1 month old!

Already?! D and I are guessing that time seems to go by faster when you are sleep deprieved. That's the only way we can explain that a month has already gone by. I apologize for taking so long to post again. I admit that if I had a free minute I took a quick shower instead of posting pics. But, since they are a month old, it's high time I gave an update.

The boys are doing great. M is no longer yellow and didn't have to spend any time under the "bili-lights." They are both gaining weight well now, S more so than M. At 3 wks, S weighed 5 lbs, 10 oz and M was 6 lbs, 12 oz. S is trying hard to catch up. We actually didn't need to go to the dr this week. It was a relief to not get up early Thursday morning to take them to see the dr like we've done every Thursday plus a few other days since they were born. They do go back this week for their 1 mth (5 wk) checkup. I'm anxious to see how much they've grown. Both boys gave us some little smiles this week. Of course once you pull out the camera they stop smiling and look at this weird thing you're holding now. Oh well.

It's interesting to me to see how the boys interact/react with/to each other. You would think that someone screaming their lungs out 8 inches away from you would wake you up. But not with these guys. It actually seems the crying from one puts the other to sleep. If you pick up the crying one from the crib, within 30 seconds the other one is awake and crying. However, if both boys are awake and crying, they cry in unison. Their cries are the same and even take a breath at the same time. I had weekly heart rate monitoring during the last few months of my pregnancy, and every time the boys' heart rates would be in sync. One might go up, then the other would go up too. They always leveled out the same. Amazing.

As for the rest of us, it's a quest for daily survival. D has been pulling late nights studying and catching up with work. We're still up a few times during the night with the boys. One night they went 4 hrs between feedings and it was wonderful! Of course they woke up just 2 hrs later for the next feeding. I'm feeling so much better, only take a single dose of Motrin once in awhile, and took the kids for 2 long walks yesterday. I plan to attempt the driving thing soon. I'm ready to have some independence back. H is learning to budget her time with school - I give her assignments on Monday to be finished by Friday. So far she's plays a lot early in the week and then spends all day Friday stressing out. Hopefully we'll learn the value of not procrastinating. C is doing all he can to find some independence. Unfortunately that means doing his own thing and not what we want him to do. He's sweet, but definitely challenging right now. Big girl S has learned how to take her clothes off and spends 80% of the time naked. She constantly wants to put on clean clothes so that by the end of the day she has 16 dirty outfits of clothes. Like I don't have enough laundry to do already! So enough of the writing, time for pics.

Proud big brother!Sleeping in the cradle Grandaddy made.

We put the boys to bed parallel to each other probably 10-12 inches apart. This is how they were an hour later. Even swaddled they find a way to touch each other.

Proud big sis!

Easter morning

All 5 after Easter lunch at Outback. Remarkably, we ate our meals and no one cried the whole time!

S hates to wear dresses. She screamed for about half an hour when we insisted that she wear her Easter dress.

But give her some time to forget she's in a dress and she'll be happy again.
Baby toes - I just love baby feet!

