1 Week Old - June 9, 2011

1 Week Old
Sophie: 4lbs 10oz
Stella: 4lbs 15oz

Girls,
You are one week old today. We've been home for 2 days now and you seem to be adjusting okay. Our first night home was interesting and mommy was quite a basket case. All I could think about was SIDS and how I was going to get any sleep while worrying that you both could breathe okay and wouldn't suffocate at all. We bought a Pack 'n Play and put it in our bedroom. Our intention was that you would sleep in that until you grew out of it and then we would move you into your nursery into the cribs. That idea did not last very long. The bassinet for the Pack 'n Play is not extremely flat and you both are somewhat of "rollers" so I am just so worried that you will roll over onto your stomachs or that you will roll into the side of the bassinet and not have enough airflow and suffocate. It's absolutely amazing the false sense of security you have in a hospital. I never once thoughts about SIDS while I was in the hospital. I guess you just think "okay, the nurses know what they're doing, so I won't worry about anything." When you get home it is a totally different story. I'm not an anxious person by nature, but I had a lot of anxiety that first night. One, you girls would not stop crying and we couldn't get you to settle down. Two, I was so anxious I couldn't calm down. Daddy and I decided to put you in bed with us for the first night which worked out well. We all got a decent amount of sleep from what I recall...I'm slightly sleep deprived right now, so bare with me!

Hanging in your Swings, waiting to meet the dogs!

Your first full day at home was yesterday and mommy and daddy were so excited (and nervous) for you to meet Desmo and Ohlins. Sheila has been keeping them with her over the past week while we've been in the hospital. She always takes the dogs when we are away and they love spending time with her! Mommy and Daddy got up kind of early so that we could get everything cleaned up and put away before the dogs came. The dogs really hate the vacuum so we wanted to get that taken care of before they came also, because they like to bark a lot and we weren't sure how you both would react to them. Sheila arrived with the pups around 8:15am and we had you both up on the table in your swings so that the dogs couldn't smother you right away. Sure enough, as soon as they came in the door and greeted us, they were on the trail of you girls! We had sent some of your swaddle blankets from the hospital home with Sheila so the dogs would be used to your smells. The dogs figured out you were up on the table and that was all they could fixate on! Finally once they settled down, we introduced everyone to each other. We weren't so sure how the dogs would react to you, but they seem to be doing quite well. They follow us everywhere when we are holding you and they check on you when you're in your crib to make sure that you're both okay. It is really cute! Mommy was so excited that the weather was going to be nice once we got home, but it turned out that it was going to be too nice...and HOT. The first day you girls were home, we hit record highs in the 90s. It was so hot in our house that neither of you really wanted to eat. Daddy was frantically trying to get fans going so that we could feel some of the cool air from the basement.

Great Grammie LaBrake holding "Sparkle"

Great Grammie and Gramps LaBrake came over yesterday also. They have been dying to meet you both. Great Grammie has been talking about you girls for months saying how excited she is for your arrival and she can't wait to hold you both. Yesterday she got the chance! I can't wait for you girls to be old enough to really "know" your Great Grammie. She is one of the most amazing people I know, and is like a mother to me. I spent so much time with her when I was growing up and she taught me so much about everything. I really hope that you have the opportunity to get to know her well because she is THE BEST! She also gave you nicknames yesterday. When I was a little girl, I used to get off the bus at Grammie's house and skip down the driveway to the house. Grandma always used to say, "Here comes Little Miss Tinkle Toes." So, since I'm Little Miss Twinkle Toes, you girls have been named Sparkle and Twinkle; Stella is Sparkle and Sophie is Twinkle.

Today we had our first pediatrician visit with Dr. Monroe. She is an amazing pediatrician and we are so glad that we are with her practice! We weighed you both and you both lost weight again since we left the hospital, but Dr. Monroe was not too concerned with that; she said all newborns tend to lose a little more weight after they leave the hospital, especially late Pre-termers like yourselves. Our goal over the next week is to plump you both up a bit, so we'll be focusing a lot on feeding and sleeping as much as possible so that you are taking in lots of calories and not burning them up with unnecessary "handling" and such. After our pediatrician visit, mommy & daddy took you to visit mommy's work, Adworkshop. All the girls there came out of their offices to meet you both. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and for them to see our two precious little girls!

Well, that's pretty much it for week 1. Mommy plans on writing to you weekly so that we can keep up on all your "firsts" and document our lives as you both grow up to be happy, healthy babies and eventually toddlers. I look forward to what lies ahead and can't wait to accept all the challenges that will be coming our way.

