busy, busy

It has been so busy with two babies and our slew of visitors. Don't get me wrong, it has been great to have so many helping hands, but time has absolutely flown by!!! I finally printed out baby announcements, but still haven't got them mailed yet. Hopefully, it will be this week sometime. It was hard choosing the cutest pictures, as they are all CUTE!! The babies are staying awake more now, which is fun, but also a little frustrating. They don't really know when they are too tired and need to nap, and I don't recognize their "tired cues" yet. This can make for unhappy babies. It isn't too overwhelming, thankfully, as we have had so much help. Today, we had visitors from Georgia, and she brought her 6 month old twin boys. They were so fun to interact with. One of the boys wanted to give Gabe "kisses" so badly. He loved the little babies. It's amazing how small my babies looked compared to these babies....and they are only a few months older and weigh 16 lbs! It makes me kind of sad to think that they will be bigger soon, but also excited for things like smiles, giggles, and more interactive behavior. That's all for now...have to go snuggle and feed two little babies!

On their due date

Today is the babies' due date. It's hard to believe that they have already been here for 6 weeks tomorrow! They are getting so big. Gabe is now 8 lb 13 oz and Graycen is 6 lb 10 oz. They don't look like preemies anymore. It was funny when the lactation specialist called in the dietitian to ask if I should stop supplementing their bottles with NeoSure. They have gained almost 3 lbs each since their birth in 5 1/2 weeks (as of the lactation visit). It made us very proud, but it is also making me wish I had lifted weights while I was pregnant. Gabe in his car seat is quite heavy!! Thankfully, I don't have to carry the carseat far. They are still on their 3 hour feeding schedule. We have tried to stretch it at night to 4 hours, but have been unsuccessful on the 2 nights we tried. The only thing it did was make them wake up later for the 5 am feeding, and then they were off schedule for a few feedings. They are looking around at their surroundings more, and are already trying to roll over onto their tummies! Someone forgot to tell them that they are preemies and will be behind on their scheduled achievements. They are doing great at tummytime also. Our next appt is March 5, for their two month shots, so we will see how big they are then! It's hard to believe its already been 6 weeks!!!!

Four Weeks Old!!!

It's hard to believe that the babies have been here for four weeks now. In some ways, it seems like the shortest 4 weeks, and in other ways, it seems like they've always been here. They are growing by leaps and bounds. At our Dr appt last Wednesday, Gabe weighed 6 lb 15oz and was 20" long. Graycen was 5 lb 3.5 oz and was 18 1/2" long. They certainly are entertaining too. It is amusing to watch their different personalities come through. Gabe is certainly the "baby." He is noisier and loves to be held all the time. Graycen is very quiet and quite content all the time. She sleeps almost constantly between each feeding, and when you wake her up, she stretches for about two minutes before she even opens her little eyes. Gabe, on the other hand, always wakes up early for each feeding, and when you pick him up, he starts making sucking sounds right away! He is like a hungry baby bird all the time, and he burps like a man! It's so cute to see them both, and the best part about twins is that you can hold one, and watch the other do cute things when someone else is holding them. Thankfully, we almost always have someone else to help with feedings and holding them. I think I have help lined up until the 20th or so of February. That's really good, because there are times when I really need it!!!

OK...so its been a while!

