Happy 3 month birthday babies!

Today is Peyton and Olivia's three month birthday and I thought it was the perfect time to give everyone an update. I am sure you can guess why I have not been updating the blog (hahahaha). Life at our house is going smoothly. It usually happens that when I am tired Tracy has energy and when he is tired I have energy so we make the perfect team. Peyton weighs over 9lbs now and Olivia weighs over 8lbs. They are eating like little pigs and sleeping like angels. On a typical night we feed them around 11:00pm and they sleep until 3 or 5 in the morning. There have been nights where they sleep through the night and we all wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed. I went back to work 2 weeks ago and it has been an easy transition because we have the worlds best babysitter. The babies have no problem going to other people so it was easy on them and I am finding that it is nice to have a little "me" time - even if it is while I am at work.

Since my last post so much has happened... I was a stay at home mom for 4 weeks and loved it - although it is a full time job being a mom and taking care of the house, The twins took their first road trip to Lexington VA for Thanksgiving with Tracy's family,and we celebrated our first Thanksgiving as a family. We had a lot to be thankful for this year! My brother, sister-in-law and two nephews came to visit us and they stayed for a whole week! We went to the park, I took Owen and Tucker to Build-a-bear and we ate tofu and seaweed soup (I dont remember what the name was).

My favorite thing about being a mom: rocking the babies to sleep. They are soooo peaceful! I also love to watch Tracy with the babies... He is the perfect dad and he does such a great job with the babies. I continue to do most of the poopy diapers but Tracy does not get off that easy... he has to burp the babies while I take one to get changed.

Peyton has really started looking at us and he loves to laugh at his daddy. I must not be as funny as Tracy (Funny Looking) because Peyton does not laugh at me as much. But I get smiles and snuggles. This morning Peyton laughed at me! It was one of those "mommy" moments that I love so much! Peyton loves music!

Olivia is smiling more and more but she only laughs in her sleep. She is our little DIVA. She always has her nose turned up and her hands near her face. She is beautiful! Olivia loves to look at the lights on the Christmas tree (or the ceiling fan).

Both babies are getting so big they wear clothes sized 0-3 months and although they are still in newborn diapers I feel like they are going to be in size one diapers very soon.

We will be going to Lexington for Christmas Eve this year and my parents will come over to our house for Christmas morning. It is going to be an exciting year - celebrating the babies first Christmas. This weekend we are going to take the babies to sit on Santa's lap. I will share the pic soon!

One week after coming home!

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WE ARE OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!************************************************





Our babies finally came home and although it was not the same day they were only a day apart. And to everyone's surprise - Peyton came home first! Olivia just got one more day of being spoiled in the NICU. Here are pictures of them when we brought them home.




Life with the twins at home is wonderful! They are perfect!
Typically they eat every 2-4 hours and at night they have started sleeping for 5 hours! We had our first Dr. visit on Monday and everything went well. We have to go back next week for their 2 month check up and they will be getting some shots so that will be hard on Mommy and Daddy.

Enjoy the pics I will post more when I get a minute!

almost 7 weeks old

Friday will officially be 7 weeks since the babies were born! What a roller coaster we have been on - but it is getting close to being over... at least the NICU part of the roller coaster. We are hoping that this weekend will be the big weekend! Both Olivia and Peyton are taking all their feedings from a bottle and they are continuing to gain weight. I don't know the exact weight of each baby but Peyton is somewhere close to 6 lbs 4 oz and Olivia is 5 lbs 14 oz.

Both babies will have to take a car seat test before they can come home - and pass. They have both already taken it and passed... all they had to do was sit in their car seat for 2 hours and maintain good oxygen levels. The nurses had to modify their seats by rolling blankets up and putting them around the babies.

***** Olivia taking her car seat test... can you find her little head?****



**** Aunt Jackie came to visit and held both babies!****
Don't worry Peyton always makes that face!


*** Peyton and Olivia both make this face right before it is time to eat!***





Doc said that once the babies do come home... we are not to have any visitors for 2 weeks... then after that we are to limit the visitors. It is so different having preemies than full term babies... The doctors and nurses have all told us that we have to be VERY cautious with our babies, especially coming up on winter! They are high risk for getting a virus called RSV.

5 week update

It is crazy to think that it has already been 5 weeks - The babies have grown so much and although most people would say that they are so little... we think they are big! Here are pictures from week 1 and then now!

Peyton week 1
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Peyton week 5
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Olivia week 1
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Olivia week 5
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10/17/10
Last Thursday the doc gave us some good news... well it was kind of good. She told us that Olivia would probably be coming home next week and that we needed to sign up for our CPR class earlier than expected. Tracy and I were so excited that Olivia is ready to come home but it also was very upsetting because that means that we would have to leave Peyton. BUT.... as it turns out both babies had a spell on Friday. I think the nurse was scared to tell us that Olivia had a spell and would not be coming home but Tracy and I were actually happy because it will give Peyton 8 days to grow and hopefully they can come home on the same day. As of today... the earliest that the babies will come home is 7 days from now - We think the latest is 23 days because that was their original due date.
If you can't tell... we love to play dress up with the babies! They look so cute with clothes on and we are worried that they might be out of newborn sized clothes by the time they come home!

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Today's visitors - Tracy's Family

October 13, 2010

Sunday was Peyton and Olivia's 1 month birthday
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEYTON AND OLIVIA!!!!!!!!!!