I love you both so much!

Love,
Mommy

We're Going Home! 5 days old - June 7, 2011

Going Home from Fletcher Allen

Sophie & Stella,

We have finally been cleared by the doctors and nurses at Fletcher Allen to be released from the hospital! We've been here since you were born 5 days ago. Everything went really well with the delivery and we got settled into our room Thursday night. We had a great nurse, Christina from Romania who helped us through the night. She gave me lots of tips on how to feed you both as best I could to get my milk to come in. She also took care of you girls while mommy got a little sleep to recover from giving birth. Daddy was able to stay with us in our room as we had a double room to ourselves which was a good thing because we had so much stuff between you both and mommy and daddy!

On Friday, we had a few visitors come. Grandma Leanne, Uncle Tony, Aunt Juji, and Aunt Ashley all came to visit throughout the day. We basically kept you in your pram beds unless you had to be fed or changed so that you'd burn the least amount of calories possible so you could continue to gain weight while in the hospital. Daddy learned how to swaddle you properly like a burrito, successfully change diapers, and how to burp you girls when mommy was done nursing. Daddy took care of almost everything while mommy tried to sleep and nurse and get her energy level up to take care of you at night. We worked with a lactation consultant, Kristen for the entire day learning how to nurse and pump. She was so helpful with lots of tips for us to bring home with us. 

Our Little "Glow Worms"

On Saturday, the pediatrician came in and decided that you both should undergo phototherapy to battle jaundice. The nurses brought in these "glow worm" type machines that fit in your pram beds. Basically, you both had to stay under the lights as much as possible, so you lived in your BiliBeds for the next few days except for when it was time to nurse. Even then, Stella had to be under lights during nursing so we had a little gadget called a "wallaby" that slipped underneath Stella's back and lit up so her phototherapy could continue non-stop.

Saturday, mommy was discharged from the hospital. Fletcher Allen has a great policy that allows parents  to "board" at the hospital while their children are still admitted. Mommy and daddy were basically "guests" of the hospital and could come and go as we pleased. Of course, we basically stayed in our room for the next 4 days other than to get a bite to eat here and there. We did go down to Church Street Saturday night for an hour for Jazz Festival and to have a long awaited Guiness!

On Sunday, we had more visitors come to the hospital. Uncle Tim and Lance came over for a little bit and then Janer, Poppa, Aunt Ashleah, and Nan all came to visit! We took you out of your BiliBeds while Janer and Poppa were in the room so that everyone could hold you and take some pictures. The nurse came in to take your temperatures and you both were pretty cool. Mommy and daddy got in a little trouble for keeping you out of your beds and had to put you back in right away. I guess we learn things as we go. At that point, we realized that little things to "please others" can really harm our goals of getting rid of your jaundice and getting some weight on you. From that point forward, we didn't take you out of your beds for any reason other than to be fed or changed. We really wanted you to both succeed with your phototherapy so we could get over the jaundice fast.

Originally the doctors thought that maybe you'd both be discharged on Monday, but the jaundice was still lingering and was not going down yet so we were guaranteed to stay another day. Our only hope was that we would be discharged on Tuesday. We so wanted to get home and start our lives as a family. We did have one visitor on Monday and it was a complete surprise. Mark Demers stopped by to say hello; he married mommy and daddy 6 years ago. He said that he found out on Facebook that we had delivered you girls at Fletcher Allen and he thought he'd stop by to say hello and say a prayer for you both. It was so nice and mommy was a complete ball of tears when he left. It was so nice and unexpected and I'll never forget that he came to visit! It meant a lot to me and daddy.

Our little "Brut" Sophie

Sophie giving Stella a little "punch"

Mommy and daddy have had a fun time taking pictures of you girls in the hospital. It seems that everyday you look a little different than the day before. I think when you were born you looked totally different and now every day you seem to look more and more alike. It seems that every time we go to take a picture of you, Sophie is trying to "beat up" her big sister! We get such a kick out of it.

