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Tag Archives: Bed rest

The Boys Birth Story (Part One)

20 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by amomentinmarch in Pregnancy, RAINBOW BABY

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Absent End Diastolic Blood Flow, Bed rest, Birth Story, Hospital bed rest, subsequent pregnancy, TWINS

** I have been a bad blogger lately.  I had intended to blog often while on hospital bed rest, but writing on the iPAD without a real keyboard was frustrating.  Then the boys arrived and…well…I have been a bit busy.  So, almost 5 months later, I thought it is about time to share the boy’s birth story.

~

My hospital room

My hospital room

Chris and I had celebrated both Christmas and New Years from my hospital room and a few fairly uneventful weeks had past.  I had reached the 28 week mark.  This milestone I felt to be a rather large accomplishment (major developmental issues decease at 28 weeks) and I wanted it celebrated.  Chris had picked up some tulips (my favorite flower) and a cookie cake.  The cake read Happy 28 weeks!  Of course, Chris had to explain what happy 28 weeks meant to the cake decorator; apparently it was a first for her.

An ultrasound tech I didn’t know showed up to do my daily scan a few days later.  Up to this point, I had seen the same handful of techs every day.  I had become really good at looking at the scan and knowing what I was seeing.  I could tell if the diastolic blood flow was normal, intermittently absent, or completely absent.  I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary on the scan.  Later that day, I was told the scan showed some intermittent reversal, (see Absent End Diastolic Blood Flow for an explanation) and that I would be NPO after midnight.  NPO basically means no food or drink.  They would come the following morning and rescan me and see what the scan shows.  If it is better, I will stay pregnant; if it is worse they will likely deliver me.  My favorite ultrasound tech came the next morning to do my scan.  She looked over the scan from the day before showing me what they saw as reversal.  She questioned the reversal and said it very easily could have been that I was lying on the cord and in the future to roll towards my side a bit and see if it changes the scan.  It also could have been archiving, a term I eventually heard often, but am still not clear on.  Her scan showed intermittent absence.  About 30 minutes later my doctor called to tell me to eat breakfast, they would not be delivering me that day, she also expressed some question to the validity of the earlier scan.

About a week later, I had another scan that showed reversal, only this time it showed more reversal.  I knew it when I saw it on the monitor.  The tech said she would have to have the doctor interpret the scan to say for sure.  In other words, yes, that is reversal.  This time I was nervous, I thought for sure I would be having the babies.  Finally the specialist came by and told me I would be NPO and they would be checking the scan again in the morning.  Much like last time, the morning scan was good.

The next time I had a scan that showed reversal was the morning of my baby shower.  We knew it was only a matter of time before the babies made their arrival and my wonderful girlfriends felt everyone should get to have a baby shower.  They pulled the whole shower together in less than 5 days. All the doctors, nurses, and techs new my shower was happening that day.  The nurses spent part of the prior day clearing out the perinatal testing room and getting it set up with tables and chairs.  It isn’t often that a baby shower takes place in the labor and delivery unit. After my bad scan, I was worried I might be having my babies that day rather than the baby shower.  After all, this scan was the worst one yet.  My doctor was out of town, so the other doctor from her practice stopped by to check on me.  As soon as she got in the nurses advised her of the bad scan.  She told me, she was going to call my doctor and the specialists so we could plan the day accordingly.  First she spoke to my doctor; since she was traveling and wouldn’t be back in town until that evening; even if they did decide to deliver I could still have my shower.  This got me wondering how often baby showers and birthdays fall on the same day?   Then she spoke to the specialist who said we would follow the same protocol as before, NPO after midnight rescan in the morning.

