Updates

Hey all, thought I would do a little mid week posting for everyone. Lots to cover.

Okay so this week AJ started on steroids. She was feeling a little sad about losing muscle in bed so they gave her some steroids to bulk up....okay I'm kidding. The steroids actually are for the kiddo's. It has been proven that a dose of steroids will help with lung maturity so they give them to anyone who is at risk of an early delivery. For the most part there are very little side effects other then AJ's voice getting a little deeper....okay I'm kidding again. Actually the only side effect is an increase in the number of contractions for a day or so, which when you know they are coming is less of a concern. So after 4 shots she is done for now, they will possibly do a second round at about 28-29 weeks.

I also wanted to touch on the Procardia drugs she is taking. A few inquisitive individuals have asked about them so I will give you my limited view. The drug is actually for high blood pressure, but in recent years it has been proven to reduce contractions. It is an oral drug, so no needles for the big sissy and is taken several times a day. So far it seems to have helped and when it doesn't there is the terb shot. This is given only when the Procardia does not seem to be working for a given period and they want the contractions to stop. This is the drug that has been used for years to stop contractions and really is the more effective of the two. Now with more effectiveness comes more SIDE-effectiveness. Basically they make her heart beat super fast and she starts to feel a little jumpy. She has only had to have two of these so far and we hope to keep that number low.

For those of you who keep up with the blog frequently you may be aware of my battles with technology. Well I have evened the score technology 2, Brandon 2. I can now send in updates using my blackberry and they will be instantly added as a post. I know, I know your saying great but why do I care that your life just got easier? Here's why, when the S**T hits the fan you will be able to get live updates and won't have to wait for me to be by a computer. Plus when I am really, really bored waiting in line at the post office or something I can post some meaningless nonsense to pass the time, see its a win-win. Also, we were fortunate enough to get a video camera from AJ's parents for Christmas, so at some point we will have some live video to share.

We also have a prayer request for a friend here in Dallas. Through a local multiples group Amy-Jo had befriended another mother here in Dallas expecting quadruplets. She was about 4 or 5 days farther along than us which was just very weird. Anyway she has had a great pregnancy with no huge complications until last night. She had some complications and had to have an emergency C-section last night at 25 weeks gestation. As of last night we heard all the baby's were okay, but look to her blog on the right, The King Family, for updates.

Thanks for all the support and keep praying, next stop 28 weeks. Oh ya and its New Years Eve, so HAPPY NEW YEAR!

VIABILITY BABY!

That's right we have officially reached 24 weeks and viability. At this point our babies have a chance at survival, by no means do we want to meet them anytime soon but this is a huge milestone. 4 weeks ago we were told we would never see this day, to her credit Amy-Jo never listened to the doubters and she kept a great attitude the whole time.

Getting here the last week hasn't been without a few bumps in the road. Last week AJ's contractions starting getting worse. As a result the doctors started her on Procardia to help control the contractions. The few times this didn't work they gave her a Terb Shot which is has more of an immediate effect. The shot is much more effective but comes with much more side effects, so they will continue to give this on a as needed basis only. But needless to say she is really starting to get uncomfortable and feel more twinges and twitches then ever.

The previous post is the Ambien post I had been promising, I was going to post it earlier but with everything else going on I decided to wait. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, ours was nice considering we were stuck in the hospital. AJ's parents made a whole feast and wrapped everything up and brought it to us.

Please keep us in your prayers and our new goal of 28 weeks! Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive through this difficult time.

Ambien Time

Okay so I have been promising the Ambien post for weeks now and there is probably no way the hype will live up, but none the less here we go. Quick side note, AJ edited this post so some details where probably removed.

Okay so for those of you not familiar with the drug Ambien here is a little introduction. Ambien is used as a sleep aid, a very effective sleep aid. Those who have used it can attest to its effectiveness. It is completely safe to use while pregnant, AJ asked every one of our doctors multiple times before she would take it so we are sure. I think Ambien effects every person differently, but I cannot believe any will have the same stories as my wife.

