Wednesday, February 2, 2011

*Cue Music* These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Today they did a growth sonogram on the babies and everything looked pretty good. Here are their measurements (as near as they can tell). As a reference point, today I am 24 weeks, 6 days pregnant:

Caleb     Size: 25 weeks, 1 day
Weight: 1lb, 13 oz

Abby     Size: 25 weeks
Weight: 1lb, 10 oz

Elijah     Size: 24 weeks, 3 days
Weight: 1lb, 7 oz

Ellie        Size: 23 weeks, 3 days
Weight: 1lb, 5 oz

Ellie is definitely on the smaller side, but the doctor said that as long as she is within two weeks of the other babies, he doesn’t worry about it. Still, I would prefer that she has a growth spurt soon just to put her more on par with her siblings. All of them have great fluid though, and that is the most concerning point with the rupture that I have in one of their sacs.

Last night, I felt some contractions start back up. They don't keep me on the contraction monitor all of the time as I will always have contractions, some noticeable and some not, until the babies come. I asked to go back on it for about an hour last night just to make sure that I wasn’t having too many. Can’t be too careful! In the hour that I was on the monitor, they picked up four contractions. Turns out that four in an hour is still okay, but if I feel 6 or 7 an hour, then it’s worth checking into. I was very happy to hear that it was within the norm!

With the blizzard and road conditions that everyone has been battling for the past two days, I am so grateful to have already been holed up here. One of my big fears with the time of year that I’m pregnant is the weather. I didn’t want a big snow or ice storm to hit and then find it necessary to go to the hospital. On top of that, Sean’s work has been very gracious and understanding about the pregnancy/crazy weather situation and has allowed him to work from the hospital this week so that he is close in case something happens.

Even though I’m currently on bed rest in the hospital, there are some really nice perks that come with it. Here, in no particular order, are the highlights of my day:

1)     The Shower: Oh my word! This must be the best shower ever! The shower head is the size of a dinner plate, and is fixed to the ceiling so that the water pours straight down like a waterfall. PLUS there are three panels in the wall that shoot water sideways. PLUS there is one of those handheld water thingys that you can wave around to rinse off anything that is left over after the waterfall and panels have done their work. PLUS there is a chair in there so I can sit down the entire time if I want to. If there was a way to sneak this shower home in my bag, I’d probably give it a try. And yes, I do drag my showers out as long as possible simply because they are so wonderful!

2)      The Multiple Naps per Day: Since I’m not allowed to wander around, I can take all the guilt free naps I want. I’m enjoying this while I still have the opportunity to experience sleep.

3)      The Milk: Fact-I LOVE milk! We didn’t drink much juice while growing up, but milk was an option at every meal. Since getting married, I haven’t given myself the same freedom to drink milk whenever I want since It’s $4 a gallon. I’m sure it’s probably more like $8 or $10 per gallon since I’m in a hospital, but since I’m not actually paying out of pocket for it myself, I’m drinking milk like it’s going out of style. That’s right, I am enjoying milk at every meal…and sometimes in between meals also!

4)      The Food: I don’t have any restrictions on food unlike a lot of pregnant ladies with multiples who suffer from things like gestational diabetes. I eat a LOT of food here. Between the very full, well-balanced meals (that are mostly pretty edible), the snack room down the hall, and the food that people keep sending to me, I have pretty much anything I want, anytime I want it. The doctors said to gain weight, so I’m giving it my best effort!

5)      The Wheelchair Rides: After being cooped up in my room for several days, they finally cleared me to take a 30 minute wheelchair ride per day. They won’t let me walk around anymore until after the babies come, and 30 minutes in a wheelchair is about all I can handle because of my back, but that little freedom is great! Hey, this goes on the list of favorite things because I actually get to see the outside world. It’s the little things these days.

6)      The Ice Chips: Crushed ice is the bomb, and the ice here is dangerously close to that! In fact, it’s a lot like ice from Sonic. Thankfully, they don’t have me limited to only ice chips anymore, but as an accessory to my water, it’s fantastic!

