Little Prisoners ;)

Dylan Laughing

He has the most infectious laugh - we can't get enough!

8 months

It feels like all of a sudden, everything is happening so quickly - for like, 3 months Dylan and Maya were content to play on the floor, rolling and sliding around safely - now all of a sudden, they are crawling all over the place, they are into everything, they have TEETH, and all they want to do is pull themselves up and try to walk. We have to lower the cribs again because now they are standing in them when we try to put them down for naps!

On the Move...

Well, Dylan started crawling about 2 weeks ago, and Maya does an army crawl on her belly - all of a sudden they are moving all over the place, and getting into everything! Guess it's time to move that babyproofing into high gear. Both kids are saying "Mama" and "Dada" though not necessarily to the right person; it is still thrilling to hear, though! And they LOVE Brady - they laugh and crawl toward him, and he quickly gets out of their way. Here are a few recent pictures:

7 Months

My sisters both came over last Friday and we had a great day with Dylan and Maya. We went for a nice long walk, and then we had a picnic at a park nearby our house, and even tried out the infant swings at the playground! They had a blast, and so did we :)




Here's a short video of Dylan swinging!

6 Month Cuties

I guess I wasn't kidding when I wrote months ago that there just isn't much time for non-baby related activities such as blogging! I cannot believe that I've been a mom for six months - that my children are sitting up, rolling over, starting to eat solid foods....Dylan is on the verge of crawling!! Everything has happened more quickly than I ever could have imagined, but we're loving every minute of it. With each day that goes by parenting feels more and more rewarding as Dylan and Maya are able to interact with us, and their personalities emerge. Here is a recent pic of our little Easter bunnies....



And here they are trying out our BOB stroller - it is the best!

Time Flies!

Wow, I can't believe how quickly 7 weeks have flown by - when we're home, it's hard to find time to do anything but feed and play with babies!! Things are going really well - we try to get out of the house every day, even if it's not for very long. Dylan and Maya are both starting to smile - Maya even laughs! We just can't get over how beautiful and amazing they are...

Pictures!

Here is my last belly pic, the morning I was induced:

Here is Dylan, right after he was born:

And here is Maya - they are both such peanuts!

The proud (but tired and VERY hungry) Mama:

Dylan, about an hour after birth:

Maya and Dylan, ready to go home!



The babies, home in the pack 'n play (Dylan is on the left, Maya on the right):

Dad, with Maya in the sling. The babies love the slings - it makes them feel like they're back in the womb!

Dylan and Maya are here!

Our babies have arrived! I was finally able to be induced this past Wednesday at 38wks 5 days (not sure what was in the air, but Newton Wellesley Hospital was so booked Tuesday and Wednesday that after getting bumped twice already they tried to bump me AGAIN after we got to the hospital).

Anyway...
We got to the hospital at 9:30 and there wasn't a room for us, so after waiting a bit I got sent to an ante natal room and got an IV at around 11. By 11:30 I was in my room and started on pitocin. At my OB appt. the day before I was already 3cm dilated, but no contractions on my own. Nothing was really happening, so they just kept cranking up the pitocin. We brought DVDs and were watching Juno, so the time wasn't going by too slowly for us. At a little after 2pm the OB came in and broke my water. It took a little while, but I finally started to feel some cramping. As they got stronger we decided to go for a walk, and I couldn't even make it halfway down the hall before the contractions started coming so strongly that I had to stop and focus on just breathing through. After about an hour and a half of just contraction after contraction after contraction, I was begging for the epidural. I had been one of those women who really wanted to go as naturally as possible, but I am blaming the pitocin ;) The epidural was a difficult process because my daughter was stuck in my ribs and it was tough to curl forward, but once it was in and flowing, it was like, ok, let's put the movie back on!! The OB checked me after I got the epidural and I was at 5cm, and she estimated that i would progress 1cm an hour. After we finished the movie and were hanging out a bit, our families arrived and visited with us. At this point I could still feel the contractions slightly on one side, just enough to know that they were coming, but I was relaxed and happy, and honestly thinking that things were just going to take awhile... but I was wrong! At a little after 8pm, the OB came back to check me and the family went back to the waiting room. I was expecting to be about 8cm, but no, I was 10cm and at a +2 station and didn't even realize! Next thing we knew, I was shaking uncontrollably and vomiting, and the OB was like, ok, i guess this is it! They started setting up the OR, where they wanted me to deliver just in case a c-section was needed, and told us it would be about 25 mins before we could go. I started to feel so much pressure I knew I couldn't wait that long, so we started pushing in the labor room, and the nurse was like, these babies are coming, let's go! So we headed down to the OR, and I pushed for about a half an hour and my son was born! They put him right up on my chest, which I wasn't expecting, but it was absolutely amazing and wonderful, and helped take my mind off of all the pushing around they were doing on my stomach to help my daughter travel down.

