Thursday, October 25, 2007

The first few days postpartum

The stay in the hospital was a blur. I have never been so tired in my life, and in all the exhaustion and pain after labor I had a little baby to take care of (Leah was still being cared for in the Nicu). Between going up and down to see Leah and juggling the family visits, I was exhausted and emotionally drained. But Matt and I created the most beautiful babies in the whole world! (argue with me - I dare ya). My recovery was relatively well. I just had a lot of residual back pain and of course pain from where I tore, but it could have been worse!

Leah was officially admitted to the Nicu because her blood sugar was borderline (40) but other than that she was fine. She got the smallest cast in the world and on Thursday I was finally able to hold her and try her at breastfeeding (she did very well). I was forced to supplement with formula for both the girls because they were born premature and it was important for them to keep their blood sugar up. This was against my wishes, but now I am so glad that other people can help give a bottle. I dont think I could keep up with them even with pumping!

We got to go home on Friday, after watching a car seat safety video (Nicu requirements for discharging a patient). The car ride home was completely surreal, with both babies in their little car sears asleep. We were going home as a family of 4! (plus 2 dogs of our own, my sister and her dog of course).

I have to admit that when we got them home, I had no idea what to do! Its like, what now? What do we do with these two babies who are completely relying on us for everything? I got in the shower that night and bawled from the pure emotion of everything. Again, postpartum hormones are wonderful - lemme tell you. I continues to cry for the next week over everything, but thankfully that is over now...

Leahs little arm posed a bit of a challenge but we managed. It was awful if she spit up on her clothes and we had to change her or had a diaper blow out. We struggled to feed them as well, since neither really acted like they wanted to eat and according to the pediatrician we HAD to get an ounce and half in them every 3 hours - they are eating over 3 oz every 3-4 hours now.

Things are getting easier! I am still not getting much sleep but the time it takes to feed them has dramatically lessened, so that helps (really need to work on Matt feeding them both at the same time, but I cant complain because he has been awesome). I am ok seeing people again... for the first few days I was anti any social interaction. :) And now that Leahs cast is off they can both get baths which is a HUGE plus over the wonderful sponge bath and squirmy child with broken arm.

Im sure Matt will post his humerous stories since he has been the one to have most of the bodily fluids spilled over him.... For now I am done for the children are now screaming!!!

Labor Day - Oct. 3rd 2007

I will try to recap this day as best as I remember but I am sure Matt may be able to tell about it better (as long as he does not say that I was dilated 9 inches anymore)...

I got up early with the nurses coming in and everything and was able to take another shower - which was very nice since my back really hurt after contracting so much the night before. At some point Dr. Ross came in and the nurses gave me some meds to pick up the contractions some. He broke Hannahs bag of waters (VERY strange feeling, and kinda gross I might add) and the contractions seriously picked up. I immediately went to a contraction every 2 minutes but I never had really bad pain in my belly, just my back. At 3cm, they gave me some Nubane which took the edge off but made me very tired. I think all the family started coming around this time, but I was so sleepy. At 4cm they gave me the epidural. They did such a great job. I could feel my contractions but they didnt hurt and I could even move my legs still - sort of. It was awesome to be in full blown labor and be as comfortable as can be, though still tired.

I think it took a little while to get up to 9 cm. Dr. Ross had an emergency and at 10cm said that I could just hang tight as long as I was ok while he took care of that. Hannah just kept going lower and lower and right when I told the nurse I felt like I needed to start pushing, Dr. Ross sent word out for me to start pushing - perfect timing.

So I started pushing to get little Hannah out. I started in the labor and delivery room for a couple pushes and they put the mirror up so I could see Hannahs head (again, very weird). When she crowned it was time to travel to the OR. I guess the time that I had to lay on my back and the issues I had had with my blood pressure I got very nauseated. And I had epidural shakes REALLY bad. I got on the OR bed and immediately got sick, but then I felt better and was able to start pushing again.

I love how OBGYNs and nurses become a little cheering squad when you are in labor. It went something like this:
Ok, PUSH! 1, 2, 3 You are doing great! 4, 5, 6, 7 Keep going, 8, 9, 10, and breathe.... Ok 1, 2, Thats the best one so far! 3, 4, 5... etc. From my perspective I could not even tell I was pushing. I could feel the contraction but I just thought I was scrunching up my face. no matter what, the cheering continued.

At one point, as I am out there for the world to see, some man I had never met came in to talk to Dr. Ross. So he went right on down there for a little chat as I was in the middle of some pushes. Dr Ross just kept his hand doing whatever he needed to do, and kept counting, all the while talking to this dude. No modesty!!!!

So Hannah was delivered successfully. She was a little distressed but did well. They did not show her to me (again the movies failed me) but took her straight to the table. I did not yet hear her cry but Dr. Ross said not to worry anything about Hannah, that she was fine and I needed to focus on getting Leah out. So he broke Leahs bag (and dont think I am not straining to hear Hannah cry, which I finally heard and felt much better.

