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 :-)
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.
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.
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 ;-)
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.
I am a 30 year old trying to keep pace in the fast moving world of technology and litigation support. I love to read and am passionate about what I do and my family. I have been married for 6 years now and have a beautiful little girl named Emma Brielle. Our lives are not complete without always remembering her big sister who gave so much Eva Aimee!
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