Christmas Card

Since I have been so busy with the boys...I have not gotten out to develop or mail our christmas card...so I will be posting it here this year. For those of you who sent us a christmas card we greatly appreciate it! We hope everyone is well and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

We love you!

The boys are doing well and we can't wait for winter to be over so we can start taking them out to meet friends and family! :)

Birth Announcement

So, here is the birth announcement I am sending out...for those of you that are my online friends (and whose addresses I do not have), here is the boys birth announcement. It has taken forever since having spare time with twins is unheard of, but here it finally is!!! :)

Their first week of life...

Here are the events for their first week of life...this is what I remember so far & may update it if I remember more...if you would like to see the pictures bigger, just click on the picture to enlarge it... enjoy! :)

10/1/08
Kyle: born at 8:22am, 6 lbs 5 ozs 18 in, put on blow by oxygen & then hood at 40%

(shortly after birth)

Kody: born at 8:23am, 4 lbs 15 ozs 17 in, umbilical cord wrapped around his neck 2 times, put on blow by oxygen & then hood at 30%

(shortly after birth)

10/2/08
Kyle: put on 30 % oxygen (went down), then later went up to 42 % oxygen, had his 3rd x-ray, had the procedure done on his umbilical cord so they could draw blood & use it for an IV. Kevin & Ryan gave Kyle a blessing to help him fully recover & quickly. Then AIR-EVAC people transferred him to Thunderbird hospital where he would be in the NICU that would better be able to sustain him

(Kyle right after we found out he would most likely be transferred to another hospital - My first time seeing him up and about)

(Kyle right after his umbilical cord procedure)

Kody: weighed 4 lbs 15.6 ozs, off of oxygen

(Kody during brothers procedure - My first time seeing him up and about)

10/3/08

Kyle: arrived at Thunderbird Hospital, put on CPAP, IV in his head & blood work better than they expected. He had his own private room with recliner & sofa, and his own personal nurse. Kevin went and visited Kyle everyday for a few hours, 2-3 times a day, and brought breast milk for them to feed him

Kody: weighed 4 lbs 10.5 ozs

10/4/08
Kyle: weighed 6 lbs. The doctors were pleased that he lost weight due to extra fluid he was holding, no more IV in his head

Kody: weighed 4 lbs, 10.9 ozs


Kevin's mom Karen, brother Shawn & my mother Tracy came out to see the little guys...

10/5/08 Mommies 25th Birthday!!!
Kyle: Daddy got to hold Kyle for the first time!!! Around 11pm, Kevin was getting ready to go to sleep at Del Webb but called to check on Kyle. Kyle didn't have any more breast milk for his midnight feeding so Kevin had to get some breast milk that I had pumped from the refrigerator in the nursery and rush it down to him. He stayed there for a few hours and needless to say it was a long night for daddy!

Kody: weighed 4 lbs. 13.5 ozs, put into an Isolate so that his body temp would be stabilized for him & he would stop burning calories to stabilize it himself, gavage feeding tube was removed

10/6/08 Mommy left the hospital
Kyle: Kyle was taken off of the CPAP and put on nasal prongs, his oxygen was down to 25% and the pressure put out by the prongs was .2. This was the first time I got to see Kyle after the was Air-Evaced to Thunderbird hospital...a very special day! I cried as Kevin was pushing me down to his room...

Kody: weighed 4 lbs 15.4 ozs

10/7/08
Kyle: weighed 5 lbs 7 ozs, no more biliblanket for jaundice, he finished his fat emollient they were injecting, he began nippling most of his feeds but they would still need to gavage 10-15 cc's, and the best new of all...he was off of oxygen!!!

Kody: weighed 5 lbs...gained weight, and taken out of Isolate so that he could stabilize his own body temp again, nurse told us she was pretty sure we would be bringing Kody home the next day!

10/8/08 - 1 week old
Kyle: taken out of his Isolate, moved from NICU into Continuing Care NICU POD B5, where his nurse now had another baby to care for instead of only Kyle. He hadn't had any gavage tube feedings so far, and he was nippling 52-54 cc's per feed. No more IV and he was stabilizing his own temperature just fine!

