New e-Locale

For those that follow the blog but I don't have your email address, I have moved baby updates for a little while to a shutterfly photo share site. Ive been doing most uploading in between burps and naps and cuddles on my iPhone and it's much easier to just upload photos that tell the story instead of typing it all out.

Correction from previous post: if you want access to the site please email us at jzmccallister@hotmail.com because i have to add you as a member!

The link is below. You just need to set up a shutterfly account and you're in. Enjoy our growing and thriving babies!

http://nolanandcaroline.shutterfly.com/

NICU Day 3

Each day in the NICU has proven to be eventful as Nolan and Caroline continue to make great strides. Today, Nolan started eating from a bottle, got put in a regular crib, and is breathing 100% on his own. There are talks of him possibly going home on Thursday but we'll just take one day at a time as he is having a little trouble wanting to eat much from a bottle.

Caroline is also relying less on pumped oxygen and is breathing steadier on her own. They have also increased the amount of formula she is able to take in at each feeding. She was put into an incubator today because they don't like to keep them on the warming table for too long. She will probably need another few days to start breathing on her own and then will have to start working on feeding from a bottle as well.

Our first family photo where we both got to hold the babies.

The hospital made us a "Celebration Dinner" with steak, dessert, and sparkling grape juice. So romantic

Caroline after a bath. They attached the bow in her hair with vaseline

Wild hair! Nolan got a bath and his hair immediately shot straight up. It's so nice to see him without the tubes in his nose now

Caroline in her new home for a little while. It is warm in there and she seems to be settling in quite nicely

The Birth Story (abbreviated)

12:30 a.m. After tossing and turning in bed, I took a hot bath hoping to relax me enough to fall asleep. When that didn't work I ended up on the couch where I watched Michael phelps win another gold. After a wave of tiredness hit me, I rolled over and within about 0 minutes I felt a gush. Uh oh!
1:00 a.m. We arrived at Clark regional hospital where they confirmed my water broke. Since I was only 35 weeks they transferred me to a hospital in Lexington. I got to ride in an ambulance with the lights on. Even though we left the hospital at the same time, Zac beat us there!
1:30-7:00 a.m. I definitely got a taste of natural labor as I had pretty strong contractions 2-4minutes apart for about 5 hours straight. Zac was awesome and helped me through each and every one.
7:30 a.m. Since both babies were still breech, a c-section was necessary. Zac and I paused for a moment before going to the OR to pray and just feel the moment--scary but so exciting all at once! I hated hated hated the epidural but at least it kicked in quickly. Within 20 minutes, the babies were here! I heard both of their first cries and Zac was able to bring Nolan over to me. I got to see Caroline as they were checking her out. Instant overwhelming love. The family we had hoped and prayed for was finally a reality. What a moment! Nolan weighed 4 pounds 15 oz. and was 18 inches long. Caroline was 4 pounds 9 oz and 17 inches long. Since Nolan's sac had broken, he had all those hours to get his lungs cleared out so he was a little better off than Caroline who still had a good bit of fluid in her lungs. She went immediately to the NICU and he followed her there after a few hours in the nursery.
9:30 a.m. Surrounded by family, we settled into our room where I would spend the next 3 days healing, resting and counting down the minutes to our next NICU visits. What sweet sweet moments each visit has been!

They're Here!

What a beautiful first few days it has been! I will try to update their progress on a regular basis so everybody's able to get the same information at the same time.

They have already made tremendous progress in just a day and a half. Nolan is only taking in room air and has been able to eat my pumped milk through his feeding tube since he got in the nicu. I got to hold him for the first time and it was a moment I will never forget. It felt real...he is mine and I am his!

Caroline is a little smaller than Nolan and has had a little harder time getting all that fluid cleared out of her lungs since her sac was still in tact throughout the labor. She also has made some great progress already and is getting stronger every time we see them (every 3 hours). She just got to eat for the first time at our 2:00 visit and is now on the same schedule as her brother. She is such a doll baby and just loves for us to touch her and talk to her.

Below are the latest pictures of them. I'm doing this on my iPhone so labeling and organizing the pictures is a little difficult but I'll do the best I can. Can you figure out who is who?

