They have arrived!!! :)

Saturday, August 24, 2013 -

I woke up knowing that today was going to be THE day.  I was going to meet my daughters.  Jake was going to meet our daughters.  Everyone was going to meet our daughters.  It was going to be a day that I would never forget. 

I woke up on Saturday and they began to monitor me as if it were any other "normal" Saturday.  We had to act like the doctor was calling in my C-Section as an emergency, even though we had "planned" on delivering that day.  (The hospital won't schedule surgeries on the weekends, so that is why we had to pretend it was an emergency.)  Jake was there, as he came to stay on Friday night.

Our last night as just a family of two (or three, if you count Kate!)

We thought that this was my last monitoring session, but it was actually my second to last monitoring session.  By the look on my face, I'm not even excited! ;)

We were informed as to what our day would look like.  I was soon wheeled away by wheelchair into a C-Section Prep room.  Jake and I sat in there for a while, and he soon put his scrubs on that he had to where in order to go into the operating room. It felt like an eternity had gone by before I ever went into the operating room. (Jake met me in there later, once my spinal had kicked in.)  

All prepped and ready to go into the operating room!

Once in the operating room, I sat up on the table and waited to get my spinal.  At the time, I found that to be very painful, but looking back now, it was just mostly uncomfortable.  It is a very strange sensation not being able to feel your legs, let alone try to move them and having nothing happen.  I remember once I was in the recovery room watching a nurse move my leg and getting really creeped out because I could not feel her do ANYTHING to my legs.  It was almost as if I had a phantom leg.  Another side effect I wasn't expecting was how heavy my chest felt.  It was hard for me to talk after the procedure I suppose because it wasn't as easy for me to take a long, deep breath and speak a whole sentence.

Okay. So now it is game time.  Time for us to meet our babies.  Jake finally came in, and I could tell he was extremely nervous. He tried to hide it, but I could tell. He held one of my hands that was outstretched, and lovingly stroked almost the entire time.  I just watched his face expressions, as he was able to see the whole thing.  The anesthesiologist kept me in the loop and updated me as to what I would probably feel and when.  I had been told that I would feel a lot of pressure at the point when they were pushing, tugging, and pulling the babies out.  He warned me so I would be prepared, but it honestly wasn't as uncomfortable as I anticipated.  Jake told me that he was adjusting my medicine with an iPad.  Isn't that crazy?

This is a picture of the cord entanglement.  My doctor actually took this picture on his phone so he would have it to show, and he sent it to me.  He was really glad that he didn't wait any longer to deliver the babies, because it was one of the worst entanglements he had ever seen.  I am very thankful that we all made it to the 32 week goal.

Now let's get to the good part.  It wasn't too long after they began the surgery that Baby A came out.  It was 9:51 a.m. and we heard her let out a tiny little wail.  Jake and I looked at each other and we both got huge grins on our faces.  It was such a relief to hear her cry.  We were now half way there.  One minute later, at 9:52 a.m., Baby B arrived. We didn't hear her cry, but the doctor told us that she looked healthy.  They were both taken across the hall to get checked out.  As they finished my procedure, they brought Baby B in for me to see for the first time.  She was in one of the incubated cribs, so I didn't get a real good look at her but I knew she was beautiful.  They asked if she had a name, and that was the first time Jake and I were able to announce it. Behind a few tears, I was able to tell the nurse that her name was Gracelynn.  A few moments later, some more nurses brought in Baby A, and we also announced her name for the first time.  It was official. Jake and I had two beautiful girls, and we couldn't be a happier little family! :)

Kinley Sue Orton
9:51 A.M.
3 lbs. 2 oz.
15 3/4" long

Miss Kinley soon after she was born

Gracelynn Rae Orton
9:52 A.M.
3 lbs. 3 oz.
16" long

Miss Gracelynn soon after she was born

We had kept their names a secret from everyone because we figured we needed to keep something a surprise.  Kinley was a name that I have liked for a while, and I was a fan of the "KO" initials :)  Sue is my mom's name, and I thought that it would be a cute middle name.  Coming up with the second name was a little more difficult.  I would throw out a lot of names and Jake would be quick to throw them out the window.  It's funny how that worked.... because I would never hear any suggestions come from him! Anyways, we had always talked about the name Grace or Gracie, but we wanted to incorporate his mom's middle name (which is Lynn) so we just combined the two to get Gracelynn.  Rae was my Aunt Cindy's middle name, and she passed away this last January.  She LOVED babies, and I truly think that she had something to do with our whole "situation." I know that she and my grandma were looking down and watching over all three of us during this pregnancy.

Gracelynn and Kinley ~ Back together again for the first time.

Back to the point now... After they were born, Jake went up to the NICU with them and took pictures.  I was wheeled to a recovery room, and he came in shortly.  He briefly updated me and told me that they were doing great.  We then decided that we should probably let our family know who was waiting patiently for news in a room. He really did a great job all day keeping people up to date and basically running around the hospital.  

So, now that it's been a whole week (sorry about that! This whole NICU experience has taken a little more time than I expected!) I'll kind of bring you up to date on how the girls are doing.  They are doing great. All week they have both kind of been struggling with their bilirubin levels (a product of broken down red blood cells which, if they are high, can eventually lead to jaundice).  So they have been under a light on and off all week.  Currently, Gracelynn is not under a light, but Kinley is.  They were both on oxygen right after they were born, but Kinley was taken off of it Sunday or Monday.  Gracelynn just got taken off of hers yesterday (Friday) but then gave it right back to her sister.  Currently, neither one of them are on oxygen.  After they were born, they also needed an IV that had Dextrose (or sugar water) running through them to help them with their blood sugar levels.  Today, they both got taken off of that as well. They are feeding really well.  The doctor has increased their feeding amounts almost daily by 3 milliliters.  They started out at just having 4 mLs and today they are up to 16 mLs.  They definitely are making progress everyday!

It's amazing how much my love has grown for them since they were born.  I'm pretty sure Jake could say the same thing. I love watching him grow as a dad and interact with the girls.  I'm really excited to get them home so we can all interact as a family.

I honestly believe that this whole experience has gone as smoothly as it has because of all the thoughts and prayers that have been sent our way.  God has truly given us two beautiful gifts, and he intends to help take care of them.  Thank you to all who have said a prayer, thought about us, and said any kind words of encouragement.  You don't know how much it has meant to Jake and I!  

Our first family photo! :)