Lovin' Life

I never, in a million years, imagined life could be this sweet. Even through the sleepless nights and endless (and I literally mean endless) dirty diapers…this is the most amazing adventure Jonathan and I have ever experienced. I knew that it would be love at first sight with the twins, but also watching Jayden turn into the sweetest and most loving big sister I have ever seen has taken it to a joyous overload :) 

I could not have wished or hoped for it to be any better if I tried! Jayden looks forward to seeing and helping with the girls every day! She loves putting blankets on them, giving them their binkies and rocking them in their car seats! It's so much fun watching her interact with the twins and it fills my heart with so much joy seeing how genuinely sweet our little two year old is :)

Just a few of my favorite moments in the last two weeks have been:

* Meeting our twins for the first time
* Watching Jonathan cuddle with the girls (he even cuddled with all 3 the other day and it melted my heart!)
* Tandem feeding Sophia & Savannah
* Watching Jayden (and our whole family) love on the babies
* Having so much family time with Jonathan off work :)
* Having our newborn photos taken on Sunday (I can't wait to see how they turn out!)

Cuddle time with dad <3

and mom :)

I never get tired of watching the twins sleep…I forgot how adorable newborns are when they pass out!

We call these the "blackout beanies"

Maybe the girls will like wearing blackout masks when they sleep when they are older :)

milk coma <3

Daddy & his girls going out for a walk!

Tomorrow is Sophia and Savannah's first doctor appointment! I can't wait to see how they are doing and how much they have grown since we left the hospital! 

It's going to be quite the adventure going out with all 3 girls at one time!! 

Here's a sneak peek of our newborn session <3 <3 <3

Home with our Girls

Yesterday we were discharged from the hospital and it's never felt so good to be home! My doctor told us Tuesday afternoon as long as Sophia and Savannah did well overnight and I felt well enough to go home, he would release us in the morning! So Wednesday morning, we were homeward bound!

Packing up to leave was so exciting ~ I couldn't believe we were already headed home only 3 short days after delivering our sweet angels! After we were done organizing & packing everything, I dressed the girls in their cute "going home" outfits from their Auntie Lexi! Even though Sophia and Savannah were swimming in them, they were PERFECT and helped our visitors know who was who for the day :)

Ready to go!!

As we were leaving, all of the volunteer helpers wanted to wheel us down and help us leave so they could see the twins…they even offered to take our picture as we were leaving our room!

Before I knew it, they all had their phones out taking pictures of us and our girls! It was too funny!

Daddy leading the way!

As we were waiting for Jonathan to pull around the car, every single person that walked by had to come and see the girls! And when I say every single person, I mean every single person! I couldn't believe how many people wanted to peek in and EVERYONE thought they were identical! Even though they look similar, I'm glad Jonathan and I can tell them apart easily :)

As soon as Jayden got home, the first thing she wanted to do was help and see the babies! When I asked her where her baby doll was, she pointed to Savannah ~ it was too cute! 

She wanted to feed the babies, help change their diapers, throw away their diapers and point to their eyes, hands, nose, ears, hats, shirts and pretty much everything :)

We have a big girl helper on our hands :)

It's too cute ~ when I asked Jayden to say the girls names…she did pretty well. I can't wait to see what nicknames she comes up with! 

Savannah = Nana or Vannah

Sophia = Phia

Sleeping in their co-sleeper the first night! 

I was surprised that they don't wake each other up…if one started to fuss because she's hungry or has a dirty diaper, the other sleeps right through! I was amazed!

We are so in love and enjoying every moment! Even though we are exhausted, luckily the girls are on the same eating/sleeping schedule so far, so we have been able to nap when they nap :) 

After the first full day home, I'd say we have a pretty awesome routine. I'm even able to get the girls nursing and situated all by myself…Jonathan was pretty impressed! I guess he thought I would need his help a little more ~ it's not my first rodeo :)

But seriously, without even asking he was back helping with laundry, dishes, clean up and everything. The doc said I need to take it super easy the next few weeks ~ so Jonathan has been on it :)

Us Erickson girls are so lucky! 

I love our life and our party of 5 now :) It's so amazing and we're soaking it all in every second of the day!

