First, please let me apologize for not publishing in more than a month. This past month has been a bit of a whirlwind that has included me not feeling well and also having lots of stress and worry about our twin pregnancy. At 28 weeks, on New Year’s Eve, I was hospitalized for 1 night and 1 day due to a mild case of Preeclampsia. A week later, at 29 weeks, I was back in the hospital for a more severe case of Preeclampsia. My symptoms, were extreme high blood pressure and a severe headache that wouldn’t go away with Tylenol, water, food and rest. After some tests and being monitored for a few hours, I was admitted to the hospital, this time for the remainder of my pregnancy. This means, I’m a bit on lock down here at the hospital until I deliver our twins. The only cure for Preeclampsia is delivery, but it can be managed with medication and rest if caught early enough. I have that on my side. My condition was caught early and I’m being very well monitored and taken care of.

Lucky for me, the hospital I’m at is lovely. The room is newly remodeled, very comfortable and has an awesome large Kohler bathtub that I have been enjoying daily. Taking a warm bath with bath products, relaxes me and helps me sleep at night. It’s hard to sleep here. I’m not poked and prodded as much as I was in the beginning and in fact, as of today, my labs came back as “better” than before. I don’t think that means I’ll get to go home, but better is good news. Other than my blood pressure readings being a bit erratic and high occasionally, and some headaches due to the high blood pressure, I’m feeling pretty good. I am going stir crazy, but I’m reading a lot, and trying to stay as positive as I possibly can.

Monitoring Twins in hospital

Monitor in hospital

Baby Monitor for heart beat and contractions

The twins are monitored for their heartrate and to see if I’m having any contractions twice a day. At first, getting them to show up on the monitor took a very long time and was a bit of a challenge. In the past week, they have grown a bit and gained a little weight. Due to that, they have been easier to find and stay on the monitor. They need to be monitored twice a day for at lease 30 minutes.

My blood pressure meds have been adjusted a couple of times and will most likely be adjusted more as my conditions continues to get worse. It will continue to worsen until we will have to make the decision as to when we will deliver.

At first, this diagnosis had me in tears and so worried for the well being of our sons. I felt like it’s way too early for them to be born and my questions were scary to ask. Would they survive if they were born at 29 or 30 weeks? Would they be on all kinds of machines and tubes in the NICU for months? Would their lungs be developed enough for them to be able to breathe on their own? And so many more questions…We love these twins so much and want them more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life, so the thought that they may suffer or not survive, paralyzed me with fear.

After being in the hospital now for eight days and having been able to meet all of the doctors & nurses who will be taking care of me and the twins and ask a ton of questions, I’m feeling much better about things. I know we (all three of us) are in the best place we can possibly be right now. Unfortunately, Preeclampsia, can take a turn for the worse with almost no notice. I could be fine right now, but then in an hour feel terrible and be in the worst kind of pain I’ve ever felt. So that is why I’m being monitored and watched so closely. I’d rather have the peace of mind and know I’ll be ok and the twins will be ok if we are here and the nurses and doctors can treat us immediately should my condition worsen quickly.

The good news is that if the twins are born now (at 30 weeks, 2 days) they will have to be in the NICU for awhile (most likely until their original due date), but they will be OK. They most likely will need to be on a feeding tube, oxygen, a CPAC machine and will need some other medications to help their lungs continue to develop. The NICU here is really nice and the twins will share a private room that my husband and I will be able to be in any time of day. We can stay over or come and go for feedings, skin on skin time, diaper changes and just to be with them to read stories and talk with them. We can have music in the room for them, which we most likely will have. My husband plays the guitar and I hope he will play the guitar for them. We are already talking to them and reading them stories regularly while they are in utero. I’m feeling confident that all is going to be fine in the end. It may not be a perfect ending to a fairly easy (until recently) pregnancy, but I am trusting the Universe, my doctors and nurses, all the love that surrounds us and my faith that these twins will make their appearance in the world when the timing is right and without too many complications. They are loved not only by us, but by our families and friends. We are so blessed to have so much support during this time.

I will do my best to try to publish updates more often going forward. I do have the time, since I’m in the hospital, as long as I continue to feel good. Thank you for following along on our midlife pregnancy journey. It hasn’t been boring by any means!

If you have had a Preeclamptic pregnancy or other pregnancy complications, I’d love to hear how you managed to stay positive and kept your spirits up. Please comment below. I do read all comments and will reply.