"24 weeks:
Approximately 39 percent of premature babies born at 24 weeks gestation will survive delivery. The term micro-preemie is used to describe a baby born in the 24th week of pregnancy. Babies born at this time will often have fused eyes but will have fully developed eyebrows and eyelashes. The toenails are also fully formed. Their skin is very thin, sensitive and vulnerable to touch. 24 weekers are born before they develop the brown fat to keep them warm and protected and often weigh less than 600 grams at birth. Most of the body’s systems are underdeveloped. Although they can hear and recognize your voice, loud sounds are over stimulating to their neurological system. Their lung walls are beginning to secret surfactant; a surface-activated fat on their lungs necessary for breathing however, the lungs of the baby born at 24 weeks remain underdeveloped making them susceptible to injury and will be dependent on respiratory support in order to survive. A long and often complicated NICU stay awaits the preemie born at 24 weeks gestation."
-To read more visit http://www.peekabooicu.net/2012/02/your-growing-preemie-week-by-week/
So obviously it would be very bad for the twins to be born this week, and if they survive they would probably have lasting effects from the early delivery. But doctors would try to save them, and that makes me feel much better about the outcome. My next goal is 26 weeks because the survival rate goes up to 80%.
Today we will celebrate by going to my doctors appointment and then we will go out to eat and see a movie. Another way we celebrated today was we have officially picked names! The twins have an identity :). No I'm not sharing the names because we still have to pick one more middle name and we haven't decided if we will keep the names to ourselves until we see the twins in person, but in my heart I know these are the names. They fit the twins personalities perfectly. So during delivery I will make sure my doctor knows it is very important to not mix up Baby A and Baby B.
And now for the interesting developments. And what's a pregnancy without a little Doctor drama?! Sigh.
Saturday I started having braxton hicks. I was averaging 5-6 an hour, but they were very hard to count because there were times I had no clue I was having them until I felt my stomach and it was rock hard. I met a mom in Old Navy that was a modi mom and we talked awhile. As we were talking I started getting very hot. I was sweating so bad and started getting worried I was going to pass out. I could feel my face flushing and I felt like I was in a furnace. Finally the hot flash passed and I was able to get out of Old Navy. After that the braxton hicks really started to pick up. They didn't last long, maybe 20 seconds each, but they were very noticable at this point. I felt like every few minutes my entire abdomen would tighten and then slowly release. I drank 2 bottles of water, layed on my left side and tried to relax, but they were still coming so finally after having 15 in 1 hour I decided it was time to call the on call Doctor. Just my luck, Dr Evil was on call. (Dr Evil is the same doctor that told me I was going to lose the twins because of all the bleeding and laughed at me when I asked about taking some time off work and told me that it wouldn't matter and if I felt like I just couldn't possibly work while gushing blood then I could stay home the rest of the day. My doctor had to call me back that evening and correct everything Dr Evil said and put me on modified bedrest). So I explained to Dr Evil what was going on. Again he kind of laughed and said that braxton hicks were only bad if I'm in labor and he obviously can't determine if I'm in labor. So I asked him what to look out for to know if I am in preterm labor. He asked me if I was a first time mom and I said no. He said that I will know when I'm in labor and to just wait until I'm in labor to go to triage, but once I'm in labor he won't do anything to stop it. So I asked if it was okay to be having 15 braxton hicks in 1 hour and he told me no it's not good if I'm in labor, but it's okay if I'm not in labor and we don't know if I am or not so for now drink water, lay down, take some ibuprofen (WHAT!!!!) and wait until they pick up in intensity. He also said if I feel like I have to get checked out go ahead. I hung up and was more confused than ever. Dr Evil basically blew my twins off again. This was the second time!! And why did he tell me that if I am in preterm labor he wouldn't do anything to stop it?! I felt like he was telling me that the best thing to do was wait it out and if I am in labor then we will learn from our mistake and know better for the next baby. The advice he gave me was the exact same advice the midwife on call gave me when I was 37 weeks pregnant. Wait it out until it increases in intensity... only at 37 weeks we were welcoming labor not trying to avoid it. So what I had to do was consult with Dr Google to figure out if I should go in or wait awhile. What I decided was to wait because the bhs were only lasting 20 seconds and I read online (something the doctor should have told me) was that they have to last 40 seconds in order to do any damage. I also read online that more than 6 in 1 hour, no matter if they are painful or not, should always get checked out. But by the time I read that they were already slowing down. The next day I was having them again, but not more than 6 in 1 hour so I laid down all day. I was also swollen yesterday so I tried to get the swelling down. Today I'm crampy and still having bhs, but I have a doctors appointment in 2 hours. I will be having a conversation with my Dr today about the level of care a received from Dr Evil. I will make a decision on if I will switch doctors and hospitals based on how my Dr responds. I am not a first time mom, but I am a first time mom of twins and this is the first pregnancy I've been high risk of preterm labor so no I don't know what I'm doing and I need to be able to reach a caring doctor that will give me advice on what to do for after hour concerns.
So that's what's been going on this week. I have a lot more to write, but I will wait until after my conversation with my doctor and update a belly pic in Part 2.
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