Wednesday, August 31, 2016

With school starting back up for Blair it is important to me that I keep all of her things labeled with her name and my phone number. Kidecals helped me with that this year and sent us some adorable stickers for her things and the twins' stuff!

Kidecals labels are BPA free, and can be washed in the dishwasher and washing machine. I use them on Blair's cups, soccer ball, school folder etc.

If you are an OCD labeler like me use the code SUMMERSAVINGS at check out to get 15% off your order!

Cal and Evie's Birth Story Part 4

Friday, August 26, 2016

To catch up on parts one, two, and three of my birth story scroll down. Otherwise here is the final part to my birth story with the twins!

Shortly after I was wheeled into recovery and the twins were getting assessed, my doctor asked me to lift my hips up to slide something underneath me. Right when I did that I started hemorrhaging badly. Later I would find out that my Mom saw my doctor sprinting down the hall and thought he was off to deliver another baby. In actuality he was racing to my room along with a slew of other doctors and nurses to stop my bleeding. 

I ended up losing over a liter of blood and needing a blood transfusion. I truly have never been so scared in my life. I remember hardly being able to keep my eyes open but at the same time too scared to let them close. I recall asking my nurse (who happens to be a friend of mine) if I was going to die. She said I would be ok (phew!). I have never seen that many frantic doctors around my bed before and it truly terrified me! I was very lightheaded, extremely hot, and just feeling horrible overall. 

They were able to control the bleeding and I spent a couple more hours in recovery. At around 3 am they wheeled me over to ante-partum...for moms who have complications pre or post delivery. I spent the night there with M and the twins. 

The next day they wheeled me over to post partum where they continued to monitor me. The nurses and staff were so sweet and kept stopping by to say hi and check on me. They called me a "rock star" because of my crazy labor and also because I was breastfeeding twins. M and I slept in the same bed (nice and cozy!) because the twins liked to be skin to skin with us and upright. 

I continued to have some high blood pressure readings but I attributed this to being a new mom of twins. Thankfully they let us go home late Wednesday night. 

I still can't believe these two babies are mine. This time around I am cherishing every moment with them instead of wishing they were older and easier (read: sleeping through the night and not nursing). It is surreal to see our story come full circle and to still walk by our refrigerator and see the picture of them as embryos while I physically have their sweet bodies pressed up against mine. God deserves all the glory and I will forever enjoy sharing their story with others. Miracles still happen around us and they are ours! 

Cal and Evie's Birth Story Part 3

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Yesterday I ended part two of the birth story with me being dilated to a 9 for 4 hours. I can never explain that discomfort/ won't do it justice!

After the doctor checked me 3 times over the course of 4 hours (and I was still at a 9) I decided it was time for the epidural. This broke my heart because I had made it SO far naturally but I knew that mentally and physically my body was not going to make it to a 10 unless I relaxed. I could not figure out how to relax through my contractions but I knew that when I had the epidural with Blair things progressed really quickly. 

M and Ashley (my doula) really encouraged me to try and finish the race sans epidural but I knew my body was done. So, without further delay I got an epidural...and that was SO scary! It was so hard to be completely still through contractions at a 9 but I fought through it because I knew my babies were right around the corner. 

From the time I decided to get the epidural to when it actually set through my body, was about an hour and a half. As soon as the epidural took the doctor checked me again and I was at a 10. I knew I just needed a little bit of a break to reach the finish line. 

At this point everyone suited up and I was wheeled over to the OR. With twins there is such a high risk of needed a C-section that all deliveries are in the OR. Typically they only allow one person to be with you in the OR. For me, that person was M of course. However I knew Ashley would be a huge help too. Since she happens to be a post partum nurse at the hospital where I delivered they allowed her to be there too. That sure worked out well! 
These are by far the most unattractive pictures of me. Who looks good at this angle?!

Once in the OR Everly was ready to come out. It took me about 4 pushes to get her tiny little five pound body out. When she came out and was placed on my tummy I was overwhelmed with happiness. I cried and cried and remember saying, "We've been waiting for you! We wanted you so much! You are our miracle." Re-writing those words still makes me tear up. After the cord was done pulsating, Matt cut it and we were on to the next baby.
sweet Everly Grace born at 8:55 pm weighing 5lb 10 oz and 17&3/4 inches long

My contractions were 6 minutes apart (woah!) so we had to wait a while for Calvin to show up. For a while I remember looking in the mirror at the top of his little big head while we waited for the second contraction. After about 4 pushes he also came out. If it were just up to Evie I wouldn't have torn at all but he changed that. ;) Thanks Cal. 
sweet Calvin Noah born at 9:22pm, weighing 7lb 6 oz and 20 inches long

Again when they placed him on my tummy I was in a complete state of euphoria. God had given us not one miracle, but two and I was overwhelmed by his goodness. Matt, Ashley, and I were all crying happy tears and I will never forget sharing that moment with them. 

