Genevieve and McKenna are here! (LONG)

We had out C/S scheduled for Jan 31, but it turns out these girls wanted to arrive a day early!

Genevieve Daye was born at 11:33am on Jan 30th at 36 weeks. She weighed 6lbs 3oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

McKenna Shae was born at 11:35am on Jan 30th at 36 weeks. She weighed 6lbs 6oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.

We have lots of completely unorganized pics here http://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteritchiefamily

Now, the girls' birth story (I wrote a long one because I have just loved reading everyone’s detailed birth stories. I hope it helps someone!)

I woke up at 5:30am on Tuesday (Jan 30) with a tight stomach and some pretty harsh pain in my lower right abdomen. I thought I might be having cramps from being constipated and I stayed in the bathroom for a good 30 minutes or so doing everything I could short of heavy straining to go. I even put in a suppository because I didn’t want to go into my scheduled C completely constipated. I was getting worried because I couldn’t feel the babies moving and my stomach was too tight to shake them and make them move. Then the pain kept getting worse. I was doubled over and couldn’t straighten up. When the pain started moving around the front of my stomach and around my back, I knew it was not constipation.

By this time I was completely undressed because I was so hot and sweaty. So I staggered my-naked-self into the bedroom and turned on the light (to quickly wake DH). Then I leaned over on the bed and said, “Get up now because I’m in some real pain here. I’m either horribly constipated or in real labor.†Needless to say, he got up fast. The kids were just getting up for school, so they heard us in the room calling L&D and sat in front of the bedroom door ‘til we could tell them more. Then the whole family went to the hospital, all of us in our jammies and with nothing packed at all! I was planning on packing on Tuesday afternoon and my DD and I had planned on getting belly pics on Tuesday.

Anyway, we got on the monitor around 7am and I was having 60 – 90 second contractions that went off the chart every 2 – 3 minutes. When the nurse checked me for dilation, she said I was about a 3 or 4, but she could feel the head! My OB wanted to see if hydrating me would make a difference in my contractions before deciding whether or not to do the C/S that day. It took 3 tries to get in my IV! I was super dehydrated, so they put me on a fast IV drip and filled me with 3 bags of fluids in 3 hours. Though, they did give me some Stadol by 8am, so the pain lightened up a lot! The fluids didn’t make a difference and at 10am the nurse came in and said we’re going to do this at 10:45 or 11. Then I was getting nervous, signing papers, talking to Bill the anesthesiologist, signing more papers, and getting more nervous. I was happy to hear though that somehow I managed to get BOTH of my OBs to team up on my surgery! They were great! Oh! And the girls’ pediatrician was in the hospital that morning, so he was there for the delivery too!

The spinal worked great, but it did take three tries. L Ouch! I thought once the spinal took that I would somehow be less nervous, but that didn’t happen at all. I couldn’t stop freaking out about every little tug or pull I could feel. Bill was amazing though. For most of the procedure, I squeezed DHs hand with one hand and Bill’s hand with the other! He was patient and calm as he explained why I would feel whatever I was feeling. And as soon as the girls were out, he added something to my IV to calm me.

Both girls spent Tues – Thurs in the NICU with some lung issues. They both had a dose of surfactant and Genevieve (Baby A) went onto room air within the first 12 hours. McKenna (Baby B) spent her first night on a CPAP, and they thought she might have to be transferred to the better NICU hospital in the morning. But she did great and went to room air the next day. They slept in the same crib on Wednesday night and moved into our room on Thursday afternoon.

I was wheeled through the NICU to see them on the way from recovery to the mother/baby unit. I was on a morphine drip and more IV fluids for 24 hours. Then they took me off the IVs on Weds morning and started me on Vicadin, so I went to see my girls for the first time. Then I started getting unbelievably sick from the Vicadin and threw up the everything possible. They put me back on the IV drip (after another 3 tries to get the IV in) and back on the morphine. Then next day we did the whole process again with Percoset and all went well. I didn’t get to see the girls again until Wednesday afternoon when I could roll my IV trolley with me. But they are so beautiful and DH spent every moment he could with them until I could get there to see them.

Now, I feel pretty good. I’m getting around okay and my only discomfort is in my ovaries from the tubal. I had a couple of staples that were a bit snug, but the nurse took them out for me (a little earlier than planned) and the incision doesn’t hurt much at all. My biggest issue right now is the SEVERE swelling from my stomach down. I’m a balloon and my feet are bigger than they ever were during pregnancy! The skin hurts and my knees are so swollen I can’t bend my knees. The docs say it’s from all the fluids in me and from the pitossin (sp?) they gave me Tuesday night for excess bleeding. And that it should resolve itself in two weeks! Two weeks?!?!