So he was on my chest for about 10 mins, and the OB suggested trying a test push because they thought she was still higher up. So I started pushing (which is so hard to do after getting one out, but I guess that's what adrenaline is for), and she came right out! Dylan Joseph was born at 9:50 pm, at 6lbs and 19.25", and Maya Rose was born at 10:03pm at 5lbs 6oz and 18.25".

They are doing amazingly well, and the nurses here are just doting on them (though not as much as Larry and I!!). They are breastfeeding like champs, and we've even been tandem nursing when they're hungry at the same time - between that and the vaginal deliveries with minor tearing, this has all gone better than Iever dared to hope. We are heading home tomorrow morning, and I hope to post some pictures soon - I am just so amazed, with my babies, with my own body - with the way my husband can soothe our babies with just the sound of his voice - I'm at a loss for words to describe how I feel - for once!

Bumped :(

The doctor's office just called - my induction has now been bumped to tomorrow morning, so we get to go through this all over again! Now I have a 1:15 OB appointment instead.

Well, not only does it give me more time to go into labor on my own, now I can definitely get that pedicure!

D Day - or should I say B day?

Believe it or not, I slept pretty well last night, considering it was my last night of sleep before becoming a mommy! 6am came a lot sooner than I was ready for, but we had instructions to be at the hospital at 7:30am, so we woke up, showered, and right around 7 the hospital called and told us not to come in until 11am.

So now I'm sitting here checking email, and Larry is downstairs playing the guitar. I'm contemplating getting a pedicure if the nail salon can take me before 9:30 :) Hey, if it will help me relax, right?

38 weeks - the end is in sight!

At yesterday's appointments, we finally scheduled an induction date - Tuesday, September 23rd. If I make it that far, I'll be 38 weeks and 4 days, which is amazing! I realized today that I will have to go back into my hospital suitcase, which has been packed for over a month now, and make sure that I bring a regular newborn outfit for each of them, since my babies will probably be too big for the preemie clothes I packed last month! My guess is that both will be over 6lbs, which is great!

The OB was joking with Larry and me that of course, now that we have a date scheduled, I'll probably go into labor on my own. I certainly hope so! We picked up one of those exercise balls yesterday... it might sound silly, but I've heard that bouncing on one of those can help move the baby (or babies) into the "engaged" position - similar to driving down a bumpy road, that sort of thing. It's worth it to see what happens, I think. Plus my friend Alexa mentioned that those exercise balls can be good for soothing the babies once they arrive, since they're used to being bounced all around in the womb anyway.

At yesterday's ultrasound, we saw the perinatologist who had originally diagnosed my shortening cervix (we haven't seen him since 26/27 wks). He was so amazed to see us, and congratulated us on doing such a good job of growing our babies... it was kind of cool to come full circle like that. I mean, these babies got to grow for another 3 months! Guess my cervix is stronger than we all thought (that might seem like a weird thing to be proud of, but still, I am!). So now the countdown is officially on, unless for some reason my induction gets bumped for some reason. I'll be a mom in less than 5 days!

It's a little early, but...

Full term babies!

I can't believe we've made it this far! Once again at my OB visit, my doc shook her head in disbelief that I'm still pregnant. She did a pretty invasive internal exam yesterday to strip my membranes and hopefully stir things up - as a result, I had some bleeding and cramping most of yesterday, but it seems to have died down. This weekend Larry and I are going to see if we can get things moving on our own - go for walks, that sort of thing.

At yesterday's ultrasound, there was an even bigger size difference between our son and daughter - he is estimated to be 6lbs 4oz, and she is estimated to be 5lbs 7oz. However, these estimates can be off up to 17 oz in either direction, so who knows what their actual sizes really are - there's no way to know until they get here, and my docs don't seem to be worried, they just want to keep an eye on it.

Tonight my in-laws are coming over to celebrate my father in law's birthday (it was yesterday), and tomorrow, my family is coming by to celebrate my birthday, which is this coming Tuesday. I really hope these babies arrive before then! I already have 3 appointments scheduled for next week - one with the OB, and two with the perinatologist, for a non-stress test, and another biophysical profile. My OB mentioned scheduling an induction for the week between September 19 and 26, if I don't go into labor on my own over the next 6 days or so. She doesn't want me to go past 39 weeks (the 26th) because the longer I go the greater the risk of the placentas starting to fail. All we can do is wait and see - and be happy that we have healthy full-term babies!

I can't believe it's September

This summer has gone by so quickly, it's hard to believe that we're into the second week of September. It's definitely much cooler in the mornings, and the leaves are already starting to change. This is my absolute favorite time of the year, and I can't wait for the babies to be here to enjoy it with us!

