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 :-)