25 has come and gone

Sorry I haven't written in a few days. We haven't been up to much so it sometimes seems difficult to find things to write about. Our greatest news is that we made it to 25 weeks on Wednesday! A small milestone but a milestone none the less! Now we have 26 weeks in our sights and we are hoping for the best. We had an ultrasound on Wednesday also but there were no changes there. She still has no fluid. She is still positioned breech so any fluid she makes we pretty much just lose. Anatomically she still looks fine. Squished but fine.
She has picked up a new little talent that, I believe, is designed to give her parents a heartattack. About once or twice a day when she is on the monitor she gets uncomfortable (I assume) and tries to wiggle around. She usually pinches her cord for a minute and drops her little heart rate. Then she realizes it and wiggles again till she gets off it. This usually buys her more time on the monitor to make sure she is fine and she always is. It almost feels like a really early form of discipline. "you can get off the monitor if you hold still the entire time, don't and we will leave you there for longer!" I have to say I feel really bad for her but it is good to see how well she recovers. The doctors and nurses are following her close and don't like to see her do that but are not to concerned they say it is typical of babies without fluid. They just like the fact that she recovers so well.
Our mission for the day today is to see if the doctor will let Kevin take me for a wheelchair ride outside for a few minutes. After 10 days a breath of fresh air would be great! Plus it is bright and sunny and warm (for January).
Take care everyone,
The Meyer's

The sky is...somewhere...

I have my first view of the mountains today! For those of who don't live in Boise, we are blessed with this fabulous condition in the winters called the "Inversion". It has been about 2 weeks that we have been socked into this hazy and medically hazerdous air stagnation situation. I woke this morning and there were flurries of snow. Even a small layer of snow takes the scenery rating around here from about a 2 to a 7. Anything to cover the brown drab that you come to accept living in the dessert. I don't know if it was the snow, but something decided to move the air a little and I can see about half way up the mountains to the north Boise. No blue sky but you can't ask for everything in one day. Mother Nature is easing us back into normalcy. I know it is terrible but the weather being nasty has made staying in my pajamas and nice warm bed easier.
Baby update...
We have been hooking her up to the monitors every day and she is doing well. She is a "typical 24 weeker" is what the doctors keep saying. We have talked to about every specialist that will be working with her when she gets here and I have to say we are impressed with all of them. They have all been what we are calling "realistically optimistic". They seem to telll us worse case scenario and then best case. We are expecting to fall somewhere in between. We had an ultrasound done on her Friday. There was still no measurable fluid but she did take some gulps of something and promptly started sucking her thumb. They estimated her weight at about 1lb 4oz. I know it doesn't sound like much but we were super excited. This means she gained nearly half a pound over the last 3 weeks! This also means that she is over the size required in order to be put on ventillators. (They need to be about a pound)
So for now we are done with antibiotics and steroids and the true waiting game begins. Our goal now is no infection and no labor. Maybe I will just start chanting "No Infection! No Contraction!" We hope you all are doing well. Stay warm and cozy. I suggest spending a full day in your pajamas! I do!

The Meyer's

We made it to the second leg...

We made it to the hospital! We checked in yesterday. I was a little sad to leave my comfy bed in the living room but it was a huge relief to think we made it this far. We checked in and they didn't waste any time. They got antibiotics going right away and gave me the shot for steroids for her lungs. I got one more steroid shot today and that is it for that part. Now we just wait. I have a nice room. It has 3 huge windows with 2 of the 3 having not so great views but one has a great view of the mountains. In any case it is bright and sunny. Unfortunately Kevin's accomidations are not quite so plush and definately not made for someone 6ft. 6. They have a chair that makes into a bed but I either they were planning on smurfs or midgets sleeping on it. Friday we will have better accomidations for him and he may even be able to get some sleep.
The staff has been great and the doctors have come by a few times already. I am so glad I have these doctors. They will just sit and visit with you for a long time about nothing in particular or they will sit and answer your questions as long as you have them. I don't think I have had them spent less than 20 -30 minutes with me and the never make you feel hurried. Even after (or especially after) going through nursing school I have not seen doctors with such great bedside manners. I consider myself lucky.
We are monitoring the baby every 8 hours or so on the fetal monitor and so far she has done great! I have to say that I don't think she likes it. She wakes up most of the time and starts punching and kicking the monitor with all her might (which isn't much). I figure it is giving her some exercise. If there is an upside to all this it is that without the fluid we are able to sit and watch my tummy when she is awake and even at only 24 weeks you can see her hands and feet kicking. At first it is a little "alien in my belly" feeling now we just sit and laugh because it is so hearwarming and cute.
Thanks again to everyone who is stopping by to visit and to everyone that has brought us stuff. It is very much appreciated and really makes the days faster and brighter. We love you all.

