Cardiologist Visit

Lily and Rose visited the pediatric cardiologist today to get a heart murmur checked out. Their doctor had heard a murmur at their last visit on Nov. 8th.

Turns out they do have a small hole between two chambers of their heart. However, it is completely normal and should go away with time. In fact, all babies have the hole while in the womb but it usually closes by the time they are born. The cardiologist just wants us to check back in 6 months, and we do not have to do anything special in the meantime.

They are both growing fast - Lily is now 9 lbs 10 oz, and Rose is 10 lbs 1 oz.

Another relieving day!

7 weeks old!

Lily leaning on her little sis Rose (Rose is bigger in size though)

Daddy playing with his new camera...Rose is wondering what is going on!

Daddy's turn to be prego! (only with Lily though)

Rose (right) and Lily waving to the camera

Daddy "nursing"

Tandy and Dan came to visit the girls, Rose (left)

Mommy with her hands full! Rose (right) and Lily

More Photos

All pictures are labeled from left to right......these are some more low-quality shots from our phones.....

11/12/08 Rose & Lily

11/12/08 Rose & Lily

11/10/08 Lily & Rose

11/10/08 Lily & Rose

11/10/08 Lily & Rose

11/7/08 Rose & Lily

11/5/08 Rose and Lily

Here's what our house sounds like....

Photos

Here are some photos I've taken over the past week or so with my phone. The quality isn't as good but it's much easier to capture the moment!

Rose snoozing peacefully

Lily napping

Rose finds her thumb!

Rose (left) and Lily pound down the candy for Halloween

Lily attacks her candy!

Photos....

Supervised tummy time

Lily

Rose

Spencer and Lily

Rose

Photos,,,

Grandma feeding Rose

Grandpa feeding Lily

Grandpa hard at work...

The good life...

Family Arrives - Grandma & Grandpa Tiede and Uncle Spencer!

Spencer with Rose? Tough angle...

Lily (left) and Rose

Grandpa and Grandma

Rose contemplates whether she should try to poop on Dad again...

Lily (right) and Rose

The girls are now both 6 lbs, 6 ozs. I thought it would be easier to find time to post pictures but it isn't. Sarah's mom, dad, and brother are here until next Sunday, so I am going back to work tomorrow (Monday).

WOW...WEIGHT LOSS!

FYI...
I was a little upset after the delivery hearing that I had only lost 4 lbs (since the babies and placentas equaled 20 lbs)????CONFUSION!!!!
BUT...
I saw the Dr. yesterday and I lost 34 lbs in a week! I am only 4 lbs away from my prior to prego weight, so that put a smile on my face. Things are looking up! I recognize my ankles and most of my leg now! ;o)

1st Doctor Visit

Today the girls went to their first doctor visit. Sarah and I were relieved and excited that we received all good news! Lily is now 6 lbs, 1 oz and is 18.5 inches long. Rose is now 6 lbs, 5 ozs and is also 18.5 inches long. The nurse and doctor were both surprised that they had already gained weight since birth.
Their jaundice is also now under control, with both having bilirubin levels under 4. The doctor said we no longer need to supplement their feedings with formula, and can switch to breastmilk only whenever we can. We don't have to take them back to the doctor for a month, when they start their vaccines.
Thanks to Christina and Valerie for bringing us dinner last night, and to Janelle and Michael for helping us watch the twins - also last night. We're looking forward to a visit from out friends Jasmine and David tonite to help us out. We're so lucky to have such great friends!!!!

Side note - after seeing my feedings/changings spreadsheet for Lily and Rose, the doctor jokingly diagnosed me with OCD! That's what I call a great compliment!

Day 2 at Home

Today we were able to settle in a bit. We've started to catch up on sleep one nap at a time. Shawn feels much better after setting up a spreadsheet to track feedings/poopings/etc. For those in the know, Rose had her first yellow seedy poop today! And Lily blasted all over this morning, causing a full wardrobe change. I never thought I would be excited to see a poopy diaper, but every one they have means they are clearing more of the jaundice out of their system.
It's been tough keeping a feeding schedule because they are eating formula and breast milk. It was easy to regulate the intake with formula, but breast milk is just a guess. (We have to do both for now to help with the jaundice recovery.) So for now we're just thankful for simultaneous sleeping when it occurs.
Our dog Mac is very concerned/perplexed/enthralled/jealous of the twins. He will lay with his nose between the slats in the crib sniffing and watching their every move for hours. But he also is frustrated that instead of throwing his ball we are burping babies.
Side note - found out today that the twins already have a shared experience with their mom - Sarah had to have light treatment for jaundice when she was a baby.
Another side note - Sarah's stomach is still pretty round, so the joke is that we actually had triplets.
Thanks to our friend Joey for bringing us food today and watching the girls while we scurried around other parts of the house attending to details...like laundry, paying bills, etc.
A gassy smile to all.....

FINALLY @ HOME...Oct 7

Sorry to those of you who have tried to call or write. We appreciate all the love, but are very busy and can't return calls just yet. As you can imagine it has been a long haul.
We have wonderful friends out here who are helping us whenever they can, which is such a blessing. We are excited to have family come to help as soon as possible. Please read below if you want more info.

Thanks again for understanding...we average 4 hr of sleep a day and have babies who are a little sick and fussy!

