Twin Pics!

Twin Stats

Our precious girls were born on Monday, March 23, 2009 @ 33 weeks. Baby A- Vanessa Marie born at 3:08pm, 3lbs 4 oz, 15 1/4 in. long Baby B- Valerie Ryan born at 3:09pm, 3lbs 13 oz, 17 in. long If they would have stayed in my tummy a few more weeks, they really would have been big! They're not as small as you'd think. 3 pounds sounds tiny, but they look healthy, just small. They are doing really well. They aren't on breathing tubes, they're breathing oxygen on their own. They each have feeding tubes though. They're not quite ready to eat on their own. They will be in the NICU for a few more weeks. They just need to get bigger and stronger. So Ryan and I will be taking frequent trips up to the hospital to see them. The nurses have all been great at keeping us updated and letting us hold the girls during feeding time. They eat every 3 hours. All in all, we feel truly blessed that our girls are healthy and on a road to come home!! We love you Vanessa & Valerie!!

Twin Time!!

We had the girls' shower on Sunday, March 22. Monday morning I got ready for work as usual. When I got to work,I noticed a little spotting and decided to call the doctor. I felt fine, no cramping or contractions. The nurse said to come in for monitoring. I figured they check me out and send me back to work, I even told everyone I'd be back in a few hours. WRONG!! It seemed like I was going to get released until the nurse examined me... I was dilated between a 4-5cm! I panicked and started crying. Just because we had the girls' shower didn't mean I was ready for babies!! So I called Ryan and my Mom and they came as soon as possible, along with Kelsey. I'm so glad I called when I did. I could have had babies at work! No more showers or babies! Same thing happened with Zac- his shower was on a Saturday, he was born the following Thursday. We decided that a C-Section would be the safest for the girls, since one was still transverse. It went pretty well. It was not knowing what to expect was the scary thing. The most painful part in my opinion was the steroid shot they gave me in my back to try and stop the contractions, which it was too late for it to have any affect. But the spinal and the actual procedure went smoothly. All the nurses couldn't believe I was carrying twins. When they'd check my staples, they were amazed at how flat my belly was, of course that's the last thing on my mind. I delivered the girls on Monday and was released on Thursday. It feels so good to be at home. But it was so hard to leave the girls at the hospital. We know they're in the best care right now.

Twins' Shower

Sunday was the girls' baby shower. My good friends Melissa and Leann did a great job of planning everything- I didn't have to do a thing. They put a lot of time into it- and it showed!! We had a good turnout of people, food, and of course goodies for the girls! We had the shower at my house, so everyone could see the new place. Hey, it was one way to get Ryan to get some last minute pictures hung up!

Week 33

Week 32 Dr. Appt.

The countdown is almost over! Doc said I'm doing really well. My blood pressure was 110/60 and I gained 1 1/2 lbs in a week. I can't believe how much I've been eating these past few weeks. It's funny, the doc keeps saying how excited he is to deliver the girls. He's the same doc I had with Zac, but he didn't deliver him, it was another doc that was on-call that night. The sonogram tech commented on the girls' hair on their heads, crazy! Twin A is still head down and Twin B is transverse. The doc said B still has time to move head down. If she doesn't by 37 weeks, he'll probably do a C-section. He said that would probably be safest for the girls. Since 37 weeks is considered full-term with twins, he said there's no real benefit for them to stay in there any longer. Besides, they're running out of room! In one sonogram pic, Twin A is all cramped up. Twins' shower is this Sunday and we're excited :)

Week 32

Gotta a Minute?

Hi Everyone! I finally updated our blog! I added several new posts along with pictures of the new house, my belly, and of Zac. When you have a moment, please catch up and read the entries!

Current Pics: Zac, Etc.

Our New Home

I will add another album with the inside decorated. I'm getting caught up, slowly, but surely!

Bigger and bigger...

