Update from Abi

Here is an update from Abi in her own words ...

"As many of your have heard by now I was admitted to spectrum health OB
special care yesterday morning. If you have not heard I apologize.
The whole experience has been a bit of a whirl wind for Dave & I. I
went to see the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists yesterday morning
for an initial consult due to my recent cervical length shortening and
bed rest. The appointment was going very well. The twins weights are
both estimated at 1 lb 2 oz and based on their measurement are
actually about 6 days ahead in their growth. Both heart beats were
good and strong in the high 140's. At the end of the appointment they
checked my cervical length and it was down to 15 mm. Immediately Dave
& I knew that meant I was going to be admitted. Sure enough Dr.
Sheikh came in and said that unfortunately due to the short cervical
length on their measurement I was going to be sent to OB triage to
assess whether or not I was stable for observation on OB special care
or if I was at risk for delivery and needed to be admitted to the
labor & delivery floor. After 3-4 hours in triage it was determined
that the monitoring they were doing of my uterus was showing uterine
irritability but not contractions. So they were going to admit me to
OB special care for observation and investigation of why this had
occurred. They started me on Sulindac which I will get every 12 hours
for 48 hours to help stop the uterine irritability. They also started
me on betamethasone shots (yes in my bum for those of you who
wondered) one once a day which helps develop the babies lungs.
Hopefully that was a precaution that we did not need to take because
they are going to hang out and cook a while longer. But the series is
good for 6 weeks so they are covered if born between now and 28 weeks.
They put me back on the uterine monitor last night and they said
things looked "much calmer" and showed very little irritability. This
morning same thing, very little irritability. They said that some
irritability is normal just due to the activity of the babies. So
currently it appears the Sulindac has help that. The babies heart
beats continue to be strong and in the 140's -150's. Tomorrow morning
they are planning to repeat my cervical length. So we are praying
that is at the least stable and at the best improved. Either way they
will keep me til the end of the week. If they do not feel things are
stable of they have found a prospective cause for all of this I could
be here much longer. Currently they said it does not appear that the
cause has anything to do with either of the babies, both appear
healthy (praise God) and both placentas are intake (this can cause pre
term labor). They said it is not uncommon to see these symptoms in
mothers of twins due to the weight of the babies and the rapid growth
of the uterus. However, they are questioning if there could be
something else contributing due to the rapid drop since my last check.
They said it could possibly due to an infection so they took cultures
of my cervix, but my white blood cell count is normal so they do not
think there is a big infection present. They are also wondering if
this could be related to the stomach flu I had end of last week
because I did a lot of vomiting. The said that stomach viruses are
very irritating to the uterus as well as dehydration and all the
increased internal pressure cause by the vomiting could have shortened
my cervix. They said that best way to tell if this could be the case
is if it improves with time.

The neonatologist stopped by to talk to me today because even though
the do not think I am going into labor soon we need to discuss what we
would want done for the babies in terms of resuscitation if they are
born before 24 weeks. Mortality and Morbidity are very high in
infants born before 24 weeks. So just pray for Dave & I as we make
this tough decision.m Pray that God guides are decisions and not the
opinions of other people. Hopefully this pan is one that we do not
have to put into place. We ask that you please pray about this, but
do not ask us about our decision as this is a personal matter and not
one that we will want to discuss with people.

How am I doing? Good. I am encouraged that I am not showing signs of
labor & that the doctors are being positive and saying that they do
not feel I am heading down that path at this point. Yes it is scary
for Dave & I, but we know that we are not the ones who are in control,
God is and it is only through him and with his help that these babies
will have more and more time cooking inside me. I feel like the
Sulindac is working, my uterus has not felt as irritable to me today.
My attitude is positive and my spirits are up because being down and
stressed is not good for me or the babies. Even though bed rest is far
from my personality, it does not matter because this is not about me,
it is about my twinners and I will do anything for them. We are so
thankful for the visits, calls, emails, prayers, etc. The support &
knowing there are so many people fighting for our twinners means more
than you will every know. We feel the love people :)

Pray that God keep my cervix where it is or make it better and that he
keep these babies in here a long time yet so they have more time to
develop.
Thanks & I will let everyone know how things look tomorrow after they
recheck my cervical length.

God Bless!
Abi Lamar"

(And she says she doesn't think she could blog...ha! :)