Love,
The 5 Nortons
Sarah, Shawn, Lily, Rose, and Mac

Babies Arrive!

Lily Sue was born at 8:03 am Oct 2 - 5 lbs, 11 oz, 17.5 inches. She was delivered vaginally. Shawn is looking a bit crazed as he has just watched his wife go through 16 hours of labor, only to end up getting a C section with Baby B.

Rose Marie was born at 10:37 am on Oct 2, 5 lbs, 13 oz, 17.5 inches. She was delivered via C section after Sarah pushed for two hours. The doctor decided that her face-up position and the amount of time Sarah had been in labor would prevent her from being able to deliver both vaginally. I felt soooo bad for her - she put everything she had into it.

Lily getting weighed on Friday morning.

Rose getting weighted on Friday morning.

Rose getting her heel pricked for various advanced screening tests

.
Lily (on left) and Rose.


Lily and Rose.

There's many more pictures to add - but I have to get back to the hospital! Diaper duty at 8!

Getting Ready to Have Babies!

After arriving at the hospital at 9 am, we were given a room at 11:30 am.

The happy couple, blissfully unaware of the horrors to come.

Shawn and Sarah ready to go to the OR at 4:30 am. We were bumped and ended up waiting until 7 am.

The lead-up to delivery was a series of ups and downs in blood pressure and contraction intensity, as we waited and waited for the Operating Room to be available. Three times we were told we were first in line only to get delayed. The doctor would give Sarah pain medication to ease her contraction severity, which would cause a huge drop in her blood pressure. The nurse would then scramble to make it go back up with various shots, meanwhile Sarah would be vomiting and shaking like a leaf. This was the hardest part of the pregnancy for me. It killed me to see her go through all this pain just because of delays. I expected the nurse to call for an emergency C-section at any moment. I was also kept in the dark about what was happening - the only time I was told what was going on was when I asked specific questions. Anyway, it's a long story and I don't have time to tell it all here.

UPDATE

Monday...
After a tough Sat and Sun night filled with a lot of pressure and contractions I called my Dr. on Monday and he suggested I go to the hospital to get checked out. I went and found out I was 2-3cm and the Dr. had me walk the hospital for an hour before rechecking me! Dr. was thinking about admitting me, but I was still only 2-3cm so I went home and took it easy.

Tuesday...
I went to my scheduled NST at 9am and chatted with my good buddy nurse Cindy (from MN), my check-up showed the girls were doing great, but my blood pressure was elevated! After that apt. I went to Dr. Garza's office to have my cervix checked. I was dilated to 3 cm and my blood pressure was still elevated so he sent me back to the hospital. I stayed there for lab work to rule out many different blood pressure complications with some blood work. I was there for 3 hours of monitoring and all my lab work looked good and the babies were beautiful on the monitor. STILL, Dr. Garza wanted to admit me, but there were no beds available and there were 4 women in front of me that were 41-42 weeks along. (Lots of conception at Christmas it seems) Some of the women had been waiting since yesterday, so I went home again...

Tomorrow we are going to call at 8am to see if we can get induced. If there is any possibility of induction we will head over to the hospital tomorrow, otherwise we will go in at 3pm on Thursday.

CERVIX NEWS...

During the hospital NST today the girls were doing aerobics...they never sat still once in a half hour!

I also had my last check up today and I am still 2cm, but I am 70% effaced. For those of you that don't know...this means my cervix is thinning and my water could break sooner than later.

I was up all night with crazy contractions last night, but not 6 an hour (which would send me to the hospital for delivery) BUT enough to be very uncomfortable.

We are so excited to meet the girls!

This is our last weekend without children so Shawn and I are going to relax and cuddle up for a movie. (Something tells me that we will not have this opportunity too often in the next 25 years!)

Thanks for the prayers...
Love ya

The Minneapolis 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer

My good friends did a 60 mile walk for breast cancer and were kind enough to add my mother's name to their shirts.

Thanks Mandy and Shauna!!

ALMOST THERE...

If you asked Shawn or I this week "Have you decided on names?" You would get the response..."Baby A is Lily Sue...and Baby B is Rose Marie"...but if you asked us tomorrow you may get a different answer!!

I had an NST at the hospital this morning and the babies look like they are still fighting to get out. Lily is in position to pop out and Rose is just above her also head down with her chin on Lily's cheek. If they aren't bonding in that position I guess they never will. I have just enough fluid to keep going and the babies have strong enough heart beats to stay in as well. Rose's heart beat is hard to find because she is in a very weird position. She is looking at my back and bent at a 90 degree angle with her butt and feet in my ribs. She does not seem comfortable at all.

My Dr. leaves town tomorrow for a few days (so Shawn and I are convinced that we will go into labor while he is away...which would make me more nervous) I never thought I would say this, but I want them to stay in until next Monday!

Please pray for us. We love you and miss you...wish you all could be here to help us through this, but we know you're here in thoughts and prayers.

WOW...2cm!

Our check up went well today...I am still very itchy from the cholestasis and it is not fun at night! GOOD NEWS...I am dilated 2cm and the Dr. seems to think I will go on my own, but if not he is going to schedule an induction at 6am Thurs. Oct 2nd if I make it that far. Keep us in your prayers...I am a little more nervous each day!