Saturday, January 31, 2009
Send Some Love
Everyone go stop at Shaz's blog to send her some love. She had a REALLY bad weekend. *sigh*
Friday, January 30, 2009
Snowed In
Not me, my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law lives in Louisville, KY...where they generally don't get snow. Maybe a little bit here and there, but a big storm pretty much cripples the city. And they got one! Ice and everything. Her house lost power and heat, so she's living with someone on the next street over. The kicker is that the other side of her street was fine (and, of course, the next street over). Just her side of the street lost power and everything. Oh well, as long as she's safe.
As for me, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I was on the tocometer (the machine that records if you're having contractions) for about 15-20 minutes. There was some activity, but nothing I could feel. The doctor did another fetal fibronectin swab, just to make sure. I haven't heard the results from the swab, but the fact that she didn't call me yesterday afternoon probably means it's fine. If it had come back positive, she would've checked me into the hospital immediately to give me steroids for the babies and to try to prevent labor. I'm also going with the assumption that the contractions are Braxton-Hicks type--especially because I don't generally feel them (but I can sometimes sense that my uterus is rock hard), and when I do feel something it's not pain, just uncomfortable. The doctor isn't too worried about Braxton-Hicks, and it gives the uterus good practice for the real thing. Practice makes perfect!
I also gained a perfect amount of weight--3lbs in the last 2 weeks. The doctor wants to see me every week now, and she's VERY pleased that I'm already at 28 weeks. Our next goal is 32!
As for me, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I was on the tocometer (the machine that records if you're having contractions) for about 15-20 minutes. There was some activity, but nothing I could feel. The doctor did another fetal fibronectin swab, just to make sure. I haven't heard the results from the swab, but the fact that she didn't call me yesterday afternoon probably means it's fine. If it had come back positive, she would've checked me into the hospital immediately to give me steroids for the babies and to try to prevent labor. I'm also going with the assumption that the contractions are Braxton-Hicks type--especially because I don't generally feel them (but I can sometimes sense that my uterus is rock hard), and when I do feel something it's not pain, just uncomfortable. The doctor isn't too worried about Braxton-Hicks, and it gives the uterus good practice for the real thing. Practice makes perfect!
I also gained a perfect amount of weight--3lbs in the last 2 weeks. The doctor wants to see me every week now, and she's VERY pleased that I'm already at 28 weeks. Our next goal is 32!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Octuplets Update
Well, at least not all media is stupid. Check out this update from the LA Times. I give the article a rousing two thumbs up!
In other news, my fetal fibronectin test came back negative. For those who don't know what this is, they take a swab and check to see if there's any fetal fibronectin present. Before 22 weeks it is normal to have some present, which is why they don't do the test before then. After 22 weeks, if the test comes back positive it means you're at a VERY high risk for delivery in the 2 weeks following the test. If there isn't any present, then you're safe for another 2 weeks (barring extenuating circumstances that could cause someone to go into labor). So, it looks like I should make it to at least 29 weeks (and beyond) IY"H. :-)
Oh, and I posted a new belly pic!
In other news, my fetal fibronectin test came back negative. For those who don't know what this is, they take a swab and check to see if there's any fetal fibronectin present. Before 22 weeks it is normal to have some present, which is why they don't do the test before then. After 22 weeks, if the test comes back positive it means you're at a VERY high risk for delivery in the 2 weeks following the test. If there isn't any present, then you're safe for another 2 weeks (barring extenuating circumstances that could cause someone to go into labor). So, it looks like I should make it to at least 29 weeks (and beyond) IY"H. :-)
Oh, and I posted a new belly pic!
Eight is Enough
Did everyone see this article?
There are so many problems with this. First and foremost, it gives ART (assisted reproductive technologies) and especially IVF a bad name. Most people will read the article and think "oh they must've had IVF," which is completely off the mark. No doctor with a brain will put in 8 or 9 embryos for an IVF transfer. None. The most likely scenario here is that the woman was medicated and had an IUI (or timed intercourse). It's possible that her follicles weren't monitored, because no doctor with a brain would let a woman trigger ovulation and have an IUI (or timed intercourse) with 8 or more possible follicles. My doctor nearly changed our first IUI to an IVF because I had 4 possible. As my father A"H would've said, "if the doctor had half a brain, it would be lonesome."
Secondly, having high-order multiples is VERY dangerous--for both mother and babies. So many things can go wrong, and you notice that this is only the 2nd set that's ever been born with all babies alive. With the 1st set, one of the babies died shortly after birth anyway. It's just not safe. Now, I'm against selective reduction of embryos, so I would never put myself in a situation where I would have to even consider it.
