The crazy week that changed our lives forever!

First of all, I apologize for the delay in getting all our excitement posted!!
We will rewind back to Thursday 4/29, the date of my last doctor's appt...
On Thursday 4/29 We had a doctor's appt at 2pm to check the growth of the girls and to check my cervical length. The ultrasound of the girls looked great and they were growing just as they needed to be. Next they did the ultrasound to check my cervix. When the tech hesitated with the instrument and quickly took some photos and ended the procedure, we knew something was not right. She then explained to us that I had no cervical length and that the doctor would need to come and speak with us about our options.
When our doctor came into the room he let us know that I would be admitted directly to the hospital for complete bedrest and be put in Trendelenberg (spelling?) position meaning that my feet would be positioned 8-12 inches above my pelvis. They called this laying on my head. Of course, overwhelmed, I started to cry as they prepared a wheelchair to take me next door to the hospital.
Once I was checked in the questions started to flood my mind. How long would I be there? What are the next steps? How would the babies be?
I stayed in this position day and night, to eat, change clothes, use the restroom. You name it! I was not allowed out of the bed or to even sit up. Let's just say that this was not the ideal life for me.
We continued to live this new life until early Saturday (Derby Day!) morning when I was woken up by awful pains in my back at about 6am. The nurses let me know that I was starting to contract. They quickly gave me a shot to stop the contractions and gave me a muscle relaxer to relax my uterus and keep it from contracting. I was then told that we would just need to wait and hope that my water didn't break too soon.
After this drama I was told that someone would be giving me a bath and washing my hair that morning...hallelujah!!! This was probably the best thing that I had heard in days!
After my bath, as I was putting clothes on I suddenly felt like I had peed on myself. Knowing that I hadn't peed on myself I realized then that my water had broken. The nurses soon confirmed this and said that our plan would know be to keep the girls inside as long as possible. They would continue the muscle relaxers and monitor me for infection. At this time I felt like a ticking time bomb and didn't really know what to expect as they had said that women under these circumstances had been in my position for up to 2 weeks before delivery.
We made it through the rest of the day betting on Derby races and came out about even- thank God! We had several visitors on Sunday and it was nice to see some of our friends and family. After everyone left on Sunday at around 5:30 or so, my back pains came back. The pain was not registering on my contraction monitor and one of the nurses thought that it could be a back ache from being in the bed so long. I was convinced that these pains were the same as the previous. My doctor finally decided to check me at around 6:30. They were surprised to find that I was 4 centimeters dialated and that Miss Caroline was trying to kick her way out. They could feel a foot and a knee trying to come out.
At this moment about 8 nurses rushed into my room to prep me for the OR. Tears started rushing down my face uncontrollably. I had known that this moment would come but was unprepared for the urgency. Poor Dan tried his hardest to keep me calm, but was not allowed in the OR until the spinal block was done.
After all things calmed down the emergency c-section started with Dan and about 15 others (nurses, doctors, etc) in the OR. The girls were out so quickly both being born at 7pm and 7:01pm. They were so small but crying (a great relief to me!)
Dan went with the girls to the NICU as the crew stitched me up and took me to recovery.
The next 7 or 8 hours were quite a blur for me. Dan tells me that he greeted all of our family while I was in recovery and, once the girls were stable, took them all up to see them in the NICU.
All I remember is falling asleep in recovery then getting transported to my room. I was helped by a wonderful nurse that I never saw again during the duration of my stay. She got me settled in my room and by then all of our family found my room. I was still a little hazy at this point but do remember seeing everyone briefly. By the time that everyone left it was about 1am. I was then wheeled in a wheelchair to the NICU to meet my daughters!
They were born at 27 weeks exactly and were 2 lbs even and 2 lbs. 3 ozs. They were so tiny and perfect. They were both started on ventilators, which they were both weaned within the first 2 days. Both also needed to be under the billi lights for the first 5 days or so. At first sight they looked so scary with all of their tubes, wires, and the shades over their eyes to protect them from the lights.
We were so happy, but still very unsure of all that had gone on that night. I was extremely tired as well.
The next couple of days went by so quick with several visits from loved ones and visits from my floor up to the NICU. We were discharged on the next Thursday, 5/6, and the girls will need to stay in the NICU until they get big enough to come home. The doctors feel that this will be 8-10 weeks or so.
In my next entry I will discuss life in the NICU and since the girls were born.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for our precious new family. We are so blessed to announce the early arrival of our sweet baby girls- Josephine Jane Safley and Caroline Kathleen Safley.
We love you all and can't wait for you to meet them!!

New Pics

Pics of the girls room so far and the pics from our last visit on Friday 3/29...enjoy!

Bed Rest....

