Happy New Year

Well Brian and I are home and it is so bitter sweet. I am finally home without anything thing hooked up to me or on bed rest but the boys are not here which is really hard!
Lets see, what has happened lately?
Brandon has had his first bowel movement today (12/31) which is so awesome... we had been waiting for that. They upped his feeeding to 20 ml. and we have been able to feed him (through his feeding tube) and change his diaper, comb his crazy hair and take his temp and has gained alittle weight putting back on the weight he had lost. We are really looking forward to bottle feeding him. He is also keeping his temp! He is opening his eyes now and we think he has brown eyes and the nurse said he resembles Brian--- awe how cute.
John has lost some weight... about a pound but they had stopped his feeding for a bit because it was not processing and just sitting in his tummy. They have restarted his feeding at 10 ml. and today he had no residual (meaning his food is processing) so we are hoping that keeps up and he gains some weight. He is under a jaundice light but we were prepared for that. He looks like he is getting a tan! I was able to change his dirty diaper and he is also holding his temp well. The nurse says he resembles me, which I love and he is the calm sweet twin who just chills.
Brian has been such a trooper the last 4 days.... sleeping on the couch in the hospital and waking up to help me when I pump or need water or help to get up. As for me, I am sore but gettting around. I am SWOLLEN all over and have kanlkles. I feel like it is never going to go away but everyone says this is normal after a c-section and an epidural. Pumping is going very well other than I am tender but I am still trying to go strong and get my boys some food! Other than that Brian and I are just hanging out on New Years Eve thanking God that we have healthy twin boys and praying that they will be home soon with us and that I recover quickly so I can get around easier and get ready for their homecoming!!!

Grandparents

We are missing Grandpa John but he is freezing his booty off in Breckenridge!

Grandpa Hugh (not his "offical" name yet) with Brandon--who no longer has a IV in his head

Nanna with Brandon

My mom with John

hormones

Friday, December 28th.... the day after the twins were born. WOW, I am hormonal.

Both boys are doing as they should for being born at 32 weeks 6 days. They are in warmer beds and have IV's for nutrition, bandaids for when blood was taken, heart monitors and all kinds of other stuff. They both had a spinal tap done the day they were born and the preliminary results came back good (this was done because my water broke). The nurses and docs have not shown any concern for the boys as of today. They both have gone #1 and #2, so all that is working well. Also... they are graduating to isolates tonight. They both have been feeding through a feeding tube through their mouth. Hopefully soon the tube will be moved to thier nose so they both can suck on a pacifer. I really don't know much more....Brian has been getting alot of the information since I am really tired, sore, hormonal and on edge. The docs and nurses just say they are doing good for thier age.... they are all very cautious about what they say.

As for me, I got off the IV and got the cathider taken out this morning which was great. I still have the epideral in for pain but that will come out tomorrow and I will have pain pills. After I got the IV and cathider out I was able to walk to the level II NICU. This all feels very sureal right now. I have not yet gotten to really bond with the twins and I really don't know how to. I want to spend all day in the NICU but I am tired which makes me so cranky. I am trying to stay positive and know that the boys are getting the best care possible and that they will both be home soon where I know we will bond. I just don't want them to forget my voice. I guess you could say I am jealous that I am not caring for them right now. I am trying to pump and that is getting alittle frustrating too. I know things will get better and I am trying to stay upbeat about it knowing that Brian and I are now parents. It is amazing!!! I will be here till Monday hanging out with the babies and recovering from surgery. Brian and all our family has been amazing and I am so happy they are around and are here to help.
Everything just happened so fast.... its crazy!

more pictures

Mommy, daddy and the boys

John

Brandon

Momma and little John

Momma and little Brandon

Daddy and little John

Grandma (she doesn't have an offical "grandma" name yet) and little Brandon

Happy Birthday

John Garrison

Brandon Cooper

John Garrison Synnott

Brandon Cooper Synnott

December 27th at 9:17 Brandon and John were brought into the world weighing at 4 pounds 5 ounces each and a length of 17 inches.

About 5 a.m. I woke up laying in a puddle of water (lots of water). We got to Texas Womens about 5:45 a.m. and got checked into L&D. I finally felt what contractions felt like and was very very uncomfortable. The doc checked my cervix about 9 a.m. and I was already dilated to 3 cm. Now I saw my doc on Wednesday and I was no dilated and all was well so this was very surprising. They ended up calling up a STAT c-section and the boys were born within the same minute. Brandon came out peeing and John came out crying. They are both in the level 2 NICU and doing GREAT. They are breathing on their own and all. Brian has been able to see the multiple times but I have yet to see them. They said I could see them tomorrow morning (friday). We are all doing well, I am alittle sore but not too bad. Here are some pics of the boys and I will kwwp you all uppdated.... I will be here for four nights and I don't know much about the boys yet but when I do.... so will you!!!
Thank you for all your prayers and support

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I thought I would update you all on the progress of the nursery! Here are some more pictures.....

