Why no post?

I just got an email from Kevin pointing out that I haven't posted any updates since Saturday. You would think that at least he would be aware of the fact that my life is not terribly exciting right now. Let's see, here are the big things I've accomplished in the last few days:

1) I watched the entire mini-series of Pride and Prejudice (BBC version?) with Colin Firth. For P&P lovers, it is fabulous and I'm probably the only true fan out there who hasn't already seen it. According to my friend Hill, there is a new PBS miniseries on Emma which she highly recommends and I am on the lookout for.

2) I finished book 4 of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series - "Drums of Autumn" I also credit the reading of this series to Hill and we are both addicted to these books which came out in the early 90s. They are an interesting mix of historical fiction, romance, and a little fantasy time travel mixed in.

3) I swapped my PJ/yoga pants for khakis in order to go to my weekly doctor's visit yesterday. The report was good. Next ultrasound is on Friday so more updates after that.

4) On the way home from the doctor, we stopped quickly at a paint store in order to pick out the color for the babies' room. It will either be Lime Granita or Dancing Green - not that will help you picture the color at all (basically a pale warm green).

5) I hung out with my cats and noticed yesterday that they followed me from room to room. When I was upstairs, they were sleeping somewhere in my bedroom. When I was downstairs, they found a place to sleep in our family room. They like having me around. Granted Addy is currently MIA so my theory is already debunked.

6) I watched the rain fall yesterday out my windows hoping that the snow would finally get washed off my azalea bushes which are still weighed down from the blizzard of 2010 - only to find out that it is supposed to snow again tonight/tomorrow. I think we have gotten more snow this winter in Philadelphia than what fell in total the six years I lived in Chicago. Crazy.

That's all for now. :-)

BR day 27 (can you believe it?)
25wks5d

Photos from Bed Rest Central

I couldn't resist snapping a couple photos of as it is a rare occurrence for both of our cats to coexist on my bed together at once! Perhaps we are finally making some progress in their relationship. You will notice they like to spread out and don't always leave much room for me (let alone Kevin!). Plus, I thought I would share a glimpse into bed rest central and how I have almost everything I need within arms reach. You cannot see the mini fridge we have set up in the room as well. All I would need is a microwave to truly return to dorm room life, though I am quite content going down the stairs to heat up any meals/snacks for now. If you look closely, you will see my latest copy of US Weekly on the bed. I finally caved and got myself a subscription in December and what a treat it is each week in the mail!
Also, here is a shot of my retro TV tray courtesy of Kevin's mom which has brought back many memories of Saturday morning cartoons and eating cereal.
BR day 22
25wks

21 days down!

For me, it is hard to believe that it has been 3 weeks on bed rest already. Shockingly, the days have flown by. I really hope that this keeps up. Granted, I have had many bored moments as there is only so much I can do within the confines of my bedroom and my new found limited trips downstairs. Thank goodness for Netflix and the Winter Olympics. Today I watched My Sister's Keeper on DVD. For anyone who read the book and resisted seeing the movie due to the tragic, surprising and very depressing ending, it was completely changed around in the movie so it is quite different. Still a sad movie, but sort of a different take on it. So if you liked the book, it is worth checking out, if for nothing else than to see the new ending and Cameron Diaz cast as the mother. As for the Olympics, I have become a big fan of curling (often aired during the day on cNBC) which I am finding a lot more interesting this time around with an appreciation for how much strategy is involved in the game - granted the US women have yet to win a match so it might not be on for much longer. I heard an interesting interview today on public radio criticizing NBC's coverage of the Olympics and how they only feature American athletes and jump from sport to sport with a lot of wasted time spent with fluff interviews. I totally agree and wish they would just show more events with less talking and commercials.

I'll end with a photo from my father. He keeps talking about this comic strip of twin fetuses Eggbert and Eggberta which I've now learned is from the 1960s and thus why I've never heard of them.
BR day 21
24wks6dy

Long weekend almost over

Kevin has been off of work since last Tuesday so I have been very spoiled having him around. He was kept busy with basketball practices/games, errands, house chores, taking care of his favorite patient, and of course shoveling snow, but it has been nice to have him around so much. It will be so strange to wake up early tomorrow and return to our normal weekday schedule. Note -- I am sure the adjustment of returning to a normal workday will be much harder on him than me, but that is just a guess on my part.

Overall the weekend was great. My new found freedom allowing me trips up and down our stairs resulted in dinner in our dining room both Saturday and Sunday nights as well as time spent on the couch in our living room enjoying a change of scenery and the opportunity to refill my own cup of decaf coffee. We had a nice Valentine's day yesterday despite the fact that my surprise gift for Kevin was delayed in its arrival due to the snowstorm. My father helped with my purchase of cards for Kevin from both me and the cats. It is a little strange asking your father to pick out a Valentine's day cards for your husband, but mine did a great job with his selections. I was treated to flowers, chocolate, and a scrumptious dinner of steak, asparagus, cheesy potatoes, shrimp cocktail, and caesar salad which was divine. Chef Kevin has done it again!

