The babies are here!

I just spent, literally, over an hour typing a long blog with the story of the birth and tons of photos of the twins, and when I tried to post it, the hospital's internet usage agreement page popped up and erased everything! Needless to say, I'm furious!

But, I'll get to it again sometime soon! Here's a picture of the babies for now...

Born Thursday, December 18, 2008

(on the left) Olivia McCall Dart

Born at 3:51 pm

3 pounds 13 ounces

18 1/2 inches

(on the right) Brian Hadden Dart

Born at 3:50 pm

5 pounds 5 ounces

18 inches

Jackson and his friends...

Addison, Mason, Jackson, and Payton

Bank of America had their family holiday party tonight at Flying Frogs, an indoor playground for kids. Santa was there handing out presents and Jackson and Brian had so much fun running around and playing! I went, but basically just sat around and watched (since I am technically still on bedrest!) and chatted with all the other moms.

We had a great time and our friend (and awesome photographer), Jennifer, took all the pictures for the event (Addison is her daughter).

In the home stretch to D-day!

But, not without my share of problems popping up at each appointment!

I'm sure that nobody is truly interested in all the sad details of my doctor's appointments and how each one lasts about 2 1/2 to 3 hours or how new and unusual issues keep coming up, but here's a short breakdown of what's going on:

I had my regular weekly appointment with a nurse practitioner the day before Thanksgiving and my blood pressure was up. I begged and pleaded to not be put in the hospital over the holiday, so I was sent home with strict instructions to lay around and do absolutely nothing until today (Monday) when I was to go back in to see my regular doctor for a check-up and ultrasound to make sure the babies are OK.

So, I go in today and find out immediately that my doctor was called to the other hospital in Savannah to deliver a baby, so she was running at least 45 minutes behind schedule. I was taken in for my ultrasound to see how big the babies are and to make sure they had enough fluid...everything is great there!

Hadden is weighing in at 4 pounds 7 ounces
McCall is weighing in at 4 pounds 3 ounces

After my ultrasound--rather than sit there for an hour or more waiting on my doctor--I went downstairs and got lunch, then came back to the doctor's office and was put on the contraction monitor. Apparently I'm contracting some still (I didnt feel most of them and they were teeny-tiny contractions), but they are enough that they've changed my cervix and I'm now 1 cm dilated!

What's not helping the situation is that I have a pretty nasty cough right now and my doctor is worried that I might literally cough myself into breaking my water--I didnt even know that was possible!

So, I have to take the contraction meds every 6 hours without fail now and I'm also on a prescription strength cough medicine to (hopefully) stop the coughing.

That ended up not being as short an explaination as I'd hoped, but there's the info if you're interested! I have no clue what's going to happen in the next few weeks...I have to go back in on Friday for my second appointment of the week to be re-checked! I'm still hoping to hold on to these babies for at least 2 to 3 more weeks, but we'll see!

Oh--I forgot to add that my total weight gain for this pregnancy is 18 pounds. My doctor just says that I'm, literally, all baby and nothing else! I just hope that it comes off easily when they're born!

My doctor's appointment this week...

I had to go in earlier in the week than I usually do--I usually like to go in on Fridays because I switch from week to week of pregnancy on Saturdays and I feel better going in as close to my week change as possible. But, my doctor was off Friday this week so I had to go in Wednesday instead.

I had another growth scan to see how big the babies had gotten over the past 2 (well, actually 1 1/2 weeks). Hadden weighed in at 3 lbs. 14 oz. and McCall was 3 lbs. 13 oz.

They didnt exactly gain the "1/2 pound a week" that they say that some babies do gain, but they are both in the 45% for fetal weight at 32 weeks gestation, which is great for twins.

I was put on the monitor and found out that I'm having some major contractions, so I am now taking terbutaline (an anti-contraction medicine) as-needed when I feel that they're picking up. There are some horrible side effects of this medicine--jittery shaking, nausea, horrible heartburn--so I'm trying not to take it too often.

