Where on the map are we?

Well, it has been a two weeks for sure.

I am home. This is good. We have with medications and a home pump and monitor system got the contractions down to a minimal as of this morning. This alone is a reason for praise.

Since the contractions and the uterine irritability has improved over the last 24 hours so has the amount of medications that I have had to use so this too will over all help my sugar and my kidneys which the last two weeks have wrecked havoc on.

I go back to the local OB/GYN on Tuesday. The the high risk on Wednesday, we are thinking that they may cancel the Tuesday if the home nursing company continues to feel good about the girls activity and heart rates and the bleed continue to diminish and contractions stay at bay.

Yeah I know there are many factors that dictate each and every hour in our house right now.

Mentally I wasn't expecting this at this point, trying to still wrap my head around everything and in the mean time prepare for a premature birth.

Our prayer list is long and for many people who directly and indirectly are part of our care. Please if you can read over them and include us in your prayers.

Thank you to Carole who is just a great mom and person for checking on me as well as all our well wishers who left us messages. Knowing that your not alone is comforting.

~ Things we are Praying for~

Our short term goal is to remain pregnant this coming week making us 27 weeks on Friday. Ultimately asking that the Lord lets theses babies come into the world when it is best for them and me, he is the ultimate physician and he has a plan.

We hope for better kidney function and better sugar control, less uterine contractions and no more fever or amino leaks so that the babies can continue to grow safely in me.

Please pray that Tom, who is doing a great job, can continue to handle the stress and worry of the financial burden this has placed on us, that he can continue to work until the girls get here and keep the house at best running.

Pray that our daughter Anneliese continues to adjust, recovers from the flu/virus she woke up with this morning and in her heart knows that we love her son much that our absence and tension is not a reflection toward her.

Pray that our family and friends can again continue to help us physically with Anneliese's care and mine, that they find the strength and softness in their hearts not to feel burdened or annoyed by our needs.

Pray that the team of doctors on board can continue to monitor this pregnancy and keep me home until delivery, that they do not become discourage and listens in silence as the Lord works through them to help us.

Pray that the team of nurses at Hagerstown Hospital and Adventist Rockville as well as the Ambulance transport teams continue to do the wonderful caring jobs that they do and provided to me over the last weeks. Kind, gentle and compassionate care is not always an easy quality to come by and I was blessed with it all at all three places.

A special prayer for our Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor who has been incredibly kind and compassionate and personable with us through all out anxieties and stress and fear. May she continue to have the kind hand the wise mind and knowledge to get us to a safe place for the girls to arrive.

For now this our major concerns. Our ultimate goal is to make it to July 4th week. Any time past that would just be wonderful, and short of miraculous. We pray that ultimately we bring both of our girls home,, safe and healthy, that we as a family will be together with little separation and trauma. We pray that my health continue to improve and that my recovery will be short and non-complicated.

Our priorities have changed, but of course, and our goal this weekend to prepare for the girls arrival is to find their names and make our final decisions.

As painfully hard as this is and took for ever for Aubrey and Anneliese, we feel compelled to have them for certain so they are named at the birth just case of the outcomes, which we are trying to avoid thinking of.

We pray that the Lord does not have planned that we lose another of our babies.

Update for Whitney...

Whitney asked that I update all on the current situation. Monday, May 19th Whitney was admitted to the hospital for hemoraging and pre-term labor. She was taken via ambulance to Rockville, MD where she remains in the hospital on complete bedrest.

Whitney is 25 weeks pregnant today. All tests indicate the babies are fine but the contractions continued so they have put Whitney on a Tributalene (spelling?) pump among a multitude of other things to try and speed up the maturity of the babies.

The doctors believe the bleeding is coming from the not so old c-section incision in the uterus. As long as contractions stay at a minimum and bleeding stops she may be able to come home Sunday. She will remain on the pump and they will call her when her contractions increase so she knows to up the Tributalene.

Long story short...she needs to carry the babies at least 3 more weeks. So this is a request for additional prayer from all who may be praying for them.

Beth (Whitney's sister)

Good news!

So far so good.

There was nothing detected with the girls hearts, the specialist got great views and saw everything he needed to very easily.

Huge relief. This is a minor understatement.

We saw the girls, they are very active, we are having contractions like crazy...I tell you I am sure that these two are going to be our "party" girls they move and wiggle none stop, love the camera already and I am ashamed to say since I have gotten pregnant with them I have struggled, fought and forced my self to avoid all my cravings which have been ...dark beer, cigs, gin and lime tonics, Maryland crabs.

I can taste the beer in the grocery store and normally I can't stand the smell of cig smoke even though I am a reformed smoker but it smells wonderful right now.

We are looking at the week of the August the 8th if we make it, wow!

I think I may take a few deep breaths and just start getting ready.

Prayers are needed though, we still have at least 11 weeks to go and as we know things can fall apart quickly, but then things can work out some times too.

I hope to get some better pictures soon, our tech was concentrating on organs and anatomy so there was little cute shots. Oh but one, they are both girls...for sure!

The plan.

Well, the plan was over the last four weeks to hang tight, and wait for our ECHO appointment. According to this plan I have done just that. We go for the babies ECHO's in the morning.

I have gotten pretty good at this numb thing and I can hardly believe the time has gone by like it has. Ghee, have you checked out the numbers at the top of the screen lately?

I'm a bit panicky in the idea that we have such a small time to prepare for these two little girls arrival. Waiting for the other shoe to drop has defiantly left me behind and stressed.

If we make it through tomorrows appointment with no horrible news then for the most part I think we are doing really good and things are as positive as they can be. Upon that , the baby overdrive will commence.

I don't know if having twins has anything to do with this or not but I have been a cleaning friend over the last two weeks, so maybe you do nest early for multiples...uhm. All I know is that at this rate I will be exhausted when they get here.

I have been having a good deal of "adhesion" pain over the last two weeks. Regular OBGYN says things are fine, probably are but I'm glad I am seeing the babies tomorrow.

I haven't asked for many prayers as of lately, but we still need them, especially the babies and me. This journey has proven to be a little harder emotionally than I had imagined, it is all good, but I have had some unexpected emotions and the feeling of loneliness that I wasn't expecting.

Trying hard not to get excited and hopes up is the hardest, sucks really, but I feel like I have to live for the moment so to speak. It is getting harder as they grow and my love for them grows, I don't like the feeling of numbness I have allowed myself to have and I will work on that after the appointment this week.

The babies names...don't ask. Good news is that with much personal sacrifice and negotiation I have been able to eliminate three of Tom's faves...Heidi and Daphne and Veronica, not that they are bad ones they are just ones after weeks of repeating I just can't see one of our children fitting.

Latest favorites...
Rebekkah Elizabeth Rowan Priller
Ellaleigh Arden Jeanette Priller
Kennedy

I feel compelled to voice my prayer tonight.

"Lord in all your wisdom and knowledge please direct my thoughts and paths so that I be a better servant to you and through you find the strength in which you know I need. Forgive my distance as protection for my heart, because through you Lord I know that I am just another in the palm of your hand and you carry me at all times. Thank you Lord for all my blessings and these two precious gifts. Please Lord help me with my negative and fearful thoughts as they use and waste our time as well create mischief. Amen."

Yes, it really is that simple, just ask and he does provide.