They call it placenta brain, and I definetly have it.
Our 36 week appointment was last Wednesday, the 8th of July. We waited a good 30 minutes to get in the office and visited with the doctor for maybe 5 minutes. To our surprise, there was no talk of setting a date for this supposive C-section. I was still only dialated to 1 cm, which according to my baby books is actually 1/2 an inch. Why is known as 1 cm than and not .5 in? Anyway, 1 cm dialated and still 80% effaced and baby was at a -2 station. I guess babies haven't dropped afterall!
My blood pressure was as good as it has ever been, 110/72! Weight LOSS of 2 lbs too. Dr. Gibson thinks one baby is head down and the other is breech. Kudos to the baby who flipped into the head down position! I hope you stay that way and the other turns ;) Mommy's orders.
He again said I have done quite well this pregnancy and post-poned talk of a D-day until this Wednesday at our THIRTY-SEVEN week appointment! He schedules surgeries at our choice hospital on Friday's... so it looks like we may be having a July 17th or a July 24th birthday for our girls. Or, if they girls decide to both be head down maybe we can still hope for a vaginal birth. We'll all have to wait and see but I hope to inform you this Wednesday!!
Oh, Matt said he will handle the 2 AM feedings just fine... :D
We can not wait to meet you, Anna Mae and Abigail!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
And the Worries Begin!
Is this how Matt will respond to 2:00AM feedings?
That is the only picture I could find that resembles the facial expression of "stressed-out" in our photo albums. :D And how I miss my cuddle-buddy, Maddox the cat. :(
Here I sit at 5:00 AM completely unable to sleep. It may be because I slept for a solid 14 hours yesterday (I am completely exhausted these days), or maybe its because my mind will just not stop spinning! I feel that D-day is fast approaching, even though we don't quite have the official date marked in our calendar. I was reminded yesterday that Dr. Gibson has his "Methodist" days on Friday mornings. Does that mean he will schedule us for a C-section THIS Friday, the 17th? Or maybe he will push us off one more week until the 24th. (That would be AWESOME since we would then accomplish 38 weeks of pregnancy)!!! Wow I can't believe we have successfully made it this far with two kicking, tumbling little girls!
I'll give you a nice list of some of the concerns I have as we enter the last week or two before the babies arrive!
1) How are the dogs going to respond to having two new babies in the house?
2) Are the dogs going to eat EVERYTHING that we may accidently leave in their reach, including toys, blankies, pacifiers, etc. They like to demolish what ever they can get their sneaky paws on.
3) What if for some reason I can't breastfeed successfully?
4) Do we have enough bottles?
5) Will the girls' lungs be well-enough developed considering their early arrival?
6) How is Matt going to cope with late night feedings and working the next day?
7) How am I going to cope with people telling me how to do a specific task with my babies?
8) How long will it take for me to recover from this blasted C-section? I don't think I will ever come to terms with being cut open like a fish.
9) How do you politely turn away ill visitors that don't have a clue to stay away from newborn babies?!
10) Will the girls fit into their "coming home" outfits or will that be the first red flag of bad parenting... two little girls swimming in their clothes?
11) Will we be successful at getting Anna Mae and Abigail on a schedule?
12) Our double-stroller doesn't fit in the Tahoe... now what? :D
What a huge change in our life this is going to be (I can already hear some of you saying, "DUH" as you read that). I am up for the challenges and rewards of parenthood and I realize most of the issues that I have right now will be figured out in the upcoming weeks and we really just have to play it by ear. I look forward to the help from our parents! As of now, I believe my mom (and hopefully Dad, here and there) will be staying with us for about two weeks and then the Mimi & Papa shift changes to Matt's parents who will be up from Georgia for several weeks in August. I know we will need the extra hands to get us off to a good start. We are lucky to have such a great support system of family & friends and I need to remind myself of that more often. But, as many of you know, I am such a worry-wart!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
A Unique 4th of July
We had a very memorable Fourth of July this year. We spent the majority of the day up at Melissa's parents home for a nice lunch and good conversation. Plans were hashed around for our afternoon plans, but with the rain we decided to do a nice dinner out in Peoria and attempt to catch the fireworks show there as well.
Melissa had complained of an "achey" feeling throughout the morning and just about the time we were ready to leave for dinner, some side pain really kicked in. We got in our cars and drove to Peoria for dinner anyway, but on the ride down the pain brought her to tears and we decided to call Dr. Gibson. He directed us to go to Labor & Delivery at the hospital. So we went, a little worried.