Heads Up Seven Up

The babes are back to being both breech so it looks like we're probably headed toward a c-section. The doctor isnt going to schedule one and said at the earliest it would be at 38 weeks unless i go into labor before then. I love this pic of their heads together though! They're both measuring right on track with Caroline at about 5 pounds and Nolan at about 6.

Mego Prego Week 34

34 weeks and still going strong! This week has been more of the same: lack of sleep, sore feet, swollen ankles and painful ribs, but nothing that has really kept me down and out completely.

Zac's mom came down for a visit this weekend so that gave me an excuse to get off the couch and get out and about a little more! We kicked the weekend off with a nod to the British--Olympics style. The Olympics have always caught my interest, probably because they were such a fun part of our childhood. I remember when Kristin and I would tape off the living room floor with masking tape to practice our balance beam routine in hopes of capturing a glimpse of the Magnificent Seven's grace. It was about the only thing that would keep us from running down to the beach if the Olympics just so happened to fall during vacation. And it taught me a lot about the world around us--not only pride in our own country but also about the freedoms that are lacking in others as we watched little girls prance across the floor with little choice. So, in celebration of the London Olympics we went to The Pub where they serve authentic British cuisine. We all ate a round of fish 'n chips and Zac enjoyed some other British classics.

Saturday, we ventured to Berea for some strolling and munching at the local eateries. Before we left, we stopped at the Boone Tavern for some photo ops--this will definitely be a place we will have take a little weekend getaway once we're ready. Any willing babysitters?

Sunday, we went on a drive around the Bluegrass and then wrapped up the night with a musical under the stars--Legally Blonde. Unfortunately, we didn't make it through the whole thing. Lying on a blanket on a nice night sounded relaxing but it quickly got quite uncomfortable and I had to call it quits for the night.

Talon Winery and Vineyards, Lexington

A Few Good Books

Zac and I were convinced by the Sam's Club cashier to buy these photo albums during our very first mega-club store trip as a married couple. It was one of those throw-it-in-the-cart-and-see-if-it-makes-it-to-the-cash-register items that certainly wasn't on the grocery list but seemed like a good deal. As we stood there debating whether it was a responsible use of a twenty dollar bill, the cashier (who must have noticed our newlywed angst) ensured us it was a good buy and that we would surely fill them up. I wasn't so sure. I was (and still am) the penny-pincher in the family and I had serious doubt. Would we really be able to fill over 1000 slots?

Fast forward five years later.  This morning I climbed up the ladder into the attic (shhh...don't tell Zac!) and dragged these dusty, somewhat hideous-colored albums down from a box of books and such that just didn't seem to have room in our Kentucky home. After a computer crash and an email for free photos from Shutterfly, I decided it was time to print out all those digitals and memorialize them in a more tangible way. In they went, one slot at a time until the third and last photo album was filled.

Five years later and we have accumulated over 1000 memories. From the sunsets on our honeymoon (the wedding got its own album of course) to a car crash that I thought for sure doomed us to economic failure to weekend get-aways in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, and Canada to multiple moving trucks to Marco eating, chewing, sleeping, dreaming, and smiling, they are all in these albums.

As I readied myself to climb back up that ladder and re-place them in the box, I couldn't help but tear up. Please tell me it is the hormones! But I really think it was the realization that we have had five. good. years. Five years that as we move onto a new era and new photo albums (which I still need to purchase...maybe there's a deal at Sam's?!), I know I can look back with joy knowing we spent five years investing in each other in a way that makes me feel confident in whatever comes our way--in bringing babies home to a loving, supportive, adventurous, flexible, tried and true family environment.

And so the albums found a place on a shelf that I will walk by every day, that our crawling little ones will pull off and hit his/her sibling with, that I will pull out when people come to visit. They deserve it.

Baby Belly Birthday

Turning 27 has been such a joyous time to remember how healthy and happy I am! Mom came down to celebrate and continue helping me nest, and we celebrated my birthday by going to an Italian restaurant in the next town over. I felt a little like a lame host because I just don't have the ability to go out and about for hours anymore, but I know she didn't mind. I have really slowed down this week as my legs have just about had it with carrying around 40+ extra pounds.

