Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Busy Busy Busy!

Another week down...we were pretty busy last week so I didn't get some time to write a blog.

Not last Saturday but the Saturday before we went to the Fall Fair!  We decided to go early in the morning so that we'd be home by noon.  We were all excited to see if Emma won any ribbons for the contests she entered.  I can't remember if I mentioned which ones, so here they are.




1. Cake decorating
2. Cookie decorating
3. Something made from a recycled material
4. A collection
5. A coloring picture

Sooooo...she won First Place for her cake, and 2nd place for her recycled material (she made a wallet out of a juice carton.  She was pretty proud and so are we!!! 
While we were there we discovered quite quickly that we attract a lot of attention.  In  about 10 minutes that we were there, we got stopped at least 9 times by people wanting to see the twins and ask a ton of  questions.  And believe me I don't mind stopping and chatting and sharing the amazing story about them and about half of the people had heard about these little miracles!! 

So we went on looking at all the booths and again getting stopped over and over again.  The same questions...how old are they, how much do they weigh, what are their names, are you getting much sleep, how does Emma like being a big sister.  We soon realized that we should of put up post it notes with all the info, cause our voices were pretty sore soon after. 
On the good side, even though we got stopped a lot and Emma was getting annoyed at all the questions lol...everyone was so sweet and supportive and caring.  Anyways...we ended up leaving at 4:00 pm!!!!!!!!!!!!  We were there from 10:30 to 4:00 pm!!!!!!!!  And the majority of that time was spent socializing.  By the time we got home, hadn't had lunch, we're totally thirsty cause it was so very hot that day...we were totally exhausted.  But I got my kettle corn, cotton candy and Watkins White Vanilla!!  So I was happy!! lol

Matt's Grandparents came up for a visit that weekend too.  So they are the kids Great Grandparents.  This would be their 10th and 11th grandchildren!  They loved meeting them!  Oh and I did get two games of spite and malice in with Grandpa!!

Let's see...well last Thursday we took a long truck ride to Kamloops for Nate's ultrasound and the boys pediatrician appointment.  We were up at 5 am and out the door at 6:30 and at the hospital right at 9:05am!!  We threw the boys into the stroller, screaming and all and booked it to the ultrasound department.  And I must say we attracted some attention lol...and I had to do a avoidance move to a sweet little old lady who attempted to block my path to the ultrasound department. 

Anyways Nate had the ultrasound, which we found out later that it came back normal!!  We don't have to retest!!  So we are super happy about that.  Later on we went to our Pediatrician's appointment...and I have to also mention...our Pediatrician...HOLY HANNA - he's a McDreamy!!!  Young south African doc...accent and all!!  Yep....LOVE Dr. Van Dyk!!!  He was great with the boys, took his time and went through everything.  Let's see for Hudson - He still has a small hydrocle (fluid in his testicle), umbilical hernia, and he has Reflux.  Which explains why he throws his head back and spits up a lot.  So now he has to be on a medication for it.  But other than that he's good!  As for Nate - he is good too, hydrocle, hernia, might have small reflux but not something we should medicate.  But he thinks his vocal cords haven't fully developed.  Which would explain the grunting and honking he does...sometimes he sounds like a goose or a badly playing clarinet!  He will grow out of it, but it will take time.

So other than that, they are good and we'll have to see him again in December. 

We have had a bit of bad luck this week...well it's been a continuation on previous bad luck...our fridge was broken, the outdoor wood furnace was broken, washer wasn't working and septic tank needed to be flushed out.  Honestly!  We need to win just a little lotto would be nice!!  Anyways, fridge got fixed, washer got fixed and it  was still under warranty, wood furnace can be fixed,  but Matt has to crawl in there and scrub all the kreasoke off.  And then the septic tank got flushed. 

Tonight, my work gave us a baby shower.  It was so much fun!  Finally we got to do some normal baby things that you do when you have a baby.  It was so great to see everyone and have them meet the babies.  We played some games, baby scrabble, Price is Right (where we had to guess the prices of some baby items), and my all time favorite FAMILY FEUD!!!  Now for those of you that don't know, Bonnie and I (she was the one who organized this shower) she and I would ALWAYS play Family Feud on my IPhone on our breaks.  I do miss it!!!!!  So when she did a mock Family Feud, I honestly squealing with delight I was so happy!!!  And my team won!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We laughed so hard, it was great!!
We ended up getting some great gifts!!  Very cute outfits, lots of diapers, formula, beautiful quilts, gift cards and more!  It was just wonderful!  



Well now I'm super tired, and need to get some sleep before the boys wake again!  Hmmmm lets be honest...I'm going to sit on the couch and watch out PVR'd shows....Survivor, Criminal Minds, CSI lol

Friday, September 9, 2011

What a week

So let me tell ya it's been quite a week!  Lets see last weekend we had a photo shoot with our family, inlaws and brother in law's family.  It went well and I can't wait to see the pictures!  Suprisingly the kids all behaved and we excited to go and play on the playground after!  The funniest thing that happend while we were sitting down to have photos taken out of the corner of my eye I see my nephew Lucas take a run at is Dad, Brian and hit him square in the gotcha!!!  I am sure those pictures turned out great with me looking shocked then laughing my ass off!

That night they all came over and made us a great Lasagna dinner!  With left overs for another day, which was a big help too!

