Week in Review

I can't believe how fast this past week flew by! My mom came last Thursday to stay with us for over a week and help us get the babies' room put together. Somehow, between an overnight hospital stay, three doctors appointments (which translates into three whole days spent in Lubbock), and several other interruptions, she managed to sew (and re-sew in some cases) a ridiculous quantity of baby room items: 12 bumper pads, 2 bed skirts, 4 crib sheets, 2 quilts, curtains for 2 windows, 2 diaper stackers, and 3 basket liners. The quantity itself is impressive, but the quality is even more so! I just love how everything turned out and it was so much fun having her here. I think our first day spent laughing contributed to the pre-term contractions that landed me in the hospital :)

Here is mom's work area (our dining room):

Dustin has been quite busy himself painting, cleaning, and assembling furniture. To really appreciate the end product, you just have to see how we have lived for the past several weeks:

Our Living Room

And that's just the living room. Baby stuff has taken over the basement and two front rooms as well. Needless to say, we are very excited about having it all in it's place!

Here are a few pictures of the semi-finished product. We still need to hang things on the wall, get one more mattress, find a rug, etc...

One finished crib - all we need now is a baby...or two.

I love these baskets. Mom made the liners for them.

Picture with mom right before she left. And sweet D'Laney came to see me today and made it in the picture.

View from the door

So, we're off to a good start and I have my living room back, so I feel much better about things around here. Feel free to leave raving compliments about the polka dots on the walls - Dustin spent a ridiculous amount of time painting them and I think we should show him some love for that.

A huge thank you to my mom for doing all of this for us! I loved every minute we got to spend together!

On the agenda for this week is spending a lot of time in my new recliner and two doctor's appointments. We're trying to keep these babies in for about 4 more weeks.

Have a great week!

Love,

The Grigsbys

I'm Home!

They got the contractions under control in just a couple of hours and monitored me through the night. This morning, I had another ultrasound to see if the contractions had effected my cervix and to measure the boys. The doctor said my cervix looked "WONDERFUL" - I've never seen someone get so excited about a cervix before and I have certainly never received so many compliments on that part of my body. Too much information....I know, but the little things are really exciting at this point.

The really great news is that Rosa, my favorite nurse, was there to do my ultrasound and knowing how concerned I was about growth, measured the babies for me. It has only been 9 days since they last measured and keeping in mind that Eli only grew 2 ounces the two weeks prior, I was hoping for even just a little growth as reassurance that he was okay. We have prayed so fervently for little Eli the past 9 days and God certainly answered our prayers. Eli gained 10 ounces in just the past 9 days. He went from the 5th percentile to the 11th percentile and instead of a 24% difference between the two babies, there is now only 15% difference. Landon also grew really well. They now weigh 2 lbs, 15 ounces and 3 lbs, 7 ounces. I am just so relieved and thankful!

Since everything looked so wonderful, they released me this afternoon and I'm home now just taking it easy.

It seems like there is something different to worry about after each appointment. We've had scares with TTTS, preterm labor, Eli not growing, size differences, etc... With each new challenge, we pray fervently and specifically that God would help our babies to grow and be healthy and he has answered our prayers every single time. Tomorrow will be 31 weeks and if you would have told me 15 weeks ago that we would make it this far and be so healthy, I might not have believed you, but by the grace of God, we are still going strong. We are very blessed and I thank you for the prayers and support you have given us thus far. I am SO excited and anxious to meet these boys!

I go back Monday and Thursday of next week for non-stress tests and a biophysical profile to make sure the babies are staying stable.

Thanks for checking in on us! I am so thankful to be home.

Appointment Today

The babies looked great at the appointment today! They did not measure Eli again because it has only been 8 days and ultrasound measurements are less accurate if you do not wait a full two weeks in between them. They had told me they would measure today, but...sometimes everyone is not on the same page in that office - kind of frustrating at times. They did, however, do a biophysical profile and heart-beats, fluid, cord blood flow, and activity all looked great. We even saw the babies practicing their breathing. It is just amazing to see their little chests move up and down. The nurse who did my ultrasound said that just by looking at the babies, she couldn't tell a big size difference. I even had to tell her which baby was the little one, so that is a great sign. Eli must be growing some! I just can't wait for them to be measured again just for a little peace of mind.

After the ultrasound, they monitored my contractions for a little while and after just about 20 minutes, I had already had about ten big contractions, which did not make my doctor very happy. So...even though the babies are great, I landed myself in the hospital for the weekend while they try to get these under control. I've been on medication to control them for about three weeks now and it doesn't seem to be working very well, so we're going to try other things. They finally settled down this afternoon, so hopefully we can keep them away for a few more weeks.

So if you need me, I'll be at Covenant Hospital Lakeside for a few days, but hopefully back home on Monday. I keep telling myself this is mind over matter, but for some reason, I just can't will these contractions away. I really hate things I can't control :)

The good news is that the babies are great! I'm just really glad that I'm in the hospital because of contractions instead of a problem with the babies.

Y'all have a good weekend. I'm going to rest and get plenty of HGTV.

Pray for Eli!

We got a lot of good news at the doctor yesterday. I am doing great and they aren't worried about preterm labor at all right now. I am still on the medication to control contractions, but my body has gotten used to it and I no longer have any side effects from it. Landon weighs in at 2 lb. 15 oz. so he is doing great! They both have strong heart beats and good fluid, the dopplar measurements are all normal, and they are both VERY active, so those are certainly things to be thankful for.

