Delivery Day Details!

Here I am at the hospital--sitting in my puddle of water!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

We started out the day getting geared up for Memorial weekend. The Purinton family was having a lunch gathering on Saturday and the Pfannenstiel family reunion was scheduled for Sunday. We woke up, loaded up the car, and headed to WaKeeney to start our weekend. The Purinton lunch was fantastic, great food--which I ate a lot of, and great family. Everyone left Wayne & Sandy's house around 2:00. By 2:30 Isaac was ready for a nap and I was too. I had a full tummy & hadn't been sleeping well for a couple weeks at this time.

So Isaac and I laid down for a nap together at 2:30. It didn't take either of us long to fall asleep and then suddenly I felt the 'pop'. 2:45pm. My eyes shot open, I had to think if I had dreamt the pop or if it actually happened, and then the proof was there. I ran and jumped into the bathtub not knowing how big of a mess I was going to make. Upon realizing that I was the only one in the house other than sleeping Isaac I had to start yelling for Royce. Luckily Sandy had her windows open in the house and they were able to hear me on the front porch. Royce was on the phone, annoyed that I was yelling for him, until I told him that my water broke. He was on the phone with Ron getting ready to go golfing! Change of plans, honey!

Everyone stayed calm, I wrapped a towel around me, and we each grabbed our bathroom bags and got in Sandy's car to drive back to Hays. Chloe and Grandma kept working in flower beds and Isaac stayed asleep. Wayne & Sandy had carseats in our truck to bring the kids and dogs home later in the day. For a spontaneous labor things really couldn't have worked out any more smoothly. Robynn ran by our house to grab our hospital bag and video camera. She met us at the front door as we were arriving.

We arrived at the hospital at 3:25pm. I was dilated to 5 cm! My doctor was the one on call and he arrived quickly. As we knew it was going to be a C-Section there really wasn't much to wait on. I walked into the operating room and began my epidural right away. Boy was I ready for it at that time! I think if we wouldn't have known about the c-section it would have been a very quick labor & delivery under normal circumstances.

Here I am--texting a few people with the news of the girls on the way.

And they're here!

5:00pm

Amelia Ann

4 lb 9 oz 17.25"

5:02pm

Caroline Renee

5 lb 7 oz 18"

Baby B - Caroline

Baby A - Amelia

Amelia (below)

Caroline (below)

Caroline (below)

Amelia (below)

Amelia looking at mommy (below)

Sweet Amelia

Caroline and mommy (below)

Precious Caroline

Amelia was delivered before I really knew that the c-section was full underway. When she was pulled I didn't feel a whole lot. Caroline was a different story. She stuck out her arm and leg at the same time trying to come out sideways. That doesn't work sweetie! So Dr. Lloyd had to keep sticking her back inside until he got both feet out at the same time. But evidently she was still holding onto my ribs or something because he had a hard time getting her head out. I noticed every bit of his tugging and pulling!

Once both girls were delivered the empty void in my stomach (along with the HUGE lunch I had eaten) was too much to bear. The kind nurse held up the itty-bitty basin for me to allow my lunch to leave my body and I really needed something much larger with a backsplash with all I had to give! The sheet in front of me along with my whole arm were covered. Hey--puking while laying flat on your back isn't the easiest thing. Oh well, it was bound to happen.

The operation went really well. The team was absolutely awesome. I had a great nurse, the OR nurse had left his kids' birthday party to be called in, and the anesthesiologist was super. They were full of humor and I was too. They even changed my gown so I wouldn't have to have pictures taken with lunch on my arm :) I couldn't have asked for a better experience *under given circumstances* to have these babies. And according to the anesthesiologist my uterus was "gigantic". I believe him. The void in my stomach post-surgery was way more painful this time than after Isaac's operation. I suppose it had to do with 10 lbs of baby missing!

The days to follow

Amelia on left, Caroline on right

Amelia and daddy (below)

Sweet dreams!

Amelia's Aunt Jamima hat, also showing her card (on the right) that Chloe drew for her bed.

Caroline also has a sweet card from Chloe. (below)

When Chloe realized how many letters of her name that she and Caroline share it was like the 4th of July! She was so excited about each one!

Caroline's test came back just borderline for jaundice on days 4/5. 15 is the limit and hers were 14.9. They went ahead and gave her one day of light therapy and her number dropped to 8 which was fantastic. She tolerated the bed fairly well, and she did look cute in her little shades :) None of the other kids have ever had to have treatment so this was a first for us but I'm glad it was an easy fix.

Amelia and Caroline

Our Family!

Amelia and Caroline arrived on May 28, 2011.

I'll go through more detail in another post, but here are our initial pictures for you all to enjoy!

Peeking into the NICU

Seeing the twins for the first time about 1.5 hours after arrival!

