The Girls are Here

Azy is on the left, Zoe is on the right.

Azy at the hospital, Robb has more pictures of her on his camara as he spent most of the time at the hospital with her while I was home with Zoe.

Zoe right after birth.

Then you have Papa's goth outfits that he bought the girls for Christmas. Notice the pirate and skulls.

Ok.. I am super tired so I will make it brief. I can regale you all with the story later.

The girls were born via c-section, by choice, on Feb 6th. Zoe was born at 3:02 pm at 5lb 2.7 oz and Azy was born at 3:04pm at 5lb 7.9 oz.

Zoe came home with me just this last Tuesday. In a car seat stress test it was found that Azy would forget to breath. Not good. She stayed an extra couple days and came home Friday. Her treatment is 20mg of caffeine daily and she has a little Velcro band across her chest holding on monitors hooked up to a machine. That way if she forgets to breath an alarm will sound and we can go check on her. Nothing scary, they would not have let us bring her home if they were worried. It is just a precaution for a few weeks until she is bigger.

I am off to feed the babies then for a much needed nap.

I am feeling very blessed these days.

Love to you all,

Elizabeth

36 weeks....are we there yet?

Yep..36 weeks as of yesterday...and still pregnant. My girls are still a moving and back pain is constant now. I pray all the pain means that my visions of babies head down for a natural birth are ahead of me.

I rallied the troops on Saturday and they heard my call. Nicole, Bhavna and Kyria all made it to my house on Saturday for the final act of cleaning and nesting for the sake of my sanity. Janell and Huyen made the offer for Sunday but we were able to get it all done...so they got the day off. For many of the other beloved friends and family.... I was simply asking at too short a notice for the help they had been offering all along. So to every single one of you... thank you.

Of particular note I must praise the extra love and attention of my sister-in-law Kyria. I am lucky because she lives less than 5 minutes away from me and up to this point has been a stay at home mom with some freedom (best of luck on the job hunting). She sat with me at the hospital one particularly scary night early on when Robb was out of town. She has cooked extra food to bring over. Invited our family over for multiple dinners. Taken Dylan off my hands for the day. And was at my house Saturday from 9-5:30 in a flurry of cleaning. Choose the not so fun stuff like the kitchen and bathroom, so my friends could do the fun stuff like fold and organize baby things. Then to top that off Dylan and I spent Sunday afternoon with her and her kids at the YMCA so I could float in the pool and get some relief from all the back pain. She has offered to help in so many ways that I have to wonder what I ever did to deserve such love and loyalty. I love you Kyria... and I won't forget all the kindness you have shown me.

I am very heavy with children at this point and am praying for delivery sometime Thursday on. Heather is flying in from Charlotte to stay from Thursday to Tuesday and we hope the babies will cooperate and be born while she is here. While I was whiny before from aches and pains I am now in that silent grin and bare it phase. Which is freaking out Robb because he knows how much pain I have to feel to actually not talk about it. My last day at work is Wednesday. I simply can't haul this body around the office and not cry.

I know I have been horrible with pictures. But I promise...there will be numerous pictures of the girls when they arrive (because I can take those). And honestly who's picture would you rather see anyway? Me looking tired, huge and uncomfortable. Or pictures of my little angel babies.

Back to work.
Love, Blessings and Good Juju,
Elizabeth

Babies are turning..

For those who don't know I had a lot of back pain on Wednesday and went home early with contractions 20 minutes apart. Instead of going to the Dr right away they want you to drink a big glass of water, lie on your side for an hour and see if things increase or decrease. For me...it decreased. So what the heck was all the back pain for?

Babies are turning......Plan A didn't happen but Plan B is so much better. Azy is still breech but turned from facing my spine to facing front. A head down baby facing the spine causes a lot of back pain during labor (don't really know why). But our miracle is Zoe moved!! She is actually head down. She is still much higher up in my tummy and Azy is still the baby most engaged in my pelvis. But I honestly had no hope of Zoe moving from her sideways position until Azy was out. So here is plan B... I have a week to help gravity move my heaver Zoe down and hopefully push Azy out of the way and engage first in the pelvis. That way I have the bigger baby, head down and first to come out. They will only allow a breech if it is the second and smaller of the two. And that is if we can't get Azy to turn.

I have more chiropractic appointments scheduled to keep things moving. Now I am going to try all the other suggestions for moving babies. Like swimming, different yoga positions and the like.
My next OB appointment is next Friday (if I last that long). Besides the normal stuff they are going to do a more detailed ultra sound to gage size, weight and placement. And if things are not as we like I have scheduled an external version. Where they give me drugs to relax my muscles and try and turn the babies head down from the outside. So let's all keep our fingers crossed I can get my girls to turn without all the intervention and drugs.

I'll write more later...gotta get back to work.
Elizabeth :)

35 weeks plus

ok no new pictures. Robb is busy nesting...or his version of it. Which is clean the garage, put in a new hot water heater, install a new bathroom vent/fan. And last but not least... purchase a home beer brew kit and proceed to brew a 5 gallon batch of beer. Really... I say? But he has been very sweet and attentive to all my needs. Baking cookies and telling me "the babies want them".