However, we are a little concerned about Eli. He only gained 2 ounces in the past two weeks and he is now in the 5th percentile, so we ask that you please keep this little guy in your prayers that he keeps growing and stays healthy. He weighs only 2 lb. 5 oz. and we are back up to a 24% discordance or difference between the two babies. The doctors and nurses were all pretty concerned, but said to wait and see how he is this next week before we make any decisions. We didn't actually discuss what will happen if he still hasn't grown, but I know he can't stay inside of me if he isn't getting enough nourishment. It's very scary to think of delivering these boys next week!

They have me coming in twice a week now and my doctor threatened parking me in the hospital for the remainder, but I bought myself at least one more week at home. I pray that Eli grows and I can stay home for a few more weeks.

Thank you for your prayers!

Love,
The Grigsbys

Baby Shower!

Last weekend we went to Iraan for a baby shower they threw for us. I remember being completely overwhelmed by the generosity of the people out there when they had a wedding shower for us and this was no different. Everything was wonderful - the decorations, the food, the company, and I have just never seen so many gifts! I guess it is one of those things you just don't understand until you experience it...just how much it means for people to be so willing to help out when they see a need and to celebrate with you in the joy of a new baby...or babies in our case. I am completely humbled by their generosity and it is quite an understatement to say that we would not be able to do this on our own. So thank you to all the women in Sheffield and Iraan who gave so willingly of your time and means to help us out. We love you!

I didn't get any pictures at the shower, but a huge thank you to Keva, a sweet friend and very talented photographer for taking lots of pictures for us!

So Sunday night, we got home late and unloaded and this is what my living room has looked like since...


We got so many cute things and adorable outfits! Look at these precious burp cloths -



We also got all of our baby furniture in this week (Thank you Randy and Neva!) and so maybe we can start to put a nursery together. I can't believe how close we are getting. I go back to the doctor tomorrow and we get to see how big these boys are. We're hoping they are getting close to three pounds.
Here are a few more pictures, except I can't remember when they were taken. They were all within the last few weeks though. Why do I look so stupid in all of these pictures? It's kind of awkward taking pictures by yourself and turned to the side, so cut me a little slack.



And I wanted to show you the front of this shirt. My dear friend Elizabeth sent this to me right after we found out we were having twins. I always get lots of comments on this one! What's funny is that is exactly how they are positioned right now.

I'll update tomorrow after my appointment. Thanks for checking in on us!
Love,
The Grigsbys

Fall

The weather this week has been wonderful! It has only dropped about 15 degrees, but the absence of scorching heat makes me want to pull out all the fall decorations, unpack my winter clothes (that wouldn't fit anyway), and bake something pumpkin. I just love fall! Dustin and I started dating in the fall, we got married in the fall, and our first babies will be born in the fall. I love the holidays, the weather, the sports, the decorations, the food, and the overall feel of fall. So when I walked outside one afternoon earlier this week (let's not dwell on the fact that I hadn't been out of the house until 3:00 in the afternoon) and a cool breeze hit me, I felt all the excitement of fall moving in. Never mind the fact that it will be back up in the mid 90's this weekend - I'm enjoying it while it lasts. It's at least a ray of hope that the seemingly never-ending Texas summer will eventually fade.

We went to the doctor yesterday and I was a bit anxious about what they might say. I was a little discouraged after last week's appointment mostly because I felt so great and would have never guessed that anything might be wrong. So when we found out that I was having contractions that were causing my cervix to thin and there was a concern about preterm labor, it just took me by surprise. I have spent the last week cringing at every contraction, wondering what effect it might be having and waiting to go back to see if things were staying the same or getting worse. So I was very relieved yesterday to find out that while I'm still having contractions, my cervix has not thinned and everything is under control...for now. I'll be going every week from here on out to be monitored and have an ultrasound to measure fluid levels and blood flow. They will measure the babies for growth every other week, so we don't have any new measurements this week. The babies looked great, the fluid levels were great, and the dopplars were normal, which means we made it one more week. Every day and week we make it now is a huge blessing!

At my very first appointment in Lubbock, they immediately started talking about the possibility of me being in the hospital towards the end of the pregnancy and actually gave me the time frame of around 28 weeks (I'm 28 weeks and 5 days today). I was surprised (and appalled) at the idea of spending so much time in the hospital and didn't really understand the reasoning behind that. It was explained a little better yesterday. My doctor really isn't concerned about all of the preterm labor stuff. What he is concerned about is the still very serious risk and threat of TTTS. This disease can still effect us - it's just a matter of catching it as soon as it develops and weighing the dangers of delivering early vs. the dangers of the disease. He said that babies delivered early with no other problems have a much better chance than babies delivered later, but sick from the effects of TTTS. He said babies born at 28 weeks have an 85% chance of survival, 32 weeks have a 95% chance of survival, 34 weeks is 99.9% - the same as a full-term baby, and at 36 weeks, the babies would most likely get to come home at the same time as me. At some point in time, they will determine that I need to be monitored every day to watch for the signs of TTTS to ensure that we don't give this disease time to effect the babies. The fact that we live 90 miles from the hospital is also a factor in this. This disease is totally pregnancy related, it's not something that will effect them after birth (unless it is untreated and allowed to progress during the pregnancy). I don't know if this all makes sense, but it helped me to understand and accept the whole idea of the hospital.

But since things are going so well right now...we get to go to Iraan this weekend! They are having a baby shower for us and I am so excited! I really thought we would be down there a lot more now that we live so much closer, but it hasn't happened that way unfortunately. It's still nice to be so close and when things settle down (is that even a possibility) on down the road, I'm sure we'll be abe to be there a whole lot more often than in the past.

Sorry to be so long-winded...

Thank you for checking in on us!

Love,
The Grigsbys