Another ultrasound this morning. The nurse performed the ultrasound while Dr. Campbell wasn't present so there wasn't any immediate feedback from the ultrasound other than that both babies are doing fine.
Magnesium has now been removed and all tubes disconnected. The only thing that Lisa has strapped to her is a contraction sensor. He did put Lisa back on endocin taken orally. They will manage her contractions further with the Terb shots.
My mother stayed with Lisa today. She outfitted Lisa into a new pink night gown. Lisa looks like a new person.
Next ultrasound is Monday. That means she has at least 3 more days in the hospital.
Lisa's birthday is tomorrow!
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 20 spankings coming to BabyA
Last night was a good night. Lisa slept good and therefore I slept good.
Dr. Campbell visited us at 8:30 this morning to do another ultrasound. They measured both sacs and looked at the cervix. Both babies are fine. Baby A has built up more fluid. He was also pounding his head against Lisa's cervix. He is definitely the culprit for all her problems. Lisa has already decided to spank Baby A 10 times when he gets out. I'm tracking all costs associated with this hospital episode, so Baby A can pay us back with inflation.
Dr. Campbell seems really pleased with Lisa's status. He has removed the antibiotics and lowered her Magnesium levels to 1 gram per hour. He also told Lisa she can take a shower today!
Dr. Campbell thinks there may be a mild case of twin to twin transfusion - meaning Baby A is stealing from Baby B (another 10 butt whoopings coming his way). He seems to think Baby A is mainly stealing fluid and it shouldn't be detrimental to Baby B. Dr. Campbell is not yet planning on removing fluid from Baby A, but it is definitely a possibility. He said that for some women it only takes one fluid removal and sometimes it takes up to 4 times. Hopefully we don't have to have this done but it may be the best method to relieve pressure and stop the contractions.
Lisa did well overall today. She didn't get sick. She really, really enjoyed the shower. Her contractions picked up after the shower and hence received two shots of Terb.
There has been no talk yet of letting Lisa go home, but certainly progress is being made everyday where I would think it could become a possibility.
Yet another ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow. It is kind of nice to be able to see the babies nearly every day. I wonder what the going rate for an ultrasound machine is on eBay?
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Dr. Campbell visited us at 8:30 this morning to do another ultrasound. They measured both sacs and looked at the cervix. Both babies are fine. Baby A has built up more fluid. He was also pounding his head against Lisa's cervix. He is definitely the culprit for all her problems. Lisa has already decided to spank Baby A 10 times when he gets out. I'm tracking all costs associated with this hospital episode, so Baby A can pay us back with inflation.
Dr. Campbell seems really pleased with Lisa's status. He has removed the antibiotics and lowered her Magnesium levels to 1 gram per hour. He also told Lisa she can take a shower today!
Dr. Campbell thinks there may be a mild case of twin to twin transfusion - meaning Baby A is stealing from Baby B (another 10 butt whoopings coming his way). He seems to think Baby A is mainly stealing fluid and it shouldn't be detrimental to Baby B. Dr. Campbell is not yet planning on removing fluid from Baby A, but it is definitely a possibility. He said that for some women it only takes one fluid removal and sometimes it takes up to 4 times. Hopefully we don't have to have this done but it may be the best method to relieve pressure and stop the contractions.
Lisa did well overall today. She didn't get sick. She really, really enjoyed the shower. Her contractions picked up after the shower and hence received two shots of Terb.
There has been no talk yet of letting Lisa go home, but certainly progress is being made everyday where I would think it could become a possibility.
Yet another ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow. It is kind of nice to be able to see the babies nearly every day. I wonder what the going rate for an ultrasound machine is on eBay?
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - Chara makes Lisa sick
Last night was another fairly long, rough night. Lots of interruptions, and Lisa was uncomfortable through the night. She was trying to brave the night without her new friend Ambien, but she couldn't make it.
Lisa visits her bed-side potty every hour. She manages doing everything on her own now.
Dr. Campbell visited Lisa this morning. He didn't do any examinations today and is planning an ultrasound tomorrow. He seemed satisfied with Lisa's progress and feels things are going well. He decided to reduce the Magnesium and increase her fluids. He was wearing a University of South Carolina shirt - that's disappointing (at least he's not from Louisville). I've only seen him wear a Physician's coat once. I digress... He said that Lisa might even be able to take a shower in the next couple of days if she felt up to it. He mentioned that Lisa's cervix looks good, and Lisa made a patented Lisa joke "if only I had a dollar for every time I heard that".
Chara was on primary coverage today. Lisa had progressed so well with everybody's help so far, but when Chara took over, Lisa started throwing up. Actually it wasn't Chara's fault, I just like blaming her. Lisa got sick on her Miralax. Hopefully its a one time event.