I know my belly is huge! I feel gigantic! I walk, or should I say waddle around slowly. At work, the building is so big. From the parking garage I have to walk to the elevator, then upstairs and down a long hallway to my desk. I sit all day, but have to stand and take stretch breaks. I just want to complain :) Sleeping can be uncomfortable. I start out laying on my side, but have to roll over slowly on my back, then eventually on the other side. I can't get up too quick or the girls get mad! Bending down is a sight to see. Zac has been a big helper. If I ask him to pick something up for me, he does. My little baby is going to be a big brother soon! His new thing is laying his head on the dogs- like he's giving them a hug. He's done that with my belly a few times, but never long enough to snap a picture! I had an appt. with my specialist today. Girls are doing great! 3 weeks ago Baby A weighed 2 lbs 1 oz and now weighs 2 lbs 15 oz and Baby B weighed 2 lbs 5 oz and now weighs 3 lbs 1 oz! We are so excited about their growth! That was our main concern, so the bigger they are, the better! Baby A is head down and Baby B is stubborn and laying transverse (sideways). The doc said it doesn't look like they're ready to come out anytime soon, and my belly is still the best incubator for them. That's what we wanted to hear!

Week 31

Week 30

Week 29

Week 28

Update Part 2

All in all the move went smoothly. Ryan and I got lectures from both sides of our families for me NOT to lift anything. They didn't want me going into labor! There were a few moments that stood out: 1) On moving day, Ryan's brother, Nick locked his keys in his truck and had to call someone to unlock it (they tried for 30 minutes trying to do it themselves). 2) The moving truck and my Jeep were parked next to each other in the driveway. My passenger door was open and Ryan went to lift the lift gate on the truck. I went to put clothes in the car and heard a crunching sound. Apparently he didn't see that my door open and the gate got wedged in the door. Noting major, just a little dent. 3)Our first night at the new house was Sunday, Feb 15th. The next morning we had to get up early for Zac's ear surgery. Ryan and I took the dogs outside and locked ourselves out!! The lock on the bottom is not a push button, it turns one way to lock from the inside- we didn't know that! Poor Zac was staring at us from the other side of the door. It was cold out! Luckily I had on my winter coat, but didn't grab my phone or keys. Of course the next day we had an appt. for our garage door w/ keypad to be installed. So I had to go to a neighbor's house (found a house with a light on at 5:15 in the morning!). I called my Mom, luckily I had given her a house key the night before. Other than that, we're starting to get settled and it feels like home. We also got a fence installed, it was completed last Friday. We moved at the perfect time. Just enough time to get settled before the girls arrive! No rest for a long time!!

Back Online!

We finally have TV/Internet again! It's time for an update! A lot has happened in the past 3 weeks. We moved from our previous house that we lived at for 5 years to Grain Valley to be closer to my family. When we moved to Peculiar, we didn't think about being close to family, since kids we're not in our immediate future. Once Zac was born, we realized how important being with family was. Even though we were only about 40 minutes away, it was still far enough that we didn't get to visit as often as we wanted. Right when I found out I was pregnant again, we knew moving was a must. Especially when we found out we were expecting twins! Also our previous house was a front-to-back split, not ideal with kiddos. It was definitely inconvenient carrying Zac, groceries, and taking the dogs outside up and down the stairs. We pretty much lived in the kitchen because it was upstairs. The living room was downstairs, and we had a baby gate blocking the stairs for Zac. It was too much of a hassle to go up and down. We feel very blessed and fortunate to have been able to move to a brand-new ranch house. The layout is perfect for our family. At first we were looking at 4 bedrooms, but didn't like the layouts. This house is on a corner lot,3 car-garage, 3 bedrooms, and backs up to the woods. It is so nice looking at trees instead of neighbors! The basement is unfinished, but huge! It's the whole length of the house. Eventually we will finish it and Zac can have a room downstairs. I'm sure he'll want to get away from his sisters as they get older!