Is it reflux or gas?

The last couple of weeks have been challenging for our little peanuts and for mom. Michael went back to work and it is definitely a lot harder without him. Also, the girls have been really fussy and they cry after almost every feeding and tighten up their little bodies. I took them into the pediatrician on the 25th for their 3rd week visit and the CNP, Pat, suggested that we put them on Zantac for reflux. I thought it was gas, but she said often parents confuse reflux with gas. We tried the Zantac alone for 3 days without noticing too much of a change, so we switched to a sensitive version of Similac in addition to the Zantac. It's so hard when it takes a good week for things to get into their systems because you want to give them relief so badly. We'll see how this goes and hopefully won't have to try yet another formula. Pat also gave us Gerber Good Start and said people have a lot of success with that if the Similac Sensitive doesn't do the trick.

Oh, and the girls each gained over a pound in the last week. Adalyn is now at 6 lbs, 13.5 oz and Paisley is at 6 lbs, 8.5 oz. Yeah baby girls!!! Keep up the good work. I just need to get them about another pound heavier and the CNP will feel more comfortable with me weaning them off of the formula and just trying to breastfeed.

Hard to believe the girls will be a month old this week!!!

On our own - week 2

Our first week on our own went pretty well overall. The girls left the hospital at 5 lbs, 1 oz each and the goal for the week was to get them to gain weight. We had our first pediatrician/lactation appointment on Monday and we talked to the CNP about the feeding schedule for the week to ensure they were getting the nutrition that they needed.

This week, we focused on breast feeding for 15 minutes per baby and then supplementing with Similac as we had been in the hospital. However, the CNP decided that she wanted to put them on a higher fat formula to help with weight gain. She ran out of the Similac version, so she gave us Enfamil! BAD DECISION!!! The girls had terrible diarrhea which burned their butts so bad they had bright red bottoms with calluses on them. We felt so bad for them and they screamed bloody murder every time they went to the bathroom or we changed their diapers. Poor things. I just wanted to cry with them this week.

I called the CNP after about 2 days of this and she told us to go back on the regular Similac for now and to mix a few ointments together to put on their bottoms (Bacitracin, Lotrimin, and zinc oxide). The redness went down a bit, but it was still really, really bad!

Michael was home from work with us this entire week, which was great! We were able to spend a lot of quality time together as a family and begin to get into a routine. We are sad to see him go back to work next week, but someone's got to bring home the bacon, right??? :)

Our baby girls' first week!

Adalyn and Paisley's first week of life was spent at Fairview Southdale hospital. Adalyn was able to come back to our room right away after I was out of recovery, but Paisley was in the NICU for the first night, which was really hard on Michael and me. She had swallowed some of my blood on the way out and they wanted to run x-rays and tests to make sure that it was my blood and that she wasn't bleeding internally. The tests came back just fine and there were no concerns that anything else was going on, which was a huge relief. I was still recovering from my c-section and really wanted to see my baby girl, so they wheeled my bed right in there after my surgery to see her. Then, in the middle of the night, I was able to go back in a wheel chair and spend some time with her and Michael. She was a trooper and doing so well. Michael continued to go back and forth checking on his baby girl and cuddling with her. Finally, she arrived in our room around 11:30 the next morning and we were so happy to have our entire family together in one room.

Both girls had jaundice, so they remained under billi lights for most of the week. We were just thankful that they were able to stay in our room so we could spend 24-7 with them. They were fed every three hours from the start of one feeding to the start of the next, so it felt pretty constant with non-stop diaper changes in there as well.

We were hoping all of us would be discharged on Thursday, but the CNP came in and told us that Paisley should stay under the lights for at least another day, maybe two. And not only did she need to stay under the lights, but they wanted to put her in a full incubator to keep her body temperature up. Both girls had some temperature concerns, which was another reason for staying extra time. We had lots of skin to skin time to try and keep them warm:) Thursday was definitely the most emotional day that I had so far. When they told me that they weren't going to be discharged with me, I just began to sob and it didn't stop. I cried the entire day!!! No kidding, the entire day! At least we were able to stay with them even though they discharged me. The light at the end of the tunnel was a mini date night with Michael which included Carbones pizza and cheese bread and the season premiere of Big Brother 13:)

By Friday night, Michael and I were exhausted. All week, the nurses kept asking if we wanted them to take them overnight in the nursery so we could get some sleep and we kept saying no. We knew we would probably be heading home on Saturday, so we finally decided to take them up on it Friday night. I think we got about 4 hours of sleep and that was the most we had all week. I think we were running on complete adrenaline the entire week. We were slightly delusional and I really don't think we have laughed as much as a couple as we did the past week in the hospital. Michael, remember "Rick James?" Bet you miss her:)

Michael was so amazing the entire week. He changed all but one diaper, I think the entire time, which was so amazing while I was trying to recover from my surgery. I definitely fell more in love with him this week seeing him with his baby girls. I think I will have some daddy's girls on my hands for sure:) He is so sweet with them!