Stella's Car Seat Challenge

Early Tuesday morning at 2am, the nurses turned the BiliBeds off and started doing tests. The idea was that a test would be done at 2am when the lights went off and then again at 8am after 6 hours without light. If the tests showed that the jaundice was not increasing, you both would be in the clear and could stay out of the BiliBeds for good. To be able to go home, your jaundice tests had to come back clear and your weight had to be up. We got the good news mid-morning that all the tests came back and you'd both be going home today. The only thing left was to pass "The Car Seat Challenge." Before you can be discharged from the hospital, you have to go through a car seat challenge if you weigh under a certain amount or are born too early. Each of you had to sit in your car seat for 1.5 hours while your vitals were being monitored. Stella went first and was a little fussy at the end, so the nurse gave her a Nuk. Sophie did very well and both of you barely fit in your car seats you were so small! It was really cute. Our day nurse, Lexi showed us how to properly use the car seats and get you all strapped in, etc. Mommy and daddy finished packing everything and got you in your stroller and we made our way out of the hospital. You both did such a great job in the car on the 2 hour drive home. Mommy squeezed her way into the middle of the back seat so I could keep my eyes on you in case you started getting uncomfortable or anything.

When we finally got home, there were flowers and cards on the table and Uncle Tim and Jonathan both came over to make dinner for us. Uncle Tim brought you both a VT Teddy Bear wearing a bib with your name and birthday embroidered on it. They are really cute! Emily Reynolds Stringer also came over to visit and brought us Villa Vespa dinner. 

Mommy is exhausted now that we are home and I'm nervous about what our first night home is going to be like. Hopefully we can adjust somewhat easily...stay tuned!

Love,

Mommy

Welcome to the World - June 2, 2011: 35 weeks, 3 days

Our Instant Family!

My two beautiful girls, Sophie & Stella:

You have finally made your presence known in this world! Today is the day you were born and you both could not have made mommy and daddy more proud or happy.

The day started out pretty normal, daddy got up and left for work and mommy stayed in bed with Ohlins and Desmo trying to catch up on my sleep. I was watching Regis & Kelly and had just finished reading James Patterson's "The 6th Target." All of a sudden, mommy felt something a little wet and wasn't sure what was going on. See, in the last week or so, I started feeling some pretty substantial changes in my body and to my surprise, had peed my pants a few times. So, I wasn't sure if I was peeing or if my water had broke or what. I got up to go to the bathroom and it was literally like a scene out of a movie. Water was pooling on the bathroom floor. I frantically got a towel to start wiping it up...I didn't want the dogs to get involved cause that is just gross! I got things under control and called daddy to tell him the good news...we were definitely in labor and we'd be meeting you two very soon!

I calmly called our nurse at Fletcher Allen and told her what was going on. She said to get dressed and head over immediately and go right to Labor and Delivery. I wasn't having any contractions when I spoke to her, but as soon as daddy and I loaded up into the car, the contractions started. We had 2 hours until we reached Burlington and had a ferry ride to deal with which gave us plenty of time to call everyone I knew to tell them what was going on. The contractions started at about 10:15 and were 8-9 minutes apart. By the time we got to Fletcher Allen, they were closer to 5 minutes apart. We got up to Labor and Delivery and got situated. Aunt Ashley was only about an hour or two behind us and the rest of the family about an hour behind Aunt Ashley. I labored for a while with no drugs and then they checked my cervix and said I was 5 cm dilated. We started talking about drug options. Because of the risk of the second baby flipping during labor, I would have to deliver in an operating room and would need to have an epidural put in just in case the doctor's had to do an emergency C-section for Baby 2. The decision was made that if we were to put an epidural in, this would be the time to do it. So, the epidural went in, but not before they hit 2 nerves and sent my left leg into a crazy tingle similar to hitting your funny bone. The administered the weakest epidural they give so that I could still feel all my contractions and would be able to feel myself pushing, etc. I didn't not want to feel numb through this experience!

At about 5:00 or 6:00pm, my cervix was checked again and I was fully dilated 10cm and it was now time to start "practice" pushing. Now, when the doctors told me to start pushing, I wasn't really sure what that meant. Push from where? How do I center all my energy into the proper place so I don't get too tired? I did a couple good pushes and then realized that I should pretend I need to poop. Apparently, pushing out a child is a lot like "dropping the kids off at the pool." I don't know why the doctors don't just say, "okay, pretend you have to poop now and start pushing." It would make their lives a lot easier and the mother-to-be would not struggle so much to figure out if she's doing it right!

Prepped for the OR

I started progressing very fast and was getting the hang of everything when they finally said, okay...baby is about to crown, let's get to the O.R. It was absolute chaos in the O.R. and they had warned us that it would be. I was so focused on only what our 2 doctors were telling me to do that I didn't notice there were over 15 people in the operating room just waiting for the babies to be delivered so they could do their jobs.

