Quick Kendall and Kylie Update!

The girls are doing great!  We're still trying to get a bit more sleep at night, but I know that should iron itself out by 3 months (I hope!).  All in all, they are good though.  They only eat once between 11PM and 6AM, so I really can't complain.  Unfortunately, they seem to get upset being in their bassinet at 1:30AM & 5:30AM, and will only sleep if I am holding them.  And, like last night, Kendall didn't want to go back in after eating at 3AM, and wanted to be held.  Oh well!  We are actually going to install the cameras for the baby monitor this weekend in their room, and we are going to move them to their cribs in the next week or two.  I definitely want them to get used to sleeping in their own room before I go back to work!

Other than the sleep factor, they seem to get fussy between 5PM and 7-8PM.  I have started calling it their "witching hour".  I don't know why, but from everything I have read, it is fairly common.   Hopefully, they will snap out of this too! :-)

Their growth has been wonderful.  We had their one month checkup this week, and they both checked out great.  Kendall went from 6lbs .5oz and 19 in. long at 2 weeks to 7lbs 15oz, and 20.5 in. long!  Kylie, who WAS my peanut, went from 5lbs 13oz and 19 in long at 2 weeks to 8lbs .5oz and 21 in long!  I couldn't believe it.  Their phenomenal growth silenced my breastfeeding fears (for now!)  I guess they are getting enough from me!

I am doing well too.  I lost the 35 lbs I gained in about a week, and was back in my regular clothes 5 days after I delivered them.  The doctor cleared me to start working out this week, I just need to find the time.  My goal is to get back into running.  I'd LIKE to train and do a 10K sometime this fall.  Hopefully I can do that (just need a free moment!)

Here are some more recent pictures of them!

Fun!

Kendall

Kylie

Daddy and the girls watching Baby Einstein!

Kendall & Kylie are here!!!

Everyone always talks about the pain of childbirth, but let me tell you, I thought childbirth was hands down one of the best experiences of my life. I did make it until my induction date, on May 19th. I was 38 weeks 4 days with twins. Guess that bed rest probably wasn’t so necessary after all! Oh well, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

Kevin was great and took off work on the 18th so we could spend our last day together as just us. We went out to breakfast, and went over to the mall and just walked around for a little while. Then we came home and just hung out, made sure that we had everything together that we needed for the hospital, and ate dinner. That night we celebrated the end of my pregnancy by going to ColdStone Creamery and getting some really fattening ice cream. I was good throughout my pregnancy, and needed to indulge at least once!

The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed off to the hospital, we were scheduled to arrive at 7AM. Once we got there, we had to wait and few minutes and then were checked in to the birthing room. Once I got changed, I got started on my pitocin drip and IV. The only bad thing about being on the pitocin was that I was not able to walk around at all. My nurse, Pam, checked me when I arrived and I was 2 cm dilated, and 90% effaced.

Last Prego Profile Picture

Self-pic!

Mom, Dad and I in the morning

Around 9:30AM I went to the restroom, and when I went to leave, I realized my water broke. I was encouraged, and thought maybe this wouldn’t take as long as I thought it was going to! When I was checked again, I had dilated to about 3 cm and was still 90% effaced.

It was a long afternoon, and I didn’t really progress on Pam’s shift. (Even though I did sit on the exercise ball for about an hour). At 3PM, Pam’s shift was over, and I was handed off to another nurse, Jean (who also happens to live across the street from me!) She was also great! She checked me around 4:30 or so and I was about 4.5cm and was in real pain at that point. I was getting NO break from the contractions. They were one on top of the other. They didn’t notice how frequently I was having them since they had an internal monitor in me, and it wasn’t doing a great job of tracking the contractions or their strength. At that point, I asked for the epidural. If I would have had a break, I could have gone longer, but I wasn’t even getting 10 seconds between contractions, and didn’t feel like being miserable anymore.

The anesthesiologist came in to administer my epidural. It was AWESOME! It started working almost immediately. Kevin said I was a different person once I got it! I would definitely recommend it. Jean took out my internal monitor and put the belt back on to monitor my contractions. At that point, she realized that they were coming on top of each other, and backed down on the pitocin.

At 6:30PM, Jean decided to check me one last time on her shift and said I was at 5cm and 100% effaced. At that point I got my third and final nurse of the day, Amanda. She was amazing! Amanda, Kevin, my parents, and I were all chatting for a while, when Amanda asked if I was feeling any pressure. I realized that I was a little bit, so she decided to check my progress again, (it was 8:30PM). When she did, she said “you’re not going to believe this, you’re complete!” “What?!?” was Kevin and my response. She informed us that I had dilated to 10 cm and was ready to start pushing. She called my doctor, and started getting everything prepared. My parents came in to wish me luck, and the doctor arrived. I started pushing at about 5 minutes to 9. Kendall Anna was born at 9:17 PM, 6lbs 1oz, 19 inches long. Then, the doctor began the process of getting “Baby B” in place. He broke her water and moved her into position by pushing on my stomach. Kevin said it was one of the craziest things he’s ever seen. After she was moved, her heartrate started dropping, so we needed to get her out ASAP. The doctor guided her in to place by using a vacuum and I pushed her out in 4 pushes. Kylie Ella was born at 9:25 PM, 5lbs 10oz, 19 inches long.