In the past 3 weeks I've actually lost 1 pound (which I totally dont get at all--I eat like a horse all day long!), so my doctor just wants me to eat and eat and eat. As you can imagine, there isnt much room in my belly anymore (I'm already measuring 38 weeks gestation) so eating that much is just impossible. I've gained a total of 15 pounds so far.

The good news is that both babies are head down. I'm not sure how much more flipping around they're going to do, since space is limited, so hopefully I'll be able to avoid surgery!

I go back in next Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) for my next appointment, so we'll see what's going on then!

Updates...I have pictures, too!

YEAH--I finally have some pictures of my little man to post! They're in backwards-order from how I want them posted, but this stupid blogger wont let me rearrange the order of the pics!



Jackson at Disney on Ice, November 5th


Showing off his super-cool Flounder hat at Disney on Ice


Halloween, getting ready to go trick-or-treating at Grandma and Granddaddy's house. To infinity and beyond!

My sweet Buzz Lightyear on Halloween! (He posed like this all by himself--I didnt even tell him to!)

Carving a pumpkin with daddy a week before Halloween....the finished product!

My boys playing with pumpkin goo!

I guess I cant really call him "little" because Jackson is getting so big! He is so, so smart and loves just talking and talking all day long. He has the memory of an elephant, so something he did or heard weeks and weeks (or months) ago still becomes topic of many conversations. His favorite thing to talk about is Disney World, but he also loves sports (mainly football and baseball) and snuggling in the bed to watch TV. He loves singing and remembers new songs after hearing them only once or twice. He knows his ABCs and can count to 14! He's going to be such a great big brother--he knows the babies are coming and sometimes puts his toy basketball under his shirt and says he has babies in his tummy just like mommy!

Of course, I have TONS more pictures that I could post, but these are the most recent--being from the past couple of weeks.

On to pregnancy news--I'm 30 weeks pregnant now and I'm still going to the doctor every week. I actually just had my most recent growth scan this past Friday and the babies are getting so big!

Hadden is 3 lbs. 6 oz. and McCall is 3 lbs. 2 oz!

My doctor feels confident that I might make it to the 36 week mark, which will be December 20th. I'm determined, though, that if I do make it that far these babies WILL be born before the end of 2008!

Hadden has flipped around and is breech now (and has been for weeks) and McCall is head-down, but sort of sideways in my belly. Since Hadden is "baby A" and is the biggest one of the two, he'll have to flip back to being head-down for me to not need a c-section. I'm thinking I'm going to be going under the knife to get these kids out because room is getting scarce in my belly for big movements!

I've been feeling sort of crummy lately--I just feel really big (although everyone tells me I dont look big for being 7 1/2 months along with twins. I've only gained 16 pounds, but it feels like so much more!) and I have really, really bad heartburn. Sleeping is a thing of the past--I usually just find myself passing out on the couch around 4 am and sleeping until Brian and Jackson get up in the morning. I count down the minutes to Jackson's naptime every day because I'm completely exhausted all of the time and try to rest when he does. Thank goodness for my parents who help out so much with watching Jackson and giving me a break when I need it!

Weekly visits to the doctor

Yes, they have started already. I'm right at 26 weeks pregnant (6 1/2 months) and I'll be going in to see the doc every week until the babies come. At every appointment I will be hooked up to the monitor to see if I'm having consistant contractions and I will also be having ultrasounds about every 2 weeks to monitor the babies growth.

I had my first growth scan this morning and we found out that Hadden weighs 2 lbs. and McCall is 1 lb. 14 oz. I was shocked--to me, that seems big for twins at this point! Everything looked great--they were both jumpin' and jivin' around in there!

Hadden is still behaving and is head-down, very low in my pelvis. McCall is the wild-card because she flips around all of the time! Right now she's head-up in a frank breech position (her legs are up over her head, in a very not-so-ladylike-manner). It's still anyone's guess as to whether I'll have to have a c-section or not. I'm hoping that with Hadden being head-down and first that I wont have to have surgery to get these babes out!

