Happy Friday!
I had another ultrasound and the girls are continuing to grow! Our bigger girl is now 3 lb. 12 oz. which is great and our smaller peanut is about 3 lb. My doctor said that in regards to our smaller girl's heart, if this was the first time she saw it, she confirmed that it looks normal...a true miracle!!! Also, another blessing is that they are both vertex (head down), so a natural birth is still an option. We agreed not to check the size of my cervix since it is very short and we have no control over when it comes time to deliver. The girls will now be monitored using the fetal monitor to check their heart rates every other day since I am now into the thirties! Earilier this morning, they were monitored and my doctor said that the results were fantastic...10 out of 10!
This weekend, my friends, Sarah and Hannah are throwing me my first baby shower here at the hospital! It will be a shorter shower since I am in this delicate state, but I am very excited and blessed to have the opportunity to share this time with my friends. Dan and I decided to have our other baby showers after the twins are here.
Prayer Request: Please keep your powerful prayers coming that my cervix will stay closed throughout this month because my hope is to make it to Week 36 or Week 37! My friend, Sara from Seattle had a dream last week that I delivered at Week 37...so let it be, God willing! Also, the more time the girls are able to grow and develop, the less time they will need to stay in the NICU, especially since the size of our smaller girl's stomach is smaller than normal. My friends who have babies in the NICU upstairs are doing very well and continue to grow and feed nicely! Also, please pray for my sister-in-law, Janet and her family as they have lost her mom this week from battling cancer!
Blessings to you and your family! Enjoy the warmer spring weather!
Jenny
Friday, April 4, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
It's 32 Weeks and April is here!
I am very excited for today...it is finally April and I have reached my next huge goal of 32 Weeks! Yesterday, I returned to my "home" down on the first floor in Rm 1122 so I am sitting in my nice room with a double bed and view of the garden.
During the past week, I continued to have visitors including celebrating my mom's birthday! One of my favorite nurses got balloons and a small gift for me to surprise my mom since my parents were going to spend her birthday with me at the hospital and she was definitely surprised! Also, my friend Ali is helping me create a scrapbook for the girls...she is so creative and I am excited to see the final outcome. I had a surprise visit from Sigita, the woman I see at the salon I go to and she brought me beautiful fuchsia/red tulips to brighten my room. I have also had a visit from my childhood friend Krista and her 5 week old son, Nolan...the nurses could not keep their eyes off him! I have stayed quite busy every day researching baby items as I complete my registry and I even have a photographer lined up to take newborn pictures once the time comes. I tell the girls every day how proud I am of them and today I told them that we are going to stay here as they nest for at least another month! As many people have been curious about my pregnancy story, I have been inspired to begin writing my story. I began a couple of days ago and I hope to get most of it, if not all written throughout this month.
The twins heart rates were monitored again yesterday for a half hour and they did so well! I felt both of them move under the monitors, but thankfully their heart rates were able to be tracked the full time. The doctors that reviewed the results said that it was refreshing to see and everything looks great! I will have my next ultrasound on Friday, so I will post another update shortly after that.
Please continue to pray for the babies growth and health during the upcoming weeks! Stay tuned for future updates.
Blessings and Happy April!
Jenny
During the past week, I continued to have visitors including celebrating my mom's birthday! One of my favorite nurses got balloons and a small gift for me to surprise my mom since my parents were going to spend her birthday with me at the hospital and she was definitely surprised! Also, my friend Ali is helping me create a scrapbook for the girls...she is so creative and I am excited to see the final outcome. I had a surprise visit from Sigita, the woman I see at the salon I go to and she brought me beautiful fuchsia/red tulips to brighten my room. I have also had a visit from my childhood friend Krista and her 5 week old son, Nolan...the nurses could not keep their eyes off him! I have stayed quite busy every day researching baby items as I complete my registry and I even have a photographer lined up to take newborn pictures once the time comes. I tell the girls every day how proud I am of them and today I told them that we are going to stay here as they nest for at least another month! As many people have been curious about my pregnancy story, I have been inspired to begin writing my story. I began a couple of days ago and I hope to get most of it, if not all written throughout this month.
The twins heart rates were monitored again yesterday for a half hour and they did so well! I felt both of them move under the monitors, but thankfully their heart rates were able to be tracked the full time. The doctors that reviewed the results said that it was refreshing to see and everything looks great! I will have my next ultrasound on Friday, so I will post another update shortly after that.
Please continue to pray for the babies growth and health during the upcoming weeks! Stay tuned for future updates.
