It's Boys!

So the day after my last post (on August 13th) I went I told Tony I needed to go to the hospital cause I felt weird. When we got there we discovered I was actually in labor and dilated to a 5. They immediately put me on magnesium to try and stop the contractions. They also gave me shots to help the babies lungs develop. Magnesium is not a fun drug to be on, but it did succeed in holding off the contractions. I was then put on hospital bed rest until the twins came. I was super blessed to have a lot of wonderful visitors who helped keep me entertained for my 3 week stay. 

This picture was taken on August 29th, less than 24 hours before the twins were born. 

I went into labor that night around 2 a.m. and by 7 a.m. had the nurse convinced. (I also called Tony) A doctor from the ER came up to check me, and they saw that I was already at a 7. By the time they got me down to labor and delivery, I was an 8. (And that is when Tony arrived with my relaxing music. My hero). They brought in the anesthesiologist and he gave me an epidural. Then we waited for my doctor. We had talked the day before about the possibility of me avoiding a c-section. She was willing to help me try even though the boys were still in a t position. But I still needed to be in an operating room, just in case. 

They broke my water for baby A and after only a couple pushes, he was born at 11:20 a.m. They then had to break the water for Baby B. Baby B automatically moved into birthing position, and was born at 11:44 with no complications. 

We named Baby A: Kevin Marten Roring after Tony's bone marrow donor. He weighed 5 lbs, 5 oz and was 18.5 inches long.

We named Baby B: Cody Anthony Roring. He weighed in at 4 lbs, 12 oz and was 18 inches long. Cody had to be on a Cpap (help with breathing) for about 12 hours, but he is a fighter, and is even smiling in this picture. 

Jack had been really upset that he wasn't able to see his brothers in the NICU, so now that they are in the intermediate care NICU, they let Jack come to the window to see them. 

We've been told that the twins should be coming home this week. (toward the latter part of the week). 

This Week's Twin Update

I am 32 weeks today. The twins are both still doing great and growing well. One is 4lb 8oz (59%) and the other one is 4lb 3oz (46%) so they are getting closer to each other in weight. There is absolutely no complications with them and they are definitely both movers. They also both get the hiccups quite a bit. They are still in a T position with Baby B across in my ribs. 

I am doing fine. I have been diagnosed with Cholestasis of Pregnancy, which basically means my body is producing too much bile acid. So I am on a medication for that. As a result of the Cholestasis, they have to deliver the babies a week earlier than planned, so the planned C section is scheduled for September 16th now. 

I have been super blessed to have a lot of help from the ward. Jack has at least one playdate every day and we have been getting 3 meals a week so that I am able to rest as much as possible. And then starting September 1st, I will have family help. Ariel is flying in, followed by my Grandma, followed by my parents, and then Tony's parents. So we are definitely being taken care of. We feel so blessed.  

Twin Updates

First of all, I should tell you that we were able to go on a wonderful short trip to Pennsylvania to see our cousin Nate graduate and get his Eagle Scout. We had a wonderful time visiting with family that we hardly ever get to see. 

I wanted to share this picture because my boys are practically in the same outfit and the same position. Jack is Tony's mini me. 

This is my belly at 30 weeks. 

And this was Baby A back at week 24. You can kind of see some lips and a nose. The boys have been pretty stubborn about getting good pictures of their faces. They are usually facing away from the camera. 

This is the position that the boys have been in for the past few months. Baby A is head down and ready to go, and Baby B is comfortably straddling my ribs. They are making a T formation. 

Baby A is currently in about the 80th percentile for weight. My doctor says that Baby A must think he is a singleton baby because he is growing so big. Baby B understands that he is a twin, so he is in the 40th percentile which is right on target for a twin. There is no problem with their weight difference because they are both in a healthy percentile. There are currently both over 3 pounds, so I've got between 6 and 7 pounds of baby in me. 

