WE HAVE BABIES!

All..babies are here. 

 

Delivered Thursday 6/19 at 4:25pm(Z) and 4:26pm(L) by c-section

Zane Gregory was 7lbs 5oz    19 3/4in long

Lillian Davis was 5lbs 4oz      18 in long

We're home and life is crazy.  We are on a strict 3 hour feeding schedule around the clock so forgive the brief update and the lack of pictures, but I promise as I heal, I will have more time to upload my pics and show our babies to the world.

Contract-shee-awn

So these are the results from my Non-Stress Test today at my doctors appointment.  The top set of wavy lines are the babies heartbeats.  Nice and steady with no big dips.   The bottom line measures my contractions.  As you can see my contractions are about 8 minutes apart (the wave is the contraction).  The doc wanted me to go get admitted to the hospital but I talked her out of it.  

My cervix is still way up there and undilated.  If I went to the hospital, they would admit me ($$$$) put a monitor on me, tell me that my contractions were 8 minutes apart, examine me and then tell me to go home and call if the contractions got closer together or more intense.  I live 5 minutes from the hospital so I'd rather just skip all that hoopla.  So I'm going to keep my feet up tonight, drink lots of water and keep my stopwatch going.  I really am a difficult patient...sorry docs.

36 weeks!!!

Can you believe that my belly is this big? I mean Good Lord.  How has it not split in half by now.  Behold, the amazing power of stretchable skin.  Today was an interesting day, I thought I was going into labor at around 10am because I had terrible cramps and it felt like the babies were about to fall out of me.  I rested a bit and the cramping went away and the babies retreated.  I have a doctors appointment tomorrow so I'm interested to see if my cervix has opened or thinned out...or if the weight of the babies is just too much for my little uterus to handle anymore.  Should be an informative visit none-the-less.  

There's a full moon on the rise

Tomorrow Tuesday June 17th is a full moon.  Why does this matter?

Well there is one of those Old Wives tales out there about the moon's gravitational pull sending women into labor.  The reason behind this theory is that the moon will effect the amniotic fluid the same way it effects oceans etc.  The moon's pull will make the amniotic sac break (water break) and send women into labor.  Now no evidence exists to prove this theory but much like many of the tales the old wives tell, some people will swear by this phenomenon.  As much as I would like to give these babies their eviction notices, I want them to hold out until June 22, so they can be born under the sign of Cancer.  If they are born under the sign of Gemini (the twin sign) they will have to put up with "oh you're a twin and a Gemini! That's so crazy!" their whole life...poor things.  

How do the babies grow?

Had my last appointment with Dr. Hare yesterday. It was also the last time I will get to see Lily and Zane in utero. Next time I lay eyes on them they will be out and in the world! Great news on the baby front. Lily weighs 5lbs 4oz and Zane weighs 5lbs 14oz so I am officially past 35 weeks and the babies are both over 5 pounds. Chances of them spending anytime in the NICU are very slim!

Lily has turned a little and instead of being breech she is now transverse, which may have helped her grow more these past couple of weeks but it sure has made it mighty uncomfortable. Zane is still stretched out like an L and his favorite activity is to try and stretch back (like he's in a recliner) and kill mom with the pain. He's also sitting right on top of my bladder which feels like I have a full bladder all the time, when in fact its empty.

They are still set to be delivered June 26th (13 more days!) but Dr. Hare hinted that my water may break before then because of their size.

Today is also my last day at work...feels very strange.

I'm big but not dirty...

yes that's me...well...minus the flowing blond hair and rockin' body...but yes, I am superwoman. I am growing life inside me. Had a quick doctors visit today. My belly is measuring 41 weeks (I'm actually 35), no protein in the ol' urine and things seem on the up and up. My OB doesn't seem to worry about me anymore because she said that I've been doing so well and my size is so big that if these babies came tonight, she thinks they'd be happy and healthy with no complications. She didn't even check my cervix b/c well if I'm dialated then I'm dialated, who cares now?!? (and thank goodness, those cervix checks are not the most comfortable things in the world). Tomorrow I have an ultrasound with the perinatologist to check on the babies growth. If they've gotten too big or have stopped growing...they may be here sooner than you think!

