2 weeks old

We've been home for about a week and half now and are starting to get the hang of things. Madeline and Emily are changing every day and are both becoming more alert and aware of their surroundings. The adults haven't been getting too much sleep between the feedings every 2-3 hours, but we are making it work with taking shifts overnight.

We had been concerned about the girls' weights, especially Madeline who dropped to under 4lbs.  before leaving the hospital. She had a lot of difficulty getting the full amount of food she needed and staying awake through a feeding, but she is eating much better now. Both girls had gained a healthy amount of weight at their two-week pediatrician appointment and are now above their birth weights. They also each grew 3/4 of an inch.

Here are some pictures from when the girls were first born and their first couple of weeks.

Happy Grandma

Uncle Mike and Aunt Laurie

Proud Grandfather and Aunt

Madeline and Emily

Amy and Emily, Anna and Madeline

Daddy's girls

First family picture

and then there were four

Amy in the early stages of labor.

Dressed from head to toe in scrubs, I stood alone in a room at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on a Saturday night.  Down the hall, behind two sets of secured double doors, Amy lay on an operating table, fully dilated and experiencing strong contractions.  She had been wheeled into the operating room moments earlier when, after a 23-hour induction, the decision was made to proceed with a vaginal delivery.  I was instructed to change into scrubs and wait.

After a few minutes, I spotted a familiar looking nurse walking by.  “They are still preparing the room. We’ll come and get you soon,” she explained before disappearing behind steel double doors.  Time seemed frozen as I waited, pacing under fluorescent lights, realizing that our lives were about to forever change.

Finally the signal came.  I followed a nurse into the operating room where Amy lay on a table, surrounded by eight or nine doctors and nurses.  She was already pushing.

I took Amy’s left hand and began counting aloud in unison with two doctors positioned near her feet. “One – Two –Three – Four – Five – Six – SEV-en – EIGHT – NINE – TEN.”   And a big push.  Then another 10-count on top of the push.  We watched the monitor, waiting for the next contraction to begin.  This process repeated with increasing intensity until the top of a baby’s head could be seen.  We were getting very close.  I leaned over the table, looked at Amy and said, “I’m not going to hold your hand through the next one because you’re going to do it this time.”  With that, I scooted to the opposite end of the table and watched as our first baby was born at 11:27 pm.  I will never forget the amazing sound of her rapid gasps and cries upon first breath.

Within minutes, “Baby A” was lying in my arms, pressed close to my chest. “Does she have a name?” a nurse asked.

“This is Emily,” I replied, locking eyes with our daughter.  It was the best feeling in the world, like looking deep into another universe. I turned to Amy, who was quickly back at work, and introduced Emily.  Amy’s face lit up.  But there was more to come, and Amy was getting distracted.  The doctors told her to focus.

I held Emily as I watched her sister Madeline arrive at 11:35 pm.  And just like that, in a span of eight minutes, our family of two became a family of four.

Thank you, Amy.  I love you.

Emily Claire Redgate

Born on December 10, 2011 at 11:27 pm

Weight: 5 lbs, 8 oz

Length: 18 1/4 inches

Madeline Ida Redgate

Born on December 10, 2011 at 11:35 pm

Weight: 4 lbs, 3 oz

Length: 16 3/4 inches

In the recovery room, one hour after the birth.  Emily on the left, Madeline on the right.

38 weeks - the end of the line

Amazingly, we have made it full-term!  So now, the twins are getting evicted. I am scheduled to be induced starting Friday night (December 9th). We will go into the hospital around 7pm and they will start the induction process. This may take 2-3 days depending on how fast things progress with labor and how things go.  We are hoping we can avoid a C-section if possible, but it could still happen if labor doesn't go as fast as it needs to, or if a baby is in distress, etc. I should get some kind of award for this, I think!

It's very exciting but we are also nervous!   We are as ready as we can be though.

Here are some pictures of the nursery for those who have been asking. We still need some finishing touches, but it is coming together.

36 weeks

Things are still going smoothly at 36 weeks. We had our last measurement ultrasound on Wednesday and the babies' estimated weights are now 4 lbs. 13 oz. and 4 lbs. 2 oz. Baby A is bigger than Baby B but this is nothing to be concerned about.  If I don't go into labor on my own, an induction will be scheduled for December 8th or 9th at 38 weeks. So within 2 weeks, the girls will be here! If only we could decide on names... 

34 weeks

We are in the home stretch! 34 weeks is a big milestone, especially for twins. If they were to be delivered now, although premature, they would most likely be in good health and would need little or no medical intervention. The average delivery age for twins is 36 weeks.

