Some Pictures!!

These last 2 weeks have been pretty busy so i havent had much time for updates. The M&M's are doing well and growing fast! They are smiling more (still not at us but probibly b/c they have gas hahhaa) They seem to be tracking objects and able to focus in on our faces more and seem to be waking more often during the day. Its truely amazing how they grow and change every day! Here are some pics from the last week or so... enjoy!

The M&M's on thier play mat

Mommy playing with her M&M's

Mikey concentrating on his trippy mobile...

"Now if i can just will my paci into my mouth" (Michaella)

Mom with her sleepy little M&M's

Mikey diggin' his new swing

tummy time is not just for the kids anymore...

The rugrats rockin' the boppy pillows while they watch thier trippy mobile.. (note thier cool matching monster outfits!!! too cute.. thanks Mark and Claire)

some one had a full diaper.. but at least he feels better!!!! (Mikey)

Michaella chowing down...


Mikey chowing down...

Mikey loves his tummy time car.. before we know it he will be asking for keys to a real car ahhhhh!!!

Mommy attempted her 1st tandem feeding.. woohoo go mom!!

More updates soon to come!!!!

xoxoxox

Mom, Dad and the M&M's

2 week check up....

The M&M's had their 2 week check up today. They both gained about 8 oz which is almost 1oz per day since Dr. S saw them at their 1 week check up. Dr.S said their weight gain is the perfect amount! Mikey is back to his birth weight (6lbs 15oz) and Michaella finally broke 6 pounds (6lbs 4oz)!!! I'm glad to see they are doing well with their weights... that means switching to bottles (of pumped breast milk) is working out just fine and i don't need to feel like a bad mom for not having them on my boob hahaha! Dr. S said to keep up with what we are doing its working!

Dr.S also suggested we start forcing them awake every 2 hours during the day (even if its for 10 minutes) b/c then they will sleep longer at night and not to worry if they go 5 or so hours at night w/o stirring. Dr. S said as long as their weights are good no reason to wake them at night. I like the sound of that!!! That might make for long days of playing with two babies... feeding... pumping then back to playing but if it means i might get a 5 hour stretch of sleep i will do what i have to since as it stands now mike and i aren't napping anyway. Looks like house work will have to wait! Better stock up on more bottles doesn't look like i will have time to wash them during the day.

They don't have to go back to see Dr. S until after x-mas. So now we can just get into the groove of things and try to get an assembly of a normal life! HAHAHAHA!!!

Well off to try and grab a snack before the M&M's have to eat again!

xxoxox
Sammi

They are here!!!!

Sorry for the delay things have been very busy!!! The babies are home safe and healthy!!! Here is our story....

On Oct 26, 2009 Everything was as normal... fat and pregnant hahaha. I had felt very uncomfortable all day and felt as if the babies had "dropped" but didn't think much of it since i was just 36 weeks 5 days pregnant. I went to bed as normal in the guest room with my 300 pillows and tums. A short time later Mike came home from work (around 12:30 as usual). Before he went to take a shower he came in to check in on me. Since I was still awake we chatted for about 5 min when all of a sudden I felt a strong contraction. Trying not to worry Mike (or myself) i just listened while he talked. The next thing i knew i was making a mad dash for the bathroom b/c my water had just broke. The whole time Mike and dogs chasing me down the hall wondering what the rush was for! As i ran down the hall praying my water wouldn't come gushing out on the carpeted hall way i was yelling to Mike "I think my water just broke!!!!!!!!!". As i stood in the shower Mike ran for the phone and called the OB/GYN. He told us to come in right away. (Good thing i had my bags packed!!!) As calmly as we could we gathered my things and got in the truck. The whole ride to the hospital thoughts rushed through our brains. Nothing would be as we know it from this day forward!!!

1:10 am (10/27/09) We arrived at the hospital. We were taken to triage and my OB/GYN(Dr. M) informed me we would be staying. We were brought to our labor room and introduced to our nurses. Joy was our 3rd shift nurse and was very good at making the scariness of the situation bearable. I was attached to the many monitors and left to labor.

