Dear Friends and Family,
Brady and I have decided to start this blog in order to keep all of our loved ones informed of the status of our growing family. As you all know, we found out this summer that we are expecting our first babies, boy/girl twins, sometime in late January/early February. Until recently, we have enjoyed a fairly uneventful pregnancy and have had a great time sharing our excitement with everyone, especially the proud grandparents-to-be!
However, this past week we have had a pretty bumpy road on the way to parenthood. On Thanksgiving night we went to Labor and Delivery at Baylor Grapevine and I was admitted for pre-term labor. Needless to say, we were extremely scared because at that point our babies were only 27 weeks along. In an attempt to stop the progression of labor, I was put on magnesium sulfate, a nasty drug with potentially serious side-effects. While I received the "mag," I was also given prophylactic steroid injections to help our babies' lungs develop more quickly in case they were to deliver early. Unfortunately, although my labor slowed, I began to experience extreme respiratory distress and it was determined that the prolonged exposure to the magnesium had caused fluid to collect in my lungs, making it very difficult to breathe and resulting in the development of pneumonia. In addition, my blood count became dangerously low due to the excess fluids in my body. So, Sunday I was put on oxygen, given massive doses of antibiotics, and treated to some yummy blood transfusions :) Luckily, I have responded well to all of the treatments and am starting to feel tons better. And just as important, our babies have not been affected by all of this turmoil and are still snuggling (although not always quietly...) in my tummy. As of this evening, I am off of oxygen and most of my IV medicines and am resting in my hospital room continuing to recover from pneumonia. The maternal fetal medicine specialists here at the hospital are monitoring Will and Sydney closely to be sure that they are continuing to thrive. As of Sunday morning, both babies are large for their gestational age (28 weeks today), with Sydney weighing in at 2 pounds, 8 oz. and Will measuring a whopping 2 pounds, 13 oz. I am still at risk for delivering early, so I am on strict bed rest until the babies are born. After a few more days here, my doctors will decide if I will be allowed to go home and continue bed rest there, or if I will be monitored here at the hospital for the rest of my pregnancy. Of course, our first priority is to do what is best for our little ones, but I have to admit that I miss sleeping in my own bed!
Brady and I are taking things a day at a time and are thankful for every additional day that our babies are able to stay in their current "home." We appreciate all of the kind words, well wishes, and prayers that we have received so far, and we will keep everyone updated via our new blog as often as we can. Let's hope that the blog contains only boring entries for at least a few more weeks!
Thanks again for all your support,
Stephanie and Brady
