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Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
3 Months
I am a bad blogger...
I had wanted to do an update at the very least once a month so I can try to keep track of whats new with the babies since they grow and change so quickly and if I don't record it somewhere it all just gets lost. Anyways, I failed and haven't done any sort of an update since they were 1 month old so here goes...
At their 2 month check up Max weighed in at 11 pounds 11 ounces and Molly was catching up at 9 pounds 7 ounces. They each got 5 shots at their check-up which was not so much fun but the doctor says both babies are doing great. We will see a pediatric orthopedist to re-check Molly's hips since an ultrasound showed slight dislocation from being transverse and so squished in my belly.
I started back at work on November 7th. I was so sad to leave my babies but thankful that between myself, Shawn, and our moms they will always be with family. Now in my second week I'm doing ok, we are really busy and I am definitely juggling but we are making it work and so far so good.
At three months the babies have started to interact a lot more and are so much fun! They smile and laugh and love being talked to. If you talk to Molly she will give you tons of smiles and maybe even a laugh and Max loves to smile at you if you give him kisses on his cheeks. Molly loves to look at her brother and Max loves to lay on his play gym and look at his toys or in the mirror. They are really good and easy babies and for that I am incredibly thankful. We have them on a pretty strict schedule and they are still eating about every three hours during the day but sleep 6-8 hours at a time at night. That makes for one very happy mama!! Our next pediatrician appointment is not until December but I'm sure they have gained tons of weight, Molly, once in preemie clothes has grown out of all her preemie and newborn size clothes and wears 0-3m and Max, who never really was in preemie clothes is now between size 0-3m and 3-6m.
Today is officially their 3 month birthday, look how much they have grown!!!
One Week
One Month
Two Months
Three Months
I have some pretty cute babies if I do say so myself :)
I had wanted to do an update at the very least once a month so I can try to keep track of whats new with the babies since they grow and change so quickly and if I don't record it somewhere it all just gets lost. Anyways, I failed and haven't done any sort of an update since they were 1 month old so here goes...
At their 2 month check up Max weighed in at 11 pounds 11 ounces and Molly was catching up at 9 pounds 7 ounces. They each got 5 shots at their check-up which was not so much fun but the doctor says both babies are doing great. We will see a pediatric orthopedist to re-check Molly's hips since an ultrasound showed slight dislocation from being transverse and so squished in my belly.
I started back at work on November 7th. I was so sad to leave my babies but thankful that between myself, Shawn, and our moms they will always be with family. Now in my second week I'm doing ok, we are really busy and I am definitely juggling but we are making it work and so far so good.
At three months the babies have started to interact a lot more and are so much fun! They smile and laugh and love being talked to. If you talk to Molly she will give you tons of smiles and maybe even a laugh and Max loves to smile at you if you give him kisses on his cheeks. Molly loves to look at her brother and Max loves to lay on his play gym and look at his toys or in the mirror. They are really good and easy babies and for that I am incredibly thankful. We have them on a pretty strict schedule and they are still eating about every three hours during the day but sleep 6-8 hours at a time at night. That makes for one very happy mama!! Our next pediatrician appointment is not until December but I'm sure they have gained tons of weight, Molly, once in preemie clothes has grown out of all her preemie and newborn size clothes and wears 0-3m and Max, who never really was in preemie clothes is now between size 0-3m and 3-6m.
Today is officially their 3 month birthday, look how much they have grown!!!
One Week
One Month
Two Months
Three Months
I have some pretty cute babies if I do say so myself :)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
One month old!
Happy one month birthday babies!
We went to the doctor today and babies are perfect and growing quickly! Molly was 7 lbs today and Max was 8 lbs 8 oz.
Time is going quickly for me and I'm loving being a momma but sad that my maternity leave time is ticking away. I love spending time with my babies and getting to know their personalities. Max is laid back and silly, eats his bottles with his hands behind his head and Molly is sweet and serious and loves to sleep snuggled up on my chest. It seems like they both like to pee as soon as their diaper comes off or before I can get a new one on. This is especially interesting with Max or in the middle if the night. I know they hate having their clothes changed and I try to tell them that if they don't want me to change their clothes they shouldn't pee on their momma but they don't seem to listen...
It has been a whirlwind first month and lots has changed. We have a new wonderful normal that includes talk about poop and vomit but I wouldn't change a thing.
