We hit week 30 on Wednesday (10/7) and had a full schedule of appointments.  The first was on Tuesday and it was the weekly  ultrasound(Doppler’s).  This appointment went really well.  The doctor said Madison’s Doppler’s have completely normalized and was encouraged by everything she saw.  Ruby’s have been normal the whole pregnancy and looked great this time as well.  At this appointment we decided to cancel the echo cardiogram that was scheduled for Friday.  We were encouraged by the doctors in Cincinnati back in August to do consider a re-check on Madison with an echo after we had been home for 4-6 weeks.  Well, since the Doppler’s have normalized and because the last echo that was done on Madison after Olivia passed away was normal, the doctors here in Madison decided that the echo was no longer medically indicated and wouldn’t give us any information that was actionable.  We have a ‘growth’ appointment next week and we will get to know what the girls current weights are (we know Allison’s current weight too and aren’t planning on sharing that).  Last time we checked the girls was September 24th.  Ruby was 2 lbs. 8 oz and Madison was 2 lbs 7 oz.  We’re excited to see the progress next week!

On Thursday we were in for a check up on Allison.  Everything looks great for her.  Her hands are starting to swell a bit but you pregnant ladies all know that’s par for the course.  We got to see our regular doctor for this visit.  She said we were ‘coasting’ our way towards the birth.  What that means is everything is stable.  The nurse coordinator said to relax and laugh a lot.  Our next big milestone is 32 weeks (October 21).  As an interesting aside one of the wholesalers I work with has triplets.  He laughed when I told him our doctor said we were ‘coasting’ because they ‘coasted’ to 31 weeks and then delivered in the 31st week.  In short, yes we’re coasting but my conversation with Ryan was a good reminder that we could deliver any day and need to be ready.

You’ve probably noticed that there haven’t been as many pictures lately.  There is good reason for that.  Ruby’s head is so low that the sonographer’s have a hard time seeing it.  The only image of her we could get was a nice foot!  Madison has been a bit more accommodating.

Shopping these days has been a bit more exciting then usual.  Since August we’ve been using the carts and wheel chairs to get things done at places like Target.  These carts are quite handy and can move through most aisle’s in the store.  However, not all aisle’s, as you can see by this action shot Kimmi took when her and Allison were on a clothes run in Cincinnati.  We’ve had a lot of laughs as she’s weaved her way through the store taking out the clearance rack, an end-cap of garlic containers and most recently making “Mary” from Target gasp as she smacked into an aisle in the baby section.  One of the things I love most about Allison is her laugh and these trips have provided plenty of laughter.  For those of you Seinfeld lovers, my brother Ned was reminded of George’s experience with the carts and sent me a clip below.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csuZHyW-iGI&NR=1

We were in for our weekly ultrasound on Thursday (9/24).  The purpose of the appointment this week was not only the usual look at the ultrasounds/Doppler’s but also the doctors were looking at the growth of the girls.  “Growth” appointments occur every 3-4 weeks.  The ultrasounds/Doppler’s were normal and encouraging.  Praise God.  Also, the girls are growing.  Ruby is now 2 lbs. 8 0z and Madison is 2 lbs. 7 oz.  The doctors reminded us that 28 weeks was a big milestone.  Each day is to be celebrated but the next big milestone is 32 weeks – 10/21.  Thank you for continuing to pray with us.

We went back in for an ultrasound on Tuesday and had a great appointment.  Our doctor said she was encouraged by what she saw and went so far as to say “you may have dodged a bullet.”  By this she means that she was encouraged by the results of the ultrasound/Doppler’s for Madison.  So we’ve had two good weeks of appointments since we’ve been back and are thankful for that.  Additionally they did the gestational diabetes test for Allison and it came back negative.  We had a Butterfinger bar (one of Allison’s favorites) to celebrate!

Obviously, we were encouraged good reports from our doctors but are reminded by Psalm 20:7 who our trust is ultimately in.  God is so good!

Last night we made plans for our first date night in a long time.  A trip to Wasabai (our favorite sushi restaurant) for some take out, a board game and maybe a movie if we hadn’t worn ourselves out by then.  As boring as that may sound to some, we were both very excited for our evening together.  We were already tasting those shrimp tempura rolls as we approached the intersection of University and Farley St. in Madison.  The light turned yellow so I slowed down because it was clear I wasn’t going to make it through the intersecton.  We came to a complete stop for a nano second and WHAM, we were hit from behind by a black Chevy pickup.  Frustrated, scared but not apparently injured we pulled off to a nearby parking lot and called the police.  Thankfully, there was witness there who observed that the driver of the Chevy clearly would’ve ran the red light had we not been there.  The witness stayed and reported this take on the accident to the police.  The driver was apologetic and quick to provide us with her name and all the relevant information we needed.  Our Trailblazer has a tow package which seems to be the only part of our car that was damaged.  The hitch receiver is at least 3 inches closer to the front of the car.  We will be taking it in to the shop on Monday.  The other driver was given a citation and we were on our way to the hospital obviously very concerned about Madison and Ruby.

