Sept Misc

What a month September has been! Bed rest, early labor, twin babies, and a whole lot of more memories together!

Painting with the outdoor paint Harrison and Pop picked out

One of many Lego creations. I'm amazed by his creativity and what he comes up with!

So excited to have Greer, Georgia, and her parents come for a quick visit

Our babysitter took the boys on an outing to feed the ducks

Selfie with Daddy 

28 weeks pregnant

I was definitely measuring full term at this point 

Ryan's OR nurse brought us tons of food for dinner and for our freezer to help us out while on bed rest. Since then we have received a bunch of meals, even from people we have never met.  I'm very thankful for all the people who have been willing to help us out!

I couldn't find the boys one day, turns out they were hiding under this box!

Donut outing with Dad

Looks like James was trying to snag some of those for himself!

29 weeks pregnant. Never would have ever guessed I was going to deliver 4 days later

Not a good picture of me but had to include it- the last picture of me pregnant, ever!  I was already so uncomfortable at this point. I can't imagine how I would have felt by the end if I made it full term. 

Bed rest monopoly with this sweet guy 

Cheering on the pirates 

Pappy came for a visit and to play a little basketball 

Ok, I guess technically this was the last day with pregnant pictures :) 

Every night on bed rest I looked forward to getting to read books. It was one of the only ways I got to participate as a mom to the boys. 

How crazy is this? The day before I had the babies I packed my bags for the hospital, just in case I needed them early. My doctor said I could get up 5-10 minutes per hour so I used all my minutes that day for that one task. Little did I know I would be sending Ryan to get them the very next day! 

These pictures show a glimpse into Harrison's personality.  

When we got back to New Bern after having the babies we decided to take the boys out to eat at James's favorite place, Buffalo Wild Wings.  It had been over 6 weeks since we had gone out together since I had been on bed rest.  When we got there they had these new tablets for kids. Normally I am not into technology at the table but considering all we had been through we went for it and it allowed us to have a nice relaxing dinner. :)  

My mom snapped this picture as she was leaving. I thought it was so sweet the boys were holding hands. 

First ECU game for the boys for the season

Davis and Rod hanging out in the lobby at the hospital 

2 Week Old Photo Shoot

My friend Sara has blessed me with her photography skills for years and has taken lots of pictures of our family.  I have been so thankful for the way she has helped to document this journey we are on.  So much of this time has been a blur so I am incredibly grateful that I will get to look back at these pictures and remember.  On this night Sara came to do a photo session of the babies on their two week birthday.  

Our hallway at the special care nursery 

Kate's room

Harrison made a family tree at school. I teared up when he brought it home- it had all six of our names on it!  I hung it in Kate's room. I wanted the boys to feel as involved as possible.  My mom also printed a picture of us to put in each baby's room to make it feel a little more personal. 

James drew a Star Wars picture for the babies so we hung that in Andrew's room

I warned Sara that we might not even be able to take the babies out of their beds that night. They were both still learning to regulate their own temperature and we never knew when or how long we would get to hold them. I was thankful that their nurse that night let us get them out. 

Their nurse also let us dress them up in their new outfits 

Her little preemie hat was still so big on her little head

Then it was Andrew's turn to get dressed

Our nurse also let us bend the rules and bring Kate over to Andrew's room. We had only had them together one other time before this night. Very special! 

Right before it was time to put Kate back in her bed I begged Ashley (our fabulous nurse) to let us take just one more picture because I really wanted to hold them together which I hadn't been able to do yet.  She agreed.  Once I got them both in my arms I was completely overwhelmed with emotions- to finally get to hold them both, safe in my arms after all they had been through, there is no way to describe what it meant to me.  I immediately started crying.  One of the best moments of my life. 

With Kate back in her bed we then got to spend some time with just Andrew. 

Looking at these pictures I cannot believe how far these two babies have come in just two weeks.  From being on a ventilator  to breathing room air unassisted. From having tons of tubes, wires, and needles to having just a bare minimum.From being too fragile to touch to getting to hold both of them in my arms. Lots and lots of answered prayers!