Birth Story
Jemma and Zoe are here and are healthy and happy and we couldn’t be happier. We’ve been on the journey to parenthood for a long time and these two miracles are more than we could have ever imagined. Some of this post may be repetitive, but I wanted to give a little background on my pregnancy.
For the most part, I had a great pregnancy, I did start getting some carpal tunnel (which progressively has gotten worse from about 23 weeks on and I still have it quite bad postpartum) and then edema and swelling started around 28 weeks, my BP started to elevate around 33 weeks, my doctor had us scheduled for a C-section on July 25th but kept thinking I would go into labor sooner. As the hot weather settled in and I progressed in the pregnancy, I was getting more and more uncomfortable and my BP kept rising. At a routine NST/check on July 14th my BP was 160/94, the doctor made the call to admit me and planned to deliver the babies that afternoon. By the time I was close to being prepped for the C-section, I started having pretty intense contractions.
C-section went as planned and both girls came out crying their little lungs out. Once we were back in the room, I started to hemorrage and the other OB doctor who was assisting my regular OB on the C-section was taking over. I started to feel lightheaded and dizzy and was soon being wheeled to another OR for an emergency D&C (at this point I was under sedation). I lost about 2 liters of blood, so the doctor placed a balloon type apparatus in my uterus to control bleeding.
I was soon back in the room and seemed stable, but about an hour later I was shaking uncontrollably and could not stop. My BP dropped to 60/30 and my pulse was about 170. I was pretty out of it and Hubby was pretty freaked out. We had about 12 people back in the room and I soon received 2 1/2 bags of saline and 2 bags of blood. I finally stabilized, but we stayed in labor & delivery for the rest of the night. After we were in postpartum, I also started to develop HELLP syndrome and had to be infused with magnesium (terrible side effects, felt like I was hit with a truck!). Magnesium infusion is usually for 24 hours, but luckily I was able to come off of it by 20 hours.
Zoe has been doing great the whole time and was discharged Friday and was “boarding in” with us. I was finally discharged on Saturday. Jemma was admitted to the NICU early on Tues. AM because the pediatrician thought she was having a little trouble maintaining her glucose, she had been off her glucose IV since Wed afternoon, but they were wanting to see her maintain her temperature and not having any bradycardia episodes (she had 2 very slight ones). Hubby had been going up all the time to take care of her and feed her and it seems as though they weren’t helping to help her progression out of the NICU. On Saturday afternoon Jemma was finally moved to a lower level nursery and is going to be discharged today. She is being discharged earlier than they were telling us because Hubby was finally able to have the nurse practitioner in charge of Jemma’s care talk to the neonatologist in charge. Hubby and I stayed in a family room last night with Zoe in tow and are more than ready to head home, we’ve been in the hospital almost a full week!
With as much as we all went through, it is all worth it! These little girls are absolutely amazing and we love them so much! I’m sure I’ll be posting pictures soon!
xoxo
Happy Birthday Jemma and Zoe!!!
Jemma Taye (Baby A) 5 pounds 7 ounces and Zoe Mika (Baby B) 5 pounds 5 ounces were born at 5:45 PM on July 14, 2014.
I worked Monday morning and went in for a routine OB exam at 11:30 AM on July 14th (a few days early of my originally scheduled visit), I was hooked up to the NST monitors and babies were looking good. However, my blood pressure was 160/94, so my doctor says “it looks like we are going to have some babies today!”. I knew this was a possibility, but started sweating and feeling anxious that the baby girls were actually going to be born on that day! I quickly called Hubby and told him to leave work, stop and get our hospital bags that were packed by the door at home and come to the hospital. My close friend who has been down almost the same infertility road as me is also a labor and delivery nurse and was luckily working at the hospital, so she was there to meet me at labor triage as soon as I was wheeled from my OB office to the hospital. Since I was not NPO my C-section wasn’t going to be scheduled until later in the afternoon, my doctor was going home to arrange child care for her children and was going to make it back to the hospital to perform the C-section. My delivery was anything but smooth, so I will be posting a completely separate post and not take anything away from announcing the beautiful births of our two precious daughters!
