August 8, 2012
No pictures today but we did get a great deal of information regarding the babies health and chances for survival at birth. The good news from today was that Dr. Shah gave me one last week at home. He was very hesitant to do so but everything checked out well again (cervix was still long and not dilated) and he was very sympathetic in allowing me to spend as much time as possible with Lexi. He did tell me that I will be admitted sometime after our appointment next week regardless of how things are going. He originally wanted me in at 20 weeks so I'm pretty satisfied with getting an extra 2 and a half weeks at home with Jacob and Lexi.
After our appointment with Dr. Shah we met with a neonatologist. He was very informative about the health concerns for the babies at each week if they were to be delivered at that time. The babies will have the best chance for a healthy delivery if we can make it to 28 weeks--my personal goal still being at least 30 weeks. One concern that we discussed was the development of the babies' lungs. We were told to expect the babies to be on some type of respiratory assistance after birth--the amount of time they will remain on respiratory assistance will be determined by each babies' progression in health obviously.
The other concern had to do with the effect of premature birth on the babies' mental development. (Forgive me for confusing any exact medical terms--clearly not a doctor but I'll summarize his words to the best of my memory). When babies are born prematurely they risk the chance of blood vessels in the brain (or head--not sure which he said) hemorrhaging. This can cause a wide variety of mental disabilities ranging from a mild learning disability to cerebral palsy. This hemorrhaging is a result of the change in blood pressure in the baby's body during birth. The longer they are able to stay in the womb the less chance we have for this happening. Soooo like I said my ultimate goal is at least 30 weeks. They would like to see me reach at least 28 weeks because that is the point when these risks drastically decrease. He also offered us a tour of the neonatal unit at Fairview which we are going to take at our appointment next week.
I had a great deal of questions regarding how much contact we would be able to have with the babies once they were born and again it all depended on their health. If the babies are on respiratory assistance we will only be able to place our hands on them while they are in the incubators. Once they are off respiratory we will be able to hold them and provide more skin-on-skin contact. I also asked about the procedures for feeding and if I would be able to breast feed or at least pump for them. He informed me that typically babies do not have the reflex for sucking until around 30 weeks so if they are born before then they may have to tube feed them but I would be able to pump and at least give them the best possible nutrition for them from my breast milk. If for some reason I was not able to pump we did agree to use donor milk.
There was not a restriction on the hours we were able to visit or the amount of time we would be allowed to spend with them. I asked if he thought it would be reasonable for me to come be with the babies and do what I could in the mornings, return to work for the afternoon and then come back again in the evening with Jacob and he agreed that it would be a good idea to spend some time away from the hospital. It will be hard for me to leave them--even if it is for just a few hours-- but financially and emotionally I know it will be for the best! I also feel that I have a great support system at work that will be much needed during that time as well.
After our appointment with Dr. Shah we met with a neonatologist. He was very informative about the health concerns for the babies at each week if they were to be delivered at that time. The babies will have the best chance for a healthy delivery if we can make it to 28 weeks--my personal goal still being at least 30 weeks. One concern that we discussed was the development of the babies' lungs. We were told to expect the babies to be on some type of respiratory assistance after birth--the amount of time they will remain on respiratory assistance will be determined by each babies' progression in health obviously.
The other concern had to do with the effect of premature birth on the babies' mental development. (Forgive me for confusing any exact medical terms--clearly not a doctor but I'll summarize his words to the best of my memory). When babies are born prematurely they risk the chance of blood vessels in the brain (or head--not sure which he said) hemorrhaging. This can cause a wide variety of mental disabilities ranging from a mild learning disability to cerebral palsy. This hemorrhaging is a result of the change in blood pressure in the baby's body during birth. The longer they are able to stay in the womb the less chance we have for this happening. Soooo like I said my ultimate goal is at least 30 weeks. They would like to see me reach at least 28 weeks because that is the point when these risks drastically decrease. He also offered us a tour of the neonatal unit at Fairview which we are going to take at our appointment next week.
I had a great deal of questions regarding how much contact we would be able to have with the babies once they were born and again it all depended on their health. If the babies are on respiratory assistance we will only be able to place our hands on them while they are in the incubators. Once they are off respiratory we will be able to hold them and provide more skin-on-skin contact. I also asked about the procedures for feeding and if I would be able to breast feed or at least pump for them. He informed me that typically babies do not have the reflex for sucking until around 30 weeks so if they are born before then they may have to tube feed them but I would be able to pump and at least give them the best possible nutrition for them from my breast milk. If for some reason I was not able to pump we did agree to use donor milk.
There was not a restriction on the hours we were able to visit or the amount of time we would be allowed to spend with them. I asked if he thought it would be reasonable for me to come be with the babies and do what I could in the mornings, return to work for the afternoon and then come back again in the evening with Jacob and he agreed that it would be a good idea to spend some time away from the hospital. It will be hard for me to leave them--even if it is for just a few hours-- but financially and emotionally I know it will be for the best! I also feel that I have a great support system at work that will be much needed during that time as well.