October 20, 2010, the best day of our lives or the day our lives really began

At 7:13 and 7:14 PM we welcomed little Mia and Edward into our lives. They both weighed a healthy 5 pounds and are beautiful. We cannot imagine life before them. My good friend said it perfectly when she said it was the day our lives really began.

34 week appt or Delivery day

As I mention in my earlier post, I had severe swelling for a few weeks. My size 7 flip flops were replaced with a tight size 9 flip flop. Most of my day (on bed rest) was elevating my feet to try to keep the swelling at a minimum with no luck. I had researched swelling and found that only if my face were to swell would there be a concern of preeclampsia. I didn't think I looked any more swollen in the face than before the pregnancy.

On this day and at my doctor's office, I found that I had gained 12 pounds in one week and my protein levels were high. It only took my doctor one quick glance to realize I had preeclampsia and needed to deliver right away.

We were admitted to the hospital where the admitting doctor ran more in-depth tests to verify the preeclampsia. The lab results were staggering and I delivered an hour later.

Aching to Deliver

At week 32 I became so severely uncomfortable. For weeks I had been sleeping sitting up in an IKEA chair when over 4 pillows propped up in bed didn't help the enormous pressure on my chest caused by the babies and asthma flare ups. We had also tried a recliner and I often used that for a couple of hours when I needed something a bit more comfortable. I probably averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night with no more than a two hour stretch of sleep. To top it off, I could not cool down. The room temperature was set to 65 degrees and while Ed was walking around in flannel pajamas, I was still hot.

I was also swelling for weeks on end. My feet swelled so much that I had to buy size 9 flip flops when my size 7's refused to fit anymore. There were nights that even if I elevated my feet all day, they would still ache. Compression socks (rite aid) and ace bandages helped but not for very long. I felt the most immediate but temporary relief in soaking my feet in iced water.

My skin would itch. Calamine lotion, vitamin b oil, hydrocortisone and itch relief became essential but never took the itching away for very long. It was as if mosquitoes came for miles to feast on my poor swollen skin. Poor Ed became my mosquito and bug slayer but could never quite kill them all to satisfy me or my psyche.

For these and many more reasons, I would ask my OB to ok an earlier than 36 week delivery. He said he couldn't unless there was a compelling reason because the perinatologists had been brought in to care for me. The perinatologist would have to approve an earlier than 36 week delivery. This broke my heart when at 33 weeks, I was so swollen, exhausted, and miserable. Little did I know I would deliver my babes a week later in an emergency situation.

More Pre-Term Labor drama

At about week 32 the pre-term labor drama started to pick up. I was in and out of the triage unit at Sutter's Labor and Delivery wing. I was given nifedipine to hault contractions and took this medication every 12 hours for a couple of weeks. This drug worked wonders however if I was even 30 minutes late taking my scheduled dose, I would immediately start having more intense contractions. There were days that the medication didn't quite work creating a revisit to the hospital for different drugs to prevent labor. Nifedipine was the drug I was on up until I delivered.

My contractions never really subsided even on the medications. The severity of the contractions would vary and when severe (once at 5 minutes apart) I would end up in the hospital for more monitoring, more drugs, but always allowed to come home.

I would say I visited the hospital about 10 times in the weeks leading up to delivery. It was fun for Ed and I to take bets as to if it would be the day we'd finally get to meet our little ones.

Bedrest (August - October delivery)

After my August release (see prior blog entry) I was on strict bedrest. This may sound appealing to many readers however there is something about being forced to stay down that drives one nuts. This is what happened to me. The walls of my large house became to cave in on me and I quickly became miserable. All I could think of was the babies room that needed attention and see the dishes that needed washing or putting away. Plus being locked up in our home with all the xbox, wii, dvd's, cable, on-demand, and netflix didn't do it for me either. Truth is I was sick of not contributing or not having any control.

After noticing this and a talk with my doctor, I rented a wheelchair. The wheelchair allowed me to wheel around the kitchen island and perform tasks like unloading the dishwasher (dishes to the island only), wash dishes, make a sandwich, etc. I was also able to pick up using an arm extender.