Day 26

The girls have made it to their original due date! Not like we ever thought they'd make it in my belly this long once we found out there were two of them, but it's still the big day. The grandmas have returned home and starting Wednesday morning we have been on our own for getting things done. So far we've managed, but are definitely looking into getting some help a few nights per week so Daddy can get some sleep and not be a zombie at work.

Kimberly is quite particular about feeding.. as long as she wakes herself up to eat, she's fine with latching, otherwise she just plays around and spits it out over and over and over..... Rebekah definitely goes with the flow a lot more, and literally gets more flow. We're starting to notice the difference in weight between the two of them. Rebekah's cheeks are getting chubbier!

Day 18

Things are moving right along! Sleep has been very important for me the last little bit as the girls upped their feeding times to get my supply up for their 3 week growth spurt. Grandma Shirley has been here helping out and Aunt Vikki even got in an extended weekend to take some night shifts and let Marty/Daddy get a few hours of sleep. Today we got them in for another weigh in: Kimberly is now 6lbs 7oz and Rebekah is at 6 lbs 14oz. Kimberly is doing her best to catch up to her sister on the food intake... we'll see how long it takes her to close the gap.


The girls enjoy their time in their car seats.. chillin' in the driveway waiting to go on another adventure.

And they really enjoy skin-to-skin time with their Daddy!! That's Rebekah on the left and Kimberly on the right (Daddy's in the middle).

Day 11

Today was bath day! Woo hoo! There's Kimberly getting dried off by Daddy and Rebekah getting her bath...


Then there's the two of them side-by-side in their crib hanging out.. Rebekah is on the left and Kimberly is on the right. They sat and chatted for a bit, and then decided it was time to sleep.

Day 8

We got to go in for our first well baby checkup today with our family physician and the girls are doing REALLY well. Kimberly is up to 6lbs 0oz, is 18 3/4 inches long, and has a 13 3/4 inch head circumference while Rebekah is 6 lbs 1 1/2 oz, 19 inches long, with a 13 5/8 inch noggin'. Those are both in the 5th percentile for weight, 10th for length, and 25th for head. Not too bad, but they sure seem bigger than that to us! Considering they gained over 5 ounces since their post partum visit on day 5, I'd say they are all-stars! The breastfeeding is going along well, so that's encouraging. I've already lost over half the weight I gained during the pregnancy -- that was nice to hear! = )

Nap time for me.. more later.

Let's wrestle!

Here are some photos from day 6! The top two photos have Rebekah on the left and Kimberly on the right. They were playing with each other after feeding time.

Then, there are the rest.. with Kimberly on the left and Rebekah on the right. Grandma Sue, me, and the girls... Daddy, Kimberly, Kelsi, Rebekah, and Me... and again - the newly expanded family!

Day 5

Oy! What a week! About two hours after my entry on Saturday night I went into active labor and by 7:33a that morning we had two new babies in the world! So they were 36 weeks 2 days gestation. Not bad for a first time pregnant lady with twins! They were very healthy and never had to leave my sight... well, accept when daddy would take them for a walk around the halls of the hospital. For those curious folks, I did end up gaining exactly 50 pounds during the pregnancy... not sure how much I've already lost since we haven't weighed me yet.

Things are progressing around here.. I'm going to keep this short since it's feeding time for the girls in about 5 minutes. We're getting a bit more efficient at things, but I still haven't gotten more than about an hour and a half of sleep at any one time since last Thursday (Aug. 31st). But we're doing it and breastfeeding is going really well, all things considered. (new mom, new babies, etc.)

They're Here!!

By Daddy/Marty: Kimberly and Rebekah were born around 7:30 am on Sunday, September 3rd. Mom and babies are healthy and doing well. Kimberly weighed 6lb 4oz and was 19.5 inches long. Rebekah weighed 6lb 3oz and was 18.5 inches long. We still don't know if they are identical or not as they do look very similar with no major differences noticed yet. In the picture of just the two babies, Kimberly is on the left. Libby is the one in the middle in the other picture, but we're not sure after that.

Week 36!

