11 Months!

Wow. Honestly, when I woke up this morning I couldn't believe my babies were 11 months old. Time is flying by, and as absolutely fun as this stage is, I SO wish things would slow down! Avery and Harper are seriously so much stinkin' fun. They make me laugh hysterically every single day. They are constantly fighting, and then immediately laughing with each other. I am so excited to watch these girls grow up side by side. They truly are best friends and I'm so incredibly grateful I have the honor of being their mother. 

A few things about each girl:

11 Months

(8 months adjusted)

Avery

• Still my sweetie. She loves to snuggle! She also gives hugs/kisses which melt my heart. 
• Mama's girl. I don't mean to brag, but seriously, she loves me. I love when she reaches for me to hold her. I can't resist! 
• Such a happy baby! She gets shy for the camera so she never looks very happy in anything I post, but she is always laughing and smiling. 
• Crawling all over the place. She's army crawling and can get on her knees but still isn't quite sure what to do next. 
• No teeth yet :(
• At her appointment a couple weeks ago, she weighed 17.6 pounds and is in the 38th percentile for her age, which is pretty good! For the longest time, neither girl was on the charts at all, so we're kicking butt at playing catch up :)
• Loves being a big girl. She's mastered drinking out of straws and LOVES when I give her cold water. She gets all kinds of excited when she sees me walking towards her with her straw cup. 
• Is now eating yogurt and starting finger foods. She loves cut up bananas, but has a hard time feeding herself because they're slippery.
• Still sleeping like a champ. Usually from 7:30pm-around 8:00am. She has her moments but overall, sleeps tremendously. 
• Loves her binky! Although she doesn't need it, she just loves picking it up and putting it in her mouth. She always has one binky in her mouth and another in her hand as she crawls around. 

 As you can tell, she likes hanging out under the jumper. Oh, and making messes.

Harper

• I call her Miss Independent. She likes to know I'm nearby, but doesn't need me to help her. She's very strong-willed...a trait she got from her mama, that's for sure. 
• LOVES her daddy. She goes nuts when he comes home from work. She flaps her arms up and down and starts clapping when she sees him. And, of course, he just eats it up ;)
• Still has just the two teeth - they're growing too, which is adorable.
• SUCH a funny girl! Seriously, she has me cracking up all. day. long. 
• She has the most infectious laugh! She is constantly laughing at Avery. She loves playing with her big sister. Every morning, I get her out of her crib first, bring her to the living room, then go get Avery and when I set her down, Harper gets THE biggest smile on her face and just stares at her! I love the love she has for Avery. 
• Loves all food, which is pretty obvious ;) She is awesome at feeding herself, too. She has her own little method where she'll take a piece of food in the palm of her hand and slowly work it up to her index finger and thumb, then put it in her mouth. She's very meticulous.
• She's my little smarty pants. You can tell she's always thinking. Every move she makes is deliberate and thought out. She'll army crawl in a direction, then pivot her body, roll a little bit, then start crawling again to get to where she needs to go. 
• As of a couple weeks ago, she weighs 18.4 pounds and is in the 40th percentile for her weight. Love my chubby girls! 
• Is finally sleeping pretty well. She had a phase that lasted a long time where she'd wake up 5, 6, 7 sometimes 8 times in the night and we'd have to go in, put her binky in her mouth and soothe her back to sleep. Although they were pretty short wake-ups, it was so frustrating. So we decided to take away the binky and OH MY HEAVENS it was the greatest decision ever. It was so easy too! I took it away at her first nap and she fussed for about five minutes, then went to sleep. She hasn't used it since and sleeps through the night wonderfully. She has had her moments where she'll wake up at like 4:30 and I'm not sure what to do to get her back to sleep, but we're working on it.

 I love her hair after her baths!

 She LOVES her Grandma Harper! She never reaches for anyone, but she always reaches for Grandma Harper. She must know there's a connection there :)

 I find her under this plant daily. Lately I've had to put it in a room and close the door during the day...

 Best picture I could get of those cute little teeth

Look at this curly hair. I might die. 

