We're home!

Allie and Emily are finally home! We roomed in at the hospital on Monday night and came home on Tuesday afternoon. We are doing great! The girls eat every three hours and pretty much sleep the rest of the time. Landon loves them so much!! Oh yeah...they are fraternal for those of you who are wondering.

New update!

I know I just posted last night with an update on the girls, but I am very pleased to have to update yall again! The doctor called me this morning, and we get to "room in" at the hospital tonight with Allie and Emily! Emily will be fully discharged from the NICU this afternoon, and Allie will still be somewhat monitored throughout the night while the girls sleep in the room with us. For those of you who don't know what "rooming in" is, it's pretty simple. Basically, we'll be staying on the postpartum floor as if I just had the babies. Since the girls went straight to the NICU when they were born, we have never stayed overnight with them. So, the hospital lets us "room in" so we can have access to the nurses, doctors, etc. for one night. Emily will go home with us in the morning and if Allie has a "good feeding" night, she will too. As of now, Allie has taken all of her bottles, so lets hope and pray she keeps up the good work tonight so we can take both luvbugs home with us tomorrow! I'm so excited!!!!

Update

Okay...so I know everyone has been waiting for an update on the sweet baby girls. Allie and Emily are still in the hospital anxiously awaiting their homecoming. They are soooooo close! Like I said in last week's post, they must drink the required amount of breastmilk in a 24 hour period before being discharged. Emily is a little further along than Allie, but she's catching up very quickly. For the past 2 days, Emily has drank all of her bottles except for two. The two that she hasn't drank fully have only had a few milliliters left in them. The rule is the have to drink the ENTIRE thing for 24 hours...so she just has a little bit of work to do. Allie is almost there, as well...just lacking a little bit in each bottle (sometimes drinking the whole thing). The nurse told me today that this is very common for twins who are born at 36 weeks and it should only be a few more days till they get to come home. So all we can do is pray and keep waiting. Chris and I go up there to feed and love on them 3-4 times a day, while ping pong Landon bounces around from grandparent to grandparent. I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind though. He is getting very spoiled by all of them! We did get the chance to go out and spend some good quality time with him last night. After visiting the girls at their 6:00 feeding, we headed out to the Southlake Town Center for a little shopping and dinner at Brio. There was some sort of arts festival thing going on out there, and Landon loved running around through all the people. It was a good time. I snapped a pic of Chris and Landon sitting on the curb while we waited for our table at Brio. I've got a couple of very handsome boys, don't I?! 

Sweet Baby Sisters!

I finally got some pictures of my luvbugs with their eyes open. These little lovies like to sleep sleep sleep, so I'm glad I had my camera handy. It seems like everytime they are awake and alert, my camera is in my purse (which isn't aloud in the NICU). 

Well, they are getting closer and closer to their homecoming. The doctor told me that 36 weekers are all different. Some are born with the suck/swallow/breath reflex and some are not. Allie and Emily obviously were not born with it, so that is what the NICU nurses, doctors, Chris, and I are working on with them. When they started bottle-feeding on Thursday, they weren't all that great at it yet. They would only drink a few milliliters. Then they drank about 12-15 milliliters on Friday, 15-30 or so yesterday, and today they drank about 40 milliliters. They must be able to drink 55 milliliters in one feeding every 3 hours for 24 hours straight...and then it's time to come home! So...we are getting very close! They have been in there 6 days, and the doctor said to plan on 7-14 days, so we'll just have to wait and see. Fortunately, I feel okay with them being there. I thought I would be a nervous wreck, but knowing that they are completely healthy makes it so much easier. When you think about Neonatel ICU, it's kinda scary and you tend to think of sickness. But...that isn't the case. Most all of the babies are completely healthy, just born early. So, anyhow...I'm fine with them getting this extra attention, but I can't wait to get those precious babies home with me! Plus, their big brother wants to meet them. He asks where they are everyday :)

Enjoy the cute pictures. They still have a feeding tube down their nose (the thinnest tube ever...don't even think they can feel it). They have to eat 55 ml of breastmilk and/or formula, so whatever they don't finish from the bottle is put down the tube. Emily's medical tape is clear, so you can't see it very well. Allie's tape is white, so it shows up a lot more. Aren't they cute? What do yall think...do they look alike? They still haven't told us if they are fraternal or identical.

