Category — Announcements

Whether or not you’re a mama, I’ll bet you like free stuff, don’t you? No shame in it, really. I find myself entering contests for crap I don’t even need: Rogaine, German language DVDs, bicycles with seven wheels. I even gave my bank account number to the European Lottery for the $2.5 million prize I recently won. I haven’t heard back from them yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m about to become a millionaire.

But tomorrow marks a great day: Tomorrow, head on over to YourMamaReviews.com. We’re giving away a little somethin’-somethin’ that will rock your body in more ways than one. We’re talking sex. We’re talking tunes. We’re talking a really cool prize package that will make you blush. Yes, it’s a sex toy, but it’s something more than that. And then something else that goes with the sex toy. And you’ll have to do something to win it. (And it doesn’t even involve giving us your bank account number.)

Go check out our new site, YourMamaReviews.com, a joint venture with a couple of other kick-ass mamas. We review stuff. So….you know, mama reviews. Then we threw in the “your” to make it sassy.

It’s not as funny when you explain it, is it.

Anyway, we’re giving stuff away this week, so head on over!

Enjoy!

After this morning’s feeding, Chris was burping Althea while I had Elise. After she let out a hearty “BRAAAAAPPPP” of a belch, I leaned her back in the crook of my arm and started with the high-pitched blabbering that every parent does to their child.

“WHOO WHOO WHOO!!! HEEEHEEEHEEE!!!” I cooed as I playfully touched her chin and nose. “WHOO HEEEE! WHOOHEE!”

And there it was. A big, toothless, perfectly natural smile.

I called for Chris to witness his first-born daughter’s very first smile. Not only did he see it, but he got his own Elise Smile later while playing with her dainty little hands.

I guess they do more than just cry after all!

So here’s the story.

We showed up for the induction at 7am. It took an hour to do all the paperwork and check-in. The doctor showed up at 8am and broke Baby A’s water. What a strange feeling! He let me labor without Pitocin for the first part of the day. About an hour after he broke the water, the contractions started. I thought, “WTF are these?” About half an hour later, I realized that OMG THESE ARE CONTRACTIONS AND THEY REALLY REALLY HURT. You guys, seriously, it was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. I moaned my way through it for several hours, insisting to Chris over and over that I was for sure going to DIE. Finally I gave in to a shot of Nubain and promptly crashed for an hour and a half straight. Loved it. Then after feeling the contractions again for about half an hour, I asked for the epidural. I slept pretty much the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. They put me on Pitocin for a little while at that point.

My progress was great. They shut off the Pitocin in the late afternoon/early evening because there were two emergency c-sections ahead of me and I was already at 6cm, but I was having good contractions on my own. At about 8pm, I was 8-9cm and my cervix was so thin they could barely even tell it was there. It was almost showtime. We called up the parents and said it was time to get to the hospital. They hung out in my room for the last hour. It was totally awkward. I was tired, uncomfortable, and feeling some discomfort from the contractions through the epidural. I really just wanted to be with Chris. Luckily, it didn’t last long. By 9pm, the nurse ordered everyone out, checked me and announced I was complete and it was time to roll on out. They wheeled me into the OR with Chris.

The OR was full of people – two NICU teams, several nurses, the OB and my husband. At this point, I was so full of adrenaline and hormones that I was shaking uncontrollably. I just couldn’t stop. Baby A was far down into the canal already, so I started pushing as soon as everyone was in place. It only took about 4-5 pushes before I felt the unmistakable burn of her head crowning. Chris was frantic: “SHE’S COMING OUT! SHE’S ALMOST HERE!” Me? “OH MY GOD I HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN AFTER SHE’S OUT???” Yeah, I was joking in the middle of delivery, but honestly I was so so so focused on getting this girl out safely and avoiding a c-section that I just worked on pushing correctly and following directions. One more solid push and her head was out. Another push and I delivered the rest of her. She came out cooing and giving little cries. I grasped at her slimy little feet, saying “Hi little girl! Hi little girl!” She was absolutely the most perfect thing I’d ever seen. The nurses took her over to the warming table, checked her out and swaddled her while the OB worked on me. Chris and I looked over at her and she was staring straight at us as though she was waiting for us to bring her sister. Even all the nurses remarked on it. It was wild.

With Baby A delivered, it was time to really work for Baby B. The doctor palpitated my uterus and did an ultrasound and determined that Baby B was still head down. Phew! They started me on a heavy dose of Pitocin to get contractions going because my uterus was so hyper-distended, it couldn’t contract around just one baby. I pushed and pushed and pushed while the doctor guided the baby down to the canal, then I pushed and pushed and pushed to get her to descend. I’ve never worked so hard in my life, never been so focused on anything in my life than getting Baby B out. Every time I wanted to rest, I just thought of the dreaded half-vaginal, half c-section twin delivery and I would push some more. Finally, I felt her head crowning. A few of the hardest pushes you could ever imagine, and out came Baby B. Later, I found out the doctor used a suction cup to help pull her out.

