Its been a while.....The babies are here!

So the last time I posted, I was just 35 weeks. That was on a Tuesday. On that day, I ended up at the hospital because I wasn't feeling the babies move very much. I went in and they said that everything was ok and that the babies looked great. Baby A had stayed head down and Baby B was now breech. Ugh! After they were satisfied with the babies movement, I got to come home. I was so discouraged at this point. I just wanted my babies safe.

The rest of the week went well until Friday night hit. My contractions picked up and were about 5-7 min apart. We went to the hospital and stayed overnight. We thought we were going to have the babies that night. The contractions slowed down, but never stopped. They wern't making me progress much. When I was admitted at about 10pm they said that I was about 3 cm dialated. At 5am, they said I was only 3 1/2 cm. The contractions wern't making me dialate so they sent me home again.

We went home and just relaxed on Saturday. Saturday night I went to bed early because we didn't sleep at all on Friday night and were up with Joey all day Saturday. On Sunday morning, I woke up at 1am with contractions that were pretty strong. I got up and went to the living room and tried to get more comfortable to see if I could go back to sleep. I ended up going back to sleep until about 3am when the contractions woke me up because they were so bad. I tried to stretch and breathe through them but that didn't help. I tried a hot shower and that didn't help either. At 5am, we ended up calling Mom and Dad and telling them that they needed to watch Joey because I was going back to the hospital.

We got to the hospital at about 6am. When they checked me, I was 4cm. At 1030, I was 4 1/2. They checked me again at 230pm and I was 5cm. That was the end of my progression for a while. My contractions were doing the same thing. They were there, but not making me dialate anymore. They said that what progression I had done wasn't enough. I was in tears. They told me that since I had an ultrasound scheduled for Monday, they wanted me to stay and just have it and we would see from there. I went for my ultrasound on Monday at 1030am. The boys looked great and were both estimated at 6lb 1oz. I was elated that they were so big! They also did a BPP (biophysical profile) on the babies. Baby B did great and passed everything quickly, but Baby A didn't pass. He didn't practice breathing like they wanted him to. Dr Rempe came in and checked me at noon on Monday and she said that I was only 4cm. (She said that they difference in my dialation could just be different people measuring it.) She wanted the house dr to do another BPP on Baby A when she came in later that night. The dr came in and did the BPP and again, Baby A didn't pass. Dr Rockamann came in and spoke with us about our options. She said that she could let us just wait and deliver whenever, but she saw that the baby not passing the BPP twice in one day was a good enough reason to induce me. I was elated. I wanted to see the babies and to also know that they were both safe. She checked me at 945 and I was at 4 1/2.

At 1115, she started the pitocin to induce my labor. The contractions picked up right away. They let me labor until I decided that I needed to have something to help with the pain. At 115am on Tuesday, I asked for the epidural. Within 10 minutes, the anisthesiologist came in and was setting up for it. As soon as it was in, I was in no pain at all. The most annoying part of the night was the nurse. She kept "losing" the babies on the monitors and was taking literally 15-20 min each hour finding them again.

They checked me at 5am and I was 5cm and my cervix was thin. I was getting frustrated because I didn't feel like I was progressing any. They were increasing my pitocin every 30 min. Between increasing that every 30 min, having to reposition myself every hour, and the nurse taking 15-20 min finding the babies again on the monitors, I didn't sleep at all.

At 815am, I noticed that it felt like there was moisture between my legs. I called the nurse and she checked and my water was leaking. The went ahead and broke it the rest of the way. The contractions picked up after this. at 915, I was at 5 1/2 and the head was much lower than it was an hour before. They checked me at 1030 and I was 8cm and 100% thinned out and at 0 or +1 station. Yay for progress!!! I told them about 11 that I was feeling like I had to push!! They checked me at 1105 and I was 10cm and the head was almost out.

At that point in time, they moved me to the OR. (for twins, they have you deliver in the OR just to be safe.) As soon as I got in the OR and moved to the table, I told them that I had to push. One contraction later, Johnathan Elmer Fickas was born at 1130am. He came out screaming and looking wonderful. I couldn't believe that he was so beautiful. He went over and was being checked out by the nurses and the dr was trying to rotate Baby B around. She tried and tried and couldn't get him to turn around to be head down. She ended up pulling him out breach 28 min later. Jonah Scott Fickas was born at 1158am. I had vowed to have these boys by noon and I was right!

The placenta was not wanting to come out. She gave it a half an hour to come out on its own and then she had to try to get it out herself. It ended up coming out in pieces which is not good. She ended up having to scrape the bits of the placenta out with a 4x4 gauze pad. That hurt like no one's business. All was well though. Jonah was just as healthy as his brother. Johnathan weighed in at 5lb 9oz and Jonah was 6lb 2oz! Big babies for 36 weekers. They went right back to the room with me. No interventions were needed. I was so tired that I fell asleep trying to nurse and while people were talking to me. They all understood though.

