THEY'RE HERE!!!

They're finally here!!! Tuesday 21st we went to see the perinatologist and the boy was measuring 6lbs 12 oz!! Little girl was 2 weeks behind that at 5lbs 2 oz. I was dilated to a 3 because I had finally started contracting since we stopped the medicine. My doctor would induce me once I got to a 5. The peri said he wouldn't let me go past 36 weeks with the difference of weights and also because the boy was getting so big! Then we started discussing my blood pressures which had started to get higher. I was 35 weeks and the peri recommended just delivering the babies instead of just waiting around for me to get sicker with the preeclampsia because that risk outweighed the risk of having the babies a few days earlier and at this point there really wouldn't be much difference in the babies health having them now vs. in 5 days or so.
We had planned on delivering vaginally before we got these weights because little girl was head down and would come out first, and if little boy came down feet first my dr. was willing to deliver him that way. We knew there was still a small risk of delivering first vaginally, then having to do a c-section for the boy, but the chances of that were slim. But since these new weights came along, my dr. was no longer willing because if the second twin is larger than the first the risks of getting stuck coming out feet first are brain injury and death. Most doctor's won't even do a breech delivery in the first place even if they're smaller. So a c-section was scheduled for the next day at 1:00pm. Me and Justin did not sleep all night! We were so tired, but I guess we should get used to that! Here's the pictures we took of me right before we left for the hospital.


In the OR waiting to get my spinal. I'm pretty sure I have never been more scared in my life! I thought I was a lot tougher, but this whole procedure, from the spinal to the c-section was very scary. It was so hard not to be able to watch what was going on. I like to be in control and I felt so out of control.
Mercedez Sara was born at 1:18pm. She was 5 lbs and 17 inches. Everything was happening so fast. She came out very 'stunned'. My mom was in the room and even though she's a nurse that works there, because it was her grandchild, she couldn't stand watching as it took a little while to get her going. I was a little worried because I heard that she had come out but I couldn't hear any crying. Justin watched the c-section and then as soon as both babies were out kept running back to the babies, then back to me to update me. I cannot even describe how amazing it was to experience this with my sweet husband. I have felt so many different emotions these past couple days. What a wild ride it's been so far! They stitched me up and then took me straight to my room. The babies stayed in NICU. I was so drugged up and 'shocky' that my body could not stop shaking. I was pretty much in a daze all that first day. I was exhausted and disoriented and it didn't even feel like I really had any babies. It was like I wasn't feeling anything. Below are the pictures of Mercedez. She has lighter hair, blond eyelashes and fairer skin than Sawyer. I think her fairness is after the Stevenson side, yet she looks so much like I did as a baby with her features.



I love her little bird lips!!!
Justin changing the first diaper.
Her hair looks almost strawberry blond in this picture. I saw these pictures before I ever got to go and actually see them. Her hair is much darker now. It's light brown with almost frosted tips.


Finally! After several hours I got to get into a wheelchair to go see my babies for the first time. I almost didn't go at this time because my legs and butt were still tingly and numb and my incision hurt so bad I didn't think I could get out of bed. But my nurse, Justin and my mom made it possible to get me in the chair so I could see them. This memory is very foggy. All that day I couldn't even remember conversations I'd had minutes before.

At 1:19pm, one minute after his sister, Sawyer James was born. He weighed 6 lbs 1 oz 18 inches long. He came out crying and for a split second he was raised over the curtain so I could see him. What an amazing site he was! I couldn't stop crying and was wishing I could be a part of watching them get cleaned up.



What a stud! He has the darker hair, eyelashes and skin, like the Jones side yet some of his features are very Stevenson! I think he looks a lot like his grandpa Stevenson (which his middle name appropriately is named after) and think that his facial structure like the forehead is totally Stevenson. Justin and both his sisters have his head! And yet he definitely has the Jones cheeks and other features. I'd say they're both a good mix of both sides.

This was all only a few hours old. In just a day they changed so much with how they look!And even more now that it's been two days. I will post more pictures as we get them. At the very beginning Mercedez was struggling and had to be bagged and masked for breathing, then put on oxygen. Sawyer seemed to be doing fine, but then his oxygen saturation dropped and he was put on oxygen. But by that first night Mercedez was off oxygen and eating from a bottle! She has been a little fighter! Sawyer needed his oxygen until the next day and wasn't interested in eating. Mercedez got her feeding tube taken out, but then had to get it put back in because she couldn't take her complete intake they wanted her to. She is super close every time! She needs to take 26 ml every time and she usually takes about 20. Sawyer was getting fed through his tube but he seemed to be in some discomfort and they pulled out of his tube some mucousy green fluid. They ran some tests and did some x-rays to make sure his bowels had formed correctly and to see if there was an obstruction somewhere. The labs didn't show any of the above, but did show that he had gas in his upper intestines, but not lower so they decided to give his bowels a rest and not feed him and redo x-rays this morning. My dad came and him and Justin gave them both a blessing. After that Sawyer has some good sized poops and so that made us hopeful that things were moving along! This morning they did the x-rays and there aren't as large pockets of gas, but still not a lot in the lower gut, so they're still giving him a rest. But he's passing gas and pooping so that's a good sign. They say he probably just needs to rest a little and his gut will get going. It's so sad though because you can tell he just doesn't feel well. His little eyebrows are always scrunched up and he has a sad little face a lot of the time. I just want to hold him and cuddle him and make him feel better! They say they'll be in about a week, but you never really know. They can come home once they can eat 100% on their own without a feeding tube and regulate their own body temperature. They got the regulating their body temperature down, now they just have to be able to eat. But we have high hopes for them and they should be at home soon! I still can't believe we have two babies. I don't think it will feel real until we have them home. In the meantime, I'll keep you updated and post pictures!