Blessings and Happy April!
Jenny
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Moving On Up!
Happy Easter!!!
This weekend I have been officially titled the VIP on the floor since I have been the ONLY PATIENT on my floor! Everyone else including the other woman, Tammy who is carrying twins was discharged on Friday. So, yesterday and today I had two nurses all to myself...and I was fortunate to get a back massage from one of the nurses as they were looking for things to do! Today, I had to move to a new room on the 2nd floor temporarily until they get more patients this week. I only brought my necessities up here and I plan to be back to my old room again later this week (I will miss my double bed and room with a view of the garden)!
At this time, I am residing upstairs in room 2130 and my direct phone number is #608/259-5839. I will post another update as soon as I move back down to my old room.
Dan and I as well as our precious girls are doing very well. Please continue to pray that they will remain nesting inside my womb to April which is my next goal of Week 32! Stay tuned for future updates.
Happy Easter!
Jenny
This weekend I have been officially titled the VIP on the floor since I have been the ONLY PATIENT on my floor! Everyone else including the other woman, Tammy who is carrying twins was discharged on Friday. So, yesterday and today I had two nurses all to myself...and I was fortunate to get a back massage from one of the nurses as they were looking for things to do! Today, I had to move to a new room on the 2nd floor temporarily until they get more patients this week. I only brought my necessities up here and I plan to be back to my old room again later this week (I will miss my double bed and room with a view of the garden)!
At this time, I am residing upstairs in room 2130 and my direct phone number is #608/259-5839. I will post another update as soon as I move back down to my old room.
Dan and I as well as our precious girls are doing very well. Please continue to pray that they will remain nesting inside my womb to April which is my next goal of Week 32! Stay tuned for future updates.
Happy Easter!
Jenny
Thursday, March 20, 2008
It's Spring and Week 30!
Happy Spring!!!
The girls are nesting nicely as we have now reached a HUGE milestone and are into Week 30! It has been a great week so far. On St. Patrick's Day, I wore my new shamrock socks (thanks to my sister-in-law, Janet) and two of my favorite nurses purchased a shamrock shake for me (a must have on St. Patty's Day)! On Tuesday, my brother who is getting his master's degree and has off this week for spring break baked homemade mint brownies and brought them to me (what a sweet guy), which have not lasted very long! Also, I became reconnected with a childhood friend, Krista that came to visit me after she learned of my situation. It was great to reconnect and meet her 3 week old son. I am more and more amazed as to how trials in our lives can unite and even bring new people into our lives! The nursing staff in my unit surprised me with a small cake that says "Best Wishes" since I have reached 30 weeks which is a big deal around here! I told the doctors and nurses when I first got here that I wanted to be the veteran on the floor and now my wish has come true.
Yesterday, was a busy day as I had quite a few visitors including my friend, Sarah and her son Jackson as well as my neighbor and I also colored Easter eggs with Tammy who is also carrying twin girls on the floor. Today, I have had a relaxing day knitting and listening to music. This was also the first day when they monitored our baby girls' heart rates for 20-30 minutes which is normal routine once they are at the 30 week gestational stage. I was proud of the girls, but our smaller twin was on the move and did not seem to like the monitor. So, every Monday and Thursday the babies will be monitored to make sure everything looks good.
This weekend, Dan will paint the nursery and both of our families will come visit me for Easter. My parents are even going to bring Micah again to come see me...I miss him so much! My prayer requests remain the same and I know that there are more people praying than I can imagine...THANK YOU!
I hope you and your family have a blessed Easter weekend!
Love,
Jenny
The girls are nesting nicely as we have now reached a HUGE milestone and are into Week 30! It has been a great week so far. On St. Patrick's Day, I wore my new shamrock socks (thanks to my sister-in-law, Janet) and two of my favorite nurses purchased a shamrock shake for me (a must have on St. Patty's Day)! On Tuesday, my brother who is getting his master's degree and has off this week for spring break baked homemade mint brownies and brought them to me (what a sweet guy), which have not lasted very long! Also, I became reconnected with a childhood friend, Krista that came to visit me after she learned of my situation. It was great to reconnect and meet her 3 week old son. I am more and more amazed as to how trials in our lives can unite and even bring new people into our lives! The nursing staff in my unit surprised me with a small cake that says "Best Wishes" since I have reached 30 weeks which is a big deal around here! I told the doctors and nurses when I first got here that I wanted to be the veteran on the floor and now my wish has come true.
