We Had a Little Talk

On Thursday evening the boys and I had a little talk about what was going on right now. We talked about how excited their Dad and I were to see them, but just not yet! I called them by name and reassured them that baking a bit longer was just what they needed to do. :)
On Friday morning I called the Dr.'s office to ask a few questions as far as my bed rest limitations were concerned. I also thought I would just mention the fact that I had been feeling some pressure in my lower abdomen. The pressure started Wednesday evening and had been carrying through until Friday. I almost ignored it and just thought it might have been me overreacting, but I thought I would leave that decision up to them. The nurse checked with the nurse practitioner on call and they told me to come on in for a fetal fiber nectin test. This is a test that looks for a protein that could possibly indicate whether or not you will go into labor in the next 10-14 days.
I called Chris and he was heading home from Richmond. He was about an hour from home and said he'd make it home in time to bring me up. We got to the clinic and they did an exam to check and see what was going on. They did find that I needed some medication to be treated for bacteria, and they said they would call with the results of the fetal fiber nectin test later on that afternoon as it had to be sent to a lab first.
We left feeling reassured and at peace with everything. We had lunch together, got my prescription order put in, and in the meantime we went to Home Depot to shop for the rest of our nursery decor. Chris found a motorized cart for me to use, so I puttered around Home Depot picking up paint, chair rail, a new light fixture, a dimmer...it was so much fun!! We are going to have one sharp looking nursery if I do say so myself!
We came home and walked in the door. As soon as we did the phone rang and it was the practitioner from the morning. She said that the results of the test came back positive. I was shocked once again. She told me that she had gotten in touch with my Dr. who was on call at the hospital, and she wanted me to come on in and get hooked up to fetal monitors to see if I was experiencing any contractions.
I was freaking out a bit, but Chris was the greatest soother. He kept things light as we traveled back up the interstate again - although I know he was nervous too.
We got to the hospital and had to get registered before they could do anything. At least that step is now done! They laid me down on a bed and attached three things to my belly - two monitors to listen to the boys hearts, and one to check for contractions. They brought me some water and I laid there for an hour.
Our Dr. came in and told us that they were seeing no contractions at all. She said that often times this early in a pregnancy and with this being a multiple pregnancy the results of the test can be skewed and show false positives. She told us that she wasn't changing her plan or diagnosis at all, but just to keep resting and drinking lots of fluids. She reassured us that we were doing everything right and she really saw nothing to cause her concern right now. She even said to not pay much mind to the pressure, but to be more observant for contractions instead. (The pressure has since subsided too!)
Big relief. She did say that it wasn't a bad thing that I came in, and that it's better to be safe than sorry. I just really appreciated their encouragement and expertise. I feel like we are in such good hands there.
It was really neat to lay there and listen to the boys hearts beating away. It sounded like a little marching band in there. They both have strong heartbeats and the nurse and Dr. were AMAZED at their hearts for being only 23 weeks. I asked why and the Dr. said that it showed that our boys had advanced brain development. She said that our brains know when to speed up or slow down our heart rates depending on our activity level - but that usually at this point in a pregnancy the babies don't know to do this. Usually their heart beats at the same rate pretty much all the time regardless of whether they are active or laying still. She said our boys though were already making the connection and she was impressed with our smart boys! That was a nice thing to hear! They must take after me. :)
And so here we are...back at home. Bed rest may get a little long, I have realized this already - but it's so important and it's for such an incredible cause. How worth it all this will be if I can carry these boys many more weeks and deliver them healthy and strong.
Thank you for your continued prayers, emails, and calls. We are so blessed to have so many awesome people surrounding us!