06.07.09
No babies yet…
We went in to L&D last night around 9 PM. We found out that LD was 4 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and at “station 1″ (whatever that means). We expected the babies to make their appearance before the end of the night. N came up and arrived around 1 AM. However, at noon today she had only made it to 6 cm and we were given the option of giving her pitocin to speed things up, or coming home (LD’s home, not ours). We chose home. Looks like the babies just wanted to tease us. Please pray we’re back at L&D tonight and it’s the “real deal.” I know we’re all very anxious to meet Kyla and Lucas. Not to mention a tiny bit disappointed that they didn’t cooperate last night/this morning. If they don’t come tonight, we have an OB appointment tomorrow, so I’m pretty sure we’ll end up with babies tomorrow if nothing else (LD thinks he’ll push the pitocin and she might agree this time). I’d rather them come tonight, but God (and they) doesn’t always want the same things I do..
06.06.09
Hola from Oklahoma
I made it in last night around 9:30. Of course, LD had a pretty quiet day as far as contractions went yesterday, but at least now I’m here if something does happen. Also, if D has gone to work I’ll be here to drive her to the hospital. I think that was another big worry for all of us.
This morning she came in and showed me that the babies have dropped significantly. Lucas is not in her rib (as much) anymore, and Kyla is WAY low. Also, her back is hurting down by her tail bone. We’re hoping all this means they’re getting into position to make their debut, but who knows?
All of us girls (LD, K, S, and myself) went and had pedicures done so that our toes will look pretty for the babies. 
K has blue toes with white polka dots, S has pink toes with a flower on the big toes and polka dots on the others, LD has a light purple (no decorations), and I have bright red toes with a white flower on each of my big toes only. LD loved sitting in the massaging chair. I’m so glad I could give her a little pampering. 
I wish I could do even more.
Right now she’s not feeling well (nausea, and “just not right”). She is laying down hoping that will help her feel better. I feel so helpless. I wish there was something I could do to make it better. I’m betting I’ll have that feeling a lot here in the next few days. 
I just hope that these babies decide to come sooner rather than later so that she doesn’t have to feel so miserable for much longer. My prayers have been that they come tonight. I think that’s LD’s hope as well. Neither of us want to make it to her next appointment (Monday) and face talking to Dr. K about a possible induction.
06.05.09
FYI
Just thought I’d let you know what is going on (or not going on) as far as the babies go.
They cooperated and let me finish the school year without a problem. When LD went for her appointment on Monday she was not even remotely dilated. The OB had her stop taking the meds to relax her uterus and said that if she didn’t have the babies by 37 weeks (June 11) he would want to induce labor.
Well, since being off the meds she has been having more and more contractions, which are becoming painful. Last night they were coming about 5-8 minutes apart and we thought there was a good possibility they would decide to come on their cousin’s birthday. However, by morning the contractions had died down and all that was left was a back ache.
To put her mind (and mine) at ease, I am going to go up there to stay until the babies arrive. N will be staying here until he gets “the call” simply because he needs to work and we’d rather not board the dogs until we have to. I’d hoped to have a couple of days after school let out to clean the house a bit, but it looks like the babies would prefer to start out in the filth, rather than build up to it. N fully expects to get a call tonight saying “get up here” but says that if he were to come with me there would not be any sign of them coming any time soon. We shall see. We’re still working on how we’ll get two cars home after they arrive, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it (if anyone has an idea, we’re all ears ). Hopefully I’ll be able to hook into LD’s internet and stay connected to you all this way. If not, I’ll have my cell.
It is a bit odd thinking about the fact that this will be the last time I will see my dogs, my house, my life without our children in tow. Goodbye old life, hello parenthood!
06.01.09
Ft. Knox
Apparently LD’s cervix is still sealed tighter than Ft. Knox. No babies getting out just yet. She had an appointment with Dr. K today and convinced him to check her. We’re surprised there has been NO cervical movement, since she’s been having some pretty good contractions, but apparently Kyla and Lucas plan on sticking around a while longer. He did tell her she could stop taking the terbutaline, so that could move things along a bit faster. Who knows!
LD asked when Dr. K would want to induce if it comes to that and he said “In a week and a half, at 37 weeks.” Wow! That seems so soon and yet so far away! LD says she might push him to 38 weeks, depending on if Lucas will get out of her rib or not (I’m betting not at this point, the stinker ). I think I’m going to go up to stay starting on Sunday. I’ll feel a lot better knowing I won’t miss the whole thing (but I wish N could come too!).
05.30.09
Getting anxious
I know we’re all getting a bit anxious to meet these precious ones. LD is probably the most anxious of all, since she feels she’s as big as a house (but I think she looks fabulous!). People are always saying stuff like “When are those babies going to get here?” and all I can say is “When they get here! They haven’t let us in on their plans.”
