October 5, 2012

First days in the hospital

Hi!
If you missed the twins' birth story, you can read about it here.
Thank you for all your sweet messages!

Today I will fill you in about our hospital stay!
Enjoy!

Thursday Night:
Happy Birthday Harper and Hudson

After we were brought to our new room we were given some time to adjust. I was still really numb and still hooked up to the catheter and IV so I just chilled in bed.   My sister Meg came by after work to visit and see the babies.  My mom left to pick up Reagan from school, bathe him, and brought him to the hospital to meet his new brother and sister.



Reagan was really excited to meet his new siblings!

We then gave Reagan his present "from the babies".



He was so excited. My favorite was when he said "How did they know I needed a Slinky Dog?" He was quite impressed. Love, love, love!

We also let Reagan hold his new babies.
He definitely felt like a big brother then!


After everyone left, it was time for the babies' first bath.
Harper was up first.



Then it was Hudson's turn.



Such clean babies!


We had a pretty good first night. I relied on Nick a lot this night because I was still hooked up to all the machines. Every time a baby cried or needed a diaper change he shot out of his make-shift bed in the corner to take care of the babies.  Every 3 hours when it was time to nurse and feed he would bring the babies over to me. He was amazing! :) I forgot how crazy nights in the hospital are.  The nurses are in your room very often doing checks on you and the baby, giving you meds, and checking in.  There is not a whole lot of sleep going on! Not to mention it was my first night with the babies, so I was slept with one eye open! My pain wasn't too bad this night because I still had the medicine from the spinal in my system. 



Friday:
1 day old

I woke up this morning ready to get out of bed. I begged the nurses to let me get unhooked from the catheter and the IV drip. I so badly wanted to go to the bathroom to freshen up. You girls feel me, right? I need to wash my face, brush my teeth, and just feel better about life.  They were pleased with how well I was able to move around and I definitely felt better getting out of bed!



We were visited by a pediatrician from the babies' Dr. office in the morning.  He checked the babies.  They both had lost weight since birth (normal) and Hudson was a bit jaundiced. Then some nurses came in to test the babies' hearing.  They both passed this test.

Hudson was also circumcised this morning which made for a very cuddly baby. He was a champ though. 

We spent the day feeding, changing diapers, and resting.  It was definitely our "get in the groove of twins" day!  I also had homework to walk around the floor a few times. 

But let me tell you. That night was a rough one.  The babies were not very good sleepers and would fuss every time their pacifiers fell out.  Nick and I were exhausted. My medicine from the spinal had completely run out by now and I wasn't staying up on my pain meds very well at all. At around midnight I had a full on panic attack.I was in really bad pain- both from the surgery but also from the gas bubbles. Let me tell you about these gas bubbles. I had never even thought about it, but yikes- it sucked.  I guess if you think about a c-section, they are opening you up and lots of air is getting in.  When the doctor is pushing on your uterus, you are getting a ton of gas pushed into your body.  Thus creating bubbles all throughout your chest and stomach.  It felt like I couldn't breathe.  I was hysterically crying which made it 10x worse.  So the nurses brought me more medicine and offered to take the babies for a few hours. Oh my word. It was a life saver.  Nick and I got 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep while they keep the babies at the nurses station. I woke up feeling so much better. Gas bubbles were still there, but the exhaustion was gone.

Saturday:
Two days old

We woke up and got ready for a day of visitors.

Reagan and my mom came first.
He was clearly quite excited! Want to know another reason he was so excited? If you have been following my blog for awhile you know that Reagan was a rock star when it came to going pee pee in the potty.  But poo is another story.  The kid will hold it for days to avoid going.  And when he does finally "let go" it will be in his sleep when he is wearing a pull it.  But this morning he really had to go.  It was quite a battle but he finally went on the hospital toilet in my room.  It was a HUGE celebration and my mom took him out to Target after to get a new toy.