<3

Welcome Sophia and Savannah

Our angels from heaven have arrived! Jonathan and I welcomed Sophia and Savannah super early Sunday morning! 

Saturday evening around 8:00 I could feel my contractions kicking in ~ and it was right around the time I was due for another procardia to mask the pain and slow down the contractions. Two hours after taking my medicine and having heavy contractions every 5 minutes I decided it was finally time to call the doc. He told me I could take another pill, but he would rather me go in to labor and delivery to be examined and see if I started dilating. So Jonathan and I were off to the hospital! I thought we were going to be put on more medication and sent home AGAIN, but this time was different! :)

When they hooked me up to the monitor, my contractions were then 2-3 minutes apart and only getting stronger! I was only 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced so the doc ordered a shot to try and slow down the contractions and stop my preterm labor (again). The meds helped for about 10 minutes, but the contractions slowly started creeping back in and after 30 minutes were the strongest I ever felt! The nurse called my doc an hour after giving me the shot and he decided we were delivering at 2:00 in the morning!! WAHOOOO!! These girls were not only making an appearance, but were coming on my little sister's birthday! What an amazing surprise!!!

They started prepping me for the c-section and we were off to the operating room around 2:30!

The c-section officially started at 3:02 and I still can't believe how quickly the girls came out! 

First came Sophia at 3:08 and second came Savannah at 3:11! Talk about quick! And right after they wrapped up the girls, they brought them straight to me so I could see them!

As soon as the girls were ready, Jonathan went with them to the recovery room while I finished up on the operating table. He was there for their first weigh in and checking all their vitals. It was so special! 

I thoroughly enjoyed (as much as you can enjoy) this c-section and had such an amazing experience! The doctors were truly WONDERFUL and talked to me the entire time giving me updates about everything that was going on. 

After they finished up, I was off to recovery where we immediately started skin-to-skin and Jonathan and I held our sweet girls! 

Sophia Grace Erickson

3:08 am

5 lbs 13 oz

17 3/4 inches

Savannah Renee Erickson

3:11 am

6 lbs 5 oz

18 inches

We spent the next few hours in there until about 7:00 am when they moved us to our postpartum room…but not before we got to push the lullaby button twice signaling our babies were born! 

<3

It has been such an amazing few days and these girls are truly a blessing! Even though they had a hard time maintaining their body temps for a few hours, after being under the warmers, they were right back up there and have been able to sustain their temps all afternoon yesterday and all day today.

Plus, they are already tandem nursing!! What champs! And little Sophia, she is a little piggy…she will nurse for about an hour and CHUG a bottle. Yesterday she was eating about an extra 10 cc's and today she was up to 20-30 cc's! Savannah takes a little longer to eat, but she is right up there with her sissy! 

Even though Jonathan and I are living off of 5-6 hours of interrupted sleep in the past 3 days, we are LOVING every second of this exciting adventure! 

Plus, we get to share the girls with all our family who come to see us every day! I love seeing our family love on our babes!!

(Sorry Auntie B, Uncle Al and Papa Mark for not getting pics…we'll update with pics next time!)

But of all the visitors we've had, one in particular was BY FAR my favorite! 

Our sweet Jayden came to meet her sisters today and it was so much fun! She came in and before she even said hi to me or Jonathan, she shouts "BABY!"

She literally could not get enough! She was so excited to see the babies! 

At one point, the nurses came in to get Sophia to take her for blood work. As they wheeled her out, Jayden started crying "baby! my baby!" 

What a protective and loving sister <3

And of course she gave mama lots of love! 

I always thought Jayden would be an awesome big sis…but this is unreal! 

I love that she loves giving her baby sisters kisses! 

Our first (of many) family pics! 

Seriously, it doesn't get much better than this! We are beyond thrilled for the girls to be here and so excited to start this next exciting chapter of our lives! 

36 Weeks and Hanging by a Thread

So tomorrow I'm 36 weeks and officially 9 months pregnant!!! I'm 9 months pregnant with twins! I think I need to say it one more time…I, Renee, am NINE MONTHS PREGNANT WITH TWINS! AWWWWW!! I made it to 9 months :) Even though I've never been so sleep deprived and so uncomfortable in my life, I'm so, so, so, so proud of myself!

