not for the queasy and a trunk or treat

here are some pictures from the second reduction.  we had some more complications and were admitted over night.  i'll explain in the pictures.  

 this is the first reduction.  yummy eh?  don't mind the disgusting belly.

dr. haeri caught a little off guard.  great doctor.

all of these supplies for a reduction.  that's two one liter bottles sitting there.  we're going to try to fill em up.  

wondering the length of the needle there you go.  there is about an inch sticking out of my stomach, but the rest in in my gut.

Contraction pain.  my sweet nurse maxi.  

dr. bump holds the ultra sound probe while dr. haeri guides the needle.  looks pleasant huh?

this is what is left after the research lab takes what they want.  that red is because of placental bleeding.  he went in through my placenta this time.  

pip's heart rate dropped, and i had some major heart craziness going on too.  yay for oxygen all night long.  

getting the mag drip put up to stop contractions and labor.  it was a rough night, but we made it through.

Now to the trunk or treat.  the kids loved it.  it was good to get them out of the house.  

Reduction number 2

went to the doctor today.  we met with dr. haeri as usual and had an ultrasound.  the fluid in pip's sac is back up to what it was last wednesday before our first reduction.  this was expected, but still unpleasant.  i had been having contractions every two to three minutes again today, and this made dr. haeri sigh several times.  the girls are doing well.  they did measurements today and saw that piper is 3 lbs 6 oz and eden is 2 lbs 3 oz.  they are both gaining weight, and look healthy and beautiful.  back to the fluid.  due to the fact that i am contracting pretty regularly it was decided by all of us that i need to have another amnio reduction to decrease the risk of pre term labor, which sounds like it is pretty possible at this point.  dr. haeri gave me three options.  1:  admit myself into the hospital and be treated as an inpatient for the rest of my pregnancy so they can keep a close eye on me.  (mama was less than thrilled about this and said "NO").  2:  get the reduction done today, be admitted overnight and go home tomorrow.  i said no to this option too because i feel like i need to sit sydney down and tell her that i'll be in the hospital again.  she's an adaptable kid, but she can only handle so much.  she asks me everyday if i'll have to go back to the hospital.  so that wasn't an option.  3:  go on thursday, knowing that i'm going home with the high risk of preterm labor for the next two day.  i'll go in at 9 am and if everything goes well i will be released that evening.  this time it's going to be a more aggressive reduction.  they took out 750 mls last time, and will be taking 2 liters this time.  yay for me.  double the needle time and general ouchiness.  the good news is, that it will take away my symptoms hopefully.  we still run the risk of rupturing the waters and a placenta abruption, but he says it's a lower risk because my body has already been through the procedure.  so thursday will be another adventure.  dr. haeri gave me strict instructions to not be a tough guy and sit through contractions is they are getting more intense.  i am to immediately go down to the hospital.  everyone knows i'm not a tough guy so that shouldn't be a problem.  generally i'm feeling okay about things.  i'm tired and am generally annoyed by the itchiness of my stomach more than anything.  we're doing pretty well considering the last six weeks have been a roller coaster for us as a family.  we're so grateful for all the help we have received and the love of family and friends.  today i had two people say whoa when they saw the size of my belly.  i'm delusional enough to think that it's not as big as other people think it is.  denial might be a good thing for me though.  we'll update you soon.

momma's in trouble

lets start and the very beginning, a very good place to start...  on wednesday we went for a regular old ultrasound and ob appointment.  the ultrasound went well.  the girls are still behaving.  i did however have a rapid increase in piper's sac.  last week she was at 12 cm and on wednesday she was at 16 cm.  it made for a very uncomfortable mommy.  so we talked about doing an amnio reduction, but i wanted to wait because i wasn't having regular contractions and i thought i could handle the uncomfortable.  so that is that.  i had previously done a 24 hour urine collection, a diagnostic glucose screening, blah blah blah.  we were given the results and i failed the urine screening, meaning i have protein in my urine.  that means that my kidneys are not working properly.  i also had an elevated blood pressure which is indicative of preclampsia.  so after meeting with dr. haeri, he told me i needed to be admitted to the hospital for continual observation.  YAY!  NOT!  the kids were with us, susan was with us, and it was just going to create a big mess.  so after going to lunch, nick and the family dropped me off at the front doors of the hospital while they went home to get me a bag together and get the kids home to play.  see i was planning on doing something fun downtown with the kids that day.  i was admitted, and put into a labor and delivery room.  i had to start another 24 hour urine collection, get hooked up to an iv, and put on a toco for contractions.  dr. haeri told the resident that if i was having more that 2-3 contractions an hour to call him about doing a reduction.  well a few minutes after being hooked up to the toco, the resident stuck her head in with a glum face and said, "we're going to have to do a reduction, you're have a contraction ever 2-3 minutes."  lovely.  so nick zipped back down to the hospital, dr. haeri came over and prepped me for the procedure.  i was quite nervous so nick gave me a quick blessing, and we got started.  let me tell you, this was a really uncomfortable procedure.  what happens is, they prep your tummy with beta dyne stick a needle under your skin of your tummy to numb it, let it get good and numb and then stab a needle the thickness of pencil lead and the length of 4 inches into your uterus to get some liquid out of pip's sac.  well he numbed me, but stuck the needle in a not very numb place.  my sweet nurse pooran (from Iran) held my hand the whole time, because it hurt real bad.  they extracted 750 ml (3/4 of a liter) from pip's sac and i instantly felt better.  it reduced the size of my belly a little and gave me great relief.  for the next hour after the procedure they have to monitor for placental abruptions.  that's a risk of the procedure you see.  everything was fine.  long story short after two days of constant monitoring, a urine collection, two horrible nights of sleep, 7 sweet and patient nurses, my labs came back normal, my blood pressure was ok and i was discharged with the instructions to buy a blood pressure cuff and check my pressure three times a day.  if i have a bp of 140/90 twice in a row, i have to go back to the hospital.  dr. haeri says that he thinks my body is brewing to go into full blown preclampsia and that if i make it two to four more weeks he'll be surprised and happy.  so far pressures have been teetering on the edge, but still low enough to stay home.  lets hope my body will just cooperate.

holding strong

went to the doc on thursday, and received the same news.  the girls are holding stable.  we honestly couldn't ask for anything more.  we did get some cute pictures of them.  nick and i have come to dread ultra sounds, but this helped to ease our fears a little.  there was a slight improvement in eden's sac.  she has about 1 cm of fluid, but it's pretty subjective based on the angle the picture is taken.  they both have nice bladders, and dopplers are still good.  next week we will do another growth measurement to see if they are still growing.  enjoy these pictures.  i sure do.