Hospital Fun

Some of you know and some of you don't know what has gone on in the past week with us. Here's a detailed update of what we've been going through in the past few days.

June 15th (21 wks 2 days)
Crystal called her doctor's office in the morning just to check up on some symptoms she was having over the weekend. She wasn't too concerned and neither was the nurse, but they wanted her to come in for an appointment just to be sure. The doctor also agreed that there probably wasn't any issue, especially since the pregnancy is still so "young." The doctor performed an exam and immediately said that Crystal needed to head to the hospital - now! Crystal was dilated about 4 cm, but was not bleeding, not having any contractions, and wasn't in any pain.

Kenny (who was painting the nursery at the time) met Crystal at the hospital and where she was admitted into Labor and Delivery. The nurses got Crystal into a hospital bed and put her in a position that they call "standing on your head." Basically, her head is about 6-12 inches below her feet. This position is used to get gravity to take over and try to keep the babies where they need to be.

An IV was started immediately with antibiotics to ward off any infection as were meds to keep contractions stopped and decrease the amount of fluids the babies are releasing. This decreases the amount of amniotic fluid and should help gravity out a bit to get everything back where it needs to go.

Crystal was told she would be on complete bed rest. For how long, the doctor couldn't say that night and was going to leave that decision up to the perinatologist on Tuesday. Because of the complete bed rest, they put compression sleeves on Crystal's calves. These fill with air and release it to help keep circulation going and prevent blood clots. They also put a monitor on Crystal's belly to look for contractions. The babies' heart rates were also great and they didn't appear to be distressed in any manner.

The biggest concern today is that at 21 weeks, if the babies were to be delivered, they would have no chance of survival. Because of this, it was very important that Crystal stay in this position and be on complete bed rest.

June 16th (21 wks 3 days)
We met with a perinatologist in the morning. At this time, Crystal hadn't been examined since being at the office the day before. The doctor gave us some stats on survivability of the babies and how it improves with each week. At this point, our initial goal needs to be 24 weeks. This is the earliest that we could deliver and there would be hope for the babies' survival.

The doctor ordered an ultrasound to see what things look like without risking any physical exam which could cause infection. The doctor also requested a full anatomical ultrasound of the babies. They looked great and are estimated at about 1.2 pounds for Baby A and 1 pound for Baby B.

We met with the perinatologist again and he seemed very positive about the changes that one night had made. The positioning seems to be working well and things appear to be improving. There doesn't appear to be any infection and the meds are working or else Crystal would have begun contracting by then. The doctor said that it would look like they are doing a whole lot of nothing for Crystal because they just want here to stay in bed and hope that things will get back to where they are supposed to be. Unfortunately, this also meant that Crystal's hospital stay would be permanent until the babies are born. Hopefully, that means it will be a long, boring summer for her.

June 17th (21 wks 4 days)
We made a room move today. Still in Labor and Delivery, but to a bigger room. Kenny continued to stay home from work this day. We were both emotionally exhausted at this point, so Kenny needed some time to relax and get prepared before going back to work. He has been unbelievably strong through all of this and amazing in his support and help to Crystal.

The babies heart rates are still good and we get to listen to them about 3 times each day. They continue to monitor for contractions 3 times daily, but aren't seeing any. The boys are moving around like crazy and are a little stubborn when the nurse is trying to find their heartbeats. (Can you imagine either of our kids being stubborn?)

We are trying to figure out our schedule and determine how long it takes for baths, tooth brushing, putting up Kenny's bed and getting Crystal set up with things to do through the day. One of our big concerns is that if Crystal is in bed for 3 months, how will she be able to have the strength to deliver a baby and how will that affect here mobility, etc after the babies are here. The doctor told us that once they felt she was stable, they would begin physical therapy to help ensure that there aren't any issues. We also got the okay to begin doing some stretching. We started doing this today.

June 18th (21 wks 5 days)
Today was Kenny's first day back at work and he had to open which meant it would be an early morning. He had to be at work at 7 and since he's staying at the hospital, that means an extra 30 minutes of driving.

They moved us up to the Anti-Partum unit today. This is a much more private room, but is a little bit smaller. With the move, visitors, and phone calls, it was a busy day. Once Kenny got back from work, we also got to figure out how to wash Crystal's hair while she's in bed (we always knew she had a lot of hair, but never knew just how much until we tried to do this).

June 19th (21 wks 6 days)
Another early morning so that Kenny could get some things done at home and give the dogs some attention. This was also another ultrasound day. They babies still look great and are still moving like crazy. The doctor said that things look good, but that there isn't much improvement from Tuesday. If there is any change, though, the doctor felt it was positive.

The IV finally came out today so Crystal wasn't having to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes. It should also make sleeping much easier. No more fighting with that tubing!!! Since the IV was now out, that also meant that we started oral antibiotics to continue to help prevent infection.

Crystal got the okay to start wearing her own clothes too. Can you say sweats and t-shirts!!!! She was extremely excited. This was doubled when a friend showed up in the afternoon for a visit with some brand new, still fuzzy sweats and new t-shirts for Crystal. She is now a walking, well lying, advertisement for Western Michigan Women's basketball!

June 20th (22 wks)
We are finally getting into a rhythm, but Crystal was exhausted and spent a lot of time sleeping on this day. Kenny's mom, Joetta, came up to visit and to help with some housework to ease some stress on Kenny. She is also taking the dogs back to Lafayette with her to ease Kenny as well. Crystal's parents will keep Butch and Joetta and Joe will keep Bobber.

This is basically where things stand for now. We are hopeful that things are improving or at least not digressing. Hopefully it will continue to be a long boring summer for Crystal. Our local friends have been amazing with their support and help as we go through this. We thank you so much for the help you provide Kenny to help relieve his stress. This is hard on him because he has no control and is not just worried about the babies, but also Crystal. Thanks to our families for all their support as well. Whether it is help with the house or just a cheerful phone call, it is all appreciated more than you will ever know!

More than anything, we appreciate your prayers. We've been discussing why this has happened and we're sure that God has something planned, even if we don't know what it is. If nothing else, it has definitely slowed Crystal down and has only made our marriage that much stronger. Thank you all again for all you do.