I can't believe how incredibly different this pregnancy has been from my first. I told Jonathan last night it's amazing that Jayden came out so unexpectedly at 31 weeks and these girls are going to hang out in my belly until the very last day!

Wednesday night I ran out of procardia, the medication that helps with the contractions, so I went back into preterm labor again yesterday. I called the doc around 9 am and he called in a prescription for more meds to help keep the babes in a little longer. He said he wanted to evaluate me at my next appointment (which was today) and we would make a decision on how to move forward.

This afternoon during my NST I only had 3 contractions but they don't even seem to phase the girls! My ob told me my NST strips are "text book perfect" and would be ideal for medical classes…how awesome is that!!?? During my ultrasound he said the babies are still doing great! Baby A is still breech and weighing in around 5 1/2 lbs...her growth has slowed a bit but he said that's totally normal and she's still measuring 2 days big. Baby B is now weighing in around 6 1/2 lbs (clearly her growth hasn't slowed), and get this, she flipped and is now head down!! He said that rarely happens this late in pregnancy with twins because there is next to no room for the babies to move and flip! He said they are super babies and I'm a super mama for coming this far!! :) Because the girls are approximately a pound different and I've been having a ton of contractions, he said he may move my schedule c-section up to next FRIDAY!! I'll know for sure on Monday, but I'm really crossing my fingers there's room in the schedule because this mama would be so happy to move it up a few days! I can't wait to meet our girls! He also wants to keep me on procardia so I can try and make it another week…since I've made it this far, he wants to try and keep the babies out of the NICU, and I have to admit, as much as I feel ready, I can't argue with that!

Also, I want to send a huge special thank you to all of our family and friends ~ the outpour of love and support the past few weeks has been absolutely AMAZING!
The other day Jonathan showed up to work and all his co-workers in his department decorated his desk, brought cute baskets full of goodies for the girls and baked yummy red velvet brownies (although I'm surprised Jonathan didn't save any for his prego wifey!) LOL…I guess I can't complain since my boss ordered a dozen red velvet bundt cakes just for me the other day! :)

We have had countless friends and family call/email/text and check in to see how we're doing and so many delicious meals brought to us almost on a daily basis!! Even though I can't remember the last time we went to the store, our fridge and feezer are nearly fully stocked! We are so incredibly thankful for each and every one of you that have been so thoughtful, kind and loving ~ we truly are so blessed! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! <3

How far along: 36 Weeks! Whoop Whoop! 

Total weight gain: 29 lbs and I'm measuring 45 1/2 weeks pregnant! I also measured around my belly the other day and I'm measuring 43 1/2 inches around! WOWZERS! That's one big belly!

Stretch marks: Still none! Hopefully they hold out for one more week!

Sleep: Next to none ~ I just can't find a comfortable position for this huge belly! It's hard to believe I'm carrying about 12 lbs of just baby!

Best moment this week: Spending all day yesterday with my mom. She came over first thing in the morning and ended up staying until 4! I have the best mama in the whole world <3 Plus we snuck out of the house to get my medication & get me a nice hot cup of coffee ~ we're such trouble makers! Oh and the surprise visit from my little bro & Pat! They brought me flowers, ice cream, candy & 4 sprinkles cupcakes (sorry Jonathan, I ate yours!)...Do they know the way to a pregnant woman's heart or what?! I'm so lucky! <3

Miss anything: This week I was really missing going to MOPS and all my MOPS mamas! I can't wait to get back into the swing of things and see all their beautiful faces every week!! 

Movement: The girls are still super active and I'm still surprised baby b was able to flip so she's now head down! I love feeling their arms move across my belly but it's still painful when baby a kicks my bladder or stomps on a nerve that shoots pain down my legs :(

Food cravings: I've really been craving my mom's delicious broccoli salad this week! She brought me salad 2 different days this week because I've been wanting it every single day! Do I have the best mom or what?!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Luckily I haven't actually gotten sick in a few days, but I'm still a little nauseous at night depending on what I eat and how much I eat.

Belly button in or out: Outtie!!

Wedding rings on or off: Off 

Happy or moody: I'm feeling happy, anxious and excited to meet these girls in a matter of days! Hopefully no more than 7 days!!!

Looking forward to: Finding out if my doc moved up my c-section to Friday, March 28th!