Well, we made it to week 36! We had our midwife appointment yesterday afternoon where she declared that everyone is still doing well and anytime they are more than welcome to make an appearance. So then we all got inspired and had a dress rehearsal last night. My contractions got going fairly strong and regular, so the on-call midwife had us come in, but things stalled out and we came back home with a belly still full of babies. Today we went for three walks throughout the day and my mom came back to town this afternoon for the big event. She and Marty are sleeping and I'm ready to get these girls movin'! We'll see if Sunday will be the big day for their arrival... or at least for some more contractions to get us closer to their arrival. Now we know when things start up again to wait a bit longer before calling the on-call midwife and/or going into the hospital.

If I don't post for a little while, then know I'll have some great updates to make when I get back in front of a computer. = )

Belly Picture

Here's a belly picture to keep everyone happy! My mom took this one when she was in town last week. It almost looks fake...

Week 35

Another week that we've survived with my belly intact! The babies are hanging in there, so I'm thankful that at least in this point of their lives they're cooperating with me. I don't expect it to last, don't worry. I might be delusional about what's ahead, but I do know that the moment they make their appearance, they'll be fully in charge. They just let me think that I have a say for now.

Twin A has been working really hard on making space for herself on my right side.. my upper belly is tight over there and the stretch marks have been appearing like crazy in the last few days. Neither one of them mess with my ribs too much, but it's probably because they're too busy trying to be the furthest down in my pelvis. Definitely getting more pressure on my pubic bone the last few days. Makes it SO much fun to try and walk to the bathroom!

We'll hit week 36 tomorrow, so they'll be full-term at that point. I have an appointment with the midwives tomorrow to go over the latest draft of our birth plan, so hopefully we'll be good to go on that. They'll also check my cervix to see if all the rest I've been getting has helped in keeping them in longer.

I'm getting better at typing sideways... = )

Kelsi has "pregnancy brain" worse than I do! Every conversation she has with people includes the phrase "I forgot" at least once.. That includes parents, friends, cousins, etc. Maybe once school starts on Tuesday her mental wiring will go back to normal. She's very ready to be the big sister, though, and is taking the title very seriously at this point.

More soon!!

Week 34

Another week and the girls are still hanging out inside my belly! There's only one week to go before I give them permission to want to leave. No way am I going to evict them (i.e. induce), but we are nearing the end. Strange to think about for me... you mean that they really will come out at some point? hee hee hee. Someday it will become real. Someday SOON for sure!

Grandma Sue's visit is almost over for this trip... she'll be back to help some more once the girls are here. Always a big help to have her here, so we'll miss her, but I know that I need her MUCH MORE once the girls are born. Plus, my bed rest is only for another week, so I'll be able to do more around the house soon. We'll see how long they stay once I'm active again.

Week 33

Still hanging out and laying on my side(s) for the most part. Makes it really interesting to try and type on the laptop, but I'll manage long enough for a quick update. We're working on the last few things to be ready for their arrival -- like packing our bag for the hospital! But I think for the most part we're as ready as we're ever going to be. Now it's just hoping that we get to wait until at least September 1st for their arrival, since that day they will officially hit 36 weeks.

At this point every day and week they stay in my belly is really important, since the last of the developments are going on, like being able to maintain their body temperature and have their sucking reflex, etc. Grandma Sue is coming for another visit this weekend, so that will help me to have someone around the house during the day. Someone to take Kelsi to the park! = )

Here's to at least two more weeks!!

Week 32

Sorry for the delay in updates... it's been a busy week of appointments! So as of Tuesday at my OB/GYN appointment, everything looked really good and we were on track. Then Wednesday I went in for my ultrasound and the babies are doing well - Twin A is 4 pounds 7 ounces with a big noggin like her daddy and Twin B is 5 pounds 2 ounces with a big belly and a TON of hair like her momma (and still 80th percentile)! No new pictures, though. They're getting bigger and more difficult when it comes to pictures. But then they checked and my cervix is getting a lot shorter so they did a non-stress test just to check for contractions (not the babies' heartrates). And I wasn't having any, so they didn't keep me there longer, but they did decide to put me on a drug for keeping them away to make sure it doesn't become pre-term labor. Today, I went back to my OB to check in with her now that we know more of what's going on and she put me officially on bed rest. Which means not too much is going to change since I was already spending the majority of my days laying down. Hopefully the girls can wait two or three more weeks to arrive!! I know I can!

So we're all doing well, but the doctors are making sure we stay that way by having me cut out any activity that I hadn't already. It's hard to sit and type at this point, so I will sign off..... back to the bed!

