If its possible for it to begin this early, it has -- the nesting. I couldn't sleep last night at all. I think I've had about two hours of sleep. I got up and cleaned out under the bathroom sink and I cleaned out one bookshelf of books. I have a pretty big pile of books for Goodwill, which is saying a lot for someone who holds on to books like there's no tomorrow. I finally tried to lay down again and I think I have my plan set for the day. I'm gonna start in our room -- clean out the closet, then work my way to the extra junk lying around in our room. If I can be happy with the results of the room then I can move on to the next room. This part will be difficult for me. I have a few ADD tendencies and one of the main ones is that I start another task before the first one is completed. I get distracted and start something else. Oh boy. Here we go.
cb
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Another year passes
Not much is going on in the Brewer household really. On Wednesday, we celebrated my 26th birthday. It was a quiet birthday. I'm not a big fan of a lot of "to do." We did enjoy Waffle House for dinner. I have this thing... tradition... habit... whatever you call it, and my birthday meal is enjoyed at Waffle House. This year marked eight straight years at Waffle House. It was super yummy!
Last night Matt and I attended the athletic banquet at North Greenville. One of his old teammates was inducted into the NGU Athletic Hall of Fame. It was good to see the place, maybe relive a few old memories, and see some old friends. Today we're heading back to NGU since its homecoming weekend. It should be a fun day... food and football and old friends.
Last night Matt and I attended the athletic banquet at North Greenville. One of his old teammates was inducted into the NGU Athletic Hall of Fame. It was good to see the place, maybe relive a few old memories, and see some old friends. Today we're heading back to NGU since its homecoming weekend. It should be a fun day... food and football and old friends.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Here is today's update after our appointments this morning.
I am off of bedrest although I still can't do any lifting or anything strenuous. The babies' heartbeats are strong, 165 bpm (baby A) and 152 bpm (baby B). The doctors are concerned that Baby A's amniotic fluid is rather low. This could be a result of the bleeding I have a week and a half ago. Since Baby A sits closer to the placenta he may have been the baby who suffered from the blood loss. Another thing we have to consider is whether the babies have Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. This occurs when there is one placenta that the two babies share. It is possible for one baby to get more nutrients, blood, and fluid than the other baby. The doctor does not think this is the cause of the low fluid because the babies are still growing at similar rates. (Baby A is 3 oz and Baby B is 4 oz) Babies with TTTS tend to have one baby growing exponentially and the other stops growing altogether. I'll go back in two weeks to check fluid levels and probably find out the sex of the babies. In the meantime I am to amp up on my water intake. The more water I drink the more likely they'll have more amniotic fluid.
Over the next two weeks, pray that Baby A's fluid will increase and that I will continue to have no more bleeding. Matt and I are so grateful for your prayers!
I am off of bedrest although I still can't do any lifting or anything strenuous. The babies' heartbeats are strong, 165 bpm (baby A) and 152 bpm (baby B). The doctors are concerned that Baby A's amniotic fluid is rather low. This could be a result of the bleeding I have a week and a half ago. Since Baby A sits closer to the placenta he may have been the baby who suffered from the blood loss. Another thing we have to consider is whether the babies have Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. This occurs when there is one placenta that the two babies share. It is possible for one baby to get more nutrients, blood, and fluid than the other baby. The doctor does not think this is the cause of the low fluid because the babies are still growing at similar rates. (Baby A is 3 oz and Baby B is 4 oz) Babies with TTTS tend to have one baby growing exponentially and the other stops growing altogether. I'll go back in two weeks to check fluid levels and probably find out the sex of the babies. In the meantime I am to amp up on my water intake. The more water I drink the more likely they'll have more amniotic fluid.
Over the next two weeks, pray that Baby A's fluid will increase and that I will continue to have no more bleeding. Matt and I are so grateful for your prayers!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Well... its been a long night and its going to be a long week and a half. As I described in an earlier post, I have placenta previa, meaning my placenta is covering my cervix. This can be relatively dangerous late in pregnancy but when its diagnosed early in pregnancy it tends to resolve itself.
Last night I had some heavy bleeding that resulted in a midnight trip to triage at Spartanburg Regional. Thankfully I had read up during the day yesterday on placenta previa and what can happen so the bleeding didn't disturb me as much as it would have if I hadn't educated myself. An officer stopped us on the way but I think he sensed that Matt was upset and sent us on our way right away. At the hospital they monitored my bleeding which had stopped before we even arrived. I was sent home on bedrest. I go back to the doctor on October 22nd. Until then I'll reside in the lower level of our house. I was instructed to either stay up or stay down and down it is. I'm hoping this time will fly by but I doubt it will.
We listened to the babies' heartbeat at the hospital and they are both healthy with strong heartbeats.
We're thankful that God is protecting our babies and my health. We pray that the pregnancy will continue without any further complications.
Thanks for everyone's concern.
Crystal
Last night I had some heavy bleeding that resulted in a midnight trip to triage at Spartanburg Regional. Thankfully I had read up during the day yesterday on placenta previa and what can happen so the bleeding didn't disturb me as much as it would have if I hadn't educated myself. An officer stopped us on the way but I think he sensed that Matt was upset and sent us on our way right away. At the hospital they monitored my bleeding which had stopped before we even arrived. I was sent home on bedrest. I go back to the doctor on October 22nd. Until then I'll reside in the lower level of our house. I was instructed to either stay up or stay down and down it is. I'm hoping this time will fly by but I doubt it will.
