Victory!

We are so pleased with the girls' check-up and weigh in yesterday! Julia successfully continued her quest for chubby thighs by packing on 11 and a half ounces over the past week, bringing her weight up to a hefty 6 pounds and 2.5 ounces. Lookout, 0-3 month sized clothes, Julia is headed your way soon!
Margaret's showing on the scale was no disappointment either. She gained 8 and a half ounces, bringing her weight to 5 pounds, 1.5 ounces. Way to go, little miss!
The nurse practitioner said that as long as both girls continue to eat well, they do not need to return next week for a weight check. Yay! The following week is their one month well visit - I can't believe how quickly time is moving!
Here are my two heavy hitters...

Weight War

If you ask most people how they feel about gaining weight, they probably won't have a very positive response for you. But for the littlest Hepper ladies, weight gain is the most important issue on the table right now and it's definitely those scale numbers going up that we want. We're in a war with the scale and I'm determined to help my girls win!

Both girls came home from the hospital in the the four pound range (after their expected after birth weight loss), so priority number one was to get them nursing well and adding on the ounces as quickly as possible. Luckily both Julia and Margaret have been good nursers from the get go, and therefore have eliminated one major hurdle right away. Because Margaret is especially small, she is prone to falling asleep less than five minutes into a feeding and needs extra feedings to keep her weight headed in the right direction.  thankfully, this is not a problem so far. Mommy is happy to help her out during the day and Miss Linda does her part by adding in a bottle feeding in the middle of the night. 

Weekly weight checks are now a highly anticipated event in our household. Last Tuesday, Julia was right on target for her weekly weight gain, adding roughly 1 ounce a day and earning her heavyweight status at 5 pounds, 4 ounces. Miss Margaret was our featherweight for the week, adding just 3 ounces and weighing in at 4 pounds, 7 ounces. Luckily, Margaret has shown much improvement in her nursing endurance in the 6 days since then and I think we'll see an improvement in the rate of her weight gain at tomorrow afternoon's weigh in. 

What!? Julia is beating me? I better get busy!

Chubby cheeked Julia

Teeny tiny Margaret

Scrub A Dub Dub, Twins (and Tequila) in the Tub!

It's been 12 days since Julia and Margaret entered the world, and while I absolutely love their milky sweet baby smell, I recognize there is an accumulation of gunk in the girls' tiny nooks and crannies that accompanies that wonderful smell and that maybe it was time the girls had a bath. We are also expecting the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Hepper today, so I wanted to make sure the girls had their hair (fuzz) freshly washed and all their cracks and crevices freshly cleaned.
So into the bath tub the girls went, one at a time, with Julia slated to go first. Caroline was eager to help in this endeavor and I was happy to have her help. She was my right-hand gal: handing me baby wash, a wash cloth, and a towel when instructed to do so and then helping me carry Julia to the changing table to get dressed afterward.

But by the time I dressed, fed, and re-swaddled Julia, and put her down to sleep, Caroline had lost interest and was of no help in giving Margaret a bath. This disinterest didn't surprise or bother me at all, until I became suspicious of Caroline's sudden quietness and went into the back hallway to discover this...

Caught red-handed!!

Thank goodness the bottle still had the plastic seal around the cap (even though I doubt she could have opened it anyways)! When she saw me, Caroline registered no understanding of the shocked look on my face and said "open, my drink!" Clearly she did not understand that tequila is not for toddlers :) 

Julia relaxing in the tub.

Julia post bath and feeding. Ready for a swaddle and a snooze!

Margaret: clean, full and asleep!

Happy Father's Day AND Happy Birthday!

