Another Wednesday, another week

The week 26 mark was yesterday and the babies are still in there, praise God. Heidi is doing well, keeping a positive attitude and nurturing the babies in her womb. Her hospital room is filled with cards, flowers, and things to keep her busy. (I would post a picture, but she's not big on the idea of appearing in her hospital gown on the worldwide web at this point.)

I'm hanging in there so far, busy with a seminary class I'm teaching, another I'm TA'ing, plus my own full-time schoolwork and my half-time job at the church. It has been interesting making that all work when I'm back and forth to the hospital every day!

The babies are most likely reaching the two-pound mark this week. Next stop, three! Unfortunately, they have not been able to totally curtail her progression toward labor, so we're still just hanging on, thankful for every day and week that they stay in there.

Living Wednesday to Wednesday

Now that it looks more likely Heidi will be in the hospital for a good long time, our perspective has started to change more toward living Wednesday to Wednesday. (Wednesday is the day that marks the beginning of a new week of pregnancy.) This Wednesday will be week 25. Heidi's staying busy with tons of books, movies, music, and crafts. We even took some time to work on the household budget last night, which made us both feel better. Heidi's learning to structure her time according to the irregular regularity of "life in the hospital." Many friends have made sure that she has lots of snacks and also lots of fall decorations in her hospital room. She even has baby clothes hanging on the wall to remind us both of the reason we're going through all of this!

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.

Hospital Forever

It's looking like Heidi's going to be in the hospital for lots longer. Her doctor said that it's just too risky to send her home when we're at this stage in the game. At 24 weeks, they want to do everything they can to buy all the time they can. They're trying to keep the contractions down and keep the downward pressure off of the birth canal. No news beyond that. Every day counts.

So close yet still not quite there

Hi all, the contractions were calmed down for a long time last night and today, but just before the doctor came with the order to send her home ... they started back up again. So not going home today, and maybe not tomorrow either. There's a lot of variables involved that are all very complicated and too much to post on the blog, so we'll just leave it at that. Keep praying. The babies' growth still looks good and Heidi's still doing as well as she possibly could, given the circumstances. Thanks for all the support and encouragement and prayers.

Hospital Birthday

The news today is that they're still tweaking Heidi's meds, so she won't be going home for her birthday. But we'll be having take-out and cupcakes here at the hospital! She is still contracting some and having some uterine irritability, so they're keeping her put for now. We'll keep praying!

We'll know more tomorrow

Hi all, just a quick note to say that they switched Heidi's meds and should know tomorrow whether or not she can go home. It sure would be a nice birthday present for her to be able to wash her hair, sleep in her own bed, and eat home cooked food. But whatever's best for the babies!

Update on Heidi and the Babies

Hi all. Thank you for all your prayers. Heidi has been admitted to the hospital for the weekend at least to try to prevent pre-term labor. We went to the hospital Thursday and she was having contractions that she wasn't feeling. They got those calmed down and sent her home for the night. We went to the OB the next day and they admitted her to the hospital again because the contractions were still coming.

She has been on meds to relax the contractions since yesterday afternoon and she's hanging in there. Around this time tomorrow afternoon, they'll try to wean her off the IV meds and get her on a pill. If she responds well to that, she may be able to go home. If not, she might be growing the babies in the hospital for the next couple months!

We're told that this kind of thing is not uncommon for multiple pregnancies, but it's nerve-racking nonetheless.

We'll keep you updated as things progress. Let's pray for another couple of months to grow these babies at home.

Please pray

We had an appointment with our perinatologist yesterday and got some scary news. The babies are doing well and are still exactly the same size, which is great, but I am at very high risk for preterm labor. Having twins already puts me at high risk, but at my last appointment, everything looked great and the risk was very minimal. Since then, things have changed and I am now on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. We are hoping that things stabilize and that I can remain at home on bed rest. If things get worse, I'll be on hospital bed rest. We are just doing everything we can to keep the babies in there as long as possible. It's a scary time for us, but we have great support from friends around here for meals and prayers. Please pray that things remain stable and that these babies make it several more weeks at the very least! It's way too early for them to come now.

We got some great pictures of the babies at the appointment yesterday, so we'll try and get those posted at some point.

Invitation

What: Dance Party

When: 3:00 AM, October 2nd

Who: 2 babies

Where: Heidi's belly

Why: Because it's fun to keep Heidi awake!!!!

Yikes!

The "cankles" have arrived. I would blame it on the heat, but it's cooler now than it was a week ago. It's sill in the 90's and is a bit more humid, so maybe that has something to do with it. All I know is that my right ankle bones are not visible and my foot is getting puffier all the time. Hopefully it will get better if it cools down. Otherwise, I'm not sure my shoes will fit!

We're busy (or I should say, "Noel's busy") painting the apartment. We had painted it a few years ago to make it more "homey", knowing that we'd have to paint it back to white before moving out. Since we don't want to have to worry about it when the babies are here, we decided to do it now. We think we'll have enough on our hands just trying to move the babies! (Note: We have no plans to move, but will have to move before the babies turn 1 due to occupancy laws. Plus, they'll need more space!) Once the painting is complete, we can start to rearrange furniture in order to fit the new items that we'll need! Hopefully everything will be set within the next month!

Maybe when Noel's less occupied with painting, I'll ask him to take another picture of my ever growing belly.