Bathroom trips and update

So apparently I haven't been drinking enough water. Wanna know why? Water has to go somewhere and getting up to go to the bathroom is not an easy task. Every time I have to go I have to give myself a pep talk. "Okay Megan, we can do this, its not that far, we can do it!". So now I'm feeling pumped up. First thing I have to do is take off my leg compression thingys 

Each one has 3 straps of velcro and I have to be able to reach my legs to take the dumb things off. Problem is, I can't easily reach my legs. So finally those dumb things come off. Then I have to try and sit my bed up a little. I morn just a little because I have just found my perfect comfortable position and now I have to mess it all up. ;(  Then come the hard part,. actually getting out of bed. I have a massive tummy in my way so forget using stomach muscles to sit up. It's easier when Jared is here, but there is no way I'm using that call button just to have a nurse come in and life my whale of a self out of bed. So I sit back and ponder my next move. As soon as a I have a game plan I usually decide to roll over out of bed. Only one problem, there are sides to this bed and lowering those would just take one extra step in the process and its just not worth it. It's only a bathroom, I can do this!

So instead I roll over the sides bars and then I have to figure out how to stand up. Now when I have company over I'm like superwoman. I figure all this out very quickly because I don't want to seem like a weak woman that can't even get out of bed, but when I'm alone this is all done strategically that has taken about 3 weeks to figure out. There is a chair next to me so I grab onto that and get up. Success!!! Now things are easy. I'm able to hobble to the bathroom (because laying in bed for 3 weeks takes a toll on muscles!).
Okay now it's time to get back into bed. This is much easier. I have to reposition all the pillows that have now fallen and if I sit down I'm not going to get up again even if I have a pillow in the wrong spot. So I position everything the way I want. Then I get into bed. Now I have to put those stupid leg things back on. These are much easier to get off than to get on. I could just unhook them but I never do that, I just wait for one to deflate and then I have to work fast. I put it on my leg and....darn it two of the velcro straps are tangled up and it's a race against time before it inflates again. If it inflates I have to wait awhile for it to deflate so I can tighten it the way that it needs or it will fall right off when it deflates. So i move quickly and untangle the straps. If I'm in a good mood then this is usually pretty easy, if I'm having a bad day then all hell breaks loose and I end up almost breaking the entire strap out of anger. I finally get the leg things back on and lay back in bed only to realize I have to pee again. And the nurses wonder why I don't drink enough or empty my bladder enough. Although I appreciate this a lot more than being pumped full of magnesium and saline and then having to use a bedpan. That was interesting.

Enough bathroom talk, lets update on how I'm doing. I don't remember my last post.  But yesterday I was 31 weeks. 

31 weeks:
Approximately 90% of babies born in the 31st week of pregnancy will survive. Babies born at this gestation typically weigh about 1.5 kg. Babies born at 31 weeks are considered moderately premature.
Babies born at 31 will have some layers of subcutaneous brown fat and their wrinkly skin looks more like that of a term baby. They are mature enough to begin to hold their own body temperature but may still need a little help as they continue to grow. Babies born at 31 weeks use all five of their senses to learn about their environments. Their eyesight is still developing and they can form images- Faces are their favorite form of stimulation. The 31 weeker can also hear quite well and will recognize their parents voices. However, loud noises are often too much for their underdeveloped neurological system and they may startle easily. When they become overwhelmed or have had too much activity they may hiccup, sneeze, or even cry- these are outward signs of overstimulation. By 32 weeks, premature babies are also starting to develop more coordinated sleep-wake cycles and are starting to have periods of REM sleep. They enjoy being swaddled and nesting helps with feeling of security. At this stage, a preemie will be awake more, with alert periods lasting several minutes. However, they still will need a lot of sleep and thrive in a dark and quite environment. It’s important to keep in mind that the 31 weeker’s immune system is still not fully developed and even though they may look like smaller versions of full term babies- they will require special care and handling as their immune system matures and grows. They are beginning to develop their suck but will not be ready to feed from a bottle or breast yet as they have not developed the coordination to suck, swallow, and breathe all at the same time. Pacifier use and kangaroo care while being fed will help develop the patterns necessary for future feedings. All babies born at 31 weeks will require a NICU stay but may quickly catch up to their peers and may have few long term effects of prematurity.(www.peekabooicu.net/2012/02/your-growing-preemie-week-by-week/