One month from today, my sweet baby girls will be one. It's very bittersweet. I'm so proud of how far they've come...it seems like everyday they learn something new. You would never know they were 2 1/2 pounds and living in incubators just a short time ago! They truly are miracles and I thank Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with these sweet angels. I don't know how I got so lucky. 

 This mess is all day, every day. And I really do love it. 

10 Months

I can't believe my girls are 10 months old today! They just keep getting more and more fun. This last month, we were able to go spend a little over a week at my mom and dad's house in Utah! It's so nice to be able to take trips down there. It's hard being away from Chad, but it's nice to spend some time with my family! We were also able to celebrate their first Halloween! We didn't go trick-or-treating, but we dressed them up all cute and took them to Chad's sister's house for pizza and to see cousin Adi. 

10 Months

(7 months adjusted)

Avery

• So sweet to everyone but Harper. She is kind of a bully. Multiple times a day I'll have to separate the two of them because Harper is screaming while Avery is pulling her hair/stealing her toys/grabbing Harper's head and trying to eat it, you know, the usual. I know I shouldn't think it's funny, but it seriously cracks me up. Below are some examples...

• Really close to crawling. She pivots/scoots/rolls everywhere
• Loves to eat solids/hates bottles. It's a chore to get her to eat her bottles
• Definitely likes the sound of her own voice. She's constantly babbling, making playful screaming noises (which are super high-pitched and extra adorable), trying to talk to me. She loves it when I babble back at her
• Loves all toys - doesn't have any favorites in particular
• Super smiley, but is getting really shy. If she's in an unfamiliar place, she gets really clingy.
• Has figured out if she sticks out her lower lip, she can get pretty much whatever she wants. She knows how to tug on my heartstrings, that's for sure
• Definitely a mama's girl
• Still no teeth

 First itty bitty ponytail! I die.

I put a burp cloth on her head and seriously laughed for like five minutes. For some reason, it was absolutely hilarious to me haha

Harper

• Has recently gotten SO happy! If people look at her, she gives them the biggest, open-mouthed smile. I catch her laughing all the time at her toys, Avery, the wall, whatever
• Loves when Chad sings to her. She lights up the second he starts
• Busy, busy body. She's so fast! If she sees something she wants, she's gonna get it
• Also very close to crawling! She's a little closer than Avery, which is no surprise because of her constant moving
• Still adores Avery, which is so cute, but it kind of breaks my heart that Avery doesn't always reciprocate haha
• Loves all food. She's still extra chunky :)
• Yells a lot. She's got a lower pitched voice and it's so funny. She, like her sister, loves the sound of her voice. She's a gabber
• Has the saddest crying face. It will break your heart into a million pieces. She's also learned how to get what she wants. We're workin' on it...
• Favorite toys include her hairbrush and baby spoons. Not even kidding. We have a whole box of baby toys (which she likes) but her favorites are the spoon and brush. She carries them around with her. She also loves bouncing in her jumper
• Daddy's girl
• Has two teeth! And they are so stinkin' cute! I should get a picture.

I've been trying to get a good picture of how curly her hair is getting. This isn't great but you can kind of see those little curls at the bottom. They are absolutely darling. I am so excited!

Both Girls

• Currently wearing size 3 diapers (and have been for a WHILE. Thank goodness for Costco)
• Clothes are size 6-9 or 9 month
• Both get jealous when one baby is getting more attention than the other
• Still sleeping well. They both had a weird spell where they would wake up at 12:30am and be awake till around 4:30am every night. It was horrible and we couldn't figure out why the sudden change. Needless to say, we were sleep deprived and SO frustrated. I tried to think about when this spell started and if we did anything different. The only thing I could think of was that the first night it happened, we started giving them Ibuprofen instead of Tylenol (for teething) because it lasts longer. It was the only change we had made, but seemed so random. Anyway, that night I switched back to Tylenol and they slept 11 hours straight. Since then, they've slept great. The last few nights, they've been sleeping 12-13 hours! No more Ibuprofen for these babies!

First trip to Costco!

First otterpops (obviously at grandma and grandpas)! They loved them, duh. 

 Playdate with our next door neighbor, Ellie! Love her.

 PUMPKINS! Chad's Aunt Terry made the hats and we are in love.

We love you so much baby girls! Pretty soon it'll be Christmas and before we know it, you'll be ONE! 

