Through Her Eyes

My daughter, Sophie, age 3, took this picture of me the other day.  She is developing a love of photography and has taken over 400 pictures with the ipad.  My partner Jess found the picture and showed it to me, asking sarcastically, "You want to upload this one to facebook?"  We both laughed hysterically, and I made a comment about how awful I look.  Sophie asked to see the picture and her smile dropped and she got very sad and said, "But it is happy."  We were stunned.  To her, this is a beautiful picture featuring the smile of one of her mothers.  It is a happy picture.  All we saw was a zit and a double chin.  Sophie saw happiness.  We stand corrected.

They're Here!

Alice Inez and Sophia Louise were born at 10:43 a.m. and 10:44 a.m., respectively, on November 6, 2010. Here is their birth story:

On Friday, November 5th Jessica had a routine midwives appointment. At that appointment her blood pressure was very high and she was "dumping proteins" in her urine so preeclampsia was diagnosed. She had also gained almost 20 lbs in the last two weeks, clearly from water retention as she was very, very puffy all over. The midwives ordered blood work to see how bad things were and sent us home. I started to get worried as I went home and read more, so I went to Meijer and got an automatic blood pressure cuff to check her blood pressure at home. It was 165/94. I called the midwives again and they told us to head to the hospital. We got to Mercy St. Vincent hospital around 4:00 p.m. Once admitted, Jessica and the babies were monitored for hours. Dr. Jackson (the doctor that works for the midwives) and the hospital staff decided to keep her overnight because her blood pressure was still very high. A nighttime blood draw revealed her platelets were dropping fast, so it was decided very early Saturday morning that a c-section would be performed at 10:30 a.m. This is a picture of us getting ready for surgery.

Jessica was prepped in the operating room and then I was brought back. It was very upsetting to see her strapped down to the table and drugged. Plus, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Obviously she could, but since the spinal block was administered so high, her chest was numb so she couldn't feel herself breathe. Things happened quickly and Baby A (right) was brought out at 10:43 a.m. Baby B (left) followed at 10:44. Sophia was always labeled Baby A in the womb, and Alice Baby B; however, Baby B became Baby A upon delivery because she was brought out of Jess's uterus first! I was able to go over to the warming tables and see and touch each of them immediately. Both were so small!! Alice was 5 lbs and 18 3/4 inches long. Sophia was 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long. We were very worried that they would need time in the NICU, but they ended up scoring 8/9 on their apgar tests so they could be cleaned up and handed over to us immediately! I went back to sit by Jess as they were putting her back together. She started to feel very sick to her stomach because when they touch the stomach and bowels, it causes severe nausea. So, when they handed me Alice (now Baby A) and I said, "Honey, look it's Alice!" Jess turned her head and vomited. :-) Eventually the nausea passed and both babies were placed on top of Jess and everyone was rolled out to the recovery room.

Everyone in the operating and recovery rooms said "congrats moms!" to both of us (very welcoming hospital) and both babies got to breastfeed within 30 minutes of being born. Jess's brother, mother, and my parents visited after surgery. (Alice is on left, Sophia on right in the picture)

35 weeks

We have officially reached the point where the girls can be born and they may not even need any time in the NICU! This is very exciting. And, Jess is very, very ready for them to be born. I measured her yesterday and she was at 52 weeks pregnant. She is having a very difficult time getting around, the acid reflux is pretty much 24/7, and there are other details that I'm pretty sure she doesn't want me writing about on the web. Point is--she done!

We've also been hard at work trying to get Sophia (baby A) to turn upside down. At our 32 week ultrasound appointment we got the news that she is breech and that her sister, Alice, (baby B) is transverse (laying sideways). Our midwives will only do a vaginal twin delivery if Baby A is vertex (head down). So, we are trying a 3-pronged approach. First, we are talking to Sophia, trying to tell her how much more wonderful a natural birth will be for mama Jess and herself. Second, Jess has been laying upside down on an ironing board propped up on the couch (see pics). The idea is that it will dislodge Sophia's butt from the bottom of the uterus and give her the space to turn if she wants (after all, her sister is constantly weighing on her when Jess is right side up). Third, we've been going to a chiropractor that does the "webster method." Basically this involves working with the round ligaments that hold up the uterus and doing other minor adjustments to loosen up the uterus so that Baby A can move if she so desires. Jess loves the chiro and does feel better all over, so this has had major advantages even if Sophia doesn't flip.