A couple more Terb shots today, but her contractions are better than what Dr. Campbell had expected.
Lisa ate her lunch and some of her dinner.
Lisa and the babies situation seems to stabilize more and more every day. We have been so fortunate. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.
Tomorrow will be her 7th day in the hospital.
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Lisa visits her bed-side potty every hour. She manages doing everything on her own now.
Dr. Campbell visited Lisa this morning. He didn't do any examinations today and is planning an ultrasound tomorrow. He seemed satisfied with Lisa's progress and feels things are going well. He decided to reduce the Magnesium and increase her fluids. He was wearing a University of South Carolina shirt - that's disappointing (at least he's not from Louisville). I've only seen him wear a Physician's coat once. I digress... He said that Lisa might even be able to take a shower in the next couple of days if she felt up to it. He mentioned that Lisa's cervix looks good, and Lisa made a patented Lisa joke "if only I had a dollar for every time I heard that".
Chara was on primary coverage today. Lisa had progressed so well with everybody's help so far, but when Chara took over, Lisa started throwing up. Actually it wasn't Chara's fault, I just like blaming her. Lisa got sick on her Miralax. Hopefully its a one time event.
A couple more Terb shots today, but her contractions are better than what Dr. Campbell had expected.
Lisa ate her lunch and some of her dinner.
Lisa and the babies situation seems to stabilize more and more every day. We have been so fortunate. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.
Tomorrow will be her 7th day in the hospital.
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - Another Ultrasound
Last night, neither Lisa or I got much sleep. She was a frequent visitor to her new bed-side toilet. She also got a new IV at 3:00am and blood drawn at 5:00am.
Dr. Campbell did another ultrasound this morning. He and the nurse both agreed that we are blessed with TWIN BOYS! Everything looked fine from the ultrasound. Both babies' sacs look good. Baby A's fluid has increased since the last ultrasound. He wants to do another ultrasound on Thursday. He seems to be very interested in the consistency of fluid levels from day to day.
Dr. Campbell had the nurse remove the endocin from Lisa's drug list. Yeah!
Her contractions have remained fairly quiet today, although she still has gotten two shots of Terb. Lisa had a good appetite today eating most of her lunch and dinner.
Carol was the caretaker for the day as I unfortunately had to go back to work.
As I always say.... Another day in the belly is another good day! :)
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Dr. Campbell did another ultrasound this morning. He and the nurse both agreed that we are blessed with TWIN BOYS! Everything looked fine from the ultrasound. Both babies' sacs look good. Baby A's fluid has increased since the last ultrasound. He wants to do another ultrasound on Thursday. He seems to be very interested in the consistency of fluid levels from day to day.
Dr. Campbell had the nurse remove the endocin from Lisa's drug list. Yeah!
Her contractions have remained fairly quiet today, although she still has gotten two shots of Terb. Lisa had a good appetite today eating most of her lunch and dinner.
Carol was the caretaker for the day as I unfortunately had to go back to work.
As I always say.... Another day in the belly is another good day! :)
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Monday, May 26, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008 - Memorial Day
Lisa and I slept GREAT last night! Both of us slept all the way through the night, and we didn't get up until 9:00am. She got her appetite back this morning and ate her breakfast.
Dr. Campbell came in again this morning do another ultrasound. I, once again, was extremely nervous. The babies were doing fine. He spent most of the time looking at the cervix to ensure that the cervical cerclage was functioning properly. He tested it by applying pressure and it remained closed as expected. He did not notice anything unusual. The amniotic sacs looked good and did not see any signs of leakage. In order to find the root cause of the mystery fluid, he told the nurse to remove the catheter. They also increased the Magnesium Sulphate to slow down the contractions and decrease the amount of fluids.
Catheter was removed and bed-side toilet was provided. Lisa quickly took advantage of this and ended a four day drought of having a bowel movement. Hooray!
Lisa did great today. She feels so much better. She has been sitting up more and rotating on her own. She has been up and down off of the bed-side toilet about 10 times. Small things like eating on her own and reading are now easier for her. Her contractions are way down, but still present. Most importantly, there was no mystery fluid today!
Today was a really, really good day!
Tomorrow I go to work, and Carol has primary coverage.
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Dr. Campbell came in again this morning do another ultrasound. I, once again, was extremely nervous. The babies were doing fine. He spent most of the time looking at the cervix to ensure that the cervical cerclage was functioning properly. He tested it by applying pressure and it remained closed as expected. He did not notice anything unusual. The amniotic sacs looked good and did not see any signs of leakage. In order to find the root cause of the mystery fluid, he told the nurse to remove the catheter. They also increased the Magnesium Sulphate to slow down the contractions and decrease the amount of fluids.
