My two little princesses have arrived!

My scheduled c-section was last Thursday! I'm sorry it took so long for me to get on here to post, I have been sporadically online using DH's laptop but didn't have time to post in full so I was waiting. My laptop died so I had to wait my turn.

So, the c-section went pretty well! There was a scare where Hope's heart rate kept dropping, then they thought they were picking up mind but she ended up being tiny for full term so I think it was hers. It was never caught during ultrasounds, but apparently it was dropping into the 90's during contractions and I don't know for how long. I also had some nausea, but the anesthesiologist took care of that. Otherwise, the tugging and pulling was weird and that was it, it was so fast! At 10:39 they took out Ariel Joy who was baby A and came breech, as expected. She was 5lbs 12.7oz and 19 inches long. Healthy and pink. Hope Rebecca came second at 10:40 and was only 4lbs 7.3oz and 17.5 inches. I was 37+1 so they didn't expect a baby to come out that small.

Hope needed some help with her blood sugar for the first day and then we had to wait another 24 hours for sepsis tests to come back (to make sure that didn't cause the blood sugar issues) before she could join us. I was able to go see her in the NICU and was even able to nurse her a little! She latched right on, which is ironic because now she doesn't anymore. Ariel did well with us, not nursing every time but she was able to nurse and she is supplementing. We had an adventure with car seats, it turned out neither girl fit in ours so we had to go buy two new ones. We were very lucky that my FIL and MIL hadn't decided what to give us for a baby gift and so they reimbursed us for the seats. Not too expensive, Graco makes a new car seat that goes from 4-30 pounds... I had to argue to get the cute ones that were $10 more each because there was nothing wrong with the animal print one. I won that argument, my girls are in adorable black and hot pink seats! Hope passed the car seat test and we were able to go home on Monday. I didn't feel too bad by then, I made sure to keep walking whenever I could and was pretty mobile by the time we left.

Naomi (our 2.5 year old) was very excited to meet her sisters. She's very sweet with them, she rubs their hair and kisses their heads and cheeks. She gets upset when they cry, she whispers to them to make them feel better. I couldn't ask for more!

So, now we're home and we're giving a ton more formula than I'd like. I've been bad about pumping but I'm trying to get more consistent with it. Whatever they need to grow. At the pediatrician today we discovered that they are 4lbs 2oz and 5lbs 5oz so they haven't lost a ton of weight, I'm glad for that. Their umbilical cords already fell off and they have outie belly buttons as of now, but we'll see when they actually have bellies. I put them to the breast every feeding and then give formula because they need the calories. If they don't nurse I put them on the breast after they eat a bit of formula to try again. They are still small and get tired easily, so right now Ariel can manage to nurse about 2 times a day and Hope might nurse a decent feeding once a day. Otherwise, it's just hard for them... but I will not give up and will pump for as long as there is milk to give them.

Here is a link to a picture of them right when they were born. We are trying to get a picture of Naomi with them but haven't been able to do it yet. Ariel is on the left and Hope is on the right.

Thank you to everyone for thinking of me and supporting me through this! Once I have access to my own laptop again (or go back to work) I will try to be as helpful as you have been to me!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=8807239&l=9745492d43&id=657348454

 

OMG congratulations!!!!! They are SO adorable!! So happy that you made it to 37 weeks. Happy Birthday (late) To Ariel and Hope!!!!!!!!!! Wooo Hoooo. Please post more pics when you get a chance they are so cute!! and im so glad to hear you are doing well with recovery. :woohoo:

 

Awww! So adroable, am so happy for you! Big congrats! x

 

Well done, congrats!

 

Yay!!!! Congrats!!!!!!

They are beautiful and DO look a lot alike for babies who are supposed to be frats...I told you I had the Twin Peak sign too and mine are ID. I guess you'll have to wait and see, one more little mystery .

 

They are beautiful :wub: Congratulations Momma!

 

COngrats! They are beautiful, and yes they do look a lot alike for Frats.

 

Sara, they are absolutely adorable!!!! Great job keeping them in for so long!!!!! So glad to hear your story, and keep us updated with how everything goes with the breastfeeding and any other tips you may have!!! Congrats

 

Congrats!! We've all been waiting for this update! Happy birthday, Ariel and Hope!!

 

:clapping: Congratulations!!

 

:wub: Congratulations!! :wub:

 

Congratulations! They are beautiful. Enjoy!

 

Welcome to the world Hope and Ariel!! They are beautiful! Congrats!!! :wub:

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet girls!!!!!

They are beautiful!!!!! I a glad you are all home and doing well!!

 

Congrats on your sweet baby girls!

 

such cuties! Can't wait to see them grow

 

Beautiful babies! Congrats, glad to hear everything is going well. The FY forum is amazing, make sure to go there.

 

Congratulations Sara!!! They are so cute and I love their names. See, I told you before C-Sections aren't that bad (at least mine wasn't) and I am glad to hear you are doing well also. Keep up the good work with pumping, I hope they get better at latching as they grow. Good Luck!

 

Congrats! They are very cute!!

 

Congrats! What beautiful girls!

 

Congrats on your lil girls

 

Sara,

Congratulations on your little girls. Please stop by the Breastfeeding Forum when you can with any questions or worries. Most of us have had either a small baby or a poor latcher (or both!) and have gone on to breastfeed successfully.

 

Congrats Sara! So happy for you and your two girls that they made it into this world healthy!

 

Awesome job mama!!!! Congratulations, they are beautiful!

 

Here's a link to the whole album, feel free to look away.

I think I will visit the breastfeeding forum, I'm struggling.

 

Breastfeeding the twins was the hardest but most rewarding thing I did. The forum is a great resource. GOod luck.

Oh and I dont see a link.....

 

Umm, can you tell things are crazy here? Here's the link...

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150211975518455.350046.657348454&l=bdb936316e

 

they are both SO beautiful. Im sure you are happy to have them out though =)

 

Congratulations on your GORGEOUS girls!

 

They are sooo cute!!! I miss the tiny baby stage now.

 

They are beautiful!!! PS. Good job on getting the cute carseats .

 

Love the pics! They sure look an awful lot alike.