Last Post

I know its been a while since I have posted any updates, and this will be my last post. The babies are doing great!!! Please feel free to view our new shutterfly site with lots of pictures and updates on the babies. This site is much easier to post large quantities of photos and it makes it easy for family and friends to order whatever pictures they might want copies of.

http://buckleybabies.shutterfly.com/

I will be deleting the blog in a couple of weeks.

Thank you for your support and thanks for following our very long journey!!!

1 Week Old

The babies are now a week old (actually 9 days old now) and have managed to survive 5 days at home with us so far :o). They are doing great and we are all trying to adjust to our new lives, in more ways than one.

Here are a couple of pics.

Derrick & Elissa Born, March 30th, 2010

The Twins are here.........

Derrick and Elissa have arrived,

They were born around 6:50 pm last night. March 30,2010. Due to having developed Toxemia they had to deliver the twins early. Derrick weighed in at 5.4 oz. and 19 inches long. Elissa weighed in at 6.2 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

Mommy & Babies are doing well, and are expected to go home Sat. Further updates & pictures will be posted soon.

36 Weeks (GROWING)

Oh my goodness it seems like I grow SO much Every Day!! After only a week from the last time I posted a picture, here is my belly now..

The goal was for me to make it to 36 weeks, then the Dr said I no longer have to be on bed rest or take that medication that makes me swell so badly! Today is that day! YIPEE! Although he is out of town until Sunday night, I am now safe to go into labor, if I do. I prefer to have my Dr deliver me, but if they decide to come before he returns... so be it. LOL.

36 weeks

Thursday I will be 36 weeks pregnant, which is ultimately what the Dr. wanted me to make it to. My Dr will be out of town until late Sunday night, and I will see him again on Tuesday, which will be my last visit with him before my scheduled C-Section on Tuesday April 6th at Noon.

I went in today for my routine appointment and saw another Dr. in his practice. Everything went well. My blood pressure was high again, but went down before I left there. I also had fetal monitoring again today and everything there as normal.

Labor & Delivery

Last night I was having a lot of contractions and a strong sharp pain in my lower left side. After calling the Dr. on call, it was recommended that I go to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. I was having contractions about 7 minutes apart and my blood pressure was really high (again). They hooked me up to the machines, watched my contractions, and kept a close eye on my blood pressure. Both babies were doing fine. After about 2 1/2 hours, my contractions slowed a little bit and my blood pressure went down, and they believe the sharp pain is my ligaments stretching from the babies growing, so they sent me home. I was advised to continue the medication that I am on to slow the labor process and stick to the bed rest. I have my next appointment with the Dr. on Tuesday.

Fetal Monitoring

I had my fetal Monitoring appointment today and it went well. Everything still looks normal. Heart beats are great and amniotic fluid level is normal.

35 week belly picture

Right now all that is happening is the babies are GROWING... and boy is my belly growing too!

35 Week Check Up

Well, I made it past the weekend that the Dr. was out of town... but apparently I missed the day he told me that he will also be gone all next week.. which of course is my 36th week. I have not dialated any further, so apparently the medication he put me on is helping. Although, I am now 90% effaced. There are 3 Dr's in his practice, so if I shall go into labor while he is gone, the other two Dr's will do the C-Section, however, I really want my Dr. So the goal is now to stay pregnant until he gets back... (which will be march 27th). I know that the longer the babies are inside, the better off they are, but at the same time I am soooooo incredibly uncomfortable and SWOLLEN. The medication I am on causes excess swelling, on top of the natural pregnancy swelling as well as headaches. The babies are growing rapidly, which again is good, but with the growing babies and the excess swelling I am HUGE! ok, there, I am done venting, lol... waiting, waiting, waiting.

34 week Ultra Sound

I had my 34 week ultra sound, no pictures to post.. at this point they are to big, so the pictures are not very exciting (you can't really tell what your looking at). They did measure the babies and both of them are measuring at 5lbs each, so that was really great news. Especially since I will be delivering these babies early, it gives me comfort to know that they are at a good weight at this point.

I am really being good and sticking to laying around and doing nothing. Friends and family have been amazingly generous bringing me Jamba Juice, lunch, dinner etc... its been nice having the company off and on too... daytime tv Sucks!! LOL.

Dialating

Went to the Dr. yesterday and I am 80% effaced and 1/2cm dilated already. He said DO NOT HAVE THOSE BABIES THIS WEEKEND.. lol, because he will be out of town. I am to continue the medication he put me on, and do NOTHING. He is really hoping I can hold off on delivering for 2 more weeks, which would put me at 36 weeks. That is what we are pulling for. So much for the April babies that I so badly wanted.. but at this point, when its safe for them to come out... I WANT THEM OUT.