Since Pat is usually the one behind the camera, we realized we had very few pictures together and took some time to get some photos.

Grandma, Aunt Riley, and Uncle Dudley

Finally, here's some proof that pregnancy brain can be contagious (sorry, Pat):


Amy Redgate 10:32 am
        your key is probably in the bin in the kitchen


predgate1 10:33 am
        i looked
        it is not there
        please check ur bag
    
Amy Redgate 10:34 am
        i did
        i know i saw it
   
 predgate1 10:36 am
        i saw them too
        idk what happened
        i know they are in the house if u did not take them
        because i unlocked the door to get in last night
    
Amy Redgate 10:36 am
        you probably put them in the fridge
    
predgate1 10:37 am
        i opened the fridge
        and they fell out


Amy Redgate 10:37 am
        for real?
    
predgate1 10:37 am
        thank you!
   
Amy Redgate 10:37 am
        i think you have pregnancy brain

33 weeks

Things are still going well! I had fetal monitoring twice last week and things are looking good for both babies. They have good heart rates and movement. We are taking it day by day, but hopefully things will continue smoothly for the next month.

My company really gets into Halloween so I went with the obvious costume choice...

And here are some photos my resident photographer took of me at 33 weeks. The bare belly photo is one you won't see on Facebook!

32 weeks

We had an ultrasound this week, and while the babies are doing well and appear healthy, they are measuring small for their age. Baby A is 3lbs. 2oz and Baby B is 3lbs. They should be closer to 4lbs. each. The doctor said this is nothing to be concerned about, but as a matter of practice, if babies are in the 10th percentile for weight they recommend fetal monitoring twice a week. I will need to go to Hopkins twice a week for a couple of hours at a time going forward so that they can monitor the babies heart rate and movement.

31 weeks and aunt laurie's visit

At almost 31 weeks, I'm still feeling pretty good. I'm going to work every day and aside from some swollen feet, heartburn and general discomfort, I can't complain.  The babies' growth (and mine) is pretty apparent week over week. Going forward, the babies will be entering a growth spurt and will be gaining about 3 oz. per week per baby. I'm a little nervous about what these means for my body!

Laurie came to visit this weekend and saved the day by helping assemble the cribs, changing table/dresser and baby swing. Once we get the nursery painted and the bedding and curtains arrive, we should be in good shape with the room.

29 weeks

I'm just about 29 weeks along. Since the babies will be delivered at 38 weeks (at the latest) that leaves only about 8-9 weeks longer. We hope they decide to stay in there that long since we still have a lot to prepare before then...and we obviously want them to be big and healthy!  We can see and feel a lot of action now as they have been moving around a lot in the past few weeks.

I'm now going to the doctor every 2 weeks with ultrasounds every 4 week to measure the babies' growth and to make sure they are both developing at a fairly equal pace. At last week's appointment, Baby A weighed 2 lbs. 3 oz. and Baby B weighed 2 lbs. 1 oz.

We didn't get any good pictures of Baby B as her hands were blocking her face.  We did get this fairly good 3D picture of Baby A. Since no one can ever see actually tell what the pictures are actually of (except the parents), I labeled this one to make it a little easier. She is facing to the right, her arms are up and her hands are in front of her face.

boston and connecticut visit

We had a great visit to Boston and Trumbull with wonderful friends and family who celebrated our growing family with us.  We are so thankful and grateful for everything!  Here are some pictures from the weekend.

nesting

It's been while since the last update. We haven't had cable or internet since we moved, but just got it yesterday.  We moved into our new home on August 25 which was just two days after the earthquake, and just in time for Hurricane Irene. Luckily, we didn't get any damage or even have to deal with power outages like other parts of our town. There was just a lot of leaves and branches down which was new for us to have to contend with.

We have been settling in and gradually getting things set up. At 24 weeks, I don't move as fast as I used to, but Pat has been doing all the physical moving of things. We are looking forward to having visitors once we get settled in.

last weekend in little italy

This is our last weekend living in Baltimore's Little Italy before we move out to the greener pastures of suburbia. We've loved living down here and being able to walk a few blocks to the harbor, Fells Point, a block from Whole Foods and Pat's gym, and my 10 minute walking commute to work (which has become more like 15 minutes lately when I do walk).  We won't miss the weekend night noise, smelly restaurant dumpsters on hot summer days, and random garbage left on our steps. Overall, we will really miss it and are glad we had the experience of living here for the last 10 months.

To celebrate our last weekend here after a long day of packing, we went out for a Little Italy dinner.