Caroline Renee shown below

5 lb 7 oz, 18" 5:02pm

Amelia Ann shown below

4 lb 9 oz, 17.25" 5:00pm

Daddy and Amelia

Mommy and Caroline

Kids meeting the babies for the second time, 2 days old

Caroline talking with her brother & sister!

Checking out her teeny ears!

Caroline

Daddy and Amelia

Me and my baby girls

Caroline and Amelia

Caroline on left, Amelia on right

Have no fear...Superhero's HEERRREEEEEE !!!

Oh how I love this boy.

Ready, set, no twins yet!

Chloe and Isaac are just checking on the twins!

They are so excited to meet their sisters, and I know that the twins are excited to meet the older brother & sister who talk to them so much. I'm so proud of my kids.

Here are some pictures of the twins' bedroom. It was Chloe's room and I didn't do a lot to it other than furniture swapping & arranging. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Both of the cribs were from previous co-workers in KC. I got the one on the right when we had Chloe then the one on the left was given to us this winter. I am so thankful for them!

Here are pictures of Chloe and Isaac's room. This was Isaac's room and I took away a lot of the trains, trucks, and tractors to make room for some more neutral decor. Again, I'm happy with how the room turned out and the kids are adjusting SOMEWHAT well. They still play and talk a lot before actually falling asleep but I think that will fade in time.

Chloe makes her bed and arranges her animals for the day!

Isaac's bed stays pretty clutter-free. I'm sure that will change soon.

A dresser for both kids and a toy cabinet in the middle.

I think we're ready for these babies! We are almost 35 weeks. Baby A is measuring 4 lb 7 oz and Baby B is measuring 5 lb 7 oz. Definitely a difference between them but they are both measuring in the 'normal' range so we'll keep on waiting. I'm getting fairly miserable although it isn't anything I can't handle. Whatever it takes to keep them healthy.

But I still can't wait to meet them!

Aunt Robie & Uncle Dust

Aunt Robynn & Uncle Dustin couldn't be much higher on a pedestal than they always are in the eyes of Chloe and Isaac. Chloe and Isaac adore them to pieces, love being with them, and are usually spoiled in return. Robynn takes Chloe running (which consists of running, walking, hopscotch, and playing at the park) and even bought her a "running" outfit that makes Chloe feel so special. And Dustin is tall enough to lift the kids to the ceiling and let them pretend to be spider monkeys by upside-down crawling on the ceilings. The list goes on and on. I can't ever say enough about how great Robynn & Dustin are to our kids (and to Royce & I also).

And now I am getting around to sharing that

THEY ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS!!!!

Royce & I have known for a while but I wanted to get a good picture of them to put on the blog when I shared the news. Chloe & Isaac slightly understand although it'll be easier when Robynn starts showing & we start buying gifts for the little one. But the most important part is that everyone is healthy. Their due date is November 19th so Christmas with a tiny infant is going to be so much fun...I just hope he/she can handle our late night traditions!

Congratulations to my sister & Dustin. Royce & I can't wait to be Aunt & Uncle to your little one and we can only hope to provide the love and laughter to your child as you have provided to our children.

An Awesome Mother's Day

Mother's Day was wonderful, as usual! Royce is awesome at preparing the kids for Mother's Day and he always gives me the whole weekend to relax and do activities that I enjoy. The kids were great and we had a great weekend. On Mother's Day morning the kids came in and snuggled by me in bed and asked to watch cartoons. Royce went to the TV in our room and pushed play, showing a video that he had the kids make for me. They said Happy Mother's Day and Chloe sang a song. It was so sweet that they had 'planned' the whole cartoon idea just to surprise me. Then I got multiple cards & crafts, along with a gift certificate for a pedicure and also some Nike flip-flops I've been wanting. Everything was really sweet. Royce had made homemade cinnamon rolls (my favorite breakfast) and we went to church. After church they took me to get a sweet tea from McDonald's...also a favorite drink of mine! And then we went to a greenhouse to get flowers for our outdoor flowerbeds. It was BEAUTIFUL outside and we enjoyed every bit of being out working in the yard.

In the evening the kids insisted on washing my car for me. So Royce set them up and they worked until it was all clean. They're so cute when they're focused on getting something done like that.

I'm so blessed to have such a great husband and great kids. Royce takes such good care of me and hasn't complained once about all of the housework, kid-duty, baths, etc. that he's been doing more of since I rest more often. And the kids have been great too. They know I can't hold them or lift them, they also let me rest when I need to, and they are getting excited for the babies to come.

I'm 99% done with Chloe & Isaac's room so hopefully I can get pictures of it up soon. The twins room is close behind, mainly needing to focus on arrangement of furniture & accessories. We're so close!

Thanks again to Royce and my kids for treating me so fantastic on Mother's Day. I don't feel I do anything out of the ordinary to deserve their great treatment but I sure do appreciate it and feel so blessed to have them as my husband & kiddos.