Let me start with the first thing that happens once the Ambien kicks in. Talking. Lots and lots of talking. She could be mad at me all night, won't speak to me at all, but give her the Ambien and you cannot shut her up. She wants to talk about everything, what color should we paint the nursery, where should we go on vacation, what should we buy so and so for Christmas and my all time favorite what kind of car should we get the kids. Yep the kids that are in her belly, what kind of car should we buy them 16 years from now. The best part of all this talking, she remembers NONE of it the next day. The first few times I humored her and tried to carry on a conversation, not an easy task mind you. Imagine if at the time you are ready for bed your significant other wants to talk a million miles a minute about nothing too important, not fun. After I realized she won't remember anything we talk about anyway I just tell her to be quiet, she usually gets mad at me or upset, but she doesn't remember it the next day anyway so no worries.

The next phase is the "I should have fallen asleep by now but I was too busy talking so I am still awake" phase. This phase is usually the most fun to watch as it is always a surprise. One of the first nights in the hospital she reached this phase and had to use the restroom. She got out of bed and stumbled one side to the other, scared me half to death. She looked like your drunk college roommate after one too many. I think she has gotten use to the effect and what it takes to walk because I haven't seen her stumble like this since. The best part of this phase is the look in her eye. Its always that little kid "I didn't do it" look. She will get lost in the bathroom, I found her there once doing her crossword puzzles, forgetting to get up and go back to bed, and she looked at me and did not realize she has been there for 10 minutes, classic. When I went it to get her she just said "What?" as if she had no idea what I was coming in there for.

In this phase AJ will usually get very emotional. This is when she decides she wants me to try and "cuddle" with her in her bed. If it were just her and I getting in the bed it might work, but when we have to share with the belly its very difficult. Made more difficult by the fact she has an air mattress that inflates and deflates when pressure is put in one area. This usually has me rolling up against the side bars of the bed. On occasion when I decline to join her in the bed she comes up with a plan to join me in mine. Now mine isn't so much a bed as it is a couch that folds out to a bed. And not like the kind you have at home that has a mattress hiding underneath, no sir, basically the back folds down and you sleep on the cushions and the back of the couch. Not the worst bed in the world but far from comfortable. One night in the Ambien time she comes back from the bathroom and starts trying to hit me with her belly. Yes she was using it as a weapon, fortunately for me I was sitting a little low for the belly but she could still get me with her legs. Before I knew what hit me she was laying down on my couchbed with me. I should also mention the couchbed slants forward so you pretty much have to fight from rolling off the thing all night. So now its me, Ambien AJ and the belly all being held onto the couchbed by me. This was not a good position for any of us. I had to drag her, almost carry her, back to her own bed. Once there she slipped quietly to sleep, forgetting all of what just happened. She has tried to join me on multiple occasions, I try to cut her off before laying down because it is just too hard to get her back to bed.

I've tried to take advantage of the Ambien from time to time, but really its not in my best interest to follow through. Even if I get a yes, it usually won't hold up once she wakes up so hasn't really paid off yet. We have started to time the Ambien to include the 1 - 2 hours she will be talking and bed jumping so that we both get to sleep at a decent hour. It's funny knowing each night I have 1 hour of wife wrangling to do before I can call it a day.

All in all the Ambien is needed for her to sleep so all the side effects are worth it. She is so uncomfortable all day she deserves a few uninterrupted hours of sleep. I know someday I will miss the silliness that is Ambien time, plus its a few hours a night I can say or do whatever I want and not pay the price for it the next day. Now if I can just figure out how to get that last part all day long......

23 Week Update

Okay so we are oh so close to the 24 week mark. This little holiday called Christmas is standing in between us and 24 but I suppose we can slow down enough to take it all in.

Anyway, as many of you know today was our weekly sono. I try to get an update up as soon as I can otherwise I know many of you start to worry. Everything today was very good. The babies range from 1lb 5oz to 1lb 9oz. Logan was the smallest but they believe he is actually a little bigger, he was curled up in a ball and standing on his head which made it very difficult to measure everything. AJ's cervix is standing strong at 1.8 cm.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us these past few weeks, please keep it up! Thanks to all the visitors we have each week, I know AJ really enjoys the company.

