Home Sweet Home

I'm sure there is more to the story I should add on here but I need to be quick.

Kallie was in the NICU till 8 p.m. on Friday night when she was finally rejoined with her brother for the first time since being in the womb. We are so lucky they only had to be apart for a day and a half. I know others have it much worse.

Brandon holding both of his babies together for the first time.

 

Ready to leave the hospital Saturday morning.

Mckinley was so excited to meet her sister for the first time and was so cute with both babies.

She has been so good with them. Totally loves them and loves helping me give them their binkies and stuff like that. Hopefully this good attitude about her new siblings lasts.

Twin love. 

Soaking up some rays together hoping for a good recheck of their bilirubin levels.

 

Some more pictures of right when we got back from the hospital.

Life with twins has been both good and bad. Saturday day was good. Saturday night was bad. They slept all day and were fussy and hard to care for all night till like 4:30 in the morning. So we are a little lacking on sleep here...

Today (Sunday) was good. I am so grateful for such an easy delivery. I feel almost completely recovered and was able to make it out to my little sister's mission homecoming talk today with Mckinley while Brandon and his mom snuggled the babies at home.

 

My sister Kristen and I holding the babies. Can't wait for her to have a little baby in two months!

Really really hoping for a better night tonight than we had last night. :) Wish us luck.

The Twins are Here!!!

This isn't the complete story but it's something. We have so many pictures on our phones and camera but only a crappy laptop, so these are the only ones uploaded so far.

Got induced yesterday, September 27th.
Alright, quick. So we came to the hospital at 7. They got things started quickly. Broke my water at 8:30. I wasn't very dilated. Only 2.5. After another hour or something I was dilated to 4.5. Then the next time they checked, I was a TEN! They called the doctor to come over from the other hospital, I was wheeled into the OR and prepped for a C section just in case.

Girl totally flipped on her own and they were both head down ready to come out by the time I started pushing. I only pushed through two contractions, so easy! And boy came out. He looked great, scored 9.9 on his APGAR. She came out 9 minutes later, only pushed through two contractions for her too. It was so easy! I asked the doctor if I tore and he said nope, so I had no stitches whatsoever!!! I couldn't believe it.

Babies went to nursery, we thought they would both be fine, but girl had some breathing issues so they put her on some oxygen and then decided to take her to the NICU. She stayed there overnight but is supposed to come out after 2 more feedings, so in about 5 hours or so.

Girl is Kallie Anne Salmon. Boy is Tyler Kaye Salmon. Tyler was 5 lbs 12 oz 18 inches. Kallie was 6 lbs 9 oz, and I think she was 19 inches or 19.5.

Tyler had a hard time latching yesterday so we used a nipple shield and then he finally ate. They asked me to come to the NICU to nurse Kallie and she latched right away and nursed for 20 minutes, then Tyler latched on his own too. I nursed Tyler in the middle of the night, Kallie used some milk I had pumped (Brandon ran home and got our pump so we didn't have to pay for the hospital one). I fed them both this morning once already. They are nursing great!



We feel so blessed. The labor was seriously from about 8:30 to 11:30 till they were out. So stinking awesome! And I am recovering so well. I'm not bleeding too much and I feel great. All I've taken is some ibuprofen. Can't wait till Kallie can joins us, these poor babies haven't even touched each other outside the womb. I will try to post pictures in my profile in a sec.

I told you so...

Sorry for any of you who are waiting for the post to hear that the babies are here. Apparently my uterus is awesome because babies never want to leave it! I am 38 weeks today and the twins are still inside. I am proving all sorts of people wrong, most of all my doctors who really didn't think I'd make it this far. I always thought I would.

It is weird to sit here thinking I could be in the hospital today to get induced but I am waiting 2 more days. It seemed like a crazy decision but it turns out it was meant to be. My mom is the only one of our four parents who is in town right now and she is insanely sick. So come Thursday we will have a little more help.

In case you're wondering what runs through the mind of a woman who is 38 weeks pregnant with twins....

