Happy Birthday Max and Emma!

Well Max and Emma have arrived! They came out kicking and screaming and absolutely perfect on Wednesday, 10/20/2010 :) Max Austin was born first at 8:07am weighing 5 pounds and 6 ounces and about 18 inches long and an apgar score of 8 (no nicu needed) and Emma Ryan was second at 8:08am weighing 5 pounds and 15 ounces (almost 6 pounds!) and she was 18 and a half inches long and her apgar score was a 9 (no nicu needed). I just cried and cried I was so happy when the nurses said that they were perfectly healthy! I am so very thankful and blessed that everything went so well with them.

Unfortunately, things didn't go so well with me after their delivery. After they were delivered, Jason went with them to the nursery while the doctors finished with me, but when removing one of my placentas I began to hemorrhage and was quickly loosing a lot of blood. I began to feel really lightheaded and nauseas, so they gave me a sedative which all but knocked me out (I could still hear things going on around me but I was out of it). Apparently my uterus would not contract despite the Dr. G doing everything he could, and I was loosing too much blood, so they had no choice but to remove my uterus to stop the hemorrhaging. By the time they sewed me up, an hour had passed and I had lost half my blood volume. They were on the fence about whether or not to give me a blood transfusion, as I was right on the cusp where I could go either way, but they decided not to do one. The nurse had ran out to tell Jason about what was going on in the OR, but they wouldn't allow him to come back in, so I can only imagine what kind of rollercoaster of emotions he was going through. Once everything was all finished, they took the sedative off and I was able to go to the recovery room and join Jason and our precious babies. 

Dr. G had sent my placenta and uterus off to the lab for testing and he called yesterday to let me know why all this had occurred... and apparently I had what they call placenta accrita - which means that the placenta attached itself too deeply to my uterus and there was nothing they could do but to remove it. My doctor went on to say that I did not fit the rule book for this condition as I never had any of the signs like bleeding during my pregnancy nor had  I ever had any uterine surgeries or previous c-section(s). So in light of this, I feel that much more blessed that the Lord has given us two beautiful, healthy, and perfect babies. I guess He really knows what He's doing and he really does have a plan for us all even if we can't see it or understand it. I have certainly had my moments in the last few days when I get very sad and cry thinking about how I will never get to experience being pregnant again. It's alot to deal with especially after everything I and we have been through to get to this point. It also doesn't help that I had the most wonderful pregnancy anyone could ever ask for - bedrest and all. I just really, really LOVED being pregnant. My advice to anyone out there that is pregnant - I know about 5 or 6 of you are (you know who you are) - take the time to really experience your pregnancy and embrace it and take the time to acknowledge the awesome power God has given you to grow a life within yourself - you'll be so glad you did - and you never know what can happen or when it might be the last time you are given this awesome opportunity.  



So...
Since I had lost so much blood, I am now anemic, which is making my recovery a little slower. I was finally able to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom and even take a 5 min shower (sitting of course) on Friday (2 days later) and was allowed to eat solid food again. After that, each day was a little easier and I was able to actually get out of bed, go to the bathroom, walk the hall and shower unassisted by Sunday morning. I was released on Sunday and things have been going relatively well since we've been home. The incision is still pretty sore and my body is still adjusting to its recent lack of blood, but thankfully my mom is here helping us, so we've just been trying to stay with our little 3,6,9,12 feeding routine and so far so good. I've really been trying to sleep any time they are sleeping - as I get tired out pretty easily. Nursing is also going pretty well considering all that is stacked against me with the twins being early and my anemia. I am nursing the babies, pumping, and supplementing with formula until my milk really starts to come in and until the babies reach term (Nov. 11th) - but it's all learning by fire for these first timers :) 

On a lighter note, Mr. Max loves to pee on his daddy! Jason has been so amazing - he is such an amazing, amazing man and father - I honestly don't know what I did to get so lucky! Jason has been on diaper duty all day everyday since the babies were born, I just recently have been able to get around enough to change a few here and there - but Jason completely got thrown into everything and has handled it with such grace, never once complaining - in fact he seems to take pride in his awesome diaper changing techniques and master swaddler title :) My heart just swells with all the love I have for these little miracles and for my best friend, husband, and father of our babies. Well, it looks like it's feeding time again, but here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure...


