Sorry for not posting sooner and I apologize in advance for the short post. I am more busy than ever this first week! Last Friday October 19th all our dreams came true. Mckenna and Kailey arrived safe and sound at 2:09 and 2:10. Mckenna was 6lbs 2oz and Kailey was 5lbs 13oz I had been at the doctor on Wed and no contractions or signs of labor but my feet and legs were so swollen I thought they would pop. My urine was not showing any protein in it but the doctor drew blood just to see if any of the other factors would show up for preclampsia. Nothing was sky high a few of the markers were slightly elevated so they wanted me to do a 24 hour urine and come back on Friday for ultrasound and stress test.
When I got to the appointment my morning urine had protein in it. I have to say I was more than ready to meet my girls I was so uncomfortable and miserable words can't even describe. I had gained 60 lbs 10 of which was just in the last week of my pregnancy from all the swelling. Dr. Holden came in and said well you ready to have a birthday today? She confirmed I still wanted to have a c section since both girls were head down. No doubt in my mind I wanted the c section. Dr. Hubbell was the doctor on call and would be the one doing my section at roughly 1 o'clock. I have a long history with Dr. Hubbell from miscarriages to him monitoring this pregnancy. I was so thankful he would be the one bringing our miracles into the world. He is such a patient man and nothing really rattles him. I was so excited that this day had finally come but I was so scared about the epidural and worried that something still could go wrong at delivery. I called Travis and my mom and headed over to Lake Forest Women's center.
Normal monitoring and paper work ensued. I had requested Dr. Dee to be my anesthesiologist he was in a meeting off site but my nurse said she would call him and see if he would be willing to come over and do my section. He said he would be there after his meeting. I can't believe how accommodating and wonderful the staff at Lake Forest was. The head of anesthesia actually would come in and do my case that's amazing. By this time everyone had arrived. My mom, dad and niece and Travis's mom. Travis's sister Darci lives 3 hours away and was at work and was chomping at the bit to be there but she couldn't get out of work but the great aunt that she is she hopped in the car as soon as she got off work and headed down to meet her nieces.
At around 2 o'clock we headed into the operating room. My mom was able to come in because she works as a scrub tech at the hospital in the maternity ward. Dr. Dee did my epidural and believe it or not it didn't even hurt my IV in my arm hurt worst than that but what a weird feeling to be numb from the legs down. After I was all prepped they brought Travis in. He was right by me the whole time holding my hand and rubbing my head. I was worried he wouldn't be able to handle it in the OR but he did great. Dr. Hubbell walked in and before he started working said Oh my God Brooke how are you even walking. We all laughed. Everyone in the OR was relaxed and chatting. It made me feel very much at ease. At 2:09 I heard the most wonderful sound little Ms. Mckenna graced the world with her first cry. I couldn't see her right away they did the routine stuff but I heard her and knew she was okay. 1 minute later Kailey came out wailing. She made her presence known right away. After everyone was confirmed healthy they brought them over and out them right by my face I kissed there little foreheads and thanked god for the miracles he had given us. Off to recovery for the girls and Travis while they finished stitching me up. Everyone in the OR had known our story and prayed for us and the girls. So it was great that they could see God's work at it's finest. I joked that it wasn't fair I did all this work and Travis gets to hold the girls first where's the fairness in that!
I finally went to recovery and held and breastfeed my girls as soon as we could. They were doing great but my blood pressure was very high. So they were doing everything they could to get it down. It did finally come down and they moved us to our room room 1211. Everyone came in to meet the girls but only for a brief moment because my blood pressure was going up again and I was experiencing some swelling at the incision site so they wanted me to rest. The girls were doing a great job breastfeeding and I was supplementing with formula after every feeding to make sure they didn't lose to much weight. That night I sent them to the nursery so Travis and I could get some sleep and rest up for the big days ahead I needed my strength and some sleep I was exhausted.
Saturday morning the pediatrician came to check the girls out. Both girls were a little jaundice very normal they would monitor that but Kailey had a little heart murmer also very common. They wanted to watch that and would check it the next day. On Monday she got an EKG and we were told that it should close by the time she is one but it will require monitoring.
Travis is a great dad! He did not have much experience with infants so he was a little worried about how he would do. It came very natural to him. He jumped right in changing diapers and cuddling and consouling all his girls including mommy. He went home on Sunday and got the house in order while my family visited.