7)      The Nursing Staff: I can’t talk enough about how wonderful the nursing staff is in this hospital! Tonight makes it an entire week that I’ve been on bed rest here, and I must say, I’ve become attached to some of the nurses who I’ve had several times. They honestly do care about how I’m feeling and do whatever they can to make me as comfortable as possible. They go out of the way to track down things to make me comfortable, including, switching out my bed for one with memory foam, adding an egg carton on top, giving me my own wheelchair to keep in my room so Sean doesn’t have to hunt one down for my daily ride, and making sure that I have as many cartons of milk that I want! On top of that, the hospital doesn’t understaff this department, so if I need something and hit the call button, the nurse generally is in my room in less than a minute.

I’ve had a lot of people ask how my spirits are. They are pretty good! Everyday I’m stuck in this room is another day that my babies are growing. I have a feeling my spirits would have a hard time staying up if I suddenly found myself in another scary situation like last Wednesday. I am SO grateful to be “stuck” here right now!

                                                                                                                *****************************************************

Excuse the slightly unflattering photo (why wear makeup if I'm in my hospital room all day?) This was taken during yesterday's strip test. It took about 3 hours total to catch 30 minutes of heartbeats for each baby. They were extremely active and wouldn't hold still! Caleb and Abby are the two babies being recorded in this photo.



 

And here is another photo taken during the strip test. In this one, they are recording Elijah and Ellie. If you look closely, you can also see a third monitor that is tracking my contractions. CeeCee is the nurse who is standing up (she is fantastic! She's been my nurse for 4 of the days I've been here) and Dr. Charles is a resident OB-GYN who is using an ultrasound machine to try to find the babies' hearts as they roll around in my stomach. The monitors have to be directly above their hearts to make the recording. (both said that I could put their pictures on my blog)



--posted by Becca

13 comments:

  1. We're so very pleased that things are going well. We pray often for all six of you Ishums.

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh my.... they're just growing!! :-) glad you're getting to take the short wc rides!! hopefully Sean is driving the chair carefully and not going over the speed bumps at too fast a speed!! love you...and all..... thanks for taking the time to share with us...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Becca, you are so adorably cute! Your bright eyes and warm smile beat make-up any day! You reflect Christ’s love in your sincere heart and courageous strength! Praying for you, Sean and the babies!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Rebecca--you need not have mentioned the whole make- up thing--You look absolutely BEEYOUtiful!! so good to hear of your favorite things, how well they are caring for you, and how well you all are doing--praying---xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looking good Becca :P

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're such a trooper! I'm excited to see you tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rebecca,

    You look amazing and as a nurse, I am soooo glad to hear the nurses are treating you well. Usually OB nurses are great though. Keep up the good work growing babies. I love to hear all are doing well, including yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I live close & would love to try to come .. we're shoveled out .. glad you r feeling & doing so well! They're already over a pound each! (Have a friend who gave early birth to twins just a few pounds each or was it one?) You're doing great! Enjoy! Also glad Sean gets to be there with u as i'm sure u both are!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Becc you're such a trooper! Crushed ice really is the bomb. You hang in there! I love you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  10. So glad you are in good spirits and so happy that the babies are growing big and strong!

    I'm also glad you are savoring the little things! That's important! If there was ever a time to be pamper and spoil yourself, I'd say now is the perfect time!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Go Becca! Try to go one more week!
    Praying for you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love you Becca! I know those 4 littl wiggle worms must be making you super tired as they roll around developing their super awesome boxing skills and work on fighting their way out. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  13. i love your fave things list... i love milk too so im glad im not the only one who drinks it with every meal! :-) glad you are doing well with your attitude... you go girl! ps i would definitely not wear makeup while laying in a hosp bed all day!

    ReplyDelete

We would love to hear what you think! Please know that all comments are on a slight delay as we approve them on our end. Thanks for commenting!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...