Mya and Lyla's Story

     We found out we were expecting early June. I scheduled a doctor's appointment for the next week hoping to find out how far along I was, that is not all we found out! While getting my first ultrasound the woman played the baby's heartbeat, she kept staring at the screen not saying any words so I asked if that is indeed the heartbeat. She told me yes it is...and here is the other one. I began laughing while my fiancé asked if she was joking or not, she informed us that she does not joke about twins. She kept looking at the screen after we heard each heartbeat and then told us the doctor would want to speak with us.

     The doctor came in and proceeded to tell us that they did not see a membrane dividing the twins and there is a small chance they could be monoamniotic, but majority of the time they are able to find a membrane later on.  I went home to Google "monoamniotic twins" (big mistake) and really scared myself.  All I was able to find is that this occurs in about 1 of every 60,000 twin births and that my babies only have a 50 to 60% chance of survival.  I knew the girls were monoamniotic but Chris kept trying to make me feel better by insisting that they will find a membrane. Our next appointment we were able to find out the gender of our babies but also our last chance to search for that membrane.  I was ecstatic to find out we were having girls but that was quickly trampled when we were ensured that there was no membrane making my pregnancy extremely high risk.

     Our next step was to make a plan because that doctor could not handle such a high risk pregnancy.  After seeing a few doctors, all telling me to not get too attached because there is a 50% chance I will not get to have my girls, I settled on a doctor in Pennsylvania.  We made a plan to go inpatient at 26 weeks  and to be monitored 3x daily for an hour.  Getting to 26 weeks was extremely difficult.  I was skeptical about having a baby shower because I was afraid of my girls not making it. I was afraid to sleep fearing I would wake up and not feel any movement.

     Finally 26 weeks came and I was ready to be admitted. Being inpatient was hard to say the least.  Chris was finishing school so he could not be there as much as he would have liked which was hard for me. I cried every night I was in the hospital, I felt isolated from the world and everyone was going on about their life without me. I especially hated getting my IV switched every other day. One member of my family would visit every day and that was what I would look forward to every day.

     I had one major scare during my late night monitoring where Baby B's heart dropped into the 70s for a few seconds. I was so scared and pushed my call button 100 times. The ultra sound tech came running in and could not find my baby's heartbeat, finally my doctor pushed him out of the way and found it. Words cannot describe my relief.  I was given oxygen and they kept me strapped up all night. Between the straps being so tight, my tears and my fear I did not get one minute of sleep that night. A few weeks went by with no major issues and other than being in a hospital for five weeks I was doing well.

     My doctor gave me the option of delivering at 34 weeks or 32 and I did not want to take any risks so I chose 32. Thanksgiving rolled around and Chris was finally able to stay for a while. November 26, 2013 I was on my last monitoring session of the day when Baby B's heart dropped into the 70s. I was given oxygen and my doctor told me he was just going to keep me on the monitor for a while longer and told the nurse to give me another round of steroids.  Her heart rate went back up but I would not take my eyes off of that screen. Twenty minutes later her heart rate dropped again, this time to the 50's.

     My doctor ran into my room and asked "Can I deliver your babies today?" I was so scared I could not even speak. I looked at Chris and he responded "Let's Go!" Everything after that happened so quickly. I was rushed into a bright room and Chris was told to stay behind. They put me on the operating table and everyone was scrambling around me. My doctor was yelling that the anesthesiologist was taking too long and getting his instruments ready which did not help my nerves, finally it was time to put me under.

 

Mya and Lyla

     I woke up asking the nurses if my girls were ok and if they had hair, she responded yes to both questions. I was sent to recovery and was dying to meet my angels. When I saw my girls for the first time it was like a dream. My girls, my sweet babies who I had been told might not make it were finally here. Lyla weighed 2lbs 14 oz and Mya was 2lbs 15 oz. Their cords were not only tangled but Lyla's wrapped around Mya's neck. After four days we were finally able to hold Mya and the next day Lyla! I thought being inpatient was hard, but that was nothing compared to leaving without my girls every day which never got easier.