Last belly pic - 37 weeks :)




Last picture as a family of 2

 
Jason all geared up ready for the OR
 
First time holding my little angels

 
My perfect and beautiful babies (Emma on the left, Max on the right)
 
Emma (left) and Max (right)
 
Sweet babies Emma (left) Max (right)
 
Happy Birthday! Emma (left) Max (right)

34 weeks and home at last!

Gosh, where to start... well, as I mentioned before, I was put back on hospital bedrest at our Sept. 7th appointment when my cervix shrunk from 14 mm to 8mm - yikes! I was really scared - but I knew that I was in good hands. They gave me a shot of turb again which stopped the contractions. I knew that I was likely going to be in for the long haul this time -  but I was ok with that because I knew that I was in the best place possible. Unfortunetly, the menu did not change :( After three weeks of no contractions or further shortening of my cervix - Dr. G said I would get to go home! My release date wasn't free of its fair share of drama though! After our sono, in which the babies were measuring about 4 and a half+ pounds each, the sonographer detected membranes in my cervix (not exactly sure what that means) - so Dr. G did a pelvic exam to check and see if I was dialting - in which case we would be having a birthday party! All the blood rushed from my face, I felt light headed and though I was going to be sick - I look over and Jason just dropped his head and started praying - you don't really want to hear at 33 and a half weeks that you might be delivering your babies! This was the first time I've had a pelvic exam - but luckily Dr. G said that at most I was 1/2 cm dialated and that I was fine to go home. Whew! To add to the drama, Dr. G informs us that he is going on vacation next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - not really the news you want to hear after being told you may be delivering your babies. I have had dr. appt's with Dr. G either every week or every two weeks since March - never once has he not bene there - so these babies better not even think about making their arrival next week!
In the mean time, Jason has hooked me up at home - he is very concerned that I not have to lift a finger! He has taken almost everything out of the pantry and put it on the table so I would not have to reach for anything! He has also set up a cooler by the bed and a giant jug of water in the bathroom so I can fill up on my way to and from the bathroom! He is going to be such a great daddy! We are really starting to try and wrap our heads around the fact that we will have two babies in like 2 weeks! I will finally get to hold and love on these two little miracles that have been kicking and squirming around in there for so long!
We also finally settled on a new car after going back and forth and not finding what we wanted, blah, blah, blah... we ened up getting a 2010 Acura MDX - I'm so excited and can't wait to be able to drive it! (pic below)
The past couple sono pics weren't great  - but the sono tech always loves to take pics of the babies heads - apparently it's not very common to get a good picture of both heads - who knew?! I posted some belly pics too - warning it's a big one! I've gained a whole 29 pounds so far and I'm pretty sure it's all in the belly cause that sucker is big!

Super pumped about wheel chair shopping this weekend and finally getting all the little things we need!

Here are some pics for your enjoyment:


31 weeks


32 weeks


32 weeks


33 weeks

33 weeks


The new ride :)

Sono Pics - 31 weeks

I forgot to mention that baby girl is now head down with her brother - yay! Here are some sono pics from Tuesday's appt - there are some good ones of both babies in 3d:

Baby boy with his hand in his mouth

Baby Boy

Baby Boy

Baby Boy



Baby Girl

Baby Girl


Baby girl

baby boy

both head down

31 weeks - Back in the hospital :(

So... we went in for our routine dr. appt on Tuesday (I might add this was the one time I did not bring my hospital bag) and first thing they do is check my cervix. Sadly, I was down to a measly 8mm :( It's really scary to think about how little 8mm really is - and that is all that is holding these babies in. I was so frusrtated to say the least. On a positive note, they did measure the babies and baby boy weighed in at 3 pounds 5 ounces and baby girl was 3 pounds 3 ounces and the fluid and heart rates on both were excellent.

