Saturday afternoon

Bianca has has a rough 24 hours now, not so much because of babies, but due to a certain body function not...well um.... Happening. Being on bed rest is not always as great as it sounds and out of respect for Bianca (and on the threat of violence by a very pregnant woman) I will say no more about her regularity. 

Thanks to Jarrod and Michelle for the prune juice and grape juice cocktail. Here is hoping all comes out well (hehe get it...too much??)

On baby news, both heart beats are good and baby B has for sure been moving around and swimming. We are hoping that all the movement is a good thing. We are not having another ultra sound until Monday when our OB is back so hopefully we will have a quiet weekend. 

We are now researching how often one should change a catheter to avoid infection. So more fun research for the evening :-) 

Saturday morning - hello weekend!!

Just a quick update. Bianca is not such a happy camper and we were up very late last night with what were possible contractions or bowel issues. 

The doctor is about to come in and do a quick consult so I will post more after that. 

Here are some of the amazing flowers we have received!!! Thank you all so much especially Katie and Tony who have sent the latest batch!

Moving to a new blog...

Sorry for the delay today and tonight, but Bianca and I thought it best to move all of the posts and information to a new blog so we can keep it always to remember this time in our lives and all the people who have been such a big part of our support.

Our new blog can be found at: http://ourhopefortime.blogspot.com/

I will be posting the lastest there before we head to bed this evening!
Thanks all!!!

Wednesday Morning....Start of a new week

We talked to the on-call doctor early this morning and we are continuing the high liquid plan and lots of IV fluids. Our OB has programmed us to receive an ultrasound every other day, so not going to see the kiddos again until tomorrow.

I had to start heading into the office a bit more so I wouldn't be so far behind, but my mother in law has helped out tremendously when I am away. My work family has been beyond supportive and I could not thank them enough.

As the babies have already lasted much longer than anyone had thought, I am digging into new research to see what else can be done for baby A. It is a long shot I know, but I am hopeful to find some literature on a baby this far descended continuing to progress. I will report my findings as soon as possible.

Other than that babies and mom are still doing well and we are grateful for the start of another week in the hospital.

Tuesday night

Bianca is doing well and drinking lots of fluids. A pretty quiet afternoon and time for bed. 

Thanks all for your kind words today and support. 

:-)

Tuesday Morning - 1 week

We had our morning ultra sound right around 6AM - and from what I could tell nothing much had really changed. I sat there and watched as the tech looked around and could see both Baby A and B moving and with the best little heart beats ever.

So about an hour ago now our OB came in with that goofy smile of his and confirmed what I had thought earlier. There were no signs of improvement, but we both together said, "That also means she is not getting worse!" Which in my mind and in our opinion is a victory all in the same.

We have also just hit our first complete week in the hospital, and oddly we could not be happier!
One week more means one week closer to our goal of healthy happy babies.
Bianca is still working on her liquid pushing and we have come up with a little drinking game (of water and Gatorade) with Grey's Anatomy. Its sort of funny, but so far I am going to the rest room as often as she is :-)

Paul also came by to bring us more flowers and lunch !
Thanks so much Sir - Bianca is on cloud 9 right now

Our OB will be out for the rest of the week, but we are going to keep him posted on everything and we aren't going to let any on call doctor change her fluids ;-)

Monday Afternoon

Days like today are hard. In our afternoon consult our OB told us some not so great news. It appears that although both heart beats are strong and white cell count is low, Baby B has now started losing amniotic fluid as well.

I had been concerned for several days now that there was still discharge when Baby A was out of fluid, and to further confirm my fear our best guess is the fluid we are seeing is from Baby B now. Normal level is between 10-12 at this point of the pregnancy with the fluid levels dropping over time as the baby grows. Baby B's current levels are around 5. In the first trimester amniotic fluid is mostly comprised of mothers water intake, however into the second trimester, the babies own urine begins to pad the needed sack. Low fluid could mean issues with the babies kidneys or other complications, however in this case all signs are pointing more to the same thing that caused Baby A's sack to break as well.