It is hard to believe that it has been more than a month since their arrival! Tracy and I still feel like we have been living a dream for the past 32 days. We wake up, go to work, come home, eat (if we are lucky), and go to the hospital. Then when we gt home we eat and go to bed and start all over. We hare hopefull that they will be home in the next two weeks but only time will tell. Both babies are doing great and we cant ask for anything more than that. They are gaining weight and learning to bottle feed on a regular basis. They tend to get tired while eating and fall asleep but they continue to get speech therapy to work on feeding skills and they are making great progress.
Tuesday Tracy and I decided to take a day off and we stayed home that night. It was very hard not to go visit the babies but we called to check on them and we knew that they were in good hands. We also know that we have to take care of ourselves at times and we really needed a night of rest! It was an emotional night for me because of the guilt I felt for not going to visit but I made it through and I feel much better now that I got that extra rest and relaxation.
Here are a couple of pictures from last nights visit!
Peyton weighed 5 lbs 10 oz and Olivia finally hit the 5 lb mark. She weighed 5 lb 1oz! YEA OLIVIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Both babies have officially outgrown preemie sized clothes...

Peyton's Bath Day

We just bought a new video camera and I wanted to try to share a video that I took last night. Tracy and I took a bath class to teach us how to give Peyton and Olivia a bath... I know - anyone can give a bath... BUT with Preemies you have to give a swaddle bath so we had to learn the right way! Basically you just wrap them in a thin blanket so they feel secure and unwrap as you clean then wrap back up.
Anyway above is a short video of Tracy bathing Peyton...



After Peyton got his bath I wanted to take him over to meet his sister for the first official time. We took off his monitor for the bath so I could actually walk around with him! The babies are becoming more and more real to us and we can't wait to get them home!


Fuzz head!

The Big news!

It is lunch time at work so I thought I would take a minute to update the blog...

Last night was a big night for Tracy and I. The nurse who was with Peyton and Olivia said that they might be moved into an open crib tonight!!!!!!! This means that we could bring in clothes and dress them, we can hold them whenever we want, and they will be one step closer to coming home! They will probably wait to move Peyton until his 11:00pm care time because Tracy and I get to give him a bath at 7:00pm. We are so excited to get more hands on training on how to be parents. We will probably give Olivia a bath in a couple of days and after we feel comfortable with the bathing we will be allowed to do it whenever we want. The other big news from last night is that the doctor changed them from 2 bottles a day to cue feeding which means that as long as they look alert and like they want to eat then the nurses will try to bottle feed. Hopefully, with more practice they will get the concept (suck, swallow, breath) at a quicker rate and then they can come home! That is all that we are waiting on at this point. They both have to take all their feedings by mouth. We still feel like this will take at least 2 weeks but we love seeing their progress.
I dont have any new pictures at this point but I will take a bunch tonight of Peyton's bath!

October 2nd update

As you already know.... I have not been doing very good keeping up with the blog now that I am back at work. But, it is safe to assume that no news is good news...

Work is good... it is nice to keep busy since the babies are not home but I sure do feel it by Friday. I am exhausted by the end of the day but going to the hospital always makes me happy - holding and kissing our babies is awesome!
One of our NICU nurses made Olivia a hat with a bow so she would look more like a little girl! I think it looks like the hat that Lucy wears on I Love Lucy!

The big news is that Olivia has finally hit the 4 lb mark. So both babies are over 4 lbs now and eating from a bottle (Olivia 2 bottles a day and nursing - Peyton 1 bottle a day and nursing). I got to feed Olivia her bottle yesterday and decided that I would rather the nurses do that (at least until they are able to be fed normally - we have to hold them in a crazy position and it feels like I am choking the babies with the bottle nipple because it is so big!)

On Tuesday Peyton and Olivia started Speech Therapy (hahaha). She is working on helping them develop the suck, swallow, breath pattern that is needed to be able to eat from a bottle. They get speech therapy once a day usually in the morning. Peyton has developed a little infection in his eye and he is on medicine to clear it up. Last week Peyton got his first bath and when we saw him we questioned if he was our baby! His hair was sticking straight up and it was so fluffy! He was the cutest thing in the world!
Peytons Hair after his bath

Both babies have changed so much in the past week...

Tracy and I are doing good... we are tired all the time and feel like we live in the car. But it helps us to know that the babies are doing so good!

September 26th updates

Our First Family Picture
Daddy and Peyton Mommy and Olivia

OK... I know I am slacking on keeping everyone informed but that only means that there is not too much to report and everything is going as expected.

Since our last update... Peytons PIC line was removed and he has not been put back on the caffeine so he is doing very well. His weight as of last night was 3 lbs 14oz so he is about to break 4lbs!!!!! Olivia's weight is 3 lbs 9 oz so she has a little way to go but she is gaining and doing great. Both babies are breathing room air, they no longer need a temperature monitor but are in a regulated bed still, they are eating only breast milk - that is fortified and calories are added to help them bulk up, and will hopefully get to start breastfeeding and bottle feeding again next week.

