The tale of two babies, in two different hospitals, in two different states. Part 2.

The flight was quick, the nurses were friendly and Ellie did great. We got to the hospital around 11 pm; I got to wait in the waiting room while they got her all transferred over. At around 1 am they finally let me in to see her. The hospital has what they call family rooms. It consists of a couch bed, a T.V., a table and bathroom; thankfully they let me stay there for the night.

When they told me Ellie needed surgery I assumed it would be right away. I was wrong. They wanted her to grow a bit, which is fine. I wouldn’t want to do surgery on a 2lb baby. The tricky part is her heart. When a baby is in the womb, there is a valve that branches off the aorta that goes to the lungs. After a baby is born that valve closes. Well with the coarctation in Ellie’s aorta, which means a narrowing, they opened that valve back up with a drug call prostaglandin to help relieve the pressure in her aorta. The prostaglandin makes you feel like you have the flu, and because she has a heart condition they can’t feed her very much, so getting her to gain weight was a slow process. Poor girl.

That first day being in Salt Lake was a long one. Thankfully I have a great friend, Dawna, who came to visit me while I waited for my parents to arrive. Being alone in a strange hospital with a sick baby is terrible. I am so grateful for my friend and my parents and my awesome brother and sister in-law for coming and being with me while my husband was in Idaho with Jack. My parents made it around 2pm. I couldn’t have been happier to see them.

I introduced them to Ellie; it was my dad’s first time seeing her. She already has him wrapped around her finger. Since I didn’t know I was flying with Ellie, I had only the clothes on my back and the toothbrush and phone charger Kevin and I got before I had to leave. So thankfully my parents and Dawna took me shopping. Bless Dawna’s heart she bought me a new outfit and outfits for the babies. She really is the greatest friend a girl could ask for. We went to stay with my cousin Nicky that night and my brother and his wife came from Rexburg and brought me clothes and such from home.

We spent time at the hospital with Ellie, did a little shopping and did the tourist thing. Sunday came and as much as I hated to leave, I had no clothes left and I missed my husband and Jack, and as far as I knew Ellie was not having surgery for a while.  We also needed to get packed and moved out of our apartment. What a whirlwind.

The tale of two babies in two different hospitals in two different states. Part 1.

To say that the last 6 weeks has been a whirlwind would be an understatement. Never in my pregnancy would I have thought these babies would come so early. But they did and they have changed our lives forever.

April 7 is the day my life changed. I became a mom. Something I have dreamed about since I was a little girl. I have always wanted a family and sometimes worried I wouldn’t have children of my own. Not that I ever had problems, I was just a silly girl. When we found out I was pregnant, I thought, what did I get myself into, it didn’t help when I found out it was twins.

Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled! But there was definitely fear and anxiety in the mix. Any twin pregnancy is considered “high risk”; higher risk for gestational diabetes, premature birth, preterm labor, miscarriage, bed rest, all sorts of things. I knew all these things and yet I thought I was invincible. I literally had the easiest pregnancy on Earth. Maybe 3 days of morning sickness, two stretch marks, no bed rest, no swollen ankles, perfect weight gain, I worked up until I delivered. So never in my wildest pregnancy dreams (and believe me they were wild) did I think I would have my twins 12 weeks early. But when do things go according to plan?

Even my labor was easy, delivery too. No, epidural, even though I requested one. I dilated so quickly there wasn’t time. My labor time was about 6 hours and one of that was pushing. I was discharged 12 hours after delivering twins. Recovery was a breeze, but life after pregnancy has been far from easy.

From the moment she was born my sweet Ellie struggled. She took her first breath with the assistance of the ventilator. In the craziness of delivery I didn’t realize anything was wrong with Ellie until I saw Jack. He came out screaming and looking around, that’s when I knew something was wrong with Ellie. 

 Jack (top) and Ellie (bottom) just after birth.

12 hours after birth my babies had already changed so much. They looked so perfect, like any normal baby just miniaturized. They both had beautiful hair, long fingers and long fit. They were perfect. Both needed the assistance of a machine they called Bubble CPAP. It helped them to keep their oxygen levels up and to remember to breath.

 Ellie (top) and Jack (bottom) 12 hours after birth.

