Our babies are one week old!

I know I've been MIA, but I have a good excuse, well actually two... :) 

We had our babies last week @ 36w4d.  With the cerclage out @ 36 weeks, we were again 2cm dilated, more on that nightmare, and then the OB found me @ my 37 wk appt., to be up a full 50 lbs. and, unbeknownst to me,  to be 3 cm, 80% effaced, contracting, and bag bulging, so she sent me to the hospital for our C-section.  By the time we got there, I was 5 cm, 100% effaced, and baby boy's foot was stretched into the birth canal, but his bag was still somehow intact, making it an urgent need to deliver them ASAP.  He had been frank breech for ten weeks and including that afternoon, but he still managed to figure out a way to kick his way out.

In all the time I'd spent at Prentice and with OBs of my practice, we'd never seen them move as fast as they did that afternoon.  And so within less than an hour of our arrival at the hospital, the babies were delivered.

Alistair William Ratan S. was born on 12/20/11 @ 5:06pm, weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces and measuring 18.25 inches long.

Marielle Claire Patricia S. followed at 5:07pm, weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 19 inches.

Neither needed any NICU time and we came home on Christmas Eve evening.  They continue to do really well and we are so in love.

A sneak peak from our newborn photo shoot at the hospital...

The view from our room... The lake and the MCA (where we had our first date nearly seven years ago)

Off we go! :) (36 weeks!!)

This is the last of the twin gestation pics, as the avg. is 36 weeks...

Well, the time has finally come. We are 36 weeks along and after 16 long weeks on bed rest and nearly 15 with the cerclage, the stitch comes out today. It is difficult to predict now what will happen and when. If they release us from the hospital today, we've decided to stay in the city for the weekend, to see how things play out, and be a bit closer to the hospital. DH is anxious about getting there, even though the weather so far thankfully has been unseasonably mild. I think we've both had visions of having babies on the side of the highway, though thankfully given their positions, they won't just be coming out on their own.

Not surprisingly, I'm getting even more uncomfortable (whether I'm up or down) and honestly am really ready to not be pregnant anymore. We've reached our goals and are not looking to set any records here. I'm now 47" around my middle and up about 45 lbs. My OB is beyond thrilled. I am just excited to meet these babies!! :)

My weaknesses = stocking stuffers for the twins

I have a serious weakness for Jellycat stuffed animals and have for several years now.  They make the most adorable stuffed animals that I've ever seen and thankfully are easier to find now.  They are based in London, but I first came across them on the Vineyard a few years ago.  I got the twins the Bonne Huit Bunnies (in nutmeg and stone) from their Jellykitten line for their stockings this year, as they are "baby safe," they will be born in the Year of the Rabbit (like DH), and are sure to be a hit.

Another serious weakness of mine is baby socks.  I probably don't need to explain this, they are just way too cute.  After amassing some from Robeez and Zutano, I also had to get them some Trumpettes specifically for Christmas.  Gotta keep all those twenty tootsies warm (and cute! ;) ) and until they're big enough for shoes, it's all about the socks...  And what's better to find in a big sock, than a bunch of little socks!

We're growing! (and almost 35w)

I'm not sure why I thought that we were almost done growing, but wow we've had some crazy painful growth spurts in the last few days.  I've gained two more inches around my middle (that's 45" now for those keeping track) and I'm also growing in just about every direction, up, down, to the sides, etc.  My stretch marks, which go from one hip to the other now (under the bump only) are completely out of control.  It seems odd that my beach ball belly has gone untouched, oh well.  Thank goodness.

I've been fighting a head cold for almost a week now, and I don't think I'm winning.  I haven't been sick at all this pregnancy, or for a long time at all for that matter.  Not really what I need as we round to nine months pregnant w/twins.  I already couldn't breathe or sleep before the cold, so you can imagine what it's like now.  It started in my throat last Saturday and has made the rounds to my ears, nose, head and back again.  I feel like crap.  The only saving grace is that it's not the flu (yes, I got the shot) which would have me in the hospital and that I'm getting it out of the way now and not in a few weeks.  Hopefully it will impart some early immunity to the twins.  A girl can hope, right?