We're WEAK!

So, after much deliberation, we finally decided to find out what the babies' genders were going to be. And...... they're girls! Which means the wondering of if they are identical or fraternal lives on.

Kelsi is very excited at having two little sisters, while Marty and I are just happy that we all continue to be healthy. More to come!

Week 31

Yeah, I'm still not creative with my entry titles...

So here we are at week 31 and I survived the heat last week! Phew! Much better today and hopefully it'll stay that way for a little while. We had our last multiples class at the hospital this week and got to tour the birthing suites. It looks like we'll have wireless internet in our room, so we'll see about taking our laptop so we can email when the twins arrive. Though I'm not sure the laptop will be high on our list of things to pack when I'm in labor, so I make no guarantees. = )

More belly growth and strong foot movements by the babies. Man, they sure make a ruckus when I'm sitting in the car. We're not sure if that's because they like it or not, but it certainly makes them go nuts in my belly.

We have appointments with the lactation consultant at the hospital and one of the midwives in my OB/GYN's group to make sure we're all set for breastfeeding and to see about having a midwife on the delivery team since we are still hoping for an unmedicated birth for both babies. The appt's aren't until week 32, so it'll be a little while before I can report in on how they went. Apparently, since the midwife is directly affiliated with the hospital (rather than a birth center like our previous one) there is a chance she will be able to attend the birth. I'm excited at the thought, but we have to meet with her first to see what the options are. And we still have 4 more weeks of our Bradley classes, so we're ironing out the birth plan at this point.

Week 30

We're cooking now! It's currently 105 degrees outside. Um, I didn't request that!! Makes it tough to do much, but I got some errands done in the morning, visited my work (to show off my belly progress) and now we're just holed up in the house trying to keep cool. We'll see how much it cools down this evening before our next multiples birthing class at the hospital.. hopefully they have better a cooling system than we do!

Other than the heat, there's not much to report.. Braxton Hicks contractions every once in a while, but for the most part I don't notice them, I'll just happen to touch my belly and notice it got HARD. Lots of foot movement, too. Not so much kicking anymore, but repositioning their feet and making my belly do all sorts of fun motions.

Week 29

I got the results back from the blood work they did this past week at my appointments and I'm doing good -- not anemic, no gestational diabetes, and since I'm Rh negative, they checked to make sure I hadn't developed antibodies to the possibly Rh positive babies and I haven't. Woo hoo! We had our first multiples birthing class at the hospital this evening, and it's nice to be around other parents with twins coming. We don't get that opportunity very often yet! I am going to attend a Mothers of Multiples meeting soon, so that will expand our support group for the fun we have coming our way. But we're all healthy and doing well, so there's not really much else to report!

Ultrasound - Week 28

Marty, the babies, and I went in for our monthly ultrasound yesterday and everyone is doing well. Twin B is measuring 3 lbs 5 ounces which is 80th percentile for a single baby! Woo hoo! Twin A was being stubborn as usual and they couldn't get all the measurements they needed, but still got an approximate weight of 3 pounds. Both are now head down, and will most likely stay that way for the duration of the pregnancy.

The first picture is a profile of Twin A - it's much easier to point things out directly, but the forehead is on the right, nose pointing up, and body on the left.

The next picture is also of Twin A. This one's a face shot, but is tilted almost upside down. The top of the head is in the lower right, and then you can see eyes, nose, mouth and chin as you look to the upper left.

The third picture Twin B makes an appearance (faintly). The ultrasound technician had to really try to get this shot of B's face and she labeled it, so it's easier to figure out what things are.

Week 28

Week 28 brought the arrival of baby shower #1 with some college, PTA, and engineering friends. It was a nice Saturday afternoon of playing a few games and chatting with everyone.

Here's a few photos of me opening gifts.. April handmade those green and yellow bibs - very cool!

Thanks to everyone who could make it!

Grandma Sue's Visit

Grandma Sue has come and gone... we gots lots done while she was here, like painting the changing table and re-painting the old chest of drawers from red to lavender. The dresser hadn't been painted since my dad finished them for my sister back in the day. So I got to sand them down and repaint.

I also mentioned earlier how we got the double stroller put together and fit the infant seats in it. See? We can do it! Now we just have to see how it goes when there are actual babies in the seats.