Well...Four weeks ago, at our last post, the doctor looked at my cervical length which was 2.3 centimeters, and asked if I was still at work. AHH!!! "Yes, I am still at work" I said. She told me at that point that she wanted me back in every two weeks to check the lenghth of my cervix.
After that day, Dan and I decided that we would get proactive about the situation and that I would go on self-prescribed part time bedrest. To us, this meant that I would work and then come home and get in bed.
When we went back two weeks ago they measured my cervix and it had lengthened!!! It was up to 2.8 centimeters and the doctor said to keep up the good work. He really liked what he saw. Dan and I were on a complete high that we had received yet another small miracle.
We were feeling very confident when we went to the doctor this past Friday. This day we would be able to see the babies again along with checking my cervical length. They started the visit with the ultrasound of the girls. They look great and are at 44% growth which is about average for twins. They weigh approximately 1 lb and 3 ozs each and have strong heart rates. After the ultrasound of the girls they did a vaginal ultrasound to measure my cervix. For the first time during one of these ultrasounds I saw a foot in the picture!!! I quickly said that I didn't think that looked good. The ultrasound tech agreed with me and told me that my cervical length had shortened to 1 cm. This was such a jump from 2 weeks before that it was shocking to everyone. She mentioned that she thought that the doctor may put me in the hospital. Of course this brought tears of fear, confusion and desperation on my part. She sent us across the hall to see the doctor and mentioned that we needed to be put in a room to lay down.
Once the doctor got a hold of our ultrasound pics and report he brought us into his office to give us the news that I would need to be put on full time bedrest with only activity to be using the restroom and to take a shower. He has also prescribed a progesterone shot that Dan will be giving me once a week to help strengthen my cervix.
Pretty much he told us that it was critical that we don't have these babies within the next 3-4 weeks. He would like to see me get to at least 30 weeks. I am currently at 23 weeks.
I called work this morning to break the news and get my short term disability claim started.
I have started a list of things that I want to accomplish while I am down. Any good book or movie suggestions are welcome along with social visits. I am taking appointments to hopefully keep me from going crazy. One of my girlfriends is going to bring over her sewing machine and give me a lesson. I may look into making some things for the girls as well as organizing pictures, making phone calls and doing lots of praying!
I am not leaving this bed for a while, so please feel free to call and chat or email me. Please remember us in your prayers because we know that we have a good God that will always take care of us as he always has. It is a little scary, but we are very hopeful that God will continue blessing our family with more and more miracles to come!
I promise pics in the next post~

Videos

Dan and I went to the doctor again Friday! We are starting to get used to going every 3 weeks now. We are so lucky to be able to see our girls as much as we get to. It is such a fun thing for us to look forward to. They are getting so big! The sonographer mentioned today that she was shocked at how much room that they both have. The girls were stretching out and really making lots of movement today. They both are very healthy looking and we are so blessed. They did check my cervical length and are still satisfied with the workings of my procedure (cerclage) thus far. I am almost 19 weeks pregnant and have gained about 10 pounds thus far. I am starting to come to grips with the fact that this belly is getting larger. Dan and I startted our baby classes at the hospital. These will last about 2 months with the way that we have them scheduled. We are learning so much. The classes are very informative and help us to feel a little more prepared (if that is possible...) Attached is the video that they gave us today. It is a bit long (just a warning). We will be heading back in two weeks just to check my cervical length and then again in another 2 weeks for a full ultrasound to check out the girls again. Thanks so much for continuing to keep us in your prayers. We definitely feel all the blessings that God is pouring over us!

Girls, Girls, Girls

Yes, you heard correctly! Dan and I found out late last week that we are having two baby girls! We are completely thrilled. I have to be honest, this is what I was praying for! After growing up with sisters, I have to say that I would be sad to have a daughter that didn't have the chance to have a sister! Mine are so precious to me and I know that our girls will be so close. I am so happy to be their mommy! What a great day that was!
Dan is super excited and had guessed this outcome all along. Ever since we got married and even mentioned children, he has been convinced that we would have 3 little girls. Well, we are 2/3rds of the way there now! He is going to be the best daddy! I told him that he was going to have 2 of the best friends he could ever want in his two daughters. I know that my sisters and I are so close to my dad and I hope that for my new crew!
A couple of weeks ago I joined a club here in Louisville for mothers of twins. This past weekend they had a big consignment sale and my mother-in-law, Donna, and I went together. This was quite the adventure as it was kind of like the blind leading the blind, or dumb and dumber as she stated! We laughed hysterically as we went from section to section wondering what several of the items even were- it was a hoot! We did however leave with some treasures for the baby girls- 2 very nice car seats and a fabulous glider for their room! I also had the chance to meet some great girls who were very encouraging and super sweet. I think that I am going to like being a part of this group.
We have our next doctor's appt on 3/11. Until then please continue to pray for us and our sweet angel girls! We are all so excited for you to meet them~

