The Mailhes Project

Our hospital stay was very short! Both babies were healthy and looking good and while Hudson was a little jaundiced, not enough to make them keep us longer. My hospital stay with Colbie was 5 days and I was miserable every day I had to stay in the hospital so I was happy to go home AS SOON as possible. My doctor told me I could stay one extra day if I wanted to “rest up” (I don’t know what people are talking about when they say rest up at the hospital- I can’t sleep in those beds, nurses come in every 15 minutes it seems and its so uncomfortable!) or she would release me. Trey & I decided it would be nicer to get home and since we had both sets of grandparents in town to help we figured with 6 adults we would be totally fine… right?! So we went home literally 28 hours after the boys were born and I was thrilled.

I was excited, interested and ready to see how Colbie would react or if she would even understand what was happening. At exactly 15 months old, I didn’t know what to expect. She was slightly interested when we brought them home and she got to look at them. To my surprise (and delight!) I was able to run up to her and just scoop her right up to hug and hold her. My body did not feel like I just delivered two babies and I can only attribute that to God knowing what I needed to survive. I would not have been able to care for all 3 of my babies if my body was in as much pain or as tough of a recovery as I had with my first delivery. It was amazing how mobile and capable I was and such a blessing.

That night we witnessed the first true tantrum Colbie had EVER thrown. She was the happiest baby and I think because of her age, we just hadn’t had tantrums yet. But that night for whatever reason as I was sitting in the boys room navigating feeding them both on my own with some help from my wonderful mother in law, I hear Trey & his dad talking with Colbie and trying to feed her dinner. I then hear the longest, loudest screaming/crying tantrum that had ever happened in our house. I sat there feeding my 2 new babies who were amazing, wonderful blessings, but who I was quite terrified of and still in complete shock of, listening to my toddler meltdown as if to say “you ruined my life mommy!” and I just cried. I cried because I was tired, I cried because I’m sure hormones were doing all kinds of crazy things in my body and I cried because this seemed really really really hard. Like ‘how are we ever going to do this’ hard. But you know what, I fed those babies and even unlatched, set them down and carried each one to the living room by myself, Colbie stopped crying and life continued on. This was the first of many times where I started to learn that things would get REALLY crazy, REALLY hard and sometimes REALLY overwhelming, but you just keep going and it usually doesn’t even last that long before you come out the other side and things get calm again.

Trey’s parents were staying at my parents house and everyone had told us we could have whoever we wanted to stay the night with us at any time- they just wanted to stay out of our way if that’s what we wanted or be there if that’s what we wanted. Honestly, we had no idea what we wanted or needed! In the hospital the boys were SO easy. They stayed with us in the hospital room the whole night and I woke up every 3 hours to feed them and they easily went back to sleep like perfect angels. So we figured since we were still in the sleepy newborn phase we could handle the night alone. OH MY GOODNESS WERE WE WRONG!!!!

Looking back now, I don’t know why we didn’t call someone in the middle of the night to come help. I think we felt like to be initiated into the twin parents club we had to survive a night alone. Well we sure did survive because I am here writing this now, but barely I tell you- just barely. That night they were not the perfect angels we remembered from the hospital. In fact, I don’t think there was ever more than 5 minutes that both babies were asleep at the same time.

Here was our setup:
Crib in our room that the boys would share until they were too big. We were going to try to have them sleep in their crib from the beginning if possible, but if that didn’t work we had rock n plays and baby swings at hand to help us out. I figured I wouldn’t be able to co-sleep with them since there were 2 of them and it was probably too dangerous/insane. Our dresser was transformed into a changing table with diapers, wipes, diaper trash can, extra pjs, swaddles and blankets so we could do everything within a few feet of our bed. The monitor stayed on Colbie as usual, but she was such a rock star sleeper at this point we knew she would be fine.

That first night, we gave up on the crib pretty fast- they hated sleeping on their backs in that crib. The swing worked pretty good for Hudson and the Rock N Play worked pretty good for Asher. Are they supposed to sleep in these things overnight? Is it ok to swaddle them while in these things? Blanket? No blanket? Whatever- just put them in there and see if they sleep! Trey & basically rocked and held crying babies all night long. At one point Colbie woke up and started crying! Not because the noise woke her up (because we were on the complete opposite side of the house), but because I was certain we ruined her life and she was telling us again- in the middle of the night. I looked at Trey and I could see the panic in his eyes- the same panic I felt rising up into my chest. “All 3 of them are awake”. That was all I said. He didn’t respond. We just went back to rocking. Colbie went back to sleep on her own and I think eventually we were each able to snuggle with a baby in a way that allowed an hour of sleep.

The good news is- that was our worst night. So it only got better and easier from there. We woke up, showered (when TWO sets of grandparents are there you get the luxury of taking a shower), drank some coffee and we felt like we were ready to go into battle. I know this sounds so dramatic and its funny looking back now, but honestly, that is what it felt like at first every morning. Get ready to go into battle. Take a deep breath and here we go…

So as not to be a Debbie Downer and to add some positivity to this post here are some adorable squishy baby pictures because really aren’t they the cutest little kids in the world?

