Gestational age: 27 weeks +5 days/+6 days

Two more days down in sterile Oz!

We have to say this now: Learning that you – you – have navigated here, have read this, and are here at this moment at sea… It is more than words can say. We see a lattice of lighthouses across the country, and we see your support burning bright. Thank you for being with us.

The Good

• Girls have had successful monitoring sessions (8 total) both days. Their heart rates remain strong.
• Both mornings’ ultrasounds showed silly, playful kids at work: C with recurring hiccups and a newfound fondness for rolling into a potato bug and burying away (likely to avoid her sister’s prodding toes), and B showing off big practice breaths and using her feet to explore new territory: for once, her own face.
• Days in the hospital have begun to take on a rhythm, a drumbeat of 15-min intervals of consults, blood draws, injections, monitoring, meals, ho hum. With it, small spaces for breath. And the clearest revelation that my love language may just be cups of crushed ice.
• And the COOLEST GOOD OF ALL: Today (Day 3) Lucy and Casey came to visit! (Plus a joyful wave to Gigi/Jenn in the snowy parking lot outside the window.) It was Lu’s first visit to a hospital since birth, and she has been desperate to ride along on any previous ultrasound appointments. We’ve explained that children under 5 aren’t permitted (until now, in this circumstance), and she raised a little finger to ask if we’d spoken to the big people to promise she would never once remove her mask. Today her negotiations came true, and we were together in my room. It was a very happy two hours: We all played mini soccer, Daddy napped, Mama and Lucy painted rainbow toenails, and the boat felt afloat. After squaring her shoulders and proclaiming that she and Daddy could happily live in the bathroom to all stay together, Lucy hugged me goodbye and whispered, “Mama, you gotta get out of here. Get those babies and come home.” I promised I would.

The Bad

• Today Baby C scored 6/8 with her BPP – no visible practice breathing. An isolated imperfect score isn’t terrible cause for concern, but a series of subpar results will signal it’s time for delivery.
• Today I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, another fallout from the badly built placenta. Dr. Hayes explained that, given its faulty design, it was not a matter of if I’d develop the complication, but when. And regrettably, though the call for nearly all pregnant mothers in my condition is to deliver immediately, they’re still too premature. If we’re keeping watch on (a) my health; and (b) the babies’ signals, today wasn’t fireworks for either.

… and the Babies

• We think we have true finalists for these babies’ names! Ooh, nothing makes me shyer to write. We’ll share more soon.