Then my sister Meg and Charlotte came.


Then my sister Jocelyn and her kids came to visit.


I love this shot of all the grand-kids.
My dad has been calling them "The Six-Pack". Pretty cute, huh?
Speaking of my dad. He was at the Ryder Cup so wasn't able to be at the hospital. We missed him but as soon as he came home he came straight over to meet the babies!

My sister made the babies the cutest blankets!



After that group left, one of my best friends Holly came by to meet the twins. I think she may have been more excited than us this entire pregnancy to meet them! She is such a sweet friend.


She also brought the babies their first pair of shoes and Harper cute new bows.
So sweet!




After Holly left, my mother and father in law came to visit.
I didn't capture any pics because by this point I was pretty exhausted! It was nice for them to love on the babies and just to sit still!


We also took our first family photo all together.



Later that afternoon I met with the Lactation Consultant. She was really pleased that my milk had come in this early. (She thinks it was because it was my second time.) Both of the babies were having the transition-poop (the yellow,seedy kind) and they were trying to latch on.  Unfortunately their mouths were still a little too small to get a good latch, so she recommended me to continue pumping to bottle feed like I had been doing.

This night was much better from the night before.  I was keeping up on my medicine and getting into the groove of how far I could push my body before it was too far.


Sunday:
Three days old


We had the option of leaving Sunday or Monday and we decided to leave on Sunday.  We were ready to be at our own home with our babies. So we just needed our daily visits from the doctors to give us the final okays.  (The doctor on call from my doctor's office visited me daily to check my stomach and  such and the pediatrician came by every day to check on the babies). Both doctors gave their okays. 

At around 1:45 pm  we were discharged from the hospital.

I have to say that we were really blessed during this hospital stay.  We had some fabulous nurses who took such good care of us.  I often felt guilty because the nurses and I got along so well that they would hang out in my room an awful lot.  Everyone adored the twins and would stop in to hold them and love on them.  I am really thankful for everyone at the hospital! :)





Welcome home sweet babies!

9 comments:

Mrs. Kindergarten...aka...Madame Spoiled said...

Oh how wonderful! I am just giddy at those pictures! Your Daddy is a hoot with the six pack! Love it! Have fun and get as much rest as you can!

Love and Hugs,
Mrs. Kindergarten...Madame Spoiled

The Colorful Apple said...

They are beautiful! I love that Reagan got a present from the babies, such a good idea! Enjoy!

Sara :)
Smiling In Second Grade

Jaime Keel said...

they are so adorable!!!! I am so proud of you. Your day by day sounds so amazing, yet soooo daunting for what lies ahead for me. Those babies are so blessed to have you, and I am so blessed to have you to help me. Congrats again!! xoxo

Victoria said...

Great job documenting your story!!!! It's a wonderful tale of love, determination and success. You are an inspiration!

Matt and Meg said...

Loved reading this! They are beautiful and you look wonderful! I had a C-section with my daughter and the gas pain was the worst. No one told me about that and to also keep up on your pain meds because I let them slide too and Oh.my.goodness. so many tears! So happy you have your wonderful family home and all together!

Megan said...

I just LOVE these coming home pics and your first family pic!! Hudson looks SO much like Reagan!!

Those blankets your sister made are SO beautiful!!! I hope you are feeling well and that your pain is much better now! :)

Erin said...

Oh, my goodness! Your family is just beautiful!!! I loved every single picture more than the last ;) Hope you are feeling better and adjusting to life at home!!

lori said...

ooh my gracious those baby toms are the cutest thing ever! so glad your babies did well in the hospital and you had such great nurses to take care of the whole family!

KRISTIN said...

This definitely made me cry, I guess it's going to be one of THOSE days :) Reagan is so cute, "How did they know I needed a Slinky Dog?" That kills me!

I had surgery in high school and had the gas bubbles after, SO painful. I'm glad were able to give you guys a break so that you could get some much deserved rest!