Quick update

Well there's not too much going on over here. I'm doing good, just healing and sleeping...all that good stuff! Several people have asked me how I'm doing emotionally, and honestly I am doing just fine. It is a little weird now that we had this buildup to this huge moment, and now everything is calm and quiet. The last year was all about bringing a baby or two into this world for M&B and that mission was accomplished. So its just kind of strange that its all over!

I have been pumping breastmilk for the girls. Since they were born a little bit early, I know that breastmilk is very beneficial for them and I am determined to make it work! The last few days I was doing pretty well with the colostrum and then last night my milk came in. I woke up this morning in PAIN. I pumped this morning and got a decent amount, then tried again in the early afternoon and hardly got anything. I wasnt very happy with that, especially considering that M&B brought me some more containers for the milk and told me that the girls were gulping it down. So I was determined to keep this going for as long as the girls are here. I found my old Medela pump (I had been using the Medela Symphony that I rented from the hospital) and tried that and WOW it worked so much better than the double pump from the hospital! So I have gotten plenty of milk for them today. I am so glad we're back on track with the milk.

The girls are doing very well. They are eating well and will possibly get to have their IV's taken out within a couple days. They will have to pass the carseat test before they can leave though. But thats just to make sure they can fit properly and safely into a carseat. Very important! There's no real timeline of when they can leave though, so everyone's just taking it one day at a time.

I havent been up there to see them since the morning I left the hospital (Thursday). I've been trying to make sure I keep my distance, just because I've obviously never done this before and dont want to freak M&B out if I appear too eager to go see them. I'm pretty sure they know they dont have to worry about me though. I do miss those wiggly little girls, but its just like any other pregnancy where you birth a child and miss feeling him/her kick and squirm in your belly. M&B have been wonderful...with all the updates and the pictures and inviting me up to see the girls before I left the hospital. I think we might go up there tomorrow afternoon sometime so I can return the rental pump, drop off some milk for the girls, and of course visit with all of them. I'll have to check with them tomorrow and see if that would be ok. All 4 of us would be going and I dont even know if they'd allow Ian & Quinn into the special care nursery. We'll see!

I want to take a second to thank each and every one of you who has followed this journey, commented on my blog, and just overall supported all of us throughout the past year. I have never felt so much love from so many people all over the world. It is a truly amazing feeling to know that so many people are praying for you & thinking of you. My friends have been angels to me and my church has been amazing as well. They're even having people bring us meals for a few days! And Chris, my darling husband, has been awesome from day 1. I know he will be happy to no longer be on grocery/dinner/cleaning duty though! I am actually looking forward to getting back to normal and doing the things around here I used to do. And then my Mom, who has texted me every single day to check on me and make sure I was doing ok. Yes mom, I'm fine, I promise! :)

Well, time for sleep. I love sleep. :)

Introducing...

Miss Presley (being burped by her proud daddy!):


And back in her isolette:

Miss Lyla (being fed by her proud mommy!):

And making a face:

Backtracking a bit, here I am before the contractions got painful!

And here I am in the OR, about to push:

I have tons more pictures, but these are the only ones I am going to share. The rest I think should remain private between my family and M&B's. :)

They're here!

So much for my poll! LOL! And if you voted after already knowing I was in labor then you cheated! ;)

My water broke around 5pm last night, while sitting on the toilet of all places! M&B picked me up while Chris took our boys to the sitter, and we got to the hospital around 6:30. They hooked me up and my contrax werent very strong or close enough together, so they gave me some pitocin to get it going. It started to hurt around 9:30 and I was dilated to 5-6cm. Got my epi and was feeling great by 10:30. The doctor checked me around 12:30am and said I was complete!

They moved me to the OR just in case I needed a c-section. The doctor got me all set up and had me push...little Presley Skye came out in one push at 12:47am. She then was able to turn Baby B from breech to vertex, which wasnt very pleasant feeling. Lyla Brooke was born after 3 pushes at 12:54am. Both girls came out screaming! They both weighed 4lbs 15 oz...Presley is 17.5" and Lyla is 18.5". Their Apgars were 9,9 and 8,9. The nurse was in disbelief that they were so incredibly healthy for being preemies. She said she would have given them perfect 10s but she never even gives 10s to full term babies.

