The Sound of Silence

So on Wednesday I am going under the knife. Or more accurately, the laser. 

I am undergoing a stapedectomy. They will be putting in a prosthetic stapes into my right ear in the hopes to restore my hearing so I will no longer need the hearing aid. I am not sure how the recovery is going to be but I can only hope I see or hear some major improvement. I will have packing in my ear for a week and a half so I won't hear the improvement until the packing is removed but I should still be able to tell with the packing in. 

It's scary with recovering and taking care of the twins but the quality of life and the hearing improvement will be worth it. 

The plan is to get the left ear done also, perhaps by the end of the year. I'm just hoping for an easy recovery. 

Wish me luck!!!

Absolute happiness!!

Tomorrow the twins will be one month old!!  I cannot believe how fast the first month has gone!!

We have an appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow so we will see how much they have grow since they were born.

They are eating like champs and Evelyn has figured out if she eats more she can sleep longer.  Unfortunately, Grayson still wants food every 3 hours.

A couple weeks ago we had some professional photos taken by Taryn Avery Photography and I wanted to share some of those with you.  It was a long 3 hours shoot but we got some wonderful and memorable shots of the two of them that we will cherish forever.

 

Updates and more updates!!

Hi everyone!

The twins are 17 days old right now.  Grayson only spent 8 days in the NICU and Evelyn was there for 13.  She just came home on Monday and it has been a joy having them both together.  It's much easier when you don't have to drive back and forth to the hospital a few times a day to spend time with the baby still in the NICU.  So we are truly blessed to have them both home.

Let's see...they have both lost their umbilical cords leaving nothing but cute belly buttons behind.  Grayson has gained a good amount of weight and finally broke the 5 pound mark.  Evelyn is at 5 pounds 10 ounces and we are going back to see the pediatrician on Tuesday for another weight check.

Todd and I are enjoying the exhaustion that comes with getting up every 3-4 hours to feed the babies.  Mom has also been a huge help during the day.  I am figuring out how to make it out of the house on occasion with both kids and I have been on time for most things.

I'm recovering well from the c-section.  I had a short course of antibiotics for a surface infection but that's all better now.  Otherwise, I am moving around well and happy to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight though my shape is different so clothes are tough on occasion.  I'm still enjoying dresses and skirts for comfort.  Thrilled to be able to shave my legs again though!!  LOL!!!

The kids are great!  Not the best poopers in the world.  Grayson doesn't want to give up a burp without a fight.  Both kids are prone to hiccups - especially Evie.

It really amazes me that I love them SO much.  I'm still dealing with the transition in my life.  I made it through this horrible infertility and pregnancy loss journey and I have two beautiful miracles that are mine and I still have to pinch myself every day that we did it!  We beat it and we are the parents of two beautiful boy/girl twins and also parents to two amazing angels that watched over all of us.

Going to finish off some coffee and close my eyes for a little bit.  Before it's time to feed them again!

I do want to mention too that Todd is an amazing father.  I always knew he would be but he truly is amazing and I am lucky to have him as my husband but they are luckier to have him as a father.

I leave you with some pictures!

Evelyn Paige and Grayson Scott are here!!

Around midnight on Tuesday I got up to pee and when I leaned a little to wipe I felt a small pop and a tiny gush on to the toilet paper.  I couldn't tell 100% if it was pee or something else, but it just didn't feel right.  So I decided to lay back down and get up.  Trying to see if it was my water if I could get anymore to come out. 

By the 3rd time I finally got a huge gush.  I had gone through this before so I knew exactly what was going on. 

I woke up Todd and decided to take a quick shower before heading to the hospital.  We got to triage around 1:15am.  They hooked me up and I was having contractions about 2 minutes apart, was completely effaced and 2cm dilated.  Off to the labor and delivery room we went at that point. 
Shortly after arriving to the L&D room we started talking pain management.  I wasn't sure I would know when enough was enough.  I was breathing through a lot of the contractions and we trying to mentally prepare for a vaginal delivery, which was still the plan at that time.

