Happy Birthday Emma and Logan!

Monday May 25th, 2009

Memorial Day 2009 seemed like just another day. Tony and Michael went to pick up Stephanie from her house and Thomas and I went grocery shopping for our Memorial Day cookout. We had Hot Dogs and all the fixings for lunch and then all sat down to watch the movie "Taken." We planned to go to the Littons house for dinner, so after the movie around 5:00 or so, I went upstairs to finish getting ready so we could leave.

After I used the restroom, I was standing in our bathroom in front of the sink and out of nowhere - my water broke! Talk about a shock! I started freaking out and ran to the bedroom door and called out to Thomas - I told him to go tell his Dad that my water just broke and to tell him that I said I wasn't kidding. A few seconds later, Tony came running into the bathroom. Needless to say, I was SCARED! I had to change my clothes and grab some extra towels, but then we were off to the hospital.

I think Tony broke several laws on the trip to the hospital, but we made it. Luckily I was not having any contractions or pain. Once at the hospital, they wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery and admitted me, hooked me up to several monitors and started an IV. Dr. Moss was on call, so they let her know what was going on. We met with Dr. Moss when she arrived and since I was only 33 weeks, she was hoping we could hold off doing my c-section for at least 24 hours, so we could do 2 rounds of steroids to help develop the babies lungs. After doing an ultrasound, she discovered that I had lost pretty much all the amniotic fluid around Emma and said that in her opinion it was not worth the risk to hold off on delivering the babies.

So, before I had time to get nervous or scared, I was being wheeled back to the O.R. and got my spinal. Tony had the video camera during the delivery - I can't wait to watch it. I remember most of it - I remember Emma and Logan being born and Dr. Moss showing them to me over the curtain. At 8:15, Emmalee Grace Cortez was born at 5lb 2.7 oz. At 8:16, Logan Vincent Cortez was born weighing in at 5 lbs 6 oz. They were both 18 1/4 inches long. They were both rushed off the NICU. Only three hours afer my water broke, the babies were delivered - talk about a whirlwind!

I fell asleep towards the end of the surgery and remember waking up to a lot of visitors in my recovery room. They had given me some anti naseau medicine in my IV during the delivery to make me sleepy because I had eaten Hot Dogs for lunch only a few hours earlier :) Trying to prevent me from getting sick! Luckily it worked! I was in and out of it the rest of the night and into the next morning - I was getting some good pain meds in my IV! I remember Tony asking me to read over something from the NICU and I read the 1st and 2nd item on the list and fell asleep - that happened several times - because I couldn't keep from nodding off!

Well, that's the story of how Emma and Logan made their grand appearance into this world! They sure gave Mommy and Daddy a big scare and had to spend some time in the NICU - I'll post a recap of the past three weeks soon.

Here are pictures of our precious babies:

31 Week Belly Pic

Here's a new belly picture taken today -31 weeks and 4 days. Less than 45 days left before these babies arrive!

30 Week Doctor's Appointment

I had my 30 week doctor's appointment last week (May 7th). It was a fairly short appointment. We met one of the other doctors in the practice (Dr. Moore). Tony didn't make the best first impression because as we were walking back to the nurse's office he made a comment about the office next door. He said "Man, someone really needs to clean their office!" - and of course, Dr. Moore was standing right behind him - LOL! It was her office! Luckily she has a good sense of humor and laughed it off.

They did the FFN (fetal fibronectin) test on me to check to see if there is a certain protein present that might indicate I'm at risk for pre-term labor. Luckily the results were negative which means that I should not go into labor within the next two weeks!

The doctor also "checked" me for the first time - yikes! Again, all good news there - no dilation and cervix was fully closed. She also checked the babies' heartbeats and they were both normal. Nothing at all to indicate a need for bed rest or any other restrictions. Very succesful appointment!

My next appointment is May 21st and that will be with my regular doctor (Dr. McGowan). They will perform another FFN test and do an Ultrasound to check the babies. Hopefully everything is still looking good!

One More Baby Shower!

I've been so behind this past week on updating the BLOG with what's been going on. I had my final baby shower on Saturday May 2nd. The guests at this shower were my c0-workers and a few other friends. I definitely want to give special thanks to both Anna and Wendi. Anna hosted the shower at her house and made some super cute decorations - including her famous "diaper cake"! Anna's husband brought food from his restaurant (Blue Coast Burrito), so we had a Cinco De Mayo theme going - and since I LOVE Mexican food, it was perfect! I want to thank Wendi as well for all her hard work in co-hosting the shower. The food and desserts were incredible and I couldn't have asked for a better shower! I also want to say how excited I was that my good friend Jen was able to make it to the shower! She is also pregnant and has had some complications but luckily was released from bed rest the week before the shower! It meant a lot to have her there - and she also brought my favorite dessert - chocolate covered strawberries! :) Yummy!