Asher

Hudson

Asher on left, Hudson on right

Asher

Hudson

Hudson on left, Asher on right

Hudson on left, Asher on right

Hudson on left, Asher on right & proud big sister!

I apologize in advance for how long this post is- I just couldn’t leave any detail out because I am certain in a year or 2 this will all be a fuzzy memory.

This birth story is so absolutely, completely different than the birth of Colbie. Colbie was my all natural baby- no medicine, no inducing and while I strongly debated going un-medicated for this birth as well, several factors convinced me otherwise.

First of all, my OBGYN, who was VERY supportive of my un-medicated delivery, did tell me she would support me if I wanted to go un-medicated with twins, but
A. there was a much higher risk of needing to go in for an emergency C section in which case they would have to put me completely under if I had no epidural in place
and B. (these were her words exactly) “I have a colleague or two who have delivered twins un-medicated, but none of my patients have ever done it”. It wasn’t the fact that she couldn’t or wouldn’t do it (my Dr was a rock star and I totally love her!), but the fact that she had literally never had a patient do it that was somewhat scary to me for some reason. With the many turns a twin delivery can take (really any delivery, but this was a little unique with 2), I started to get used to the idea that I might get an epidural (although getting an epidural scared me a little). I was also worried that by the time it was Baby B’s turn I would be too tired to effectively push. I remember with Colbie thinking there is no way I can push one more time (which of course I did) so the thought of having an entirely new baby to push out AFTER that was daunting. Later I found out its QUITE different with your 2nd (and 3rd), but more on that later.

The plan was if by 38 weeks babies hadn’t made their appearance yet we would induce. I wasn’t thrilled with getting induced because I feel like it will just happen when it is supposed to, but I also decided to fully trust my doctor and know that she was making decisions based on what was best for me and my babies. She knew I wanted as little intervention as possible, but above all we wanted healthy babies. I was convinced we wouldn’t make it all the way to 38 weeks so it wouldn’t be an issue anyway. I didn’t see how TWO babies could fit that long inside me and the doctors kept reminding me how normal it was for twins to come as early as 34 weeks so be ready!

Sure enough we made it to 38 weeks and I swear they were just going to stay in there forever. By this time I was so miserable I decided to not fight her on inducing me. She said they would start with something mild before going straight to Pitocin so we were scheduled to go in on Wednesday, April 6 early in the morning. (This put me at exactly 38 weeks and 1 day and there were NO signs of the babies coming anytime soon). It was the weirdest feeling to KNOW when it was coming. Oddly enough, even though I am such a planner and like to know things in advance, I think it was MUCH more nerve wracking knowing when it was coming versus baby just coming on its own as a surprise. On Tuesday, April 5 I went into work early so I could tie up some loose ends and get fully prepared for being out for a while. I was hoping to finish early so I could go by the grocery store to stock up our house and then just have a relaxing evening. I got a call that morning that they moved my induction up to Tuesday evening at 8pm! This totally threw a wrench in my whole “mental plan”. I remember dropping Colbie off at Crystal’s house (our sweet friend who watched Colbie a large part of her whole first year of life) and bursting into tears when I told her the change of plans. If you don’t know me well- I DO NOT like a change of plans.

Here is the timeline of the craziest, most life changing 12 hours of my life:

8:00pm- check in to the hospital- the last time I walked down this hall I almost collapsed on the floor due to intense contractions and the the biggest flood of hormonal emotions (excitement, fear, anxiety, happiness, stress) I had ever had. And now I was walking in totally fine (other than feeling utterly enormous) and knowing we would be going home with 2 more babies. I can’t put those feelings into words, but I will never forget both walks down this hall.

9:00 pm- after checking in and getting situated they started me on Cytotec, a pill that doesn’t necessarily induce labor, but helps encourage the body to be ready for labor. The doctors were telling me not to expect this to do much of anything for a while and they would continue to give me additional pills at certain increments of time. I was actually able to sleep a little, knowing I needed all the energy possible for the labor, whenever that may be. I was getting the feeling from nurses and doctors that they had no expectations of me going into labor until late the next day. Colbie was staying with my Dad, while my mom came up to the hospital that night to be there with me/us. She couldn’t stand going home and going to sleep even though I told her it might be a long boring night (ended up being so wonderful she came as you’ll see when this timeline starts speeding up). I even brought work to do from the hospital to keep me occupied because I fully thought this was going to be a very long process.

