Lexi and Livy's Birth Story

Just thought I would share how Lexi and Livy came into the world.  It was all rather sudden and not the way I would have planned it, but I am so thankful that they are here and healthy. 

I started having what I thought was BH contractions Monday night and by Tuesday morning, December 27th, I thought I should head to L&D just to be on the safe side. I was only 1 cm dilated, but my BP was elevated so they decided to keep me to monitor that for a few hours. The midwife came in to let me know that I could go home and decided to check my cervix again before I left. I had dilated to 4 cm and my bag of water was bulging. Since both babies were breech the OB was afraid that my water would break and a foot would slip out. He said that it would be dangerous because they wouldn't know whose foot it was and they might try to deliver the wrong twin first. Sounded strange to me, but what do I know? Anyway - they ended up bumping a scheduled c-section, and I was in the OR before I even knew what was going on. NONE of our family had time to get to the hospital, and I didn't think they were even going to let Brandon run to the car for the camera. Luckily, he had just enough time. Lexi weighed 5 lbs even and was 18 3/4" long, and Livy weighed 4 lbs 6 oz and was 18 1/4" long. They seem so tiny! Both are doing well. Lexi may even get to come home tomorrow. Livy is having a little trouble feeding so she may have to stay a few more days, but the doctor seems to think they will both be home by the beginning of next week.

Lexi has a head full of dark hair, and Livy has just a little bit of hair that appears to be blondish brown - the same color that Wyatt had when he was born.  I know that doesn't really mean anything, but I hope that Lexi's stays dark and Livy's ends up being the same white blonde that Wyatt's was.  Both of them have tiny, narrow heads, long legs, and really long feet (imagine that).  Wyatt is the only one of the boys that has gotten to meet them, but he seems to like them so far.  I think he was a little worried about his place in everything before, and he probably still is, but he loves his little sisters anyway.

Tyler has been really excited about the babies for a while now, so I can't wait for him to meet them.  Alex told Brandon that he doesn't like babies, so I'm not anticipating him being very interested in meeting them.  :)

I didn't realize how much pain I would be in after a c-section, but it seems to be getting better every day.  I think it will take a while before I'm completely pain free, but it's all worth it to have these sweet babies here.  I'm not at all looking forward to getting rid of the weight, but I know that if I can be patient it will come off in its on time.  For those of you that know me, I'm not very patient, so this will be difficult for me. 

Thanks for following my pregnancy!  I enjoy seeing who is reading my blog and plan to keep updating it with Lexi and Livy's progress.  I wish I had done this with Wyatt because it's so easy to forget the little things that they do that mean so much.

34 weeks 4 days

Size of Babies: Growth scan on Thursday showed Lexi at 4 lbs 14 oz and Livy at 4 lbs 1 oz.

Belly:  See pic.

Sleep: I am exhausted all the time!  I slept really well last night, got up at 8:30 am and fell asleep on the couch a couple hours later.  I would be asleep again now, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to sleep tonight if I do.

Milestones: Not an official milestone for the babies, but we made it through Christmas which was my personal goal.  Officially, I've made it to the point that most doctors will induce if things get the least bit hairy.  :)

Movement: So much movement.   Lexi is sitting on my cervix again, so every movement that she makes really hurts.  I still love to pull my shirt up to watch them move though.

Symptoms:  I'm feeling very uncomfortable again.  Heartburn is starting back up and the back pain is terrible.  The contractions are also getting a lot more painful that they have been before.

Food Cravings: I lost 4 lbs at my last appointment.  I'm just not hungry most of the time.

Gender: 2 girls! We found out on August 18, 2011.

Names: Alexis (Lexi) Louise & Olivia (Livy) Ann

What I'm Looking Forward to:  We're just ready to have the girls here.  Is this the week?

Dr updates: I didn't get to see my own doctor last week since she was in Canada for Christmas.  The doctor I did see is not one of my favorites because she doesn't explain things well.  I saw where she noted that there was a size discordance between the girls, but when I asked her if she was concerned, she said no.  No further explanation.  I won't get another growth scan until next week, but since they are both over 4 lbs, I'm not too concerned either.  She didn't check my cervix, and my blood pressure was normal.  She had me go to the lab to leave a urine sample to check my protein/creatinine ratio.  The next day, I got the results via email.  Her notation said, "Your protein creatinine ratio is mildly elevated, but I would not recommend intervention at this time."  What does that mean?  If it were next week, would she intervene then?  What does the protein creatinine ratio indicate?  I, of course, immediately went to Dr. Google to figure out what this meant.  According to Google, my protein/creatinine ratio could indicate kidney damage and most doctors would recommend induction after 34 weeks.  My doctor will be back in the office tomorrow, and I would expect her to give me a call to check in then.  I definitely plan to ask her about my test results.

Here's our last family of 5 picture.  I cant wait until we can do our next one as a family of 7!

32 weeks 6 days

Size of Babies: Growth scan today showed Lexi at 3 lbs 15 oz and Livy at 3 lbs 12 oz.

Belly:  I might be crazy, but it doesn't seem like I'm getting any bigger.  Everyone can tell that the babies have dropped though.  I'm carrying much lower than before.

