Category Archives: Hospital

August 14, 2010

Pediatric Theatrics

We made it!

Yesterday was the one week anniversary of Destroy’s graduation. It was also the muppets first trip to the pediatrician.

This was our first trip out of the house as a complete family. So on Thursday, we decided to do a trial run and got ready for a walk around the block. The trial run was very much a trial walk-very-slowly.

After the decision to brave the outdoors was confirmed, we first needed to ensure the boys were dressed appropriately. Should they wear short sleeves with a blanket covering them? No – it was a bit windy, they might get cold. How about long sleeves and pants? Well, the sun will be shining down on them; they might get hot. Perhaps a hat is called for. Those were promptly ripped right off their little heads. We finally settled on layers: short sleeve onesie, jacket, socks and an optional blanket. Forty-five minutes later we were ready to set out.

Next came the car seat challenge. Obviously, the each kiddo has already ridden in a car seat since we drove home from the hospital. Regardless, we were determined to make sure they were comfortable and sitting up straight. (It starts early in life, “Don’t slouch! Sit up straight!”) What hadn’t yet been tested was the SUV-size land yacht of a double stroller. After about five minutes of staring at our wheeled beast, we had figured out how the sun-visors worked and the direction to move seats in order to fit the infant carriers.

It took three of us to roll the stroller the whole three feet out the door and down the two front porch steps. Did you know that double strollers have a back AND front brake? I do, now. If you leave the front brake on, nobody turns.

It was over an hour in the making, but we set out into the neighborhood for some vitamin D. We went around the block. The entire trip lasted about 10 minutes. Search immediately dozed off and Destroy just looked a bit bored. But we did it! It was, indeed, possible to leave the house with two small twin boys. We felt ready to make the perilous journey 1.2 miles down the street.

Friday morning. The boys woke up early (I know, shocking – babies getting up early) and enjoyed breakfast. Since our appointment was at 1:45 p.m., I thought it would be a wise idea to start preparing early. So at around 8 a.m., after we dined (which mostly entailed Search staring inquisitively up at me and debating whether the morning’s milk was quite to his liking), I began readying supplies for our expedition.

The diaper bag was an event. I have a diaper bag. That was about all I knew for certain needed to come with us (in addition to the stroller, car seats and babies). The pediatrician appointment was our first “well-visit,” so I knew we could expect the entire visit to last at hour at most, for both boys. For the hour the diaper bag was loaded down with two additional outfits, multiple diapers per muppet, gauze and saline wipes, tushy wipes, a changing pad, pluggies, blankets and bibs. I stashed antimicrobial water-less soap in the side pocket and two full bottles of milk in the other pocket. As we were running out the door, I threw my wallet and keys into the bag as a last-minute afterthought.

Back to the hospital. I was so pleased we’d all made it three full days without any hospital visits, I didn’t even mind our return trip. Jon got Search and Destroy safely secured into their seats and snapped into the car bases. Not content to leave my little guys alone for the entirety of the five-minute ride, I squeezed myself in between them into the middle seat of the Honda Pilot. (It’s surprisingly roomy…) Much like our rehearsal the day before, Search slept while Destroy looked a bit bored.

By far, the least exciting part of our adventure was the actual doctor’s appointment. Both boys are doing precisely what they are supposed to. Destroy, our little pudge, has reached seven pounds on his rapidly rising upward trajectory. Search, while a few ounces behind his brother, is an inch taller.

There must be a requirement in med school that pediatrician’s be low-key and laid back. Our new doctor was very informative and completely non-plussed by the 2 p.m. lunchtime meltdown. Shortly after the doctor entered the checkup room, Destroy felt the need to remind us that he was hungry. This reminded Search that, he too, was dying of hunger. Over the cacophony of shrill shrieking we learned that four months is the generally accepted timeline for venturing forth into crowds and visiting little ones can look, but not touch, our tiny muppets.

As the visit wrapped up, Destroy gave a defeated sigh and feel asleep. We triumphantly returned home from our first family outing with Destroy snoozing in his car seat and Search looking slightly bored.