Yesterday, was a busy day as I had quite a few visitors including my friend, Sarah and her son Jackson as well as my neighbor and I also colored Easter eggs with Tammy who is also carrying twin girls on the floor. Today, I have had a relaxing day knitting and listening to music. This was also the first day when they monitored our baby girls' heart rates for 20-30 minutes which is normal routine once they are at the 30 week gestational stage. I was proud of the girls, but our smaller twin was on the move and did not seem to like the monitor. So, every Monday and Thursday the babies will be monitored to make sure everything looks good.
This weekend, Dan will paint the nursery and both of our families will come visit me for Easter. My parents are even going to bring Micah again to come see me...I miss him so much! My prayer requests remain the same and I know that there are more people praying than I can imagine...THANK YOU!
I hope you and your family have a blessed Easter weekend!
Love,
Jenny
Friday, March 14, 2008
Praise God...ANOTHER MIRACLE!
Today is a great day! This afternoon I had another ultrasound and my doctor said, "this is remarkable!" Our bigger twin is 3 lbs. and our smaller girl is 2 lb. 8 oz. so they continue to grow! Our smaller girl's heart is looking normal...the right side is now contracting like it should which is another huge miracle!!! :) A few tears were sliding down my cheek as I saw this before my eyes. So, both of our precious angels are doing VERY WELL. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY BECAUSE THIS IS A TESTIMONY THAT YOUR PRAYERS ARE VERY POWERFUL!!!
Prayer Request: my main prayer request at this time is that my cervix remains closed for as long as possible so I can get into April and allow more time for the girls to get to at least 4 lbs. and mature enough so that I can breast feed. The size of my cervix has shortened again, so there is not much left, but I am very hopeful that we will make it much further. Also, both babies' heads are face down so my doctor said that I could deliver them vaginally (which is what I want) as long as everything looks good by the time they are ready to come into this world. Please pray that God will make a way for that to happen.
The pediatric cardiologist is on vacation next week, so I expect that he will do another echo cardiogram to get a detailed analysis of our smaller girl's heart either the last week of March or in the beginning of April. I will continue to include updates in the weeks to come.
I just can't say enough to all of you for your continued love, support and prayers. We love you all and always believe that all things are possible with God!
Love and blessings,
Jenny
Prayer Request: my main prayer request at this time is that my cervix remains closed for as long as possible so I can get into April and allow more time for the girls to get to at least 4 lbs. and mature enough so that I can breast feed. The size of my cervix has shortened again, so there is not much left, but I am very hopeful that we will make it much further. Also, both babies' heads are face down so my doctor said that I could deliver them vaginally (which is what I want) as long as everything looks good by the time they are ready to come into this world. Please pray that God will make a way for that to happen.
The pediatric cardiologist is on vacation next week, so I expect that he will do another echo cardiogram to get a detailed analysis of our smaller girl's heart either the last week of March or in the beginning of April. I will continue to include updates in the weeks to come.
I just can't say enough to all of you for your continued love, support and prayers. We love you all and always believe that all things are possible with God!
Love and blessings,
Jenny
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Last week in the Twenties!
The girls and I are still hanging on strong as we are in Week 29 of the pregnancy almost into the 30 something weeks!!! Our twins are very active and I cherish these moments of feeling them kick and dance within my womb every day! :) My tummy continues to expand and Dan and I look forward to our next ultrasound to learn how much the girls have grown. My doctor returns tomorrow from Cuba and most likely she will plan to have another ultrasound next week. There have been quite a few women on my floor carrying twins and my friend, Tricia just delivered her twin girls this past weekend. Tricia was a week ahead of me in her pregnancy and she has shared pictures of her two little girls as they continue to grow in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). I plan to visit them upstairs next week (in a wheel chair...no walking privledges yet)! It is comforting to share this experience with Tricia since we both have been on bedrest here and are becoming mothers for the first time with twins! Please pray for Jim and Tricia and their twin girls during this time as well.
I told our girls that they need to remain nesting inside until the right time which will be at least through April...God willing! :) Dan and I continue to be blessed with meals and visits from family and friends most days and we appreciate your continued support and prayers every step of the way.
Stay tuned for more updates about our twin girls and keep the prayers coming!
Love,
Jenny
I told our girls that they need to remain nesting inside until the right time which will be at least through April...God willing! :) Dan and I continue to be blessed with meals and visits from family and friends most days and we appreciate your continued support and prayers every step of the way.
Stay tuned for more updates about our twin girls and keep the prayers coming!
Love,
Jenny
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Made it to another Milestone - Week 28!