We were transferred to our postpardum room and things were still going great. I had a few visitors, but mostly family. The next few days were filled with nurses, doctors, visitors and trying to get a little bit of sleep. The boys were so healthy that no one could believe that they were no interventions needed! They went home with me on Thursday, 48 hrs after they were born.

It has been an adjustement getting used to twin newborns and a toddler. Joey is so great with his brothers. He loves them so much (sometimes a little bit too much) He does try to steal their pacifiers, but what do you expect. I am so grateful that I have three very healthy boys! God has certainly blessed me! I will post pictures soon. TTFN

35 weeks and an end in sight!

Hi all! I am 35 weeks today! The average twin pregnancy is 35 weeks! I have made it the average length. I can't wait to see my babies, but I want to make sure they are healthy when they come. They wern't born in 2009 so that means that we don't get a tax deduction on them this year lol. I had a dr appt yesterday to see how the babies are doing and I was 1cm dialated. I feel pretty good but want to see them. I have been praying that they are healthy and get to come home with me. its hard being on bedrest, but I know its best for the babies and them getting bigger.

How far along: 35 weeks
Total weight gain: 5 lbs I can't believe that I have gained 5 lbs this week!
Maternity clothes: All maternity clothes! (except for a few shirts but they either stretch or just bigger than normal)
Stretch marks: I have alot now! They are all on the front of my belly. Its getting huge!
How big is belly? I don't know numbers, but its getting really big! wow
Sleep: Not sleeping much at all. Still on my meds so sleep isn't my friend right now.
Best moment this week: Knowing that I have made it to a milestone in a twin pregnancy.
Movement:ALOT! They don't stop moving ever.
Food cravings: Everything. I am getting very hungry!
Belly button in or out: All out! These babies are so big they are making it pop out
What I miss: Sleep. I haven't slept well lately because of the medicine I am on and having to pee. I guess its preparing me for the future weeks!
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing my babies in a few weeks.
How big are the babies? 35 weeks-over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon).

34 Weeks and a New Year on the Horizon!

How far along: 34 weeks
Total weight gain: -0 lbs Back to my pre pregnancy weight!
Maternity clothes: All maternity clothes! (except for a few shirts but they either stretch or just bigger than normal)
Stretch marks: I have alot now! They are in different places than where the stretch marks that I got from Joey are. Oh well!!
How big is belly? 49 in! wow
Sleep: Not sleeping much at all. With having to be up every 4 hrs to take my medicine and the medicine itself, I am not sleeping.
Best moment this week: Not many. Its been a tough week.
Movement:I think they learned how to do the tango in my belly.
Food cravings: Grape Juice and blueberry bagels with cream cheese. I don't know why I am craving them, but who knows!
Belly button in or out: The top half is still in, but the bottom is out so half and half?
What I miss: Sleep. I haven't slept well lately because of the medicine I am on and having to pee. I guess its preparing me for the future weeks!
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing my babies in a few weeks.
How big are the babies? 34 weeks-Your babies now weigh about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long.

Wow the year is over! In one aspect, it flew by, and in the other aspect, it seems like forever ago was the new year! Alot has changed over the past year. My whole perspective on alot of things have changed. With mom going through her radiation, I have realized what is and what isn't important in this world. I have learned to let the little things go. I think that more people in this world need to learn what is important and what won't change things.

On the baby side of things, I was in the hospital yesterday. I had been having contractions every 6 minutes. I went into the dr's office for an appointment. She asked immediately what was wrong and she sent me to L&D to be monitored. I measured at 42 weeks when I am only 34. Seems that the contractions were somewhat making me dialate so they upped my medicine. I now take 10mg of Procardia (nifedipine) every 4 hrs. It sucks having to get up at midnight and 4am to take my meds. If it will help the babies, then its ok. I just don't sleep with the meds either. They make me wired! Its frustrating. Oh well not that much longer. The dr said that I will be on meds until I am 36 weeks. Thats scary to think that I will be done with my meds in less than 2 weeks and who knows when they will come! I have finally gotten back up to my pre pregnancy weight. Go me! I wonder what they weigh now!

We are having a low key NYE this year. We have the Wii to keep us busy and sleep to attend to! Have a great new year everyone who is reading this!

Oops! Haven't posted in a while!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been pretty busy. I am on bedrest now and that would make one think that I would have MORE time to post, but I just can't seem to find the right mindset to post. Its hard to put down in writing what is going on. Last Monday, Dec 14, was a typical Monday at work. It was soooo busy. Around 4pm or so, I started feeling cramping/contractions. I started to write down what time they were happening and it started out at like 14 min apart. They then increased to every 6-9 minutes apart. They were pretty uncomfortable so I called Marc and he told me to call the dr. I did call the dr and they told me to go into L&D to get monitored and to see what was going on. The on call dr said that she didn't think that it was anything and that I would probably be going home that night. Well that didn't happen. They did the work up on me and said that I was contracting and that I was dialated to a 2. They admitted me. This has to be one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me! They gave me a shot to try to stop the contractions. That sped up the contractions and made me feel horrible. I was shaking uncontrollablly and was so hot! After that wore off, they gave me another medicine which seemed to help. They also gave me my first steroid shot. This was to help the babies lungs mature and to help them if they were to arrive early. It slowed and almost stopped the contractions. I didn't get to leave the hospital until Wednesday. They did a growth ultrasound on the boys and they were 4lb 4oz and 4lb 10oz. They said that was a good size for 32 week twins!