Grayson started to show some signs od distress, but he bounced back with stronger heart rates after a short while.  I decided it was time for the epi.  My contractions were still about 2 minutes apart and I was starting to break a sweat trying to breathe through them.  I got my epi placed and I was checked again.  I was at 6cm.  I was progressing FAST!

They called in my OB who had to run and do an emergency C-section on a woman that was induced on Monday wohse baby was showing signs of distress.  Before doing that he talked to us.  I expressed my fear of doing a vaginal delivery causing Grayson too much stress. 

Todd and I discussed things with my OB and decided it was best to just get the babies out and healthy and I would take the brunt of the recovery.  So around 6:20am they rolled me down to the ER and Evelyn Paige was born first at 6:49AM weighing 5 pounds 6 ounces and Grayson Scott was born at 6:50am weighing 4 pounds 7 ounces.

I saw them briefly before they were whisked to the NICU.  I sent Todd to be with the babies while they closed me back up and sent me back to my room for recovery.

Todd came back with pictures.  Evelyn has a TON of dark hair.  She has a misshapen head due to be lodged up against my pelvis for several months but that should correct itself in 3-4 weeks.  Grayson actually has strawberry blonde hair which I guess Todd also had when he was little.  They look absolutely NOTHING alike!!

They were both on room air immediately.  Grayson started off eating well but now he has gotten lazy and has a feeding tube in to supplement.  He also is dealing with low blood sugars and they hope to have that corrected in a few days.  Evelyn is a very lazy eater and is also on feeding tube.  That is her only issue so hope to get her on the bottle or maybe the boob soon.  I have been pumping and just started to get some colostrum in.  Hoping to get more in with each pump.

I think the plan is still for us to go home tomorrow.  We have to go down this morning and check on Grayson and see how his sugars are doing.  He's pretty borderline low blood sugar so it shouldn't take long to fix everything up.  Hoping to get them home over the weekend or Monday.

My heart breaks for my little kiddos - it's so hard to hold them with all the tubes, but it's amazing how much you can love someone SO much!! 

As for me, I'm recovering from my C-section pretty well.  It wasn't my plan to have one but I think it was best for them.  I'm taking a shower today and I CAN'T WAIT!!!  Then pump then down to see the babies!!

Grayson Scott


Evelyn Paige

35 WEEKS!!

How Far Along: 35 Weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up about 25 pounds, but 10+ of that is baby so still doing well.

Maternity Clothes: Of course, though some days I don’t get out of my nightgown.  LOL!

Movement: Yes – and now that they have rearranged their position I can tell who is who better and movement has been good.

Sleep: Definitely getting worse.  Taking my Tylenol PM and it seems to be helping a bit.  Still up between 6 and 15 times a night to pee though…

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.  Now some cramping and aches and pains.  It’s just uncomfortable.  I will admit that it's truly uncomfortable 24/7.  The round ligament pain is the worst right now.  The weight of the babies makes it feel like I got kicked in the crotch!  Walking hurts, lifting my leg or turning one way or another – it all hurts!!!  I do get some cramps and Braxton Hicks on occasion and those suck as well!!  And the swelling has started…

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

Freak-out of the Week: Yesterday I was ready to head to L&D again, but I just relaxed and kept my feet up and I was fine!

Looking Forward To: Meeting our babies.  At 35 weeks I would welcome them anytime now.  Ideally two more weeks would be great, but right now they would be in really good shape and likely come home with us.

Next Appointment: Tuesday I have the OB and an NST.  Wednesday MFM.  Thursday off and another NST on Friday!