6:00 am (10/27/09) I labored till about 6 am with very little pain and even less sleep from excitement. When Dr. M was doing rounds he came by to check on me. I was 2cm dilated when i got to the hospital and at 6 am i was barely 3 cm dilated!!!! Dr. M suggested we start some pitocin to jump start the labor. He explained that my water broke due the the mass of the babies but my body was still thinking i was 36 weeks pregnant and was in no rush to go into labor. For the safety of the babies and myself i had to get on with the delivery and pitocin was the way to go. Our day shift nurse Patrice was very nice and got my pitocin started. I was again left to labor.

9 am (10/27/09) the contractions were stronger and more noticeable. Dr. M again came to check on me i was now 3-4 cm dilated. Dr. M said i could have an epidural any time i would like one but i needed to know that the on call anesthesiologist had a scheduled c-section at 10 am so I needed to get the epidural soon or wait until the scheduled c-section was done. Seeing how fast the contractions got painful once i was on the pitocin i was nervous to loose the anesthesiologist so i opted to start with a light epidural.

9:30am (10/27/09) The anesthesiologist was called in. She was extremely nice and understood my nerves regarding an epidural. I have a previous spinal injury leaving my L4 & L5 in very bad shape. The anesthesiologist opted to insert the epidural a bit higher to avoid interfering with my injury. This is when things started to go bad!!! Once the meds were inserted i began to notice my hands were getting cold. By the time they had me go to swing my legs back around and on the table i couldn't move them. After a few minutes and the numbness continuing to spread up my body. It had become clear to the anesthesiologist and the nurse i ended up with a spinal!!!! The spinal was quickly moving up my body and before i knew it i couldn't move my arms. They quickly propped me up to use gravity to keep the immobility from spreading. This caused my blood pressure to dip drastically and they had to administer large amounts of blood pressure drugs. Once my BP was settled they repeatedly check to see if the numbness was spreading. Thank God it didn't spread any higher b/c by this point i was numb from the top of my breast to my feet. I was extremely scared and was getting nervous about being able to breathe. The anesthesiologist immediately stopped the meds and said that i would have to just wait for the effects to wear off!!!! After 1-2 hours I could finally start to move my arms again. I was certainly glad things were coming back to some amount of normalcy but was terrified to get an more meds!!

3pm (10/27/09) The "spinadural" (as Patrice and i were affectionately calling it) had finally wore off!!! But now i was in pain again. The anesthesiologist came back in and gave me 1 cc of the meds as apposed to the normal 10cc. This took the edge off for about 1 hour... but the pain was back. The new anesthesiologist had come on duty and ensured me he felt the catheter that was administering the "spinaldural" was back where it belonged and he could now hook me up to the machine and give me a constant stream of meds. I let him go ahead and do so and i was extremely thankful that he was right. I was numb in all the right places but could still move!!! Thank you Lord!!!!!!!

7:15pm (10/27/09) Labor progressed and despite the epidural i could feel a lot of pressure and back discomfort. That was what i had wanted all along, i wanted just something small to take the edge off but i still wanted to feel the contractions and labor as drug free as possible. Dr.M came in a checked me again...i was finally fully dilated and i could begin pushing!!! YEAH!!!!!

9:15pm (10/27/09) Pushing i did... for 3 hours!!! Dr. M walked in and informed me that they don't let mothers push for more than 3 hours (it was too risky) he suggested we try to use the vacuum to remove Baby A. By 9:30 pm Dr. M was set up to use the vacuum. According to Mike once Dr. M inserted the vacuum he was shaking his head in a not so happy manner. I gave it two good pushed but the vacuum came off each time. At this point everything started to move extremely fast!!!! Dr. M stood up (this is when i knew what i was dreading was about to happen)and informed Mike and i that i would have to go in for a c-section! Nurses swarmed the labor room and began moving machines, prepping me and coming in and out of the room. Dr. M whisked Mike away and said if he had to make phone calls now would be the time and he had to quickly get in scrubs and wash up! I was wheeled down the hall and got to meet Mike at the OR door where he gave me a kiss and said he would be in soon. Thank God the anesthesiologist who fixed my "spinadurla" was with me. He was very sweet talking to me the entire time. The entire time i just kept asking if the babies were ok....Dr.M ensured me numerous times the babies were just fine and so was I, but that we needed to get them out ASAP. Many emotions over took me. Feelings of fear, failure and excitement flooded my mind. Once on the table everything continued to move very fast. The anesthesiologist was extremely sweet and sat at my head and talked to me until Mike was allowed in the room. Due to my anesthesia problems earlier he started with a low dose and said i had to let him know if i felt anything. Talk about scary. Knowing they are starting at the absolute lowest dose! I was terrified that once they got in i would feel everything but trusted that this anesthesiologist was very good it calmed some fears.

