DO's and DON'Ts

Having babies in the NICU was an experience I truly am grateful for. However, that being said, I would never wish it on another living soul on the planet! 

After the boys were born, they were immediately whisked off to be cared for by the wonderful team of doctors and nurses at McKay Dee Hospital's NICU 

(which for anyone who didn't know stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). 

We literally saw them for about two seconds. Tadd didn't even get to cut the cords because they were in such a rush.  

(Not that he really minded...to be honest he was kind of freaking out about doing it!)

From that point on, things were a little strange. We were parents, but had no babies in our room. We had twins, but didn't see them for the first time until almost 12 hours later. And even when we did get to go and see them, we were told when and if we got to hold them, for how long, and given a list of do's and don'ts to go along with it.

DO...scrub in like a surgeon every time you entered the NICU.

DO...make sure you have a hospital gown over you clothes before you hold them.

DO...wipe down your cell phone and camera with alcohol wipes before you enter the NICU.

DON'T...touch the baby after using your camera or cell phone before you clean your hands with sanitizer.

DON'T...touch your baby after touching anything without using hand sanitizer.

When holding your baby...DON'T...rock him, pat him, rub him or stimulate him in any way. You can hold him. That's it.

DO...come anytime you want, but DON'T..get to touch him or open his isolette unless it is at the scheduled 3 hour care time.

DO...snuggle your baby and help them develop by doing skin-to-skin, but DON'T...hold him more than twice a day. And since he has IV's...DON'T...hold him for more than 15 minutes at a time.

DO...have family members come to visit, but DO...only choose four people who can come to see them the entire time you are here...and DON'T get to change the list at all. 

Maybe you get the idea? 

Don't get me wrong, I am truly grateful for the amazing job that the NICU staff does. And I know that all of the DO's and DON'Ts were for our own good. It was because of their extra care and attention that our boys are alive and healthy, I know that. It was just a strange world to get thrown into. 

Especially because I always swore I would not be that first time mom that was paranoid about germs...well, like it or not, I am now that mom. I have to worry about every person that breathes around these babies, let alone touches them or comes to visit. 

So in advance, please know that we LOVE visitors! 

Please DO...come and visit us, but please DON'T... be offended if we ask you to wash your hands. 

And please DO...be considerate about how fragile these little guys are and DON'T...come if you or anyone in your family is sick, even with the sniffles. 

One thing we learned from five weeks in the NICU, it doesn't take much to set these boys back. As perfect as they are, they are still only supposed to be two weeks old, not two months. So yep, we are a little protective. We didn't like being in the hospital, and we just don't want them back there!

We would much rather have this...

Beckett

 

 And this...                               

Everett

       Than this...

Beckett

And this...                                        

Everett

Apologies?!

I would apologize for the lack of blog posts lately...but let's be completely honest - I'm really not all that sorry!

We have twins folks...TWINS!!! And they are now home. In fact, they've been home five weeks today. Somehow it seems like longer, but I suppose when your days are broken into intervals of 2-3 hours, days seem like weeks!

Yet at the same time it is unbelievable that these little boys are here already and were two months old on Thanksgiving Day. They were barely supposed to be here by then. In fact, on an ironic note, on my due date instead of having babies, I was having my 8 week postpartum appointment and deciding on how we were going to prevent having any more babies in the near future!

When I really sit down and think about it all, I'm still in that shocked phase. That phase where I can't believe this is all really happening. 

We really did have TWINS.

                      Two babies...

...TWO little boys.

                  And they really are HERE... 

                                           ...And they really are OURS...       

...And we really are PARENTS...

HOLY CRAP!

And then I hear a baby crying and I am snapped right out of it and into "mommy mode". That mode where nothing else matters but taking care of those perfect little boys. 

Forget about sleep. Forget about food. Forget about cleaning the house. And showering daily is a thing of the past! All that matters is making sure those nuggets have what they need. 

We will sleep again someday. I wanted to lose weight anyway, right?! Who cares about a messy house? And at least I still brush my teeth and put deodorant on, right?! 