We had a super speedy NST this morning, so good I was out in and out in 30 mins.  Then we went up to the Drs. office for our growth scan.  The babies are looking great and growing like crazy.  Baby girl is est. to be 5 lbs. and 13 ozs. and baby boy is est. to be 5 lbs. and 9 ozs., both well above average for singletons.  No wonder I feel huge.  My OB found my cervix to still be closed but still thin.  She said if I have any more bleeding or contractions that take me to the hospital, they will just take out my cerclage, as she'd rather have it out than in at this point.  We are scheduled to get the cerclage out in eight days (next Friday @ 36w) and unless I begin to labor/progress, they will just send me home and then we wait.  Final eviction date via CS (since the babies haven't moved and boy is still breech) is scheduled for Dec. 30th.  We are finally in the home stretch and it feels mighty good... :)

Our twins' names

So for the big reveal...

Even though their names are not strictly common, I guess it turns out that unintentionally their initials (as well as their names) are on trend for 2012... (and apparently somehow influenced by me being a pre-med poms nerd from N WI, as Marissa Mayer used both names w/her kids born after ours). Here's the full explanation/story of how we decided on them (as promised), just in case you are interested...

Baby girl:  Marielle Claire Patricia S. (Mar-ee-el)

DH's name means "sea" in Hindi, and Marielle Claire means "bright" "star of the sea" and "wished for" (French, but also from the Dutch, Danish, German, Latin, Hebrew, etc.).  Marie happens to be my eldest sister's middle name (along w/half the free world) and I've always just loved the name Claire (which I guess could be seen as an homage to my home town).  Patricia means "noble" (English, Latin) and is my mother's name.  We will call her "Mari", which rhymes with sari and as a random aside with our last name (which sounds nautical, but means gold) makes her a marigold, which is the sacred flower of India.

Baby boy:  Alistair William Ratan S. (Al-iss-tur)

I've always loved the name Alexander (despite having an ex by that name, and not just because my name is Katherine (which is also Greek), a la "the Greats"), and my mother actually recently traced it back to the early 1700's as a family name (Alexander Harper was an ancestor of my late grandmother), but DH doesn't like nicknames in general and doesn't like the NN Alex at all (for whatever reason).  DH is a huge fan of all things Scottish (he jokingly claims to be half), think Scotch, golf, etc. and traveled extensively there when his brother worked in the UK.  Alistair is the Scottish (and English/Celtic) version of Alexander and both mean "defender of mankind".  Alistair also happens to be the name of one of his best friends since pre-school. 

William means "determined guardian".  I like Will for a first name, but with Mari it sounds like they rule 17th century England or have their own college in Virginia, so no dice.  My late grandmother's parents' names were Wil and Ella. :)  Ratan means "precious jewel" in Hindi and is the name of my late father in law, and is DH's middle name.

34 weeks!

I have to say that I didn't know if we would make it this far. And now I can't believe how close we are getting to welcoming these babies.

My NST went well yesterday, I think we finally have these down (secret=lots of juice) so I can get in and out of the hospital in a reasonable amount of time, about an hour. OB appt. today also went well. I'm somehow up five pounds this week (surpassing our 40 lb. goal) which puzzled my OB. I am not swelling at all and my BP is still great, and it seems like I'm barely able to eat enough to keep all three of us alive, given the pressure on my stomach, so who knows where that is coming from. She is so thrilled we have made it this far, and that I'm all baby, and found my cerc to still be in place, but I'm thinning. She told me to stay in bed, though she doesn't know how I walk or breathe given how big I'm measuring anyway. I get so tired on days when I have to go out for appts., I can only hope that my energy will bounce back relatively quickly after our likely C-section birth, as I obviously won't be able to spend all my time in bed, or at least resting like I do now, after the twins arrive.

Next week we have our last scheduled u/s and growth scan. Can't wait to see the babies and how big they are getting. Only two more weeks 'til we set them loose! :)