   I visited my girls every day sometimes up to 5 hours a day. The girls spent about 5 weeks in the NICU with only a few minor setbacks. Lyla came home January 11 and Mya the following day. My girls are 6 months old now and are absolutely perfect.  I love them more than I knew I could. I still stare at them in disbelief the same way I did when the night they were born.

A Dad's Perspective

The story in the link below is a dad's perspective of a monoamniotic pregnancy that was published on Esquire.com. We just had to share! It's a great read about a mo/mo pregnancy and life after babies come home.

I LIVED THROUGH THE MOST NERVE-WRACKING BIRTH STORY YOU MAY EVER READ

Monoamniotic Twin Boys Success Story

      My name is Abby and I delivered mono mono twin boys on November 26 and wanted to share our story.  I found out I was pregnant on Mother's Day 2013 after going through a miscarriage. I went in to see my OB a week later and had an ultrasound to date the pregnancy. At that ultrasound the tech saw one sac, one placenta, and one heart beat, so we assumed there was one baby-little did we know there were actually two, one just hiding behind the other! I continued going to my regular appointments throughout the summer and each time we listened to one heart beat! I thought I was having a normal singleton pregnancy except for the fact that I had such horrendous morning sickness and I was showing much faster than I did with my first son, Jack.

     At 20 weeks I went in for the big ultrasound-my husband and I were so excited to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl! That's when we got the surprise of our lives! And by the look on the ultrasound tech's face so did she! We were actually expecting twin boys! I didn't have a doctors appointment scheduled until the next week so we went home and were shocked, but so happy to learn we'd be adding two more bundles of joy to our family!

     We had a wonderful weekend celebrating and then on Monday, my doctor called and explained that she could not see a membrane in my ultrasound photos and what that means. I was devastated. I made an appointment with a perinatologist and after several more ultrasounds it was confirmed that our boys were definitely monoamniotic. I was so scared, especially having had a miscarriage right before this pregnancy!

     My husband and I met with my new high risk doctor and we decided that I would check in to the hospital at 24 weeks for my inpatient stay. It was unbelievably hard to leave my son who was then 18 months old, but my mom took a family medical leave from the university where she works and took care of him! I was lucky enough that I was able to work from the hospital, which gave me something to do while I was there. I also finished writing my dissertation while inpatient. I have to say that I really learned what amazing people I have in my life during that hospital stay! I didn't go one day without a visitor in 10 weeks and people brought me books, DVDs, and crafts to keep me from going crazy! My sister came up every Friday night and we'd have a slumber party-eat pizza and watch movies! Between my husband and my mom, they got my son up to see me almost every day!

     I was on intermittent monitoring (1 hour out of every 4) with ultrasounds every two weeks right up until the very end. Two days before the boys were born, we finally had some bad tracings on the monitor and I was kept on 24 hour monitoring. It was very scary-twice during the middle of the night doctors and nurses rushed in and rolled me over onto my side. Both times the boys heart rates recovered, thank god! The second time they actually put in an IV and got me into a hospital gown!

     The next night I started having regular contractions. They started getting more painful and were coming every 2 minutes. I called my husband who got my parents over to our house to stay with Jack and he made it to the hospital just in time. Since we were trying to get to 34 weeks and we were 33 weeks and 5 days, the OB didn't see any point to stop my labor and they went ahead and prepped me for my c-section. They wheeled us down to the operating room and they were all so calm-it was very reassuring! Plus, I knew all the doctors and nurses so well by then that they were more like friends than doctors!

     The boys were born within one minute of each other-Henry at 4:57 and Oliver at 4:58 AM and they were 5 pounds 1 ounce and 5 pounds 6 ounces respectively, which I'm told are great weights for that gestational age. Their cords were a mess-they were all braided around each other with one true knot! They did absolutely wonderful! They were off oxygen by the end of the first day and needed no other interventions-they just had to learn to eat and grow. They came home exactly two weeks later. The NICU stay was the hardest part of the entire ordeal-it was very hard to leave the hospital without my babies. Luckily they did so well and we had them home for Christmas! They are such blessings and this has truly been the best holiday season ever!