12:30 am- after waking up and getting another dose of Cytotec, I was definitely having contractions and while they weren’t bad, I was having to mentally keep myself calm. I was freaking out a little more this time around because I knew what was coming. Whereas the first time I didn’t know how hard it was really going to get! Every time I had a contraction I remember saying “I don’t know if I can do this all again” “I don’t know if I want to do this” (as if I had a choice). Both Trey & my mom were awesome supporters. I was trying to hold off on the epidural as long as possible because I did not want it to slow down my labor, but I verbally said out loud “when this gets too bad I’m just getting the epidural”. We hadn’t ever actually decided on a plan so it felt nice to just proclaim this.

3:45 am- contractions were now feeling like what I remembered from my first delivery, but I was now able to do things that helped and remembered how I coped the first time. I was 2cm (seriously!? Only 2 cm?)  which was still too early for me to want an epidural, but I was ready to move this labor along so we started walking. I could almost control how fast my contractions came. If I stayed still they would space out to more than 2 minutes apart. When I would walk and pick up the pace a bit they would get down to less than a minute apart. I felt like if I could just suck it up and walk several laps without much stopping these babies would be here pretty soon. Trey, my mom and I were walking the halls of the labor and delivery ward and they were carrying on conversation to try to distract me and I have no idea what they were talking about. I remember telling Trey “I think this is gonna happen pretty soon”. He half believed me, but we also knew I was only 2cm. But I kept saying “no really, this is not going to take long”

5:00 am- After several laps I had to get checked again- 5 cm! Now that is the kind of progress I like to hear! At this point I was not interested in walking anymore and I was honestly getting back to my almost panic mode. I decided it was time to get the epidural. I felt comfortable with 5 cm that an epidural would most likely not slow things down and I was ready to not be hurting so much.

5:25 am- The anesthesiologist came in and I guess the look on my face gave away how much pain I was in because as he was setting up he kept asking the nurse “how long has she been like this?” I was no longer really talking to anyone. I was in my zone and focusing- not even making eye contact with anyone. I was scared about the epidural and as he started administering it I think I was more still than I have ever been in my life (ya know so he didn’t paralyze me! ha!) He said it should start working pretty soon, but would fully be in effect in 10-20 minutes. I noted the time and counted down the 20 minutes.
What I did not tell anyone (not even Trey) at the time was that between the time I said I wanted the epidural and the time he got there I started having the urge to push. I definitely remember this feeling well. I almost wondered if it was bad to get an epidural when you felt like it was time to push. But I was afraid if I told anyone they would make me push. So mum’s the word.

5:45 am- After 20 minutes I was a little numb in my feet and a tiny bit more relaxed, but not numb anywhere else. The anesthesiologist thought I should be feeling close to nothing at this point so he decided to up my dosage (sorry if these medical terms are not accurate). Within 10 minutes I felt like a warm heated blanket was pulled over my legs and lower body. I was able to talk and laugh with Trey & my mom. THIS is labor with an epidural? I couldn’t stop giggling because an epidural is THE WEIRDEST feeling. I just felt warm and literally NO sensations from the waist down.

6:10 am- At the next check the nurse said my bag was bulging and that Baby A’s heart rate dropped a little. It was go time. They started prepping the OR (when delivering twins protocol is to deliver in the OR in case something goes wrong with Baby B. They will be ready to go in for an emergency c-section). Trey was given scrubs (that were way too short in the legs) and told to “suit up”. Hearing that Baby A’s heart rate was down concerned me a little, but nobody seemed too worried. They gave me an oxygen mask as LOTS of nurses came in to move things down to the OR. I had previously been prepared that with a twin delivery there will be A LOT A LOT of people in the room. Sure, whatever, I don’t really care. I just want to get these babies out.

6:30 am- During all their preparations I was told to NOT push at all. They had paged my doctor and wanted to wait for her to get there. Um, I can’t feel anything, how would I push? The doctors kept saying “oh you’ll know how to push”.

6:42 am- Most things were prepped, but we hadn’t moved to the OR yet. Everyone had left the room, including my mom (I think to get a drink of water or make a call?) and it was Trey, myself and 1 nurse. All of the sudden a felt something. I wasn’t sure what, it was almost like when your ankle pops (except it wasn’t my ankle). Definitely no pain, but weird. I almost didn’t say anything, but decided I should. I told the nurse “I think something shifted”. And I will never forget this scene:
Trey is across the room from me and the nurse quickly looks under the sheet. Her head pops back into view and her eyes are HUGE (deer in headlights style). She pushes the call button and says into the microphone “we have a head, I need delivery team in here NOW”. We have A HEAD? As in a babies head? Trey says when she looked under the sheet he turned around and Baby A was just looking straight at him. “Hi Dad! I couldn’t wait to meet you!” My mom happened to walk in just about that time and when she realized what was happening she turned to leave and then turned to stay maybe 2 or 3 times until I told her to get in the room.

