Monday, December 28, 2015

Lizzie gets a new bedroom!

It was decided (as mentioned before) that the king size bed would be moved down into the living room. The living room is not a big room, but my moving men made it work.

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I was placed on the sofa and told not to move. Belly photo!2015-12-06-19-00-25_IMG_3173

They were finally ready for the big mattress…2015-12-06-19-07-34_IMG_31762015-12-06-19-07-34_IMG_31772015-12-06-19-08-00_IMG_3179

And then I had a bed…downstairs! Thank you Doug, Andrew and Ashley!

Another special thanks to Ashley and Andrew! You guys rock and have made life so much easier for Doug and I. We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

On to more bedrest updates! Open-mouthed smile

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Bed Rest Begins….and my cookie box!!

We arrived home Saturday night and went straight to bed. Pretty sure Ashley and Andrew watched TV at our place for a few hours, but we heard nothing. We were so exhausted.

The next morning we woke up feeling like new people and I stayed in bed all morning resting. It was amazing. When my sweet tooth starting calling I requested my famous cookie box from Ms. Gay. Courtney had delivered it to the hospital the night before and I had not let anyone open it.

Doug delivered the coveted box to my lap. Here she is:

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I was so sad I had to miss Bake Day! Bake Day actually happened while I was hospitalized. They sent much love and photos. I am glad they had a blast. I will be back next year. I LOVE BAKE DAY!

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Doug was hovering to get a cookie (or two):2015-12-06-12-04-20_IMG_3167

Bedrest was looking amazing as this was my breakfast! Thanks Doug!2015-12-06-14-22-34_IMG_31682015-12-06-14-22-45_IMG_3169

We decided to move the bed down into the living room so I would not have to use the stairs so much and I would not be isolated in the upstairs bedroom.

Check out that exciting blog coming up!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Surgery and Hospitalization– December 3–5

(PSA: spell check is not working so if there are any errors, my apologies.)

Well, things sure can change in a moment. I think we all know this, but when something happens we remember it all over again.

Things were moving along swimmingly. I was maintaining my 11k steps per day, doing yoga, working, doctor appointments were going great, keeping up with housework, had plenty of energy and then it all changed with one doctor appointment.

I will try not to get to graphic, but if you want details I can share personally. Here is the story. I got a text from a dear friend that she had just been diagnosed with shingles and we had been in contact a few days before. I called my doctor to tell her about the possible exposure to shingles and mentioned some other things going on. While I was calling about the shingles, they were more concerned with the other things I had mentioned. The nurse, Allison, asked if I could come in right away. I was a little concerned, but thought it would all be fine.

I got to the doctors office and had a quick ultrasound. There was plenty of fluid around the babies and my waters were not broken – all great news. That would have been very, very bad if my waters had broken. My (amazing) doctor, Dr. Pridjian, also did a pelvic exam where she realized I was 3 cm dilated. WHAT? That was bad.

She told me I was going to be hospitalized and I was going to surgery in the next few hours. I lost my self for a moment. They put me in a wheelchair and rolled me to the hospital. I called Doug and my parents who got the word out. I was brought to Labor and Delivery as we could have had to deliver the babies. I was almost 21 weeks and it was way to early. They would not survive.

They put me in a hospital bed with my head lower than my feet. Put in an IV and prepped me for surgery. Doug arrived pretty quickly, followed by Ashley and Andrew, and my parents. Surgery was to start at 5:30 pm. I got to visit with everyone before they took me back. When Dr. Pridjian came in before the surgery she said we had a 50/50 shot at saving the babies. I was informed by nurses of girls who had lost just one baby and saved the second. Everyone was getting me prepared for losing both of them. It was pretty intense.

They took me to the Operating Room and did a Spinal. Before this happened I was pretty concerned about having a Spinal and now that is it done, I know what to expect and it really was not as bad as I expected. With that said, they had a hard time getting the Spinal in as they were trying to do it while I was on my side. Once they sat me up, it was in quickly. They sedated me so do not remember any of the surgery or recovery.