Yeah...another milestone met! I have now been at St. Mary's Hospital for over a month and I can honestly say that I have not been bored yet! God continues to bring miracles for our twin girls along the way, which has been so encouraging for Dan and I and has amazed our doctors to say the least! :) We continue to be witnesses of how all of the prayers for us and our twins are so powerful and we thank you for standing alongside us during this time!
The twins are doing well! A week ago, we had another ultrasound and our bigger twin was 1 1b. 15 oz. (should be at least 2 lb. by now) and her sister was lagging at 1 1b. 9 oz. (but we are hopeful that she will catch up more now that there is a smooth, normal flow through the umbilical cord which will give her more nutrients! As I mentioned in my last blog, there were some significant improvements within our smaller twin's heart, which happened over 2 weeks so it is very important that they stay inside my womb for as long as possible! April is a HUGE month for us as April 1st is Week 32...this is a tremendous milestone that I hope to reach and beyond.
This is vacation time for many staff including my doctor, some nurses, my occupational therapist as well as my family! My parents just returned home from Las Vegas, my doctor is in Cuba for two weeks giving a lecture with a group of other doctors and one of my regular nurses is in Florida and my OT is in Arizona. So, I am just sitting back, keeping busy as I promised all of them that I would be right here in bed when they return beginning next week. I am halfway done with knitting a scarf...my first knitting project ever! Last Friday, Micah came to visit me again and was so excited to see me that he jumped right up in bed with me and licked me all over (he probably is relieved to know that I am still alive)!
This experience has changed me for the better as I am now even more filled with hope, faith, strength and love and there have been so many wonderful people who have for the first time come into my life. For instance, my neighbor next to me, Trish is an expected mother of twin girls also and we had the opportunity to chat after our last class and also we recently learned that my brother & sister-in-laws' (Joel and Janet) friends Mike and Darcy (I stood up with Mike in Joel & Janet's wedding) is expecting a baby girl in May as well and Darcy is now admitted to the hospital and is on my floor...what a small world! I have also talked with Darcy and shared with her how I am managing bed rest in the hospital. Also, the duola that we are working with, Wendy is a kindred spirit and has brought many resourceful books and videos about child birth and the joy of twins.
Prayer Requests: that our twins will be delivered close to term which is around 36 weeks for twins and will both be completely healthy...no complications! For peace, wisdom, strength, perserverence and continued unity for Dan and I every step of the way!
Love and blessings to you and your family!
Jennifer
The twins are doing well! A week ago, we had another ultrasound and our bigger twin was 1 1b. 15 oz. (should be at least 2 lb. by now) and her sister was lagging at 1 1b. 9 oz. (but we are hopeful that she will catch up more now that there is a smooth, normal flow through the umbilical cord which will give her more nutrients! As I mentioned in my last blog, there were some significant improvements within our smaller twin's heart, which happened over 2 weeks so it is very important that they stay inside my womb for as long as possible! April is a HUGE month for us as April 1st is Week 32...this is a tremendous milestone that I hope to reach and beyond.
This is vacation time for many staff including my doctor, some nurses, my occupational therapist as well as my family! My parents just returned home from Las Vegas, my doctor is in Cuba for two weeks giving a lecture with a group of other doctors and one of my regular nurses is in Florida and my OT is in Arizona. So, I am just sitting back, keeping busy as I promised all of them that I would be right here in bed when they return beginning next week. I am halfway done with knitting a scarf...my first knitting project ever! Last Friday, Micah came to visit me again and was so excited to see me that he jumped right up in bed with me and licked me all over (he probably is relieved to know that I am still alive)!
This experience has changed me for the better as I am now even more filled with hope, faith, strength and love and there have been so many wonderful people who have for the first time come into my life. For instance, my neighbor next to me, Trish is an expected mother of twin girls also and we had the opportunity to chat after our last class and also we recently learned that my brother & sister-in-laws' (Joel and Janet) friends Mike and Darcy (I stood up with Mike in Joel & Janet's wedding) is expecting a baby girl in May as well and Darcy is now admitted to the hospital and is on my floor...what a small world! I have also talked with Darcy and shared with her how I am managing bed rest in the hospital. Also, the duola that we are working with, Wendy is a kindred spirit and has brought many resourceful books and videos about child birth and the joy of twins.
Prayer Requests: that our twins will be delivered close to term which is around 36 weeks for twins and will both be completely healthy...no complications! For peace, wisdom, strength, perserverence and continued unity for Dan and I every step of the way!
Love and blessings to you and your family!
Jennifer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)