Leah and Audrey happenings

Audrey

Leah is at the bottom, Audrey is at the top

Audrey doing what she does best, CRYING!

peaceful Leah

Audrey

Audrey and Leah are now almost three weeks old. They are growing fast, and are almost starting to fit in some of their newborn clothes. I didn't buy any preemie clothes for them just because I thought that they wouldn't need them but now I am wishing that I had. We are now almost 100% sure that the girls are not identical. They look completely different from each other. Leah has very curly hair, Audrey has very straight hair. Leah looks so different from the rest of our girls. Audrey looks almost identical to how Kelsie looked as a baby. Leah is QUIET! Audrey is LOUD! That's the biggest difference between them. Sleeping at night is pretty much still non-existent. They wake up about every 2 1/2 hours to eat, and then will go right back to sleep. We have tried to get the girls on the same eating schedule but have found that it's easier just to let them each be on their own eating schedule. We don't wake up one baby when the other one wakes up. It just somehow works better for us. We have also tried putting them both in the same crib but found that the girls did better being in their own cribs. Kevin and I still have a lot to learn about raising twins. It's a lot of work, let's just say that!

Our first Thanksgiving

So our first Thanksgiving away from our family wasn't exactly picture perfect, but we spent the day as a family and that's the most important part right? So the Thanksgiving preparations began around 10:30 a.m. Kevin started getting the turkey ready to put in the oven, it had defrosted for several days and seemed perfect for such a special occasion. We cooked the turkey for four hours and the lovely timer popped out. It was time to take the bird out of the oven. As Kevin started carving it, he noticed that the inside was still completely pink. We couldn't figure what had happened. **side note** I have always gone with Norbest turkey's. The quality is flawless, the taste is delicious, and they are all around perfect turkeys. However, this year I had to go with cheap, and the cheapest turkey was an off brand called private selection. I had never heard of it but whatever, turkey is turkey or so I thought. After putting the turkey back in the oven for the second round we were getting impatient and hungry not to mention words were being said in the kitchen that weren't exactly appropriate on Thanksgiving day. In the meantime, Kevin had started making the potatoes. He decided that he would just have the peeled, cooked potatoes soaking in the pot of hot water until the turkey was done, BAD IDEA! Did you know that potatoes disintegrate after being in water for too long? Yeah, we didn't know either. Potatoes were ruined, and we ended up having to make more. We wanted to include some of our families traditions in the meal so we made a marshmallow salad that Kevin's Grandma makes every year which by the way has to be made the day before. We ended up eating the salad anyway and it tasted just fine. Through all of the cooking, the babies were just screaming and wanted to be held. I was trying to help Kevin and things just weren't going good. After hours of cooking, I wondered why we didn't just load up the kids and get chinese take out or something. Who needs turkey? The day actually ended on a good note, and we had an enjoyable meal. The stress made us enjoy every bite! Next year though we are going out to eat!
Where was Paula Deen when we needed her?

We survived our first week!

Our little babies are 1 week old and somehow we made it through our first week. I didn't know that two little girls could produce so much poop, eat so much, sleep so much, cause sleep deprivation to their two parents, and yet be so lovable all at the same time. In a week's time, here is what we have noticed:
Laundry has now quadrupled- I think I have washed 4 loads just of baby clothes in a week's time

We have gone through at least 60 diapers (that's 240 diapers a month) I may have to get a part time job just to pay for diapers, wow!

Housework is pretty much non-existent at this point, if I can get the laundry done, I feel productive

I need more hands

Breastfeeding is not all it's cracked up to be.(I don't know if a big chest is worth it)

Babies have a good life. Sleep all day, stay awake all night

Life is good, and I am so in love with my four beautiful girls. I am also so in love with my wonderful husband. Kevin is always willing to change diapers, helps take care of the babies in the middle of the night, and he is always worried about my well-being. I am so grateful for Kevin, I couldn't do this without him. Raising twins is definitely a team effort!

It's been a few days now since we brought our girls home from the hospital and I am still in awe as I hold these two in my arms. What a miracle they truly are!

