Jake and Granddaddy Day

Last Thursday, Granddaddy took take Jakey to the San Jose Discovery Museum for the entire day.  We have never been, but apparently it is quite the perfect place for a nearly 3 year old!  Jake had an amazing time and we will definitely be going back sometime very soon!

First trip out of the house!

Yesterday was too gorgeous to not haul all of us out of the house for a walk together as our new 5 person family.   It took us about 1.5 hours to motivate and pack up all of the stuff we needed, just for a walk, but we did finally get out the door just in time for lunch.  We were stopped by many, as we literally looked like a parade with Jake on his bike screaming, "follow the leader, follow the leader"), pushed by Josh, then the enormously long twin snap-n-go stroller and then me.  As I still look pregnant, people just knew that there were newborns on board the stroller, so were stopped by many people who wanted to see them.  We headed down to Laurel Street which is only a 4 block walk, but seriously, I was stiff as a board as I haven't been able to walk long distances in literally 3-4 months.  By the time we sat down for lunch, I was out of breath and super sore in the belly (yes...I know, probably not supposed to be walking much yet, but I just had to!).   Anyways, we survived our first outing,  YEAH!!! 

Our Helper

Jake has started to acknowledge his sisters more and more each day.  A couple of times already he has even wanted to help feed them, and he is actually pretty gentle.  Here is the first time he fed Addie.  I'm trying to include him in most things I do around the house to make him feel included, but it's tough!

First Dr. Appointment

We took the girls to their first Dr. Appointment yesterday, at 6 days old.  Thank goodness we got a big thumbs-up for both of them!  They both have gained weight since we brought them home 3 days ago.
Here are their latest stats:

Addison:
Head: 33 cm (6th percentile)
Length: 19.5 inches (28th percentile)  born at 18 inches
Weight: 6lbs, 8 oz (15th percentile) born at 6lbs, 15 oz

Colbie:
Head: 33 cm (6th percentile)
Length: 19 inches (20th percentile) born at 18 inches
Weight: 6lbs, 1 oz (6th percentile) born at 6lbs, 5 oz

So, we've got to keep feeding these ladies as much as they will swallow, but we have faith that they will soon be little chubby sweethearts just like their Big Brother.

What do you think...are they identical????

Coming Home

Ok, our radio silence has probably scared some of you.  But, we're alive, surviving our third day home with twins.  To back up to Monday, our discharge from the hospital took forever...we were ready around 10 am, and yet we didn't get home until around 4pm due to all of the doctor sign-offs necessary.  Packing Addison and Colbie up in their car seats for the first time was very surreal, as was the slow drive home (I'm calling Josh, Driving Mrs. Daisy now, as he drives 5mph when the girls are in the car...such a good Papa).  We got home with very little time to situate before we had to pick up Jake from daycare.  Our initial plan of putting the girls upstairs in their nursery from day one was ruined immediately when I woke up last Friday to the immense pain of recovering from my c-section.  There was no way that I was going to be going up and down the stairs to their nursery all day and night to feed and change them.  So...we had to quickly adjust everything.  We moved a makeshift crib into our room, pulled out the office desk chair to use as our rocking chair (it works great...they love the rolling back and forth when they are upset!), moved all of the preemie clothes to our room (much thanks again to Allie Zimmerman for letting us borrow them!) as well as the tiny diapers.  Well...to say that we were slightly overwhelmed once Jake came home is the understatement of the year...with Jake running around with excitement (he stayed with his grandparents for the four days that we were in the hospital), transitioning the twins to new bottles, trying to put them on a schedule immediately, moving everything around....I mean the list goes on and on...and we really kind of freaked out.  The saving grace was my Mom who seemed to know that this was going to happen, and just quietly occupied Jake as best as possible, then moved him upstairs for playtime to give us space, and then even slept on the floor next to him all night long.  The sleeping with Jake part was the biggest help, as he definitely doesn't sleep through the night often, and it would have been an even crazier first night if we were dealing with Jake as well as the girls.  By the time morning came, we were feeling slightly better, but still having a tough time.  Somehow by Tuesday night though, things seemed to be going a little more smoothly.  Today went really well, with just Josh and I here with the girls.  I had multiple hours by myself with them, and honestly, I don't know if they are going to stay like this, but these girls are REALLY good babies.  I forgot just how much they sleep in these early days, so taking care of them, even though there are two of them, is seriously not bad at all so far, as long as I'm not juggling entertaining Jake at the same time...THOSE are going to be the really tough moments of the day.  Thankfully, three days into having his sisters home, Jake is getting more and more interested in them.  He wants to talk to them and play with the buttons on the bouncy chairs.  So, we're doing feedings every 3 hours right now, and my body is so used to getting up that frequently at night during those last weeks of pregnancy, night feedings have been no problem at all.  They literally drink their bottles and go right back to sleep for the most part, with a little rocking out fussiness in between.  I'm crossing my fingers that we really did get good eaters and sleepers on our hands as the months progress, as that would be an amazing blessing!!  So, we're on the uphill here in the Goines house I think.  The next big hurdle is Josh going back to work TOMORROW.  We'll get a true test now of what things are going to be like for the next 5 months...wish us luck!