The first 3 days were a breeze. They had their ups and downs but I thought we can do this, just a couple months, no big deal. Boy, did I stick my foot in my mouth. 4 days after birth, the nurse found a slight murmur in Ellie’s heartbeat. So, they decided to do an ultrasound. Of course we were assured its probably nothing but we want to make sure. The moment I saw the hospitals number on my caller ID, I knew it was something big. The doctor explained that she had a coarctation of the aorta and that she would be life flighted to Primary Childrens Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah where should would need surgery to correct it, and  I needed to come in at 8 to sign the release papers.

My mind started racing and my heart broke. How could my perfect baby need heart surgery? What if she doesn’t make it through surgery? What problems will she have later on? How could this happen to me? I told Kevin and tried to keep my composure. I called my mom and told her the news and broke down. How could they separate my babies? How am I supposed to be with them if they are in separate states? What should my next step be, stay with Jack or go be with Ellie is Salt Lake. I was so torn. My dad called me and said, We will come get you and take you to stay with Ellie.

We got to the hospital to sign the papers and they asked me if I was going to fly with her. I didn’t even know that was an option. I said of course and Kevin and I rushed to the store to pick up a few essentials for me to make it through the weekend. I was going with Ellie, Kevin was staying with Jack and my parents would come to Salt Lake in the morning to keep me company.

Here's How It Went Down

It's funny that Friday afternoon I had an ultrasound and everything looked great. Ellie was very low and hard to get on the ultrasound but no cause for concern. Saturday was a very relaxed day. Kev and I just watched conference. I was tired so I took a nap through the second session. I woke up at 4 and thought I needed to poop so I did, then I just felt super constipated and lots of pressure down low. Didn't think much of it. Then the pain got nice and consistent. I started timing them and they were about 5 minutes apart and lasting about a minute each. So I texted my mom and she told me to call the doctor so I did and he told me to take Ibprofen or advil to try to stop contractions and if they didn't stop within the hour to come in. That was about 5:30. I thought they were getting better then they were back so I finally broke down and told Kevin he needed to take me to the hospital this was about 7. I got there and they slowed down again, keep in mind they were never super terribly painful so I didn't think anything serious. I just assumed they would give me stuff to stop them and send me home. They got me all hooked up and the nurse told me the contractions weren't even registering. I was on the phone with my mom like it was no big deal. The doctor came in about 7:30 and checked me and low and behold I was already dilated to a 6 almost 7. I was immediately admitted and they gave me magnesium to stop labor. They also gave me a steroid shot for the babies lungs. They were hoping to hold off labor for at least 24 hours so the steroids could work. Well maybe around 9:30 or 10 the doctor came back and I was at an 8. So they decided they would break my water and get the show on the road. I never got an epidural. NOT FUN! We had to wait for the transport from Idaho Falls to get there so they could take the babies right away. So around 12:30 we got the party started. Ellie came first. She was pretty easy. 1:30 and she was here. Next came Jackson. On the ultrasound they saw that his hand was coming with his head and they were trying to get it to go down, it did so we started to push. My heavens it was hard. For all you women who deliver nomal sized babies with no pain meds are my heroes. I only delivered little babies and it still was terrible. Anyways so as Jackson finally arrives his foot accompanies his head. No wonder he hurt so much more than his sister. Got a few stitches, no biggie. When Ellie came she was very quiet, when Jack came he was crying and looking around. Ellie was put on a ventilator right away. Kev got to see them and take a few pics before they left, I didn't. I was so sad.
The next day the doctor comes to check on me and said I was doing great. I was discharged at 1:00pm. And we went straight to the hospital to see the babies. They are so tiny and precious. Ellie had to get put on some blood pressure meds while we were there. Jack was just so chill like life was no big deal so far. I just love them so much! They put a cute little bow in Ellie's hair. They both have lots of hair, Ellie's is very light and Jack's is pretty dark. I just love them so much! they are both doing great considering they are 12 weeks early. They probably won't be able to leave the hospital until their due date but could be five weeks earlier.

Exciting things are happening to the Becks!

Can you believe I am almost 7 months with twins and still this little. Where are they? Oh that's right in my lungs and bladder and kidneys and basically everywhere else imaginable. Ellie thinks its a funny joke to kick mom in the bladder while I'm at work. Definitely and interesting feeling.

I got to go home this past weekend for a couple of baby showers and let me tell you I have some amazing people in my life! Thank you so much to my momma and dad and calv for all the work they out in and to chels and her mom for their hard work! We got a ton of great stuff! Such a blessing! It was hard to be away from my husband for the weekend though. I sure missed him.

