My Snowbabies

I knew this day would come sooner or later. The day when we have to decide what to do with our three remaining snowbabies. We have a few options: destroy them, donate them to science, donate them to a needing couple, keep them frozen.

We're not going to just keep them frozen. There are a few reasons for that...we do not want any more children. Three is enough for us. Plus, I cannot imagine going through another pregnancy with three kids already. I don't do pregnancy very well. I'm sure some of you remember how awful my morning sickness was.

So we can either donate them to one of two options, or destroy them. If you would have asked me before I ever had a child I would have said immediately that I'd donate them to another needing couple. I'm having a hard time with that decision right now. I now know the personalities of three (out of the nearly 50 embryos) children that I gave birth to. I can't imagine one of my little ones out there in the world without me to love and protect him/her. I certainly know they could end up with a family that loves them equally as much, but what if they don't?? What if someone causes them harm? A day wouldn't go by without me thinking about them and worrying where they are and who they have become. I would love to hear your opinions on this as we need to make our decision soon and I'm still torn as to what the best decision is for us.

A glimpse of our summer

It's been quite some time since I posted last so I thought I should write a little update. In most recent news, we had the twins baptized two weekends ago. It was just my family at the Baptism, so it was very personal. Another good thing about it being just my family was that I wasn't too embarrassed when EJ started running around (he literally ran around the entire church...like ten times...screaming and having a ball). My brother and his wife are godparents to Jillian; Ed's sister and her husband are godparents to Jacob. My other brother and his wife are EJ's godparents so they were there as well, along with our parents. It was the day after Hurricane Irene so a lot of our family and friends couldn't make it to the party, but that just meant more cake for me :) Here we are...I'm holding EJ with his t-rex c.rocs on...

The rest of our summer has been pretty good. With the help of my parents and SIL we get through each day and everyone gets dressed and fed. LOL. EJ spent a lot of time swimming, which he loves, and hanging out with his favorite cousins. Jillian is sleeping between 8-10 hours every night. Jake usually wakes once or twice, but I'm still able to feel well-rested most mornings. My days are busy. VERY busy. My weeks fly by and I wish it would all slow down a bit. I'm eager to get to the STTN phase for both twins, but at the same time I don't want to rush things too much. EJ starts "pre-school" next week. It's just two hours one day a week, but I think it will be good for him. I can't wait to see all the wonderful artwork he brings home to hang on the fridge. Hopefully it won't be another 3 months before I update again :D

Sleep (or lack of)

Haven't had much of it lately. At least not more than 30 minutes at a time.
Desperately need some. My eyes have never been so droopy.
Just an hour to two of solid sleep would do me a world of good.
Can't seem to put two thoughts together or concentrate on anything. I must seem like a space cadet to anyone talking to me.

We're all doing ok!!

There hasn't been as much sleep as I'd like, but we're all hanging in there :) The twins are great eaters, and pretty good sleepers. However, they're not totally on the same schedule so we're awake often through the night nursing/giving bottles. I don't feel as exhausted as I did with EJ; I guess I've gotten used to running on limited sleep. I really don't know how well we would have handled having the twins before our singleton, so I'm glad it worked out the way it did with them coming after EJ.

Someone asked me if either Jake or Jillian has their Daddy's eyes (in regards to the title of this blog)...well, without a doubt Jillian does. It's so neat to look at them looking at each other with the exact same shape of eyes. It will be interesting to see in a few months if she has the same color as he has too.

I wish I had more time to take pictures, but I snap one whenever I can with my cell phone. Here's one with Jake on the left and Jillian on the right. Oh, and we've taken to calling her "Jilly" which really seems to make EJ giggle :)

The Twins are here!!!

I don't have much time to type, so here are the basics...

The twins arrived on Thursday May 12th, which is their Daddy's birthday :)

Jillian Lyn - 8:14am - 5lbs 1oz, 18.25inches
Jacob Francis - 8:16am - 6lbs 3oz, 19.5 inches

They're doing great...no time was needed in the NICU!!!!! I'll post pics as soon as I load them to my computer.

EJ is doing fantastic with them. He hugs them and gets upset if they cry...such a good protector already :)

Full Term - WE MADE IT!!!

I'm am beyond-words-excited that our little twins made it to full term...36 weeks as of yesterday! I was told at the very beginning of this pregnancy that 50% of twins don't make it this far, so we were certainly preparing for them to come before today.

I had a growth scan on Thursday and Jillian (back to loving that name) was measuring small at 4lbs 7oz which is under the 10th percentile. Jake is 5lbs 7oz and growing very well. EJ was delivered at 5lbs 6oz so it seems they're similar in size at this point. The doctor recommended that we deliver this week to give Jillian the best chance to thrive on her own in the outside world. If we make it until then, I'll have my repeat c-section on Thursday May 12th, which just so happens to be my wonderful husband's birthday too :)

The doctor also ordered twice weekly NST's so I went for another one this past Friday. The protein in my urine was at +2 and I'm officially dealing with pre-eclampsia (just like with EJ). My peri said my bloodwork didn't come back "perfect" but levels weren't "alarming" either. I will go for another tomorrow (Monday) and then take it day by day until Thursday. We want to give the little girl as much of a chance as possible to reach 5lbs at the time of birth. Apparently that is the magic number for the NICU as well as the car seat limit. Come on little girl...GROW!!!!!

L&D #5...aka The Girl Who Cried Wolf

First off, today is my 33rd birthday. Happy Birthday to me :D

I went for a mani and pedi this morning, then out to lunch, and finally took a nice long nap. That nap was needed after last night...

I started having consistent contractions around 6pm. I timed them for over an hour and I had once every 4-6 minutes. I called my peri and she had me head to L&D...this could be it! I got all hooked up to the monitors and the babies sounded great and we could see my contractions coming quickly. They weren't very intense, but they were constant. My regular appt was that afternoon and I was dilated to 1cm, and I was the same in L&D that evening. So after two hours of being monitored, and no change in my cervix, I was sent home. What a let down. We really thought that was going to be it and my twins could be delivered on my birthday. Oh well.

They're doing great and I can't believe how far I've made it in this pregnancy! My blood pressure has been great, and no protein in my urine. Looks like we may get a few more weeks before their arrival.

Oh, and we have a date set...if they don't come before then, my c-section is set for Tuesday, May 24th. I love having a date in my head as my "due date" and know that is the longest I'll have to hold on to the twins. They are getting heavier every day and I literally feel every ounce they gain. My body is not my own and my stomach often looks like two pigs fighting under a blanket, each going a different direction. Haha. I've gained almost 40lbs at this point and my belly is measuring 55cm (should only be 34cm with a singleton). As my husband so eloquently put it, I am "ridiculously huge". Thanks babe, I appreciate that. LOL.