I can’t believe the girls are already two months old. Where has the time gone? It has definitely flown by for us. I have been meaning to write a blog for awhile now, however my time has been taken up by those sweet girls!
My last post was talking about being on bed rest and hoping to make it to 36 or 37 weeks. The same day I posted it, my doctor personally called me around 5:00 that evening. He told me he discussed my case with the other doctors in his clinic since my situation was very unique. I had absolutely no symptoms of preeclampsia, I felt perfectly fine, however my labs were telling a different story. My doctor said the fact that I didn’t have any symptoms is what made my situation pretty scary and it wasn’t worth the risk to wait any longer and he told me I was going to have the girls the very next day. I got off the phone with him and immediately started crying. I told Jayson I wasn’t ready. I was so worried at the challenges they might face being 5 weeks early. Thankfully when I was admitted for two nights the week prior to having the girls, I was given two steroid shots to help with their lung development.
I had to have a csection since Marlee was breech. I was wheeled into the room to find 18 people in there getting ready for my procedure. It was a bit overwhelming. Marlee and Kynlee each had their own set of nurses and pediatrician. There were some med students and then of course the doctors and nurses that were there for me.
It was a pretty serious and intense environment. They warned us that since the girls were early not to be alarmed if we didn’t hear any cries for awhile. We heard the doctor say he saw some knees and feet and within seconds we heard Marlee cry. It was the most amazing sound I had ever heard and I immediately started crying myself. Marlee was born at 12:22 and Kynlee followed at 12:23. Marlee was 4 pounds 14 ounces, 17 inches long – Kynlee was 5 pounds and 17 inches long as well.
The girls didn’t need any assistance when they were born. We started trying to feed that night but the girls weren’t strong enough to suck. They were given a feeding tube the next day and we used that while trying to get them strong enough to be able to breastfeed. Unfortunately it was just too much for their little bodies and we asked the nurses about giving the girls my breast milk through a bottle. Once we started that the girls did so much better and we went home within a couple of days. The girls were only in the NICU for nine days.
We have settled into our new normal and the girls are growing like crazy! Here are some pictures from shortly after they were born.
Their one month pictures. Marlee was 6.4 pounds, 19 inches long. Kynlee was 6.2 pounds, 19.25 inches long.
Two month pictures. Marlee is now 9.5 pounds, 21.75 inches long. Kynlee is 8.5 pounds, 21.50 inches long.
Watching them form their own personalities and watching their relationship form is truly special. When they were in the NICU and the nurses swaddled them together for the first time, they were still hooked up to heart monitors and their heart rates matched up. When they are close together, they always seem to find each other and do cute things.
I had my first mother’s day in the hospital and the wonderful NICU nurses put this together for me. It was so special and there were lots of happy tears.
This journey has been so surreal and I still often times look at Marlee and Kynlee and can’t believe they are here. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really challenging days. One night for example, both girls were really fussy and screaming at the top of their lungs, one of our dogs was whining at the back door to go outside and the other dog was over in the corner of the living room throwing up. I may have broke down in tears that night. Even in those days, we truly feel blessed. We worked so hard to get to this point and I’m so thankful we finally have two wonderful daughters.
These two pictures are a reminder of how far we have come. In a matter for four years, we had four miscarriages and lost Jayson’s mom. It was truly some hard times, however we finally received our rainbow babies.
For those of you still trying for your babies, please don’t give up. There were so many times I thought it would never happen for us. There were days I had completely given up hope, however hanging on to our Faith knowing that God would provide, Jayson and I kept trying. We prayed and prayed that our miracle rainbow babies would come to us. God provided for us and when I look at these two precious faces, I know that it was every bit worth the wait. We were waiting for Marlee and Kynlee. I would do it all over again to get these two precious girls. You continue to be in my prayers. Keep going, it’s a marathon, not a race!
With love,
Haley