Some Fav Pics

We got a ton of great pictures while at the hospital, all of which are on our Shutterfly site.  But, here are a few of our favs:

Special Gift

Uncle Bruce and Aunt Lynda came all the way down from Novato yesterday to meet Addie and Colbie.  They brought with them a very special present; specially labeled wine bottles made from the Goines Family Vineyard!

Tia Erica meets the girls

Erica is still in Vermont for another month and a half of school, so sadly she couldn't be here for the birth of her nieces.  On Sunday I finally downloaded Skype to my laptop, so that Erica could see and "meet" Addison and Colbie.  Here is their first meeting:

Jake meets Addison and Colbie

Jakey met Addison and Colbie for the first time on Friday afternoon.  We had planned initially for him to come on Thursday, hours after they were born, but my recovery took longer than expected, and so we decided to delay the meeting.  We'd received lots of advice about how to orchestrate the first meeting, but the two best pieces of advice seemed to be: 1. don't be holding a baby when Jake arrives at the room and 2. bring gifts from each new baby for Jake, and place them directly in their cribs for him to find.   So, on Friday afternoon, Grandma Lee Lee brought Jakey to our room.  It was a little chaotic, as we happened to have other visitors at the same time, so it all was a little much.  But, he did come running in and gave me a big hug and then started running around the room.  Josh had to lift him up to even really draw his attention to the girls.  This is the video of the moment when he technically sees them for the first time.  As you can hear, Jake seems to continue to call Colbie something more like Toby, and Addison something like Madison...but we'll work on that.  He has visited us in the hospital three times now, and while he acknowledges them, he is definitely much more interested in playing with his toys and climbing around Mama and Dada.  We're checking out of the hospital in a couple of hours though.  We will have a few hours at home to get the babies situated, and then we'll pick Jake up at school and bring him home.  Then the fun begins....THREE kids!!  wahoo!

