Happy Birthday Bonner MoMos!

Waiting to go the OR

John hanging out waiting to come to the OR

We were so excited to meet our little girls

Here comes Ms. Charlotte

And out comes Ms. Aubrey

The cords....

Graphic I know but these girls are little miracles!

John and little Aubrey

Getting Charlotte all settled in

Holding Aubrey's hand when I got to see them in NICU for the 1st time

Charlotte chilling out in the NICU

Happy birthday to my dear sweet little girls Aubrey Belle and Charlotte Ruth! It is so hard to believe that the day we have been patiently waiting for was finally here! On August 19th, Charlotte was born at 6:30pm weighing 4lbs 16-1/2 in long and Aubrey at 6:31pm weighing 2lb15oz 15-1/4 in long.

The c-section went well and the doctor and nurses were amazed at the twisting and knotting of the girls' cords. The girls were shown to us and then taken out to be assessed. John was able to go with them and see them as they got them stabilized. After being with the girls, he met me in the recovery room. My stay in the recovery room that was supposed to be an hour ended up lasting almost 5 hours due to my blood pressure. While I was in the recovery room, the girls were brought down to see me before heading to the NICU. Aubrey was breathing on her own at first and headed up to the Level 2 NICU. After a short while of labored breathing, she was put on a CPAP and brought to Level 3 NICU with sister. Charlotte and Aubrey are both on CPAPs to help them breathe. They are in the Level 3 NICU right now. They are eating and breathing getting stronger every day.

Of course, we want to see our girls get better everyday, but know that it is a roller coaster. There will be good days and bad days with Charlotte and Aubrey. This entire pregnancy has certainly been a learning experience for John and I. It has helped us grow together as a family and rely on each other even more. Our family of 2 has grown to a family of 4. We could not be happier and more in love with these girls.

There are so many people out there rooting for us. We have family, friends, and even people we don't even know praying and thinking about us. We appreciate all of it and am amazed at all of the support we have had! THANK YOU!

Countdown to D-Day

We had our weekly ultrasound yesterday and got to see our little girls! Our little porker Charlotte is weighing 4lbs 8oz and Aubrey is slowly but surely catching up to her sister weighing 3lbs. We were so happy to see that there was growth with both of them.

My blood pressure has been high this week, but nothing too out of control! They have been closely monitoring it checking it multiple times during the day. I have some edema in my back, which is common for fluid to rest there for those that are on bed rest, and minor headaches. The first 24-hr urine analysis came back kind of high with protein. They requested I do another one which also showed the same thing.

After speaking with our doctor and looking at the ultrasound, he decided to go ahead and take the babies TOMORROW! With the difference in their weights getting greater and the other signs of pre-eclampsia that I have been having, we have decided now is the time. Tomorrow we will meet our 32 week mark and we will meet our baby girls! 32 weeks has been our goal all along and feel so fortunate that we are going to meet it.

What a journey this has been! Today is Day 50 in the hospital and it is hard to believe that it has been that long. We are so excited yet anxious to get them here safe and sound! My c-section is scheduled for 6pm tomorrow.....so I only have a few more good meals left until clear liquids for a while. :)

I will be sure to post many pictures as soon as I can of Aubrey and Charlotte!

Day 47

Slowly but surely we are getting there.... We have had quite a weekend!

On Friday evening during our monitoring session, I started having contractions. It is normal for me to have 1-2 during monitoring, but I had 7 in less than an hour and I could actually feel them (I haven't felt them when I have them before). They gave me a shot of Terbulatine to stop the contractions. They will usually give up to 3 of these shots, but one did the trick for me! My nurse that night, which is ironically named Charlotte, warned me that I may feel my heart race due to the medicine. Boy did I! My hands shook as well as my legs! It made me feel so weird! Since Friday, we have had no issues with contractions or irritability. Cross your fingers that it stays that way!

Over the past week, we have watched my blood pressure slowly rise. I usually run pretty low, and it has steadily gone up since we have been here. On Saturday, the doctor on call requested my blood to be taken to check on my liver enzymes as well as doing a 24-hour urine collection to check for protein. These are early signs of pre-eclampsia. I have no other symptoms such as swelling, blurry vision, headaches, etc. other than high blood pressure. The blood came back negative, but we are still waiting to hear about the urine analysis.

I have been laying on my side throughout the day and really trying hard to be still (which you know is SO hard for me) to keep my blood pressure under control. We are so fortunate to have doctors and nurses that are monitoring me and the babies and being extra cautious!

John had to go back to work today.... SO sad for me! I have been so used to him being here and although it is not that far away, I still wish he was here with me. I have text him updates so far today and will continue as I know it is just as hard for him to be away too.

Day 42

Our wall of fame! We have had so many visitors! I still don't get pictures of everyone that comes but the majority of them...I can't help it if I forget! :) All of the nurses and staff that come in love to look at the pictures and decorations in my room!

What a great week we have had so far! Days are filled with visitors and we have received so many thoughtful words and cards from family and friends. The nurses here on staff have become our family. They are all so kind and take such wonderful care of me, the girls, AND John! They truly care about us and are rooting for these little ladies to stay cooking as long as they can! HA!

Our weekly scan was done yesterday and definitely gave us some relief. Aubrey hasn't been gaining much weight over the past couple of weeks and this week she proved that she is catching up to her sister! Aubrey weighs 2lb 13oz and Charlotte weighs 3lb 6oz. The doctor was happy with their weights and especially their cords! There was no tightness with the cords and my fluid looked good. At this rate, we may even make it 34 weeks!

WOW!

Hard to believe that tomorrow is day 40! It honestly doesn't seem like we have been here that long, but on the other hand it does.....if that makes sense! I am still able to walk around the hospital and even walk outside so that helps me to stay sane!
My bedside massage last week was WONDERFUL! I wasn't sure how a "side-to-side" massage would be compared to laying on my belly, but it really helped with soreness that I have from laying on my sides in the bed.
Friday was another big milestone for us.....Week 30! Can't wait until the ultrasound this week to see how much our little girls have grown. Their momma is getting bigger so they must be....right?!
Monitoring is still going great! The girls are a lot more cooperative than they were when we got here. They are a few variables but no decels yet! YAY! Let's keep it that way! I have a few aches and pains as I am getting bigger, but nothing major.
It could be 2 more weeks or even 3 more! Who knows! What I do know is that even though I worry about how Aubrey and Charlotte are doing, it is SO reassuring to be here and know that I have the best care possible.

Day 34

Well.... all is good here in the hospital world! We have had some great visitors that help pass the time and keep us laughing! I scheduled a massage for tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait! It is a gift from John for our anniversary and I am just now getting around to scheduling it. It is a service that is offered through the hospital....they come to my bedside. Hopefully it will leave me nice and relaxed.
We had an ultrasound this morning and received great news! Our little girls are getting BIG! Charlotte weighs 3lb 4oz and Aubrey weighs 2lb 8oz. Our doctor is happy with their weights and the cord flow and fluid levels still look good! He said we may even make it to 33 weeks! We shall see.....
What an amazing gift we have been blessed with! We can't wait to meet our little girls!