A Day in the Life....

I have had several people ask what a typical day is like for me. There are many things that are much more exciting than a day in the life of a pregnant woman on bedrest. Sitting in the backyard waiting for the grass to grow, listening to elevator music while being on hold for hours, and reading the dictionary---just to name a few. However, in order to satisfy inquiring minds, I have decided to share what I do in a normal day.

A Day in the Life of a Woman Pregnant With Quintuplets

7:30 am Wake up, take shower (I am allowed one a day), get dressed

8:00 am Head downstairs for the day

8:15 am Breakfast---usually eggs and cereal

8:45 am Park myself on the couch, turn on laptop and check email (Note: I also have bathroom privileges. I am supposed to drink about a gallon of fluid per day and the babies have reduced my bladder to the size of a prune, so this means I take a trip to the bathroom every 45 min – 1 hour throughout the day.)

10:15 am Morning snack---Carnation Instant Breakfast

10:30 am - 11:30 am Morning contraction monitoring. I strap on the monitor which collects data on uterine activity throughout the hour. During the session, I lie on the couch and usually watch a video. I have been working my way through several seasons of TV shows on DVD. I started with "Lost" seasons 1 and 2. I am now in the middle of season 2 of "Gilmore Girls". Next up is "Alias" or "24".

11:30 am Call in monitoring data. The data is sent through the phone lines to a group of nurses who analyze the data and call me back with the results. If I have 5 or fewer contractions, I am fine. If I have 6 or more contractions in the hour I have to monitor again to see if the contractions go down. (Don’t ask what happens if they don’t----I am hoping I never have to find out!)

12:00 pm Lunch---sandwich and chips, leftovers or fast food

12:30 pm Back to the couch where I surf the internet looking for baby names, watch TV, play sodoku, talk to every person that walks by, etc.

3:00 pm Afternoon snack----whatever I can find, sometimes a Zone bar or something sweet with something salty, cold cereal, etc.

4:30 pm Sit in the pool and/or cold tub (like a hot tub, but just bubbles, no heat—who needs heat when the temp outside is 112 degrees!) I have to convince someone to go out there with me, so I don’t do this every day, but I go as often as I can!

6:00 pm Dinner—typical dinner meal food

6:30 pm Back to the couch

7:30 pm – 8:30 pm Evening contraction monitoring session

9:00 pm Evening snack—usually ice cream

10:30 pm Bid farewell to the couch and head upstairs to bed

11:00 pm – 7:30 am Get as much sleep as I can, in between trips to the bathroom and attempts to roll over.

The Couch

The TV (much better than the one back home!)

The Views from the Couch

A Day in the Life....

Babies, Babies, Babies...

I am now 27 weeks, one week away from the next big milestone of 28 weeks and 7 weeks away from my goal of 34 weeks. Today I had another doctors appointment and he said that I am doing "remarkably well". This time I had a bigger ultrasound where they took more measurements on all the babies. They estimated the babies weights to be between 2 lbs 2 oz and 2 lbs 7 oz. If I add up all the babies weights, there is over 11 lbs of baby in there right now! Unfortunately, all the babies were facing towards my spine---not one of them wanted to turn and pose for a photo, so I don't have any to share. These babies are going to have to have to learn to cooperate for Kodak Moments, because their mom is definitely into taking pictures.

I also had another fibronectin test, but I don't know the results yet. I guess this was the week for tests because I also had blood drawn and did the one hour glucose test. For those not familiar with the glucose test, it basically entails drinking a really yucky orange drink, then waiting an hour and having blood drawn to determine your blood glucose level. If it is too high, the next step is to take a three-hour glucose test to determine if you have gestational diabetes. I technically failed the one-hour glucose test, but my level (143) was really close to the cutoff (140), so my doctor said he is not concerned and I do not have to take the three-hour test!!!! Hurray!!! With multiples it is very common to have elevated blood glucose levels, since the body is working harder to feed all those babies.