Mommy loves you babies, happy one month birthday!!
We went to the doctor today and babies are perfect and growing quickly! Molly was 7 lbs today and Max was 8 lbs 8 oz.
Time is going quickly for me and I'm loving being a momma but sad that my maternity leave time is ticking away. I love spending time with my babies and getting to know their personalities. Max is laid back and silly, eats his bottles with his hands behind his head and Molly is sweet and serious and loves to sleep snuggled up on my chest. It seems like they both like to pee as soon as their diaper comes off or before I can get a new one on. This is especially interesting with Max or in the middle if the night. I know they hate having their clothes changed and I try to tell them that if they don't want me to change their clothes they shouldn't pee on their momma but they don't seem to listen...
It has been a whirlwind first month and lots has changed. We have a new wonderful normal that includes talk about poop and vomit but I wouldn't change a thing.
Mommy loves you babies, happy one month birthday!!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Happy Due Date Babies
Today is my due date but I'm writing this as I hold and feed one of my two sweet munchkins. My babies are almost a month old already, I seriously can't believe it. We are oh so in love.
Molly and Max were born on August 15th at 12:29 and 12:31pm, weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz and 6 lbs 10 oz, respectively. My babies were born prematurely by c-section at 36 weeks and 1 day after a pre-eclampsia diagnosis and a week of hospital bed rest. I will try to recount the events of that day, though it seems like ages ago now, I'm a bad blogger...
When my last pre-e test came back positive and doctors told me on a Thursday that I would be delivering the following Mon
day part of me didn't believe them. I was scared and excited all at once. It was the longest few days of my life. The night before my section was like Christmas eve, I don't think Shawn or I got hardly any sleep, we were way too anxious and excited to meet our babies. Monday morning came along with more tests and surgery prep. We ended up heading down to the labor and delivery floor at around 11:30. I was taken into the operating room to get my spinal block while Shawn changed into scrubs. I was so scared for the epidural and wished that Shawn could have been there but instead i cried and held on to a nurse as the anesthesiologist placed my epidural (twice since the first needle wasn't thick enough - yuck!) The epidural worked quickly but was not how I thought it would be. The bottom half of my body felt warm and then tingly and heavy but I could still wiggle my toes and I was scared that I was going to be able to feel the surgery. This whole part was scary for me, especially before Shawn was allowed in. Once I was numb and prepped Shawn came in and sat by my head. At this point I think they had already started cutting. It was strange because though I couldn't feel pain, I definitely felt a lot. At one point, I felt a doctor using scissors to cut part of my belly. Snip, snip, snip...gross... Shawn could tell I was super nervous and uncomfortable and tried his best to talk me through it and keep my mind occupied through the first part of surgery. And then, the most wonderful moment in my life, I heard my daughter cry for the very first time. My heart melted and even though I hadn't seen het yet, I was so in love. Next came Max, and he came out peeing on my OB, what an entrance my little boy :) Shawn even peeked over the surgical curtain I heard him cry too and at this point both Shawn and I couldn't hold back our tears of joy. Molly was cleaned up and swaddled and placed in Shawn's arm while they reviewed Max and completed my surgery. She was perfectly healthy and to think I was so worried about my tiny baby girl. I could tell something was wrong with Max. Though he cried it wasn't as loud or consistent as Molly's had been and I tried to listen to what the doctors were saying. They brought him over to us and I was able to see my sweet baby boy and give him a kiss before they took him away and the neonatologist came over to explain that he was having some trouble breathing and that they were taking him to the NICU to better access him. Once my doctors finished my surgery I was taken to recovery where I would stay for the next, very difficult 24 hours.
Because I was a pre-e diagnosis I had to be on Magnesium Sulfate for the 24 hours following delivery to make sure I didn't have a seizure. I was told I reacted well to the Mag but it was a very uncomfortable 24 hours. On top of recovering from major surgery I was hot, loopy, itchy and generally not myself. And besides the fact that I couldn't see my little boy at all since he was in the NICU, I also was not allowed to be alone with Molly since the medication makes patients unpredictable. I'm glad that that time is fading to a more distant memory.