In addition to my quick vitals check I also had a GBS test strip. About 35% of women have Group B Streptococcus bacteria in their intestinal and vaginal area. It's completely benign however, if you are positive for this naturally occuring bacterial, there is a chance that you could pass it along to your baby. Unfortunately for babies it causes a serious illness. So, if you test positive for the bacteria, you will be administered Penicillin during labor and the baby will be given antibiotics as well.
The doc took an extra long q-tip and swabbed the southern area of my body and sent it off to the lab where they will streak the swab on a plate and see if it grows any colonies. Presence of colonies indicates that I have that bacteria. I'm willing to bet that I don't. Why? Because it just seems gross if I did and I'm not gross. Test results in a week. I'm also not worried because these babies are coming out of me through a different route, no trip down the tunnel for them.

You're still riding in cars!

This week we travelled to Galveston to say goodbye to our friend who is moving up to Dallas.  I can't believe I still think I can do these sort of things.  After I got home my ankles and hands were swollen like water balloons and I ended up crawling my way into bed for quite a while.  Apparently, the little bit of energy it takes to sit up right in a car for an hour is too much for my system.  pathetic huh.  Babies liked the car ride though, they slept the whole time, so it was a nice break for mom :)  But no amount of discomfort or swelling was  going to keep me from saying toodle-loo to the babies Auntie J....

34 weeks

Growing in fullness...sort of like pumping air into a beach ball that is already full.  I feel like my skin is getting tighter and tighter and soon, its just going to blow.

POP QUIZ!

Q:  How do you know you're 34 weeks pregnant with twins?

A: You split your once baggy pajama pants down the back when you sit down....

33.5 week doctors appointment

I had to reschedule my doctors appointment because of what happened below, but luckily I was still able to get in later that day.  I was very nervous about the appointment because I was afraid the accident had done something to the babies or may have sent me into early labor.  I'm still very thankful that the airbag had not gone off!  That is grounds for hospitalization and tons of mandatory tests for us pregnant folk.

The perinatologist measured the babies and Zane is weighing in at 5lbs 3oz and Lily is 4lbs 8oz.  Lily is behind, again, so I need to eat more, rest more etc.  She seems to be a very sensitive little baby, anytime mom gets stressed, so does she.  Bad mama.  I'm working on that stress level :)

Crash Crunch Bang

While driving to my doctors appointment on Thursday, my car was hit.  Here's what happened.  A delivery truck, brown, was taking a right hand turn into the Texas Women's Hospital parking lot.  The delivery truck negotiated the turn incorrectly and had come to a stop.  The car behind it, black, was apparently annoyed by this so she decided that she was going to go around it.  But, she was too close to the truck so she needed to reverse in order to pull around.  Unfortunately for me, she didn't bother to look behind her when she threw her huge SUV into reverse.  I was stopped behind her, silver, and there was a car, blue, that was stopped behind me.

As the lady put her SUV into reverse, it started coming back really fast.  I looked in my rear view mirror and panicked because I couldn't back up either.  So I laid on the horn but she didn't hear me (I think she was on her cell phone) and just kept coming back.  The next sound was awful, crunching scraping and my car getting smushed.  Once she hit me she finally stopped and then pulled forward again with more ripping sounds.  It was a very sad sound.

I got out of my car and you should have seen the look on her face when she realized she had just hit an 8 month pregnant woman.  She asked if I needed an ambulance and kept apologizing over and over.  She didn't have a current insurance card, so I called the police to get a report.  It took the police over an hour to arrive.  So it was noon, in Houston, about 95 degrees, on a black top parking area.  I was soaked from head to toe in sweat and very upset.  It is not very fun to try and make small talk with some lady who just crunched up my car for over in hour in the heat.  I'm starting the whole insurance claim process and is definitely not something I need right now.  yay for more stress :)

Below are pics of my poor little car:

32 weeks and dropping

ok ok..the belly is dropping. Very evident in the latest picture here. Why? Because my pants line used to be pretty straight across, now it's pulled way down. If I pulled the back down to match the front you would see a lovely plumbers crack. The babies have stopped growing so much in length, and now they are concentrating on laying down fat to keep their little bodies warm outside my body. So the belly growth is more of a fullness rather than growing out. If you could feel it through a computer, it would feel like a volleyball, you can squish it if you push real hard, but for the most part its hard as a rock.

Jason snapped a full pic of me, so I made sure to put it into black and white, trust me you do not want to see a full color version of a pregnant lady. There's still a skinny person under that belly, and she will return shortly :)

Needed: more ninja turtle skills

So what's it like to be 32 weeks pregnant with twins?