So next week we reach a milestone. 32 weeks is when babies usually catch up easily and have no lasting effects. 32 weeks is what all twin moms strive for. The next milestone is 34 weeks  and at that point I will be discharged unless things aren't looking great (like I'm contracting too much) which at that point we will either continue hospital bed rest until 35 weeks or we will induce. 36 weeks is the cutoff point. Funny since 36 weeks is also Jared midterm. I'm thinking he is gonna have to make that one up because I'm not staying on bed rest another day just for a midterm. I love you hunny but this is just too much!!!! I need to get back out into the real world. People joke about how I will just have to wait until 36.1 so Jared can get his midterm done. I laugh but NO! Sorry people, if Dr gives me the option of going that Monday I'm taking it!! No questions asked.

I've had to cut off visitors except for family and ministers. I've realized that too much stimulation makes my uterus go into spasms. This weekend was bad. I've been in labor before and this feels like labor! I try my best to stay calm, but these things are no joke and I'm not a first time mom. Funny how the contractions that weren't painful dilated me and the ones that are don't do a thing. I have to lay on my side with a heating pack until a nurse takes pity on me and gives me morphine. I don't understand why people make such a big deal out of that drug. Maybe getting in it an IV is different, but the shot doesn't really effect me except to make me tired and take the edge off the pain. I did have to laugh when I was in extreme pain and felt like I was almost to transition and a nurse offered me Tylenol. What!?!?!? Seriously? I took it but will Tylenol really help the pain of a uterus that is just out of control? My uterus just suddenly realizes that it's stretched way beyond capacity and just freaks out. I ask the nurses what's going on and they all just say "It's a twin thing". I hate that answer. I wish they would offer me some type of pain control or something. I also ask how will I know when I'm in true labor if this is so painful. "Labor is more painful" is the answer I always get. I'm gonna throw one of my nasty chocolate glucerna at the next person that tells me that. I know what labor feels like. I did it naturally for 24 hours. I got to transition before I got any type of pain meds and the pain meds didn't work so I pushed with pitocin for 3 hours with no pain relief! I know what labor feels like!!!!! It feels like what I'm going through. It feels so bad that I know I hot shower will help but I'm in too much pain to move to get there. It feels so bad that I want someone to rub my back but at the same time I just want to be left alone and no one touch me. It feels so bad that someone suggests moving positions and I just want to stay where I'm and hug my pillow even though maybe moving will help. If that isn't labor pain then what is? Of course during these episodes my cervix will not dialate so I'm not taken seriously. So then the other day I was having contractions show up on the monitor, but feeling no pain. The nurse told me that I had to feel pain in order to dialate. WHAT!!!! Okay so I come in the hospital in no pain and realize I'm in labor and dialate quickly and don't feel a thing. Then i get contractions where I feel like I'm dying and I don't dialate at all. So I tell the nurse I should be checked cause nonpainful contractions seem to change my cervix. She said no, I have to be in pain and since this wasn't pain I was just having irritability. I got very frusterated but I knew Dr Hall would be checking my cervix the next day so I just waited. The next day he said my cervix had changed and I was now 85% effaced. So I was right!! I know my body! I don't have to be in pain for my cervix to change. I tried to tell people that but no one listened. I feel very validated. I don't want my cervix to change but I love being right. :)

So that's where I'm at, just waiting to go home or waiting till something happens. Does anyone think I will go home? No. But I'm still holding out hope for a couple take home babies. Although some time with Mason by myself would be nice.