On a final note, here is a photo my 24 week bump for all to admire.

BR day 18
24wks3dy

Good news from the ultrasound!

Today I had my first ultrasound since bed rest has begun. The babies are looking good - Baby A weighs 1 lb 8 oz and Baby B weighs 1 lb 4 oz currently. The technician pointed out where each baby was hanging out so hopefully I will be able to differentiate between the punches/kicks I've been feeling and tell who's who in there. The best part was when the doctor came in to measure my cervix and he was very happy with its overall length. There was no sign of shortening or opening at all! He looked back at the pictures from my ultrasound two weeks ago and decided that I must have had a contraction while they were measuring the cervical length which led to the shortening they'd detected. Since I was having contractions quite frequently on that day due to the fact I was dehydrated, it is no surprise. That being said, based on today's results, the doctor felt that my restricted bed rest could be a lot less restrictive and that I can go up and down the stairs a few times a day! He didn't think going back to work was a good idea because of how much time I spend on my feet in my lab, but overall he was very encouraged and did not think I was at a high risk of going into labor anytime soon. :-)

We are both very happy with today's news and the fact that I will be able to be a little more independent at home. We celebrated by going out to breakfast after the appointment (suggested by the doctor!). Basically we will return in two weeks for another ultrasound and see if there is any change with my increased activity and go from there. I still need to take it easy and keep off my feet as much as I can to keep the weight of my growing babies off my cervix and prevent too many contractions.

In other news, we did get hit with another whopping snow storm on Wednesday. The snow drifts around our house are ridiculous and I am really happy to not be making the trek down the hill each morning to my train stop. Kevin had two snow days this week and is off today and Monday for President's weekend so he is getting a surprise winter vacation. Granted I am not sure he would describe being home as vacation with the added duties of taking care of me, our house, the cats, and doing all this shoveling, but I am certainly happy having him around more.

Thanks to all of you for your positive thoughts and prayers. They definitely helped!!!

BR day 15
24wks

No snow yet . . .

I really hope it ends up not being true, but they are calling for the Philly area to get 1-2 more feet of snow tonight and through out tomorrow. The good is that Kevin will likely not have school and be home with me all day tomorrow. The bad is that it means there will be another whole round of shoveling for him. We didn't even have time to think about buying a snow blower in between these two storms. Crazy.

My cell phone died suddenly on Sunday night. It is so annoying how these phones just stop working on you with no warning. We do not have a home phone line at our house so I have had to take over Kevin's cell until he has time to go and get me a new one from the store. (For those of you who know my husband well, this is a huge sacrifice for him!) We didn't think it was safe for me to be home without any way to get help in case of an emergency. He has had busy afternoons/nights yesterday and today with vet and doctors appointments and basketball games so there has been no time yet to get to the store. So if I have not called you back, I apologize. When it rains, it pours, I guess.

I heard today that a friend of mine who is 8 months pregnant got into a car accident early this week due to the snow/ice. Thank God both she and her baby are fine. We emailed back and forth today and I told her that really bed rest is the way to go. It is much safer to just stay in bed. :-) I had an OB check up yesterday and everybody is doing just fine. The doctor told us that we should focus on making it past the 28 week milestone as twins born after that point (though requiring a lengthy NICU stay) usually do just as well in the long run as twins born closer to full term. It was great to hear that. I still plan to keep my bum in this bed for much longer than 28 weeks, but it is nice to know that I have a milestone that it is not as far away to strive for. Makes it all seem a little more manageable when it is just over 4 weeks away.

BR day12
23wks4dys

Lazy weekend with lots of snow

We got hit with the second big snowstorm this winter on Friday/Saturday. Due to my pregnancy, I wasn't able to help with the shoveling with either storm so Kevin had his hands full literally cleaning up our driveway again. I think it is more and more likely a snow blower is in our future if these winter storms keep coming. As you can see from the photos, our driveway is long and there was a lot of snow. I don't know exactly how much we got, my dad got over 18 inches in NJ, but we were probably closer to a foot here in PA (correction: according to the paper we got over 20 inches!). Unlike my husband who also spent a good portion of today cleaning our entire house, I had quite a lazy weekend in my bedridden state. He continues to be quite a super-trooper taking care of me and keeps surprising me with delicious meals. Tonight, we plan to have a Super Bowl inspired appetizer feast which my dad kindly picked up for us from Wegmans' appetizer bar on his way over for a visit along with my brother. It is a shame that I am not allowed down the stairs as we have such a nice big flat screen TV in our living room that the game and commercials would look great on, but alas, we will make do.

I am doing fine. Not much new to report in my world. We will know more this week after our next ultrasound (Friday) which will tell us if my reduced activity is helping keep my cervix from shortening. Thanks for all the emails and phone calls. It is great to know that everyone is thinking of me and saying prayers for the babies/me. It means a lot. Thanks.

BR day 10
23wks2dys