P.S. I have started the Ambien post, almost done and it will be up tomorrow.

22 weeks and counting

Okay so I still haven't gotten to the Ambien post I have been promising but I will get working on it and hopefully get it up later this week. Turns out even though I am stuck in a hospital room I am not as bored as I thought I would be.

Anyway lots to talk about, but I will try to be brief. We had our weekly sono yesterday, everything looked very good. The babies are growing as they should and AJ's cervix actually lengthened a little to 1.9 cm (up from 1.25 the week prior). The doctor also put AJ on a toco monitor for a few hours today to keep track of her contractions. She has been noticing a few a day, but the fear has been she was having many more and just not noticing. So the results on that came back pretty favorable as well, she had very little activity while on the monitor which made us all breathe a little easier.

For all the local folks who come to visit we have moved rooms, only right next door but still moved. We moved into a larger suite room which has a lot more room for food, clothes and other goodies. It even has a recliner for me to sit in, not the best recliner in the world but its kinda like if you ate broccoli every day for a month and then someone gave you a carrot, its not pizza but it tastes so good.

Quick random thought. AJ is watching Marry Poppins right now and I am doing my best to ignore it, but just noticed something I found weird. If she has the power to snap and the kids clothes will fold, bed will be made or room picked up why does she have to snap on every side of the room? Why can't she just snap once and the magic works for the whole room? I mean how can your magic be so selective to only work on one side of the room at at time? Seems like a waste of a perfectly good tool.

Also, our dog Blue was able to make a trip to the hospital last weekend. For anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting Blue you know what a crazy time that was. He did sit long enough for me to snap a couple pictures, I attached one to the bottom. For those who haven't met Blue he is a full blood mutt. The mom was a Scottish Terrier, we have no idea what his Dad was but I am sure he was a mutt. He is very friendly and very high energy, also he loves to give kisses as AJ would say. I also through in a picture of calm moment at home just for fun, this is where he goes when he is ready for bed. This really did make Amy-Jo's day so we will have to try and get him up here again soon.

Anyway, just want to thank both my Mom and Amy-Jo's Mom for staying with us the last couple of weeks. They were both great and I don't know if AJ could have done it without the two of you.

Crap AJ just found out that Marry Poppins the musical will be in Dallas next October. I am now taking volunteers to go in my place. Tickets are on me.

Housekeeping

Just a few little things before my Ambien post in a couple days....which is just getting better every day let me tell you.

Anyway just to answer a few questions we have received via comment or email. We are at Presbyterian Dallas - Margot Perot Building. AJ is 21 weeks 4 days as of this post, as we said before need to get to 24+.

Christmas cards - We have started to receive many Christmas cards from friends and family all over. Just wanted to let everyone know you will not be receiving them from us! That has always been AJ's job and one I will not be taking over, ever. But Happy Holidays to everyone!

Amy-Jo wanted me to be sure and thank Janet G. for the beautiful bracelet. She was so thrilled and I do not think she plans on taking if off.

Please keep praying and thanks for all the support.

Sono Update

Okay so we went in for our sono yesterday, I know, I know I am a day late but don't even get me started on why! Lets just say technology 2, Brandon 1. Anyway back to the sono, everything looked very good. All the babies were right around 1 pound. Hard to believe we can start talking about their weight in pounds. The doctor took a look at Logan's heart again and still notices some abnormalities. They could turn out to be nothing, or they could turn out to be not good, still to early to tell. The good news is the fact his heart is still beating which means we have escaped the original fear of losing him due to twin to twin transfusion. The heart thing stinks, but I'll take some chance over no chance, and I am very confident he will fight and survive.

They are calling AJ stable for now. We made it through the weekend and that is a good sign. Still a long road ahead but we cleared a major hurdle last week. She is still having contractions about every 10 minutes, most of them go unnoticed unless she feels her stomach with her hands. This too is good, as if she was feeling them it could possibly mean she was heading into pre-term labor.

