Danielle, Eric, Max, Echo and Riley: March 2013

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

37 years and 1 month!

This week, we celebrated Mommy's 37th birthday and girls turning 1 month old!
The girls have enjoyed having Daddy home for week one of his paternity leave. Mommy likes it too! They are growing bigger and bigger...we have two 7 pound little girls. At their 1 month weigh in, Riley weighed 7 pounds, 10.5 ounces and Echo weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces. It shouldn't be any surprise-these girls love to eat. It is kind of sad that their newborn onesies are getting too small for them, but they are able to wear more clothes now without looking like they're being swallowed up! Another plus of having growing babies is being able to use our cloth diapers. They are working out really well and will save us lots of money. Just as much as these girls like to eat, they pee a lot as well! :-) They love to snuggle on your chest and swing. We broke down and bought a second, small travel swing so they can sit side by side and snooze during the day. Most nights, they do really well, but once or twice a week, we have a night that we just can't seem to get the girls settled down. I hope they grow out of that soon. We have one more week with Daddy at home and then it will just be Mommy and the girls until I go back to work. I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure we'll be fine. We have takled and mastered feeding both girls at the same time with one person. I just set them up on their Boppies and we get to it.
I have been slow at getting their room ready for them to occupy. They have been sleeping in a co-sleeper in our room, but we think it is time to get them in their own space. For one, they are getting big and running out of room for two of them in that co-sleeper. Secondly, Riley is a bit of a grunter and it tends to wake us up a lot. I think we'll keep them in the same crib for now and see how that goes. They both love being on their bellies. Guess that means more tummy time in the days to come.
Max is still very much in love with his sisters. He wants to always tell them good night and touch them. He gets really excited when one of them has their eyes open! He sings to them quite often and it seems to calm them down when he does. He has been doing a lot of funny things. He always says it's his turn after we feed or change one of the girls. He wants their milk and some days wants to be a baby and not a big boy. The other day, we were taking family photos and it was him, Eric and the girls. The girls were in Eric's arms and Max lifted up his shirt, but his belly to one of the girls head and said he was feeding her. Later that day, he was eating lunch and his inhaler and chamber were on the table. He picked up the chamber and held it to his chest and said that he was pumping. He is so silly sometimes and it is funny to see his perspective on things that are happening around him. He is a great big brother and we are so blessed to have such a wonderful family. He went to kickball at our local rec center and he really enjoyed it. He didn't quite get it, I think, but he liked to kick the ball and run around. And it was a great way for him to get rid of some of that energy. He actually ate his dinner and was not too difficult getting to bed.
There are moments that it is so hard and I wonder what the hell we are doing, but then I look at their sweet little faces and my heart melts! Here are some pictures for everyone to enjoy!

Max helping to feed Echo

Cuddle time with Daddy

Max sang a beautiful Happy Birthday song and then
helped me blow out the candles

Alone with twins and they're both fussy = cuddle time with Mommy

Max had fun playing kick ball at the rec center this week

My little Riley-bug

Echo and Riley - look like theyr'e boxing each other

Sweet little Echo

Swinging in the afternoon

Three Weeks Old

We have survived the first three weeks of being parents to multiples! It hasn't been easy and we are definitely feeling the change of not having help stay with us. The girls are doing well. They are still pretty much on the same schedule, so that is nice. Last week, Aunt Mary stayed with us and it was nice to have her all to ourselves. Max really liked having her here and keeps asking where she is. We are looking forward to when she comes back with the rest of the family this summer.
The girls have been very cute. Riley stays awake more in the afternoon than Echo does, but other than that, they pretty much keep in sync with each other. Max is continuing to get more comfortable with the girls. He likes to talk to them and give them kisses. He even helps sometimes with feeding them. Most of the time, he is in our bed when the girl wake up in the middle of the night and somehow, he sleeps right through it. He gets that from his Daddy! We have a weight check next week, so we'll update on that. I can tell they are getting bigger. Riley is out of newborn diapers and Echo is not far behind her. We have been using some cloth diapers and I'm getting the all in ones sized down to fit the girls. I don't think it will be that much more laundry...the girls like to pee every mid-diaper change quite often. We never had this issue with Max, but I guess there is something different with girls. Maybe it is just their way of getting us to change their clothes several times in one day! :)
Here are some of our pictures from this week!

My sleepy little girls

I love it when they hold hands are cuddle their legs together.

Rily and Aunt Mary snuggling on the couch.

Echo and Max having a little talk.