I am doing amazingly well for having major surgery. I stopped taking pain meds on Tuesday but the best thing I did for the first few days was to take them every 4 hours so my pain never became crippling and I was able to care for the girls. Breastfeeding is going great as well. Both girls latch very well but they do eat every two hours they are hungry little girls. Mckenna makes sure she gets more than her fair share! She is a little piggy and much more vocal than her sister. Kailey is my patient girl. It's only been a week but their personalities are very distinct. I love being a mom and Travis keeps telling the girls how much he loves them.
Thank you to my support team during this past week My mom, Darci and Grandma Reuss and of course my loving husband Travis. I love you all so much and am so thankful to have you all in our lives.
I
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Energizer Buny
Were like the energizer bunny without the energy still going! I am going to be 37 weeks tomorrow and still pregnant. I can't believe it. I lost my mucous plug last Tuesday so I called the doctor nothing to be alarmed about it could be one day or it could be 2 weeks they said plus I had an appointment the next day anyways. They hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor everything looked good still not a lot of contractions. When Dr. did my internal though she said I was 1 cm dialated and 80-90% effaced. I thought for sure we were going to meet our little angels last weekend. No such luck. I even did acupuncture twice to get things moving no luck. My girls seem to be very content in their little oven. I on the other hand now not only have swollen ankles but have grown tree stumps for legs from the knee down. My skin is so tight it is actually splitting and getting sores. I am off to the doctor tomorrow for another check I will keep you posted! Hopefully we can meet our girls soon!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
35 weeks and still going
I am HUGE!!! Last week I went for ultrasound both girls weigh 4.7 lbs and mom weighs 172. They are doing great. I am on weekly monitoring with my doctor at this point. The doctor says twins usually come between 34 and 36 weeks. I don't think our girls have any plans of coming anytime soon. My cervix has started to soften and I am still experiencing some contractions. Other than that we are doing great. I am still working I have cut back my work week by just 4 hours so I am still going strong. Although walking and normal activity is getting harder and harder everyday. My right ankle is really swollen now almost to the point that I can't get a shoe on. I go back to the doctor tommorow so we will see if there is any progress. I have opted to have a c section no matter what. There are just to many things that can go wrong during a natural birth with twins. I don't need any emergency situations arising. If I don't go into labor by Oct 25th we have a c section scheduled. At that point I would be 38.5 weeks. 21 days and yes I am counting. I am ready to meet our girls!
It still doesn't seem real that we are going to be parents let alone parents of twins. Fun Fun. We did get to have a first hand view of how things go this past weekend. Birdies for Babies golf outing was this weekend and I sat with Katie and her girls for a couple hours while we waited for the golfers to come in. Her girls are beautiful but oh man can you see what we are in for. It's going to be a lot of work but we are ready! Come out and play Kailey and Mckenna!
It still doesn't seem real that we are going to be parents let alone parents of twins. Fun Fun. We did get to have a first hand view of how things go this past weekend. Birdies for Babies golf outing was this weekend and I sat with Katie and her girls for a couple hours while we waited for the golfers to come in. Her girls are beautiful but oh man can you see what we are in for. It's going to be a lot of work but we are ready! Come out and play Kailey and Mckenna!
Monday, September 3, 2012
30 weeks and scared
I went to my Ob on August 24th and had an ultrasound. Everything checked out great! Mckenna weighed 3 lbs and Kailey weighed 3lbs 4 oz. I weighed 160! My cervix was closed and no signs of early labor. Overall a very good check up for all the ladies. Everything is getting a little harder to do and again less energy for me to do it with.
Thursday brought a whole new set of circumstances. When I first got to work I noticed a little spot of blood. I didn't get to alarmed but then about 10 minutes later I went to the bathroom again and there was a little more blood. Leaving nothing to chance I called my doctors emergency number. I wasn't having any cramping and felt fine so they said I could come to the office in the afternoon. I saw my patients and really wasn't all that nervous. I just figured with all the girls movement they stretched something to far or kicked something they shouldn't have.
When I got to the doctors office they hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor. This machine measures the girls heartbeat as well as if I am having any contractions. Dr. O came in and said the girls were doing great but they wanted to monitor my contractions. After about 30 minutes she said I had one pretty big contraction with some other little ones. She wanted to admit me to the hospital overnight so they could watch us all. All of sudden things had gotten pretty serious. Dr. O was telling me that the girls were still to little and if they were coming we need to give me a steroid shot for their lungs but scarier yet if I delivered they would have to go to Evanston NICU. All my worst fears were starting to come true. I never wanted my girls in the NICU plus it was way to early for them to come I was only 30 weeks and 2 days. I tried to stay calm because the more I upset and stressed I got I figured the worse it was for the girls. I called Travis and let him know what was going on but told him not to come rushing over just yet. I wanted to get to hospital and see if things calmed down. At the doctors office they did a swab that can determine if you are secreting any enzymes that are produced before you go into labor. It takes a couple hours to get the results though. When I got to the hospital they hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor again and everyone had seemed to calm down. Contractions had slowed and were much less intense. After two hours Dr. Tart came in and said my swab came back negative and everything seemed to be normal for 30 weeks of pregnancy. If everything stayed that way I could go home after a couple more hours of monitoring. Everything turned out to be okay but it was an eye opener as to how quickly things can change. these things are all normal with a twin pregnancy. My body thinks I am a full term pregnancy so it wants to deliver. There is so much pressure and stretching it signals your body to go into labor.