I felt Leah's birth. Hannah didnt hurt too bad. Leah.... well.... wow. Dr. Ross had to reach up in me literally and grab her. At one point I asked if he was up to his elbow in there and the nurse replied that I did not want to know that. He said he had the feet and I then felt the feet, legs, butt, and chest come out, like a pop, pop, pop. Then I felt him struggling but I didnt know what was going on. Finally Leah was born, 5 minutes after her sister. The rest of my time in the OR was a blur. I know they eventually showed me Hannah and I was very surprised that she was so wide eyed. And when they took Leah, they almost forgot to show her to me, but I got to see her briefly as well. Then Matt was taken to the NICU and Dr. Ross delivered the placentas (oh my gosh they were huge) and sewed me up where i evidently had torn (glad I didnt feel that). At some point he told me that he thought Leahs arm or clavicle was broken but that she would be just fine and it heels quickly. They wheeled me back to the L&D room and I guess I was there for about an hour before going to postpartum.
Hannah was in well baby and Leah was in the Nicu for her arm. That was really tough. But I was finally able to hold my Hannah and see my family who had been there for about 8 hours that day. I then went to the Nicu and saw Leah but could not hold her because her arm had not been set.

We kept Hannah in our room that night, and she did very well. It was a wonderful moment to be able to hold her and feed her, a feeling only new mothers can know. It was sad though because I could not hold and feed Leah and I almost felt like I was showing favoritism, but I know that was postpartum stuff talking.

I have to say that after that long day and after all the issues I had at the end of the pregnancy, the second it was over and the babies were born, I joined that old cliche and said I would do it all over again. That it wasnt that bad. (Matt may not join in my enthusiasm, having listened to me complain for the last 2 months). But, on top of that, I dont want another baby right now! haha

Update: Tuesday - the night before "Labor Day"

I have to say that it was very strange to go in to the doctor on Tuesday knowing that I would have my babies the next day. I guess I always imagined the typical movie scene where I would wake in the middle of the night, tap Matt on the shoulder and say "Honey, it's time". But that was not the case.
After we went to the hospital on Sunday night because my blood pressure went to 160/105 and being sent home because I was "positional" (my pressure dropped when I layed on my left side), I didnt really know what was going to happen. Dr Ross had said he was going to induce me on Monday, but I didnt hear from him til about 7pm Monday night. He had about 7 deliveries that day. So he told me that my 24 hour urine was 292, the magic number being 300. But since it was not a full 2 hour specimen he told me to come in Tuesday so that he could check me and then I would be there for an early induction Wednesday morning.
So, Laura took me to the hospital on Tuesday. It was odd knowing that was the last time I would be going there and still be pregnant.
When he checked me I was still only 1cm dilated and about 75% effaced. Dr. Ross told me I could take my terbutaline pump out when I got to the Labor and Delivery room and he would be in early the next morning and I would have my babies!
So I took the pump out around 4pm and by 6 I was having a contraction every 5 minutes or so. I was not in pain so much, but I could tell I was having them! I was seriously a poster child for that pump. Dr. Ross came in about 7 and said that Dr Adcock was on call and was mad at him for letting me discontinue the pump, since he was sure he would be coming in later that night for a delivery! Dr. Ross gave me strict orders not to have the girls til the next day or he would be in trouble with Dr. Adcock! (Ill try???) He wrote an order for more terbutaline in case I needed it (I did). But luckily I made it through the night.
It was actually a nice night. Matt and I watched House and he went and got Brio and brought it to the room. (I had wanted to have a last date night before we had the girls, but I got put on bedrest and squashed that idea) I took my shower and went to bed ready for the next day! (As ready as I would ever be!)

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Coming up for air.

Ok...I get it! Based on all the im's and emails from the 5 people that read the blog, yall actually care that I am not updating it :). I know it has been three weeks to the day that the last you heard was basically they were born.

Well, I am coming up for air and actually posting to the blog. There are plenty of stories to tell, and I hope to have a night that I can post all the stories, but this will be a brief overview on everything.

Overall I cannot begin to explain in a paragraph the day, but overwhelming might be the best word. It was a tough roller coaster of emotion going from the delivery to the NICU in a matter of 30 minutes. You are given few answers, yet your mind is asking a million questions. But in the end things could have been worse---but of course things could have gone better.

We have not heard this directly from the doctors mouth, but based on his actions and the words he used in the O.R., Leah became distressed, and bottom line he made a choice that he had to deliver her (me and Allyson are totally at peace with this decision), and this lead to her breaking her arm. It was a very tough thing to deal with for new parents...you prepare for a lot of things based on the books with a twin birth...but broken arm was never in the play book. Either way Leah is doing great, she got her cast off yesterday. Her arm is still broken, but has healed enough for her cast to be removed. She has pretty good movement and overall seems in pretty good spirits about it.