Miscellaneous: All of our appointments have gone fine so far.  J  No real signs of imminent labor.  Trying to search my mother’s instinct and see if I can tell when these babies are going to arrive…don’t forget to join the baby pool!!!

http://karensinfertilityjourney.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-official-baby-pool.html

35 Weeks - Growing, growing, growing. Yup, baby and you. You’ve reached 35 weeks, and your uterus has grown about 1,000 times its original size, a number that might sound exaggerated to everyone else -- but to you it probably feels more like a million. You can expect to gain about a half-pound a week before birth, and baby’s beefing up, too. At 35 weeks, some moms-to-be feel like they have a ton of stuff left to do before baby’s arrival. Others can barely wait for baby to make his debut. Either way, try not to stress. Baby will show up when he’s ready, and he won’t care if you haven’t checked every little detail off your list.

COCONUTS!!

And a shot of me from this morning.  :)

Just a quick update!

Finally finished with all the appointments for this week.
The twins are doing great!  Passing everything so it looks like we should be good to move into July!
I am learning that things can change so quickly though.  I hope they stay in as long as possible though so they can get big and strong and come home with us with no time in the NICU.  I think if we can make it to the 10th of July then we stand a good chance of that as long as Grayson is gaining weight well.  We won't know until the 10th how his weight gain is going, so I would like to make it to that appointment.  If we make it then we will have a discussion on 37 versus 38 weeks for delivery.

2-3 weeks until delivery MAX!!!  AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Official Baby Pool

Okay ladies and gents!  Time to get your guessing on.  As we get closer to the arrival of our bundles of joy you get the opportunity to guess when they might make their appearance and also the weight and the length.

Click here for Todd and Karen's Baby Pool for Grayson!!

Click here for Todd and Karen's Baby Pool for Evelyn!!

We look forward to seeing how close you get!

Just some basic information.  I won't go past 38 weeks which is July 22nd.  As of last week our son was 3lbs 11oz and our daughter was 4lbs 12 oz.

Good luck!!!!

34 Weeks!

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up about 20 pounds, but 9+ of that is baby so still doing well.

Maternity Clothes: Yup – though I hate anything that is too tight on my stomach.  Most nights I hang out on the couch with my bare belly hanging out.  J

Movement: Yes – though sometimes they are quiet and it worries me so I do what I can to get them to wake up and move.  I feel him more these days.  I think she is so low and cramped she has less room to move around

Sleep: Definitely getting worse.  Taking my Tylenol PM and it seems to be helping a bit.  Still up between 6 and 15 times a night to pee though…

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.  Now some cramping and aches and pains.  It’s just uncomfortable.  I will admit that it's truly uncomfortable 24/7.  The round ligament pain is the worst right now.  The weight of the babies makes it feel like I got kicked in the crotch!  Walking hurts, lifting my leg or turning one way or another – it all hurts!!!

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

Freak-out of the Week: No freak-outs.  Just resting as much as possible and drinking a ton of water. 

Looking Forward To: Meeting our little miracles!!  Not too soon but SOON!!!  My friend who was a week ahead of me with boy/girl twins had her babies this morning…that really put it in perspective that these babies are coming SOON!!

Next Appointment: Wednesday I have MFM for blood flow, fluid check and then off to the hospital for my NST.  OB on Thursday and another NST on Friday.  This will be my appointment schedule for the durations I believe.

Miscellaneous: Wildfire is 100% contained near us though there is another huge fire burning and causing poor air quality and smoke around here. Other than that there isn’t much going on.  Just spending my days on the couch as much as possible and trying to find energy for all these appointments.  J

We did have our first NST at the hospital on Friday and the babies were fine - plenty of movement and the heart rates did exactly what they needed to and no contractions from me.  

34 Weeks - At less than two months to go, baby weighs in at about 4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measures about 17.2 to 18.7 inches. By week 34, she's recognizing and reacting to simple songs, if you're

OB Update

Met with the OB this morning and here are the updates.

I am measuring 46 weeks...which means I am HUGE!

I am only up 20 pounds and 9 of that is baby.

