. So one position helps my feet and the other position makes me feel like throwing up from the heartburn. Choices, choices!

As for Baby Mo, here he is...

Can you see his face looking right at you on the right side?

He continues to measure 3 weeks ahead and is about 7lb 7oz right now. Holy cow!

The amniotic band is completely gone--woo hoo!

I can't end this post without saying a big thank you to my mom. When I left the house Saturday, she took care of everything with no questions and no complaints. Feeding and wrangling the kids, handling bedtime, keeping them entertained, packing school lunch, getting them ready for school and on the bus, cooking dinner, etc. It makes for a long day and she certainly isn't used to getting up at 6:30am. Thanks mom for your selfless sacrifice to step up when I have needed it.

Also to my most awesome neighbor who went grocery shopping and tag-teamed getting the kids ready for school with my mom. It made for a much smoother transition without any meltdowns!

Our first shoe tie-r!

Finding Adam shoes that do not tie is a challenge. His feet are so big that the size typically has laces--he is wearing a 13 now. With him going to school, I felt like it was time to learn how to tie on his own. Over the past month I would teach him more and more of the steps as we had time and patience. He wears flip flops so much in the summer that it wasn't very often he even had tennis shoes on. A few weeks ago we finally got to the point that he really could do it on his own but he didn't have much confidence or it wouldn't be very tight. One day before running errands I was trying to encourage him to do it but he just wasn't having it. He did part of one shoe and then whined for me to do the other one. I refused, which led to a huge meltdown. He walked outside to get in the car with one laced and the other dragging behind him in the wet grass screaming at me. Once he got in the car he undid the only shoe that was tied and kicked them both off his feet. Mean mom that I am, I made him get out of the car, put his shoes back on, and tie them.

Where were we headed? Shoe shopping of all things! He tried his first pair on at the store and I told him I wanted him to tie them and I was going to stand behind him and not look to see if he could do it. He finished it up and was grinning from ear to ear, so proud of himself, as I gave him a big high five. The next day, he got himself dressed for school upstairs and came down with shoes on and they were already tied! Now tell me, what was the point of that melt down the day before?

He is concentrating so hard! I can't believe how big he looks in these pictures!

-10-

Since the kids aren't in the same Kindergarten classroom, they typically do not bring home the same papers each day. But this day they both brought home the same exercise on the number 10. I was reviewing Adam's paper and he did very well except for his tally marks. I kind of laughed that his "Draw 10 objects" were 10 ovals that he colored in.

Then I switched to Sara's page and started belly laughing out loud! Her "Draw 10 objects" are very different from Adam's. It is such a good example of how different they are!

Yes, if you count, there are 10 items in her box - 2 asterisks, 3 smiley faces, and 5 girl figures. Sara is getting so creative and detailed about her drawings lately. And 80% of the time, her school page she brings home has some kind of drawing on the back.

32 weeks

It's hard to imagine 8 weeks ago I was on bed rest and now I have 8 weeks to go! The last ultrasound showed a small portion of the amniotic band was left intruding on Baby Mo's space but it was mostly pushed out of the way. I feel blessed that it hasn't been an issue for the baby and I haven't had to see a high risk doctor. Most of all, I love that when I was praying with Sara before bedtime the night before my appointment, I prayed for the baby and then Sara said "Mom, let's pray for that band to go away."

The last ultrasound also revealed the baby is measuring ahead in size by 3 weeks in all areas they check--head circumference, belly size, and leg bone length! He is about 5 pounds now.

Also measuring ahead in size is my belly and it feels like it! I am now bigger than I was when I had the twins! Please don't come to me saying how tiny I look. When you start out smaller, it's all relative, but that doesn't mean I feel like I agree with you. I will respond with stories of how I can't keep my pants up, my belly keeps running into things, I pee every 30 minutes, I get out of breath walking from one end of the house to the other, and I have gained over 25% of my body weight.

I have started having some swelling in my feet and ankles over the past week, more on one side than the other. I never had that with the twins so it is interesting. The doctor wants me to keep resting when I can and putting my feet up. Because my blood pressure isn't elevated--it was 94/62 at my last appointment--he isn't concerned. He also thinks it affects one leg more than the other due to how Baby Mo is positioned right now.

The kids are still super excited. Adam likes to pat my belly like a drum. Sara is just attracted to my belly like a magnet--constantly talking to the baby, hugging me, giving my belly a kiss, etc.

I feel good about where I am but I am also trying to get as much done as possible because I am aware with my history that things can change very quickly from one day to the next. When the baby is ready to be here and my body says enough, then it will happen.

Adam's new ride

Adam and Shannon went on a bike ride down the main road, which is a big deal to not just ride to the end of the cul de sac and back!

I was wondering why they were gone so long...

They stopped at the neighbor's across the road and he had his mustang race car out. Adam knows all about our Ford preference and is always telling us a vehicle with the blue oval is tougher than something else driving down the road, whether it's a Ford Ranger or an F450! And he definitely knows a Mustang, certain that he will be getting a lime green one when he is older.

He was quite excited about getting to sit in the race car!

K Tales

Last week was our first week of Kindergarten and it seemed like every day there was some kind of story that we had no idea how much of it was true! Shannon said the parents in each of the classes need a private Facebook page so we can compare stories!