Aeden and Noah's Story

     I found out that I was pregnant New Year's Day.  We were surprised and excited and anxious.  Of course, we had to wait several weeks before we actually got to see a doctor, so 28 days later we made our way to the doctor excited to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time.

      At our first appointment we went in for the sonogram and it was very exciting until the technician said, ,"Oh...wait a minute..."  It got very scary for a few seconds until she identified a second heartbeat.  We were having twins.  Next the technician checked for several other things and was worried that she could not find a septum (the line between the babies indicating that they were in two separate amniotic sacs).  However, she and our doctor assured us that they would probably be able to see it at our next appointment  and scheduled a follow up for one month later.

     At our next appointment, one month later (13 weeks gestation) they were only really concerned with finding the septum.  I was amazed at how my little beans had turned into little people and looked like they were boxing each other.  When the technician excused herself to get the doctor we got worried.  It was kind of like one of those moments in movies when the doctor gets a concerned look on their face and give the parents terrible news.  The doctor came back to the room with the technician and started giving her instructions.  After a few minutes the news came..."We can not find a septum between your babies.  Let's go over to the exam room so we can talk about what this means."

      The details were scary.  Mono-amniotic/Mono-chorionic twins happen in only one in 10,000 twin pregnancies.  There was a 50-60% chance that one or both babies would be still born.  In addition, because they were split from one egg, there was a high chance that one of the babies would be born with some sort of defect ranging from heart, lung, spinal, renal, or brain defect.  It was a lot of scary stuff to hear, but there was still a chance that there was a septum and the ultrasound equipment was just not advanced enough to locate the divide.  We were referred to a perinatal specialist in Shreveport, LA (which was two hours from our home) first in hopes that their advanced equipment would find the septum, and second to give us a physician would could properly care for our very high risk pregnancy if they did not find the septum.

      The following week we made the trek to Shreveport to find out for sure what we were dealing with.  They did not find a septum.  The doctor also gave the ultrasound technician a series of directives, "check the hips, check the stomach, check the back, check the chest, etc." and then finally informed us that he was worried that they were conjoined based on the photos he had been sent.  What?!?  We had no idea that was even a concern.  Immediately following the ultrasound we met with the doctor where he gave us all the gruesome details again.  He also offered a selective termination in which they could terminate one of the babies in order to give the other a better chance of survival.  No Way!  I responded by simply saying, "no...that's actually isn't an option."  He warned us of the tough road ahead.  I would see him in Shreveport monthly, unless something more serious arose, I would see my doctor at home every two weeks.  I would go on bed rest at home at 20 weeks and begin seeing my home doctor every week.  At 24 weeks I would be admitted into the hospital for continuous monitoring and would remain there until the babies were born.

      Then the fun began.  We continued living our lives knowing that one way or the other our lives were going to change.  We both still had the stress of our jobs, preparing and taking bands to contest, in addition to the stress of the pregnancy.  Everything went along without a hitch until our appointment at 20 weeks in Shreveport when they began to check out organs.  The organs looked fine, but they did discover a single umbilical artery in twin a which could be a sign of defects that could not be detected on the ultrasound.  We would just have to wait until they were born to find out.  (This is probably the reason for Aaden's hemi-vertebrae and horseshoe kidney)

      I also began bed rest at home at 20 weeks and so instead of my days being filled with the stress of my job it was filled with the what ifs of my pregnancy.  The only thing that kept me sane was feeling them move and the security of having weekly appointments to be sure they were both okay.