• I can't wait to be able to hug Brandon without putting a beach ball between us.
• I can't wait to have a lap again for Mckinley to sit on.
• To be able to stand up next to my kitchen or bathroom sink without bending over and killing my back.
• Will I ever stop peeing my pants?
• Can't WAIT to sleep on my stomach again!! Or at least to not be in extreme amounts of pain while rolling from one side to the other in bed.
• SO excited to have two new babies to hold.
• Excited to be able to keep my house as clean as I want it again. (Although in all reality, it might be months and months - or never - before this happens.)
• I am really going to miss feeling and watching these babies move around inside of me. It's hard to tell which is which when I feel movement but when one of them gets the hiccups I always know who it is, that part was pretty cool.

Haven't taken a belly shot today yet but I definitely will and I'll post it sometime. Last one, how weird.

A big belly

This picture boggles my mind. How in the world did my stomach get this big? Lots of people told me in the beginning that I looked small for twins and I would always tell them I've still got time to get huge. See? :)
(37 weeks with twins)

If you're looking at that picture thinking wow, that must be so awkward to walk around and try to live life with that massive thing attached to the front of her, you're RIGHT! Life is so uncomfortable right now. But I only have 9 days left. I think I can do it.

Mckinley always likes to get in on the belly shot action.

It sure is sad to think that this little girl won't get as much attention as she gets now. But we are all going to love our babies and we are excited for this new chapter. She will be such a great big sister.

Here is Mckinley talking on the phone to Brandon the other day while he was on his way home from work. I love giving her the phone, listening to her side of the conversation and wondering what the person on the other end is asking her or saying to her. She is a pretty good little conversationalist!

Two weeks left

We are getting close people! The 27th is the big day. Just two more weeks from tomorrow.

 

Here is my 36 week belly that is measuring at 42 weeks. :)

 

I was supposed to have non stress tests once a week for the last 4 weeks of this pregnancy but they let me skip two of them, so I only had two. Here is my belly covered in monitors yesterday. You can't even see the third monitor, it's hiding under my big belly. Both babies are looking great. Boy is still head down, girl is sideways up on top constanly flipping from side to side (don't ask me where she's finding the room to flip her 6 lb, 18 inch long body!). 

After 8 completely miserable days, Mckinley finally turned a corner yesterday and is almost all the way back to her old self. Just in time because I was (and still kind of am) about to drop dead. Oh, it's so good to see her smiling again. 

 

 

Now for some cute pictures from Brandon's phone. Mckinley and her princesses hanging out in her old crib.

 

Just because she's so cute.

 

This is how you find Mckinley a lot. Hanging out on the couch watching Mickey Mouse on my phone.

I asked Mckinley to help me get the clothes out of the dryer the other day and she was very selective about it. The only clothes that made it to the basket were her own. 

 

 

Brandon decided to pop and then cut off the blisters on his burned fingers. Oh, they look so sore! But they're not hurting him. They are actually healing quite nicely. So, we are on the mend. I'm just wondering if my body can handle being pregnant for two more weeks.

Oh, and in case you want to see a picture of the babies, Mckinley took one yesterday. She was playing around with the camera and taking pictures of me and Brandon. Then she said "I'm gonna take a picture of the babies." And just took this super close up picture of my belly. Ha ha. Love it.



Beating the Odds

The average delivery for twins is 35 weeks. I am 35 weeks 1 day today so I have beat the odds! Woohoo!

 

My sister-in-law Jessica came over on Monday and took some pictures for us. Thank so much Jess! They are great!

 

 

 

 

 

Mckinley thinks she has babies in her tummy as well. 

 

 

 

 

Not too long before she came over, Brandon burned his fingers really bad on our lawnmower engine. Oh, I feel so bad for him. He said the pain was worse than getting his appendix taken out. 

 

 

And as if we don't have enough on our plate, this little girl decided to eat a bite of Brandon's chapstick last week (she's never done that before). The chapstick he had just been using on his cold sore. So now her body is learning how to deal with this new virus. She has had a fever for three days and has red swollen gums. Let me tell you, it is not easy taking care of an injured husband and sick daughter while you are 35 weeks pregnant. Not easy at all. Here's to hoping these babies stay inside me until Brandon's fingers are healed and Mckinley's virus is gone.

2 Year Olds

Raising a 2 year old is so much fun. I know most parents don't agree, so maybe it's just Mckinley, but anyway, I just love this girl to death and can't get over the cute things she says.