And here are two cute little onies....

MERRY CHRISTMAS.... MAY IT BE BLESSED

8 months

Yep, I am 32 weeks pregnant today!

So far all is well. I went to the doc on Wednesday and everything is the same, no dilation but short cervix and lots of pressure. I gained 4 pounds in 7 days.... hahahaha. So I have gained about 34 pounds. Mostly belly but my neck and chin are starting to get thicker which I hate and who knows about my thighs since I can't see them ;-)

I go back to the doc the day after Christmas to see if all is the same. I truly believe that I will make it to where they want me to, 36 1/2-37 weeks. I am ok with that because I know the boys need it but I am truly so sore and tired. I don't get much sleep at night because my upper back is hurting so bad that I am up every couple of hours. I can not sit or lay for too long because my back starts to hurt so right now I am up and down ALL DAY!

Please pray for the soreness in my back to leave so I can be comfortable through the next 5 weeks. Please also continue to pray for Brandon and John to be healthy and fat.

31 weeks

So I feel like the woman sitting on the floor.... 5 1/2 weeks seem so far away.

An End Date

Well we had our two appointments today and they both went very well. My cervix is still not dilated which is good and their heart rates were right on target. Brandon (baby A) is breech and has his head in my ribs so my back is really hurting but they great news is he caught up to his brother and now weighs 3 pounds 10 ounces. John moves all the time and makes my stomach look like it has an alien in it.... he weighs 3 pounds 13 ounces. They say they boys look great but since they are boys and they are caucasian that they need to stay in as long as possible.

So...... our end date is 36 1/2 weeks to 37 weeks (January 18-25). So they will be January babies if I can keep them in that long but they won't go any longer than that.

Some Progress

Here are some pictures of the nursery.... it is a work in progress!!

This is where our glider will go. I can not wait to see it.

Me at 30 weeks 3 days

Another Milestone

30 weeks


We have made it to 30 weeks with these little boys. A lot has been going on. I was in the hospital for about 5 days on magnesium sulfate then discharged with a breathine pump. Then went back to the hospital that night with more contractions and about 2a.m. we got to go home and have been home since. What is a breathine pump???? Well, it is an IV in my leg that continually gives me medicine. Does it work???? Well, sometimes! The catch is that I also have a home monitoring system that I use twice a day to see how many contractions I am having and then it gets sent off and I get a phone call from a home health care system and they tell me if I failed or passed. I pass if I have less than 8 contractions an hour.... that happens some but sometimes I fail and i have to get an extra dose of medicine and do the monitoring again. I love being home but not knowing if they will call and tell me to go to the hospital is always a worry of mine. I am so ready for these boys to be born. I am sore, tired, BIG, frustrated.... I know they need to stay in as long as possible and I will not do anything to endanger that but I AM READY!!!!!

I have doc appointments this coming Wednesday so hopefully they will go well!!!!

In the Hospital

We are back in the hospital!!!!!

Thursday ended up in L&D with contractions but of course not dilating. They tried giving me trabutaline shots but it would not help so I was put on magnesium sulfate (I feel your pain Jenny B). They started me on 2 grams per hour and I was pretty good, just really hot but still contracting. So about 4am they upped it to 2.25 and I got sick, I threw up and got hot and could not sleep. Friday morning I had lazy eyes and felt like I could not stay awake. They took some blood and decided to bring down the dosage to 1.76. I feel much better but I am contracting from every 6-8 minutes. We have made it to 29 weeks so we feel so good about the boys that if something did happen we would not be "as" worried. I will be in the hospital till at least Monday when Dr. T wants to try and give me a trabutaline pump (I am now off the trabutaline and procardia pills). This pump will give me a continuous flow of medicine. It is kind of like a diabetic pump. It will go into the fatty tissue of my thigh, I am pretty weirded out by it but if I get the pump then I can go home. If the pump does not work I will come back to the hospital and get back on the magnesium until they decide t0 either deliver the boys or go another route. We got a visit the level 3 NICU today and visit with the staff and they made Brian and I feel very comfortable and ready to take on any challenges that might come our way.
Other than that I am just hanging out and trying to not do too much. Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers.... they mean so muxh, you will never know!