Almost 2 Weeks Old!

We can hardly believe Blake and Ella are almost two weeks old already! They're doing GREAT! We had our first doctor's appointment last week (per the NICU doctor's orders) and all is well. They're billi levels were double checked, but the doc said she thought the twins looked good. I haven't heard anything back about their levels so that's good news.

We've had some good nights and a few long ones, but all-in-all we can't complain. These are really great babies. They only cry when they're hungry or naked-diaper and clothing changes. I know it's strange to think that Brian's children don't enjoy being naked, huh? Give them time, I'm sure that'll change! :o) For the most part they eat every three to five hours. We had a couple of nights with five hour intervals which was fantastic, but I think they've hit a little growth spurt so we're back to every three to four hours at night again. Like I said, though, that's really as rough as it gets. They're getting really good at going right back to sleep after eating, too! Both Blake and Ella are such happy babies-we couldn't ask for anything better!!

I'll try to update at least once a week from here on out with a post and definitely with any new pictures. In the meantime, have a wonderful Fourth of July! We're looking very forward to our first weekend Up North with the twins and can't wait to let you know how it goes.

Lots of Love to All!
Erika, Brian, Blake, Ella & Drake

P.S. Drake is also doing great! We don't want to forget about our first and biggest baby. He was a little somber the first couple days, but he's adjusting well and giving his little brother and sister sniffs and kisses every chance he gets. He's a SUPER big brother!!!

GREAT NEWS!

Blake and Ella are coming home today! Brian and I will be picking them up at 3:00 p.m. and can't wait to get them home. I'll post some homecoming pictures soon.

We hope you are all enjoying this gorgeous day as much as we are!

Love,
Brian, Erika, Blake, Ella & Drake

Welcome Twins!

We're so proud to share that the twins were born happy and healthy on Thursday, June 19, 2008!

Ella Erika Bushey 7:08 a.m. 5 lbs 14 oz

Blake Brian Bushey 7:18 a.m. 4 lbs 15 oz

Our Story...

We started our labor and delivery journey on Wednesday morning at 10:00 a.m. with a routinely scheduled NST and doctor appointment. During the NST I started having contractions at about 7-8 minutes apart. Already having had some random contractions I didn't think much of it. The contractions continued throughout the NST and into the doctor's appointment. When Dr. Cherukuri examined me I was still only dilated to one cm but about 75% thinned, so she decided to send us over to Labor & Delivery to be monitored for a while to see what happened with the contractions. Dr. Holmes was the doctor on call and came and re-evaluated us. Although the contractions were getting closer together, nothing else was really changing. He decided to keep me and watch and see what happened.

We were admitted and taken to our room where they hooked me backed up to the monitors to watch some more. This continued for most of the day--steady, fairly strong (but completely bearable) contractions, but no dilation. At about 8 p.m. Wednesday evening Dr. Holmes decided to help the process along by breaking my water. The contractions immediately became much more intense. After a couple hours, I elected to have my epidural--by the way, I'm convinced this is the best thing EVER CREATED! I was able to rest quite comfortably throughout the night. Around 10 p.m. I began receiving Pitocin through my IV. This helped, but still wasn't quite doing the trick. At 2 a.m. I was still only five cm. This continued on until about 5:30 a.m. (when I was STILL only at five cm) and Dr. Holmes took another "look" and began trying to manually move things along. I'm happy to say we finally had some success!!! At around 6:00 a.m. we were moved to the operating room to get ready for delivery. At this point it was still very unclear whether we'd be successful at a vaginal delivery so we had lots of "teams" of people standing by-Neonatal, Anesthesiology, a set of nurses for each baby, etc.-altogether Brian counted 21 of us in the room. Ella proved to be a little--okay, A LOT stubborn! (She must get that from her dad! :o) Dr. Holmes was getting quite frustrated with her as she kept almost making it out then changing her mind. She finally decided she was ready to make her grand entrance at 7:08 a.m.!!! Thank goodness! Blake was much quicker (I think he was ready long before his sister) and entered the world exactly 10 minutes after Ella.

All in all it was a pretty great experience. There were times of discomfort of course, but for the most part I was quite comfortable and only spend somewhere around an hour (probably a little less) actually in pushing and in hard labor. We can't say enough great things about our doctor, Dr. Holmes, Blair, our nurse, and the entire crew of people at Hurley. We were treated like royalty and truly appreciate all they did to make this the most amazing experience of our lives.

Ella and Blake were both taken to the NICU become of some minor breathing issues. There respirations were a little fast and the docs really wanted to keep a close eye on them, especially since they were technically four weeks early. Neither one of them needed any help breathing--they were just being watched. Blake received an IV because his respiration was a little more elevated and they didn't want him to have to worry about trying to eat and breath. They both resolved their respiration issues very quickly.

As of Friday, our main concern was getting them eating well. Blake is a much better eater than his sister, but Ella's getting better. The other reason they were kept in the NICU was because their Billiruben levels were elevated so they had to "go under the lights" to help resolve that.

Today (Saturday) they were both eating very well. We got a chance to speak to the doc before we left today and he was very happy with all of their progress. Tomorrow morning they'll have their BR levels checked again and as long as they're coming down they'll be removed from the lights and be able to come home either Sunday or Monday afternoon. We're so happy to be able to report they are strong, healthy, and happy and will be home VERY SOON!

We are so proud of our new family and are really looking forward to sharing our beautiful son and daughter with the world. I'll be sure to post tomorrow when we have the results of their bloodwork and hear from the docs. If they get to come home we'll be sure to share that, too. Enjoy the rest of this weekend and we can't wait to show off our gorgeous new babies!