We are still at the hospital, Jemma was taken up to the NICU early on Tuesday morning since she was unable to maintain her glucose levels. She has since come off her glucose IV and although she is maintaining her glucose now, she is having a little trouble with temperature regulation and has had a couple of episodes of bradycardia. We are hoping she will be let out by tomorrow at the latest. I’m still waiting to see if I will be discharged today as well.
The girls are absolutely beautiful! Jemma looks Asian like Mommy and Zoe looks just like her Daddy (not at all Asian!) Unfortunately, I don’t have an updated photo of Jemma but will post one soon. We are so in love and as everyone has said, feel a love for these girls like we have never felt before!!!
Waiting to be prepped for the C-section, already having contractions!
Just after delivery, back in the room with Jemma on left and Zoe on right.
Zoe, 4 days old after feeding, happy!
Happy Friday and more to come on the birth story…..
xoxo
Almost 36 weeks and a little concern
OMG, we are having a heat wave here in Seattle and my pregnant, swollen, large self is not enjoying it!!! I usually love the heat and sun, but not right now.
I finished seeing patients at work this past week (and it was only a few patients as I really lightened up my schedule) and this coming week is full with only hygiene patients, so if I’m only there part time, everything will run okay.
I’m definitely taking it very easy right now, yesterday at my OB appointment, my blood pressure was 133/88 and my doctor ran the pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) blood panel on me. My platelets and liver function came back normal, but my creatinine was elevated, my level was 0.9 and she said normal value is around 0.6. She advised me to buy an at home arm blood pressure cuff and to monitor for readings above 140/90 and if I had a high reading to take it again in 15 minutes. My readings were somewhat high last night (which made for a restless night of sleep), although Hubby took his and we determined that the cuff was reading about 5 to 10 points high. This AM I continued to have values that were concerning, so I went in this AM for another non-stress test and had my BP checked again, at the office it was 120/84 so much better than the readings I was getting at home. I will see the doctor next Monday, moved up a few days from my original next appointment.
My OB is also moving my scheduled C-section from July 25th to July 21st (she thinks with my BP elevated that it would be nice to get me to 37 weeks and not push it to the end of the week). With the way I’m feeling, I’m not complaining, my body is not feeling at all like my own.
I literally feel like I’ve zipped on a Sumo wrestling suit, I can’t touch my feet barely, put on socks, pull on my pants or bend over to pick anything up. But, this temporary discomfort is all for the two miracles who are arriving very soon!
Bump at 35 weeks 4 days
Happy Friday!
xoxo
34 weeks
Tomorrow is July, July is the twins birth month!!! Crazy, can’t believe it’s almost here. Baby A is still breech so we have our C-section scheduled for July 25th, but my OB continues to say that she doesn’t think I’ll make it to that day. On July 25th I’ll be 37 weeks and 5 days.
Overall, I really can’t complain too much about my pregnancy, but my body is definitely feeling like it’s getting towards the end of the road. My carpal tunnel is pretty intense now, pretty much 24/7 numbness, so I’ve really cut back at work. And the newest, not favorable symptoms have been rapid weight gain and severe lower body swelling. Luckily, my blood pressure is still okay. My doctor says the swelling is my body’s way of saying I need to take it easy, she wants me to stop working after this week, but I think with my light schedule I should be able to finish up the week after as well.
I think I’ve almost doubled my total weight gain in the last month. To help with the swelling I’m wearing compression socks to work (not sure if they are helping, see photo below!), sitting in a tub of cold water in the evening before bed, cutting back on salty foods, and trying to keep my feet up at home as much as possible. Hope this picture doesn’t scare you.
My legs after a day of work with compression socks!
Maya, my fur baby, snuggling up to the babies. She has been my baby for almost 12 years, she has no idea how life is going to change!
Here’s the baby bump today, keeps getting larger!
We had a growth check ultrasound today and received great news. Baby A is estimated to be 5 pounds 10 ounces and Baby B is estimated to be 5 pounds 7 ounces. We are thrilled at their sizes, they both seem to have my big head, so the weights may be a little overestimated! Baby A continues to be sitting right on my cervix so the C-section will still be the way to go.