The hospital staff was amazing and the NICU nurses were wonderful. Despite all of our issues, I couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant experience. DH was able to sleep in my room every single night we were there. My DD stayed with us one night while the girls were still in NICU and my DS stayed one night even after he found out the girls would be in the room with us! And my MIL arrived in town on Friday morning and stayed the night with us in our room that night! We all came home from the hospital together on Saturday.

They’re so beautiful! And even after just two nights with them “all to ourselvesâ€Â, we already know so much about their wonderful little personalities. We can’t tell if they’re identical or not, but none of the nurses or anyone could tell them apart if it weren’t for the scratches on little Genevieve’s cheeks! We’re hoping we’ve found a few other obvious-through-sleep-deprivation ways to tell them apart before her scratches heal completely.

Thanks everyone for reading our story! I can’t wait to read all the new birth stories that came online while I was gone! What a week! Congrats EVERYONE on your new arrivals!

~Laura

 

We had out C/S scheduled for Jan 31, but it turns out these girls wanted to arrive a day early!

Genevieve Daye was born at 11:33am on Jan 30th at 36 weeks. She weighed 6lbs 3oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

McKenna Shae was born at 11:35am on Jan 30th at 36 weeks. She weighed 6lbs 6oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.

We have lots of completely unorganized pics here http://www.flickr.com/photos/whiteritchiefamily

Now, the girls' birth story (I wrote a long one because I have just loved reading everyone’s detailed birth stories. I hope it helps someone!)

I woke up at 5:30am on Tuesday (Jan 30) with a tight stomach and some pretty harsh pain in my lower right abdomen. I thought I might be having cramps from being constipated and I stayed in the bathroom for a good 30 minutes or so doing everything I could short of heavy straining to go. I even put in a suppository because I didn’t want to go into my scheduled C completely constipated. I was getting worried because I couldn’t feel the babies moving and my stomach was too tight to shake them and make them move. Then the pain kept getting worse. I was doubled over and couldn’t straighten up. When the pain started moving around the front of my stomach and around my back, I knew it was not constipation.

By this time I was completely undressed because I was so hot and sweaty. So I staggered my-naked-self into the bedroom and turned on the light (to quickly wake DH). Then I leaned over on the bed and said, “Get up now because I’m in some real pain here. I’m either horribly constipated or in real labor.†Needless to say, he got up fast. The kids were just getting up for school, so they heard us in the room calling L&D and sat in front of the bedroom door ‘til we could tell them more. Then the whole family went to the hospital, all of us in our jammies and with nothing packed at all! I was planning on packing on Tuesday afternoon and my DD and I had planned on getting belly pics on Tuesday.

Anyway, we got on the monitor around 7am and I was having 60 – 90 second contractions that went off the chart every 2 – 3 minutes. When the nurse checked me for dilation, she said I was about a 3 or 4, but she could feel the head! My OB wanted to see if hydrating me would make a difference in my contractions before deciding whether or not to do the C/S that day. It took 3 tries to get in my IV! I was super dehydrated, so they put me on a fast IV drip and filled me with 3 bags of fluids in 3 hours. Though, they did give me some Stadol by 8am, so the pain lightened up a lot! The fluids didn’t make a difference and at 10am the nurse came in and said we’re going to do this at 10:45 or 11. Then I was getting nervous, signing papers, talking to Bill the anesthesiologist, signing more papers, and getting more nervous. I was happy to hear though that somehow I managed to get BOTH of my OBs to team up on my surgery! They were great! Oh! And the girls’ pediatrician was in the hospital that morning, so he was there for the delivery too!

The spinal worked great, but it did take three tries. L Ouch! I thought once the spinal took that I would somehow be less nervous, but that didn’t happen at all. I couldn’t stop freaking out about every little tug or pull I could feel. Bill was amazing though. For most of the procedure, I squeezed DHs hand with one hand and Bill’s hand with the other! He was patient and calm as he explained why I would feel whatever I was feeling. And as soon as the girls were out, he added something to my IV to calm me.

Both girls spent Tues – Thurs in the NICU with some lung issues. They both had a dose of surfactant and Genevieve (Baby A) went onto room air within the first 12 hours. McKenna (Baby B) spent her first night on a CPAP, and they thought she might have to be transferred to the better NICU hospital in the morning. But she did great and went to room air the next day. They slept in the same crib on Wednesday night and moved into our room on Thursday afternoon.

I was wheeled through the NICU to see them on the way from recovery to the mother/baby unit. I was on a morphine drip and more IV fluids for 24 hours. Then they took me off the IVs on Weds morning and started me on Vicadin, so I went to see my girls for the first time. Then I started getting unbelievably sick from the Vicadin and threw up the everything possible. They put me back on the IV drip (after another 3 tries to get the IV in) and back on the morphine. Then next day we did the whole process again with Percoset and all went well. I didn’t get to see the girls again until Wednesday afternoon when I could roll my IV trolley with me. But they are so beautiful and DH spent every moment he could with them until I could get there to see them.

