Bed Rest

I feel I need to explain why after such a long blogging break I have now had so much time to update. I also would really appreciate your prayers, so here goes a quick update of a very long 3 weeks.

A little over 3 weeks ago (February 1st, actually), I started having severe pain in my back, abdomen, and ribs. After talking to a nurse on the phone, I decided to wait it out. By mid-day on Monday, I could hardly stand up. I was incredibly miserable, and the doctor on call told me to go to the ER. I left my kids in the middle of indoor recess with not much other than a "Y'all be good. Love you. See you tomorrow." My sweet friend Donna drove me there where Seth was waiting. After 9 hours, they decided the babies were healthy but that I most likely had kidney stones. They allowed me to leave only after setting me up appointments with a urologist, my regular OB, and physical therapy. After almost 2 weeks with no relief and on temporary bed rest from my OB (one week of which Seth was in Haiti on a mission trip), Seth was able to get me in to see a perinatologist at UAMS.

He reviewed all of my medical records, told me that they incorrectly diagnosed me, and that my pain was primarily due to the fact that I had not gained nearly enough weight to support to rapidly growing twins. At this point in my pregnancy (17 weeks), I was still throwing up most of what I was eating. Because of this, what few nutrients my body was getting were going straight to the babies. My body was basically in starvation and survival mode, and because of that, I started having contractions to try to get rid of the babies so that my body would survive. After a high-tech ultrasound revealed again that the babies were healthy, he told me that if they were going to continue to stay that way that my only option was bed rest. He came up with a plan which I have tried to follow to a tee, and I am trying to stay positive because I know that God has big plans for these babies. They are 100% a gift from Him, and as hard as it is, I have to take care of myself to be able to properly take care of them.

I will see him again this week, and I am praying that he will see improvement on all of my tests. I miss my kids and my job so much. I miss my friends and being able to be independent. Thankfully, we have been blessed with so many wonderful friends in this area who have cooked for us, brought us meals, grocery shopped for us, and even cleaned our house for us. They have visited us and prayed for us, and for these things, we will forever be grateful.

Please pray for us. Pray that the issues I am having with my health will soon be resolved so that my babies can continue to grow strong and healthy. I am only 19 weeks, so they need to stay put for much longer. Please pray that they will continue to be healthy and thrive. We know God is in control here, and we have full faith in His plans.