When we arrived at Meriter labor and delivery triage, we were happy to see that our doctor was in on call.  We all looked at each other and shook our heads as Dr. Stewart said “What now?”  She reassured us that based on what we told her of the accident there was almost no chance that the girls had been affected.  However standard procedure called for Allison and the girls to be watched for at least 4 hours.  Back in the hospital on a Friday night.  As you can see by the picture we got our sushi and made the most of our time together.  We were home in bed at 1am.

As frustrated as we were we know God protected all of us.  We were thankful that we weren’t hurt or in a more serious accident.  The goodness of God is evident in the good times and the challenging times as well.

Allison has been home for a week now.  The long Labor Day weekend couldn’t have come at a better time.  We enjoyed lots of down time together which was what we needed.  We continue to grieve the loss of Olivia and are finding our relationship deepen as we support each other through this process.  As you can imagine we both are dealing with the loss differently.  It’s comforting to us to know what the Bible says about Jesus’ love for children.  We find peace knowing she is with him.

We’ve had two doctor appointments this week.  The first, on Tuesday, was with our lead MFM (maternal fetal medicine) doctor.  We had ultrasounds/Doppler’s done on both girls and the results were both in the normal range.  Praise God.  We will be in weekly for ultrasounds/Doppler’s and every other week the ultrasounds will focus on the growth of the babies.  The second appointment was today and was a check up on Allison.  Everything checked out great.  She will be in every 3-4 weeks for this type of appointment.  We’re fortunate our home is only 15 minutes from the hospital.  We hit 26 weeks this Wednesday.  We’ve been told that the rest of the pregnancy should proceed like a normal twin pregnancy. As I sit here typing,  I realize that I’m thankful for how little I have to say medically this week and it’s all good news!  God is good!

We celebrate with Ned, Val, Jackson and Noah today as a new member of our family has arrived.  Val has given birth to baby girl, Ella Esther Clooten.  She was born yesterday at 4:43 pm and weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz and was 20 inches long.  Everyone is doing well!

Today, after Allison spent an uncomfortable night in the hospital, our doctors were able to conduct a successful blood transfusion for Madison.  They first confirmed that she did have anemia and in doing so, learned that her anemic condition improved a bit since yesterday.  They said they “topped her off” with the transfusion and believe that over the next week her bone marrow will kick in to help increase the hemoglobin levels in her blood.  We praise God for this positive result and anticipate good numbers as we go forward.

The Doppler’s did show a concerning finding as well.  It seems that the flow number relative to the hematocrit levels suggest that the chance Madison suffered some type of stroke when Olivia passed away is higher than the doctors had thought.  We originally thought 20% and now the risk may be as high as 50%.  Obviously, a concern.  We share this not to paint a doom and gloom picture but rather to give you specifics to pray about.  Pray that these findings will improve and that as the days turn into weeks and months, we would continue to have more confidence that Madison will do well.

Allison will be getting on a plane to come home tomorrow.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to have her here.  We’re trusting God for favor as she travels and that all will be smooth, on time and comfortable (as comfortable as it can be).

Allison went in today for what we expected to be one more ultrasound/doppler in Cincinnati.  We all expected it to be good and that she would be preparing to come home.  Unfortunately, the test showed that Madison’s MCA (blood vessel in her brain) had abnormal flow.  The doctors took Allison to the University Hospital for monitoring all day.  They also did more echo’s on Madison’s heart.  They think that Madison has anemia due to Olivia passing away.  The condition is treatable with a blood tranfusion via a minimally invasive procedure.  This procedure will occur tomorrow morning.  If all goes well, Allison should still be able to come home on Friday.  Please pray with us that the doctors assessment is correct and that all will go well tomorrow.

We met with our physician team today in Cincinnati.  We were encouraged to learn that we could make plans to bring Allison home to Madison.  We’re in the process of doing that right now.  The doctors were optimistic about Madison’s (and Ruby’s) overall health.  We will continue to pray that the cardiomyopathy completely goes away and her heart develops normally.  Also, that there was no neurologic damage down to her when Olivia went to be with the Lord.  Thank you for praying with us.