Tyler Update

Things have been going pretty good so far.  I was looking forward to being discharged from the hospital this morning, but that is not happening right now.  Everything is great with me.  Tyler has jaundice and his level is not high enough to treat, but too high to send him home right now.  They are concerned because he has a completely different blood type from me which puts him at a higher risk for jaundice to get worse.  Also, he has now lost 10% of his birth weight.  All babies do lose weight, but they get concerned if they hit the 10% or more mark.  So they want to re-test his levels at 4pm today before deciding what to do.  We also started to supplement his feedings with formula this morning in the hopes of that helping reduce the jaundice.  So now we are waiting around until this afternoon to see what his blood results show.  I am dying to get home!

Tyler Luke Croissant

Tyler Luke Croissant was born on Thursday April 26 at 11:44am.  He weighed 8lb 4oz and was 20 inches long.  Tyler and I are both doing well.  We will probably be in the hospital until Sunday.  I am at Franklin Square Hospital and in Room 132.

First T-Ball Game

Tonight the boys had their first t-ball game.  The whole team did really good.  The boys had a blast!

Zak hitting the ball

Ryder hitting the ball

Tyler Update

My blood sugars have started to drastically drop over the past few days.  According to the high risk OB, this could mean my placenta is starting to deteriorate.  My fluid level is good so that shows it is still working though.  After she talked to my regular OB they decided to move my scheduled c-section date to Friday April 27!  So looks like Tyler will be born around 8:30am on Friday.

Growth Scan

Well, I will be 38 weeks along tomorrow. I can't believe it! The beginning of this pregnancy went by so fast, but the last few weeks seem to have been going in slow motion. Today I had one of my twice weekly NST followed by my last ultrasound.

The NST was slightly different today than other times. I was still having contractions just as I have been every other time the last few weeks. But today Tyler didn't seem to move around as much as he normally does. The nurse had to stimulate him a bit, but he did move around and his heart rate seemed to be fine they said. I told them I had noticed him not moving a ton, but I have found if I rub/push on 1 part of my belly he always seems to react. They said as long as I feel him moving throughout the day then it was good. So of course I find myself poking his little knee all day long making sure he responds.

I love having ultrasounds done because I get to see Tyler. Today it was really hard to see anything really good because of how squished he is. I wasn't able to get any pictures today because he is just way too curled up to really see anything worth printing out. The poor baby has no room to move or go anywhere anymore. He is head down, very low down. One really cute thing I did get to see is that he has a full head of hair. The tech pointed out to me all of the hair waving in the fluid, it was really neat to watch. His butt is pushed out right at my belly button and his little knee is where I rub him to get some type of movement response from him. Everything on the ultrasound looked good including my fluid level. Today Tyler was measuring 8lb 7oz which is 96% for a baby at this stage in pregnancy. His head and leg length are measuring about 1 week ahead (39 weeks) and his tummy was measuring about 2 weeks ahead (40 weeks).

After the ultrasound I met with the high risk OB to talk about the ultrasound, NST and my recently blood sugars. She said the measurements on the ultrasound can be off by 1 pound plus or minus. She thinks Tyler might be a little bigger than the estimated weight because they had a hard time getting really good measurements on his head and leg length because of how low he is and how squished he is. The last few days my blood sugars have been dropping low all day long even when I eat. So we talked about that and she explained that more than likely means my placenta is starting to deteriorate and not function 100%. In a Diabetic it is the placenta that causes us to require more insulin during pregnancy so seeing my numbers drop so drastically means the placenta is no longer functioning at 100% which means I now require less insulin. She said since my fluid level was still good and Tyler's heart rate was good that it should be fine for now. She did say to make sure I keep track of his movement and if he stops moving I need to call. We are going to lower my pump settings for now though. She said as long as my NST results on Thursday and Monday next week are fine then we can wait for the scheduled c-section on May 2 (Wednesday next week). We also talked about my scheduled c-section date. Since it isn't until 1pm she wants me to wake up and eat breakfast at 5am that morning to try and avoid low blood sugar issues. The regular OB instructed me not to eat or drink after midnight so I am supposed to tell them when I see them this week (Wednesday) that the high risk OB does want me to eat. She explained that eating 8 hours before the c-section is perfectly safe so hopefully the regular OB will agree.

Update

I just wanted to post a quick update for anybody who is reading the blog. I am now 37 weeks along which means I am now technically considered full-term! I stopped my weekly shots of progesterone and the daily medication for contractions that I was on about a week ago. I continue to have my twice weekly NST and once weekly OB appointments. I have been contracting every 2-5 minutes for the last week, but am only 1cm dilated at this point. Apparently, they want me to dilate more or have my water break before doing the c-section. These constant contractions have definitely caused me lots of pain which in turn has caused all of my patience to go out the window. This weekend I started to have issues with swelling which has gotten worse today. My blood pressure is borderline so we are watching it closely. I do have my scheduled c-section at 39 weeks set for May 2 at 1pm so that will be the latest Tyler would be born.

This morning the boys had a WIC appointment so I got new weights and heights for them. Zak is now 35.5 pounds and 41 inches tall. Ryder is 36.5 pounds and 42 inches tall. Ryder now weighs a little more than Zak because of the weight he gained from his ADHD medication that we stopped a while ago. They will get WIC checks through August, but then they will no longer qualify after they are 5.