Stella - 5lbs 10oz, 18.5" long

After what felt like only a few minutes of pushing, I could feel Stella pushing through into this world. Stella, at 7:14 pm you finally made your entrance and the doctors showed you to me. You honestly looked like a liver pate-colored alien! That is the best way to explain it. Newborns do not look like "beautiful, cherub-looking" babies like you see in the movies. Nonetheless, I was overwhelmed with emotions when I saw you; to me you were beautiful! You started crying only a milli-second after that and they whisked you away to be cleaned and checked. Daddy went over to your side and took some pictures so that I could see them later. I still had a job to do...delivering Sophie next!

Sophie - 5lbs 3oz, 17.75" long

After all that pushing to get Stella out, Mommy was all gung-ho and ready to deliver Sophie. I looked at the doctors and said, "okay, what do we do now?" "We wait" was all they said. There is no telling how long you wait between delivering twins. A woman earlier today delivered twins 5 1/2 hours apart! I would have gone crazy. After about 10-15 minutes Sophie made it known that she was not going to wait and be outshined by Stella. It was time for her to make her entrance. 33 minutes after Stella was born, at 7:47 pm we welcomed Sophie into the world!

Both you girls are perfect. 10 fingers and 10 toes (I forgot to ask), both crying (music to my ears...for now), and a healthy weight.

I can't begin to explain how amazingly lucky I feel. This pregnancy went so incredibly smooth overall. The pre-term labor was just your way of saying, "mommy, it's time to slow down a bit!" Through the entire pregnancy, I always wanted to give birth vaginally. I was lucky to be able to do that with both of you girls, and only be in labor for 10.5 hours. You can't ask for a better scenario in my opinion. To give birth to two such beautiful, healthy girls is icing on the cake!

Mommy with babies for first time!

Daddy holding both his babies!

 I'm so glad that you're both here finally and mommy & daddy can start bonding with you, holding you, taking care of you, and teaching you everything we can about the world. Right now, I can't imagine my life without you girls and I know it's only going to get better!

Sophie on Right, Stella on Left

Welcome to the World!

Love,

Mommy

35 weeks 1 day - May 31, 2011 "Prego Side Effects..."

Girls,
Your mommy is starting to get antsy about your arrival. Mommy had another appointment today in Burlington and Grandma Leanne came with me because Daddy had to work. The appointment went well and you both cooperated so well for our NST and the BPP. Mommy and Grandma indulged in my favorite "pregnancy lunch" in Burlington at Al's Frys and then had to go back to the hospital for an appointment with Dr. Young. I told Dr. Young that I think you girls will be coming this week and he says he hopes we can make it one more week. I don't know...I think you're coming this week. In fact, the two days that I picked for you to arrive are tomorrow, June 1 or Friday, June 3 so we'll see. I've just got a 6th sense that you girls won't be waiting much longer. Frankly, I can't wait to meet you. I'm getting to be pretty heavy and it is making it hard for me to get around at this point, so I'm excited about losing the extra weight and meeting my babies!

It's been a long and interesting weekend leading up to today. We had a long weekend because it was Memorial Day, and Aunt Ashley and Uncle Dawson decided to throw a BBQ last night which was a lot of fun but slightly tolling on my body. See, there are many things that you hear about during pregnancy...side effects and such. My pregnancy has been very smooth and I've been lucky enough to not have a lot of negative "pregnancy side effects." People always ask me if my back hurts or if my feet have swollen, etc and I have been able to say no through this whole pregnancy...that is until now.

In the past few weeks, I've put on almost 15-20 lbs. This week alone I've put on close to 10 lbs and I think it's all water weight. My legs and feet are completely swollen and I can feel the skin starting to stretch. The doctors say it's Pitting Edema and at this point there is no cause for concern, but I haven't seen my ankles in over 2 weeks and my feet are so swollen, my big gardening Crocs won't even fit! Pregnancy is starting to take a toll and it definitely has its embarrassing and funny moments, too. The other day, Aunt Juli and I were working at Daddy's shop trying to get a few things finished when all of a sudden I stood up out of my chair and just started peeing everywhere! I couldn't believe it...I had no warning and didn't even realize I had to go, but the moment I stood up, it was running down my leg. I didn't dare say anything in front of Daddy and Jonathan, so I just told Aunt Juli that we have to go to the house NOW! When we got outside I told her I peed my pants and she started laughing. It was quite funny after it was over.

I'm so excited to see when you girls will be joining us and completing our little family and I'm definitely ready to start losing this weight and getting back to "me" again. Hopefully we get to meet soon!

