Three Weeks Old on our Due Date

Hello to all! Today was my official due date and instead we are celebrating THREE WEEKS with our precious little miracles! Finding time to blog is CRAZY these days because our schedule revolves around feeding, changing diapers, rocking, sleeping, and managing the craziness that these two bring! But our hearts are SO FULL of LOVE for these incredible blessings that we wouldn't have it any other way!

Three Weeks Old Today!

Last week we had our two week check-up and the twins are doing great! Tucker weighed in at 5 lbs 4.5 oz and Adelyn weighed 5 lbs 9 oz. Both babies are gaining weight (Praise God!) and everything was looking good! We don't go back until the one month check-up which is nice because we had 3 doctor's visits the first week home and one last week. We are so thankful for healthy babies and thankful that we were able to come home without any NICU time!

So far, things are going pretty well! We are starting to get a routine down with these two and are working on a schedule. Derek has to return to work next week, so we are hoping to have a schedule that will work well with him being at work. I will be SO SAD not to have him around during the day but we are SO THANKFUL that he has been able to be home with us SO MUCH! I don't know how I could have done it these last few weeks without him! My mom has been coming in the afternoons while he is at track and is going to help out when he goes back to work. I can handle the two of them by myself too...but feedings are really tricky when I am alone. If one is asleep, then I can feed the other one just fine. But if they are both awake and hungry...we are in trouble!!! Thankfully I have been pumping and the babies are both getting extra milk from a bottle after every feeding. So they are able to take a bottle if I need to feed both. We have had to figure out all this twin stuff as we go...there are NO rulebooks...haha! But we are LOVING it!

Tucker Boy
Tucker is still our Mr. Serious...he has the most serious looks and expressions and loves to look around! He is Mama's snuggle bug for sure and loves being on my chest right under my chin. He is pretty mild-mannered and does not cry much at all...UNLESS he is hungry. And then you would think the world is coming to an end!!! He usually a better eater than sister and a much quicker one! He is definitely changing in looks and filling out some...especially since he started so small! I think he is going to be our sensitive one...he is always more sensitive to noise or changes....and he needs his mama time! When I was holding him one day, I picked up Adelyn and he just started crying...he wanted Mama all to himself!!!

Mr. Serious

Adelyn Marie
Adelyn is still our little clown! She is the funniest thing with her expressions and attitude (wonder where she gets that from...)! She is CONSTANTLY talking and grunting...while she eats, sleeps, plays...whatever! She is definitely more high maintenance than Tucker...she gets fussy from time to time and LETS you know it! We definitely have learned what her real cry is because otherwise we would be going in their room all the time with the amount of noise she makes! She LOVES to eat...but would eat all day if you let her. She definitely is in NO hurry to get done...spends most of the time just talking and eating. She cracks us up all day long with her looks and noises. She LOVES to be held and especially loves being on daddy's chest. She is our crazy girl!

Our Sweet Girl

The twins are SO DIFFERENT but SO WONDERFUL all the same! I can't imagine one without the other. They are meant to be together! So far they are still sleeping together and have spent every night in their own room. We are working on sleeping a little longer at night and eating a little more to help that out. During the day, they eat, play and nap. We have started doing tummy time, which one of them hates each time...haha! And now that we have belly buttons, we have started taking baths! Adelyn definitely loves bath time more than Tuck...but he is getting better.

Brother/Sisterly Love

As you can tell, we are SO in LOVE with these two! It has been a challenge for sure, but we feel like we are making progress and getting better and better at it everyday. Motherhood is for sure the greatest blessing that I have ever received in my life. My heart is so overwhelmed with love for these two. This feeling alone is worth every tear and disappointment from the past 6 and a half years. I never knew how much love I could feel for the two little miracles...and it feels like it grows everyday. God is amazing at how He works in our lives and I could not be more thankful for a God who loves me enough to give me this blessing.