The aftermath was such a blur to me. The placenta ended up not coming out in one piece, so I ended up having a D&C right there. That was hands-down the worst part of the day for me. My epidural had worn off by that point, and I felt everything. Although, now I cannot remember details, I just remember being in pain. I think I blocked it out…(good thing!)

My two girls and I

Kylie - L Kendall -R

Daddy kissing his two newborn girls!

Wedding rings on the toes :)

The rest of the stay at the hospital was great. We had fantastic nurses, and overall it was a great experience. We ended up going home Saturday afternoon…and were definitely ready to get out into fresh air.

From the professional photographer in the hospital

Since then it has been a blur of family, friends, neighbors, diapers, feeding, and (no) sleep! The girls are overall doing well. The biggest issue I had was the fact that my milk took almost a week to come in. No one warned me that this may happen, so when I noticed the lack of dirty diapers, and some fussiness, I started supplementing with some formula. Now I am back to nursing them almost exclusively, and they get 1-2 bottles of breast milk a day (more for my piece of mind).

At their two week appointment, Kendall was almost back up to her birth weight (6lbs .5oz) and Kylie was a little over hers (5lbs, 13oz). Other than that, they overall seem to be pretty content babies. They definitely have their fussy times, but that usually seems to revolve around when they are hungry, or after they eat when they just want to be held. Kendall also seems to dislike wardrobe changes. The change from day clothes to sleep clothes (and vice-versa) always seems to get a few screams from her. Kylie likes to get fussy in the afternoon, and always seems to get extra fussy just as we sit down to eat!

The hardest parts for me have been the whole breast milk thing, and the lack of mobility. I am a very get up and go type person, and that has taken some adjustment. We have gotten them out though. They have been to Babies R Us, Costco, Giant Eagle, Kroger, Panera, and the mall. They seem to love riding in the car, and thus far have been really good every time we have taken them out! It also helps me so I don’t feel like the walls of the house are closing in on me.

I’m sure I will be writing more and will have more fun pictures to share as these beautiful girls of ours get bigger! Here is a link to Kevin’s blog about them too http://www.genxcolumbus.com/pages/kevin.html. I have the best hubby and he has been amazing and supportive throughout this whole process! He even got me a beautiful necklace with two emeralds and a diamond and gave it to me the day after I had them. It was wonderful. I am definitely a lucky girl!

Here are some more super cute pictures of the girls taken by a photographer friend of ours!

Yes, they were a bit fussy! :)

My fav!

Hangin in the Pooh blankets!

No babies....yet!

Well, it's official...I am term! With 3-4 weeks of couch-rest I made it to 38 weeks 1 day pregnant with my twins!  I can't believe it, and yet I can.  :)  If nothing happens in the next 2 1/2 days, I am scheduled to be induced Thursday morning at 7 AM.  I have a feeling I'm going to make it until then! :)

The girls are both doing great.  At every ultrasound they have been practicing their breathing, and their heartrates have been good.  The doctor figures Baby A will be around 6.5 pounds when she's born, and Baby B will be around 6 pounds.  Great weights for twins, for sure!  I just cannot wait to meet these two little peanuts I have been carrying around with me for the last 9 months.  Kevin is just as excited as I am! :)  I also think that we have finally made an official decision about names.  We will know 100% once we see them, but I'm almost positive we have decided!

As for me, I am READY to be done.  I think I have finally gotten to that point within the last week.  Almost twelve pounds of baby is a lot to be carrying around, and I am SO ready to get my body back and wear cute clothes again!  Overall, I think I did a good job.  I put on 35 pounds, and my blood pressure has been low throughout.  I tested negative for gestational diabetes and group B strep.  Lastly, I am going to get the chance to deliver these two vaginally...which is awesome!  I just cross my fingers that all goes according to plan (or at least somewhat)!  :)

Here are some other pictures from our maternity photo shoot two weeks ago.  My belly is a little bigger now, but I look pretty much the same!  My next update will definitely contain some pictures of our little princesses!

Goofing off!

My favorite picture!

TWO!

Quick Baby Update and Maternity Picture session

Yesterday, Kevin and I went and got some maternity pictures taken.  What a fun time!  I had been talking about doing this for a while, and finally figured out a good time to get these done (I'm glad we had the chance to since these babies may be here any day now!)

