Our First Bath

August 26, 2014

After the babies were born, skin to skin time with mommy and several vital checks to the three of us, it was time for Hailey and Hunter to have their first baths!

Hailey

Hunter

Hailey + Hunter's Birth Story

August 26, 2014

Michael called it all along; that I'd make it all the way to the 38 week mark and our planned c-section date. We both of course were excited the night before, but did manage to get a few hours of sleep. We took a moment to realize how blessed we are when we walked through the maternity doors at the fact that most people do not have this type of experience prior to meeting their baby/ babies; especially twins. 

As we were checking in at the front desk, a nurse came down asking for Sarah. We start walking down the hallway and she asks if we were excited to meet our little one which of course we reply and say, well yes we are very excited to meet our little ones, emphasizing that we have two babies and not one. She looks at the chart and realized she had the wrong Sarah. Go figure. After a few more minutes of waiting, our nurse came along asking for us and I was so happy for the nurse change because she just gave off a better feeling than the first nurse. 

We got into our hospital room (which was huge because of having twins). I had an IV started after changing into my fancy hospital gown and we waited until our surgery time.

The time seemed to fly with all of the nurses coming in and out of the room and next thing you knew, we were walking to the OR to meet our doctor. We were definitely getting anxious now that the gowns were going on!

Here's us with our fabulous nurse and Dr. Morell right before we went into the room! 

Michael in his cute scrubs:

I was pretty nervous for the spinal because of never having surgery before. They had me bend over as far as I could and I felt a small prick in my back. Two seconds later they were laying me down and I was shocked that I had already had it! The IV hurt way more than that! After the spinal things started moving very quickly. I wasn't too fond of not being able to feel below my chest, but Michael helped keep me calm by running his fingers through my hair and reminding me that we were about to meet the babies. All the sudden the drape in front of us went down slightly and Hailey was born at 9:55 A.M. weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces.

As quick as they whisked her away to check her out, I looked back towards the sheet to see her brother! Hunter was born one minute later at 9:56 A.M. weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces.

Michael had been such an amazing supporter. After the babies were born (before I was able to see them), I started getting nauseous and he stayed next to me until the babies were cleaned off and brought to us. The staff later mentioned how much love they noticed we had for one another and how they were grateful to have shared the experience with us. 

What adorable little faces!

Hunter Lee

Hailey Lynn

After the surgery, I was wheeled back to our room and Michael walked back with our little bundles of joy! Right when we got back to the room, I was able to get skin to skin contact while Michael and I enjoyed their first few moments of life together alone in the room. OK, I think there were nurses and other things happening, but all I could focus on was my family. 

Happy Birthday Hailey and Hunter! We are so thrilled that you are finally here and now our family is complete! 

Counting Down...

By the time this is posted to the blog, it'll be only 3 more days until we have our babies! The time has really flown by when I look back at the last 38 weeks (almost). We are sure now that the babies aren't coming any sooner than our scheduled date of Tuesday which is a blessing! Not only will our babies be healthy and fully developed, but it also gives us a chance to really plan out the day of their arrival which makes both of us A-type personalities happy!

Our surgery is scheduled for early in the morning, so by Tuesday afternoon we will be able to have family come and see our two little bundles of joy and all of you who follow our blog should be receiving photos! We are so lucky to have our families close by to experience this with us and to support us. We can't wait for the babies to meet everyone who have been anticipating their arrival!

We're very thankful for all the support and love we've gotten over these last 9 months from everyone and glad that the blog has helped to keep us all in touch (near and far).

Most of all, I am so grateful for my loving husband who has put up with me (although I don't think I was too bad....right??). But in all seriousness, it takes a strong and dedicated man to deal with mood swings, food cravings, breakdowns, swollen ankles, back aches, middle of the night wake up's and assembly of 2 sets of baby gadgets. Thank you hunny for being by my side and not thinking I'm crazy for crying because my shoes don't fit and for the million and a half other things you've done to take care of me physically and emotionally. Now, let's get ready and excited to meet our 'littlest Ports'! :)

A Special E-Card From Auntie Donna

I got a special E-Card from Michael's Auntie Donna today that put a big smile on my face! It's so special to have such great support around us with both families and our friends! I love getting little messages like this and phone calls- they really make my day easier towards the end where it is hard to do pretty much anything.