Finally with Mike by my side Dr. M proceeded. Thankfully i felt very little and other than nerves i was doing ok. With in a matter of minutes i could feel Dr. M pulling Baby A out (10:34 pm) and before i knew it her little head popped over the curtain and she started crying as did I. One minute later (10:35pm) Baby B was out and his little face popped over the curtain as well. The were both whisked away out of my line of sight, but I could hear them both crying (it was a life changing moment to realize they were two beautiful babies just on the other side of the curtain and they were mine!!).

A few minutes later Baby A (Michaella Lynne) was in Mike's arms and i was kissing my baby girl for the first time!!!! Sadly baby our son (Michael Vincent) was whisked away. We could hear him cry but the pediatrician said he was having a little bit of a hard time breathing and needed to be taken care of right away. With my husband and our baby girl at my side is when things got a little scary again. I turned to Mike and said "i don't feel good... like i am getting all spacey" The next thing i knew i went to look around the room to try and regain my bearings and Mike stopped me from looking to my right (at the time i didn't know why but according to Mike the machine that's suctions the blood filled up rather quickly and he didn't want me to see it and freak) The next thing i knew i hear the anesthesiologist say he was going to give me something to make me sleepy. I awoke as they were wheeling me down the hall to recovery.

11:30pm (10/27/09) I was in recovery with my two beautiful babies at my side. The pediatrician was working with our son and a nurse was cleaning our daughter up and swaddling her. Still semi out of it from the drugs all i could do was observe. Mike and i watched as they assessed the babies and took my vitals. I still didn't know what my son looked like and according to the pediatrician he needed to be taken back to the nursery for the night to be observed so it didn't appear i was going to get to hold him. We attempted to get our daughter to breast feed but with my grogginess the nurses decided they would take her to the nursery as well and syringe feed her for the night so i could recover. About 2 hours after entering recovery we were finally sent to our recovery room where we would spend the next few days getting to know our babies. It was a long night staring at the clock until i could really see my babies for the first time!

7:00 am (10/28/09) I was awoken by the nurse to check my vitals and get me some more pain meds. About an hour later our babies were finally wheeled into our room!!! What an exciting moment getting to hold both my children at the same time. Our little family was finally all together!

The next few days were filled with many trials and scary moments. Talk about crash course in taking care of two babies. But somehow Mike and I survived.

4pm (10/31/09) I was cleared by Dr. M to go home and our pediatrician informed us that our son was also cleared to come home. Unfortunately our baby girl had to stay!!! Nothing major but her Bilirubins had yet to come down and she would need to spend at least the next 24 hours in the nursery. It was a hard choice and after many hours of crying and feeling like a bad mom i decided to leave her at the hospital where she was safe and could get the care she needed and bring our son home (but not with out a nice long visit to the nursery to feed and cuddle w/ her).

Once home it was nice to finally get some alone time with my son. He wouldn't breast feed at the hospital so Mike was doing all his feedings and i had very little time to bond with him. As concerned for our daughter as i was... i was enjoying the time with my son. Thankfully 24 hours after being released from the hospital we received the call saying our daughter could come home too!!!!

5pm (11/01/09) Our new family was complete and all home safe and healthy!!!

Now after being home for about a week everyone is starting to settle in nicely and i cant wait to share many stories and pictures of their many firsts!!! More to come...

Michaella Lyyne rockin' her paci!!!

Michael Vincent w/ his daddy (Mike)

XOXOXO

Mike, Sammi, Mikey and Michaella!!!

36 week check in!!

Sorry for the delay... i haven't been feeling so hot and we have had minor Internet issues. I can NOT believe we have made it this far...thank God!!! We had another ultra sound on wed. The babies looked good and my fluid levels were still really good. Baby A was weighing in about 5lbs. 11oz and Baby B was 6lbs 3 oz. Over all the tech said by what she could see they looked healthy. Both are head down and Baby A is defiantly making certain her brother is NOT the first one out. She has been parked pretty low for some time now and has moved even farther down ensure the #1 spot.