Kody: weighed 4 lbs 15.9 ozs...he lost 2 grams, as it was hist first night stabilizing his own temperature, so he wasn't able to come home with us yet :(

But we were able to stay at the hospital in the "Nesting Place". This is a suite, where parents whose babies that have been in the nursery for a while, can stay and have nurses immediately available for questions. The nurses still come take all the vitals and the babies are still in the care of the hospital, but mommy & daddy have them to themselves. This was our first night with a little one & they told us if he didn't gain weight then he wouldn't be able to come home with us the next day...

10/9/08

Kody: weighed 5 lbs 1.2 ozs, he was released from the hospital & going home with us...while they were doing the car seat test, we went and took the infant CPR class mainly because we wanted to, but also because we were told they wouldn't release Kyle to us until we took it. So while we were taking the class Kyle's nurse called looking for us. When we finished the class we walked into the nursery and the nurse said we needed to call Thunderbird hospital about Kyle. Kevin & I both went into panic mode & the nurse saw that right away and told us...no it's a good thing, don't worry! So we called Kyle's nurse & she told us that he was being released today as long as he passed the car seat test as well!!! So once we busted Kody out of the hospital we were on our way to go bust little Kyle out!!!

But we had to go home for a little bit before we could go get Kyle...so Tigger got to meet Kody...

Kyle: weighed 5 lbs 13 ozs, he passed the car seat test with flying colors...and we were finally all together as a family!!!
And pics from their first night at home...once we picked up Kyle, we came home to a Welcome Home heart attack on our door from our sweet & dearest friends, the Kitchen Family.

The next morning we had to take them to their first doctor appointment with the Pediatrician...that will be in the next post :)

The birth story...how Kyle & Kody came to be at 35 1/2 wks

Sorry this is so long...but I am also using this as a journal so here we go!!!!

I was going into the hospital 2 times a week for non-stress testing per doc orders. On 9/30/08 my parents came back into town & said they would take me to the non-stress testing at the hospital. So yeah I didn't have to drive or sit & wait by myself! That morning Kevin left at 5am and I couldn't get back to sleep so I was up for a few hours. I finally went back to bed & woke up 20 mins before my 11am appointment at the hospital. Literally 1 minute before my parents got to my house. I figured oh well I will get dressed & get there when I get there. No time for a shower...will have to do that when I get home...little did I know...

I got to the hospital & no other patients were there yet so I figured I would be in and out of testing within 20 mins. Well when I came in another lady came in & it was more of an emergency...so they took care of her first...no problem...then another emergency case...and another...and another...so 40 mins later I was finally hooked up. I was fine and relaxed because I didn't have anything else going on that day. I was at home on bed rest after all!

Well I had high blood pressure so they let me sit for a while & tested it again. They propped me up on my left side to help...but it was still high... 150/101...so they did some blood work on me to see...the previous week I had protein in my urine so they were watching that anyway. My test always came back saying I was fine & I could go home so I was not concerned at all...then I had a doctor come talk to me about my results...never a good sign!

Dr. Brar told me that I had extremely high blood pressure and they were concerned for myself along with the babies...they wanted to give me some magnesium and do a c-section at 3pm today....WAIT WHAT??????? Kevin had just left this morning...by now it was 1:30pm and there was no way he could get back by 3pm! There was no way I could go through this without him!!! Kevin is my rock & no one can calm me, take care of me or relax me like he can and I did not want him to miss the birth of our boys...and I knew he wouldn't want to miss it either! IO told the doctor the situation and asked if we could wait till the next day for the c-section as long as it was safe...she said they would monitor me but with the magnesium she felt I could wait till the next day. I had mild pre-eclampsia...

I called Kevin & told him to get home...he was thankfully able to get on a 2:30pm flight with no problems...luckily my parents were with me through all of this otherwise I could have been such a wreck! They kept me hooked up for the rest of the day and watched me closely. Kevin finally got to the hospital around 6pm after stopping at the house to get stuff together (my bag wasn't even packed yet as I NEVER expected this!!!)

They set me up in a birthing suite for the night (it was incredible!), I had the nicest nurses...and then I got the magnesium!!! Oh my gosh! They said I would get hot, but I didn't expect to get that hot! The mag is supposed to relax you and lower your blood pressure. I felt like it was 120 degrees and I was sitting in the direct sunlight! It was miserable! I was sweating so badly! I asked my nurse if she knew what time my c-section was scheduled for and she told me that there was 1 c-section scheduled for 8am and then there were 2 "emergency" c-sections which were another lady and myself. She said it all depended on who needed to have it done first.

