Sunday, June 29th

Quick update on the girls: Ruby is down to 4 lb 9 oz and Julia is at 5 lbs. Both weights are fine, as most babies lose some weight after they are born. They are feeding better more and more every day and they are both maintaining their temperature very well. Really the only thing holding them back from going home is that they need to gain just a bit more weight. The neonatologist told us that they probably will be ready to go home in couple of days! That puts them home around Tuesday or Wednesday if they maintain their progress. We are so ready to take them home!!! We are so thankful they have done well. Here are some newer pics of them, enjoy!

More pics of the babies!

For more pics of the girls go to this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lanceandmichelle.gardner/RubyJulia

Ruby Anne Gardner arrived first on Thursday, June 26 at 2:36 am weighing 4 lbs. 10 oz. and 17 3/4 inches. Julia Berlin Gardner came next at 2:38 am weighing 5 lbs. 3 oz. and 18 1/2 inches. They look nothing alike but are both beautiful! Both girls are doing great, but are still in the NICU for a little while to monitor some breathing issues. They made it to 35 weeks!

I called in Wednesday having contractions 7 minutes apart and they told me to just watch them and call back if they got worse. They did, and were coming every 3 minutes apart by about 7pm so I called back and of course they told me to come into the hospital to be monitored. Of course we were pros at this by now, this being our 5th trip to the hospital. I was convinced this was a false alarm yet again, but Lance said we needed to go get checked out. By the time we arrived the contractions were a little worse, but not horrible and they checked my cervix- nothing... so the nurses were all laughing as were we, and we thought we were going home. Ha ha.

As soon as the nursing staff was changing shifts, my contractions returned fast and hard. The Dr. returned to check my cervix again, just in case and lo and behold I had gone from nothing to 2.5 in an hour!!! We decided to hold off and see if the contractions would stop and if I would continue to dialate. Within the next hour, my contractions got a lot more difficult for me and I was in PAIN! So the Dr. decided enough was enough and he wasn't going to make me suffer anymore.

Everything after that happened so fast, as this was a planned c-section. I was so nervous I was shaking like crazy! Next thing I knew we were in the operating room, I threw up, and the girls were born. What a scene! But they are both here now, I am now only hurting from my recovery and we are all happier for it! The girls are in the NICU, mostly for observation, and will probably have to stay even after I am discharged. We expected this, but please be in prayer for their continued improvement in health. We are so excited to have them here and so thankful to all our friends and family who have supported and cared for us!

Dr. Appt. 6/16/08

Well, no real progress to update from today's dr. appt. Babies look good, I'm still right where I was last time... NO CHANGE! I've been having contractions everyday, and they aren't doing anything. That is good news for the babies, they stay in longer, but for me it means all this discomfort and pain is in vain! Ah well, we'll see what happens next week. My dr. is out of town all week next week and we all know that is usually people's luck that everything happens when their regular dr. isn't around!

Report from the Dr. appt.

Today we had a check up at the Dr. and had a wonderful report on the babies! Baby A (we still haven't figured out how we are going to decide who gets what name) is weighing in at 3 1/2 lbs and Baby B weighs over 4 lbs! These are just estimates from the sonogram, but these weights were even rounded down from the calculations, so these girls are growing! This is great news for me since I still have yet to come remotely close to the recommended weight gain suggestions. They apparently are getting what they need! Everything from their fluid levels to heartbeats also looked great and my cervix is still closed so now we just wait it out. Dr. Cole says no wonder I keep having preterm contractions, I've got at least 8 lbs of baby in there already, my uterus is having a hard time not going into labor. However, we have met our first goal of 32 weeks so now we will try and make it to 34. I told my doctor, my luck I'll still be laying here at 38 weeks waiting :) She said "highly unlikely!". Anyway, just thought I'd share the latest news. I go back next Wednesday and will report back then, unless something crazy happens :)