A&W Pics from First Two Weeks

The last two weeks have been exhausting but a whole lot of fun at the same time. I may or may not have worn my pajamas all day. The boys are doing great though and we are enjoying them so much.  There is something about the bleary eyed hours of the morning and being joy-filled at the beauty of your children. They are really developing appetites and all the anxiety about them not gaining adequate weight has dissipated.  Our regular pediatrician was on vacation when the boys were born.  We loved the on call pediatrician but she was fresh off of her residency and very by the book. I felt like a horrible mother because my sons who were less than a week old were not gaining weight fast enough according to her schedule.  Our regular pediatrician made it clear he was happy with their progress and planned on seeing them again for their 4 week check up.  That made this mama very happy. 

My mom came to stay with us for a week after the boys were born and her help was invaluable.  She would take over in the morning so that Eric and I could get some sleep.  Any parent of twins will tell you the first couple weeks are rough and I would heartily confirm that.  Abraham and Winston have sleep and eating patterns that are about an hour separated.  Even when we feed in tandem, one wakes up sooner than the other and very ready to eat.  I realize each week we will develop more of a routine and their needs will synchronize more.  The thing I am happy about is that they are eating and Abraham is beginning to catch up to his brother.  Individually they are both very "good" babies.  They do not fuss unless they want to eat, have a dirty diaper or have an air bubble hurting their tummy.  I feel very blessed.  If there are parents out there that have lived through colicky multiples, you have my deepest sympathy. 

Eric played the role of photographer for the birth and he did a great job.  We have hundreds of pictures and there are so many I love. I can take credit for some of shots.  I am just slightly stubborn...even shortly after delivering Winston I took one of Eric cutting his cord. We have more pics of Abraham shortly after his birth than Winston after his because of the need for Winston to be stablized in the nursery. I am selecting just a few favorites to share.  Hope you enjoy. 

DH took tons of pics of me.  I think I am slightly amused by him here.

One of the final bump shots- 37 weeks and measuring at nearly 48.

My sweetheart of a nurse made me a personalized pitcher.

My hottie of a husband on the narrow bench bed in the hospital room.

Waiting to really touch them.

Go time- shortly after 5:00 pm.

Delivering in the OR just in case.

5:37 pm. Meeting Abraham Simon. 5 lbs. 15 oz.

Winston Carol coming into this world more than 5 hours after his brother.  7lbs. 9 oz.

A very proud papa.

A proud mama with Winston.

The first of many, many smooches.

Big man Winston

Our first family picture.

Sweet Winston.

Brothers.

Heading home from the hospital.  Abraham seems a bit reluctant.

Abraham makes the best faces.

My arms and heart are full.

Love those little feet.

Abraham has snuggle time with papa.

The Boys Are Here!

Abraham, top; Winston bottom

We are joyful in announcing the arrival of our boys.  Abraham and Winston were born on March 10, 2011.  Abraham Simon was born at 5:37 pm with a weight of 5 lbs. 15 oz. and 18.75 inches tall.  Winston Carol was born at 10:45 pm with a weight of 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 inches tall.  The second induction was successful and I was able to deliver both boys vaginally.  Yes, you are correct in reading that my second son was born five hours after the first.  It was a hard labor for Winston who was surprisingly big and born sunny side up.  I had a wonderful birth despite the back labor, especially with Winston.  Winston had some respiratory distress within minutes of being born and spent the night in the nursery for observation.  My placenta then abrupted.  I lost consciousness from blood loss and my doctor had to act quickly to do a manual extraction.  I was stabilized within several hours and am recovering now like a champ.  I honestly cannot believe all that happened based on how good I feel now.  I am so grateful for my doctor who acted skillfully and confidently. We spent an additional three nights in the hospital and came home yesterday. 

Abraham is my little scrapper and makes the most amazing faces.  He tends to look like a grumpy old man or the Grinch.  He is so little compared to Winston and it just makes me want to eat him up.  His middle name, Simon, is after my paternal grandfather who passed away shortly before Eric and I got married.