Emma started school on Tuesday...GRADE 2!!!  I can hardley believe it!  Her teacher is Mr. Dunk and she is in a split 2/3 class.  She was super nervous when we got there, but once she saw her friends and found out she is sharing a locker with her best friend Amy, she felt better.  Once she was done I asked her what she thought of Grade 2 and her teacher...her response was 'Mom, Mr. Dunk talks really fast and it was all in French, I didn't understand a word he said!'  We had a laugh about it, and I told her that she wasn't the only one I am sure.  The next day I asked her how it went and she said she understood a little bit more today...so I am sure before you know it she will be speaking in full french too.  Yesterday she even raised her hand and answered a question that only she knew the answer to (what is the french name of owl)  She NEVER did that in Grade 1!!  So proud of her!!!

I haven't had the best of weeks this week.  The boys have been trying my patience.  On the hottest day (Wednesday) they wouldn't stop crying.  Once one had stopped the other started and that went on all day.  I was alone for most of the day so that didn't help either.  By 6pm I had had enough.  I  was done and fully lost it.  Matt told me to go for a walk or nap something...but I needed to get away.  So I went upstairs, closed the door and it took me a while to stop shaking and crying, but about after 45 minutes I did calm down and fell asleep.  I was able to focus on them again but I was fully scared about feeling like that.  So the next day I went out for coffee with a good friend after dropping Emma off at school and I had some caffine and a good cry.  Made me feel better anyways.

Other than that, Emma was busy doing her entries for the Fall Fair this weekend.  Her entries were something made out of recycled material (juice carton wallet), a collection (her shell collection), a drawing, 3 decorated cookies and a decorated cake.  Can't wait to see how she did this weekend.  She is so proud of what she did. 

Some time  this weekend we will be going to the Fall Fair, our first outing with the boys!!  Well first outing without it being a doctors appointment! 

Oh also I wanted to add that everyone has just been so amazingly good to us.  We have amazing friends here in town.  And I'm just so grateful for those words of encouragement in passing at school.

So up next for this coming week - Fall Fair, Matt's Grandparents visiting, school fundraiser - driving a Ford around for a minimun of 5 minutes, trying to get weeks of laundry put away, putting up plaques in our kitchen, orgainizing Emma's toys, ultrasound and doctors appointment in Kamloops next week, and of course making sure Em is on time to school and homework done, lunches made, dinner's made, baths, showers, dishes, bottles, general cleaning, diapers, the list goes on!!!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Their Growing!

Hello all!
 
Ok so I'm trying something new.  I have been sending updates through email with pictures of the boys to family and friends.  But now that I have this fancy dancy camera the quality of the pictures are so good, that when I send them through email most if  not all the emails come back saying that the size of the email  is to great.   SOOOOOOO....I am going to just post on here and email the link to people so they can read updates and see pictures about us and the boys. 
Well things are going well here! We have been home for 2 weeks now and are sort of settling into a routine! Although we are super tired and nothing is getting done or at least we have a ton of half done things around the house.
The boys are great, and growing fast! Yesterday they got their immunizations and Nate weighs 8 lbs and Hudson weighs 7 lbs 13 oz. They did well with their shots and of course got to meet everyone at my work and Matt's work!!
Emma is starting school in a few days, so things are going to change again, but she is excited to be going back!
Other than that not much to report, except our fridge is sort of broken and here's hoping it isn't going to cost a lot to repair! And we are just trucking along.
 
 
 
We  went for our first walk with the boys the other day, of course on a super hot day!!  Saw some neighbours and of course they all wanted to meet the babes!  They look so tiny in their stroller!!

This weekend my brother in law and family are coming up for a visit. And Em is excited to see her cousins! We are going to be having a family photo session on Sunday so we're looking forward to it.
Anyways the boys are starting to wake, so I gotta go.
Take care all!!
Nicki

Thursday, August 25, 2011

We're Home!!

Hello everyone!!!! We're back!!!

We've been home a week now and I can hardley believe it!  Time has flown by so fast.

It's been quite an adjustment having these little boys around.  We are getting used to them not  being in a hospital and having the support and piece of mind that a hospital provides.  I was almost ready to steal a monitor to keep an eye on them!

Things I have learned this week:

- Nate grunts A LOT!!!
- The boys each sound different when they cry
- Hudson likes to contort himself into what we like to call yoga positions
- Both boys like to cuddle a lot
- Nate gets mad pretty quick when we don't feed him right away
- It's pretty hard to burp both boys!
- Hudson is super easy going
- And that my face lights up when I see them, even at 3am!

Things are going good...I am so grateful that Matt is off for a month cause I would be a wreak if he wasn't!  I am super afriad when he goes back to work.  How the hell am I gonna do this by myself!  But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

Emma came down with a cold last Friday and was super sick, which came at just the right time! lol  But that's okay we weathered that storm.  At least we didn't get sick!

Anyways it's just a quick note this time, as Nate is up and wanting some food! Take care all!


Monday, August 15, 2011

Update: Kamloops -- Not going so well...

Hello everyone
So I have some news.
Two days ago we were transferred from Surrey Memorial Hospital to Kamloops (Royal Inland Hospital). The boys were doing so well at Surrey that we were close to going home so we were able to get a transfer to Kamloops as it is closer to home and a shorter drive. (2 hours) We were flown out of Vancouver on a Jet and I gotta say that is the way to travel, but kinda scary as hell at the same time! The plane is SUPER small and boy is it fast!
So the boys and I arrived in Kamloops and Matt drove up with Emma. We were here before Matt even left my parents house in Surrey.
We got settled and they seemed to tolerate the trip well. Which was good...at least that's what it seemed.
Yesterday (Sunday) we were feeding the boys like always when we were supposed to give Nate his Vitiamins (Iron and D) as Matt and the nurse were giving them the vitiamins, Nate stopped breathing and started turning blue. He was basically choking and wasn't able to breathe. Matt had to give him some good wacks on the back and stimulate him and they gave him some oxygen. He started to perk up. It was pretty scary as I have never seen someone turn blue before. The doc told us that he was concerned that he was doing this, plus a heart murmur was found so now he has to have a echo to see how his heart is working. And as well, his brain bleed has stopped but it left a cyst. They are going to watch it and see what happens, but right now they aren't concerned. But he needs another head ultrasound. And they found out that both boys are anemic and Nate's L-Phos level is high which means his bones are getting soft and something is going wrong with the breakdown and build up of the bones. (Matt knows how to explain it better!!)
Then today (Monday) I was holding Nate and the nurse and I were giving him his vitiamins again. And it happened again! In my arms he went grey and blue and wasn't breathing. I had to smack him on the back and pinch his ear and he reacted a bit, but not very much. He nurse helped out and we again had to give him oxygen. It took a lot out of him and we ended up having skin to skin time for like 2 hours, which is the best thing for him.
We don't know why this is happening, hopefully we will get some answers after the echo, but who knows. It could be the altitude change and that he didn't tolerate the flight well.