Friday Day: My good friend Michelle came down and went to my doctor's appointment with me before going to visit the babies. The Doctor cleared me to go back to work - only after I promised that I would not lift or strain at all and I have to wait until Wednesday to start. I am so glad to be able to get back to a routine and be able to control something in my life! She also said that when the babies come home she will write me a note so that I can take time off of work to be with them. Olivia and Peyton are doing great and when I talked to the Doctor today I told him that we were thinking that they might be able to come home in 2-3 weeks - and he agreed that he felt like they might be ready to go home in 2 weeks!!!!!!! Tracy and I are still leaning more towards them coming home in 3 weeks but still it is nice to know that they are moving right along!

Friday night, Tracy and I experienced our first "bad day". Right around the time of shift change for the nurses Olivia had about 5 apnea spells in a row and Peyton had some crazy stuff going on with his breating as well. To make matters worse we found out that the nurse that was with them was still in training but since they were short handed they pulled her and put her with 4 babies in our pod. Then to top everything that had already pushed me to my limit... the nurse who was taking over was not a NICU nurse at all. She was a PICU (pediatric ICU nurse) and she did not know anything about the monitors, making bottles, or the beeps and alarms that go off all the time. At that point I lost it and started crying in the NICU - Tracy was also stessed out because we did not know (and feel comfortable with) any of the nurses that were coming on duty. I told him that I had to get out of there... I knew that the babies would be taken care of but I was so worried about Olivia and Peyton and stressed about the fact that it seemed like no one knew what they were doing that if I did not leave then I would lose it completely and I really would rather save that for home. As it turns out - both babies survived the chaois of the NICU that night and they did not have any more spells. I knew deep down that this was our "bad night" and that everything would be fine and it was. Luckily we have not had another night like that but I guess it will always be in the back of our mind and maybe next time we can handle it a little better.

Saturday - Tracy and I kangarooed with Peyton and Olivia for about an hour. It seems that this is the only time when we can all 4 really relax.

Now I just have to finish organizing the babies room and figuring out what to do with their clothes... although I think this will be an ongoing process for my OCD mind. We also need to get the car seats installed and sell some of the stuff we have in the basement. We will see if the yard sale ever happens!

OH Kris and Amber (my brother and sister-in-law) have a date now for when they are going to come and visit and I cant wait to see them. Hopefully I will still be off with the babies but we will just have to wait for the doctors orders.

9-22-10 update

Peyton


Olivia



It has been a couple of day since I updated everyone so let me back up...
Since both babies are off oxygen now we are allowed to Kangaroo with them. This is just holding them skin to skin and we can keep them out for hours holding them as long as they stay warm and are not having any "spells". Tracy got to Kangaroo with Peyton for the first time on Sunday and he said he loved it because it was very calming to have him sleep on him. I think Tracy actually fell asleep for a short time too! Sunday I got to nurse Peyton and then try to bottle feed him but it is a lot of work for him at this point. Olivia tried a bottle with Tracy but again it is a lot of work for them and we are going to stop the bottles for a little while so they can get stronger. I can continue to try to nurse but it is not for food it is more for experience as they are just learning.
Monday Olivia's doctor put in the order to have her IV line removed and it is so much easier to hold her without it. We did do too much with either baby that night because Peyton was doing Photo-Therapy under the Bili light and Olivia was tired. We also got there later than usual that night so they were not as active as usual.
Last night Tracy did kangaroo care with Peyton and I did it with Olivia... He was right. It is very relaxing! That is until Olivia started screaming! At the time I did not know what happened but after I put her back in her bed - a little while later I think we figured it out. 1: her belly button fell off (although I don't think that was painful) and 2: she spit up a little - so I think her tummy was hurting and that is why she was screaming. Peyton slept through it all. The big event from last night was that both babies have been moved into new beds. They are similar to their old beds but it is the next step to going to an open crib. They are getting to be a big boy and big girl!

Olivia's New Bed


Peyton's New Bed

Today... I called to check on the babies around lunch time and get the report from the doctor and here goes...
Olivia is staying the same with no changes in her care. Peyton will have his PIC line removed tonight and they are taking him off caffeine (which was used to minimize his "spells"). He might have to go back on caffeine but they are going to watch him for a little while. The nurse told us that they think he might have some reflux and that is what causes his "spells" but they took him off zantac the other day.

more good news

Last night the doctor told us that Olivia's PIC line might come out in a day or two. We usually count on whatever staying in longer but I called this morning and Olivia's nurse told me that the doctor put in the order to remove her PIC line tonight! I -of course- cried! This means that Olivia is no longer getting any IV fluids or nutrients! She is doing so well. She is also off the Billy Light today (but, as usual, she might go back under it - no big deal). Peyton is also doing great! He is still under the Billy Light but he follows Olivia and I doubt he will have it tomorrow. We will have to wait to see about his PIC line... it might take longer for him to get rid of it but it seems that he is getting tired of following Olivia and he is getting stronger and stronger! They are both so different from each other and Tracy and I love to sit and watch the babies at night when we go visit! They make the cutest faces!

Great News 9-19-10

Peyton


Olivia's first bottle


Oliver looks like he really likes wearing Olivia's hat


Isn't she adorable!