(Well, most days at least!)

So yes, in case you all were wondering, us Ormond's are still alive. We are just unimaginably busy. But I promise updates and the full story of the past two months pronto.

Oh, and lots and LOTS of pictures!  

(Cause we know that's the real reason you all come here!)

And to hold you over until the next post, a glimpse of what life has become at our house...

 

And it's perfection!

SURPRISE!!!

Well, if we thought we were busy busy busy the last time we posted...life now must be complete and total chaos! But man do we love it!

As you have all figured out, the nuggets are HERE!!! And it has taken me forever to update the blog. The hard part about taking so long is now I feel like we have so much to catch up on, once again. So, we will start at the beginning of things, try and get you all caught up on the story of the nuggets' arrival, and the happenings since then!

SO, a little over a month ago, we went in for our regular ultrasound appointment with the specialist on a Wednesday. The appointment was great! The boys were growing, hearts sounded good, let's set up an appointment for a couple of weeks...We got up to leave, and...SURPRISE, my water broke!

The specialist whisked me into a wheelchair and took us straight up to labor and delivery to get things checked. Sure enough, it was definitely my water that broke, and we were dilated to a three. We were told that we were getting transported to the hospital in Ogden (about an hour away) and would have to remain in the hospital until the boys came. I was at high risk for infection, and if they decided to come it would be FAST, so they wanted us monitored closely. We had to go to the Ogden hospital because they have a more equipped NICU. The hospital in Logan can only have preemies 32 weeks or older, which we were 5 days short of.

Our doctor's informed us that the plan was to keep the babies in as long as possible. They weren't going to stop labor if it happened, but weren't going to speed it up at all either. Basically it was a game of waiting to see what happened...and it wasn't really a fun one. Once to the hospital in Ogden (which I was forced to get to by ambulance), I was hooked up to monitors and IV's...and told NO food or drink, just in case we did had to do a c-section soon. That was the worst part, I hadn't eaten since breakfast and by now it was 5:00...and it was midnight before our wonderful nurse finally took pity on me and gave me food even though I was still having contractions.

 

After two days sitting in the hospital Tadd and I were bored out of our minds, sick of not sleeping, and SO done with the back and forth. The doctor would come in and say, you are contracting, no eating...if you keep this up, a c-section today. Then the contractions would quit completely. They'd say, okay go ahead and eat...then those dang contractions would come right back. Back and forth...c-section now or not...BLEH! It was no fun at all. Finally Friday afternoon around 3 o'clock they decided these boys were going to stay in for a bit, so they transferred us to a post-partum room - no monitors on my belly, I could shower, I could eat...it was a little piece of heaven! 

Sometime around 6pm the contractions started again, consistently 10 minutes apart. But they had done that off and on since we had been at the hospital. So, we decided it would be okay for Tadd to go home that night and umpire baseball games on Saturday. Well, apparently the nuggets just decided they missed daddy too much. By 11pm the contractions were getting stronger. When the nurse came in to check on me about 1:30 I was still awake with the pain of the contractions, and they were still consistent. 

By 3am I was hooked back up to monitors, having contractions every five minutes. 4am found me back in labor and delivery for closer monitoring, hooked back up to machines, given extra fluids through my IV, and given a shot to stop the contractions. It helped for about ten minutes...So at 6:30, the nurse told me I'd better call the hubby and tell him to get down here, we were definitely headed for a c-section - and things moved FAST from that point! Before I knew it I was prepped for surgery, Tadd was in a gown and we were walking to the operating room...

There, I got up on the table, had my epidural put in, and surgery was started! Man was it a quick thing. (Thank goodness, because even with the epidural, it was NO picnic. OUCH!) They began at 9:01, and the boys were born at 9:04 and 9:05! Just like that, we were PARENTS! Holy CRAP!!!!

So, everyone, meet our little nuggets, officially!

