Lucky 13

Tomorrow Holly and I celebrate 13 years of marriage. She's put up with a lot! Wacky. If she didn't love God, we would have never made it. Her love for me is about as close as you can get to the way God loves us. She chases after me every day, even when I'm difficult. When I mess up, she forgives me and that's that...she never holds it against me or later pulls out a "remember when." Pretty sure God picked her out for me and used her to show me how He loves us. She goes to all my football and basketball games. Helps me play with a band and watch the boys on her own while I mess around on the guitar. She is one of the best mothers who ever walked the face of the earth. Yeah, I'm blessed. Love you babe...happy 13th.

One thing that stands out about while we were up there and Holly's dad was marrying us...I had the Princess Bride wedding scene in my head and was really fighting back laughter just waiting for her dad to start with, :Marriage..." in that slow funny voice.

Just in case you live under a rock and have never seen the Princess Bride:

About a year ago...

We just got some pictures in the mail from the lady who has been photographing Holly and the boys for the Texas Department of State Health Services. The boys and momma have been modeling for her since the second day the boys escaped from the womb. There are some REALLY COOL pics of the boys in the latest batch...too many to scan in and share online. So you'll have to come over if you want to see them all. I don't think the boys actually made it into print this time, I don't know why...maybe they wanted to give other kids a chance so they wouldn't feel so bad. Kind of like in tee ball where everyone gets to play and wins a participation ribbon. Anywho, it reminded me that it was about this time last year when Holly and the boys were on the cover of the Texas WIC News magazine.

Here are just a few pics from the boys' photo shoot earlier this year for the State's breastfeeding campaign in August this year.

I Married A Cover Girl

Easy. Breezy. Beautiful.

It is going to be rough trying to elude the paparazzi from now on. Holly is available for car shows and other publicity events!

*EDIT* this is not a joke, no photoshopping done here. It is a real magazine for Texas' WIC program. I know you can get to the PDF version on the WIC website. Click HERE for the PDF of the above news maganize. There are a couple more pics on page 3 and 4. Not sure where you get the printed version...I guess a health clinic or a WIC store?? Here is the first brochure from their first gig right after the boys were born:

Click the pick and it will take you to the PDF for that brochure on the WIC website. They are on the cover and pages 4-5, 6, 8-9 and the infant feeding plan checklist at the very end.

From the WIC website:

WIC News

The Texas WIC News is published every other month by the Department of State Health Services, 1100 W. 49th Street, Austin, TX, 78756. Subscriptions are free. Issues can be viewed in pdf format on this Web page. Requests for a subscription or for copies of back issues can be e-mailed to WIC News subscriptions or Leticia Silva or mailed to the address above.

Parents don't have to worry though...we have extra copies to send to ya!

Father's Day Photo Shoot

Well, I didn't post pics of Holly's Mother's Day gift (studio photos) until June. So posting Father's Day gifts (more photos) in July is par for the course. Last month I posted pics of Holly's gift, pics of me and the boys. For Father's Day Holly got me the same gift. I wanted pics of just her and the boys, but she insisted on family pics while the boys are still "young." So here they are. Oh yeah, Miranda has been here all summer and she even got in on the action! We spent way too much money the first time, so don't expect to get pics in the mail this time...except for parents/grandparents. If there is a shot you know you want, let us know and we can either get for you or tell you how to order :)

Here are the pics we got...we didn't get a CD with the order this time (again, expensive), so these are scanned in photos. Don't recommend using this for prints.

Holly and Randy Race To Find "It"

Loaded up a pic for Holly and Randy to see who would be the first one to find "It." What "It" is, they didn't know, but they'd know it when they find "It." I tried to be slick and catch it on film. Left the camera rolling...then being the sly cat that I am, I slowly picked it up and started recording them. Unfortunately, I'm about as sly as our fat cat Tiger II who thinks hes hiding from you cause his little head is behind the couch but his fat ol' rumpus is sticking way out. The girls were on to me and the jig was up. Still gave them a good little scare though...