Today was a little crazy...I had laundry to do, dishes to put up, milk to freeze, and a bunch of other things to do. But Tucker was fussing, so I was holding and rocking him and I realized that I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do. It is rare that you feel that you are living or doing exactly God's will in your life, but this is one of those moments that I knew that I was made for. Holding my sweet son and rocking him in my arms is what precisely what God wanted me to do...He designed me to be these sweet babies' mother and He made me wonderfully equipped for the job. And what an amazing feeling to know that my arms are Tucker's favorite place to be...I have never been anyone's favorite place to be...how awesome is that! I hope that I remember to slow down more and enjoy each moment...laundry and dishes can wait! The sweet times of rocking my babies and loving them completely is what God has called me to do. And I am so thankful that He has entrusted me with this job!

For those who have been asking...I have been healing great! I also had my two week follow up last week and my incision is healing nicely. I got to go walking today which was AWESOME because I haven't been in about 8 weeks. I am also happy to report that this morning I weighed 1 lb less than my pre-pregnancy weight! Praise God! The weight has pretty much fallen off...mostly because I am trying to keep up with feeding these two! I have never been more hungry in my life! Not everything has gone back to its proper place...but hopefully I will get cleared to work out in a couple of weeks and can fix some of that! I am thankful that God blessed us with a healthy delivery and a healthy recovery!

Overall, things are going well! I will try to continue to blog when I can with updates of these two miracles! We know how many of you prayed for these babies and we want to show you God's answered prayers! We pray that when you see these babies, you give all glory to God! He created life where there was none and created parents in Derek and I. He alone is worthy of our praise!

We also ask that you continue to pray for us! We are constantly praying for safety and health for these two precious babies. We pray continually that God work in our hearts to help us to raise them to know and love Him. We pray right now for patience as we contine to be a little sleep-deprived! We are also praying for next week as Derek goes back to work. In all things, we pray that God is glorified through this process and that we can help reach out to those who may need Him. We love you all and thank you for your support on this journey!

"He gives childless couples a family, gives them joy as the parents of children. Hallelujah!" Psalm 113:9 (The Message)

Our first ten days...

Hello to all! What a whirlwind the past 10 days have been! Our lives have been completely changed in an instant and we are just finally feeling like we have our feet underneath us. I am currently enjoying a quiet house with two sleeping babies while Derek is at the grocery store. I know that this blog will probably be an all day adventure because it takes awhile to get pictures loaded...but I figured I am finally feeling a little bit more rested.

I wanted to update everyone on the past ten days and let everyone know just how AWESOME our God is. Tucker and Adelyn are by far the BEST gifts God could have ever given us! They are most definitely worth the wait! God took His time on them to make them as sweet and perfect as they could possibly be. To say that we are in love is an understatement. We are BLESSED beyond belief and I still feel like I have to pinch myself sometimes. I prayed and prayed for a baby for so many years and God completely overwhelmed me with His goodness. I feel extremely undeserving, yet so thankful that these two get to call me Mommy!

Derek said it perfectly the other day...the past days have been the best and the HARDEST of our lives. The first week was probably the most overwhelming. We spent three nights in the hospital and got to come home last Saturday. Since we have been home, we have been trying to figure out feedings, laundry, sleep, having visitors, exploding diapers, and the list goes on and on. The last few nights have been much better in terms of feeding and sleeping and we actually have been able to semi-function again. Who knew babies could be so complex...haha! But in truth we are LOVING every minute of it...even the exploding diapers...haha!

Here's a little recap on all the things that have been happening-

The Birth
March 6th was our scheduled c-section for the twins. Derek and I were suppose to be at the hospital at 6:00 for an 8:00 procedure. I hardly slept a wink the night before, and Derek spent the whole night snoring away...haha! We got to the hospital on time and I immediately went to my room and changed into a gown. I was nervous about two things on this day...the IV and the epidural. Thankfully, God blessed us with the BEST nurse ever (Dana) who has known me my whole life. She put me completely at ease and did my IV AND took two things of blood without me ever knowing. The waiting part was the very hardest part of the whole day. We had to wait for the procedure ahead of us to finish, I had to wait to get my epidural, Derek had a LONG wait while they took me back, and then we had to wait for Derek to come. The epidural went pretty smoothly! Dana's daughter Paige, who was Adelyn's nurse, and Dana stood on either side of me and I had Paige tell me all the details of her wedding to get my mind off of things. It worked well. Once the epidural was in effect, everyone in the room got extremely active and busy preparing. Before I knew it, Derek was walking in and sitting by me. Sweet Miss Adelyn was born at 9:09 and Tucker Boy followed at 9:11. I got to see Tucker immediately all gooey and everything, but Adelyn was taken to the bed first because she had a little bit of fluid in her lungs. It didn't take long for them to have them all bundled up and and laying on my chest for me to meet them. After that, they took them away to close me up and begin all their checks on the babies. We were reunited very quickly in recovery when I actually got to hold my babies for the first time. It was the most surreal and wonderful feeling I have ever felt in the world. I knew them already, loved them already, but was so excited to feel them outside my tummy for once! The process of pregnancy and birth is SO amazing and I was so glad they were here!