After I got to come home, they had me on bedrest. They say two weeks. Its nice to not have to worry about working around the holidays. This past week has been spent taking it easy and tryhing to rely on other people to do things that I cannot (or should not) be doing. Its a hard thing for me to do. I don't like not having control over everything (shocker huh!) Things aren't getting done around my house like I would like them to be, but cest la vie! Marc has been really good about helping me and that makes me feel much better. He is very good with Joey and very understanding when I am moody. All in all, its working out well. I am sitting at Mom and Dads on Christmas Eve. Marc and Joey are in Girard having Christmas with his family. It stinks that I don't get to be with them, but I have to do what is best for the twins. I got to watch Joey open his presents via webcam so that was nice. I wish everyone reading this a Merry Christmas! Now onto the rest of the blog!

How far along: 33 weeks
Total weight gain: -1 lbs Yay so close to my pre pregnancy weight!
Maternity clothes: All maternity clothes! (except for a few shirts but they either stretch or just bigger than normal)
Stretch marks: A few more. No telling how many more I will get!
How big is belly? 49 in! wow
Sleep: Eh. Some days I sleep ok, some days I am up all the time peeing or just uncomfortable.
Best moment this week: Keeping the babies in! I got to see the babies and feel them move at the same time so that was an awesome feeling.
Movement: They are dancing fools! These babies love to move all the time. They have hiccups alot as well.
Food cravings: Milk and the white cheese from the Mexican food place. I haven't gotten the second one yet, but no big deal. My cravings change daily so whatever!
Belly button in or out: its a hard call. Some days it looks in and some days it looks out!
What I miss: Feeling comfortable overall.
What I'm looking forward to: Spending Christmas with my family!
How big are the babies? 33 weeks-This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. (http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-33-weeks_1122.bc)

Rockin Green Detergent Giveaway!

http://mylittlestgravesies.blogspot.com/2009/11/rockin-green-review-and-giveaway.html
This blog is giving away a free supply of Rocking Green detergent. My friend Stacey said that this is one of the best detergetns to use (especially on cloth diapers.) It doesn't cause a buildup and it also rinses really well. That is one problem with alot of detergents. It doesn't rinse very well and then the cloth diapers start to stink and don't absorb well. This detergent should help eliminate each of those problems and I soooooo hope I win some!

Ditching Disposables Day 2

So as I posted yesterday, the blog, Confessions of a first time mom, is doing a month long giveaway and review of different cloth diapers and accessories! Today's giveaway is for a Three Monkeys Cloth Diapers. They have super cute AIO and AI2's with sooo many cute patterns. I love the different patterns they have. From cute flowers to flaming skulls! I hope I can win one of these! The size that she is giving away would fit Joey right now!!

30 weeks!

Wow I can't believe that I have made it this far! 8 weeks or less until I see the little squirts! Its amazing to know that they could be here anytime. Of course I want them to stay in as long as possible so they can come home with me sooner, but wow! It seems like they will be here tomorrow!! I am feeling much more tired lately. Sometimes at work it takes everything I have to get up and do things. At home, I am lucky that Joey is very independent and I don't have to keep picking him up and chasing him. I make sure that things are put up that he can't get into and I just listen for him. I am super blessed with him!

He got a haircut today and looks like such a big boy! He also got his picture taken with Marc, Santa, and I tonight!

How far along: 30weeks
Total weight gain: -3 lbs (I haven't weighed lately, so I will just use last week's weight)
Maternity clothes: All maternity clothes! Mom bought me a few shirts this past weekend and I hate buying things so late in my pregnancy knowing that I won't be wearing them much longer.
Stretch marks: A few new ones, but its going to happen!
How big is belly? 49 in! wow
Sleep: It's an on and off thing. Some nights I sleep so great and most nights I sleep horrible. I wake up all the time needing to pee. Its gotten to a point now that its hard for me to get comfortable when I first lay down. It seems like I can't breathe sometimes!
Best moment this week: Reaching the 30 week milestone!
Movement: Um I should state that there is less time that they are not moving than when they are.
Food cravings: Milk.
Belly button in or out: almost out! That will be a milestone if I hit it!
What I miss: Being able to stand without feeling weird.
What I'm looking forward to: Just feeling somewhat normal again.
How big are the babies? 30 weeks-Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage) (http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-30-weeks_1119.bc)