Son-of-a-%$@#& ! (*warning...long post!)

Yep, I said it. And I'll say it again...along with a few other choice words.

So here's the deal. I'm living my life, in pregnancy bliss. Loving how great I feel, loving the compliments on how great I'm doing, bragging about how great I feel...because, hey..I'm pregnant with twins and I made it to 33 weeks, and I've had no real complications and blah blah blah blah blah.

I think what happened is I got cocky. Yep, I'm pretty sure the universe decided that I was a little to big for these big belly britches and decided to knock me down a notch or two.

You are probably starting to wonder what the heck happened, and with good reason because I could continue this rant for quite awhile and that wouldn't be nice because I know that you are all in the dark on my newest development, so here's the story:

I went in to my Dr. appt. yesterday. No ultrasound this week; just the quick check in to see how wonderful I am doing and to bask in all the praise that my Doc was certainly going to bestow on me.

Then....eeeerrrrrch! (That would be everything coming to a halt). My Doc asks if there is anything I might want to discuss or mention that is new. Well, come to think of it, the other day when I walked up the stairs I saw these squiggly lines for a few minutes after...and actually that's been happening about once a day for the past week. hmmmm.....also, my ankles are getting ridiculously swollen and even a very restful night sleep isn't helping them like my pregnancy bible says it should. hmmmmmm....So she asks about my shortness of breath. (I had some shortness of breath at my NST earlier this week and had blood taken to rule some things out). I told her I'm really only short of breath when I am lying down and am pretty sure it's the weight of the babies that's doing it to me. hmmmmmm....

Mmmm-kay....it's time to stop hmmmmmming and start talking lady!

So, turns out my blood work from earlier in the week was mostly fine but did show I am having an underactive thyroid issue. No biggie, just need to start popping a pill for that one. Can do. Next?

There is concern because when I got to my appointment the bottom # of my blood pressure was elevated. This was concerning because I've been like the poster child for good blood pressure this whole pregnancy and when you add in my info about the squiggly lines plus the swelling that won't go away, it starts to look suspicioulsy like pre-eclampsia. Boo to that. I am at risk for pre-e because this is my first pregnancy, I am having twins, and there is a little bit of a family history there. Yay - 3 for 3 for me. The shortness of breath is concerning because it could mean the extra fluid in my body is getting into my lungs. So just to be sure everything is A-ok, she sends me to the hospital for an NST, urine and blood tests. Grrrr....it was gonna be pizza night and snuggling with my little family on the couch. I'm not happy to have to go start tests at 5pm but I'm also a little concerned about the babies so I do what I am told and head over to the hospital.

Yesterday was a day for babies in Moscow to be born. Every stinkin room was full when I got to the hospital so they put me in a back room that was a fine room I s'pose but it sort of looked like the hodge podge/overflow room and I know from experience all of the rest of the rooms are much nicer. Ok, so maybe at this point I'm feeling a little irritable. I dont' want to be there, I'm tired and frankly the fact that I even have to have all these tests makes me feel a little like a failure. I was doing so well, and I know it's all out of my control, but I sucked at getting pregnant...I don't want to suck at being pregnant too!

I get hooked up to the monitors. Lefty is really far back so they have to tighten the heck out of her monitor which made things uncomfortable. But then the nurse starts my NST, sets me up with water and all that, then tells me the lab will be in to take my blood shortly (oh, I gave a urine sample right when I got there, so that was already taken care of). I wait...I text my friend Nicole, I text my sister, I call Bobby and assure him that the babies are not going to be arriving right then and tell him there is no need for both of us to be bored at the hospital so he should just stay home. Then I wait some more. My back is killing me...I adjust the bed and look longingly at the pillow across the room that would be heaven on earth if it would gravitate towards my bed and place itself behind my back.It's been an hour...Bobby has called twice, freaked out. -K, love the man, but they are checking my blood pressure every few minutes so don't be all freaked out because that freaks me out and there is no hiding it on the machine. Oh, and btw at this point my blood pressure is nestling in a scary high range that I was not at all comfortable with. Freakin nurse...where is she? I try to will the pillow over and seriously contemplate unstrapping all the monitors because my back hurts, I'm tired and hungry and nobody has checked on me for the last hour because all these damn babies are being born and I'm not the priority at that moment. (huff!).

Anywho, just as I am sure that I am about to have a massive freak out, the nurse walks in all cheery "how are we doing"? Ummm we? WE aren't doing so hot. WE have the mother of all backaches and WE are starving because it has now been nearly 7 hours since WE have eaten. Did I tell her this? No. I said, please can I have that pillow behind you - actually it was more of desperate plea than a request. "Oh, right...sorry, I should have given this to you earlier". Yeah, yeah you should've. She puts the pillow behind my back and it is quite possibly the most wonderful thing I have felt in months. Pure bliss. Then, in walks Bobby. He decided to come to the hospital after working it out for his parent's to watch Connor. I felt bad that he would be bored with me, but was so happy to not be alone and helpless anymore.

