Introducing.......

Our babies are finally here!!! They were born on Tuesday, July 19th. Chloe Jean , 5 lbs 3 oz, 18 inch long, born at 11:30 p.m. Clayton Jeffrey, 5 lbs 5 oz, 17 inch long, born at 11:37 p.m. They spent 23 days in the NICU and are now home and healthy. We are weaning them off of their oxygen now and so far they are doing really well without it. They still have their monitors so we can keep track of their heart rates and oxygen levels, but we're hoping we'll lose those after their next appointment on the 19th.

My fourth and final visit to labor and delivery due to contractions, we were not able to stop the contractions this time. We spent the first 5 hours trying to stop them, but the doctor finally decided that we were fighting a losing battle. Miss Chloe was ready to come out, her brother wasn't quite ready but didn't have much of a choice.

I did choose to get an epidural, but because I dialated from a 6 to a 9 in 45 minutes, the epidural didn't have time to catch up. I felt EVERYTHING up until I started to push. Luckily the epidural was working again by that time, but the babies were so small it really wasn't that difficult. Chloe came out first, head first. I only caught a glimpse of her before the nurse rushed her off, but she was absolutely beautiful. Clay was breech and it was a little more tricky to get him out. My doctor was literally almost up to her elbow inside trying to pull the little man out. Luckily I was also able to deliver him vaginally so I was pretty relieved. The poor little guy came out very bruised.

Both babies needed help to breath. Clay's lungs were still completely collapsed and he needed a lot of help, but they were both troopers and progressed very well during their time in the NICU. I'm trying to type this while I have my 5 year old hanging on my arm, and yelling for my attention so I'm going to have to make this quick.

Baby Update

I know I said that I would be adding some pictures on here really soon, but I wanted to post this update. I am currently at work while my camera is at home so the pictures will just have to wait a little longer.

I have actually been feeling pretty great most days. I get a little tired in the evenings, but since the weather has been a little cooler until recently, it's been pretty nice for me. I'm constantly hearing how good I look for being 31 weeks pregnant with twins which has been very flattering to hear. Aside from a day or two full of contractions (not regular though), I am doing very well.

Yesterday, I had another Doctor appointment which happens every two weeks. It started with an hour long ultra-sound (30 minutes per baby), and ended up with me in labor and delivery following my visit with Dr. Craig. My weight gain has been great, and I've only gained 33 pounds thus far!!! Apparently the babies are sucking everything out of me and I've even lost weight in certain areas. That's one positive to carrying two babies, wooohooo! One baby is weighing at 4 lbs 1 oz, and the other baby was a little more than that. Both babies are big for being twins and if I make it to 36 weeks, my doctor thinks I could end up with two 7 1/2 pound babies. That makes 15 pounds of baby, plus the placenta and all the fluid which means I am probably going to start getting much bigger and more miserable.

When I informed my doctor that I had been cramping and contracting all throughout the day last Friday, she decided she should check my cervix. Well, I am already dialated 2 cm and I'm currently 70% thinned. She said that it is possible for me to carry past 34 and maybe make it to 36 weeks, but sent me to labor and deliver for a steriod shot. The steroid shot is to help develop the babies' lungs just in case they are born really early. After the shot, I ended up being hooked up to a ton of monitors to monitor my contractions and the babies' heart rates. Needless to say, what should have been an hour and a half visit easily turned to a 3 hour visit. Then I ended up having to head back up to Logan today for the second steroid shot.

I'm seriously having mixed emotions about all of this. Of course I want to keep them in as long as possible, but to have 15 pounds of baby is a little scary. I'm just now remembering how difficult it was taking care of one infant, and now what am I supposed to do with two?!?! I'm so excited, but terrified at the same time. I have the hardest time accepting help from people and everyone tells me that I need to get over that fast.

I just can't believe what could be happening within weeks is actually here. There was a time when I thought we'd never have the chance to have another child. We have been so blessed it sometimes makes me feel guilty. I know that there are so many other couples out there wanting to be parents and it is just heartbreaking to go through infertility. My experience with infertility has really helped me to not take my son and now my new son and daughter on the way for granted. I don't think I did before, but I just try to soak in as much as I can while Max is little. There will come a day when he doesn't want mom around for everything and he won't want to come to mom when he's feeling sad. Although this thought tears me up inside, I'm going to enjoy every minute I have with my kids.

That's all for now, hopefully I will remember to update again soon. I really have turned into a bubble head this pregnancy.

Trip to the Hospital

This pregnancy is definately much different than my last. With this pregnancy, everything seems to be amplified. The morning sickness was almost unbearable, the aches, the pains, constantly out of breath, etc........ This is not me complaining though. I am so happy to endure all the discomforts of a twin pregnancy and wouldn't have it any other way.