So where does this leave us now...

Well there are things that can help and we are sure going to try everything we can. First off, if you remember Saturday the on call doctor let us drop Bianca's fluid intake as she was doing so well. From the quick research I have done receiving bed rest and IV fluids along with drinking A TON of liquids can help reverse this. If there is a tear or a leak in the membrane of the sack our prayer is we can fill it faster then it is leaking. Our OB has agreed with us that we are going to pump her full of liquids as best as we can over the next 24 hours. The liquid was cut in half on Saturday down to 50 (not sure of the unit) from 100, and we are now upping it to 150. Bianca is also now on a water binge as well as Gatorade and anything else we can find (thanks Jarrod and Michelle).

Some realities that we didn't want to hear...
Our OB has told us that if we don't see major improvement in the next 24 hours, it is his medical opinion that we try and induce Bianca tomorrow, as we are putting now both babies at risk of complications and a subpar quality of life. HOWEVER, he has told us he is willing to fight. He is willing to go with us and what ever we decide and if we want to fight and see it through then he is right there with us. My personal belief from looking that man in his eyes today, was as a medical professional looking at numbers and statistics he is obligated to say we should induce, BUT as a parent - as a person that feels for us - he is telling us to not give up hope.

Bianca and I have prayed like we never have before and we are not giving up hope. They told us hours when we first walked in on Tuesday last week and we held on to hope. They told us that Baby A would come any minute or their little heart would stop and we held on to hope. We have come a long way in a short time and we are not giving up on them!

It may not work out, and we know that, we may lose our little ones, but we are holding on to hope.

Monday Morning - Blood Work

Bianca just got her blood work results back; the counts are a little higher than the Dr. would like, but she is still doing well and no infections. We also just had an ultra sound and very happy to report that both babies A and B, have very good heart beats!!!
And the most exciting news, we now know the sex of Baby B -

We are having a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

What an awesome day Monday is turning out to be...fingers crossed and praying it stays that way :-)

Monday Morning!!

A beautiful morning is upon us and we are so thankful for one more day. It's funny how you can take for granted each hour that you are given.

We did not hear from the lab last night regarding Bianca's blood work so after a quick check with our day nurse today we should get them some time this morning. To be perfectly honest I am not totally sure how Bianca slept, but I was not a happy camper. Had a pretty rough time trying to fall asleep and for some reason the nurse came in at all the wrong times, but that is a small price to pay for the care we are getting.

So I don't have much more to report other than the research I was able to do last night. So sadly I have not found many cases like ours (with respect to twins and one already so low in the cervix) however I have learned a lot more about IC (incompetent cervix) and some of the most heartbreaking stories from all over. As much as I hate reading the negative out comes there are a few things I have learned from other's experiences. (this is all my rough math as I really have lost count on how many articles I have read) but in 80% of the failed cases there were 3 main factors that seem consistent:

1. Doctors who sent patients home within or at 24 hours for home bed rest
2. An epidural is ordered to help with the labor process (in most cases forced)
3. Patients are told there are no other options and are pushed into inducing

Now I am not saying that is the case for all, but what I have seen is that if any of these two items are present that outcome is not good (obviously number 3 is the worst case)

In the positive outcomes the common factors are pretty simple:

1. Strict hospital bed rest and monitoring (no getting up to use the restroom or bath - complete bed rest) for as long as it takes (in most cases 9 weeks or more if labor has not occured within 24 hours)
2. Antibiotics are pushed immediately and fluids
3. No pain or numbing agents are administered
4. Doctors are open about what is going on and really take into account the babies heart rate (I know there is a quality of life issue here, but in almost every case I have read, baby still has a heart rate when born or induced. I have read very very few cases where baby is still born and the positive outcomes have waited with little more than a heart beat as the positive factor)

I am so thankful for our OB and his willingness to listen to us. He gave us the facts and gave us a realistic hope and probably the most sincere answer a doctor could give, "I don't know what could happen, so lets keep waiting and hoping". His honesty, although frustrating at the time, has given us now 6 days with both or our little ones. What a difference a positive outlook and faith can make!