Yes, it's wonderful that they had 8 live babies, but this is not a "happy ending" and the parents should never have been put in a situation where they would have 8 babies. We have no idea about the quality of life that these children will have or if all will survive infancy. *sigh*
There are so many problems with this. First and foremost, it gives ART (assisted reproductive technologies) and especially IVF a bad name. Most people will read the article and think "oh they must've had IVF," which is completely off the mark. No doctor with a brain will put in 8 or 9 embryos for an IVF transfer. None. The most likely scenario here is that the woman was medicated and had an IUI (or timed intercourse). It's possible that her follicles weren't monitored, because no doctor with a brain would let a woman trigger ovulation and have an IUI (or timed intercourse) with 8 or more possible follicles. My doctor nearly changed our first IUI to an IVF because I had 4 possible. As my father A"H would've said, "if the doctor had half a brain, it would be lonesome."
Secondly, having high-order multiples is VERY dangerous--for both mother and babies. So many things can go wrong, and you notice that this is only the 2nd set that's ever been born with all babies alive. With the 1st set, one of the babies died shortly after birth anyway. It's just not safe. Now, I'm against selective reduction of embryos, so I would never put myself in a situation where I would have to even consider it.
Yes, it's wonderful that they had 8 live babies, but this is not a "happy ending" and the parents should never have been put in a situation where they would have 8 babies. We have no idea about the quality of life that these children will have or if all will survive infancy. *sigh*
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
28 WEEKS!!
My babies now have a greater than 90% chance of survival if they're born this week (and it only goes up from here)! Not only that, but I found a really cool chart that shows other preemie problems that can occur and their rates of occurrence depending on which week a baby is born. Yes, these values are for singletons, but twins generally have better chances of survival and less chance of complications than a singleton born at the same number of weeks.
At 28 weeks...
Survival: 90%
Respiratory Distress Syndrome: 65%
Intraventricular Hemorrhage: 4% (woooo!)
Sepsis: 25%
Necrotizing Enterocolitis: 25%
Intact, long-term survival: 80%
And it only gets better from here!
At 28 weeks...
Survival: 90%
Respiratory Distress Syndrome: 65%
Intraventricular Hemorrhage: 4% (woooo!)
Sepsis: 25%
Necrotizing Enterocolitis: 25%
Intact, long-term survival: 80%
And it only gets better from here!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sick Day(s)
My poor hubby has a terrible cold, so he stayed home from work yesterday and today. His nose is all stuffed and runny, and he's starting to cough. :-( Unfortunately, decongestants make him jittery and benadryl makes him drunk/sleepy, but he's been so miserable that he's taking cold medicine anyway. Not that it's really helping, but I think he might be getting at least a few hours of sleep.
He'd better not get me sick! Even though I wouldn't have to take time off from work, I do not need a head cold on top of being pregnant. It seems as though the whole world is sick, too. I've noticed many of my bloggie friends are suffering this week, and apparently everyone at shul has a cold too (which is probably how my husband got sick in the first place). Ahh well, nothing I can do about it now!
Two of my friends came over today for a visit, and one of them brought her 1-month-old! He is the cutest. It was so nice to have company for a little while, and they even brought me flowers! The friend w/o the baby has been so amazing arranging meals for us and transportation for me to get to and from doctor appointments and ultrasounds. I am soooo lucky.
Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions
He'd better not get me sick! Even though I wouldn't have to take time off from work, I do not need a head cold on top of being pregnant. It seems as though the whole world is sick, too. I've noticed many of my bloggie friends are suffering this week, and apparently everyone at shul has a cold too (which is probably how my husband got sick in the first place). Ahh well, nothing I can do about it now!
Two of my friends came over today for a visit, and one of them brought her 1-month-old! He is the cutest. It was so nice to have company for a little while, and they even brought me flowers! The friend w/o the baby has been so amazing arranging meals for us and transportation for me to get to and from doctor appointments and ultrasounds. I am soooo lucky.
Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Cord Blood Banking
Another thing we decided this week was to bank our babies' cord blood. After getting quotes from all over and doing lots of research, we decided to go with Cryo-Cell. Not only did they give us the best twin pricing (and we looked at about 10 different places with costs anywhere from $2400 to $3800 total), but they are also very well known, have the best credentials of everywhere I looked, and have been around the longest. If cord blood banking is something you're thinking about doing, feel free to ask me any questions you may have. And if you're considering Cryo-Cell, let me know and I can put you in touch with the lovely nurse who gave me awesome discounts.:-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)