We listened to the babies' heartbeat at the hospital and they are both healthy with strong heartbeats.
We're thankful that God is protecting our babies and my health. We pray that the pregnancy will continue without any further complications.
Thanks for everyone's concern.
Crystal
Monday, October 6, 2008
A small scare
I can breathe a big sigh of relief.
I went to Hartsville on Saturday because my dad is in the hospital. He went to the emergency room on Friday with chest pains and pelvic pain. He has chronic blood clots and had a stress test today to figure out the chest pains. We'll see how that goes.
When I arrived Saturday I had some small bleeding which is terrifying especially when you've experienced miscarriage in the past. The doctor on call told me to take it easy and go in this morning for an ultrasound.
I don't know if maternal instinct counts for much in the medical world but I was confident my babies were ok. The ultrasound this morning confirmed that the babies are just fine with heart rates of 162 (baby A) and 174 (baby B). We heard their heart beats for the first time today. I have what is called placenta previa which means my placenta is completely covering my cervix. This is likely to move and fix itself in the next few weeks but it will be monitored. The important part is that the babies are ok. Their hearts are healthy and they are moving.
cb
I went to Hartsville on Saturday because my dad is in the hospital. He went to the emergency room on Friday with chest pains and pelvic pain. He has chronic blood clots and had a stress test today to figure out the chest pains. We'll see how that goes.
When I arrived Saturday I had some small bleeding which is terrifying especially when you've experienced miscarriage in the past. The doctor on call told me to take it easy and go in this morning for an ultrasound.
I don't know if maternal instinct counts for much in the medical world but I was confident my babies were ok. The ultrasound this morning confirmed that the babies are just fine with heart rates of 162 (baby A) and 174 (baby B). We heard their heart beats for the first time today. I have what is called placenta previa which means my placenta is completely covering my cervix. This is likely to move and fix itself in the next few weeks but it will be monitored. The important part is that the babies are ok. Their hearts are healthy and they are moving.
cb
Friday, October 3, 2008
See the resemblence?
In my last post... with the pictures, I mentioned Strong Bad. Do you see the resemblence?
Promised pictures
Ok... here are my promised ultrasound pictures. I'll try to explain to you what you can see in them since there are several at different angles this time.
The first two are from the second office I went to on Wednesday. Baby A is laying on his back and is sitting low in my tummy and Baby B is sitting right on top of him. At one point their feet were touching and we could watch them kick one another. It was hilarious.
The next six were taken at Dr. Giep's office.
1. Baby B with Baby A's head off to the right.
2. Baby B looking straight up... hence the crazy looking face. I know he sorta looks like an alien unless you know who Homestar Runner is and in that case he bears an uncanny resemblence to Strongbad.
3. Baby A on the right. You can see his spinal chord and baby B on the left.
4. This one is a little tricky. You can see both heads and then I think body parts overlapped. haha
5. Baby A
6. Baby B
there you go. new pictures next wednesday.
cb
Katie: I have them posted before 5 pm just for you!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Another Doctor Visit
Matt and I had another doctor visit for an ultrasound. Dr. Giep wanted us to have a nuchal translucency test.
Here is a brief description of the test:
This prenatal test (also called the NT or nuchal fold scan) can help your healthcare practitioner assess your baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.
The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.
Last week the babies were too small for the test. Today at Dr. Giep's office they wouldn't cooperate and lay on their backs. So, Dr. Giep sent me down one floor to Maternal Fetal. They have newer machines and specialize in ultrasounds.
We saw better pictures there. (I'll have to post them later. Matt took them to work.) Well, we saw better pictures but still couldn't do the test. This time we could measure it on Baby B but not Baby A, mainly because B is sitting on top of A. Geez.
We did learn and I'd say that the doctor and techs are about 95% positive that we are having identical twins. That is exciting news except that I'm convinced I won't be able to tell my kids apart. Their heart beats were 162 and 165 beats per minute so they're strong and its always reassuring to hear Dr. Giep say "Things look good."
We'll go back in one week to try the test again.
Pictures later.
cb
Here is a brief description of the test:
This prenatal test (also called the NT or nuchal fold scan) can help your healthcare practitioner assess your baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.
The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.
Last week the babies were too small for the test. Today at Dr. Giep's office they wouldn't cooperate and lay on their backs. So, Dr. Giep sent me down one floor to Maternal Fetal. They have newer machines and specialize in ultrasounds.
We saw better pictures there. (I'll have to post them later. Matt took them to work.) Well, we saw better pictures but still couldn't do the test. This time we could measure it on Baby B but not Baby A, mainly because B is sitting on top of A. Geez.
We did learn and I'd say that the doctor and techs are about 95% positive that we are having identical twins. That is exciting news except that I'm convinced I won't be able to tell my kids apart. Their heart beats were 162 and 165 beats per minute so they're strong and its always reassuring to hear Dr. Giep say "Things look good."
We'll go back in one week to try the test again.
Pictures later.
cb
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