A week in review at P/SL

Mark and I are grateful to be here at P/SL where the care is excellent and the experience is consistently better than I'd ever known in a hospital. I, of course, had never spent a night in a hospital until September 5, 2007; therefore, my naivete certainly spooked me when Dr. Rich Porreco and nurse practitioner, Deb McGee, admitted me. Looking back now, Mark and I are certain staying here is the best option for me and the kids.

I've had a bumpy week; however, with a few IV units flooding my dehydrated system last weekend and the beginning of the week, I'm feeling better. Night time continues to be a rough spot in my day; avoiding me after eight in the evening is probably a good call. Poor Mark and the babies... they're hangin' in there with me.

Your outpouring of time and energy in keeping our spirits bright is so appreciated. This week, we wish to thanks the following people. Thanks Abby, Susie and Bill for joining Mark and me at P/SL for some good laughs and coffee- also the great support from Centaurus friends brightened my day! In addition, thank you for your visit, Christie and your trio, on Monday; I wish I was more of my perky self! Kathleen, thanks again for spending your evening with us for dinner and generously giving me more fresh sunflowers as they've certainly become the hospital room's theme for my painting! Sandy, thanks for coming and being a bright spot in my afternoon and adorning me with more magazines, Sudoku, and cookies. Alej and Phil, thanks for dropping in for dinner and some great company; likewise, thanks Chuck and Cathy for the yummy jack-o-lantern of goodies and sharing a yummy pizza dinner and Ben and Jerry's ice cream with us. Thanks Melissa for the wonderful care and the delicious banana bread that has fed the four of us and helped me gain the weight needed to make it over 200 lbs! Thanks Monica for the delicious Maccaroni Grill lunch, and the slippers you've given me are truly warming my experience on the hospital floor- You certainly have a lot of P/SL experience to share. Finally, I'm certain that my mother and Sunshine's visit each day brightens my moments here. Thanks for bringing Jack and Addie to the hospital today to enjoy the flick Snow Dogs and share some much needed time together.

Thank you for sending your wonderful cards, magazines, and voice mails to support Mark and me during this time of bed rest. Lisa and Barrett, thank you for helping my mother and us take care of Sunshine and Joy consistently when we're unable to do so; also, Julie, Jack and Addie, thanks for filling in when we needed your assistance to care for the pups. You all are so generous with your time, and we appreciate your efforts to complicate your life with our needs.

Of course, you know I'm a water girl and our therapy pool time is priceless as it takes the extra sixty plus pounds I've gained since the babies began their journey; therefore, please understand if I cannot connect with you all until after my pool time! We're finding that Mark's cell is the best way to communicate with us or our email- Suzi@VanAlstyne.com or Mark@VanAlstyne.com. I'm finding that fielding phone calls in my day isn't my forte right now. Hospitals are very active places; they are not restful havens as I'd imagined. Trust me, every three hours the nurses strive to meet my pharmaceutical needs while I try to drift back to sleep when they leave or carry on with my painting, reading or movie watching when they depart.

Ultrasound Video - 31 weeks, 1 day

This weeks ultrasound was only for measuring Suzi's cervix and some minimal checking of the kids. Suzi's cervix is still maintaining its length which is great!

The kids are looking well, and we've seen signs of practice breathing from both Marek and Maarten and also hiccups from both Monique and Maarten.

Monique is in a breach position, and she has been doing a lot of painfully noticeable kicking lately. She seems to enjoy the pool visits since it gets her brothers off her back.

Marek used to be a challenge during monitoring time, but now he's behaving very well. Monique and Maarten have both decided to turn around, and now their backs cause problems when it's time to monitor both of them. The nurses have been resorting to bringing in the portable ultrasound machine lately when it's time to fish for the babies.

Suzi had a tough week with nauseousness, dehydration, and challenging IV experiences; though she is now rehydrated and feeling relatively better, if still nauseous.

We're looking forward to reaching our 32 week goal. Hope you are well! Keep in touch!

Ultrasound Video - 30 Weeks, 1 day

The Kids are growing well, and Suzi's cervix is maintaining its length!

Monique is 3lbs, 2oz; Marek is 3lbs, 6oz; Maarten is 2lbs, 14oz.

These are all estimates of course to provide some idea of how they're doing. Their actual weights are likely to be different from these ultrasound guesses once they're born.

Also, I updated the driving directions on the P/SL Schedule postings.

Ultrasound Video - 29 Weeks, 1 day

We had another ultrasound appointment this morning, and everyone is doing well. Monique and Maarten are 2 lbs, 12 ounces; Marek is 3 lbs, 2 ounces (Marek is 12% larger than the other two, which is within normal ranges).

There is no sign of TTTS yet!

Suzi's cervix has lengthened to 24mm! The doctors do not think Suzi is experiencing Pre-Eclampsia, though they still want to watch her closely. When we asked Dr. Porreco if Suzi would be staying for the duration of the pregnancy, he said that Suzi "is not going anywhere."

Suzi's Cholestasis of Pregnancy is causing a bit of grief since the main symptom is itching all over all day and all night. They're treating it and hopefully the symptoms will lessen soon.

Suzi's P/SL Schedule

Feel free to visit Suzi during the day especially around the lunch and mid-afternoon hour as she's not in the pool nor attached to a monitor on our children. Another ideal time to come is after four until eight over the dinner hour; she's not hooked up to the monitors then either and back from her therapy pool. We know you're busy, so please do give Suzi a call or an email an let her know you're available to come in and see her; I might even be there at the same time, too!

Here is Suzi's daily schedule while at Presbyterian St Luke's-look at the agenda view:
(Click on an individual appt. to view details)


If you would like to visit, here are directions to Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital, to where Suzi is staying. Suzi is in room 325, on the labor and delivery floor.
Click HERE for a map via I-25 S.

Click HERE for a map via Colorado Blvd.


Here are the details for when you arrive at P/SL:
(Click on the image to enlarge it)

Suzi is at Club P/SL

Hi everyone,

When Suzi and I went to our 28 week ultrasound appointment, our doctor, Dr. Rich Porreco, decided that Suzi needed to stay at Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital so they could monitor her closely.

Suzi's cervix has thinned below 2 cm, to 19.4 mm. Also, they're concerned about Pre-eclampsia and they are running some tests to watch that closely. They also performed a Fetal fibronectin (fFN) test on Wednesday, and that test came back negative (Great news!). When the fFN test is negative, it means that there is little if any danger of preterm labour for 7-10 days.

Here is a quote from Suzi:
"Wow! It is a great place and I have a big window view of the NW Skyline into Boulder... keeps me as best as I can be connected. I've had some contractions for the first time last evening; they have me on pills to keep them at bay. I feel like things are getting pretty permanent and that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. The cervix has thinned below 2 cm at 19.4 mm and that's not something to rock out about."

The hospital allows dogs to visit, so Suzi's Mom (Who arrived Wednesday night) brought Sunshine down for a long visit today(Thursday).

We'd like to thank Suzi's Mom (Pat Schumann), Barbara Lambert, Karen Snyder, Barret and Lisa Trask for all their help with the dogs, helping to pack clothes and necessities for Suzi and Mark, driving Suzi downtown, and all of their help these last few days! Thanks also to Kathleen Eakins and Scott Minor for visiting this evening and helping Suzi to feel better and for bringing flowers to cheer her up.

If you would like to visit, here are directions to Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital, to where Suzi is staying. Suzi is in room 325, on the labor and delivery floor.
Click HERE for a map via I-25 S.

Click HERE for a map via Colorado Blvd.

Here are the details for when you arrive at P/SL
(Click on the image to enlarge it):