THEY ARE HERE!!!

January 22nd, 2011

Charlotte Elizabeth and Mitchell "Beaux" arrived yesterday morning at 7:47 and 7:48 respectively. It was an amazing experience for both me and Micah. The Operating Room was full of Nurses, Doctors and Specialists that all worked seamlessly to help bring our babies into this world. We went into the surgery at 7:30 and we were back in the room by 8:20! The babies went immediately into the Nursery and Micah and the grandparents all got to follow them into the NICU, where they washed them, weighed them and checked them all out. No pictures from right after the birth b/c of the amount of people working on the babies.

Here are some pics of our last night before parenthood and prepping for surgery:

Dinner out for the first and last time in a long time. I'm actually wearing real pants and makeup!

Before surgery...all smiles, but pretty nervous!

 I was able to finally get up and move around 7:00pm. First things first a shower...then off to meet the babies. I got to see them briefly after the C-Section, but not really a good angle and pretty drugged up. It was so exciting to see them for the first time and they were off oxygen so we could finally hold them.

It is hard to believe how small they both are, but they are PERFECT! I am sure all parents think that, but I am sure they are the cutest babies ever!! They have made tons of progress already:

*no more oxygen, breathing all on their own
*starting eating at the breast and bottle, every 3 hours. So we are pretty darn tired, but worth it when they start gaining weight.
*They are in incubators so they don't have to regulate their own body temperatures
*We dressed them for the first time. The Preemie size fits pretty well on Charlotte but still pretty loose on Beaux.
* Lots and lots rest for them so they can conserve their energy and get bigger

Charlotte and Beaux

Here is a picture of the babies for the night..I will send more tomorrow

DAY TWENTY FOUR

January 19, 2011

We are officially in count down mode! Only  1 day, 12 hours, 55 minutes and 46 seconds from right now! (I did not calculate this myself....there are some amazing "apps" out there)

I am excited, nervous, scared, anxious - basically every emotion you could possibly feel and it changes from minute to minute. Poor Micah, I think he thought that the emotional roller coaster was somewhat coming to an end...just getting started I'm afraid. One minute I am calm and relaxed and then the next minute I am a nut case wanting everything to be spic and span and just right. This whole "nesting" thing does not really work on "bedrest" but I am doing my best to stay put and be really nice about what I need (want) done. 


I am trying to spend this last day reading, sleeping and relaxing. Doing everything that I will not be able to do once the babies arrive. I wish I could be banking or storing all this sleep in a secret place and I could pull it out during those really difficult and sleep derived times. That would be a neat trick!


I never posted my thoughts about Bachelor: BORING....what a snooze fest this week. I think it is safe to say we are all tired of the movie/tv set dates, get some new material ABC. At least the Vampire left, even if it was on her own accord. I think we all deserved more of an explanation about the fangs...but don't you worry I am sure it will be addressed in the "Girls Tell All" special. I will be waiting on pins and needles.....

DAY TWENTY TWO

January 17th, 2011

How do you like the new look! My dear friend Carolyn jazzed it up for me. She is very talented and not only does she have her own blog,  http://lifeingraz.blogspot.com/,  she designs personal and business blogs alike. Did I mention she lives in Graz, Austria. Thanks Carolyn for making my blog so pretty!

So the news that most of you have been waiting for.......

We just got back from the Doctor and we will be having the babies on FRIDAY, JANUARY 21st!!!

The Growth Scan today showed that Baby Girl is 4.10lbs and Baby Boy is 3.13. Baby Boy gained 20oz! He did just what we had been hoping and praying for. The S/D ratio number was 3.5 - (still good) and Heart Rates looked great!  The combination of all these factors was great news for us and the babies. The only other thing that would of really made it great was if she released me from Bed Rest.....no such luck. Oh well, I have made it this far, what is 3 more days?

So we check in for the C-Section at 4:30am on Friday and they will start the surgery at 7:30am. So by the time Good Morning America starts we will have brought 2 beautiful babies into this world. ( Note: Due to the amount of television I have been watching I can only reference time by what is on TV)


Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers, it really is amazing to see the well wishes, positive thoughts and a whole lot of rest at work. Keep them up....Even though we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, there is still a lot of "unknowns".


Happy Bachelor watching and I will be back tomorrow with my thoughts....I am crossing my fingers that Michelle and The Vampire are gone tonight.

 

DAY NINETEEN AND TWENTY

January 15, 2011

Friday was pretty uneventful but I felt better so that was a plus. Today Brookes, Callie and Allison visited - they came to see the new house and to check on the patient. The bartender (a.k.a -Micah) kept their mimosa glasses filled (not callie or myself) and we had a great time talking about the upcoming labor and delivery - I think we probably shocked the pants off of Micah...poor thing! I was so glad to get advice from them, especially since they are all mothers! I got some good laughing in and as always time spent with good friends lifts my spirits.

Brookes, Me, Callie (due in feb) and Allison

Callie and I bumping bellies

Another pic that lifts my spirits and makes me laugh is the one you will find below:

This is Micah taking the stroller for a test run. He still needs a lot of work on his 3 point turns! He kept running into furniture and doorways....The babies are in for a wild ride!