Both boys enjoyed a hearty meal upon our homecoming.

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August 9, 2010

June

When it became clear that the muppets were not going to make their August due date, I decided a July birthday would be great. Upon my final admittance to the hospital, I had modified my expectations and was just desperate to get through May.

“June babies!” I insisted. They have to wait for June, I prayed. They are June babies.

The night of May 28, I called the NICU to see how the muppets were doing. (Since I was still recovering from the c-section I couldn’t go visit them just yet.) “This is June, I’ll be Search’s primary nurse so I’m sure we’ll get to know each other well. The boys are doing great.”

June. One of their nurses. I had prayed hard for June babies; apparently I was not specific enough.

Thanks to our team of amazing nurses – June, Anne, Margaret and Susan among them – our boys are now home. The muppets will grow up; they’re already getting bigger. But to most of our nurses, Search and Destroy will forever be tiny babies.

Once the boys grew big enough to move out of the closed isolettes, they started wearing clothes. I have always said that I will never dress my twins alike. They are not identical. They are very much two individual people. This saddened Nurse June. She was determined to see them dressed alike. For weeks she and Nurse Susan have been threatening to get little identical outfits for them and surprise me when I arrive to visit.

Well, the boys are home now – her efforts thwarted. But since fate dealt us such an ironic blow as to have June be the nurse for my May babies, the photo below is the one and only time you will see such a sight.

June, Anne, Susan, Margaret, Jennifer and the rest of the NICU team: Thank you for helping us bring our boys home.

One time only.

4 Comments

August 5, 2010

Rooming In and Heading Out

Destroy is asleep. He’s lying on his tummy on Daddy’s chest.

We’re at the hospital again today. But today, we’re in a hotel-like room. It’s part of the NICU here, called the “Parent Sleep Room.” Funny huh? I wonder if they sense the irony that no parent will actually ever sleep here. Before a NICU baby graduates, parents are offered the opportunity to room-in; they spend the day with their kid – no monitors, wires, beeping or dinging. It’s meant to give paranoid parents the chance to practice. Yay, we’re a happy family but the nurses and doctors are just down the hall should anything go awry (or more likely, should parents suffer a panic attack).

Should all continue to go well, Destroy will graduate tomorrow. (I looked for a newborn size cap and gown. Wasn’t successful.)

Destroy Anthony was born 70 days ago at 2 pounds 3 ounces. He was so tiny. I didn’t even get to see him – all I got was a glance toward the Giraffe isolette as they wheeled him quickly down the hall to his Pod B6 home in the NICU. Most of the doctors repeatedly stated they thought Search would be the first muppet to break free. “Oh, definitely, he’ll be the first to go,” they’d say as they gestured toward Search.

Then 10 days ago, both muppets got their two-month vaccines. A series of three shots and that was it – instead of getting sick, Destroy broke out the big guns. I can imagine him thinking, “Oh, I am SO outta here before they stab me again!” He started eating all his food and breathing like a big boy.

We arrived at the NICU at 7:30 a.m., right after shift change. After saying hello to the boys and feeding a very hungry Search (he’s obviously not far behind), we put Destroy in a plastic wheely crib and rolled down the hallway. We quickly adjusted to having a mobile child – he’s got no strings to hold him down, he’s a REAL boy now (Pinocchio reference for any currently confused). And then we commenced staring at the child.

Destroy started out fussy and promptly conked out after an indulgent breakfast. We spent the next three hours staring at him as he slept contentedly in his bumble bouncer. He had formula for lunch and is now soundly back asleep on Daddy’s chest.

Nurse Susan and Nurse Anne (Destroy’s primary nurses for night and day shifts) will be sad to see him go. We’ll come back and visit.

Make way for muppets. Destroy is heading out with his brother not far behind.

Then

Now

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August 2, 2010

Triple Threat

Our Little All-Stars

Our baby boys aren’t so little anymore. Today’s NICU update revealed that the muppets are six pounds.

I shall repeat that.

