Medical Mystery

[side note: the babies are still doing absolutely wonderfully inside of my belly. I am doing much better now that I have slept in my own bed. Here are the details]

Yesterday morning we had a biophysical u/s at the hospital to check on the babies. Both were very active and passed the biophysical. Baby A was quite the stinker and didn't do his 30 seconds of practice breathing until the very last minute. He literally finished at 30 minutes and 24 seconds. But he did do it and both of them passed with 8/8. Here is the big news: they are little chunky monkeys for 33 weeks gestation! Here are their whopping weights:

Baby A: 4lb10oz, measured 34w1d
Baby B: 5lb7oz, measured 34w2d

They hooked me up to the NST monitor when I got back to my room and both babies were doing fabulously on that as well.

My OB came in at 10:30. She was really uncertain what is going on with me. She initially thought cholestasis (and I think still does) because of the itching I have had and slightly elevated liver enzyme levels. However, the bile acid test results came back from the Mayo Clinic and they were negative, which is not consistent with cholestasis. She did say that this is not an absolute test. She also was contemplating whether or not I am in the early stages of HELLP due to the protein leaking into my urine. She order more blood work to be drawn in the afternoon to monitor my liver levels and told me that she would make a decision by the afternoon and this would give her the day to think about what to do with me. The options being: let me go home and continue to closely monitor me OR deliver the babies in the morning after receiving the second shot of the betamethasone steroids for the babies lungs.

In the afternoon, the labs were drawn for my liver enzyme levels and they are remaining steady (compared to the same labs drawn on Wednesday and Thursday), which again is consistent with cholestasis. My 24 hour urine test came back elevated, but not severe (for my two Labor and Delivery Nurses I believe it was 282??, but not quite sure). My blood pressure was 108/61 and my reflexes were really good. And, perhaps most importantly, I feel great.

My OB came back in at 5:00 last night and told me that she is letting me go home. Thankfully, I am not "sick enough" to warrant having these babies right now. Because, of course, the only way for my symptoms to be treated is to deliver them. She is requiring me to come in to the hospital today and tomorrow to be monitored by NST, blood work, urine, etc to make sure that I am remaining steady and that there is not a drastic increase in my levels. If there is an increase, I will have my c-section and the babies will arrive. She told us that we will be going day-by-day and that she believes the babies will have to come by Christmas.

So, how do I feel? Physically, great, which is a huge relief. Just hearing the words HELLP after Bri died, was quite scary. But I know that I am in great hands and that we detected everything right away this week so I feel good just knowing that we are doing everything right. I have mixed feelings about the babies coming so early. I know that they will be in the NICU for a few weeks, but I also know they will be okay. They are great weights and they have the betamethasone shots so I feel good about that. In a way, I can't wait to meet these little guys. Of course, if I have the option to carry them for as long as possible, I will be glad to do it. But there is just the excitement of looking into your childes eyes and seeing what they look like. And, as much as I want to keep these babies in for as long as possible, I don't want to get sick and be incoherent when they are born. I don't want our families to have to worry about me and the babies.

We go back to the hospital today at 1:30 for monitoring. Hopefully everything continues to stay steady and the babies continue to thrive inside of my belly:)