Once Cal and Evie were weighed and measured and checked over by the NICU they wheeled us all to the recovery room where they did their initial assessments of the babies. 

All was well until they asked me to shift my body weight to check on things "down there." 
Cal and Evie

Stay tuned to see what brought all the doctors frantically running down the halls to my bedside...

One of the scariest moments of my life! 

Cal and Evie's Birth Story Part 2

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 catch up on the first part of the twins' birth story check out yesterday's post!

We ended with me getting a small dose of Pitocin to get things going. A small dose turned into the full amount because my body just wasn't responding with strong contractions.

Fighting through it. My doula would braid my hair for comfort and it felt SO good! 
Despite me wanting the least amount of interventions possible (I was already on mag and pit) due to some high blood pressure, we also decided it was time to break my water. I was stagnant and my doula and I agreed that this was a good step forward since some women's bodies respond quickly when their water breaks. I was dilated to a six when the doctor came in and broke Evie's (baby A) water.

Raw emotion right there. 
That did seem to speed things up and make my contractions more intense. After a little while the doctor came in and checked me and declared that I was a 9.5! I was thrilled and remember thinking, "wow...that wasn't so bad! I did it!"

My doula in her bunny suit after they wheeled me back from the OR. 

Matt and my doula suited up in their bunny suits and they wheeled me into the Operating Room. A different doctor checked me one last time and said, "Who checked her and said she was a 9.5?! She is only a 7!" Upon hearing this I started crying. When you have been laboring that long and think you are is devastating news. Especially since I didn't have the comfort of an epidural.

They wheeled me back to Labor and Delivery where I knew I was going to have to keep laboring for a few more hours. I was so disappointed but made it to a 9 after a couple of hours.
The CRAZY swelling I got after being on so much magnesium. I'll have to come back and post a picture of my "regular" leg soon. By the time I delivered I didn't even have knee caps. 

I finally hit 9 centimeters at 3 pm and kept telling myself that I was SO close to meeting my miracles. Little did I know that I would stay at a 9 for FOUR hours. I can't begin to describe how miserable that was. The sensation of feeling like I had to push but wasn't allowed to (because they didn't want my cervix to tear) is unreal.

Honestly this is gross but imagine that you are sick with diarrhea and you gotta go but everyone is telling you not to. Then add in that they are making you drink coffee, while riding a horse, on the world's bumpiest dirt road. Oh and add massive cramping/pain to that without a break in between. FOR FOUR HOURS.

Stay tuned for part 3!

Cal and Evie's Birth Story Part 1

Monday, August 22, 2016

The twins are here! And have been so for a week but of course I'm just now getting around to telling their birth story. It was a long drawn out labor so if you read to the end...I'm impressed!

Here's the last photo I took with the twins in my belly...

My family came over Saturday night and we played pool volleyball and ate some delicious Mexican food.

On Sunday morning I started having contractions that were pretty intense. I was having to breathe through them a little bit and so M and I decided to head down to the hospital. Since my water broke with Blair I wasn't sure how long to wait out contractions at home (especially with twins!)

My contractions were actually really intense on the drive to the hospital and I think M was getting real nervous! I kept telling him to pass people and hurry up!
My AMAZING doula!

When we arrived at the hospital I was dilated to a 4.5 and 80% effaced. They tested my urine which came back with protein in it and my blood pressure was rising so they identified me with preeclampsia (again). They wheeled me over to labor and delivery and started me up on magnesium to help manage my blood pressure. That stuff is no fun! It gave me a headache (as if contractions aren't enough), made me lightheaded, and holy HOT. That stuff made me feel like I had the worst sunburn of my life!

Blair, Calvin and Everly!

SO thankful for the cold washcloths with lemon and lavender...ahhhh

After a while my contractions seemed to fade away and my labor stopped so they decided to give me Pitocin to speed things up. They started my Pit Sunday night but contractions remained light until the morning...

Stay tuned! It's one heck of a wild ride!

36 Weeks

Thursday, August 11, 2016

I had another check up today with a new doctor since my regular OB is on vacation. She was in total disbelief that I have carried two babies this far, especially given my past history of a preterm delivery with Blair.

I had a good blood pressure reading (phew!) and the babies amniotic fluid measured normal. Baby A (my girl) is crazy low in my pelvis which has been causing me all sorts of discomfort. She squishes my nerves and sends shooting pains down my legs when I least expect it. I basically feel like I'm hauling around a bowling ball in between my legs for lack of a better image.