We arrived at the hospital at about 6:50 P.M. and were immediately directed to an exam room where Melissa had to strip and was attached to two heart rate monitors for the babies and another one to pick up contractions. How love to hear the girls' heartbeats! All was well with them and they seem to be in constant competition already. The pain had subsided but apparently she was contracting every 2 minutes! They called them "irritable uteran contractions." Supposively it was false labor and her uterus is just about stretched to the max. She was given two vaginal exams, one at 7:00 and one at 8:00 and both times, still only dialated to a 1 and now 80% effaced. Since she wasn't in true labor (thank goodness), we patiently waited for the word of when to leave.
We were released from the hospital at about 9:00, and with that news decided to catch a good view of the Peoria fireworks from the hospital parking deck. We hope you all enjoyed your fourth of July events, despite the rain and cooler weather!
Melissa had complained of an "achey" feeling throughout the morning and just about the time we were ready to leave for dinner, some side pain really kicked in. We got in our cars and drove to Peoria for dinner anyway, but on the ride down the pain brought her to tears and we decided to call Dr. Gibson. He directed us to go to Labor & Delivery at the hospital. So we went, a little worried.
We arrived at the hospital at about 6:50 P.M. and were immediately directed to an exam room where Melissa had to strip and was attached to two heart rate monitors for the babies and another one to pick up contractions. How love to hear the girls' heartbeats! All was well with them and they seem to be in constant competition already. The pain had subsided but apparently she was contracting every 2 minutes! They called them "irritable uteran contractions." Supposively it was false labor and her uterus is just about stretched to the max. She was given two vaginal exams, one at 7:00 and one at 8:00 and both times, still only dialated to a 1 and now 80% effaced. Since she wasn't in true labor (thank goodness), we patiently waited for the word of when to leave.
We were released from the hospital at about 9:00, and with that news decided to catch a good view of the Peoria fireworks from the hospital parking deck. We hope you all enjoyed your fourth of July events, despite the rain and cooler weather!
The Nursery is Complete!
Daddy put up the shelving. Mommy and friends supplied it with clothes :D
A darkened view from the doorway.
Our ready-to-go changing table.
The crib is baby ready and the hamper is awaiting all those dirty clothes!
The lovely decal, along with bumbo seats from Doug & Bree.We finally can say that our nursery is D-O-N-E. Much of the credit goes to Matt, who so delicately painted, assembled, and crafted what it has turned out to be. I just LOVE it. I guess the only thing left to do is add the curtains and a little bit of shelving, but we will still call it baby-ready.
We got the bedding from Land of Nod, the cribs were a generous gift from his parents, and the changing table we purchased at good ole' Good's Furniture in Kewanee. It all came together so nicely. The tree and birds is actually a decal, not a painting. I can't say either one of us has the patience right now to hand paint images in the girls' room. Matt has the talent, however.
We are considering a rocker, but as you may tell from the pictures we are a little crammed on room with the fact of having two cribs instead of one. A rocker sure would be great for all those feedings though!
Before too long, we will have two peaceful, sleeping babies in each crib. How EXCITING!
A Lovely Baby x 2 Shower!
A bounty of gifts for Anna and Abigail
The infamous diaper cake :D
Family shot!
The hosts and I (Bethany, Lisa, and Jan)
Such a lovely side profile with Jill, Dorothy, Jenny, Chris, and Lynn
My gramma, Cheryl Ehnle, Jan Curry, and sweet mom!On Saturday June 27th, two of my dearest friends and my sister threw a baby shower for Anna and Abigail. Bethany, Lisa, and Jan all played the part of a wonderful hostess! Such a hot day, but we made the most of it. The food was delicious, the company was cheery, and the gifts were well received and much appreciated! We played a couple of games, chatted, opened gifts (with the help of my niece, Kylie, of course), and dined on fine Italian beef, fruit/veggie trays, delicious cake and mints!
Thank you all so much for making it such a special day. My hormones must really be out of whack, because that was the first thank-you/acceptance/welcome speech that I have never cried at while giving! :D It was wonderful for all of you to make the trip out to Lafayette to celebrate in our upcoming blessings. It is always touching to know that I have such wonderful friends and family looking out for us. You are much loved and appreciated!