There wasn't much to report about our doctors appointments this past Friday. My OB said that if I'm still pregnant at this Friday's appointment we'll schedule a date for me to be induced. I'd like to go into labor on my own, of course, and I've been feeling some twinges and maybe even a few contractions, but nothing really measurable at this point. I feel like I'm just sitting around waiting to go into labor... and if I hold out till this Friday or later, the babies will actually be full term, which would be amazing!

New Pictures!

It's been awhile since I've posted some photos, and not only is my stomach continuing to grow, but we've pretty much finished the bathrooms and the nursery!

Here is my 35 week belly (I got a haircut on Saturday - thank god!!):

Here is our new master bathroom!









Here is our new guest/kids bathroom!







And here is the nursery!

Great news at today's appointment

Everything looked good at today's OB appointment - and the best part is that I can gradually begin to increase my activity over the next week! I should still try to take it easy, but once I hit 36 weeks next Friday, she said I can do whatever I want (within reason), because with any luck it will help me go into labor.

She said that now that I've reached the 35 week mark, they won't try to stop labor should it start. In the same breath she told us that she couldn't believe I was still pregnant :) She also mentioned that if it looks like I'll be hitting the 38 week mark, we will schedule an induction, meaning that these babies will be here within 3 weeks! It seems so crazy to me that after all this time the end is finally in sight - we will finally be meeting our babies. The closer it gets, the less real it seems, for some reason. Maybe its because I'm starting to feel as though I've been pregnant forever ;)

The first thing I did after the doctor's appointment today was go get a pedicure - there's a place in Newton Center that has a special pregnancy pedicure, and it was amazing - so nice and relaxing. And tonight, Larry and I are going out to dinner. We can't go down to the Cape this weekend (the dr. didn't want me to be that far from the hospital), but at least I won't be stuck on the couch! I feel like a new woman!

Concern over some swelling

Yesterday morning I woke up with swollen feet, legs and hands. My hands have been falling asleep a lot while I'm sleeping, and my knuckles were very sore. Also my palms and feet were red and somewhat blotchy. Of course, I was a little bit concerned, especially knowing that conditions like pre-eclampsia are more common in twin pregnancies. Though my blood pressure has always been very good (high bp is an indicator of pre-eclampsia), I hadn't been to the doctors in a week and a half and decided to call my OB. The nurse that called back suggested we go to labor and delivery at the hospital for a blood pressure check.

We made our way to the hospital, trying not to be nervous. We didn't have to wait too long to be seen by a nurse - luckily my blood pressure was fine. They hooked me up to the monitors - both babies' heartrates were great, and I wasn't having any regular contractions. The downside was that we had to wait about 3 hours to see the doctor so we could be discharged. They did run some bloodwork, and my platelet count is still low, but the doctor didn't seem too concerned. As we were leaving, the nurse told us she hoped she wouldn't see us for four more weeks :)

Both the nurse and the doctor said we did the right thing by coming in, even though it turned out that nothing was wrong. I actually have carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands due to all the increased fluid, which is why my knuckles are sore and my hands are falling asleep. I know I felt better knowing that everything was normal/okay. Hopefully we won't have any other scares until it's time to deliver these babies!

34 weeks today!

Woohoo! Can't believe we've made it this far! 3 more weeks or so should be no problem - especially if I'm allowed out of the house after next week :)

What I REALLY can't believe is that these babies are really going to be here in less than a month. Like, really. As in two little lives will be completely and utterly dependent on Larry and me for their survival and growth and health and happiness. Very soon. Wow.

I want to say we're almost ready, but I don't think we could ever truly be ready for what's on the horizon. We're almost ready in terms of stuff, and baby gear and the like (still waiting for that Babies R Us completion coupon - I called so it should be on its way), so that makes me feel a little bit prepared, at least. My hospital bag is mostly packed. I keep thinking of things to add to it; they're probably going to think I'm moving in. I think next week I'll convince Larry to install the car seats, just in case.

On the bathroom front, we should be 99% done after this weekend, with the only hold-up being the shower door for the master bath, some bathroom fixtures we forgot to order, and there may be some shelves that need to be painted. Thank goodness the end is in sight! Haha - that actually applies to BOTH of our "projects," - the bathrooms and the babies!

33 weeks and I can't find my ankles

33 weeks and these little ones are still cooking! I'm still feeling okay for the most part -they are definitely getting heavy though. Every time I get up from the couch I have to hold on to my tummy because it's a lot of weight that has to settle! Add to that a constantly full bladder and I'm starting to be pretty uncomfortable. I noticed this weekend that my feet and ankles are definitely swollen, which is surprising since I spend the majority of my time with my feet up.

With any luck, the bathroom project will be completed this week. Last night Larry and I did a couple of loads of laundry in our NEW LAUNDRY ROOM, which was awesome. It feels like the whole upstairs is like a new house, and I'm just dying for it to be done.