Could June get any more eventful for our family of five?! Caroline's birthday, the girls' birthday, Father's Day and Paul's birthday have combined to turn the month of June into one big celebration!  And because Paul's birthday and Father's Day fell on the same day this year, it made our weekend even more special. AND Grampy came in town for the weekend, adding to the fun.
Luckily, Paul's weekend workload was relatively light, so he got to enjoy his free time relaxing with his littlest girls, chasing Caroline around the back yard, and watching golf. Marmee and Grampy were determined to fit in as much fun with Caroline while Grampy was here, so they spent much of the weekend taking Caroline out and about, making trips to McDonald's so Grampy could get his special chocolate drink, the playground, the University of Richmond to feed the ducks, and going out to lunch. Grampy even found time to get hanging ferns for our front porch - something he's been eager to do since his Easter weekend visit.
Here are a few pictures from our weekend:

This is what both girls spent the weekend doing: sleeping!

Caroline and Daddy enjoying a pancake breakfast.

Caroline and Grampy on the bridge at U of Richmond.

Grampy flanked by his newest granddaughters.

Daddy and Caroline (and Frances) got to spend lots of time together.

One Week In

The last few days at home with the twins have been surprisingly easygoing. Julia and Margaret are champion newborns; feeding well and then sleeping for 3 hours before waking again to repeat the cycle. Miss Linda has been amazing so far, taking care of the girls through the night so that I only have to wake for about 30 minutes at each feeding before blissfully going back to sleep. She's even getting ready to take over Caroline duties in the morning since our darling two year old likes to rise with sun (which around here is just before 6am).  Having Miss Linda on night duty and the daytime help of family and friends, I'd say we're doing pretty well for being a week into welcoming twins into the family.
Caroline continues to be loving towards and interested in her siblings, but we are definitely seeing some spunky behaviors out of her these last several days. Our sweet and active little toddler has turned into a (still sweet) whirlwind of activity. It seems as though she spends her days trying to fit in as much running, jumping, climbing, and and singing as she can. Not that she didn't do these things prior to the twins' arrival. It's just that the volume (literally and figuratively) has been turned up. Way up. Of course we expected something like this to happen, so we're just taking it as an opportunity to admire her cuteness even more. :)
I am thankful for this relatively smooth transition to becoming a family of five, but I know that the older Julia and Margaret get, the less the sleep and the louder they'll become. And of course, all our fantastic helpers won't be permanent fixtures around our house. So I'm making sure to appreciate and savor every moment of peace and (relative) quiet while it lasts.

Taking Baby Gigi and Baby Nyny for a ride on the Dora Powerwheel.

Car ride over - now it's time for a nap in the bouncy seat and on the bath sling.

Ready to go to the pool with Miss Claire!!

Julia, semi-awake and smiling?

     

Margaret doing tummy time....while fast asleep.

Margaret's hand in Mommy's

Swaddled sisters, just before dozing off.

Home Sweet Home

We are home! Yesterday at 9am, we got the go ahead from both my doctor and the pediatrician that we could go home as a family. Best.news.ever!!!
Our first afternoon as a family of five under one roof was a bit chaotic, as you might imagine. We spent the day unpacking, hugging Caroline, feeding babies and changing diapers, hugging Caroline, feeding babies and changing diapers, etc. Our first night went well too. The babies slept in Mommy and Daddy's room and kept us busy all night long with feedings, but we were happy to oblige.
We look forward to the arrival of our baby nurse tomorrow night! She'll be with us each night for at least 6 weeks and will be helping Mommy get as much sleep as possible by keeping the girls sleeping and happy until they are ready to eat, diapering and re-swaddling them after each feeding, and by doing baby laundry and light housekeeping. We can't wait until Miss Linda gets here!!
In other news, the girls had their first doctor's visit this morning and we are thrilled to report that they both gained a half an ounce since yesterday. We also learned that when they were born, each girl scored a 9 on the APGAR test - pretty impressive for preemie twins. The doctor said both Julia and Margaret look wonderful and that they won't need to come back until next week (and that's just for a weight check). Way to go, girls!!

Here are a few pictures from our first day home...

Ready for their first car seat ride!

Caroline and Julia, all swaddled up!

No More NICU!!