Lots of Love to Our Family and Friends,
Brian, Erika, Blake, Ella & Drake

Friday, June 13

Just a quick update to let you know my blood pressure was down again today and all the blood work and such came back okay. No preeclampsia!

We did ask Dr. Lecea how much longer they would let us go and he said if I got to 38 weeks and still nothing then they would induce. That's about 2 1/2 weeks from now. So it could be anytime between now and then. I'm sure hoping for sooner! Brian made a prediction of Thursday, June 19. I've stopped trying to predict. Any other guesses???

Have a great weekend!

Thursday's BP Check

Just wanted to let you know that when I went to have my BP checked today it was back down in the normal range. That's a good sign. We'll get the results of the blood work and urine analysis tomorrow and I'll post an update when we get home from the doctor. Have a great day!

Erika

35 Week Update!

Well, I have mixed emotions today. Here's the scoop...

The NST was very good. Dr. Holmes said it was the best reading they had gotten so far on the babies heartbeats. Yay! I had a couple contractions, but nothing too major. I was glad to know that what I was feeling and thinking were contractions was correct. Fooey on that goofy nurse last week at L&D who told us my uterus was just irritible!

They also removed the cerclage today. Thank goodness. However, it wasn't the most pleasent experience I've ever had. It was a little tough for him to get at because it was placed so well, but that's a good thing since it has definitely served its purpose. My mixed emotions are due to the fact that last week one doctor said typically labor begins within two to four days of that being removed and today the doc that removed it said it could happen quickly or take another two or three weeks. Physically, I just don't think I can make it two or three more weeks. I'm in so much pain (back and hips) and feeling so much pressure and sleep? Forget about it! On the rare occasion I do manage to fall asleep it's not for more than a half hour or so before I wake up because either 1-I have to pee, 2-my hips are throbbing, or 3-my back is hurting. Millions of women have done this before me, so I know I can do it if I have to, but I'm certainly ready to just be done already!

One more thing--my blood pressure was up today and there was once again protien in my urine (could mean something, could mean nothing). So they did some blood work and I have to collect my urine for 24 hours (sounds exciting, huh?). Tomorrow I have to go back to have my BP checked again, another draw of blood work, and to drop off my urine. Then, I'll go back to see the doc on Friday for all the results. They're checking for something called pre-eclampsia. If you know anything about it, it sounds pretty scary. Just keep in mind that we are at the end of the pregnancy and even if, and that's a really big if, they determine I have it we are really at minimal risk. The only cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the babies, but since we're at 35 weeks and know that their weights and heartbeats are great, delivering them now shouldn't be anything to worry about. If you want more info about it, you can go the Mayo Clinic website at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preeclampsia/DS00583/DSECTION=1. Please DO NOT be alarmed or worried. Again, the testing is precautionary. I've had protien in my urine the entire pregnancy (remember all the UTIs?) so the BP is really the only new factor to make them think it's a possibility. And quite frankly, with all the pain I'm in right now, I'm not at all surprised that my BP is higher than normal.

So, all that being said, the babies still look great. If they're gaining what the average baby does at this point then they should be weighing in at somewhere in the 5 1/2 lb range and they should be PLENTY healthy to make their grand entrance into the world whenever they decided they're ready. I'm ready whenever they are!!! :o) I'll be sure to post on Friday after we see the doc.

Lots of Love to You All!

Erika, Brian, Drake, & Twins

34 Week Update!

Sorry I've been slacking on keeping this updated. :o( Here's what's happening...

The past couple weeks have been eventful in that we've been to the hospital a few times. No worries though-everything is fine. The first trip to Labor and Delivery was Saturday, May 31. I hadn't felt any movement from the babies in several hours and I was just worried. The doctor sent us to the hospital to be monitored and they were able to find nice strong heartbeats right away. Within a short time of being hooked up to the monitors the babies started to move again and we were sent home.

The second trip was the following Monday, June 2. I was convinced the babies were coming!!! I had been having contractions and they were starting to get more intense and more frequent so I called the doc to let them know what was going on and of course they sent me in right away. Again, they hooked us up to the monitors and watched us for quite a while. I had figured I was contracting about every 6-8 minutes consistently. However, the nurse had a different interpretation. The checked my urine and found that I had yet another UTI (the fourth or fifth of the pregnancy) and that's what was causing my uterus to show signs of "irritability" as they called it. I still think it was contractions (and my PA agreed with me when I explained them to her). They gave me a shot to stop the "irritability" and sent me home with an antibiotic.

Wednesday, June 4th we had our 34 week NST and doctor appointment. The first half of the NST was fine, but they couldn't get a consistent baseline reading for baby girl during the second half, so they did an ultrasound just to be on the safe side. Everything was good (still lots of fluid) and we even got to find out that they are each weighing in at about 5 lbs! That's great news since the average weight for twins in the first pregnancy is usually in the 4 lb range. They also determined that my cervix is just starting to open and I'm starting to thin. Our PA could feel the baby girl's head during the exam! So she said that they would seriously consider removing the cerlage at out 35 week appointment on Wednesday, June 11. If they choose to remove the cerclage Wednesday (which I'm going to BEG them to do), it's typically 2-4 days before labor begins. Keep in mind though that that's just an average and it could be much quicker or even much longer than that time frame. I'm hoping quicker personally, but that's just because I'm beginnning to get extremely impatient!

I think that's all the news for now. I'll post an update ASAP after our appointment on June 11th. Keep your fingers crossed that we get to have that stitch removed and things progress very quickly after that!!

Have a wonderful week!

Erika & Brian