We find out if all our efforts pay off on Monday, November 8th (36 week ultrasound). If not, that means we are scheduling the c-section for week 39.

28 weeks later...

Well, I'm a little behind on blogging because I'm trying to get my book finished by September 22nd and we had to get ready for the baby showers, BUT, all is still well with Alice and Sophia. We had their 28 week ultrasound on September 16th and we are happy to report that they are both still a bit on the larger side! Sophia is weighing in at 2 lbs. 13 oz. and Alice is a whopping 3 lbs. 3 oz.! To put this in perspective, babycenter.com says that typically a 28 week fetus weighs 2 lbs. 4 oz., a 29 week fetus weighs 2 lbs. 8 oz., a 30 week fetus weighs 3 lbs. and a 31 week fetus weighs 3 lbs. 3 oz. So, they both doing quite well.

The ultrasound tech says that the 6 oz. difference is nothing to be worried about. In fact, their rate of growth is about the same. Sophie will probably always just be a smaller person than Alice (remember, they are no more related than sisters born years apart!).

Unfortunately, we don't have very many good pictures from this visit. The girls are now getting big enough that it is hard to get pictures and they don't do as many full turns and twists to get in a good picture taking position. Sophia was faced away from the "camera" almost the whole visit. The one time she was looking our way was also the exact time Alice decided to put her feet in Sophia's face! So, we have lots of good shots of Alice--even with her eyes open!--but none of Sophia. Nevertheless, the tech could measure all their parts and see all the organs and we know everything is still fine.

Jess's cervix is still long so no bed rest is needed! This is quite amazing considering how far along she is and how big the girls are.

Week 24 Ultrasound: Still Girls, Now 100%

Just back from our 24 week ultrasound and we are still the proud parents of two girls, now confirmed as "100% girl" (that is actually what the tech said and typed on the photos!). We got some fantastic shots of Alice and Sophia (see the slideshow) and mom and babies are doing well. No bedrest is needed, yet, because Jess's cervix is still "nice and long." This means that the cervix is supporting the weight of the babies without any problems.

And weigh they do! Sophia (baby A) weighs 1 pound 8 oz., and Alice (baby B) weights 1 pound 10 oz. This is the average weight for 25 week old fetuses so the girls are still measuring a little big! Yeah! The tech said that the difference in their weights is nothing to be concerned with; it is completely normal at this point.

All their organs are so much bigger! Before at the ultrasounds, the tech would point to a tiny little circle and then label it "bladder." Now, all the organs, kidneys, bladder, stomach, etc. are much more noticable. We know that their little lungs are also developing now because we got to see Sophia have the hiccups! Very cute! It is amazing, but they are actually "breathing" the amniotic fluid, helping the branches of their lungs develop. This week, and this development, actually mark the point of (possible) viability. If the girls were born today, it may be possible for them to survive outside the womb with significant help and intervention. Luckily, however, they have a lot more time to grow and develop inside of their mommy Jess.

We also got to see Alice yawn. So adorable! As you can see from the pictures, they are getting some fat on them and looking more and more like cute, little babies.

23 week belly

Jess is 23 weeks pregnant, but as you can see her belly looks like she is about ready to give birth! So goes the twin pregnancy! The absolute roundness of her belly is simply amazing.

We have our 24 week ultrasound coming up on Monday. We're excited to see the girls again. I've been painting furniture in the nursery. The bookcase, end table, and changing table are all furniture we've had but are now re-purposing it for the nursery. We're painting these items grass green to go with the forest theme of their room. The walls are a nice, muted yellow--like sunshine! It is lots of fun to see it start to come together.

Bill the cat is first to witness visible movement!

This morning Jess was sitting at the table doing homework with her shirt pulled up over her very pregnant belly. Then she noticed our cat Bill staring at her belly with the "about to pounce" look in his eyes. She looked down and saw one of the girls pushing/kicking through her belly! Hilarious!