The Twins are One Month Old!

We've survived the first month with twins! They are both doing so well, and I fall more and more in love with them everyday. Even when they're crying and waking me up at 4am, I an enamored. How could I not be, right?

Here's how they're both doing.

Lauryn 

Likes looking around. My mom says that Lauryn always has a look of amazement on her face. She loves to check out her surroundings. She's a very content little girl. She's the one who can chill in the crib quietly while she's awake and, most of the time, will just wait until someone picks her up for a feeding. Rarely, though, this girl is quite hungry and she does have a well-developed set of lungs.

Dislikes being completely swaddled. She will almost always fuss until she manages to free at least one arm.

Lauryn is just about done with Newborn clothes. The outfit she has on is Newborn and it's the last one she's gonna wear. She's my chunker!

Peyton

Likes swinging in the swing...a lot. The swing can usually keep him content while I'm warming up milk - otherwise he's screaming. I don't even think he knows how to just cry. He goes from zero to frantic in about 2 seconds. He also loves being held. At any time if he's crying screaming, all I have to do is scoop him up and he instantly stops.

Dislikes...lots of things! We joke that Peyton really wasn't ready to join the world as early as he did. While Lauryn has a look of amazement on her face when she's looking around, Peyton has a look of bewilderment...always. He looks as if he's nervously thinking "What am I doing here? Where's my amniotic fluid? Please put me back in!" He also hates getting his diaper changed, and taking a bath. Screams, screams, screams. He did have a pretty bad diaper rash when he was in the NICU, but it's gotten so much better since we started using Triple Paste. It works better than the prescription stuff we received from the hospital.

Peyton wears Newborn clothes - and they fit kinda big!

According to a lot of baby milestone charts I found online, by one month old babies should be able to lift their head when lying on their tummies, respond to sound, and stare at bright objects. Both kids do all three pretty well. :) At some point I might notice that they are behind a little bit hitting certain milestones, but that's normal for preemie babies. I'm just so happy that they are both healthy and doing well. See ya at the two month mark!

Mail Call: Twinning Edition #1

I found a post online a few months ago about special discounts that companies offered for multiples. Lots of companies, like Pampers, Huggies, Similac, Gerber, and many others offer discounts and free products just because you had a multiple birth.

WHAT?!?!

Too good to be true, right? I couldn't believe that companies would send me free stuff just because I had more than one baby.

Well, I was totally wrong. Turns out, certain companies do send out freebies specifically for multiple births.

I didn't want to post the whole list of contacts that I had, because I'm not sure that all the offers are legit, but when I actually receive something from the companies I'll post all the details here. This is what came in the mail recently, along with the contact method I used.

Dr. Browns

I called 1-800-778-9001 and all I had to do was give some basic information over the phone, including the twins' birthday. I received two full-sized bottles, along with two extra Stage 2 nipples.

Johnson & Johnson

I'm not sure why this one is considered a "Multiples Program", because I didn't receive doubles of anything. I did, however, receive an information booklet, along with $1.00 OFF coupons for Johnson & Johnson products. I called 1-800-526-3967 and basically gave the same basic information, including the twins' birthday.

I'll let you know if I receive anything else, but this was definitely a good start!

Weekly Recap #8

This week I tried to sleep (unsuccessfully, of course), and took care of my babies. There will likely be lots of weeks of this! We had our fair share of visitors, and it has been great catching up with everyone.

Monday was MLK Day, which meant no school for the kiddos. With me not having to go to work, all the days seem to blend together and it's hard for me to keep track of what day of the week it is. What I think is a Friday could actually be a Monday...which leads me to conclude that I would suck as a stay-at-home-mom. Lol. Today I also had to drive to Tony's Finer Foods to buy some ingredients for a blog post for my other blog. Getting out of the house is also a pain. Between pumping and feeding the kids, I only have a short window to get out of the door. I wanted to leave late morning/early afternoon, but I didn't actually get out until about 2pm. I did get to spend some time with Brayden making the dip since he loves to cook with me. Helpers just don't get cuter than this.

The jalapeno dip came out good too!

There was no meal train today so the house was free of visitors. It felt weird to not have someone come over. I may or may not have showered on Monday. I did, however, manage to snap a pic of both kids awake though.