Our tubby little muppets are six pounds. I actually asked one of their doctors if they were getting a bit swollen – water retention perhaps. “No,” came the reply. “They’re just fat.”

Two and a half months ago, I was lying in a hospital bed praying for chubby babies. Two pounds sounded huge for 27-weekers. Search and Destroy have tripled in size. Instead of purple little aliens, we have the cutest babies in the NICU. (I may be biased.) Even the nurses and doctors continuously stop by the boys crib to comment on how big they’ve grown.

Today also marks 37 weeks as the twins’ corrected gestational age. They are officially full term babies. And that means they could possibly be home soon. We’re getting close – so very close.

Our oh-so-talented muppets are also just about three for three on NICU graduation criteria.

Regulate your own temperature.
Easy-peasy. They’ve been chillin’ at a brilliantly self-regulated 98.6 (give or take a degree) since the end of June when they hit a mere three pounds.

Look! No tubes!

Breathe all by yourself.
Neither muppet has a nasal cannula any longer – or any other breathing assistance apparatus. They still swing a bit when it comes to their oxygen saturation levels, but those swings are at much higher percentages. There are no more real apnea or bradycardia episodes occurring; the only issues take place occasionally during feedings. The doctor noted that they are not as concerned with minor de-saturations that occur during meals because we know precisely why they’re happening – a large nipple is stuck in the boys mouths. (Plus, they’re still breathing. Current episodes just involve shallow breathing.)

Today we were told they just want to watch for a couple more days. We’re talking homecoming dates in days now!

Just look at those chubby cheeks!

Eat all your food.
This requirement sounds like something I’ll be dealing with for many years as a parent. “Eat the rest of your dinner, Search.” “Just a few more bites please, Destroy.”

Destroy is a rock star in this arena. Both kids are now on the “discharge diet.” This consists of straight breast milk with two servings of higher calorie formula per day. Yesterday, Destroy woke up at 9:30 a.m. for his 10 a.m. breakfast date. A nurse in our pod let the boys nurse know that I’d be in soon to give Destroy his bottle. By 9:45 a.m., Destroy was screaming so loud that the nurses were begging someone to just hurry up and feed the child. Today, Destroy drank his milk so quickly and expressed great displeasure with me when I took the bottle away. Since he was still making overt mouthing motions, I tried giving him his pluggie. That was spit out right quick with a look that clearly stated, “There is no milk in that piece of plastic, Mom.”

Search is doing well too, he’s just not quite as interested as his brother. His culinary disinterest is what puts him a couple days behind his brother in terms of release dates.

Our next step is “rooming in.” We’ll spend a day or night in a hospital hotel room (yay, spending more time in the hospital). The boys will not have any monitors or medical staff hovering around. It will be just up to us to parent them – but that non-hovering medical staff will be right there should we need them (or panic and think we need them).

We’re hoping that we’ll have a baby home by the end of the week. Eat, breathe and stay regulated boys!

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July 29, 2010

Noxious Odors

Destroy needs to poop.

We think the high calorie diet the NICU concocts to fatten up the babes is difficult to digest. Our poor little baby is struggling hard to process all his weight-gaining goodness. And he has apparently decided the entire NICU staff should accompany him on this journey.

Recently, Destroy has started to wail when his tummy hurts. It is heartbreaking to see him crying and not be able to fix it. He’ll scrunch up his little face, turn his head up to the side, hold his breath and try. Sometimes putting him on his tummy and rubbing his back helps calm him down a bit. I know when my tummy hurts I prefer to be curled up face down in the fetal position.

Now that we’ve moved down on the calories, Destroy’s feeling a bit better. He’s still not pooping to his preferred potential, but he’s finding some relief. Destroy is now gaseous. And Destroy is potent.

Back when the boys still lived in closed isolettes, we arrived one morning to find Destroy sans blanket. “I just couldn’t keep him covered when it smelled like that in there,” she apologized. Popular opinion at the time was that his apnea was due to Destroy holding his breath to avoid the foul odiferous fumes generated by his gastrointestinal discomfort. We all laughed – assuming our nurse was joking.

