My first wheelchair ride-outside :)

The weekend was great! I had the pleasure of spending some time outside in the courtyard with my family and Brian. It couldn't have been a better day. The sun was out and it felt so good against my skin. It was the first time I had been outside since they admitted me to Hoag (14 days ago). On Sunday, I had a fun filled day of visitors. Thanks to Sarah & baby girl Mila, Mom & Dad, Talen, Ryan, Mom & Dad Vlasich, Jun, Khue, & Sydney Who came by to say hello! It was so great to see everyone. I was definitely feeling the love! I also got a surprise video-call from my bro-in-law and was able to chat with my niece Rylan. She's so adorable, her smile just lights up the room!

On Wednesday I treated myself to a manicure & pedicure. The manicurist came to me which was nice. I usually don't enjoy getting my nails done. I always get to antsy sitting in a nail salon for an hour or so, mostly because I'm usually in a hurry or have somewhere to be soon after. So this experience was much more enjoyable I mean I had no choice, I didn't have anywhere to be, I have all the time, and I enjoyed it for what it was: something nice for myself. Today, I woke up well rested with a full night of sleep (with the exception of being woken up briefly twice). The sun was shining early in the morning and the view is amazing. I'm looking forward to enjoying the fresh air today. The doctor ordered a 15 min wheelchair ride outside. Awww, I can't wait and what a perfect day to do so.

Last night was rough I was having increased contractions and they were coming more frequently. It was not until they decided to give me my contraction medication early that they started to settle down. But it made for an uncomfortable night. I just spoke with my doctor and instead of increasing the dosage of my meds she decided to increase the frequency of the medication. This means I'll be given the contraction medication every 4 hours. That is going to make sleeping throughout the night a lot more difficult considering they have to wake me up twice while I'm sleeping.i guess that means I'll just have to take more naps during the day.

The gossiping nurse: Donna

I especially like my nurse today. She was very helpful in providing some information about some of the hospital services that they offer. Plus, she's a little chattier (but not to chatty) than some of the others- which was actually kind of pleasant. When you're stuck in a room that you can't leave, you don't have too much face-to-face contact with anyone aside from the cleaning lady, your nurse, and the person who delivers your meals. Needless to say, I know them all by face now. I always wondered about the other patients in the antepartum unit. The nurse told me there are about 7 of us here. You never see them, or have any clue who they are or why they are here. As I was saying, my nurse today loves to talk... She filled me on some insight as to a couple of patients in the unit, including my next door neighbor. Apparently, she is the other person aside from myself that they like to call the extended-stay patients (patients that they foresee staying for awhile). She too was inquiring about a massage and nail services. So our nurse helped us exchange some information. I provided her with the number to the masseuse and she gave me the number to the nail salon. I also know that she has a yung child at home. Every evening the significant other always bring their child in to visit mom. I know this because it's like clockwork.... I hear a kid screaming & running around next door. Kudos to her, I don't know how she's handling being here while she has a young kid at home. I mean I have 3 puppies and a husband that I worry and miss at home as it is. I also learned that the is another expectant mother of twins here besides myself. From what I gathered from my nurse, she must be a little further along than myself. Well, that's all that I have to report for now.... Welcome to my world of excitement. LoL

It was nice to have Bri stay with me over the weekend. We took a break from hospital food and ordered take out. I guess that's what date night has come to these days. On Saturday, I had a masseause come out for an hour long massage, and although I didn't exactly have the ambiance of a day spa... It was worth every penny! It was my first massage since being put on bed rest about a month ago. I just learned that there's a nail salon that provides off-site services (at a cost of course) but that's next on this momma's agenda.

Update from daddy

Hi everyone, thought I (Brian) would give you all an update and relieve Cheryl of her blogging duties for the day. So I've been able to crash Cheryl's temporary abode for a couple of nights now, and while it's not as comfortable as our bed at home, it still is better than our weeknights apart. We are now at 25 weeks, which is still not enough to be in the comfort zone, but another week closer to a healthy delivery. Every additional day/week/month is important, so we're hopeful that the next month and a half will go by fast and uneventfully. Cheryl's contractions are being closely monitored, and it seems that the medication is sufficiently keeping her contractions at bay - a factor tht is important in keeping her cervix intact. Cheryl's belly has grown a lot in the last few weeks, and while the buudha belly protruded straight forward before, the belly is now expanding width-wise as well. We think that our little girl has caught up in growth with her brother, and she's been making her presence well known in Cheryl's belly - something we used to only blame on her wiggleworm brother. But the routine monitoring shows strong vitals with both babies, so we're hopeful that they will have plenty of strength and size even if they decide to come a little early. Cheryl is taking all of this very well. It's hard to know how a pregnancy will impact your lives/marriage, but Cheryl has been incredibly strong through all of it. I braced myself for much worse than I got (the hormone alter-ego, etc.), and I attribute most of it to Cheryl's humility. We've shared a couple of scary experiences in getting this far through the pregnancy, and yet it's hard not to recognize how lucky we are to have this chance to become parents. But she's seen the realities of these scary moments for expectant parents on a daily basis, but still she's taken our setbacks in stride, which makes it much easier for me. For a first-timer, there's only so much that you can surmise about your experience through the insight of other parents. You know you'll worry, but you don't appreciate how early that sets in, and the breadth and paradox of irrational yet real fears for your kids. It changes your perspective on things before they even get here. I appreciate that none of this can be read in a book or related through words; you just have to live it. So with that, it's a lot easier to recognize the "order" of things in the universe. We've seen some extraordinary stories with our friends' children, and Cheryl and I ourselves are extraordinary medical cases! I have to send a huge thanks to our families for helping us through this process! And to our friends, thanks for helping us keep it together as well! Sorry this is so long-winded, which should lend some authenticity as to the author of this post! Love, Brian (and Cheryl)