 

Vaccaro's delicious Italian pastries

Ciao, Little Italy

stop kicking your sister

We had our big 20-week anatomy ultrasound last Friday and we have two girls who are growing right on track! During this ultrasound, they take measurements of all the body parts, examine the chambers of the hearts, and, of course, confirm the genders. They are able to determine from the measurements that Twin A is 10 ounces and Twin B is 9 ounces.

Although I can't feel them moving yet, the twins were very active and moving all around. Twin B was kicking Twin A in the head repeatedly which we captured on this video of the ultrasound monitor. It's a little hard to see, but you'll see Twin A on the left and Twin B on the right. Twin A is facing to the right. Twin B is lying on her back curled up with her legs over her head. You can see her kicking Twin A in the head a couple of times and kneeing her in the nose towards the end. They are actually in separate sacs but the sacs are so thin, that it really doesn't cushion anything. It's a little easier to see if you click the icon on the bottom right of the video player to view in full-screen mode.

 Here are some other photos.

Twin A's head on the right looking downward with Twin B's legs crossed to the right.

Twin B's profile (laying on her back with her head on the right) and Twin A's foot above her head.

halfway there

I'm more than halfway now at about 20 weeks.

Coincidentally, I cracked open an egg this weekend to find a double yolk. Very symbolic!

birthing facts from the multiples clinic

Today was our first appointment at the Multiples Clinic at Johns Hopkins. The staff in this clinic specializes in multiple pregnancies and births so we are really happy to get into this practice. We loved the doctor and nurses there and we learned a lot of information about what to expect for the births:

 Here are some interesting things we learned:

• 38 weeks is the maximum time that they will let the babies be inside. This pushes our "official" due date to approximately December 8th at the latest
• All multiples are delivered in the operating room rather than a birthing room even if you are having a natural birth. This allows the doctors to be especially prepared if extra intervention is necessary
• In the case of a natural birth, the first baby (Baby A) needs to be delivered head down, but Baby B can be delivered breech (unless Baby B is significantly larger than Baby A)

We also had a quick ultrasound and were able to see what looked like one twin pushing the other -- the rivalry starts early. One twin also flipped around and we got an indication of what the sex may be of that one, though we are waiting until the official anatomy ultrasound on August 5th to confirm it. Stay tuned!

16 weeks

I am now 16 weeks and seemingly growing every day.

Laurie and I went wedding gown shopping this weekend. I'm glad that I will be back to regular clothes by the time the wedding comes up in June.

what's your prediction?

Answer to be revealed at the beginning of August.

here come the belly shots...

Even though I am only 14 weeks, there is no denying the pregnant belly.

My co-worker was nice enough to create this projection of what I will look like:

He's lucky I have a sense of humor!

are you kidding me ?!

On June 9, we went to Johns Hopkins for the first trimester screening, an in-depth ultrasound at about 12 weeks to test for chromosomal abnormalities such as Trisomy-21, Trisomy-18, and Down Syndrome. This test is performed by an ultrasound technician  primarily by measuring the baby, looking for the presence of a nasal bone, and measuring nuchal translucency (fluid beneath the skin behind the baby’s neck).

There was a screen set up that we could watch while the ultrasound tech watched another screen.  The ultrasound tech had the baby up on the screen pretty quickly. Then she panned over and said, "and here's the second baby."  I believe my reaction was "Are you kidding me?!" Pat and I just looked at each other in disbelief.  Pat said, "I don't think they joke about things like that." We were in such shock  that we pretty much sat in silence for the rest of the appointment. It was completely mind-blowing since the doctor only saw one fetus at the first ultrasound. Our minds were racing with a million things...how much will daycare cost?...we will have to buy two of everything...how will I physically do it...are we going to have to move?...wait, what? Two?

Logistics aside, we were completely in awe of this amazing news and felt absolutely lucky and blessed.
The twins, Baby A and Baby B are fraternal (known at this point because they have two separate placentas) and passed their tests with flying colors.

3D ultrasound of both babies

3D ultrasound of both babies

Profile of Baby A

Full body of Baby B

in the beginning...

On April 19, 2011 we found out we were going to be parents. We had been planning this for some time so it was nothing but a pleasant and long-awaited surprise. We anxiously awaited the first ultrasound to find the heartbeat.  At about 9 weeks, we were elated to see the beating heart in our first ultrasound and got this fuzzy picture.

On Mother's Day, we hosted a brunch for Pat's mom, Ellen, and Aunt Anna. There were sweet enough to bring me a pile of pregnancy books and a card.

In this early stage, we were still keeping the pregnancy a pretty close secret but having our own fun calling the embryo The Sea Monkey since that's what illustrations of this development stage look like.