After another great night and morning, Julia and Margaret got sprung from the NICU around 2 pm today!!! We are just soooo thrilled!! They now spend their time in our room or the regular nursery. It is wonderful to be able to hold them without any wires or bandages getting in the way and it's especially nice that they can be brought to me for feedings instead of me having to peel my sore body out of bed and down to the NICU every three hours. We are keeping our fingers crossed for another good night and will be eagerly awaiting the doctor's arrival in the morning to see if the girls can be sent home with me at check out time. Then we can head home and let the real fun begin. :)

Caroline came to visit the girls in our room this afternoon and continued to impress us with her enthusiasm towards her new sisters. She wanted to hold and hug both girls and then happily dismantled/unpacked the supply cabinets under the girls' cribs until it was time to take the babies back to the nursery to "go nigh-nighs." After a quick dinner in the room, she happily headed back home with Marmee to begin her bedtime routine, but not before asking if "Dadda and Momma come?" Hopefully by this time tomorrow, Caroline won't have to ask that question again!

Here are a few pics from the visit...

Giving Baby Margaret a little pat.

Holding Baby Julia with Mommy.

Daddy and Margaret

By the way, aren't you impressed by my abundant posting? Well, you probably shouldn't get used to it. :) Being in the hospital bed with a laptop makes it very easy to post, especially since Caroline is at home under someone else's care and Julia and Margaret are spending the majority of their time in the nursery. I fully expect that my ability to sit quietly and check email, blog, or surf Facebook will be greatly diminished in the coming days, weeks, and months, so I make no promises that this frequent posting will continue.

Welcome to the World, Julia and Margaret!!

On Thursday evening, the Hepper twins decided that the world could wait no longer to meet them! After debating for a few hours as to whether the girls were actually trying to make their debut, Paul and I headed to the hospital around 9pm and within an hour and a half the nurse came in to inform us that we would be "having babies by midnight." After that, there was a flurry of activity that included more monitoring of the girls' heart beats and surgery prep for me. Since Baby B decided to turn vertex (sideways) early last week and Baby A was already breech and first, it was determined that a Cesarean section was the only way to go.
By 11:40pm, I was prepped and awaiting the doctor in the OR. I was already feeling anxious enough about the surgery when it occurred to me that if they didn't hurry up, the girls' birthdays could possibly be on two separate days. And while that may seem neat to some people, it did not jive with me! Luckily, the surgery began soon after and the actual deliveries happened very shortly after midnight, making June 10th, 2011 the girls' official due date and birthday. They were exactly 35 weeks gestation.
Julia Kincaid Hepper was born at 12:01am and weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces. Margaret Carothers Hepper was born at 12:02am and weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces. Both girls looked excellent upon arrival, but were quickly taken to the NICU for evaluation and admission. It would be a few hours before we could see them, but when we did, it was love at first sight! Julia seems to favor Paul and Caroline in facial features and has a light dusting of brown hair. Margaret's facial features are a bit of a mystery (we can't put a finger on who she resembles) and she has a decent head of dark brown/black hair. Regardless of who they resemble, we think the girls are just plain perfect and adorable!
Since that early morning arrival, both girls have done nothing but impress us with their ability to function and thrive as babies "on the outside." Both girls are feeding extremely well, have been breathing on their own since birth, and have made continual steps towards IV removal and discharge from the NICU to the regular newborn nursery. We are hoping that they will make the transition to the newborn nursery by tomorrow afternoon. We feel so blessed that both Julia and Margaret have made such amazing progress so quickly!
You might wonder how Caroline is doing through all of this change and upset to her normal routine. The answer is that she is proving to be a wonderfully resilient little girl who seems very eager to get to know "Dadda and Momma's babies." She is under the excellent and loving care of Marmee while we are away and has made several trips to the hospital to visit her sisters and charm the nurses with her pigtails and spunky attitude. We're so proud of her and keeping our fingers crossed that she shows this much excitement when the girls arrive at home to stay!

Sisters: Margaret (L) and Julia (R)

Julia

Margaret

Big Sister Caroline takes a peek of Margaret from afar.

Testing the furniture in the NICU.

Welcome balloons for Julia and Margaret!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Caroline!

Our Terrific Two Year Old!