Back to the OB on Thursday for another routine check and NST. No plans for our Fourth of July this year yet, maybe just a small BBQ at home with friends. Happy and safe 4th everyone!
xoxo
Carrot Cake and Updates
Wow….is this weekend really the official start of summer?! Where has 2014 gone so far? I know I say this in every post, but I really can’t believe how fast the year is going.
I’m in the middle of my 32nd week and I’m definitely feeling like I’m in the home stretch of the pregnancy. The carpal tunnel is getting worse and I’ve really had to cut back at work and the swelling and edema is setting in. My hands don’t feel like themselves and I look down at my legs and see huge cankles and swollen feet. We’ve wanted these precious babies for so long that I’m trying not to complain, but it’s hard when your body doesn’t feel like it’s own.
32 weeks 4 days, getting much bigger!
Today I had my first non-stress test (NST) and will have one with the rest of my remaining OB appointments. I was hooked to fetal heart monitors and the doctor is looking for an acceleration of heart rate twice in twenty minutes to indicate that the babies are doing well. Well, the little girls weren’t being so cooperative today, they were being “sleepy”, so I had to be hooked up two different times to get the desired reading. The nurse used a buzzer like apparatus to jolt the babies into the acceleration, it was amazing how much that buzz woke them up! The other mamas having NSTs with singletons seemed to have had loud, clear heart beat sounds and mine were definitely harder to distinguish.
Since the most important things in life right now are keeping the babies in for as long as possible and working as long as I can, Hubby is really emphasizing that I take it easy and cut back on household stuff, etc as much as possible (Hubby has even curled my hair twice for me!). Therefore, I haven’t been in the kitchen cooking as much as I’d like. But, I had book club this past weekend and was really craving carrot cake. The recipe below is from one of my friends from dental school and it’s a “can’t go wrong” recipe that always turns out as long as you follow the suggestions.
Carrot Cake
Beat:
-4 eggs (for at least 5 minutes, until light in color)
-Add 2 cups sugar (add slowly)
-Add 1 cup oil (add slowly)
Add:
-2 cups flour (add slowly)
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
Shred 3 cups of raw carrots and mix by hand into batter. Bake in greased pan at 300 degrees for 1 hour (check and bake longer if needed)
Cream Cheese Frosting
Mix:
-1 cube softened butter (1/2 cup)
-1 eight ounce package of cream cheese (softened)
-1 box powdered sugar
-1 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla bean paste instead)
Beat with mixer until smooth and creamy.
Hope you enjoy this easy and yummy recipe! Happy Start of Summer!
Things are coming together…..31 weeks
Hubby and I feel like things are logistically ready…….nursery is pretty much ready to go, we have plenty of diapers, wipes, and ointment (if needed) and baby formula (we decided to go with Hipp formula from the UK) is on its way. Mentally though, we have not fully comprehended that the baby girls are arriving in a matter of weeks, 7 at most! We have prayed, hoped and wished for these babies for so long, it’s just hard to imagine that our prayers, hopes and wishes are coming true and that we are going to be parents. Our lives will never be the same, in the most amazing way imaginable.
Earlier this spring we took a multiples class at the hospital we will be delivering at and many of the couples have had their twins already. Some carried to term or close and have had smooth deliveries, others have had bumps in the road but are still doing well. One couple from our class delivered their twins at 31 weeks because Mom had HELLP syndrome and had to have emergency surgery, the girls are under 3 pounds and will be in the NICU for a couple of months. I hope that all of the twins here and coming from our class will be healthy and happy.
We feel very lucky that things are going smoothly for my own pregnancy at this time. I have a bad case of carpal tunnel and work is definitely challenging, but overall, I’m doing well and the girls are growing big and strong. We had another growth ultrasound this past Friday and they are doing great, Baby A is estimated to be 3 lbs. 14 ounces and Baby B is estimated to be 3 lbs. 12 ounces. We were hoping they would be around 3 pounds for this appointment, so we were thrilled to hear that both are almost 4 pounds. Both babies are now breach, so unless the moxa stick, which I mentioned in my last post works a miracle, I will be having a C-section. I think a vaginal delivery would probably mean an easier recovery since I’ll only be off work for 6-7 weeks, but whatever method it takes to bring these girls safely into this world, I will be happy.
