Girls!

We had our new friends the Sprays over at the beginning of the month, Josh takes pictures and was so kind to take these in our basement! It was a lot of fun and he is so talented, his wife Tara was such a big help! I love them!

June

I love how much Isaac looks like Olivia and Ethan looks like Alayna!

Olivia puked on Alaynas head!

Pictures

Life

Life has been crazy lately. I feel like I am running around a lot, but I wanted to get some things written down before I forget! The girls are a little over two months now and growing like weeds. At there two month appointment Alayna was 11lbs %oz (97%) 22.75in (90%) Olivia was 9lbs (50%) 21in (10%).

Alayna is my little talker (more like screamer!) she needs to know someone is hearing her all the time. She also needs to eat all day long. She is starting to smile and talk and is way too cute for her own good, she looks so much like Ethan did, but is just like Isaac as a baby; always needs to entertain and be entertained! She is such a strong, chunky, happy baby! She is such a beautiful baby with her perfect skin, big eyes and wonderful smile; I love to make her smile!

Olivia is my little angel; she is so quiet I have to make sure she is getting enough attention. She has a little quiet cry that she uses only when she has had enough, and she needs me now! She has tons of dark hair and beautiful little eyes with long lashes; she has dark olive skin and petite little features. She is not an eater and I wonder if she will ever catch up to her sister. Her neck is getting a little better but she is still not as strong as her sister. She looks similar to what Isaac looked as a baby, but she has more of Ethan’s personality. She is also starting to smile and talk and her little smile might be more of mine than any of my other kids!

Isaac and Ethan love their sisters. Some days more than others! Isaac has been a big help with the girls, he loves to feed Alayna when she just needs a bottle and I need a break! He loves to sing them songs like the A says Ahh. They will be so happy but if he stops to figure out what letter is next, the girls start screaming! Ethan loves the babies and wants to hold them and play with them all the time. It isn’t always possible, and if I tell him “No” when he wants to play with them he can start acting out. He thinks that the girls can handle toys being thrown at them……we are working on that, ugh.

Tyson is doing well, tired as ever! After ten years at Log Craft he is leaving to work for a company that he had been doing work for the past 6 months. They do anchors for large buildings and needed someone to design and engineer their product for each bid. It was hard trying to do three jobs, and after the company kept asking him for more of his time something had to give. We are sad to leave Log Craft, we have such wonderful friends there, but they are right down the road so we will have to still bug them once in a while!

Last week Tyson went to England for some training, he had a lot of fun seeing London, the Queen opened Parliament that day so he got to see her whole parade. What a lucky guy! He also had fun with his cousin Jared and family.

This summer we are hoping to finish our yard, so Tyson and Branson have been working on that the sprinklers are almost in and we have new dirt. We hope to get grass soon so I can send the kids outside and they won’t get as dirty!

Everyone asks how I am feeling, I feel wonderful! It is so nice to be up and moving around. Being on bed rest for five months can take a toll on a body, and I am grateful I feel as good as I do. Being able to exercise when I can is such a blessing and it feels so wonderful to feel my lungs sting as I work out. I want to go everywhere and do everything, but it is a little harder with 4 kids! Some days I am exhausted and if I look like I am in a coma I probably am! Sorry is you catch me on those days! Life is crazy, but I am just happy that we are so healthy and blessed!

Alayna and Olivia

We welcomed Olivia Jolene (Baby A) 6lbs 1oz; and Alayna Kathleen (Baby B) 7lbs 7oz into the world March 24 2010! I was so happy with the delivery. My doctor, Dr. Thomas Judd, was out of town this week on a family emergency, but we still had his partner, Dr. Nick Weibell. I trust him just as much as I trust Dr Judd. The girls were born at 7:06 and 7:10 pm. Doctor Weibell could not believe how big they were for 35.4 weeks! The delivery was amazing to watch, probably the coolest delivery I have ever seen. We put TLC to shame!

It was an eventful couple of days leading up to the delivery. Sunday was full of hard contractions. We decided to head down to the valley to Mom’s house that evening to be closer to the hospital in case they decided to come out. By about nine that night the contractions completely went away. We stayed the night and went to a doctor’s appointment the next morning. Everything looked great to Dr. Judd and he said we could probably make it another week; maybe more (kill me now). Then we ran over to the perinatologist’s office to have their fluid levels checked. Baby B was still showing low at 1.9 cm. Other than that, they still looked great so we went back home to Heber.

Tuesday is when the adventure came to a head. I freaked Tyson out pretty good at work. He had just started a meeting in Midway when I called him in full labor. Luckily his boss was there to finish the meeting. He came home and we loaded up the car and headed down to the valley, again. The moment we got to the hospital the contractions stopped, again. We sat there with mom and looked at the hospital for a half an hour before deciding that nothing was going to happen. We went to Burlington for a little walk (a very long one involving 3 full tours of the Baby Depot in the back of the store). Then we hit up the India Palace for our last supper and then headed back to the hospital. It was 9 pm when we got back to the hospital. I decided to get checked before heading back up the canyon. They admitted me and the contractions were strong enough to change me from a 4 + to a 6. It was enough for the doctors to let me get induced. They wanted to wait until morning for the perinatologist’s to have another look at the fluid levels.

