Blessings

I'm going to try my hardest to stay focused while I'm still on all these pain pills. Aaron's done a great job posting pictures, and he's totally taken over my facebook page (but won't make his own profile)! Anyway, I wanted to share exactly what happened. This past week has been such a blur! I was first put in the hospital because my blood pressure was high, and it's actually still high, but last Sunday I started having contractions. Aaron was at church, so I was texting him to tell him what was going on. The babies' heart rates were going down, and they tried to get the contractions to stop. It wasn't working, so the doctor decided it was time...that's when I called Aaron to come up to the hospital. They were getting me ready for a c-section when he got there, and then about an hour later we had Bethany and Zachary. Wow! I was back from the recovery room by 3:00, just in time to watch the Dallas Cowboys :) Now we're just waiting for Bethany and Zachary to learn how to eat, gain weight, and maintain their body temperatures. The NICU nurses are wonderful, and we know they're in good hands while I'm at home recovering. We're so blessed!!!

We're Home!!

We are home now!! Bethany and Zachary are still in the hospital but doing well. Zachary ate his entire bottle this morning and Bethany ate about 2/3 of her bottle, which is very good for them. We thought we would post some pictures on here for those of you that can't see the facebook pictures.

Introducing Bethany & Zachary!

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures posted (blame the internet here at the hospital). Bethany Elaine was born at 12:37 p.m. on Sunday 10/25 weighing in at 4lbs 15oz and measuring 19in long. Zachary Evan was born at 12:38 p.m. weighing in at 4lbs 7oz and measuring 17.5in long. Mom and babies are doing well. Bethany is now in an open crib and maintaining her temperature. Zachary is still under the heater, but we are hoping he can be put in an open crib tomorrow. Here are some of the pictures we have taken so far.

Update from the Hospital

My doctor decided I needed to come to the hospital after my appointment on Wednesday because of my high blood pressure. I've been trying to update ever since, but I keep getting interrupted. Here it goes...we're going to be staying at the hospital until the babies are born. The babies are fine (as always) and are weighing about 5 pounds each. My blood pressure is the main concern, so if it gets in the 160's/100's and stays there, then they'll go ahead and deliver. Hopefully I can make it through the weekend. Our doctor says they should be here by Halloween! I'll try my best to update on any big news :)

Good Report

We had another good trip to the doctor! He always warns me that things could change from one day to the next, but he's happy with how I'm doing so far. You would think I'd be getting bored from watching television, reading magazines, writing thank you notes, or just napping. I'm doing okay though...the weekends are filled with watching football, and it helps having Aaron home! I got him to take a picture of me the other day for my almost 34 week belly shot. You can tell I had been laying down!

Resting Away

I just wanted to update, even though I don't have my typical 33 week belly shot. My doctor appointments have been on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and today they did a sono to check on the sizes of the babies. Bethany weighs 4.8 and Zachary weighs 4.5, which Dr. White's very happy with...and he still says 34 weeks is good. Anything after that would be a bonus, so I feel like our goal's in reach! My blood pressure was high when I first got to the doctor's office, but it lowers after I lay down. So, I've just got to stay laying down, which isn't too bad. I move from the bed to the couch, and I dvr plenty of tv shows to keep me busy. I'm also catching up on all my magazine reading! Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, calls, food, and drinks. I think I've kept Sonic in business during my pregnancy!

Hospital Visit

Today we spent our afternoon monitoring my blood pressure in the hospital. The highest was 139/99, and I'm back on the medication for a urinary tract infection. I'll also be spending all of my time on bed rest, at least until I see my doctor on Monday. It looks like we'll probably be having October babies...maybe November, but definitely not December :) I just hope they stay in the oven for 2-3 more weeks! They're still doing great, so we just have to worry about me.

Bed Rest?

My blood pressure was high again (138/100). The second number is what they're really looking at, which after laying on my left side, it went down to 80. That's still a little high, so the doctor wants to see me every other day for the next two weeks to watch my blood pressure. I'm not on full time bed rest...yet. I can still lay down an hour and be up an hour, but if I can be down more that's better. He said I've got mild preeclampsia, so right now our goal is to make it at least two more weeks. So far the babies have good heartbeats and plenty of fluid, so pray that stays the same! I took some pictures of the nursery the other day, which is pretty much ready to go :)

I couldn't resist the bow holder for Bethany! Also, I have to mention our first baby turns 3 years old tomorrow. Happy birthday to Rudy, the best dog ever!

Honeydew Melons

I'm 8 months pregnant, which means our babies are the size of melons. I don't know if we can make it all the way to month 9 (watermelons) but we'll see!

Here's my 32 week belly shot:

Yesterday I met up with a friend from high school, Ashley, and her son, Gavin! Poor guy was so tired, but look at that hair. He's such a cutie! I feel like I'm definitely getting bigger, and I hope to get a good report at my appointment tomorrow.

Surprise Party

We had a sonogram on Friday, but for some reason I can't get the video to show on here. The babies are now about 4 pounds each! My blood pressure was high at first, so "taking it easy" now means for every hour I'm up I have to lay down an hour. It's harder than it sounds! We surprised my mother-in-law last night for her 50th birthday, which took a lot of planning, but we actually pulled it off. Here's when she walked in the door:

The Rader Family :)