Flash back: First three weeks of motherhood

So, do you happen to recall me mentioning something about our blog was nominated to be one of the Top 25 Moms of Multiples blogs at Circle of Moms?  I may have blurted it out a few times...maybe begged for a few votes?  Oh, you know what I'm talking about? 

I'm very excited that, as of this morning, we are on the top 25, and just five votes away from breaking into the top 10!  You can help me by voting once a day through May 20th.  A big hug and thank you to all of you that have been voting!




In honor of being nominated, I thought I'd share some of my favorite moments from my first weeks of being a mommy of multiples.

This picture on the left is me at 12 weeks pregnant, already in maternity pants for almost three weeks.

And the photo on the right is me at exactly 34 weeks, one day before labor was induced.  I'm not sure this qualifies and one of my favorite moments, but certainly a pivotal one at least.  We knew this day would come, but it's rare that you have the opportunity to recognize the very moment your life is about to change forever, or capture it with a photo! 

At this point, I had already been on maternity leave for about a month and a half.  I remember being very done at this point, but very much in the "nesting" phase.  I was still having morning sickness, and just walking from the bed to the couch was a huge challenge for me, but I still felt the need to push myself to clean the house an try to get everything ready for the little ones.  The morning after this picture was taken, after my weekly check up with my OB, I called my hubby and friends and told them that babies were quite happy in my tummy and wouldn't be coming anytime soon.  But later that day I had an ultrasound that revealed that Makayla had not grown over the last five weeks of my pregnancy so they sent me home to pack a bag, and was to go to the hospital that evening to be induced.  After explaining to his boss, "My wife isn't anywhere close to having these babies" and then a few hours later, "My wife is going into labor tonight!" Joey raced home from work and started building and putting together things like a crazy person!

Twenty an a half hours after heading to the hospital, our twins were born, just five minutes apart.  Little tiny things.  Makayla was born first, just 3 pounds 9 ounces and then Austin, just 4 pounds, 9 ounces, and were swept right off to the NICU.  I didn't actually get to meet my babies until a few hours latter when my epidural had worn off.

Finally, at 14 days old, the babies were finally off their feeding tubes, and IV's and I was able to hold them both at the same time.  This was a very emotional moment for me.  The journey to get pregnant had been a long and difficult one, and now two and a half long weeks in the NICU.  At this moment I finally knew my babies were healthy enough to be on their way home soon.  After all these years of working to make a family, by this coming Christmas, only a little more than a week away, we would all be together.  In our home.  My sweet little instant family.

Finally heading home!  16 days old, 14 days in the NICU!  Never in my life have I been so terrified to be driving a car.  Every pot hole and speed bump felt like my car tumbling off the Grand Canyon.  Every turn felt like a it might cause the babies to fly right out of their car seats!  To my surprise, we all survived the short trip home.

When they came home, they lived for the first few weeks in a pack and play in our living room (nights in our room with us).  Those first weeks home were a non stop cycle of, change, feed, pump, change, feed, pump, so there was little time for much else but to just stare at them and daydream about all the exciting things their futures will hold.  At this point, I thought I would be returning to work in just four short weeks, so I took every single spare second I had to touch them, smell them and kiss them.  I still do those things, but each of those kisses and nuzzles are all the more emotional when you think it will only last for four weeks!