Well, at 3 am, when you're getting up for about the 10th time to go to the bathroom, you wish you had turtle skills like this.  This little guy gets it in 2 attempts, it takes me about 5 to get out of bed.

A stressful non-stress test

I woke up to a strange feeling this morning.  Nothing.  Normally I awake to a feeling like the Aliens are writhing around inside of me ready to burst through my skin at any moment.  But alas, there was nothing.  I thought, hmmm, nice.  

So I took my shower, got dressed, ate my breakfast, did some work, and then went into work. After lunch, it hit me, you know, I've felt Zane move around here and there, but nothing from Lillian.  Hmm.  

I pushed around on my belly, trying to aggravate her enough to move...nothing.  Drank some Sprite, normally the bubbles get her squirming...nothing.  Hmm. 

The past couple of days I've been having terrible Braxton-Hicks contractions and aching that goes all the way from the middle of my back down to my knees.  I've tried not to think too much of it because, well, I'm in my last trimester with twins.  These things happen.  But combining this feeling, with the lack of feeling from our little girl, made me pick up the phone and call the doctor.

I've prided myself on not being "one of those" new moms who calls the doctor with every twinge or racing heart beat.  So it was hard to break the pattern but I'd its better to know.  I was expecting a "well just take it easy and if nothing changes by tomorrow we'll schedule you an appointment".  but I got a "come right in" we're going to perform a non-stress test.

(not me, some other preggo's pic I stole of the internet)

This test measures fetal movement, heart rates, and contractions.  I lay down on a table and had the technician strap two disks to my belly (one over each of their hearts) and then one in the middle (to measure my own uterus).  I was given a button, like the ones on jeopardy, and was told to press it each time I felt a movement.  I watched the little paper spit out of the machine plotting their heart rates that went from 130 up to 170.  All over the place.  But each time I felt a thump or a bump, I would push the button and it corresponded to a spike in a heart rate.  I learned that this was a good thing.

But I still never felt Lillian move.  The monitor was crackling indicating that she was moving around, but I couldn't feel it.  This went on for 15 minutes and then I was sent in to see the nurse practitioner.  She said everything looked good and I probably couldn't feel Lillian because it felt like she is underneath Zane and facing my back.  So she's moving and kicking away, but her brother is absorbing the movements.   When I feel him moving, it could be him or her pushing him.  

During my test I had two small contractions.  So the NP did a quick pelvic exam and my cervix is still closed up tight and long.  yay.  My Braxton Hicks are probably coming so frequently because I am not "resting" as much as I'm supposed to and I seem to be a bit dehydrated.  So more rest and more water.  

I'm glad I went in, and I don't feel silly...but all in all, I'm so relieved all is well with the babies.

Bigger babies

Back from the doctors visit.  Babies are doing great.  Heartbeats are excellent.  Lillian is vertex (head down) on my left and Zane is breech (head up) on my right.  Lillian weighs 3lbs 13oz and Zane weighs 3lbs 12oz (that is seven and a half pounds of baby in me).  As you can see from the chart below (a few entries down) these babies are huge.  Good for them, bad for mama.  Currently we're scheduled to deliver June 27th...that is in 7 weeks.  7 more weeks.  Did you get that? SEVEN more weeks.  At a weight gain of 6-8oz a week for each of them that is 6-7 more pounds of baby.  By the time I deliver, they will have doubled and size and I will be giving birth to 14 pounds of baby.  

I'm already so stretched out and uncomfortable (breathing while lying down is always an adventure) I can't even imagine what its going to be like. ...exhale...

30 weeks

Yes, well, there haven't been many updates have there.  There are no words I could put on here that could accurately describe how busy I have been the last two weeks.  The doctor has cut my work hours at work from 8 down to 4.  Which means I work from home for 4 hours a day, then go into work for 4 hours.  The only problem is, that these two weeks are grant season.  My job is basically defined by these current two weeks, and I've been put on half time at work!  I try to do the most I can here at home, but all the programs I need and info is at my work computer.  So even though my hours have been cut back, I've found myself working almost 12 hours a day.  It's just nuts.  But it will all be over by next Tuesday.  woo.   hoo.

I have a looooong doctors appointment on Thursday (I don't have time right now!) but lets just all keep our fingers crossed that things are going well.

