A Babies Story

Our sweet princesses made an early debut this past week.  Here is their birth story.

On Thursday, April 24th, I was 36 weeks pregnant.  I woke up that morning and all was normal.  My feet and ankles had been swollen and painful for about a week but I was feeling good besides that.  I got up, got kiddos off to school and Caedon and I headed to our school for what was supposed to be my next-to-last work day.  I got my room all set up and ready to go and then went to the bathroom before my kiddos started showing up for the day.  I noticed that I was bleeding slightly and I thought, "Well, THAT's not normal..."  I texted my midwife and asked what she wanted me to do or not do and she called me and asked about the bleeding and if I was at home.  I said I was at work and she said, "Go home.  Now.  And get in bed.  I will be by to check you in a little while."  I went in and told my boss (well, my boss's boss, actually.  My boss was out that day with a sick kiddo!) and she said, "Yes, go home!"  So I picked up my very confused toddler (but we just got here, mom....) and headed home.

Brian was going in to work that day, but he didn't have to leave until around noon so he was home when I got there and I headed to bed and he took care of Caedon while we waited for Tina and to find out what was going on.  Tina came late morning and checked me (not dilated yet, but definitely having early labor signs) and gave me an herbal concoction to try to stop the bleeding and the irregular contractions I'd been having.  She put me on complete bed rest and told me not to get up at all except to go to the bathroom.  Because I was only 36 weeks, she was trying to get my body to keep the girls in for one more week so that she would be able to deliver them at the birth center like we were hoping to do.  We started working on a plan for people to come in and be with the kids while still trying to preserve Brian's days off for when the twins actually came.  Thursday afternoon, my sister came over to stay with the kids and Brian headed to work so he didn't have to use one of his days off.  Throughout the day I continued bleeding and having contractions off and on, despite taking the herbal meds.

Around 3:30 am Friday morning I woke up and started timing my contractions.  They were growing more intense and closer together so I called Tina around 6:30 or so and told her that I was pretty sure this was labor and it wasn't going to stop.  My mom had been planning to come over Friday to help with the kids while Brian worked so Tina said to head to the birthing center when Mone got here and she would check me again and get a report ready to send over to Baylor and we would head over there and find out what was going on with our girls and my labor.  At the birth center, I was dilated to a 3 so in those 24 hours, my body had definitely been in early labor.

When we got to the hospital, they got me checked in and we did a sonogram - both girls were still breech.  In fact, Baby A was footling breech, which means her feet would be born first.  Baby B was sitting on her bottom, Indian-style.  They made it very clear that if I WAS in labor, there would be no attempting a vaginal delivery.  Breech twins = c-section, no question.  (Yes, if we had gone to 37 weeks Tina would have had no problem attempting a vaginal delivery of breech twins.)

They put me under observation on an IV to see if hydration would slow or stop my labor.  Nothing doing.  I continued contracting, the contractions only got more intense and I continued to dilate.  Not much, but enough for them to say that yes, I was definitely having these babies and to decide to start getting things prepared for surgery.  (I said it wasn't fair that I had to go through labor AND surgery!)  About 2:30 pm, I met the anesthesiologist, Brian and Tina got dressed in scrubs and we started letting people know that our girls were coming very soon!

During my observation and labor

Waiting to get my epidural, in the OR

Our baby girls were born at 3:56 pm - Rylan Grace - and 3:59 pm - Sadie Jane.  They are beautiful and perfect and so very tiny (Rylan was 5 lbs and Sadie was 4 lbs, 11 oz)!  It was obvious very quickly that they are definitely fraternal twins, they each have their own very distinctive facial features.

Seeing my girls for the first time!

Tina holding the twins in the OR

This was the first time I really got to hold and see both of them up close at the same time
and study their similarities and differences.  They are beautiful little girls!

We are so blessed to have these precious little girls.  We already love them so very much!  They are very good babies.  One of our nurses commented that many late pre-term babies like ours are more fussy than full-term babies but that we had very calm babies.  They sleep wonderfully and they eat great.  We are trying to keep them on the same schedule and that's working out pretty well so far.  The big kids are great with them and are very good about helping us when we need help.  Caedon is....well, he's very sweet and loves them so much.  But he's also quite terrifying with his love.  He wants to kiss them and hug them and hold them and squeeze them and it scares me to death!

Caedon "holding" his sisters at the hospital on Sunday

I love this picture of Kyler and Melissa with Rylan.  SO cute!

Such a proud big sister!

Rylan ready to go home from the hospital!

And little Miss Sadie is ready to go, too!

This picture is so sweet.  All the girls' clothes are too big for them so Daddy
went to the store and picked out some sweet little preemie outfits for them!

This morning we had their 48 hour (after hospital discharge) check-up at the pediatrician and they are absolutely perfect!  When they were discharged from the hospital, they both weighed 4 lbs, 15 oz (Rylan had lost an ounce, Sadie had gained 4!) and today they were both 5 lbs, 0.5 oz.  Already growing up so fast!

