Home at Last

Cody was able to come home from the hospital on September 15th, and Kevin came home the next day on the 16th. I have to admit, emotionally, I had a really hard time with them being in the NICU. It was so weird to me that I had to ask permission to hold my own babies. I wanted them home so badly, so I was very grateful that they were only there 2 1/2 weeks. On a day I was feeling particularly picked on, I started talking to the woman who's baby was next to Kevin in the NICU. Her baby had already been there over a month, and was still on a lot of tubes and IVs. To make matters worse, the mom lived over an hour away (if there is no traffic, which never happens in this area). I decided to start counting my blessings instead of complaining. Things could have been so much worse.

Ariel was our first awesome helper once the twins were born. (My mom was lucky enough to be here the day they were born, but she left shortly thereafter). Ariel was so awesome to play with Jack so that I could run back and forth to the hospital to visit the twins. The whole week was hot and humid and she would play outside with him even though they would both come in dripping with sweat. She also played "the bug game" which is an imaginary game Jack likes to play where his finger is a bug that talks in a very high voice. (It gets old fast, I promise. Haha) We really appreciated all of her help.

Grandma Watson came out to help following Ariel. She was here when the twins came home from the hospital. Can you tell how tiny Cody is? She helped us with the transition. The day Cody came home without Kevin was especially tricky, so we were so grateful to have all of her help.

My parents flew in the day my Grandma flew out. Dad has been taking Jack on limitless bike rides (Jack's favorite thing in the world). And mom has been enjoying cuddling the twins. (And playing "the bug game" with Jack)

And now I will provide endless pictures of these adorable twins:

Cody is on the left, Kevin is on the right.

Kevin is patiently enduring being on the bottom of this twin stack. 

Jack is the very best big brother ever. He is so caring and gentle with his brothers. He takes his role very seriously. 

And Tony, of course, is the best dad in the world. 

Jack has noticed that we tightly wrap the babies at night, so he insisted on being a "baby burrito" as well. 

Jack loves holding his brothers, but he usually only lasts for a few seconds (that's right, not a few minutes, but a few seconds). 

Both boys have been pretty good eaters and sleepers. We generally have to get up at 3 and 6 to feed them at night. Definitely very do-able. 

Cody is very expressive. His facial expressions are the best! Its been fun to see how different the twins already are. Cody is very patient and alert. 

And Kevin is our little cuddle bug. He loves to be held and snuggled. 

We got this awesome shot of Cody trying to eat his brother. 

Cody is on the left, Kevin is on the right. 

As you can see, Cody is already really good at lifting his head. 

And pulling awesome faces. 

Cutest boys on the planet.  

Cuddles with Grandma.

Kevin is in the awesome onesie, and Cody is in the hippo pajamas.

I love being able to hold both boys at once. They are so darn precious. 

Holding my little Cody. 

And sweet little Kevin before his bath. (He is in Cody's blanket. A good friend of mine embroidered blankets for them both). 

My parents will be bidding us farewell tomorrow, and Tony's parents fly in on Tuesday. We have been so lucky to have such great help as we adjust to having two infants at home. 

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).