So despite being born at 34w4d, they will likely be released from the special care nursery as soon as its determined that they can eat and their sucking reflex is working properly. No NICU time at all! I just pumped some colostrum and sent it upstairs for the girls and I will continue to pump as long as M&B want me to.

The doctor told us that this was the easiest twin birth she had ever been a part of! It just went so well and so quickly. It really was perfect! The nurses teared up a bit when they saw M&B's faces when they saw their daughters for the first time.

Oh, and what was really cool was that even though we were in the OR, they let all 3 of 'my people' stay in the room. So Chris was there playing photographer, and M&B got to be right there were the action was. It was truly an amazing experience.

They invited me up to see the girls this morning when they went in there and they are absolutely BEAUTIFUL. No wrinkly, swollen newborn look at all. Beautiful round heads full of dark hair, precious dainty features, the sweetest little lips.

If I am able to, I will post pictures later. Its totally up to M&B and their comfort level. I could possibly even post the pics and then take them down after a couple days or so.

This was the most awesome thing I have ever done. M&B are the greatest and have truly made this the perfect journey I had hoped for. I dont get very emotional, so I didn't cry during the birth or anything, but my heart was just so filled with love for these girls and pride in myself and my body for doing such a good job. I set out to help create a family and all I ever wanted was to carry a big strong healthy baby for someone...and I lucked out and got to carry two of them.

So this journey has come to an end, but in other ways it is just beginning. :)

New Poll

So I was talking with M via email and we thought it would be fun to put up a poll about when I will go into labor. So over there to the right is a poll for you to vote on if you are interested.

Here are the facts:

• At 31 weeks I was admitted to the hospital because I was 2cm dilated and contracting 5-6 times per hour.
• I am on a medication called Nifedipine which relaxes the 'smooth muscle' of the uterus. If I am even an hour late taking one, I start having more contractions. I was told I can stop taking it at 36 weeks which is next Friday.
• I still contract a couple times per hour while taking the medication. When labor wants to start, this pill wont keep it from happening if its really time!
• I am on modified bedrest, which is really just limited activity. I am allowed to run into the store if I need to grab something or go out to eat, or go to church. Just as long as I am not doing anything strenuous or that has me on my feet for any extended amount of time (no cleaning or cooking, etc).
• I was induced with both of my own children...Ian at 39w2 days and Quinn at 40w1d. I wasn't more than 1cm dilated with either of them when their inductions were started.
• I might have lost some mucus plug last week. Havent seen anything like it since, and I'm not sure thats what it was. Who knows!

So there are the facts! At the start of this week I was really feeling like it would happen this week. A lot of people think it will. I'm not sure anymore because I actually feel ok despite being very tired. But we all know labor starts whenever it wants to, and is very unpredictable!!

34 weeks!

I wont technically be 34 weeks until tomorrow but since I had an appointment today I decided to go ahead and do the 34 weeks update along with my appointment update.

So, yeah! 34 weeks! The doctor said that at this point if I go into labor, they wont try to stop it and the girls will be fine, just may possibly need a little time in the hospital to fatten up and get their blood sugar stabilized. It's exciting, and kind of scary, to be in this "could go at any time" phase! Ideally we all want to make it to 36 weeks. At that point the girls will more than likely be able to go right home after a couple days.

Both girls passed their biophysical profiles with perfect scores today. They both did all their body movements pretty quickly, and then finally did their breathing movements. At the beginning they both had hiccups at the same time too! It was fun to watch them on the screen. I felt bad for them though...the hiccups lasted for a bit! The u/s tech didn't measure them this week so I have no idea what their estimated weights are. She said its better to do them every other week but up to this point I have had them every week anyways. Ah well. I imagine they are at least 5 pounds each now, considering they were over 4.5 pounds last week. I know its all an estimation and we wont know for sure until they are born though!