So, the babies look awesome. No problems with them - I passed my NST with no contractions. I was not anywhere near pre-term labor and the babies were really active which is great. The nurse got permission to take me off the monitors and I finally was able to sit up - yay! Then she says we just have to wait for a lab person to come in to take my blood. I chug the water they had given me. A Nursing assistant (who is the nicest person ever) brings Bobby a soda and asks if we want food. I'm feeling a little yucky now because all the weight in my belly (ie babies) are re-adjusting as I stand up, so I pass on the food. Idiot! Had I known we would be there for 3 more hours I would have not passed on the food.

We wait for an eternity and finally my blood is drawn. I'm irritated and just want to go home. Bobby is giddy at all the babies being born and keeps walking in the hallway like a looky-loo so he can hear them and possibly see some of them. It was kind of like a practice run for labor I suppose.

Anyway, we wait another hour and finally my Doctor comes in with a nurse. (she had just finished delivering 3 babies, so I didn't feel right about telling her how long we were waiting - that would just seem insensitive I think).

-K, this paragraph might have a little TMI - read only if you like knowing way too much about me.
So turns out I don't have pre-e...yet. It could develop. And they want me to do a 24 hour urine test. I am given a hat (this plastic thing that goes in the toilet for collection) and a jug. I'm to collect every drop of urine for the next 24 hours, pour into jug, keep cool and take back to them exactly 24 hours later. Eeeewww, but do-able.

I'm happy that I don't have pre-e. My Doc says that they are just classifying it as pregnancy induced hypertension for now and will know more after my 24 hour urine test. I feel ok with this. BUT, she wants me to have these 2 shots of steriods that will help develop the babies' lungs in case they have to deliver me within the next week or so. Well, that's not re-assuring at all. I get the shot and it hurts like a mo-fo. We joked that Bobby should give it to me and I kind of wish he had because the nurse showed no mercy and I know from experience there is a gentler way to do it.

Here I am thinking we dodged a bullet, and then my Dr. says the words I do not want to hear. She knows I don't want to hear them and warns me they are coming....REST AT HOME. YOU ARE DONE WORKING!
Hmmm.. so just to clarify, am I on bedrest? No...we're calling it home rest (which is nice way of saying modified bedrest). I have to stay home, rest/relax. I am allowed to sit in a chair, but also need to lay down on the couch or bed from time to time. I can shower, make lunch, but cannot do laundry or really any cleaning of any kind. I am allowed to take a trip or two out of my house weekly, mostly to Dr. appts, but that's about it. I really thought I would make it through without bedrest, and I know it could be a lot worse, so I am choosing to stay with the name "home rest" and I will fight you to the death if you insist that I am indeed on bedrest. Let me live in my denial a bit longer.

I then ask about a million questions about working and am told in specific terms that I am absolutely done going into to work. I can work on my computer but with lots of breaks (at my house, not office). I asked if that was going to start right then or if we were waiting on more test results and she laughed and said it was starting right then. No more working at my office. Ok. Got it.

She told me that I really need to take this seriously because if we can control my high blood pressure with rest, that would be the best solution (I should mention she tends to be overly cautious, which is good because all of her twin mommies have made it really far in their pregnancies). And she mentioned that I could choose not to take it seriously and end up in the hospital on full bed rest. Nope, that's not ok with me. I will be following Dr.'s orders. She informs me that if the babies need delievered before 36 weeks, they will transfer me to Spokane. That also is not ok with me. I think at this point I was scared enough to follow instructions to the T.

She then says that she is sending in an internalist to check on my shortness of breath. So we wait....for another hour! Finally the internalist comes in. She said things looked pretty good, but there is a chance that the fluid from my ankles is going into my lungs when I lay down and then overflowing and dilating my heart or something like that...I am now like 9 hours without food and really tired. Apparently this is not a good thing to be happening, but isn't very common either. She decided I would need an echocardiogram to rule that out. I am scheduled for that at 3pm today and then I have to go back at 8pm to drop off my sample and get my second steriod shot. Fun day for me.

I will post any news as it comes about, wether it's a week from now or tomorrow. I have NST's on Monday and Thursday, a Dr. appt on Wed (I'm going weekly now...maybe twice weekly if things continue to go downhill) and an ultrasound on Thursday morning.

I am grateful that the issues are with me and not the babies, but just hope resting at home is enough to make them stay put for at least 3 more weeks.

Sorry for the long post. Check back often for updates...it appears I may have a little time on my hands :-)