So needless to say I am pretty emotionally shot and pretty upset. I feel so frazzled and scared, no one needs to see their baby go grey. And I sure as well don't want to take them home yet as I don't want this happening at home and I can't even think about them not being on the monitors, I may steal one!! lol
Anyways so that's what's happening. We are staying in a hotel just across from the hospital that thankfully varity club is paying for.
I am grateful for all the thoughts and prayers and again I'm sorry if i haven't contacted anyone, I just am not up to fully socializing right now, as I loose it when I talk about anything and I'm afriad when I do, I won't stop crying.
Here are some recent pictures (as of today) You can see how pale Nate is compared to Hudson! But you can see why I just want to cuddle them!
Hudson

Nate

Take care all!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Life with Twins in the NICU

As you all may know now we are on week 6 of our twin boys being in the NICU in the Hospital. We have been through a lot these days and are far from home! It's been a long haul but we can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. We were going to be transferred out yesterday but was cancelled as there was then no bed to go to another hospital closer to home. It happens all the time and there's nothing we can do about it, but it is a emotional roller coaster.

I just want to be back home and do 'Mom' things!! Right now my days consist of having someone else take care of my boys and I come in and feed them when I can, while dealing with my daughter and trying to remember to eat, sleep, and pump breast milk. I am very scatter brained and emotional! So I'm not sure how much time I am going to have to write on here, but I do want to try and keep it up.

On the other hand, we have had some funny and interesting moments, while out of the NICU. We took Em to Science World, which is a pretty cool place and probably would of been better if half of the exhibits were closed. But Em loved the skytrain ride and playing with all the cool things at Science World.

I had my 34th birthday here, which wasn't planned. But we went to my favorite place for dinner Katana! It was so yummy and I do love the whole cooking in front of us! Anyways it was awesome! On my birthday though wasn't that great...hubby goofed up. I'm not going to go into details, but lets just say he forgot to do something. I was very upset, he tried to make it up to me a week later by taking me to The Keg, which was super yummy! And then we went to Crescent Beach for ice cream and sitting on the beach. It's a start to making up for it anyways. For my birthday I got me one of those fancy SLR cameras!! (saying that in a hick accent! lol) I'm slowly learning all the bells and whistles on the thing and how to take a great picture. I do love it and the quality of the pictures are awesome!!

Matt has taken Emma to the free swimming pool here in town which she has loved of course and we have also gone to the Critter Care Rescue Centre which was pretty cool, although way too many people for my taste. But we got to see all sorts of rescued animals and Emma loved that. Matt and I have seen a few movies while we are here to break up the routine. Although I have enjoyed them, it's hard not to fall asleep!

What I have really enjoyed the most while being here is time with my parents.  I forgot how much I enjoyed spending time with them and really miss it.  We have had some pretty good laughs, you know the kind of laughs that no sound comes out, tears in the eyes and maybe the occasional escaping fart!  They have been my saving grace in all of this.  I don't know if there is anything that I will ever be able to do to thank them. 

So my plan is to write little things on here so that it doesn't take up too much of my time, and provide updates and funny stories.


Until next time my friends!! Take care

Friday, June 24, 2011

Welcome to the Dark Side of being Pregnant with Twins!

**DISCLAIMER**

Okay first thing I am gonna do is warn you before you read this post!  You are about to be subjected to a large rant and bitch session by moi.  Where I will most definitely be swearing and exposing the dark secrets of being pregnant with twins, that I am sure most people don't know about or even want to hear or think about.  But since I mostly won't speak this out loud but I say things over and over in my head every moment of every day and feel like I am going to explode if I don't get stuff out and sit an suffer in silence, I am using this blog to lay it ALL out on the table. 

So that maybe, just maybe, when some people (not ALL PEOPLE) but some people are about to say something stupid or think that I am being rude or have any opinion at all to think they know what I am going through, maybe you might want to think again and cut me a friggen break!

Ahhh, so where to begin?!  Well as you all know I am pregnant with two little ones, the cupcakes as I have been calling them.  I am currently 29 weeks, which is over 7 months along.  I currently am on countdown to my due date which is at 38 weeks and that puts us at around August 25th.  I would settle to make it to 36 weeks as that would put me in William's Lake to deliver.  Anything before that would put me in Kamloops, which is something that I personally don't want to do.  Not because of being in that hospital but because I don't know any docs or nurses there, (well Matt does, but not me).  And if we have to go to Kamloops it is going to be harder because the babies will be in the hospital for longer and that makes it difficult for Matt and I financially, emotionally and logistically, because of Emma, the dogs, Matt's work etc.  So I am struggling to get through at least 7 more weeks, but hopefully 9 more weeks would be the best.  I say that just for the health of the babes but that's about it!  I would give up being pregnant right about now for anything!