Going Home Soon

Busy day today. We slept from about 2am-8am today! Well, I did. The boys slept in the nursery last night and stayed there for 2 feedings. That gave us over 6 hours. Holly was still awaken a couple times by the RN so they could get her blood pressure. She still got to sleep way more than normal this week.

This morning peeps were in and out of the room. Birth certificate stuff, billing, nurses checking on holly and a staff photographer. The photos were fun. Got some good ones of the boys in their Raider onesies and on their Raider baby blankets. They seemed kind of pricey though...we'll decide later if we get them or not.

Few more pics of Uncle Vick and Aunti Melissa from last night and the boys this morning. Same PHOTO ALBUM link. Only a few pics uploaded, they start at #62.

We got one more feeding to do and then we start checking outta here!

Eek! Don't Wake Mama

Whew...that was a close call. Holly finished feeding the boys about an hour ago and got to relax for the first time today and go to sleep. I was almost about to join Holly in La La Land when the door opened and the nurse walked in. She said she couldn't leave without getting the boys temp, which means unswaddling them and making them so very not happy. Got her to take the boys to the nursery and just do it there. They are going to bring them back for the next feeding at 6pm. Mama is still sleeping!

So far so good here. Day 4 in our little room...but the company is great. Oh yeah, and the Nourishment Room is right across the hall from us. They got juices and milk, crackers and graham crackers and ice cream and frozen fruit pops. However, the BEST NEWS of the day is that we get to go home tomorrow!!

Added some more pictures to the Photo Album Here...the newest one starts at pic #25. Enjoy!

Baby Pics and Video

Momma and boys are doing as well as can be expected. Boys are great. Momma is recovering nicely and feeling really good considering. Here are some more baby pictures: Kodak Gallery Album

And here is a vid of momma's growing belly and the boys. Started taking pics of momma back in June. She wasn't growing very fast that early, so we were taking pics about once a week or as often as we remembered. Later on we tried to take pics daily, but around the holidays ended up taking them only once a week or less. At the end is some vid of the boys right after being born and getting cleaned up and weighed. Enjoy!

We Have Babies...FINALLY!

Jeremy
Born at 6:01pm
6 lbs 15 oz
20 1/4 in.

Jordan
Born at 6:02pm
6 lbs 14 oz
19 1/4 in.

Boys are doing great and momma is recovering and about to leave the recovery room and go back to her room.

It's Time!

We were hoping to avoid the C-Section, but doc wants to do that. Holly is still at 4cm and she had been at it for a long time. We should be in the O.R. in about 20 minutes and should have boys out around 45 minutes after that!

Next post will hopefully have pictures.

Why won't they come out?

Still nothing but pain and discomfort. I don't how she is doing it, but Holly is still hanging in there. Doc is coming in for another measurement at 5pm and then should have a plan for whats next. I'm just sitting here hoping to help her somehow. 'Bout all I can do is get her more ice and shoulder/arm rubs...scratch her back for her.

I would prefer to video the kids...but for now, here are their heart beats and momma's contractions. The graph with the contractions has thick vertical red lines...those are 1 minute apart. In this graph she was having them 2 minutes apart. Since then they got sporadic and they are giving her some drug to try and get them looking regular again.

4cm

Gosh it is really slow going. Jeremy's head is super low and hopefully should keep things progressing. I don't know how long its been since the last exam...maybe an hour or less? Seems like forever since I last posted, but it hasn't really been too long.

Still progressing, but not much to report. Holly got some extra pain meds and she is busy crunching away on her ice chips. She didn't seem so great early, but after that last dose of pain killers she's doing a lot better.

Oh, if you are trying to call...call Holly's cell. Mine just went dead, but Vick is bringing my charger over after work. He is also letting the dogs out for us. Thanks dude! I should have my phone back on later this evening. For now, Holly's number is the same as mine...just add 1 to the last number.

3cm

Holly is still at 3cm, but she is 100% effaced which is good...otherwise doc might already be doing a C-section. Doc doesn't want Holly and the boys' health to get too stressed. If she hasn't progressed more than 3cm in 2-3 hours, then he would like to get the boys out now. On her next evaluation, if they see progress then we will continue to allow for the boys to come out on their.