I know that it has been a while since I last posted. The babies are now a 22 days old! Its amazing how time flies when you are living in 3 hour increments! They got to come home from the NICU on this last Saturday. The neonatologist is very cautious, and he wanted them to stay until Sunday, but we insisted that they come home on Saturday. They were doing everything they had to do to come home, so the dr on call released them to us. It has been a definite learning experience, full of a lot of tearful times (mostly on our part) so far. It was extremely hard to leave them at the hospital for almost 2 extra weeks after I was released. There were a lot of times when I didn't even feel like I had given birth because I had no babies to hold and love on. But, the advantage was that I got to recover a lot before they came home and they came home on a schedule. They eat like little baby birds now, always waking up exactly 3 hours later to be fed again. They are quick eaters now too, which makes feeding so much less stressful than in the hospital. It also helps that we have tons of help. It's hilarious to hear everyone in my family come running whenever we say someone needs to be held, or fed, or diapered! They are spoiled already. We are trying to make sure that they are not held too much, as the NICU told us that the most important thing is sleep for them. Apparently preemies are at greater risk to not gain weight and burn calories faster than regular newborns. It makes sense, and they are still 3 weeks from their due date, so we are trying to make sure that we follow the "rules" until then. It is difficult not to hold them all the time and listen to their sweet baby noises, but we try to refrain except when they are near a feeding time. Gabe makes the best baby noises ever, but he is also the noisier baby. When he wants attention, he lets you know it!! Graycen is completely content to lay there with her eyes open staring at everything. She seems to be very smart already, as she can hold her pacifier in her mouth with her hand. It's quite cute! We are learning all the little tricks of the trade daily, and they are doing very well. The NICU nurses said that we have really good content babies, and we would have to agree. I hope to post some more pics of them online soon, but I have to make sure that it fits into my 3 hour window! Thanks for your prayers and support. We all appreciate it so much!

5 days old

It's hard to believe that our babies are 5 days old today! It doesn't seem like I started this week pregnant, and now I have two tiny babies that are MINE!!! It especially doesn't seem really because they are not home with me yet. It is very hard to leave them in the NCU, but I know that they are there for a reason, and they are being cared for correctly. We have had only good news since they went in. The neonatologist keeps on telling us how great they are doing, and that he is thinking they will go home late next week, which is very encouraging. Both Gabe and Graycen are right at or a little above their birth weight, and yesterday, Graycen drank her whole bottle at the 11am feeding (33cc or about 1oz). They are so sweet. Gabe makes this cute cooing sounds all the time and maintains eye contact with you very well. Graycen is a little doll, she stretches her whole body out (now that she's not squished by her brother) and she has given us a few "smiles." We have been doing kangaroo care at the 11am and the 5pm feedings and kangaroo care at both. They love the kangaroo care, and are slowly trying to learn to feed. Gabe really has no interest in it. He sits there with his mouth wide open like a baby bird, but hardly ever sucks on the bottle. Graycen will suck on the bottle, after you get it in her mouth. That's the hard part with her--she has her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth about 90% of the time! We have had fun feeding, changing, and dressing them. Everything is too big on tiny Graycen, so all her clothes are rolled up on the arms, and her feet are usually not even in the legs of the outfit. It's quite cute, and we know that she will quickly outgrow these clothes too. Gabe wears clothes very well, but he is about 2 lbs more than her. Jeremy and I are very tired, as I have been pumping every 3 hours, and he gets up with me to clean the pump and label the bottles. My milk has not come in completely yet, but I am up to about 1.5-2oz each time I pump. So, I am making progress. I am sure that it will not be a problem for long. We are praying that we have one big bright spot in each day (ie--one or both of them eating an entire bottle). We are immensely grateful for their health so far. Thanks to everyone for their prayers--they are working!

Day 2 (1/6/09) and Day 3 (1/7/09)

The babies are doing very well. The latest thing we have heard from the neonatalogist is that they will probably go home mid to late next week. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, we got to do Kangaroo Care (skin to skin contact) with both babies. This was wonderful for us, as we love being close to them, and it also is therapeutic for them. They regulate their heart rate and temperature. Once again, Graycen and Gabe were not excited about getting ready to do the skin to skin (they screamed through the nurses changing their diapers and uncovering them), but they both cuddled with us and were staring up at us once we held them. I held Graycen again, and she is really becoming quite a little princess. She looks just like a little doll, and I love when she opens her eyes because she heard my voice! It is so redeeming! Jeremy and Gabe have a special bond, as Gabe is always handed to Jeremy first. He had the hiccups during his Kangaroo care, and started screaming because he was so frustrated. I can understand that...who doesn't hate the hiccups? Jeremy videotaped some of the big fuss, which is cute and pitiful at the same time. Wednesday, I got to dress Gabe in his first little outfit. They have matching "Thank Heaven for Little Boys/Girls," and I got to dress him in real clothes for the first time. It was a little intimidating, not only because he is small, but because of all the monitors also. He really liked being dressed though, and looked like a little sweetheart. Jeremy was supposed to get to dress Graycen after the afternoon Kangaroo Care and bottle feeding Wednesday, but I had such a terrible headache, that we had to leave before he got a chance. I think I was just overdoing it. It's interesting though, because they tell you to rest, then they tell you to move, etc...so it can be a very fine line between doing to little or doing too much! So, I rested in the room, and then we went back to do more Kangaroo care at the 11pm feeding. Jeremy finally got to do it with Graycen and I held Gabe. They were both completely knocked out for most of it, but they loved it! We loved it! Everybody loved it!!! Jeremy and I are being kicked out tomorrow, so we will see how I feel tomorrow. I know that we can come and visit whenever we want, but I don't like the thought of not being in the same building as them! We are beyong in love with them! We are so incredibly blessed by these babies already. We have also been so blessed by God's timing for everything, as well as our family and friends' support! Please keep the babies in your prayers, as they are getting stronger and closer to coming home everyday!