      At 24 weeks I was admitted into the hospital where they monitored the boys twice a day for a few hours.  At first they were still small enough to move around quite a bit so it was very difficult to monitor them effectively so many times the monitoring sessions took quite a long time.  Things went along nicely for two weeks, then one night, right at 26 weeks, the boys began having issues.  Twin A's heart rate was dropping pretty low and staying down for too long so they began to prep me for surgery and gave me the steroid shots to speed along the boys' lung development.  For about a week I stayed hooked up to an IV while they continued to monitor the boys 24 hours a day.  I also began having contractions during this time so they gave me all sorts of drugs to try to keep them at bay.  When I was finally taken off continuous monitoring and allowed restroom privileges again (and allowed to take a real shower!) things seemed better.  I was at 27 weeks and had only 5 weeks left until they would take the boys.  Things seemed fine.  My parents came to visit and my mom was going to stay with me for a couple of weeks.  She just had to make one trip back home for a doctor's appointment and then she would be back for the long haul. Josh was busy doing drama camp in Henderson during this time so the plan was that mom would keep me entertained so that Josh wouldn't have to travel back and forth so much.  Mom left on a Sunday for her appointment (Father's day actually).  The next day I was feeling down so I called Josh to ask if he would come for the night.  He agreed without any argument and I immediately felt better.  He brought me food (it's difficult to live on hospital food) and I enjoyed that before I began an unusually late monitoring (there had been a ton of births that day so I didn't start my first monitoring until late, moving my second monitoring back later).  This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  About 8pm Twin A went into distress and stayed that way for too long.  The next hour was one of the craziest hours of my life.  People were in and out of my room, nurses, doctors, anesthesiologists, all the while all I can think about is my baby being in distress.  I was finally wheeled (ran really) down to the operating room and within 15 minutes my babies were born and I entered the most stressful time of my life.

 Noah at 28 weeks gestation

Aeden at 28 weeks gestation

      Aaden was born with an APGAR of 0 and had to be revived. His umbilical cord was completely white and the doctors had no idea how long he had not been receiving blood. His 5 minute APGAR was a 3.  Noah was born with an APGAR 3 and his 5 minute APGAR was an 8.  Noah was only on the vent for a few hours, Aaden for a few days.  It was so difficult to see my babies hooked up to so much equipment and not be able to hold or comfort them in any way.  The first week was pretty uneventful until Sunday.  We had just left the hospital for the night and decided to go to Henderson and stay with Josh's parents.  We got a phone call from the NICU before we got there telling us to come back immediately.  We got no other info except to come back.  I have never prayed or cried as hard as I did during the 45 minute drive back to the hospital.  We called once during the trip to get the same info, keep coming.  When we arrived we ran to the NICU and the doctor met us at the door.  Aaden had been in distress.  He had fluid on his lungs and he had almost died.  He was stable, but still considered critical.  I'm still unclear as to what happened, but it had to do with his pic line.  He was returned to the vent and that was how we experienced our first thrill on the roller coaster ride of the NICU.  I still get teary when I think about it.

      Noah had a similar scare later that week, but it did not escalate to the same level that Aaden did because the nurses were much more attentive because it had happened to Aaden.  The boys continued to slowly improve.  They had good days and bad days and our days directly correlated with theirs.  The were in the NICU for three months and came home one week before their due date.  They were still on heart monitors when they came home, but they were home.  Besides some developmental delays they have been great.  They are perfect.

      This is why I march for babies.  If I can help prevent even one family from experiencing the same scary things we went through then it is worth it.  Since the boys were born, just three years ago, they have upgraded the percentage from 50-60% chance of stillbirth to 70-80% chance of survival in mono mono twins with proper care and monitoring.  March of Dimes helped with that and so I will continue to march so that one day maybe mono mono twins will no longer be a high risk pregnancy.

     I never thought I would experience something like this, but it happened to me and it could happen to anyone.  I am thankful for all the people who donated and marched before me, and I will continue to pay it forward as long as I am able.