The Loft is Almost Complete

This morning Michael was busy putting together my section of the office in our loft while I supervised from my 'mommy chair' that my dad got me a few months back (I love that thing)! Michael had his work cut out for him with the desk, but it is SO worth it! Now I have a space to do my blogging, to work from home (once I go back to work) and a perfect spot to do my scrap booking! I've been slacking on the baby books because it's not very easy to do it in bed or on the ground with this belly! Thanks for putting this together hunny!

Starting to Get My Freebies In The Mail

I love getting packages in the mail... especially when they are FREE!! Dr. Brown's sent us 2 bottles and we have gotten several Enfamil formula packages as well! WHOO HOO! Keep 'em comin!!

Changing Table

Debbie found a great changing table a few months back at a garage sale for a great deal and Ron re-finished it for us! We got it all set up downstairs and it's ready for some dirty baby bums! This was such an awesome find and it turned out perfect! Thank you to both of you!!

Freezer Meals & Bow Frame From Alicia!

Alicia was sweet enough to make Michael and I freezer meals for after the babies are born! She surprised us with 2 huge bags of pre-made burritos and 2 big bags of taco soup! This is going to really help out on those nights where we are too tired to cook. 

She also surprised us with two adorable frames that hold bows for Hailey! She had these for both Lexie and Kenzie and I remember loving them! I'm really excited to hang these up and have a place to see all of the cute bow choices for Hailey. :) This was very sweet of her to do with their busy schedule- THANK YOU!!

New Phones & Ultrasound Video

After 2+ years having the Samsung Galaxy, it finally died on me. It wouldn't make calls and started turning itself on and off whenever it felt like it, so we bit the bullet and both got new cell phones. It was such a great deal that it just made sense for Michael to get a new one as well. The best part about the new phone is that you can make videos out of your photos! I put together a little montage of the ultrasound photos I had on my phone... check it out in the link below:

https://www.zoe.com/B0VFY8YgdFNldzwzMOuhdwA/

We've Got Hedges!

They go in this Saturday- can't wait to have a barrier between us and the neighbors! Hoping it will serve as a cushion to discourage Lily from barking at the neighbor's dog (and then getting zapped- I just hate when she lets out that yelp, but she has to learn somehow).

Animal Update

Pretty sure all the animals know the babies arrival will be soon. The dogs have been very snuggly and the cats have even been trying to get in some extra attention too. Paco has been such a good dog and will play with Lily when he can tell she is annoying me by sticking her toy in my face the second I sit down to relax on the couch.

He gets rewarded with a little snack every now and then... of course I can't leave Lily out when they are both looking at me like this while I eat ice cream:

Can't forget to get a snapshot of the cats too (it's harder to get the two of them together for a quick picture)!:

Hunter Is Going To Be One Cute Little Guy!

Yesterday my sister came by to visit and was nice enough to give me a foot rub! Ahh... I was very appreciative; I really needed that! She also brought a gift from Diana with her- some really cute little boy clothes. I can't get past how ADORABLE the 'Ahoy Matey' sweatshirt is! It was so sweet of her to get these for Hunter... he undoubtedly will live up to the 'Ladie's Man' onise. TOO CUTE- Thank you Diana!

Are Those My Feet?

O.K. this is a gross post.. especially if you don't like feet so don't say I did not warn you. I'm not even sure I can make out where my ankles are supposed to start. I normally wouldn't post this, but in light of documenting our pregnancy I felt I couldn't leave out the 'not so pretty' side of it all.

Time to sit down and put my feet up!

37 Week Belly Photo!

The photo really doesn't do it justice.. It looks like a Costco size watermelon is under my shirt. :) 

Home Office

So happy that Michael is now able to work from home! The building he works in is being renovated, so they are kicking everyone out on Aug 27th until the end of the year. Talk about perfect timing! His manager was nice enough to let him work from home for 3 days a week until then, so he got his office set up in our loft! It works out perfectly- he's got his office set up and I've got my rocking chair with the T.V. set up with the blue ray player right next to him. I'm one happy girl!