PROUDEST DADDY EVER!

A little out of it...but completely happy!

Adelyn sucking on Tucker's fingers when they got out!

Hospital Stay
After we got all cleaned up and recovered, we got moved to a room on the third floor where we stayed for three nights. The hospital stay was not bad at all! It was kinda nice to have nurses and help there whenever we needed it. Everyone LOVED the twins and kept saying how good they were doing. Every test turned out great, every check was good, and the twins were really behaving good. They rarely cried, loved being swaddled, and loved to sleep together. I spent most of the first day in bed, trying to recover from the c-section. I finally got up that evening and was able to walk, get my IV out, and move around. I was very slow in the beginning, but each day at the hospital got better. The worst part was the insane amount of swelling I had from fluids given during the c-section! So miserable! I was discharged on Friday, but the pediatrician wanted Tucker and Adelyn to stay one more night so we did not go home until Saturday. We were very thankful to have one more day to get used to taking care and feeding two before we went home, but we were SO GLAD to finally be home! Sleeping in our bed never felt so good...even if we only sleep in two hour slots!

Ready to go home!

Our family of four...heading home!

Schedules
 Tucker and Adelyn have both been breast-feeding since day one and our lives revolve around their
eating schedule! With two to feed, it takes some coordinating and team-work to get it all done. The babies nurse one at a time, which takes about an hour total of eating, diaper changing, and hopefully going back to sleep. That is if everything goes perfect...ha! Derek has been SUPER-DAD throughout this process. He is the one who gets the babies undressed, changes diapers, gives the first one to me, keeps the second one calm, burps the first one, puts the first one back to sleep, waits for the second one to finish, and then burps and puts back to sleep. The process is very tiring and time consuming, but we feel that it is very beneficial and are planning to do it as long as the twins are growing. Witwh the twins eating every three hours, we get approximately two hour periods to sleep, eat, shower, do laundry, and everything else in the house. Makes for an interesting day! Especially when we have doctors appointments or other things to do in between! The babies are doing good nursing...we have had to make some adjustments to make sure both babies are gaining, but we seem to be moving in the right direction. They have their two week check-up on Wednesday so we will see where we are at that point!

First baths!

Adelyn Marie
The twins are SO different! I thought I would tell you a little about each one. Miss Adelyn came into this world weighing 5 lbs 11 oz and measured 19 and a half inches. I didn't get to see her right away, but she did make a couple of little squaks before they cleared her lungs. After that, she started her little "grunting" noises which she has not stopped making since she came out! Sounds like a little piggie! She is so much more verbal than Tucker, making noise ALL the time. She loves to curl up in a little ball, probably because she was SO smushed inside me by her brother! She is the girl of facial expressions and usually has us cracking up with her sideways grin! She LOVES her daddy and likes to snuggle up with him when going to sleep. She also loves her brother and the two of them like to be right beside each other when they sleep. She is our sweet, sweet little girl and we think she is the most BEAUTIFUL girl we have ever seen!

Miss Personality

Melts our hearts!

Tucker Rope
Our Tucker boy came into this world at 9:11 weighing 5 lbs 4 oz and measured 18 inches. I got to see him right away and first noticed his long legs and arms. He has the longest fingers and toes too! He cried right away and when they laid him on the table to clean him up, he immediately stretched out his arms and legs as far as they could go!!! Exactly what he did inside me too! He likes to have his arms over his head "praising Jesus" as we call it and loves to kick his legs. He is much quieter and calmer than sister girl, unless he is hungry! As soon as he is hungry...he lets you know about it! He is a much quicker eater than sister, who likes to play more than she eats...haha! He is gaining weight well and has already grown another inch. He is very serious with his facial expressions...often wrinkling his forehead in the cutest way. Mommy calls him her little spider monkey because he is so little with these long arms and legs. We LOVE him to death and think he is just PERFECT!!!