Videos from Cinderella Ball

This is the big entrance the kids made before they performed

Singing one of their songs

Ryder dancing

Zak dancing with one of his "girlfriends"

Zak dancing with another "girlfriend"

Cinderella Ball

Last night the boys had their Cinderella Ball at school. This is a big event for the pre-k kids and family where they dress up, have dinner, the kids perform, and then there is music and dancing for everyone to enjoy. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go because of bedrest so Nanny went with them. It sounds like they all had a really good time and Ben did awesome at taking pictures and videos for me. I have put a bunch of the pictures in this post and will try to get some videos on the blog as well.

Our neighbors

Aamiir, Wanda, & AJ

Zak's "girlfriend" Ava

Ryder dancing with his teacher

Zak & Aamiir dancing

This afternoon while the boys took a nap Ben and I went to the car and messed around with the car seats. We wanted to figure out what would work best once Tyler arrives. We decided this is how the seats will go. For now, we took Tyler's car seat out, but left the boys' seats in their new places. Before we had each of the boys next to a door.

Big Baby Boy

Today I had my growth ultrasound. I love getting to see baby boy every 4 weeks on the screen. I went into today's scan knowing he is a big boy, but had no clue just how big. They measure the head circumference, femur length, and the abdomen circumference in order to get the estimated weight of the baby. I have gotten pretty good at following the measurements and figuring out just how big he is. Today I am 34 weeks along. His head size and leg length were measuring around 35.5 weeks, but his abdomen was measuring at 38 weeks, yikes! So once all that was put into the computer it said he is weighing 6lb 9oz already! That is in the 97% for 34-weekers. He is definitely a big boy. He has been growing good the whole time...

26 weeks: 2lb 1oz

30 weeks: 4lb 2oz

34 weeks: 6lb 9oz

Today the high risk OB said since he is such a nice size (her word was actually huge) that if my contractions became bad again they would probably go ahead and deliver him. Apparently, after 34 weeks the size of the baby plays a huge factor in how well they do once delivered so he has a great chance of doing very well if he were born anytime now. Of course, I am still on bedrest and taking my medication because they would like him to go as long as possible.

At my NST yesterday it showed I was still having contractions, but they were weak and not frequent or consistent. I have my next NST on Thursday so we will see what is going on then. I do feel contractions still, but not the really bad pain and pressure with them. I go back to the OB next Friday so I can update once I see what they say about his size and the contractions.

Contractions

On Monday I went to the hospital for my Non-Stress Test which I have scheduled for every Monday & Thursday. This test checks for contractions, watches the baby's heart rate, and checks for good movement of the baby. They also check my fluid level every Thursday. After being hooked up on the monitors for about 15 minutes they discovered I was having contractions every 3 minutes! So I was moved to triage for more testing.

In triage the contractions started to get even closer together and much stronger, I was definitely feeling the pain and pressure from them at that point. They tested my urine and blood pressure for any signs of preeclampsia, but they were both fine. They then did a FFN test and a few other as well. I was not dilated at all which was a good sign. Then I was hooked up to an IV to see if I was dehydrated, but that didn't stop the contractions. So at 5pm I was given a medication called Procardia to try and stop the contractions. By 7pm they decided I needed to be admitted because the contractions were still every 2 minutes. I continued to get the Procardia every 6 hours and finally in the early morning hours of Tuesday the contractions slowed down to about 1 every 10 minutes and I wasn't really even feeling them. Around 9am I was told they were going to discharge me since the FFN test was negative, I was not dilating, and my contractions were slowing down. So I am now at home on bedrest and taking the Procradia every 6 hours.

I went to see my OB yesterday afternoon and they were pretty reassuring that they felt with the negative FFN I would be ok for the next 2 weeks. This test checks for a certain protein which shows up just before delivery. So a negative FFN test is about 99% accurate in predicting you will not deliver within the next 2 weeks of when the test was done. They told me to remain on bedrest and using the Procradia as precautions. The OB also told me that since Tyler is such a big boy he would more than likely do well if he were born anytime after 34 weeks (which is next week). She made it sound like if I do go into labor they would probably go ahead and deliver him anytime after 34 weeks. I am nervous about going on Thursday for my next NST because if I am having tons of contractions again I will more than likely be re-admitted to the hospital.

Of course, throughout this whole thing we had to worry about the boys. Ben had taken half a day off from work on Monday because we were getting our new roof. So luckily, he was home to get the boys off the bus. But I had our only car at the hospital with me so we wanted to figure out a way for Ben to come get it. After lots of discussing Ben dropped the boys off to a neighbor (he grandson is in Zak's class) and then drove his work truck to his work which is right next to the hospital. Then somebody from work dropped him of at the hospital. He then came and sat with me in triage for a while. The plan was for him to go pick up the boys and go home for bedtime, but at 7pm when they said I was being admitted I went into am emotional meltdown. So Ben went home and took stuff to the boys to spend the night at our neighbor's house then he came and spent the night with me. The boys behaved very well and they did fine, but I was worried about them all night.

Bedrest is very difficult since I have the boys at home. Last pregnancy I could just lay in bed all day and not do anything, but this time things are very different. Ben and I talked last night and have tried to set up various plans to try and make it easier. This is really putting everything on Ben's plate now so I feel bad, but it is only temporary. I am making lists of things he needs to buy or do. The boys are also having to deal with this change. They are having to do more on their own and to help me, but they are also getting to watch more TV and play Leap Pads more often.