Here's his set up- he made the stand for his monitors to be up higher and has nice natural light.. oh and what's that? His very own at home supervisor, Leo.

37 Weeks Pregnant

Wow, we made it to our goal of 37 weeks! We are so thrilled to have made it to the full term mark for twins! Now it's really just a waiting game (although it's felt that way with anticipation of an early arrival with there being 2).
Over the last week, I decided it was a good idea to spend my last official week of pregnancy relaxing, so no more working for me! It's been really nice to nap when needed and not have to stress about weird work hours with all the doctor's appointments. I'm getting more frequent and more painful contractions now (usually at night when I'm trying to sleep) which is more annoying than anything because I know unless my water breaks or there is some medical reason to deliver the babies now, they will make me wait until 38 weeks.

On the bright side, ONLY 7 MORE DAYS at the most until we get to meet the babies!! I'm telling myself to be patient!


What's Happening Inside My Body?: The babies are packing on the weight still at an estimated amount of .5lbs per week (per the doctor it is a bit less for twins). Their brains and lungs are developing more and more everyday and they have begun to simulate breathing to prepare to be in the outside world.

The Babies Are Each the Size of: Swiss Chard- estimated 6.5lbs

This Made My Week!!

I got an awesome picture message from my sister yesterday with a photo of my mom from when she was pregnant with me! I didn't even know this was even around and I don't think I've ever seen it, so it was so special to get this. I definitely needed this to get through this last week!! Thank you sissy- this meant the world to me! :)

Visit From Alicia & Chris

We were happy to have some company yesterday! Alicia and Chris stopped by with the girls to spend some time with us. It had been a few weeks since we had seen them so it was nice to catch up on everything going on with their move and recent trip to Vegas and also to have a listening ear (besides Michael) about my pregnancy complaints! And of course we got a LOT of love from all the girls!

Free Stuff For Twins? Yes, Please!

I had this idea after receiving free samples of baby formula from Debbie that had come to her in the mail. She said she signed up for something and they just sent it... Well, I love freebies- especially when we have 2 babies to feed and will go through enough diapers to fill a landfill- so now I'm on a mission to get some free stuff!
Who knows what diapers will work best or what formula the babies will like (I do plan to breastfeed, but having formula is great for supplementing). This is the best way to figure out what we like and get discounts! Is this a form of 'nesting'?? Must be.

Enfamil:

http://www.enfamil.com/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Search&utm_campaign=Enfamil&utm_content=Brand&utm_term=enfomil#

I went onto their website and did a live chat with the people here and they are sending 2 free samples of Newborn formula as well as a "special discount check" in the mail.

Similac:

https://similac.com/pregnancy

They didn't have a live chat on their website (which I would have preferred), so I called their 1-800 # and spoke to a gal. I mentioned that I had signed up for their 'Strong Mom's' program, but was disappointed that the set up did not include a check box to say I had 2 babies. So, they said they'd send a free full size sample of Similac Advance Formula and additional coupons because we have twins.

Huggies:

http://www.huggies.com/en-us/faq

They do have a multiples program, but you have to send in the birth certificates for your babies before they will send you a 'one time free gift and coupons'. This will be on my list of things to do after the babies arrive!

Pampers:

http://www.pampers.com/diaper-coupons-and-promotions

Well this one was a bust! They don't send out coupons or samples, but they do load on new coupons to their website (above). They saw me coming from a mile away....


Seventh Generation:

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/about/contact-us

I have been really curious how their baby products stack up to the competition. They offer diapers, wipes and bath time essentials for little ones. I couldn't find any information available on their site, so I had to submit an email request. I guess we'll see the outcome!

Little Me:

I saw this listed on another bloggers site saying they received 2 free sleepers for their twins, but when I called and asked, they said they no longer have it. Bummer!

Ringling Brothers Circus:

http://www.ringling.com/ContentPage.aspx?id=45819&section=45446

This one is pretty cool! The Ringling Brother's Circus gives babies 12 months or younger a free ticket to the circus! The only catch is that if you have multiples you have to send in the birth certificates. The coupon for the free show never expires so you can hang onto it until they are a little older to go and see the show! How cool!