I honestly look around at my little crew and wonder how in the world I ended up with five kiddos.  It's craziness, I'm telling you!  But I adore each and every one of them and being their mama brightens up my life!  Stay tuned for updates and pictures as we adjust to being a family of SEVEN.  Wow!

The Turning Point

....or what I like to call week 34.  This week has been miserable, honestly.

I think every pregnancy has that point.  When it becomes less fun and exciting to be pregnant and more miserable and uncomfortable and "GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!"  That was this week for me. Although, obviously it was get these babies out of me.

I'm just gonna complain for a moment

Last Thursday night I was slightly nauseous, Friday I just wasn't hungry most of the day and I felt awful all weekend.  My appetite is way down this week (I'm sure there's just not as much room for food in there now that these babies are getting so big!). I've been having super annoying Braxton Hicks contractions, lots of them.  I'm starting to swell alot in my feet/ankles which is SO uncomfortable. Laying hurts, sitting hurts, standing hurts.  You get the picture.  I hurt.  I actually got a plastic lawn chair last Friday to put in the shower so I could shower sitting down.  Laugh if you want, but it's awesome.  There's just one downside - I never want to get out of the shower now.  It's warm and relaxing and I'm alone and the water feels so good....

I'm very emotional.  I'm getting anxious about delivery.  Since I'm seeing a midwife, there are just certain limitations.  She can't deliver the babies before 37 weeks and obviously she can't do surgery if I need a c-section.  I'm okay with ending up with a hospital delivery if that's what happens but I'm also just wishing I could KNOW what is coming.

I'm feeling bad, too, about how little I can do with my other kids right now.  I feel like the big kids come home from school and I just lay around all evening, asking them to do things for me.  Kyler and Melissa are so sweet to help me and take care of me and the babies but I wish that things were different right now.  And my house is a disaster area.  Sigh

I went to my perinatologist's office today.  I didn't get any pictures this visit because the girls are just getting too crowded for good pics now.  Baby A is weighing around 4 lbs, 14 oz and Baby B is a bit bigger, around 5 lbs, 3 oz.  So essentially, I'm carrying about 10 pounds of baby!  That's alot of baby!  Baby A is breech, Baby B is transverse.  Because Baby A is lower, it's possible that she could be born vaginally first and then Baby B would turn either head down or breech and also be born vaginally.  But there are so many "ifs" and "possibilities" in the whole scenario.  It makes me anxious.   The doctor today said it's looking less likely that they would be able to both be born vaginally - but that there is still time for them to change positions.  I'm trying so hard to just trust and go with the flow.  I KNOW my babies will be born and I KNOW my midwife will do and recommend what is best for me and for them.  My head knows all of that, my emotions just make me want to lay down and cry all afternoon.

I guess this hasn't been a very upbeat post...sorry about all of the complaining.  Maybe by the next time I post a baby update, I'll have gotten all of my packages delivered that I ordered this weekend and you can see baby nursery pictures.  That's more fun than listening to this mama whine, I'm sure. :)

Baby Update 33 weeks

I'll be 33 weeks tomorrow!  I can't believe it's only about 4 more weeks until these babies will be full-term!  We are so excited to meet our girls.  I'm feeling pretty good, still completely exhausted and I can get rather grouchy in the evenings (my poor children).  Some days I'm really emotional, just all these hormones running crazy through my body.  It's quite difficult keeping up with Caedon.  He's much too fast on those cute little legs of his... :)

I had an appt with the perinatologist today.  The girls continue to do great.  Their blood flow and fluid levels are both good and they are growing well.  I'm SO glad that they haven't had any problems due to the antibody issue.  We are truly blessed!

They are both breech again.  No surprise with Baby A, she just loves her little spot, but I was hoping that when Baby B moved out of the transverse position, she would go head down rather than back head up. Oh well, what can you do?  :)  I am seeing a chiropractor to try to give them a bit more room to maneuver into position but....maybe I'll be delivering breech twins???

Here are the tops of their cute little heads up close to Mommy's heart.  Baby A has her face turned inward so it's really hard to get any good pictures of her.  The doctor says she has her face up against her placenta.  Maybe it's a comfy pillow?  :)

Baby B's face. NOT as good as last time.  Brian said she looks kinda like a clown, lol!

When the doctor came in he was playing around with the 4D sono, trying to get us pictures of their faces.  This is Baby B's profile.  It's kinda squished b/c she actually had her hands and her umbilical cord up right in front of her face, but he kinda "photoshopped" that stuff out.

People often ask me how being pregnant with twins is different than one baby.  Besides the obvious getting-bigger-and-uncomfortable-earlier part, it's really not been different.  I feel tons of movement, but I did with all of my single babies as well.  But the other night I got up to go to the bathroom and when I laid back down in bed, I realized that I was feeling both babies have hiccups at the same time.  They both have hiccups often but that was the first time they'd ever had them at the same time and it was the coolest thing!

I'm so anxious to meet them - especially after meeting my sweet new nephew Ben last week - but I know I'll miss this special time when it's just me and them.  I'm treasuring every second (except maybe the seconds when I sit down on the floor and realize I can't get back up!) of this last pregnancy!