Beckett Philip Ormond

 4lbs 1oz, 161/2 "

AND

Everett Jesse Ormond

3lbs 1oz, 151/2 "

They are here! Oh so tiny, and oh so perfect! Born on September 22nd, at 311/2 weeks.

We got a brief glimpse of them in the delivery room, but they were taken straight to the NICU. There they have been for the last 41/2 weeks...and what an adventure that has been! But more on those details to come. Stay tuned...

Busy, Busy, Busy!

How is it that a to do list can magically multiply? I swear I cross one thing off, and 5 more sprout up in its place. That darn list multiplies faster than these stretch marks on my belly!

With the list growing exponentially, it is pretty easy to get overwhelmed. (Especially when I'm so good at getting overwhelmed.) As the clock ticks and the arrival of these nuggets gets closer, my willingness to take it easy has dramatically decreased! Instead, I've been in check-list mode. Trying to get as much done as possible in the next couple of weeks, just in case these boys do decide to come early.

Truth of the matter is, we've been busy little beavers around the Ormond house. Cleaning, organizing, hanging up decorations, preparing the nursery...oh, and of course baby projects!! Remember that kitchen that was such a disaster a couple of weeks ago? Well, we can now see the table, the top of the island AND the counter tops! In fact it's clean enough to cook in again. :)

As far as the house goes...we put up a picture collage. And I absolutely LOVE it. Makes me smile every time I walk by to see all those faces smiling back at me.

 Our piano is even clutter free! (And has pictures hanging above it!)

 

The craft closet got some love and is just about done. I love knowing exactly where everything is. Makes getting all these baby projects done that much easier.

And now for the part I know you all really care about...the NURSERY!!! 

The nursery furniture is still not quite finished. Grandpa is working like crazy to get them stained, and we are SO excited for it all to get here!! But until then, we have to get things as ready as we can since they could be here so soon. It has taken some creativity to organize all of their things without dressers to put them in, but we are making it work!

It's been quite the organizing task. How does a mom-to-be really know how to organize all that baby stuff? Cause in case you didn't know, there is a LOT of stuff that comes with having a baby...let alone TWO of them! That's DOUBLE the stuff just about - trust me, I've been organizing all of it. But not only is there a lot of it, how do you really know where it needs to be? What you will really use? 

Well, ya don't. You just guess. Sure looks pretty though. Even if we do find out it is not at all functional, at least my nesting mania can relax a little without all of the clutter!

First things first, gotta have all those baby necessities. So we tucked them inside the drawers of the dresser we do have here. (One that the Ribao's gave to our little nuggets) The top of the dresser folds out and converts into a changing table. The top drawer will have all of the diapers in it with some wipes and such things. We ordered all of our diapers last week (CHECK that right off the list!), but they aren't here yet, so no picture of that.

Next drawer down, baby essentials. Bibs, socks, burp cloths, binkies, fingernail clippers...all organized and put just so.

Next we have baby clothes, preemie and newborn sizes at least!! And oh how fun they were to wash and fold. They are SO tiny. Especially the little preemie size sleepers and onesies. Maybe it was just because this was the first load I had to do, but doing laundry for the nuggets is much more enjoyable than doing our own! 

The bottom drawer is stocked with crib sheets and mattress protectors. We bought the sheets last week and ordered crib mattresses (CHECK!)

And until our cribs can make the trip from Colorado with Grandpa, we have two Pack-N-Plays set up. (Ever so generously brought to us by our great friend Brittany). They are wonderful. They have the napper that flips over to be a changing table. 

And hanging next to the pack-n-plays some extra storage space. We do have some disposable newborn diapers to get us through those first few days of extra gross diapers so the cloth ones aren't stained.

Even the inside of their closet is ridiculously organized!

Top of the closet has some extra blankies, cozy stuffed animals, extra diaper bags.  Boppy's, Bumbo's, floor mats, and extra disposable diapers - just in case!

It's been quite the productive week for the nursery, and for the check list. We bought a hamper. 

We put our hanging diaper pail inside of it to hold those wonderful diapers.

