8 years ages us

We met our first Army Friends from Hawaii, Matt and Denice Ignatovig along the highway for lunch as they drove to vacation. When we lived down the street from them in 2000, we were much younger, a think a little more fun and only had Sarah (their oldest daughter) to show for procreation. Look at what 8 years in the army will do to you...

When your OB is your age and much cuter...

For those of you who didn't believe that Dr. Pound was half girlfriend, half doctor here is the proof that she is my age and cuter.

Uncle Brian and Aunt Stacy Visit

We loved having our first visit from Uncle Brian and Aunt Stacy. We even braved the Charleston Children's Museum, which perhaps Brian and Clay enjoyed most...

We made it to through week 2

If you feed 2 babies 9 times a day for 30 minutes each, do you know that is 9 hours out of the day? If you change them 10 times a day each, that's 20 diapers a day. If you bath them and change their clothes... do you see where this is going? I keep wondering at the end of the day where the day went...I try not to do the math.

Everyone asks me what the worst part is. Its only having 2 arms at the moments that I want/need 4 or 6. (Clay who? don't even think I am ready to add a set for him). And yet somehow only having 2 is also the very best part. The part where no matter how repetitive and how exhausting, I get at least twice the time of snuggles, twice the opportunity to love on them. And just about the time I am full of baby smell and ready to collapse, I get the entertainment of an almost-4-year-old to completely renew my awe in how exciting it is to learn everything. "Do you know that that there is a circle moon tonight mommy?"

That is not to say we have had the easiest of weeks so far. My mom left at 6 am on Tuesday, so officially Clay and I are now out numbered by the girls. Karsen had already been to the doctor on Monday. Turns out she has reflux and will have to be propped up after each feeding to prevent her spitting up and choaking which she had done a number of times in the night and scared us silly that it was a breathing issue. The good news is that Karsen is now 8 lbs and Kennedy 7.6. They are growing great (and much, much too fast for me).

Tuesday I got to visit my doctor. My incision was leaking and it turns out that the fun of being catheterized numerous times made for a fun little UTI. An antibiotic later, I should be fine shortly. Just about the time I got home and was ready to fall asleep for the afternoon nap I was sure I had earned, Kayla's preschool called. She had taken two little acorns and stuck them up her nose. The school was able to get one out, but the second took a trip to the pediatrician and then on to the ENT specialist to have it extracted. Clay was reassured along the way that he will not need boys to have exciting stories to tell (and reminded that objects in the nose and ears is the number 1 reason for kids under 5 to visit the doctor). By our first night alone, 3 of the 5 of us cleared by a doctor, we settled into our 2 and half hours of un-interrupted sleep before the next night feeding! When I can get to the point where other people think it is funny, I will also confess how Kayla got the Victoria Beckam hair cut (after these pictures were taken).

Despite it all, the hormones have kicked in and I am mourning the loss of being pregnant (back when it was cute and fun, let's forever forget those last couple weeks) while trying to soak up every second of where we are today.

Here are a couple pictures. Apologies to all who are waiting patiently for me to get back to them. I am now officially missing my connection with girl friends and hope that as routine sets in over the weeks ahead that I will find ways to talk to you rather than just write to the masses. Per many a suggestion, I promise to try and start a blog/picture site to keep you up to date at your leisure instead of mine.

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day takes on a whole new meaning for Clay...

Week 1

I don't know why I can't get the picture show finished? Is it feeding 2 babies and attending to a 3 year old? Here is a quick attachment to tide you over until magically there are more hours in a day with less to do. Oh wait, then I will sleep! :)

Is the time difference between twins a typo?

Okay, Okay,

I know that you guys were following the how we got up to the birth part pretty closely and then all of a sudden you had no info or too little info to make sense of what happened on Wednesday... I have tried to answer a few people's questions along the way, but let me see if I can get to them put them together for you awesome girls who supported me from "just sure" I would get pregnant on the ski trip in January 2006 to the birth of the twins, surely you have earned the juicy details. I just didn't want the mass email announcement too have too much non-boy-gore in it!

So on Wednesday morning I went in for another blood pressure and weight gain check as the doctor's were starting to suspect the onset of pre-eclampsia again. I was 36 weeks 5 days which technically is not the 37th week when the neonatologist will let the OB intervene. Sure enough, pressures were up and the weight was up another 3 pounds (in 48 hours) both were unsettling but not enough to force the hand of the doctor to break my water which was bulging through the now 6 cm open cervix???? I had absoultely no idea people could walk around at 6 cm - did you? So, they sent me over to the hospital for blood work and monitoring while we waited on protein counts. I laid in bed all day. The Dr. came in at 6:30 and checked me - agressively - to see where the babies were and felt like there was no change. She told me to walk around a bit while I waited on her to make a few calls about whether realistically I could be discharged at that point. Well, between walking and the check, within 45 minutes it was all I could do to stand up and not give into moaning through the super intense contractions that were making walking such an effort that it scared the poor 10 couples on their hospital tour! Dr. Pound came back and checked me, I was a 7 and the Kennedy was a +1 with the water intact, but visable. She declared that I was not going to be going anywhere and that if it didn't break before anesthsia could get down to the room, she would break the water in a controlled setting.

