We had our first scare in this pregnancy, thinking that the babies might be coming. I thought we had another nonstress test last Thursday. I didn’t think much of it, and just continued with my day. Annie wrote me a text not too long after the appointment started with the babies’ heart rates. I was a little puzzled about this information because she usually would write me about 1.5 hours after the nonstress test time to tell me the results. So then I realized that it was a scan and not a NST. Annie reported that the babies seemed to be doing well, with biophysical profile of 8 out of 8 for both of them. She then told me that she was in for a blood draw. The doctor ordered bloodwork. I was immediately alarmed because blood work is not the usual part of the routine. Annie said that “all should be good” and that “the doctor just wanted to check some things because he stated he was just paranoid” as she said she hadn’t been feeling well the previous few days. Her urine also showed traces of protein, so our OB was just double checking. My immediate thought was preeclampsia. Annie said that Dr. OB was not worried about preeclampsia because her blood pressure has been really good. He said it could be because she is off Zoloft or it might have something to do with the liver. I asked her how she wasn’t feeling well. She said that she had been feeling out of sorts, nauseous, with tummy sensitive to touch and feeling dizzy at times. She and Dr. OB both thought that it wasn’t anything serious and it might be related to the pregnancy being close to the end. So I asked THE question: if it is truly liver problems, what next? She said, if it is liver problems, then they would go right to delivery. If not, then she just carries on. Annie said that the blood test results should come back in a couple of hours. We didn’t actually hear about the results for another few hours. To be honest, those few hours were quite difficult to wait because it could mean instead of going home and preparing for dinner, we could be packing up and going right away. Bob was the calm one. He thought that at 34 weeks 1 day we were in good shape even if it meant delivery four weeks early, especially that they were doing well at our scan that day. To him, we are ahead of the game already. But I just really really wanted the babies to stay put for a bit longer so they would be as healthy as possible when they are born. And I really didn’t want Annie to have any serious health issues. I would like her to have the best possible experience with this pregnancy. My mind also went crazy with all the things that we had NOT packed and what flight we should take so we could reach the hospital quickly if a C-section was going to be moved up to the next day. And what if we miss the birth? And what about all the newborn clothes that are not washed or purchased yet? All these things were going through my head while I tried my best to carry on my day with the responsibilities that I had. Once again, my very wise friend A. came to the rescue. She told me to try my best to have faith in this process and not to worried because the babies have come this far for twins. The average NICU can handle them now. With her help of talking some sense in me and my husband’s calmness, I could stay focused on my tasks at work for a while. Later on, about 2 hours later than promised, Annie heard that two out of three blood tests were normal. I could breathe a bit more easily. The final blood test result came two hours later, and it was clear as well. So Annie didn’t have what the OB was testing for, and she was just very uncomfortable because of twin pregnancy. I was relieved, but at the same time I knew that we needed to know exactly what to do when THE time comes. Over the weekend we have gotten more newborn clothes from friends. We finally purchased a dresser that comes fully assembled and will be delivered on Wednesday. We also assembled the bassinets on the play yard in our room so that we don’t have to scramble when we come home in the future. All I can do is to praise the Lord for calm people around me and for keeping the babies and Annie safe and healthy. And I feel comforted that they are being closely monitored by Dr. OB. Bob is now paranoid about his Batman shirt and his red underwear. He did NOT wear them on Thursday because they weren’t clean. He jokes this was all because of him not wearing these. He thinks that he really needs to diligently put on these two items twice a week until the twins are born.
Almost 35 weeks.