The girls were finally discharged Saturday morning and were so excited to make it home to start our life as a new family!

The Girls Make Their Entrance

Adalyn on left, Paisley on right

July 3, 2011

I had been trying to get Kim to join the pool party festivities at Buege and Leiyang's all week.  She must have known something was up.  It was a good thing she decided to stay home.  Around 1:45pm, I received the call from Kim that she needed to go to the hospital!

I had rode my bike to Buege's and needed a ride back to the house.  Zac, Buege, and I hopped in the Jeep, threw my bike on the back, and away we went.  Kim and I made it to the hospital, checked in, and were ready to go by 3.

By 5 o'clock, our two little treasures were born.
  Adalyn Lora @ 5lbs 8oz was the first to arrive
  Paisley Michaela @ 5lbs 10oz was the second to arrive

So proud of how well my 3 girls did that day!

Finally, the day has arrived!!!

Michael had been asking me to go to Buege and Leiyang's pool all morning. Being over 36 1/2 weeks pregnant with the girls, I told him that the last thing I felt like doing was being in front of a bunch of people I don't know at an apartment complex pool. Not only did I not have a swimsuit that would fit me, but I also secretly wanted to watch the closing arguments in the Casey Anthony murder trial:)

Michael and Zac took off on their bikes from here and arrived at Buege's around noon for an afternoon of poolside fun. I made sure to ask if someone would have a car there so that he could get home if he needed to. All the while, thinking that I wasn't that lucky and that these girls were holding out for their scheduled c-section date of July 12th. I had just laid back down on the living room couch after going to the bathroom and was listening to Jose Baez give his closing remarks for the defense when I felt something different. It was like a surge within my body that I had never felt before. I stood up to feel it even stronger and I knew that something was about to happen. Then, all of the sudden when I was walking to the bathroom, I felt my water break. Warm water came flowing out and it seemed as though it would never stop. I was thrilled that it was time to have these little babes.

I called Michael at about 1:45pm and when he answered the phone, he asked if it was "the baby call." I said "it's time daddy!" He thought for a moment that I was kidding because we had been texting on and off for the last hour and a half. I assured him this was real and that we needed to head to the hospital. Then, I called my mom quick and told her my water broke and that we'd be heading in soon. She said she'd meet us there...she was so excited, but I told her to hold on and that I'd let her know once we got there. We called/texted the rest of our family on the way to the hospital as everyone else was up north for the 4th of July weekend.

Dr. Anne Meschke was the on-call doctor and I was disappointed that Dr. Davenport wouldn't be delivering the girls, but was soon calmed when she told me that she had twin baby girls at home. What a coincidence. She was very excited for us. I asked Dr. Meschke if I should wait for the water to stop coming out before coming in and she giggled and said that it wouldn't stop and to meet her at Fairview Southdale.

Michael, Zac, and Buege got to the house shortly thereafter and we packed up a few additional things and made our way to the hospital by 2:30pm. They hooked us up to the monitors and sure enough, these babies were ready to come out. They ran a few tests and found out that my blood platelet counts were low, so they were waiting for the anesthesiologist to determine if I could have the spinal or if they needed to put me under general anesthesia. I was hoping for the spinal so that I wouldn't miss any of their initial cries.

He came back to us and said it was time and that he was ok with my platelets given that everything else looked good. From there, everything was a whirlwind. There were about 11 people in the OR with us and the surgery went better than I expected.

Adalyn Lora was born at 4:57 pm and was 5 lbs, 8 0z and 18.5 inches long. Paisley Michaela was born at 4:58 pm and was 5 lbs, 10 oz and 19 inches long. Hearing those initial cries was such an amazing experience and we knew our lives were changed forever. This love we felt for these baby girls was incredible. Happy Birthday to our sweet Adalyn and Paisley!!!