Here is my updated belly picture.  People keep telling me my belly is dropping, but I don't see it.  I think its just something people say when they're stuck in the elevator with a pregnant person to make idle chatter.

28 weeks!

I'm 28 weeks!!!! Why is this significant? I'm in my last trimester now, and thanks to modern medicine, if something were to happen and the little ones had to come out, they would have a very good chance of surviving without major consequences.  But, as excited as I am to meet them, I do need them to cook a little longer.  At least 8 more weeks for my liking. (What is my belly going to look like in 8 weeks!!!!!!)

We got big babies!

Great news.  I went to the high-risk Maternal Fetal Medicine OB.  This lady was all business.  She reminded me of "The Nazi" on Grey's Anatomy, even looked like her, except her hair was longer.  She zipped and zoomed around my uterus taking a bunch of measurements and after she was done told me that my little girl had caught up to her big brother and their weights were 2lbs 5oz and 2lbs 6oz respectively (at 27 weeks).  These sizes are even large for singleton pregnancies!!!

I was thrilled.  All of this taking it easy has helped...even though I've been crazy stressed these past couple of weeks, I've forced myself to sit down and lie down as much as possible.  It's not easy, especially with so much going on.  But Jason and I have been through way too much for me to let my fast pace and emotional stress harm our little miracles.

I'm sick as a dog right now.  Took the day off from work to come home, ended up sleeping for hours.  Doctor called me in a Z-pack and I hope it kicks in soon.  It's a really bad cold/sinus infection, very gross, very green.  I haven't been sick this whole pregnancy so I guess something finally just gave in and wore me down.  Tomorrow is also the service for my grandmother who passed away so we have to travel to Comfort for the weekend.  My plan is to sleep as much as possible, try not to emotionally stress out too much and hope this virus just runs its course.  

I passed my longer glucose test (woohoo) and my iron absorption info came back within normal range, so the only thing left for me to do is just consume more iron, nothing is pointing to an absorption problem.  I'm going to up my daily dose and try and shake this anemia.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for our little girl...they worked!

Breaking up is hard to do

It's possible you're in a hurry and can't read all the details, so here's a quick summary

• Glucose re-test not fun
  
• Chatty Hispanic lady wouldn't shut up
  
• I have a new obstetrician now
  
• Babies' Shower on Saturday was a blast
  
• Nursery is almost done
  
• Bailey turned six years old
  
• We've got baby names!

If you have the time, here's the unabridged version

Health update.  I took my longer glucose tolerance test on Monday morning and had my blood taken for iron testing (why must they take 5 vials of blood from an anemic person!  Iron-y). 

Not too much fun.   

The Glucose test:  We had to go in a room that we couldn't leave, except to go to the bathroom.  The reason for this is liability purposes.  The testers need to keep an eye on you in case you faint or get very ill.  I thought this policy was stupid, I mean, it's just drinking a sugar drink and then sitting there for almost 4 hours.  How hard could this be?  

Well let me tell you, I had not eaten since 8pm the night before (per fasting instructions for the test) and just had a whole bunch of blood taken for my iron study.  After downing that drink, I understood the precaution. This time there were 100 grams of sugar in the drink not 50g like last time.  It was ultrasweet and gross.  Imagine having to chug a cup of cold-orange-flavored Mrs. Butterworths.  I instantly felt sick to my stomach and about 15 minutes into the test I got really really dizzy.

So then it was the waiting game.  I had to have my blood drawn every hour, so I have 4 needle marks in my arm and look like I have a substance abuse problem (the lady wasn't very good at sticking me so, they're pretty bruised).  

In the little room (which we are not allowed to leave) there were 5 of us women.  1 lady passed out and another lady threw up about an hour and a half into the test.  So, only 3 of us survived.  I survived, the older lady survived (she looked to be in her 50s), and Chatty Sally survived.  Sadly for those other two ladies who didn't make it, they have to return and repeat the whole process at a later date.  I wanted to throw up many times, but I just concentrated on keeping it down:  I did not want to come back.

Back to Chatty Sally, this lady saw this testing opportunity to try and make best friends for life.  She asked all of us multiple questions about what we did, where we lived, what type of movies we liked.  She passed out trashy celeb magazines and wanted us all to engage in conversations about the latest Hollywood drama.  I felt bad because she was very nice, but seriously, I was trying not to throw up my drink and to focus on a stationary object, in order to make the room stop spinning.  About 2.5 hours into the test, Chatty Sally's husband showed up and she proceeded to re-tell all of our stories about who we were, but in spanish, and very loud.  He just nodded his head and stared at each one of us as our lives were detailed south of the border style.