So far the hospital stay has been okay. Although I need to hunt down the person who decided on the couches in the rooms, the are slanted forwards so you kind of roll off when you try to lay on them, not cool. We love all our nurses though; Hi to Amber, Jennifer, Sister Anna, Dawn, Angie, Chrissy, Neha and I know there are a few I am forgetting, but I am pretty brain dead after all this. And yes you can trust who ever I forgot will make sure they give me a hard time about it! Great job on the tree ladies, but mine will kick your butt! I'm so dead...

Later in the week I will try and dedicate an entire post to Amy-Jo and her "Ambien time". Oh the fun we have when Amy-Jo is hopped up on Ambien. Fun for another day though.

Here are some new belly pics, taken with my phone so sorry about the quality. Just an FYI that is my shirt and PJ bottoms she has on, ya pretty much losing all my clothes at this point.

One Day at a Time

Okay so I will start this off and let everyone know we are still in the hospital and still pregnant. It was a very emotional week, but we made it and are cautiously optimistic. To use the old cliche, one day at a time. We do not want to think to far ahead, we just want each day to be slow and boring, as no news is good news. So we are hoping for more boring weeks in our future.

Basically here what is happening. Amy-Jo is having contractions, pretty mild and random. She is the size of a normal pregnancy at 36 or 37 weeks, so the doctors say that contractions are not that uncommon. The fear is that the contractions will worsen and lead to preterm labor. The first real goal is to get to viability. Basically this is the age the babies have a chance at survival. This happens at 24 weeks, not to say we are content with 24 weeks, but one step at a time. For now the doctors feel like we are stable but, as we have found out a few times already, with a multiple pregnancy things can change in a moments notice. This is the reason we try not to get too high or too low. We beat the doctors predictions for this last week and we intend on doing it again next week.

As for Logan. As of last Monday he still had a normal heartbeat and was still alive. The doctors are seeing some abnormalities with his heart that could lead to some serious complications. He is a fighter and I truly believe he will make it. The odds are stacked against him, but I am pretty sure someone forgot to tell him that!

We go in sometime Monday or Tuesday for our next sonogram. This past week we lost one of our perinatologists to a tragic choking accident. Dr. Patton was in a coma most of the week and passed Friday when he was taken off life support. So please this week keep his family in your prayers.

We want to also thank everyone who has been keeping us in their thoughts and prayers these past weeks. It's with your support Amy-Jo has been able to stay positive and fight to keep our babies safe. So please keep up those prayers! I will try to update a little more often as I know many of you check in a few times a week. And with hopefully another boring week ahead of me I have no excuses!

Faith

Faith is a funny thing. It's also something I have struggled with most of my adult life. Even now I am often unsure of my own faith. But like I said faith is a funny thing and it seems to be one of those things that lie there in a cloud of uncertainty until the one day you really need it. My day has finally come.

Amy-Jo was readmitted to the hospital yesterday, not because of her cervix and not because of Logan, both are doing fine. The human body is a fantastic machine that runs on such precision it can at times out smart itself. When a woman carries one baby and the baby passes, as with what happened to Cody, the body will typically mis carry the baby to rid the body of the foreign body no longer dependent on it for survival. This is what the doctors here believe is happening to Amy-Jo. And if she mis carries one she mis carries them all. As with the cervix problem there is nothing they can do to stop this from happening, only hope that it's not what is happening. We need to make it almost 4 more weeks for our babies to have a chance at survival.

This is where faith comes into play. For the first time in a long time I prayed last night, I prayed for my unborn children to hang on and for my wife to be strong and fight. Since we have started this blog there have been so many people, family, friends and complete strangers, who have always shown their support. We ask that you continue with that support and join me in praying for Amy-Jo and the babies. I am certain we will get through this and Amy-Jo is doing great. She is keeping a positive attitude and not letting anything the doctors tell her get her down. We will continue to do everything we can, but a little assistance from an old friend wouldn't hurt.