We've started to get the nursery together (or I should say Brian has started). Since I'm on modified bedrest I cant do much, but I consider myself the "director" of the nursery--I'll let Brian and Jackson do the big work! The cribs are up (no mattresses yet, though) and all the painting is finished. I'm using an old desk as a changing table and my chest of drawers is still at my parents' house, but it's coming together!

And just an update on Jackson--he sailed through his ear infection like a champ! He didnt really like taking his medicine for 10 days, but it knocked the infection out! I have a feeling that he's gearing up for a growth spurt (if he's not already in the midst of one) because he's been eating so much more and sleeping for longer periods of time for his nap. He's gained a little weight, too, so we'll see if he sprouts up a couple of inches soon!

He is so sweet and so smart and is really looking forward to being a big brother! He calls the babies "my babies" and says that he wants to teach them to play baseball and football when they come. He talks to my belly (and the babies really respond to hearing his voice) and hugs the babies all the time! I just hope the love-fest continues when there are 2 crying babies in the house!

Back from Disney...and still on bedrest!

I guess I should just resign myself to the fact that I'm going to be on some form of bedrest from now until the babies come. I had my 24 week appointment yesterday and I was SO hoping that my doctor would take me off of bedrest--no such luck. There is technically nothing wrong--no preterm labor or dialation of my cervix or anything like that--but because I had problems when I was pregnant with Jackson, and because I have 2 babies in there this time, I remain on modified bedrest.

Basically that means that I'm supposed to be "stationary" for most of the day--I cant go schlepping around the grocery store and unloading the groceries, cant do big, heavy loads of laundry, cant chase Jackson around (yeah right--tell him that!), etc. Really, I'm not supposed to engage in any strenuous activity.

So, I guess it was a good idea NOT to tell my doctor that I went to Disney World this past weekend--she probably would have had a heart attack! We had a great time! For the first time we took Jackson to Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party and it was AWESOME! I highly recommend it to anyone who's going down there in September or October! Jackson dressed up in his Woody costume from last year and got pictures with the characters from Toy Story. We got TONS of candy and saw the super-cute Halloween parade that they put on.

I promise pictures are coming....

I'm still here...

The good news is that we FINALLY got a new laptop! The bad news is that I still havent figured out how to download pictures onto it to post them. But, I promise a whole slew of pictures is coming in the near future!

We took our 3rd Disney World trip of the year over Labor Day weekend and we had such a great time! Jackson just loves Disney so much--it's all he talks about when we're at home! His favorite rides are the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Toy Story. He also really loves the parades that are at the different parks throughout the day.

As you can imagine, Disney is the absolute last place on earth that my doctor wanted me to go. But, I promised her that I would rent a scooter and not walk all over the earth and she relented. So, I did it--Brian actually rented me one of those little scooters and I just scooted myself all over the place! As funny as it may seem (and, trust me, it was) it was truly a life-saver. There is no way I could have walked around all over the parks. We're planning on sneaking back down there again this weekend, but I will NOT be telling my doctor about this trip...

Mainly because yesterday, at 22 weeks and 3 days pregnant, she put me on modified bedrest. Not because anything significant has happened, though. I went in for an unscheduled visit with her because I started having some weird pains that I wanted to get checked out, and she decided to go ahead and have me start resting more. Of course, this news has come AFTER we'd made our plans and reservations in Orlando, so there will be lots more scooting around for me!

The same day I was put on bedrest, Jackson got sick and went to the doctor as well. Turns out he has an ear infection in his right ear. This is the first time he's ever had an ear infection in his life, and only the 3rd time in his life that he's ever been sick, so I pride myself on keeping him healthy for most of his 2 1/2 years on this planet! But, he's on antibiotics and is already feeling much better. He's still very, very excited about going to Disney this weekend!

So, that's what is going on around here. The babies are rockin-and-rollin all the time in my belly--I'm constantly being kicked and poked by one or both of them (I really dont think they every sleep in there!). They did an ultrasound yesterday when I went in for the pains and Hadden is still head-down and low. McCall flipped around and is now head-up and higher up in my belly, so I'm being kicked and punched at both ends!