Now Destroy is much bigger. He is beginning to resemble a football due to the size of his stomach (one of his nurses also suggested he may bear resemblance to a frog). Last night, Jon was holding Destroy while he struggled with his tummy troubles.  Suddenly the nurse on the opposite end of the pod exclaimed, “Oh. My. God! Is that ALL Destroy?!”

It was.

And it wasn’t even a poop. Just gas. Several times we’ve changed his diaper because there HAD to be something in there.

Nope.

Whoever said newborn poops didn’t start to smell bad until they started eating big kid food was seriously misinformed. Perhaps this is our little ones revenge on the NICU for having to eat the sludge.

At the very least, I know Destroy feels better when he toots because every one, big or small, is followed by a mischievous little grin.

Visitors be forewarned. When you come to meet the muppets, you will be visiting a house with two small formula-added babies and two large plum-eating dogs. Enter at your own risk.

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July 28, 2010

Don’t Chart That!

Happy two months to my little muppets! Sixty-one days down in the NICU, but we’re making progress. The last two hurdles to clear are a full five days with no As and Bs (apnea and bradcardias) and steady oxygen saturation and two full days of taking all their feedings via the bottle.

Mommy's Little Man

We’ve now reached that point where time has slowed down. We’re so close, but not quite there yet – or should I say not quite home yet. And every progressing day brings stronger feelings that they are MY children (with subtle overtones of “back off nurse”). We are eager to take on the life-changing experience of full parenthood.

This morning a nurse told us not to bother Search because they liked to let him rest. Jon was in process of changing a poopy diaper. This was the first time in two months someone had told us not to touch our babies without a very specific medial reason. (And as Search’s mommy and daddy, we’d made the executive parental decision that our child would rest better when not stuck in a smelly diaper.)

Naturally, Jon and I have grown incredibly close with them and feel that we are getting pretty good at reading their cues. This particular skill has been greatly enhanced by some of our favorite nurses who subscribe to the “they’re your babies – you deal with them” method of care. Yet because their regular nurses spend so much time with them, they’re part of our family right now too.

During their NICU stay the boys have amassed an awesome team of nurses who know them and their quirks as well as us. (Dear Search and Destroy’s regular night nurses – I’ve never met you, but I’m assuming you’re just as awesome as our day and evening nurses).

Destroy

Search and Destroy still swing. One of the neonatologists continues to call them the “Swing Boys” instead of the “Stream Boys.” But they’re recoveries back up to full oxygen saturation have become so much faster that the monitors are often up to half a minute behind. Last week, Destroy’s levels dipped low. A nurse unfamiliar with him rushed to his bedside and hurriedly started trying to stimulate him while frantically looking back and forth between a bemused looking Destroy and the offending monitor. Moments later, our nurse returned from her break. She peered into the crib and calmly noted, “He’s fine.”

“But I really don’t like those numbers!” the unfamiliar nurse retorted.

“So don’t look at the numbers,” our nurse suggested. “Look at the kid.”

When the boys swing during feedings, our nurses barely give us a second glance. They know the boys and they know us. They’ve made it clear when we’re visiting they rely on us to let them know if something is off. Jon and I have chosen to interpret this as a great sign of confidence.

Search

But a nurse who doesn’t know them often thinks of them as “the twins” or “the baby.” Our nurses know them as Search and Destroy. The nurses who don’t know them don’t know that they’ll immediately recover from a swing. A nurse who doesn’t know them doesn’t know if they have competent parents. And a nurse who doesn’t know them charts EVERYTHING. As we get closer to bringing them home, the slightest look of concern by an unfamiliar nurse prods exclamations of “Don’t chart that!” out of fear that it will ultimately delay homecoming.

It’s a vicious little circle since the reason our boys are doing so well is due to the conscientious team of nurses and doctors who don’t take any abnormality lackadaisically. Jon and I appreciate everything that the NICU staff have done for the muppets. And to Search and Destroy’s regular team of NICU family – we can’t thank you enough. You are amazing, informative and entertaining. And we can’t wait to be rid of you.

