The Boys Are Here!!!

Well, I can only give a quick update right now as we are just home for a little bit. The boys were born last Monday morning (Hayden @ 1:49 and Carson @ 1:51) by c-section. Hayden weighed in at 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and Carson was 4 pounds, 13 ounces. To us, they are the most beautiful babies ever born :).

Overall, we are all doing pretty good. I was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, but both boys are still in there. Carson is a little small and has had some minor difficulties because of that. It started with some apnea and now we have figured out that he has reflux. So, he is on some medication and has to be in a slightly inclined position. Since we've started that, we've had no more episodes of apnea. We are now just waiting on him to start gaining weight consistently and eating with a bottle instead of a feeding tube - which we are working on right now. Hayden is doing fine. He has had some jaundice, but nothing major. The main reason he is still in the hospital is because his brother is - we want them to be able to stay together. Phillip and I are staying at the Annex at St. Bernard's right now so that we can get to the boys easily to feed them (about every 3 hours!).

I promise to post some pictures as soon as I can.

35 Weeks - We Made It!!!

We made it past the final milestone on Tuesday!!!

I was so excited! The whole past week has been a little stressful just knowing that I needed to be good so that the boys don't make their entrance into the world too soon. Now, we can just sit and wait for the boys to decide to show their cute little faces :).

I had another doctor's appointment on Wednesday. Everything was about the same, except that I am swelling a little bit more and my blood pressure is rising a little, but still in the normal range. The doctor said that he was not surprised at all because that is typical with twin pregnancies. So we will just watch it - and I am to continue to rest. We also did a non-stress test, which monitors the babies's heart rate, movements, and my contractions. Everything was as it needed to be.

I think I have gotten a little bigger over the past week, so I am posting another picture just to keep you updated. It is definitely getting more and more uncomfortable carrying the boys, but I know it shouldn't be too long now before we get to meet them. Their daddy has been ready for quite some time - he asks everyday if we can just go to the hospital :). I have been a little less ready because I don't feel prepared, but I have now reached the point that we have the essentials ready and anything else is just extra. So we are both VERY ready to meet our boys! Hopefully soon, we can post some pictures of them :).

Weeks 32 & 33 Checkups

I had an appointment for week 32, which like the others, was pretty much normal. However, I found out that the next time we would get to do another ultrasound - something I LOVE to do! Also, it happened that the doctor was going to be out of town in 2 weeks, so I had to come back a week early - I was so disappointed :).

So, when I went back at week 33, we got to do an ultrasound. The boys are getting really big, so it is difficult to see the ultrasound pictures very good, but I am posting them anyway. We got a good picture of Hayden's face (picture on the left below), and part of Carson's face (picture on the right below). Everything is going good. They estimated Hayden's weight to be 5 pounds, 2 ounces, and Carson's weight to be 4 pounds, 13 ounces. That makes us very happy and further justifies why they feel so heavy and why I feel so tired easily.

The doctor said that I had dilated 1 centimeter, but that wasn't uncommon. However, he does want me to do as little as possible. He said that he wasn't going to say "bed rest," but that I should spend the majority of my days resting. I am having a little difficulty with that, but am getting better I think :). I am now doing most of my work from home, only a couple of days a week, so I think it is manageable. I am swelling quite a bit now, but my blood pressure continues to be good, so he is not worried about it.

The goal right now is to make it to week 35 (I still want 36 or 37), which is Tuesday, June 13. If we make it that far, they say they won't send us to Little Rock to deliver the boys. That is 6 days from now, so hopefully I can make it! I will go back to the doctor on the 14th and will keep you updated.

Also, some people have asked about an updated picture of me. Well, here it is. This was at 32 weeks.

Maternity Pictures

As many of you know, my sister-in-law, Dodie, is a photographer. A long time ago, she had mentioned that I needed to do some "maternity" pictures. Well, of course, I was not going to do that because I did NOT want my belly photographed. However, watching it (and the boys) grow, and realizing that I won't always have a pregnant belly (thank goodness!), changed my mind. I decided that I may never have this opportunity again and if I decided, I didn't have to show anyone if I didn't want to. So at about 27 weeks, we did our maternity pictures.

Well, it turned out to be a really neat and fun experience that I am very glad I decided to have. There were shots of my belly, but there were also a lot of shots of me and Phillip. I posted a couple of my favorites. The silhouette picture was a pose we found online and the other picture was of me and Phillip having fun. We now have something to look back on and remember how it was (or at least what it looked like) when I was pregnant. Also, in case the boys ever care, they can see where they were for the first little bit of their lives. I would definitely recommend doing maternity pictures to anyone considering it. And I just happen to know a good photographer (there's a little plug for you, Dodie :)).