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Seeing Double Birth Announcement

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Our Babies have arrived!

Life is crazy but our family is now complete:) To be able to kiss and cuddle what we could only feel and see rolling in my belly, is AMAZING. God creates awesome miracles!

So here's the story... Samuel and I checked into the hospital on Wednesday night to start the induction process only it didn't work as well as I or the doctor had hoped so on to plan "B". Thursday morning they induced me around 8am and my water broke around noon. Until then I had been dealing with the contractions very well. The pain immediately went from about a 3 to 10. The doctor came to check on me and I asked for the good drugs. Samuel being the curious guy that he is, watched the giant needles going into my back. Finally around 4:30 we were ready to meet our children. We rolled into the OR and I only labored a short time then Nolan was born first at 4:51pm and Ralyn was born at 4:57pm. It all happened so quickly and everything went so smoothly. We were only able to see the kids for a few minutes and they were whisked away to the NICU for observation. The next 6 hours were the hardest EVER:) So things hadn't gone as planned but our children were in good hands. God watched over them as I recovered from delivery. It was a very emotional time not to be able to hold the babies I had just worked so hard for. Finally around midnight we were reunited with our sweet babies.

Nolan Reed- 5 lbs. 15 oz.  18 in.

Ralyn Jane- 4 lbs. 11 oz.   18 in.

The next few nights in the hospital were hard. I hadn't had any sleep while in the hospital, Samuel was "sleeping" on a tiny couch and the constant flow of nurses and people needing information from us seemed non-stop. Let's not forget the 2 babies needing us all the time. When Saturday came we were VERY excited to go home. My doctor had discharged me and now we had to wait for the pediatrician to discharge the babies. Ralyn had maintained just enough weight to go home but Nolan's labs indicated a slightly higher level of jaundice than the doctor would like so he ordered photo-therapy lights sent to our house. We were upset but glad to be going home all together. Nolan stayed under the lights for 3 days. We all hated every minute.

 We feel as though we have spent our past few weeks with the doctors. So the kids had their 2 day check up and it went very well, Nolan had to be retested for his jaundice, Ralyn had an infected tear duct that was treated with eye drops and has pretty much cleared up and the kids had their 2 week check up. Its okay... We have 2 healthy babies!

WOW! Can you believe they are already 2 weeks old? Time really does fly! They are so cute and we couldn't be any happier:)

We are so appreciative to all of our family and friends for your love and support throughout this experience. God has blessed us so much! Prayer is so powerful and we appreciate your continued prayers for our new little family:)

So babies aren't here yet...

I know every one was so excited to get to meet these babies, especially Samuel and I, however, it was just not the right time. Things were happening that were out of our control (full moon) so it didn't feel right to induce yet. We decided to give it another week and see if the babies would come on their own. God was in control and we believe that everything happens for a reason. We want healthy babies so it didn't hurt to leave them in the oven a little longer. We will keep you posted as soon as they arrive:)

10 day count down...

Isn't it CRAZY to think that in 10 days or less Samuel and I will be parents to 2 precious blessings? We think it is crazy overwhelming but SO exciting:) We are expecting to be induced Friday, July 15 if the babies don't choose to come sooner. At our Doctors apt. today the babies looked very healthy. Nolan is a chunky monkey (for a twin) weighing in at about 5 lb 10oz and Ralyn was a more petite 5 lb 3oz. Considering we have a little over a week before they arrive, they will be over 6 lbs each. Can you believe that's a total of about 12lbs of baby? Whoa! That must be why my ankles are swelling. Other than the ankles, my only complaint is lack of sleep comfort. I think it is God's way of preparing me for midnight feedings and exhaustion. God has blessed me with an uncomplicated pregnancy and we would appreciate continued prayer for a smooth labor and delivery. I will be sure to take a picture before babies arrive so you all can see the BIG belly.

Just a few weeks to go...

Happy Father's Day!
When Pastor Frank spoke about Father's today in church he said that we need to teach/ show our children that they are first God's and then our's. I had never really thought about it that way before. We thank God for trusting us with this giant responsibility of raising 2 of his children and for guiding us every step of the way. He knows we will NEED all the help we can get.

We are very excited for our babies to arrive! Please pray that they stay in the oven for the next couple of weeks and arrive healthy. We also need prayer for when they are here and Samuel and I have become actual parents.(It is crazy to think that we will soon be called Dad and Mom.) I know we will be exhausted but it will be well worth it to have our 2 blessings here with us.

I will be going to the doctor tomorrow for a baby check up. We will see what the doctor has to say about their anticipated arrival date. It is very close:)

So blessed!

We are so blessed to have family, friends and co-workers who are so excited for our babies to arrive! Every one has been so generous and supportive throughout this experience. When we first found out we were having to precious babies we were very excited then we got a little worried that we would need to provide for 2. We just prayed. We knew we had a super supportive family but we never expected the outpouring of love that has come from friends, co-workers and acquaintances. God is so wonderful! I am so grateful for our close family and friends who attended Samuel's Daddy shower/BBQ. I am also thankful to Samuel's co-workers who made it possible for me to attend his surprise Daddy shower. (We are thankful for all the awesome baby goodies, too!) I am so glad that Samuel has been included in celebrating the babies and us becoming parents. This has been a wonderful experience and now we are very ready and excited for these blessed babies to arrive. Just a few weeks to go...

Daddy Shower/BBQ at The Stovall's House

Samuel's Surprise Shower at work

First Grade Baby Shower

The last Friday of school my first graders and their moms threw me and another teacher a baby shower. It was so cute. They had peanut butter sandwiches and fruit for the kids and then each of

my students got to estimate the size of my belly. 

Some were more accurate than others. It was very fun! 

Thanks to all the moms who helped to celebrate our babies:)

Belly Pic 26 weeks

I know...I'm a little behind on blogging:)
Here is a belly pic at 26 weeks.

Baby Shower

Last weekend my cousin, Jill, Sister-in-law, Jennifer, Moms, Lisa and Esther, all worked together to make my baby shower perfect. All the family and friends who attended made it even better. It was so colorful and fun. We really appreciate all the wonderful advice given to us as new parents and lovely words of wisdom given to Nolan and Ralyn.

 

 Thank you all for making Samuel, me and the babies feel so loved and special. We really are so blessed with the best!

They're growing...

Wow! The babies have been growing so much! They are very strong in their movements as well. These are the sono pics from our May appointment. We were told a while ago that it would be very difficult to get a picture of both babies together but we did it. Check it out: Nolan and Ralyn head to head.

Nolan's Spine

Ralyn's Spine

Kids Room Update

The room is pretty much done:)

It feels good to have at least one thing to mark off the list.

 

First Baby Shower

Thank you to the Willow Creek Elementary Faculty and Staff for attending my first baby shower. My First grade team did a great job of decorating and providing all my favorite foods. The cake was delicious:) Samuel and I really appreciate all the wonderful gifts. Nolan and Ralyn will LOVE all the baby goodies, too.

Just can't wait...

We went to the doctor yesterday and she mentioned that we only have about 14 weeks left. WOO HOO! We are so excited to welcome Nolan and Ralyn! I found some too cute to pass up outfits for the kids. Oh and they were super on sale, can't beat that. I also made each baby a modern version of the piggy bank.

(I will post sonogram and belly pics soon.)

Kids Room Pictures

 Thank you to all the Grandparents and Great grandparents for your help in making this the best and most well equipped kids room ever! Nolan and Ralyn are already so spoiled:)