Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Day 48: T-4

I am so ready for a nap...

Both babies had the BPP's done by Dr P, our favorite Resident who came over from Delivery! :) Bobby scored his 8 points in five minutes and Maya hers in about six minutes! Woo Hoo! (To score the points, the BPP must take place within half an hour. A lot of times, the breathing will take a while to find. Last week, it took like 20 minutes for Bobby's to be found and viewed, although with the breathing, the motion must be viewed over a 30 second period. So, the babies have up to half an hour and they dont get extra points for taking five minutes or the full thirty. But it saves us some gray hairs!!!)

Bobby's charting wasnt as good this morning as yesterday, but it is such a roller coaster ride. We just take it one day at a time and try not to judge things like this as setbacks. It was pretty much the same that it has been, there just werent as long of periods of the regular beats. He had some rises; they just didnt last as long. But that is to be expected... Mostly, he was 70s still.

At my u/s with Dr C from MFM today, I asked him if he felt (like Dr B does) that the 70s are the ventricular heartbeats or if (like the Residents/nurses) that the monitor is half counting. He agrees with Dr B. He said that, in his opinion, the PACs (premature atrial contractions, where it beats 2x or even 3x before the ventricle can beat once) are causing the ventricle to go into a resting mode because it cant keep up. When the monitor rises and the sounds are normal, it's because the PAC goes away momentarily and the ventricular can keep up, hence a normal heartbeat. He also agreed with Dr B that Bobby is tolerating this well and that it is his heart's way of protecting itself from harm, which is working. The meds I am on are not to "fix" the arrhythmia but to keep the atrial beats from being super high (like they were when this was first discovered), so he feels it is doing its job well and would like me to stay on it. (Peter had asked Dr B yesterday if he felt that it was worthwhile to stay on the meds since Bobby was no longer SVTing and he had suggested asking an MFM doctor after saying he felt it was better we stay on it for similar reasons). It was a good scan and I really like Dr C. He has such a great personality and is always willing to answer questions. You never feel like you are inconveniencing him by asking. He also mapped Bobby's heart on screen and you could see the atrial beats in the 150s-170s.

It's crazy to think that in 4 days I will be 28w. At that point, we enter into a new NICU realm. I'm debating on asking the doctor back to give me the 28w-32w scenarios or to just let Peter listen and give it to me (he's thinking of going up for a NICU visit and a scenario talk). I may ask the CRNP to ask a doctor to come down next week. I'd like to know the difference in prognosis since our last talk. Although I'm starting to actually feel confident that we will go all the way. I remember having this feeling with Alexander and soon after being pushed out of my dream world, but I cant help it. The more days that go by... The more I see the number of days I've been here grow and the number yet to go shrink... That I see the babies growing on ultrasound and, for all intents and purposes, being healthy... The more I think 36w might be a reality. I know there is still so much that could go wrong (even if we get there) but I finally feel like "we can make it". It's an interesting feeling. I really hope that we will. If only hoping could make it so...

My bedrest buddy came to visit me today. She's had 3 bedrest pregnancies (from 12w on). She comes each week and brings me a little gift and spends some time in conversation. She's so sweet. Today, she brought two little stuffed animals for the babies. It was a nice break to the day and she's a treat to chat with. We talk about pregnancy stuff but also about normal people stuff, like books and hobbies. She inspires me to want to do this once I am off bedrest; at first, I thought it was kind of lame to have someone come visit me just because I was on bedrest, but it really is so nice to have her come each week for a few minutes and I really look forward to it.

Okay... Nap time. I can barely stay awake...

14 comments:

Terri Jones said...

Hey sweetie just had a second to drop by and see how things were going. Love to you and the babies.
Peace & Love always, T

Ms. J said...

How wonderful to have a "been there, done that" friend to visit you in person!

If I lived close, I'd drop in just to smuggle ya in a cheeseburger (and ice cream for me!)

Pardon me if you have already covered this, but do the docs anticipate surgery for Bobby after birth? You probably know that my Lil Pumpkin had open heart surgery (atrial septal defect, and pulmonary valve stenosis), so if I can offer support on that matter, and reassure you on little ones ability to BOUNCE back, I'd love to do so, if you need the positive stories, too :o)

Mother Knows Best Reviews said...

There is nothing better at times like this than feeling like you have capable physicians. I'm so glad you feel like you're getting good answers.

God bless.

Catherine W said...

Yay for 28w. So glad that Dr. C is doing such a wonderful job for you and Bobby.

I don't know but I'm thinking it might be a good idea for Peter to go on the NICU visit. I think I would have found it a bit less overwhelming if I had been in one prior to having the girls.

Carrie said...

Holy-close-to-28-weeks! I am so excited you are moving closer and closer to your goal. I feel the same way as you, scared to believe it might be close enough to get truly excited about- but we are doing it each day, and can take the guard around our hearts down a bit more.

Yay for the BPP scores! You are in such wonderful hands and you and the babies are being cared for by a wonderful team.

Since I am most likely (but HOPEFULLY NOT!) going to back in the hospital, my husband and I are planning to do another consult with the NICU to what to expect from the not-micro preemies, but if it upsetting, just have Peter do it.

BIG HUGS!!!

Barefoot said...

Woohoo -- almost 28 weeks! So amazing. I'm so happy to hear that things are continuing to go well.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you're so close to 28 weeks! Reading your updates is one of the things that makes me feel like time is moving quickly - it seems like every time I turn around you and those sweet babies are hitting a new milestone.

k@lakly said...

Yay for 28 weeks, almost:)
I am hopeful, using the word ever so cautiously, that you will go all the way too. I've got everything crossed for you and those miracle babies.
xxoo

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Just wanted to let you know that it was really helpful that you talked all about BPPs last week. Otherwise today at my u/s I wouldn't have known what they were talking about when the tech and MFM were talking about the BPP to each other.

Perfect scores for both of our boys and both of our girls! Hooray!

Busted Tube said...

Glad you got to see the babies again and they scored so well!
I hope you have a nice nap. I'm so happy to see you getting so close to 28 weeks! Lots of good thoughts coming your way.

Sophie said...

Fingers crossed for going to 36 weeks!

xx

Kate said...

Happy t-3!
And I'd ask for the visit from the folks for an updated 28week scenario just so you can revel in the improved outlook-- I think you'll make it much farther than that! But it would be great to update yourselves.

Thinking of you so often and always with love and awe.
Xo
kate

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you are in a good place, or as good of a place one can be in a bad place?

Leah said...

That's so nice that you have someone visit you on bedrest. What a thoughtful and neat idea!

I'm so happy you're almost at 28 weeks. YAY YAY YAY! :-D