So a lot has happened since my last blog post. I really planned to keep up better but life
got busy and finding time to write has been difficult!
At the time of my last post I was 27 weeks pregnant with our
precious babies! Today Nolan and Payton
are 28 weeks old! The past 6 months have
flown by and the babies are growing so fast!
I’ll try to catch up on all that has happened since last April. Most of my pregnancy was fairly uneventful. I of course worried a lot about how the
babies were doing and when they would decide to enter this world. I gained about 30 pounds but had a massive
belly for sure! Late into pregnancy we
were having weekly sonograms and doctor’s appointments so it was great to get
to see the little monkeys each week. As
they got bigger it was harder to really see them good on sonogram but it was
always a relief to know they were doing well.
Baby B always had a good time kicking Baby A in the head which we
witnessed on sonograms several times throughout the pregnancy. We had made the decision to not find out what
the genders of the babies were. Once the
nursery was decorated I never even had the urge to find out. This drove some of my friends crazy but it
was fun not knowing. We of course would
always make guesses as to what we were having based on what they were doing in
my tummy. Unfortunately, at 35 weeks the
sonogram tech blew it and told us what we were having. I was pretty bummed as we had made it so long
without knowing but it was great because we could stop thinking about names as
we were solid on Nolan and Payton but were still on the fence for the second
girl and second boy names. I always just
wanted two healthy babies but having one of each is awesome!
Our birth story is a little crazy and scary but I want to
document so I don’t forget it. I
developed a rash on Wednesday June 24th. I called the doctor on Thursday and they told
me to go have it checked out at labor and delivery. Well I’m stubborn and didn’t want to go to
L&D for a rash. I had self diagnosed
myself with PUPPS which is a pretty common pregnancy rash and causes no
harm. Well the itching continued to get
worse and I just couldn’t ignore it anymore as I did not sleep at all Thursday
night. I had a sonogram Friday morning
so we decided to go do that and then head to L&D to have the rash looked
at. My hope was they would give me some steroids
to help with the itching and we would be on our way. Sonogram went great and both babies were head
down. On the way to the hospital I asked
Mark if he wanted to stop for lunch first in case we had to wait awhile. He said no because the last time we had to go
to L&D (severe heartburn) we were in and out pretty quick. Well when we got to L&D this time they
were really busy so we had to wait longer than expected. Needless to say we were regretting not
getting lunch! Once we got back into a
room things seemed to move pretty fast from there. I had to do a UA, blood work and vitals. I asked the doctor if I could just get
something for the itching and get out of there.
She said that they would probably get me a steroid but needed to rule
out a few things first. They did a bunch
of blood pressures on me. This is about
the time we realize something is going on because I was setting the alarm off
with my pressures. The machine was also
picking up a few contractions but I wasn’t feeling them. I end up going to the bathroom and come out
to find a sonogram machine in the room.
The nurse told us that they needed to see what position the babies were
in as they were going to have to DELIVER!
Ummmm….Say what?!?!? Needless to
say we were in a bit of shock. From
there everything happened really fast. I
had developed what they call HELLP.
H (hemolysis, which is the breaking down of red
blood cells)
EL (elevated liver enzymes)
LP (low platelet count)
I was told they were going to induce labor and that I couldn’t
have an epidural. Long story short…my
doctor always said that she wouldn’t induce labor and if I got to 38 weeks it
would have to be a c-section. I could
only deliver naturally if I went into labor on my own. So I start to panic because I knew my doctor
wouldn’t induce and they wanted to do it without pain meds!!!! My doctor was in the hospital delivering
another baby so they talked to her and she said c-section and then it was up to
the anesthesiologist if I could stay awake and just have a block or if I had to
be put all the way under. Thankfully I
was able to stay awake! From the time we
were told we were delivering to the time I was in the OR was less than 1.5
hours. We had time to get in touch with
our family and let them know what was going on but that was about it.
The evening of June 26th, 2015
at 36 weeks + 1 day we welcomed our precious babies. Nolan (Baby A) was born at 6:55pm weighing in at 5 lbs
2 ozs and 17.5 inches long. Payton (Baby B) was born at 6:58pm weighing in at 4 lbs 15
ozs and 17.5 inches long. We had
2 NICU teams in the room ready to take the babies but we were so blessed that
they both checked out great and were able to stay with us!
In the following days we found out just how serious my
condition was. We were told by numerous
doctors and nurses that it was a good thing we went to the hospital when we
did. Given another 12 hours we could
have had a very different outcome. I was
told that there was a good chance I would have stroked out at home and all 3 of
us would not have survived. The man
upstairs was for sure looking out for us.
Before the rash I had shown no signs and when I was at the doctor on
Tuesday my BP was just fine. The thought
of what could have been was/is very scary but we are all healthy!
I had to spend the first 24 hours on a magnesium drip and
the babies were having some issues keeping their body temperatures up so they
stayed under the lamps a lot and we didn’t get to hold them much that first
day. The first couple days are a pretty
big blur to me and I don’t remember a lot.
So we delivered Friday evening and were able to go home Tuesday evening. Between my parents and my in-laws we were so
blessed with a ton of great help those first few weeks at home. We could not have done it without them.
Mark has been beyond amazing with the babies. He is such a great daddy! The babies just love him so much! I could not do it without him! The past 6 months has been trying at times
but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
We are so blessed to have 2 healthy babies. It has been so fun to watch them grow and
learn. From day one they have had their
own little personalities. I was lucky
enough to spend the first 12 weeks at home with them. Going back to work was so difficult but they
are at an amazing daycare that we just love.
A little about Nolan…..In Nolan’s first few months he was a laid-back chill little dude. He ate with
his eyes closed and loved to just cuddle.
He rarely ever cried. He did
eventually learn from his sister that if he cried some he was able to get food
sooner and be picked up. It took him a
few months before he really found the full extent of what his lungs could
offer. Our laid-back chill little dude is
such a happy boy. Daycare said they
think he is going to be the class clown.
He loves to smile and laugh. You
can see the wheels turning in his head as to what he can do to make you
laugh. He has such a big personality. At 5 months he learned to roll from his back
to belly and he hasn’t stopped moving since.
He can now turn around in a circle on his belly and push himself
backwards. Nolan started out pretty bald but he is now getting a bunch of blonde hair! He is such a handsome skinny
little dude.
A little about Payton….In Payton’s first few
months she was our little drama queen.
She discovered her lungs very early in life. She was pretty high maintenance. Girl let you know when she was hungry and she
did NOT like to be put down. She wanted
to be held 24/7. She was the first to roll
from her belly to back. She did this at
7 weeks for the first time. It took her
a few more weeks before she did it again.
We are pretty sure she rolled belly to back so soon because she kind of
hated tummy time. She was the smaller of
the babies but has now outgrown her brother and is a pound heavier than him as
of their 6 month check. She LOVES to eat! Payton, like her brother, started out with no hair but she is also starting to get a bunch of hair. She has one REALLY long piece on the very top of her head. She has these big beautiful eyes and is such
a pretty little girl. She used to have a
really shy smile but she is starting to give smiles up a little more freely.