Needless to say, Dr. Garner admitted me back in the hospital for bedrest. As soon as they got me upstairs and hooked up to the monitor - sure enough I was contracting about every 5 or so minutes. They gave me a shot of terbutaline which stopped the contractions - and surprisingly wasn't quite as bad as the last time. I did however spend the next day in a sad and scary place, pretty much crying all day wondering if there was anything I could have done - and feeling like a failure. On Thursday, they did another ffn test (which if you remember from my previous stint in the hospital - is a test to see if I am in danger of going into labor in the next 2 weeks) thankfully, the test came back negative -whew! After that and not having any contractions - I felt much less scared and releived that they would at least stay put for another 2 weeks. My goal is to get to at least 35 weeks - idealy 37. Hopefully being in the hospital and the close monitoring will allow me to reach my goal and have healthy chunky babies (welll as chunky as twins can be).   
Last night (Friday), I had about 3 or 4 contractions in a half hour (you shouldn't have more than 6 in an hour) - so my nurse was a little concerned and had me down a ton of water to see if that would do the trick - luckily it did! I hate to think about what could have happened if I were still at home and contracting without knowing it - since that is what is causing my cervix to shorten. This morning my monitoring was good - just a little bit of irritability. They are going to check on the babies and my cervix again on Monday - but Dr. G said that he was going to release me from the hospital in a few weeks (33/34ish weeks) - so by the end of the month I will get to go back home and just let nature take its course. I am very thankful to have the option to go home before the babies get here - I know some doctors make you stay for the duration.
This has been one crazy week to say the least. In addition to all this going down on Tuesday - Jason also started his new job! He is now a senior sales engineer for an IT company called ABP International. He is getting to work along side one of his previous bosses. The poor guy has really been stretched thin this week. As soon as he gets off work at 6 - he comes home, feeds the dog, picks up whatever I might need from the house, picks up something to eat, and comes to hospital - then he usually leaves here around 10:30, and starts it all over again the next day. I really am lucky to have such an amazing hubby - I don't know what I would do without him.
In other news, the other day was pretty exciting as hospital bedrest goes... we had a code black at the hospital. Since there were so many tornados touching down in Dallas, they had all of us move out of our rooms and into conference rooms without windows. We were only there for about 15 minutes before they canceled the code black - but my nurse said that she has been working here for 16 years and this was only the second time she has had a code black! It also seems that I will have to relocate my church baby shower to the hospital - which should be interesting :) Poor Jason is going to have to be the one to take care of buying all things we don't get from showers, wash all the clothes and sheets, put everything away, do my nesting for me, AND find and buy a new car (tahoe) - that's quite the honey do list - I really wish I could do something to help :( And poor Lucy, she's already getting the shaft and the babies aren't even here yet! I wish I could cuddle with her and love on her since I know it will likely be a while before she gets any attention again. Jason is actually going to bring her up here next week - I hope she doesn't wig out! I'm also really looking forward to seeing our maternity pics - maybe next week - I sure hope they turned out good!
For now, I am spending the day relaxing with my love and watching some college football! Can't wait to watch my horns play tonight! Hook 'em horns!

Belly and Baby Shower Pics

30 1/2 weeks today and the kick off of college football - hook 'em horns! What a beautiful weekend - wish I could actually go out and enjoy it - stupid bedrest! We had our maternity pics done today - I hope they turn out good :) Happy Labor Day!


gotta love it when you can't tell where your boobs end and your belly begins!


Jason reluctantly took the longhorn pics!


not sure when exactly it happened - but man my belly got big!


no stretch marks, but you can see every vein on my belly!

Pickles and Ice Cream themed baby shower

Shawnte, Amanda and Kasey

My mom had to help me with the gifts since I couldn't bend over!




I love anything with a ruffle butt!

They had a whole ice cream sundae bar set up - super cute and yummy!



The guests gave the babies books instead of cards to stock up their library so we can read to them everyday :)

Me, Amanda, and Kasey

The hostesses with the mostesses! Gina, Misty, (me), Jessica, Miss Harper, and Charlotte!
Since they did such an amazing job on my shower - I had to shower them with a little something too :)

When it was all said and done - we ended up with what I like to refer to a "Mount Baby"! It took a while to weed through, but we've got most of it put away - but you sure run out of room fast when you have a baby x 2!



In other news - Memi and Gabe had their sweet baby girl, Magnolia Elyse Link on 9/30/10 at 9:14pm weighing in at 7 lbs. 1 oz. - and she was so worried she was going to end up with a 10 lb baby! She is absolutely beautiful and has a full head of hair- perfect for bows! Here are a few pics - I just know the our babies will be best friends!


Happy Birthday Magnolia - I can't wait to meet you!

