Deanna and the twins -- week 32

UPDATE!! UPDATE!! (DATED FEBRUARY 1, 2006, 4:15pm)


I don't wanna steal Owen's thunder, so instead of posting another message, I'll just revise this one by adding some new information at the top.

Deanna called this morning to say that there's a home-care space for her now, so she'd be coming home today! So I rented a car, and then helped her pack, and then we bought groceries and a few pharmaceutical items, and then we came home an hour or two ago.

So ... if anyone was planning on visiting Deanna, you'll have to visit her at our apartment, and not at the hospital!

She still has to go back for a test of some sort next week, and the doctor we spoke to today said they are thinking of inducing labour on the Monday or Tuesday of the week after that. I told him that that Monday would be our wedding anniversary. Hmmm.

In the meantime, I get a kick out of the "notes" from the twins that Deanna's mother taped to the wall of the bathroom, where she could read them when she was, um, in there. Who knows, you might get a kick out of them too. Click on the image at right for a larger version of that image.

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Hallelujah, Deanna is now off bed rest! For now, she is staying at the hospital -- but at least, as of last Thursday, when she officially reached 32 weeks, she is no longer confined to her bed!

Last night, Deanna went for one of several recent ultra-short walks to the nearby hospital lounge, and then out onto the patio, and it was a joy to see her standing outdoors, leaning against a railing and taking in the view. (She really likes trees, of which there are a few around the hospital, and the moon liked quite nice, too.) It was also encouraging to find out that I no longer need to hold her hand in order to help her walk -- though I do miss doing that. (She tells me it's easier to walk if she's holding her belly.) Alas, I did not have my camera with me last night, and when I brought it tonight, the rain was coming down fairly hard; so I snapped a picture in the lounge, instead.

The plan right now, as I understand it, is for Deanna to stay at BC Women's until and unless a spot opens up on the home-care waiting list. If and when it does, she will then come home.

But the doctors are also talking about possibly inducing labour in a couple weeks (coincidentally, around the time of our first wedding anniversary), because they are now concerned that the twins -- who now measure 4.75 pounds and 5.75 pounds according to the most recent ultrasound -- might become too big for a natural childbirth at full term. Seems like only yesterday the dilemma we faced was that the twins were too small and not developed enough.

So, while it is possible to say, on any given day, that Deanna will still be at BC Women's tomorrow morning, it is impossible to predict where she will be beyond that. She might come home; she might stay at the hospital; and who knows, the twins might decide to pre-empt the induction. Anything's possible.

As always, Deanna loves visits, but if you're thinking of dropping by, phone her hospital line first (604-875-2424 ext 6271) just to make sure she's still there! And thanks, as ever, for all the prayers and stuff.