Winston is more mellow but he has a temper.  He is the more extroverted of the two at this point.  He loves to try to track our voices and movements with his eyes.  He is my chunky monkey and I love his sweet baby cheeks.  He is also more vocal and we call him Squeaker. His middle name, Carol, is after Eric's paternal grandfather who passed away this last summer.

Both boys do not like having dirty diapers and make it very clear by becoming very loud.  They both like to flail their little hands and legs.  As the days progress they look more and more identical. 

I have so much to say but as you all know, so little time.  I am running on fumes but I can say that there was a tremendous joy when we came home and put our boys to sleep in the bassinets in our bedroom.  I had imagined them side by side for months and the reality was as precious and joyful as I had anticipated.  Eric and I both cried and reflected on how blessed we were.  Eric prayed over our little sons and we feel scared and excited about this thing called parenthood.  We are so thankful both boys are healthy.  We are trying to get some weight on them as they are jaundiced and have lost between 10-11% of their body weight since birth.  Tandem breast feeding is really hard but I am trying to persevere!  Right now we are pumping and using a bottle to supplement.  Thanks for all your support.  Any advice on twins would be welcome!

Sorry for the iPhone pic but my laptop died right before the boys are born.  We have some awesome pics to share but it will be a while until I can upload them.

Failed Induction and Trying Again at 37 Weeks

The last couple days have been really tough.  The short story is that the babies have not arrived.  For the long story, continue reading. I went to my last OB appointment on Thurs. and found out I still had not dilated significantly.  My uterus was measuring at 45 weeks.  I left feeling disappointed that I had made no progress but knew we had our induction scheduled for Sunday afternoon.  I have been having pretty regular contractions for the last couple weeks and woke up early Sunday morning to much more painful ones.  I was excited that I was going into spontaneous labor.  It felt reassuring that the babies were actually ready to come.  I had walked at least two miles a day in the previous days and went for another walk with my dad prior to going to the hospital.

We arrived a little early at the hospital since I had been having regular contractions at about 5 minutes apart and 1 minute in duration and wanted to see if I had progressed on my own.  I was at 1 cm and 50% effaced.  We went ahead with the Cytotec and I felt encouraged we would meet our boys sometime in the next day.  Because my contractions were so regular, there was a concern about administering more doses of the Cytotec.  The night involved very little sleep with the fetal monitoring and progress checks.  Morning arrived and I had no significant change and was unable to start Pitocin.  Option 1 was to go home and try again in a few days and Option 2 was a c-section.  At that point I was exhausted because I had stupidly chosen to take a sleeping pill without getting sleep but I was resolved to not opt for a c-section.  I decided to head home without the babies being born.  I was given a shot to slow down the contractions and could hardly stay awake on the drive home.  I crashed into bed as soon as we got home.  I ended up sleeping for about 6 hours with only periodically waking up for contractions.  Eric woke me up because he was concerned I had not eaten that day and needed water.  I then found out that my family headed home but didn't want to wake me.  The family had been up here for almost a week and needed to get back.  I felt so bad they had spent all that time here but still did not get to meet the boys. 

As of today I am finally coming out of a cloud.  I have been so tired and tears have been shed on a couple of occasions already.  We went to see my OB for a follow up and I had effaced some more but no further dilation.  My uterus is now measuring at 47 weeks.  He stretched my cervix manually and we are heading back for another induction tomorrow.  My back is killing me and I am trying to figure out where I am going to get the energy to deliver the babies.  I have to add that my OB has been really supportive of my choices in this delivery process.  He is a godly, Christian man and has taken the time on numerous occasions to pray for us and with us.  I trust him and his medical opinion as he has delivered a lot of twins.

First, let me say that having such an interventionist approach to my birth is not what I expected.  The cervix that has kept these babies safe and sound all these months is the same one that is hindering the delivery.  I think about my natural birth plan and realize that there have been concessions with many more to follow.  My transverse Baby B has also turned full breech. I am hurting and feel so physically, mentally and spiritually tired. Ultimately I want my babies here safe and sound and will do what I have to do to get them here.  Second, birth is a personal thing and I think women need to stick together when it comes to supporting each other's decisions.  Ultimately if I have a c-section I will know I tried my best to have a normal delivery.  I don't want other people's expectations put on me.  The mama with a singleton that has an ideal pregnancy and birth cannot compare her situation with a woman that has a difficult multiple pregnancy and delivery. 