My Momo Miracles

I had never thought I was going to be a mother.  I'd been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease when I was twenty-one.  Due to the kidney disease I had high blood pressure, and I also have chronic migraines.  I had been told by every doctor for ten years that I should not have children.  Not that I couldn't have children but that I shouldn't have them.  I told myself that I didn't want children so as to not have to confront the idea of not being able to have them.  Then, about six months after getting married,  I found myself pregnant and everything changed.

After embracing the idea of being a mother, I was then devastated when I had a miscarriage at the beginning of my second trimester.  We tried again right away but were unsuccessful.  Due to my health issues (and the increased chance of multiples) we decided against fertility treatment and just left it up to Mother Nature.  After four years waiting, I finally found myself pregnant in September 2010.

While waiting for our first real ultrasound (around nine or ten weeks,) my husband and I were amused by the couple who come out into the waiting room very excited that they were having twins.  My husband jokingly said, "What if we are having twins?" Not amused, I said, "Don't even say that.  That is NOT going to happen."  

Ten minutes later I found myself lying on the table, stomach covered in ooze when the tech exclaimed, “Oh wow, its twins!”  Thinking (or hoping) she had made a mistake I asked if she somehow got the other lady’s ultrasound mixed up with mine!  But no, there was no mistake.  I was carrying twins.

The doctor could see right away that the separating membrane was missing and he referred us to the best--and, I think the only--perinatologist in the state.  My biggest fear was that the twins would be conjoined and I spent every minute of the next couple weeks worrying about it.

Upon meeting my perinatologist, I knew I liked him.  He had such a peaceful, quiet, reassuring way about him that I felt very comfortable.  He soon confirmed that the membrane was missing and diagnosed it as a momo pregnancy, NOT conjoined.  My relief was tempered when the doctor began explaining exactly what a momo pregnancy entailed.  Hearing that my babies only had a 50% of even being born, I had flashbacks to the pain of my miscarriage.  How could I go through that again?  The doctor explained that there were options but I had already decided that, no matter what, I wasn't giving up on the baby (now babies) that I had waited four years for.  Regardless of the odds stacked against us, I just felt that these babies were meant to be.

The first half of my pregnancy was miserable yet uneventful.  I literally spent most of my time trying to keep food down and being unsuccessful.  It was the middle of winter and my perinatologist was 100 miles away so I went into my high-risk ObGyn for check-ups, along with many long drives to see the specialist.  Each appointment, I had to hold my breath until I heard the two heart-beats and saw them on the monitor.  While I felt that the babies were doing well and would be fine if I just stayed positive, I had a difficult time bonding with the babies growing inside of me.  I needed to build a wall to protect myself in case things didn't work out.

At 22 weeks, my blood pressure spiked and I was hospitalized in an attempt to prevent pre-eclampsia.  We all knew that 22 weeks was far too early to deliver but it was a possibility.  After several days in the hospital and some serious manipulation of my blood pressure medication, we did get things under control.  I was discharged to home on modified bed rest until I was scheduled to go inpatient at twenty-eight weeks.  However, at my twenty-six week appointment with the specialist the blood flow in the cords looked dangerously constricted so I was quickly admitted and began my inpatient stay.  

The first few days in 'Mommy Jail' were stressful.  I was immediately given steroid injections to stimulate the babies' lung development.  The pressure in the cords was rather high, indicating  something (a knot) was restricting the blood flow.  At one point, Baby A dropped off the monitor and the doctor nearly delivered them at twenty-six weeks four days.  Fortunately, upon hearing that, the boys decided to settle down and from that point on, their numbers got better every day. 

 I was monitored for three one-hour blocks each day, which translated into lying flat on my back for the better part of every day and night as the nurses chased the babies around my stomach trying to get a good read.  I also had an ultra-sound every second day to monitor the blood flow in the cords.  My husband and I soon settled into a routine where he spent half the week with me in the hospital and half the week at home going to work.  Things were looking good until, around twenty-nine weeks, my blood pressure began to rise again.