Sunday Afternoon

Lots of rest today. Bianca did not have the best of nights so right after lunch the nurses changed her IV and took more blood work and she knocked out pretty soundly for about 2 hours. We are still concerned very much with infections as that could make things significantly harder, but we are hoping for another good report. 

Baby A has moved some today and that has been a cause of both joy and concern (remember we opted not to have the doppler yesterday so we have not heard the heart beats since Friday). On a positive note, there has been little to no blood today at all. 

Once we hear more about Bianca's white blood cell count we will know more about her current imune system state.

I should post again this evening and of course if anything changes.

When you can't sleep in a hospital

Yup I did it... Found Bianca complete episodes

Sunday morning

Not a lot to report from last night. The bed fatigue is starting to set in a bit and Bianca does get restless from time to time but I think that is pretty normal. 

We had great visits from Jarrod and Michelle and beautiful Jordyn so that was  a lot of fun. Thank you so much for the amazing flowers, gatoraid, dinner and of course the coloring books. The cupcakes didn't make it long either and surprisingly happy nurses make your hospital stay even better ;-)

Bianca's condition has not changed much other than we are starting to feel a lot more movement from baby B. I am not sure if that is due to normal growth and just the natural process of things or something more. I am putting my money on natural growth as by this time we should start feeling more external movement anyways. 

Turning on her side has become a bit more of a challenge as the babies shifting does not always feel so great physically and mentally. The fear of anything disturbing what we have right now is high, but we know it's all in the Lord's hands. This is a trial of faith and we feel so blessed to be going through it with so many wonderful friends and family. There are so many people we don't even know who are praying for our little ones and we cannot thank you all enough. 

Some tips I can offer if you ever have a prolonged hospital stay (which I sincerely hope no one ever has)

1. Bring your own pillow (sure the hospital ones are technically pillows but not the best for long term stays)

2. Keep the place as tidy as possible (it may not seem like a lot of space but it can shrink so much more when you have lots of junk everywhere)

3.  Bring your own lotion (you wash your hands like every five minutes and in the time in between you are using that foam stuff. Your hands gut tired real quick)

4. Make a schedule and a calendar (although your priority is here and all your energy is here there is a world outside that keeps moving along. Plan your bills, maintenance and needs accordingly. This also goes along with checking your mail.)

5. Remember to thank the nurses, food staff, house keeping and all those people who make these places run (their job is tough and they don't get all the credit they deserve. Say thanks often and really mean it. We pray for them like our own family now, as their skill and care translate to our kiddos care)

6. Vending machines are not and never will be your friends (you can waste a lot of money on vending machines here so play it smart and bring snacks or treats from outside. That and lets face it, vending machine food typically doesn't scream "hey look at me, I'll keep you happy and healthy while you are here sitting not moving much". 

I'll keep posting updates later on today.  Love you all very much!!!

Saturday afternoon

So far a slow day which is great! There has been some more consistent discharge and more blood but the nurses have not been alarmed so we are ok too. 

I have been looking up why there is still discharge since there is so little, if any, amniotic fluid around baby A.  Not sure if I had mentioned before, but there are cases of the sack resealing and filling again with fluid, but in all cases I have seen this happens in the uterus still. My hope is Bianca is still producing fluid and the baby still has some around him all the time. 

We have not done the Doppler today but we feel as though we are good with where the kiddos are and may just skip that and enjoy today. 

Bianca did get a chance to sponge bathe today and wash her hair. That is always such a spirit booster for her so I'm glad the nurses were able to help with that. Here is a quick pic of Vicky helping with Bianca's hair afterwards!! Thank you Vickers :-)

Sidelines National Support

I just learned of the organization Sidelines, which works specifically with high risk pregnancies and NICU information, support groups and volunteers who can assist with so many different things.
Although we have had such great care here, we are looking for other opinions and are hopeful to find doctors who have dealt with a case like ours.