We just wanted to give everyone a quick update! Today when we went to the hospital to visit the babies their nurse told us that their Doctor wanted to talk to us. I was immediately scared - it was like being called to the Principal's office. She came down when they told her we were there and she told us that the babies were doing very well. She said it was like they read the textbook on how to grow and mature in the NICU. She thinks that Olivia will be off all IV's in a day or two and they will remove her PIC line (which is a deep IV that is thread through a vein in their arm so it does not come out). She also said that Olivia is having very few "spells" of forgetting to breath - a "spell" every now and then is not a big deal... she will grow out of them soon. Olivia is starting to nurse some and she will also take a bottle - the first steps to getting out of the NICU!
I am still waiting to hear the "BUT....."
She continued to tell us about Peyton. She said that he is doing much better than she thought he would be doing at this point. He was taken off his nasal cannula the other day and they thought he would have to go back on it but they wanted to give him a chance. He proved to him that he is going to stick with Olivia and he was not going back. He has not had it since and the doctor was very happy about that. He is having fewer "spells" and is also eating only breast milk now. Yesterday the Doctor gave the orders that he is to start trying to nurse and I was thrilled. We attempted today but he was tired and did not do much but he did try! It was his first time nursing and he made progress. We will try it every night as long as he acts like he is hungry and interested. They call it "cue feeding", and Olivia is doing it as well... so I get to try to nurse both babies every night now! So far Peyton is doing everything that Olivia does a day or two later. So his IV will come out about 2 days after hers.
All and all tonight's talk with the doctor was just what we needed. She was so happy and positive that it made us feel awesome. The best part was that she told us that we should have a more definite time frame, for when the babies will come home, in the next week or two. Waiting is so hard but it is awesome to go visit every night and hear all about their progress and it is even better when the doctor takes time out of her schedule to make a point to tell us how well they are doing!!

Olivia weighed 3 lbs 6 oz last night and Peyton weighed 3 lbs 9 oz last night.

One Week Old (and a day)

Olivia Blair Smith - all stretched out





Peyton Lee Smith - smiling at Mommy





Yesterday was Peyton and Olivia's 1 week birthday!

It still feels like a dream sometimes especially since they are not at home with me, but it is the best dream in the world. Tracy and I go to the hospital every night when he gets off work to visit the babies and some days I get to go over earlier in the day - but it is hard because I have to find someone who can give me a ride since I am not allowed to drive yet. I have actually realized that even though I want to be there all day, everyday, I need to stay at home and rest and recover for now because I am exhausted and stressed and an emotional wreck most days. Crying is a daily event for me but most of the time they are happy tears. I can not believe that our babies are finally here and although we want them home more than anything it is kind of nice having them in the NICU because we feel like we are learning so much from all the wonderful nurses who care for Peyton and Olivia. Everyone is so positive and helpful it is like they are part of our family.
Medical Stuff
Olivia is doing good... she continues to have some "spells" (forgetting to breath) but she is off of all breathing devices. She has a feeding tube in her nose still but she is eating only breast milk and Thursday I actually got to nurse her! It was the best feeling in the world. I was worried that it would be weird but it almost made me cry when she immediately latched on. She is, what they call, cue based feeding, which means that if she looks like she is hungry then they will feed her so whenever I go in to visit now I get to get her out and try to feed her. Last night when I tried to feed her she ate a ton. The nurse gave her less than half of her normal feeding after to make sure she got enough but everyone was so surprised and happy that she did so well! She is getting a fat tummy and gaining weight. She now weighs 3 lbs 6 oz which is 1oz more than she was when she was born!
Peyton is also doing good... he has been taken off all breathing devices but may have to go back on the nasal canula because he is having more "spells" and they do not want him to have to work so hard. Today the doctor put in the order for him to start "cue feeding" so hopefully I can nurse him tonight. I think it is going to take a little longer for him to get it because of his breathing, but he is a strong little boy so who knows. He is gaining weight and doing very good digesting his food - since he is eating only breast milk. He weighs 3 lbs 8 oz now and when he was born he weighed 3 lbs 12oz but that is ok he is gaining and getting a fat little belly just like his sister. Thursday night Peyton almost peed on me... I had no idea that little thing could shoot that far!
Both babies are getting more food at every other feeding which is helping them gain weight but they are also adding nutrients to my milk and they think that they will be able to get rid of the IV's soon. It will make holding them sooooo much easier without that bundle of tubes on their arms.
We take tons of pictures and we decided that we would make weekly photo albums from all the pictures we print so we can look at them whenever we can't be at the hospital.

