Hello everyone, it is me "K"

COULD THOSE TWO BOYS BE ANY MORE DARLING?

I am of course a biased aunt, but I find them to be handsome and perfect in every way! You should see mom and dad dote over them, Niki and J are over the moon in love with these two precious little souls, and I for one could not be more excited for the four of them! They have been so fortunate to have Myles watching over them through the last week, these boys are making all forward progress on their eating, and I think they have a special big brother to thank for that. What a perfect family!

I am one week post c-section and finding that five years makes a bit of a difference on my body, I previously was recovered when I got home, but this time I'm having just a few more aches and pains, nothing to complain too much about, I just have to keep telling myself, OLDER = SLOWER... Thankfully, my staples were removed last Thursday and now I just have steri-strips which are much more comfortable. My boys are happy to have me home, but are far more excited for their next visit with Liam and Silas. :-) Oh and I have to tell you, when the boys met Liam and Silas last Sunday, it was priceless to see Liam turn his head a bit and open one eye as he clearly recognized Kolbe's (the loudest voice in our family at the age of 5) voice. Too funny.

Liam and Silas are stars around here. We have been on the news and in our local newspaper, both such beautifully written stories. It was nice to show people that surrogacy stories do have happy endings. So many people, even strangers, wrote to say "you just gave me goosebumps, its rewarding to know that there are still good people left on Earth" I found those words touching! I don't often think of my role in this journey, but rather focused on the end result, getting Niki and J healthy baby(s). So people's kind words post delivery have helped me realize the gift given. A gift I wouldn't change for ANYTHING!

I just wanted to stop by and say thank you to all of you for your support of Niki, J and I through this journey and Niki and J's journey with Myles. I never knew a cyber world like this existed, and have found such peace here! Love and well wishes to you all!

"Twice the Gift"

The local TV news featured a story on our surrogacy journey. It was the headline story tonight called Twice the Gift. I think they did a nice job for a short news piece. It's so cute that at only 5 days our boys are already celebrities! :)

Update

Sorry for not posting an update sooner. As you can imagine I'm pretty wiped, but most definitely not complaining! I'm madly in love with these two little peanuts and won't let sleep deprivation keep me from enjoying my dreams come true!

Both Liam and Silas are still in the Special Care Nursery. They are making great progress, but can't go home until they get better at feeding and gain some more weight. Both boys lost weight, which is expected, but haven't quite mastered the suck, swallow, breath stuff without tiring easily. Monday the pediatrician wanted to incorporate bottle feeding into our routine, so I was nursing, bottle feeding, and pumping every three hours. This meant that I'd get 1-1.5 hours of sleep at a time for about a total of 4 hours a night (the hospital gave me a room to stay here with the boys). Today we started using a supplemental nursing system, which seemed to be a better alternative for the boys, because they only had to "work" once instead of twice to get their food. Also, the boys have been given NG tube feedings to help them grow while they're improving their feeding skills. So far the boys have only been given my breast milk (and K's colostrum), but I presume my frozen supply will run out soon. At that point they'll be given formula along with the breast milk that they get while nursing and from the little I pump. I have to admit that I'm unsure how I'll be able to maintain this routine when I'm home, but I'm happy that I'm doing what I can now.

Liam's and Silas' personalities are already showing. Silas is my "wild child"--he likes to move about more and really gets demanding when he wants to feed. Liam is a little more laid back and patient. Liam is a great nurser and immediately takes to the breast, but Silas is a little more pokey. He prefers to let his brother get the milk to let down before he begins his feedings. Although both boys like to cuddle with mamma, Liam is my little snuggle bunny. He just loves to cuddle skin to skin with me after he feeds.

J is such a great daddy! He's very confident in his abilities to change diapers, give baths, and handle the boys. It melts my heart to see him loving his boys! Today J went to work, which just so happens to be at the same hospital where the boys are staying, and came to visit them several times. After work he was telling them how much he missed them and gave them kisses. It was so cute!

The Grandmas and Grandpas came to visit again today and finally got to hold the boys. I think it made their day!