Now, I feel pretty good. I’m getting around okay and my only discomfort is in my ovaries from the tubal. I had a couple of staples that were a bit snug, but the nurse took them out for me (a little earlier than planned) and the incision doesn’t hurt much at all. My biggest issue right now is the SEVERE swelling from my stomach down. I’m a balloon and my feet are bigger than they ever were during pregnancy! The skin hurts and my knees are so swollen I can’t bend my knees. The docs say it’s from all the fluids in me and from the pitossin (sp?) they gave me Tuesday night for excess bleeding. And that it should resolve itself in two weeks! Two weeks?!?!

The hospital staff was amazing and the NICU nurses were wonderful. Despite all of our issues, I couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant experience. DH was able to sleep in my room every single night we were there. My DD stayed with us one night while the girls were still in NICU and my DS stayed one night even after he found out the girls would be in the room with us! And my MIL arrived in town on Friday morning and stayed the night with us in our room that night! We all came home from the hospital together on Saturday.

They’re so beautiful! And even after just two nights with them “all to ourselvesâ€Â, we already know so much about their wonderful little personalities. We can’t tell if they’re identical or not, but none of the nurses or anyone could tell them apart if it weren’t for the scratches on little Genevieve’s cheeks! We’re hoping we’ve found a few other obvious-through-sleep-deprivation ways to tell them apart before her scratches heal completely.

Thanks everyone for reading our story! I can’t wait to read all the new birth stories that came online while I was gone! What a week! Congrats EVERYONE on your new arrivals!

~Laura

 

Congratulations, Laura! Great pics! You're daughters are so precious! I appreciated your detailed birth story, too.

 

Congradulations!!! You have a very beautiful family!!

 

Congrats Laura you did it! I am so happy for you!

Alyson

 

Congrats! They are both so beautiful. I'm glad they had a short NICU stay.

 

Congratulations on your adorable little girls!!

 

Congratulations, they are so beautiful! Welcome to the FY board!

 

What cuties!! congrats! OUR BABIES WERE BORN ON THE SAME DAY!!! Mine are still in the SCN but they are doing great and should be home in no time!!!!!!!!

 

Congratulations and

 

Congrats Laura on your beautiful and healthy babies!!! Welcome Genevieve and McKenna

 

Congratulations! They are beautiful and healthy looking too. Great job Laura!

Rose

 

Congratulations! Glad to hear everyone is doing well!

You silly girl, it was the day before your scheduled delivery and you hadn't packed a bag yet?

I had horrible swelling after delivery, never anything before delivery, I kept drinking more water then I could stomach basically. I also put some pillows under my mattress where my feet were at night. That really helped! In the morning I would not be soo swollen, I could see it increase as the day progressed. It did take weeks for it to completely go away.

 

They are precious little girls!! Glad they are doing so well.

Your birth story reminded me about the swelling I had in my legs afterwards. It really freaked me out! Don't worry - it does go away!

 

Congratulations!! I'm so happy they're here! Now make sure to print out your birth story! It'll be a great reminder of the day! This post won't be here forever! Beautiful pictures! Great names!

 

CONGRATS Laura!!! They are sooooooooooo beautiful! I am so thrilled for you and am so glad you are all doing well!! BIG HUGS!

 

Congrats! They are beautiful! Makes me want to do it all over again! Enjoy them!

 

congratulations!! I'm so happy for you. I hope your swelling goes down soon, and you all enjoy the new members of your family!

Reyna

 

Wow, how exciting! Great birth weights! They are precious! Congrats to you and your family. Thanks for sharing your story and the pictures!

Juli

 

congrats! they are beautiful - i was thinking about you - glad everything turned out ok!

 

Your Girls are beautiful! Congratulations!! Thanks for the great birth story.
Melanie- 30 weeks 4 days b/g twins

 

congrats - so glad everyone is healthy - the girls are gorgeous..

see you on the FY board.

miriam

 

They are absolutely beautiful. Congrats!!

 

Congratulations on your girls x

 

Congratulations, Laura! They are such beautiful little girls!

 

YAY!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!
I loved reading your story!!!!
sweet girls!!!!

 

Congratulations!

 

Congratulations Laura!

 

AWW!!! They are so cute! Congrats on a wonderful experience and welcome Genevieve and McKenna!

 

They are beautiful!! COngrats on such big girls! I love their names!

 

They are so beautiful! Congratulations!

I love their little going home outfits, and the picture of the dog checking out the babies.

I'm glad everything worked out and they came home with you on time.

See you on FY!

 

Congrats Laura~ Great job the girls are beautiful!

 

WELCOME Genevieve and McKenna!