Catheter was removed and bed-side toilet was provided. Lisa quickly took advantage of this and ended a four day drought of having a bowel movement. Hooray!
Lisa did great today. She feels so much better. She has been sitting up more and rotating on her own. She has been up and down off of the bed-side toilet about 10 times. Small things like eating on her own and reading are now easier for her. Her contractions are way down, but still present. Most importantly, there was no mystery fluid today!
Today was a really, really good day!
Tomorrow I go to work, and Carol has primary coverage.
http://lisaandtwins.blogspot.com
Sunday, May 25, 2008 - Recovery
Lisa and I both slept pretty good through the night. Lisa gets a little assistance from Ambien every night.
Carol and I gave Lisa a spa treatment in the morning.
Today was pretty quiet in regards to new activity. Basically Lisa remained uncomfortable and had some difficulty breathing. The nurse gave Lisa a breathing assistance apparatus to practice with. She did not do very well and obviously the bed rest & Mag has gotten to her lungs.
Dr. Campbell stopped by (he must never take a day off). He told us that he was thinking about actually removing some amniotic fluid from Baby A's sac to relieve some of the pressure in the uterus. He wants to do another ultrasound tomorrow.
Lisa had another rough afternoon and early evening with contractions. Her appetite is still not very good.
More fluid today - where is it coming from?
They transferred our room from 203 to 210. We are now in the Taj Mahal of hospital rooms. My couch / bed size has tripled.
Another day has gone by and the babies are still fine!
Carol and I gave Lisa a spa treatment in the morning.
Today was pretty quiet in regards to new activity. Basically Lisa remained uncomfortable and had some difficulty breathing. The nurse gave Lisa a breathing assistance apparatus to practice with. She did not do very well and obviously the bed rest & Mag has gotten to her lungs.
Dr. Campbell stopped by (he must never take a day off). He told us that he was thinking about actually removing some amniotic fluid from Baby A's sac to relieve some of the pressure in the uterus. He wants to do another ultrasound tomorrow.
Lisa had another rough afternoon and early evening with contractions. Her appetite is still not very good.
More fluid today - where is it coming from?
They transferred our room from 203 to 210. We are now in the Taj Mahal of hospital rooms. My couch / bed size has tripled.
Another day has gone by and the babies are still fine!
Saturday, May 24, 2008 - Recovery and Ultrasound
Dr. Campbell came in early to perform the ultrasound. I was extremely nervous.
The ultrasound found good fluid in Baby A's sac as well as Baby B's. This is great news! Both babies hearts were beating. He took measurements of the babies. Baby B is smaller. He checked a bunch of things that I didn't understand. Dr. Campbell seemed pleasantly surprised that Baby A had so much fluid, because if the membrane would have ruptured during the surgery, it would have been Baby A's sac. Lisa, Dr. Campbell, and I were relieved.
We don't know necessarily that the membrane is not ruptured but it is a good sign that Baby A's sac has lots of fluid. Following the ultrasound the nurses tested the urine around the catheter to see if it would turn the amniotic fluid swab test positive. It did!
Lisa continued to be uncomfortable most of the day with heavy contractions in the afternoon. She got lots of Terb and an increase in Mag.
She did have more clear liquid coming out of her and once again it turned the swab positive for amniotic fluid. :(
Dr. Campbell pointed out that every day after the surgery that the babies are inside and doing well is a major achievement. So today was a good day!
The ultrasound found good fluid in Baby A's sac as well as Baby B's. This is great news! Both babies hearts were beating. He took measurements of the babies. Baby B is smaller. He checked a bunch of things that I didn't understand. Dr. Campbell seemed pleasantly surprised that Baby A had so much fluid, because if the membrane would have ruptured during the surgery, it would have been Baby A's sac. Lisa, Dr. Campbell, and I were relieved.
We don't know necessarily that the membrane is not ruptured but it is a good sign that Baby A's sac has lots of fluid. Following the ultrasound the nurses tested the urine around the catheter to see if it would turn the amniotic fluid swab test positive. It did!
Lisa continued to be uncomfortable most of the day with heavy contractions in the afternoon. She got lots of Terb and an increase in Mag.
She did have more clear liquid coming out of her and once again it turned the swab positive for amniotic fluid. :(
Dr. Campbell pointed out that every day after the surgery that the babies are inside and doing well is a major achievement. So today was a good day!
Friday, May 23, 2008 - Surgery recovery
Lisa was drugged up after the surgery. She slept fairly well through the night, but was uncomfortable most of the day Friday.
Lisa was restricted to a liquid diet because the Magnesium Sulphate can cause nauseousness.