The muppets are scheduled to have a multitude of vaccines today. (What a way to celebrate two months on Earth…) So we’re happy to have all that additional help taking care of potentially tired, cranky, sore, sick boys.

5 Comments

July 26, 2010

Five Pound Fashion

When the nurses originally told us it would happen, Jon and I found it very difficult to believe. Really? Three pounds in a month, we questioned. But Nurse Susan assured us that the NICU folks are experts at fattening up children.

Destroy and the fishies

Search - Daddy's All Star

Well, today the muppets hit five pounds. Chunksters!

This past weekend the twins graduated to Newborn size diapers. This may or may not have had anything to do with growth. Diaper size increases are usually determined by the current diapers inability to contain poop. (Prior to having children I never imagined I would care so much about bodily functions.) The new diapers are much kinder to the boys increasingly expanding tummies. Last Friday, Jon noted that Destroy was beginning to look like a football – little arms and legs, big oversize midsection.

Even more exciting is today’s development. Along with the five-pound milestone, Search and Destroy no longer fit into their adorably tiny preemie size onesies. Their wardrobe options have just increased exponentially. Destroy was clad in a standard issue hospital shirt – size 6 months – which is provided to all babies, from preemie to jumbo term size. He may as well have not been wearing anything for how big that shirt is. Search was still wearing his preemie outfit since he hadn’t yet spit up on it. But when the Nurse Susan arrived for her evening shift, she found Search squirming about with the bottom snaps not even closed. Perhaps Nurse Margaret thought he needed extra breathing room.

For outfits that were still rather loose when we first clad the muppets with them, they were awfully snug these past few days. I was a proud mommy this afternoon as I toted the larger outfits into Pod B. Granted, these new outfits are still rather roomy. But they’ll quickly grow into these too. At the rate they’ve been growing, we’ll be taking home babies that actually fit into those size 6-month standard issue shirts…

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July 25, 2010

Lifestyles of the Small and Premature

Search

Destroy

For those of you familiar with the MTV show “Cribs,” please enjoy today’s installment of “Cribs: NICU” (ha ha). Please feel free to read the following with a Robin Leach English accent.

While most babies are quickly bundled into their mother’s arms and shuttled out of the hospital mere days after birth, the small and premature enjoy luxury private accommodations where teams of qualified medical staff cater to their every whim.

Think that’s impressive? Well, consider Search and Destroy Stream. Not content to live alone in a Giraffe isolette, the twins have moved into a two-person pedi crib mansion. The crib looks far more like a typical crib than any kind of hospital equipment.

The small and premature are encouraged to relax. The only work required is breathing. And even then, oxygen tubes are provided to any who want to chill out to the point of forgetting to breathe. These nasal cannulas are available 24/7. Adults are required to pay big money at trendy oxygen bars for mere minutes of the same pleasure.

Day and night, these small and premature babies adhere to a strict schedule to ensure no want goes unanswered to. Hungry? Every three hours Search and Destroy receive a bottle of milk. But not just any milk. These small and premature miracles receive two parts growth formula with every feeding. Aimed to plump them up quickly, these children are not burdened with the term babies task of taking only as much as they want. Too tired to eat? Not a problem in the NICU. Here, babies can simply lie back and experience the thrill of a full tummy via a feeding tube.

Without asking, a team of nurses make sure that the babies home is always the perfect temperature and a fresh diaper awaits their cute little tushies. Interested in furthering development? The small and premature have a developmental care coordinator who recommends a weekly plan that will make the little ones the most comfortable. In the interim, physical therapists massage their muscles and work on toning their cute little bodies. Again, something adults continue to pay thousands of dollars a year for in prosperous gyms and spas. And finally, a social worker imparts this and more information to parents to ensure the preemies comfort upon departure.