For those of you who have been pregnant before, remember what is was like during the last few weeks??  You were probably extremely uncomfortable physically what with back pain, pelvic pain, lack of sleep, swollen feet, hands etc etc.  Not to mention you were probably (if you weren't all along) very irritable, with huge mood swings that would either set you off screaming at the closest person or bawling your eyes out cause you can't put your underwear on with out a 5 minute huffing and puffing session.  Well think about all that and remember that it was a short time, but for me....I have been full term size and like this since the middle of May when I got put on medical leave from work, and it's like being 9 MONTHS PREGNANT FOR 3 FUCKING MONTHS!!!!  So do the math, middle of May, June, July and 25 or so days in August and that puts it around 96 days of feeling the worst you can feel, all the while trying to be excited for 2 new lives that will be coming into this world at the end of it, which also puts another whole spin on things once they get here.

But going back to what I am currently going through.  If you see me out in public, waddling my slow painful walk know that I feel like I am currently running a marathon and that glow you see...yeah that's me flushed from sweating and my heart rate that is pounding in my ears! My back feels like someone has been stepping on it with stiletto's, my hips and pelvis feels like it is being ripped apart with every step.  Breathing like I have running, hands, wrists and arms throbbing from being swollen and numb, with constant pins and needles in the tips of my fingers.  Oh and lets not forget with a kid moves, and gets me in the kidney's or ribs or the best one of all the bladder!  When you see me know that every single movement, cough, sneeze, hiccup, burp or fart for that matter makes me pee into my fucking adult diaper that was meant for old people, not a 33 year old Mom pregnant with twins. 

And that is just the tip of the iceberg!  Let's see there is the lack of sleep, because I have to get up to go to the bathroom, although I honestly can't tell if I need to go, I just assume that I do and I usually do.  I have no feeling there right now and barely any control, hence my statement in the last paragraph.  I can't lie on my side because the weight of the baby belly puts some sort of crazy pain in my pelvis that I can't stand, so I sleep sitting up which doesn't help the back, but there's nothing I can do right now.  Oh and also my arms need to be propped up on pillows cause otherwise I will loose feeling in my whole hands and wake up again being in another kind of pain.  Oh yes and I currently cannot totally hear out of my left ear due to my cold a few weeks ago.  I have some fluid behind my ear drum but I cannot take anything that would help clear that up!  So yes I am half deaf!  lol
And because of all the freakin hormones in my system my body hair grows at alarming rates and in places where I didn't realize I could have hair grow!  The other day I found this long black hair just on the side of my cheek...what the fuck?!!!  When did that pop up!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh and shaving the legs...yeah that's a treat...I can't do it myself...Matt needs to help...again something I can't do for myself anymore and I end up looking like a bloody mess...how the hell can men shave their face and not cut themselves, but shave anything else and it looks like a horror movie in the tub of our own bathroom!  And because of all these hormones too, my skin is discoloring in many places which makes me super self conscious and last by not least stretch marks...nothing more need to be said!

Moving onto everyday things to do, showering, making dinner, taking Emma to school, going to my MANY appointments you can imagine how exhausting it is...well I hope you can, not only is it exhausting to not be able to walk 10 feet without at least stopping to adjust or stretch out my back or try to clench so I am not peeing the whole way to my destination.  I mean can anyone imagine how humiliating and emotional that can be??  To have NO control of any of this!!!!  I have forgotten what it is like to just walk normally and fast!  I definitely have taken it for granted that's for sure!

There really  isn't much I can do right now, except read, lie here, play on the computer, watch tv and make a easy meal, go to the bathroom and shower.  It's extremely hard for me to give up my independence and have other people do things for me or just except that I can't do things.

My house is a fucking disaster right now!  And I know people have said, well it's not a big deal, but it is for me!  When all you can do is sit here, you notice that there is friggen dog hair all over everything, and the carpet actually feels dirty underneath your feet.  There is a thick layer of dust on everything, floors haven't been washed in ages, bathrooms ....don't even get me started on them!!!  It makes me throw up a little even thinking about it!  And then on top of it all we are in the middle of a small reno what with the painting we just got done, things haven't been put back together, so there is piles of crap everywhere!!!  Stuff never gets put away and just sits there and piles up.  Cause lets not forget I live with 2 shedding dogs, 2 cats, one messy 7 year old, and one messy 36 year old husband.  All who before I got this pregnant, I would clean up after, plus whatever mess I made myself.  Well now I can't do any of that, so hence the disaster that is my house!  And all I can do is look at it and get even more pissed off!! 

Which brings me to a sensitive subject.  The relationship between my husband and I right now.  I will be the first to fully admit that I am quite the bitch to him right now.  I am frustrated that things don't get done or they are all partially done and there is also something more important to do or just MORE to do and he is desperately trying to keep up and do it all, but doing nothing great in the process.  But I am aware that he works a full time job and LONG hours, has to be the housekeeper, chef, gardener, grocery shopper, chauffeur, all the while trying to be a loving husband and Daddy.  None of which is going well right now.  And it's pretty hard for me to sit and watch and not get angry because I feel...'well fuck, I did this when I was working, and even more when I wasn't working, why can't he get it together and multi-task?'  We fight all the time right now, and when he gets mad and yells it just sets me off even more that  I could just whack him with a frying pan and feel good about it!  And I am constantly left feeling that he has no idea what it's like to be going through this right now and am prone to fits of crying uncontrollably cause of EVERYTHING that I and we are going through right now.  And I know perfectly well that it's only going to get worse for awhile once the babies get here. 