Mommy and Riley

Daddy and Echo

High Five!

Echo making silly faces!

Riley's beautiful smile!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Girls Have Arrived...Finally!!!!

After two weeks of contractions every day, the girls finally arrived to us on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 38 weeks. We are so happy that they have joined our family and they are much more enjoyable outside of my belly! :)
Max is settling in to being a big brother. He likes to kiss his baby sisters and sing to them. I can already tell he is going to watch over them and be protective of them.
The last few weeks of the pregnancy were definitely the hardest. Especially because I was having contractions every day and everyone kept asking when the babies were going to come. Max would also tell me almost every day that he wanted the babies to be out of my belly...and I did too!
On Monday, the contractions were pretty consistent and had been lasting all day. So, that night, around 11:00 p.m., we decided to go in. Well, after an hour and a half, I had not changed any. I was still sitting between 4-5 centimeters dilated. So, they sent me home and I figured it would take the rest of the week and I would have to be induced on Friday (my doctor had scheduled the induction for Friday, 2/22). We came home and I spent the night on the couch, continuing to have contractions. Around 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, I told Eric that I didn't know how much more I could take as the contractions were getting harder and lasting longer. They were still not regular, but they were intense. I took a quick shower and we hopped in the van. I called Labor and Delivery on the way, answered the 50 million questions they ask you and then the nurse said that I could either wait or come in and be checked, I told her that I was 38 weeks pregnant with twins and I wasn't going to wait any longer and risk not getting there in time. We parked in the parking ramp and it took us probably 20 minutes to get to Labor and Delivery. Every five steps I would take, I would have a contraction. Eric wanted to push me in a wheelchair, but I refused because the contractions hurt a lot more when I was sitting down. They were much more tolerable standing up. I got many strange looks, a few people asked if we were okay and a couple of offers to get me a wheelchair. We finally arrived on the 6th floor and into a triage room. They got me hooked up to monitors to see how the girls were doing (well, the nurse attempted this-I'm not sure she ever was able to get both girls at the same time...I was a bit squirmy)! The doctor checked me and said that I was between 6-7 centimeters...thank goodness! So, they paged my doctor and Eric called our doula and the nurses started getting me ready. They put an IV in me and kept taking my blood pressure. I asked for a pillow about 50 times and finally got one. After asking several times, they let me get up and use the bathroom and that's when things really got interesting. When I was in the bathroom, my water broke. Eric leaned out the door and told the nurse. Well, the nursing staff now uses iphones to communicate with each other on that floor. I think my nurse freaked out a little bit, sent out an urgent page, but apparently sent it to the wrong distribution list. Before we knew it, I think every nurse and doctor on the floor came into our room. Now, imagine a small room with a gurney bed, monitors, a chair and not much room for anything else and then fill it up with what seemed like 50 people. Chaos! My doctor had gotten there (she was in surgery when we arrived), I think they did a quick ultrasound to make sure both girls were still head down and I kept hearing them talk about getting the OR ready. When delivering twins at the University, you have to deliver in the operating room in case something happens, then they have everything right there. My doctor wanted to check me again, but the contractions were right on top of each other. When she finally did check me, I was at 8cm and she decided to head to the OR. They pushed me down there, felt like we were going to the other side of the hospital. I got my first glimpse of Eric in a long time when we got in the room. He was wearing his scrubs and hat. The OR was a little scary. Very large, white, cold and sterile room. They got me moved onto the table from the gurney and my body immediately started pushing with the contractions. Everything is a blur for me, but I feel like I pushed about 5 times and our little purple baby was born. She was so little and purple and instantly started screaming. She didn't stop the whole time and I think she was calling for her sister to hurry and get out here as well. They broke my second bag of water and 2 pushes later our second baby girls "shot right out" according to Eric. It was done! Eric brought the first girl over to me and we asked her if she was Echo, she just screamed. Then, they brought the second girl to me. I was holding her and asked if she was Riley and she let out the cutest little sound in agreement, so then they were named! So, we arrived at the hospital around 2:30 p.m. and they were both born by 4:30 p.m. It was quick and we are so happy to have them with us!
We've had some visitors these first two weeks at home and the girls have settled in to things, I think. They had a weight check up last night and they have both passed their birth weight. Riley weighs 6 pounds and Echo is 5 pounds 10.5 ounces. They are doing well...both hate having their diaper changed, but other than that, they are pretty content. So, here is our first round of pictures and updates from the Wilbanks Family!