OB is not concerned with the growth restriction.  Grayson is in the 11th percentile and Evelyn is in the 61st.  Apparently the NICU has a term for this - WWB - Wimpy White Boy.  LOL!  Grayson is anything BUT wimpy!!

I am now on weekly appointments with the OB.  Weekly blood flow and fluid check with MFM.  Bi-weekly NSTs.  So lots of close monitoring as this is usually the point of the pregnancy where things start to get out of control.  Blood pressure, blood sugars, etc.  OB was pleased that I made it where I am and he is pleased that everything is looking so good.

35 weeks is my new goal.  Anything after that is a gift!

Growth update

So we went to our growth ultrasound this morning.  Evelyn gained about 1 pound 5 ounces, bringing her to an approximate weight of 4 pounds 12 ounces.  She is still head down and will be the first one out.

Grayson on the other hand, continues to give mommy and daddy worry.  He only gained around 8 ounces.  Bringing him to about 3 pounds 11 ounces.  They called it a moderate growth restriction.  They did an additional ultrasound that checked his blood flow to make sure the placenta was providing what he needs and everything appeared to be fine with that.

I'm not overly concerned, as they will be checking that blood flow weekly to make sure there are no issues with the placenta causing the restriction.

The plan moving forward is weekly Doppler appointments checking on the blood flow for Grayson.  I will probably be moving to weekly OB appointments too if I had to guess.  I will also be doing bi-weekly NSTs at the hospital as well, which I need to discuss with my OB tomorrow as well to find out how to schedule those.

There is still talk of a possible vaginal delivery which would be great and seeing how Grayson would be the 2nd baby out there is a possibility that they could get him out regardless of positioning because of the size difference. 

My goal is still 35 weeks.  Anything over that would be a blessing.

33 WEEKS!!

How Far Along: 33 Weeks

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up about 20 pounds, but 7+ of that is baby so still doing well.

 

Maternity Clothes: Yup – though I hate anything that is too tight on my stomach.  Most nights I hang out on the couch with my bare belly hanging out.  J

 

Movement: A TON of movement.  Though there are days they are slow and not real active and then I get payback at night when I lay down and they get CRAZY (like last night). 

 

Sleep: Definitely getting worse.  Started taking Tylenol PM to get to sleep.  Then woke up at 4am for like 3 hours…then back to sleep for a while longer.  Between hip pain and getting up to pee (more on that below) sleep SUCKS!!!

 

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

 

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.  Now some cramping and aches and pains.  It’s just uncomfortable.  I will admit that it's truly uncomfortable 24/7.

 

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

 

Freak-out of the Week: On Saturday I had a considerable amount of cramping.  I went back upstairs and had a little water and laid on my left side and little relief.  I took a hot shower and felt better for five minutes and then had some abdominal pain I actually had to breathe through.  Between that and back pain I called the on-call doctor since my OB was out of town.  We were instructed to head over to Labor & Delivery and we did just that.  We got hooked up to the monitors and they were fine.  Moving and heart rates were good.  After some monitoring we determined I was dehydrated and had an irritable uterus causing a couple of contractions but nothing very strong or regular.  SO I have been instructed to drink around 150oz of water a day.  Which directly leads to me peeing ALL. THE. TIME…  Though they did check my cervix and it high and long so no dilation or anything so these babies are staying put.  And so am I!!

 

Looking Forward To: Meeting our little miracles!!  Not too soon but SOON!!!

 

Next Appointment: Growth scan on 6/19 and OB on 6/20.  Should be starting the NSTs at the hospital shortly too.  CRAZY!!!

 

Miscellaneous: The wildfire in our area is now 75% contained.  We were not directly affected by the fire but it was scary to have it so close.

 

33 Weeks - At week 33, baby weighs about 4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measures about 17.2 to 18.7 inches. She may even grow up to a full inch this week! She's turning into a curious kid who can keep

Wildfire Update!