After several days of trying to get my blood pressure under control, everyone could see it wasn't working.  I was officially 'pre-eclamptic', I had become swollen in places I didn't know could swell and had to spend nearly all my time in bed, lying on my left side.  The day I reached the thirty week mark, the doctor came in early and--to no one's surprise--said things were just getting too dangerous and it was time to deliver.  Within the hour, after a flurry of phone calls to family back home and a quick shower, I had an IV put in and was ready to be wheeled into the operating room.

At 12:14 p.m. February 27, 2010 Casey Li came into the world, weighing 2 lbs. 4 ozs with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice.  At the same time Casey was brought out, Foster John's feet came out with his brother.  Seconds later, he too was welcomed into the world weighing 2 lbs 5 ozs.  The doctor had everyone in the room come look at the umbilical knot the boys had created, not quite believing the mess they had made of it.  Each baby had a four-member NICU team who, after letting me look at each baby for a second, quickly had them intubated and whisked them away to the NICU.  

 Umbilical cord knot

It was nearly 8:00 p.m. before I was able to crawl into a wheelchair to see my babies for the first time outside the two seconds I'd seen them in the OR.  Not even the drug-induced fog I was in could contain my joy and fear upon entering the NICU and seeing them for the first.  They were impossibly tiny, yet perfect in every way.  They were even breathing on their own with just room level oxygen!  

 Casey Li  4 days old.  First ‘kangaroo care’!!

I had always felt that my children were going to be fighters, but even I was surprised by how tough they turned out to be.  My doctor attributed it to being stressed in the womb, which forced them to develop quickly and be resilient.  After dropping to 1 lb 15 ozs, the boys soon began to gain weight steadily.  The only setback they suffered was, after about a week, both boys were desatting regularly so they were put on a nasal canulla for a couple weeks.  Other than that, they made great progress every day, while I used my NICU time to learn as much as I could from the best caregivers around--the NICU nurses.

  Foster John  10 days old

We were told to expect the boys to go home around their due date, which had been May 6th.  By the beginning of April, it was clear the boys wouldn't be in the NICU that long.  The doctors said they usually never discharged a baby weighing less than five pounds, but our boys were doing so well they didn't need to stay any longer.  As one doctor put it, "They are the valedictorians of the NICU." 

 

On April 15, 2010, after an eight week stay, our boys were finally discharged.  At the time, both boys were 3 lb 13 oz and were too small to fit into a car seat so we were one of the few people ever to use the special 'car beds' the NICU had.  The boys actually had to ride in those for more than a month before finally getting large enough for a regular infant car seat!!

The first few months at home with the boys were a bit of a roller coaster.  While we were lucky and the boys were exceptionally healthy for preemies, they were still preemies and still faced preemie problems.  We were under strict orders not to take the boys anywhere or allow many people in and out of our home for at least six months so I became rather stir-crazy.  Neither boy slept well, grunting and fussing even when they did sleep, and we struggled with terrifying spit-up/choking episodes for months.  Our days were filled with visits from the county nurse, many visits to the pediatrician, trips out-of-town to see specialists, visits from our Family Outreach counselor, and even physical therapy evaluations.  Still, somehow we managed to get through every day. 

My boys are now two and doing incredibly well.  We have graduated from the Family Outreach (Early Intervention) program and the boys are developing very well.  The only stumbling block we’ve had recently is with speech.  They are a bit behind in learning to speak English but have mastered their own language “Twinglish.”  We have started therapy and have been learning sing language, which is helping them communicate without getting frustrated.  They have now started making up their own sign language, which is a fun challenge to decipher. 

 I could not be prouder of my little men.  Every step of their journey to be with us was quite a challenge and they proved to be such fighters!  Their strength amazes me.  Late at night, I sneak into their room to watch them sleep and remember them as tiny 2 lb preemies who couldn’t even keep themselves warm and often find myself crying.  I am so very, very blessed.

 Foster John (left) & Casey Li (right) 2 years old!

