This update (though a week late) will be short and sweet. Last Tuesday we went back to see Dr. Donald. They did a pretty thorough ultrasound to measure the growth of the babies - and I'm happy to report all are right on track. The tech (Lori) measured various body parts (head, abdomen, arm, leg) and used those numbers to estimate each baby's weight and "age". These are, of course, estimates and the margins of error are +/- 2 weeks and +/- 4 ounces:
Baby A: 25 weeks 0 days, 1 lb 12 oz
Baby B: 25 weeks 0 days, 1 lb 14 oz
Tommy: 24 weeks 4 days, 1 lb 8 oz
Joey: 23 weeks 5 days, 1 lb 6 oz
The photos at the top are all shots of the babies' faces. It's difficult to see, but the shots of A & B are profiles and Tommy & Joey are looking into the camera (though Tommy's left hand is partially covering his face).
My blood pressure is still running high (for me anyway), but hasn't raised any red flags for Dr. Donald. In fact, he told me that at this stage of the game, he's "looking for an excuse to admit me to the hospital". Thankfully, I haven't given him one yet. He sent me home with orders to get more rest and to keep eating a lot. :) We go back to see him tomorrow (just one week between appointments this time). They'll just check heartbeats on the babies and measure my cervix again. I anticipate that he'll either admit me to the hospital or put me on full-time bed rest at home. So, I've made plans to begin my leave from work starting tomorrow. I'll still help out with a couple small projects for the next week or so, as we've got a huge event in Vegas next week. Once that's over, I'll be done with work completely. It's kind of strange to think about not working, but it will certainly be a relief to remove that stress.
So I've been getting more time laying on my side - though this weekend proved to be pretty busy. Mike (Tim's brother), Kate, Chase, Jack & Addelyn came for a visit Friday night. We were so happy to finally meet Addelyn (just 2 weeks old) and to see the family. It was a short visit, but we are so happy they made the trip.
As they were heading out, my mom arrived. Mom stayed the night and helped us out with hemming some pants and some other stuff around the house. With her, she brought a car load of stuff for the babies. Thank you (you know who you are) to everyone that sent items down with her. While Mom was here, she even took me to the mall, where she pushed me from store to store in a rented wheelchair. The wheelchair was kind of a strange experience from my perspective, but it was so nice to get out and run some errands without the exhaustion & discomfort that walking and standing bring me these days.
Also this weekend, my brother Kevin called to tell us that our other neice was born: Sophia Elizabeth. His wife Nikki had been struggling for some time with on-and-off contractions and bed rest - and little Sophia waited until the day before her due date to make her appearance. We're looking forward to meeting Sophia sometime soon too.
Well, I wanted to include some belly shots to show all of you how big the babies are growing, but I haven't gotten anyone to take my photo yet. Hopefully soon. We'll have another update to post after tomorrow's doctor appointment - so I'll try to add a belly shot to that post. In the meantime, please keep sending us your positive thoughts and prayers - they really seem to be working!
Love,
Tim & Kris
Why can't we see anything in these pictures, even when you tell us what we are looking at? We're just glad they are growing, gaining, active, etc. This is such a miracle.
ReplyDeleteLove you, Mom and Dad