6:46 am- A load of nurses and the on call doctor rushed in. They just pulled Baby A out and there he was! We were not in the OR, my Doctor was still not there, they didn’t have 2 baby warming beds (I have no idea what those are actually called) set up and I hadn’t even really pushed. (I know, moms who pushed for hours I’m sorry, you are hating me right now). They were ready to cut the umbelical cord. I was wanting to delay cord cutting, but everything was happening so fast I looked at Trey and he knew what I was thinking. He just said “we need to just cut it”. They cut the cord and Trey stayed with Baby A as they took him across the room to weigh him and do whatever it is they do over there.

6:55 am- 9 minutes later (but what literally felt like 45 seconds later) Baby B was ready to come out. Trey was still with Baby A because I did not want that baby to be without a parent during his first few minutes in this world, so he told my mom to go hold my hand and be with me for round 2. We didn’t really have any of this planned, but what a blessing to have her by my side for this truly amazing experience. The doctor said she would tell me when it was time to push as I kept protesting “I really don’t think I will know how to push- I can’t feel ANYTHING”. When it was time they said just think about pushing. I thought it and Baby B’s head came out. The doctor then said ok I just need one very very tiny push. I thought it again and Baby B was born. This cannot be real. What just happened? I got to cut Baby B’s umbilical cord and they took him to weigh him and lay next to his brother (because there was only 1 bed in the room).

Baby A was 6 lbs. 10 ounces and absolutely perfect.
Baby B was 6 lbs. 8 ounces and absolutely perfect.

Trey & I knew the names, but didn’t yet know which baby had which name. Baby A was very clearly a Hudson to me so it became official- Hudson Ryan. And Baby B is Asher James.

Baby A is on the left, Baby B is on the right.

They were both as healthy as could be and were pretty quickly laid on my chest so I could start feeding them. Yes 2 babies were put on my chest. This all happened right at shift change time so funny enough the staff said it worked out great- they had double the nurses they normally would and since my doctor didn’t get there until shortly after they were born, they had lots of hands to come help. The nurse that was with me to help me start breastfeeding and get me up to recovery was a twin mom herself! It was so perfect! I had heard that many times you start feeding twins separately so you could learn how each of them feeds and get the hang of each one. This twin mama/nurse said “well you’re gonna have to feed them at the same time soon enough so might as well do it now”. Well, ok! I am so thankful for her! She just put them both up there like it was no big deal and gave me lots of tips and advice. And from then on out I fed these boys at the same time almost always.

If you remember, we didn’t know for sure if they were identical or fraternal and after looking at them we were confident they were fraternal. Look how different they look! (little did we know they were going to change a lot over the next few weeks and then we wouldn’t be quite so sure).

Although this may be the end of my birth story, this is actually the beginning of a new life for us. We now had THREE kids all under the age of 1 1/2 that we were solely responsible for, we loved more than anything in the world, were a little scared of and were just so proud of. Party of 5- here we come!

I did an absolutely terrible job of tracking my pregnancy with the twins. I was overloaded with lots at work, raising Colbie (and her strong independent personality) and the thought of bringing two more babies into our lives. So by terrible I mean I did not track it at all! I have VERY few pictures, but here we go…

I did occasionally take notes for myself of things I wanted to remember or felt were somewhat noteworthy. Here are some of the “points of interest” of being pregnant with twins- at least my unique experience.

*Morning sickness was terrible, but once I was over that I felt pretty freaking amazing for housing 2 human beings inside my body. And I only landed myself in the hospital once for the terrible nausea- after that I took prescription nausea medicine for the first trimester so I could survive.

*I did not gain nearly as much weight as I thought I would, but the size of my belly was almost unbelievable. We would look at it daily towards the end just in complete awe. I ended up only gaining 5-10 pounds more with this pregnancy than I did with Colbie. This picture was taken a few DAYS before the boys were born. If it looks painful its because it was there towards the end!

*Although my pregnancy was amazing- very easy, I was healthy and fairly active the whole time- by 30ish weeks I became pretty miserable and uncomfortable. Like cry at night because I didn’t think I could take it much longer. I was short of breath, no position in bed was comfortable and walking was seriously annoying. BUT I know I was very blessed in how not-difficult things were compared to many twin mamas. And NO bed rest! Woo hoo!

*The movement I felt with the twins was INSANE! I still think Colbie was my most active baby inutero, but having 4 legs, 4 arms, 4 ELBOWS moving around is a pretty crazy experience. Feeling movement on one side of your body and the complete opposite side simultaneously is weird. Yes, amazing, but just weird.
I could not tell which baby was moving- many people were curious about this. I just knew someone was moving.

*SO MANY DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS- I didn’t even have a difficult pregnancy and I felt like I lived at the dr. office towards the end.

*I never got tired of people’s reactions to seeing me this huge and pregnant walking around with little Colbie at my side. By the time Colbie was just over one and I was 2 months away from having the boys it got really fun. I looked like I was going to pop any minute and people would see my 1 year old and ask when I was due. Then when I got around to the part about it being twins their eyes usually get really big! Nobody ever knew what to say except “wow, you sure will have your hands full”

Two of my favorite people hosted a gender reveal party for us to find out with family & friends what the 2nd baby was. Were we having boy/boy twins or boy/girl twins??