Name suggestions anyone????????????

Randy & Marta brought the kids by the other night. It was nice seeing them. Avery sang me her favorite Olivia song nd Talen hand picked a pink frosted sprinkle donughnut just for me (he was so proud of his choice selection that he picked one up for himself too). Too cute! Yesterday I actually got to leave my room and go for a wheelchair ride to the radiology department to have my ultrasound. It was a nice change of scene for once. The ultrasound showed both babies doing really well. Baby boy weighs 1lb 10oz, and baby girl weighs 1lb 9oz. My cervix has remained stable so our plan is to continue bed rest as is.

People always ask what it is I do all day while on bed rest.... And those of you who know me well, know that I have to stay busy and always on the go. So to be told that you have to kick up your feet and are only allowed to get up to use the restroom has been a challenge. Throughout the past couple weeks, I've developed a routine for my day. When I first wake up I'll make sure those babies are awake also and say hello to them and usually have some breakfast and watch the morning news. If there's one suggestion that I've taken into account while on bed rest is to get lots of rest while I can. So before lunch time I'll have taken an hour nap. While I nap I usually have the tv off and John Majer, Taylor Swift, Ben Harper, or Jason Mraz on pandora playing while I nap, I find it relaxing. I'm reading a few books also these days. I've started The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (author of The Notebook) and a very informative book on premature babies and the first five years. After 2:00pm, usually I'll indulge in the tv shows that I've been watching, shows that I never got the chance to watch while they were regularly televised. My favorite thus far that I've already finished was Dexter. I love the derange crime scene type shows. I've started Lost and so far it's kept my interest. The end of the day is the part of the day I look forward to most... Usually Bri gets home around 5-5:30 so I get to catch up with him and actually have a conversation face to face with someone. That pretty much sums up my day, everyday. Although its been challenging, there's nothing more that both Bri and I want than to have a healthy baby boy and baby girl to take home someday soon (but not too soon).

My first night at the hospital was rough. I really didn't expect it to be easy. It was the first night away from the comforts of your own home and I also didn't have Bri there sleeping next to me. When you're in the hospital being monitored it's exactly just that.... The nurses come in every 3 hours to take your vitals and/or give you medication, so you're constantly being woken up throughout the night. That night particularly was also very hard to get any rest because I had the worst episodes of heartburn throughout the night. I finally got to bed at 5:30am (just as the sun was getting ready to come up) and was woken up at 7:30am in time for my next medication dose given to me by the nurse. My private hospital room is as comfortable as can be expected. I have my pillow and blanket that I packed from home. I also brought my own pajamas so I don't have to wear that hideous hospital gown that never seems to fit. The views from the room are really nice. You can see views of Newport Harbor and Balboa Island from the sofa. As for the food, they come every 4 hours with 3 square meals a day. The food surprisingly isn't too bad. It's pretty healthy, well proportioned, and tasty. I can imagine that after a week stay at the hospital after trying all the different meals it would get old really fast. Besides, I'm always so spoiled at home with Bri's cooking that it only makes me miss home even more. As for the babies, everything is stable and I'm not having a new a symptoms that's a good sign. The doctor wants to do more tests and repeat another in 2 weeks from now. If there's no signs of distress on my behalf as well as the babies, they will consider sending me home at that point for continued strict-bed rest at home. So we will continue to keep positive and pray that all goes well each day at a time. Thanks for checking with us. Cheryl

Day 1 at the hospital

April 16: Today I am 24 weeks gestation. I was scheduled to have a fetal fibronectin test done The test was came back positive. Given that I have a history of an incompetent cervix that measures 1.0cm (short), the doctors are being cautious and taking preventative measures to keep these babies from delivering early. In addition to the strict bed rest that I have been put on since late March, they have decided to admit me to the hospital to continue to keep a close watch on the babies in the next few weeks. As a precaution, they also began steroid therapy for babies's lungs to help them mature faster. The babies are doing well. Everyday I can feel the babies's movements more prominently than the day before. it really is an unbelievable experience. As I continue to watch my belly grow rapidly, I can only imagine how quickly the babies are growing from within as well. We appreciate all the love support our families and friends have shown us throughout the entire process. We are truly blessed. We hope that you'll check in with us from time to time on our blog. Feel free to leave us a comment to say hello, we would love to hear from you. With lots of love, C&B