Neeeext ...

Chris was diagnosed with gestational diabetes today. This is common with women pregnant with twins and will go away once the babies are born. It does somewhat increase her likelihood of contracting diabetes later in life, but we'll deal with that later if it happens. They will address this issue by adjusting her diet.

Next ultrasound is tomorrow (assuming they're doing those on Labor Day) and I'll post an update when we get the results.

Looking forward to NoLabor Day tomorrow.

One month update

Today is officially one month in the hospital. She was admitted on July 29.

They took her off one of her meds yesterday and we haven't seen an uptick in contractions, so that's great news so far. Monday is 27 weeks. To celebrate, I gave all the folks who work for me the day off on Monday.

Thursday update

Had a rough night last night. Chris started having contractions for the first time in almost 3 weeks. They gave her a shot which stopped the contractions. Contractions, in general, don't necessarily mean babies are coming, but if they aren't stopped it will eventually result in labor. The nurses and doctors have told us that as she progresses, the contractions will come on occasion and they'll address the situation as it arises each time.

Today was ultrasound day, as is every Thursday. Baby A's (as opposed to Baby B) amniotic fluid level has fallen below the acceptable threshold, so they are taking Chris off one of the anti-contraction medications. This will allow the fluid to replenish. Unfortunately, they can't put her back on the medication when the fluid returns. So, like always, they will monitor her and take action if contractions pick up. The good news is that her cervix is stable right now.

Nights like last night are a great reminder for us of just how lucky we are. We had access to technology to diagnose the contractions, the nurses and doctors did a great job addressing the issue, and we had friends and family checking in on us the entire time that was going on.

Because Chris rolls her eyes every time the subject comes up, I feel obligated to continue updating the now infamous Cervical Length Chart. Here's the latest version ...

Things seem to be stabilized. They're monitoring the babies' heartbeats now. It's pretty neat to hear how active their heartbeats are. From every indication, the boys are doing very well.

Here is the shot of the calendar we have posted in her room. It was 4 weeks ago today that we went for a regular ultrasound and ended up here in the hospital. The lesson there is NEVER leave the house without a bag packed (learned that from my sisters, but in their case it's NEVER leave the house without 7 large suitcases packed).

Thanks for everyone's prayers and help.

Updated Chart

People were either thrilled or horrified by the Cervix Length chart, both reactions being completely acceptable to me, so I'm going to keep updating. Note that the small decrease today was not a concern for the doctors, as it will vary day-to-day.

Day 24

Had an ultrasound today. Her cervix has remained basically the same, give or take. One of the babies' amniotic fluid levels is somewhat low as a result of the ibuprofen they're giving her to keep her contractions down. The doctors are going to monitor and stopping the ibuprofen would eliminate the problem completely, so we're not too worried. Things seem to be working well right now in terms of getting her stabilized, so they are hesitant to make any changes to what we're currently doing.

As part of the ultrasound today, they measured the growth. Each baby weighs just under 2lbs. The doctor said that's about 50th percentile, which is great for twins because they're usually smaller than with singles. All of the nurses comment on how active the twins are and they're growing very well, so we are extremely pleased with how they are progressing.

Things are going very well considering the circumstances. Next milestone is 28 weeks. That's when the doctors get comfortable about the babies' prognosis. Keep praying. We're not out of the woods yet by any means.

Prayers Are Working

Had yet another ultrasound this morning and her cervix has actually added a bit of length. Because I'm a total nerd, I've created the following chart to track her cervical length. July 29 was the day she was admitted to the hospital. Just to clarify, the more cervical length the better. If she gets to zero, the next step would be for her to start dilating which we don't want yet. Another way to look at it is that the cervical length is the amount it's closed and dilation is the width of the opening once cervical length goes to zero.Today and tomorrow she gets steroid shots to accelerate the babies' lung development. We're very excited for this, but concerned that the boys' world records in the future will have an asterisk beside them.

Because my lovely wife is busy doing an amazing job of growing babies in the hospital, the job of decorating the nursery has fallen to me. Chris had some bedding for the crib with light orange and yellow animals and wanted to use that as a theme. Well, not only is it difficult to match, but my boys don't want no light orange and yellow animals to look at all day. So my buddy Brent and I headed off to Babies 'r Us yesterday. We picked out a manly theme, bought a glider, and shopped for car seats and strollers. The funny thing at that store is that every time I asked a question of one of the sales people, I also got an opinion from every Mom within 20 feet. I'm torturing Chris by not telling her what the theme is or what we're doing. It's going to be a surprise. Now, whether it's going to be a good surprise or a bad surprise, that's a different story.

The next of our unending ultrasounds is Thursday. I'll add to the graph and provide an update at that time.

Stabilizing

Had an ultrasound this morning and met with the doctor. Seems that things have remained the same for the past week, which is a victory. Today is day 16 in the hospital and tonight will be her 17th night. She still has an amazing perspective on this and is doing such a great job of taking care of our babies.

For those wanting to visit, we ask that you give us a few weeks. Since we got the troubling news last Thursday, she has been in hibernation trying to avoid any stimulation at all. We appreciate and love the support, so don't stop calling, but please don't take offense if she doesn't get back to you right away.

Correction

OK, in the last few days, I've learned more about the cervix than I ever imagined. Originally, we thought she was dilated. She is not dilated yet. The cervix should not be open at all and is currently almost completely open. Dilation is the next step after the cervix opens. It is possible to have an open cervix and not dilate. Our hope is that, even if the cervix is open, she won't dilate for a few weeks so the babies' lungs can continue to form.

Struggling

We're through 10 full days in the hospital at this point. The issue for which they had hospitalized Chris has continued to deteriorate. The doctors are still trying to stabilize it, but it's pretty much in God's hands at this point. The next few weeks are extremely critical. If the babies are born in the next two weeks, their chances of survival aren't great. Seems like everyone (doctors, us, family, friends, etc.) is doing all the right things. We feel so good about the support we have, but human support clearly won't be enough in this instance.

Chris is scared, but holding up. I'm so proud of how she's handled all of this and how her positive attitude and faith have really come to the forefront.

Please continue to pray for our babies. Also, pray that Chris and I are not only able to accept God's will, but embrace it.

Update on Mama and the boys

Babies are still doing well. The dilation issue hasn't improved, but it also hasn't worsened. We'll take that. Chris is in good spirits and the medical care and service she is receiving at the hospital is top notch. I've upgraded from a 1/18th inch think mattress on the floor to an inflatable bed on the floor, so I'm feeling like a million bucks. Well, OK, maybe twelve bucks.

Please keep praying and I'll keep updating here every couple days. We talk often about how overwhelmed we are with the support we've been receiving from family and friends. We do truly appreciate it.