The pregnancy continues...

It's week 17 (almost 18) and I'm getting huge! Well, at least I feel huge. I didnt start showing when I was pregnant with Jackson until I was about 6 months along, so the mere fact that I even look pregnant now is shocking to me.

The funny thing is that I, technically, havent gained any weight yet! I lost about 12 pounds in my first trimester because I was so sick, and I've only gained back 5 of those pounds. So, I'm still 7 pounds away from reaching my pre-pregnancy weight! I'm sure I'll catch-up soon enough, though!

The big news is that our babies have names! Well, we've pretty much had names picked out for months and months now, but now we're 100% sure!

Our boy will be Brian Hadden (we'll call him Hadden)

Our girl will be Olivia McCall (we'll call her McCall)

I'll be having my big 20 week ultrasound in 2 weeks and we'll get to see the babes again. After that I dont know what my doctor schedule will look like. I've already been told that I'll be on at least a modified bedrest by week 28 and through my third trimester, so I'm feeling a little rushed to get things planned and done before then! I already have crib bedding that I ordered about a month ago, and we have our cribs ordered (thanks mom and dad!), so we have some stuff done!

The gender mystery has been solved!

I was supposed to go in to the doctor's office tomorrow to find out the gender of the babies, but had to go in today for an unscheduled visit and they moved the big ultrasound to today! So we now know the gender of our 2 little beans!

We're having:


A BOY AND A GIRL!

We are so excited! It's so wonderful to finally know so that we can name them and start giving them an "identity," rather than just calling them "the big one" and "the little one" or "twin A" and "twin B."

So, Brian was right all along. From the very first moment we found out it was twins, he said he thought that the smaller of the two was going to be a girl. Now, later on he changed to say that he "thought" it was 2 boys, but I'm thinking that was just a preference and not an intuition. First impressions are always right--the smaller of the 2 babes is the girl!

SURPRISE!

We're pregnant...with TWINS!

My due date has been set at January 17th, 2009 but because we're having twins it will most likely be some time at the end of December. We are very excited about this, and nervous too! Jackson already knows that there are 2 babies in mommy's tummy and he talks to them and asks me when they can come out!

We're going to find out what we're having in about 5 1/2 weeks, so we'll keep you posted! Brian's intuition says we're having 2 boys! My mom thinks it's one of each. I have no intuition at all! Feel free to make your guesses!

A few updates...

I havent gotten any better about updating this blog in the past couple of months. But, as I said in my last post, out laptop computer died so I havent been able to upload any new photos! I promise I'll try to get on that soon.

Jackson is growing like a weed! He'll be turning 2 on April 3rd, so just a couple of weeks from now. I can hardly believe how quickly time has gone by. He's so smart and very active--he's very big into repeating things that he hears mommy and daddy say so we're really having to watch our tounges! He has come out with some not-so-great things to say and it's so hard not to laugh when he says them. He loves to sing and dance and loves watching his shows on TV. Some of his favorites are Super Why, Curious George, and the Backyardigans. Of course, he's still completely obsessed with Toy Story--Buzz and Woody are a huge hit in our house!

He amazes me every day with new things he can say and do. And he is so incredibly sweet when he says he loves you--it melts my heart!

About a month or so ago Jackson learned to climb out of his crib, so now he's in a big-boy bed. Unfortunately, now that he can get up and move around at any time he's still in the habit of coming into our room at some point during the night and getting into bed with us. I'm just not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel with breaking him of this so we're just dealing with it.

Jackson and Brian were in the Savannah St. Patrick's Day parade again this year! The parade was Friday, March 14th and Jackson had an absolute blast this year! Last year was a little weird because he was still so young, but this year we really geared up for the big day! We practiced marching in the parade for weeks and Jackson decided he wanted to wave and say "Hi and Bye" to people. He loved all of the bands in the parade and broke it down a couple of times. I have video (not that I know how to upload that) and pictures--I promise they'll be posted one day!