And don't forget about the projects!! There's been a lot of them going on around here. One of them was this book sling to hold all of those wonderful books the boys already have!

They aren't even here yet and have some of the greats already. Can't wait to add to their collection or to be able to read them bedtime stories and see which ones end up being their favorites. :)

 Another project finished this week was a car seat canopy. One down, one to go!

A peek at the inside fabric...

And the stitching...what can I say, my sewing machine is amazing! :)

But nope, no babies to put in them yet. And good thing, because I only have one finished! 

Perhaps my favorite project of the week...crib quilts!!! Well, at least the tops of crib quilts...or at least one crib quilt. :) The other is still in process. Unfortunately, you don't get pictures of them quite yet. We're waiting until both of them are done to show them!

In the meantime, I gotta get off this darn computer and get busy. So many projects still to do, an office to declutter and organize. 

All the while this belly just keeps on growing...

30 Weeks

It's been a BUSY week at our house. So stay tuned, because there is more to come.

This GROWING Belly

As a lady of the pregnant persuasion...I tend to read a lot of articles or books on the subject. Today I got an e-mail that informed me over the next couple of weeks these babies will TRIPLE in size. T.R.I.P.L.E. Does that give anyone else a heart attack? Because I know exactly how big this belly feels...

29 Weeks

The idea of those nuggets tripling in size inside of that belly...oh man! It is already just about as tight as it can get! I have babies in my rib cage, squishing my bladder, pushing on my diaphragm...they are all over the place. 

But, they are pretty darn cute, so I will forgive them.

See?

 Baby A's profile

The limb around the edge is Baby B's, 

we haven't decided if it is his leg or if the headlocks

 have started already! :)

 

Baby A's little face

Getting so big! And of course, always his little hand next to his face.

  Baby B's Profile

Love the pouty little look he's givin' us.

 Baby B

Again it was hard to get a frontal view of this lil guy, too many parts in front. The bumps right next to his nose are Baby A's toes. They love to kick each other in the head. Trust me, we've seen it!

I'm biased of course, but they're the cutest little nuggets I've ever seen! And I give them permission to stay in there for at least 4 more weeks. (That's what we are down to! How did that happen?!) That's what the doctors are hoping for. Realistically they could come anytime between the next 2-8 weeks, but the process has already begun. At our doctor's appointment last week, I was already dilating and 70% effaced. Translation: take it easy so these nuggets don't come too early!

Again, in case you haven't gathered this yet, taking it easy and I do not get along very well. There is so much to do still. House to clean and de-clutter, baby things to organize, laundry to do, projects to finish! 

Yesterday I ignored the whole "take it easy" directive and pounded out the nursery. It's not completely done since we still lack furniture, but everything is organized at least. All we have left is to put up the decorations. Then once the furniture gets here to finalize the layout.

It gets me so excited!! And then the contractions start and I remember why exactly I was supposed to be taking it easy in the first place. So today I'm on the couch, eating lots of cereal and popcorn (not necessarily at the same time) and watching Christmas movies. Because that's the kind of mood I'm in. Maybe tomorrow I will work on finishing those crib quilts...we'll see!

Our Nuggets...Super Sized!

Okay, so update on our little nuggets...they done been SUPER SIZED! Yep, these boys are biggins. That's the overall message from all of the ultrasounds you have been missing out on...apparently we make big babies (for twins anyway). 

So far every appointment we have gone to the boys have measured up by at least one week, sometimes closer to two! Which is rare for twins. Usually twins are small. These boys are above average for singleton babies, let alone for them being twins! 

But we will take it! We love healthy babies. And since we know they are going to come early, bigger is better. Even if that means no room in the inn - er, belly - for mom's internal organs!

The black and white ultrasounds we have every two weeks all look pretty similar...so I won't torture you with all 20 pictures! But here are the latest pictures of our super sized nuggets.

Baby A's profile - his hand is always close to his face!

 And for those who told us we better buy a couple girl outfits, just in case...these twins are definitely lil BOYS! They have NOT been shy about showing us!