Not sure how to turn this pic around? But isn't she so cute!

Going home!

30 week appt.

So we had our 30 week appt yesterday and I was feeling really good about it since I had not done anything active all week - and was optimistic that my cervical length would reflect that. Unfortunately, things didn't go as hoped :( My cervix shortened by 4mm (from 1.8 last week to 1.4 today). I was so scared that Dr. G was going to put me back in the hospital on bedrest. I was so frustrated... I don't know what else I could have done - how is it that after a very active week of hair appt, dinner out, and a baby shower, my cervix stays the same, and then the week I do absolutely nothing... it shortens! Ugh! As we waited for Dr. G I was running through bargaining options in my head to avoid being admitted again - later Jason told me he was too! Once we got in the room with Dr. G, he was not nearly as concerned as we thought he would be- in fact he still considered my length as stable - whew! He said that sometimes bedrest just doesn't work - but we are going to continue to do what we can to keep these babies incubated as long as possible! We are also only a few days away from the magic milestone of 30 weeks - which has been Dr. G's biggest goal through this whole scare. He basically said that at this point he did not foresee putting me back in the hospital until it was time to deliver AND... he also said that in a few weeks he would take me off bedrest and just let nature take it's course. Although I will probably continue my bedrest routine, it is nice to know that I will be able to take care of any last minute returns, exchanges, etc., and go out on a few final dates with my hubby :)

In other news... I passed the 3 hour glucose test after failing the initial screening (all thanks to the steroids in my system from our preterm labor scare). It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and actually went by pretty quickly. I am up about 24 lbs and working really hard to fatten these babies up! At our appt on Monday, the babies were still lookin good - great fluid, movement, heartbeats ect. Baby boy is still head down and baby girl continues to sit in the weird awkward transverse/sideways position despite my efforts to coax her into changing positions! It's a good thing we already decided on a scheduled c-section, cause if baby girl doesn't change position, we would have to have one anyways! In the nursery, Jason installed a second rod in the closet, a cubby shelf over the dresser, and got a nightstand and lamp for next to the glider. After the shower on Saturday, we sure had a lot of stuff to fill the closet and shelves with! We have baby boy's letters for his name, we just need to find a frame for it! Baby girl's letters should come in this week - and I cannot wait to see them!!! 

In a few days (Saturday the 4th), Jason and I are going to get our maternity pics done - I hope they turn out good! Memi just had her baby girl Magnolia Elyse last night at 9:14pm after being induced at 8am that morning - she's a trooper - and baby girl is just beautiful and has a full head of hair! I cannot wait to meet her! Sorry no pics today - but hopefully next week :)

28 week appt. & baby pics!

So, I was going into today's appointment very cautious but optimistic and am very pleased to tell you all that everything went GREAT! My cervix went from 1.8 last Monday, to 1.9 on Friday, to 2.0 today!!! We are definitely moving in the right direction! It gives me that needed push to continue to power through this bedrest - knowing that I am really doing everything I can to keep these babies cookin for as long as I can. The sono tech said that the fluid around the babies was excellent, and we even got to watch them practice their breathing -so cool! Baby A is still head down and Baby B continues to hang out in this sort of sideways position looking toward my back that doesn't look comfortable at all - but I did find out that it is his/her shoulder that is jabbing me. We really haven't had any good sono pics in a while, but we hit the jackpot today (well at least for Baby A)! He/She was perfectly positioned so that we could see his/her profile and the sono tech flipped it over to 3D/4D and we got to see what our precious little baby looks like - it was SOOOOO amazing! They didn't take any measurements today, but the babies should weigh about 2 1/2 lbs each and about 15 1/2 inches long! I have finally broken the 20 lb mark and am weighing in at 22 lbs! I'm really trying to put some fat on these babies so they can be nice and healthy when they are born (in about 9 weeks) - so if anyone has any delicious (or at least not horrible) high protein, high calorie recipes - send 'em my way! 


I also had my glucose screening today - and it wasn't nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. It basically tasted like really sweet, flat orange soda. We should have the results back tomorrow, but I'm not too worried about it. I already feel like this week is going to fly by - maybe because I am really looking forward to seeing my mom and having my baby shower on Saturday! Well, I guess that's about it for now - be sure to check out the pics from today's sono!


Profile of Baby A