All that said, we will be trying again tomorrow.  Please keep me, Eric and the babies in your thoughts and prayers.  Lord willing, my next update will be sharing the news of our little arrivals. 

And to leave this post on a happy note, check out a sneak peak of my maternity shoot on Harmony Hilderbrand's blog.  She is a fabulous friend and talented to boot.

36 weeks and Counting Down

A lot has been going on for our little family in the last week.  I am writing this in the middle of the night due to nagging contractions.  I figure I better get this written down for posterity because it may be my last chance for a while.

• Last week we had both a regular OB appointment and our last appointment with the perinatologist.  I was supposed to have seen the perinatologist the week prior but had to reschedule.  I had my Strep B swab done and I am really hoping that I don't have it.  I still have not dilated...seriously.  I apparently have a very tough cervix and if I don't go into labor on my own this week, my OB and perinatologist have advised an induction.  The whole concept of an induction makes me a bit nervous because of the correlation of pitocin use with higher occurrence of cesarean section.  I am using some natural methods of induction given to me by a friend training to be a midwife.  It involves homeopathy and natural oils such as borage and evening primrose that have prostaglandins.  I will let you all know if it works.
• The baby boys are putting on some weight!  Baby A was estimated at 5 lbs. 15 oz. and Baby B was estimated at 5 lbs. 12 oz.  Their variance was only 3%.  I realize that at 35+ weeks there cannot be the same level of confidence in the accuracy of estimates but I have to admit I felt pretty excited they are so close!  We also found out the boys have hair!  Their hair was so thick that it was showing up on the ultrasound.  I have never had heartburn in my life up until the last few weeks.  Maybe that old wives' tale is true?
• We moved during the previous weekend.  It was quite the whirlwind.  Fortunately it was only a 2.5 mile move so it got done very quickly.  We had about 20 people from our church show up to help as well as Eric's family.  Things got loaded up, unloaded and the rental house cleaned within 4 hours. It was a complete blessing. Eric has been tying up loose strings like getting the carpets cleaned, sweeping out the garage, etc.
• We feel so blessed to be in our new place.  It currently has a lot of boxes and 45 gallon trash bags everywhere but it is coming together.
• We met with our pediatrician and felt really encouraged.  We wanted a doctor who was willing to listen to us and think outside the box.  Yes, we are delaying and/or not consenting to vaccinations.  The pediatrician was awesome about listening to our concerns, validating them and giving us options.  
• My family is here!  My dad, stepmom Anne and grandma Ida are up here awaiting the boys' arrival and helping us settle into the new place.  It may not be pretty but the house is functional.  If I go into labor, we have what we need set up and ready.  My dad has been helping Eric with the more manly items like adjusting doors, putting in a new air filter, etc.  Anne and Grandma are cleaning and organizing machines!  I cannot keep up with them. I tried and all it got me was some seriously swollen feet.  The swollen feet are also contributing to the insomnia.  They have been such troopers and have worked so hard already.  Again, I am so completely blessed by them.  
• Today, in roughly 5 hours, I have another OB appointment.  I am hoping I made some progress in the effacing and dilation department.  
• Why do well-intentioned moms keep telling me to get sleep while I still can?  Does anyone sleep well this late into pregnancy?  Especially a MoM?  I have been measuring at 36 weeks or more for over two months.  Maybe it just doesn't compute with some people that a multiple pregnancy involves a much longer period of "late pregnancy."  I now consider two hours a long run of sleep.  Also it's not like I can accumulate or bank up my sleeping.  It is what it is. 
• I am behind on updating my pics.  I promise to get in those last belly shots.

 The boys at 18 weeks- the last time they cooperated for a pic.

  It make us all the more eager to meet them.