One of the highlights of my birthday week was a prenatal massage gifted to me by Cori, Austin, and Zac. Who knew there were spas that specifically catered to pregnant ladies? I can't remember ever seeing one of these places in any of the various locations we've lived before so I was pretty pumped when I saw this:

It looked intriguing but also looked like a place that I certainly couldn't afford. So when I received a gift card to Baby Belly Spa for my birthday, I was so excited. It was exactly what I needed: the plush robe and slippers, the lavender massage oil specifically intended to reduce swelling, the calming exotic music that took my mind off all I have left to do, and the massage that just melted all that tension and stress away. Ahhh! If only I could have one of those every week :)

 This week's checkup and non-stress test was incredibly uneventful, if not all together boring. After an hour at the hospital getting the NST, we met with the doctor who will be helping our midwife out with delivery and will be doing the c-section if it is necessary. I am measuring full-term, which I guess is reassuring in that it makes me feel a little more justified with the discomfort I'm experiencing. He said he doesn't expect me to go into labor in the next few weeks so they'll wait until then for another ultrasound to give the babies more time to get settled into place. That will probably be when the c-section vs. natural labor discussion becomes decision time. Two weeks seems like such a long time but I know how quickly it will go by and that soon Nolan and Caroline will be here.

Yard Salin'

I have been waiting for the perfect free Saturday morning to go yard saling all summer. It's crazy how quickly summer goes by and I knew I was running out of time. So this morning I set my alarm extra early, got up, and went to the suburbs of Lexington in the hope to find some good baby deals.

The mission: 3 months and beyond clothes for both and baby toys.

The result:

 

58 pieces of clothing and 9 toy items (plus a few cups of lemonade) for $32! I was actually quite surprised how evenly it turned out. I thought for sure I was picking out more girl than boy clothes because those girl clothes are just too irresistable, but I managed to find several name brand boy clothes I was excited about. 

My favorite and most fruitful stop was actually a sale advertised with a sign that read "Moving to Madagascar Sale". This family sold their beautiful house and everything in it so they could move to Madagascar with their three children (6 and under) to become full-time missionaries. Wow--what a brave and faithful family!

Just for Laughs

Zac has taken up a new hobby and somehow he has become the pied piper...

This is what Zac got me for my early 27th birthday present. It has come to this, but ohhhh do I appreciate it!! It is truly a miraculous thing when I can put my feet in this for a half hour and I can actually walk from one room to another without saying "Ouch ouch ouch" the whole way. I'm sure he appreciates it too.

Mego Prego Week 31

It's getting real up in here! Ha! This week I had my first pre-term pregnancy scare that led to a trip to the hospital. I thought my water broke which is one of those things that you never really think people can mistake...well, apparently I did. However, either I was so freaked out that my body thought it better do something or whatever happened really was a signal of trouble, I started having some majorly regular and close contractions while I was there. They give me one little pill and it slowed everything down so that I could go home and rest. Luckily, that is all it took. The next two days I had no contractions at all. Yesterday, the Braxton Hicks contractions came back to about the pace they've been the last few weeks so I wasn't real concerned. I have an appointment on Thursday so the doc can re-evaluate the situation and make sure everything is still going smoothly.

If nothing else, it was a major reality check that:
1) Even though I am feeling good and am seemingly healthy, carrying two babies makes your body on over-reaction mode and I need to take it easy.
2) I am definitely not as prepared for these little ones as I thought I was. I don't even have my hospital bag packed (which is happening today by the way)

3) Zac and I have been so caught up in the excitement and anticipation of these babies that we haven't really stopped to think about how drastically different our lives are going to be. Don't get me wrong...we are both so looking forward to having these babies around that our lives now pale in comparison. But still. So I think we've been a little more attentive and appreciative of each other and our time together this week.
4) Although we are so anxious for them to be here, it is way too soon for them to make their arrival into this world. So for now, I'll be delighted with their kicks and uncomfortable with their arms in my ribs and refreshed by their little faces on an ultrasound. Yes, that will do for now.

Now, fair warning. I have always told myself that I would not under any circumstances put a picture of my bare belly on my blog. I get slightly annoyed when others do it every week, I know some people are grossed out by it (such as my sister), and really...it's just not pretty. However, this is just really too laughable to pass up. Zac and I went swimming at his dad's house for the 4th of July and this is what resulted. Yikes.

Nursery Sneak Peak

Here are some pictures to give you a little preview of what I've been working on the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Baby Store Redemption

Zac and I have decided that a) all this baby gear makes us otherwise pretty intelligent people feel really stupid and b) Babies R Us might just be the best company we have encountered when it comes to returns.

