NICU Day 1

I don't remember a lot about our first full day in the hospital, mostly that I was in a lot of pain from the c-section but bound and determined to get to the NICU as much as possible. The most significant change for the babies was that they were taken off the ventilator and put onto CPAP which we were very happy about.  I confess that it was really hard for me to tell them apart with all the medical equipment on but they sure are cute! This day was really special because our family and friends were able to come see me and some of them were able to meet the babies for the first time. I was sad that I didn't get to be there to see everyone meet them (as you would with a normal birth) but physically it was hard for me to do much this day.  

Beautiful flowers from a friend! Aren't they perfect for boy/girl twins? I love the pink and blue!

Uncle David meeting his namesake, Andrew. 

My mom getting to meet Kate.  She had been in New Bern with the boys while I had my doctor appointment. I had told her to stay there, having no idea I would actually be having the babies! 

So thankful for support from our families!

Nana meeting the babies

Pop meeting the babies. Nana and Pop have gotten 3 grand kids in 4 months!

Amy and Tommy came to visit! 

Rebecca and Marianne were sweet to bring me lunch and then they got to meet Andrew and Kate as well

Madeline came to see me. Hard to believe I got to see her at this same hospital when she was born!

Sara came all the way from Raleigh to take pictures for us

That night my parents brought the boys to see me. James apparently was not happy that he did not get to meet the babies...

Attempt at the group photo 

My original plan for when the babies were born (hopefully much closer to term) was to have the boys big brother gifts, have them pick something out for the babies, and have a cake to celebrate the babies "birth day".  Well all of those plans went out the window. However my mom did bring part of the big brother gifts I had gotten and I sent Rebecca on a mission to Target to get the rest so at least the boys got that.  One of the really hard moments for me was realizing that we didn't get to have the typical new family moment where James and Harrison would come to the hospital wearing their big brother shirts and get to meet and hold the babies...

Note to moms of toddlers who have a c-section: use a pillow for protection, lol. 

Ryan took the boys to the hospital playground while my dad got to meet the babies 

Their high-tech beds

I got this picture from one of the grandparents. They happened to be there when they were changing out their CPAP masks and the nurse let them take a quick picture of what their faces looked like. Here is Kate getting hers changed. 

And then Andrew- he was making a funny face. 

Holding Daddy's hand