Dr. Pridjian performed a Cerclage:
Cervical cerclage, also known as a cervical stitch, is a treatment for cervical incompetence or insufficiency, when the cervix starts to shorten and open too early during a pregnancy causing either a late miscarriage or preterm birth.

I woke up and found out the surgery had been successful. Thank God and my amazing surgical team.  The next few days were a blur. They had a monitor hooked to me the whole time. I was having little mini contractions and they put me on muscle relaxers to calm my uterus down. Then they put me on this terrible medicine, Magnesium Sulfate. It is terrible. It makes you feel like you have the flu with fever and hot flashes. It is truly bad. I hope I never have to be on that again.

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They were finally ok with my uterine activity a few days later. I got the word I might be discharged that afternoon/evening as long as my uterus behaved. When Dr. Pridjian came in she said the odds were better for keeping the babies, but each day was a win. I had to get to 28 weeks!

I was also, finally, allowed to get out of the bed to use the ladies room. My nurses, doug and mom had been helping me with bed pans for 2 days straight. I felt like i concured the world when they had finally let me us the toilet by myself. Well, kinda by myself- someone was always in the room with me.

The day I was possibly being discharged happened to be the 5th of December so Cinco came to the hospital! I had many visitors that Saturday evening so we all took photos with Cinco! (Doug’s hand is on my knee…it looks odd so I felt I had to explain.)IMG_20151205_183652IMG_20151205_1836092015-12-05-14-50-39_IMG_31592015-12-05-14-50-39_IMG_3161

I was hooked up to all kinds of stuff for days. It was amazing to be able to get around on my own. It was a rough few days for me, but it was also really tough on Doug and my Mom who stayed with me the most. Sleep in a hospital is rare and fleeting. Everyone did a great job taking care of me. I also had some awesome nursing care.

We were finally discharged Saturday evening and then the bees were swarming everywhere. Ashley, Andrew and Sarah made it so much easier coming home. They were running around prepping the house, running errands, etc so doug could be with me.

We got home and I went straight to bed. Doug and I both had the best sleep of our lives that night. He got up with me once for the potty, but otherwise we were brand new people the next day. It is amazing what solid sleep can do.

We survived the hospitalization and we had new goals in mind. I was 21 weeks pregnant when we let the hospital. I HAD to get them to 24 weeks for them to be viable, but Dr. P really wanted me to focus on 28 weeks as a big win. Then 32 or 34 weeks was the next big goal. I had weeks/months of bedrest ahead of me. Really, the longer they bake the better. Every day is a win. The bedrest is important to keep the weight off my cervix.

When we were discharged I was told to only get up to use the restroom and shower once a day. I was to be on my back for 80% of the day. I could sit to eat, but I had to be mainly horizontal. I was only allowed to leave the house one time a week to go to the doctor.  My goal was to make it to the doctor every week without any challenges. Open-mouthed smile

The bedrest began on Dec 3 post surgery and it will continue until the twins are here. Say a prayer for my sanity, the babies to stay in there, and doug’s patience!

More updates to come…

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Things

1. Satsuma season = my favorite season!

I put on FB that I love me some satsumas and then they started arriving! I went to Jay and Katie’s house to pick these…

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Then I went to Kenny and Courtney’s place and picked these:IMG_3030IMG_3031

I ended up with so many it was amazing! We made juice, ate them whole and shared with our friends! Thank you to all who contributed!

2. PoBoy Fest!

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Doug and I arrived early to the PoBoy fest and ate our fill before the lines got long. We hung out with Josh, Amber and krewe for a bit before headed to our next stop. It was delicous and fun. Until next year!IMG_3072

3. Acrobatic Norm

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I did not train him for these stunts. He is just that good!IMG_3148

4. This made me giggle:

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Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

I hope you all have a great, special, magical Christmas.

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Farm Weekend! Nov 2015

Doug and I headed to THE FARM! Doug and I had not been in years and it was a Thanksgiving weekend tradition. Since we were in town this Thanskgiving we headed out there to spend the night.