Three examples:
1. Zac's aunt and cousins gifted us with our twin bassinet pack n play for the shower which they thoughtfully got delivered directly to our house. Zac put it together before I got home this weekend and admittedly did so without reading the directions. Somewhere in the process of making part J snap into part Q, it broke. I packed it back up and dragged it back to BRU  truly dreading the complicated explanation (and perhaps white lie) as to why I needed to return it, where they exchanged it with no problem.

2. A few months ago, we thought we'd get ahead of the game and buy our car seats early. After the sticker shock that ensued at BRU, we went for two economical seats that seemed to fit our needs. We brought them home where Zac did the first-time dad ritual of trying to install the car seat base by jamming his knee in the middle of it, pushing down on it until his face turned red, then pulling on the straps with all his might. We weren't real satisfied with the fit but figured it was due to our own stupidity and put them away to be figured out later. Last week, we decided we better make sure we could make it work and after numerous Youtube videos, we realized we had done everything in our power to get them to fit and they just weren't going to work. The dilemma: we had two car seats with no boxes as well as a double stroller that matched the car seats with no box. What kind of store is going to take all that back after three months? Babies R Us!!

We loaded it all up into two shopping carts, pranced right in and emerged with $400 in BRU store credit which we then used towards two more highly reviewed car seats. We ended up buying the double stroller at this consignment shop today, and , thanks to my BRU coupon revelation (see below), were left with a nice size chunk of change. All is well that ends well!

3. Mom and I realized the other day that BRU will let you stack coupons. This was quite an epiphany because those mile long receipts and loads of coupon mailers from BRU I had been loathing and promptly throwing into the junk pile soon became quite valuable. Getting 20% off virtually every product in the store took BRU from being over-priced to actually being cheaper than Walmart. Who knew?!

Dr. Update

This week, we had our bi-weekly doctor's appointment coupled with an ultrasound. The babies are growing perfectly with Caroline at 2 lbs. 14 oz. and Nolan surpassing his sister at 3 lbs. 2 oz. It's hard to believe there are 6 pounds of baby in my belly! The babies are both breech so we're hoping they do some major somersaulting before they start running out of room. Our midwife said I am the picture of good health and that if anybody could carry twins to full term, it would be me!

Last night I thought that idea was coming to an end. Zac decided to treat me to a dinner at PF Changs with his credit card reward points since we've tried to cut our budget down in preparation for the expense of daycare. I started having contractions one right after another on the way there so we started counting them. The rule is if I have 6 contractions per hour for two hours in a row, then it's something to be concerned about. Well, after I had 5 within 25 minutes we really started worrying. We got seated at the restaurant (quickly--thanks to reservations) where I had 3 more within the hour. I chugged four glasses of water and attempted to eat my honey shrimp, although my belly was too tight to really consume much. I think the water must have been what I needed because the contractions pretty much stopped by the time we left the restaurant. A few laps around Babies R Us later, I was feeling back to normal! Let's hope not too many more of those evenings happen in the next six weeks.

Flower Power

It has come to our attention that the flowers we thought were a gift from the local florist in town for Zac's grand opening were actually from my awesome Charlotte-dwelling family and Zac's co-workers at Marietta Health and Witness. The flowers' tags didn't label who they were from so we were quite perplexed by the mysterious gifts of support. So...we have one more unclaimed floral gift! If you so thoughtfully sent us some flowers but have been wondering why we were rude in not acknowledging them, then let us know! Or if you feel like you just need some recognition and appreciation, you can say you sent them even if you didn't. :)

Mego Prego Week 30

It's been a busy week in prego world. I spent all last week travelling back and forth from Louisville for AP teacher training. It was a good test to my endurance level at this point in my pregnancy--and I must say it was a far cry from where I thought I'd be this late into it. I gained a few (understatement) extra pounds and went back to the realm of swollen feet after 3 hours in the car everyday, 8 hours sitting in uncomfortable college seminar chairs, a less than healthy diet filled with unlimited cans of pop, Doritos, student center lunch food, and dinner at various interstate restaurants. But after my bedrest scare, I thought I would be a little more down and out at this point. So as I enter into the last 6-8 weeks (fingers-crossed) of my pregnancy, I'm feeling pretty thankful that I have stayed this healthy and that the babies are doing so well.