September 14th

It is wild to think that a week ago I was put on bed rest because Olivia was in a position that could cause me to go into early labor. Two days after that a test was done that would predict if the babies could come early and it was negative. The next day we were heading to the hospital and our beautiful babies were born. We have been through so much in the past 4 days that it is hard to believe that it is all real but when we get to look in the eyes of our twins it brings us back to reality.
Today was a good day. Tracy and I took the day to rest and recover and went to the hopsital at 4:00pm to visit the babies. Olivia's nurse told us that she was doing great and that the Doctor was going to remove her nasal canula tomorrow and she will not have any breathing assistance anymore. She will continue to tan in the billy ruben light but it is really cute because they put goggles on her that look like sunglasses. When we go at night we get to help with her care time and we do temperature, diaper, and we get to hold her while she is fed through her feeding tube. Tracy and I take turns on who gets to hold her first (the longest) but it is such a great feeling because she looks at us and smiles and makes the cutest faces. Olivia has a reputation in the NICU - "Fiesty" She wants what she wants and she wants it now! We love her so much. Peyton is the opposite of her... he is very laid back and quiet (or maybe he is lazy- haha). His report today was awesome... They are backing him off of his C-pack - which helps force air into his lungs to keep them open so he does not have to work so hard to breath. The Doctor told us that he hopes to take him off it completely tomorrow. Then he will be put on a nasal canula to assist his breathing for a couple of days. He is also under the billy light and wearing cool sunglasses and will be under that for a couple of days. The NICU doctor came to talk to us about Peyton today which means that there is a little problem... but he is not too worried at this point. There was blood in Peytons belly today and they did x-rays on him to check everything. The Doctor said that he was not worried and that he feels like it is probably due to the tube that was down his throat when they gave him medication the other day. The tube likely scratched his throat and caused it to bleed. He also started taking a little zantac. All and all both babies are making great progress and when Olivia does something we can pretty much expect Peyton to be doing it in a day or two. We asked the nurse if we could see Peytons eyes and face more today because we still had not seen what he really looks like since he was hooked up to so many things. It was so awesome to finally see his eyes that I actually started to cry. He is so cute and perfect! He stayed awake for a long time today looking at Tracy and I while we talked and laughed and oooooed and awwwwwed.
Today gave us so much hope and made us feel so good because Peyton interacted with us a lot and we got to hold Olivia. It is hard with two babies because Olivia usually interacts more with us so we tend to hang out with her and laugh - since she is awake - while Peyton tends to sleep a little more - and we dont get to touch him as much. Things are changing for the better and we really look forward to holding him in a couple of days. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera today so we did not get to take any pictures of Peyton and his beautiful face but that won't happen again!

The Birth Day

Well most of you already know this but.... Our babies have arrived!
Peyton Lee Smith and Olivia Blair Smith decided it was time to join us on Friday morning at 6:53am and 6:54am. Peyton weighed 3 lbs 12 oz and Olivia weighed 3 lbs 5 oz. Both babies and mommy and daddy are doing well although it is hard having them in the NICU when all we want to do is hold them and kiss them.
I wanted to share some pictures and I will share our story later - I am still in the hospital but hoping to go home tomorrow... and I will have plenty of time to share our story with all the wonderful details.


Olivia with her Daddy


Olivia with her Mommy

Follow up tests from 31 weeks

I just wanted to quickly share the results from the follow up doctor appointment this morning. I had to get a fetal fibronactin (I might have spelled that wrong) test which would determine if I am leaking amniotic fluid. If the test came back positive it had a 10% chance that I would be having the babies within the next two weeks. The doctor also mentioned that if it came back positive then I could be admitted to the hospital overnight so that they could monitor me more closly. Thank goodness - I got the call around 2:00 and she said that my test came back negative!!!!!! So for now, we are not on strict bed rest and it is more like house arrest. I was very worried about this test but thankful for the reassurance that we are still doing good. I need to hold off on having these babies for at least 4 more weeks. This has been an emotional roller coaster from the begining but I know that it is just preparing us for the true roller coaster of having kids.
I am now going to the doctor twice a week so I will continue to keep you posted!

31 week update

Yesterday we got to see the babies for the first time in 3 weeks... It was exciting because we got used to seeing them every week. The ultrasound did not show us much except why I feel so uncomfortable - the babies are so crowded that it was hard to tell one baby from the other. There were legs and arms everywhere! Both babies are doing great and they weight just under 4 lbs each. Peyton still weighs more than Olivia but Dr Keene did a little cheer when she saw how Olivia is growing! The bad news of the day was when Dr Keene realized that my cervix has shortened to 0 and decided that I was to be out on bed rest. Basically the next step if we do not do some preventative stuff (such as bed rest) is pre-term labor and it is too early for Peyton and Olivia to join us. With the combination of my shortened cervix and Olivia's low head position she told me that I was to stop work immediately. I think I went into shock because we went from happy to quiet in about 5 seconds. We knew it would probably happen with the fact that I am having twins but we did not anticipate it to happen this soon. Especially since last week Dr Keene told me that I was doing better than the average twin mom. It is starting to sink in and although it is nice to get to sleep in and not have to worry about work I am bored. I have to go back to the doctor on Thursday for another test to make sure that nothing is getting through my cervix. That will determine if I am put on strict bed rest or if I can wander around the house and keep myself sane. And I will have to go to the Doctor twice a week now so that she can monitor everything and make sure we continue to do well. Who knew this would be so difficult... These babies better be sweet when they come out!
Tracy and I had to cancel the baby classes that we registered for so we are really going to be relying heavily on friends and family to help us learn how to take care of a tiny babies. Now, my already spoiled momma's boy of a dog, is really going to be a spoiled momma's boy because we are going to be spending a lot of time together over the next 4-7 weeks! I am going to count on 4 weeks and make a count down chart because it is a lot easier to grasp being stuck at hom for 4 weeks than it is 7 weeks.
We did get some good/funny news during the ultrasound. Peyton has a head full of hair. It was funny to see but he has spikes on his head and the technician said that is hair. That would explain the mild heartburn that I have been getting recently.
All and all we are doing good it is just a little bump in the road and we are sure that this will not be the last time Peyton and Olivia turn our worlds upside down. It all comes down to the fact that we will do whatever it takes to keep our babies safe and healthy - even if it means eating ramen noodles and selling all the junk in our basement (hahah just kidding).

