8:39pm is the current time at the moment that I am writing this post. Ten years ago today, I was minutes away from giving birth to these two wonderful people. Our birth story is so different from what I imagined it would be.
I carried Henry and Emma for 39 and 1/2 weeks. I was considered high risk because we were expecting twins, but was very lucky because I had a really good pregnancy. We had one false positive on a blood test and had that checked by a specialist. My OB had me wait until I went into labor on my own so that the kids could gain more weight.
I couldn't sleep, couldn't sit or stand for long by the end. I was pretty uncomfortable all the time. So we begged my OB to induce at 39 weeks and he agreed. We had to wait two extra days because the labor and delivery rooms at the hospital were all booked and so were the ORs. We checked in on a Thursday morning at 7am and were on a Pitocin drip by 9am. I went through about 12 hours of labor and then delivered both kids about 5 minutes apart. My delivery was suppose to take place in a large OR, but someone goofed and the only available space was a regular OR. We somehow managed to get two neonatal teams and two L and D teams into a really small OR.
Jason and my mom were in with me. Jason had asked my mom to be my second coach just in case we ended up having to do a C-Section. Luckily, we did not, and I delivered naturally with the added help of an epidural.
Henry had trouble breathing at first and needed help and Emma was delivered with her umbilical cord wrapped around her little neck. My blood pressure shot through the roof and stayed there for a day or two after I delivered. I also had the worst migraine headache shortly after they were delivered. It was not what I imagined for our first meeting and the special time right after.
The kids both had a touch of jaundice and were not really taking to breast feeding, so we were feeding them almost non-stop around the clock to get their weight up. And then we discovered through a lot of trial and error, that Henry had reflux and would not keep any formula down. Emma was happy as a clam with whatever we gave her. We finally found a formula that Henry's little tummy tolerated.
We had tons of help from family and friends with clothes, toys, cribs, etc. We still don't know how we would have survived those first few months without everyone pitching in.
It's hard to believe that that was 10 years ago.
We are so very proud of our nuggets.
At 10 years old...
Emma-
Reads at a 7th or Above Grade level
Loves anything about history, any kind of history
She has worked really hard and improved her math grades and "gets it!"
Is into-sewing, painting, drawing, sculpting, writing stories, cooking, baking...
Listens to Taylor Swift... A LOT
Is finally playing video games with her brother
Is the best friends a kid could ask for
Loves God, her family, her friends, her community
Is super interested in the world and what is going on
Has her own unique style
Has a crush on 8 boys(but don't tell her I told you so..besides, I didn't say who)
Henry-
Calculates numbers like you wouldn't believe
Loves music
He has worked and continues to work on his reading and reading comprehension and is now enjoying reading!
Is into-Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, Minecraft, Mario Kart, Legos, Pokemon, Disney Infinity,
football, board games, running...
Listens to Brandon Heath and classic rock
Is finally playing video games with his sister
Is the best friend a kid could ask for
Loves God, his family, his friends, his community
Is super interested in current events and what is happening in the world
Has his own soundtrack going all the time
Has a crush on about 3 girls, but I won't say who
This year has really flown by and I know that time with them will continue to speed past. We are blessed more than I can ever say to have these two as our kids.
Wishing our smart, beautiful, handsome, super silly, weird, funny, talented, wise, sarcastic, fun, and amazing nuggets a Very Happy 10th Birthday!!! We love you so so so much and are stinking proud of you too!