From here on out I have been instructed to decrease my activity to basically going to work and coming home and on weekends resting as much as I can and no lifting not even a laundry basket!. I have had to cut down one of my work days to a half day. It's much better than complete bedrest or everyone making an early entrance. From here on out it is day by day and I go weekly for doctors appointments.
On the fun side of things I have had my work showers. Both were a surprise so it was so fun. My close friends and family shower is the Saturday. I am looking forward to it. The girls nursery is still not totally complete. I just decided on window treatments. I just want everything to be perfect for them. I have never had such trouble making decorating decisions. So for now we continue to pray and focus on the positive and everyday I remind the girls it's not time to come out and play yet. They have to grow a little bigger so they can come home with mommy and daddy.
Thursday brought a whole new set of circumstances. When I first got to work I noticed a little spot of blood. I didn't get to alarmed but then about 10 minutes later I went to the bathroom again and there was a little more blood. Leaving nothing to chance I called my doctors emergency number. I wasn't having any cramping and felt fine so they said I could come to the office in the afternoon. I saw my patients and really wasn't all that nervous. I just figured with all the girls movement they stretched something to far or kicked something they shouldn't have.
When I got to the doctors office they hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor. This machine measures the girls heartbeat as well as if I am having any contractions. Dr. O came in and said the girls were doing great but they wanted to monitor my contractions. After about 30 minutes she said I had one pretty big contraction with some other little ones. She wanted to admit me to the hospital overnight so they could watch us all. All of sudden things had gotten pretty serious. Dr. O was telling me that the girls were still to little and if they were coming we need to give me a steroid shot for their lungs but scarier yet if I delivered they would have to go to Evanston NICU. All my worst fears were starting to come true. I never wanted my girls in the NICU plus it was way to early for them to come I was only 30 weeks and 2 days. I tried to stay calm because the more I upset and stressed I got I figured the worse it was for the girls. I called Travis and let him know what was going on but told him not to come rushing over just yet. I wanted to get to hospital and see if things calmed down. At the doctors office they did a swab that can determine if you are secreting any enzymes that are produced before you go into labor. It takes a couple hours to get the results though. When I got to the hospital they hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor again and everyone had seemed to calm down. Contractions had slowed and were much less intense. After two hours Dr. Tart came in and said my swab came back negative and everything seemed to be normal for 30 weeks of pregnancy. If everything stayed that way I could go home after a couple more hours of monitoring. Everything turned out to be okay but it was an eye opener as to how quickly things can change. these things are all normal with a twin pregnancy. My body thinks I am a full term pregnancy so it wants to deliver. There is so much pressure and stretching it signals your body to go into labor.
From here on out I have been instructed to decrease my activity to basically going to work and coming home and on weekends resting as much as I can and no lifting not even a laundry basket!. I have had to cut down one of my work days to a half day. It's much better than complete bedrest or everyone making an early entrance. From here on out it is day by day and I go weekly for doctors appointments.
On the fun side of things I have had my work showers. Both were a surprise so it was so fun. My close friends and family shower is the Saturday. I am looking forward to it. The girls nursery is still not totally complete. I just decided on window treatments. I just want everything to be perfect for them. I have never had such trouble making decorating decisions. So for now we continue to pray and focus on the positive and everyday I remind the girls it's not time to come out and play yet. They have to grow a little bigger so they can come home with mommy and daddy.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Daddy feels his first kicks
Last Saturday night I was sitting out on the deck reading a magazine (because it had finally cooled off enough to be able to enjoy some of the summer I can not tolerate any heat it actually makes me physically ill.) and the whole magazine started to move. I looked down at my tummy and I could see my stomach actually rising and falling as the girls kicked. It was the most powerful movement I have felt yet and for sure the first time I have seen my stomach actually move like that. I can only imagine the fun they were having in there. Travis wasn't home. I was so bummed he hadn't felt the babies move yet. So Sunday all day I waited for them to repeat the same romper room and nothing of that magnitude. The kicks and movements are so sparatic you really have to be in the right place at the right time.