Love,
Mommy

34 weeks 0 days - May 23, 2011

34 weeks
Belly Measures: 43 inches
Weight: 175.6 lbs

Sophie & Stella,

So it's been 2 weeks exactly since the last time I wrote you girls. I am in deed writing from the comfort of our couch and have been enjoying every last minute of being home! Let me recap the past two weeks for you...

My 11 bed pillows!

Our last day at the hospital, two weeks ago today we had a growth ultrasound up on Labor & Delivery. The ultrasound went well but mommy couldn't really make anything out! You girls are getting so big that both your heads won't fit within the ultrasound screen anymore. The sonographer had a hard time getting measurements of Sophie's head because she is SO LOW that we couldn't really get it. The tech did all the measurements of both you girls and determined that Stella weighs about 4lbs 5oz and Sophie weighs 3 lbs 7oz. Because Sophie is trailing quite a bit behind Stella, they are a little worried about whether or not she is getting enough blood, etc. so they've issued Umbilical Cord doppler screenings weekly to make sure she is getting enough blood and is just a little smaller in nature. Mommy got released from the hospital that Monday afternoon and was so excited! There was another woman from Lake Placid (Janis Curtis Atkinson) checking in to Shep 5 when I was leaving. She is having Mono/Mono twins which means that her twins are in the same sac and share a placenta. These types are very high risk because they can entangle their cords, so she had to check in at 28 weeks and gets monitored every 8 hours to make sure the babies are safe and sound.

The doctors released me and said to "Take it Easy." I was put on modified bed-rest and was told I could walk around "within reason." Not quite sure what "within reason" means but I take it as I can walk around as much as I need to until I get tired! Probably not what they mean, but it is quite an ambiguous doctor's order. We got home Monday night and I was so excited to see Desmo and Ohlins and they were excited to see mommy. They did not leave my side for the rest of the night! On Tuesday, I went back to work. I'm working from home 4 hours each morning trying to keep up with the daily office tasks and transitioning my accounts over to my boss. The first week I was home, the weather was absolutely beautiful so I couldn't wait to get outside after work each day. My "bedrest" occurred outside on the deck in a bikini. I've gotten some decent color now which is great because I was so busy last summer I pretty much missed it. 

Last week - 33 weeks 0 days, we had another doctor's appointment. We will start having them every week now until you girls are born. Our NST went well and then we had a Bio-Physical Profile (BPP) Ultrasound. This is a 30 minute "test" for each baby. You both need to pass a handful of tests that include heartbeat, measurement of amniotic fluid, 3 rapid movements and breathing. The breathing is neat because you're basically "practicing" breathing by breathing amniotic fluid in and out; it's really tricky to catch though. If you don't pass the BPP or your NST is not great, they send you back up to Labor & Delivery for additional testing. Sophie passed with flying colors in under 9 minutes and Stella decided to sleep through the entire test until the last minute and a half when she woke up, started breathing and moving. Mommy was SO happy that we passed everything! Also, Sophie's doppler was done and seems to be fine; she is getting plenty of blood flow through her umbilical cord.

Changing Table from Tobin & Annie

This past week it has been raining a lot. 

The weather has been warm and humid but we've had rain most every day. I've kept my afternoons busy by working on the nursery getting it all ready for you girls. Mommy built your changing table, re-organized the closet, and washed & put away all your baby clothes. I'm a little OCD when it comes to organization, so all the drawers, shelves, and hanging rods have labels so that we know what size everything is. I can't wait to see you wearing all the cute clothes that you've received from friends and family.

Daddy and I got your car seats finally and tried them out with the stroller frame that Jacki & Eric Smith got us for our baby shower. We also put together the Pack 'n Play that you girls will be sleeping in when you come home. Funny though, Desmo and Ohlins love the Pack 'n Play and always beg to get in and lay down in the bassinets! It is so cute to watch them but hopefully we don't have any trouble with them when you take the bassinets over. 

The Pups taking over the Bassinets!

Personalized Blankets for Sophie & Stella!

I also finished your baby blankets. I had bought this beautiful houndstooth fabric and a really soft white fabric to make the blankets. I had started them before I went into the hospital but finally finished them the other day and personalized them with your names tonight. I am completely in love with them and I hope you like them as much as me. I'm now working on the crib comforters and bumper pads.