And speaking of getting the babies here...that's another thing...right now I am seeing a doc once a week here in town, and coming up I will be doing for weekly stress tests, heading to William's Lake every 1-2 weeks for appointments, uncomfortable ultrasounds and getting prepared for the fact that I will probably have to have a C-section, which causes HUGE anxiety for me.  Now I know that people get them done every day, but it's not everyday someone of my size has had to have a C-section and I worry about the healing process, I worry about being strapped down and having no feeling and knowing that they are cutting into my skin, knowing that I will not be the one to hold my babies first, that Matt will get to see them first and what if something goes wrong, god forbid to me I will never get a chance to hold them.  Things get more complicated when you are of bigger size and it scares the hell out of me.  And then there's the babies themselves, all the things that can go wrong, with breathing, feeding, etc.  I just want everything to be normal and easy but it probably won't be.  I am dealing with trying to get prepared for that and I know I've been told, don't worry about stuff unless it happens, but I am not that kind of person.  I need to deal with things before hand to get prepared so I can deal with things easier and process it in a more rational way.  (Hmmm could you have guessed that I am a bit of a control freak??)  The reason I am this way, is because when I had Emma, I had this whole ideal of how things were going to be.  That I would have a easy delivery, no problems before and after she came and that just wasn't the case.  Being induced early because of pre-eclampsia, being so swollen they couldn't find a vein, drugs that didn't work on my pain control but was passed onto Emma that effected her for 2 weeks after she was born.  Post partial hemorrhage, lost of dignity, breast milk that didn't come in and I had no idea and felt like there was something wrong with me and trying so hard to make that work for 5 months before finally giving up.  Not to mention I had no real idea on what to expect with a new baby (thanks a lot to the book What to Expect for the First Year).  Before finding the Baby Whisperer and becoming sane again.  And to top if off post partumthat I had no idea I was going through that at the time.

Please tell me  HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO THIS WITH 2 BABIES!?!! 
So summing up, yes there is a lot going on right now, mentally and physically and none of it is easy. 

The moments that make up for it though, are when I see my belly move like crazy with the babes stretching or dancing around in there.  Or when I see myself in the mirror and this huge belly does make me feel beautiful (as long as I don't move! lol).  Who knew I could love two things so much, that I haven't even met.  Or when Emma comes and cuddles me and feels the babies move or kisses me then the babes, or when Bella my Momma dog comes up and puts her head on my belly and just sighs contently and gazes up at me with her golden eyes and I swear she is listening to them and trying to bond with them already...or she could just be looking for head scratches.  Or when Matt gets to feel them going nuts...and he can't believe how much they are moving.  Well it's more like Baby A is moving, that's the Baby Matt as I call it.  Cause it doesn't stay still all that much just like Matt and Baby B is pretty quiet all curled up in a ball, occasionally having a spaz out, but is pretty laid back and calm.  (that one takes after me!!! lol)

If you are wondering why am I airing all this dirty laundry, well honestly if people are wondering why I don't always want to talk on the phone or I don't call them back right away or at all, or when you see me out and I'm not in the best moods or I get really quiet, or you see Matt and I bickering, or get on one of our backs cause I can't make it to some event, or things you think we SHOULD be doing or shouldn't be doing for that matter or that I forget things at the drop of a hat lately (literally!!), that maybe you could think twice of what this whole experience has been like for me and have a bit of understanding. 

So everyone that's the dark side of my life right now.  Thanks for listening. 

Sunday, May 29, 2011

It's been a while....a long while!

Well like I said, it's been a while, quite a while since I have written on here. 

I have been through a few ultrasounds since I last wrote.  Everything is going good, pregnancy wise.  The babes are growing great!  The ultrasound and blood tests that I have had seem to show that there are no problems with the cupcakes, they are of normal size for twins and there are no problems with their spines, hearts all that stuff.  Emma even got to see them on the ultrasound, which she thought was cool. 

The heartbeats have been strong and about the same, 145 beats per minute.  And they have been kicking like crazy!!  Although no one but Matt has felt them kick, they are quite elusive to other people.  But this morning Emma saw my tummy move for the first time!!  It's pretty freaky to see my stomach move on it's own!

Now as for me, I haven't been doing all that well.  The numbness in my fingers and hands has been extremely bad, which is partly why I haven't been typing any blogs.  The pain can get so bad sometimes that I sometimes feel it would feel better if I just cut open my skin to relieve the pressure!!  I won't of course, but that's the extent of the pain!  Plus the pain in my shoulders, back and now pelvis, which has gotten a lot worse, since I think they have dropped or turned or something, but the pelvic pain is huge.  Everything that I do is difficult, getting into bed, walking Emma to school, driving, going up my stairs, grocery shopping, even just rolling over in bed!  I feel like a turtle who gets stuck on her back and can't roll over!  lol  it's not a pretty sight!  I don't even fit in my stand up shower anymore!!!  Although, I am huge at 6 months, I have only gained 8 pounds!!!  LOL although you wouldn't know it!! 

Besides the weight thing, I have been feeling pretty down on myself because I feel like crap and I hate it!  And I have been having scary dreams where I don't live to see my babies, it's just awful!  I am pretty scared of what's to come for us and all the things that could go wrong.  But I do think I need to go through these thoughts to process them and be prepared, and then I tend to handle things better.

On another note, I am done work now...WOO HOO, I really needed to be done!  Next week we are starting our renos (aka painting), and when I say we, I mean Matt and Shana, who is painting our living room, kitchen and entryway.  I will feel so much better when it is all done!  It's quite annoying when I can't do pretty much anything that I want to get done!  But at the same time, I should treasure it now as come August I am sure I will be a zombie!