The Delivery Story

So, here is the story so far:
I had a scheduled C-section for Thursday April, 19th at noon.  The night prior, Josh and I were both anxious, although I was so ready to get the birth over with, somehow I actually did sleep.  The morning of, Grandma Lee Lee came over to watch Jakey for the day.  We headed to the hospital at 9:30, and since I had had so many tests at the hospital already, I needed no additional admittance paperwork, so we headed directly to Labor and Delivery.  We were brought right to a prep room, where the long waiting began.  It was slightly nerve racking to find out that my primary nurse was actually a student who was "nearly done with her L&D rotations"....ummm...ok.  But, there was a regular nurse there to walk her through most things, thank goodness.  So this very sweet student started walking me through a ton of pamphlets and information, with her teacher interjecting frequently to correct her.  Then came the IV, which unfortunately for me, she didn't do correctly, so I had to go through the lovely pain of IV insertion twice once the real nurse gave it a try.  Additional prep included lots of blood draws, signing lots of paperwork and then waiting and waiting for all of the doctors to arrive.  With my delivery, we had to have: 2 OB surgeons, 1 anesthesiologist, 1 pediatrician, 2 nurses per twin and then this student....so the room was packed, and we started over an hour late since so many people had to be coordinated.  By the time I went into the room, I was pretty freaked out, and Josh was all decked out in head to toe hospital garb, waiting outside.  He was brought into the room after I was given the epidural and the fake curtain had been put up between my face and the rest of my body.  Within 10 minutes, I could feel the pressure of the babies being taken out.  It turned out that both girls were taken out feet first...we knew that Addison was breech, but it turned out that Colbie was also transverse, or laying sideways.  The reaction by my OB about their size will forever be ingrained in my brain...with Addison, weighing in at a huge 6lbs, 15 oz, she lets out a big "WOW...that's a big baby", and then Colbie came out quite big for a twin as well at 6lbs, 5oz, and she just couldn't believe it.  The nurses around the room were all exclaiming as well.   I starting crying, just feeling the relief that they were both out, and of good size, somehow made me feel a huge sense of relief.   I didn't really get to hold either girl, but Josh got to follow them into the nursery where their vitals were checked, etc.   The lead nurse peaked around the curtain to say, "wow, between those two babies and the placentas, we just took out at least 18 pounds from your belly!!!"...crazy thought!  I was brought into a recovery room, while Josh got to hang out in the nursery with the grandparents.  Unfortunately, I had a long, unpleasant reaction coming off of the epidural, so I was kept in the recovery room for multiple hours while everyone else got to play with the baby girls.  It was somewhere near 5:00 when we were brought into our post partum room for our 4 night stay, and I still wasn't doing so hot.  So, no solids or liquids for me for a full 36 hours it turns out, just to keep the nausea away.  Finally seeing and holding the girls was wonderful though.  They really are wonderful babies so far..LOTS of sleeping, eating well, with very little fussing.  So, while the twins are finally out, I still can't walk normally, as I'm still quite sore and my uterus is still very stretched out and painful.  Who knows how long this it is going to take to actually feel "normal", but I do feel great that the girls are here and healthy.  It's going to be interesting going home on Monday to see how we handle these babes with Jakey.  More on Jakey interacting with his sisters coming soon!

Baby picture site

As we can't easily post a bunch of pictures on this blog, without each post going on for pages and pages, we have set up this little picture site for the latest and greatest.  Check it out if you're curious about how our hospital stay is going:
http://addisonandcolbiegoines.shutterfly.com/

Welcome Addison and Colbie

We will be sending out lots of pics and the whole story in a bit but here are the first pictures for those who just can't wait!
Welcome Addison Rose (6lbs, 15 oz) and Colbie Eileen (6 lbs, 5 oz)

Jakey is ready!

Jakey is ready to meet his sisters!

Finally down to 1 day!

