20 days

My parents and the kids left for home today. It took them 21 hours on the way down and they lose an hour on the way back. Let's just say they are some pretty awesome parents to do that trip with the kids! Goodbyes went well. Grant lives from moment to moment and probably had no idea that he wasn't going to see my in the morning. I know Ava was a little upset about it. She accepts that I have to stay here, but she was sad because she wanted me to be done in the hospital. But we talked about all her responsibilities at home and that she'd be back to visit again sometime. I handled it better than I originally thought I would. It helps to know they'll make another visit at some point. I'm sorry I have no pictures to post of the kids here this week. I don't have a way to upload them.

On another note, we've passed the 29 weeks mark! This is an exciting point to be at and every week is a celebration around here. A lot of people have asked me questions about if ruptured membranes can heal over. There is not a current treatment to "fix" the rupture after a person's water breaks. Sometimes it can spontaneously heal over. The doctor told me he's only seen that happen about 3 times in his practice and it was usually patients who'd had an amniocentesis, where the needle made a small hole that was able to seal over. In my case it's not very likely. I'll continue to leak fluid for rest of my pregnancy. But my body, and baby, continue to make more. So we're hoping that I'm making it at the same rate, or faster, than it leaks. That will allow my fluid levels to remain above the critical level (which is less than 5). Normal is anywhere from 6-24 (higher is not necessarily necessary, every woman is different). When I was admitted, the level was at 6. The doctors were happy about that, but didn't want to see it dip down below 5 because that becomes dangerous for baby. I had an ultrasound a few days ago and my fluid levels are now at 10! I know it's not a completely accurate estimate by ultrasound, but I was thrilled to hear that! I want this little boy to have lots of room in there to move and kick and practice breathing.

It's hard to believe almost 3 weeks have passed. I have been surprisingly kept busy with visitors, nurses, and lots of activities (thank you all who have lent me movies, books, and new things to try). So I haven't been very bored. Most of my time has been spent house hunting! Chris and I had planned to look for houses in these next few months. So now we are continuing to do that even though I'm 1,000 miles away. Everyone looks at me like I'm a little crazy and says "are you sure you trust your husband to pick out a house without you". But I have a pretty amazing husband. He's been video taping the houses he looks at and sending them to me. So we'll see how it goes. It would be nice not to have to house hunt with a new baby when I get home. My mom also brought me my pictures and scrap booking materials - my favorite pastime. So I'm excited to dig out the pictures of my babies and work on that.