 Baby B's profile

Baby B's little mouth - the ultrasound tech told us he was giving us kisses :)

 And yes, Baby B - definitely a boy too!

At one of our ultrasounds back in July (yes, it has been far too long since updating...) we even got to have a 3D ultrasound! Talk about weird/awesome/creepy/amazing all at the same time! It is neat to see them, but they look like little clay creatures...which I am still undecided on if that is cool or creepy. You be your own judge! Here's the pictures:

  

Baby A's little face from the front

Baby A's profile - if you look closely right above his nose 

you can see Baby B's foot.

Baby B's profile

 Baby B's profile - this one you can see his ear

 This is my favorite picture! Baby B's profile, with his hand touching his face...but the other hand that looks like it's touching is actually Baby A's. They are buddies already!

Amazing what technology does. I love getting to see our nuggets every two weeks. It has been so fun. Consistently, both babies have their hands up by their face. Baby A has been head down for most of the time and Baby B is breech....putting him in the perfect position to kick his brother in the head. Which he does...a LOT! I've seen it on the ultrasound more than once! It always makes me giggle.

At our last doctor's appointment, Baby A was measuring a full two weeks ahead! He weighed 2 lbs 11 oz and was in the 80th percentile for size. And again...that's the 80th percentile for one baby. He'd be off the charts for twins!

Baby B was 5 days ahead, weighing 2 lbs 8 oz. He was in the 57th percentile. Crazy that 3 oz makes that big of a difference. Plus, Baby A has an enormous head. (Lucky me that he will be the one to come first!)

 We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, and have more details to share with ya'll then. We will see what surprise awaits us at this appointment...because we haven't ruined that streak yet. Still something surprising at every appointment. Sometimes happy surprises like 3D ultrasounds, other times, stressful surprises like no more working! We'll keep ya posted...

A Mell of a Hess!!

Life at the Ormond household lately has been...well...pretty much chaotic! With summer coming to an end we've had family barbeques, birthday parties, friends moving to Hawaii, baby showers...It's been a busy few months. So, please excuse the mess...and the absence! 

But when your house looks like this...

 

 

 

It makes it VERY hard to get much of anything done, let alone update the blog. Especially when your friends are moving to back to Hawaii and you want to spend lots of time with them before they leave...and then they bring car loads of stuff and put it all over your kitchen, in any and every spare inch of space - making your house look like an episode of Hoarder's! :) (a little joke of ours)

Now, let me just say that our house does not normally look like this. There have been a few extenuating circumstances. Yes, the Ribao's brought us lots of stuff. And yes, the kitchen was completely cleaned before they did...BUT it might have been the only room in the house. Every other room in the house is still full of boxes and clutter while I reorganize and decide the most functional way to make room for these twins - and all the stuff that comes with them! Ahh, nesting.

But when your belly looks like this...

 

Week 27

Things move perdy dang slowly. Regardless of your intentions. 

So, yes, add this mess of a house on top of trying to get everything organized, put a nursery together, baby projects - it is no wonder at all that it is already somehow SEPTEMBER! Like already almost a week of September. WHOA! 

Slow right down time. That means these little nuggets could be here VERY soon. And they have had us worried more than once already that they want to come out sooner rather than later. Last Monday we were out having dinner with our dear friends the Ribao's (who today are on a plane, on their way back to Maui...*sigh*) when I got super uncomfortable. My belly felt like it was going to come right out of my throat. I tried to eat...but that wasn't helping. The discomfort got worse, and I started to realize it came and went...Oh hello contractions - that's what you feel like, a giant charlie horse all the way around my belly. 