This week, on Monday, a set of sextuplets was born here in Phoenix. The mom, Jenny Masche, and all six of the babies are doing well so far. It was fascinating for me to watch the news reports on the birth, because I know that I will be there myself (minus one baby) in a few weeks. Jenny was 30.5 weeks when she delivered. Her babies weighed between 2 lbs 1 oz and 3 lbs. This means that, according to my ultrasound measurements, some of my babies are about the same size as some of her babies. It is interesting to look at the pictures of those tiny babies and think that that is what mine look like now. Here are a couple of links to the news stories about the sextuplet birth. The first one has a good article to read, and the second one has lots of links to videos of the birth and reactions to the birth (look on the right side of the page). Jenny and I have the same doctor, Dr. Elliott, who is also in some of the videos.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/0612sextuplets06121.html

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0612sextupletmom0612on.html


I also got a little press coverage myself this past week. The local paper did a follow-up story about me which was in Saturday's paper, before the big news of the sextuplets! Here is the link:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0608gr-newsmaker0608-ON.html

Babies, Babies, Babies...

26 Weeks Down.......8 More To Go!!!!

This week the doctor did something called the fetal fibernectin test (FFN). Fibernectin is a protein that acts like glue to bind the babies sacs to the uterine wall. Before delivery (usually around 39 weeks for a normal singleton pregnancy) the glue starts to "dissolve" and the sacks pull away from the uterine wall to prepare for delivery. The FFN test looks for the presence of fibernectin. If there is none (meaning the test would be negative), that is a good thing. The odds of delivering the babies in the next two weeks, if the test is negative, is around 5%. If the presence of FFN is detected (meaning the test would be positive), it doesn't necessarily mean that the babies will be delivered in the next two weeks, but it changes the odds significantly---to around 50%. The test is repeated every two weeks.

My test came back negative, which we were thrilled about. This means that the babies will most likely stay put for the next two weeks. In addition, my doctor said that in his practice, patients who had a negative test at 26 weeks, did not deliver until after 30 weeks. 30 weeks is a huge milestone and the babies have a much better chance for surviving and being intact once they hit 30 weeks.

At my ultrasound this week, the ultrasound tech also did some quick measurements on the babies to see how they are growing. She estimated their weights to be:

Baby A: 1 lb 8 oz

Baby B: 1 lb 10 oz

Baby C: 1 lb 11 oz

Baby D: 1 lb 12 oz

Baby E: 1 lb 13 oz

These weights are all very normal for any baby at this stage of pregnancy. Below is a recent picture of my growing belly:

This week was full of other exciting events as well. On the 31st, Jayson officially signed away the next 30 years of our life and closed on our new house! Because he had power of attorney for me, he had to do a lot of extra signing. But at the end of it all, he got the keys to a beautiful new house. I can't wait to see it in person in a few months.

Last Saturday my two aunts who live in the Phoenix area threw me a baby shower. It was so much fun! My aunts went overboard on the decorating and the food and it was great to sit and visit with people. The guests were mostly friends of my aunts. We ended up with many wonderful things for the babies. I was amazed at how generous people were---especially considering that most of them do not know me well, and some of them I had never even met before the shower. This is yet another example of how we have been blessed throughout this pregnancy. Pictured below is me with my fabulous aunts--Jeanie (whom I have been living with) on the right and Kathy on the left.

26 Weeks Down.......8 More To Go!!!!

Quint Transportation

Recently, Jayson and I have been discussing how we are going to transport the quints after they are born. As we started looking around at the options, we realized that the decision was not going to be easy. We had to start considering things like: How much cargo space we will need? Is it worth it to upgrade the tires? Is it important for the seats to recline? Will we need the weather protectent shield? Are tinted side windows necessary? Should we pay extra for decorative trim? Do we need a sunroof? How many cup holders are there? With all these important decisions to make, you would think that we were buying a new van. Instead, what we were looking for is a quint stroller! Of course quint strollers are not in very high demand, so the choices are few. In fact, we found only one manufacturer, Runabout, who sells one. Maybe that is why they offer so many accessories---so that at least you have something to make a decision about. Or maybe it is to help you feel a little better about the $1185 (plus shipping) base price. Whatever the case, I have to admit that I actually laughed out loud the first time I saw a picture of one. This stroller is more like a bus, or a train. In fact, it is so large, that it doesn't fit in a car or van---a special custom hitch carrier has to be installed behind the vehicle to transport it (an additional $130). I guess I am out of luck if it is a rainy day and I want to get out of the house. It is a good thing we don't live in Seattle! Despite the downsides to this stroller, I think it is something MasterCard could make a commercial about......"Quint stroller...$1185, Sun Canopy....$96, flat-free airless tires...$90, being able to get out of the house every once in a while without an entire crew of volunteer helpers....PRICELESS!!!"