Contractions

I had my 3rd Fetal Monitoring testing this morning and both babies still look great. Their heartbeats are normal and there is still a normal amount of amniotic fluid, which of course is good news. I have been having a lot more cramping lately, which I guess are contractions. Most of the contractions have been throughout the night when I am sleeping (trying to sleep, I should say). While I was hooked up to the machines I learned I am having a lot more contractions than I was aware of. The nurse called my Dr. and he said its ok. Continue with the medication he put me on to slow the "process", continue with the bed rest and I have an appointment with him tomorrow. We shall see what he sais then. I am 33 weeks and 5 days as of today!

The Nursery is DONE!

Yay!! The nursery is complete and ready for Derrick and Elissa!! Grandma and Grandpa came over today to help install the valances, fix the bumpers in the cribs (which I apparently installed wrong, LOL) and they had fun helping.

And the completed room:

The music mobiles are up. The valances and changing pad cover are coming today and the hanging lights that we are putting up will be done this weekend... then the nursery will be complete and waiting for those babies!! :o)

I had my second day of fetal monitoring and their heart beats look great... amniotic fluid looks good too. next appointment is on Tuesday!

Picture of 32 weeks

I know I am 33 weeks pregnant this week, but I came across this picture of Fraternal Twins at 32 weeks and wanted to share... This is what our babies look like at this stage.

Thinning Cervix

I started the fetal monitoring yesterday. This is a procedure where they strap on monitors to my belly to record the babies heart beats, do an ultra sound to keep tabs on the amniotic fluid and watch for contractions. I have to do this twice a week from here on out. The reason for this is to monitor Derrick. The larger he gets the more oxygen and nutrients he demands and because of his 2 vessel umbilical cord, they need to make sure he is getting everything he needs. The results from yesterdays tests all came out good.

I also started my once a week visits with the Dr. and although I am not dilating, my Cervix has started to thin out already, which of course we don't want yet. He prescribed a medication that I have to take every 6 hours to help slow the process. He also reiterated the importance of my bed rest for the next three weeks. He said if we can make it past three weeks then the babies should be developed enough to come home with us if I were to have them early. Any earlier than 3 weeks then they will probably be in the NICU for a while before getting to come home... so we are working on that.

The C-Section has been scheduled for April 6th (Tuesday) but I have not been given my time slot yet.. I will find that out at my visit next week.

We have our Baby Care Basics class tonight. This class will help prepare us for the babies. It will teach us (more for Danny :o) how to diaper, sponge bathe, and care for infants etc.. It should be fun and I am hoping it will boost Danny's confidence for when the babies arrive.

The Bedding

So the bedding arrived today and I was so excited. I put everything on the cribs, and I am not sure if I really like it or not???? It seems so plain and boring??

Toxemia Scare

After some extreme swelling of the hands and feet (double the size) I gave the nurse a call and she was worried about toxemia. She scheduled me to go in and see the Dr. After a brief Dr. visit I was told there is no toxemia, but they did put me on a more "strict" modified bed rest. I was told to not sit for long periods of time, I should be laying on my side(s). Yay for me!! *insert sarcasm*.

I have a little over 5 weeks left and after some wonderful encouragement from my moms of multiple group, family and friends, I am confident I can do this bed rest thing without completely losing my mind... maybe only partially. :o)

More progress on the nursery

All we have left to get for the nursery is the bedding and window valances.. We are hoping to order all of that this week.

Click on pictures to enlarge

One of my favorite gifts....

Thank you to Marla and Genesee for one of my most favorite gifts. It was so thoughful and so generous! I just love it!!!!

32 Weeks

Baby Shower

Thank you to Crystal and Anjela for the most wonderful baby shower one could ask for! You girls did an amazing job!! Everything was so adorable and so well planned, I felt so special and so loved! I am lucky to have you in my life and I am so lucky to call you girls my best firends!!

I am waiting on the pictures that were taken at the shower (hint hint) then I will share them with you... in the mean time, here are a couple pictures of some of the items we received.

Feeling Special

So today my cousin Lisa took me shopping, and because I am supposed to be on bed rest and not walking around Target, she made me ride around in this motor cart.. hahahaha, I felt like such an old lady!!! It was fun tho, until it ran out of juice!

She bought me an adorable outfit to wear for the baby shower and she picked up my shower gift(s) while we were there! I am so excited and so grateful!

Thank you Lisa!!!

The Glider

One of the pieces of furniture that my mom and dad purchased for us (with all the nursery furniture) is the Glider that Danny wanted to watch sports and rock the babies in... he is more than excited to try it out before the babies get here.