So, morning rolled around and my perinatologist, Helen is out of town this week too. Go figure. The peri in her place finally looked me over and after about 10 minutes worth of disclaimers and reasons I shouldn’t have the babies, said that B’s water was low enough for me to be induced. YAH!

1:00 pm, Wednesday afternoon, the pitocin drip started and the contractions soon followed. They start the drip at a rate of 4 ml per hour and increase it by 4 every hour. They say that 12 is the magic number. It’s not. I was at 16 when the Dr. Weibell showed up at 5:00 pm and still wasn’t feeling the painful contractions they said I should be having. They got the epidural in, after stabbing my spinal sheathing. They wanted to break my water, but decided to wait before they got an operating room ready. I was dilated to an 8 and they didn’t want them to fall out right there. The wait was on to get a clean operating room.

The broke my water the moment we got into the room and everyone was scrubbed in. We had me, of course; Ty, Mom, Dr Weibell, RN Kathryn, and the anesthesiologist. After pushing for 4 contractions, Baby A popped out. The poor girl looked like she’d been sat out for 8 months. Right after she was out and rushed off too another room for cleaning, Dr Weibell had his hand up me looking for Baby B. She was kicking squirming to avoid his grip, but he managed to get her. She was half way out before Mom and Ty came running back in from looking at the first one. B slid out after one more push and it was all over. What a relief! Dr Weibell could not believe how big they were. Especially Baby B.

We are all hanging out in Labor and Delivery now trying to recuperate. The girls are nursing amazingly well for their gestational age and I feel like I had a rail line just run through my middle section. Also, because of the mishap on the epidural, I got to do a spinal patch to stop the leak of fluid from my spine (I don’t recommend that). All in all, we have been blessed with a wonderful delivery and a beautiful pair of girls. Thank you everyone or the love and support through this long pregnancy.

Love Jolene (and Tyson for typing this for Jolene!)

35!

I am 35 weeks! Well 35 weeks to me, if you ask the Perinatologist (Helen) would tell you I won’t be 35 till Tuesday. I go off my first ultrasound and those three days make all the difference to me!

I always wanted to make it to 34 weeks or 36, and I’m so excited I made it that far! I do have to say my mom and Helen are right behind me on being excited! Helen has told me she is so happy she has kept me pregnant this long, she thinks I should now go to 38 weeks, now that is a little mean!

Today we went to find out how much they weigh! Baby A is 6lbs 6oz they think, her head is so low it is really hard to get the right measurements, she could be bigger! Baby B is 6lb 5 oz and she looks bigger than A, but the measurements looked a little goofy so they said she could be bigger as well! I went off the medicine today that I have been taking forever and I am happy to be off it, it has a lot of side effects I am happy to be done with!

So now we are just waiting to see what my body does, I have noticed over the past week that I don’t feel as much pressure as I usually do( so nice!). I think they have gotten so big they aren’t resting on my cervix anymore and are just wedged in there really tight! Also baby A has her face sunny side up so I will be curious to see if she turns (anyone out there have this happen?) I did find out that my OB will be out of town all next week (family emergency) so Tyson wants we to have them by Monday!

I get asked if I am ready to have them, I am, but I’m not. I am so big, its hard on my body, I can’t breathe, I have stretch marks on top of stretch marks, I get really dizzy and see wonderful spots, but I want them to be ready to come out. It was good to see my sister have her babies last year because it inspires me to keep them in longer. One baby is hard, but two babies with complications and two boys’ is harder! Am I ready? I don’t know, ask me after I’m in more pain and have more stretch marks! 

Rachel's babies, Fritz and Finn after they had been in the Hospital for a few weeks. They were born at 34 1/2 weeks. 

Last Post

This is for the last post. I put pictures up on with Tyson’s computer while I had it, and now I can’t write on that post. 
The first two pictures are of Isaac and Ethan loving the slinky the nice ladies at the hospital gave them. 
Next picture; 33 weeks!!
Next picture; the boys in Tyson’s new project, the Samurai. A cheep little SUV Tyson and Branson bought to fix up for hunting.
Next picture; 34 weeks and feeling it a lot more.
I finally was sent home again at 34 weeks; they had pushed the babies around until they got the water they wanted, when I went in for my fluid check. Also, I am past the point of being stopped if I go into labor, so I hopefully won’t go back into the hospital again until I have them. Even though they won’t stop me, I still have to take the meds every three hours that are supposed to keep me from going into labor. One of my doctors want me to go off them at 35 weeks and one wants me to go off them at 36, at this point I might hope for 35 weeks. 
Rachel, stretch marks are not fair! I had a lot from Isaac and I thought I was good. Oh no! They are coming again, dang it!