Hospital Survival Tips from Momo Mom

Thank you to my fellow momo mom Shelby for allowing me to share this!!! Shelby just spent 8 weeks in the hospital on continuous monitoring before the arrival of her healthy (and big!) momo babies.  She wrote this to help other moms that may find themselves in the hospital for a long time period of time while waiting on the arrival of their baby or babies.  Thanks again and way to go Shelby!

"Dear Long Term Mom at Carle Hospital,

My name is Shelby and I called room 1056 at Carle Hospital my home for eight weeks awaiting
the birth of my twin girls. I thought I could maybe share a few things that helped me to survive
this journey as it isn’t always easy. Of course, you’ll need to consult your care providers to
ensure that it’s safe for you and your baby (or babies) before going ahead with any of these
suggestions.

Tips for you

•  Bring your own towels, pillow and blanket
• Ask about being upgraded to a long term bed. The bed you start with is likely intended for labor and delivery and isn’t necessarily very comfortable
• Get dressed in regular clothes, put on makeup and do your hair if you can. It helps so much to feel “normal.” But, don’t feel guilty for taking days off either
• Try to utilize all the people who are available to you. I met with the dietician,physical therapy, social workers, lactation consultants, pastoral care and consulted with the NICU team at various times throughout my stay
• Take this time as an opportunity to learn about parenting. You may not be able to go to the “All About Baby” classes, but talk to your nurses about having them cometo you or provide educational materials.
• See if you can have Jacuzzi time. It does wonders to alleviate the aches and pains associated with pregnancy
• Ask your doctor if you can have “wheelchair rides,” it’s amazing what a little fresh air can do for your frame of mind.
• See if from time to time you can have meals in the family lounge with your visitors. Eating at a table is something most of us take for granted
• If you’ll have a lot of fetal heart monitoring, bring in some of your favorite lotion to use in lieu of the ultrasound gel. I liked to use a cocoa butter cream to help combat stretch marks, plus it made the room smell good too
• Again, if you’ll be doing a lot of heart monitoring, sometimes you’ll need to use props to get just the right angle. Request mesh panties over wash cloths if you can, they are much softer on your skin
• If you’ve got to wear the ‘flowtron’ compression stockings because of limited mobility, from time to time, give your skin a break and wear leggings under them instead of pants over them."

Inpatient Stay Tips

Inpatient Stay Tips (from momo mom after first week of Inpatient Stay) 

 

1. Take the first two days just to soak it all in. It's emotionally and physically exhausting because I couldn't sleep. I didn't do much else.

2. Have your husband or a family member stay with you as much as possible the first week.

3. Pack comfortable clothes but make sure you feel good in them/stylish. I'm glad I brought some "cute" clothes to wear during the day and with visitors.

4. Get yourself into a daily routine by the end of the week to remain as "normal" as possible. (I.e. organize, read, visitors, snacks, meals, naps, walk (if you're allowed), shower... Find a consistent time slot for each activity)

5. Be extra kind to every staff person in the hospital. Housekeeping, dietary, and especially the nurses. They will go out of there way to bring extra snacks, free meals for family, answer questions if you're a "good patient". 

6. Ask questions about everything the nurses/docs are doing so you can be totally informed or if you think of a question write it down right away so you don't forget. Even though there is a "plan" not everyone is always on the same page, don't assume that everyone is your advocate, you have to speak up if something seems questionable or you don't have total clarity on something 

7. Ask your OB to put in an order for dietary and physical therapy to come and see you.

8. Bring in things from home. I brought in a reading lamp and it makes a world of difference in the evening or early morning not to have the harsh fluorescent hospital lights on all the time. 

9. I made a paper chain this week counting down the days to my delivery date. Each day I tear off a link (like the one you made in elementary school)

10. Bring in pictures to tape on your wall, your pillow from home, and a cozy blanket. If you are in around the Holidays then bring something Holiday themed to brighten up your room.

What to pack while inpatient

Many momo moms choose to go inpatient between 24 and 28 weeks with goal delivery dates of 32 to 34 weeks.  That can mean up to 10 weeks in the hospital!!!

