Last

Thanks to some wonderful grandparents, the girls have been up here every day to visit. That has helped a hard situation be a little bit easier on everyone.

Kiran and I took belly shots

Sienna had to get in on the action too

Our last family of four picture!

The ultrasound tech weighed the boys today just to see how close the estimate would be. Today's ultrasound estimated Rhys to be 5lbs 5oz and Owen to be 4lbs 13oz. Today's MFM appointment was pretty joyful- everyone was very excited for me. One dr even called my walk to the room my "walk of victory." We did it. We made it.
Thanks for all the encouragement- we have been so loved through all of this. I can't wait to share our boys with you. We'll update tomorrow when we can- obviously our first priority is those little boys. And here you go...one last belly pic- 34 weeks

What Is That?

What is that? Oh those are the boys heads- both head down! They have both been head down for the past 3 days! I'm so excited. I just hope they decide to stay that way for another day.

We have a plan. The plan is to induce early Friday morning and that two of my OBs will be there in case we need to do a breech delivery for #2. As with any delivery, there are many things that could go wrong. Will you pray with us for a complication-free delivery? After the boys are born they will go to the NICU where only mom and dad are allowed to visit right now because its cold and flu season. So tomorrow is my last day being pregnant. Maybe ever. *tear

P.S. Friday is my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Chief! Here's two grandsons.

P.P.S. I've been gathering addresses for birth announcements so I just decided that if you would like to receive one, email me your snail mail address. I want to send them to as many people that have supported us and prayed for us as possible. My email is kelley . caskey @ gmail . com (take out the spaces)

The Emotions

One of my maternal fetal doctors (MFM) called me stoic. I'm not going to name names but it may or may not be the one who goes to my church and actually knows me outside of the office. Anyway, I have always thought that I'm terrible at hiding my emotions- you can usually read them all over me. I thought I'd take a minute and let you know that I do, in fact, have emotions.

I'm about to become a mom again. It seems very surreal. This pregnancy has been so entirely different than my other two that its hard for me to realize that the end result is the same: a baby or two. I've been so focused on the pregnancy- eating right, resting enough, drinking a ton of water, etc- that I've barely focused on the fact that I'm going to have two sons.

I'm about to become a mom to boys. I don't even know what to expect! I'm so so excited that I get to be a mom to both genders. I'm looking forward to being loved by sons and raising strong young men. I'm a little intimidated by toddler boys but at least they don't come out as toddlers.

I'm about to become a mom of multiples. I never, ever, ever expected that I would be a mom to multiples. I always have been fascinated by multiples and I think that, since I'm not a twin, being a mom to twins is definitely the next best thing. I think it will be intriguing to watch the twins grow up and see how it is different from having just one at a time. I wonder how much harder it will be to have two babies at once instead of one. But again, I'm a little more scared of having two toddlers at once than babies.

I'm about to become a mom to four under four. I've always wanted three, four, five kids... but they came a wee bit faster than I anticipated. I feel very overwhelmed thinking about caring for all of them all day, every day. People always tell me that God won't give me more than I can handle. I think God and I have very different ideas of what I can handle. The good thing is that I'm under NO impression that I can do this in my own strength. I don't have the depth to meet all their needs. I know I will fail if I do not daily surrender to the power of the resurrection and claim Phil 4:13. His strength. He strengthens me. I have a feeling I will learn this full stop this next year or 18 years.

I'm about to become a mom to preemies. Again another title I never imagined I'd have. I'm not as scared as maybe I should be. The survival rates and long term prognosis for 34 week twins are the same as full term twins. The only difference is a little NICU stay. I feel so thankful we have made it this far. The boys have a great chance. We toured the NICU tonight meeting nurses and learning procedures and there were many 26, 27 week babies in there. I cannot help but be joyful that my babies are almost 34 weeks. I wanted so badly to carry them to term and not have to do NICU. But I'm learning that for TTTS babies- 34 weeks practically is term. They just don't make it past that. The Lord has been gracious to us. 20 years ago, our twins would have had about a 10% chance to survive at all. Now we are looking at big preemies who will hopefully get to go home with us soon.

Wow I must have had a lot of emotions to talk about. The only time I cried today was when I got flowers from some of the best friends in the world. Ah I might tear up again. At least no one can see me.

The Details

Hello from Room 640! I am chilling in my suite on the luxury hall over here at the hospital. It has been quite an exciting few days but we are a little settled now.

We are probably looking at a case of reverse TTTS. Rhys now has less fluid (although still adequate) and Owen has quite a lot of fluid. We were concerned that it was an acute case which means it was happening very quickly so the MFM drs admitted me for constant monitoring. Through all the ultrasounds and monitoring, we determined that its not acute and we are stable. But the doctors want to monitor us closely so we are here till the boys come. Because of all that my placenta has been through, we've decided that after 34 weeks, the risks of them staying in are greater than the risks of them being born. So if they have not indicated a reason for them to be born before Friday or I haven't gone into labor by then, we will induce. Yes induce! If everything goes perfectly between now and Friday (or if I go into labor on my own between now and then) then we can still try for a "normal" delivery. If the boys show any negative monitoring before labor or during labor, we'll be having a c section.

I've gotten both steroid shots to help develop the lungs which is a huge advantage. They also put me on antibiotics and cleared up that horrible sore throat I had. Now if I could just get rid of this cough in case I have a c section...

We are praying the boys will continue to thrive and that the fluid levels will remain stable or improve. We're praying we make it to Friday to give them every bit of time in the womb to mature. We're praying for a complication free delivery and a short NICU stay. Even though its sooner than we had hoped, we are getting very excited about meeting our boys. We'll keep you updated!

Friday Update

At Kelley's appointment yesterday, we saw that Rhys' fluid levels were significantly lower than Owen's, which is the opposite of our problem back in November. However, it's not as serious as it was back then. After 24 hours of monitoring at the hospital, the doctors decided that it would be best for her to stay at the hospital for the rest of the pregnancy The boys are fine right now as the fluid levels had not worsened between yesterday and today.

Additionally, the doctors told us that they will go ahead and deliver the boys next Friday, Feb. 12, if they have not come on their own by then.

Kelley hit 33 weeks today, and considering all that the boys have gone through, we are thrilled that we've made it this far!

As always, thanks for your continued prayers. All of you have been amazing in your support.

Expect the Unexpected

That should be our motto for this pregnancy.

We went to my MFM appt and the fluid levels were more off than they have been in a while. So they wheeled me over to Labor and Delivery where I'm being monitored overnight. We don't have any answers right now. We'll know more after my ultrasound in the morning.

So we're just asking for prayers. For health for our boys. For wisdom for our doctors. For us to make the right decisions. And I've been sick since Monday. They have me on antibiotics so hopefully I'll feel better soon.

Just as with everything else that has happened, we know that God is in control and we are not anxious about this. Thanks for all of your prayers.

32.5 Weeks

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's guesses and reasons why they chose those birthdays for the boys. Its fun to think that we'll know pretty soon. I'm working on putting the guesses up on the sidebar. I'm down to getting about one thing done off my to do list every day. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm now measuring 10 weeks ahead. Yep- as of today I'm measuring 42.5 weeks pregnant. And I'm totally feeling it. I guess that's why I only have 4 shirts that cover my belly.

We also scheduled my induction for March 5 just in case. I have to be honest- I don't think I'm going to make it that far. My belly is stretched beyond normal pregnancy already and the boys are big. I think my water is just going to break one day. That's my guess. Maybe its just wishful thinking because 4.5 more weeks of this belly and weight...ouch.

If you haven't guessed, you still can. Just leave a comment on the post below.