So Mommy and Daddy had another appointment today. You both passed your NST and BPP and everything seems to be going fine. Mommy is starting to get lots of fluid in my legs and feet. They are getting quite large and start hurting if I've been on them for a long period of time. The doctor says not to worry about it and to keep my feet up as much as possible. I'm very lucky though since this is the only "weight gain" i've noticed outside of the belly area. It is quite crazy to see the rapid weight gain I've experienced in the past two weeks. At 33 weeks I weighed 169 lbs, gaining 5 lbs since week 32 and now I've gained another 6 lbs since last week! I'm starting to really feel my weight and get tired pretty easily. When we left our appointment today, the nurse handed us our appointment schedule through the end of June. When she gave it to me she said, "here are all your appointments, but frankly we don't think you'll make it to your appointments next week!" Let's see what happens. Daddy chose June 4 and I chose either June 1 or June 3 as when you will be born. Uncle Tim thinks you'll be born on June 2, so we'll see if any of us are even close. 

I cannot wait to meet you girls and it seems to be the only thing I can think of now. I have funny dreams about your deliveries. Everything from having to be life-flighted to Denver, CO ( don't ask) to just standing there and you both pop out without me even noticing. Crazy dreams...but I'm excited to see how everything will actually go. Right now, you are both head down and facing my spine which is ideal. Hopefully that does not change as it is rare to have twins both in the ideal position for a natural birth. 

I can't wait to hold you both in my arms. At this point, I know you could come any minute. Me and Daddy are all ready for your arrival! We love you so much.

Love, 

Mommy

32 weeks 0 days - May 9, 2011: Mission Accomplished...

32 weeks 0 days
Fletcher Allen Hospital

Sophie & Stella,

Your mommy has made it to 32 weeks which is a huge accomplishment, seeing as you both thought about coming in to this world at 30 weeks. The last couple days have been fun filled with some visitors that stayed with mommy at the hospital, keeping her company along with a "mission" to be fulfilled!

Daddy came Tuesday night to stay with mommy through Wednesday night. It was so nice to see him and even though he had left Monday morning, it felt like an eternity since I had last seen him. We spent all day Wednesday together and had yummy Belgian waffles for breakfast, which were to die for! I have to say that the food here at Fletcher Allen is quite yummy. Daddy left Wednesday night to go back to Lake Placid because he had to work on Thursday and Friday, but not before we went through our baby registry and bought all the necessary things we still needed, like your car seats and pack 'n play. Mommy cannot wait to get home and see all the baby stuff that has been arriving. I want to get it all washed and put away so that we are prepared for when you make your grand entrance! Grammy Leanne came Wednesday night to keep mommy company for the evening. Daddy is so worried about leaving me alone at night, he tries to make sure someone is with me every night of the week. Grammy came Wednesday night and we had dinner downstairs and then hung out in my room. She brought a potted plant with 4 pretty yellow flowers representing mommy, daddy, and you girls. I will be sure to bring it home and plant it somewhere in the garden. They will be your first flowers in the garden!

Celebrating Mother's Day at the hospital!

Mommy and Grammy had so much fun on Wednesday night. We celebrated mother's day together a few days early and gabbed about everything under the sun. We played Gin Rummy until 12:30am. Mommy was beating Grammy so badly through the whole game and the last round, Grammy beat me by a lot of points and won the game! We stayed up talking until 1am like two little girls at a sleep over. We have not spent this much quality time together in a long time...it was very nice and I hope we get to do it again sometime!

Grammy left Thursday morning to go back to Lake Placid and mommy was left to herself until Friday evening. I like to keep myself busy throughout the day with a routine that keeps me going everyday and helps to pass the time. I usually get up and take a little walk down the hall and have some toast early in the morning. I come back to my room and my vitals are taken. After vitals I order breakfast from room service, eat and then have my NST (non-stress test) done. I've gotten pretty good at reading the NSTs since I've had so many of them in the past 2 weeks. After my NST, I usually take a shower, get dressed, straighten up my room, and blow dry my hair. By this time, it is close to lunch time and I'll usually order lunch and get my "office" set-up for the day. Adworkshop has been so great through this whole experience, allowing me to work from the hospital. Work helps to pass the time and it's definitely harder than I thought it would be for me to "turn it off" and stay away from work and email, etc. I've been able to put in a good 20 hours this past week which was great for me and keeps me busy!

Friday evening Aunt Ashley showed up and mommy was SO EXCITED!!!! By Friday, I had been in the hospital for 11 days and was going stir crazy. I had only been outside 3 days and was craving fresh air. All day Friday while I was waiting for Aunt Ashley, I had been scheming a plan to "break out" of the hospital for some real food. When Ashley got to the hospital, we hung out for a little while and then I said, "okay, get dressed. We're getting out of here and going to Koto's for sushi." Ashley freaked out and was like, "there is no way I'm taking you out of here. Taylor will kill me!" I said, "he's not going to know. I'm not telling him until I get out of the hospital."