When I was finally discharged from the labor and delivery floor at around 3pm on the 16th I was finally allowed to go see my baby boy. I was transferred to a stretcher and wheeled up to the NICU to be able to spend some long overdue time with my little boy Max. When I got up to the NICU the nurses wheeled my stretcher up next to Max's isolate and I was able to put my hand in and touch and talk to my boy.
Once I was back in the maternity ward I was thankful to be able to be with my daughter and though it was really difficult the first time trying to get up out of bed I knew I had to do it so I could get into a wheelchair to go up and see Max again. The following days were difficult and wonderful; recovering, bonding with my sweet tiny Molly and trying to get up to see Max as much as possible. I knew the NICU was the right place for Max to be to take care of his little lungs but it was awful to be separated from one of my babies.
I started this post at 2am this morning and am finishing it at 10pm. We have been super busy and there is much more that I want to record and remember from the past couple of weeks but babies are hungry again so it will have to wait for another day :)
Molly and Max were born on August 15th at 12:29 and 12:31pm, weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz and 6 lbs 10 oz, respectively. My babies were born prematurely by c-section at 36 weeks and 1 day after a pre-eclampsia diagnosis and a week of hospital bed rest. I will try to recount the events of that day, though it seems like ages ago now, I'm a bad blogger...
When my last pre-e test came back positive and doctors told me on a Thursday that I would be delivering the following Mon
day part of me didn't believe them. I was scared and excited all at once. It was the longest few days of my life. The night before my section was like Christmas eve, I don't think Shawn or I got hardly any sleep, we were way too anxious and excited to meet our babies. Monday morning came along with more tests and surgery prep. We ended up heading down to the labor and delivery floor at around 11:30. I was taken into the operating room to get my spinal block while Shawn changed into scrubs. I was so scared for the epidural and wished that Shawn could have been there but instead i cried and held on to a nurse as the anesthesiologist placed my epidural (twice since the first needle wasn't thick enough - yuck!) The epidural worked quickly but was not how I thought it would be. The bottom half of my body felt warm and then tingly and heavy but I could still wiggle my toes and I was scared that I was going to be able to feel the surgery. This whole part was scary for me, especially before Shawn was allowed in. Once I was numb and prepped Shawn came in and sat by my head. At this point I think they had already started cutting. It was strange because though I couldn't feel pain, I definitely felt a lot. At one point, I felt a doctor using scissors to cut part of my belly. Snip, snip, snip...gross... Shawn could tell I was super nervous and uncomfortable and tried his best to talk me through it and keep my mind occupied through the first part of surgery. And then, the most wonderful moment in my life, I heard my daughter cry for the very first time. My heart melted and even though I hadn't seen het yet, I was so in love. Next came Max, and he came out peeing on my OB, what an entrance my little boy :) Shawn even peeked over the surgical curtain I heard him cry too and at this point both Shawn and I couldn't hold back our tears of joy. Molly was cleaned up and swaddled and placed in Shawn's arm while they reviewed Max and completed my surgery. She was perfectly healthy and to think I was so worried about my tiny baby girl. I could tell something was wrong with Max. Though he cried it wasn't as loud or consistent as Molly's had been and I tried to listen to what the doctors were saying. They brought him over to us and I was able to see my sweet baby boy and give him a kiss before they took him away and the neonatologist came over to explain that he was having some trouble breathing and that they were taking him to the NICU to better access him. Once my doctors finished my surgery I was taken to recovery where I would stay for the next, very difficult 24 hours.
Because I was a pre-e diagnosis I had to be on Magnesium Sulfate for the 24 hours following delivery to make sure I didn't have a seizure. I was told I reacted well to the Mag but it was a very uncomfortable 24 hours. On top of recovering from major surgery I was hot, loopy, itchy and generally not myself. And besides the fact that I couldn't see my little boy at all since he was in the NICU, I also was not allowed to be alone with Molly since the medication makes patients unpredictable. I'm glad that that time is fading to a more distant memory.
When I was finally discharged from the labor and delivery floor at around 3pm on the 16th I was finally allowed to go see my baby boy. I was transferred to a stretcher and wheeled up to the NICU to be able to spend some long overdue time with my little boy Max. When I got up to the NICU the nurses wheeled my stretcher up next to Max's isolate and I was able to put my hand in and touch and talk to my boy.
