Hi Babies!!

LOL ~ status of C's "big brother squared" shirt... but yeah, totally appropriate!

(10/8) Happy wedding, Justin & Lisa!  I managed to find something that fit over the bump, and it wasn't even maternity.  Shocking!  We left the reception a little early and hit a hockey game (we lost: boo!) and had a nice evening to ourselves, as Nanan had C.  Dad picked out some "My Other Car is a Zamboni" onesies for the boys and got me a hockey mom key chain.  So sweet! 

(10/9) Since C was still away, we decided to go to the movies and see something more grown-up. We chose The Ides of March. Excellent film!  We chased it with Knocked Up after C returned & had gone to sleep.  It didn't kick labor into gear like with C, but both Dad and I had a simultaneous ice cream craving (yet he swears he's not pregnant!), and we indulged in some sundaes from B&R.  Yum!

(10/10) Knocked Up apparently worked its magic again.  I had been having contractions all afternoon, so called the fam on my way home from work and gave them a heads' up.  My contractions slowed down after I got home, so I decided to have some dinner.  After dinner, they resumed frequency to over 6 in a hour, which was the point my doctor said to just go in. 

Triage tried hydrating me to see if they could knock out the contractions, but it didn't work and we decided to proceed to c-section (repeat c-section since both boys were presenting breech).  The doctor on-call I had met two weeks ago and liked very much.  She had a c-section before me scheduled for 10pm, and because I had eaten, the earliest I should be having surgery was midnight.

Headed to the OR

(10/11)  We went back for our c-section and Denton James (5lbs13oz, 20") was born at 1:14am and Jensen Campbell (5lbs9oz, 19") was born at 1:16am.  It's a really good thing we went in, as Denton's cord was velamentous and it would've been a bad thing had my water broken, or if we decided to proceed with natural labor.

J gave us a bit of a scare and came out very gurgly.  He was almost sent down to the NICU, but by the time his ride arrived, they were satisfied with his breathing and he stayed in the OR with me.  They had given me a chance to give him a kiss beforehand, and decided it was Mom's kiss that made everything all better.

(10/12) Boys are both doing well.  They have met all the grandparents & their brother, plus a lot of our friends.  We're being well taken care of at the hospital. Since the boys arrived early, we scored Nurse Cathy O to care for us!  Yay!

Denton

Jensen

Mom & J 10/12

We did a newborn shoot with the boys in the hospital today and got a few with C.  I'll be posting the pics from that as soon as I get them.

Swiss Chard



(9/14) 33 wks

(10/3) Aw, my very sweet hubby bought me a month's worth of Stroller Strides (bootcamp for moms & babies).  Can't wait to be cleared for exercise again!  I am dying to get outside and do more than waddle!

(10/4) Work threw me an amazing baby shower!  The boys will be stylin' in their new duds and we have loads of diapers to start off in! We plan to cloth diaper at home, but disposables are nice for outings or travel, and until they fit into their BGs!  One of my coworkers crocheted the most darling & soft blankets, one found a set of twin baby books, and there were picture frames, and containers for the first curl and tooth.  I am so very spoiled! C even got some things to keep him busy at the hospital.  Thanks again, work peeps!

(10/5) Prenatal appointment, ultrasound, & NST:  The appointment went great, the ultrasound went great, the pre-op consultation (set for NEXT FRIDAY!!!) went great and then the boys decided to take a nap and failed their NST.  So back we went for yet another ultrasound (bio physical profile) where they were reactive and working on breathing like they were supposed to be.  Guess they needed more camera time!  Baby A is measuring 5 lb 14 oz and Baby B is measuring 6 lb 2 oz; +/- 14 oz since it's hard to get measurements at this stage with them being so big and so active. Baby A is still breech and B keeps flopping back and forth between transverse and breech.   

(10/6)

Close enough to 37 weeks!

(10/7) 37 weeks!  Here is what BabyCenter has to say about this week:

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)  Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz. See what your baby looks like this week.

Crenshaw Melons!

(9/25) Dad got the carseats installed today and I put up the pack-n-play/changing table.  Even after installing the seats, Dad says it hasn't hit him that two are coming home.  Maybe I'll put the co-sleeper on his side of the bed to trip over for a while and see if that helps. Which reminds me... I should probably assemble that soon too. 

(9/27) Prenatal Visit:  Different Dr today since mine is on vacation.  She has a 4 year old daughter that wants to play hockey, so we had a fun time talking about that. Saw the boys briefly on u/s and A is still transverse/breechy and B is still breech.  She commented that I don't look 36 wks pregnant with twins (though I'm still measuring normally). It'll be interesting to see just how big the melons are next week!

(9/28) NST:  Yay!  Another fast NST!  The nurse put the monitors on, the babies stayed on and active and we were done in no time.  I had a little (decaf) coffee on the way in.  Baby A must just need his coffee in the morning like his mama. 