Tuesday started off with me not feeling very well. By noon I had already thrown up a couple of times which was unusual because I hadn't really had morning sickness since 18 weeks. I also had a dull ache in my lower abdomen which I just figured was typical since my baby girl is there. By 2:00 the ache became a constant pain that was also up the sides of my abdomen. And at 4:30, the pain was all over my abdomen and I had to call in to tell my boss that I would not be able to come into work. The pain was sharp and I thought it was probably gas pains so I called my Doctor's office and was told what over-the-counter drugs I could take for this problem. Three hours later, the pain in my stomach was excrutiating and now I had sharp pains in my lower back as well. I couldn't sit, stand, lay on my back or either side without being in pain. Now it was 7:30 and I was in tears from the pain so we decided it was more than just gas.

At the hospital they took us to labor and delivery so they could monitor both baby's heartbeats. Both were fine and baby boy was doing somersaults or something which made the pain worse, but it was so good to hear that they were both okay. We also found out that I was having small contractions, but luckily was not at all dialated (I was only 24 weeks). It turns out that I probably got food poisoning which would have caused the agonizing pain for 4 days. I became dehydrated most likely from the food poisoning which is what probably brought on the contractions.

I was given a pill to help stop the contractions and some Lortap to help with the pain. I am just so happy that everything turned out alright. I was so worried that I was going to be put on bedrest already and that would not be a good thing this early. I've got a 4 year old boy who needs me this summer. I really want to help make this a fun summer for him before the babies come and we become tied down for a while.

On a side note.......Because the weather is getting nicer, I plan on taking plenty of pictures to post soon. I might even have to get a few pics of my massive belly, ugh...... At 25 weeks, I measured 36 weeks. So when anyone tells me that I'm looking cute or small for being pregnant with twins, I WILL know that they are just being nice.

Weekend Getaway

You would think that because we took a weekend get-away to Las Vegas that I took a bunch of pictures. I'm still upset with myself for only getting a few, but to be honest, it was a rough weekend for me. Max had been sick with a cold the previous week and Josh and I were lucky enough to get sick just in time for our trip. The entire ride there was miserable for the two of us, but Max was so excited to go somewhere new that we just sucked it up.

We decided to stay at Circus Circus since there is a lot for kids to do their. Max had so much fun playing arcade and carnival games with his dad. We brought home several little stuffed animals that they had won. Most of them are Max's, but he's been kind enough to share a few with his brother and sister.

Max and Josh also spent 3 good hours on Friday, playing in the Adventuredome which is an indoor theme park inside the hotel. Of course being able to ride rides was a lot of fun for him too. I spent the first hour with the boys and then decided to go up to the room and rest. Later that night, we took Max to see the sights of the strip. We saw the fountains at the Bellagio, the volcano at the Mirage and of course had to see the pirate show at Treasure Island. Unfortunately the pirate show is now a musical with the women being scantally dressed and dancing quite provacatively. It's a good thing that Max is young enough not to understand, and he was just excited about the pirate ships. I have to admit that I underestimated just how much walking I can handle. With Max I was able to do a lot more at 23 weeks, but with this twin pregnancy, I'm finding that I am a lot more limited. Poor Max was trying to patient with mom who had to sit and rest often. He was just so excited to see everything.

Saturday we spent some time at the pool. There were too many people around for me to have the guts to actually get into the pool in my maternity swimming suit. Luckily I found a nice lawn chair by the pool side in the shade to sit and relax and enjoy the 80 degree weather. Later that night we went to see the Tournament of Kings show at the Excalibur. This was definately the highlight of my trip. There was minimal walking to get from the car to the show and I was able to sit, relax, enjoy excellent food and an amazing show! Max had a blast also. It was so fun to see him getting into all the chants and cheering. He loved being able to raise his glass and yell "hear hear" before taking a big drink and slamming his cup down, followed by a very loud "arghhh......" The show was excellent and I loved how each section had a different King/knight to cheer for. Our section was actually cheering for the Dragon Knight which was the bad guy. It was a lot of fun, but toward the end I felt bad cheering for the bad guy. Max loved it though, he has always loved the bad guys in the Disney Movies. I would definately recommend this show to anyone visiting the area.

We ended our trip on Easter Sunday. Max had been so worried that the Easter bunny wouldn't be able to find him, but the bunny sure is smart. He found our hotel room and even hid a bunch of plastic eggs, and he left Max a very nice Easter basket with a transformer inside. He played with that transformer the entire ride home. As I said before, that is one smart bunny!

All in all, it was a very fun weekend. I'm finally starting to feel better, but I'm definately feeling run down from all the standing and walking around. We'll have to go back someday when I'm not pregnant!

We Are Having...........