Just wanted to let friends and family know that we are okay!  The closest wildfire is about 10 miles north of us.  We can see the smoke in the distance and it's crazy but we are fine.  No worries.  There is a very tiny, tiny, TINY chance it would ever effect us so we should be just fine!  We just hope it gets contained quickly so everyone can return to their homes.  We feel for the people who lost their homes today.  We have SO much to be thankful for!

32 Weeks!!

How Far Along: 32 Weeks

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up about 18 pounds, but 7+ of that is baby so 10 pounds isn’t too bad at all I don’t think!

 

Maternity Clothes: Yes! but mostly wearing dresses - they are much more comfortable thatn anything else.

 

Movement: A TON of movement.  Our son is mostly active in the middle of the night and early morning and our daughter is active the rest of the time. 

 

Sleep: Getting worse.  Finding blocks of insomnia in the middle of the night.  Like this morning it was from 5-6:30am.  I did manage to get back to sleep for a couple more hours.

 

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

 

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.  Now some cramping and aches and pains.  It’s just uncomfortable.  I will admit that it's truly uncomfortable 24/7.

 

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

 

Freak-out of the Week: Just trying to tell myself that I am almost at the end and they will be here before I know it!  I'm starting to question my parenting and mothering abilities but I am sure I will be just fine and it will all kick in once I get them home!

 

Looking Forward To: Meeting our little miracles!!  Not too soon but SOON!!!

 

Next Appointment: Growth scan on 6/19 and OB on 6/20.  Should be starting the NSTs at the hospital shortly too.  CRAZY!!!

 

Miscellaneous: It's hard to stay on the couch.  I did get out this weekend and I used the electric scooter at WalMart and the grocery store.  Here is a picture of me at the grocery store.

I didn't hit anybody or knock anything over so I did pretty well.  It got me out of the house and put no stress on the babies so I wouldn't mind going out and riding the scooter again if I felt the urge to get out of the house.

I'm thrilled to hit 32 weeks today.  This made the difference between what hospital I was going to deliver at.  If I was prior to 32 weeks I would have to deliver at Memorial Central which is downtown.  they have a higher level NICU which would have been necessary for the babies to be in.  Now that I have reached 32 weeks, if I were to deliver now, I could deliver at my hospital of choice, Memorial North.  So this was one of my last milestones to reach.  The final milestone now is birth!!!

32 Weeks - At week 32, your baby weighs in at about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds and measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches. She's likely to be in the head-down position now, getting ready for her descent -- the journey down the birth canal. And not a minute too soon, because at this point, she's probably feeling even more cramped inside Mommy.

SQUASH!

31 Weeks - Less than 49 days to go!!!

How Far Along: 31 Weeks – 49 days or less to go!!

 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Up about 17 pounds, but 7+ of that is baby so 10 pounds isn’t too bad at all I don’t think!

 

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Now that I don’t have to go to work I have been dressing comfy.  Surprisingly I am wearing a lot of dresses and no shoes.  No need to if I’m not going anywhere!!

 

Movement: A TON of movement.  From both of them.  I have started to do kick counts.  My OB says 10 kick in a 2 hour period.  Sometimes I get that in 2 minutes or less!!!

 

Sleep: Eh it’s alright.  I get up to pee 6-10 times a night.  I have had little bouts of insomnia but I do manage to fall back to sleep eventually.

 

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

 

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.  Now some cramping and aches and pains.  It’s just uncomfortable.

 

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

 

Freak-out of the Week: Still no freak outs…just kind of anxious…I wish I knew when they were coming so I could be prepared mentally and emotionally.

 

Looking Forward To: Meeting our little miracles!!

 

Next Appointment: OB appointment on 6/6 and next growth scan on 6/19

 

Miscellaneous: Just trying to stay on the couch.  It’s so hard when you think you can get up and do something that you have always been able to do.  But I know I need to let people get me lunch or water or whatever it happens to be.  I am allowed to get up to pee and minimal moving around, but otherwise I am on the couch!!