Tuesday was the first day of school and it was a half day. During lunch, I noticed a bite mark on Sara's arm. Sara told me it happened on the playground and she was trying to climb a tall tower to a slide and then a boy wanted to go down the slide at the same time so he bit her. She said only her class is on the playground at a time so it must have been a boy in her class. Being a new mom to school-age kids, I didn't want to overact but at the same time I wanted to find out if there was anything we needed to do about it. I checked in with the teacher the next day and she talked to Sara about it. Sara also told her that it happened on the playground. However, they did not go on the playground that day. Then Sara said it happened on the bus on the way home. But Sara's teacher rode her bus to help with kid patrol and she sat directly behind Sara and nothing happened. So we are dismissing it as a big question mark and just telling Sara the next time something like that happens she needs to tell a teacher right away.

Wednesday was the first day the kids took their lunch. They had decided they wanted to buy a milk at school to go with their lunch. I told them I had put money in an envelope and the teacher would take care of getting it turned in. When they got home I asked if they got a milk. Adam had looked all over in his backpack and couldn't find the money I left him so he was quite upset that he couldn't get a milk. I explained again that I gave it to the teacher so he didn't have to worry about it. He needed to try again the next day.

Sara did get a white milk. However, one of the other kids said it tasted like eggs and that was enough to make up her mind. We talked about how that was silly and she shouldn't believe what other kids say. The milk tasted like eggs and there was no changing her mind. Adam thought that was ridiculous and he was going to try a milk the next day.

Thursday, the story continues. Sara refused to get a milk, well, because it tasted like eggs. Adam got a chocolate milk and verified that it did not taste like eggs. The next day he was going to try white.

Adam was also struggling to find a friend. He is just so social that he has a strong pull to find a buddy right away. He told me he had asked everyone in his class if they would be his friend and everyone said no because they already had a friend. Some of them even ignored him and just walked away. He asked each person if they could just have a second friend but no one agreed. I tried to tell him it might take more than a few days but he was still disappointed. I'm sure he will keep trying.

On the milk front, Friday arrives and Adam tries to get a milk. They told him he couldn't because he didn't have a hot lunch ticket. But he didn't need a hot lunch. He must have sweet talked someone because he says he got another chocolate milk and I wasn't charged Thursday or Friday. He did confirm, still, that the chocolate milk does not taste like eggs.

Then the weekend hit and I passed my cold along to both the kids. I had been sick for a week, with it now settling into my chest and exhausting me so much I had days that I was taking 2 naps of over 2 hours each and still felt like I couldn't even get off the couch. Battling runny noses, terrible coughs, and low fevers, the kids missed 2 days of school this week. We'll see what tomorrow brings and if they are feeling better.

Stay tuned for more Tales from the Kindergarten room...maybe you can help decipher what is true and what is a great, imaginative story coming from a 5 year old!

Kindergarten

Last night we had a supply drop off and meet the teacher time. Both the kids agreed that we could all go to Adam's classroom first. His teacher is Mrs. Felix and he was very excited to distribute his supplies to the different areas of the classroom.

I couldn't believe the rooms actually have a smart board in them for Kindergarten!

Shannon and I made the decision early in the summer to let the kids be assigned to the teacher or teacher(s) the school chose. Some parents of multiples feel strongly about keeping their children together, for various reasons. We felt like Adam and Sara would be fine in the same classroom, but they would also be fine in separate classrooms. We have had them do quite a few things independently. They still have a strong twin bond but we encourage them as individuals. Sara can have a tendency to be bossy and sometimes Adam doesn't let Sara do something on her own because he thinks he can do it better. There is also a tendency when you have twins that many things are a competition or a comparison. We thought this would help them be individuals.

Off we went directly across the hall to Sara's classroom and to meet Mrs. Brown. Sara was excited her room was decorated with an ocean theme. Remember that comparison comment? Adam was disappointed that his room was just plain! Sara had to fill out a scavenger hunt sheet, finding various important areas in the room, to earn a prize.

Today was their first day of Kindergarten. They were both up at 6:15 and ready for me to get them breakfast. We moved thru our morning routine quickly with no meltdowns and had plenty of time for pictures before heading to the bus stop. I know for sure not every day will go as smoothly as today!

They ran down the driveway ahead of me. It was neat to see them experiencing the same thing for the first time together. Adam stopped along the way and wanted to pick a pretty purple weed that was blooming for his bus driver but he couldn't get it pulled off the stem.

This is my absolute favorite picture and is such a good depiction of how Adam has been protective of Sara and watched over her since they were babies. When they were around 1 and had moved to separate cribs, he would stand in his crib, waiting for Sara to be put to bed. Once she was tucked in, then he would lay down. Once they saw the bus coming (7 minutes early!) Adam said "Come on Sara" and walked her to the door. I waved to them and got a little choked up as I yelled have a good day. I am so excited for them to start this next phase of their life!

I didn't really know what time the bus would drop them off since it was a half day but I calculated it based on the bus stop route we received. I was certainly caught off guard when I saw the bus thru the front door 10 minutes earlier than I was expecting! I hurried down the driveway and the bus driver was hesitant to let the kids off but the neighbor waiting for her kids convinced her that I was coming.

They had a great day with lots of exciting stories to tell. The only downfall was that someone bit Sara on the arm I think during recess. The marks were still red with every tooth defined as we ate lunch. She treated it like no big deal but I called the school to inquire about the situation and what to do.

We ate an early dinner and they were tucked in bed at 6:30. Tomorrow is their first full day--I wonder how exhausted they will be!

And I received a nice little anonymous gift to brighten my day - thanks, friend, whoever you are!