26 Weeks: 6 Months

This week has worn on me a bit...

I wish I could say this week was better than last.  I went in for my appointment on Friday and things were looking worse, bad enough that my doctor decided to send me over to the hospital for monitoring and a round of steroid shots to develop the babies' lungs.  I made the poor lady at the front desk of Labor & Delivery cry when I arrived there scared and had a hard time remembering my due date.  We got the first shot done and my first ever IV put in (I am terrified of needles, btw) and spent a few hours on the monitor in triage.  My doctor decided they should keep me over night until my next dose 24 hours after the first one.  So, we got to enjoy a terrible night in a not very good hotel called the postpartum/antepartum ward.  In the morning, we did some more monitoring (the poor nurse stood there for 20 minutes chasing the babies around with the monitors, those boys will not hold still) and it was determined that I could go home after the steroid shot that afternoon, for which I am so grateful.  I will admit that I am missing the ability to tilt my bed with the press of a button though. After we got home from the hospital, my dad came over to help Blake give me a blessing.

So for now, my orders are to take it super, super easy.  Spend most of my time lying down, but being sure to get up enough that I'm not going to get blood clots.  Absolutely no going to the store or anything like that.  No housework.  Keep a close eye on my contractions to make sure they're not getting more frequent and make sure the babies are moving lots.  The babies are only about 2 lbs each right now, which is much too small to be born yet.  They are, however, a good size for how far along we are, considering it's twins and all, so I am glad that all the healthy food I have been eating (and some unhealthy too, I'm not perfect) and weight I've been gaining have been going to a good cause.  My doctor said his initial goal is to get us to 28-30 weeks for starters, so at least until we make it that far we are going the super careful route.  He's hoping to get us a good amount farther than that, but thinks my chances of reaching the full 38 are almost zero.  I'll be in to see him again this week, and hopefully we will see some improvement this time, or at least not any worse.

Laying down a lot is hard.  It wouldn't be so bad except it has unleashed hellfire in my throat, terrible terrible acid reflux/heartburn.  Sometimes it feels like someone shoved a knife down my throat.  I woke up in the middle of the night Saturday choking to death on acid, so I have built myself quite the nest in my bed so I'm not laying down flat, but sleeping that way isn't exactly fun.  Anything I put in my stomach calls up the angry demons and none of the remedies I have tried have worked.  I'll just do my best to eat as slowly as I can and stay as upright as possible while still keeping the babies' weight where it needs to be, because those seem to be the only things that make the slightest difference.

I am so grateful that the babies are developing and growing well.  That is the big bright spot among all of this.  Every movement I feel from them is reassuring.  I am doing my best to stay positive, keep my mind busy with other things, and not worry too much.  (I may not be doing so well at that at the moment.)  I feel like we're doing everything we can, and the rest is in God's hands.  Here's hoping that I will get to write lots more of these weekly updates, 10 more would be fantastic.  Every day they keep cooking makes a difference.  Stay in, babies!