When I got back Kevin told me he wanted to move back to the Parma/Nyssa area and start working on his realtors license and work with his dad. And I am all for it! It's so perfect, we will be living with my parents for a little while. So excited to be ale to have the babies so close to family! Now we just need someone to buy our contract so we don't have to buy for it while we aren't living there! So pray for us!

April 20th come sooner!

How far along? 26 weeks 3 ish days
Babies are the size of a: cucumber, around 15 inches long and over two pounds each!
Total weight gain: Getting close to 30
Gender: Boy and a girl
Names: Jackson and Ellison aka jack and Ellie
Maternity Clothes? A couple pairs of pants but can still rock pre pregnancy jeans.
Stretch marks? none really
Sleep: like a baby for the most part
Movement: tons. Lots of kicks to the bladder lately haha
Best moment this week: putting in my two weeks notice.
Miss anything: being able to play sports.
Belly button in or out? It's basically stretched flat.
Food cravings: pizza
Anything make you queasy or sick: nope
Labor signs: a few Braxton hicks contractions
Symptoms: back aches
Wedding ring on or off: on
Happy or moody most of the time: pretty much an emotional roller coaster.
Looking forward to: moving closer to family!! And seeing the babes again!

Oh babies!

It's been a while since I have been on here. A few updates! The babies are growing well! Jack is a little smaller than Ellie but doctor said they both look great! As the days go by I get bigger and more tired. But that's to be expected right? Oh and I have started to waddle a little towards the end of my shift. My back and hips just get so sore.
So far the only place I really have gained weight is in my belly. I honestly feel like I look better than. Did pre pregnancy everywhere else. And my weight gain is right on track so it's awesome! My feet and ankles Swell a little but nothing too crazy yet! If every pregnancy I have is like this I might have 10 kids haha not really... It has been so fun feeling the babies move. I can't believe I am going to be a mom! Thankfully I have an amazing husband to help me through it all.


How far along? 24 weeks 6 days
Maternity clothes? Can't live with out maternity pants but can still rock pre pregnancy pants if needed.
Stretch marks? Found a little one. Inevitable with twins right?
Sleep? Most of the time great. Just wake up to pee.
Best moment this week? Seeing my babies on ultrasound and learning everything is great!
Miss anything? Volleyball. Real bad.
Movement? They love to kick mom when she's trying to sleep!
Food cravings? Soda
Anything making you nauseous or sick? Just cleaning the bathrooms at work.
Have you started to show yet? No way to hide it.
Labor signs! A few Braxton hicks but nothing big.
Belly button in or out? In but it's getting all stretched out and weird looking.
Wedding ring on or off? On, thank goodness it was a little big to begin with.
Happy or moody? Mostly happy, but you might want my husbands opinion.
Looking forward too? Warm weather so I can paint my cribs and dresser.

Nesting

You hear all the time about pregnant women and nesting, and they just go crazy cleaning everything. Well I have hit the nesting stage. I am not super crazy about it like scrubbing the baseboards with a toothbrush but I do clean a lot more than I used to. The biggest thing is their nursery is driving me nuts. I am only halfway but I seriously feel like I need to get it ready for them now and if I don't I never will. Oh joys.
Their room is so bland and boring and we live in an apartment so we can't paint the walls, so I had to be creative in adding color. So far I only have their wall art done, but I plan to paint their dresser a teal color and eventually paint their cribs either dark brown or black, just so they coordinate a little more.
I still need to work on their crib skirts. I have sketched out my idea. I am going to make the out of burlap and paint their names on them. I then it will be cute. I found a cute pattern for some stuffed elephants that I really want to make for the babies. For now I will just post pictures of their wall. I am quite proud.
My mom made pinwheels for my wedding reception and I loved the whimsy of them s I thought I would do that in their nursery. I bought teal and orange colored paper and made three different sizes. At fist I only had two sizes and I just wasn't digging it, so I went out and bought more paper and made the little ones and it looks soo much better. So lesson if you don't like it fix it so you do. If you want t learn how to make these pinwheels I would be more than willing to show you. They are seriously soo easy.
The fist picture is the first round. It's ok but I just didn't love it. The second picture is the finished product and I love it!

Almost 19 weeks!

I can't believe I am almost halfway! People have finally noticed I am pregnant without me telling them. A creepy guy at work asked how far along I was I told him, and was like its a girl isn't it. And I said we'll one of them is, and then he just went off on how he's been able to tell what woman are having since he was 14. I said, well I'd be more impressed if you said boy and girl, because either one you would have guessed you would have been right... He left. Haha husband has been sick and we are working on getting him better so I can be the complainer again. Just kidding, ok not really. Been feeling the babies lots. They arent strong enough for daddy to feel them but we will get there.