The whole room was clucking with excitement. One nurse thanked us – she’d never attended a double vaginal twin delivery before. Everyone said what a great job we did. The doctor had a huge grin on his face and kissed my cheek. It was total euphoria.

After the delivery, they wheeled me back to our room to nurse and do some assessments on the girls. Baby A’s blood sugar was so low, she was at risk of brain damage without immediate intervention. They had to feed her 10mL of formula twice due to super-low blood sugars. She then had four normal blood sugar tests in a row and they didn’t have to do any more formula. Breast feeding has sustained her levels fine. Baby B had high sugars at birth, but didn’t need any treatment. Both girls are now doing perfect.

I developed a fever that lasted about 10 hours, but thankfully that’s gone now and the shaking has mostly stopped. I still look about 20 weeks pregnant, but thank god I can sleep on my back now! And eat! My god, the appetite I have! I even got to indulge my cinnamon bun craving, thanks to a certain someone on the board. The scary part is that my legs, from the tops of my thighs to the tips of my toes, are swollen the same width all the way down like tree trunks. Ugh.

Anyhow, here are the stats:

Both girls born at 37 weeks 5 days gestation on 11/17/08

Elise (Baby Formerly Known as A): 6lb 13oz, 19 ½ inches long, born at 9:35pm

Althea (Baby Formerly Known as B): 6lb 1oz, 19 ¼ inches long, born at 10:03pm

We haven’t transferred the better pics from the cameras yet, so here is a camera phone pic for now.

Welcome to the world, little girls!

P.S. Chris, thank you for being the best coach ever. I couldn’t have done it without you, especially the conception part. xoxo

Elise on the right, Althea on the left

I’m still 1-2cm dilated and now 60-70% effaced, with the Cervix of Champions positioned in the middle. Dr. Wonderful wants to talk to the perinatologist about delivering at 37 weeks. 

I do not want to be induced. Please folks, PLEASE!! Send me some spontaneous labor vibes!

Today was my LAST appointment at the perinatologist!!

The girls are looking as awesome as ever. Baby A is estimated at 5lb 10oz, Baby B at 5lb 11oz. WOW! I was expecting a little over 5lb each, but here I am with over 11 pounds in baby in me! 

The cervix of champions is now at 2.7cm, so there’s been a tiny bit of progress, but it’s still holding up well.

I told her about my concerns with taking the prescription meds while pregnant. We talked things out and, after careful consideration of the girls’ health and my physical state, she said to go ahead and stop taking the meds tomorrow if I want. She said that stopping the meds isn’t like taking your finger out of the dam – it doesn’t automatically mean I’ll go into labor, and the meds wouldn’t stop true labor anyhow. I’ve been taking it just to “reduce background noise” so I could make it past 34 weeks. She’s extremely pleased with the babies and the pregnancy overall. She guessed I’d “go” in a week to 10 days. Worst worst WORST case scenario, if I somehow make it to 38 weeks, we’ll call it quits at that point because of the shared placenta.

So! I’m off meds tomorrow and it’s “hurry up and wait,” as the doc said. I want to make it one more week for the girls’ sake. I think I can do it!

At my OB appointment on Thursday, I pointed out to Dr. Amazing that the meds I’m taking to control contractions will run out on November 2. I’ll be just shy of 36 weeks. So, I wanted to know, what happens then. 

The doctor, in all his amazing-ness, answered that we’d just let nature run its course at that point. 

I.e., if labor starts, they ain’t gonna stop it. Also, I get to go off bedrest then.

Yes folks, the ride is almost over. Suddenly, this week seems so doable.

I  noticed it in the mirror at work….a little lump in the middle of my shirt.

“Is that….my belly button???”

For weeks, I’ve seen my belly button grow more and more shallow. This week, it’s saying its final good-bye. You can see the little lip of it popping out the top in this photo.

So long, belly button. I will miss your svelte profile.

I have the cervix of champions!

My cervix is also “gorgeous.”

The ultrasound tech and the perinatologist actually said these things to me today. Contain your jealousy, please. It’s unbecoming of you.

You read that right, folks! These babies in this here belly are GIRLS!

After the most agonizing wait in the history of mankind, we found out the sex of the babies yesterday. I cried. Chris probably could have cried, but not for the same reasons. (Instead, he came home at noon and drank heavily.)

Everyone looks perfectly perfect. Baby A, formerly known as Poncho, had a heart rate of 143; Baby B, formerly known as Lefty, was at 130. Both weighed in at an estimated 8 ounces and both were very active. Bones were where they should be, hearts working just right, bladders and tummies full (I will not judge them for swallowing their own pee, I will not judge them for swallowing their own pee), brains fully developed, strong bones. Perfectly, perfectly perfect.

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