30 Week Update

Yesterday I had my 30 week appointment with the Doctor. Everything went great... I did not gain any weight this week... still stuck at 15 lbs gained. Both babies hearts were strong and the Dr said that she was very happy with my progress. She even said that I am doing much better than the average pregnant woman with twins. She now expects us to make it to 37 or 38 weeks which is full term for twins. I am so gald to hear that because it means that they will most likely not have to go to the NICU and they will be healthier. On the down side it means that I have 7 or 8 more weeks of this and I am growing every day! It used to be that people would say "you barely look pregnant much less to be having twins"... now everyone says "Wow you have grown so much in a week"! I am happy to be growing because it means the babies are growing but it is getting increasingly difficult to do stuff like get out of bed of squeeze past kids in the hall. I have started back to work and I am doing good... a little more swelling but it goes down overnight and I stole some of my mom's shoes since they are a little bigger than mine and it is very comfortable. My kids in my class are huggers and it is hard because their heads hit my belly and it hurts but I just have to tel lthem to be easy... Today one of my kids came up to me and said "my belly is as big as yours" he was sticking out his belly... it was funny! I asked him what was in his belly and he said "just lots of food"... I asked him what was in my belly and he said "babies". It was so cute!

All and All I am doing good! I am tired when I get home but Tracy helps me out - most of the time - Oliver is running out of lap space so he sits on my belly but sometimes that hurts so he has to lay next to me. I still dont get a lot of sleep at night - bathroom runs and even just turning over is a chore now.

I forgot to share our 28 week update

Last week I had our 28 week visit which included an ultrasound to measure their growth, glucose test, and Doctor visit. The glucose test was not bad at all... The drink tasted like orange soda and it was actually kinda good. The most difficult part of that was that I had 5 minutes to drink and I was so afraid that I would throw it up that I wanted to drink as slow as I could. While I was being timed a woman that I know came up to me and was just chatting and all I could think about was "I have less than 2 minutes to finish and you won't quit talking to me". She is very sweet and it all worked out! The ultrasound was funny as usual - Peyton was ready for his picture but Olivia was hiding.
The good news was that Olivia has gained weight and so did Peyton so we no longer have to go in for weekly ultrasounds! Peyton weighed 2.8 lbs and Olivia weighed 2.6 lbs! We were so glad to hear that they are doing good and so was the doctor. The other good news was that I passed my glucose test and I do not have to go in for the 3 hour test which I have heard is horrible because you have to wait 3 hours in the Dr. office! The labwork did show that I was a little low on iron and so I am now taking an Iron supplement. But the babies are doing great!!!!!

29 week update

I just got back from my 29 week Dr. visit and just wanted to share the news! Since I am off the weekly ultrasounds we did not get to see the babies but we did hear their hearts... beating strong! The Dr. said that I look great and things are going well. The babies are doing good and we are now in the home stretch of our pregnancy. I have been able to gain some weight, finally - total of 15 lbs.
I talked to the Dr. about how our delivery will go or when we will be able to make that decision and she said we will talk about it at each ultrasound (every 3 weeks) but that only leaves 2 more ultrasounds. Our main concern is that we want what is the absolute best for the babies. She told us that when you have twins or more there is a bigger risk of placenta abruption after the first baby is delivered which means that they would have less than 5 minutes to get the second baby out. I have seen way to many students who have suffered birth injuries that could have been prevented and we are 100% on board for whatever is in the best interest for our babies. It will probably be a c-section but that decision will not be made until the last minute because Peyton and Olivia are moving around a little and if Peyton turns a little then he will line up with Olivia and we will be a good candidate for a natural delivery.
I started back to work this week and although I am tired, I am doing good. My kids are mostly good kids and my assistants are wonderful! They let me teach from a chair if I need to and they can handle the behavior issues to keep me away from swinging arms and feet. I have noticed a little more swelling in my feet since starting back to work but I expected that since I do a lot more on my feet than I was doing all summer relaxing at home!
All and All - we are doing great! But we are ready for the babies to be here! I can't wait to play dress up with all their clothes and Oliver can't wait to steal all of their tiny socks!

27 week update

I had another ultrasound today to monitor my fluid levels (Bio-Physical Profiling) and everything looks good. The Dr. said that Olivia's fluid was a little lower than Peytons but not too much and was not worried about. She checked my blood pressure and it was great and she checked the blood flow through their cords and that was also great - again Olivia was a little lower on the blood flow but it is because of her position on the bottom and to be expected. Nothing to worry about!

I FINALLY GAINED 2 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I have gained a total of 10 pounds - but I was excited that I finally gained some - hopefully Olivia is gaining too! I think she is because I have having pains along the muscle that holds my uterus (typical stretching)- it hurts when I move positions and the Dr. said this is normal. As far as our due date... The Dr. will keep it at 40 weeks which is November 10th but she told us to expect them a month early so we now calculate them to arrive around October 10th. She will not officially change the date but that is a close estimate. We are down to about 8 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today started our 27th week - the babies are taking "breaths" which is reassuring because their lungs are growing and could sustaine them if they should come early.

Next Tuesday I will go for the one hour glucose test, an ultrasound (they will measure the babies weights), and a visit with our Dr. I can't wait to see how much they have grown! I know Peyton is getting bigger because I can usually feel his butt and head stretched across the upper part of my belly. Olivia is still crammed down with her head toward my back. Today neither baby wanted any pictures taken - but Peyton did show off a little and was waving to us. I got a cute picture of his hand and one of his foot. Otherwise Not a good picture day!