"Mission Accomplished" - Escape to Koto's

The problem with me and your Aunt Ashley, is when we get together sometimes we can do some pretty funny things. Usually, I come up with some cockamamie plan and Ashley can't resist doing it because I force her to go along with me! I had to be back by 8:30 for vitals, so we signed me out at 6:30 saying we were just going outside for a bit. We took the wheelchair and went to the lobby, where we ditched the chair and walked to the parking garage elevators. I was hiding my patient bands and was really nervous we'd get caught by someone. Ashley asked if the band had any type of "tracking" in it, and I was like, "there is NO way." The first "heart attack" came when we got into the elevators and they starting beeping. I jumped, but someone said they always do that. Then we got down to the parking garage doors and I literally had one foot out the door when my phone starting ringing. I grabbed my phone and caller ID said, "FLETCHER ALLEN HOSPITAL." I jumped out of my skin and started backing away from the door. I couldn't answer the phone, I just kept looking at it completely dumbfounded. Could it be possible that they knew I was leaving the hospital? It's impossible! Ashley and I were so nervous. Finally my phone said I had a voicemail. I reluctantly dialed "1" to listen to my voicemail. "Hello, this is Fletcher Allen Hospital reminding Kari that she has an appointment on Tuesday, May 10..." I was finally able to breathe when I listened to the voicemail; it was my appointment reminder. I looked at Ashley and started laughing. Could the timing have been any more perfect? The experience in itself to this point had almost put me back into labor! We finally gathered our composure and ran out of the hospital to the parking garage and into Aunt Ashley's car. Out we went and in to the free world! Now, all we had to do was get through dinner without seeing any of my doctors or nurses and then back to the hospital safe and sound we would go.

Rocking my Hospital Bands outside of Koto's

We made it to Koto's and had a nice dinner with some sushi and sides. We didn't linger at all because I think the stress of the night had made my back start hurting again. Dinner was pretty uneventful but yummy and worth all the craziness. Mommy loves her sushi and when she wants it, she's got to have it! We got back into the car, but not before mommy got her picture taken outside of Koto's sporting her hospital bands for proof! Safe and sound we made it back to the hospital and back to my room to enjoy a quiet night. Aunt Ashley and I had quite a few laughs about the whole ordeal! It is something I'll never forget and I'm sure we'll tell the story over and over again for years to come!

Aunt Ashley left on Saturday afternoon and then Daddy came Saturday night. It was so good seeing him and knowing that we would be able to spend the whole weekend together! Yesterday, we went for a walk outside and mommy got a little sunburn on her legs, which felt really nice. We then got to watch World Superbike in our room. It is awesome that I get SPEED TV at the hospital! We had more sushi for dinner last night and then both of us passed out for the evening.

Today has been kind of a crazy day. I woke up after tossing and turning all night. See, today we reached 32 weeks and there is a possibility that I can go home today. There are a few criteria that have to be met before they will give me the "okay" to be discharged. One is that my cervix has not changed and the other is that my ultrasound comes back okay. I had my NST this morning and contracted more than normal. I think it is because I am very nervous about my exams today and scared to hear what the doctor's have to say. I really want to go home but I have to mentally prepare for the news that they are going to keep me. I want nothing more than to go back home and rest in my own bed with Desmo and Ohlins. I had my cervical exam this morning also and that came back clear. I've actually shrunk which is great and proves that the little bit of walking around I've done is not progressing my labor. So, now daddy and I are just waiting for an opening up in Labor and Delivery to do our ultrasound. Unfortunately, L&D is very busy today and we are in a waiting game hoping that it will be sooner rather than later that they can get us in.

Hopefully, my next post to you girls will be from the comfort of our own home. I love you so much and hope you cooperate this afternoon so mommy can go home and relax for a few more weeks! Keep your fingers crossed.

Love,
Mommy

31 weeks 1 day - May 3, 2011

31 weeks 1 day

Yay!! Mommy has made it to 31 weeks. This past week has been a little scary but the past fews days have been pretty good!