I've been reading books to the boys. I started with big brother Myles' favorite book I Love You Stinky Face. I talk to them all the time and feel fairly confident that they can now recognize my voice. When I talk to them they turn their eyes to me, which warms my heart! I look at them and sometimes can't believe that they are mine. I am so very, very blessed!

K is doing quite well too! She's coming to visit the boys tomorrow and I know they are excited to see her! I know I am! K said she'd post an update, so I'll let her fill you in on how she's doing.

Our local newspaper wants to do a feature story on us, which is pretty cool, so tomorrow the photographer is coming to take some photos of us and on Friday the reporter is coming to interview us. When the article runs I'll make sure to put a link on the blog. I'm delighted that a heart-warming, beautiful story of surrogacy is going to be shared with the world. I think our story is one of inspiration and hope, so I hope others enjoy reading about it.

Off to feed my boys ...

Liam & Silas

Silas:


Liam:

Happy Birthday Silas & Liam

Liam Douglas and Silas Robert entered the world today at 1:21 and 1:23pm, respectively. Silas measured 5lbs 5oz, 18.5 in and Liam measured 5lbs 6oz, 18 in. Both boys are in the special care nursery, but are doing well on room air.




K is recovering well from the c-section. She was already up and walking around by 4:30pm and met the boys for the first time around 5pm. K really is a true ROCK STAR!! J and I are so in love and can't even begin to thank K enough for these two precious gifts. We are so very blessed!

It's me K...

bored out of my mind on bed rest (but so not complaining because I know many of you did it for much longer then I'll have to even if I make it to 38 weeks).

Here's my update, I'm home, chillaxin as I call it and I cannot help but wonder about when these babies will come, so I'm just asking all of you twin mom's out there, how many of you were dilated to 4 and on bed rest, and how long did you make it before the babies came? Also feel free to share with me how your twin labor started! I thank you in advance for the entertainment!

It has been fun seeing Niki and J get so excited this week, and makes me remember why I chose to do this! I'm certain they are going to be remarkable parents to these boys!

An overnight stay at Labor & Delivery

We thought we were going to meet our boys last night, but they weren’t quite ready for the world just yet! On Saturday K lost her mucus plug, which can be a sign of labor. Yesterday she began having contractions throughout the day while at work and wiped a little blood, so she called the clinic and they had her come in. The ob checked and she was 3 cm dilated (unsure about effacement because her cervix was high), so he sent her over to Labor & Delivery for monitoring. K had contractions throughout the night that ranged from 3-10 minutes apart and would go up and down in frequency. The boys were highly active (“wild” in K’s words) and had great accelerations and heart rates on the monitors.

K stayed at the hospital overnight for monitoring, so they could evaluate her contractions and recheck her cervix this morning. Her cervix was dilated to just under 4 cm this morning, but the contractions overnight were mild. Therefore, the ob took her off work and sent her home on modified “bed rest”--she has shower and bathroom privileges and is allowed to attend her son's P-T conference this week. K didn't get much sleep last night, so she was going to nap this afternoon. Her contractions are irregular, but she's still having the "vagina ache" as she likes to call it. The ob said he’d like to see her get to February 1. Now we just wait and see what happens!

I am in a weird place of high anxiety and confusion. I'd love for the boys to bake a little longer, but I'm also anxious for their arrival. The not knowing when they'll come is extremely hard for me as a Type A planner. You would think that infertility prepared me to be patient, but I guess I've forgotten that lesson! Also, I worry that we've come so far to let some freak event like a cord accident or placental abruption to take one of our babies. This is why I'd rather have them here with us. I know that they would be born premature and I'm not wishing for preemies, but I also know that over 5lb, 34 weekers will do well in the NICU. After having had a micro-preemie under a pound these boys are going to seem giant! At this point they'd be among the feeders and the growers in the NICU. I feel that if they were here in the world we could control more than we can with them inside the uterus. Please don't lecture me ... I know the boys are best in the uterus, but I also know how in the blink of an eye tragedy can strike in utero.

Okay, as I tell my students when they are anxious or rowdy and need to calm down ... breathe in deep and slowwwwly release!