Precious boy!

Our Lives
Our lives changed completely in the matter of two minutes when these two were born. We love them SO much and I honestly can't remember what life was like before them! We are enjoying every minute...even the hard ones...and praying continually for guidance and patience as we learn our new roles as parents. We pray daily for patience with each other and that God will continue to strengthen our marriage even when sleep is lacking! We are so thankful for our blessings and pray that God will continue to be glorified throughout this process. We pray that people see Tucker and Adelyn as proof of the greatness and faithfulness of our God. We also pray continually for other families going through infertility because we know the pain that they are experiencing. We are currently asking God to use us to help minister to these couples because we have felt their pain. Thankfully, Derek gets to stay home with us for two more weeks to help us all adjust to life at home. He is still responsible for coaching track, and will be going back for track practice and meets throughout the weeks. I have my two-week doctor's appointment on Wednesday, where I will hopefully be released to drive and have a little more freedom. We LOVE that daddy gets to be home and that we get to spend some time as a family of four!

Dad managing the twins...and his coffee!

 

So that's what our last ten days have consisted of! I know people have been anxiously awaiting
pictures and updates but life has been CRAZY! I literally have not had time to do much of anything...and wouldn't have it any other way! I definitely can see some things in my life that will be much less of a priority...like TV. Who has time for that??? But I am going to try to keep blogging updates of these two when I get the chance because I know you guys want to see pictures of your answered prayers. And we kinda like showing them off...haha! Derek said one day that he couldn't believe that we had made them...which I told him I take NO credit for these two...they were 100% made by God. We thank all of YOU so much for your prayers that led us to this point. Please keep praying us on as we try and learn how to do this whole parenting thing! I will try and update again soon! LOVE to all!!!


"THANKS be to God for his indescribable GIFT!" 2 Corinthians 9:15

Love them!

Holding hands!

Daddy telling stories in the morning

Sleeping beauties

We love sleep!

Reflecting on the journey...

It's hard to believe that as I sit here and type this that I will be holding my sweet babies at the this time tomorrow. God is so good and so faithful that I am still in AWE that we are at this point. There are barely words to describe all the emotions that have been going through my head and heart this last week. It still feels a little unreal to think that we are less than 24 hours away from meeting our precious babies! I am so EXCITED and so READY to see their sweet faces! But I have also felt very humbled this last week, thinking about this process. In some ways, it is easy to forget all of the pain and struggles we had to make it to this point. I still find it hard to believe that I somehow gave myself all those shots and let Derek give me even more! Yet, God has been so faithful and so steadfast throughout this entire journey. So I thought for this last blog before the babies come, I would look back on some of the lessons that I learned along the way. My prayer has always been that God be glorified through this process and I hope that maybe something I share today can help touch those of you who may be struggling with their own battles. Whether it be infertility, or something else, God may be using your storm to reach you in ways that you have not even imagined.

One last belly shot! This was before church on Sunday

Lesson #1- You don't get to pick your storm

I used to be so frustrated and so upset wondering why things happened to me. Why did my grandma have to die on my wedding day? Why did I have to struggle with my weight so much when all my friends were skinny? And most importantly, why was I the one chosen to have infertility? ME!!! The one who has ALWAYS loved babies...the one who started baby-sitting at 12 and volunteered to change diapers in the church nursery. Why was this my storm???? Couldn't I have another struggle or pain to go through? It seemed like all of the bad stuff piled up on top of me and I spent a good bit of my time crying out WHY!!!! Somehow, I had decided that life was suppose to be fair. That I was suppose to have babies because I wanted them. That I was suppose to be skinny without doing any work. That everything in this world was suppose to work out because I was a good person. Ummm....what????? God does not promise us a struggle-free life! Quite the contrary!

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Ding ding ding...we are going to have trouble...we are going to struggle...this world is NOT our home and is fallen! And unfortunately...we do NOT get to pick which type of trouble we are going to have!!! It is so easy to fall into this "woe is me" trap and wish that we could change the type of struggles we encounter. But that is not how this life works! And that is not what God has planned for us!