Remember Search and Destroy’s crib? These preemies are spoiled and pampered. In addition to ditching anything resembling medical supplies, the twins cuddle in personally assembled nests – swaddled in warmed blankets topped with fuzzy stuffed bear blankets. Their bedding arrangements lay atop a handmade quilt. The quilt boasts a primary red background with bright yellow chicks to stimulate the imagination. They look up at a blanket of royal blue with rubber ducks of the same bright yellow to color their dreams. Tired? Their fuzzy bear blankets are a pastel blue and green to calm them.

In honor of the giraffe isolette they left behind, a stuffed giraffe watches over the two of them. In each corner sits a turtle reminding them that slow and steady wins the race. Rattling bumblebees attached to the back of the crib entertain them should they wake up before their next feeding. Still sound mild and pedestrian? A musical jungle mobile swings above their heads – entertaining them with lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

No wonder they’re still camping out in the NICU after eight weeks. This is paradise compared to the cramped conditions in my tummy or the cold glare of the operating room where they were ripped out into the world.

Thus far their lifelong adventure has taken them down the hall of the hospital’s third floor. I can tell they’re getting more adventurous as they get older and bigger (hence the new need for the musical mobile entertainment). This tells me the muppets will be home soon – just think what adventures await them once they breech the barriers of the NICU and actually get to experience the world.

NICU Sweet NICU

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July 22, 2010

Still Not Home

Shocking news – the muppets are still in the hospital. If you’ve ever stopped and wondered, “Hmm, I wonder how long it takes for preemie parents to reach extreme levels of frustration,” allow me to enlighten you. The answer is seven and a half weeks.

This week was a particularly difficult one for me. The boys are still doing very well. They’re growing and getting ready to come home via the slow and steady method. But they’re still swinging up and down with their oxygen saturation. This was the first potential week that we may have seen the boys homeward bound. Guess what isn’t happening?

To be fair, I never really thought they’d be home this week – I thought they’d be home next week. Ever since we learned double trouble was upon us, I’d expected to bring them home in late July. But I did expect that perhaps they’d be completely sans nasal cannula and holding a steady saturation level (of 97-100 percent).

No more photos...please!

I know 36 weeks is the average gestation for twins and next Tuesday is G.G and Uncle Paul’s birthday. I thought the twins arrival would be a great birthday gift. Obviously, that didn’t happen. So I thought the next best thing would be to bring them home. Such mental decrees led me to really picture this as their due date. Ultimately, we have always been told to expect them home by their due date (which is actually Aug. 23) but they will let us know when they are ready to blow that NICU popsicle stand.

The combination of unmet expectations, closing in on the two month mark and just how darned cute the muppets are getting led to a very frustrating moment for me. It was hard to take a step back and remind myself that even though their NICU residency seems like it’s been forever, and even though they’re four and a half big boys now, they’re still only 35 weeks – still tiny. I should still be pregnant for another month! (Good grief, I honestly cannot imagine still being pregnant.)

Search

This past weekend was an absolute circus in the NICU. As I mentioned, the unit was at capacity. It seemed like there was a new admittee every five minutes. Young preemies to full term babies were rolling into the unit ensconced in their Giraffe isolettes. Nurses running to and fro, yelling out alphabet soup: TPN, PCH, CBC, ABR, CPAP, CC, ROP, ML, EKG, NG, IV, PDA and – what the heck, we’re talking children here, – ABC, 123. Babies crying. Dinging – oh, the dinging – alarms screaming from every nook and cranny. Nurses tending to babies in multiple pods. The charge nurses wandering around asking who wanted to work doubles.

Destroy

Destroy and I were cuddling in a corner, observing the chaos. The one stat I kept noticing were how many of the babies had high steady sat levels. Today I asked Dr. Dong when the swings would stop. He just looked at me with a slightly pitying, slightly amused expression. “I don’t know…when they’re ready.” So much for my hopes that he’d suddenly peer at the boys and reply, “July 23. 1:32 p.m.” However, he did wryly note that yes, it will someday stop. He mentioned, “We’ve seen a lot of kids like this. It seems like the swinging will never stop and then suddenly it just does.”

