Expecting the Unexpected: 23 week update

Here we are on December 18th, 2012 celebrating wedding anniversary number 8! Our first "date" was to Winnie Palmer for my ultrasound at the MFM office.  I will say it was a fairly good date : ) 

The boys were active, especially Owen who is usually a bit more mellow than his partner in crime. First, here are there adorable little faces (slightly scary maybe) looking right at the "camera",  with their eyes open. I think it looks like Owen is smiling. 

Owen

Anson

Summary of the ultrasound:

• Anson's fluid has stayed the same, just within the normal range on the high side
• Owen's fluid has stayed the same or has improved slightly! I say this because every measurement is a bit different due to the position of the baby.
• Both bladders were clearly visualized
• Fetal Doppler studies were normal 
• Both babes are in breech position again...not sure how they flip all over the place when it looks so crowded in there ; ) 
• no weight check today

Summary of visit with MFM physician:

• It is not TTTS at this time but could still be moving towards that
• The boys are stable : ) 
• "We will always be keeping a close watch & will deliver them when it is better for them to be outside than inside"
• Back on the 26th for repeat check on fluid, doppler studies & weight

All in all, we are so very thankful today to know that a week has passed & the fluid looks the same if not better!  I am thankful to have wiggly little boys in there reminding me that they are doing well enough to cause some commotion. 

As I posted previously, the couple days following the last scan were challenging.  Challenges included, this has been a blessed week. From what I have been reading, any issue with placental blood flow may be able to be improved by horizontal rest (lying on side) providing maximum blood flow to the placenta & babies. It is also recommended in any pregnancy, more so with multiples & even more so with the possibility of TTTS to increase intake of protein.  It is also a goal to avoid any unnecessary contractions.  So, I think about resting as much of the day as possible compared with my daily tasks of caring for a 3 year old & an 18 month old & it makes me want to laugh out loud (or cry) ha! God knows my needs though & continues to graciously provide. My friend Cathy was unaware of the details of my appointment last week & offered to watch the girls at her house from 10-5 last Thursday.  WOW! If any of you have two, or even one little one, you know how abnormal it is for people to willingly take full responsibility for them for SEVEN HOURS especially on top of their own children! I dropped them off, enjoyed a drink & chat with Cathy, a very special friend & then went home to rest. I ate my lunch & showered as fast as possible then jumped in bed.  I stayed there for over 4 hours.....I cannot even tell you the last time I did that.  It felt great!  We picked up two smiley & worn out little girls that had spent a day with three of their favorite friends, Anna, Clara & Alex. We spent the evening with Steve, Jenny & the kids at their home where they cooked us dinner & served us dessert followed by a better than Starbucks caramel latte while we helped the little ones open a couple Christmas gifts. 

The following morning my parents arrived from Houston to stay for 4 days.  This trip was planned over a month ago & happen to fall perfectly with this mama needing to rest!  The girls were delighted to see their grandparents.  I literally laid on the couch & drank protein drinks for 4 days. I am calling it my pseudo modified bed rest because I can still go out to dinner or hop up to pull a child off the coffee table.  I could never even list all the things my parents took care of while they were here. Robby is used to picking up the slack & even he got to relax this weekend while they did all the cooking, cleaning & entertaining of the girlies.  

Sunday morning, Gregg invited the congregation at CCC to stay after the service & pray for our family.  We were overwhelmed by the amount of people that stayed, many we knew & many we did not.  What a gift to have people surround us & pray out loud for the boys, for us & for the big sisters.  We felt so deeply cared for & believe that the Lord is hearing each and every prayer regarding the lives of these little ones. He is merciful & gracious to provide friends, family & a family at CCC to love on us through this difficult time. I have been surprised with the amount of people who approach me either at work or at church & say "our family is praying for you every day!" or one couple who said "Do you know what we do for fun at night? We look & read your blog posts then pray for you & those babies."  Wow, thank you Lord for these friends!

After much discussion, we decided that it would be best for Eloise to go home with my parents for a few days. Since so much was up in the air about what this week would hold, it fit perfectly into both possibilities.  If we would have heard today that we needed to head to Houston for the laser procedure then we could have met them there. Thankfully, the other option is what we are going with. My brother, Uncle Scott to little Elo, is flying in on Thursday to spend Christmas with us & will bring her back with him.  That might be a blog post in itself ; ) Eloise causes some physical exhaustion on my part with her craziness. Knowing that, I still cried while saying goodbye at the airport, sobbed the whole way home & continued to cry for another hour. I was a mess & so was Charlotte.  The house is unusually calm today which means I can lay on the couch for extended periods of time but I prefer having both of my babies under the same roof : ) She is in excellent hands though & I imagine Gaga & Paw Paw will enjoy having her all to themselves for a few days.  We are excited to spend some one on one time with Charlotte as well! 

I had mentioned in a previous anniversary post where Charlotte had a stomach bug & threw up all over us the whole night that it seemed to be a "real life" anniversary. I feel the same this year as we are celebrating God's faithfulness to us in more areas than just our marriage. We are experiencing the closeness of the Lord in different ways than we have before.  We are upholding the vows we made to each other on that day as we look toward the coming weeks, months and years not knowing what they hold other than the promise that God will sustain us & one day rescue us from our brokenness.  In the meantime we can experience joy in the face of seemingly one challenge after another. 

So on this anniversary, here's to more protein.....

and some exciting "pseudo modified bed rest!"

More on celebrating this lovely anniversary later : )