Lauren & my mom put together this amazing party! The pictures show how fun and thoughtful this event was much better than I could describe in words. (Even though we already knew there was 1 boy I could not just celebrate ONE baby- so we popped an individual balloon for EACH baby- these babies may be twins, but they are individual people and we will treat them that way!)

2 BOYS it is!

Among many questions on our mind (such as, but definitely not limited to: “how do you feed twins” “do they wake each other up all night long” “how do you pack all 3 kids in the car” “DO you ever go anywhere with 3 kids under 2”), the next big question was- will it be boys, girls or boy/girl twins?

We had the early blood test done just like we did with Colbie, but with twins they can only tell you if a Y Chromosome exists or not. In other words we would know if there was at least one boy or not, but wouldn’t know the gender of both until the anatomy sonogram.

We were in the midst of building our new dance studio (yes LOTS on our plate, but apparently that’s how we roll) as I waited for the results. I was driving to the studio to meet Trey for some last minute projects we were needing to do before we could move in when the Dr. called with the results. I simply cannot keep anything a secret from him so I knew if I wanted to tell him in a special way I would have to do it RIGHT THEN. We needed something for dinner so I picked up some pizza and gave him the news that way. Trey was convinced it was twin girls (I think maybe he was just preparing himself for a house FULL of girls and the drama that would ensue with that combination).

Here’s what I found out…

Not the fanciest way to tell your husband that he will in fact get to be a boy dad, but he was excited nonetheless.

So it was either a boy and a girl or a 2 boys and we had to wait to find out…

This won’t be a long post, but we felt this video was funny enough it HAD to be shared! Both sets of grandparents knew we were pregnant, but we videoed the reaction when we told them it was twins.

During dinner we decided to just give them the picture of the sonogram- one said Baby A and one said Baby B- we thought it was fairly self explanatory, but apparently not!

Please tell me you heard them ask if it said Baby Elf!? Yes, moms we are trying to tell you that our baby is going to be an elf…

Many people wonder- how did you react when you found out you were having twins? And then many more questions follow- Do twins run in your family? Are they going to be identical or fraternal? Etc. etc. So here you go- this is how it went down.

I was on my first weekend trip away from Colbie and Trey was on baby duty solo for the whole weekend. I was in New Orleans with my fabulous dance teachers from the studio for a dance conference. I was still breastfeeding Colbie so pumping while out of town was going to be interesting and I was partially prepared for this to be the end of breastfeeding since Trey would get through my whole stash at home over the weekend. We had a great weekend and even had some time to go out and have fun. Several times we joked about what if I was pregnant. I’m not even sure why that came up- maybe I was feeling weird, or a little late, but for whatever reason I remember I KEPT saying I am NOT pregnant- there’s just no way. We got home late on Sunday night and Monday morning I decided to take a pregnancy test. Why? I don’t know- I just felt like I should. I had BARELY put the stick on the side of the bathtub and BOTH LINES POPPED UP! Um excuse me, what? I didn’t even take another one because it was the darkest, fastest appearing lines I knew I was actually pregnant.

Although at this time Colbie has JUST turned 7 months old and I should be freaking out, I was amazingly just SO excited! That night when Trey got home and we were sitting on the couch I just blurted out “I’m pregnant!”. No fun reveal, no exciting lead up- just said those 2 words. He just stared at me for a little while and I think he said “Whhaaaaat?” He had the deer in headlights look that I thought I would have, but I was just so excited to have 2 kids so close together and I knew we would be able to handle it and of course it had been less than 24 hours so nothing had actually sunk in yet.

Fast forward to about a week later. I had been feeling nauseous and not feeling great, but I remembered morning sickness with Colbie and knew it would eventually pass. UNTIL…  I wake up in the middle of night throwing up and then just couldn’t stop. All night long and all morning. I couldn’t take the smallest sip of water without it immediately coming up. Finally about 8:00am we decide to have my mom come watch Colbie so Trey & I can go to the hospital. I have learned that hospitals are very scared of pregnant women (unless you are in the labor & delivery wing) and they don’t want to do anything without you seeing your OBGYN first. They gave me some medicine for the nausea and re-hydrated me and told me to see my doctor. The next day Trey & I (and Colbie) went to my doctor’s office together. I knew I would be getting a sono (our first one with this pregnancy) to check things out and make sure everything was ok. I was convinced something was wrong and that’s why I had felt SO bad so I made sure to have Trey with me in case of bad news.

I will never forget this scene:
We walk into the sonogram room and the tech says “lets see how many babies are in there” and laughs. I barely hear her because I am so nervous and even when I realize what she said I brush it off because its not even a thought in my head. Colbie is parked in her stroller right in front of the monitor that shows everything and Trey is sitting next to me. I have my eyes covered because I just cannot handle the thought of bad news. The tech BARELY starts the sonogram and says “Oh! There ARE two in there!” I immediately uncover my eyes and see the unmistakable picture of twins. (I didn’t actually know what twins would look like that early on, but when you see it on the sonogram you just KNOW its twins). Colbie giggles and looks up at me and then I look at Trey. Biggest eyes you’ve ever seen! He can’t speak and I just start laughing. I am so relieved that there is nothing wrong, so relieved there actually is a baby in there (omg there’s 2 in there!) and so unbelievably in shock that I can’t do a single thing, but laugh.

While I will never forget finding out we were expecting twins I honestly can’t remember the rest of that doctor’s appointment or the next few days and weeks. We would just laugh and keep saying- wait, what? We are having TWINS! (And actually as I’m writing this my twins are 6 months old and we STILL say that almost daily- “we have TWINS!?”)

We were about to delve into major unknown territory and something that many people cannot say they have experienced. We were going to have 3 kids under the age of 1 and a half and how in the world were we going to survive this!? I will tell you, regardless of the sheer terror of this situation I could barely contain the excitement of twins and the joy of having TWO babies about to come into our lives. Ready for the roller coaster of a lifetime?

The answers to many of your questions
– No, twins do not run in our family
– No, we were not undergoing fertility treatments
– No, we were not even trying to get pregnant- this was God’s plan, not ours (and his plan turned out to be better than ours- isn’t it always?)
– Colbie was 7 months old when we found out we were pregnant- that puts our babies 15 months apart 🙂
– The twins were what is known as di/di twins (Dichorionic/Diamniotic)- which means they each have their own amniotic sac and their own placenta. This is the lowest risk version of twins.
– Di/Di twins are most commonly fraternal, but there was no way to tell if ours were fraternal or identical until we had them and either had a DNA test or could just tell by looking at them

Clearly, I have taken QUITE a break from blogging. We captured every week of my pregnancy with Colbie, noting the feelings, the joys and the not so fun parts of being pregnant. My most recent post included a newborn photo of sweet baby Colbie, all her stats and my birth story. Since then we have been….. a LITTLE busy.

While I am now writing this almost 21 months after my last post it is titled 7 months later due to the big surprise we received when Colbie was 7 months old. Most of you are very aware of our big surprise, but to appropriately (well, at least vaguely) document those 1st 7 months of Colbie’s life I wanted to include some pictures and updates before we get to our surprise. 😉

Those first several months were filled with tears of joy, tears of “oh my God, how do people do this parenting thing”, and tears of sleepless nights, but really and truly mostly just lots of love and wonder that this tiny human is ours to take care of and love.

Here’s the fastest update you’ve ever seen:
(see our monthly update pictures for even more of the fun!)

Colbie…

*Has been smiling since 2 months old- such a happy baby!
*Has been LOUD since 3 months old when she found her voice- grunts, noises, squals, and now lots and lots of baby talking
*Is such a thumb sucker
*Has always been a BIG eater- started solids at 6 months and eats with loud sounds of joy and will eat just about ANYTHING
*Started crawling just after 7 months and life changed forever 🙂
*Started getting teeth at 9 months and they all started coming at once. Had a full mouth of teeth (minus her back molars) by 12 months

Now to the big surprise that is not such a surprise anymore! At just 7 months old Colbie found out she was going to be a big sister and mommy & daddy found out life was about to get a whole lot crazier, a whole lot tougher and a whole lot more fun! Not only did I find out I was pregnant, I found out I was pregnant with TWINS! What the what!? That story will be for another day.

In the posts to follow I hope to get caught up to current day and continue to track the fun and challenges our family experiences day to day.

My Birth Story

*Disclaimer- the following story is the full story of Colbie’s birth. You have been warned. If you don’t want to hear all the details don’t read on.

At the end of week 39, with my due date approaching, I was feeling more and more ready to have the baby. 9 months of pregnancy (although a wonderful pregnancy that I thoroughly enjoyed and that went along with no complications) was starting to wear on me. I was feeling no different and at my 38 week doctor’s appointment had not progressed at all. I was under the impression I would start to feel different or feel things change as we got closer to having the baby and since I was feeling exactly the same I began to convince myself this baby was going to be late, like really late.

On Friday, January 2, I had my 39 week appointment at the doctor’s office and I was hoping for some good new, but wasn’t expecting much. I was about 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced and -3 station. So basically, it could happen soon or it could take weeks. My doctor swept my membranes in an attempt to help things along in the most natural way possible and sent me on my way. 4 days away from my due date and I was sure I’d be back at the next week’s appointment.

Life was about to change and it was about to change fast. Saturday morning, January 3 starts my timeline…

5:00am- I started waking up to go to the bathroom constantly and I wasn’t feeling right. I felt like I had very light cramps that were just annoying. I honestly didn’t think anything of it because there are so many pains and discomforts throughout pregnancy I figured it was just another weird discomfort. After getting up several times I started looking at the clock and realized it was happening every 20 minutes pretty consistently. Hmm.. weird.

