A Long Week

This post will start with some good news and some bad news. The good news is, everyone is okay, the twins are still in utero and growing. The bad news is, Erin started having some contractions on Monday night and probably went into pre-term labor for a little while. Here's the back story:

On Monday afternoon, Erin called me to let me know she was having some tightness and a bit of cramping in her abdomen. She had been on the phone with her Ob/Gyn's office several times, and they decided she should go to the hospital to get examined. As soon as she arrived back in Lexington (she carpools to Frankfort) I drove her to Central Baptist (the hospital that her Ob. practices at) to get examined.

Roughly ten minutes after the nurses put fetal monitors on her, the twins had a big "decell", where their heart rate went from up in the 140s range (normal) down to about 60 (abnormal). This triggered a very rapid sequence of events: all of sudden, 4 nurses were in the room working on her. She got a steroid injection, an IV with Magnesium Sulfate, a catheter, and a quick examination of her cervix. The drugs seemed to be effective, as the babies pretty quickly returned to normal and her contractions pretty much stopped. Her cervix was a little open though, which continues to be a cause of concern. A little later that evening they decided to move us over to UK's Medical Center because they have a better intensive neo-natal unit.

The next few days went very well, there were no further signs of distress of the babies on the fetal monitors and Erin didn't seem to be experiencing any more contractions. An ultrasound on Tuesday afternoon did confirm the results of the previous cervical exam though, which is that she's very effaced (thin, around 90% I believe is what I've heard) and open just a little (less than a centimeter).

Which brings us to the present day. Erin is still in the hospital, and probably will be for a while. The attending Ob. yesterday indicated that it would be at least a week before she is released. Certainly she is on bedrest and I doubt that will be pulled until the twins are delivered, even if she is allowed to come home. Luckily, it is a modified bedrest I guess in that she is allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and even take a shower. Laying on her back seems to start some pains/contractions, though, so she's limited to laying on her sides only. The babies have continued to remain stable and their heart-rates are strong when she is placed on the fetal monitors each day. She's not indicating any feelings of contractions, so it looks like she's stable in that regard.

Basically, now we're in a waiting game, where each day increases the health and the survivability of the twins. As I get more information I'll relay it on as I can. If this is the first you are hearing of this I apologize for not contacting you directly, but as you can imagine, it's been a long week.