Monday I had a doctors appointment and ultrasound. My mom and dad were both there to see the girls. This was the first time my dad had seen them. I have been spoiled by the the level 2 ultrasound everything is so much clearer so this one was kind of a let down in terms of visuals. Both girls were as active as usual and put on a good show for Papa. My dad was so funny he asked the tech are you sure there are no boys in there. She laughed and said no I am very sorry there is no mistaken these two are girls all the way! Mckenna weighs 1lb 10oz and Kailey weighs 1 lb 8 oz. and I weigh 152 lbs. I don't know who is growing more me or them. I saw the doctor after and again we discussed birthing options. Mckenna has flipped and is no longer breech so that changes things a little bit. Before with a baby being breech there is no question you will have a c section. We went over the pros and cons of each. We hopefully have a long way to go before I have to make those choices but good to start thinking about it now. There are just some many things that could go wrong with a vaginal delivery with twins it almost makes you scared to even try.
So I got home and was showing Travis the ultrasound pictures and Mckenna began to kick I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. He finally felt a little kick just barely he said. I don't feel Kailey move as much so we are waiting for her to give daddy a good feel.
All the excitement and then back to reality on Tuesday. My nurse called to let me know that my hemoglobin had dropped another point from 9.8 to 9.1 and the doctor would like me to go back to the hematologist again. I was so disappointed I thought by adding the extra iron supplement I would be okay but apparently these girls like their iron. I went to see him on Friday and he took more blood to check the actual iron concentration and binding factor level. He is just waiting for the results. I will get them on Monday but he thinks at this point it would be best if I did IV iron once a week until I get caught back up. He only wanted to do this if it was absolutely necessary but it's time he thinks. In our conversation he also said that he didn't want to scare me but that one of the test we ran came back positive for Lupus and Rheumatiod arthritis. He didn't want to make to much out of it because your body can do crazy things when you are pregnant so we will retest once I deliver. First question out of my mouth is how does this effect the girls. It doesn't he said just me. I was thankful but it is still very scary and upsetting. At this point I think no I know I had reached a breaking point and as I left the office I started to cry. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of worse things that could be happening but I was just having a moment of feeling sorry for myself. I am tired all the time and the weight is really starting to make me uncomfortable and now I am scared for my health after this is all over. I wouldn't change a thing by any means but I was still just exhausted and worn down. After a good cry Travis said lets hang the decals in the girls nursery that will make you feel better. So we did and that brought it all home again as long as they are fine I will be too. For the past six years it hasn't been about what I have to put my body through or the sacrifices I have to make it is about making Travis and I parents and right now that has to be my focus. I will survive always have and always will somedays are just better than others.
The bright side is the nursery is coming together and I have started to register at Babies r Us and Target. It still amazes me all the stuff that these two little blessings will need. And for those of you that didn't know Katie Davis gave birth to her little miracles last Saturday. Congrats I can't wait to get down there to hold them! As always thanks for the continued prayers and support at 25 weeks now. Can you believe it?
Monday I had a doctors appointment and ultrasound. My mom and dad were both there to see the girls. This was the first time my dad had seen them. I have been spoiled by the the level 2 ultrasound everything is so much clearer so this one was kind of a let down in terms of visuals. Both girls were as active as usual and put on a good show for Papa. My dad was so funny he asked the tech are you sure there are no boys in there. She laughed and said no I am very sorry there is no mistaken these two are girls all the way! Mckenna weighs 1lb 10oz and Kailey weighs 1 lb 8 oz. and I weigh 152 lbs. I don't know who is growing more me or them. I saw the doctor after and again we discussed birthing options. Mckenna has flipped and is no longer breech so that changes things a little bit. Before with a baby being breech there is no question you will have a c section. We went over the pros and cons of each. We hopefully have a long way to go before I have to make those choices but good to start thinking about it now. There are just some many things that could go wrong with a vaginal delivery with twins it almost makes you scared to even try.
So I got home and was showing Travis the ultrasound pictures and Mckenna began to kick I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. He finally felt a little kick just barely he said. I don't feel Kailey move as much so we are waiting for her to give daddy a good feel.