Sisters! Emily on left...Allie on right.

Emily Grace 

Allie Kathryn

The twins are here!

Emily Grace and Allie Kathryn have finally arrived! They were born the morning of April 13 after a long night of labor. The Dr. had warned me that I would probably go into labor shortly after getting off bedrest, and she wasn't lying. Easter Sunday was such a wonderful, yet busy day. Landon had lots of eggs to be found and candy to be eaten, so we were on the go pretty much the whole day making sure we stopped to visit each family. Evidently, all of this running around put me into labor that evening. I started having contractions Sunday evening about 9ish, and they just continued to get worse throughout the night. And then....my water broke at about midnight. We called my mother-in-law to come over to stay with Landon who was sound asleep in his bed, and we headed to the hospital. I ended up laboring all night long, and having the girls the next morning. Surprisingly, the delivery was much easier this time around. I didn't have to get a c-section and the delivery was short and sweet (unlike Landon's delivery). 

Because the girls are a month early, they are spending some time in the NICU. Leaving them at the hospital while I am home is very hard, but I know they are very well taken care of. At first, they were having a bit of difficulty breathing, but that was resolved within the first day. They are both breathing perfectly now. They have run many tests (x-rays, MRI's, EKG's, and so on), and everything is perfect with both girls. We are now just waiting for their sucking reflex to fully kick in. Once they can drink 2 oz. of milk in 20 minutes, every 3 hours, for 24 hours straight...they can come home. The Dr. says that this can happen in just a few days or in several days. Chris and I go visit them 2-3 times a day for feedings and just to hold and love on them. I CAN NOT WAIT until they get to come home! 

Here are a few pictures of the luvbugs, including their sweet big brother. The first picture is of Landon when he came to visit me in the hospital. He still hasn't met his baby sisters because you must be over the age of 10 to go into the NICU. He keeps saying, "Where's my sisters?" Awww...I hope he gets to see them soon :) The second pic is Emily, and the last one is Allie.

Happy Easter!

My girlfriends and I took all of our sweet babies over to Stevi's house yesterday evening to take pics with an Easter bunny. The little luvbugs weren't all that sure about the bunny, but they sure did have a great time playing together. I spent a few minutes trying to get a great shot of Landon with Flopsie, but he really wasn't having it. If the bunny stayed still, he was all good...but the minute the bunny moved, he was outta there. I finally got a cute pic, but Landon's eyes are squinty from the sun. Oh well...it's still really cute! Happy Easter!

36 weeks!

YAY! I've reached my doctor's goal of 36 weeks! With twins, it is very common to deliver very early. I actually did start going into preterm labor at 32 weeks, but bedrest and medicine were able to stop the labor. My doctor told me that if I could make it to 36 weeks, she would let me off the medicine and bedrest and just let it happen...so here we are, ready to let it happen. Thank goodness I can detach myself from that couch!!! I have shown several signs of labor (I will spare you and not go into detail) within the past few days, so I'm pretty sure it will be happening soon. I'm measuring 45 cm...which in a regular singleton pregnancy would mean I'm measuring 5 weeks overdue, but it is very normal to be that big with twins. The girls are right at about 6 lbs. and 7 lbs., so they are nice and plump. My doctor informed me yesterday that if I haven't gone into labor by this coming Tuesday (April 14), we will go ahead and set a date for the delivery. We will not know if I will be having a c-section or not. It all depends on how the babies are positioned the day I go in. I don't really know which type of delivery I would rather do.  A c-section just seems so nice and quick...and planned. But on the other hand, do I want a scar across my stomach? I guess it really isn't up to me...the girl's position decides that. I've posted a picture of me at 36 weeks pregnant and WOW...my stomach is large!!!!! I am very uncomfortable and very ready for these babies to come!!! I can barely walk these days!