Fun times!

Hospital

28 weeks! I am  fashioning a wonderful hospital gown and pressure pump leg things!

  

Isaac and Ethan having a good time drawing on the window! They loved the Hospital most days, by the end of our stay they new the nurses and loved to go with them to get cookies and milk!

  

Isaac reading to Mommy and Ethan. They loved my bed and wanted to push the buttons.....that didn't work for Mommy!

  

30 weeks!

31 weeks!

 

Ethan took a picture of Daddy!

I am grateful for all the wonderful nurses and staff at UVRMC. They have such a great support team at this hospital! I am also so grateful to all the friends and family that came to visit, I think I laughed way to much!  Thanks Mom for coming and sitting for hours! Thank you Honey for coming to see me with the boys almost every night!

Thank you to Jeanette for taking care of everything while I was gone....even though you thought the hospital was so gross!

Going Home!

I am going home today! I think I am excited! Mom, Tyson and Rachel and everyone else want me to stay here.
I went to the peri doctor yesterday and they did an ultrasound. I will be 32 weeks on Saturday, Baby A is weighing 4lb 12oz, Baby B is 5lb 3oz. I have been lying down so long my cervix is now posterior and it has regained some thickness, so I am now 50% effaced. I am 4cm dilated but the doctor isn't as worried about that because of my history. I get to go home on the same bed rest and the same medicine with the understanding that I have to go to the Heber Hospital and get transferred down here if I am in labor. I hope to get to 34 or 36 weeks so the babies are as healthy as possible and don't have to stay in the NICU for very long.

Still Here

We had our Perinatologest appointment last Friday. I had tried to get it at a time when Tyson and mom could be there, Tyson’s birthday was on the 4^th and as a present I was hoping that he could see an ultrasound for the first time in a long time. It turned into a mess, they hadn’t schedule the appointment at all and decided to fit me in on Friday, I asked to be fit in at the end of the day and they said okay. First thing in the morning a lady came in my room with a wheel chair and said I had to go now. I was so disappointed the whole time I didn’t get to enjoy the ultrasound and because they were fitting me in I didn’t have my doctor and didn’t have any of my questions answered. I was so upset (don’t mess with the pregnant girl, and I have been doing a good job keeping my emotions in check) everything went crazy and I ended up having another consultation on Monday with my doctor. It was wonderful, but sadly I didn’t have an ultrasound so Tyson still didn’t get to see the babies.

In the end, the decision was made to have me stay in the hospital until I am 32 weeks. The big factors are that I live in Heber; my cervix looks like it is staying the same but has shown that it can change in an instant. I also had a really bad day last Thursdays and broke through my meds and contracted regularly for 5 hours and had to be stopped with two tocolytics. That can be really bad for my heart, so the first Peri was not happy about that and doesn’t want it to happen again. My meds have been upped and I am doing better, so we will see how it goes. At 32 weeks they said they will reassess the circumstances and see what my body is doing, if it is changing I might have to stay longer. If I go home at 32 weeks I have to go to the hospital in Heber and be stabilized before being transferred down to Provo if I start contracting again. If I were to go home before 32 weeks and have the babies at that hospital, they would have a really hard time with them and it would be really dangerous.

Right now I am 29 ½ weeks, Baby A is 2lbs 13 oz (they think, her head is so low it is hard to get the measurement they need) Baby B is 3lbs. They look wonderful and everyday their hearts sound stronger and they kick harder! I want to put a picture up of my bigness but this poor old laptop is too old to have the card insert thing!

My wonderful Honey comes to see me with the boys a lot, and I have had wonderful visits from friends and family!

I have been very impressed with UVRMC, they have so many support groups, and wonderful nurses that know when to stay and just talk. I was always worried that the Labor and Delivery was too big, but they do know what they are doing!  

Some of the funny highlights this week have been my introduction to heavy sleeping pills! They give Ambien to you at night if you can’t sleep. Well it kicks in right away with me and I can’t remember what I am doing. Tyson said I can’t talk to him on the phone after I take it, because I start going crazy. The nurses are only going to give me a half because they have had to help me to bed and last night I got up and started wandering the halls looking for a snack! Today I got to hear the fun Ambien stories form the nurses! I did try to not take it one night and it was the worst night ever, so I don’t think I can do that again.

I have a lot of people ask me how I am doing. I am fine; I would rather be pregnant right now than have babies in the NICU that I would have to leave here for weeks, if not months. I hope to get as far as possible and have nice healthy babies. I do miss Tyson, Isaac and Ethan A LOT, but I think I would be a bigger burden at home right now anyway.

I’m so grateful to my wonderful friend Jeanette who has moved in and taken care of so much. I am also grateful to my wonderful neighbors and family that have put me at ease taking care of my family. I love my wonderful husband that has done so much for me, I wish I could put him in bed for a few weeks so he could sleep and rest. He always has done too much, but I think it is finally catching up to him. I love him so much and wish I could do as much for him as he has done for me. I love you Honey!