We met our photographer at the Jeffery Mansion in Bexley, OH and it was a perfect setting.  It stopped raining long enough for us to get some really great pictures!  You can view the album on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.217825334910987.71318.151141878246000.  She posted about 20 pictures, but we'll have a CD of the whole session.  If there are any great ones I will post those as well!

Today I had my 36 week appointment.  The girls are doing great.  Baby A is 5lbs 12oz, and Baby B is 5lbs 2oz.  They were both moving around and were doing their practice breathing, which is a great sign!  I am about 80% effaced, and 1cm dilated.  The doctor thinks they will be making their arrival in the next two weeks.  I am also excited to report that I am officially off bedrest!  I am allowed to resume my normal activity. Three weeks of being chained to the couch was definitely too much! :)

I will post again soon, hopefully before the girls arrive...depending on when they decide to make their appearance! We will soon find out!

Almost 36 weeks!

I am almost 36 weeks! This has been the milestone I have been focused on since finding out I was pregnant with twins. The average gestation for twins is 35 weeks. Luckily, I have made it to my milestone with the help of bedrest…or as I so affectionately term it, couch-rest! My doctor pulled me out of work about three weeks ago, but I am lucky my company has allowed me to continue to work from home. This definitely makes the days go much quicker…and it’s funny, I actually think I get more done now than I did when I was going into the office every day!


As of last weeks’ appointment, the girls are still doing great. I haven’t gotten an ultrasound on them since my 33 week appointment…but I am guessing they are somewhere around 5 ½ pounds apiece. We will find out on Monday! I haven’t gained any weight in almost a month, but as long as they are gaining, that’s all that matters. I am holding steady at 30 pounds. As of my last check I am still not dilated at all, but am about 70-80% effaced, which means my cervix is extremely thin. Also, Baby A’s head is extremely low…the doctor has mentioned that he can feel it at my last two checks. Seems like she’s ready to make her debut! I have had contractions on and off for about a week now, but only a few a day. Who knows, I may actually make it to my induction / c-section date of May 18th! It is pretty much up in the air at this point!

Baby B is still head down as well, so as long as she doesn’t flip, we are going to try to deliver them vaginally. Crossing my fingers!

Also, things are moving along with the show ‘One Born Every Minute’. Kevin and I filmed an interview with them on Wednesday, and it went really well. Gut tells me that we will make it on the show, which is exciting and extremely nerve wracking at the same time. Hopefully, I won’t say or do anything dumb! Definitely never a dull moment!

I am breaking my couch-rest tomorrow and getting maternity pictures taken. I hope they turn out well…(and hope this darn rain stops long enough to get some good pics!) I will post some when I can.

33 Week Update

I just had my 33 week OB appointment and ultrasound yesterday. Starting with the positives, the babies are looking great! Baby A was 4lbs 8oz, and Baby B was 4lbs 3 oz. They are both really active and are doing their practice breathing! Also, Baby B flipped and is now head down!! I may actually get to try for a normal delivery if she stays put. I was really excited about that!

My BP was 110/60 and I actually lost a pound since my last appointment. As long as the girls are gaining, I’m not concerned though. :)

Unfortunately, my cervix shortened again since last Wednesday...which can be a sign of pre-term labor. My doctor is being extra precautious and is pulling me from work and put me on “modified” bedrest for the next 3 weeks (at least). I am allowed to get up and shower, eat, use the restroom, and even go out for a quick meal once or twice a week. Other than that, I need to stay laying down. It’s going to be tough, but if I can at least make it to 36 weeks, I will be happy. I just want the girls to stay in there as long as possible! The good news is, I have not had any contractions (even Braxton-Hicks), and I am not dilated at all. Just going to keep my fingers crossed!  I also do have a c-section scheduled for May 18th...but when talking to the doc yesterday, he seems doubtful I will make it to that date.

The other interesting news is that we may be profiled on the show 'One Born Every Minute' on Lifetime.  They are shooting the second season at Riverside hospital again between late April and early June, and may use our story.  I just talked to a casting director yesterday, and my doctor is super pumped for Kevin and I do possibly be on the show!  We will be filmed and after filming, the producers will pick certain couples to actually be on the show.  Why the heck not?!?  May as well have our 2.5 minutes of fame!!! :)  If nothing else, we will get a professionally produced DVD of our birth experience (discreet, of course!) :)

Here's me at 33 weeks (before my last day of work until July or August)

Nursery!

Yes, we finally got the nursery finished last weekend!  It is absolutely adorable...and I have to give Kevin credit for the decorating.  We both picked out everything, but he thought he would surprise me by putting it all together (complete with a grand 'reveal'!)  He did an amazing job, and I think our two little girls are going to absolutely LOVE their adorable room!

BEFORE shots:

As you can see, we obviously have never done anything to this room! :)

Cleared out and ready for an overhaul!

AFTER shots:

Me and my first baby :)

 

Oh, how life is going to change for these two!



I can't wait until there are babies joining me here! :)