I feel like I’ve had a very quick pregnancy, July is just around the corner. In fact, this whole year is just flying by….I hope the weeks I have off work at home with Hubby and the girls will go by slowly. I will want to relish my time with them, we are very lucky to have to eager grandmothers who are just waiting to help us out! We feel lucky to be surrounded by such loving and supportive family and friends.
31 weeks
Nursery
My mother-in-law made the pillow cases and window panels. I wish I could sew!
Cribs and changing table
Stockpile of diapers and wipes
Baby Shower #3
The picture above was from the shower my Mom, best friend and her Mom threw for me in my home town. My Mom placed this picture of me on the dessert table from when I was a baby and included the same stuffed animals on the table as well. Oh….and these cupcakes were so yummy, who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting?!
Hope you are all enjoying your weekends! Next weekend will be a special day for Dads, I can’t wait to see Hubby as a Dad!
xoxo
Almost 29 weeks……
Hello everyone, hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekends, celebrating the lives of those we have lost and enjoying a long weekend with friends and family.
We are over in central Washington in the town I grew up in, today I had my last baby shower. Once again, our girls were spoiled by generous family friends. We received a lot of diapers, which we are so thankful to have, I’m sure we will go through them in no time.
Here is the bassinet that was mine when I was a baby, my Mom filled it with all kinds of baby gear.
This past Thursday we had another OB appointment. My cervix is still holding strong at around 4 centimeters, but somehow both Baby A and Baby B have done flips since our last appointment and are now both breach. My doctor isn’t too concerned, she said they have plenty of time to flip back to head down and they both seem to have quite a bit of fluid surrounding them which will allow them to do so. I’ve recently started back with the acupuncture to help with my continuing carpal tunnel syndrome and my acupuncturist talked about Moxibustion Therapy to turn the babies around to head down. It involves placing a heated moxa stick close to the pinkie toe for approximately 10 minutes on each foot for 10 or so days starting around 32-33 weeks. I figure it can’t hurt and we might give it a try.
We also had our hospital tour this past Thursday, we were able to see a birthing suite and a postpartum suite. We will be delivering in an OR since we are having multiples, but it was nice to see where we will be before and after their delivery.
As promised, here are a couple of photos from our pregnancy photo shoot. I was 25 weeks in these photos.
Here is today, I will be 29 weeks tomorrow.
Overall things are going very well, I really can’t complain. My carpal tunnel is getting a bit worse which along with my growing belly is making work a little more difficult, but only about 7 more weeks of work to go. Also, my headaches are returning, I had severe headaches for a couple of weeks in my first trimester and am now on Day 3 of bad headaches again…..figure it’s all of those hormones!
Have a safe holiday weekend!
xoxo
Hooray!
Morning from sunny Seattle! Just a quick post to let you all know, I passed my three-hour glucose tolerance test!!! I was anticipating that I would have gestational diabetes, but luckily, I do not. However, it was a wake-up call that I probably do not need to eat ice cream every. single. night. And chocolate, and cookies, and mocktails when we go out for dinner.
Here are my results:
Fasting glucose: 80 (Normal range 65-94)
1 hour glucose draw: 139 (Normal range 65-179)
2 hour glucose draw: 117 (Normal range 65-154)
3 hour glucose draw: 95 (Normal range 65-139)
The nursery is finally coming along, we’ve gone with an aqua/teal and grey theme. My mother-in-law helped me pick out some fabric last week and she has made us window coverings and pillows. I’ll post pictures soon.
We were also very fortunate to meet up with photographer Mariana Kajlich for some pregnancy photos a few weeks ago on a sunny, warm Wednesday evening. She was so much fun to work with and she took some amazing photos, I will post some of them as well.
Hubby planned a weekend getaway this upcoming weekend to Vancouver, BC. I’m excited to eat some good food and maybe get a little shopping in. It’ll be our last getaway before the little ones arrive in July.