This morning she was begging to wear a dress (what's new?) and I told her no, you need to wear pants today. So what does she say? "I'm kind of scared of pants." Ha ha ha. Then a second later she wanted to watch a movie so I told her if you wear pants you can watch a movie. So she is happily wearing pants today. What a crack up. I just love her to death.

Here's a belly shot from yesterday at 34 weeks 1 day. I keep meeting people who tell me they didn't make it as far as me with twins. I'm still hoping to get all the way to 38 weeks.




The other day I was laying on the couch and out of the blue Mckinley said "Oh Mom I just love you so much." Then she ran over and said, "I want to kiss the babies." And gave me a kiss on the stomach. She is the cutest. This is her kissing the babies yesterday.


We saw out the window today that the neighbor boys were taking a dip in their jacuzzi "pool" so we went out and joined them. It was fun. They soaked me with all their splashing, but it was worth it to "take Mckinley swimming" without having to actually go anywhere or put a swimming suit on myself. :)

Cute Girl

Isn't this girl just the cutest? Her outfit got more and more pink as the day went on.

This is Brandon's new favorite picture of her.

 

We had a fun, crazy sleepover at my parents' house on Friday night this weekend. They went to so much work to make it a fun family party and a lot went wrong, but we still had a fun time. Mckinley needs to spend more time with the cousins on my side of the family. She hardly knows any of them.

 

I had an ultrasound this week and the twins are looking good. Baby boy measured at 4 lbs 9 oz, baby girl at 4 lbs 5 oz. I am almost 34 weeks and things are looking well. I can't believe they will be here in a month from yesterday! Or less. We are so excited to have them here.

Shwimming

We have had a blast the last two Saturday mornings at Seven Peaks. Mckinley loves to go "shwimming" and asks to go all the time. Too bad we waited till the end of the summer when I am so big and uncomfortable, but at least we got a few times in before the twins come. If we're lucky, we'll go a few more times before it closes.

Mckinley loves going down the slides in the kiddie pool by herself.

Brandon and Mckinley 

Brandon and Mckinley going down the tube slide together. She loved it and asked to go again as soon as they got down. 

Mckinley loves living by her cousins and asks to play with them every day. This picture is from a really fun BBQ we had with Brandon's brothers on Friday night.

31 Weeks

Well, I am 31 weeks pregnant today. The babies are still in there and I am so glad about that! They kick and move like crazy and I absolutely love every second of it. You can see them move from the outside pretty easily now. It's so fun for me to watch and feel.

Everything is going pretty well as far as this pregnancy is concerned. My SI joint has been bugging me since day 1 and is really killing me right about now, and of course there are some other usual discomforts of pregnancy, sleeping, peeing your pants, etc. but I'll take all of it for two sweet healthy babies! Holy cow, I can't wait.

Here is a picture of me at 31 weeks today.

And just because I think comparison pictures are so fun, here is a picture of me last time at 41 weeks, the morning I went in to the hospital to be induced. I haven't gained quite as much weight as I had by then, but I think my stomach is about as big around. And still 7 more weeks to go this time. Yay. :) 

I am so incredibly excited to meet these two babies. A girl who moved out of our ward hooked me up with boy crib bedding and all the boy blankets I could ever need, along with some other sweet stuff. It was pretty awesome and such a big help. I still don't have many boy clothes, but we've got time to figure that out (and white onesies in the meantime).



Last night we went to see Fiddler on the Roof with some of my family at the Scera Shell.

The rest of Utah County was there too (free for Pass of all Passes holders). 



We didn't stay the whole time. As if I need another excuse on top of being 31 weeks pregnant with twins, I've had a horrible cold the last few days and wasn't feeling the best. But it was fun while it lasted.

Life is so good. Mckinley is starting to say the most adorable things. I've said this since the day she was born, but I always wonder if she can get any cuter or any more fun, and then she does. Every single day. We are so in love with her.

She had a bad 4 day streak of waking up around 5:30 a.m. ready to go for the day (so not fun for Brandon, who gets up with her while my pregnant self tries to keep sleeping in bed). She's back to waking up around 7 now (still an hour too early if you ask me, but what do you do?). The other night at 1:30 in the morning she started yelling at the top of her lungs "give me water or milk!!!" over and over. It totally cracked me up.