Merry Merry Christmas Update

Hi everyone, much has happened since our last update. Tanya has visited her OB twice and her perinatologist once. She's scheduled to see her peri again next week since Dr. Head's office is closed the week of December 24.

So, what's happened these past couple of weeks? Tanya is now 27 weeks along!! This is great because we absolutely have to get to 28. And, the real big milestone is 32 weeks. When we met with the NICU docs and staff a few weeks back, they were really interested in seeing the babies make it past 28 weeks and we're almost there.

Tanya is a bit uncomfortable and it's hard for her to sleep. Her belly is measuring 48 weeks which means she's eight weeks bigger than she was when Brenden was born in 2005. She's gained only 15 pounds according to her OB appointment just yesterday morning. And, about six of that is baby! Also, her blood pressure is fine and there are no issues with her routine tests run each week at the OB's office. She keeps two gallons of spring water by the bed at all times and our kitchen fridge is stocked with lots of protein drinks. She tries to have two to three of these protein drinks daily; the 350 calorie 13 g protein kind. I think they’re a bit thick but combined with bed rest, we have not had any problems with amniotic fluid levels since she started this routine. Tanya is amazingly strong.

All three babies are measuring over two pounds by ultrasound now and heart beats are great. Also, her peri's office was finally able to grab a picture of baby A's aortic arch and face which showed completely normal results. This allows Dr. Head to breathe a sigh of relief...those two items had eluded us for the past 27 weeks.

Many thanks to Jeff's mom Rosemary and Lisa Hill next door who have both gone with Tanya to her peri visits the past few weeks. Both got to see real time live-and-in-person ultrasounds on all three babies.

So, what's next? Tanya has to remain as inactive as possible and horizontal as the doctors put it. And, as we get closer to 28, 29, 30, etc. weeks, she will be monitored more and more closely. We're packing a bag soon just in case she needs to ride out any of the remaining weeks in the hospital but as of this post, there are absolutely no warning signs of this being necessary.

Keep checking back...more to come. As always, thanks very much for all of your thoughts and prayers.