If you are interested, check our their website as I have found all sorts of good information on it:
http://www.sidelines.org/

Saturday Morning - Lower Liquids High Hopes

Turns out we did meet our on call Doctor and she was super nice. We also have meet our 7th nurse (we have yet to have the same one twice), but luckily they have all been so nice and caring for us.

The on call doctor did go over a few things with us specifically regarding Bianca's care while on bed rest. So this case is a little different to write about as we are worried about the safety of the babies and their well being, and at the same time, I am worried about Bianca and her being on bed rest for so long. I have never been on complete bed rest before so I am not even sure what that is like, but I can only imagine it gets old.

So Bianca got her fluids lowered which I am taking as a great sign. She is eating solid food and able to handle most everything, but we are pushing her to stay hydrated and drink as much water as possible. We are so hopeful now that anything can happen, so since we can't directly take care of the kiddos we take care of the mom :-)

Some things I have learned from Bianca while she is on bed rest:

• Changing sheets when a person is on bed rest - HARD
• Using the restroom when a person is on bed rest - NOT FUN
• Exercising while on bed rest - NOT SO EASY
• Showering or bathing on bed rest - A SPONGE IS NOT A SHOWER BUT IT HELPS
• Getting anything you want to eat, by just pouting your lips - A BREEZE

Saturday Early Morning

Just got back to the hospital after some sleep at the house a quick shower and some food. Lizette helped out so much to stay with her and cannot thank her enough. 

So far nothing special going on since I was last here. More antibiotics to ward off infection and lots of rest. She has been asleep for a good long while now so that is a great sign. 

Thanks to Erik for sending some very interesting articles that inspire and give us hope. Our prayers have never been stronger and more unified as friends and family and I can't thank everyone enough. 

It is difficult to be in the labor and delivery wing of a hospital as you here babies cry out for the first time and you so desperately want to hear your own. Although it is also a blessing as you can find strength in each other. 

I passed a very teary eyed women late yesterday who I could tell instantly was crying for a sick child. I have become all too familiar with those tears of confusion frustration and desperation to do something. As I walked past I grabbed the tissue box off the lobby table handed her the box and just smiled. I don't know their situation but I know I can be there for her without words as sometimes you just need a smile. I pray for our friends down the hall that they find comfort and peace in their struggles. 

Friday evening

Bianca's sister Lizette and her family were able to come in this afternoon from Bentonville AK to help out. I saw my wife smile and laugh today as if nothing was going on and I truly could not be happier. Her mind was at ease and she was just glowing with seeing her big sister. 

Thank you David and Lizette for all your sacrifice in coming to see us. 

We meet again briefly with our OB late this afternoon and were again told we are on the best course possible! We are still nervous about every bumb, sound, movement or hiccup but we are comforted in the knowledge that our twins are fighting for each other. 

Sadly our OB will not be in this weekend and we have never met the on call doctor but we are hopeful we won't have to either. 

Other than that we have no real news to report which is a good thing. Big thank you to Michael and Becky for helping us with food for our guests as well as my sister who has tirelessly run errands and helped us all day. We also appreciate all the phone calls and messages of hope and concern. Derek sorry I haven't called you back brother but thank you for your love and prayers and please thank all of your fellow KOC and church friends who have prayed for us. 

On one side note, we are trying dry shampoo for Bianca tonight, so we will report on how well that works in the morning. Heaven forbid anyone is in a prolonged hospital stay like us but if this works it may be a great solution for bed bound folks. 

Friday mid-day

So after a full lunch Bianca was able to sleep for a few hours before meeting with our OB. Turns out my assessment were pretty much on and he has cleared Bianca as stable!!! Which really means there has been no change in baby A's position in coming down and being delivered. Some of the really good things are that the discharge we were pretty much always seeing has slowed down significantly. So very little blood or any thing else going on. We are very happy with that although long term not sure where things are going. 