Thursday we had our 36 week OB/GYN appointment and NST. Dr. M said that he was extremely happy with our progress and said i am one of the healthiest moms of twins he has seen in some time. He is very happy with how the babies look and expects a smooth delivery. He checked my cervix to see if i was dilating at all yet and i was not (whew!!) but he did say that Baby A was right there and he could feel her head so i must be starting to efface. Over all he is happy with what he sees and is looking forward to me going into labor (as am I haha). Dr. M informed Mike and I that from here on out if i go into labor they wont stop it and we will proceed as if i were full term. Mike and i are both very excited to know the end is drawing near!

While I have you I might as well share a 36 week belly pic!! Look at it in all its glory hahaha...

As far as how everything else is going... This staying at home thing is not nearly as fun or easy as i thought it would be. The reason i am home is b/c i cant do anything and i am left to sit on the couch or lay in bed and get my daily exercise of walking to the mailbox and back everyday!!! Mike has been wonderful with my many needs and requests. He has really picked up the slack and wont let me lift a thing. Most days when he leaves for work he sets me up either upstairs or down stairs so i don't need to get up unless its to go potty or eat. Then when he calls and catches me trying to clean or do something in the nursery i get yelled at. He is going to be a great daddy!!!

Your probably asking yourself.. well if your in such great health why cant you do anything for yourself....1) take another look at the picture above!!!! Moving around with well over 12-14 pounds of fluid and moving objects in front of you can prove a daunting task after 5 min and 2) take a look at the picture below... swelling is an understatement!!!!

I never had nice legs to begin with I have always been on the chuncky side... but I use to have cute feet!!! The swelling has gotten so out of control that the fluid/swelling starts at my thighs and ends at my toes!! Compression socks don't help... ice doesn't help any more.. mike can rub my feet for hours and nothing makes it go away. I never thought swelling could be painful but it makes the simplest of tasks such as getting in and out of a chair difficult! Other than the swelling and heartburn i have very few complaints. I have been very blessed with a great pregnancy and CAN NOT wait to meet our little ones!

Hopefully we will get another week or two of updates... if not I cant wait to share pics of the babies!!!

xoxoxox

Mom and babies

Who would have thought???

Who would have thought packing the hospital bag could be so difficult?!?!?! I had the babies bag packed the other day and thought i should get a move on my bag. Since i have never done this before i went online and looked up what to pack... geeeezzze you'd think i was going away for a week with the amount of crap they suggest! It literally took me 3 hours to pack.

The labor bag is really Mike's bag hahaha. In that bag is cloths for mike in case he is at work and needs to meet me at the hospital... this way he doesn't have to get scrubs or wear his uniform hahaa that would be funny!! Then its got PJ's for him to wear in case the process takes a long time and he wants to sleep as well as a comfy outfit of gym shorts and a t-shirt. Other than that its got lots of snacks for mike, change for vending machines, an extra phone charger, my ID and insurance info, my doctors visit journal just in case we need to look something up or write something down, a night gown for me in case i dont want to wear a hospital gown to deliver, flip flops, and some small stuff like hair ties .

The post pardum bag is all mine... mike can go home and shower and change and play with the pups if he wants (i will try to sleep hahaha). Its got your typical 2 days worth of cloths, pj's, a going home outfit for me, socks, undergarments, and toiletries.

Then we have the babies bag which has 2 different going home outfits (I cant decide yet which i want so i brought both ahahha) then a long sleeve onsie for each, a cap for each, socks for each, and a receiving blanket for each.

Then we have the camera bags.. 2 digital cameras and 1 moving camera as well as their respective extra memory sticks and batteries. Now for those of you that know Mike... chances are he wont pick up a single camera.... so pray he can figure out how to work them and i can have some memories of that day.

Then on top of everything is the outfit i want to wear to the hospital and a sweatshirt for each mike and i. I just need to get the pillows ready and i should be good to go!!!!