My belly measured 46 weeks pregnant...which can't even be possible, right?! FORTY SIX! That basically means I measure 46 centimeters from the top of my uterus to my pubic bone. At this point if I was carrying one baby I should measure 36 centimeters because I'm 36 weeks. In a normal pregnancy you gain a cm a week. No wonder people stare at me in public...I look 6 weeks overdue!

I have also gained 55 pounds and am about 10 pounds shy of passing up my hubby...gah! I can't believe seeing these high numbers on the scale hasn't raised my blood pressure more. I officially belong in the zoo where people can come point and stare at me.

The doctor mentioned induction at 38 weeks and I told her I really wanted to avoid that if I could. I had Pitocin with Blair and that stuff is no joke. Since I want to have a natural birth, Pitocin will make that  more difficult by making my contractions longer and stronger. She agreed with me and said it's ultimately up to my regular OB. There can be major risks with twins who deliver past 38 weeks such as being stillborn and meconium being released into their amniotic fluid. Obviously I don't want that so for now I'm just praying that they come naturally before 38 weeks!

Once I hit 37 weeks on Sunday I'll be full speed ahead with trying to get them out without being induced. I've got my bosu ball pumped up, some red raspberry leaf tea in my pantry, and lots of walking planned among other things. ;)

It's so wild to me that I have spent the majority of my pregnancy praying for the babies to stay put and now I'm praying for them to come out! God has been so faithful in taking care of these babies. I'm so thankful! I just can't wait to meet them and hold these two miracles.

For those of you who are still battling infertility...don't give up! I know you may be thinking that is easy for me to say now that I am on the other side of it but God has a plan for your life too. His plan may be to give you the desires of your heart or his plans may involve changing your heart's desire. Either way he has a perfect plan for your life and I hope you are encouraged by that. I pray he makes it clear to you sooner rather than later because hearing "wait" was the hardest thing for me (not that it's God's job to make our lives easy). Uncertainty is hard but learning to trust him and finding joy in your circumstances, regardless of what they are, was such a huge lesson for me. Love you guys!

Backpack Attack

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

I've been seeing so many cute backpacks this 2016 school season. Blair certainly doesn't need one but that's always beside the point. ;) Here are my top picks for your girls and boys headed back to school!

PBK, PBK Old Navy
Herschel SkipHop
Old Navy Herschel
Herschel Herschel
Nothing new to report on the twin front...still waiting! I see an OB today and he will check my blood pressure and the babies fluid but that's about it! I've decided to forgo any type of induction because I don't want Pitocin interfering with my ability to labor naturally. I had Pitocin with Blair and I read that stuff makes contractions longer and stronger... no thanks!

Back to School

Monday, August 8, 2016

If anyone is ready for fall it's me! Being pregnant in the triple digit temperatures has got me dreaming of cardigans, hot lattes, and cool nights. I've also been totally smitten with the color mustard lately and it's the perfect hue for your littles who are headed back to school. I rounded up a couple of my favorite back to school looks below.

All clothes are Old Navy (except for the boys shoes)
Backpacks are from Pottery Barn Kids

Are you ready for fall to make an appearance too?

Nighttime Essentials for Baby

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

I can't believe I've made it to 35 weeks pregnant with twins! Blair was born at 35 weeks 2 days which would be today for me. I feel like we are as ready as we can be as far as having the nursery completed, keeping the house picked up, and me having my roots done. ;) I'm just kind of waiting which may sound lovely but for a busy body like me; it is hard. I can't spend much time on my feet because they swell and I can't even spend much time sitting in a chair because it kills my back.

I know I will look back on this time of waiting and yearn for it...especially when I'm not getting any sleep. I'm trying to just relax and soak in this time of coloring with Blair and running errands with one kiddo instead of three. Matt and I have been enjoying our evenings together watching "Scandal" on Netflix and chatting about how wild our life is about to get. Oh, and how we wouldn't want it any other way. :)

With sleepless nights on the horizon I thought I would round up some of my favorite newborn sleep items.

1. the woombie
2, sleep sack by swaddleme
3. little unicorn security blanket
4. little unicorn muslin swaddle blanket
5. baby lit story books
6. young living essential oil diffuser (gentle baby, lavender & cedarwood are good for sleep)
7. dohm white noise machine
8. nature sutten binkie
9. rock n play... the new version vibrates and rocks itself! Although the rocking motion is pretty pathetic if you ask me. Don't they know babies require a pretty vigorous rock?

I haven't used a dock-a-tot but they seem to be all the rage lately. I just can't bite the bullet since the price is pretty steep (and I of course would need two.)

What are some other nighttime essentials that you loved with your baby?