Tuesday was a BIG day. The twins had their first full baths! Lauryn was totally fine and totally chill like she always is.

Peyton, not so much.

He screamed the entire time. He really doesn't like water on his body because he screams the same way when I'm just wiping him down with a wash cloth too. And changing his diaper. And when he's hungry. He's just my cranky little old man - and that's 100% ok with me.

Today was also Book Club! I decided to host because I really hate missing book club. It's serious business. The food, the friends, and oh yeah - the book discussion too. I love it. I look forward to book club every month. We also celebrated Kristin and Sarah this month since they'll both be having their babies in a few weeks. There had been a bout of baby fever in our group in 2015, and Kristin's and Sarah's babies will be the last to be born...until someone else makes an announcement, that is.

Some of my wonderful friends. I'll make sure I have friends pose next time. They were completely unaware that I was snapping a pic. Lol

I did make my recipe of the week this week, Cheesy Spinach Crescent Rolls for book club, but of course I forgot to take pic. They were GOOD though. Not a single roll was left.

Also today, for the first time, the twins spent time downstairs when my friends were here. We are always holed up in my room so it was nice to get a change of scenery.

On Wednesday my friend, Lisa, came over and brought soup, bread sticks, fruit salad, and cookies. So yummy! Today also marks the day that the twins are 3 weeks old!!! They are still pretty small, but I can tell that they're growing everyday. 

Today I didn't leave the house, but I did send my husband on a few hours' worth of errands. Pick up the twins' birth certificates, get an oil change, buy diapers, drop off a return at the UPS Store, and buy a new router at Best Buy. It's funny how I felt accomplished when he returned home, even though I did nothing. Lol 

On Thursday I took lots of pictures of the twins. Well, that doesn't really discern that day from any other day, but I was snapping photos all day. I think Peyton opens his eyes wider than he did before. And they are both just as cute as ever!

And Lauryn is just pretty as can be.

I take pictures everyday because I don't want to forget one minute of them as babies. When I think about my older kids, and the number of photos/videos I have of them, I fear it's not enough. There are chunks of time that I didn't record digitally and I've lost those moments forever. So there will be lots and lots of pictures of these two!

On Friday my brother AKA Uncle Mikey picked up Brayden for a movie night at their house. Aunt Manda dropped him off and stayed for awhile to visit with the babies. It was nice for my son to get out of the house again. He's still acting up a bit and I really think it's from being cooped up in the house all the time. Here are some kid pics from the day.

Peyton's Hand

On Saturday I made another new recipe, Cheesy Cast-Iron Skillet Scrambled Eggs. Spicy but good. I'm not crazy about goat cheese, but wanted to make the recipe the way it was intended. Next time, I promise I'll add mozzarella, not goat cheese.

I also completed one of my goal items today by cleaning out one of my kitchen cabinets. Check out all that bakeware that I never use!

My church's community group leader, Lydia, stopped by and brought over pulled pork sandwiches. They were so good! It makes me sad, though, because today marks the end of my meal train. Guess it's back to cooking! Here are the day's twin pics!

Peyton - My Heart!

Lauryn - Look at how much she moves when she sleeps!

On Sunday I went to take a 3-hour CPR class at the hospital. It was long, but I learned so much! I wanted to take a pic of the dummies we were working on, but of course I forgot. Boo!

Sunday was also my husband's birthday! I wish I could have done something more special for him, but after that long class I really didn't have too much time, and we've been super busy at home. I did get this delicious Eli's Cheesecake though!

And the daily twin pic!

I did a little better on the goals this week: 

• Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week - this would be a whole month soda-free! YES! I really haven't craved soda lately so that's a good thing!
• Goal #2: Make sure all Christmas decorations have been put away.  YES! I hosted Book Club on Tuesday so I made sure this was done before my friends arrived.
• Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. Not quite. I got rid of some of the trash down there, but that didn't take me 30 minutes. :(
• Goal #4: Organize one kitchen cabinet. YES! Bakeware is outta there!
• Goal #5: Get an oil change.  YES! I sent my husband to run errands on Wednesday so he took care of this for me. As a bonus, he also filled up my gas tank!

Almost made it 5 for 5 this week! Here are some goals for this week.

Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week - this would be 5 weeks soda-free! I can probably remove this after another few weeks. I crave it sometimes, but I'm better off without.

Goal #2: Send requests to 10 baby companies. There's a great list I found online (and added to, of course) of companies that offer free products and discounts to parents of multiples. I called a few with some success, but some require copies of birth certificates. Let's see what I get back in the mail!

Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. Last week I didn't spend too much time in the basement, but I hope to up it this week.

Goal #4: Organize one more kitchen cabinet. There's a pots and pans cabinet I can't wait to tackle this week.

Goal #5: Clean off a few toys for the twins. I have a ton of toys from when my son was a baby that are just waiting to be wiped down. They can't play with them just yet, but it might be nice to look at something new.

Goal #6: Go through about 4 weeks worth of coupons. I have had no time to clip my coupons, and I have to be better about saving money. Right now, if I want something for the kids, I buy it, without even checking the bank account. I need to utilize my coupons better.

I'll let you know how it went next week!

Weekly Recap #7

This week was spent mostly at home, with lots of friends coming to visit. It's been freezing cold lately (dangerously cold they say), so I suspect spending lots of time at home is in my future. It was so nice to have friends bring me dinner everyday this week, and I've learned that my girlfriends can cook! We never had a bad meal - every single one was delish!

To start off the week on Monday, the twins had their first doctor's appointment. I am so surprised we made it on time! Trying to get out of the house with two babies is freakin' hard!!!

 

We learned that both babies gained weight since they left the NICU 3 days ago, so that's a really good sign that they're still continuing to thrive at home. I chose a new pediatrician for them, Dr. Kelly, since our old pediatrician is affiliated with a hospital I'm not crazy about. The office visit was just ok. The office is pretty small, and the nurse originally weighed them with their full diapers on (I was the one to bring it up to the doc, who assured me that, no, it wasn't normal to weigh newborns with their diapers on). Other than that, though, the visit went well. They are both slightly heavier than their birth weight. YAY!

On Monday, my friend, Laura, brought over a Three-Cheese Mostaccioli that was so good - even Brayden ate it! I loved having some company from my girlfriends all week.

Brayden even wanted to help with the babies. For one, I'm just glad he doesn't hate them. For months before they were born, Brayden had a serious aversion to all babies. He's come a long way, but like most 5-year-olds I imagine, he'll help if he's not "busy". If he's watching a show, or playing a game on the tablet, fat chance that he'll come to help me do something with the babies. It just so happens that he had some free time Monday night.

Tuesday was spent at home, and I dressed the kids up a little bit. I have some really cute newborn outfits that I'd like them to wear at least once before they grow out of them. I made the mistake of waiting for an occasion to wear nice outfits with my other kids, and they just grew out of them before they could ever wear them. Well not this time around. If I have a nice outfit, they are definitely going to wear them at least once!

On Tuesday, it was my friend Julia's turn to visit and she brought chicken tetrazzini. YUM!

Wednesday was another day spent at home. It was today that I saw up close, just how tired I'm looking. My husband took a picture of me with both kids and I look TIRED! Tired and awful. This is real life with twins, ya'll!

The twins, on the other hand, are just adorable.

On Wednesday it was Sarah's turn to visit and she brought over beef stew. Wednesday is also the day I started to forget to take pics of my friends coming over. :( No more pics the rest of the week. Boo.

Thursday Stefani came over with spaghetti with Italian sausage, garlic bread, and her out-of-this-world brownies. The brownies were devoured quickly! Here's my daily twin pic.

On Friday, Sharon came over with Maciano's pizza - my family's favorite local pizza place. It was also another day for cutsie clothes. I love the adorable little outfits!

My sister also visited with her family Friday night. I had to change Lauryn out of the cutsie clothes in the afternoon, and I was shocked to see my niece in the same outfit as Lauryn. My sister and I are so much alike!

On Saturday, my husband's brother and his family visited for a few hours, as well as my good friend, Kristin. I'm sad that I didn't take more pictures since they all spent quite a bit of time here. In fact, the only pics I took that day were of Lauryn in a bouncy seat. If I'm going to be chronicling my life with my kids, I need to be much better at taking pictures. 