So my next task is my OB's appointment tomorrow in William's Lake and to not go into early labor while watching the Canucks!!!  Here's hoping for no playoff babes, and Vancouver to the cup!!! ;-)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cupcakes update!

I cannot believe that I am almost 4 months already!! And I have survived so far, despite the ‘any time’ sickness. Now we’re moving into the uncomfortable part. Sleeping comfortably has been an issue as it seems that the only comfortable way is to sleep slightly elevated on 3 pillows with a pillow beside me so my arm doesn’t go numb!! (Yes that’s an interesting side effect, although I had that with Emma too!)


Also now I’m into the stage of clothes not fitting the best…although I hit that stage a few weeks ago, it’s only getting worse. I have been plagued with thoughts of ‘oh my god what is going to happen to my body!’ and checking out plastic surgery websites! Gravity is already doing a good job on me I am sure holding 2 cupcakes in the oven are just going to make gravity do it job faster! So I am seriously thinking of taking stock in Spanks right about now!! And the worst part is working while trying to fit into clothes that aren’t too short or have a little bit of spandex in the fabric!! There are no plus size maternity stores up here so I am hoping to hold out on the yoga pants and one pair of forgiving jeans that I have until I make our trip to Kelowna where I can pick up some maternity pants.

Other than that, I am working on the twins room and trying to decide a décor look that is gender neutral. It’s a hellva lot harder to when you think that you have to get two of everything! And my taste that I had with Emma is a lot different now, so I’m trying to work with it! lol

Emma has decided she would like to have the guest room now and the twins can have her room. She tells me that she is growing up and thinks that she should have the bigger room, so that when her friends come over they have more room to play and she also wants a desk so that she can have a place to do homework and art work. Oh and did I mention she would like to have the walls dark purple (like a plum!). I am actually okay with it, cause she was so articulate with her reasoning. She said ‘well, I want the walls that dark because that side of the house gets the morning sun and with light walls it’s still really bright in the morning even with the shades down, so if the walls are dark then my room will stay darker in the morning.’ Hmmmm how can I argue with that? So I looked up some dark purple rooms on line and I actually really like them so it might work.

Lastly while I was surfing the net the other day, I noticed a link on my cousin’s facebook regarding twins. (here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVyD1Qw5OEU&feature=youtube_gdata_player )

It’s super funny and honestly I cannot help laughing and crying at the same time while watching this, thinking of what my twins are going to be like. It really makes me look forward to having twins now…I hope they will bring a lot of laughter into my life.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Back at it

Okay so it's been a while since I have written a baby blog.  That's because, well about a month ago I after my February ultrasound I woke up with the worst cold/flu thing, whatever it was!!  A day later I woke up throwing up and then I couldn't breathe!  I was gasping for air and didn't have a voice.  I called Matt at work and said in a barely there whisper, I can't breathe you need to come home and take me to the hospital!  Matt hurried home and realized yes I do need to take her in to the ER.  The doc put me on nebulized epinephrine.  I had two rounds of it before my throat opened up and the doc also put me on predanzone (however you spell it) for a week to take the swelling down in my throat.  It took me a week before I could actually speak again.  It was crazy!

Anyways so the results of my February ultrasound, the babies were fine!!  Heart rates were 154 for baby B and 138 I think for baby A.  The tech said they were bouncing around all over the place and wouldn't settle down, so it took 2 hours to do the whole ultrasound!!  So I was very happy to hear that, of course! 

Lets see what else has happened over the last month.  I had my maternity visit for my in town doctor and my blood pressure was up super high 158/92!  But I was hoping it was just a bad day, because at work it was a very stressful day and apparently I don't deal with stress very well at all!  (surprise surprise!)  But then a day later it was 127/80, so that's much better and it was around the same a few days later too.  So I think it was just the stress that work can produce in me.  Hmmm maybe I will be off work soon!!!!!!!!!!!!  Here's hoping!

So fast forward to yesterday, where I had my monthly ultrasound, and I'm 3 and a half months by the way.  First I arrived too early, like 45 minutes early and apparently I drank way too much water!  I got there and was doing the pee pee dance and said to Matt I have to go just a bit.  So I did just a bit, but by the time I got back to where Matt was I was doing the dance and it was super painful!  So I decided to go again, but this time I needed Matt to help me up out of my chair, cause I knew if I moved a certain way, there would of been a huge accident!!  So anyways, I go again, and let me just say....when you have to REALLY GO, to try and stop yourself 'going' ummmmm yeah that's like trying to put a kink in a freakin fire hose!!!  VERY VERY DIFFICULT!  So I go back to see Matt and I was okay for about 20 minutes, but then I got very uncomfortable again, and told Matt, you go and ask how long it's going to be cause I can't hold it anymore!!!  The clerk gave me a cup and told me to just fill it up.  So again I went down to the bathroom, so excited to be finally GOING LOL....and what did I do??  Dropped the friggen cup in the toilet!!  Honestly!!!!  But at that point I didn't care!!!! 
So anyways finally the tech told me to come in and he was a bit of a jerk, but oh well.  Anyways he didn't tell me ANYTHING!!!  Not what the heartbeats are, if they are okay, NOTHING.  I asked if there were still two in there and he just said "ah huh".  He didn't show me the screen, and about 45 minutes later he says okay just a minute and I thought okay he's going to get Matt and Emma, and then he comes back in and says okay you can go.  And I was shocked, I said is everything okay? again he said 'ah huh', I get dressed and go back in and ask, do I get a photo?  He again says umm next time.   So Emma was upset that she didn't get to see the babies, I was totally worried that he didn't say anything when the last 3 ultrasounds I have had they have told me something!  I was freaked out!!! 