Now I know contractions are normal at 28 weeks, Braxton Hicks contractions, preparing your body for the real deal...but these were happening a LOT. Like 9 of them in 45 minutes a lot! We called the doctor's office and they said come now! So we went to Labor and Delivery. Got hooked up to monitors and sure enough, contractions 5 minutes apart. They gave me a shot to stop the contractions, followed by a steroid shot to help the boys' lungs start developing quicker just in case. They also did a test called an FFN that tests for a certain protein that shows up when you are going to go into labor. It came back negative, meaning we had less than a 1% chance these twins would come in the next two weeks. Then they sent us on our way, told me to take it easy (no bed rest yet, thank goodness!) and to follow up with our regularly scheduled doctor's appointment on Sept. 6th (tomorrow!).

We were very glad the shot helped and that these babies will still be cooking a big longer. But still, talk about a SHOCK! Especially when the nurse told us if we could get six more weeks, they would be surprised, and SO grateful. SIX. Six weeks. Now, that number is FIVE. We knew they would come early, but to have someone tell you that if you can just get six more weeks makes it sound much, MUCH, MUCH sooner.

All of that planning I've been doing, all of those checklists...I'm pretty sure everything flew out the window at the sound of those two words...SIX WEEKS. Now it is just crunch time. Put things away, finish any and every project possible. The nursery unfortunately is one of the last things we will be able to do. The furniture will be on its way from Colorado with Grandpa and Nona soon though (YAY!!!!!!), and then I will be able to nest away - finding places for every last detail of baby needs. Plus we have one more baby shower on Saturday, so I'm waiting until after that to officially put things in their places.

So, consider yourself officially caught up for now. Yes, there was a Colorado trip, and yes, it was amazingly fantastic! But those pictures will have to wait. We got baby business to catch up on. Bring on the baby posts!!

Because I don't know about you, but this girl could use a break from this today...

Especially since my ankles are looking like this...

Yep...we really ARE alive!

Just in case you were all beginning to wonder, YES, we are still alive! Things have just been quite busy lately...and these nuggets aren't even here yet. Brace yourselves for when they do get here...this blog will probably get updated once a year! :) 

(Let's hope it's more often than that!)

So, of course we have plenty to catch up on. Looking back at the last thing I posted (before the diaper post)...oh man are you guys lost. SO much has happened since then. I've had 4 ultrasounds I think since our last nugget related post! FOUR! Yikes. So much to share. Ultrasounds, belly pictures, trip to Colorado, baby showers, wrecked car, new car. Man oh man how has it been so long? Time is definitely NOT slowing down as the arrival of our nuggets gets closer and closer!! 

Much CLOSER! In fact folks, these nuggets could be here in as early as 5 weeks! Yikes! Well, technically they could come anytime, but the doctor is hoping for at least 32 weeks, which would be in only 5...yes FIVE weeks! EEK! 

So there is a little bit of panicking going on around the Ormond household these days. Closets are frantically being organized, clutter is disappearing, cloth diapers are being purchased...the nesting has begun! Not to mention quilts being sewn, car seat canopies being made...yep, it's pretty much chaos. 

OH, but don't worry, because I'm not working anymore. So that frees up a little of my time. At our doctor's appointment last Monday our doctor kindly informed me that work was no longer an option...too risky to be on my feet all day when I'm already at high risk for preterm labor. The news came with a whole mixture of emotions. Shock being the biggest. Up until that point we had been told as long as things were going smoothly and I was feeling up to it, working was just fine. Then BAM, no work. Needless to say, our budget was planning on a few more paychecks!

Beyond the shock of it, I struggled with the idea of not working. I've always worked. I like to work. And I love the people I work with. Short notice was going to be rough on them period, let alone during back to school time - the peak season for us! BAH! Thank goodness for the best friend/manager a girl could ever ask for. I finished 2 of the 5 shifts I was scheduled for that week, and that was it! I'm officially on maternity leave. Not on bed rest...just restricted to low activity level and only an hour on my feet at a time. 

After a lot of tears and frustration, I'm starting to settle in to being a home-body. Luckily, like I said I have PLENTY to keep me busy!

We just wanted to let you know we are still alive. More posts to come soon! Lots of baby details to share, baby bump photos, life details, projects...Oh the fun we have to catch up on. Until then...here's the most recent baby bump picture to keep you interested :)

26 Weeks