I might have lost some of my mucus plug (yuck, sorry) earlier this week. I asked the doctor if that would mean I have dilated further and she said yes. But she also said at this point it doesn't matter so she didn't check my cervix. So I could be sitting at 3cm right now! I think 4cm is considered labor...but I dont know for a fact. I remember when I was induced with my boys, both times they broke my water once I got to 4cm. So we'll see! I am really quite nervous about my water breaking. I've never had it happen spontaneously before. I wonder if it will happen when I get up to pee, or if it will happen in the shower, on the toilet, at church!!??

Which reminds me...I've got to get my bag packed!! Its hard because most of what I'd pack is stuff I use every day. But I need to at least get it started. I think I might buy some new jammies to wear in the hospital. Most of my jammies are from Old Navy several years ago....so its time for some new ones!

My next appointment is next Friday, the 27th at 9:45am. And yet again, I will not get to see my doctor. I will be seeing a totally different doctor than even the one I've seen the last 2 weeks. That frustrates me. I have to have this appointment every week, but they can barely accomodate me! What happens if I need to set up one more after this one, and they have nothing available Wed, Thur, or Fri? I guess I'd have the one on Fri, and then come back on Mon or Tues, which seems like a total waste. I think maybe I'm overthinking this and should just not worry about it...LOL.

My BP was 120/60, gained one more pound (total weight gain = 36 pounds), and urine was clear of ketones and protein. Still no swelling, too. So all in all, a very good appointment!!

Here is the 34 week development update for the girls (and do remember that twins develop faster than singletons, so the girls are usually further ahead than these updates say):

• Baby acts completely like a newborn, with her eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping. You may also find her settling into more of a routine for sleeping & awake times.
• She has learned to blink. She can also see more clearly when there is a bright light on your stomach and probably has the outline of all your organs memorized!
• Antibodies from your blood are being transferred to her. These immunities continue to build until birth. Then breast milk will add even more protection against disease.
• Baby may have already turned to a head-down position in preparation for birth. If she is your first baby, she may be settling into the pelvis with her head pressing against your cervix.
• Fingernails have reached the end of the fingertips now. She may scratch her face even before she is born!
• Your little one's length is 17.7 inches (45cm) and weight is 4.7 pounds (2146 g).

And here is my belly, which never ceases to amaze me with its ability to get bigger and bigger, week after week! LOL. It appears to be a bit lower as well, as now I have a little bit hanging down over my pants in the front, which I didn't have last week. PS - say hi to Quinn, peeking in on the side!

Contraction log

Just for the fun of it, I kept track of my contractions for 8 hours. They certainly pick up in the afternoon/evening.

9:51
10:01
10:10
12:57
1:07
2:57
3:14
3:26
4:02
4:14
4:22
4:51
5:07
5:50

Funny coincidence?

The little animated babies over on the right side of my blog are spinning like crazy in their little bubble. And thats exactly what it feels like is happening in my uterus. LOL

Sometimes they move and wiggle SO much, and then other times I have to poke them to get them to budge. I wish they'd go nuts with movement when M&B are around. So far they have gotten to feel Baby B's head up at the top of my belly and feel her having hiccups. As I write this, Baby A actually has the hiccups. I cant feel hers as well as I can feel Baby B's since Baby A is down so low.

I have been eating a lot more lately. I think I will have another gain this week. Then again, I'm sure the boxes of Girl Scout cookies on top of the fridge arent helping anything. ;)

Also, I need a pedicure, desperately. My feet are all dry and my heels are cracked. My toenails are long and unpainted, since I cant reach them. I asked Chris to do it, but he quickly declined. I have a spa giftcard from some friends and I think I will try to get a pedi before I go into labor if my doctor says its ok. At least I will be sitting in a chair the whole time while they do my feet. They look so ugly right now. But at least they arent swollen! I'm glad its not flip-flop weather yet!