On Saturday, my family gifted me with a baby shower. It was such affirmation to know that I am surrounded by so many supportive, loving, talented, giving people. These babies are lucky! You can view the shower pictures graciously photographed by my cousin Erin here.

Mom came back with me on Sunday to help me wash, organize, and sort through all the gifts. I'll be honest...up to this point, I really haven't done a whole lot with the nursery. The clothes that have been flowing in from day one have really just accumulated in the closet with no rhyme or reason. I have lots of ideas but just haven't taken the time to actually do them with the thought that I would have the whole month of July to get everything ready. Well...it's almost July. So here. we. go. We removed tags, washed, folded, hung, and organized three loads of laundry (and let me tell ya...baby clothes are not easy to hang up!), went on a shopping spree for everything else we needed, washed, folded, hung, and organized another two loads of laundry, toured the two possible delivery hospitals, and applied the tree wall decal to the nursery wall. We did find that, thanks to all the thoughtful gifts, Nolan and Caroline are definitely set for the first 3 months of life.

It's crunch time. Time moves quickly and babies grow fast. I'm feeling the pressure but I'm also feeling the excitement that will come with Nolan and Caroline's arrival :)

Open for Business

Last week was Natural Bridge Chiropractic's Grand Opening! It has been a whirlwind getting all the ducks in a row for this day. I certainly can't say it's been easy but we didn't go into it thinking it would be. Sometimes, though, we just sit back and are amazed at how our lives have played out so far. I think if you would have asked Zac on our wedding day what our life would be like in 5 years, this would be pretty close to that picture. That is such a testament to his focus and no-fear attitude. Anybody willing to embark in something like this has to know that it requires a lot of faith as well--God kept opening the doors and (despite my fears) we kept following. Zac truly amazes me everyday with his ability to stay focused on his goals despite the daily grind of setbacks, expenditures, paperwork, phone calls, and a never-ending to-do list. So here are some highlights from an exciting first week of being open for business :)

Thanks for the professional pictures, Cassie!

Mego Prego Week 27

A list of things this clueless mom is learning:

• Babies prefer to move and kick and turn and headbutt the most at night--this leads to some restless nights for me as well
• Babies hiccup and it feels exactly like kicking except to the beat of a drum
• Zac also likes to get in on the kicking fun which means he is constantly tapping, tickling, whistling, singing, anything to get those babies to respond with a swift kick...and they do!
• One twin can kick the other twin in the face, making a good ultrasound picture next to impossible...unless your idea of a good profile pic substitutes a foot in place of a nose
• Eating a hot brown, sitting out in the hot sun, and travelling in the car equals balloon feet for a few days...which leads to mom freaking out at 5 a.m. when the swelling doesn't go down...which leads to dad running to Walgreens at 5 a.m. to get a blood pressure cuff to make sure mom doesn't have pre-eclampsia...which she doesn't :)
• Sleeping almost exclusively on my left side is really too much to ask
• Reading 25 "twin pregnancy" blogs a day to compare belly size, dissect birth stories, and search for a day in the life breakdown of how to survive the first few weeks probably doesn't really help my anxiety much--Google should probably be blocked now that I'm home all day. It can be dangerous
• Decorating a nursery for a boy and a girl is quite the conundrum...it's a fine balance between too masculine and too feminine

Didn't everybody know I've been working on this room just for him?

It's Summer Time

Summer break began for me a week or so ago and since then we've been enjoying some visits with family, beginning the organizational process of making room for two infants, helping Zac prepare for opening, and trying to get into a workout routine. I'm definitely finding a little exercise everyday keeps the feet swelling down and gives me more energy (and makes me feel a little better about my expanding physique!)

Here are some pics from our summer fun so far:

A trip to St. Louis to visit Cori and Austin allowed Marco to meet his new friend Sally :)

Zac and I took advantage of a free concert near UK and spent an evening listening to Phil Vassar rock it on the piano

The family came down to visit for Memorial Day, which included a very hot day at the Kentucky Horse Park. Here we are in front of Secretariat

Marcus and Kristin enjoying some good old-fashioned s'mores

Grandma "marshin' some marshmallows" as we used to say

Chillin in the shade

Not bad for the first week of summer vacay!