Nathan and I were talking the other day and both feel the same way. We’re really ready for the waiting for their birth day to arrive, but at the same time, we’re not sure if we’re ready to be parents. Is anyone ever ready???
That’s another question I get constantly: “Do you have everything ready yet?” Standard answer: “If they come today, we’d be okay. But that doesn’t mean that everything is done. I don’t think that will ever happen!”
Ooh! And the question I hate most: “Aren’t you glad you don’t have to be the one carrying all that baby around?” or “Aren’t you glad you get to sleep through the night for now?” Ugh! First version: “No. I’d trade it in an instant.” (people just don’t get it, do they?) Second version: “Are you kidding? I haven’t gotten to sleep through the night the past 4 months! I’m inducing lactation and have to pump at night.” 
I know they all mean well and our situation is a bit different to everyone. I don’t really mind answering the questions, because I figure it’s just their way of trying to feel involved. But sometimes I wish people would think a little bit before they speak.
05.27.09
Quick Update
For those of you who are checking this site hourly today, the day is NOT today. We’re back home and the babies appear to be snuggled in for the long haul. LD’s cervix is still 3.1 cm long. We expect they’ll stay put for another week or two (of course, you never can tell with babies!). We did get a surprise today. It appears that baby boy has turned to transverse (sideways) instead of the head down he’s been for awhile. Baby girl is still head down, and that’s the important thing (we’re aiming for a vaginal birth, so she has to be head down for the OB to consider it). There’s still time for him to turn again, but LD’s OB is saying he wants to “talk” with her at her appointment on Monday. LD expects a battle. I think they both just like to poke at each other to see how much of a rise they can get. Hopefully LD will stop worrying about it between now and then (She was thinking about it all afternoon). No need to stress when she has no idea what his “talk” will entail.
So the wait continues. I’m glad, for the most part. But it sure is hard to wait!
Great Day!
Last night was the premier of “Rockin’ on Rockcrossing,” our entry for this year’s 24-Hour Video Race. There were 8 teams competing in our semifinal heat. Out of the 8, only 3 were chosen to advance to the finals… And we were one of those teams! 
The finals are on Wednesday of next week. So I guess LD will have to keep her legs crossed a bit longer.
Today we’re heading to OK for an ultrasound. Along with seeing the babies all squished up in there, we’re hoping to find out if there have been any cervical changes as of yet. That should indicate if labor is imminent or not. N and I agree that part of us is completely ready for this stage of the worry to be over, but the other part knows that we’ve got the easy end of the deal right now and we’re not sure if we’re totally ready to take over! Good thing we don’t get a say in the matter!
Hopefully we’ll be home early enough tonight that I can update. But if not, don’t panic. I promise to update as soon as I get a chance.
05.22.09
Packed and ready
So in an effort to stave off the babies for at least another week, N and I finally got everything not only packed, but into the trunk of his car. We are hoping the babies do not come this weekend at all, as our annual 24 hour Video Race is starting tonight at midnight.
Yes, apparently we enjoy torturing ourselves with sleep depravation. Which I suppose makes us the perfect candidates for twin parenthood! LOL
Part of the reason we’re worried they will decide to celebrate their birthday this weekend is because they have been torturing poor LD. First, on Wednesday morning she woke up feeling great and started cleaning the shower (uh-oh! Nesting?). Then when she tried to eat lunch she started vomiting uncontrollably until there was nothing left to throw up. Which, of course, triggered contractions. So she made another visit to L&D. They gave her IV fluids, zofran, and got her back under control before sending her back home (oddly enough, they no longer have to ask her name when she arrives!). She continued to feel awful the rest of the day, but has now returned to feeling great. Well, except for the foot she’s pretty sure she broke! 
She pulled out a drawer a bit too far and it fell on her foot. She says her foot is now very blue/purple, swollen, and numb. So now, even if she wanted to get up off the couch, her foot is preventing that… Hmm… Maybe that’s not a bad thing.
So, we’re off to the races in just a few minutes! Wish us luck! And pray those kids of ours don’t interrupt!!!
05.18.09
Expectations
I’m having a difficult time having realistic expectations of people. It seems I keep expecting people to have the same emotions, or react the same way as I would. Logically, I know this is unrealistic. I am the only me, and others are not going to think the same way. However, that doesn’t stop me from being disappointed when my friends or family do not react the way I expect/hope they will.
First, there’s my mom. I had expected her to want to see her grandchildren as soon as possible. After all, when my nephew was born, I wanted to be there at the hospital to see him as soon as I possibly could. However, apparently she’s content to wait, and I even get the impression she’s not in any hurry to come see them. Her exact words were “Babies just don’t do it for me. I prefer them when they’re a bit older and can interact more.” I know she didn’t intend to hurt my feelings, but she did. And it’s my own fault for expecting her to feel the way I did when W was born.