Falling down tired

I guess that's what you call it when you try to get out of bed and your legs don't seem to obey what your brain is saying. We have reached a new level of exhaustion this week beyond any I've ever known (and I went to college!). However, we have made it through the first week with 5 children! Baby M and Baby S are doing well. Preemie twins do require a bit more doctor's appts, heel sticks, weight checks, etc. than full term babies. M's skin looked a little yellow at the beginning of the week which required quite a few trips to the dr for bilirubin checks. Each day we were waiting to hear if his number had reached 18. 18 would have required rehospitalization. Thankfully he hovered at 16 all week. The dr finally decided this must be his plateau, and we've been issued a reprive from heel sticks until next Thursday (if he doesn't look yellow next week he won't need one). It's a good thing too, poor M has about 8 marks on his heels! They both began an upward trend on their weights by Thursday which was another thing that kept us going back and forth to the dr.
Some things we've learned about our new boys this week - M is pretty stubborn. He will eat on his terms and will not be forced. He also seems to every once in awhile spit up through his nose! This, much to Mommy's dismay, causes him to stop breathing momentarily. But we've learned to handle it and thankfully it's only happened a few times. He also likes to wait and poop while you are changing his diaper. He likes baths, especially having his hair washed. Baby S is pretty easy going. He's great with an eating schedule, although I do believe he would eat any time he's offered. He also has an incredible set of lungs! Newborn diapers are a bit too big for his little body and we tend to change his clothes often. He hates baths. They both seem to have a brother radar and will wake up if we pick up the other one. Baby S will turn on his side so that he can touch M. It's really cute how much they want to be together.
The other three are adjusting pretty well for the most part. We've had a few more temper tantrums than usual (but I'm sure D and I will get a handle on our emotions once we've had a bit more sleep!). H is incredibly helpful when she's alone with me and the twins. Otherwise, there's a lot of arguing over who's going to help. C is just anxious to start teaching the boys about John Deere. Big S is obsessed that one of the boys is always spitting up.
As for me, I'm beginning to heal. My incision is still very tender and in fact painful depending on how many trips up the stairs and how much motrin I've taken that day. The most frustrating part for me now is my total dependence on others. I can't even lift big S up to use the potty. Driving is still weeks away. Standing and walking for more than 10 minutes at a time can make me want to sit for the rest of the day. D has one more week off of work. I'm thinking he'll be happy to get back to work so he can get some rest! So hopefully all of my insides will soon begin to feel like they are back on the inside. We thank you for your prayers for our family. Please continue to pray for the health of the boys, my recovery, D's incredible list of responsibilities with work, school, and home, the kids' adjustment, and of course, more sleep!

The boys are here!

We are proud to introduce Micah John Kelly and Seth Benjamin Kelly! After my regular Wednesday appt, my dr instructed me to meet her at the hospital in an hour. At least I made it to just a day shy of 36 wks. I had dilated to almost 4 cm and once we got to the hospital and hooked up to monitors, we realized I was actually having contractions. I was scheduled to have the c-section (one boy breech and the other sideways) at 7 pm, but with my contractions building and getting closer together, it was moved up to 5 pm. All went well with the c-section, D even watched it and took pictures. Micah was born at 5:26 pm, weighing a hefty 6 lbs, 10.5 oz, measuring 18.5 inches long. Seth was born at 5:27 pm, weighing 4 lbs, 15 oz, measuring 17.5 inches long. Both boys were breathing on their own and neither one went to the NICU. They did a lot of monitoring on them before they came to our room. But seeing as how my recovery from the c-section was going slowly, it was probably for the best. They put a dose of morphine in the spinal which sent me into nausea, vomitting and shaking. It lasted for about the next 12 hrs. If I moved even slightly I was reaching for the bedpan. The boys are both nursing well. Actually Seth picked it up immediately - I guess he knows he has some catching up to do. Micah had some problems with amniotic fluid in his stomach and it took him a little longer to get the hang of it (who wants to eat when you tummy feels yucky). Now that they are latching on well, we'll work on nursing together.

We came home from the hospital yesterday. I quickly realized that I would not be going up and down the stairs at least for a few more days. D and I slept downstairs on the sleeper sofa with the boys in the bassinet. Last night was long between feedings, diaper changes, and clothes changes b/c the diapers leaked. Now today we've been waking them up to eat. Hopefully tonight they will sleep better.

We feel very blessed and are so thankful that God watched over these guys. We'll try to update the blog often. Enjoy the pics!