THEY ARE HERE!!!!

Graycen Rose and Gabriel Blake Ford arrived on January 5th, 2009. She weighed in at 3lb, 15oz and he was 5lb, 10oz. Their delivery was quite unexpected, as they were only 34 weeks at the time. Just to give you the delivery overview...I woke up to go to the bathroom (not unusual) at 3:15 on Monday morning, and my water broke in the toilet. Well, I wanted to make sure that it was really labor, so I read in my "What to Expect" book that it could be up to 24 hours before the babies are born after your water breaks. I also started timing my contractions, and they were 3 minutes apart and only back labor. So, I called the dr, and his answering service said that someone else had the weekend call for him. So, I called that dr's service, and they asked how far along my contractions were. When I told them 3 minutes, they told me to go to the hospital. So, I arrived at the hospital at 4:10, walked to the delivery ward, and was admitted. I told them I really was having a lot of back pain, so they had me change and checked my cervix. I should have known that something was weird when the girl whispered to the other girl, and then she came back with someone else. The second cervix check hurt, and the lady apologized by saying, "I'm sorry, but I had to feel around the baby's head." So, then it clicked, and I asked Jeremy, "Did she just say she felt around the baby's head?" So, he asked, "How dilated is she?" The answer shocked us both, "9.5cm." OK---so this was about one hour after the water broke and contractions started!!! I think that's when the fear set in....I thought, "OH MY GOSH...I am having these babies NOW!!" They wheeled me into the OR, where I met the dr who delivered the babies, Dr. Chorness. They gave me the epidural (AKA---the best gift God ever gave women), and then they started the c-section. Graycen was born first, and she had the softest little cat cry. Gabe was 2 minutes later, and he was mad that he was out. They were both given an 8 on the Apgar score at 5 minutes after birth. Jeremy got to take some pictures right away, but I did not get to see them until 10:30 yesterday morning. I think it was just an oversight, but I started asking to see them right away. The nurses didn't want me to get up and go to the NICU because of the c-section pain, but I went anyway! The pain wasn't too bad, especially not after the labor pains that I had earlier on in the morning. My whole family was here when I was wheeled into recovery, and they all got to see the babies in the NICU before they went to work.


Anyways, that is the birth story. Later on that day, we went to see the babies and I got to touch them, but not hold them in the morning. Last night, we were supposed to be able to go to the 8pm feeding to feed them, but a new baby was being added to the NICU then, so they didn't allow people in. So, we waited until 10pm to get to hold them. We also got to hang around and feed them. My first time holding either of them was that night. Graycen and Gabe had gotten their first bath, which the nurses said they hated, and Graycen was super fussy. They changed her diaper and swaddled her and handed her to me SCREAMING. I started to cuddle her and talk to her, and she opened her eyes and looked at me...and stopped crying. It was beautiful! She knew her mommy's voice, and she instantly calmed down. I got to feed her, which was pretty complicated, and also fed Gabe. He has "wimpy white boy syndrome," which means that he is just lazy and doesn't want to work to eat. He is big enough to go home, but he has to learn to eat and regulate his temperature first. Jeremy looks so happy in the pictures that I took of him. He looks like it is the happiest day of his life! I'm sure that it is! We are totally in love with them already!!!!