Well they ran some tests on me in the middle of the night & the nurse was concerned. So they ran more blood work on me. Apparently the results were ok because we didn't do the c-section then! Around 7:15am I asked my nurse what time my c-section was planned for and she told me that it was at 8am...I was first up...apparently I needed it the most...

So here are a few pics showing how big I actually got...swelling and all...

And here we are as I was on 10/1/08 my way to my c-section at 7:56am...

Then Kyle was born at 8:22am at 6lbs 5 ozs. 18 inches long, and Kody was born at 8:23am at 4 lbs 15 ozs 17 inches long. Kody had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck 2 times. So I was even more thankful that I went early and they were taken by c-section!

The first time I got to see the boys...they were so much cuter than I expected!!!

...at 8:36am here was the proud daddy...

After this picture was when all the scariness began...

They found out the boys could not fully breathe on their own.

Kyle was first put on blow by oxygen, and then he was put in the hood on 40 % oxygen.

Kody was also first put on blow by oxygen, and then he was put in the hood on 30 % oxygen.

I saw the boys when they were born next to my head in the picture above...and then I didn't get to see them for another 9 hours when they were wheeling me upstairs on a gernie. Kevin was in the nursery with them and sending me pictures and texts to keep me updated.

The next day, 10/2/08, Kody came off the oxygen completely! And Kyle went down to 30 % oxygen. Then through out the day he went up to 42% oxygen and had 2 x-rays. The doctors and nurses said they could keep a baby there in the nursery up to 55% oxygen. So we still thought we were safe.

Then around 11pm...we received the worst new ever!!! Kyle was up to 50% oxygen and getting worse. They informed us he would have to be Air-Evaced to another hospital that could handle his condition. We called our good friend Ryan Kiedrowski to come help Kevin give him a blessing. We didn't know what it meant for our little Kyle. We were so scared and total wrecks! Ryan came right over. After the specialists did a procedure on Kyle's umbilical cord so that they could draw blood and use it as an IV, and he received his 3rd x-ray...they felt it was due to under developed lungs and not pneumonia. The neonatalogists decided that he would send Kyle to Thunderbird hospital. He had a hard time deciding to send Kyle away because he hates to split up twins. Some twins will actually do worse when they are split up. So we were in the nursery as they packed up our little man & took him away.

That was literally the worst night of my life!!! We cried so hard! We didn't know what to expect. Kevin was getting ready to head over there when they told us to allow 1 1/s hrs before we called to check on him. So at 1:45am on 10/3/08 we called the hosital and found out that they put him on the CPAP machine, he was at 48% oxygen and .6 pressure. He was doing well and was stable, and they put an IV in his head. They said they would run blood work at 5 am and would let us know if anything changed. The blood work that morning came back better than expected so they were just keeping him stable on the CPAP.

Kody was doing well off of oxygen & now just needing to gain weight.

I will post the events from 10/4/08-10/8/08 in my next post as this one is gettting pretty long!

Thankful

The past week I have really thought about all that I have to be thankful for. This truly has been an incredible year for me and my family. I thought I would put together a list starting at the beginning of the year with all that I have to be thankful for...(these are not in order of importance just chronological)

1. I was called to first counselor in Young Women's at church

2. I found out I was pregnant which I didn't think would be possible

3. I got to travel to Portland, Oregon for a fun girls weekend and Twilight movie hunting

4. We found out I was pregnant with twins!!!

5. We found out I was pregnant with twin boys!!!

6. Breaking Dawn came out...the final book in the Twilight Saga...& I got to go to the Midnight release party with the girls in our Team Edward t's

7. I was shown in so many ways how lucky I am that I have so many incredible friends

8. I gave birth to Kyle & Kody...and became a MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9. I turned 25 years old

10. It was a rocky start for the boys but they were able to come home after 8 days in the NICU

11. I was able to have Kevin their at the hospital and with us once we got home for 3 wks!

12. I have been blessed to have family members come visit and help me out with Kyle & Kody while Kevin is in CA 3 days a week

13. The Twilight Movie came out...had a smokin opening weekend of 70.55 million & New Moon was given the green light!

14. I quit my job to become a stay at home mommy (my lifelong dream!)

15. Kevin was even more blessed at work!!!

...And the year isn't over yet! I know I am forgetting some things but I feel so blessed and am so thankful for all the wonderful friends and family that we have in our lives. Some things listed may seem silly but that's how life it! Heavenly Father has truly blessed us this year!