Soooooooo think we got enough crap? I think i packed less bags for our honeymoon than for this! Well after 3 hours of laundry and folding and finding stuff i was exhausted and hungry. Went in the kitchen to make dinner only to start with some contractions. I guzzeled a ton of h2o and layed down. Thank God that did the trick. After i told mike what happened he was very upset and told me i need to not push myself so hard! He is right... sooo now that the bags are packed its just a waiting game. Hopefully a long waiting game for a least another 3-4 weeks!

Im off to go make some breakfast!
xoxoxox
mom & babies

33 week belly pic...

33 weeks!!!! I am so excited to have made it this far. Like i said in my last post the bigger i get the harder everything gets but its all worth it in the end. So far so good.. Other than being uncomfy my health is great. I have put on a tad more weight than i would have liked but heck at our last ultra sound the babies were each about 5 pounds so I'm not complaining if it means big healthy babies! The last few NST went well w/ the exception of the last one. Baby B (our son) was being lazy and wouldn't give us two heart rate accelerations in the required 20 min... of course he gave us the second one at 23 minutes but the tech had to make us wait another 20 min and he just barely passed the second time around. Baby A passed right away. Please pray he was just being a lazy bones that day and didn't feel like moving for mom.

Being home is ok... BORING is more like it. Mike has been great about trying to keep me occupied while he is home even if its just a simple ride around the neighborhood in the car. I will admit i don't know how i would have gotten through work this last 2 weeks i can barely get a load of laundry done or clean the kitchen. After a little scare with some contractions last night Mike has warned me that i need to rest or else!! For those of you that know mike can understand why that coming from his mouth is soooooo funny! But i love him and i love that he cares about me and the babies so much!

xoxoxoxo

mom & babies

Maternity Leave Here I Come!!!

Well its official... Oct 1 was my first official day of maternity leave! At my last OB/GYN appointment the subject had been broached by my doc and it was inevitable this would happen! The larger i get the more things hurt and the more i am lucky to get out of bed some days!!! At my 2nd NST i was showing some minor contractions but the babies were doing great!!! The contractions were just one more reason for me to take it easy!!! I need to cook these babies as long as possible. Then to add fuel to the fire I was also having a lot of problems with my bladder and I actually thought i might have a UTI. Turns out that the babies are crushing my bladder and whenever i go #1 the muscles surrounding my bladder spasm from having the extra room. This extra room is then quickly taken up by urine and babies so my poor muscles dont get much of a break! I was also getting a lot of stomach cramps which at first i confused with contractions. Apparently the same thing was happening to my stomach and intestines as was my bladder. These things made just laying around the house pretty uncomfy!

With all of this in mind I went to work and discussed with my boss my options. Given that we are slow right now he wasnt all too upset to see me go. We chose Oct 1 b/c its the end of the month and end of a pay period. This made paperwork and billing that much easier for them. Unfortunately for me if I carry the babies to 38 weeks that will give me only 6-7 week at home w/ them before i have to return to work. Please pray that work and I can come up with a nice deal and I can get at least 8 weeks with my babies before i have to return to work.

The first day of leave i was pretty depressed and stressed out! Cried a little and worried a lot! But by day 3 (today) i am 100% certain i made the right choice. This is the 2nd day in a row i have woken up by 6:30 am (after having be awake 6 other times during the night to either pee, adjust positions or take tums) b/c my body hurt so bad that i just had to move! the good news is now that i am home i can at least take a nap... if only i could get comfy enough to sleep?!?! there are so many things i want to do but i dont want to push myself! I really want to make it to 38 weeks!!

Soooo join me on my journey through the last few weeks of this pregnancy and the joys of bed rest!!!

xoxoxox
mommy & babies

Baby Showers Galore!!!!

I was super blessed to have 3 baby showers!! The first was my work shower which was a total surprise!! The second was back home in NJ with family and NJ friends and the third was where Mike and i live now with close friends.

The work shower....

My boss (Ted) scheduled a lunch staff meeting. I thought "ugh great.. i am pooped and the last thing i want to do is work during lunch!" I should have known when he wanted to have the staff meeting in the larger upstairs conferance room, but i stopped questioning why certain things happen a long time ago. The conferance room door was closed but i didnt think much of it. As Ted opened the door everyone screamed surprise!!! I was honestly 100% surprised! Everyone was very grascious and i had a ton of fun!! Thank you all very much!

Wish i had dressed a bit nicer or
done my hair that day hahaha!!

