The One with The Birth Story & 1 Month Old...

I can't believe the kiddos are 1 month old...and I haven't updated this blog since I had them! :/ Last bump update I posted was the night before I had them. I spent that night updating my blog and watching my belly move around like crazy while watching TV. I finally captured it on video because they were both moving around non-stop. I went to bed around 10:00 feeling normal and got up the usual 4 to 5 times to go to the bathroom. Around 3:30 I couldn't fall back asleep so I laid in bed feeling both babies still moving. I remember thinking that it was weird for them to be moving around so much in the middle of the night. I decided to get up one more time to use the bathroom and right before I was about to get up, I felt Faith kick me and instantly it felt like I was starting to pee my pants. I stood up and more gushed out so I quickly woke Matt up and told him I was either peeing my pants or my water just broke lol. We were both I was pretty calm and went to the bathroom to shower while I told Matt to call the hospital. Luckily I had just finished packing everything they day before, including charging the camera batteries. On the way to the hospital, we called both our parent to let them know what was going on. Matt's parents were in Temecula for a mini-vacay, so they left immediately in hopes of getting to the hospital in time. On the way to the hospital we were excited, but also a little scared since I was only 35 weeks. We said a prayer thanking God for the priceless gifts He was about to give us and asking for His guidance for the doctors and safety for me & the babies. I will never forget that special car ride, just the two of us. 

Once at the hospital I sat in the waiting room where I got one last picture with my giant belly...

Then, I was brought to a room where I got changed, they hooked me and the babies up to a monitor and IV, and was asked a ton of questions. 

From there we just had to wait for my doctor to get to the hospital which only took about 45 minutes. At this point I did start having contractions, but nothing too bad. Since Baby A (Faith) was breech, I had to have a C-section, which had pretty much been the plan the entire pregnancy because of her positioning and size. 

Once my doctor got there everything happened pretty fast. I was wheeled to the OR and got the epidural. I got all prepped and ready to go but before they started I realized I could still feel and totally move my feet! The anesthesiologist had poked my stomach asking if it hurt and I could feel a little pinch. I don't think he believed me because he kept saying I shouldn't be able to feel anything because the epidural was in and done correctly. My doctor then tried with the scalpel and I could definitely feel that, so they had to sit me up again and give me another dose of medication. My nurses said they had never had that happen before lol. Thankfully, it worked the second time, so they prepped me again and Matt was finally let in and things got started!   

Faith was pulled out first and immediately peed on me :) They had a NICU team already in the room for her because of the size discrepancy between her and Cole. Since she was under the 4lb 6oz weight limit for going to the nursery, she was eventually brought to the NICU. Cole came out next and Matt was able to hold him while they closed me up. Cole was initially taken to the nursery, but soon after he started to struggle to breath so he joined his sister in the NICU.

And that's their birth story! 

We are 1 Month Old!

Out of many, many pictures, these were the best we could do.

Had to keep the chalkboard theme going :)

Here is how they are doing at 1 month:

They are both great eaters and gaining at least 1 ounce every day. Thanks to the NICU, they are on a 3 hour feeding schedule during the day and make it 4 hours at night. Here is what our day looks like...

We have a new use for the chalkboard :)

They both have slept in their own cribs since they day they've been home. Cole likes to fall asleep propped up so he falls asleep in his Rock n' play (which I highly recommend) and then we move him to his crib. 

I am currently taking turns nursing each baby every other feeding. The baby that isn't nursery gets a bottle of breast milk. At night they both get bottles of 1/2 breast milk & 1/2 formula with extra calories to give them a little help with gaining weight. During the weekends Matt & I each feed a baby at night, but during the week I'm on my own. How do I feed 2 babies at once and pump?? Well, I put them each in their Mamaroo (another great item) and prop their bottles up using a burp cloth. 

I have a hands free pumping bra I wear so I can pump while they eat. On average I can get them both fed, changed, and swaddled in bed in 45 minutes. 

     Love spending awake time in their Mamaroos!

Overall, it's not too hard having 2 babies. The hardest part is feeding them at the same time since they aren't proficient at tandem feeding yet...but we are practicing :) Thankfully Matt's mom comes to help on Mondays and my mom comes the other days till Matt gets home. We are so blessed to have family nice and close to help out.

Hopefully I will be better at updating each week or so, at least that's the plan. Sorry for the LONG post. I've been working on it for awhile now and wanted to get it all in :)