The First Years:

http://www.thefirstyears.com/

I contacted this site via email and asked if they had any multiples programs. I explained that I'm a first time mom of twins and wasn't sure what products/gadgets were out there and asked if they had free product samples or coupons. They responded in just a few short minutes!

"To participate in our Multiples Birth Program, please send  proof of birth to the address below, this can be crib cards, birth announcements or doc from hospital where babies were born.  We will send a few special gifts for your babies to enjoy.

                                             

TOMY

Attn: Multiples Birth Program

2021 9^th St SE

Dyersville, IA 52040"

Dr Browns:

http://www.drbrownsbaby.com/

I also contacted this site via email about a multiples program and to see if they have samples. I will update what I get back!

The White House:

http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/consumer/a/greetings.htm

If you send your babies birth certificates to the address below, President Obama will sign a congratulatory card and sent it back! What a cool keepsake for the babies scrapbook!

White House Greetings Office Room 39
Washington, DC 20500

Beachnut Baby Food:

http://beechnut.com/contact/

I reached out to see if i can get coupons for baby food via email. They responded rather quickly with "We will be happy to send you a “new parent pack,” which are some coupons that we think you will appreciate."

Summer Infant:

http://www.summerinfant.com/home

Reached out via email. Waiting on response.



And now I'm ready for a nap...

36 Week Check-Up

Still cooking away! Our last doctor's appointment was a long one! We had a growth ultrasound, NST, spoke to the doctor and had to go to a pre-registration appointment through the Family Maternity Center to get the run down on what will happen for our scheduled C-Section. Right before we were going to see the doctor, we were notified he had to leave to go deliver a baby, so we headed down to the pre-registration appointment and right when we sat down in the room, we got called to say that the doctor was available to see us... so back up to the doctor's office we went! Needless to say, I got quite the workout in going from one side of the hospital to the other.
Since the babies are getting bigger, the ultrasounds get harder and harder to make out what is on the screen. But the tech knows what she is looking at and gave us the rundown:

Hailey (Baby A):

5 lbs 12 ounces

Still breach with her butt covering the exit!

Hunter (Baby B):

5 lbs 15 ounces (beating his sister now)

Head down and trying to become baby A, but Hailey is not budging!

Not only is Hunter head down, but he is so tucked inside me that they could barely get his head measurement. The ultrasound tech had to "stretch the ultrasound to it's max capabilities" to be able to get a faint outline of his head. Hailey was just as uncooperative in the NST and would not hold still for them. It ended up taking about 15 mins longer than normal to get a good enough reading. I had several contractions during the test and am still continuing to have them (mostly at night). All normal per the doctor. 

Imagination Library

My good friend Alicia told me about an awesome program supported by Dolly Parton called Imagination Library. Dolly started the program to keep kids interested in reading and to encourage imagination by sending a book that is age appropriate & gender specific each month to children in certain cities that are registered. Well, turns out that Lake Stevens is one of the cities on her list (along with Marysville and Standwood) so I signed up both Hunter and Hailey for books! I'm really excited to get our first ones!

Thanks Alicia for telling us about this great program!

Pediatrician

We finally set up our pediatrician! We had a nice meet and greet with Dr Vijay at the Lake Stevens Everett Clinic last week and really liked her views on prevention. She is a newer physician to the clinic, but has a great outlook and was easy to talk to. We are also thrilled that the clinic is only a few miles from our house for all the appointments we'll be having in the first year alone!
Michael was a great sport and jumped right on top of getting his T-DAPP (Whooping cough) vaccination after she asked if we had been given them yet. I was going to get one as well, but figured I'd better talk to my OB first. Dr Vijay said there was some great advantages of getting it while still pregnant so it's on the top of my list to ask the doctor tomorrow!

36 Weeks Pregnant

I'm SOO happy that we've gotten this far. We are only 1 week away from being full term and 2 weeks away from our scheduled C-Section (if the babies don't decide to come sooner), but these babies sure want OUT! They have been kicking and twisting A TON over the last week making it clear they are running out of room in there. I'm still having issues sleeping at night. The babies do not like it when I sleep on 'their side.' When I lay on my right side, Hunter starts kicking up a storm as if to say- HEY GET OFF ME! So then I roll over and Hailey starts to kick as if to say the same thing! UGH. I'm out of options so I end up sitting up in bed.