How far along? 18 weeks 6 days!
Maternity clothes? Can't live with out maternity pants.
Stretch marks? Not yet but started my preventative measures.
Sleep? Most of the time great. Just wake up to pee.
Best moment this week? Strangers asking about my baby and I get to correct them and say babies!
Miss anything? Volleyball. Real bad.
Movement? I feel them lots and lots. They just don't like daddy to feel them.
Food cravings? Subway
Anything making you nauseous or sick? Just cleaning the bathrooms at work.
Have you started to show yet? Yes sir!
Labor signs! No thank goodness.
Belly button in or out? In but it's getting all stretched out and weird looking.
Wedding ring on or off? On, thank goodness it was a little big to begin with.
Happy or moody? Mostly happy, but you might want my husbands opinion.
Looking forward too? My next appt. confirming genders so I can stop worrying about them changing.

Too cold!

It's been one of those weeks. Too cold! Too much snow for a pregnant lady! I love the snow but not when I don't get to enjoy some time on the mountain. I think Kevin is missing it too. Someone needs to take him!
It was so cold this morning that our car wouldn't start. Joy. So we took the battery out and brought it in. Hope it helps. Pray for us!
Kevin has been studying hard so happy to be married to such a hard worker. He really is such a sweetheart! Grateful that he found me!
I think I felt a kick today! Can't say for sure but something was going on in there. I finally have a real cute baby bump. Wonder how long it will last before I get huge.
So far my New Years resolution has been a success! I have been cooking dinner every night! Go me! Gives me hope for the future. I just might be able to handle the title mom.

How far along? 16 weeks 2 days
Maternity clothes? Bought a new pair of pants!
Stretch marks? Not yet but started my preventative measures.
Sleep? Most of the time great. Besides waking up at 2 or 3 every night.
Best moment this week? Showing off the baby bump
Miss anything? Snowboarding
Movement? I felt something today. I will call it the babies :)
Food cravings? All things junk food!
Anything making you nauseous or sick? Just cleaning the bathrooms at work.
Have you started to show yet? Yep. It's all down hill from here haha.
Labor signs! No thank goodness.
Belly button in or out? In
Wedding ring on or off? On, thank goodness it was a little big to begin with.
Happy or moody? Mostly happy, but you might want my husbands opinion.
Looking forward too? My next appt. love seeing my babies!

The joys and woes of pregnancy

So I am officially 15 weeks and 4 days. At my first appt I thought I was 7 weeks and 1 day and due June 27th. They told me I was 7 weeks and due July 1st... I don't really understand how that works so I say I am due June 28th and with twins thy are probably coming early anyway. On Friday we another ultra sound and found out its for sure a boy and pretty sure a girl. We have decided to name them Jackson and Ellison aka jack and Ellie. Jackson was just showing off like crazy, giving us thumbs up, and showing us his feet and fingers, going crazy. And little Ellie was just sitting there with here legs crossed and wouldn't budge! Little stinker! We got a pretty good view and are fairly confident she's a girl but not as sure as we are about her brother. He wasn't shy. And at the very end Ellie tucked her umbilical cord between her legs. Kevin said, " I hope she stays that modest." We will see. Nonetheless we are over the moon excited!

So I am finally feeling great again. Had a scary week but I guess that's my trade off for no morning sickness. Glad to be normal, and now that I am in my 2nd trimester my energy is coming back! My husband is grateful that I am not sleeping all the time.

How far along? 15 weeks!
Maternity clothes? I have one pair of pants that won't stay up and a few shirts but I wear big shirts anyway so it's nothing new.
Stretch marks? Not yet but started my preventative measures.
Sleep? Most of the time great.
Best moment this week? Learning we have a boy and a girl!
Miss anything? Playing volleyball
Movement? I think so. Hard to tell.
Food cravings? All things junk food!
Anything making you nauseous or sick? Just cleaning the bathrooms at work.
Have you started to show yet? Finally a little bump!
Labor signs! No thank goodness.
Belly button in or out? In
Wedding ring on or off? On, thank goodness it was a little big to begin with.
Happy or moody? Mostly happy, but you might want my husbands opinion.
Looking forward to? Really feeling them move.