My Snuggle Bugs...

Everyone keeps asking for new pics, so here are some new pics of our loveable little guys...we are having so much fun with them! And surprisingly enough we aren't as tired as we thought we would be! :)

My little Kody...

And my little Kyle...

I hope to have more time this week to post more pics...these were just done quickly...

They're here!!!

Ok so I wanted to write up all about the events since 9/30/08, so that was why no pics were posted yet. But with twins right now...it will have to wait a little bit...

So here they are...our little love bugs have arrived!

Kyle James

born on 10/1/08 at 8:22 am

6 lbs. 5 ozs. 18 inches long

Kody Kevin
born on 10/1/08 at 8:23 am
4 lbs. 15 ozs. 17 inches long

It was a long 8 days having the boys in 2 different hospitals...so here is our first family photo. We took Kody home & then found out Kyle was being released on the same day! So we got to bring both boys home from their different hospitals on the same day!

Our little love bugs...

We are loving life right now as mommy & daddy! Our little guys light up our life & keep us laughing! We couldn't be happier right now!

35 wks...

So I started having pains on my left side on Wednesday, and was just ignoring them because I figured they were muscles stretching and stuff. Well each day the pain got worse and my sleep was becoming less and less. I couldn't lift my left leg without help, and I couldn't sleep more than an hour at a time. I woke up at 5 am Friday and was in so much pain I didn't know what to do. I found that a bath had helped the night before, so I got back in the bathtub looking for some relief. Kevin came in around 5:45 am to see how I was doing and I wasn't doing much better. The bath wasn't helping like it had the night before. So he had me call the hospital & they told me to come in. With twins they said they couldn't take any risks. Most of you know I have a VERY high tolerance for pain and I don't say anything unless its really bad. With pregnancy though, it's not just me I have to worry about! I was worried that something may be wrong with my kidney's or liver or some other organ and then toxins were starting to be released to the babies. Mainly because the pain continued to get worse and it was so much work to just get out of bed, where as the week before I could do so much more!

So we went to the hospital at 6 am and they hooked me up. They monitored me for a few hours and the boys did great, just moved around a lot and Baby B even kicked the nurse when she was trying to reposition the monitor! It was funny, she got a kick out of it! She had had triplets so she knew what I was going through! I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes and they were good size ones so I got my 3rd shot of terbutaline! I still wasn't dilated though which was good! Then they found blood in my urine so they had to test it further for possible kidney infection or kidney stone, but all turned out to be fine! They made sure they had all the info they needed so I didn't have to come back later for my non-stress testing. We left at 8:40 am only to return right across the street for our 9:40 am doctors appointment.

Our appointment went great. I measured 43 weeks. The doctors and nurses still continue to tell me how small I am for how large my little guys are! I think I must just carry them well! And they said I was doing so well and they were so happy with how far I have made it! It seemed like they expected my little ones to make an appearance before now! So I guess the perinatal doctor was right when he said I was the perfect specimen to carry twins! :) So next week we will find out whether my c-section will be done at 37 or 38 weeks!!! That's if I don't go into labor first! :)

Also, I have pics of the belly & hope to be posting them soon as I finally got a card reader to replace my one that died!

34 wks...

So we had our appointment with the perinatal specialist today. Both babies look really good. Stomachs, Kidneys & Bladder all operational! They were also doing the practice breathing which was really good!

Baby A was breach & appears to weigh 6 lbs 1 oz, which is large for his age. His heartbeat was 150 BPM.

Baby B was transverse & appears to weigh 4 lbs 8 ozs, which is normal for his age. His heartbeat was 140 BPM.

So I have almost 11 lbs of baby in me right now! Not to mention the 2 bags of amniotic fluid & 2 separate placentas!!!

