A different Christmas, Drama drama drama & 29 week update

Our Christmas was okay...it was different for sure. I didn't go into labor and we had several visitors, so that was the upside. Craig brought Lacy up to spend the day with us. It was nice to have her with us rather than at home by herself. My Mom came by for a quick visit. She brought the babies several little gifts and she brought us some Christmas desserts. Craig's brother and SIL, Kyle and Michaela stopped by also and brought Christmas to us. Craig's parents stopped by and they also brought us some nice Christmas gifts. Our friends John and Angi came by last. It was so nice of them to take time out away from their family to come visit us on Christmas day. Thank you to all of you who came to see us. All in all, I felt fairly decent that day (physically), but it was a more emotionally difficult day and your company helped tremendously.

Christmas day with Lacy.



Let me preface this next portion of the post by saying I not only use this blog to keep you all updated, but also as a journal (public as it may be). Some of the things I say may not be necessarily surface level positive all the time. I try to spare you with all the negative details most of the time, but sometimes I just need to vent. Some things have been VERY stressful lately, aside from the babies. My Mom's health has been a concern along with my worry over my dog. All that being said, let me vent a little about my day yesterday.

My day was going on as normal, then about 1 in the afternoon, the charge nurse came in and advised me that the hospital was doing some remodeling and they had started on the floor I was on. She said they had painted the rooms they wanted to do first and were now ready to paint my room. She literally told me she wanted me moved by the next hour or two! I was pretty upset because obviously I can't pack up my stuff and I had nobody here or planning to be here to help me pack my stuff. She acted like it was no big deal because the nurses would be able to pack my stuff and I would be right there to supervise them. She obviously has never been on the other side of the hospital doors before. Well...my first question to her was, did this other room have a couch. We try to make some kind of arrangements for somebody to watch our dog at least once a week so Craig can at least spend one night with me a week. Not all the rooms have couches, so if this one didn't have one, that would be a problem. Second question I asked was, what about my bed. I recently got a bed that is not older than I am. My first bed was so old and rickety - it squeeked every time I moved it up or down, and it had ancient springs underneath that caused me to sink into a hole in my mattress, and it was killing my back. I can't believe a hospital this nice would have such awful beds for their patients, especially when the patient is staying/living here long term on top of carrying lots and lots of baby(ies). Anyway...after a couple of days of repeatedly telling the nurses I need a better bed, I finally got one. I think I did pretty good not saying anything for the first 3weeks I was here. So, back to my original point... the charge nurse told me that I could keep my bed and that they would wheel me down to my room in the bed. My third question was, how long did you guys know about the painting process and the need to move patients. She said they had known for quite a few weeks, but that the painters just told her they were ready to paint my room next. I was pretty upset because this was just one more thing that I have absolutely NO control over. I told her I didn't want the nurses packing my room and that I would make a few phone calls and see if I could get somebody up here to pack my room. She was cooperative and said that would be fine, but she still wanted me out of my room in the next hour or so. It wasn't that I didn't necessarily trust the nurses, but when you spend any extended length of time in the hospital, you lose ALL privacy and ALL control over EVERYTHING. There is just something about a bunch of people you don't know throwing all your stuff into a bag and treating you like "just a number" rather than respecting you as a human being and respecting your belongings. How do I know they do this??? My friend Jessica, who was here in antepartum with me for many weeks experienced this last week when she went into labor. They were packing up all her stuff within minutes after she went into labor. The nurses had told me that they allow you time to get family up here to pack it for you, but from what I can see, that is not true. Its not like they are full here and in diar need of the rooms...they have several rooms open now. All that being said, I called my MIL, Jami because I knew she had a few days off for the holiday and would probably be the person to be able to get up here the quickest. She was up here within an hour and a half or so and packed up my entire room for me. I had called Craig after calling my MIL and told him the situation and he was more upset than I was. He talked to the charge nurse who was being so pushy that I move rooms RIGHT NOW, and it didn't go over well. He said he wasn't rude to her, but her body language was very rude in return to me and it made for a very awkward situation. Most of you who know me on a more personal level, know I am not the type of person to put up with stuff like this, but there is just something about being on bedrest in a hospital that puts you in a very vulnerable position. I count on these strangers to take care of me and I don't want there to be any bad blood between us. So, I got all moved and I guess on a positive note, I have a new view (not that there is anything to look at), but at least its different. The shower in this room actually works decent as opposed to my old shower, but the door doesn't lock, which gives me no comfort in knowing I have at least a little privacy when I use the restroom. It's just as well though because I have decided to start taking my showers at night so Craig can help me. I guess this will kill two birds with one stone because I will have his help and I won't be worrying about somebody walking in on me as I would if I were taking a shower in the day while Craig isn't here. Craig got here last night and spent the night so he would be here for my appointment this morning. It was still pretty awkward and stressful with the events of the day that had taken place earlier, but it passed, we went to sleep and got up this morning for a brand new day.

If you would like to come by or call, send me an email so I can give you my new room number.

I made it to 29 weeks! Yeay! My doctor appointment this morning went well. The babies are looking great - they have good fluid around them still, good heartbeats, all their measurements look normal and their weights are ahead of schedule. All are measuring about a week ahead of time.

Baby A (Tyler) - 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Baby B (Hannah) - 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Baby C (Whitney) - 3 lbs. 3 oz.

I don't know where all these babies are fitting because I seriously don't feel big enough to be carrying 9 lbs. 11 oz. of baby and I am not seeing it in my weight gain. As far as everything goes with me, my cervix was longer this time, (32 or 3.2)which is good, but my doctor did see some funneling, which can be a progression to deliver sooner than if it weren't funneling. However, the fact that it is longer than last time is an improvement. Confusing...I know. I am borderline anemic now, so I am now taking iron for that. My contractions are still coming and going all day every day which is to be expected, but they remain under control most of the time. My comfort level is pretty bad. I pretty much have about an hour or two in the morning before my serious discomfort sets in. The longer the day goes on, the more uncomfortable I get. My blood pressure has been a little lower the past few days, but it is still in the "okay" range. My nurses will have me sit up more to make it go up a little more especially before taking my procardia, which can lower the BP even more. Only problem is if I sit up to improve my BP, it causes more contractions.

I made sure to get my pants low enough where my belly size would look more accurate. I think the past few have made it look smaller than it is. Even though I don't feel like I've grown much, I can tell a difference in the picture.



If you look at the right side of my belly, you can probably see it bulging out. This is Hannah. She likes to hang out way far over on my far right by herself. She has been causing me the most discomfort the 28th week. :)



Before Craig left this afternoon, we went by the NICU (I still have wheel chair privileges) and saw my friend Jessica's babies. She was the girl I mentioned earlier that was in antepartum with me, also pregnant with triplets. She had her babies on the 19th and she and the babies are doing great. It was so nice to see them in person and gain comfort in seeing how well taken care of they are. She had her babies at about 30 1/2 weeks and the babies all weighed and still do weigh over 3 pounds. They are so precious.

This is me and Jessica taken several days ago.



This is the highlight of my day...some days but not every day, Craig takes me on a wheelchair tour of the hospital and we usually go down to this huge comfy couch for me to lay on in the lobby. Its funny some of the looks I get from other people.



Eating is so fun!