A title? Can't think of one.

I typed out this long and weepy post on Friday, then promptly deleted it. I felt like it was instantly leaving me open for judgments. Whatever. I know I shouldn't care.

Well I will recap the weekend first! I have been exhausted for the last few weeks. Contractions are out of control when I am on my feet for too long. I have been blessed beyond measure with help from amazing friends and family. Thank God for that. Friday night, David and I ordered a pizza and laid low! It was perfect.

David got up early Saturday morning for a golf tournament in Watonga, OK. I was less than pleased with this, but he had made a commitment with one of his bosses, so of course he wasn't going to back out. It was going to work out okay though, because my mom was going to help me take Paige to gymboree, we were going to come home and nap, then when we woke up, David would be getting home soon.

However, when I went in to get her out of her crib, she was hot to the touch. I mean hot - like a cookie pan hot. I took her temp and nearly had heart failure when it said 101.9. I took it again. 102. I couldn't believe it. This was the first time my precious angel had a fever. I was panicked and called the pediatrician. Thank goodness for their Saturday hours! I took her in, with the help of my grandmother, and the said she just had a virus. No ear infection, throat looked fine, and her temp came down right away with Motrin. We just have to give her Motrin every 6 hours to keep her fever away, but she said this virus has been a pretty easy one. Still, I was very upset and just wanted to love on my baby girl.

My dad came over to sit with us until David got home, and told me this: I want to come over and take Paige one morning a week and keep her all day. If David is having to work late, then mom and I will keep her all night. If not, we will bring her home at dinner time. Wow. How amazing to have one day of total rest every week!! My parents are nothing short of amazing.

Then Saturday night, my mom and I were talking and she said that dad and I have talked, and we have something to tell you: we want to pay for a night nurse to come when the twins are born for 4 months. So 3 nights a week, a baby nurse will come over at 8 PM and stay until 6 AM. She is a lactation specialist so she will help me establish a good nursing routine with the boys. This will also give David and I a chance to make sure we are getting enough sleep. He has to work all day, and I have to care for 3 kids. So, yeah...we will need sleep. Again...wow. Amazing.

And now, Paige is napping, David went to the golf course, and my mom is headed over to cook some freezer meals and play with us until David gets back home.

So...a few random things:

1. Next OB appointment isn't until next Wednesday. I'm really anxious for it. This marks the start of my bi-weekly fFN tests. Copied from the March of Dimes website:

The fetal fibronectin (fFN) test measures the levels of fFN in secretions from a pregnant woman’s vagina and cervix. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the fFN test may be useful for some pregnant women with symptoms of preterm labor (labor before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy) to help predict their risk of premature delivery (1).

What is fetal fibronectin?
fFN is a protein produced during pregnancy. It acts as a biological glue, attaching the fetal sac to the uterine lining. fFN normally is present in cervico-vaginal secretions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy and again at the end of the last trimester (1 to 3 weeks before labor). fFN usually cannot be detected between 24 and 34 weeks of pregnancy (5½ to 8½ months).

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What is the fFN test?
Health care providers give the fFN test to women between 24 and 34 weeks of pregnancy. The presence of fFN during these weeks, along with symptoms of labor, suggests that the “glue” may be disintegrating ahead of schedule and alerts health care providers to a possibility of premature labor and delivery.

Providers use a cotton swab to collect samples of cervico-vaginal secretions during a speculum examination (similar to a Pap smear). Results usually are available within 24 hours. The result is either positive (fFN is present) or negative (fFN is not present).

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What do fFN test results mean?
Most women with symptoms of preterm labor go on to deliver at term, even without treatment (2). The fFN test can help predict which symptomatic women have a reduced risk of premature labor and delivery. Fewer than 5 percent of women with symptoms of preterm labor who have a negative fFN test result deliver within the next 2 weeks (1). Identifying symptomatic women who have a reduced risk of premature delivery is the most valuable use of this test because these women often can avoid unnecessary medical interventions, such as bedrest, prenatal corticosteroids, hospitalization and labor-suppressing (tocolytic) medications (1,3).

Positive fFN test results in women with symptoms of preterm labor are less reliable. However, positive results allow health care providers and pregnant women to take preventive measures to delay labor as long as possible and to consider labor-suppressing medications.

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What other women, besides those with symptoms of labor, may be offered the fFN test?
Health care providers may offer the fFN test to some women at high risk of premature delivery. These women may include those who have had a previous premature delivery and those with a short cervix. Test results can help health care providers manage the pregnancy.

ACOG currently does not recommend routine fFN testing of low-risk, asymptomatic pregnant women because the test is not helpful in predicting premature delivery in these women (1).

So basically, if the test is negative: great! Virtually no chance that I will be going into labor in the next two weeks. If it is positive, we take immediate action to make sure labor is held off. These actions would be bedrest, hospitalization of I am having contractions, meds to stop the contractions, and steroids to mature the babies lungs if it seems there is nothing we can do to stop labor. The test will be repeated every 2 weeks until 34 weeks. Talk about some peace of mind!

This Thursday, we have Paige's 15 month well-child visit. I think we have some vaccines, and I'll be anxious to talk to her about Paige's lack of verbal skills to date. In my head, I know that Paige is just fine and developing as she should. But it I can't help but feel a bit anxious about this.

Very long post! And no pictures! Sorry about that. I'll make sure next post is full of 'em : )