Could have been worse

Yeah... that's really the best I can say about my OB appointment today. Cervix was slightly shorter than at discharge. The doctor was on the fence about sending me to the hospital. She said we are already doing all we can with the current situation, so she didn't really see the benefit in admitting me. (I have been following my bedrest rules at home, just ask my Mom! And drinking so much water that my pee has been crystal clear for days.) Anyway, the OB consulted with the MFM high-risk specialist, because as she put it, they are typically less likely to hospitalize women than her partners. The MFM doc recommended that she check my cervix externally in addition to the ultrasound that was done earlier, and he said if it was feeling okay then I should be allowed to go home. The OB did the external check, and she sounded just as relieved as I felt when she announced that it passed the test.

That. Was. Close.

So again barring any unfortunate developments, I am at home in bed until my appointment on Wednesday of next week.

As she was doing the exam, the OB remarked, "If it makes you feel better, your babies now have a better than 50% chance of survival outside the womb. And at 28 weeks, that rate jumps to 95%." She also said (in a very kind way) that I should be prepared to do some bedrest at the hospital in the future, and that I would not likely be making it to my C-section.

I'm glad that it's sounding like I have a good attitude about all this (based on your comments to my last post) because really I feel like I have a crap attitude. I am incredibly bitter and disappointed that this pregnancy is ruined, and I am absolutely terrified that I could lose one or both munchkins. I'm hanging in there, but it's hard -- really hard. The most I can do is take it day by day without breaking down, and so I will wait as I tick slowly towards our next goal, 28 weeks. Twelve days to go.

Now! To answer two questions asked in the comments of my last post.

IF Optimist, then... wanted to know why we aren't doing a cervical cerlage. The conclusion that I came to myself after researching online -- which was then confirmed by my OB -- is that I am too far along for a cerclage. Usually those are done at the end of the first trimester in women who are known to have an incompetent cervix. (Which most often involves a prior loss, sadly enough.) Anyway, my cervix is a bit more coy and didn't reveal her incompetence until much later. Once a woman reaches 24 weeks, putting in a cerclage has not shown to be very effective in lengthening the pregnancy. That needs to be weighed against the risks of the procedure, and in the case of twins, I've read that doing a cerclage can actually bring on labor. As we have already passed the point of viability by 2+ weeks, we are just going to do our best to hang in there with bedrest and medication.

Red inquired about whether all three boys will be diapered in cloth. Not at first. In fact, Bean is in disposables right now because of my strict bedrest. (It's all about convenience for the caregivers these days!) I imagine that when the twins come, the craziness will only increase, so in order to simplify as much as possible, we'll stick with the Pampers Swaddlers for them and Cruisers for Bean. Once If we get the hang of parenting three under three, I do hope to switch back to cloth. Bean will be potty trained at some point (the kid has NO interest yet), and of course I'm keeping his stash ready for future use. Time will tell -- and in the meantime, we'll just keep making our weekly contribution to the landfill.