I was finally able to venture out of the house on Sunday to do a little grocery shopping. I also kept up with my New Year's Resolution to make a new recipe every week. I made Homemade Garlic Knots this week, and it was hard! Well, maybe not really so hard, but definitely time consuming. I've never made anything with active yeast before and I had to wait for the dough to rise twice! Pillsbury crescent rolls would have been so much easier to do. Ha! My friend, Lindsay, brought over chicken parmesan with a ceasar salad, and at lease the garlic knots complimented the meal perfectly. I'm so lucky to have so many friends that can cook - my family ate well this week!

I'll leave you with Sunday's pic of the babies. :)

The first full week of the twins being home is over! My goals took a backseat this week, and I need to get back on track! Here's how I did.

• Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week - this would be the 3rd week in a row! YES! I really haven't craved soda lately so that's a good thing!
• Goal #2: Make sure all Christmas decorations have been put away.  75% done. I started putting everything away, but didn't quite get it all done. This will definitely get done next week.
• Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. Didn't make it to the basement this week, even though I need to look for a few things down there.
• Goal #4: Organize one kitchen cabinet. Not yet on this one. Hopefully I get it done before my husband notices I haven't done it!
• Goal #5: Purchase and install blackout blinds for the twins.  My husband and I decided to table this one for now. The sun really hasn't been an issue with them napping, so we'll buy the blackout shades later - probably in the spring.

Tough week. BOO! I have got to get with it! These are the goals I hope to tackle this week.

Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week - this would be a whole month soda-free! I can probably remove this after another four weeks. I crave it sometimes, but I'm better off without.

Goal #2: Make sure all Christmas decorations have been put away. This got started last week, and will be done this week for sure.

Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. Little by little, I can get this basement looking so much more organized.

Goal #4: Organize one kitchen cabinet. While the twins nap, I have got to get this done. My husband already took some baking items out that he wants me to store in the basement. He's starting to get impatient and I need to get it done. Shouldn't take too long.

Goal #5: Clean off a few toys for the twins. I have a ton of toys from when my son was a baby that are just waiting to be wiped down.

Goal #5: Get an oil change. I'm past due for an oil change. If I can't go myself, I need to have my husband go before he goes back to work next week.

I'll let you know how it went next week!

Weekly Recap #6

This week was mostly spent at the hospital visiting the twins in the NICU. It was so weird going back there on Monday, after being discharged from the hospital myself just the day before. Weird, and sad at the same time. I absolutely hate having to drive there by myself and leave by myself. :( With visiting the twins, this was a very busy week. Here's the daily play-by-play (with pictures!).

Monday - Even though I was just released from the hospital yesterday, there were still things that needed to be done, and people I needed to feed. I went grocery shopping by myself in the AM. I seriously regret pushing myself because I felt awful. I powered through, but I probably should have waited.

And, I have some really awesome friends. Knowing how awful I was feeling for having to leave the twins in the NICU, they sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Ans, the emotional mess that I am, I totally cried.

Then, it was off to the NICU. Today I visited from 5:45pm to 10:30pm. I really didn't like their morning nurse from 7am to 7pm. Her care reminded me of some teachers. You know how there are really great teachers that love there jobs, and how you can tell who is only there for a paycheck? Well, I found that that extends to nurses as well. We've had some really great nurses so far, but then there are some, like this morning, who I feel don't really try. The night nurse from Sunday put their feeding tubes back in because they regressed a bit Sunday night which was really hard to hear.

Peyton

On Tuesday I drove myself to the doctor's office to have my c-section staples removed. Thankfully, it did not hurt as much as I thought it would! I went to the same Thai place for lunch that I visited a few weeks ago, Mai Thai Cafe in Wheaton. A few weeks ago, I thought the place was great, but now they don't offer table service anymore, just carryout. It was weird - and the food wasn't as good. I wonder what happened.

I visited the NICU from 12:30pm - 6:00pm on Tuesday. The twins had a better nurse this time (Jami). I was so happy to see NO feeding tubes. I was told that the twins are now on an "On Demand" schedule where they don't have to drink a certain amount of food, and they are fed when they want food. The goal is for them to gain weight on their own, without being force-fed. While I was there, Lauryn was awake alot, but Peyton has day/night mixed up and is more awake at night. Later that night from home, I called the night nurse and she said they only lost 5 grams (they are weighed every night around 9pm) which is less than 0.2 of an ounce. Their original feeding goal was 55 cc's for Lauryn and 50 for Peyton. Last night Lauren took 65 and Peyton took 60! They are doing so well!