Wow...I can't believe that I'm finally down to 1 day left before the girls are delivered. It has been a very rough 2 weeks, so tomorrow can not come soon enough. I had to kind of put myself on bedrest this last week, as walking around just wasn't really an option. So, a HUGE thanks to my Mom and to Lee for helping so much with Jakey is definitely in order.
Some of the many things that I won't miss about being pregnant with twins:
1. The ENDLESS comments from strangers in every public place I enter about my size (at this point, nearly every comment is something like "ohhh...honey, I'm so sorry", or "wow, are you due today?" or yesterday I got (from an ignorant man on the street)- "don't tell me, triplets?!". While I laugh them all off, I've never been the type to crave attention, so I'm very excited to just be normal again!
2. Being able to walk around like a normal person. Pre-pregnancy I would say that I was pretty active. Running around with Jake, taking walks, runs, etc. It has really been a bust to my spirit not being able to do very many things for the last few months. I can't WAIT until I can at least take long stroller walks outside and explore my new neighborhood!
3. Being able to pick something up off the ground...seriously. I haven't been able to bend down to reach things off the ground in months. Instead, I generally have to kick whatever I need that is on the floor over to something that I can grab onto with my life, get down on my knees to pick whatever it is I need up, and then hoist with all of my might, this big belly back up. It's not a cute visual I know!
4. Being able to sit at normal tables and eat without spilling food and drink all over my stomach shelf. This also applies to things like brushing teeth. Both eating and brushing are kind of frustrating, as I can't fit my tummy under any table or over any sink (oh yes...at our last 3-person family brunch on Sunday, I actually could barely even get into the restaurant booth!), so I inevitably spill something on myself every single time.
5. Being able to sleep in my bed again! As I've previously mentioned in other posts, I can't really lift my right leg right now, as Baby B's head is wedged into some part of my pelvis that has affected the mobility of my leg. So, I've been sleeping on couches and chairs every night for the last week, where I don't have to lift my leg so high. But soon....I'll actually be able to get into my own bed! Not that I'll get to sleep through the night, as I'll be up for feedings every 2 hours, but still!!!
6. Wearing other clothes!! I literally have had to wear 1 of 3 knits long skirts for the last 2 weeks straight (thank goodness for Old Navy!), as I can't bend down to get leggings or pants on (neither really will fit around the belly either). So, even though I'm sure that I'm going to look pregnant for many months to come with the amount of stretching my poor uterus has had to do, at least I can get back into some other clothes, thank heavens! And when I actually get to box up all of these maternity clothes for good, I think I might shed a tear of joy!
7. I can stop wondering, questioning, hoping and praying for happy healthy babies. I can't WAIT to finally meet these girls tomorrow and see that they are a-ok. With SO many doctors appointments these last few months, and so many tests, I just want to know they are healthy and of good size to skip the typical twin NICU visit.
Phew....ok, I'm done with my complaining and reflecting, and now I'm off to try to pack up the last few things for the hospital tomorrow. We've been told to arrive at the hospital by 9:30am tomorrow morning and that the c-section surgery will be at just about noon. I believe that we (at least I) will have to stay at the hospital for 4 days to be watched and monitored. Being away from Jakey is going to be really sad, and I hope that his hospital visits will go as smoothly as can be expected. It's going to be a very interesting and difficult learning experience to try to somehow share my love and attention across THREE children once I get home. But, we'll figure it out. So, signing off for how. I think we can actually post to our blog from my phone now, so we'll try to keep you all up to date on the happenings of the next few days!

Amazing Papa Josh

With my mobility seriously lacking this past week, Josh has really stepped up and been an AMAZING Papa and husband. Even though he is totally slammed at work, he is getting home in time for dinner as a family, playtime with Jakey, and then he works until midnight every night. On top of that, this past weekend he turned into Mr. fix-it (I think HE was actually finally in nesting mode for once) and made the grocery and Home Depot runs and put together the last few Baby things. He even made his famous tacos for dinner on Sunday night for us. I know that he is absolutely exhausted, but he keeps plugging along trying to take care of his little family. We love and appreciate you Papa!!!!

Near final twin nursery

Here is a quick video of the near complete twin nursery. Forgive my out-of-breath voice...another fun pregnancy side effect!

Last Belly Pic- 36.5 weeks

Ok, this is the last belly picture that I plan to post, as I just can't stand to look at the size of myself any longer, as I just cringe knowing the pain I'm feeling while standing for this pose. This is 36.5 weeks of a twin pregnancy. The stretch marks are beyond your imagination at this point....actually most of the pain I feel all day is simply in the middle of my belly as skin continues to tear and stretch to unnatural places as the girls move around and grow (sorry for sharing that lovely image!). I'm officially on maternity leave, but sadly, I can't really enjoy it like last time with Jake. With Jake's pregnancy I was up throwing dinner parties every night to keep myself busy, running around doing errands, going on walks. This time...no way. Just walking from room to room is ridiculously painful at this point, and sleeping is pretty much impossible. For the last three nights I've spent the first half of the night sleeping upright in a chair, and the second half of the night wandering around trying to find something even somewhat comfortable for me lay down on (I can't really get into my bed, as I can't lift my legs that high, as Baby B's head is so far down right now). Its going to be a really rough 6 days until the Dr. will take these girls out. But...then they will actually BE here, which of course, I can't wait for. I just want to see them so badly...are they going to look alike or not, are they going to be healthy enough to come home right away, how is the c-section going to go?? So, at least we're within a week at this point. SIX days and counting, until our family becomes a family of FIVE!

