After many months of deliberation, we finally have names for our little ones! Braxton Michael and Caleb Riley. If you think they're the most hideous names you've ever heard, at least you're finding out about it this way leaving you plenty of time to practice your "Oh, what beautiful names!" acts ;)

Yesterday I took a field trip upstairs to "help" Stevie organize all the boys' things. That basically entailed removing items from their packages, folding clean laundry, and overseeing the clean-up process. I quickly discovered that the amount of assistance you can provide while remaining in a semi-horizontal position is quite limited. But it still felt good just to imagine their little tiny bodies in all the clothes and diapers and furniture we've received over the past few months...which brings me to the purpose of this post.

I'm not sure how many of our loved ones will ever read this, but if you ARE reading, then chances are you've contributed to our quickly growing family in some way or another. We have been blessed with so many gifts, donations, prayers, and well wishes and we are forever grateful for everything you all have done. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Babies' Update: Baby B is quickly catching up to his greedy other half. He now weighs 3 lbs 7 oz and Baby A is 3 lbs 14 oz. I think I wrote on the previous post that Baby A weighed 3lb 13, but it was actually 3 lb 11. I'm really glad Stevie goes into the examining room with me because as soon as Dr. Scary enters the room, my brain shuts down for some reason. When we leave the office, it's like he and I were in two different rooms - totally different interpretations of what was said.

I feel so relieved after hearing Dr. Scary say how NOT worried she is. She even said (twice in one appointment) that she was so amazed and happy that I was still pregnant and that even if I were to go into labor right then and there, my babies would be just fine. I don't think anyone will ever understand what it means to hear those words coming from this woman. She made my day.

So...I see her in another two weeks and she said it will be our last meeting! I can't even imagine. This is becoming way too real!

Tomorrow we have an appointment with Dr. Scary and I must say, I'm a wee bit scared. What a surprise. Last week we saw her and she noticed that Baby A was being a bit of a pig, resulting in a slower growth rate for Baby B, so there was about a 12 ounce difference in their weights. I'm not at all scared for the babies-I know they'll be fine no matter what. And besides, Dr. Scary's not worried, so I'm not worried. But I'm nervous about the fact that if she finds Baby B is still lagging behind, they may deliver sooner than we expected. I guess I just can't believe how close we are. Come to think of it, I wouldn't call it scared. Maybe I'm just anxious. Tomorrow could be somewhat of a deciding factor of when we get to meet our little ones. Yikes!

This was hands down the best day I've had since this long journey began. I was so glad to have made it to this point for two reasons:

1. This marked my 28th week of pregnancy where the chances of survival outside the womb jump to over 90%

2. I missed my wedding day and dreaded the thought of possibly no-showing another event.

It was pretty close. Three weeks before the shower, I had several bad days (lots of contractions/irritability) in a row and had to boost my terbutalne dosage to the highest it would amount. The next step would have been to go back to the hospital. Thank God we haven't had to back to that place yet, and won't be going back until delivery! Here are a few pictures from the shower.

Typing that reminded me how badly I miss going on dates with Stevie. Even after 7 years I knew we still really enjoyed "dating" each other, but bed rest has made us appreciate those times even more. I try to encourage him to go do things on Saturdays but he refuses. He just suffers in the house along with me. What a sweet pea. Anyway, that's not the kind of date I'm referring to.

What I mean is, we have an actual scheduled C-Section date! June 19, 2007 at 12:30p.m. I'm excited and terrified and somewhat confused. I think after months of bed rest I've convinced myself that this is just my life from now on...barefoot and pregnant. It's the first time there's actually been an end in sight. I'm thrilled that in just a few short weeks, I'll be able to meet (and spank) these babies that have been beating me up all this time. But I must say that after being immobile for such a long time, I question my ability to go from this to supermom of twins. But I'm not too worried because fortunately we have an incredible support system of family and friends.

So, here we are...26 days left!!!

When an obstetrician discovers that you are carrying more than one fetus, your pregnancy is immediately tagged "high risk" and you are referred to a Perinatologist or specialist (in the majority of multiple pregnancies). Throughout your pregnancy this person monitors the babies very closely and gives frequent updates on issues such as cervical length, amount of amniotic fluid, cord position, blood flow, kidney function, etc. It's amazing the things they can determine via ultrasound. It's also quite scary. Especially when the information is being presented by a doctor with a perma-frown, thick accent (Russian I think-too afraid to ask), and bedside manners that leave much to be desired. I swear her goal is to make her patients leave her office petrified and in tears. And she's reached that goal with me on more than one occasion. She's a real glass-half-empty sort of gal. After about the 3rd or 4th appointment, I was convinced that if I made any sudden movements, showered for too long, or sneezed one too many times, my babies would just fall right out of me without warning.

On the other hand, I know that being referred to her was by far the best thing that could have happened in my situation. She's brilliant and so dedicated to her craft. When I think about the risks and care she took performing the surgery at such a late gestational age (most doctors won't do them past 14 weeks for risk of rupturing membranes) I just want to give her a big hug and a kiss. I am certain she wouldn't respond well to this type of behavior, so I've yet to act on it.

Dear Dr. Scary,
I know that after enduring 15-hour days of saving babies you have no time for such follies as internet blogs. But if by chance you've stumbled upon this website I want you to know how grateful I am to have you as my doctor. I would also like to apologize for posting your picture without your permission.