What should you pack to make your time in the hospital as comfortable as possible?? Here's a list to start...  Make yourself as comfortable as possible and enjoy your stay ;)   You shouldn't have to be on pregnancy bedrest while in the hospital so request time out of your room daily (at least 15 minutes to walk and another 15 minutes to shower) and even possibly off campus (once a week).  See if you can not have an IV in the whole time (it gets very uncomfortable) and ask your doctor if you can get less frequent blood draws (many have a policy of taking blood every 3 days).  Good luck, you CAN do it!

This list is compiled based on the suggestions of multiple moms!  If you packed all of this it would take you a day to move in! But you may be there for 10 weeks so pack as much as you think you'll want/need/use!  

1.  Comfy clothes and shoes (large shirts/tanks/yoga-stretch pants/sleeping pants/shorts/socks/sweatshirt) ~ you may get bigger than you expect so bring some BIG shirts, hospital rooms can be cold so pack some cooler weather things like sweatshirts and warm socks! Some moms also liked to dress up a bit so maybe an outfit or two (jeans/nice shirt).
2.  Camera (document your growing belly!)
3.  Laptop/tablet  (most hospital rooms should have wi-fi)
4.  DVDs (or download a few shows to your laptop/tablet)
5.  Healthy snacks (and maybe a few not so healthy ones for a quick pick me up!)
6.  Pillow and pillowcases
7.  Sheets (may want to bring your own/soft sheets)
8.  Blanket/comforter (one to make bed more comfortable (twin size) and a small one to cover up during monitoring sessions (throw size))
9.  MP3 Player/small speakers or docking station
10.  Books/crossword puzzles
11.  Night clothes
12.  Craft activities (the hospital is a great place to learn how to knit or crochet and you can make a few cute hats for when you babies are in the NICU or for your newborn photo shoot)
13.  Scrapbook materials (work ahead on the baby books since things will be busy once your babies arrive!)
14.  Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, face cleanser, lotions, shampoo, soap (bar and gel), conditioner, floss, lip balm, razors, loofah, hair items (bobby pins, straightener, curler, hair ties), q-tips, make up, shower cap, tweezers, nail clippers, nail file, nail polish/remover, vitamins (although many times the hospital won't let you take your own, you will have to take ones they provide))
15.  Water bottle (keep filled to remind you to drink water!)
16.  Notebook/pen/cards (extra cards to write to notes on antepartum wing as thank yous)
17.  Photos & Photo Frames (family, favorite ultrasound pics to keep your eye on the prize(s)!)
18.  Cell phone
19.  Alarm clock/watch
20.  Ear plugs
21.  Eye mask
22.  Laundry bag
23.  Shower shoes
24.  Slippers 
25.  Zip lock bags
26.  Scotch tape/fabric tape (to tape things to your walls)
27.  Sheet protectors (to put pictures and art projects from your kids in)
28.  Glade plug in (or other scented item)

29.  Memory foam pad for twin size bed

30.  Body/pregnancy pillow

31.  Towels (soft ones!, fun patterns or bright colors to brighten up your bathroom)

32.  Journal/pens/stickers
33.  Small plant 
34.  Chain/Necklace to keep rings on (fingers may get swollen during inpatient stay)
35.  Salt and pepper shakers (to season food as desired); other spices you love
36.  Baby wipes (help wipe off monitor/ultrasound gel)
37.  Mini fridge (if allowed) to store healthy snacks (many floors also have a fridge available to inpatient moms that is stocked with milk)
38.  Fan (white noise/room may get hot) 
39.  Chargers for all electronics (cell phone, M3 player, laptop, tablet, camera)
40.  Headlamp (to read in bed without bright lights on)
41.  Febreeze/Diffuser
42.  "Nurse Trap" (snacks/cookies/candy to entice nurses to stop by more often and get to know your nurses!) 
43.  Toilet paper (nice and soft if you don't like the hard stuff in most hospitals) 
44.  Calendar (to countdown the days!)
45.  Exercise ball/band