A fun night in the hospital...

And still no babies!!!
Anyway, here's the long story...as short as I can make it (and my big belly picture...as small as I can imagine it!):

I had a blood test at the doctor Thursday afternoon and my platelet count came back really low – 61 – still safe for birth, but not for epidural. She sent me to the hospital right away and after re-testing, monitoring me for 2 hours, answering 100 questions (including ones about my religious beliefs and if I'm in a 'safe environment' at home), filling out 5 forms (despite already having done the preadmission booklet!) they finally admitted me to a room - about midnight. Then it took precisely 5 more pokes before getting an IV started in my swollen hands and by 2am they gave me Cervadil to soften my cervix of steel. This also gave me 5-10 minute contractions all night - though not painful, they were quite strong. After dozing for 4 minute increments over 4 hours, I ‘woke up’, there was a new perinatologist on call who consulted with my doctor and suddenly called off the whole game. I was quite relived actually - my low clotting factor meant that I could not have an epidural...and nothing screams fun about starting a drug-free, induced labor from a 0 dilated/effaced cervix after a night of no sleep.

The new perinatoligist on call for the day, Diana Danalenko, thought my platelet count was too low to be gestational-related and wanted to treat it for a few days and see if we could get it up. At that point, my care was transferred to the perinatologist specialist group (Minnesota Perinatal Physicians) and my normal family prac doc who was going to deliver me and delivered the girls can no longer attend my delivery (unless she does it on her own time). And I can’t have an epidural, even if I need a C section, I would need to go under general. Anyway, my doc was ok with a no epidural labor because she saw me through my last labor where I went all the way to transition before getting the ep. and she thought I'd be fine, but the specialist got freaked out by that and wants to try and get my levels up. Kinda tweaks me off a bit, since the monitoring nurse was the one who suggested to my doctor to start inducing right away - my doc told me she originally planned waiting a day till the nurse said 'what are you waiting for? It won't get better!". Funny since I specifically asked that nurse why they would want to induce labor before trying some way to get my counts up, and she said that there really is no treatment for it. Argh!

So for now I am on Prednisone (the treatment the nurse didn't know about), and tomorrow (Monday) I go have blood drawn and if my levels are up they may induce me, and if my levels are down, they may induce me (to get it over before they go down more)! And if my levels are level…they might wait and see if they go up for as long as 2 weeks! In fact, they may wait as long as my due date! Just think, March 1st...if things happened just so, my second twins could share a birthday with my first twins on March 3rd! They would NEVER understand that most kids have their OWN birthday...which for them may be a good thing.

If I do have the babies soon, we will probably ask visitors to refrain for a few weeks as the babies immune systems will be compromised from the Prednisone. Sorry...I'll talk to the ped. about it more in the hospital, but it is still yucky flu and cold season!

I'll keep you posted if anything happens in the next few days!

Nancy