On Sunday, Mommy's whole family came over to see me and daddy (grammy, Aunt Ashley, Aunt Juli, and Uncle Tony) and the doctor's cleared me for "wheel chair privileges" so I could go out and spend some time with all of them together. When they come to visit in your room, you can only have 3 people at a time and no one under the age of 12...which meant Tony could not come in my room. Mommy got all dressed and put on some make-up and got in a wheel chair and daddy wheeled her out of the Maternity floor and out the front door of the hospital to the garden. I cried so much when we got outside. I had not felt fresh air or the sun in 6 days and I was just so happy to be outside. We all sat in the garden for about an hour, talking and laughing about all sorts of things until I had to go back to my room for vitals. After vitals, we all had lunch and then went back outside for another hour or two before everyone had to leave to head back to Lake Placid. When I got to my room, I noticed that I had a little sunburn on my arm...it made mommy smile so much to see her sun kissed shoulders! Daddy stayed over on Sunday and had to leave on Monday morning so he could go back to work. Mommy realized that the cot was more comfortable for her than the hospital bed, so daddy offered to sleep in the hospital bed. It definitely throws the Maternity nurses for a loop when they walk in to check on a pregnant lady and find a man sleeping in the hospital bed!

So, daddy left early on Monday morning which gave mommy her first real day all by herself. This was going to be a big test to see how well I did being away from everyone and not knowing how I was going to feel. Things turned out pretty good though! My mornings tend to be quite busy with doctors and nurses coming in. They all seem to come in at separate times...I think because it's a learning hospital and some of the docs have to learn how to deal with patients one-on-one, so 2 or 3 docs will come in at separate time and ask me the same questions. Nurses come in the morning and do morning vitals. I usually order my breakfast after that and go take a shower. When I come back, my breakfast is waiting and then we do the daily Non-Stress Test (NST). I'm usually all done with everything and ready for the day by about 11am. Yesterday, I finally was able to log in to work and check my email...almost 500 emails had to be read through. So, that kept me busy for a while but then I get tired and have to take naps throughout the day. We also had a visitor yesterday, Anna Sengenberger came to visit. I work with her husband, Mike at Adworkshop. Anna had a doctor's appointment at Fletcher Allen, so she came to visit after her appointment and brought a really nice card and some yummy chocolates. It was really nice to see a familiar face. Anna and Mike are expecting a baby later this fall, so hopefully you'll have a playmate!

The NST today was really successful as was yesterdays and you girls were actually good and didn't give the nurses too hard of a time. Sophie's heartbeat averages in the 130s and Stella's has been averaging in the 140s. The past few NSTs have been so crazy and take forever...mostly because Sophie is squirming all over the place and never wants anyone to find her heartbeat. Mommy has gotten really good at locating your heartbeats for the nurses, though. I can pretty much point to a spot on my belly and it is almost spot on every time! The nurses here are so incredibly nice and helpful and keep mommy company when she needs it. Every day I have a new set of nurses throughout the day. You tend to spend a good 20 minutes with them every couple of hours, so I always ask them how long they've been a nurse and if they have any kids, etc. A lot of them have great stories and have seen lots of different types of people give birth here. They always make you feel special too, because they call my belly by the names of Sophie and Stella without me having to tell them! It feels really nice and I'm looking forward to seeing all these same nurses that have been taking such good care of me when I deliver you girls.

As scary as this journey has been over the last week, I am finding some solace in it. I've been getting lots of rest and lots of time to think about when daddy and I will get to hold you both. I'm learning lots from the nurses and get to see lots of little newborns every day. Daddy and I have got to spend some real quality time together which is nice and does not happen very often. I think this experience will better prepare me and daddy for when "The Day" arrives, too. We will know our ins and outs of the hospital and what to expect from the care, etc. I know what we need to pack and what we really don't need and how the whole operation works, so I'm trying to make this all into a big positive learning experience.

Today the doctor's told me that if there are no changes in my body come Monday, that I should be able to go home. I really hope that you two allow mommy to go home and rest in her own bed with the poocherinos! I can't wait for you to meet the two pups: Desmo and Ohlins. They are such good dogs and I think they will be very curious of you both. They miss mommy a lot and I miss them.

I'm going to wrap this up because Daddy is on his way from Lake Placid. He left early yesterday morning but it feels like it has been an eternity since I last saw him. I can't wait for him to arrive!!! He is going to stay here all day tomorrow and then leave tomorrow night so he can go back to work for a few days. I'm a little worried that he may not make it because Lake Champlain has been flooding like crazy and roads are being closed left and right. Hopefully he makes it over here and is able to make it back to Lake Placid tomorrow night.

Stay put Sophie & Stella. I'm being patient in meeting you...you'd better be patient in meeting the world!

Love,
Mommy