I was convinced they were going to come over the weekend after having multiple people tell me they had a 'feeling' and even strangers have been noticing how low they are. Well, they are still in there and I'm just trying to be patient now. HA!

I'm definitely ready to be done now with an estimated 12 lbs of baby in me.... 12 POUNDS! No wonder it's hard to do anything/everything. We will find out tomorrow at our doctor's appointment how big they really are- even though the ultrasound can be wrong up to 1/2 lb.

What's Happening In My Body?: The babies are putting on weight at about an ounce a day. They are shedding most of their downy hair that covered their bodies as well as the vernix caseosa (a waxy substance) that protected their skin from amniotic fluid for the last 9 months. Many of the babies systems are mature and there is fat on their cheeks now!! :)

Our Babies Are Each the Size of: A Head of Romaine Lettuce: approx. 20 inches long and 6lbs.

Promotion... WHOO HOO!

Yesterday I accepted a promotion that I've been waiting to hear back about for a few weeks! Once I'm back from Maternity Leave, I will no longer support project managers like I do currently and will focus more on projects, calls with our various factory managers and being the lead for my team! Until I go out on leave, I'll still be supporting my project managers while transitioning into this new role. WHOO HOO! Excited to start making some positive changes and glad my past 6 years of hard work with Philips has paid off!

"Dear Sarah:
Congratulations on your successful completion of the Philips interview process. As part of
our ‘People First’ approach we are firmly committed to finding and hiring the very best
talent. We look for people who will contribute to - and benefit from - our high-performance
culture, where entrepreneurship thrives and everyone is empowered to impact the
company’s growth and success. We’re confident we have found a great fit in you, and that
you will enjoy an exciting and rewarding career here.
On behalf of Philips Healthcare, I am very pleased to offer you the at-will position of
Commercial Operations Specialist 5, in Bothell, WA. We are certain you will be an asset to
the Company and look forward to your contributions to the success of Philips."

35 Week Belly Photo

Below is what it looks like when I get a Braxton Hick! One of the many strange shapes my belly takes. Looking down it is completely flat to the point you can literally rest a cup or bowl on it. Can you see where the babies are? Hailey on the left and Hunter on the right. :)

35 Week Check-up & A Restless Night

We had another great check-up Monday night! NST test shows both babies super active and great heart rates. Our normal doctor was out of the office this week so we met with one of the other doctors that we've seen a few times. During the ultrasound they only measured the fluid so it was a quick scan this time! We had a good time catching up with one of the techs that has done several of our ultrasounds and I got her to agree that Hunter has Michael's nose. She said "without a doubt it is the same nose!" I guess we'll find out...

Hailey (Baby A) is still butt down, but Hunter (Baby B) did flip! He has his head down and his butt and feet up in my ribs.

We came home after the appointment and relaxed. I wasn't able to fall asleep because of braxton hicks so I laid awake for quite some time catching up on Big Brother. I finally fell asleep only to wake up around 1 am to contractions. I started timing them and they were lasting a full minute and exactly 5 minutes apart! I didn't want to wake up Michael just yet... not until I had an entire hour of this happening to tell him it was time to go to the hospital. But he must have had an internal clock because he woke up after just 2 contractions and then every 15 minutes after that to check on me.

Finally we decided it was time to get up and call the hospital. They told us to come in to get checked, so we packed up and headed out!

We got to the hospital and I got hooked up to monitor the babies heartbeats and my contractions. Sure enough, I was accurate and was still getting them every 5 minutes. The nurse called the doctor who was on call. He happened to be the doctor we saw at our appointment yesterday for a brief moment so that made me feel a bit more comfortable. He determined that I wasn't dilated and said that we could go home. So, no babies yet but they are making it known that they are just about ready to get outta there!

Michael of course was on top of documenting with photos of me in my very attractive hospital gown! 

We got home just in time for Michael to get ready to go to work. I was able to get in a good 45 minutes of sleep before I had to wake up and log onto my computer and start working. Thankfully I am able to work from home these last few weeks or I wouldn't  have made it in today.