Week 35
What exciting milestones we continue to hit each week! On July 1st we offically became 35 weeks pregnant! We had a great baby appointment and received the news that our little girls may not come out so little after all. Anna weighed in a a shocking 5lbs. 11oz. while her sis Abigail was a healthy 5lbs. 5oz. Dr. Gibson was happy with their weights and all measurements looked normal. Both girls were still breech! Melissa made up from losing one pound at the previous appointment by packing on 6 pounds herself. Seriously, who does that? :D That brings her total weight gain to an even 40lbs. Eh, could be better, could be worse, right?
Melissa is now dialiated to 1 cm, which we all know may not mean too much, as women can be dialited to a 1 for weeks or months! She was also about 50% effaced. We talked to Dr. Gibson briefly about our birth plan and when the question concerning episiotomy's was brought up, he quickly responded with a, "I do not see you having a vaginal birth." DARN! Now we just need to mentally prepare for the C-section and pray that all goes well with that. Melissa is dreading and fearful of surgery, but what a terrific end-result... two little girls!
Melissa's complaints... typical aches and pains... increase in contractions.
Matt's complaints... losing sleep from helping roll his wife out of bed all hours of the night. And packing on that lovely sympathy weight. (His wife still thinks he looks pretty good though!)
Our joy: Knowing we will meet our girls in less than a month!
Melissa is now dialiated to 1 cm, which we all know may not mean too much, as women can be dialited to a 1 for weeks or months! She was also about 50% effaced. We talked to Dr. Gibson briefly about our birth plan and when the question concerning episiotomy's was brought up, he quickly responded with a, "I do not see you having a vaginal birth." DARN! Now we just need to mentally prepare for the C-section and pray that all goes well with that. Melissa is dreading and fearful of surgery, but what a terrific end-result... two little girls!
Melissa's complaints... typical aches and pains... increase in contractions.
Matt's complaints... losing sleep from helping roll his wife out of bed all hours of the night. And packing on that lovely sympathy weight. (His wife still thinks he looks pretty good though!)
Our joy: Knowing we will meet our girls in less than a month!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
34 Weeks
According to Baby Center... "Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies."
Melissa is hauling around approximately 10 pounds of baby. How amazing! We greet each week with a smile, as we know the longer they "incubate" the better off they will be... plus our nursery is not quite yet finished and we STILL haven't packed our hospital bags!
Yesterday we had our 34 week appointment, although we do not technically hit that milestone until tomorrow. The appointment again was filled with good news. Blood pressure was good, Melissa actually lost a pound, and we heard the vibrant heartbeats. Dr. Gibson checked her cervix and there is absolutely "nothing going on" as he put it. No sonogram. We are feeling a little supressed from sonograms, as we haven't had one for a month now! Usually we were getting them done once every 2-3 weeks!
On July 1st we will have our 35 week appointment and will finally get a sonogram to see how much the girls have progressed in a month. Melissa is feeling more movement on some days, then other days its as if they do nothing but sleep. This morning has been full of roley-poley with the girls. She enjoys feeling all of their amazing kicks, squirms, and somersaults.
Her only complaints these days... hip pain, back pain, lots of pressure on the groin area, and headaches have been popping in all of a sudden. It's all worth it though, right? :D
Melissa is hauling around approximately 10 pounds of baby. How amazing! We greet each week with a smile, as we know the longer they "incubate" the better off they will be... plus our nursery is not quite yet finished and we STILL haven't packed our hospital bags!
Yesterday we had our 34 week appointment, although we do not technically hit that milestone until tomorrow. The appointment again was filled with good news. Blood pressure was good, Melissa actually lost a pound, and we heard the vibrant heartbeats. Dr. Gibson checked her cervix and there is absolutely "nothing going on" as he put it. No sonogram. We are feeling a little supressed from sonograms, as we haven't had one for a month now! Usually we were getting them done once every 2-3 weeks!
On July 1st we will have our 35 week appointment and will finally get a sonogram to see how much the girls have progressed in a month. Melissa is feeling more movement on some days, then other days its as if they do nothing but sleep. This morning has been full of roley-poley with the girls. She enjoys feeling all of their amazing kicks, squirms, and somersaults.
Her only complaints these days... hip pain, back pain, lots of pressure on the groin area, and headaches have been popping in all of a sudden. It's all worth it though, right? :D
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