I am in the process of packing my hospital bag. Gathering the baby stuff I want to take, like their books to put footprints in and going home clothes. Getting the car seats ready, which in MN includes a snow suit, extra blankets and the neet fleece covers that go over the car seat like a blanket but more fitted. Then their is my required stuff. My pillow and Koala bear are a must for my comfort. Go a head and laugh... but I NEED my FRIEND when I am scared. My exercise/birthing ball and pump and my huge breastfeeding pillow. So I can use it right from the start. Then add the IPOD docking station and my musical play list that Robb kindly put together for me with weekend. I think the staff at the Hospital is going to freak as my hubby comes in carrying all my stuff in a laundry basket, as is my way.

Dylan and I went through baby toys and cloth diapers this weekend. Both Robb and he looked totally lost when I tried to explain the difference between one brand of wrap vs another. Dylan had lots of good questions about powder (a no-no according to our baby class) and diaper creams (only used if needed). I also asked him if he would wear a baby in a carrier when we went out. He actually sat down and read the manual for one of the snugglie carriers you can either wear on your chest or back. He sounded really excited about the idea of getting to wear one of his sisters out shopping. I think I am going to have a wonderful helper. Dylan is already checking in on me with "can I get you anything" which is a big help when I want water and Robb is downstairs.

As for me I am huge beyond belief and in a lot of gravity related pain. With all my ligaments loosened up my knees are starting to hurt and I am getting carpel tunnel in my hands and arms. But the Dr. keep say....you are fine...keep on working.... I am now seeing a chiropractor (Heather's roommate from fashion school who changed careers) who is manipulating me with a method called the Webster Technique. The philosophy is that a baby will stay and grow where it feels most safe and in balance with your body. The fact that Zoe has yet to move anywhere other than sideways means she is happy where she is. Anyway....the idea is to get your pelvic bones, supporting ligaments and sacrum into a more advantageous and appropriate alignment for birth. With the hope that balancing the body will push they baby out of the comfort zone and into a head down position for a more natural child birth.

I have had 3 adjustments now and Lynn is going to continue to see me twice a week until the babies show up. Even if we are not successful in getting Azy to turn head down, the adjustments are well worth the effort as there is much pain relief for a day or two afterwards. The good news is I am starting to see and feel things that are telling me the babies are about a week away from being born. I won't gross you all with the details...but those of you with children may know what I am talking about. Lynn also felt a significant loosening of my pelvic ligaments which in her education also concludes that my body is getting ready for it's marathon event in the near future.
My energy levels are up, my sleep (what 3-4 hour chunks I get) are more restful and my need to get everything in order are all good indicators that delivery is indeed on the horizon.

I will try to keep you all more updated. And get some picture of my now cute and round belly. It is almost 11 pm and I am sure to regret that I stayed up so late. Oh well....it is just practice for those night time feedings.

Love, Blessings and Good Juju,
Elizabeth and the girls

Another photo

Here is me and Dylan just this last Saturday. Can you believe my 16 year old is taller than me? If you look next to the red ribbon at my belly you can see it sticks out farther than you think. Now that I look pregnant I am going to take more pictures. Robb promised he would. So hopefully there will be more in the next few days.

Happy Obama Day....

Elizabeth :)

Here is a picture of my belly. I went to visit Naomi in southern MN the weekend after Thanksgiving for our Birthday's. See what I mean... I look more fat than pregnant. She was giving my belly a kiss. But then again I am already too big for the largest maternity shirts avalible so I am wearing a plus sized shirt two sizes larger than I usually wear.

End of week 33

I am huge and tired and all that comes with the last few weeks of a pregnancy. I know...I need to get pictures added. Maybe with downtime at work tomorrow I will get some scanning done.

My girls are huge! As of two weeks ago Zoe was 4lb 7oz and Azy was 3lb 6oz. Then I gained 3 pounds the following week and a half pound last week. So I am sure they are both over 5 pounds already. The Doctors are happy with their growth and as of tomorrow they will not stop any labor that starts. So now it is just wait and grow even larger until they arrive. And hope I can get Azy to go head down.

I am still working, which is why I haven't written much. I am so tired by the time I get home that I put on my jammies and crawl into bed. I am full of aches and pains but honestly I have nothing really to complain about. No diabetes, No high blood pressure, No swelling. I look like I am about to pop with only one baby, so I am carrying the two really well. I don't look anywhere near as huge as Krista did at the end of her pregnancy, but I am still 3 weeks away from where she ended at 37 weeks.

My shower was lovely and just as I hoped. All five of the "mothers" in my life were able to make it. Add that to 3 sisters and a large number of girlfriends. I was "showered" with many gifts for which I am very grateful. And I got a chance to tell them all just how important they are to me. For those of you out of towners that still wish to get me something. May I suggest my registry at www.babiesrus.com under Elizabeth Lussier. Most of my Target stuff I received and there are a few things at Babies R Us that I will need to purchase once the girls arrive. So go for it, if you are so inclined.

I plan to have Robb post hospital pictures here for me once the girls arrive. So my guess is this will be the first place most of you see their beautiful faces. I am still hoping for a natural childbirth. However Azy is still breech and Zoe is still sideways. So I have some work to do in the next few weeks to try and get Azy turned. If all I have to whine about is a C-section than that is a small price to pay for a relatively quiet and healthy pregnancy and my girls in the end.

I am off to rest. Blessings and good Juju to you all.
Elizabeth :)