Baby A has no fluid left or at least none that is readily noticeable via ultra sound, so the lack of discharge makes sense. We never really knew exactly where the blood was coming from but no blood in my mind is a good thing. 

Baby B is still sitting way on top with good vitals and all so our wait and hope continues. For those keeping tab the twins are 21 weeks and 1 day. Every minute/hour/day is a blessing with our little ones so we are happy moment we have. 

Although this has been terribly scary for Bianca and I, we have been able to smile and laugh once and awhile and that has made a huge difference. I never realized how much laughter is good for the soul and for our spirits. 

Thank you again for all the prayers and positive thoughts. I cannot thank everyone enough. We should update again later on this evening when the nurse and I play with the Doppler to hear heart beats again. 

Friday Morning - Ultra Sound

I arrived back here at the hospital around 2:30AM this morning to relieve my mother in law and check with the nurses on things. Bianca had not been in pain and her contractions were very far apart (like a couple hours apart).

Around 8:15AM this morning we had the latest ultra sound and I am happy to report, there has not been a lot of change (in this case, that is a good thing). Keep in mind I am not a trained medical professional, but I do watch a ton of Grey's Anatomy (don't judge to you watch an episode) but here is what the tech and I saw (still waiting to hear the official report from the doc).

Baby A is still very very low in the vaginal canal, but does have a heart beat of about 137, which is lower than yesterday, but still good. Baby B is still way up in the uterus, but has shifted to the middle of her belly as opposed to the right side, where they have always been. So this was a cause for some alarm, but looking at things, since Baby A is so low there is a lot more space in the uterus so Baby B naturally just slid over.

So here comes the interesting part...
Baby A placenta is right at the top of the birth canal and, to me, almost seems like an anchor holding them in place. Baby B is well above Baby A's placenta and has their placenta (Baby B's) on the opposite side up and away from the other. What our hope with that is, Baby A and their placenta will not disturb Baby B if and when delivered.

Lot's of people have asked me if there is anything we can do with Baby A as far as extremem measures and staying time in the NICU. We have asked that question more times than you all can think trust me, and I actually continue to ask that question as Baby A still has such a strong heart beat. The internet has become my best friend and worst enemy, as I read more about miracle stories I also read some extremely heart breaking tales of worse cases than ours. The biggest difference I have seen in all my research (and the doctors have sort of confirmed this) is that our baby has descended soooo far down that with no amniotic fluid and no room to grow there is virtually nothing that can be done to help develop lungs. The baby is pinned to an extent in the vaginal canal with no fluid that the lungs cannot develop. There was a baby in Germany born at 21 weeks who did make it and I find myself returning to this article time and time again:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/27/baby-born-at-21-weeks-survives-how-young-is-too-young-to-save/

I have brought this up and I am hopeful with each day that passes that our doctors come up with a plan to save our precious little fighter. We have not just forgotten about Baby A so please dont think we are blind to this, its just been so hard to deal with so many scenarios and so little options other than sit and wait. I am continuing to do research and reach out to other places to see if someone has a plan for our little family. 

May 30th - Thursday Night Update

We had the chance to speak with our OB again this evening and did receive some additional good news. Baby A's position has not changed although Bianca did have more contractions and some more blood. We are scheduled for another ultra sound in the morning which hopefully will show the same strong heart beat from today and not too much change in position.

Bianca's blood work also came back showing that her white blood cells have decreased, meaning she is not fighting any infections right now. With an open cervix and the baby so low she is at a high chance of infection which can cause even further complications.

She is getting some rest and I am crashing out for a few hours as well. I do get up all too often thinking that something has changed or I can do something more. Luckily my mother in law is helping so I can get some shut eye.

Thank you to Jarrod and Michelle who left lots of goodies on our kitchen table when I came in tonight with the everything looking spotless. I could not hold back the tears in gratitude to our amazing friends.