The NJ Shower.... (09/12/09)

I knew about this shower b/c i had to travel to get there and mom knew there was no way i wouldn't suspect something! Mike took off of work and drove me to NJ b/c driving that far alone was getting way to difficult.

The shower was at the house of one of my mom's friends (Thank you sooo much JoLee). I arrived shortly before all of the guests.. this gave me a chance to look at all the decorations and awsome diaper cake!! (Thanks again JoLee) Everything about the shower was awsome.. the food was great, the vibe was good and everyone was very generous! Mom Thank you soooo very much for all your hard work. I knew this shower was coming at a bad time of year for you but you still put every once of energy you had into it! I love you so much!!!

Me and my GIANT Belly!!!

Mike being very proud of

his handy work!!

Mom and i with the cake... yuuuummm cake!!

The Shower Here... (09/19/09)

A close friend of mine and her mom threw my shower here (Thanks Melissa & Ruth). Again i knew about this one. Between the shower in NJ and the shower here i decided to take a week off of work and stay in NJ to relax at my parents house. Mom drove me back home and came to my 3rd shower as well. I was surprised by the number of people that actually came!!! I felt very blessed to have all of these people who cared about me and my babies (some drove well over an hour to get there!!) I had a great time and felt very blessed to have so many good friends!!

(pictures to follow soon!!!!)

Thank you everyone who helped Mike and I prepare for our beautiful babies!! With out everyones generous gifts Mike and i would certainly be BROKE!! hahaha!!

XXOOXOX

Mommy & babies!

30 week belly pic!!

Well there it is..... my giant 30 week belly!!! I was told that i would regret that belly button ring i had gotten in college... well now it looks sooo gross and i certainly do regret it!!! I'm going to admit all this belly is making moving, sleeping, sitting and laying VERY difficult. I still have 8 weeks of growing to do which is even scarier, but we wan those babies to grow grow grow so i will take the discomfort!!!

We had our first Non stress Test (NST) on Thursday and it went great!!! Baby A was hard to hear at first but she passed right away (w/in 15 min) and Baby B was a bit lazier but finally passed after 25 min. I wasn't having any real contractions just have an "irritated uterus" which means its starting to run out of room but not reacting by causing labor yet!

I was so proud the babies did so great especially when the tech said that babies at 30 weeks (let alone twins) rarely pass the first time. My little guys are beating the odds from day one!!! The are already making mommy and daddy very proud!

Well sitting at the computer is getting harder and harder everyday so i need to get going and lay down for bed!

xoxoxoxo

29 Week Check in...

I cant believe we are already at 29 weeks!! Only 70 +/- days left!!! Mike and I are sooooo excited to finally meet our beautiful babies.

I had to take the 3 hr glucose test last week... can we say BORING!!!!!!! I got to the hospital at 7 am and of course didn't get taken back until 7:45 am. I had to get my blood drawn then drink a small bottle of this flat lemon lime soda. I must have a strong sweet tooth b/c it wasn't as bad as everyone said. Then i was sent back to the waiting room for an hour. After 1 hr I went back and had more blood drawn. I repeated this another 2 times and finally at 10:45 am i had my last blood draw taken. I could FINALLY eat and get back to work.

I had an ob/gyn appointment the following day. Well good news i passed the 3 hr glucose test!! Dr.M answered some questions i had and checked the babies heartbeats. They sounded great and Dr. M was very happy. While listening to the heartbeat Dr. M seemed to have phased out and then finally said "ya know what after doing the math in my head... normally twins are small but these guys are BIG!" He said this was a great thing and that they seem to be growing great! I couldn't be happier! Dr. M measured the size of my belly and it was measuring at 37cm. I think that would typically be a 37 week pregnant woman hahahaha!!! Boy i got a big belly!! :) Dr. M informed me that at 30 weeks i need to start going to the hospital 1x a week for non stress test, where they will put the babies on heart monitors and i think we will also be getting an ultrasound. SO we are scheduled for all the non stress tests and ultra sounds through til 36 weeks!!

We are coming down to the home stretch! I pray everyday these little guys stay in as long as possible! For as uncomfy or tired i might be we have come too far to go early!!

I'm off to do some laundry and lay on the couch like a beached whale hahaha! More updates soon!!!

oxxooxoxoxox