First Born

Originally uploaded by mikes_muse

I stole this from a friend because I thought it was cute, I hope she doesn't mind!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST BORN'S PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes. Michael and I tried to get pregnant for 28 months before it finally happened.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? We had been married for almost 4 years.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? I got the phone call and all I could say was "I am?" And then I started to cry, and the nurse had to book my next appointment for me because I couldn't talk.
4. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 22

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? It was the first month that I did not take a pregnancy test, because I was so sure the cycle had failed. I was waiting for the nurse to call me back and say it was negative and give me the protocol for the next cycle. They hadn't called with my blood results by 4:45 and the girls at work kept telling me to call them. Michael was on his way to pick me up so I waited for him so that he would be there for me to cry to. The receptionist answered and said "let me go get the nurse," which I took as a sure sign of it being negative. She got on the line and said "honey, you're pregnant. Your beta was 278!" I said "I am" and Michael just broke out in the biggest smile and said "I'm gonna be a daddy!" We're lucky he didn't crash, he was so happy I don't think he could concentrate on the road!

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? I immediately got on the phone with my family (all four of them just happened to be at my parents house and they all started screaming) and Michael called his parents.

7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Definitely, I like to have everything planned out. Plus I wanted to go shopping!

8. DUE DATE? January 7th, 2009

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? I had all day sickness! It was the first time I had thrown up in over 10 years!! And I am not lying.

10. CRAVINGS? Pineapple and Mandarin Oranges. My sweet visiting teacher Nicole O'Neil brought me some cans of oranges.
11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? The rude comments. Like people saying "well that's what you get for doing fertility treatments" when I told them I was having twins. Or being told that I was selfish for doing the treatments because I could have "easily" adopted a child.
12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Two girls! I was convinced we were having one of each though.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No, we would have been thrilled with whatever we were given.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? I lost 25, and gained 17 of it back by the time I delivered.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes. I am spoiled rotten and I had 3! My amazing sister -in-law threw the first one for me and it was beautiful. Then my visiting teachers threw one, and my sweet sister and Teri threw the last one.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew about all of them, but my Grandma did fly up for the 3rd one to surprise me.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Yes. I had bleeding early on and was told that I was probably going to lose Reagan at the first u/s. Then I had some umm *difficulties* that landed me in the ER. Then because of Reagan's size they thought I had twin to twin transfusion. Then all of a sudden my cervix shortened, I was contracting, and Reagan's water broke, so I ended up in the hospital, and everyone knows the rest!

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? In Reno at St Mary's. I looooove the labor and delivery nurses and could not have been happier with the care I received.

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 24 hours. The stupid on call doctor did not believe me that my contractions had broken through the 3 meds they had given me and that I was having back labor.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? We walked! Okay, so Michael drove me to my doctor's appointment because I wasn't allowed to, and she is right across the street from the hospital.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? My husband, two doctors delivering, the anesthesiologist, two nicu nurses, a nicu doctor, two respiratory therapists, and a nurse to assist the doctors delivering.
22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Emergency c-section. It sounds much cooler if you say emergency :)

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? I didn't have a choice, but I would have asked for an epidural even if I didn't have a c-section.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 1 pound 14 ounces and 2 pounds 4 ounces.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 12 weeks early on October 16, 2008

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Bailey Jane and Reagan Lee

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN? 4 and a half months!

Valentines Day

I love Valentines Day. I love making cards for my family, baking sugar cookies and decorating them. I just love it. I think it's because I'm one of those mushy romantics (shameful, I know). Unfortunately, my husband hates it. Don't get me wrong, he is a very loving and romantic man. He just thinks it's ridiculous to have 1 day devoted to the people you love, instead of showing them you love them all year round. Because of this, and the fact that the girls are still on oxygen, we are not doing anything this year *sigh*. Oh, speaking of oxygen, the girls did their room air test last night. We turned off their oxygen tanks and attached them to a machine that measures their oxygen saturation and records how many desaturations they have. They spent the whole night like this and I think they did pretty well. As soon as the darn medical supply company comes to pick up the machines, they'll give the results to the doctor and she'll let us know if the girls can come off. Maybe once they are off they will seem like real babies instead of preemies. It's hard having your child confined to one room of the house and not being able to carry them around with you. Okay, now I'm just starting to complain, and that's not the point. The point is that Michael and I want what is best for the girls even if it means tripping over and pulling on cords for a little while longer. 

Food

I love food. And I love to cook food too, not just eat it. Whenever I am stressed or sad, I'll go whip something up in the kitchen. I also love cooking magazines and looking for new recipes. I'll share these two that I just found because they are soooo easy and really good too. They are from Katie Lee Joel. I like her stuff because it's so simple and you can do a lot of it in minutes. If you decide to try them, great, I think you'll like them. If not, I still love you :)

Chili Cheese dip:

1 pound ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 16 oz. jar of salsa

4 oz. cream cheese cut into cubes

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the meat in a skillet. Pour out grease. Add taco seasoning and salsa; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes stirring every so often. Add cream cheese and cheddar and stir until melted. Serve hot with tortilla chips

Reese's Brownies

This recipe is even easier. Prepare a box of brownie mix according to the instructions on the back. Pour half of the prepared mix into a pan. Top with Reese's peanut butter cups (the big ones, about 16). Pour remaining half of batter over the peanut butter cups and bake according to instructions.