A boy AND a girl! We were hoping that at least one would be a girl so we are very happy!!! Although, 2 boys would have been just fine too! I'm excited to have another boy too! I have come to find that little boys are a lot of fun. Now we can finally think about how to decorate the nursey and also start thinking about names. We have been asked so many times what names we are thinking of. We do have two names in mind, but we are nowhere near deciding for sure. It's hard to come up with two names that sound good together. What sounds good to me, does not sound good to Josh and vice versa. He seems to think that the names both have to start with the same letter to sound good together. I'm hoping that this can stay a fun and exciting event rather than the alternative. Both babies are looking great! They are actually measuring a week early so we will see if my doctor changes our due date. I had a few weeks where I was feeling awesome and now recently I'm starting to feel sick a lot more. Maybe it's due to not getting enough sleep. Having two babies kicking throughout the night makes it really difficult to sleep. It also doesn't help that I'm getting up at least 3-4 times to use the restroom. If you happen to see me this summer and I'm looking extremely miserable; just know that I'm beaming on the inside. It has been nearly 3 years since we started trying for another child. We have been through a roller coaster of emotions and have had so many tests and financial costs to get to where we are today. I feel so blessed. Our prayers were finally answered! I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so much and our prayers will always be answered. We may not receive the answer we want or it may take time before we really get the answer, but things will always work out in some way or another. All 3 of my children are miracles! I just adore Max and I always make sure to remind him every day just how much his mom and dad love him, and how special he is to us. He's already told me that he loves our babies. He loves to give my tummy hugs and kisses for the babies. I can't wait for him to meet them. I can't wait to meet them too!

UPDATE

Apparently there are people who read my blog. For the longest time I thought it was just something I did for myself, but now I see that people want to know what's going on with the Gabriels. Soooo......I thought I'd give a little update. I am 19 and 1/2 weeks pregnant, which means two AWESOME things. 1. That I'm halfway through the pregnancy!!! 2. Our 20 week ultra sound appointment is finally approaching!!! This is the big ultra sound because we will be finding out the gender of our babies. Our appointment is on Tuesday. So far my symptoms have gotten better since entering the second trimester. I'm no longer vomitting 3-5 times/day. I'm finally taking something that has given me a lot of relief from the horrible heartburn, and I finally have some energy during the day. My house is actually getting some TLC now that I can actually stand up and function. It's also awesome that I am feeling better now that the weather is slowly starting to get better. Max and I walked to the park last week and spent 2 and 1/2 hours there. He played with some of his friends from school/primary and also made some new friends. It was an awesome day! I need to enjoy the weather now because I know that I'm going to be pretty miserable this summer. I am going to try to focus on all the things that I love about the summer to try to make it better. I am excited for the 4th of July, which usually includes getting together for a bbq with family. I'm really excited for the summertime foods that I'm already craving: watermelon, cantelope, strawberry shortcake and corn on the cob, just to name a few. I'm so excited to watch Max play T-ball this summer and my dad and Josh are going to start teaching Max how to golf. My parents bought Max his first real golf set last year, but he didn't have any interest then. This year he is starting to show the interest. I love to see that my son is growing up and having these fun experiences, but it also makes me sad to see him grow up so fast. For now, I'm going to take the next 4 months and make this summer all about Max. I'm going to enjoy this sweet 4 year old and take in every minute.

SPRINGTIME!

It is finally spring! I wish it actually felt more like spring, but we've taken advantage of just about every nice day there has been. Max is playing soccer now. I've been so excited for the day when my son can start playing sports. I grew up playing most every sport there was available and my parents were always there to support me in everything. I'm so excited to finally become that kind of mom. Max is loving soccer, and has been improving each week. It's also been a lot of fun to watch 4 and 5 year olds play.

On Tuesdays, I've been taking him to play group at the Peak. He just loves playing in the huge gym with all of the trampolines and gymnastic equipment they have there. He's always making new friends when he goes too. I love how friendly and enthusiastic he is about most everything. He makes friends with everyone and will walk over and introduce himself by saying "I'm Maxwell Joshua Gabriel." I love how friendly and outgoing he is and I hope that it continues.

Today we went to Baby Animal days with my Aunt, my two cousins and their two sons. The kids loved holding the tiny baby animals. There was also a train and pony rides there too!

This baby goat was so calm and friendly and let all of the kids pet it. There was one goat that did NOT want to be pet and some of the kids in the pen were having a lot of fun chasing the poor goat. Of course, he was a lot faster than any of the kids. Max got to hold a baby duck and a really fuzzy baby chick.

We had to take a break and get a picture of these cute boys on their fun day out. Dylan is to the left of Max and Jace is on the right. These are my cousins 3 year old cuties.

The pony ride was a big hit!

But I think Max's favorite animal was the bunny. I have about 6 more pictures of him holding this soft and cuddly little bunny and he was in heaven. The bunny was so good and calm that it didn't try to get away until I took it from Max's arms.

This is my handsome little dude. He is the spitting image of his dad, but he is very sweet and sensitive like his mama. He is so excited to be a BIG brother and tells everyone he sees that "mom has TWO babies in her tummy." I love this little guy so much and can't imagine my life without him.