They just did a sonogram and at first freaked a little because they thought one of the boys had turned. Body parts were just mixed up and overlapping and it turns out the boys are still good. Jordan is a little sideways, but still head down.

Can't believe its been over 12 hours already. 7am-12pm just flew by. Holly can't have anything to eat, she just keeps sipping on water and eating ice chips. I got a chance to sneak away the last hour and grab a quick bite from the cafeteria. Nothing to brag about there.

Back to the waiting game...

2-3cm

Holly hasn't dilated much yet. She has pre-eclampsia so they are keeping a close watch on that. It caused her blood pressure to rise some and they are running blood tests about every hour or so to make sure it doesn't get worse. If it does, they won't be able to wait for her to dilate. For now everything is looking okay. Shhh...she is actually sleeping now!

Doc said he'd come check in again in about 4-6 hours. Unless of course her blood pressure starts to rise again. She is just resting now until the RN comes back in about an hour to monitor her again.

Gonna get some guilt-free sleep too...

We Got Baby Pics!!

Psych! We got baby pics, just not THE baby pics. Those boys are still camping out in momma's belly and seem to have buckled down for the winter. Still looking like Tuesday is THE day for the real pics.

For now though...kinda wonder what they will look like.

Full Term!!

Last Tuesday was week 37 for Holly and the boys and they are now considered full term.

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

We got some vid earlier this week of the boys kickin' around inside the womb. Hope you enjoy the footage!

Pregger Photos

Yeah, sorry. I know I said the photos were coming right up and I didn't do it. Wanted to do some editing on them and started, but just ran out of time. Here they are: Kodak Gallery Photo Album

Holly is still doing great. She is hurting a lot, but she is handling it really well. The 2nd half of the photos, we had walked around a bit and she was struggling to put a smile on, but she really wanted to get the photos. 1 WEEK TO GO!

Week And A Half To Go

Holly entered her 36th week on Tuesday...

Babies are gaining about an ounce a day. They now weigh around 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon...okay?) and are more than 18 1/2 inches long. They're shedding most of the downy hair that covered their bodies, as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protected their skin during their nine-month amniotic bath. Next week, the babies will be considered full-term. Most likely they are in a head-down position, but if not, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an external cephalic version, where she'll try to turn your baby by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

We had a appointment with her doc on Tuesday as well. Everyone is happy and healthy. The boys seem to happy and don't want to be disturbed. Doc said she wanted to induce by Holly's 38th week and we agreed. So the boys will definitely be here by the 27th!! Week and a half to go. No worries about the boys being head down, they have both been head down for at least a couple of months now. Hopefully no one decides to practice their cartwheels this next week.

Oh and on Monday we went to the pond/lake thing in our 'hood and took some preggers shots of Holly and her bulbous belly. I should have those posted manana.

Week 35 and Counting...

"Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight."

Multiply that times 2! Even more crowded and one big giant heavy belly. Holly's belly is measuring the size of a woman in her 42nd week of pregnancy. Everything is going great and we are hoping the boys come any time now. Getting a mass e-mail ready to send for when the day comes.

These are pics and video from our practice run through at the hospital. Check out the blog back in November for our night at the hospital.

This is a vid the monitor monitoring the babies' heartbeats and Holly's contractions. She had like 4 thing-a-ma-jigs hooked up to her belly:

Seriously??

Why do the batteries in smoke detectors always run out in the middle of the night? About 2AM yesterday Holly woke me up because a T-800 was wondering around the house. When I finally ruled out an invasion of sophisticated futuristic robots rummaging through the house for Sarah Conner, we then had to determine which smoke detector needed a new battery. We figured out it wasn't the downstairs alarm...so it had to be one of the 2 upstairs. Of course, now the alarm thought it had given us enough warning of the battery loss and decided not to beep anymore. I know it was just plotting and waiting for us to fall asleep before beeping again. I figured since the beep didn't wake me up, it had to be the one furthest from us. So I swapped out that battery and fell back asleep.

Frank 1, Smoke Alarm 0.

Oh yeah, and Holly is now in her 32nd week. Woop-woop! Just want to make it through week 34 and then the boys can come as soon as they want!