Lauryn

Peyton

On Wednesday I was headed back to the NICU, of course. The hospital is more than 20 miles away from my house so it's quite a drive each day. I had the opportunity to stay at the Ronald McDonald House during the day (not overnight), but I mostly stayed home and played with Brayden during the day. He seems to be having a rough time lately ever since I was in the hospital. He goes into his room a few times a day to "relax" and I worry about him. He seems a little depressed so I'm trying to spend as much time with him as I can.

Lauren held in her paci with her hand - so cute! Was told that I should bring in outfits for them to take photos, and their car seats so the nurses can perform a car seat test that would last an hour and a half. They won't be going home tomorrow, but it's better if they get this mandatory test (for kids born at less than 37 weeks) done before we are discharged. All they need to do now is gain weight for 2 consecutive days and they can come home! Woo hoo! Late that night I got a call from one of the nurses (that I requested because I needed to know if they gained/lost weight) and was told that they both GAINED! One more day and they'll be released. I was so happy to hear that!

On Wednesday, I also stuck to one of my New Year's Resolutions and made a new recipe this week. I love almost everything The Pioneer Woman makes, and this week I decided to make her Salisbury Steak Meatballs from one of my Pinterest boards. Oh my word - those things, over egg noodles, are the BOMB! what's even better is that my whole family - including my super-picky-he-only-eats-chicken-nuggets 5-year-old - loved it. I'll definitely add this to my favorites rotation!

Thursday - I spent a lot of time organizing today. I put together all of the baby swings and bouncers that we had, spent some time tidying up the basement, and making sure we were just about ready for the twins to come home. Today I was asked to bring their car seats to the NICU so they can perform a car seat test. All babies born prior to 37 weeks gestation need to pass a car seat test. After a feeding, the child is placed in their car seat for 90 minutes while the nurses monitor their heart rate and oxygen levels to make sure they can handle a long car ride without slouching and cutting off their oxygen. They are almost ready to come home, ya'll! I also brought in some outfits for their photo shoot that's scheduled for tomorrow morning. They were asleep for most of the time I was there today though. :( And I was there for 6 hours! I also called the nurse to see how their weight was, to hear that they both GAINED again!!! Woo Hoo! It still isn't for sure that they will come home tomorrow though since Peyton only gained 5 grams, which is less than 0.2 of an ounce. It's all up to the doctors tomorrow.

Here's their NICU room. It's just about time be be outta here!

On Friday afternoon we learned that...

The twins can come home!!!

We got the call early afternoon and decided to pick them up later in the day. My son has been having cabin fever lately, and we feel really bad for not being around much to do stuff with him. My husband earned his #1 DAD title today by taking Brayden to the mall, that included a trip to the bouncy house place. Brayden was in heaven. He was affectionate with my husband and thanked him so many times. Then it was off to get those babies!

Bringing those babies home!

Saturday was spent mostly inside with the twins. I was so busy, I hardly even took any pictures (I did take a few though!). Talk about sleep deprived! I only left the house to buy a few more items at Babies R Us, and I had to cut my time short in order to get home before the twins were ready for their next diaper change/feeding. They are on a 3-4 hour schedule that the NICU nurses set them up on. Like clockwork, one wakes up first, and the other follows about 20 minutes later. It's great! My husband helps a lot with feedings, he's just not as comfortable changing them because they're so small. I got a few naps in late evening so I'm grateful for that.

On Sunday my dad came over for a visit. I don't know why I didn't get a photo of him with the twins. He didn't hold them, though, so maybe that's why. Lol I'm thankful that I didn't leave the house at all today. It is COLD in the Chicago area! We'll have to take them to the pediatrician either tomorrow or Tuesday, so I'm hoping it's at least a little warmer.

Daily visits to the hospital were part of my daily routine this week, but was I able to stick to any goals? Here's how I did.

• Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week. This one is starting to get easy. I really haven't craved soda lately so that's a good thing!
• Goal #2: Attend post-holiday party on Friday. Nope. I really wanted to, but the twins came home on Friday - WAY more important!
• Goal #3: Spend 30 minutes organizing the basement. I finally started this on Thursday! It's going to take a lot more time, but I'm glad I at least got it started.
• Goal #4: Organize one kitchen cabinet. Not yet. The twins were in the NICU most of the week, but this is a priority for me since they're home now.
• Goal #5: Purchase and install blackout blinds for the twins.  Not yet, but I'm positive this will get done next week.

Two out of five this week. BOO! I have got to get with it! These are the goals I hope to tackle this week.

Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week - this would be the 3rd week in a row! I've actually been feeling pretty good since I gave up soda. I think I can make it another week.

Goal #2: Make sure all Christmas decorations have been put away. We are 12 days into the new year, and we still have our Christmas decorations up. It's time for them to go.

Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. It felt good to start on this this week, I'm hoping I can get it in again.

Goal #4: Organize one kitchen cabinet. While the twins nap, I have got to get this done. My husband already took some baking items out that he wants me to store in the basement. He's starting to get impatient and I need to get it done. Shouldn't take too long.

Goal #5: Purchase and install blackout blinds for the twins. This has eluded me 3 weeks in a row. I vow to take this off the goal list this week!

I'll let you know how it went next week!

The Twins' Birth Story

My twins were born, quite unexpectedly, on Wednesday last week. I was 34 weeks, 6 days pregnant. While it's not unusual for twins to be born early, I was totally in denial, despite the contractions I had been feeling throughout the day, and still have a hard time believing that they are finally here. But they are, and I am head-over-heels in love with them. Completely Obsessed. Here's how it all went down.

Not to say that this contributed in any way to my early labor, but I was a busy girl on the Monday and Tuesday before the twins were born. On Monday, I was really tired and didn't leave the house all day since we had a pretty big snow and ice storm that day. My daughter had to work, though, and she really isn't an experienced driver. Of course she would get her car stuck in the snow - TWICE - on our block on her way home. I had no choice but to go out and help her. I didn't try and push the car or anything (my daughter and my mom did that), but I did have to walk through the snow to get to her car and tried to maneuver the car into a driveable position. Unfortunately the snow/ice was so slushy that I couldn't even get it out, but one of our neighbors noticed our struggle and ultimately did help. I was probably outside for about an hour.

Then on Tuesday, I did some heavy shopping. We had events to go to on both Saturday and Sunday that week, and I wanted to make sure we had gifts to give "just in case" anything happened. My nephew's birthday party was on Saturday so I needed a gift for him, and then we were celebrating Christmas with my dad on Sunday (we always celebrate with that side of the family the first weekend in January). Lots and lots of gifts to buy. I was kicking myself for not getting it done earlier.

That Wednesday, I had nothing special to do, no plans, and I just wanted to relax. I had a scheduled doctor's appointment at 3:30 that afternoon and that was the only event in my calendar.

I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions on and off for a couple of weeks prior to Wednesday, so when my stomach would get hard and contract throughout the morning, I really didn't think anything of it. I knew I was in need of some serious rest after the Christmas holiday, and then the chaos of the last few days, and figured I was just tired. And the contractions were nothing new.

And then they kept coming.

It got to the point where I was catching my breath with a "Braxton Hicks" contraction about every 10-15 minutes. Still thought nothing of it. I figured that I had a doctor's appointment later that included a Non-Stress Test (NST) and I'd just let the test determine if these were really contractions.

Luckily for me, my husband had a better sense of intuition than I did because he decided to accompany me to the doctor's appointment and just be late for work that day. He wanted to make sure I was ok. {Cue the "Awwww".} We took separate cars though. I drove myself - while enduring the contractions.

Still, I was in denial.

At the doctor's office, the NST showed that yes, I was having contractions every 10-15 minutes. No biggie, right?

Then, the doctor performed a cervical check that showed that I was 1 cm dilated, and 75% effaced. Damn.

Not to worry though, doc said I should head to the hospital to get started on some fluids with the hopes that the contractions would subside. Phew - they would subside right? Right?!?!