So it appears I will be a c-section as my doctor said this ultrasound would determine that. They were both head to head & I guess forming an upside down "L" this time. Baby A is sitting on my cervix & facing my spine, while Baby B's head is on my left and feet are on my right facing my spine as well. So needless to say we didn't get any new good pictures.

Here are the two little heads...

And here is the back of Baby A's head...

And the back of Baby B's head...

We made another appointment with the perinatal specialist just in case, but they don't think I will still be prego by then!!! Crazy how soon they will be here!!!

...OB dr. appt...

So I had my weekly doctor appointment. So far so good. Still not dilated. We discussed preeclampsia further...and I learned how scary it could be. With preeclampsia the only cure is delivery. But once you have reached clampsia, basically the mother can have seizures which will cut off the blood supply to the babies. Obviously not good! Doc said it's seizures, coma & then death! In that order, if not treated properly & in time! He said the more I try to do without staying down, the tighter I walk the line and am at risk for falling over! He said it is rare, but with twins I am at a higher risk for it! So they are keeping an eye on me...

Doc also said I gained 6 lbs in a week, but he could see that it was all water weight in my feet, ankles & hands...which told him I was doing too much. I told him I was staying down & only going downstairs 3-4 times a day to heat up food that my husband had made & left for me. But otherwise I was being good. He said all women say that, but he bets that if he looked through my window he would see me doing way more than I should. My blood pressure had dropped from last week so that was good news!

So apparently I need to take it more seriously. I thought I was, but apparently not! We see the perinatal specialist tomorrow & my doc said what position they are in will determine whether I have vaginal or c-section delivery...oh my goodness! It is getting so close!!!!!!!!!!!

...apparently my weekly visit now...

So I have been trying to stay down & be on official "bed rest". I have been doing really well with it. Wednesday though, I thought that my water may have sprung a leak. So finally at 10:45pm I talked to Kevin & he thought I should call the hospital to see if I needed to come in. It took me all day because I didn't think this was what it could be...so I called the labor & delivery department at the hospital and told them. I spoke with the same lady that had monitored me last week and she told me I needed to come in & she would see me in a few minutes.

I had been on the phone with my girlfriend Amy and she said she was coming to get me. So at 11pm the adventure began. We went to the hospital and the nurse hooked me up to the monitors. They watched them for a while & they looked good. Then once they took my blood pressure they told me it was high, but would take it again later...well it was the same. They then tested my urine & found protein in it. So these are 2 major signs for preeclampsia, and since I am prego with twins I am at risk for preeclampsia. Not knowing much about it, I was still in shock & it hadn't set in what the risk really was. They drew blood to find out more & while we were waiting for the results, they did the exam and found that my water had not broken yet & I was still not dilated. So that was good news...

Poor Kevin was sitting at home waiting to see if he needed to hop in the car & race home. Only cure for preeclampsia is delivery. Thankfully the blood work came back and all was well! They said I was good to go! It was so good to have Amy there with me. I was going to try to go by myself, but I'm glad she came with me! I was a lot more calm having her there! I felt safer and she kept my mind occupied when I need it most!

So Amy & I arrived home at 2:30 AM!!! And I had a doctor appt at 9:30am...so it was off to bed for me! She had 3 kids that would be up in a mater of hours...not sure how she was going to pull that off! She is amazing! She was in high spirits the whole time & never once complained or made a comment! Amy you are incredible!!! :)

...ooppps...

So after talking with Kevin last night I found out that I misunderstood my bed rest. I thought it was okay for 1 activity a day, but it turns out...no! I was wrong! I am on bed rest, but instead of only being able to go to the bathroom & back to bed, I am allowed to heat up my own food & quick computer time (like 15 mins)...which as most of you know will be a killer for me!

Kevin made me stay in bed all weekend & the contractions were drastically reduced. So it is doing what it is supposed to! I had my Non-stress testing today, and the contractions were on the boarder where they would either make me stay or I could go home. Thankfully they were on the lower side so I slide past & was able to go home!

So, sorry if I am unable to return emails. I am big on texting now & have my phone by me at all times, but I am also trying to take some naps!

Hard to believe the little ones will be here so soon! I can't wait to meet them, hold them & see their cute little faces!