No real news on the baby front. Just waiting until our appointment on Monday afternoon to find out our next step:

Option #1 - Growth Scan shows no growth and he is still under 10% percentile = C-Section Monday evening

Option #2 - Growth Scan shows some growth and he creeps above the 10% percentile = C-Section on Friday

Option #3 - Growth Scan shows that he doubled in weight and has grown a ton = C-Section re-scheduled for week 37

Until Monday.......unless something really exciting happens, I highly doubt it :)

DAY SIXTEEN & SEVENTEEN

January 13th, 2011

I apologize, another day with no post - here is a combo post for you today. You can probably bet if I don't post on a particular day it is because:

A. I feel like crap
B. I have NOTHING to report
C. The babies are here
D. The sheets from my bed have officially melted into my skin, therefore making it impossible to type.

The official reason for the lack of a post yesterday would be option A. Unfortunately, Micah and I had a rough night on Tuesday night. I spent most of yesterday sleeping and recuperating. Contractions started around 9:00pm and were coming every 10 minutes for a good hour or so. We decided to go into the hospital to get checked out. They monitored me for a about an hour and gave me medicine to stop the contractions. After the medicine kicked in and I was comfortable we were sent home. We got a little sleep and then it was time to go to the Doctor again. We were trying to get monitored for the babies heart rates and movement and I kept getting sick. Micah was trying to think quick and the only thing to get "sick in" in the room was the big red trashcan that says "NEEDLES ONLY" in huge writing....oops, sorry Mr. Bio Hazardous Waste Man.

 All in all, after some much needed rest, I feel much better today. Had a good night last night, with minimal contractions and we were both able to get some sleep. We went back to the Doctor this morning had the Doppler Scan and the S/D ratio was a 3.6 - a good number! So here is the "plan" as much as there can be one at this point. We will go back to the Doctor on Monday for a Growth Scan. If Baby Boy has not grown any or is still below the 10% percentile then we will have a C-section that evening. If Baby Boy has grown and is looking good then we will try to wait until Friday, January 21st for the scheduled C-section and for the babies to be 36 weeks. This is all assuming I don't go into labor naturally.

So the long of the short of it is that we will have babies some way, some how within the next 9 days!!!

I think I might have mentioned in an earlier post that I was trying not to watch a lot of TV during the day. I felt my time was better spent reading, sleeping, catching up on work, etc. I also find that sometimes watching TV makes the time pass slower and makes my days longer. Well, I have some what changed my mind after finding my new favorite daytime shows:

1. Police Woman of Memphis/Dallas on TLC

                                                      2. Dear Genevieve on HGTV

                                                                3. An oldie but goody.....What Not To Wear
                                                                                                                                          

At least those are the ones I am willing to admit to at this moment. There are a few others that are just awful. I can't believe the crap they put on TV......I can't believe I fallen into their trap!

DAY FIFTEEN

January 11th, 2011

Would be kind of neat to have the birthdate of 1/11/11....but probably not going to happen. Had a few contractions off and on, but nothing consistent.

I know on a day like today when it is cold outside everyone would rather stay in their warm and cozy bed....but I am sick of my bed. Sorry, but I am. This is how my day has gone today....sleep...eat....read....repeat.....

I might be sick of it, but there are some other members of our household that are loving life!




Bachelor update:

First of all, it is so nice to watch it with DVR - you can fast forward through commercials, rewind to see/hear the things that you didn't believe the first time you saw/heard them and Micah's all time favorite game "Is Madison (vampire girl) wearing her fangs or not". We still are not convinced they are real yet.

I was very frustrated that they spent so much time on Michelle and the fact that it was her Birthday and the stupid little "Manscaper" vs. "Waitress" fights that no one, I mean NO ONE, is mentioning that there is a vampire in the top 15....a VAMPIRE people!!!

Here is a picture that I took last night of the belly. We never did Maternity photos, so I wanted to get a few pics before it is over.

DAY THIRTEEN AND FOURTEEN

January 10th, 2011

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. I know, I know you were all waiting on pins and needles!! Another busy day of watching everyone else do the work around here. My mom and Micah's mom and dad put the finishing touches on the Nursery, fixed some other stuff around the house and cleaned. Thank you again to Janie, Tony and TJ (and of course Micah) for all your hard work helping to make the house perfect for when the babies come home!

We just got back from a long trip to the Doctor. We had a S/D ratio and Ultrasound done. Both babies look good, good heart rates, good fluid level - but that Restriction number went up again to a 4.3.......uggghhhhhh
We had to wait a long time at the office today because the Doctor had to leave and go deliver a baby. Truthfully, I didn't mind all that much considering it meant I was out of bed and amongst the world. When the Doctor returned Micah and I both thought she might put me back in the hospital, but we were pleasantly surprised when she said I could go home again. Bedrest at home and she means it! So happy to be back in my warm bed on this cold night.

WARNING: For those that get grossed out by "women stuff" then don't read below

I was complaining to the Doctor that I have noticed a lot of pressure "down there". She checked me, as she routinely does, and I am 100% effaced! So basically which is going to come first - labor or scheduled C-section. We are still trying to buy some time with these little guys and each day gives them a little more time to grow and develop.

The only thing else to report is that we have another episode of Bachelor to cringe at tonight. I will be back tomorrow with my thoughts on this awful show and any more excited news from my bed.