Search and Destroy truly are our little miracles. And we’ve been really blessed that, despite all they’ve been put through, they’re healthy. (They’re still tiny, but they’re healthy.) They are coming home – it’s just a matter of when at this point. I’ve discovered the cure to my frustration is seeing one of the boys smile or coo. And a slightly calmer NICU helps as well. Homecoming is just a matter of weeks now. Then the boys can cause all other types of frustration for their parents.

Despite the occasionally frustrating situation we’ve found ourselves in, Jon and I are tremendously enjoying getting to know our boys. Their personalities are really starting to shine through. And double trouble is oh so very accurate.

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July 19, 2010

Your Child at 35 Weeks

You know it’s time to leave the hospital when the nurse has to leave the pod and decrees, “Mom’s here. She knows what’s going on – she’ll let you know if anything’s wrong.”

The muppets are officially 35 weeks corrected gestation today. That means that today is the very first day they would have stood a chance of coming home without an extended NICU stay. It’s been seven weeks. I like to think of them as being the Pod B Seniors. (The giraffe can be the team mascot – since that’s the brand name of the isolettes all the NICU babes live in.)

The NICU is at capacity again; the last time they were full was when our little dudes were admitted. Yet, so many of the new babies are “older” – 32-34 weekers. I admit to many bouts of jealousy. I look around our pod and see the brand new residents with no need for oxygen assistance. They immediately take their bottles with no need for feeding tubes. And they only stay for a week or two.

So I decided to take a look back at what life would have been like if I was still waiting to meet them. One of my favorite sites during pregnancy details the development of each week. Interestingly, my actual experience wasn’t terribly far off.

Your child – 35 weeks
Due date: Aug. 23, 2010
July 19 – July 25

Do you know the difference between real and false (Braxton Hicks contractions) labor pains?
You betcha! I had real labor pains for many moons. The docs gave the three of us Indocin to stem the contractions. (Dr. Meyer, our perinatologist, called the twins “little Indocin addicts.”)

It’s normal to be nervous about labor and delivery.
Yeah, no kidding! Especially if you’re terrified your babes are too young to face this great world, even if the tiny ones appear to think they’re big bad boys. I was wheeled into the OR muttering “healthy babies” feverishly and incessantly.

Planning to breastfeed? Ask your hospital’s labor ward if they provide on-site lactation consultants, or interview consultants you may want to work with after the baby is born.
They do. Regardless of how long after birth you need them.

Your prenatal visits may be weekly now that you’re in the home stretch.
Well, they’re not prenatal visits so much as postnatal. And they’re not weekly, they’re daily. But back before the muppets arrived…nope – they were daily then too. (Granted, I was living in the hospital.)

Make a tape of music to listen to during labor. Pick songs that perk you up, inspire you, or relax you.
Any calm labor plans went out the window when the muppets decided to grace us with their presence three months before any birth plan could be created. But I’ve got songs for the boys now: songs I love and songs that ones I love have sent their way.

Feathering the nest? Look for fun freebies and coupons.
The nursery is ready and awaiting homecoming! And freebies and coupons are a good idea now that our family is double trouble.

Only 5 percent of babies are born on their due date, so don’t worry if yours comes and goes and you’re still waiting.
Seriously? Do I even need to comment on this one?

How your baby’s growing:
Your baby doesn’t have much room to maneuver now that he’s over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it’s so snug in your womb, he isn’t likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he’ll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Only 5 ¼? Although our little guys aren’t quite there, the little porkers are already tipping the scales at 4.6 pounds. Not bad for guys already using a ton of energy out in the world. But yes, they will be spending the next few weeks (months/years) putting on weight.

Search and Destroy started a new medication today. Supposedly it may help with their saturation swings and get them off the oxygen sooner. (Search’s back on his nasal cannula. He got tired.) They’re both getting so close.

I have high hopes for the next two weeks. Weeks 35 and 36 are the weeks twins are often expected, arrive and go home. So even if they’re not quite ready to come home, they’re well on their way. 35 weeks along, seven weeks old and almost five pounds – they’re big boys now!

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