Sunday, July 5, 2009

More Baby Pictures!


Hallie trying to open her eyes^


Remie ^


Remie's Little hand^


Kim and Remie^


Ryan holding Hallie for the first time^

Saturday, July 4, 2009

They Are Here!

Well, it is official...They are Here! It was been a very eventful last 48 hours.

It started Thursday night (7/2). I started spotting and as the night wore on, I started having more contractions with more spotting. The contractions got to be 6 minutes apart. I spent most of the night watching the clock and keeping track of contractions. At 3:00 am I finally called the hospital and they were not that worried. I had been talking to my Sister-in-law Julie earlier that night and she called the hospital earlier. They knew I was coming in for another stress test the next morning so the nurse just left it up to me. She said, "If the spotting changes color and/or the contractions get more intense then come in." By morning both had settled down so I never did.


We went in at 12:30 pm on Friday (7/3) for the NST. The nurses did know that I was still spotting and they continued to watch the contractions, that were quite regular at that point. About 1 1/2 hours into it the nurse called the "on-call doctor" to see what to do about the contractions. The doctor wanted them to check me and if I was dialated less then a 3 and 70% effaced, they would let me go home. I was almost a 4 and 80%. So they said I would be staying the night. They gave me a shot to stop the contractions and 1 of two steroid shots to help the babies lungs. They had to wait at least 12 hours for the other steriod shot...24 if we could. So I was hoping to go home after the 2nd dose of steriod shots, which would have been at 2:00 today. The contractions stopped and I felt great. They brought in dinner later that night around 7:00 and as I sat up to eat, my water broke.


They then moved me to a bigger labor and delivery room where they had to start my contractions back up so that I would dialate. Such a process! They wanted me to labor on my own for 2 hours before they started the PIT. The room that they moved me to had a great view of the USU Stadium so we had great seats for the fireworks. After the fireworks they started the PIT and about an hour later they started my Epidural. I just have to say...Epidurals are wonderful! I then moved a centimeter and hour and when I reached an 8 they then moved me to the OR just in case of a C-section. I guess it is standard for twins. Once we were there and my doctor was there (who fortunately was "on-call" for the rest of the weekend) broke my water the rest of the way and in two pushes we had two babies. I do have to admit it was one of my most easy labors. It is easy to push them out when they are little like that.

Hallie Grace was born at 4:05am. Once her head had come out, three golf ball sized blood clots came out and she was very pale and not breathing well. The doctor said that I had, had a rupture of some sort when she delived, something to do with the placenta. She lost some blood which made the doctors very concerned. As I was laying there, Ryan was watc
hing everything that they were doing and all I could see was her little hand...which was moving periodically. Nothing else was and she was not making any sounds. Very scary!

This is a team of 4 working on Hallie. This was right after she came out.

Remie Ryan was born at 4:08 am. She made a few more sounds then Hallie had which made me feel a little better. This is a picture of her, but as you can see she has little dimples on her chest because she is trying so hard to breathe.

This is the team of 3 working on Remie.

This is pictures of each of them in the NICU, they are both on ventilators at this point. The first one is Hallie. She still was very pale and not breathing well. They tested her red blood cell count and it was very low, so they decided to give her a blood transfusion to help.

This is Remie with the ventilator. They ended up giving her Serfactin to help with her lungs.



I wasn't able to go see the girls until around 10:00. Due to the epidural still wearing off and also Ryan had ran home to freshen up and the nurse wanted me to wait and have him help me down to the NICU.

This was a little later in the afternoon. My mom, dad, and grandma were able to go in and see the girls. This is my dad with Hallie. By this point Remie had been off the ventilator and they had just taken Hallie off. Hallie still has tubes in her nose to help her.

This is my mom and Grandma Wilson with Remie.

Remie sucking on a binkie...YEAH! She was hating it at first.

Hallie with the tubes still helping her get air.