My doctor was there for the scan the next morning, once again it was good.  I would not be delivering that day.  She and I discussed the frequency of the reversal and my other labs.  For some time we had been debating what would be the thing that would cause delivery. I was inching towards HELLP again or at a minimum Preeclampsia.  My platelets had been steadily declining for weeks and I was getting closer and closer to the 100 line.  When I first got to the hospital my platelets were 235, now they were 129.  I also had higher levels of proteinuria, but so far my blood pressure was steady and liver enzymes were good.  Of course, I had the blood flow issues, so the reversal could potentially cause delivery.  Or, due to the blood flow issues, Baby B (aka Nolan) might stop growing in which case they would deliver me.

Mid week, I had another bad scan followed by a good scan the next day.  This was becoming very routine.

The very next day, I had another bad scan.  The frequency of bad scans was increasing. They again had me NPO and rechecked me Friday morning. That morning I asked them about possibly doing a growth scan.  I wasn’t scheduled for one for another 5 days, but with all the reversal I felt it might be good to move it up.  The tech wouldn’t do the full growth scan early, but did one quick measurement.  She said they don’t seem far off, but Baby B does seem smaller.  Other than that the scan was fine.  Everything seemed normal except my ankles had begun to swell.  Noting major, nothing more than one would expect at almost 31 week; seemingly minor. Yet, I have learned things aren’t always as they seem.  One of the specialists stopped by and advised I would not be delivering that day, but he wanted the nurses to keep a close eye on my blood pressure over the course of the day.  As he was leaving my doctor was walking in the room.  They spoke for a minute and then she came in and told me basically the same thing.  She said don’t be surprised if I have the babies very soon, maybe groundhog day (Saturday), maybe super bowl Sunday.

After my doctor left, I ordered breakfast and logged into my laptop.  My hospital bed had also been my office for the last 7+ weeks.  No point in using up my maternity leave before the babies arrived.   It was a busy Friday, plus thinking the babies might be coming soon, I was trying to wrap up loose ends.  The phone in my hospital room rang. It typically rang at 1:00 pm if I hadn’t called in my lunch order or at 5:30, if I hadn’t called in my dinner order.  Who eats dinner at 5:30?  But it was just after 2:30 and I had already had lunch. My room phone ringing for anything other than meals was not common.  I answered and my doctor was on the line. She said change of plans; you are having the babies today.   This was not at all what I expected when I answered the phone.  Still shocked at this news, I mustered out an okay.  She explained they reviewed everything beginning with the frequency of the reversal, not to mention when they were seeing it, they were seeing more reversal and it was becoming less and less intermittent, my labs were not good, and there is concern Baby B isn’t growing much if at all.  It was becoming the perfect storm.  All the reasons we had speculated they might deliver me, were happening at once. While this was not yet an emergency situation, they were not sure I would make it through the weekend without it becoming an emergency delivery.  Also, she had checked the schedule and was not comfortable with the amount of staff on for the weekend.  With it being super bowl weekend, should anyone call out, it could leave them short staffed and create a dicey situation.   I needed 2 full teams since I was having twins and she realized the “A team” was there that day.  She checked with anesthesia and they had an opening at 3:30.  As she is telling me this, I glance at the clock and realize that is less than an hour away.  She said she would have preferred to spring that news on me in person, but with the short timeline she figured she would call me as she drove to the hospital.

I got off the phone with her and called Chris.  Luckily he answered… (to be continued)

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Day 17 Update

29 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by amomentinmarch in Pregnancy, RAINBOW BABY

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Absent End Diastolic Blood Flow, Bed rest

On Christmas Eve, I got the news that baby B was so stable I would only need ultrasounds on Mon, Wed, and Fri. That was some of the most reassuring news I had gotten since I arrived in the hospital 17 days ago. While the doctors are confident at some point the condition would get worse, they didn’t feel it was going to happen real soon.

To my surprise and ultrasound tech stopped my room earlier today. For a moment I was questioning what day it was. It is easy to loose track in here. But, then I recalled I did in fact have an ultrasound yesterday and it is Saturday. I told her I was surprised to see her and asked had the orders changed? She said officially, no, but she had to come up here to scan another lady and was told to scan me while she was here.