Terb shots were frequent to slow down the contractions.
Lisa noticed fluid coming out of her after she sat up for lunch. The nurses did a swab test on the fluid to see if it was amniotic fluid and it tested positive. They warned us that the test could be a false positive from blood in the fluid. Never the less, this made Lisa and I extremely nervous. If it is amniotic fluid, the prognosis is not good for either of the babies.
The nurses called Dr. Campbell, and he told them that it could be fluid from the surgery. It was a very long, nerve-racking day.
Lisa was very uncomfortable, felt nauseous, and had lots of contractions.
We just pray that the babies are ok and the membranes are not ruptured. Dr. Campbell is scheduled to do an ultrasound in the morning.
Lisa was restricted to a liquid diet because the Magnesium Sulphate can cause nauseousness.
Terb shots were frequent to slow down the contractions.
Lisa noticed fluid coming out of her after she sat up for lunch. The nurses did a swab test on the fluid to see if it was amniotic fluid and it tested positive. They warned us that the test could be a false positive from blood in the fluid. Never the less, this made Lisa and I extremely nervous. If it is amniotic fluid, the prognosis is not good for either of the babies.
The nurses called Dr. Campbell, and he told them that it could be fluid from the surgery. It was a very long, nerve-racking day.
Lisa was very uncomfortable, felt nauseous, and had lots of contractions.
We just pray that the babies are ok and the membranes are not ruptured. Dr. Campbell is scheduled to do an ultrasound in the morning.
Thursday, May 22, 2008 - the unscheduled check-up
Tuesday, Lisa had some discomfort and a few blood spots. She called Dr. James on Wednesday and the Dr agreed to see Lisa Thursday. The twins were at 20 weeks and 3 days.
Dr. James briefly reviewed Lisa and everything seemed ok initially. She began to examine Lisa further and became alarmed that Lisa was having contractions and her cervix was dilated 2cm. Lisa was immediately transferred to the Hospital to see Dr. Campbell - High Risk Specialist.
The nurses quickly outfitted Lisa with a catheter, IV fluids, Magnesium sulphate, and a shot of terbutaline. Dr. Campbell did an ultrasound on Lisa and recommended a cervical cerclage (purse string stitch). Normally this may not have been a difficult procedure but in Lisa's case, Baby A's fluid sac had started coming through the cervix. The surgery therefore required shoving Baby A back up into the uterus and stitching up the cervix.
Dr. Campbell showed us that Baby A is a Boy!
Dr. Campbell gave us the 3 problematic areas in performing this surgery and gave the twins a 50/50 chance of survival:
We had a lot of family and friends visit and praying for us. We certainly appreciated all of the support.
Dr. James briefly reviewed Lisa and everything seemed ok initially. She began to examine Lisa further and became alarmed that Lisa was having contractions and her cervix was dilated 2cm. Lisa was immediately transferred to the Hospital to see Dr. Campbell - High Risk Specialist.
The nurses quickly outfitted Lisa with a catheter, IV fluids, Magnesium sulphate, and a shot of terbutaline. Dr. Campbell did an ultrasound on Lisa and recommended a cervical cerclage (purse string stitch). Normally this may not have been a difficult procedure but in Lisa's case, Baby A's fluid sac had started coming through the cervix. The surgery therefore required shoving Baby A back up into the uterus and stitching up the cervix.
Dr. Campbell showed us that Baby A is a Boy!
Dr. Campbell gave us the 3 problematic areas in performing this surgery and gave the twins a 50/50 chance of survival:
- Damaging Baby A's sac during the surgery
- The surgery causes additional contractions
- There is a risk for infection
We had a lot of family and friends visit and praying for us. We certainly appreciated all of the support.
Lisa and the Twins - Overview
This is an attempt to create a method to update the masses of Lisa and the Twins status. Granted it is a little informal so please call Lisa, Carol, or I if you would like to talk to us in person. Also please feel free to come visit any time.
I will write the past 4 days as if it were that day, just to create some confusion. Starting on Monday the info will be real-time.
Here's a brief background leading up to this moment (most of you already know this):
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!
I will write the past 4 days as if it were that day, just to create some confusion. Starting on Monday the info will be real-time.
Here's a brief background leading up to this moment (most of you already know this):
- Lisa and I had a difficult time getting pregnant
- We lost one pregnancy last year within the 6th week
- Lisa got pregnant again this past January and the ultrasound was positive for one baby
- Lisa thought she had lost the pregnancy within the first 6 weeks, but the ultrasound proved positive for one baby and found that we had another one too => Twins!
- The rest is normal pregnancy stuff - sickness, belly inflation, and lots of trips to the potty
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!
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