In general I am feeling better but I feel extra full all the time and it makes breathing a chore sometimes, I still feel sick about once a day but I am able to eat more, and I have pains that the doctor says are normal from the growing and stretching. So different symptoms but it just means that the babies are growing and we are getting closer to their arrival. Tracy is getting more and more excited because he can see my belly getting bigger and he knows that the countdown is on - only about 8 more weeks!!!!!!! Our estimated due date is now October 10th, since twins tend to arrive early.

Nursery update with pictures

Here are 2 pictures of the nursery - one is Peyton's crib and the other is Olivia's crib... and our beautiful closet that I love looking at.

25 Week Update

Today I had my 25 week appointment with an ultrasound. As usual, it was great seeing the babies and the technician still feels very strongly that there is a boy and a girl. Our little princess, Olivia, does not want to make things easy on us and open her legs so we can see... Peyton, however, is not shy at all and was putting on a show today.
After the ultrasound we met with the Doctor and she went over all the measurements of the babies and told us that Olivia is about 1 lb 3 oz in weight and that Peyton is about 1 lb 8 oz. She was concerned with Olivia's growth and decided that she wants me to come in every week for an ultrasound so that we can monitor her and make sure everything is ok. The Doc was also concerned with the fact that I did not gain any weight since my last visit (2 weeks ago) and that I have only gained 8 lbs total. She wants me to eat more and gain more weight. Hopefully this will help Olivia and we can quit the weekly ultrasounds. I am supposed to eat more protein and veggies but when someone tells you that you need to gain weight it is kind of funny. We spend our whole life trying not to gain weight and now I am actually having trouble gaining. My brother and sister-in-law are going to share with me the specific diet that she had to use when she was pregnant with Owen... I think it will help us out.
We got a ton of pictures this time and they are almost all Peyton - Olivia was facing my lower back and we never got to see her face. Last time all the pictures wer of Olivia because Peyton was hiding his face. I guess they are taking turns!
I will keep you posted on my next appointment - next week!

23 week update

I am oficially starting the 6th month now - 23 weeks
I just got back from the doctor and thought I would share some things...
I have gained 2 lbs so 7 lbs total... I asked the doctor if my due date would change since there are two babies and she said that they keep the due date at 40 weeks but that we should expect them to come a month early... THAT MEANS EARLY OCTOBER! Doc said that everything looks good and we listened to their hearts... they sound great! I have an ultrasound scheduled for July 27th and Mom is going to come with Tracy and I since she was in California for the 20 week ultrasound. She is excited and I cant wait to get more pictures! Today's appointment was mostly to get my blood checked again to see if my Thyroid is doing good... I wont know anything until Monday or Tuesday.
I have started seeing the Doctor every 2 weeks because I am considered a High-Risk Pregnancy (since there are two babies) and that will continue until the end of August and then for the month of September I will start going every week until the babies are born. I don't mind going often because it gives me the chance to hear from the Doctor that everything is going good.
We finally finished the closet in the babies room yesterday and I just love to walk in there and look at the few clothes that I have so far. My friend Tatum gave me a bunch of her daughters clothes today so I cant wait to get some hangers and get them put away!
I am going to take a picture of the belly tonight so I will try to post that tomorrow! It has really grown in the past two weeks! Oh- the babies are a little over 1 lb now and around 8 inches long.

20 week update

Nothing big hapening but I wanted to share some pictures... I have officially started my 20th week and although that is halfway for most pregnancy's it is actually over halfway for mine (the twins will probably come early). I am not as big as I thought I would be at the halfway mark but I guess I should be thankful for that. I am sure the Dr. will have something to say about the weight gain at my appointment on Monday. Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks.



Kris and Amber bought us a crib and we have built it and we have started setting up the furniture for the nursery. It is cool to see it come together and I just love walking into the room and looking around.



Now we have to buy one more crib and we are ready to go! I can't wait to get things situated in the room... Tracy and I are going to hang the curtains and window blinds this weekend (he is really excited about that).

I will post on Monday so you know what the Dr. said... and hopefully we will know for sure that we are having a boy and a girl! Cross your fingers!

18 week update

Well, Today was my last day with my students at work! Yea for summer! Even though I will be teaching summer school (signed up for that before we knew I was pregnant). And now I feel like I can actually spend some time with this blog stuff and add some pictures!
As I posted last time we know we are having a boy and probably having a girl but I wanted to show you their beautiful pictures!

It's a Boy!



It might be a girl!

They are both doing great and I am also hanging in there. I am super tired and the twins have really put a damper on my ability to shop- I just get too tired, too quick! The Dr. called me yesterday and increased my Thyroid medicine... although he did not explain on the message he left so I will wait to ask the new Dr. in two weeks at my next appt.
OH I almost forgot the most important thing! I am starting to feel the babies move a little. Everyone I know told me it feels like butterflies - so I was not sure what I was feeling when it happened - Let me be the first to tell you, I DO NOT FEEL ANY BUTTERFLIES! It feels more like someone has flicked me in the belly! But it is pretty cool!
My next appt is on June 28th!