Man, talk about a hectic string of days for the Hepper family! As if spending 72 hours in the hospital trying to delay the arrival of the twins wasn't enough, yesterday was sweet Caroline's second birthday! I was so THRILLED when my doctor gave me the "all clear" to go home yesterday in time to celebrate with Caroline and even more relived that Caroline will not have to share her birthday with her twin sisters. Can you imagine the drama that would be in our future if we had three girls celebrating their birthday all on the same day?? No, thank you!!
Anyways, as I said, I made it home in plenty of time to spend the afternoon with Caroline and all of her newly acquired birthday and "we feel sorry for you that your mom is in the hospital" gifts. Marmee made a special birthday dinner of meatloaf, mac and cheese, and fruit, and we enjoyed birthday cupcakes made by Aunt Allison. I enjoyed two cupcakes: to celebrate each twin not having a birthday yet. After that, Caroline had a birthday meltdown and off to bed she went. It was a low key celebration, but it was perfect.

Escape Attempt!

It's been an interesting past few days, to say the least, for me and the family! On Friday morning I went in for my weekly ultrasound and fetal non-stress test (a 30-45 minute monitoring of the girls' heartbeats and any contractions), but the visit did not go at all according to plan.
  It started out innocently enough. The ultrasound was uneventful and I was soon settled in for a nice rhythmic listening session when the nurse practitioner came in looking slightly alarmed and asked if I was feeling any contractions. Before I knew it, they were escorting me downstairs to Labor and Delivery, I was handed a plastic bag for my street clothes, a hospital gown, and instructed to get into bed. After about 45 minutes, it was clear that I would not be going home soon or possibly at all. Turns out I was in pre-term labor, contracting every 4-6 minutes and dilating at a slightly alarming rate. By the time I called Paul to alert him of the situation, I had iv lines inserted, three different monitors on my stomach, and some really sexy compression hose around my lower legs that were accompanied with inflatable plastic sleeves. Definitely not how I'd envisioned my day going.
  Without going into all the nitty gritty details, the rest of Friday was spent trying to stop my pre-term labor, making arrangements for Caroline to be cared for at home, and hoping and praying that the twins would wait at least a few days to make their debut. Being just a day shy of 34 weeks, the doctor was eager to keep them "cooking" a little while longer to avoid a higher chance of complications and a potentially lengthly NICU stay.
  We are SO lucky that our friends and family responded quickly and with overwhelming support. Our babysitter stayed all day with Caroline, Allison and Michael hopped in the car and drove down from New York to take over child care duties by that evening, and Paul became my constant companion (in a very uncomfortable armchair) at the hospital. Caroline took all these abrupt changes amazingly well, especially since Aunt Allison and Uncle Michael weren't at all shy in showering her with extra attention and presents :)     By Saturday evening, the twins had successfully received two rounds of steroids to help their lung mature more quickly and my contractions had calmed down considerably. After an uneventful night and morning, my doctor decided that I was stable and could be moved to a lower care room - hooray! I cannot even begin to convey the feelings of relief and joy I felt being unhooked from all the machines and monitors that had been tethering me down for almost 48 hours. My new room is so much more comfortable and I have been allowed to move around freely, thank goodness.
  As of right now, I'm under observation for another 12-16 hours and then I might be able to go home tomorrow to finish as much of this pregnancy there as possible. Since I am now past the 34 week mark, the doctors will not stop labor if it begins again, but I am so hoping to make it at least another week to give the girls as much time as possible to grow fat and happy. We're dying to meet them, just not quite yet.
  Thank you, thank you to everyone who has reached out via phone, email, text, etc to offer support.  And for those of you who are wanting to help in more concrete ways - don't you worry - I'll be accepting that help soon enough! Luckily, my mom is now in town and will be here until the girls arrive, so are pretty well set at the moment.
I don't have any pics of the twins (thankfully!), but I do have some cute pics of Caroline from Thursday before all this craziness began...

8am and already decked out in a tu-tu, necklaces, hair bows, etc. and taking Babies Gigi Ni-Ni and Dog-Dog for a stroll. Busy litttle lady.