Once I was back in the maternity ward I was thankful to be able to be with my daughter and though it was really difficult the first time trying to get up out of bed I knew I had to do it so I could get into a wheelchair to go up and see Max again. The following days were difficult and wonderful; recovering, bonding with my sweet tiny Molly and trying to get up to see Max as much as possible. I knew the NICU was the right place for Max to be to take care of his little lungs but it was awful to be separated from one of my babies.
I started this post at 2am this morning and am finishing it at 10pm. We have been super busy and there is much more that I want to record and remember from the past couple of weeks but babies are hungry again so it will have to wait for another day :)
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Garanimals!!!
This is a special guest blog from Auntie Emmie and Auntie Rinney!
As Ashley spent the last few days on bed rest at the hospital, we had fun making her some of her favorite foods (key lime pie, blueberry muffins, omelettes) and bringing her sushi (no raw fish, of course).
And this is us (the VERY proud aunts with our VERY pregnant sister) just before the Garanimals (yes, we call them the Garanimals) joined us on earth! We will save the good stuff for mama bear once she is a little less loopy, but for now, just know we are all smiles!! :) :) :)
SORRY for the sideways picture - We don't know how to do this whole blog thing!!!
<3 the proudest/happiest aunts in the whole wide world!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Tomorrow
Tomorrow I will meet my babies. I have waited a really, really long time to say that. It still doesn't seem real, maybe it never will. I can't think of anything I have waited longer for in my life. All that time seems to make the coming of tomorrow that much more unreal but as I sit here confined to a hospital room with nurses coming in and out all day I have to know something is coming. I have had all this time of waiting for what tomorrow will be, so why do I feel unprepared? Why can't I believe what is actually happening? It feels like a dream. I have dreamt about what it would be like to see the little faces of my babies for years, what they would look like and how much joy I would feel as I instantly fell in love. Is that day actually almost here? Is that how I will feel tomorrow? I am stuck in a whirlwind of emotions about tomorrow. I know I am not in control but I just want everything to go well. I want an uneventful surgery, as smooth a recovery as can be and most of all I want happy, healthy babies.
Tomorrow will be the end of what has been a very long road, full of some of the most painful, broken and trying times I have been through, things that tested my character, marriage and faith but also, this road has offered some of the happiest memories I have so far, has proven to me that with God, my husband and family I can get through really dark days and they will all be there to rejoice with me once the storm clouds pass. I know how it feels to ache for something and then feel the immense blessing when it is satisfied. I also know that not everyone is as fortunate as I have been.
Even as tomorrow marks the end of one road it is only the beginning of another. Tomorrow will be the beginning of life on earth for my two sweet babies and the beginning of Shawn and I as parents, our parents as grandparents, our siblings as aunts and uncles, new roles and relationships for the rest of our lives.
For now, I'll enjoy the last times I'll feel you kick and wiggle inside my womb, I can't wait to meet you my sweet little ones and for all that tomorrow has in store for our future.
Tomorrow will be the end of what has been a very long road, full of some of the most painful, broken and trying times I have been through, things that tested my character, marriage and faith but also, this road has offered some of the happiest memories I have so far, has proven to me that with God, my husband and family I can get through really dark days and they will all be there to rejoice with me once the storm clouds pass. I know how it feels to ache for something and then feel the immense blessing when it is satisfied. I also know that not everyone is as fortunate as I have been.
Even as tomorrow marks the end of one road it is only the beginning of another. Tomorrow will be the beginning of life on earth for my two sweet babies and the beginning of Shawn and I as parents, our parents as grandparents, our siblings as aunts and uncles, new roles and relationships for the rest of our lives.
For now, I'll enjoy the last times I'll feel you kick and wiggle inside my womb, I can't wait to meet you my sweet little ones and for all that tomorrow has in store for our future.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Hospital stay #3
A quick update on what has been going on the past few days...
Tuesday - I had a NST and a Doppler study ultrasound scheduled at the MFM at the hospital for 2:30. The ultrasound went great and everything with the babies looked wonderful as always. During my NST though, they were taking my blood pressure and it was high. At the end of the appointment they sent me up to labor & delivery because my OB was there and she wanted me to go on monitors for a while. I was honestly thinking I would be there for a couple hours and be sent home. Thankfully they did not give me an IV. After more blood pressure monitoring and a spot check of my urine they decided to keep me and do another 24 hour pee test, in the hospital because of my elevated pressures. I started the test at 7:00 Tuesday night.