This weekend, Jayson and my almost 7-year old son Riley came for a visit. It was the first time our whole family had been together in 6 1/2 weeks. It was so great to have them all here! After not seeing Riley for a while, I started to miss even the slightly annoying things that he does---like the incessant talking and endless knock-knock jokes. Riley and Kaiya were really happy to see each other too, although it didn't take them long to slip back into the typical brother/sister routine. At the end of the weekend, Jayson took both kids back with him to Texas. They will be there for a week and then they will go to Grandma and Grandpa's (Jayson's parents) house for a couple of weeks. The house has been so quiet with everyone gone.

Despite all the changes in my normal routine, I have continued to do well. No signs of pre-term labor yet. The babies are moving all the time now. I am feeling huge, but I know that my size now won't even compare to my size in a couple of months. I have another doctor's appointment on Friday, so we will see what I find out from that. Right now I just feel very blessed to be doing as well as I am and to be able to be home at my aunt's house instead of at the hospital.

Pictured below is the Runabout Quint Stroller----also known as the Silver Bullet.

Quint Transportation

Another Milestone

Today I am 24 weeks, which means I have reached another milestone! At 24 weeks, the fetuses are considered viable, meaning that if they were born they actually have some chance of survival----not a very good chance at this point, but at least it is a chance. Of course I am hoping to make it another 10 weeks to really improve the odds.

So far things are looking really good. At my doctor's appointment yesterday, all the babies looked great. The ultrasounds are pretty interesting at this point. The babies are getting big enough that the picture on the ultrasound is just a mess of arms, legs, and other body parts. The poor baby in the middle is really getting squashed. The ultrasound tech said that I looked better than a lot of triplet pregnancies at this point.


My aunt and I were interviewed for another newspaper article. This time it made it into the main Arizona Republic (not just the community section). If you are interested, the link is below. Just as a disclaimer, not all the "quotes" from the article are word for word what we said. In particlular, my aunt never takes the name of the Lord in vain, and probably said something like, "Oh my goodness!" rather than what was quoted. :-)


http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0517quints0517.html


I think one of the hardest things about being on bedrest is not being able to do all my regular "mom" jobs. Jayson has done a great job being a single parent to Riley while I have been gone, but I have felt bad for missing out on things I would normally be there for. This week is the last week of school and Riley had a "student-led conference" where each kid sits down with their parent and tells shows them all the great stuff they have learned this year. Jayson had a meeting during the conference and was unable to get away from work for it. We arranged for a friend to go meet with him, but Riley still felt pretty bad that neither of his parents could be there. This, of course, made me feel horrible that I wasn't there. In addition to the conference, Riley also gave a talk in Primary on Sunday (this is a two-minute speech given to the kids ages 3-12), and he had to have a biopsy on a dark spot on his scalp, which he was nervous about. All things that I would normally be there for. Fortunately he and Jayson are coming to visit this weekend, which I am very excited about.


Kaiya is also suffering (even though I don't think she realizes it) from my inability to be a regular mom. She has figured out that I am stuck on the couch and am less effective at enforcing rules. If I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do, she just walks away because she knows that I can't get up and follow her. With her new found freedom, she has been testing the limits to see just how much she can get away with. In the past week, she has colored with pink marker on the bathroom door, spilled fingernail polish on the light-colored carpet, and filled my bathroom drawer with water. I can't figure out what happened to my normally well-behaved child! Fortunately for her, she still has some "cute" moments. It is pretty adorable when she lays her head on my tummy and tries to talk to the babies. She also remembers to include me in all of her prayers. This week she said to me, "Mom, you better not go to any one's house you don't know because they will tell you that you have a big fat tummy." There's nothing like a four-year-old to tell it like it is! At least we all got a really good laugh out of it!


Below is a picture of the cutest kids in the universe (in my totally unbiased opinion) taken the week before I left for Arizona.

Another Milestone

Life on Bedrest

Tomorrow I will be 23 weeks---only 11 weeks left until the 34 week goal! It is hard to believe that I have been in Arizona for 5 weeks.

After being released from the hospital, I was put on strict bedrest. This means that I am allowed to go to the bathroom and sit at the table for meals, but otherwise I am supposed to lay down. Not the most exciting lifestyle, but much better than being in the hospital! It seems to be working so far---at my doctor's appointment on Friday everything looked great! The babies are all still healthy and kicking and thanks to the surgery, my cervix is looking good as well.

