Forget not ... bed rest

It is true that time makes you forget. As we get to the day when three years ago we started our long journey to receiving the gifts our heavenly Father had for us, I want to spend some time to remember what happened and how it happened.

 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 

Psalm 103:1-5

When Papito and I got married we wanted to plan for the birth of our children. We did not feel ready for that step when we got married so we decided to wait. After several years we decided that the appointed time had arrived.  :)   Little did we know that we are not to rule over life. Life is much more complicated and delicate than we ever thought of. It was going to be a long journey before life will be created within us.
The summer before our 10th wedding anniversary, we received the long expected news. I was pregnant!  I could not contain all the happiness inside of me. The dream of giving birth almost died as time passed and at this point we were now half way through the process of adoption.

The news of pregnancy and the expectation grew as we learned we were going to be joined not by one, but by two little ones. We were pregnant with twins!! My tummy started to rapidly grow and at 22 weeks (5 months) I looked really big, which I loved up to this point because I was able to use maternity clothes and really show what was happening.  :)

The Sunday of this picture I felt some slight pains on my tummy, but I thought to myself, "I am growing so much and my muscles are stretching, that is why".

The next Wednesday, and the beginning of my 23rd week, Papito drove me to my new regular appointment with my Perinatal Nurse right after work. The appointment started so good, everything looked just perfect. Last check.... and .... oh, lets have an ultrasound...  come and change clothes... people coming in and out of the room.  What is happening??  OK, the doctor came in again and he said, (something like this) you are in labor, go to the hospital, do not stop anywhere, they are waiting for you; you will not be able to go back to work.

I still can not explain all the emotions that passed through me in such a short time. The Perinatal doctor's office was only like 10 minutes from the hospital. In the way I tried to talk to my supervisor as I cried, to let her know that I was not going back to work and that I was having preterm labor. We arrived to the hospital and walked to the labor and delivery floor.

Just as the doctor had said, a nurse was waiting for me. As we walked in she asked: "Are you Mami, come in, let's get you ready". In less than 5-10 minutes I was changed of clothes, hooked into a ton of machines and monitors, and with an IV. They said my OB doctor would be there in a few minutes. And yes, he was there in less than 5 minutes.

My doctor checked me, got all the papers and results from all the tests. He came and softly said: "We are going to wait, and see what happens. You better be ready to camp around here for a while." I was having contractions very regularly, like every 2 minutes. The process of labor had started at this point with my cervix thinning.

Being this was a hard thing to go through, I stayed in a laboring room with all the monitors and IV. A nurse would come by every 10 minutes or so. The hardest part of this day was when the Neonatal Intensive Care Physician came to give us the hard, hard, hard speech he has to give to parents that find themselves in our situation. In summary, what he had to say was something like this: In you case, 23 weeks pregnant, the probability of a baby surviving, even if we try our best, is 50%. And if the baby is to survive, there is a 50% chance that the baby will be highly handicapped in some way. What do you want us to do? Do you want us to try to keep them alive?

My husband and I were completely shocked, overwhelmed and almost hopeless. But that is the right word, ALMOST. There was some hope and faith in our hearts left. My husband replied to the doctor "We believe in God, and we are going to pray. We believe He can do something for us in this case."

A big campaign of prayer started all over for me and the lives of our children. I am so happy that we serve a loving and caring God that has all the power to do as he pleases. The impossible, medically speaking, started to happen and I got to spend 7 days in the hospital. There is so much I can tell you at this point, but this post would be 20 pages long.  :)  So I won't give all the details. Let me just say, that God did a miracle and things calmed down. At week 24 I was able to get steroid shots to strengthen the lungs of the babies. And I got to go home. The doctor's recommendations: Complete Bed Rest until the babies are born.

Our friends became a close family to us. Friends came and visited. Friends prayed and fasted. Friends cooked for us. Friends helped in every way. A mom on bed rest is completely dependent on others. All activities come to nothing. And others have to come and join along for the ride.

These are our friends that came to do a freezer stash cooking day at our home. They cooked enough for us to have frozen meals even after the twins were born.  :)

Something very interesting that happened at the beggining of bed rest, is that we had already planned a baby shower for two weeks after the hospital visit. So, when I was allowed to go home, we thought we could still have the baby shower. I laid down in the recliner while the party was going on. We had such a fun and blessed time. But it was not such a great idea, because by the end of it I started to have strong contractions again. It all passed, but after that event, the doctor explained that much happiness or much sadness will effect my physical/emotional state and will produce contractions. I was not to be too happy or too sad. Visits were to be limited as well.