To add to all of the craziness of the day, we also got to see Rylie and Sydnie for the first time in 2 weeks. They have been camping with my parents during that time. Ryan and I were suppose to go up and get them Friday night. Obviously that didn't happen. My mom and dad brought them back with them to see the babies. Unfortunately, Rylie and Sydnie can't go into the NICU, so they have only seen pictures of Hallie and Remie. They felt pretty bad. But they will get to see and hold them soon enough! This is me and Rylie sitting on the bed. Ryan had just brought the laptop so I was checking up on Facebook!
Ryan took Rylie and Sydnie to get some dinner later on and I went back down to the NICU, where Remie was completely off all of the breathing tubes. So I was able to hold her for the first time. They are so small...it is just crazy!

Here is their information:
Born July 4th, 2009 (at 34 weeks 3 days)
Hallie Grace 4lbs. 1 oz. 4:05am 17 inches long
Remie Ryan 4lbs. 7 oz. 4:08am 17 inches long

They both have a LONG road ahead of them. The nurses haven't even had them try eating eating. They both have IV's that are giving them their proteins, fats, etc. for now. However, they both have made leaps and bounds today. It has been exciting to see how much better they are both doing! They will be taking it one step at a time.

For me, I am doing great, just tried. I am hoping to go home tomorrow, I will have to wait and see what the doctor says tomorrow when he comes in.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Thanks to our family who have been so great to take Rylie and Sydnie. We love you! We will try to keep things updated as we learn more.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

We have a date!!

Ryan and I just got back from a doctor's appointment and we have a final date. We are shooting for July 29th, 2009. Today I am 34 weeks. All is going well, minus the regular perks of pregnancy! If we can make it to the 29th it would put me at 38 weeks and it would also be my Great-Grandma's Birthday. He will not let me go longer then that. So if I haven't gone by then, he will induce me on the 29th. He also said that they will continue to watch the babies very closely and if there is any need to take them sooner...he will. But it is nice to have a light at the end of the tunnel.

He also said that after 35 weeks they generally don't do any steroid shots to help with lungs and they wouldn't do anything to stop my contractions. He also said that they should be gaining about 1/4 lb. a week from here on out, so if we could get them over 5 lbs, we have a greater possibility of bringing them home with us from the hospital, instead of spending a lot of time in the NICU. (Which would be wonderful and a lot less expensive.) When we measured last week they were approximately 4.6 and 4.5 pounds. They are also still head down. YEAH! YEAH! Overall, it was a good doctor's appointment!

We are still going in twice a week to the hospital for the NSTs and once a week to the doctor. So I get to go back to the hospital on Friday. I went yesterday and had a much better test. I was only there for an hour and both babies passed. I only had 3 measurable contractions in the hour as well.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Another LONG day at the hospital!

I went in today for our 4th Non-Stress Test. I have been going twice a week for the last two weeks. The first test was a little scary, but since then we have gotten much faster and on Tuesday it only took 45 minutes. I was hoping that today wouldn't be any different.

We got the monitors on and found the babies heart beats really fast. They actually did great and they both pasted the test! However, during the first two hours that I was there...I was having contractions again. I had some last night which were about 20 minutes apart. But that has become the norm over the last couple of weeks. And generally I can get them stopped. Which was no different last night. However, the nurse this morning was a little nervous about the contractions I was having and called my doctor. I guess she tried three times and then discovered that my doctor couldn't be reached today and had to call the doctor on call. He then wanted a couple of tests done....the same tests that were done last Tuesday (last time the test came back negative). Today it came back positive. Generally the test is used to see if you will go into labor in the next two weeks. They obviously prefer them to come back negative, but there are a lot of false positives with the test. So if they come back positive there is generally about a 20% chance that you will actually go into labor in the next two weeks. So I guess we will have to wait and see what happens....hopefully we don't go into labor in the next two weeks, it is still very early. They also checked to see if I have started to dilate. The good news is, is that I have haven't. Hopefully that is a good sign! I was able to leave the hospital 4 hours later.

On a lighter note, Rylie and Sydnie have been camping with my mom and dad this week. We talked to them on Tuesday, but I also got to talk to Sydnie this morning. They are having a great time and have been very busy, playing in Jackson, WY, floating the Snake River, and playing with cousins. They will be gone for another week. I am glad they are having a good time!!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Baby Update

We are currently 33 weeks tomorrow. I just got back from doing our 3rd NST at the hospital and doing an ultrasound at the Doctors Office. The babies are looking great and are very active. Julie was able to help me again at the hospital and I was only there for about 45 minutes this time. YEAH! Plus she got me in a lot earlier then I did on Friday...(It helps to have connections at the hospital!) Both babies passed the NST and I wasn't having any real contractions. I still have to go back on Friday for another one.