The first few days home were crazy, after all we never got to keep both while in the hospital, so first night home was first night with both. Every noise made that night was checked on, that is when you realize you are in over your head. It was overwhelming emotionally and physically for the first few days, but after a week we actually made our way downstairs.

Unfortunately, I got sick about that time, which shoved Allyson into being a parent to both. This was the point I think she realized she could do it and everything will be OK. Unfortunately, I do not have that same confidence yet. After that i returned to work and we are starting to roll into getting some sort of normalcy back in our life. Allyson has had her hair done, gone to the store, we have watched football games, and we even went to target for 10 minutes...hey we are not going to push it.

We owe a lot of people thanks, for gifts, time, money...but I have to especially thank my sister Laura. Without her, this would have been 400% harder, she has gone way beyond being an aunt.

So things are going, we are getting better at things....I can change a diaper in like 2 minutes...pretty impressive, since it took 10 the first time :). Allyson can feed both at the same time (bottle and breast). So hey we can do this parenting thing...we hope :). Like I said I will try to be better about posting, especially some of the funny stories we have had, but figured I would give a quick update. Lastly if you are wondering how big they are...well Hannah is 6lbs 12oz and Leah is 6lbs 3oz.

Check out the pictures on our flickr account, they really are cute if I don't say so myself. I hope to get some video up pretty soon.

Thanks for all of your prayers for our family and Leah's arm, and please be praying for my Bro, he will be participating in the Iron Man next week. Pray for his health, strength and perseverance.

Kody and his girls.
Leah, Hannah and Kody "The Protector"

Hannah Sleeping Peacefully
Hannah

Leah
Leah

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The first few days

I am sitting here at 10:15pm exhausted and awaiting the next round of feeding/burping/changing so I thought I would write on this blog for it may be a while before I get to it again.

This first week has been challenging and yet the most wonderful week of my life. Aside from the hormones (and constant crying) and lack of sleep, the girls have already brought so much joy to this house that I cannot even put it into words.

We have a wonderful family, and thank you to everyone who has helped us ease into these first days home. Just so it is recapped a little better from my perspective I promise to go through the events of October 3rd but I just heard a baby cry! Til later...

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Its Birthday Time!!!!!

I am going to use this post from time to time to update everyone (all 4 of you) who read the blog.

5:30 - Woke Up and she got to take a shower.
6:30 - Doctor does and ultrasound, both babies are in the same position, he checks her cervix measuring at 2 centimeters and breaks her water
6:45 - Starts induction.
8:16 - Contractions are one ever two minutes and her cervix is at a "good 3 centimeters" they are going to give her some pain relief and check back in an hour
9:40 - She is measuring 4 centimeters, the are doing prep work and will soon order the epidural
10:20 - Epidural in, life hopefully is good, smooth sailing from here right :).
11:00 - We are at 6 centimeters, he hopes to be at 8 or 9 in a couple hours.
1:00 - Measuring 8-9 hopefully will start pushing in an hour.
2:50 - Measuring a little over 9 inches, but we are on hold a little because our doctor has just been called to emergency surgery. So he is going to try to get done and still do our delivery. We will keep you posted, but it might be a little delayed now.
4:07 - Allyson is ready to start pushing and the doctor will be arriving in the room in a few moments.
4:19 - Allyson is pushing now and they have moved her into the OR. This is a normal precautionary procedure for delivery of twins. She is still planning to deliver naturally.
5:20 - Hannah and Leah McCay both born at 5:18 PM
5:45 - Hannah weighed in at 5lb 7oz and Leah weighed in at 5lb 4oz. Everyone appears happy and healthy. They are in the NICU now, being bathed and attended to.
6:18 - Correction... Hannah was born at 5:13 PM and weighed 5lb 7oz. Leah was born at 5:18 PM and weighed 5lb 5oz.
6:29 - Hannah has a cone head and curly dark hair. Leah has more round head and lighter hair. Leah's arm broke during delivery, but with a little splint, she will be fine in no time.

Stay Tuned.

Just a small note...if there was any reservation about whether we made the right decision about today, Allyson's blood work came back and confirmed preeclampsia.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

T-1 Day and Counting

So we had an interesting weekend. First off, our Auburn Tigers decided to play football and beat the #4 Florida Gators...WAR EAGLE. Then Sunday came...our favorite day. Allyson started to feel pretty rough and her blood pressure spiked. We had been kinda waiting all weekend for the results of her test, but they went ahead and brought us in. After monitoring and based on the information the on call doctor had he sent us home. We thought this a little weird since her lab results were borderline and it was not a full 24 hours.

After talking with Dr. Ross, he confirmed our suspicion that if she would have had a 24 hour sample she would be over the limit, so here we are.

Sitting in the Labor and Delivery room waiting for tomorrow to come. They will start everything about 6:30 in the morning, and according to the doctor the girls should grace us with their presence mid to late afternoon. If you are interested, read the blog or visit my twitter feed here. Hopefully I will have time to post images to our flickr account as well.