The Meyer's

24 weeks around the corner!

Sorry it has been a while since our last posting. When you are laying around all day it is hard to think there is much to tell everyone. On a good note our life has remained without incident. I have not gone into labor and am not showing signs of any infection which was our goal for these 3 weeks at home. From that perspective things could not be going better!
We had a fun weekend watching football and we had lots of great people stop by for a visit. Thank you to all of them. Today we started the day with the news but after the 3rd hour of people interviewing President Obama's neighbors, cleaning staff, and garbage man, we decided it was time to move on. Now we are having a Harry Potter marathon! We are only on the second movie but I have never sat down and watched them in a row. It is actually kind of interesting.
Well, assuming we don't have any changes tomorrow, we check into the hospital on Wenesday morning! It doesn't change the fact that we are confined to bed but at least we will be on what we call "the second phase" of our journey. We will start antibiotics to prevent infections and steroids to help develop her lungs. Then she can come whenever she decides to come. We are hoping she waits a while but right now we are just thankful that we have made it this far. Our odds of this pregnancy ending well have gone from 5% chance to 50%! They increase every day so we will just keep waiting.
A lot of you have asked about if we have picked a name yet. To tell you the truth we haven't. It showed that she was a girl at her 18 week ultrasound but I don't know if I trust those things 100%. So we refer to her as she but are keeping an open mind. As for names we are still looking for suggestions. Some of the suggestions we have heard have been great and have made it onto our name list so if you have any suggestions we would love to hear them. To be honest we probably won't name her till we get to see her.
Tomorrow should be a great day of packing and watching the inauguration of our new President! I will update you when we get to the hospital!
Happy MLK Jr. Day!
The Meyer's

23 weeks and counting...

Well, we went to the doctor this afternoon. We were hoping for some fluid to accumulate around the baby. Unfortunately there wasn't any. Luckily the baby looks great! Her heart rate was 153 which is great. She seems to be holding her own. So we are greatful she is dealing so well and doesn't have any kind of infection. All things considered this is good news it just makes us worry about her lung development. So we are back on bedrest for another week. Then they ship me off to what I refer to as "solitary confinement" otherwise known as antipartum. I am sure it will be totally fine but I have to say I am not super excited about giving up the comfort of being in my own home. The up side of the situation is that the baby will be monitored more closely and it will be comforting to see how she is doing a couple times a day instead of once a week. I will gladly give up my living room to be able to hear her little heart beat. Mostly I feel sorry for Kevin having to commute the hospital while trying to take care of the house and the pets. He doesn't seem to mind. When we check into the hospital they will give steroids to speed up the development of her lungs and they will give me antibiotics to help prevent infection. Then we will just take it one day at a time.
All things considered we are doing great. Of course we are worried but we have been having lots of fun spending lots of time together at home. We really want to thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of support. It has been great to hear from people we have not heard from in a while. We appreciate all of the prayers, positive thoughts, and food! We are very lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful family and friends. Thanks again for everything.
My next challenge is finding some new hobbies. As most of you know I love to cook but that is not only hard to do from a bed but harder to do in the hospital. So if anyone has any ideas I am looking for options. I know, I should be studying for board exams but I will get to that, promise.
The Meyer's

The lone dishcloth...

Well I did it. I completed my first knitting project! A dishcloth. I know a little anti-climactic but hey it took about 6 hours and will make sure my dishes are sparkling clean! Don't kid yourself by thinking it was complicated in any way. No fancy patterns and no fancy stitches. No, this was a project in knit a row and pearl a row. (For those of you that don't knit, that is as simple as it gets.)

Saturdays are posing a new challenge for me. I used to thoroughly look forward to Saturday. It used to be a day of recovery, catch up, and playing. Saturday now has a little twist to it. After being the sole director of the remote control all week I have decided that it would be nice to relinquish the power to Kevin for a day. It is the least I can do after all the cooking and cleaning he has been doing. Unfortunately doing this on Saturday means that I am watching Michigan State play basketball and he has just enthusiastically informed me that the NFL playoffs are TODAY. Don't get me wrong I enjoy watching sports on TV in moderation. Usually it includes a team that you are a fan for. However, being married to someone from Michigan has proved to be a problem since Detroit went 0 and 16 this season! This kind of record can be tough for a fairweather fan.
What do you think....time to make the dishcloth a friend?

Doctor visit...