A Time to Be Thankful

It's November. The time of year when everyone talks about everything they're thankful for. Lately, I've been feeling extra grateful and I wanted to take the time to write down the little things that have opened my eyes and made me realize just how much I have.

A few days ago, I was having one of those days. The ones where you just feel...meh. Pessimistic. Annoyed. I couldn't wait to get the girls down for bed so I could go to bed. I just wanted the day to be over. I was so exhausted, I almost didn't say my prayers, but I decided to hurry and say a quick one so I could get to sleep.

As I prayed to my Heavenly Father, I found myself complaining a bit. And then I started having those thoughts where, in the back of my mind, I was remembering more and more things that were bothering me lately: 

The girls haven't been sleeping well

I've been working out so hard and haven't seen the results I want

 Our house is too small for our family of four

The fact that I didn't clean out under the sink and it was overflowing with old grocery bags I needed to just throw away (why do I feel the need to keep every single bag?)

That Chad still hasn't gotten a new job with a better salary

 That I've been living in this house for almost three years and STILL haven't decorated my bedroom

Little petty things that are seriously not a big deal, but in that moment, were consuming me. 

As I lay there, thinking of all these little "problems", I was suddenly overcome with gratitude for the fact that I even have those things to complain about. 

How incredibly blessed am I that I have two of the sweetest babies that are going through a spell where, heaven forbid, they wake up a few times in the night? 

How blessed am I that I have a healthy body that, although it isn't as "in shape" as I'd like it to be, allows me to workout at ALL? 

How blessed am I that I have a beautiful place to call home, packed so tight with love the walls might burst? 
How blessed am I that I have loads and loads of old grocery bags that were once filled with food that we were able to afford? 

How blessed am I that Chad even has a job - one that actually allows us to live quite comfortably?

 How blessed am I that I have a cozy bed to sleep in every night next to the man of my dreams, whether the room we're in is decorated or not? 

I am so glad I had that realization, and I'll tell you what, all that complaining I was doing earlier? Yeah, that stopped real quick. So what if I don't have everything I want? I have everything I could possibly need and more. I think the world we live in has forced us to dwell on the negatives. To always be searching for more. To have our minds consumed with what we don't have, instead of all the wonderful, beautiful things we do. 

Let us all take a minute and remember the things that matter most. 

9 Months!

I know I need to finish up the girls' birth story, but it's a bit of an overwhelming thought right now! And yes, keeping up with two babies is a lot of work (which is the main reason this blog has been so neglected), but I decided I want to keep better track of what the girls have been up to lately! They are 9 months old today!

They are seriously so much fun. Honestly, Chad and I say daily we don't know what we would do without these sweet babies in our lives. They make us happier than we ever thought we could be. Definitely worth the wait :)

9 Months 

(6 months adjusted)

Avery

• Sweetest little girl ever! She is so dainty and ALWAYS has her ankles crossed
• Definitely my snuggle bug
• Has been sleeping through the night (8:00pm-7:00am) for about 3 months now
• HATES tummy time, but she has a slight flat spot on the left side of her head we're working on so tummy time is a definite must
• Is very tolerant of her sister unless Harper has a toy she wants
• Very laid back - definitely my chill baby (she has to be with her high-strung sister!)
• Will eat just about anything, but doesn't like to finish her bottles so she's smaller than Harper
• She's all head. Her head is enormous and her body is tiny. I honestly think that's part of the reason she hates tummy time so much...she can't keep her head up!
• Loves music! The second she starts getting fussy, I will start singing and she immediately stops crying. I love that about her
• Also loves lights. Any toys that light up, she loves. It's like she's in a trance. We'll catch her staring at the TV a lot, so I have to limit how much I have it on 
• Has developed a bit of stranger anxiety in the last few weeks. She used to be such a charmer and would smile at/go to anyone, but lately if Chad or I am nearby, she's selective on who holds her
• Loves water from a sippy cup! I've given her some diluted juice but she wasn't a fan
• Loves to suck on anything and drools A LOT, but no teeth have broken through yet
• Only has a binky when she settles down for bed. Once I put her in her crib, she spits it out and puts herself to sleep
• Is close to sitting up without me nearby. She still sometimes falls forward and gets all dramatic for five seconds until she realizes she's fine
• Still likes to be swaddled. I was worried about this at first, but she doesn't move in the night and she knows once she's swaddled, it's time for sleep

Notice the crossed ankles?