 

31 Weeks - At week 31, baby's about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. She's also going through major brain, nerve and eye development. Her irises even react to light. All five of

Just a quick growth update!!

Had an ultrasound this afternoon with our MFM doctor.  Everyone is doing great!  Our son has flipped again and is breech and our daughter is still head down.  The ultrasound tech said they can see hair on her head and not much on his.  :)

He is weighing about 3 pounds 3 ounces and she is weighing about 3 pounds 7 ounces.  So both growing really well.

The doctor is pleased.  :)  So are we.

The next big milestone is to get to 32 weeks so I can deliver at my hospital of choice closer to the house.  Once I get past that then I don't need the higher level NICU.

After 32 weeks I will be pushing for 35 weeks.  This would give us the best chance of taking them home with us.

YAY!!  Back to the couch for me!

Working on my To Do List

So since I have all this free time on my hands I figure I would work on what still needs to be done by making some lists.  First off on my agenda is to come up with things to pack in my hospital bag and the babies hospital bag.

It seems like so much stuff to bring based off of lists I have found online.  Not sure if I need half of this stuff or not, but I would rather have it then not.

So Todd and Mom will help me pack stuff up this weekend so the bags can be ready to go in case we need to rush out of the house.

I'm feeling pretty good overall.

I get to leave the house today for an appointment at 3:30pm so that makes me happy.  Looking forward to this growth check.  I can't wait to see how much they have grown.  Also hoping for that elusive 3D picture, but not sure that will happen.  :)

Feeling off...

Woke up this morning feeling really off.  I even had some cramping and tightening and pressure so after talking with a twin mom I know I called my OB to get checked out.

Better to be safe than sorry, right?

So everything seemed fine.  The cramps were lessening.  They had no distinctive rhythm or anything.  My OB checked my cervix and it's thinning out but still closed.

I'm officially on bedrest now.  Somewhere between modified and strict.  I can go up and down the stairs once a day.  So once I go up I'm up, if I come down I'm down.  No leaving the house except for appointments.  Bring on the boredom!!  LOL

I think it's time to stream Netflix again and find some TV show to watch on it.  That might help...

Suggestions??

The Nursery Is DONE!

Here are the pictures of our nursery!  We are quite proud!!!  We made the art over their cribs ourselves.  :)

Me at 30 weeks!

Getting quite large...LOL

Now we just need babies!!!

30 WEEKS!! 8 weeks or less to go!!!!

How Far Along: 30 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still up about 13-14 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight which is great.  Was actually told I look great for being 30 weeks with twins, though it obvious to many that see me regularly that I am huge.

Maternity Clothes: Yes! Though it seems some of shirts are getting shorter as my belly gets bigger.

Movement: Very frequent now.  I can see it more and more from the outside and they are most active in the morning and evening and when I am relaxing.  I had to start my kick counts and have had no trouble.  Our boy is a little tougher to feel I think because of where he is positioned but our girl makes her presence known!

Sleep: Not bad.  Still getting some broken sleep but no insomnia.

Gender: A boy and a girl!!!

Symptoms: Fatigue, round ligament pain/cramping, stuffiness, hip pain.

Cravings: Sweets, just because I can’t have them.

Freak-out of the Week: No freak outs!  Everything is going great!  I just hope I can make it 5 more weeks or more!!

Looking Forward To: Finishing up the final touches in preparation.  Have to pack the baby bag and the hospital bag pretty soon!!

Next Appointment: Growth ultrasound 5/30 and OB appointment on 6/6

Miscellaneous: Nursery is ALMOST done!  Pictures to come hopefully today along with some belly shots to show off this 30 weeks bump!!

30 Weeks - At week 30, baby already measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds. Her skin continues to get smoother while her brain is getting wrinklier -- to make