Sleep: Still having consistent contractions at night, but I'm sleeping so much better after having to spend a few days in the hospital.  It was so terrible having to sleep on my back to keep the babies on the monitor that now it feels luxurious to be able to sleep however I want to.

Milestones: MFM said that if the babies are born now, they will likely be in the NICU only to learn how to feed and grow. 

Movement: Movement has picked up again.  I've been having ultrasounds every couple of days, and Livy is in a different position each time.  It seems like she wants to move into a vertex position but then misses her sister and turns back around.  They are now lying head to head like they are telling secrets.

Symptoms:  I feel so much better since I've been on complete bedrest.  I think I was just putting too much stress on my body.  I was dreading even a couple more weeks of being pregnant, but now I feel like I can do it.

Food Cravings: I'm on low sodium now, so of course, I'm craving anything salty.

Gender: 2 girls! We found out on August 18, 2011.

Names: Alexis (Lexi) Louise & Olivia (Livy) Ann

What I'm Looking Forward to:  Welcoming our girls into this world!  They will definitely be here no later than 1/21, but the MFM doesn't believe I'll make it much past 35 weeks. That puts us into the last week of December or the first week of January.

Dr updates:  I had an appointment with my OB last Thursday.  She was going to have me do another 24 hour urine collection at home.  Before leaving, I asked her when she usually started checking the cervix for dilation.  She said that she usually started at 32 weeks and since I wouldn't be seeing her the following week, she would go ahead and check me.  She was very surprised to find that I was already 2 cm dilated.  I told her that I had been having a lot of contractions, so I wasn't all that surprised.  She decided to keep me overnight in L&D and go ahead and administer steroid injections to mature the babies' lungs.  When I checked into L&D, I started having very strong contractions every 3-5 minutes that were not slowing down.  Everyone was sure that I would be delivering the babies within the next couple of days.  Surprisingly 6 hours later, I was still at 2 cm.  The contractions finally slowed down overnight, but the babies' heart rates started decelerating while I slept.  I was hoping to go home the next day, but my blood pressure was steadily rising and the amount of protein in my urine had doubled over the last week.  I was told that I would more than likely have to stay in the hospital until the babies were born.  I was not a happy camper.  After 4 days, my blood pressure finally started to come down and stay down, and my doctor decided to let me go home on strict bed rest.  I was told to monitor my blood pressure closely and pay attention to any symptoms of preeclampsia.  Today, the MFM said that they will not stop labor if it starts at this point.  He also said that if my blood pressure goes back up, they will likely go ahead and take the babies.  So now we just wait.  My short term goal is to get us through Christmas.  I think I can make it.

31 Weeks 6 days

How Far Along: 31 weeks 6 days

Size of Babies: They should be a little over 3.5 lbs, but I'll find out for sure next Wednesday at my growth scan.

Belly:  Measuring more than 40 weeks.

Sleep: I've been having consistent contractions which makes it really hard to sleep.

Milestones: 97% survival rate and only a 15% chance of serious medical complications if born today.

Movement: Movement has slowed down.  I think they are running out of room.  Lexi is still the more active one, but I'm feeling more of a rolling sensation now instead of the jabs and kicks.  Livy doesn't move much at all.  I've had two BPPs in the past week and both times it has taken a while before the tech was comfortable passing Livy on movement.  She's practicing breathing well and her heartbeat is great.  She's just very laid back like her momma.

Symptoms:  I'm still experiencing a lot of sciatic nerve pain.  The doctor says that probably won't change until the babies are born.  I've noticed it's worse if I've moved around a lot during the day.  Heartburn is better since I've discovered Prevacid.  I'm now only taking Tums for the calcium!!  What a relief!

Food Cravings: I don't even want to eat anymore.  I think my stomach is too cramped to eat more than a few bites at a time.

Gender: 2 girls! We found out on August 18, 2011.

Names: Alexis (Lexi) Louise & Olivia (Livy) Ann

What I'm Looking Forward to:  The end of this pregnancy.  I'm so tired of being pregnant.  I just want it to be over now even though I know the babies need more time.

Dr updates:  My bp has been high at my last 2 OB appointments.  The first time was at my 30 week appointment.  The doctor had me lie on my left side and seemed satisfied when my bp came down.  She scheduled me with a one week follow up (instead of 2 weeks) just to be cautious.  The next week, my bp was high again so they sent me to L&D for monitoring.  All of the initial tests came back fine, and they let me go after a few hours.  I had to do a 24 hour urine test, but they expected everything to be fine with that as well.  I was very surprised when the doctor called Monday evening to tell me that my test showed protein in my urine.  That combined with the high bp and rapid weight gain over the past week, led her to believe that I might be in the beginning stages of preeclampsia, so she had me come back to L&D Tuesday for more monitoring.  Bp was normal during monitoring, but there was still protein in my urine.  I was told to lie down as much as possible, and that if it gets any worse, I will be on bedrest.  She consulted with my MFM and said that we need to get to 33 weeks.  We could have these babies before Christmas!  I go back to the OB tomorrow, so I hope to have more information then.