So this week, I had my non-stress testing today. I have a doctor appointment with my OB on Thursday, then I have an appointment with the perinatal specialist on Friday (where we get to spy on our little guys & get more pics!!!) and then more non-stress testing Friday. I feel like I am living at either the doctors or the hospital now!

our dr. appt.

So we had our "emergency" doctor appointment on Friday from all of the contractions. I still wasn't dilated & my test for pre-term labor in the next week came back negative. So the doctor said he thinks this is just how my body is dealing with the twins. He said everyone's body is different and apparently I am going to have the real contractions as my body gets ready. But if they change in any way I am to get my but to the hospital! He wants to monitor me more closely and see me every week. I am on bed rest. Which he said not recliner rest, not sofa rest, but literally in bed on my side! But thankfully as long as I stay in bed all day long I can still do 1 small activity a day. Like scrapbook night, mutual, low key girls night, go to church, etc...

And apparently the meds he could give me, like the terbutaline (shot or pill kind), only last for 30 mins so he said they are pointless. Which now makes sense since both times I started having contractions around 1 hour after I received the shot!

And the biggest news to me...he said he just wanted to keep them in there for 3 more weeks! Oh my gosh! That is so soon! I feel so unorganized & not ready at all!!! So...now it's crunch time to get ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...and so it continues...

So after everything that happened Wednesday, the nurses had me watching everything I was doing, and what my body was doing. I had my first contraction around 10:30am...and then I got on the computer for a few hours & then finally went back up to bed (since I was put on bed rest). I wasn't really watching my contractions until later on in the day & I had been laying down for a while. The nurse told me I had to come back if I had 4 contractions in an hour...well once I started monitoring...I was having a contraction every 10 minutes and this went on for 2 hours. I was hesitant to do anything because I my car battery was still disconnected so I was going to have to bug someone again.

I finally got to talk to Kevin & he told me to get my but to the hospital. So I had to take a quick shower and quickly get ready. Once I got out of bed the contractions were coming closer & closer. I had my girlfriend Erika drop me off at the hospital. Bless her heart, she is due in 3 weeks & had to get her little guy out of her ribs so she could drive! In the 10 minutes I was monitoring on the way to the hospital I had 3 contractions. Kevin was flying home & would be there in a few hours, and after the ordeal from Wednesday I figured I would be there for a few hours! They hooked me up & after 20 minutes I had 3 big contractions. The nurse came in shaking her head with terbutaline in hand. Thus I got my second shot. They monitored me again & the contractions stopped. Not one during that time. The nurse told me the doctor was going to have to do something, put me on meds, permanent bed rest or something to stop the contractions.

So they released me because I still wasn't dilated & I was seeing my doctor at 9am Friday morning, so only a few hours away.

As I was signing the paperwork my girlfriend Amy called me & asked if she could come sit with me. I told her actually they just released me & she said she was on her way to get me!

Amy didn't want to leave me until Kevin got home (she is such a sweetheart!), so she stayed with me. Against my will she unloaded my dishwasher, re-loaded it and dished me up some ice cream. I couldn't believe it1 Then she stayed with me until it was only 30 more mins till Kevin got home. I love her to death!

Again I was blessed beyond belief with my incredible friends! I love you girls!!!!

What a fun day!

Ok so I just have to tell you of what an interesting day I had yesterday! So I usually stay down all day & do 1 thing a day. Well I had my non-stress testing scheduled for 1pm. I figured while I was out I would make a quick stop at ULTA & another at the library to pick up a book I had reserved. I got ready & went out to the car, and I was going to be early to my test at the hospital, which since I have been pregnant I can't be on time to save my life!!!

So I put everything in the car, I had the passenger door open & reached across & put the key in the ignition to get the car started. Well there is a security mechanism on the alarm and some how I set it off! The alarm was going off non stop & was so incredibly loud. I tried everything I could to stop the alarm, to no avail! This happened once before but Kevin was home & fixed it. I called Kevin on both of his cell phones & could not reach him. I called him at the office & they tracked him down for me. I closed the garage so the neighbors wouldn't be disturbed by the alarm as much.

