Both of our babies experienced growth in the last two weeks. Baby B or Daniel is almost in the 80th percentile, and baby A , or Joshua has gone from fifth back up to the 10th percentile!!! Since we were told to expect it to continue to drop until delivery, baby A or Joshua’ s upward growth has delighted us!!!

The Caveat

Of course, there always seems to be a caveat! Mark rushed me to the hospital on Monday at noon, Because in my abdomen I was in excruciating pain. I was sure that we were in preterm labor and that we were losing our babies. Although I have had an increase in my cough caused from the pregnancy rhinitis over the weekend, I didn’t feel like I coughed any harder than in my last pregnancy. However with this pregnancy my belly is stretched so tight due to carrying enough amniotic fluid to support four pregnancies as well two entire babies makes me gestationaly bigger. All things being equal, a woman‘s uterus carrying twins at 23 weeks is physically equal in size to a woman carrying only a single baby at 31weeks. Perhaps being so stretched made my abdomen perfect for a tear, or perhaps it was something else I lifted or a combination of these- but I had ruptured my abdominus rectus muscle. It was bleeding into my abdomen, covering my entire right side of my baby belly from my ribs to pelvis in a huge hematoma. The pressure caused by the hematoma triggered contractions that could end my pregnancy and as a bonus felt like a wild animal with burning hot claws, searching for treasure inside me. My doctor came to the ER and helped get us the best care, which was ultimately able to stop the contractions and manage my pain. The plan is to get me healed enough to be able to take care of myself and then I can go back on bed rest at home maybe by Friday or Saturday. However the critical weeks are ahead – weeks 24 through 28 during which, if the babies show more signs of distress we would return to hospital and be on antepartum care in the hospital until they’re born.

i am extremely grateful for the excellent news on our babies this week. I’m also grateful for the perspective that a torn muscle can give me. If the babies are OK, then we’re all OK!