(9/29)

9/29 ~ close enough to 36 wks

(9/30) 36 weeks!  BabyCenter has this to say about this week:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly. See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

Honey Dews!

(9/21) Prenatal visit & NST: the tech that checked me in commented that this has been one of the most uneventful pregnancies.  I told her that I'd take boring any day, considering the alternatives!   And my Dr. said I'm one of the few twin moms that is still smiling at this late in the game.  I really do still feel pretty good. I'm missing hitting the pavement and wearing real pants something fierce, but if that & heartburn are my biggest complaints, I think we're doing a-okay. 

Visit & NST were both good.  My platelets are a little low, so they'll be monitoring that (pregnancy thing).  I had some orange juice before my NST and riled up the boys.  We were in & out in about 30 minutes again.  Woot! 

I found out my Dr. is now on vacation til the day before my c-section.  So boys, stay put, eh?  Your brother pulled the ol' switcheroo with providers at the end too, so I suppose I should expect nothing else.  But still...

Random:
Days til I meet the boys: 23 (10/14)
Days til my next appt: 6 (9/27)
Days til next u/s: 14 (10/5)
Days til next full moon (cuz who knows!): 20 (10/11)
Crazy dreams: countless. 
Craving: Not really anything at the moment.. I made some chocolate chip zucchini bread the other night and that really hit the spot. 

(9/22)

Close enough to 35 wks!

(9/23) 35 weeks!  BabyCenter has this to say about this week:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.  See what your baby looks like this week.

Side note: if baby (as in singular!) doesn't have much room to maneuver, explain to me how it is that the boys are still in different positions every time I visit the Dr?  A was transverse at my last appt and B was breech.

Cantaloupes!

(9/13)  Oof.  Brutal night of sleep.  Insomnia is definitely making a comeback this week and I'm feeling like the old lady living above the frat house. Seriously boys, keep it down in there! 

(9/14) Woohoo!  A non-eventful, quick non-stress test.  In & out in under an hour.  Woot!  Our appointment got bumped to 8am and the boys were good and rowdy for the test. Maybe that's my problem... I keep going during nap time!

(9/15) Prenatal Visit: heart rates today were fast and faster.  All looking good!   Baby A was breech today & baby B is vertex.  I feel a ton of movement right around mid-belly from baby B, and can definitely tell when A is breech because his head is right up under my ribs.

(9/16) 34 weeks!  BabyCenter has this to say about this week:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. See what your baby looks like this week.

9/15 ~ close enough to 34 wks!

Got a call tonight that we're on the schedule for a c-section 10/14 at 9am.  We're just 29 days away from meeting the boys!

Pineapples!

(9/6) All 3 boys made jam with Dad yesterday.  I peeled the peaches, and the little boys apparently thought they were helping with all that kicking!

(9/7) NST today: Baby B was my sleeper this time.  I'll take 1.5 hrs over 5 any day though!  Today's RN is a runner, so we had lots to talk about.

(9/8)

Close enough to 33 wks!

(9/9) 33 weeks!  BabyCenter has this to say about this week:

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.  See what your baby looks like this week.

Prenatal visit:  All good and we now have birthdays!  We will meet the boys October 14th (well, unless they arrive earlier).  Can't wait!

Jicamas!

(8/28) Went to a pre-season hockey game today and my belly would jump whenever the airhorn would sound for a goal. LOL!  Got some post-baby hockey gear too (thanks, Cat!!) and can't wait for the season to start up!  Unless you boys arrive early, I should still be pregnant for the home opener on 9/24.   I did only get *3* tickets, so stay put, okay?

(8/31) Seriously? September starts tomorrow? 

Non-Stress Test (NST): Once again, this proved to be a stressful event for me.  I got light-headed during the test (from being too far on my back) and one of the babies' heart rates dipped too low for comfort, so I was sent to ultrasound for a biophysical.  Since I haven't had an ultrasound in a while, they checked up on growth too.  Baby A is weighing in at 3lbs 14oz and B is 4lbs even.  I forget what their lengths were, but both are in the 79th percentile.  C was 7lbs 10oz at birth, so combined, I'm now carrying more baby weight than I did with C, and there's still more growing to be done!   

The boys were working on breathing when we peeked in, and they are currently breech.  Not that it matters much, since we'll be going with a c-section.   Fluid level, heart rates, etc were all great. Heh, sounds like I went in for an oil change. The sonographer has twin boys, and an older son too.  Pretty cool!

Prenatal: Just a quick hello to the Dr since I was on the monitor downstairs pretty much all morning.  All told, I was at the hospital for 5 hrs.  Wee!

Looking down at 2 heads; 31wks5days

(9/2) 32 weeks!

BabyCenter has this to say about this week:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth. See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

9/1; close enough to 32 wks