We arrived Friday during the day just in time for lunch. Hot dogs and sausage cooked over the fire was just perfect. When we got there it was pretty full of people. Most had just come up for the day. We were in for a one night stay.

There was an official hay ride that afternoon, but Doug and I skipped the ride. The trailer was pretty full so we just relaxed.

When everyone got back we prepped for dinner and tents were set up. I was sleeping in the building on site while Doug had planned to sleep on the dock. He is nuts.

We had delicious chili for dinner (farm tradition made my Courts and Kenny) and blueberry cobbler for dessert. There were also some smores made and eaten It was so fun.

Adam brought a screen and projector and the kids watched Minions and The Lego Movie. It was an amazing set up and we all loved it.

When it was time for bed, I headed to the main house and Doug set up his blankets on the dock. He slept on the pond. So nuts. Open-mouthed smile

The next morning we had eggs, bacon, and pancakes over the fire. They really do it right! It was delicious. We started the clean up process and decided to bring the tractor back to the barn. There was another mini hayride so Doug and I went on this one.

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Doug drove the second tractor with Riley as his co-pilot!

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We headed back to the barn…IMG_3128

We traded co-pilots during a quick stop.IMG_3134

Then we hung out with the cows and jumped around on the hay.IMG_3137IMG_3139

After our outing we headed back to the campsite, ate lunch and cleaned the area.

It was a great trip. We usually stay two nights, but now as kids have come about it is easier to just spend one night. All the adults and kids had a great time.

Thank you Kenny and Courtney for hosting us! We really had a blast. I hope we can make it next year.

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Thanksgiving in Hammond! Nov 2015

Doug and I headed to Hammond to spend Thanksgiving with my parents and family. We arrived on Wednesday night and had some quality time visiting.

Thursday morning we woke up and visited more. We all pitched in to help, but Mom did most of the work. Thank you MOM! You did a great job!

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We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. It was not your traditional dinner. We had lasagna, beef stroganoff, corn casserole, mirliton dressing, yams and desserts! She really did it big! It was so good. IMG_3099IMG_3100

We ate, took naps, ate again and then played games. We had the fam there except Alex and Janice. We video chatted with them that morning so we at least got to see them. They were making Thanksgiving dinner for friends up in Boston. Sounded like fun.

It was a great family visit. Holiday are always fun!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Monday, December 21, 2015

Jingle Bells and Beer at City Park–November 21

It was John’s birthday so we headed out to meet him and his crew at Christmas in the Oaks. They had food, beer and all the rides you could ride.

We got there, ate, and then found John as they were getting on the train. We took a ride with them. Check out the sexy picture of my double chin.

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Doug rode some rides with the wild kids…IMG_3057

Mary! hahaIMG_3058

Showing off those babies!IMG_3065

My required photo!12241627_2899321212074_1089040432166612331_n

My hot date for the night!

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I see you making fun of me with your hand on your hip DB!

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The whole gang!

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We had a blast and it was my first time at Christmas in the Oaks. It was so pretty….and it was pretty cold!

I would go to this event again for sure!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Work day at Ms. Barbara’s!–Nov 21 and 22

My sweet, little lady that I help needed lots of house work! Our plan is to put her house on the market asap so we had to fix up a few things. I recruited some friends and family to help out.

Thank you so much to all who came out! Ashley worked all over the house, but started at the door…

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Gwen painted and prepped baseboards…IMG_3037

Andrew did special projects all over the house…IMG_3040

Shawn and Doug worked on the floor and checked under the house…IMG_3041

Dad cut back the trees from the roof and neighbors yard. IMG_3043

Doug under the house…IMG_3044

Shawn and Doug working on the flooring…IMG_3047

Kim working on more flooring…

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Overall, we did a lot to help improve the curb appeal. We plan to put her house on the market early next year and move her to a smaller place that is easier to maintain.

Say prayers for us and wish us luck!

Love and Hugs, Lizzie