I am a firm believer that things don’t just happen by chance, and that everything happens for a reason.

Every ultrasound makes me nervous. In the back of mind I am always wondering is this going to be the one. The bad reading. The one that determines if I have to deliver the babies. She began the scan- heart rates look good, fluid levels look good, they are very active, all good signs and consistent with all my other scans. Then she asks, ” I thought baby B was the one with absent flow, I must have mis-read your chart.” I confirmed baby B is the one that has been absent. She scans over to baby B, then back to baby A, back to B and back to A once more. While she was scanning, the only thing she said was hmm.

Hmmm, really, not the reassuring comment I was looking for. She finished the scan and told me that it seems both babies now have absent flow. I asked if baby A’s was intermittent or completely absent because yesterday it was normal? To me it seems like a big jump to go from normal to absent bypassing the intermittent phase. But, she confirmed it is completely absent. Both babies scanned exactly the same.

So, now I sit and wait for both the specialist and my doctor to come see me later today and give me their thoughts on the new situation. I know it doesn’t mean delivery, at least not today. Neither baby showed any sign of reversing or any signs of distress. But, I can’t help but feel a bit uneasy. I really need them to hang on for 2 more weeks so I reach the 28 week mark.

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Home Away From Home

15 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by amomentinmarch in Hope, Pregnancy, RAINBOW BABY

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bed rest, intermittent absent blood flow

Every pregnancy comes with milestones; hearing the baby’s heart beat, the end of the first trimester, feeling the first kick and so on. I have been anxiously awaiting yet another milestone- twenty four weeks. Twenty four weeks hold a lot of significance for me. It is the point in pregnancy in which medical science has determined a baby can survive outside the womb. In high risk pregnancies, you will hear it referred to as V-day or the point of viability. But for me, it is also when I lost Ansley.

This pregnancy has not been an easy one for me. I haven’t enjoyed it the way most expecting mother do. I haven’t started working on the nursery or shopping for the babies. We haven’t picked out names, or talked about plans for the future. Chris and I decided early on once we hit 24 weeks, we would get started on planning for the babies. But the idea of planning and verbalizing hopes and dreams before that point was too scary.

Today, I am 24 weeks. This day comes a relief and a reminder. Each day from this point forward is a new day, one I didn’t experience in my pregnancy with Ansley. A painful, yet comforting thought all at the same time.

I know this pregnancy will have a better outcome. I have said all along they are watching me closely. Closely, took on a whole new meaning Wednesday evening. Twelve, Twelve, Twelve, the day I was put on hospital bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.

I will spend, what hopefully will be, a very long time in this hospital room. My current goal is 28 weeks, January 12th to be exact, but I am pulling for something closer to Valentine day. Christmas will be a little different this year, as will New Year’s, I will miss seeing my dog, sleeping in my bed, and enjoying the outside. But, in the grand scheme of things, all minor sacrifices in hopes of having 2 healthy baby boys.

The reason for the hospital bed rest is a little thing called intermittent absent diastolic blood flow. What that means is when my heart is pumping, baby is getting blood and when my heart is at rest (in-between beats) the blood should continue to flow through the umbilical cord to the baby. But, sometimes, for some reason, it cuts out for a second. While this sounds problematic, it really isn’t. I have a very minor case which isn’t affecting the baby in any way. But, with my history, my doctors decided it wasn’t worth taking the chance. HELLP syndrome is linked to a weak placenta and this condition is also linked to a weak placenta. In the event it gets worse, and turns into reverse blood flow, it could cause some distress to baby. The level of distress would determine if we would have to deliver, so that the baby could get the medial intervention needed. There is equally as likely of a chance that it will not get worse or it could possibly resolve all together. There are a lot of unknowns, so we are taking the better safe than sorry approach.

The other benefit to being in the hospital is the frequent testing for me. When I developed HELLP syndrome, it came on quickly and without normal symptoms. This time, should I start to develop Pre-Eclampsia or HELLP, we would know very early.

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