A co-worker suggested I call my OB and see if he could just ease my fears, and so I did.  The clerk was super nice to me and totally understood when I told her and said, you know I'm pregnant with twins, hormonal and slightly a little be crazy, I just need to know they are okay.  She told me that Dr. Gill was in the OR all day.  So I didn't except a call, I know he's busy.  But at 6pm he called!!!  The babies are fine!  They are growing great and right on target for their age and everything looks great!  ~SIGH~ what a relief!!!!!!  Honestly I have got to come up with a great gift for Dr. Gill when all this is over!!!  He's be nothing but good to me since the first night I saw in the ER. 

Anyways, so the cupcakes are awesome!  I am a bit crazy and hormonal and still getting morning sickness ALL DAY LONG, although some days are better than others.  I have ANOTHER cold!!!  oh and I am really looking pregnant to boot!  I had to go and get pregnancy clothes last weekend already!!!!!!!!!  it's like literally within the past 2 weeks I have popped!! 

I wanted to also say to everyone, thanks for the words of support!  I am sorry if I haven't kept in the best contact or answered emails.  When I come home I nap!!  I am up with the family for a bit before I'm off to bed by 10pm.  It's terrible!!!  I'm zoned out most of the time!!  lol  Anyways I just wanted to tell you all, I am still here, I apologize for not keeping in better touch!  And I really appreciate all your support!!

Now onto better things....decorating the twin's room!!!!








Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Confession...

Okay so I have something to confess.  I might seem like I am calm and super excited about the twins...and I am.  But I am scared.  Scared as hell that Thursday is going to bring me bad news.  As some of you may know, Thursday is my ultrasound day.  I am so scared, actually scared isn't the word, I think terrified would be more fitting.  I am terrified that that ultrasound is going to show either I have lost one of the babies, or both.  I know the doctor said that it was a good thing that the bleeding stopped and I never had any cramping, but I just can't help thinking I am going to go in there and be extremely devastated. 

I try and justify it, thinking well I still get nauseous and feel tired all the time, and pretty irritable.  But I haven't been feeling emotional, like I was crying all the time.  I have been feeling more perky and together, not so out there and raw emotionally.  Until yesterday, it hit me and I have been pretty emotionally hard for me thinking about this Thursday.  But I keep thinking all this is in my head...the symptoms that is. 

I am trying to think positively, but I am not sure I could take telling everyone...no I lost one of them or both of them.  It's like living it over and over again! 

Who knew I could go from total freak out about having 2 babies, to wanting them more than anything in the world.  I am just trying to keep my chin up and not think about it every minute, but those who know me well know that's not possible for me. 

So here's hoping that they are both healthy with strong little heartbeats.  I just want to get through the next few months without any more crazyness. 

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Well...I'M OFF BED REST!!! WOO HOO

Hello family and friends!

Well I had my OB appointment today, which I was not so patiently waiting for, but then again when you are stuck doing nothing all week, what is there to do but count the hours!!!

So I went to William's Lake to see Dr. Gill (AKA: Jeff Bridges/Josh Brolin look alike) and oh before I get started...did I mention Emma woke up puking her guts out!!!  Poor little girl, she felt terrible and here we needed to make her sit in a truck for an hour each way!  Not to also mention that once she started yakking, it would set me off...so I should say POOR MATT!! LOL

Anyways, so I met with Dr. Gill.  He basically went over what this pregnancy is going to be like for me, and what I need to look forward to, to prepare myself.  He spent a hour with us, so the basic overview is this:
- starting in 2 weeks I have to have a ultrasound a month (super fun, for those men out there...try having to really really pee but you can't and have someone press this scanner on your bladder and don't move at all!!!)
- As of 24 weeks I am to stop working, so that's the end of May.  And basically that is to reduce chances to pre-term labor so I am to keep myself low on stress and activity as the point is to keep the babies in there longer.
- They won't let me go past 38 weeks, but probably deliver 36-37 weeks.
- I have to go for blood tests coming up to screen for Down Syndrome and defects.
- I have to make sure I drink at LEAST 4 large glasses of milk a day because the babies need the calcium otherwise they will suck me dry so to speak!
- Near the end of the pregnancy I will be given some sort of steroid shots to make the babies lungs mature as they will be born premature.

And that is about it, besides some little things that don't need to be repeated! lol
But anyways as for the bleeding that I had, he didn't say much, but that it's a good thing that I never had cramps.  It could of been stress, I still might have lost one of the babies, we'll see at the ultrasound in two weeks.  I still have to take it easy, keep my stress down, but if I'm going to miscarry, then it will happen no matter what I am doing at this point.  Which sucks, it feels like there's nothing that can be done...which there isn't, but man in this day and age with all sorts of medical advances and they can't do anything.  It's pretty frustrating. 

Anyways, it seems like I'm in for quite a ride!!!  But for now the little cupcakes are doing well, I'm still super nauseous and emotional!!!  It's one day at a time right now!!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Well, first post on the baby blog! And 7 days bed rest for me!

Okay so thanks to my Aunt Deb, she suggested that I do a baby blog.  Being that I am pregnant with twins and a have a lot of family that aren't in the area, this will keep them in the know what we are going through! 

So first things first!  (In the words of Jeff Probst!)

It took us almost 7 years to decide to have another child!  And in the end of October I had my IUD taken out, and the doc basically said, I could get pregnant tomorrow!  AHHH ;-)  Okay so here we go!  Fast forward to December 25, I took a pregnancy test and it said I wasn't pregnant, and I took the test, cause I thought oh wouldn't it be a great Christmas announcement!!!  But alas it was negative.  So then around January 6th I realized at work I was 8 days late and Matt was coming home that day from his last rotation in Kamloops.  So on my afternoon break I was just hanging out with my co-workers and I mentioned that I was late...and did they think that was significant?  They encouraged me to go and take a test, that one of the nurses would give me.  So I did, and low and behold...there were two pink lines!!!!!!!!!!  Matt arrived shortly after and I told him...he was shocked!!!!!!  It really hadn't been that long that we were trying!!  A month really. 

