Third day a.m.

Not much to report so far today. I had an NST (non-stress test) and a biophysical profile (ultrasound) this morning and "Baby A" (we really should focus on getting some names picked out soon) still has his arrhythmia. They do not know for sure why he is having this irregular heartbeat but the ultrasound technician explained that most likely the electrical system in his heart is immature and a lot of times this will correct either in utero or once born.

They didn't see either baby "practice breathing" today but that didn't seem to worry anyone because 25 weeks is pretty early to be seeing it anyway. They worry if the babies are not doing this by 32 weeks so they have plenty of time to get the hang of it!

I received my second shot of steroids yesterday (they give them in two doses) and John told me, "Well, there goes your baseball career!" Those shots are NOT pleasant. They sting pretty bad and bruised me both times. I do bruise easily though (a platelet issue I guess).

When I met with the neonatologist yesterday he gave me hope that we wouldn't have to wait all the way until my actual due date (July 25th) to take the babies home. (A nurse mentioned to me earlier that usually you can expect to take them home around your original due date regardless of when they were actually born.) He said that stable babies usually are released to parents around 36 weeks (not 40) so that's more like the end of June. Of course, nothing is guaranteed because it all depends on how they're doing in the NICU with breathing and feeding. Every baby is different. Most likely they will be released separately, as one twin will "get it" first.

I got lots of rest last night because my doctors have ordered less frequent monitoring now that I am more stable. They have decided that once per nursing shift (morning, afternoon, and evening-every 8 hours) plus one ultrasound daily will be sufficient for now unless they see something disturbing at which time they wouldn't take the monitors off. So they left me alone from 11 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. I feel like a new woman with all that sleep! The compression devices on my legs are actually to prevent blood clots since I'm not on my feet very much and I'm actually getting used to them. They didn't disturb my sleep at all last night. My OB was here last night at 10:00 p.m. (after her day at the office). She is the hardest-working woman I know. She saw some "decels" in Baby A on my NST's, which is where his heart rate drops suddenly but she said it's not troublesome unless it doesn't come up again right away. Everyone is just learning what's "normal" for these little guys by gathering lots of information right now to be able to make a decision about when they should be delivered at a later time. Every day they stay inside of me is HUGE at this stage. The neonatologist said that the babies would have an 80% chance of survival if they were born today but would be facing serious and multiple disabilities. He said even two, three or four days longer makes a big difference at this point. Every day is a milestone!