Flashbacks

These are some posts from last year at this time. It's weird to read them because I remember each and every one of these days like they were yesterday. And yet, it seems so far away, too. I think I was trying to be so hopeful when I was writing everything down, but I can also remember the fear so well. Every day was a struggle as we just really didn't know what was going to happen. Less than a week after these posts, our precious boys would enter this world. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, although of course I wish the outcome could be different. We are so thankful for the time we got with our boys and continue to be so thankful for every day with Cohen. The Lord has carried us through so much. I still can't believe it's been a year.


May 26, 2011
Well, we made it! I honestly wasn't sure if we would ever make it to this day but I'm so thankful that we did!! Since we hit the "viable" mark they will be monitoring the babies heart rates twice a week. They put me on the monitor and watch the babies heart rates for about 20 minutes to make sure they are behaving. I had this done today and it was a little rough because they had hard time finding both babies at the same time. They move constantly move around and I was laying flat on my back for over an hour, which I don't do very well with. But, of course the babies did fine! They also gave me a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes, which I passed so that's also good news.
Please continue to pray as we make decisions about when to get the steroids (I think I mentioned it before) , its kind of a guessing game as to when we get them because we don't want to get them too early but also don't want to wait until its too late! Danny is driving up tomorrow after work to spend the long weekend with me. My birthday is this weekend so my mom brought me a little early birthday cake :)

May 29, 2011
Hey everyone,
Its Danny here just checking in on Memorial day weekend.  We had planned to go camping this weekend, and in a way, I guess we kind of are camping here at the hospital.  Things have been kind of crazy for me lately.  I only sleep in Lynden two nights a week and the rest of the time I'm down with Jana at the UW.  It has been quiet on the baby front this weekend, which is good, but its pretty easy to be stressed out regardless.  Jana has been in her bed for about a week and a half now and is getting very sore and uncomfortable.  Its hard not to be able to help her or get her moving around, but I guess we gotta do what we gotta do.
I just want to say that we're very thankful for all the support and prayer that we've received from everyone and that we will continue to appreciate all that we receive in the future.  Be constantly praying for us as you know we will be constantly praying for our little ones as well.  Thanks again.

 Being here is like being on a roller coaster. One minute everything looks okay and the next minute things are changing and we just aren't sure what is going to happen. I have been rather uncomfortable the last few days and when they weighed me yesterday I had gained another 5 lbs. My Dr came in to see me this morning and when I told her that she said she wanted to check on the babies fluids again. So she did a quick bedside ultrasound and found that Baby B once again has too much fluid and they are back to being concerned about twin to twin transfusion. They want to do an amnioreduction tomorrow and draw off some of the fluid from Baby B. Since this procedure has the potential to induce labor they are also giving me the steroid shot today. We are also scheduled to go today for the echocardiograms of the babies hearts at Children's today, otherwise they would have done the amnioreduction today. So, please keep all of those things in your prayers. 1) That the babies hearts look normal at the echo 2) That the amnioreduction doesn't put me into labor or 3) that I don't go into labor for at least 48 hours so that the boys get the benefits of the steroids. This gives us a few things to think about so please continue to keep us in your prayers! Thank you for all you have already done for us!

May 31, 2011
 Well, we had our visit to Children's and while it wasn't easy, we got some good news. Both babies hearts look good in structure and function! Baby A still has the little calcium deposit but the cardiologist said he really wasn't worry about it at all. The challenge was more in the getting to the appointment. They had wanted me to go by cabulance, but all of the cabulances were busy so they had to take me over by ambulance. I got strapped to the stretcher and all. The ultrasound took about 2 hours which was pretty hard for me. Since I have gotten so big I am pretty uncomfortable and I can't stay in one position for very long. This is one of the things I am worried about for the amnioreduction tomorrow because they will be using a big needle to draw out some of the fluid. My Dr thinks it will make me quite a bit more comfortable, and obviously better for the babies so their little bodies don't have to try and deal with all (or the low) amount of fluid from twin to twin transfusion. I asked the Dr how much fluid she was thought she would take off and she said about 1 to 2 liters!!!!
I got my first steroid shot this morning and will get my second dose in the morning. They said that while the procedure has the potential to induce labor, so does leaving all that extra fluid in there. And also the effects on the babies of leaving that fluid in there. They will do another ultrasound in the morning just to double check the fluids and then they will do the amnio in the afternoon. Here's to hoping for some sleep tonight!

June 1, 2011
  Amnioreduction is done! The Drs came in early this morning and did my ultrasound and then decided since they were both available that they would just do it right then. It wasn't as bad as I thought, the worst part was them putting the numbing medicine in my stomach and then they just use a little straw to get the fluid out....they took out 2.5 liters!!!!! Ugh, no wonder I have been so uncomfortable! I feel way better already and they said the babies were looking better afterward too. In usual fashion, the babies were jumping around and waving throughout the entire thing (they use an ultrasound so they know where they are going). Baby B was even trying to play with the little straw they were using to take the fluid out with. They put me on the fetal monitor for about an hour afterwards and they said the babies heartrates continued to look good. I also got my second steroid shot this morning. They want them in for at least 48 hours which would be 10:30 am tomorrow (hopefully longer!)
The plan for now is just to lay low and hope I don't go into labor, which is kind of the same plan as before. I have been taken off the Ibuprofen because it can cause the baby fluids to decrease and Baby A is already low so they don't want me to take it anymore. They will keep a close eye on me today, although they do expect me to possibly have more contractions just because they upset my uterus by poking it with a big needle. I didn't sleep very well last night so I'm hoping I may even get a nap in today! So, everything went well and as usual, we just keep praying for a quiet rest of the day!