My mom (see picture below) was in town this week, which definitely helped to make life on bedrest more interesting. Even though I was stuck on the couch, we had a great time visiting. She also ran errands for me, did my laundry, helped take care of Kaiya, and hopefully gave my Aunt Jeanie a little bit of a break. Her visit was way too short and I am looking forward to the end of June when she is coming out to stay until after the babies are born. My father-in-law was also in town for a couple of days on a business trip, so I have really been blessed with visitors this week.

We have also had a little bit of media coverage in the last week. On Wednesday a reporter called to interview my aunt and I for an article in the community section (distributed to the local community of Gilbert, AZ) of the Arizona Republic. The article came out in Thursday's newspaper. The online version can be found at:

http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/email.php/6859612

Today we were interviewed and photographed for an article that is supposed to come out in the main section of the Arizona Republic. It is kind of fun to be newsworthy. For some reason, no one ever wanted to do a story on me when I was just a carpool-driving mom of two!

Life on Bedrest

Things Can Change in an Instant...

I have been hearing from several people with multiples that during pregnancy, things can change in an instant. Now I am a believer. I went to my doctor’s appointment on Monday afternoon fully expecting to be given a pat on the back for what a great job I have been doing and sent home. After all, I had been gaining weight (OK, so truth be told I don’t think I actually get 5000 calories in everyday, but I try hard and I still have good weight gain), the babies seem to be doing all right because I feel them kicking fairly frequently now, and most importantly, I had not been having many contractions. I am supposed to keep the average number of contractions for the week below 3.5, and I had never had more than 2 and usually had 0 or 1 in a single session.

So, no one was more surprised than me when the ultrasound tech looked at my cervix and said, “You are going straight to the hospital. Let me see if we need to call an ambulance or if the friend that brought you can take you.” I was stunned. (And I thought that the whole ambulance thing was a bit overdramatic). They finally decided that my friend, who had brought me to the doctor’s appointment, could take me over for direct admittance into the hospital.

My cervix, which two weeks prior had been about 4 cm in length (and which one ultrasound tech had called the “cervix of steel”) had shortened to 0.7 cm and was 1 cm dilated. The doctors weren’t sure if it has just happened, or if I was in pre-term labor and that’s what was causing it. They hooked me up to a contraction monitor to check things out. At first I was having three contractions per hour. Then I started having them every two minutes (yikes!). They gave me some drugs to stop the contractions and decided I needed a cerclage (a surgical procedure where they sew your cervix closed) as soon as possible.

Well, as luck would have it, Monday was also a full moon, which, for some unknown reason, tends to put women into labor. The labor and delivery area of the hospital was packed and several women required emergency c-sections, which all had to come before my surgery. Finally, at around 10:15 that night, it was my turn. The procedure itself is fairly simple and did not take a long time. They did numb my body from the waist down (similar to an epidural) so that I wouldn’t feel anything, but I was awake for the whole thing. After surgery, they took me to recovery for an hour and I was back in my room about midnight. My sweet aunt was there, along with another friend and two men from our church. They had waited over an hour and a half for me to come back. I got teary-eyed when I saw them because it was so unexpected and so thoughtful. The two men gave me a Priesthood Blessing (see www.mormons.org if you want to learn more about those), which really boosted my spirits and made me feel like everything was going to be okay.

Because the cerclage tends to cause more uterine activity, the doctor decided to put me on Magnesium Sulfate (code name “Mag”). This drug does a great job of limiting contractions, however it has some pretty nasty side effects, including nausea, double vision, overall muscle weakness, shortness of breath, congestion and chest pain. Fortunately I only had to be on it for a day and a half before they decided to take me off and see what happened.

After they took me off the mag, I did pretty well, with minimal contractions and they thought I might be able to go home on Friday. Unfortunately, Thursday night I started having more contractions, so they gave me a shot of tributaline, which calmed the contractions. Because of the increase in contractions, however, they decided to keep me another day. The next night, the same thing happened, so again they decided to keep me for another day. This time, they gave me an oral dose of the tributaline in the early evening to see if it would prevent the contractions from occurring. Happily, this tactic worked and I was released from the hospital this afternoon.

I know that I will likely end up back in the hospital sooner rather than later, but I am truly grateful for whatever time that I can spend at my aunts house on bedrest instead of in the hospital. The doctors and nurses in the hospital were wonderful, but nothing can compare to being surrounded by family.

Things Can Change in an Instant...