The season of Thanksgiving and Christmas was the hardest of all. How can you be content with not many people and not much happiness? I got very sad. Right before Christmas I had to go to the hospital with Preterm Labor for the second time. It was not fun to be there. But it was a reminder of the real reason why I was doing all of this. For 2 beautiful lives that one day will come and be with us to spend many Thanksgivings and Christmass together.  :)

Thankfully I was able to go back home for Christmas. Papito and I spent Christmas Eve (the Mexican celebration day) with just a couple friends and Christmas Day with one friend. :)  Thank you friends!

One more interesting fact. My sister gave birth 3 days after I went to the hospital the first time. So, my mom was the entire time torn apart in her heart. She wanted to be with me as much as she wanted to be with my sister (we live in different countries). The decision was wise and she stayed with my sister for the birth, and as soon as she was able to come and spend some time with me, she did. Moms are a great gift from God! She was a great companion and help for the times she was able to be with us.

We were able to select the day when the twins were going to be born. And the plans were set. It was going to be day 1 of week 37. Full term delivery!!

The expected day came and at 2:30 our beloved friends arrived to this world.  :)  We are so thankful to so many people that helped us...to so many people who were involved in the lives of Principe and Princesa. We are so very thankful to GOD, for his immeasurable gift of life, hope, and future.

Thank you everyone. And if you find yourself in a similar situation as me...Take courage, there is still a Miracle Maker.  :)

Below, I have attached some letters that relate to this season of our lives. If you are avid to know more, take some time and continue reading.

A very special group that has been a great resource for us is "Mothers of Multiples". Thank you ladies!

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A letter from Papito one week after arriving to the hospital:

Great news!  The cervex has thickened back to the normal size range. One doctor told us last week this could not happend medically but that they had seen it occur before and could only attribute it to God or "mother nature".  Well, here is another time for the record ;) . Celebration is in the house!!!!!!! (actually in the hospital room). Truly, the scripture that says, "Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning" is being experienced today.  The last 6 days have been dark (but with peace)....today there is much joy!!!  :)


Thank you soooooooo much for interceding with us over the last week. The Lord is answering.


Mami is still on complete bed rest for the remaining time of the pregnancy and is being monitored in the hospital at least for 3 or so days more. However, the major obstacles have been overcome!  Thank you Jesus.  You are faithful always, even when we don't understand. :)

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A letter from Mami to a friend that also found herself in the hospital with preterm labor and expecting twins:

I went to the hospital at 23 weeks and stay on complete bed rest - just get up from the bed to the bathroom, 8 steps away- until 37 weeks when we schedule the birth of the twins at full term.

Some things that helped me:

- Pray a lot, this is a great time to grow spiritually. (I believe that God can do miracles; one day my Dr. told me "whatever you are doing, keep on doing", I answered "we are praying a lot", he said "keep on praying")
- Take it day by day
- Find something fun to read or watch (Netflix was great for me)
- Take as much help as you can (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers)
- Think of the babies often (they are the hope and joy for all the trauma of bed rest)
- Accept weekly visits (I really looked forward for every Thursday when my new friend from church will come and spend 30-45 min. with me)
- Get a very comfy recliner (I used to spend the entire day in the recliner and the nights at bed, that way your body will not hurt as much)
- Let everyone else take control of all your things (I am very particular about clean, organized, etc. but I had to allow my husband, family and friends come and do as they helped us, ...like cook for me and use all my stuff and leave it where they thought appropriate, or help with laundry, and well... no more privacy, etc.)
- Keep thinking positive thoughts (it is super easy to get depressed) 

Some things that I did not expect or was not ready for:

- Thanksgiving and Christmas were the hardest seasons to keep on positive. (I went back to the hospital with pre-term labor at that time)
- After the birth, I needed as much help as during bed rest. I was so ready to get back to my independent self, and the hard reality that with twins there is much more than double the work, got me.
- After the birth my body was not working. After such a long bed rest my muscles were gone. I could not even hold my babies without extreme pain in my hands. It was sad. Perhaps you can get ready and immediately schedule Physical therapy.
- After the birth I was not ready for post-partum depression. I never though I had any kind of depression until after like 6 or 8 months when I was going back to my normal self that I realized how bad I was.

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A memorial letter from Papito a year later:

Hello Dear Family & Friends,


1 year ago we found ourselves in the hospital labor & delivery room at only 5 months into the pregnancy. Mami then continued on complete bed rest for the next 14 weeks. You all walked with us in prayer as we trusted Jesus and watched God's mighty hand thicken the cervix back and bring the twins to full term. Thank you. :)


We just got back from a memorial walk of thanksgiving before the Lord...we just visited the hospital where we ended up exactly one year ago. :)  As we walked those halls, passed the room we were in, and looked around - we gave much thanks to God for bringing us through that stormy day and months!  God is good and all-powerful!  May this testimony encourage you or a friend. 


Attached is a photo of our energetic, happy baby boy and girl – Principe & Princesa. 


Many Blessings