Easter

Easter was truly a great day. After a fun morning at home, we headed to Grandma Lee Lee's house where we had a casual brunch and big Easter egg hunt of course. I really had to sit most of the morning, but it was quite hilarious watching Jakey run around in PURE heaven gathering the FORTY eggs that Nana hid for him! He seriously didn't know what to do with himself he was so excited, and then to open them all to find "special surprises"....I mean, what a great day! Sadly, I didn't get any pics of Jakey with my parents or with Uncle Jonathan. And we all missed Grandpa Bill of course, who had to travel to NY for business. We were also sad not to be able to join the rest of the Goines' up in Novato for the larger party, but my body was hurting just from the little walking around I did at Lee's (oh yes...see that ENORMOUS belly in the picture below...just 9 more days to go!!).

Easter Morning

We had a slightly hurried Easter morning, as Jake decided to sleep in until 8:30 (unheard of!), and we wanted him to find his Easter bunny gifts and get a little playtime in before we headed to Lee Lee's house. I have to say, our child is EXTREMELY excitable! Many people would say that I'm excitable, but I just can't be anywhere near Jakey. He was so happy about seeing his basket, looking at the few eggs, and opening his little gift. It just makes me smile looking at these pics. The excitement only quadrupled when we got to Lee Lee's house, but more on that with pictures tomorrow. Happy Easter Friends and Family!!!

Practice Egg Hunt

Tomorrow we are going to celebrate Easter at Grandma Lee Lee's house, but today we wanted to do a little Easter egg hunt practicing in our own new backyard. Jake knew exactly what to do, and boy was he so excited. Tomorrow is going to be so much fun!

Due Date is now SET!

Oh my goodness...it's been a very long time coming, but we finally have a c-section date for the twins. That is the good news. The bad news is that my Doctor thinks that I should push and make it another TWO weeks, to Thursday April 19th! My eyes fill with tears trying to imagine another two weeks of this weight and pressure, but I understand it is better for the girls. I'm going to try to stay as positive as I can, although mobility is getting very, very tough, so I may end up in bed for the last week just waiting and waiting. I'm certainly not going to be able to run around and do last minute preparations for these girls at that point, and even trying to get Jake dressed, bathed and fed now is tough...can't imagine in two weeks time. Oh well...now at least I know when I'll get to actually MEET these little ladies. So, the official count down is on...13 days to go!

Jake's "art"

Well, it has become apparent that Jake doesn't like to play with things that get him too messy...no finger painting, mud, etc. We're definitely going to work on this one at home, as being messy can be SO much fun! Anyway, Jake's new school is holding a little art auction tomorrow to raise money for fun activities. While all of the kids in his class and the class below painted frames, Jake wanted nothing to do with it. Finally his teacher convinced him that it was ok to decorate his with markers instead....so...can you tell whose frame is my son's in the picture? too funny! With the nice weather soon coming out, we're definitely going to have to get out in the backyard with our little easel and do some major finger painting!!!

Celebrating with Old Friends

Yesterday Josh and Jake headed into SF for one of Jake's old best buddies 3rd birthday party. We were curious if he was going to remember all of his old friends from his first daycare that we left 2 months ago now. Well....he was OVERJOYED to see his old friends Arthur, Maya, Max and Marshall. Here are the few cute pics that Josh captured of Jake with his old pals: