Happy Birthday Jason & Reece!

The babies are here and are doing great. Jason was born at 12:51 and Reece at 12:52. They washed me up around 11am and at 12:19pmI was checked into the OR. The epidural was the worst part, but I think I took it like a trooper and thank goodness for Ryan who has been at my side all day. (and when he’s not he’s “with my sons” as he says). While in the OR at first I was a little overwhelmed. They started everything right away and at one end of the room nurses were counting aloud all the tools while two NICU teams prepped for babies. It was wild and crazy and everyone was running around trying to get things settled while somebody else was counting down the time.

It felt like forever as they prepped me and I waited patiently for Ryan to come in. I asked 3 different times for him because I was so paranoid they would forget to go out and get him. When they cut me open I squeezed his hand and then before I knew it I heard “your going to feel pressure” and then bam I felt a head poking out of my belly and heard a little screaming baby. Moments later Reece was right behind and I sent Ryan off to start taking pictures while they stuffed my insides back into me. I got a quick peak at Jason and all I could remember was his jet black hair and Reece they took right to the warmer. I could see his little red shriveled legs from the table and started crying. It was a happy cry as I heard the nurses say they both scored a 9 on the apagar test.

When they took the boys down to the NICU Ryan accompanied them as I wheeled back to my room and was greeted by both mine and Ryan’s family. Ryan got an update on them and we found out that they were both breathing and only Jason needed a little bit of oxygen because he has a little fluid in his longs. Both babies had low sugar levels which are now stable and Reece had a low blood pressure which is also now stable. Reece also has something different about his man part. Basically it looks like ½ of it has already been circumcised when in actuality it hasn’t been yet. The nurses said it’s not a big deal and it can be corrected later.

About an hour after my recovery I was rolled down and spent about an hour and half with the boys just watching and patting their sweet little legs as visitors came in to also say hello and see them. Ryan has been a trooper and has been so good to both the boys and I. They had to roll me up to meet with a lactation consultant and Ry stayed with the boys and other family members. They checked my battle wound and it was leaking so they had to do a little patching up to make it stop. That was rather painful. Afterwards I was rolled back up to antepartum to my room for the rest of my recovery. I am lucky enough to be able to come back up here and for Ryan and I to have our own room with two beds.

I attempted pumping and got very little but they said I probably wouldn’t get any so at least it’s a start. While I was pumping Ryan went down to see the boys and Reece got his first bath and they also put stuff on his umbilical cord to make it fall off. They can’t do Jason’s till the fluid in his lungs gets better and the fluid dries up.

I guess that is really it for now. Thank you to everyone who sent their love and support to us today. Baby Reece and Jason, Ryan and I ask that you still pray. They are still both fragile and we hope to keep away infection and any other risks. Thank you again!

To see the album of pictures: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30852895&l=191bea1ec0&id=202500453

Soon to be Happy Birthday Babies

Well we will be having babies today at noon. My fluid levels did not improve and a peed over 4L last night! Still not sure why they didn't increase but whatever the reason might be God is in control. Wish us luck!

Anticipation

Last night was by far one of the most miserable nights yet. Poor Ryan must have said to me 100 times “you look miserable” and honestly I was. My back and stomach were crampy I had a dull pressure headache and felt completely helpless. I had 8 or 9 contractions during my 3pm monitoring and 6 during my 9pm. The nurse got a pain killer from Dr. Rowe and brought in which helped me at least get comfortable enough to sleep for a solid two hours last night without having to get up. From there I was up every hour going to the bathroom measuring and recording my “output”.

It’s only 6:30 right now and the anticipation of not knowing if we will have to deliver or not today has been killing me. I just want to be able to say ok this day at this time so I can be prepared and have everyone who wants to be here here. I think that’s been my biggest stress out, but know its going to be ok. Plus I really hope that if I have to do the c-section today that I can shower before hand. I am in the same stupid shorts and shirt I put on Sunday which grosses me out big time. I must have prayed a 100 times last night that God be with my boys regardless if they come today or not. Ryan and I both can’t wait to see their little faces, but I can hold out if it means they need to buy some more time in my tummy to grow.

Dr. Rowe should be by in the next hour or so. I’ll update the blog/facebook status just as soon as I can. Hopefully we have good fluids and all is fine for yet again another day of not knowing when they will make their appearance. They have been rather antsy or at least Reece has been for the last few days. I think that’s his way of saying “I can’t wait to meet everyone because all I have been hearing about in here is all the people who love me!” Thanks for all the prayers, calls, texts, emails, love & support!

Time will tell

No updates today since this morning. I was monitored at 3pm like I usually am and was contracting (more than 6 in an hour means call the dr.) so the nurse did and he said as long as she’s not in a lot of pain its all good and he wasn’t concerned. The IV has been a pain in the rear. It was much easier to go to the bathroom without a cord in my wrist! Oh well you do what you got to do.

A million people have asked what time will the c-section will be if they do it tomorrow. I asked the nurse and there is no way of telling if it’s not already on the calendar. Basically she said it will depend on how quickly they can get me back and what time there are openings. Everyone has been freaking out all day long about being here when the babies are born. Like seriously driving several hours…just a reminder again that yes as many people as they want can come to the hospital but obviously at this point we will be in the NICU. They will take them right away and check them in and it will take at least an hour to get them stable and all that before anyone can even see them. Ryan and I toured the NICU yesterday and there are doors that remain locked so you can’t even look in a window because it’s so private.

As far as visiting the NICU we can sign off on grandparents to visit (so Mom, Dad, DeRinda & Jeff) and go back and everyone else has to be accompanied by us and only 2 people at a time per baby so a total of four including Ry & I. NICU is closed 6:30-8 both am and pm. After talking to one of the NICU nurse practitioners Ryan and I decided that it would be best to limit visitors while in NICU to just the immediate family/grandparents for numerous reasons until they become more stable to redue the risk of infection. The more people they are around the more germs their little preemie bodies will be exposed to. Once they get checked in it’s our understanding that we will be able to arrange feedings and a visiting schedule once things settle. So again if you come up to the hospital don’t be upset if you don’t see the boys there’s just a lot of protocols that have to be followed. I will keep you posted…I should see the doctor again around 7:30 or 8 in the am and ill know then how the fluid levels look. I am keeping my fingers crossed they improve I have drank well over 80oz today and have gone through 1 ½ IV bags. Jason needs to get it together so his little brother can grow for a little longer.

Gods Sense of Humor

In the middle of getting really annoyed by all that’s been going on this morning the maintenance workers came in to check out my pager that calls the nurses because they can hear me but I can’t hear them. While working on the machine they set off a code blue to my room which I think means a hospital threat. On the intercom code blue comes on to the 4th floor and the nurses run in here trying to shut it off while others try to cancel the code. Well while trying to do all that I hear outside my door that the code is now invalid and next thing you know the fire alarm goes off and the intercom is repeating code red. I couldn’t help but laugh knowing it was all a misunderstanding. The nurse came by and shut my door with a fire extinguisher in her hand. Ha God knows how to enlighten me and knew I needed a good laugh!

Test Results & IV

The results didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would....

The test came back negative meaning I am not leaking fluid and the sack hasn’t ruptured but for some reason Jason’s fluid levels are low. Dr. Rowe said w will have to monitor it closely it could have something to do with the blood supply…who knows. If the IV doesn’t help and come morning my levels are still low then we will proceed with delivery for tomorrow.

Ryan just left and the sight of the blood on my little IV tube alone makes me weak. I am starting to wimp out a little. Luckily Ry grabbed me something good to eat before heading off to work and also called my sister because he wanted someone to be here with me for the day. I can only imagine just how many times I am going to be running to the bathroom today with this stupid IV. I only thought it was a lot when I wasn’t on it…

These babies are going to owe me BIG TIME.

Updates...

Well this morning was the big ultra sound for measurements and to check my progress. Ryan stayed here with me just in case we had to have babies today depending on the results. I am really glad he was here! My fluid levels in Jason’s sack happen to be significantly lower. As a result of Dr. Rowe is hooking me up to an IV this morning to see if they retain fluid and will check again in the morning. He seems to think that the sack might be ruptured. He did a cloture this morning that is being sent off to the lab and if it is positive we will have babies tomorrow.

Am I worried or concerned? Not too greatly. Ryan and I spoke with NICU yesterday and a lot of our fears such as bleeding on the brain, blindness and all of that other stuff to seem to be out the window. We could possibly have infections due to the prematurely, but at this point there is no reason to believe so. The main challenges for these little guys will be breathing and feeding. It’s hard to say where they will be, but if I had my guess Reece will be visiting a little longer than Jason simply because of his size.

As of 3 weeks ago Reece was 2lbs 1 oz. He gained 11oz in 3 weeks and is still under 3lbs weighing about 2lbs 12oz. Jason on the other hand was 3lbs 11oz 3 weeks ago and is now 4lbs 11oz. So while one baby is pushing close to 5lbs, my little Reece is still trying to catch 3. (Keep in mind these are estimates and could be a little higher or lower depending on the accuracy of the measurements)

As for me I am still 1 m dilated and contractions have been about the same. It will be interesting to see the results from today’s test. I could be having babies tomorrow. Hm…they are here to hook me up to my IV. I’ll keep you all posted when I know more.

NO NEWS is GOOD NEWS!

So obviously nothing too exciting is going on because I haven’t updated. The new medicine seems to be doing the trick. I had 1 contractions last night (big deal) and none today. I got pretty solid nights sleep thanks to ½ of a sleeping pill. I was miserably uncomfortable last night once it got into the later hours of the night and my back was killing me. To help me get comfortable they brought in the drugs which they have offered many times before, but last night I saw yes. I only woke up twice in the night and today I slept till about 11 even though I had to break this morning for breakfast and monitoring. Afterwards though I was right off to sleep again…

Ryan took me out for a stroll in the wheelchair. After I started heading out the door the nurse said Dr. Rowe didn’t put in my orders so we called the doctor on call and she granted me 20 minutes since I wasn’t contractions. Ryan pushed me around the outside of the hospital and to the back parking lot where he was proud to show me that he cleaned his car and installed the car seats. It was pretty cute…he was so excited to show me. At 10 this morning he was asking can we go now but I stayed in bed another hour.

The babies seem to be doing really well also. Their little heartbeats have been out of this world and the strips on them are “beautiful” as the nurses all say. They can’t believe how pretty the curves are that they form…haha it scared me though because I thought all of that up and down seemed weird. I guess that’s why they are the nurses and I am just the patient.

As for a due date…still no change. I was thinking maybe it would happen on Monday the way my contractions were going. However with the new meds it might hold them out for a while longer. I have no idea really. As far as I know he will check me and the babies on Monday and maybe then we will have a better idea…one day at a time for now.

That’s about it for now. Ryan and I have had a great day together today even though we have been bored and pretty chill. Like I said we slept in, went for a stroll, played a round of marbles, got snacks, attempted 3 different cross words and now he’s off for a drive while I monitor. The last week with him has been to die for. He has been in a really good mood and I can tell he’s really excited for babies (and also a little nervous) but it’s absolutely precious to see him light up when he talks about them.

Guess the due date & size!

Soseveral people have emailed me with when they think the babies will come and how big they are. Follow this link to post your guess and we will see who is the closest!

Follow this link: http://www.expectnet.com/games/TheWilliamsTwins
(If it doesn't work go to expectnet.com and in the "enter a game name spot" type TheWilliamsTwins...happy guessing!)

Word From The Doc.

Well Dr. Rowe came in and he said obviously I wasn’t kidding that I contract more at night than during the day after looking at last nights strip. SOOOO he is putting me on Procardia which is also used for high blood pressure that should slow down my contractions and said he really wants to see me get to 34 weeks. 34 weeks is in 48 hours so I am not real sure if he’s pushing for 34 weeks because it’s a big milestone or he’s telling me 34 weeks because he will be out of town for the weekend!

GGGRRREEEAAATTTT. I told my nurse it made me nervous and she said yah you and another patient who is 37 weeks could be due at any time and are both nervous. So please pray that if my babies really are coming soon that they hold off till at least Monday when Dr. Rowe is back from Dallas. He said that he would see how the new medicine worked today and if needed he would put me on an IV of Magnesium Sulfate come this evening.

We will see how I take o the Procardia he said to try and sleep a lot today and to take two Tylenol with the pill because it tends to give you really bad headaches. Also since its a blood pressure med he said to be careful getting up and down and don't move about to quickly because I will maybe start feeling light headed. Looks like lots of sleep is in my forcast today. Ryan'sMom is coming by for lunch today and then my parents are brining me some goods from home this evening that I didn't pack to bring with me. Ryan will be back this evening and for the weekend. After work he is going to clean up his car and get the carseats in bases installed. I know we won't need them right away, but I would just feel better knowing that is done over the weekend.

Contractions, Contractions, Contractions

Last night I was full of contractions. Everyone who came in here was saying goodness your blowing the contractions through the roof. Literally some of them were off the screen. About every 40-80 seconds I was having a pretty solid contraction and it looked like on the monitor I was forming valleys. My body tends to contract more as the day progresses and as it gets later. After about 30 minutes I was well past the 6 contractions in an hour rule so my nurse, Debbie, called the doctor on duty. The charts outside said Dr. Goodrum was on call, but luckily Dr. Rowe answered and said that since I wasn’t in a lot of pain (none hardly at all just discomfort) to finish out the monitoring for the hour and he would possibly be putting me on stronger prevental medication come morning. For the first time I felt really nervous about having to call the doctor. I didn’t feel like it was time and I have been told several times that Dr. Goodrum tends to get the ball rolling when you start having contractions like the strip I was having. I was rather petrified that she would pick up and say ok I will be in to do the c-section. Even this morning the nurses and I were chatting and the one who I love said she was disappointed because I wasn’t her patient and then didn’t feel so bad after seeing my contractions…she laughed and said uh-huh I wanted no part in that. My nurse said yah I was certain Goodrum would be up doing a c-section if she was really the one on call. We will see how things go this morning. Again, I still have no idea if it will be today, tomorrow, next week or two weeks from now…the signs however seem to indicate that it could be soon so who knows? I feel better about it all knowing that today we will be having our 4th steroid shot since being pregnant. Luckily since the last set was given around 10 weeks ago they are able to give the boys and I the second series. This should make a huge difference in helping their little lungs and brain stronger and better developed in case they do get here before 36 weeks which is the usual gestational age that babies lungs are in their final stages. If anything changes after seeing Dr. Rowe this morning I’ll post again otherwise I will get up another update on the day either this afternoon or tonight.

Talked w/ the Expert...

Dr. Rowe came in and said when I feel crampy to tell the nurses so they can monitor me. I asked him about the FFN being negative if that means I am in the clear for two weeks and he said “oh no you are very much pregnant!” and laughed. I said well what does that means…he said well they scheduled you for the c-section on the 15th and we won’t make it that far. I said well you could tell me when you do think it will happen and he said how am I suppose to know that’s why I have you hear so we can watch you and see when its about to happen. So yah…who knows? Not me. Not the nurses. Not the doctors…just the big man upstairs who is looking down laughing at me saying just be patient you will have forever with those babies so enjoy what time you do have alone now.

Better Off Asking an Expert…

So I am having about two contractions an hour and lots of cramping. I am not sure why the cramping is happening if I am not contracting as much as it feels like I am. (What To Expect When Your Expecting didn’t go over that one obviously…) They have had me on continuous monitoring since I got here. One the left I have Jason’s heart monitor, the right is Reece’s and dead in the center is the contraction monitor so needless to say sleeping today has been nearly impossible. The nurse just came in and the FFN they did this morning was negative. I don’t know what that means…in the past it has meant that I am in the clear for two weeks so I am assuming I am good for another two weeks. Dr. Rowe should be in later around 5 and we will talk more about it then. Also from my understanding once I am totally effaced that is when my mucus plus comes out…if I am already a little over 90% it seems as though the timing of all these tests and predictions doesn’t add up, but what do I know?

More news…on a positive note since I am only having about 2 true contractions consistently each hour my nurse called Dr. Rowe and I am now off the monitors. They are going to do monitoring every 6 hours. So it was my understanding that Ill be on from 6pm-12am tonight and then back on at 6am and so on…bless Ryan’s sweet heart. Between monitoring and meds at 9 and 3 around the clock there will be a lot more people in and out than usual. Already warned him and he said he didn’t care he just wanted to be here with me. So yah, that’s it. If Dr. Rowe has anything to add when he comes in later I’ll let you know. I just ordered a turkey and cheese sandwich for dinner oh how I love hospital food. (Gag)

Home Sweet Home in Antepartum Again!

Home sweet home I’m back at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center. I went in this morning for monitoring and sure enough Dr. Rowe said I was a keeper and so I am now checked in again on the 4th floor with antepartum. After checking me this morning I was a little more than 90% effaced and 1 cm dilated. This doesn’t mean babies yet…I am here so they can better monitor my contractions and to watch me progress. Plus Dr. Rowe wants to make sure I am close by and won’t be driving an hour and half in labor trying to beat the clock which I think is smart.

I have another round of steroid shots on order and just as soon as they can get one up here I will have one this afternoon and another tomorrow. Currently they are monitoring for contractions and everyone and there Mom is freaking out so it seems but me. I guess it’s a good thing that I am one of the few not worried, stressed or concerned. I totally trust Dr. Rowe and God has been good to the boys and I through this all so whatever happens, happens. Ashley is here now since she is the one who took me to the doctor this morning. She is sound asleep in the bed next to me. Ryan will be here tonight and I am sure my Mom will probably pop in too. I came prepared with my hospital bag just in case Dr. Rowe decided to keep me. Last night Ryan helped me pack and we also grabbed the car seats and bases out of the babies closet so he could go get his car cleaned and have the car seats inspected. Not that anyone will be coming home soon…but just so it’s out of the way. We also packed the diaper bag with matching onsies, sleepers and coming home outfits that we picked out together. I am equipped with nursing pads and cream and if there’s anything we don’t have ready I am sure it’s not important.

As for visitors, I have already had a bunch of people text me in the last hour saying I want to come see you! For now I am laying low and want to wait and see what the next few days and weekend has in store for the boys and I first. I’ll keep you posted, but for now no major changes, just hospital care.

Oh and PS...did I call it or what?

God, Dr. Rowe & I were all thinking on the same page I guess?

After my doctors visit on Monday I have been praying that God see me through this week and allow me if nothing else to get me through Thursday (1/2 way point of the week). I can feel the changes occurring in my body and am starting to realize now that the time I am most uncomfortable is when my prevental medication begins to wear off. Makes sense that you wouldn’t have the feeling of contractions or the pain if you are taking medicine that eases it (duh). Yet again another reason why I have been questioning okay what is normal.

So after my prayer this morning I stayed in bed all day. This morning I slept till 11 and woke up several times with some more tightening but not bad pain. More or less just a heavy belly that I couldn’t get situated…Lunch time rolled around and my back was starting to hurt but not too badly. By 2 I was feeling the cramps again and have been watching Tyra and Jon & Kate. I started dozing off but was feeling a new sense of pressure and little triggers of pain (again nothing that isn’t tolerable pain/pressure) and thought to myself, hmmm this is new. I was debating in my head weather or not to call Dr. Rowe or to give it time and let it go when the phone rang. Sure enough it was Kim, the nurse at Dr. Rowe’s office, who wanted me to come in Friday morning for contraction monitoring. She asked how I was feeling and when I told her that I was actually thinking of calling she said lets be safe and have you come in first thing in the morning at 8:30. So tomorrow I will be headed back to Clear Lake to do monitoring.

My predication is they will see an increase of several contractions on the monitor and I think once I express to Dr. Rowe my concerns he will have me back in the hospital since we are an hour to a hour and half away from the hospital and so they can keep a closer eye on me. Just a guess, but usually I am pretty close when it comes to guessing. After all Ryan and I said many weeks ago we foresee babies between 33- 34 ½ weeks and well, here we are. I am still hopeful that babies won’t be the case, but we shall see.

"The Plan"

According to thebump.com you should pack your over night hospital bag at 35 week and have it ready for the just in case moments. This afternoon I started thinking about what to pack and I really didn’t have a clue, but found a handy little list online and am thinking I should give that some thought.

It talked a lot about my birth plan and making sure that you have one. I think mine is simple enough. Dr. Rowe already said I am having a c-section (unless I want to play it risky and not get there quick enough which would not be good to have babies in the birth canal)…and I am giving the green light on whatever he thinks is best in regards to having to get them out safe and healthy and to do whatever he needs t o do in order to make me feel no pain! Simple enough? I think so. I am not going to be one of those Moms who needs to have the fine print read to her before carrying out a procedure when it comes to their safety. Just do what you gotta do is my take on it. As for the c-section itself, only Ryan will be in the room for the delivery and he can take pictures of whatever he wants since my down under parts won’t be exposed. He can even film the c-section if he wants, I don’t care as long as I don’t feel pain or have to see my abdomen cut open at that very moment.

As for contacting people when it’s time, if it’s unscheduled….I will take care of my family and friends and Ryan can have a plan for his side. This will just make it a lot easier and plus I don’t have all the contacts and don’t know what kind of time will permit. I intend to make sure Ryan first and foremost knows so he can leave from work or wherever he is ASAP and then also call Mom/Dad/Ash. From there I am going to make a short list of just a few people that Ashley can call and let know we are on our way to the hospital and then I’ll make another list of people to send a mass text to saying the boys are here (and a few phone call people for the nontexters and maybe a facebook status update or something). There’s no reason to have a circus of people at the hospital in my opinion because for one the waiting room is small and is outside of the LOCKED nursery and delivery room. So really there’s no guarantee that you will be permitted back anytime soon and two if the boys are preemies and in the NICU they have very strict stipulations about visitors. Obviously I am not saying your not welcomed to come sit in the waiting room if you want, but I am saying don’t be surprised or upset if you are standing and don’t see me or the babies because that could very well be the case.

Hmmmm long day and so very tired but cannot get comfortable for the life of me. I think I am going to grab a snack and more water. Pray for baby Hallie who is not doing so well. I have been following her story and bless her sweet heart she if fighting really really hard right now and doctors are unsure what is causing some serious swelling. It could be infection, but they doctors don’t seem to see it and have even told the parents to not to be surprised if they loose her. I have heard these words before and I know just how hard it is to imagine your little one gone. This poor family has already gone through so much with the loss of the other twin so please please pray that it is God’s will to keep her here with us. Also on an uplifting note another blogger Mom got to take one of her twins home yesterday and we are all praying that the other twin will be released soon so they can all be at home together.

Define whats normal, please?

I am guessing my previous posting wasn’t crystal clear because many of you seem to think either the babies are here or I will have them next Monday. This is not the case, however, a possibility. Dr. Rowe just told me to be very aware of how my body feels because I COULD POSSIBLY start laboring this week based on my cervix being 80% effaced and my uterus showing signs of it being time. Still for now we are keeping the date set as July 14th, but with the change in my cervix he doesn’t seem to think that is very likely.

Honestly, I don’t feel like it is very likely either. I have felt a dramatic change in my body over the last week. What once felt like a full belly is slightly painful and cramps have been increasing slowly over the last several days. Nights are the worst and early mornings seem to be when it feels the tightest except for today it’s been pretty up and down a lot. Since lunch I have been laying in bed and although my stomach is not hurting or cramping my back both upper and lower just feel miserable. It reminds me of having those times of the month. Also something new is my hands and feet keep falling asleep which is no fun because they already feel swollen even though they don’t really look it too much.

I have been thinking a lot and monitoring the way I feel and am trying to figure out how to know when to call up Dr. Rowe. Is it just one of those days or will feeling yucky go away in a few hours like it does at times? I hate pregnancy. It’s complicated, miserable and to say the least not fun. How do you know the difference between cramps and having to go to the bathroom and if pressure back there is a symptom, how do you know its pressure from labor or bathroom time? How do you know if the crampy feeling is occurring because you need to take your medicine or if its time? Even if its only your medicine your waiting for to kick in how long should you give it to do its job? Clearly I feel worse than I did a few weeks ago and am dragging a little, but aren’t you suppose to start feeling bad again? All of this makes me wish for just a little bit I was back in the hospital just so I can push that stupid little button and ask “should I be feeling this way, is it reason to worry or just let it run its course?” Part of me wishes Dr. Rowe would have just said yesterday “Okay your close lets monitor you here” as opposed to second guessing myself at home. Then however I think about being away from Ryan and my family and eating that nasty awful food and think again okay maybe not so much.

Momma knows best...

I just got in from my weekly Monday visit with Dr. Rowe. I updated my facebook this morning saying to pray for good news because I had a gut feeling that he would tell me that my c-section date of July 14th didn’t seen as realistic anymore. Needless to say Momma knows best because sure enough that is exactly what he had to say. My monitoring session went really good. The heartbeats look great and my contractions were low (during that ½ hour). I however KNOW I have been contracting a lot more but its hard for me to “measure & count” them. It seems like I will just have long periods of time where I am really tight. From about 8am to 10am this morning while trying to go back to sleep it felt like the tightness just never stopped so I am not sure how you count those contractions because to me that’s one two hour contraction. LOL

So anyways basically I have no specifics. My cervix “is closed and a little more than 80% gone and there’s only very little left of it” and Dr. Rowe advised me to try and make it to 34 weeks which is next Sunday and to stay off my feet as much as possible and to call him if I think I am having more than 6 contractions an hour or notice anything different. I asked him if I should go ahead and schedule an appointment for the 1st week in July or the Monday before my tentative c-section and he said no not this week we will talk about that next week if it gets here. As for the babies however, they look good he said they get a 10 out of a 10. (Mexican food sounds really good) So we just keep on and I have to be in tune with my body and make sure that if I really start to feel things or notice anything truly different I fess up and call Dr. Rowe. He said it would be very bad and risky if I don’t and end up 4 or 5 cm dilated before I get back to Clear Lake. I guess by this he means that we need to prevent little J or R from getting sucked away in the birth canal. I know they are getting ready though. I can feel it slowly happening little by little each day.

Okay that is all for now. Pray for healthy babies, God to carry out his plan and to help Ryan be less scared (yes, poor baby said that it was scary today on the phone when I called him) and maintain my mother & sisters anxiety. Ha ha they seemed a little panicky when I told them and when I came out of the doctors office even I was thinking WHOA ok so much for the 14th of July. I however am ready and know God has a plan for these little guys and will bring them when He thinks its best.

Yet again another wonderful baby shower weekend surrounded with close family and friends. This weekend my parents put on a big “BABY-Q” Baby Shower for Ryan and I both accompanied by his Dad’s family and mine from all over! Mom and Dad got up at the crack of dawn to start cooking on 3 large BBQ pits and by 3 we had all the ribs, chicken, sausage, brisket, potato salad, coleslaw and more you could imagine with the help of some of my family too! The day consisted of sitting outside (and inside to escape the heat) while enjoying each others company. It was so wonderful to have so many of my family members drive in from out of town just for the occasion. All 3 of my cousins and their families from Austin came in as well as my cousin from the Dallas area. It was nice to have everyone around since it is a rare occasion to have both sides of the families here at the same time! Ryan’s grandparents, aunt, brother and dad also were able to come which was nice because they hadn’t even met my parents yet. They also brought an adorable carrot cake which was a huge hit (and gone!). Grandma Judi I think is just as excited about being a great grandmother as Grandma (my mom) is.

With both showers now over it is just a matter of waiting on the little guys to get here. I can honestly say Ryan and I both are still in absolute shock of how much love and support we have been shown throughout the pregnancy for both us and the boys. We have everything (and more) that we needed for the boys with the exception of portable waterproof pads, thermometer and a humidifier all of which we are purchasing this week online when we “go” shopping together at Target. We have been blessed with lots of gift cards and cash as well that we have set aside strictly for baby purposes and should be good to go for a while (a long while hopefully).

Thanks again family and friends for all the support, prayers and unconditional love you have shown for the boys and Ryan and I. We can’t even begin to tell you what a beautiful blessing it has been and how excited we are for our little bundles to arrive in just 23 more days! (That’s 3 weeks and 2 days….oh and today I am 33 weeks along! God is good!!!!)

Here are a few pics from the shower. I relaized as I was looking at my pictures that usually I am the picture queen, but its hard to take pictures of yourself so sdaly, I don't have nearly all the pictures I had hoped to of had :( These will do for now...

It all comes with getting fluffy...

Sleeping has turned into a dreadful task during the night. Last night I woke up every hour to half hour just to see the clock slowly creep by minute by minute. What seemed like hours of sleeping was only a matter of minutes and by 1:30am I was ready for it to be morning. I have decided that this is Gods way of preparing me for feeding two babies at night in a matter of 25 days! Newborns normally eat every 2 hours. I assume God already knows that Jason will eat and then Reece the next hour and that they will be on some type of whacked out schedule at first. Wait scratch that…I’ll feed my little Reece first and then Jason can have the leftovers considering he’s been hogging them up for the last 8 months! Haha poor babies, I just know they are cramped up in there and are about ready to explode. Usually my tummy goes through times of being really hard followed by soft times. The last few days it has felt like a balloon covered in paper-mâché. There is just no letting up on the hardness. I also wish I would have been measuring the distance from my chest bone to my belly button. It seems like in the last week it has dropped a whole lot. I think this means my little critters are getting ready to make there appearance in a few short weeks! I am currently 40 ½ inches around and when I look down at my belly I am still baffled that two babies ate tucked away in there…it just doesn’t seem possible to be two days away from 33 weeks and still not look twice the size of a normal pregnant woman. I have however gained a whopping 45 pounds as of last Monday which is a plus because the more I start to get “fluffy” the bigger the babies will grow too!

It all comes with getting fluffy...

Sleeping has turned into a dreadful task during the night. Last night I woke up every hour to half hour just to see the clock slowly creep by minute by minute. What seemed like hours of sleeping was only a matter of minutes and by 1:30am I was ready for it to be morning. I have decided that this is Gods way of preparing me for feeding two babies at night in a matter of 25 days! Newborns normally eat every 2 hours. I assume God already knows that Jason will eat and then Reece the next hour and that they will be on some type of whacked out schedule at first. Wait scratch that…I’ll feed my little Reece first and then Jason can have the leftovers considering he’s been hogging them up for the last 8 months! Haha poor babies, I just know they are cramped up in there and are about ready to explode. Usually my tummy goes through times of being really hard followed by soft times. The last few days it has felt like a balloon covered in paper-mâché. There is just no letting up on the hardness. I also wish I would have been measuring the distance from my chest bone to my belly button. It seems like in the last week it has dropped a whole lot. I think this means my little critters are getting ready to make there appearance in a few short weeks! I am currently 40 ½ inches around and when I look down at my belly I am still baffled that two babies ate tucked away in there…it just doesn’t seem possible to be two days away from 33 weeks and still not look twice the size of a normal pregnant woman. I have however gained a whopping 45 pounds as of last Monday which is a plus because the more I start to get “fluffy” the bigger the babies will grow too!

One outfit for everyday of the year!

The little old lady who lives in a shoe whose children has so many clothes she didn’t know what to do has FINALLY finished washing, sorting and hanging! I got nearly 40 hangers at the baby shower this last weekend and had to send my sister out for another 20 and 30 to grow on today so I will have extra. We still have one more box of newborn baby clothes that will be here tomorrow, but it feels so much better to know that its all finally washed and put away. Thank goodness for a nice big walk-in closet! Baby clothes are tricky though. I had the hardest time remembering what little bottoms went with which onsie and so on…and baby socks are so small I swear the dryer ate one because one is MIA without a match? How does that happen?

Now with the laundry done and the nursery set I am pretty much just waiting on babies. For the last day or so I have been a little crampier than usual. I think it has more to do with the babies just taking up more space. Today my goal is to drink at least 4 of the 32 ounce cups of water and kick back with an afternoon nap in a few hours before Ryan gets home. we have lots of family in town for the weekend for the family Baby-Q (BBQ Baby Shower)....Its not your traditional baby shower but it will be fun to see all my cousins and everyone else who we don't typically see on a regular basis. Plus there will be several kiddos around for the weekend which is always fun!

Some of you have been asking about when you can come to see the babies when they are born...hahaha if I haven't lost my mind by mid-July we will see...it's hard to say and set anything in stone not knowing for sure if they will hold out till July 14th and of course if it will all be smooth sailing with two healthy little munchkins who won't be in NICU. I hope and pray that is the case! I am certain Jason & Reece are just as eager to meet all of you as you are to meet them!

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Have you ever just stopped for one minute to take a look at your life and think to yourself, “How did I get here?” Sometimes I feel like my life has spiraled out of control and when I think about the future it just seems like one big hectic mess filled with a mix of emotions and loads of stress. Who is at fault? How can you blame anyone else but yourself? How do you fix everything without turning back when turning back isn’t an option? I have so much to be thankful for and have been blessed with so many blessing. I keep reminding myself that God has a bigger plan for me than I have for myself and an even bigger plan for Jason and Reece. Today in the midst of my sorrows I was listening to Pandora when "Tunnel" by Third Day came on. Clearly God was speaking to me yet again and reminding me that there will be times when you hit rock bottom but to keep holding on through your disappointments and sorrows for there is light at the end of this tunnel. I think we all have days where we need to be reminded that your not living for today.

My baby boys will be here in 27 days AT MOST. I am beyond excited to meet them and to hear them scream at the top of their lungs. At the same time I am scared to death to be responsible for two precious little lives who have already been through so much. My prayer is that when they get here that they aren't faced with complications and can avoid their first day out of the womb pain & stress free. I just continue to hope that they are as healthy as Dr. Rowe seems to think they will be. My cooperating teacher that I student taught under at Jones Elementary in Tyler welcomes Jackson Lee Walker into the world on Monday. I was sent a picture today by text and he is so sweet and adorable. I can't wait to dress my boys in their baby blues and be able to tuck them in safe and sound at home. In the mean time they are begging Mommy to feed them as my stomach growls and they are kicking...so with that being said I am off to eat and remember "keep holding on for there is light at the end of this tunnel".

How I feel about laundry...

I seriously feel like the old woman who lived in a shoe who had so many children she didn’t know what to do! Pretty sure today it’s taken all day long to wash 5 loads of baby laundry. I already did 4 loads just the week before last, but had sheets, towels, clothes and bibs galore to wash today. I can’t help but laugh when I look in their closet. It’s a walk in that is nearly full. Do babies really need that many changes of clothes…ugh what about some clothes for Mommy?

Potential Birthday: July 14th!

Well we have officially achieved goal number 2 and I am 32 weeks and 1 day pregnant! Over the weekend I was thrown a beautiful shower and had a wonderful time. My Aunt Laurie and Shelia McKenzie threw it for me and it was nice to be surrounded by friends! Needless to say my little men are pretty well equipped for baby life thanks to all of our wonderful friends and family members. The nursery is done with the exception of putting the labels onto the bins under the changing table. Other than that it’s a done deal. My sister hung the helves and put up the precious mobiles that my Mom bought for us and now it looks complete!

I went to the doctor today for my usual Monday visit. Dr. Rowe is still very pleased with the progress of both boys and how well they are STILL doing. I am not dilated and even my contractions have decreased significantly since being home. Next week I think he is going to do another FFN which will put me through 35 weeks. In other exciting news he seems to think that as long as I take it easy and do what I have been doing I will easily make it to 36 weeks. He was going to schedule my c-section for 36 and 1 day which would be July 13th, but he said 13 sounded like a bad number and settled for one more day. So if all goes as planned and my little boys behave themselves like they have been then we will have babies on July 14th. (Very exciting and less than a month away!!!)

In other news and humor while watching the boys today they were pretty still. Dr. Rowe said that we caught them during their sleeping time which is very abnormal for my hyper active children! Dr. Rowe shook my belly a little bit so that he could see each of them move and Jason nailed little Reece right between the legs, not once but three times. Poor baby boy. Dr. Rowe laughed and said it’s a wonder that the little man didn’t stop breathing. Haha he has such a way with humor.

Attached are pictures of the nursery and a few from the baby shower. I do have some profiles of Jason but haven’t scanned them yet. I will try and post them by tomorrow morning. I don’t know why, but it was so much easier to scan back in Tyler as opposed to doing it at home. Now it seems like a hassle! Thanks again to everyone who was at the shower this past weekend and I am looking forward to shower number two this week!

Thoughts & Such

I know I haven’t been updating as much, but to be honest with you, no news is good news in my opinion. I am a day and half away from hitting 32 weeks and every milestone is such a blessing. The boys were really really active at the end of last week and the start of this week, but the past few days they have slowed down. It alarms me at times when I haven’t felt anything in a while. I guess I let my imagination get the best of me. Last night as I laid in bed I asked God just to ease my mind and let me know both babies were doing just fine. Funny how things work…moments later I had two solid kicks from both sides of my belly. The nursery is just about done. My Mom bought shelves to hang on the wall above the changing table this week and my sister painted them. Hopefully I will get them hung over the weekend. We thought we finally found a rug, but not everyone seemed to agree. Ashley took it back today and was on a mission to find another 5x7 solid chocolate shag rug. Rather specific, I know. Tomorrow is the first baby shower at my Aunts house. I am rather excited just to be able to get out of the house and see people. It still blows my mind that I haven’t driven a car in months. The last time I drove was when I came home the Thursday before Easter Sunday in April.

I have also been following and praying for several others little miracle babies in addition to my own who give me hope. The three I have been following include a set of twins up North and a surviving sister of a set of twins here locally. God is good. These sweet babies are still in NICU, but are making improvements. I think I was lead to their stories simply as a way to prepare just in case my boys do have complications in NICU. We have been so very lucky to be blessed with such an amazing team of doctors and nurses and support from friends and family!

31 Weeks and still going...

Today I had yet again another doctor’s appointment. Overall there’s not much to update on. Jason is 3 lbs 11 ozs and Reece is 2lbs 1 oz. Jason was measuring 31 wks and 4 days while Reece was at 27 and 3 days. All and all my doctor was pleased with the progress of the babies and as a result of I will only be making the drive to go to Clear lake once a week now as opposed to two. I have a feeling Jason is going to be a huge baby. My doctor did another FFN test was pretty certain it would come back negative. He said he would call in the morning if it was positive. So no new news is good news. He said he wouldn’t let me go past 36 weeks so at most I have another 5 weeks to go if all goes as it has been.

Weekend

Tomorrow marks the start of 31 weeks. Who would have ever of thought? I know I certainly didn't and my doctor tells me every week that he is shocked and so proud of me. It has been a long journey and hopefully in a few short weeks it will come to an end and a new journey with two sweet and healthy baby boys will begin. This week should be exciting. I go to the doctor on Monday for measurements and will return on Thursday for monitoring and a follow up checkup. I am off the at-home monitoring, but still on modified bed rest. My contractions have come and go, but I have been feeling them a little more than I was but its nothing that alarms me. I would say the lower back cramps hurt worse...then again its all linked together. I am still optimistic and believe that I will survive and so will my boys with out any serious complications. I can't even begin to tell you what a test of faith this whole adventure has been. God has clearly been hearing our prayers and I cannot even express to you how blessed I feel that He has brought us so far. I have been put into contact and have found other bloggers who I have been following and all I can say is when you think you have it bad there is always someone else out there who has it a whole lot worse.

FFN Results & mixbook.com

Well my FFN results from yesterday came back negative which means I shouldn’t have any babies in the next two weeks and as long as I do what I am supposed to do God is helping me get to 32 weeks. Thank you for yet again another blessing. I guess I should say a double blessing because I also no longer have to do the at home monitoring since the test was negative! Ryan was excited about this too. No more waiting by the phone or sitting for hours with that stupid machine hooked up to me. Today I have been spending my time on what I now believe is the BEST website creation ever. If you have kids, like to scrapbook, or have a billion digital photos this is going to be your little heaven on the internet. Go to mixbook.com You can create custom books IN COLOR. I have been searching and searching for the perfect baby book for twins that is an all in one kind of deal. I found a website that sold pages separately but it was going to cost close to $120.00 to get all of the packages I wanted and the pages looked like something I could make in Word. That’s all the news for today.

Jason looks like...???

Dad took me to the doctor this morning since Ryan and Mom are working and Ashley is busy studying for her LSAT that she takes next week! Today was again another great doctor’s visit. Everything is still looking good. They checked the babies and also did a pelvic exam on me and all was well. I did ask for a 4D picture and lucked out and managed to snag a few of Jason. Big boy Jas had his legs blocking Reece’s face so no such luck of getting a few snapshots of my little man too. I am still waiting on the FFN results to see if I should expect labor anytime in the next two weeks. I love when Dr. Rowe performs these tests (but not literally) because it gives me a piece of mind and assurance on how much further I can keep going. Hopefully if the test is negative like he thinks it will be I will be able to stop the at home daily monitoring. He said I am getting far enough along now that if the test is negative I should be able to hold out till 33 weeks and by that point when I am contracting I WILL KNOW I am contracting and it will be time! 33 weeks is just how long the FFN test given today will test up to…ultimately the boys and I could go a lot longer! We shall see…Here’s the latest ultrasounds of Jason. I can’t quit figure out all of his features.

His head shape remind me of Ryan and the 3 most obvious features you can see if his monster of a nose, big ole lips and his nearly absent chin. Haha cutie patootie! Ryan and I think the nose is more his than mine. His nostrils tend to flare up more on the sides where my nose is longer and pointer. The lips…I am not sure where those come from exactly. I think the baby looks like my sister more than me. The lips and chin remind me of Ash and she said the same thing…”GREAT! Reece will be my little buddy and Jason will be my look-alike.” After going back and looking at previous profiles of Reece when they got him 4D he too had the chin or lack there of! I can’t wait to see them and WOW time is going to fly. Already at 30 weeks and 1 day.


Ok now for the pictures... The 4D are at 30 weeks of Jason and the 2D are previous ultrasounds of him and also Reece at 27 weeks that I finally scanned today. Enjoy!

Jason at 30 weeks & 1 day

Jason @ 30 weeks & 1 day

Jason @ 30 weeks & 1 day

Reece @ 27 weeks & 5 days

Jason at 27 weeks & 5 days