I saw in another friend's blog that they started "tagging" their other blogging friends to write 10 things about their children. So, I'll start mine here...10 things about Jackson:

10. By no fault of his own, Jackson still needs me to sit in the room with him to fall asleep at night. I take all the blame for this activity, but I dont mind it at all--I'm usually in his room less than 5 minutes before he's out like a light! Plus, he always says I love you before he falls asleep, and I wouldnt miss that for anything!

9. He really isnt much of a breakfast person at all (just like his mommy). I always offer him things to eat in the morning, but he'll usually only eat a couple of bites and that's it. I stopped making "larger" breakfasts for him, so now we usually have a bannana or a few bites of a waffle or something else small.

8. Another terrible thing--Jackson drinks absolutely no milk at all. He used to suck it down like it was the only thing available to him, but now all he will drink is sweet tea and juices. But, on the plus side, he LOVES cheese so I load him down with that so that he'll get some calcium!

7. Jackson is also a very picky eater and wont try many new foods. We exist mainly on chicken nuggets (I buy the all-white-meat breast nuggets because it makes me feel like it's better for him), cheese quesidillas, an occasional corn dog, and potatoes of any kind. He'll also eat tons and tons of fruit. He gets a vitamin every day, so I'm just not one of those mothers that freaks out about his weird eating habits!

6. 6 weeks ago was the first time Jackson had ever been watched by anyone other than my parents and also the first time he had been in a "nursery" situation. Usually when we'd go to church we'd just leave him with my parents, but we started taking him to the nursery. He had sort of a hard time at first, but now he loves going to "church school" (as he calls it).

5. Jackson is currently obsessed with 2 of our friends, Nick and Jennifer (well, mostly Jennifer!). Literally every single time we get in the car he says "see boo-boo and Nick" (funny story about the boo-boo thing...that's what he calls Jennifer. We were at Disney with Nick and Jennifer last September and Jackson accidentally walked in on Jennifer in the bathroom as she was getting out of the shower. Obviously he saw her chest--which he previously called boo-boos--and now he calls her boo-boo and has ever since then). Luckilly, Jennifer just had a baby and is on maternity leave so we get to see them much more often than we used to!

4. Jackson likes dogs at a distance, but has become a little afraid of them if they come close.

3. One of Jackson's favorite things to do when we're laying on the bed together is blow on my stomach! I blow on his tummy to make him laugh, so now he'll say "mommy's tummy" and I'll let him blow on my tummy. He literally slams his face onto my stomach and blows as hard as he can to make that silly noise and he gets a kick out of it every time!

2. We really like Disney movies, so we've let Jackson watch several of them. One of the newer ones we've watched is A Bug's Life. After the first time of watching it, Jackson came to us and said (completely unprompted) "grasshoppers eat food"--if you dont know the movie, the grasshoppers are the "bad guys" and eat all the ant's food. So now, if you ask Jackson "who eats all the food" he'll answer every time "grasshoppers eat food." Very cute that he picked that up from watching the movie...

1. Jackson knows everyone's name: he knows (and will say) Jackson Dart, Nancy Dart, and Brian Dart, among others. But his most-favorite of the bunch is daddy's name, Brian Dart. Sometimes when Brian is sitting around and Jackson tries to get his attention, he'll just say "Brian Dart" rather than daddy. He also calls himself "Jackson Brian Dart" (which is not his full name!) and sometimes calls me "Mommy Brian Dart."

Whew...it was hard coming up with 10 not-too-boring things to put down! Not that I think anything about Jackson is boring, but I'm sure some of the more mundane details might be boring to someone who is not his mommy!

So, I'm going to tag Jennifer to write 10 things about her new beautiful baby girl, Addison!

I promise we're still here...

I know it's been forever since I last blogged, but we've been SO busy!

First, our laptop computer died on us so we had no computer at all. We dug Brian's old desk top out of storage and we're using that right now.

Second, WE MOVED! Yeah--we love our new house!

As soon as I get a decent computer, I'll post some pictures of us!