Basically I came to find out that the car was disabled now & I couldn't drive it. I called my girlfriend Nicki & she was able to take me to the hospital for my testing. While she was on her way over I had to figure out how to disconnect the siren for the alarm. I couldn't have Kevin walk me through it on the phone because I couldn't hear him with the alarm going off. So he told me what to do & then I was on my own! I hadn't realized until now that I had never popped the hood of a car & looked under all by myself! So I popped the hood (I did know where to find that thank goodness!) :), but then I had to find the latch to get the hood up. The alarm is screaming at me the entire time & it's echoing because I still have the garage door closed for the neighbors sake! I finally get the hood up, but I can't find the stick to prop the hood up. I found the wire I had to disconnect & I needed a screwdriver. So I set the hood down, grabbed a screwdriver & went back to the car & of course the hood re-latched so then I had to mess with it again.

I was running late at this point to I am totally flustered. When I start unscrewing the screw to release the wire, the alarm has another security feature that it screams even louder & more rapid! My ears were killing me & I can imagine what my 2 little guys were going through since they were closer to the action! I had to take the screw out completely because otherwise it still kept chirping! The alarm was still going off, lights flashing & all, but at least it was quiet now!

Nicki got to my house shortly after & we left. I got to the hospital a few minutes late, but we were good! This was only supposed to be a 20-30 minute test...yeah I should have known with the day I was having! It took the 1st nurse a while to find both heartbeats, & so she called in another nurse to find the other heartbeat. We get the heart beats on there, but the 1st nurse forgot to put on the contraction monitor! So we had to start our time over again.

One of my little guys heartbeats would disappear every time it peaked so then they had to do an ultrasound. While we were waiting for the ultrasound tech to come up they watched my contractions. I just figured I was always having braxton hicks, apparently not! So then they had to run more tests. They needed to check me to see if I was dilated & then do a test to see if I was going to go into preterm labor within the next wk or 2.

Nicki had to go get her kids, as well as Melissa's & Tammi's from school so I told her I would call her when I was finally done since I didn't know when that would be at this point!

The ultrasound techs arrived a little later & told me they would be doing a 8 point test on each baby & would take an hour! A half hour for each baby! Both babies were perfect and scored 8 out of 8. There first test and already 100%! That's my boys! :) Anyway, then after they spoke with the doctor he wanted them to give me a shot of terbutaline and monitor me for another hour, and then recheck to see if I had dilated any. I only had 1 contraction in the hour after my shot & was still not dilated so they allowed me to go home, but told me I had to come back if I had 4 contractions in a hour. I have to go back Saturday for more monitoring and then see the doctor on Monday. They put me on bed rest until I see the doc on Monday.

I called Nicki & went to wait downstairs for her. I had 1 contraction while I was waiting, then another one right after I got in the car, and a 3rd right after I got home! Needless to say I was running to bed! Kevin called our wonder neighbor Charlie & he came over right away with his son-in-law & disconnected the battery of the car so the alarm would stop!

On top of all of this I was in charge of the Mutual activity for church last night which was a big one, "Standards Night". We were playing human CLUE with around 30 teenagers! All the ladies took over & got it done. They are so awesome & I appreciate their help sooooo much! You girls are the best! I heard everything went well & the kids had fun which was the point of the whole thing!

So now I am on bed rest until further notice & have no wheels, which I guess technically I don't need right now... :) I am truly blessed to have sooooo many incredible people in my life right now! I never ask people for things because I never want to inconvenience anyone, so this was a HUGE learning & growing experience for me! No one hesitated and everyone was there for me! Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with so many incredible friends! I feel so incredibly lucky to have my husband, my 2 little miracles on the way, my little son Tigger, and especially the friends that I have out here! I don't think anyone is more blessed than I currently am!!!

32 wks...

We had our 32 wk appointment and everything looks great. I measured 41 wks. They still tell me how small I am for how large the babies are. I am having contractions, I'm not dilated yet (which shocks me some becuase Baby A kicks the opening as though he is trying to escape! I am effacing though. They are sending me to do non-stress testing 2 times a week now! It's getting close!

Midnight Sun...

Showing some support for Stephenie...hoping she will reconsider & finish writing & publishing Midnight Sun! All of her fans would still buy the book & wait for it! We need it Stephenie...please...for your true fans!!!

30 wks...

So we had our 30 wk appointments today. First at the Perinatal Specialists office, and then Second at the OB's office.