I'll find out tomorrow if I passed or not, and what the iron counts say.  ALSO...

I got a phone call this morning from my doctor.  She's breaking up with me.  She has referred me to a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist (high risk doc), and I have an appointment with this new person tomorrow morning.  

I really liked my doctor, and now, without warning BAM! The, "it's not you, it's me" talk.   She feels that this new lady will be able to take better care of me since things are starting to not go so well.  Sigh...

Below are some pictures of the past couple of days' events.  Babies Shower #2 and Bailey's birthday

We had a baby shower at a family friend's house on Saturday and it was a lot of fun.  I have never seen so many presents in one room before in my life.  I sat down to start opening gifts and was just shell-shocked at the items in front of me.  One thing is for sure, these babies are so well loved and I think our family and friends can not wait until they arrive!...and neither can Jason and I.

On Sunday we started going through the gifts, sorting clothes and putting swings/bouncers together.  Such a harsh waiting game now!

More of the gifts from the shower that quickly filled up our closet

Bailey's 6th Birthday was tonight (Monday).  To celebrate I made her a cup cake composed of chicken breast and yogurt icing.  She was very excited

She didn't like the crinkly-crunchy sound of the  little cupcake cup so I ended up having to dump it out.  She enjoyed it thoroughly.

And now for Baby Names!  I know many of you have been dying to know so here they are...

Baby Girl

Lillian Davis Hawthorne

Baby Boy

Zane Gregory Hawthorne

I had really only two requirements, they had to be family names, and they had to look good on a resume.  No one wants to hire a Candi.

For those of you wondering (Jonathan) the names are derived as such

Lillian - Honoring Jason's Paternal Grandmother, Lillian Faye Hawthorne

Davis - A feminine take on the name David, honoring a name on both sides of our family

Zane - Honoring Jason's Maternal Grandfather and his brother Matthew Zane

Gregory - Honoring my father and my brother David Gregory

I know it's not as fun as Alpha and Bravo, but these have a tad more personality.  

The babies will be here soon, and I feel so unprepared.  The nursery is coming together, we have our baby classes all lined up, but time is just flying by!  I mean, today I'm 27 weeks, I feel like just last week I saw those little vibrating grains of rice on the ultrasound...and now they yawn, kick and swallow.

Why can't I study for these tests!

Doctors office called...failed my glucose screening (a lot of people do).

Still severely anemic.

Body is failing me!

For decoding what the heck I'm talking about...here is some educational material for you

Glucose Screening test (1hr)

Most healthcare practitioners routinely recommend a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy to check for gestational diabetes, a high blood sugar condition that some women get during pregnancy.
When you arrive for the test, you'll be given a sugar solution that contains 50 grams of glucose. The stuff tastes like a very sweet soda pop, and you have to get all of it down in five minutes. Some centers keep it chilled or let you pour it over ice and drink it cold. An hour later, a blood sample is taken from your arm to check your blood sugar level.
The idea is to see how efficiently your body processes sugar. If the reading is abnormal (too high), which happens 15 to 23 percent of the time, your practitioner will have you come back for a three-hour glucose tolerance test to see if you really do have gestational diabetes.

Normal = Less than 120

My value = 148

HEMATOCRIT (HCT)
The word hematocrit means "to separate blood," a procedure which is followed following the blood draw through the proper use of a centrifuge. Hematocrit is the measurement of the percentage of red blood cells in whole blood. It is an important determinant of anemia (decreased), polycythemia (increased), dehydration (elevated), increased R.B.C. breakdown in the spleen (elevated), or possible overhydration (elevated).

Normal Adult Female Range: 37 - 47%

Optimal Adult Female Reading: 42%

My value = 26.5%

HEMOGLOBIN (HGB)
Hemoglobin is the main transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. It is composed of globin a group of amino acids that form a protein and heme which contains iron atoms and the red pigment, porphyrin.

As with Hematocrit, it is an important determinant of anemia (decreased), dehydration (increased), polycythemia (increased), poor diet/nutrition, or possibly a malabsorption problem.

Normal Adult Female Range: 12 - 16%

Optimal Adult Female Reading: 14

My value = 9.0%