I then ran down to the doctor's office to do an ultrasound with the tech. Both babies were very active and she had a hard time getting a good picture of eit
her one. They are both head down...it has been a month. Hopefully they will stay that way. They are measuring 4.6 lbs. and 4.5 lbs. That is very exciting to hear. She also said they both have started to grow hair on their heads. She also said that if they have started growing hair at this stage then by the time they are born they should have a lot of hair. UGH! I am going to have to get up 1/2 hour earlier just to do hair in the mornings. The tech tried very hard to get a good picture of the babies for us. They both were very active and kept moving around. However, none of them were great. She said it is only going to get harder as the babies get bigger and have less room. So I put two pictures that you might be able to see what they are. One is of Baby A...it is a side profile and the other is one of their hands. Sorry that they are so hard to see.

This one is of Baby A. It is a side profile, her head is on the right side, her forehead is the bright spot on the right side. If you follow the line down, you can see her nose and mouth.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Sand Dunes

This past weekend I got the privilege to go up with some friends to the Sand Dunes In St. Anthony Idaho. We left Friday afternoon and arrived that evening. We were so anxious to get riding we set up camp and headed out for a quick ride. It was a lot of fun just getting out and seeing new terrain. The sand hill were rolling on forever.This trip was to celebrate Adam's Mission call and to build some memories before he head off to the mission field. I think we accomplished that in so many ways.
Adam in the RZR^

We ate good food and had some really good rides. At the end of the day Saturday we were so beat and tired. We rode hard all day long. So glad everything turned out OK. We were safe and nobody got hurt or broke down.



Me Climbing Thunder Mountain^
Me Waiting to Go Again ^
Randy's Ready to Go^
Jason Heading up the Hill ^
Scott Mounted up ^
Dave Cruising the Bowl ^
Scott in his Toy to be ^Me Jumping the RZR ^


When is the next Trip??

Belly Update

Here are the latest picture of Kim and her little belly. For being almost eight months pregnant with twins she looks very good. She is still pretty miserable but enduring. She cant wait until this is all over with. I think the only thing that is getting her through this now is that she knows she will never have to go through this again. "Hopefully".
For me this is the fun stage. I can feel and see them in there wiggling around. It is still amazing.
Now if these next few week will go really fast we will be doing even better.







Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Our 1st "Non-Stress Test"

We had our first "Non-Stress Test" (NST) today. I think they should call it a "Stress-Test." However, I felt much better having my sister-in-law there, being my nurse. They have to put the monitors on each of the babies, and their heart beats have to look like a wave so many times in 20 minutes. Baby A did great, Baby B had a harder time. And to add to that they also put the monitor on to see if you are having contractions. Appartently, I was having a lot of little contractions. Alot that I couldn't feel, but also some that were bigger, that I could feel. The contractions and not getting a real good "wave"on Baby B's heart rate were the most concerning for Julie. They ended up calling my doctor and he wanted to run another test as well as check to see if I have started dilating. This is where the stress part comes in. Julie came in and said..."You're going to be here awhile." The only thing I kept thinking, was...I am only 32 weeks...it is too earlier to be having these babies. The extra test...I couldn't even tell you the name...if it had come back positive would have said that I would be having the twins in the next two weeks. However, the final verdict was negative...YEAH! and that I have not started to dilated yet. Which I think we all started to breathe a little easier when we heard. By the end my doctor was there (due to him already being at the hospital), but he stopped by to tell me the good news!!

Rylie and Sydnie were troopers through the whole thing. My mom was actually at the hospital with my grandpa...he has been there since Sunday. But she took the girls for the first part and then brought them down later. Once they were back in my room they sat and watched T.V. and Aunt Julie got them some lunch. Thanks mom and Julie! The funny part is, is that I have to go see my doctor tomorrow and then go back to the hospital on Friday for another "non-stress test." Julie will be working when I go back in next week.....hopefully she won't avoid me and make someone else do it!!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

6 Weeks and Counting

We had another doctor's appointment today. As of today, I am 31 weeks. We had an ultrasound done by the doctor, so we didn't get any pictures, but all is looking well. He was basically looking at the fluid around the babies as well as finding out what their heart rates were. Both were head down....YEAH! that is two appointments in a row. Hopefully, they will stay that way. As for me...well I am still getting very fat and things are getting very uncomfortable. But other then the basic perks of being pregnant...all is going well.

We have to start going to the hospital twice a week to have "non-stress tests" done on the babies, plus start going to the doctor once a week for an "AFT." ( I think that was what it was called.) It is another test that can be done at the doctor's office dealing with the fluid around the babies. I will be going up to the hospital on Tuesdays and Fridays to do the non-stress tests, plus going to the doctors once a week. It is probably a good thing I am done with school, it will be a little easier to fit in all of the doctor appointments.

Ryan says to keep voting on names. He hasn't decided on his name yet.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

End of School Year Brings Many Changes

I can't believe that school is already out. The end of this school year has been very bitter-sweet, with the excitement of being out for the summer and trying to get ready for babies....plus having to move my classroom. We had both Sydnie's Preschool Graduation and Rylie's Kindergarten Graduation Programs this week.

Wednesday was the big day for the Graduation programs. Sydnie has been able to attend Riverside Preschool with me in the mornings. She has been in Miss Roz's class this year and has enjoyed it very much!! For the program this year we sang the "Tooty-Tah" song. This is Sydnie singing it.







This is Sydnie with Miss Roz getting her award. She actually has one more year at the preschool before she goes to Kindergarten, but each student participates in the graduation program. Sydnie's award this year was "Most Improved Handwriting!" We are very proud of her.



Later in the afternoon we had Rylie's Kindergarten Graduation. She was very excited for it as well. They sang a few songs that they have been working on all year and we watched a slide show of them throughout the year. This is her whole class. Rylie attended Miss Jones' PM Class.




This is Rylie getting her Kindergarten Diploma and a certificate of advancement to the 1st grade. I hope Rylie is able to stay as excited about school as she has been this year. We are also very proud of her.


Rylie with Miss Jones.




The day ended with me having to go back to my own class to help tear things down and pack up. The next school y
ear comes with me starting a new job at the preschool. I have been teaching full time for the last 8 years and I have been working with some wonderful aides throughout those years. Two of which have been with me for 6 & 7 years. Next year I have been asked to teach part time and be the Preschool Coordinator the other half. I have had very mixed emotions....maybe I can blame that on being pregnant. I am very excited about the new challenges that will come with becoming the coordinator but I am very sad about having to say good-bye to some very good friends. It really isn't saying good-bye, we will just be working in different classrooms. Fortunately the building that we work in is small and we will still see each other, just not as much as we have over the years. I am very glad they have both decided to stay and work at the preschool. I think it would have been a lot worse had they decided to quit!!

This past year I have also been able to work with two other wonderful women that have worked part time in my room. Both of them started within the past year. It has been a lot of fun getting to know them better. I am excited and very, very grateful that they are willing to change classrooms with me. And that I will be able to work with them next year. I have depended sooo much on my aides...especially with being pregnant. They all have been AWESOME!

Thank you!! Thank You!! Jody, Vickie, Hollie, & Cally

With all of the changes going on, our current Preschool Coordinator, Marci, is also moving her office to the District Office to be over all of the Special Education Department. I am so excited for her and am so grateful that she is the one taking over in that position! But yet again, it is like saying good-bye to a good friend. I know it's not...but we won't get to see her as often as we have. The only thing that makes me feel better about her going, is that in my new position, I will still be able to see and talk to her, but it still sucks! I guess it all boils down to the fact that I HATE CHANGE! You just get comfortable with how things are going and BAM everything changes. I guess what I should learn from all of this is...don't get too comfortable!

I am very proud of my girls for all of their accomplishments this year and I am looking forward to what the rest of the summer has in store. One thing is for sure...we will definitely have LOTS of changes in the upcoming months!!