Ready to go home from the hospital

Snuggling together their first night at home

35 weeks

Here we are again. I've made it to 35 weeks and the dr reported yesterday no changes. My little heart to heart with her didn't go so well and she sent us to a specialist today, mostly because she was irritated with us if you ask me. D went with me yesterday because I had such a bad migraine I couldn't drive. That's the 5th or 6th one in a couple of weeks. They did some bloodwork to check for preeclampsia since headaches can be a sign. My blood pressure has been slowly creeping up in the last month or so, but since it started so very low, it's still not considered high. The blood work all came back fine so that's good news.
My dr and the specialist gave us an option today - have an amniocentesis to check the babies' lung development. If it showed that their lungs were mature, we'd go ahead with a c-section now. If it showed they were not mature, wait another week or two or more. Of course there are risks with the amnio. Without the amnio, we wait. So I felt cornered. But my gut said no amnio, D agreed, so we are waiting. Unfortunately the original comments from the dr (twins are full term at 36, she won't let me go past 37) are no longer accurate. Now the comments are no plans until 39 wks unless a problem develops or I go into labor on my own. Of course I'm not comfortable waiting until something goes wrong, or I go into labor with a breech baby A. I think what's so hard is thinking I was so close to the finish line and then having it moved. And after she told me two weeks ago that I wouldn't go another two weeks. She just keeps rubbing it in. The specialist thinks I'll go into labor before 39 weeks. He also thinks Baby A still has time and room to turn head down. We'll see. I told him that I've always had to be induced which adds more fear. I sometimes doubt if my body even knows how to go into labor by itself. I just can't imagine another 4-5 weeks with the stress and pain that my body is in already.
So now is an incredible time of faith and trusting in God for me. I know He can turn this boy around. I know He'll take care of everything in the right time. I just need to rely on Him for strength and comfort - and try not to think about Baby B's shoulder that is pushing into my ribcage right now and making it difficult to breath!
We appreciate all your prayers. Please continue to pray for the boys to turn head down, arrive in God's perfect time, and my patience. I sure need it!

34 weeks

Well we made it to this milestone. After the doctor's comment the week before, this week she said I might go another 3-4 weeks! I told D that if the boys are considered full term in 2 weeks, they will be out or someone will be hurt! Not to complain, but the leg cramps, varicose veins, heartburn, shortness of breath, Baby B getting his hand caught in my ribs, and other unmentionable "irritations" I'm ready for them to be on the outside (okay maybe I'm complaining a little bit). I've half jokingly said that at the 36 week mark I'm going for a run around the block. D can follow me in the van with the hospital bag because a run would be certain to put me into labor. But since the boys are still breech and sideways, I think this week the dr and I will have a chat about setting a date. So we'll let you know, once we know.

Belly pics!

Pictures, there have been numerous requests, so here they are! We'll have to keep taking pics since my stomach actually is growing on a daily basis now. But with these two putting on roughly half a pound a week EACH, it grows quickly. H was my photographer today (with the exception of the one she was in which D took). The kids love to pat my tummy or rest their heads on it. We had to get at least one of them all patting my tummy. The boys actually got quite active during these few pics. They can't wait to join the 3.

I would have done this next one with their names, but well, we still haven't finalized. We think we've made up our minds and then one, or both of us, decide we don't really like it. So for today, A and B it is.

Here's a pic taken at my shower last week. We played the "let's guess how long a string will go around her tummy" game. It's a good shot of my tummy too.

33 weeks!

We're making it day by day! Dr appt, non-stress test, and ultrasound have all gone well this week. I haven't dilated anymore; the boys' heart rates, fluid levels, and movements are good. The ultrasound measurements proved these boys are big. Baby A is still breech. As of last Friday he was measuring (estimate of course) 4 lbs 10 oz. Baby B is still sideways and measured 3 lbs 13 oz. Twins usually run around 20th percentile so I've been told, but Baby B is 45th percentile and A is 62nd percentile! In fact that put baby A measuring more like a 34 wk single baby! If he were to continue at that rate until 40 wks he would be over 9 lbs! Thank goodness that's not going to happen. You could see both babies "practice breathing" on the ultrasound. Their little chests would rise and fall. That's a great sign that their lungs are near maturity. My doctor did say this week that I look pretty close to max capacity and she will be surprised if I make it two more weeks. So, we'll keep taking it one day at a time and see how much longer I can hold them in! Please keep praying that they will turn head down. Dr said unless they turn by next week, we'll be looking at a c-section (which I'd rather avoid!). Thanks for your prayers. Maybe I'll post some belly pics this weekend. I should be taking daily pics now to make a flip book!