We went to the doctor this morning. They did an ultrasound with a full anatomical screening. Which basically means they measure EVERYTHING and look for any developmental problems. She looks great. She measures well and her development looks great. However, no amniotic fluid. She had a full bladder and a little in her stomach but none surrounding her. Basically this this means we are losing the fluid about as fast as we are making it. Our hope is that she is getting to use it before we lose it. Kevin and I are optimistic that this is what is happening.
The doctors that we are seeing are special high risk OB. They see this situation often in their line of work. So the plan right now is to stay at home on bedrest until she reaches 24 weeks. At that point they will admit me to the hospital (on bedrest) and we will be able to start taking steroids that will hopefully help to develop her lungs. We will also be on antibiotics to help prevent infections in both of us. After 24 weeks they consider her a viable baby and we could have her at any point. Although every day we can wait to have her will be a blessing. The doctors were happy with the fact that we have made it as far as we have, and so are we. Every day increases our chances. I think he said they had doubled to 10%! Not much but we will take it!
Thank you everyone for your support and prayers. We can't tell you how much we appreciate it.
We love you all,
Kevin and Angie

22 Weeks today...

We have made it to 22 weeks today! My mom and Kevin have turned our house into as much of a germ free zone as I have ever seen! One of our biggest fears in an infection either in me or the baby so we are doing everything we can to make sure we are reducing that risk. I have a great bed and everything else I need set up in the living room. Poor Kevin has had to wait on me for everything but he is being a great sport about it and never complains. For once he is getting the run of the kitchen and is doing a great job at making sure I am eating great food.
As far as the baby goes, we are infection free so far! She was kicking up a storm this morning before breakfast. A good sign as far as I am concerned. We changed doctors and are going to some specialists at St. Lukes. We have an appointment tomorrow morning and are anxious and nervous to find out how things are going.
Dad and Kevin are working on some small projects around the house today when they are not waiting on me. Other than that it is bedrest as usual for me. I have had quite a few visitors (all sickness free), I have picked up knitting again, only to remind myself why I quit in the first place. We play cribbage, read books, watch movies, and TV to stay entertained. So far it isn't too bad but I can see it may get old in the future. For now I just seem to get sore from laying around so much.

21 weeks, New Years Eve day...

We had a great Christmas in eastern Idaho with my side of the family. We surpassed the half-way mark of 20 weeks of pregnancy! Both of us were pretty excited to achieve this milestone. Unfortunately, we had to celebrate by driving from Pocatello to Boise in a nasty storm on Christmas day. We made the trip in a little over 5 hours but more importantly we made it safely.
I got called into work on December 30th about midnight. Sounds like a terrible time of day but I was originally scheduled to work that night so I was ready to go in. I got off work the next morning and got home around 7am. My water broke between the car and the house. I was 21 weeks that morning. Kevin and I went to the hospital and were admitted to labor and delivery. The doctors told us that most people will go into labor within 48 hours and they were very sorry but the baby was not viable. We had an ultrasound done and saw the baby had no amniotic fluid around it. We were devestated but the doctor gave us a 5% chance of the situation resolving and the baby being fine. We took it! 5% is better than nothing. I was put on strict bedrest, antibiotics, and told to drink lots of fluid. My sister had arrived and was helping us by then.
We were lucky and made it through the 48 hour waiting period and didn't go into labor. They did another ultrasound at this point and the baby looked a little better, to me. She had a small amount of fluid around her. The fluid levels are nowhere near what they should be, but to us, it was an improvement.
So we got sent home from the hospital with orders to be on strict bedrest, take antibiotics, and drink lots of fluid.

A Little History...

This may be redundent to some of you but I wanted to bring everyone up to speed so we are all on the same page. I will give a brief history to catch you all up...
As most of you know, Kevin and I have struggled with fertility for quite a few years now. After a long process and some tough times we ventured into the world of intra-uterine insemination last August. It worked! We were so excited. On one of our first ultrasounds they told us we were having twins. Even better! We would take what we could get and we were blessed to be getting two! A week later they found a third baby. A little unnerving, but no complaints from us! The third baby never really developed and was lost. We were sad but hey, we still had two! During subsequent ultrasound the twins took some great pictures and were promptly named "the chicken" and "the bean". Trust me, it is exactly what they looked like. Around our 9 week ultrasound we lost the bean. It seemed to be the case of the "vanishing twin" we just happened to be keeping a very close eye. I had been having ultrasounds at a minimum of once a week due to some bleeding that had been occuring since week 6.
We were saddened by the loss of "the bean" but we were still pregnant and grateful for that. I was on bedrest for about 3 weeks after the loss of "the bean" due to some bleeding. This condition eventually resolved and the bleeding became intermittent till 16 weeks. At this point the bleeding subsided and has not returned.
At 18 weeks we saw a perinatologist and had our ultrasound for the anatomical screening.
"The chicken" looked great! We found out it was a girl! You are never 100% sure but we are excited either way. Everything looked fine, she measured a few days small but looks healthy and is well within normal range for everything they measured. It was a great way to start that week. I also graduated from nursing school that week! It was a busy week but truly one of my best.