I hope all of you had a nice Mother’s Day. I know it can be a very tough day when you are in the throes of infertility. I know it was always a bittersweet day for me, I have a wonderful Mom that I love to celebrate, but I longed for the day that I would be a Mom. Hubby was very thoughtful, he gave me a sweet card from himself and gave me a card/teddy bear and earrings that he presented from the soon-to-arrive girls. I’m not sure being pregnant counts as being a “Mom”, but it’s the closest I’ve ever been.
xoxo
Lucky Mama and Lucky Girls
I’m sitting in a nice comfy chair, but unfortunately, I’m in a chair at the lab for my three hour glucose tolerance test. I didn’t pass my glucose screen. The range is 65-139 mg/dL and I was two points too high, 141 mg/dL. I asked my OB if she thought I could just make some diet modification, but she recommended doing the three hour test since I’m having multiples. So, here I am…. I had to start fasting last night at 7 PM and arrived here at the lab at 7 AM today. They just took my baseline blood draw and then I had to drink a 100 mg glucola drink……soooo sweet! The glucose screen was only a 50 mg glucola drink.
I must admit I’ve been eating lots of sweets and carbs. Ice cream pretty much every evening, also enjoying cookies, chocolate, bread, crackers, etc, etc! Getting the high result has scared me into cutting back on the sweets. Just keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll pass this test.
Onto happier things, last weekend I had my second baby shower and it was beyond lovely. Three of my dearest friends went above and beyond to make the day extra special. The pink and gold theme was so cute and their creativity was amazing! The decorations were beautiful, the food so yummy and a fun time was had by all who attended.
Once again, we were beyond spoiled. These little girls are so lucky and we all feel very loved.
The beautiful hosts, Kory, Amy, and Alex and her adorable daughter Peyton.
So many nice gifts!
Lots of yummy food
Messages from guests written on diapers.
“Tinkled Pink” cookies
Cupcakes!
Cute jelly sandals!
Diaper cake made by my sweet friend who also has twin girls
Feeling much love from these wonderful friends!!!
Thank you to the lovely hosts and all of our family and friends who made a day I could never dream of coming true beyond special!!!
xoxo
25 Weeks
Happy May Day everyone! I’m leaving virtual flowers on your doorsteps! Spring has truly sprung here in the Pacific Northwest, it has been an absolutely gorgeous week. Yesterday and today we are seeing temperatures in the 80s, I think the rain will be back on Saturday in true Seattle fashion, but I’ll take this sun right now!
Hubby and I were suppose to be in New Orleans this week for Hubby’s annual conference, but with my current condition, we were unable to go, but still decided to take the week off from work to get some projects done. I had new countertops installed at my office, Hubby installed an alarm at my office, Hubby is building the closet for the nursery and I’ve been doing some craft projects and organization for the nursery. I am not a DIY-er! I stenciled a couple of lamps and royally messed one up, I’m going to have to tell my daughters that “mommy is not very crafty!”
Monday we had our fetal echo and it looks like both babies hearts are just fine. Sigh of relief! Baby A still has her small calcification, but the radiologist was not concerned at all and said not to worry. We also had another growth check at this same ultrasound appointment. Baby A is estimated to be 1 lb 14 oz and Baby B is estimated to be 2 lbs. Baby A is in the 67th percentile and Baby B is in the 83rd percentile. They are growing and we couldn’t be happier!
Baby A in profile
Baby B Frontal View #1
Baby B Frontal View #2
Today I have my one hour glucola test and iron level test. I’ve been eating a lot (I mean A LOT) of carbs and sugar, so I’m really hoping I pass. My test is at 11 AM today, so I get to drink my orange glucola here in about 2 hours.
My besties are throwing a shower for me this upcoming Saturday, they are all insanely talented and I can’t wait to see how things came together, I know it will be beautiful! I’ll be sure to post some pictures.
Hope you are all enjoying a beautiful May 1st!
xoxo
Blogs I Follow
Liebster Blog
Bakin’ Friends
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