Harper

• Definitely my tougher baby, but still such a sweetheart
• Has always had a tougher time sleeping, but in the last few weeks, she's slept pretty well. Between 10-12 hours a night
• CONSTANTLY moving! Literally, she never stops
• I call her my "steam roller" because she rolls around the whole house. She is starting to push up and try to get on her knees, but she's not quite sure what to do next
• CHUNKY BABY! Seriously, she's huge. But that's the way I like 'em :)
• LOVES Avery. She is always reaching/grabbing at her. She also just stares at her in complete amazement. It's adorable
• Will eat anything but peas and bananas - I think they upset her tummy. She always seems to spit up more after she's eaten them so I don't feed them to her anymore. She loves rice/oatmeal cereal before bed. She goes "mmmmm" every time I give her a bite
• Also loves water from a sippy cup - I think she feels like a big girl when she drinks from it 
• Hasn't gotten any teeth yet, but is definitely hurting
• Loves her binky! She sometimes wakes up in the night for it, which can be frustrating but she goes back to sleep immediately after I give it to her
• LOVES bath time! She splashes like nobody's business. I laugh like crazy when I bathe her. She really is so funny!
• Loves playing with toys on the ground with Avery...and always wants whatever Avery has
• Sits up like a champ, but I still like to be close by
• Likes/needs her sleep. She requires little cat naps throughout the day (aside from her two big naps), otherwise she gets super grouchy
• Also loves to be swaddled. She requires it, actually. Because she fidgets so much, she wakes herself up and gets extremely frustrated. So I'll swaddle her as long as I can before she starts moving more in the night. Both girls know when they're swaddled, it's sleep time (whether they like it or not!)
• Still has reflux issues. We were paying a lot for Prevacid and it wasn't doing anything so we took her off it. The spitting up has definitely decreased since she's only eating bottles every other feed. And it doesn't seem to bother her so I'm not too worried about it
• No more heart murmur! Woohoo!

 She does this squinty face all the time. It's my favorite!

We have their 9 month check up next month (way late for some reason), so I'll update their stats then. 

We are so blessed to have these babies in our lives. They are constantly growing and learning more and more everyday. They are at such a fun age - definitely my favorite so far (although I'm pretty sure I've said that from the very beginning)!

Birth Story

Babies are here! 

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Tuesday, January 8th

2:00am

I woke up with a pretty intense pain in my back. I wasn't sure what the problem was, but my back had been hurting for a few weeks so I didn't worry too much about it. An hour later, the intense pains were still coming and going and I remembered I had read on my OB's website if I was experiencing more than four contractions in an hour to go immediately to Labor & Delivery. I woke Chad up and told him something didn't feel right. He had me count how often I was having these "episodes". I had four in 45 minutes - although they were sporadic, I knew it wasn't right, so off to the hospital we went.

Once we got to the hospital, they hooked me up to a machine that allowed them to hear the babies heartbeats and see my contractions. From what they could tell, my uterus was "irritable" and I wasn't actually having contractions. I was so embarrassed! They then gave me a shot which calmed my uterus down and the contractions whatever you want to call them had subsided. They then gave me a fetal fibronectin test - basically it would tell them if I was going to be having my babies in the next two weeks. If it was positive it was a 1 in 5 chance it was actually positive (there are a lot of false positives), however if it was negative, there was a 99.9% chance it actually was negative. So we were hoping for negative, but knew if it was positive, it was most likely a false positive. Make sense? Well, it was positive. My Doctor gave me lots of prescriptions to help with contractions and told me I was now on bed rest. He also mentioned if I had any contractions between now and 35 weeks, he wouldn't hesitate to put me on hospital bed rest. I had an appointment with him that upcoming Friday, so he told me he would then check to make sure I hadn't dilated and everything was good - if so, I'd be taken off bed rest. Little did I know, my babies would be here by then.