For some reason, God chose to use this battle of infertility to reach my heart. I would never have chosen this path...but I am so thankful that God knew what I needed so much more than I did. God needed me to learn to TRUST Him...to give UP control...to depend so DEEPLY on Him that I was broken. I had to be broken through infertility to allow God to fill me up completely with His love and desire. God wanted me to have children from the very beginning! He had Tucker and Adelyn planned for us from the start. But He also wanted my heart...more than anything. Through the pain of this struggle, He has shown what AMAZING plans He has for me...far more than I could have ever imagined. And tomorrow we get to meet those precious blessings face to face...How Great is Our God???

***I still think He could have made me skinny during all those years that I wasn't pregnant, but oh well...haha!***

Lesson #2- Just the TWO of us- strengthening our marriage

I really struggled on how to word this part correctly. I believe that God had a special plan for our family and the way He chose to create it. I believe there is something very special about the fact that Derek and I had seven years of marriage just the two of us. Once again...this is not at all what I had planned out or what I wanted. Yet, I believe God was working on my heart throughout this process to open my eyes to His plan for my life.

One of the main reasons I knew Derek was the one for me was because of his love for children. I knew almost immediately that he was going to be a good dad. And because I wanted children so much, I knew that he would be a great partner. When we got married, it seemed natural for us to start trying right away, because we both wanted children and figured why wait? Unfortunately, the first few years of marriage were really hard for me. Losing my grandma on my wedding day was a really difficult way to start a marriage and I struggled with depression and weight gain for awhile. This, coupled with the trying to have a baby, made our first few years hard. I know that I was not being the wife that God called me to be and I knew that God wanted more out of me and our marriage.

"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Genesis 2:24

Things started looking up for us around year 3 of marriage. I began to get my depression and weight under control and Derek and I really started working together to strengthen our marriage (which ironically is when we stopped working together at GC...haha). While we were stronger together, we began to focus a lot of our infertility...on what the next step would be, what the doctor would say, what pill or procedure we would try next, what would happen if that didn't work, etc. We were united in our goals and began to lean on each other in ways that we didn't know possible. We were each other's rock and support...Derek lifted me up when I didn't think I could continue this journey and we sought comfort in each other. Our marriage became stronger through our pain, yet still I think God had greater plans for us.

While He wanted us to lean on each other during hard times, I think He also wanted us to enjoy the time He was blessing us with for just the two of us. It took us awhile to figure that out, but thankfully we were able to spend our last year and a half before we did in-vitro just enjoying our time together. No doctors, no needles, no disappointment...just enjoying our gift of marriage. We learned to work together on our getting our finances in order and were able to go on a fabulous trip to Jamaica. I was able to support Derek during his first year as a head coach by going to every game and cooking game-day breakfast for him. We learned to pray together...really pray together and pray over each other in a way that I had only dreamed of. I saw our marriage strengthen, but also saw our relationships grow in God, both together and apart. God used this time of disappointment in our life to help grow our marriage relationship, which I think will just help us be better parents in the days and years to come.

Looking back, I wish I would have enjoyed the every minute of the last seven years with this precious man that God gave to me. I wish I would have have been the wife that he deserved every day and left the baby planning and worry to God. I spent so much time and energy trying to make these babies my own way and forgot to trust that God would lead the way. Derek and I became a family the day we said I do. And the two of us are still a family today. While I think Tucker and Adelyn are going to bless and enrich our family greatly, I do not for one second think that Derek and I were incomplete these seven years without them. God GAVE us seven years together that not many people have. And together, we have learned and grown from them...stronger and more together than we ever would have been without this journey. Derek is truly a gift from God and there is NO WAY I would have been able to keep going without his encouragement and love. I am beyond thrilled that tomorrow I will finally get to see him become a daddy and hold our babies in his arms. It is the moment I have wanted to give him since I first said "I do" and I am SO excited to be going through this with my love!