Let me start by saying that every book, article, or website about twins will inform you that there are several risk factors involved in one woman carrying two babies. It's just not right! Okay, the professionals don't say it in those exact terms, but that's the conclusion I've come to through my own experiences. Here is what my scientific research has proven:

Two Babies + One Uterus = Bad Business

Please don't misunderstand me, I couldn't be happier or feel more blessed that I'm shaving at least a year and a half off of my alloted family-planning time. And I know that these guys are destined to do something amazing because they sure did fight to get here and reserve their space for at least 8 months. But the number that they've done on my body and emotions is unbelievable. Here are a few of the fun things I've experienced so far:

Incompetent Cervix (very rude term in my opinion)- As I mentioned in the previous post, when Dr. Scary examined my cervix, I had no idea what measurement she found and even if I did, I wouldn't have had a clue what to compare it to. It wasn't until 8 weeks later that I accidentally found out from the nurse that it was at 1.9 cm compared to the 4 or more that it should have been. I also found out that the babies' amniotic sac was literally dropping into the funnel that my super short cervix had created. In other words, I was dangerously close to losing my babies and I had no idea. No pain, no leaking, no cramping, nothing. And to think that my pregnancy took this frightening turn in only two weeks!

Uterine Irritability - After the surgery, I was held in the hospital for an additional 6 days because we ran into complication #2...The Irritable Uterus. What a ridiculous medical term! Irritable? If I were a uterus minding my own business in the body of a 125 pound woman and all of a sudden I was stuffed with two human beings and all their fluid and cords and stretched beyond recognition, I think I'd be pretty damned irritated too. It just seemed like common sense to me-not a 6-day hospital and 3-month bedrest sentence. So from that point and until delivery, I am on a home monitoring system that counts how many contractions and mini-tantrums my rebellious uterus has within an hour.

Terbutaline (aka, "The Pump") - This is a device about the size of an old-school cassette walkman that releases "breaths" of medication (terbutaline) into the body. Every four days I switch the site of the needle, alternating from thigh to thigh. My upper thighs now look like someone's been using them as dart boards . And strangest thing, for all the other weeks I have had no problem injecting the needle but for the past two weeks, I have literally been having panic attacks trying to get this thing in. I don't know what's come over me! I start sweating and trying to do the whole 1...2...3...NOW! ritual and nothing seems to work. The other night, I had to go lock myself in the bathroom and give myself a pep talk like a lunatic. I almost cried! Okay, I'm lying, I did cry. But I got it in :)

Minor Complications - backache, acid reflux, carpal tunnel syndrome, host of infections, swolen hands and feet, insomnia, hip pain, inability to "get" even semi-intellectual humor. The books don't warn you about that last one but Stevie can definitely attest to this.
(sorry, babe-I promise to laugh hysterically at everything you say once these babies are born)

The past 87 days of my life have been spent lying in bed. No, I am not just that lazy, nor have I had a back injury or suffered from severe depression. I have been on bedrest for a myriad of reasons/complications/whatever one may choose to call the typical issues involved in carrying twins. For those of you who know my husband and I fairly well, you'll probably want to skip this post because I'm sure you were somehow involved or at least heard me cry about the following story at some point in the past 3 months.

My husband and I had been engaged since Christmas Eve 2005. We had a pretty long engagement (14 months) and around November of 2006 (4 months before the planned wedding) we found out that I was "with child". We were still planning to go through with the 150 guest wedding assuming I wouldn't be showing all that much by March 3rd. Six weeks later, we were in for quite a shock when we were informed that there were not one but TWO little ones on the way. There went my hopes of fitting into my beautiful wedding gown that had been purchased months prior.

About 2 weeks before the wedding, I purchased a maternity wedding gown which I loved, shortened our vows so that I wouldn't pass out from standing too long, and tried my best to take care of all the loose ends of the wedding planning as my quickly-expanding belly grew harder and harder to conceal. The Thursday before the wedding my to-do list was so long it actually spilled into Friday's slot. I managed to get half of it done before my 20 week check-up and figured I would enlist the help of the fiance to complete the list after the appointment. Below is an exerpt from my planner that I still look at and get teary every now and then:

*pick up dress from cleaners
*confirm limo pick-up time
*call "The Perfect Face"
*buy razors
*burn cd's for favors

The ultrasound showed that my cervix had funneled/shortened to a length that Dr. Scary made out to be ungodly (more on that later). I was immediately admitted to the hospital for an emergency cerclage (surgery where cervix is stitched shut). Everything after that point is a blur. No, I did not get to cross anything else off of my to-do list. No, I did not get to attend my rehearsal dinner the next night. No, I did not have the wedding I had looked forward to for the past 14 months. And no, I will probably never know what it's like to walk down an aisle and be greeted by the love of my life. What I did get however, was something I would have given my own life for and that's the health of my baby boys. And the rest is history.

Since I've been in hiding for so long, many of you have not seen what Mom describes as my "bullet" of a belly. It is in fact rather pointy due to the position the babies are in-one behind the other. Thought I'd post a couple of pictures. These are pretty outdated now but my camera is somewhere inaccessible to me (which doesn't have to be far). The first one is around 25 weeks and the second is around 27. I'll post updated ones as soon as I can get my hands on that camera!