6:00am- By now I have my contraction timer app out and have been timing my “cramps” and they are now happening every 15 minutes then anywhere between 8 and 20 minutes. Not consistent, but they definitely haven’t stopped and if anything they might feel a little less comfortable than before.

6:30am- I decide Trey has slept late enough for today and its not too unreasonably early to wake him up. This is what Trey woke up to that morning “Hey, I’m sure its nothing, but I’ve been getting this small cramps and after timing them they are now coming about every 10 minutes or so. No big deal though, just wanted to tell you.”
We decide to not get too excited because this is NOT what I thought contractions would feel like and its probably not the real deal anyways. Tons of women think they are in labor when really they are not. So Trey gets to work on our bathroom renovation and I decide to call my mom and set up a mall walking date for the day. Walking can only help right?

10:00am- FINALLY the mall is open. My mom and I get to the mall and just walk. I occasionally have to stop for my “cramps” and I keep talking about how this probably isn’t really it as my mom continues to say I really think this is early labor. By now my timer tells me they are anywhere between 4 and 10 minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds. They are usually about 6 minutes apart. So we’ve definitely come a long way from this morning, but still could be so far. But this isn’t really labor, right!? Can’t be! I remember I kept saying “This is not what I thought it would feel like- this is not bad at all”. My mom responds by saying “You’ve never given birth before, why do you think you would know what it feels like” and I can see on her face she’s thinking “just wait- this ‘aint nothing yet”

Noon- I am starting to get uncomfortable so after a big soft pretzel at the mall and a trip to a snow cone stand (I just HAD to have a snow cone) we go home where Trey & my dad are working hard on the bathroom. I THINK by this time I have decided this COULD be labor. The next few hours I obsessively time my contractions, check in on the bathroom renovation, bounce on my birthing ball and nap a little. It’s hurting more for sure, but not a big deal- I can totally do this!

5:00- I decide that I would much prefer to have Trey with me during these contractions so I pull the plug on the bathroom renovation. Trey starts cleaning up and packing up last minute things just in case in between my contractions. Things are definitely starting to get real and over the next few hours things start changing fast.

8:00- I call my doctor. Contractions are about 4-5 minutes apart and lasting close to 1 minute long. They are really hurting, but in between I am fine and able to relax (sort of). Doctor tells me since I am planning to do unmedicated birth if I am comfortable to try to hold out longer at home. I decide to wait until they are consistently 3 minutes apart before leaving the house. I am so glad my doctor talked me into staying at home. I am in a lot of pain and very nervous about when to go to the hospital, but its so much more comfortable at home! Trey is getting antsy and actually starts hanging sheetrock in our bathroom in between my contractions. They are sometimes only 3 minutes apart (from beginning of one to the other) which means he gets about 2 minutes in between to hang a piece of sheet rock! I didn’t mind- I was in the zone and as long as I had his hand to hold or someone to talk me through it during the contraction I didnt care what he did in between. Its funny looking back on it- thats what he was doing during this crazy time in our life!

11:30- Contractions feel like they are just constant and I am so nervous about when to go to the hospital we decide to just go so I can stop stressing about that. At this point its hurting for sure, to the point where I am convinced I am not far from baby time, but I still feel totally in control of the pain. (Bumps in the road on the way to the hospital are torture though!) As we get close to the hospital my body started shaking so hard. I thought it must be nerves.

Midnight- We check in at the hospital. I cry as we walk in because this seems so REAL and we are actually going to meet our daughter soon (I am hoping very soon). This was actually the only time I cried during the entire labor and birth.
I am praying I am pretty far along and when they check me for the first time I am 3 cm! Seriously!? Not that I have ever done this before, but it hurts enough I was SURE I was more than that. They wait an hour or so to check me again before officially admitting me to the hospital.

1:30am- 5 cm. Ok progress- I am officially admitted to the hospital- I have given my birth plan (yes I typed one up) to the nurses who said it was the “cutest birth plan they’ve ever seen” and were glad I wasn’t demanding all these crazy things. My body is still shaking, but even worse now. The nurse says its totally normal. I felt like I was convulsing and it was really making my muscles tired. I was getting worried I wouldn’t have enough strength left to push later.

3:00am- My mom & dad were at the hospital with us and I do not remember anything we talked about over the next few hours. My sister in law showed up too, but just in time for me to kick everyone but Trey out. I  was starting to feel like I couldn’t handle this and I just needed to focus.
I have to say I LOVED my nurses and the whole hospital staff. I never felt pressured to do anything I didn’t want to and they helped me through the process so much. I was able to walk around and didn’t have to be hooked up to anything. I was had my essential oils diffusing in the room (and so many nurses asked about what they were I think I sold a few of them on the idea of them!)
At first Trey was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open (maybe working on the bathroom all day long wasn’t a good idea), but once things got really intense he was the BEST cheerleader and I cannot imagine doing it without him.

6:00am- They check me again and I am 7 cm. I remember asking “I can’t push until 10?” It felt like this was never going to end and I am starting to lose control over the pain. It was probably only 20 minutes after the nurse checked me and left the room that I told Trey to call the nurse RIGHT NOW because I am going to push. He says “are you serious? you really want me to?” YEES!!

The nurse comes back and checks me again and they start getting the delivery table set up and call my doctor to say its happening soon. Things started moving so fast they started bringing more nurses in because they thought I was going to have the baby before the doctor got there! I was so ready to have this baby and kept asking if I was allowed to push. The nurses were hesitant about it, but said to do whatever my body told me to do. I could tell they really wanted me to wait for my doctor though.

7:05am- Doctor finally arrives! I felt like there was no way I was going to be able to finish this process. I had hardly any energy left, but with a full room of nurses, the doctor and Trey all motivating me and cheering me on I had our beautiful baby girl at 7:18am.

I think I was in shock for a little while. I couldn’t understand what the doctors were telling me after. We let the umbilical cord stop pulsing before Trey cut it and they started stitching me up (super not fun!). I remember seeing our sweet baby as they immediately put her on my chest, but feeling like it was not real. Everyone was talking so much and I have no clue what was said. I just laid there holding our girl and thankful it was over and amazed that I did it! Trey asks me what her name is and I realize we still don’t know! I hadn’t even thought about her name for a while. We watched our sweet baby and eventually we both said we knew which name we thought she looked like and luckily we both had the same idea.

Colbie Wynn Mailhes, born at 7:18 am on January 4, 2015. 7 lbs. 11 ounces and 19.75 inches long.

Her middle name, Wynn, is after my Nanie (my mom’s mom), Winnie Sue, who was one of the sweetest, most caring person I have ever known. We all miss her so much and I am happy to have Colbie carry a part of her with her in her name. She will grow up hearing about my Nanie as well as her other great grandparents she didn’t get to meet and I know they would all be so in love with her.

Giving birth to Colbie was the most intense, most difficult, most unique and most rewarding experience I’ve ever had. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience it and that both Colbie & I came out healthy and happy at the end. I can’t believe I am a mommy, my amazing husband is a daddy and we have this sweet new life to take care of. The enormity of it all still hits me every day. It is a love that cannot be described, but a love that is so strong its scary sometimes. I love this little person so much, I want to do everything for her and cannot imagine life without her. Thank you for blessing our lives Colbie Wynn. We can’t wait to watch you grow! Mommy & Daddy love you so much!

Well we are down to the ‘it could happen any day now’ time! I do have to say I am happy that we had a Christmas with no baby. As fun as that would be, we are glad to have her birthday at least be a few days after Christmas (for her sake). As I am writing this we are actually 10 days out from due date, which is so hard to believe!

Christmas has been such a wonderful time to celebrate and be with family and relax a little  before our lives are thrown into a whirlwind of parenthood. Trey & I still can’t wrap our heads around what life will be like as parents, but we will find out soon enough.

Our Rainbow Baby:
I have a very special story that I have debated whether or not to tell, but I believe it is such a hopeful story that I just have to share:

With the holidays already being a time of awe and wonderment as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, it makes me that much more thankful and amazed to be blessed with such a miracle in our lives. The end of the year also tends to be a time when we look back at our year and wow! I have to say this year in particular has been such a testament to the fact that you just never know where your life is taking you. This time one year ago was a very different Christmas for us as I experienced a miscarriage with what would have been our first baby. It was a few days before Christmas and was a very difficult time for us. It is amazing to see what a 180 life has done over the year. We are blessed beyond belief and try to appreciate it and give thanks for it every day. As we try to live our lives this way, I hope we can teach baby girl the same. Be thankful for what you have every day, thank God for all the blessings in our life, and enjoy each day to its fullest. Since we found out we were pregnant again, baby girl has been affectionately called our Rainbow Baby because she is the good after something so terrible, the rainbow after the storm. We have a framed rainbow in her room that says “Keep looking up, there may be a rainbow waiting for you”. This little rainbow baby has taught us that among many other things. God has had many lessons for me this year.

An Angel Watching Over Us
God decided he wanted to remind me he is watching over us and with us all the time. My Nanie used to give all the grand kids a Christmas ornament every year. Mine was always an angel (the series actually started the year I turned 1 so I now have all 27 angels in this series of ornaments and I love them!) Every year the young angel is doing something different- playing an instrument, praying, reading a book, etc. My mom has kept up the tradition after my Nanie passed away so we still get our ornaments every year. This year she hands me the angel and when I open it up it there is an angel coloring in a book and amazingly she is drawing a RAINBOW. We were all so shocked that of all years and all the angels I have the rainbow appeared this year.

We can’t wait to meet our rainbow baby and we thank God every day for her!