30 Week Belly Pic

30 Week Ultra Sound

I had my 30 week Ultra Sound Appointment today and Grandma Kathi came along. it was fun for her to see her grandbabies! They are both growing wonderfully and are estimated to be over 3 pounds each.

If you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you can actually see the facial features of both babies.

Elissa Lynn - 3 pounds 2 oz


Derrick James 3 pounds 6oz (You can see he has his hand on his forehead)

We have gotten a little bit more done on the nursery! I can't wait to get all the bedding in there, its going to be so cute.

This is the pattern we registered for at Target... The baby bedding will be the pink/brown and blue/brown and the rest of the nursery will be brown/white (like the curtains, changing table etc)

29 Week Dr. Visit

Things are going really well. Babies are both growing at a great rate and their heartbeats are in normal range. Good news!

Since the babies are growing so well, the Dr. put me on Modified best rest for the remainder of the pregnancy (9 weeks to go) to prevent preterm labor. Basically because they are getting so big, my body only knows "size" not how many babies. So because everything is so large, my body would naturally think its ready to deliver... but of course the babies are not ready yet.

Modified bed rest means I am supposed to lay around and do NOTHING all morning and all evening long. For an hour or two during the afternoon I can get up and do small things, but simple things. I started this yesterday, and I am already bored out of my mind. I don't know how I am going to do this for 9 weeks. I tend to catch myself walking around the house looking for things to do... I know *BAD* but I feel so unproductive and BORED! Ugh!

Thank you!!

A special thank you to Heidi Lund for thinking of us when her friend was ready to pass down some baby clothes! She brought us over a bag full of little girl clothes, adorable clothes!! I had so much fun looking through them all and can't wait to put them all in the dresser in the nursery!

We have a TON of baby girl clothes Newborn-3 months and are in need of only clothes 6 months and larger at this point... as well as Boy stuff. We have nothing boy yet :o) other than a couple of outfits.

Here is a pic of the pile Heidi brought over tonight.

There were a few little outfits that refer to Grandma, I thought my mom and Kathi might like... here is a pic of one of them... adorable!

Progress on the Nursery

First off, we would like to thank my Mom and Dad for the wonderful surprise that we received today. They purchased the nursery furniture that we need and we are soooo incredibly grateful. We have a few more items to get, but how nice it is to have that help!!

Here are some pictures of the nursery in progress.

Click to enlarge

Here is a picture of me, in the nursery at 28 weeks pregnant (only 10 weeks to go)!!

Click to enlarge

I purchased the letters of the babies names, painted them and glued brown ribbon to them so we can hang their names above their beds.. I can't wait to get them hung!

I start my 2 week appointments with the Dr for a while, then will be going to every week. Things are going pretty good. The babies are growing inside me every day (and it shows). Dr. said I do not have to go on modified bed rest for another 2 weeks and when I do, I can still go to lunch or dinner and small things like that, but he wants me to take it very easy in the morning and in the evenings. He asked that I do not push a shopping cart, or a vacuum things like that (Danny is going to have to step up) but it doesn't mean I have to be in bed all the time, which is nice (I would go CRAZY).

I want to thank Kristy for the generous gift she brought by for Danny and I the other night. She had blankets made with the babies names on them. They are So incredibly soft and beautiful! The colors (chocolate/pink and chocolate/blue) are perfect and will match the nursery, I can't wait to put them in their cribs.

This past weekend I hosted one of my best friends baby showers at my house (with the help of Anjela.. thank you so much) and it was a lot of fun! It really got me so excited for my shower which is coming up in a couple of weeks.

26 Weeks

My Ultra Sound Appointment went great today. Both babies are growing at the perfect rate and are looking good. Derrick had a little growth spurt, which is wonderful, being that we are watching his growth closely due to the missing artery in the umbilical cord. Elissa's estimated weight is 2 pounds 2 oz and Derrick's estimated weight is 2 pounds 3oz.

They were being a little difficult again this time for the pictures. Each time the nurse would try to freeze the screen for a picture, one baby would push the other baby out of the picture. LOL.

Baby Elissa

Baby Derrick

* Reminder-You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Great Sale

One of my online moms groups that I belong to mentioned a great sale at Target, so I headed over to see what it was all about... ooh ya, great sale alright. 50% I was excited. Here is what I got. Everything was less than $4 each.

In Comparison...

This is me with a belly bump pillow under my shirt... (I was approximately 3 months along, and not really showing yet)



And this is me going on 26 weeks pregnant with no pillow under my shirt...