Cerclage Procedure

Yesterday morning about 7am Dan and I left our house on our way to Suburban Hospital for my cervical cerclage procedure. They had me check in at 7:30 for a 9:30am procedure. When we arrived I was given an IV and all my vitals were checked. When it was time for the procedure they sent Dan to the waiting room and me to the OR. I had not really thought about this moment up until this moment. When I walked into the OR the song, "I can only imagine" by Mercy Me, was playing on the radio. At that time it all hit me and I started to cry. My nurse was so wonderful and helped me to calm down before the anesthesiologist came in to give me my spinal anesthetic, much like an epidural. This part was not nearly as bad as I had envisioned. Once my whole bottom half as numb the procedure started.
Dr. Koontz, our perinatologist, is a hoot! He talked with me through the whole procedure that only took about 20 minutes. He did tell me that he was very happy that we decided to have this done. After seeing my external cervix, he was convinced that we had made the right decision. There was very little for him to work with. He told me when all was done that he stitched me up as best he could and that he didn't want me to be active at all until the follow up appointment next Thursday- this means not going back to work either. My boss doesn't know this yet, so I am hoping that he will let me work from home this week.
After the procedure I was wheeled into recovery where Dan met me. Pretty much they wanted me to hang out until I could walk. The nurse was also checking the babies during this ordeal. She couldn't get baby A's (my active baby)heartbeat with a Doppler so she said she wanted to "cheat" and get the ultrasound machine out. Dan and I got to see our babies again! This is always such a treat!
After about an hour and half I was ready to go home. The nurse unhooked all my probes, IV, catheter, and blood pressure cuff and just mentioned that I would need to void (pee) before I left. I had had a sprite and some water during my recovery stay so I definitely felt like I could accomplish this and go home.
The nurse told me that sometimes the catheter can play tricks on your bladder and it can be tough to void. To make a long story short I drank 3 huge jugs of water and after 4 tries, I finally got to go home. This was probably the most frustrating part!
We got home around 2pm and I went straight to sleep for a couple of hours. My wonderful husband has been taking excellent care of me and we have had many well wishers stop in to visit, bring food and gifts! We are so very blessed and happy that this leg of the journey is over.
The most positive part of the day was seeing the babies and getting a sneak peek of what is to come for us- The IV, epidural, OR and recovery area.

12 Weeks!

Dan and I had our 12 week appt with our doctor yesterday. We had an ultrasound done and the babies have grown to twice the size that they were at our last appt three weeks ago. They are now the size of small peaches...hmm- an interesting comparison! As the tech did our ultrasound she mentioned that baby B was our "poser" meaning that when she went to take its picture he/she was perfectly still. On the other hand, baby A is our active baby. This baby gave her a hard time and was bouncing around everywhere! We already have opposites...this should be interesting :)
We also met with our specialist who scheduled my cervical cerclage procedure. This will be done on Friday February 5th and I should be able to recover over the weekend. During this procedure the doctor will put a stitch in my cervix which will hopefully prevent pre-term thinning of my cervix and pre-term labor. I am also hoping that this will keep me off bed rest! The procedure is considered out patient, so I will be able to go home to re coop, which will be nice.

This is pretty much all for now, except the new pics...enjoy!

Questions answered...

Due to my craziest of situations I have run into a plethora of questions. I have taken the liberty of listing some of them and the answers that I know...

-Were your babies conceived at the same time?
The babies are both measuring the same size meaning that we can assume that they were conceived at the same time.

-Do you have double of other parts?
As of right now, we only know of the double uterus. After the babies are delivered I will have a complete exam to check out the rest of my organs.

-Are the babies really twins?
Yes, our babies are twins, but only because they will be born on the same day. They each have their own wombs.

-Will the babies be delivered at the same time?
Our docs have told us that this delivery will have to be a cesarean, so therefore the babies will be delivered together.

-What is my due date?
The 40-week mark, full term, for my pregnancy is August 2nd. We will assume that, bc they are twins, they will come early.

-Will we find out the sex of the babies?
YES! I have had too many surprises thus far. We should know what we are having by mid to late February!!

-Did you know that you had a double uterus beforehand?
No, most women with my condition do not find out that they have a double uterus until they get pregnant. I have never needed an ultrasound before now, so I just found this out.

How are you feeling?
I feel great! i have had no sickness, knock on wood!! I have had some bad headaches, been very hungry and super tired. Other than that, I am good. Looking forward to the second trimester so that I can get some of my energy back.


These questions are the only ones I can think of right now, but I am sure that I will be adding more after our next doctor's appt on 1/19.
Thanks for your continued prayers for us! We can't wait for you to meet our babies!