16 week update

We got some good news at our appointment last week!
My appointment was to get my bloodwork done again and just a general check-up with no ultrasound... but I know a woman who works there and she asked me to come to her office after my visit with the Dr. When I went in there she had an ultrasound tech who asked me if I wanted to find out the babies genders now! I said YES! I was so excited I could hardly contain myself... I knew Tracy would be jealous and sad that he missed - but that did not stop me! The results are: 100% boy and 80% girl... so we are having one of each, although they said not to go out and buy girl things yet because it is harder to tell a girl and I should wait until my 20 week ultrasound. It was so cool to see both babies because they actually look like little people. The boy was kicking like a maniac (I am sure our other baby will be glad to get out of there if he continues to kick like that for the next 4-5 months). Luckily, I can not feel them yet so hopefully our little boy will calm down a little (haha- wishful thinking).
I promised my brother that He and Amber would be the first to know the genders when I find out and so I called them immediately! Then that night I wrapped up two outfits (one blue and one pink) and had Tracy open the presents - he was so excited! We waited to tell my mom until Friday night - Her birthday was that Saturday so we did the same thing and had her open the gifts. She was also excited! As was Tracy's dad.
My next appointment is on June 28th and we can't wait to confirm that there is one little girl in there with our little boy!
Oh- the Dr was nicer but I think I was just so excited because I knew that I was going to get an ultrasound! I switched doctors for my next appointment... hopefully she will be nicer!

14 Week update

I have been experiencing some cramping and pains so I called the doctor... he said that unfortunately because we are expecting twins I am going to be growing bigger faster and it is going to be painful. I was still nervous about the cramping so I asked for an ultrasound... the Dr was not happy but he called and said that I could come in. I did not care that he was mad! I got to see my babies again! They are both growing like weeds and they weigh about 3oz each. Their hearts were strong and I got two new pictures, although they are difficult to make out. I feel so much better just knowing that they are both growing at the same rate it was totally worth it having the doctor get mad at me. My next appointment is on May 27th (just a check-up) after that I am going to switch to a different doctor in the practice.
All is well but pregnancy is still not very enjoyable - although I can't wait to finally hold my babies in my arms...

Lab-work and the scare

At my last appointment the doctor did some blood work which is normal... Only my results came back with a problem. I got a call the following Wednesday saying that I needed to come in and re-do the blood work because my Thyroid levels were not right. Talk about scary! I went over that afternoon but had to wait until the following Monday to get the results. Dr. Chewning's nurse called me and said that the results were normal but that the Dr. had not had the chance to look at them and she would give me a call the following day if he sad any different. As it turns out Dr. Chewning called me on Tuesday (May 4th) and said that my thyroid levels are on the low end of normal and he would really like them to be at the high end of normal. He is going to put me on a supplement (not a medication) to help with my thyroid and chances are that I will not have to continue it after the babies are born. He also assured me that the babies are doing good and that this would not have caused harm to the babies because my levels were still normal (just on the low end). He wanted to put me on the supplement because he does not want my body to have to work as hard to produce the hormone as it was having to do. I forgot to ask him if this could be why I am so unbelievably tired all the time.... I will ask soon but from what I read it could be the cause.
Anyway we are all doing good and my next appointment is May 27th!

Let me catch you up on the past month...

On March 14th I took a pregnancy test (Actually I took 3)and OMG!!! They were all positive!!! Tracy and I were both so excited but we wanted to wait until we talked to the Doctor to really believe it! I made an appointment for March 23th bu Tracy could not come because he had a meeting. No big deal... I told him that they would do an ultrasound but all you would be able to see is a dot. Little did I know that it was going to be 2 dots. During the Ultrasound the technician asked me if this was my first child and then she paused, made a small noise, and said "it looks like you are going to have twins!" I was in shock - although very excited - I did not expect it at all. I could not call anyone because mom and dad were at work and Tracy was in the middle of a meeting... so I texted them and said "holy crap its twins!". They all three were in shock and thought I was kidding. Tracy said that he almost had to leave his meeting he just did not know what to do or think or say... although he is very excited.

I decided to keep this a secret from my brother and sister-in-law because I was going out to California 10 days from finding out the good news and I wanted to tell them in person so I could see their reaction - IT WAS WORTH IT! The flight to California was the worst flight ever- I felt so sick the whole time I was miserable. I had a shirt made that said "Little Nudger" (from Twilight) because I thought they would understand it (they did not)so I just told them but I left out the part of twins because mom wanted to see their reaction too...then I said that we needed to skype with mom and dad. From there Mom told Kris that I spelled my shirt wrong and I left off an "s". Kris was so confused! It was awesome! When they realized what we were talking about they were both so excited! Amber and I went shopping and started some baby registries, which was very fun, and we found cribs that are perfect. Owen and Tucker are both so cute and I hated having to leave them at the end of the week. But hopefully they will come out for Thank-mus (Thanksgiving and Christmas) to meet the babies.

We had our 11 week appointment last week and it went fine. I had to do lab work but the Dr. listened to the babies hearts and said they both sounded great. The sickness has started to fade and I am able to eat more so that is nice. Our next appointment is on May 27th. It is just a visit with the doctor- no ultrasounds!

We will hopefully find out the babies genders around the end of June, at our 20 week appointment.

Our Pregnancy Blog

My Brother and Sister-in-Law asked me if I was going to blog about the pregnancy... I originally said no but now I realize that it is a lot easier to share information with family and friends through this website....

So here is a Journal of our Pregnancy......