So labor began last Saturday night, I was having regular contractions about 15 minutes apart. Sunday all day was basically the same pattern. I was ready to go to the hospital but was told by my husband and my obstetrician that I needed to wait until the contractions were closer together. (sometimes it's hard being married to a doctor, they think they know everything.) So, as per both doctor's orders, I waited it out. By Monday morning the pain had intensified by 100% and I couldn't stand being in pain any longer. We headed for the hospital where the real fun began. I was dilated to a 5 by the time I got to the hospital and we knew then that this was the real deal. I was given an epidural by Kevin's resident which I was so grateful for. (I love anesthesiologists, I guess that's why I am married to one.) I slept most of the way through labor which lasted about nine hours. When it was time to deliver, they got me ready to take to the OR just in case there was chance of needing a c-section. On the way to the OR Leah was ready to make her debut and was born in the hallway. When we finally made it into the OR it was time to deliver baby number 2, and Audrey made her debut 25 minutes later. It was just a great experience all in all. I couldn't believe how easy it all was. Everything from the pregnancy to the delivery was great! Kevin and I kind of joked that it had to be easy to prepare us for how hard it would be to raise them. Let me just say it's true! The last few days have been quite challenging. Of course both babies have their nights and days mixed up. They have been sleeping all day, and then are awake all night. We get one fed and changed, go to lay them down, and then of course sister wakes up and we start the process all over. We will hopefully develop a schedule and it will all work out. Leah is definitely the peacemaker. Audrey is more high strung and wants to know that someone is with her at all times. Dad is adjusting to having all girls and he has been such a trooper in helping me take care of them. Alyssa and Kelsie are loving that they each get a baby to hold whenever they want to, and they have been such great helpers. We are not sure if our twins are identical or fraternal or not. I still have a hard time telling them apart, and have to ask Kevin who is who. You think that I could figure that out. I also can't tell their cries apart. The other night one of the babies was crying. I went into their room and picked up Leah who was dead asleep only to realize that it was Audrey who was crying. Hopefully I will get this all figured out soon. So that's what's going on in our house where everything is stirring even the mouse!

20 tiny fingers, 20 tiny toes, what lies ahead of us, Heaven only knows!

We are so excited to introduce the two newest additions of our family, Leah and Audrey who were born on Monday, November 10th. Leah was born first, and weighed 5 lbs 8.9 oz. and is 18. inches long. Audrey followed 25 minutes later and weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs. 13 oz. and is 18.5 inches long. Both babies are doing exceptionally well, and are now recovering at home without any problems. We are so grateful that things turned out so well, and now the real fun begins. I need to run, it's feeding time yet again! I will post more pictures and add more about the labor later.

The lack of posts lately comes from the lack of energy, the lack of time, and the lack of not feeling like sitting at the computer, but I am back at least for now.

We have had an eventful couple of weeks to say the least. My Mom is here staying with us, and it's been so fun to see her. It's been five months since I have seen her, and boy have I missed her! We have just been going, going, going ever since she got here. We went on the General Jackson showboat which was very fun. The showboat goes along the Cumberland river which was a beautiful drive, we had lunch on the boat as well and then were able to see the Peking Acrobat show which was just amazing. We have been able to try a lot of good restaurants like Bar-b-cutie, and Captain D's, we have been shopping 'till we drop, gone for drives, and tried hush puppies for the first time. We even went to see High School Musical 3 which made me pretty homesick for Utah especially when they showed the mountains. (we used to live within minutes of East High school where the movie was filmed) My Mom also spent Halloween with us and we had a great time trick-or treating. I made sure to walk plenty to see if I could go into labor. I was pretty sure that it worked, and we spent the next night in Labor & Delivery only to be sent home. False alarm and I was sent home! That's right, I am still pregnant! I have tried everything to get these babies to come but they are on their own schedule I guess. I will be 37 weeks along on Monday, and I am beyond ready for these little girls to get here. My Mom leaves next Wednesday so we are really hoping that they will be born while she is still here.

All in all, it has been a great couple of weeks, and I am so sad thinking about my Mom having to go back to Utah. I wish that she just lived next door. We have a single man next door, and I told her that maybe she could just marry him for 3 1/2 years, and then she could just tell him she has to go back to Utah. (OH I WISH THAT SHE LIVED CLOSER) My mom is great, and she is single so if you know of anyone to line her up with let me know.