Just like my pregnancy with Jack, I am not gaining much weight. I have gained a total of 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. At first, my doctors were concerned, but after looking at the babies, they say that apparently its not a problem because they are growing perfectly. I tested anemic a few weeks ago and have been taking iron pills to try and get my blood counts up. Growing twins is definitely an uncomfortable endeavor, but I didn't expect anything less. Baby B is definitely causing me quite a bit of discomfort all settled up in my ribs. 

As of right now, I have a C section scheduled for September 23rd. The only way the doctors would consider a natural birth was if both babies were in the correct birthing position. But my boys seem pretty content with their t formation, so I am preparing myself for the likely C section. 

Outer Banks (picture overload)

We drove down on Mothers Day straight to our Rental on the beach. It belongs to a friend of mine and we did some deep cleaning in exchange for a week at the beach. Their house is right in the sand. Location location location! There were 4 bedrooms so plenty of room to fit us, my parents, and Amanda and kids.

Jack noticed pretty quickly that the crabs would run sideways, so he enjoyed imitating them.

The first day we were there it was pretty stormy. We noticed some sting rays "playing" in the surf. My dad even watched a guy pick one up out of the water. 

The next day, when we woke up, we discovered that the rays were not playing. They were drowning. We saw six or seven of them dead on the beach. It was really sad. They were pretty big rays.

We split our time between the ocean side and the sound side beaches. The sound side had much warmer water, so the boys were much more willing to get in the water. 

On the sound side, the water is shallow, even if you walk out a half mile. The boys enjoyed being able to play in the shallow water.

My dad enjoyed the shallow water as well. 

And just like last year, we found a good tree for Jack to climb in.

One of the days, there was enough wind that the sound side had decent waves. Jack got pretty good at boogie boarding. Grandpa would shove him off when a wave came and he would ride it all the way in. 

Then grandpa decided to just tow him up and down the beach. 

Little Miss Kate Kate loved crawling in the sand. 

 Dad helping mom with the kite.

Jack watched Grandpa help Grandma with the kite, so he thought he would help Grandpa out.

More sand sliding with grandpa on the ocean side.

And Jack taking a ride with his Daddy on the Sound side.

And then taking a turn pulling daddy on the boogie board. 

For mothers Day, some of the kids pooled together and bought mom hand gliding lessons.

We decided it would be no fun to do it alone, so Tony joined her. 

 The first day of their lesson, there ended up being too much wind, so we had to postpone. The second day, there was almost not enough wind, but they still had a great time. 

Jack and Joseph loved playing in the sand while watching Grandma and Tony fly. They made sand angels. 

Back on the ocean side, Dad had one day of almost perfect wind. Unfortunately, it was not a direct onshore breeze, so it slowly carried him down the beach, and he would eventually have to run the kite back up the beach. 

 It was fun to watch him jump the waves.

It was windy enough the mom took shelter under Dad's unused kite. 

Back inside, Joseph was feeding Kate some delicious brownie batter. What a great brother!

We had some spectacular sunsets and some fun evening walks on the beach. 

One of our days on the sound side we found a whole bunch of dead crabs. Dad was kind enough to put one right on moms leg. 

We also found a baby jellyfish in the water. We decided it was wise to steer clear of it. 

See those tiny little specks in the distance. That is Tony and Jack. Shows you how far you can walk out on the sound side and still be in shallow water. 

Mom, Dad and I went to the Lighthouse nearby. 

It had spectacular views from above. 

And Dad was nice and waited by the car since Jack was asleep in the car. 

There was also a fun park near our beach house. 

Back in Virginia in our backyard, we took a few pictures. Here is Grandma and Grandpa with all 3 of their grandkids.

That number will triple this year. Amanda is due in July with a baby boy. And I am due in September with two baby boys. We are excited to be pregnant with boys again at the same time. Reminds us of Jack and Joseph. But this will leave poor Kate as the only girl. 

We wish we didn't live so far apart. 

We went to the splash pad that is by my house and Joseph had a great time playing catch with some of the kids. 

And Kate loved watching the boys. 

And Jack enjoyed trying to run through the sprays. 

We had a great time with their visit and hope to see them all again soon. (We will be seeing my parents and Jordan back in a week).