Wednesday - All I did was pee in a bucket and have my bp checked and do NSTs all day. The babies drove the nurses crazy because they are little wiggle worms and wouldn't stay on the monitors. Also, I was having contractions, not painful, just tightening and at one point they were about every 5 minutes being picked up by the NST machine. Late Wednesday evening we got the results back from the pee test. 457. Too high. I was told that my doctors would have to discuss everything and come up with a plan. I was still hoping they would let me go home.
Thursday - With blood pressures still high through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning they were not about to let ,e go home, especially seeing as protein was also showing up in my urine. Officially I have pre-eclampsia. One of the OBs came in to tell me that they have scheduled me for a c-section on Monday morning and that I will be in the hospital for monitoring until then. Yay for meeting my babies and at least for making it to 36 weeks and 1 day but a big Boo for having to stay in the hospital... I had more monitoring that afternoon and got to go up and take a tour of the NICU. I saw tiny babies and met some of the nurses up there and got to ask questions and generally see how things work up there. It was a little overwhelming but good overall and there is even a possibility that our babies might not need to go there so we'll just have to wait and see for now. My pressures were super high the restof the evening like 170/100 high. The doctors and nurses were not happy.
Friday (today) - Overnight my pressures went down and have been relatively ok for today, much lower than yesterday. I am however getting really homesick. I miss being at home, I miss my Henry and most of all I miss my husband. It is weird to think that next time I am at home it will be with babies, my life is going to be totally and completely changed come Monday. I kind of wish I had just one more day at home how we were. I have wanted this for so long that I know it is strange to say but I do. I guess because I expected to have some more time at home, but if I should expect anything with this pregnancy I should have known to expect the unexpected and honestly, it's ok, more than ok. Somehow, I am getting everything and more than I ever wanted.
Tuesday - I had a NST and a Doppler study ultrasound scheduled at the MFM at the hospital for 2:30. The ultrasound went great and everything with the babies looked wonderful as always. During my NST though, they were taking my blood pressure and it was high. At the end of the appointment they sent me up to labor & delivery because my OB was there and she wanted me to go on monitors for a while. I was honestly thinking I would be there for a couple hours and be sent home. Thankfully they did not give me an IV. After more blood pressure monitoring and a spot check of my urine they decided to keep me and do another 24 hour pee test, in the hospital because of my elevated pressures. I started the test at 7:00 Tuesday night.
Wednesday - All I did was pee in a bucket and have my bp checked and do NSTs all day. The babies drove the nurses crazy because they are little wiggle worms and wouldn't stay on the monitors. Also, I was having contractions, not painful, just tightening and at one point they were about every 5 minutes being picked up by the NST machine. Late Wednesday evening we got the results back from the pee test. 457. Too high. I was told that my doctors would have to discuss everything and come up with a plan. I was still hoping they would let me go home.
Thursday - With blood pressures still high through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning they were not about to let ,e go home, especially seeing as protein was also showing up in my urine. Officially I have pre-eclampsia. One of the OBs came in to tell me that they have scheduled me for a c-section on Monday morning and that I will be in the hospital for monitoring until then. Yay for meeting my babies and at least for making it to 36 weeks and 1 day but a big Boo for having to stay in the hospital... I had more monitoring that afternoon and got to go up and take a tour of the NICU. I saw tiny babies and met some of the nurses up there and got to ask questions and generally see how things work up there. It was a little overwhelming but good overall and there is even a possibility that our babies might not need to go there so we'll just have to wait and see for now. My pressures were super high the restof the evening like 170/100 high. The doctors and nurses were not happy.
Friday (today) - Overnight my pressures went down and have been relatively ok for today, much lower than yesterday. I am however getting really homesick. I miss being at home, I miss my Henry and most of all I miss my husband. It is weird to think that next time I am at home it will be with babies, my life is going to be totally and completely changed come Monday. I kind of wish I had just one more day at home how we were. I have wanted this for so long that I know it is strange to say but I do. I guess because I expected to have some more time at home, but if I should expect anything with this pregnancy I should have known to expect the unexpected and honestly, it's ok, more than ok. Somehow, I am getting everything and more than I ever wanted.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Nursery Progress
I think I might actually be done or at least super close to done with the nursery :)
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