Lesson #3 Prayer and God's Family
 
Growing up in the church, I always knew that it was important to pray. I learned to pray at a very early age and grew up hearing prayers at every meal. I saw my parents pray, have prayed in front of groups of people, and knew that prayer was important. BUT somewhere along the way...I stopped feeling the need to pray. I knew that God knew my heart. I knew that He could hear the words that I didn't want to say. So I stopped feeling the need to pray. Part of it I think was because I couldn't handle the fact that God was saying no. It hurt too bad to pray with all my heart for a baby and be told no over and over again. So I quit praying....quit seeking...quit hearing His voice...I decided that I would be the one that would make this baby thing happen and then when it did, I could thank God for what He had done.

Obviously my plan did not go so well. God desired so much for me to turn to Him, run to Him, need Him, trust Him. God not only wanted my prayers, but wanted me to trust Him enough to share my struggles with others. Up until that I point I had kept most of my struggle inside...sharing with my husband, family, and a few close friends. But Loann (smart woman that she is) made me realize how Satan was using my secrecy against me. What are we here for if not to love each other, build each other up, pray for each other, and encourage each other??? Through my embarrassment and shame I was limiting God's power in my life...and God's power is made PERFECT in our weakness. This idea opened my life up to prayer in a way that I have never experienced it before.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

One of the first things Derek and I did was to start praying together. Every night. Without fail. We prayed for each other, we prayed for our precious babies, we prayed for others, we prayed for every step of the process. This simple act led us to praying together more often...in the mornings, before doctors appointments, before games, after games, when things were sad, when things were glad, at all times! How amazing it was to hear my husband lift me up in prayer on a daily basis and to thank God for me repeatedly. Not only did this strengthen our marriage, but it also helped stregthen our walk.

The other way we have seen prayer work THROUGOUT this journey is through the prayers of so many of our friends and family. I grew up in an amazing church family that we are priviledged enough to still be a part of. But God's family extends SO far beyond just our tiny church walls. So many of you have partnered with us in prayer since the very beginning and we are SO THANKFUL that God has blessed us with such an amazing family. We are so honored to know that Tucker and Adelyn have been COVERED in prayer since before they were even created. It also has been such a neat experience to watch the power that exists through God's family. Our lives have been blessed so richly through this process with prayers, thoughts, financial help, SO MANY gifts for these babies, meals for me and Derek, and the list goes on and on. We ask that you continue to pray with us over these two precious children as we seek to raise them according to God's will. Someone at church said it best on Sunday..."We are all just as excited as you guys about meeting the twins!"

Final Thoughts

I know this probably sounds like the biggest rambling blog that I have written...sorry about that! These thoughts have been swirling around in my head as I reflect on everything that has brought us to this moment and I really wanted to share my heart. The number one thing I hope people have gotten out of this blog is how GOOD our God is. How faithful and true He remains. He desires so much for us to completely trust Him with our lives. I hope that when people see Tucker and Adelyn they immediately think of God's goodness and his faithfulness!

The last week has actually been kinda surreal! Once we knew that we had a delivery date, I immediately started thinking about all of the last things we would be doing without kids. Mom and I went on one last Friday lunch and got pedicures. Derek and I had our last Saturday morning to sleep in. We went on our last date night without needing a baby-sitter and worshipped for the last Sunday at church without the twins. I have to admit I kinda struggled with all of these lasts...its hard to believe that this time in our life is coming to a close. I have enjoyed so much spending this time with my sweet husband and getting to enjoy our last few days together.

Last date night!

Last dr. appt before the big day!

But where there are lasts there are also FIRSTS!!! Tomorrow starts a whole new beginning for us and we will begin cherishing all of the precious FIRSTS that will be coming with the birth of these two!!! The first time we hear them cry, the first time we see their face, the first time we hold them in our arms and kiss their sweet faces. We are SO BLESSED to be at this point and I literally cannot wait to see what how amazing God's plan is in action!

Thank you for all of your support and love during this journey! It has been quite the journey!!! We began this step last Spring Break with our consultation in San Antonio and look where the year has brought us! Every doctor's appointment, procedure, blood draw, ultra-sound, shot, patch, pound gained, sleepless night, tear cried, and step we've taken has led us to this point! I will (hopefully) be blogging as soon as the twins allow me to with pictures and updates. We covet your prayers in the morning, especially for our nerves, the doctors and nurses, and the health of our sweet babies! Love to you all!

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

We finally get to meet our desires tomorrow!!! Their names are Tucker and Adelyn!!!