When we went home, we told Emma and Dan and Colleen, cause they were watching Emma after school.  And then of course we told my parents...well I let Emma tell my parents!  Everyone was super excited.  We decided to just start telling people, once Emma made an announcement at school!! lol  We live in a small town and if something bad happened, everyone is going to know about it anyways. 

So then probably two weeks later I started having cramps.  I went to the ER and thought maybe it was a bladder infection.  The doc ran some tests, and it looked like that, so i was put on antibiotics.  Then about 3 or 4 days later I started spotting and I was still having cramps, so we decided to go to the ER just to be sure.  The doc was concerned, called the OB in William's Lake and he wanted to rule out ectopic pregnancy, and i wasn't supposed to eat anything just in case I had to have surgery.  I was devastated, I was preparing myself to loose the baby.  The roads were terrible, it was so cold and just a terrible terrible feeling.  So we meet Dr. Gill, who was a cross between Jeff Bridges and Josh Brolin. (more on the Jeff Bridges side)  Anyways, he ordered some blood tests, and decided to do a ultrasound and see what we could see.  So he did, and goes well...i see the fetus there, and a heartbeat, it's lying good, and..............there's another one there too.................I didn't even notice he said it, Matt did though, and then I noticed his reaction and I said what?  He said there's two!  But he couldn't confirm a heartbeat on the second one, because the first one was blocking it.  So he wanted me to come back and get another ultrasound to confirm what was going on.  What he said was I could be loosing the second one, and that's why I was having all these symptoms.  Anyways, the very next day the hospital called and wanted us back for the ultrasound.  So we went back around 4:30, and i was fully prepared to loose one.  They did the test, not talking to me at all...it was really uncomfortable, and then finally they started logging in information on the results.  They said the first fetus, had a heartbeat of 120 and all the measurements.  Then they got really quiet. And finally started on the second fetus and said it had a heart rate of 115!  So I said the second one has a heartbeat?  She said yes...and I started a full on panic attack!!  I wasn't prepared to have the news two were in there and they were fine!!!!  Matt comes in and I am totally crying, they show us on the screen both babies and both heartbeats...it was amazing! 

After I was done, I had to sit down for a bit and I was just shaking!  I called my parents, and my Dad was home and I told him, he was so happy!  Mom called back a few minutes later and she was shocked!!!  We called Dan and Colleen next and told them the news!  They were very happy as well!! 

But me, not so much!  I was freaking out...how the hell am I going to handle twins??  We decided to let the cat out of the bag...cause I figured the more I said it, the better I would take it and get used to it. 

Everyone else was excited, but me I just kept having mini melt downs!  That mixed in between getting sick, feeling terrible, sleepy, emotional and then full on bitchy attitude! 
So then I found a baby doctor in town, and that happened to be the day where a bunch of people at different times, kept saying they knew someone who had twins and lost one for some reason...it hit me like a ton of bricks!!  I want these babies, BOTH of them!!!  I don't care how hard it's going to be, I want both of them, so of course that freaked me out and again crying fit!!  I swear, i don't know how I have it in me to cry anymore as I have shed so many tears all within the last two weeks!! 

The last Friday I get a call from the docs office and they want to see me, so I freaked out as usual!!  I called them back and said, okay I'm pregnant with twins and super emotional and I need to know if everything is okay.  (By the way this all happened at work!!  SUPER PROFESSIONAL!!)  So went there this last Tuesday and apparently I two additional infections downtown....GREAT!!  And the medication states not to be taken in the first trimester.  I got Matt to call Dr. Gill's office and they said to contact the Pharmacist they would know the latest info.  So I called the hospital Pharmacist and she wrote this huge email about the medications.  Basically the risks of the infection out way the medication risks and the only reason there is risks is because it is unethical to do testing on pregnant women.  So Wednesday I took the first medication (which is one dose) and the very next day at work, I noticed I was spotting.  By the end of the day I was full on bleeding.  I went into another world.  This was at about 4:30 as I was closing  down the office and I told my co-worker and asked her to try and find Matt and I was going to be in the ER.  I don't really remember walking down to the ER as I was bawling my eyes out.  I found a co-worker of Matt's and told her and she took me into the private room, tried to calm me down, doc came in and they decided to do a mini ultrasound but told me it's not a good ultrasound, it's not meant to check for babies, just if fluid is in a belly or something like that.  So he said he could see two in there, but couldn't confirm fetal heartbeats, so he did a internal to see if my cervix is closed.  If it isn't, that's a sign I'm miscarrying.  So my cervix was closed, but there was a lot of blood, so that's not a good sign.  He put me on bed rest for a week and here I am.  BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!!!!!!!!!!
Although, no cramps, bleeding has almost stopped, which is great.  I just hate waiting around for stuff to happen!!  It makes me crazy!  And I'm supposed to be relaxing and of course all I can think about is oh is that a cramp??  Is it starting?  I have just been through so much within the last two weeks, such a emotional roller coaster.  Not to mention work stress that was going on too...I guess it's a good thing to rest for a bit. 

So that's where I am...trying to have good thoughts and hoping that my two little cupcakes are fine and happy in there and myself trying not to go stir crazy here!!!  So I'll keep you all posted to how things are going.  I see the OB on Thursday and find out how things are going and what's the plan of attack.