Then there’s N. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing this. We’ve talked about it, and I know that he loves our children and is just as excited as I am to meet them. But I unrealistically expected him to want to be totally involved in the pregnancy as well. Because that’s what I want. It’s not that he’s uninterested in the pregnancy, he just is more interested in once the babies are here, and doesn’t really think about the pregnancy except to the extent that things are going well. This weekend I went and stayed with LD and got to feel the babies move. We’d felt it a little the last time we came up, but this was completely different. Before it was like little flutters. But now you can actually feel limbs and imagine what each baby is doing! The whole time I kept thinking “N needs to feel this!” Yet, when I described it to him he said “I’ll feel it next Wednesday” (we’re going up for an u/s). I said “If the babies aren’t born before then!” And he said “Then I’ll get to hold them.” He didn’t get it. And there’s no reason why he should. But it disappointed me anyway.
I’m feeling quite nostalgic as our journey is coming close to the next chapter. I feel like I missed a lot that I had hoped/expected to experience. I haven’t spent nearly as much time with LD as I’d meant to. I haven’t been to all the appointments, as I’d planned. And I feel a little bit of a sadness that the experience I’ve had isn’t quite what I’d hoped for when we started. Not that it’s been a bad experience! Nor is it anyone’s fault that there’s a difference between hopes and reality. I think that the fault really is with me. I needed more flexibility in my vision of what the “prefect” journey would be.
As I’m writing this I realize that LD or N might interpret this post as somehow a lack of something in them. And that is SO completely not true! They have been wonderful. LD shares everything with me and wants me to see this pregnancy as mine. I couldn’t ask for a better friend and GS. And N has been super supportive and has put up with my roller coaster of emotions throughout this experience. No, I can’t blame anyone but myself. I think I misjudged what was realistic. I’ve never been pregnant, and I think I romanticized what the pregnancy would be like. And now that we’re in the thick of it, I’m realizing that it may not be possible for the end (or new beginning?) to be the way I hope.
I want SO much to be there for the birth. But I’m very afraid I won’t be. When I expressed my fears to N this evening he told me I could move up to OK and wait for them to arrive if that’s what I need. But I know that’s not realistic. I do have a job to finish (though if the babies come, that’s just too bad). And I’d hate for LD to feel like a watched pot. And of course, chances are, if I were to go up now, they would wait until after the last day of school anyway. All I can do for now is pray that we’ll have enough warning that we can make it to the hospital before the babies are delivered. As much as I want them to wait until after school is done, I’m kind of hoping we go up next week for the u/s and they say it’s time to go into the hospital and deliver some babies. Just so we can stop the waiting.
LD seems to think that will be the day anyway. She’s had a dream that her water will break that night/morning, D thinks it will be that day, and apparently a friend of hers that is “slightly psychic” sees a 2 or a 7 in our future (how about both!). But even though it seems like a perfect arrangement, I don’t want them born that early. That would be one day shy of 35 weeks. That’s not long enough.
I know I’m over thinking things. I need to just let them come when and how they are going to. I can’t control this and I shouldn’t agonize over it, but that’s easier said than done.
05.09.09
So this is what nesting feels like…
LD continues to have contractions that come and go. We know this is fairly normal with a twin pregnancy, but it doesn’t stop us from worrying just a little that our wee ones are planning an early arrival.
So the panic has set in to get everything ready. Today I spent the whole day doing baby laundry (5 loads) and reorganizing things in the nursery so they are more compatible with our needs (when I got it all back into the room for the party it was pretty much a free-for-all, putting things wherever they fit).
I also started packing the diaper bag. Only, I don’t know what size clothes or diapers to put in there. I’m thinking I’ll just stick a pack of premie diapers and a pack of newborn diapers into the trunk of the car, and whichever we need is the one we’ll open when the time comes. After all, the hospital will provide some for while we’re there. As for clothes, I have some onsies that say “0-3 months,” yet appear to be the same size as the premie ones I’ve got (but I assume they stretch). So I’m thinking I’ll take those and if they’re a bit big, so what. Plus, they’ll have clothes from the hospital too.
I hope to have both the babies’ bag and our bag packed by the end of the weekend. LD says she got hers packed today. My prayer is that by being ready, Kyla and Lucas will decide to settle in for a bit longer. Actually, N and I think they’ll probably come either in the middle of Video Race, or the next morning, after we’ve been up for nearly 48 hours straight. It would be just our luck.
Anyway, we do appreciate all the prayers that the twins stay put awhile longer. And we know that you will continue them. Hopefully God’s plans and ours will coincide just a little this time.