All the excitement and then back to reality on Tuesday. My nurse called to let me know that my hemoglobin had dropped another point from 9.8 to 9.1 and the doctor would like me to go back to the hematologist again. I was so disappointed I thought by adding the extra iron supplement I would be okay but apparently these girls like their iron. I went to see him on Friday and he took more blood to check the actual iron concentration and binding factor level. He is just waiting for the results. I will get them on Monday but he thinks at this point it would be best if I did IV iron once a week until I get caught back up. He only wanted to do this if it was absolutely necessary but it's time he thinks. In our conversation he also said that he didn't want to scare me but that one of the test we ran came back positive for Lupus and Rheumatiod arthritis. He didn't want to make to much out of it because your body can do crazy things when you are pregnant so we will retest once I deliver. First question out of my mouth is how does this effect the girls. It doesn't he said just me. I was thankful but it is still very scary and upsetting. At this point I think no I know I had reached a breaking point and as I left the office I started to cry. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of worse things that could be happening but I was just having a moment of feeling sorry for myself. I am tired all the time and the weight is really starting to make me uncomfortable and now I am scared for my health after this is all over. I wouldn't change a thing by any means but I was still just exhausted and worn down. After a good cry Travis said lets hang the decals in the girls nursery that will make you feel better. So we did and that brought it all home again as long as they are fine I will be too. For the past six years it hasn't been about what I have to put my body through or the sacrifices I have to make it is about making Travis and I parents and right now that has to be my focus. I will survive always have and always will somedays are just better than others.
The bright side is the nursery is coming together and I have started to register at Babies r Us and Target. It still amazes me all the stuff that these two little blessings will need. And for those of you that didn't know Katie Davis gave birth to her little miracles last Saturday. Congrats I can't wait to get down there to hold them! As always thanks for the continued prayers and support at 25 weeks now. Can you believe it?
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
22 weeks
Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. Life is busy busy. We have been busy remodeling the basement so that the girls have a play area. We have now got that under control and Travis has moved to the girls nursery now. Things are happening and getting very exciting. I on the other hand have had to slow down quite a bit. I have been having some dizzy/fainting spills for the past 3 weeks. So at my 20 week check up they ran a CBC and my iron and hemoglobin came back way low. My doctor referred me to a hematologist. I saw him last Friday he drew 10 tubes of blood and I had to go back yesterday for results. Not everything was in but for the most part everything came back normal. At this point he suggested I double my iron supplement and if that doesn't work we will have to do IV iron. He will recheck my levels in a month. So hears hoping that I can get some energy back. I am sure this heat doesn't help! My favorite thing right now is my pool what a relief to cool down and feel weightless for awhile.
Going back a couple of weeks I had my 20 week level 2 ultrasound and everything checked out great. Both girls are growing and were 9 inches long.. Baby A for right now we will call McKenna Marie weighs 10 ounces. Baby B who we will call Kaylee Ann weighs 9 ounces. Both girls show no signs of any genetic abnormalities. The names are not set in stone but middle names will be these for sure! Travis's mom's middle name is Marie and my mom's middle name is Ann. I really wanted to name them Morgan and McKenna but Travis has always loved the name Kaylee plus he didn't want them called M&M. It is so funny how he thinks about certain things. That never even crossed my mind. So we continued to be very blessed and for the most part are having a very healthy pregnancy. I am seeing my ob every 2 weeks now for cervical checks. I had a great measurement of 5.9 on my cervix which hopefully will keep preterm labor at bay!
Another exciting thing is happening Birdies for Babies golf outing planning is gearing up. It brings us back to such an exciting time in our life. Its so hard to believe it's been a year since the Traders have changed our life. I cannot believe sometimes that this is really my life. My girls have been brought into this world by so many people's help, support and prayers as well as love its amazing! I can't wait to reunite with all these people in Sept. Stay cool! Happy 4th!
Going back a couple of weeks I had my 20 week level 2 ultrasound and everything checked out great. Both girls are growing and were 9 inches long.. Baby A for right now we will call McKenna Marie weighs 10 ounces. Baby B who we will call Kaylee Ann weighs 9 ounces. Both girls show no signs of any genetic abnormalities. The names are not set in stone but middle names will be these for sure! Travis's mom's middle name is Marie and my mom's middle name is Ann. I really wanted to name them Morgan and McKenna but Travis has always loved the name Kaylee plus he didn't want them called M&M. It is so funny how he thinks about certain things. That never even crossed my mind. So we continued to be very blessed and for the most part are having a very healthy pregnancy. I am seeing my ob every 2 weeks now for cervical checks. I had a great measurement of 5.9 on my cervix which hopefully will keep preterm labor at bay!
Another exciting thing is happening Birdies for Babies golf outing planning is gearing up. It brings us back to such an exciting time in our life. Its so hard to believe it's been a year since the Traders have changed our life. I cannot believe sometimes that this is really my life. My girls have been brought into this world by so many people's help, support and prayers as well as love its amazing! I can't wait to reunite with all these people in Sept. Stay cool! Happy 4th!
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