If you HAVE to know, they took a picture (attached) as they stood me up for the epidural and weighed me. Total I gained 61 pounds. I think the nurses were just doing this part to humor themselves. After 2 tries - yep, I am the only person I know to have 2 pregnancies and 6 epidurals - I was almost pain free again and texting people to calm the nerves and we broke my water. (There is a whole aside about the dosing level and me puking that I will just leave out and pretend didn't happen). By the time the entire delivery team: 2 OBs, 4 nursery nurses, 2 labor nurses, 2 respiratory therapists and one anesthsialogist were in place it was 11:30 we waited to role down to the OR until midnight after a conversation about NOT seperating their birthday's by a day on accident. When we got to the OR, they moved me to the operating table and Dr. Pound stepped into place while everyone else was dressing in their masks and such and the Dr. said, give me a little push to see where her head is. I did and then people everywhere started saying, NO, NO don't push and I said I am not and Dr. said, we will deliver through it everyone and she showed me Kennedy over my belly about a second later. No pain, no pushing, no nothing.

There was a mad rush of people to her side and although it took some time for her to cry, they wisked her out of the room after a few minutes declaring that the OR is too cold for babies. I heard the Dr. tell everyone to get in place for Karsen and they checked her position on the ultrasound. She was still head down. Dr. Pound declared she was breaking her water and prepared for a second delivery just like the first. When that didn't happen, they had me start pushing. And pushing. And pushing. I pushed with every contractraction on either my back or one side or the other for the next 2 hours. They tried and tried and tried to turn Karsen. When they water broke and she moved down so rapidly apparently her head turned to the side and she got caught at the pelvic bone. We tried everything until finally Dr. Pound called for a second-second backup doctor who came in and declared that not only was Karsen's heart rate dropping too much with contractions for me to push anymore, but that my cervix (which apparently knows nothing of multiples) was already closing rapidly and I was doing more damage than good. With a very short and sad conversation, they moved to a rapid C-section, having to redose the epidural with some kind of spinal something and drug me into a state that while awake, I barely, barely remember. I do remember Karsen crying and seeing her briefly at my shoulder. Then I remember nothing until puking in recovery and them saying give her the phenagren (sp?) to counter act the morphine...blah, blah...I was drugged one way and the next until sometime the next day. The lactation consultant, a nurse and my mom nursed the babies while I was out cold (an ugly picture proves it) and I "recovered" from both deliveres and my new junkie status. Thus the reason no one heard from me again...

Because I know you want to know as much as they did (and lots of people actually ask): For more nurse entertainment (I loved my team!) they weighed me when they pulled all the tubes to see what I 'lost' at the delivery - 25 pounds. I checked out 29 pounds down and today at their 2 day weight check, I was down 36. I have ankles again, but still quite a bit of swelling. I hope somehow it equals 25 pounds of water weight, although I doubt it. Either way, I will take a 'diet' plan that lets you lose 36 pounds in 5 days anytime.

The girls are amazing. I find myself in love all over again. I am nursing them and they are doing great, I just don't get a break too often. At least its amazing bonding time with each one. I can nurse them together and sometimes I do, but I look like what you would expect (will spare you that picture) and I only do it in seclusion or the middle of the night. I find myself ever amazed at how they are nothing alike at all. You would think they were from too differnt families and other than the fact that you simply can not get them to sleep away from the other one, you really would doubt their relation. Each has the most amazing things about them though and I feel like I got the best of 3 worlds.

Awe, speaking of the third. She is a great help, a great big sis and yes definitely going through a transition (wet the bed last night, etc). If there is a hardest thing about this experience (besides the pain in the gut when I get up) it would be feeling the guilt already in going from a one and only to 3, certain I am failing someone at all moments.

Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement and for laughing with me as I ballooned up into Shrek. I am going to keep needing you, oh say...for the rest of my life.

Welcome to the Family Kennedy and Karsen

Our girls have finally joined us:

Kennedy Deone was born June 5th at 12:14 am. She weighed 6 lbs, 8 ounces and was 19 inches long. She is the black haired beauty that looks like a tiny version of Kayla.

Karsen Lee held out until June 5th at 2:24 am. She weighed 7 lbs, 6 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. She is the blonde haired beauty that surprised our house of brunettes!

They are both in perfect health! Mom and babies all plan to go home together on Sunday.

We appreciate all of your support and prayers,
Clay, Heather and proud big sister Kayla