Both little guys are growing and slightly increasing in their rate of growth. Baby A, my active one, was stretched out & awake when we got there, but when it was time for his pictures he went to sleep & would not wake up no matter how much she poked him! His head is on my right, and he stretches around the bottom of my belly and his feet are on my left side. He measured 3 lbs 11 ozs, and in the 73rd percentile. His heartbeat was 136 BPM.

Baby B, my little sweet one, was awake, but cramped. Poor little guy is squished curving around the top of my belly. His head meets his brothers feet on my left (still!), and his tushy meets his brothers head on my right. His little feet are above his head! I feel so bad for my little passive guy! I wish he would push his brother over!!! He measured 3 lbs 5 ozs, and in the 50th percentile. His heartbeat was 140 BPM.

Here are the new pics we got!



Then at the OB's they reviewed the report from the Perinatal Specialists office saying all was well & still was not dilated which was good! Apparently the little ones had shifted since the last visit because I only measured 37 wks this time! Both doctors said I was small for how big they were! I have over 7 lbs of baby in me! Most of the twins they see come between 34 wks & 36 wks. It's not far off now! I can't believe it! My little guys could be here in a month!!!

AZ Baby Shower

Saturday August 16th, my incredible friends threw a beautiful shower for me to celebrate my two little guys. It was so much fun and we were truly spoiled! We feel so blessed to have such great friends out here! We are both the happiest that we have ever been thanks to beautiful Surprise, AZ, and all of our incredible friends!

Here are pics of just some of the wonderful people in our lives!

Movement...

So Wednesday night, July 2, 2008, I was laying in bed staring at my tummy & watching TV. All of the sudden I saw my stomach go up. I was being kicked from the inside...my little guys were moving! As this is my first pregnancy I never knew for sure if I was feeling them or not. It was the most incredible feeling ever! I started crying.

They have been moving around ever since. Baby A more than Baby B, but I love it! This is the major thing I will miss once they are finally here.

Kevin loves to feel them move around. When we go to sleep at night he always has his arm around my tummy & they sit there & kick it. One day Kevin was talking to them & his shoulder was barely touching my tummy & they kicked it. We always giggle at how territorial they seem to be. Whenever I wear the tummy support to help with the weight they kick it until I finally give in & take it off. I love my little nudgers! :) (those that have read Breaking Dawn from the Twilight series will know what I mean by that! This spurred such a connection for me in the book, when her little nudger nudged her, so did mine! I so understand Bella through this book!)

Now I feel them rolling around as it gets smaller in there for them...I love every minute of feeling my little guys! I love my little guys so much more already, than I thought I ever could!

28 wks...

We had our 28 week appointment today. All appears to be going well. As far as my back hurting, the doctor said it wouldn't get better till I stopped working! So this is one of the reasons that next week will be my last week working, that and the risk of preterm labor. The doctor thinks my uterus will get to a certain size and say "ok, I'm done" & therefore put me into labor. Otherwise the doctor doesn't think he will induce me until I am 38 wks! Oh my goodness! 10 more wks! How huge will I be then!!! He measured me to see how many wks I was (however many centimeters you measure that is usually how many wks pregnant you are). So, I measured 42 wks! Of course it is different with twins, but it was interesting to know that I will never be any bigger than I am now! :) 2 wks ago I measured 34 wks! And 2 wks before that I measured 31 wks, so they are steadily growing bigger!

Our next ultrasound will be on 8/22/08, so we can't wait! We love spying on our little guys!

Breaking Dawn Release...

So most of you know my obsession with the Twilight series...Well the fourth and final book was coming out on August 2nd at midnight...so naturally my girlfriends & I had to be there...but we had to make shirts first! :) So our weekly Tuesday night scrapbook night turned into Team Edward night!

So then we had to wear them out for the big night on the town!!!

We had so much fun! We met at my house at 8pm, went to Barnes and Nobel to get in line for our bracelets. Which we totally lucked out because our groups # started at 18 and continued on to around 30. Everyone seemed to get there after us! We went the Chick-Fil-A for desert & then came back & played games. They had trivia and then we were supposed to make Bella's Prom dress or Wedding dress in groups of 4 out of the supplies they gave us. Tammi's team won & they got $10 gift certificates they could use that night! It was a true girls night out & I loved it! I didn't get home till 2 am!