Wednesday, January 9th

Nothing to report here. I hung out at home, caught up on Pretty Little Liars, obviously, and seriously missed being at work. But I was willing to do whatever I needed to to keep my babies healthy and safe.

Thursday, January 10th

I woke up and everything was normal. Around 1:00pm, I started having more "episodes", however they weren't in my back like the other night. These felt like actual contractions. I immediately took some of the medication the Doctor had prescribed me to help alleviate the pain. Nope. I texted Chad and let him know I was having more pains. We texted back and forth for a little over an hour (him asking if I thought he should come get me, me telling him I'd be fine (all the while I was freaking out inside), etc). At around 2:30pm, I decided to time the contractions. I had 4 in about 20 minutes. There was a huge snow storm, the roads were horrible, and I knew it would take Chad at least an hour to get home, just to pick me up and drive me right back to where he was. I was in too much pain so I called my mother-in-law, Dani, and asked her to take me to the hospital. 

While we were in the car, I had five or six more contractions and Dani said to me, "I'm afraid you're not going to be leaving the hospital this time, Kate".  I agreed and was so disappointed to be put on hospital bed rest for the next 10 weeks. I couldn't believe everything that was happening - and so quickly. My pregnancy had been perfect! Sure, I was big and uncomfortable, but overall, I felt great.

Chad showed up at the hospital just as they were taking me back. When they got me in a hospital bed and hooked up to a monitor to check my contractions, they were coming on much stronger and faster. They were so painful - oh my goodness, they were painful! I remember thinking, "man, these kill, I can't even imagine what actual contractions are going to feel like!". Well, these were actual contractions! The nurse watched the screen for about 30 minutes and I was having contractions every three minutes. She hooked me up to magnesium sulfate to try and slow down the contractions but it wasn't working. She desperately wanted to check to see if I was dilated, but she couldn't get a hold of my Doctor to get the OK. Three hours later, he showed up (all the while I was still having contractions every three minutes apart) and did an ultrasound. The babies weren't in distress and seemed just fine. He decided to check to see if I had dilated. I was at a 6 and 100% effaced.

"Well, it looks like you're having these babies today, Katelyn", he said.

I was in utter and complete shock. I stared at him and immediately broke down. 

"NO!", I screamed. "They aren't ready yet! I'M not ready yet!"

The doctor was just as shocked as I was. I looked over at Chad and he had his head buried in his hands, crying. Till that day, I had never seen Chad cry - it was absolutely heartbreaking. 

The next few hours were a whirlwind. They immediately called the anesthesiologist to get my epidural. Blessed epidural. Chad called my mom, his family showed up, and we waited until it was time. The doctor could tell in my ultrasound that baby A was head down, but baby B was transverse (horizontal). He explained I would be able to deliver baby A vaginally, and he would then try to re-position baby B over my belly. If she wouldn't easily move, he'd have to then do a c-section to get her out. My worst fear - having to experience both a vaginal delivery and a c-section. He explained that he didn't want to put any trauma on baby B because she was too fragile. 

Three hours later I was wheeled into the OR to deliver the babies.

 

(Right before the delivery)

9:17pm 

Our sweet Avery Renee was born. 2 lb 8.9 oz and crying. It was the best sound I had ever heard. She was absolutely amazing. I wanted so badly to examine every part of her, but they immediately took her away. She had a whole team of doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists working on her. Hearing her cry, I knew she was going to be okay, but my body was aching to hold her and tell her how much I loved her.

(I'm not normally a fan of the "right after birth" babies covered in icky stuff, but I had to post this to remember just how tiny she really was)

9:30pm

Harper Dawn was born. 2 lb 8.9 oz (just like her sister). The doctor held her up for me to see but, unlike her sister, she wasn't crying. Not a sound. She was blue. Before I could ask if she was going to be okay, she was whisked away. When they took her, they took my heart as well. All I could hear was doctors voices, talking quickly to one another. It wasn't real. I couldn't believe any of it. This was not how I had played my children's birth out in my head. I was supposed to be able to hold them, kiss their heads, look at how beautiful they were, and let them know how long I had waited to hold them in my arms. I didn't get any of that.

(Chad was able to snap a photo of her for me while she was being intubated) 

To be continued...