Once again, drove myself the 15 minutes from the doctor's office to the hospital. Easy peasy. Just kept telling myself that I was going to get fluids to stop the contractions. It was going to be fine.

We get to the hospital, and I was taken to a small labor & delivery room. The nurse that took me in even made me feel kinda bad for being there in the first place. You should have seen her face when she learned that my contractions were 10-15 minutes apart and I was only 1 cm dilated. She made it seem like I was wasting her time.

"What doctor sent you here again?" Eye roll. "Oh, you'll be here for a long time." Double eye roll.

Regardless of her feelings about it, she had a job to do so she started an IV, and placed the monitors on my stomach. Then we just had to wait to see what was going on.

My last belly shot.

At this point I just wanted to go home. I wanted to get out of her hair, and be back at home where I belonged.

Problem was, the contractions kept on coming. Not super tough contractions, but contractions none the less.

By the time I was admitted to the hospital, it was about 4:30. Then the kicker...

After being there for just 2 hours, the doctor came in to check me. I was 5 cm dilated.

AAAAAGGGGHHHHH! I was in early labor.

I was so shocked I started to cry. I wanted to say "No, you've got it wrong. I don't want to do this now. I'm not ready. The twins are not ready. It's way too early. I want to go home. This is NOT right!"

FULL PANIC MODE.

I was previously scheduled for a c-section for 1/21/16, and it was only 12/30/15. Not even 2016 yet. Sooooo not ready.

But, ready or not, here they come!

After that announcement from the doctor, everything kinda happened in a blur. He said he didn't want me to further progress with labor, because I shouldn't get to the point where I wanted to push. It was GO TIME!

I was given a bunch of medications at one time - an antacid (I think), some really sugary drink, and a few other pills. Then comes the part I really didn't like.

Since I was having a c-section, my husband wouldn't be with me until the babies were about to arrive.

Um, WHAT?

I needed him with me.

He calms me. He helps me. He's my rock.

And he couldn't be with me.

I was quickly wheeled out of that room to an OR. He was given scrubs to change into and told they would come for him when they were ready. I was so sad.

Then, in the OR, it felt like a bad dream. It was full of strangers. Different nurses - nurses for me, nurses for the babies, the anesthesiologist - basically just a bunch of people I didn't know.

When I was being given the spinal block, instead of leaning into my husband (like I did when I had an epidural when my son was born), I had to lean into a nurse whose name I couldn't even remember. And as my lower extremities began to numb, I was alone. All alone. It really was an awful feeling.

Then my doctor came in to start prepping and put the blue screen up in front of my face to block my view and I wanted to run out of the room.

Well, obviously the spinal block put the kabosh on that.

I hate things, anything, close to my face, and I was about to panic again.

Just before I started to scream, I hear my husband's voice in my ear talking some nonsense about Jimmy John's sandwiches.

Did I want mayo on my sandwich? I wanted an Italian sub, right? Would I want a drink with that? And other meaningless questions.

When I talked to him about it later, he said that the second he walked into the room and saw me, he knew what I was thinking and feeling. He could literally see the panic starting to rise in me all over my face. His questions were only meant to distract me from myself.

God, I love that man!

In that moment, he knew exactly what I needed.

Then, a little pressure, and seconds later...crying!!! My daughter, Lauryn, had arrived. It was 8:15 pm. And just one minute later, my son, Peyton, was introduced to the world.

It really happened that fast.

After that, they quickly cleaned up the babies, let us take a few pictures, then whisked them away to the NICU. My husband and I were taken to a recovery room where we stayed for more than two hours. And just like the reaction I had to the epidural when my son was born 5 years ago, I had an allergic reaction to the spinal block too. Itching and scratching all over. This lasted for about 3 days. All I wanted to do was see my babies.

Finally, at around 10:45 pm, I was able to see them in the NICU.

They are here, and They. Are. Perfect.

Unfortunately, their arrival included a stay in the NICU, and I'll share that story soon.

Thanks for sticking with me for this super long post. I didn't want to omit anything, as I'm going to want to return to this post time and time again. Time does a number on our memory, and I don't want to forget a second of it. These are likely my last babies and I want to remember this forever.

Enjoy some pics of their first day!

Lauryn

Peyton