Everyone that came was so generous and I received lots of cute baby gifts! I work with a great group of ladies - and for that I will always been grateful! I've been with Greenvale for over 5 years and I have developed some very strong and lasting friendships. I can't wait for them to meet our newest additions to the family!

3D Ultrasound

On Thursday, Tony and I went and had a 3D Ultrasound done so we could get a preview of Emma and Logan. It was really an amazing experience.

Here is our precious litte girl -

Here is our handsome little man -

Here's a few more shots of each of them:

http://s499.photobucket.com/albums/rr360/jcortez2157/?albumview=grid

Baby Shower # 2!

Last Saturday we had our second baby shower. This one was was hosted by Jami Litton. I want to thank Jami for an awesome shower! Also, thank you to Mrs. Shotwell and Mrs. Litton for your help and also Sarah for having the shower at your house. I know you're probably tired of seeing me for a while :)

The shower was wonderful - once again, everyone was so generous and we REALLY appreciate all of the fabulous gifts. We received lots of adorable outfits and pajamas for both Logan and Emma, several handmade blankets, two bouncy seats, two bath robes, diapers and wipes, some other really cute things and gift cards from out-of-state family (those will certainly come in handy!).

Thank you so much for everyone that came to the shower and to all of you that helped make it a success!

Pictures - Coming Soon!

28 Week Doctor's Appointment

We had our 28 week Doctor's appointment this past Tuesday and everything is looking great. We had another full anatomy scan ultrasound and both babies are growing nicely - Emma is now 2 lbs 14oz and Logan is 3lbs 1oz. They're within 5% of each other's weight which is perfect! The only bummer is that Emma is still not cooperating with Mama and is still breach. There's still a possibility that she will turn, but we're running out of time and room. I'm trying to prepare myself for a C-section because I think that's going to be the most likely outcome.

I will start going in now every two weeks, so our next appointment will be on May 7th. This appointment will be with one of the other doctor's in the practice. (We still have 3 doctors left to meet). The plan for this appointment will be to "check" me and also to do a test called a FFN (Fetal Fibronectin). A negative result on the FFN test means it's highly unlikely that I would go into labor within the next two weeks. They use this test for women that are considered high risk, but have not shown any typical signs of pre-term labor. A positive result does not mean that you'll definitely deliver within two weeks, but it does tell you that you're at risk for pre-term labor and allow the doctor to make decisions on how to proceed with treatment. Hoping for a negtive result and a little peace of mind!

We have scheduled our 3D/4D ultrasound appointment for this Thursday! I'm SO excited to get a sneak preview of our little babies :) Hopefully they'll cooperate and we'll get some cute pictures to share with everyone!

Our First Baby Shower!

We had our first Baby Shower last Sunday (April 19th). I would like to thank Sarah and Fred for hosting the baby shower!! It was a Co-Ed shower and the guests were all people that work with Tony. Sarah had everyone bring a package of diapers, so we got a great head start on our diaper supply. We had a really great turnout and are so thankful to everyone for all the generous and thoughtful gifts!

Here are a few pictures taken at the shower:

To see the rest of the pictures from the shower, click here: http://gallery.me.com/derfberg#100048&view=mosaic&bgcolor=black&sel=0

Thank you Fred for all the great photos! And Thank You again, Sarah, for the awesome shower!

New Hairdo & Belly Pic

I finally got my hair cut and highlighted last Thursday. It had been way too long! Here's a picture of my new 'do:

I have now began my 7th month of pregnancy! Since I'll be induced if I haven't delivered by about 8 1/2 months, that means I have less than 2 1/2 months to go. WOW! I am still feeling great. My biggest difficulty is sleeping at night. I've had a hard time with that my whole pregnancy, but now I'm definitely at the stage where I'm having trouble getting comfortable. I am having a lot of lower back pain too when I sleep, so I've started to wedge pillows around me to help alleviate that.

I've also been experiencing a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, but that is normal for me at this point. The nurse said that as long as they don't start forming a pattern, then I shouldn't worry. I go in for my 28 week appointment this Tuesday April 21st. I'll be very relieved to see the babies again and know that everything is okay. 4 weeks between appointments seems like forever! After this appointment, I should start going in every 2 weeks, so that will be good.

It's amazing how much I'm growing from week to week. According to what I've read, the babies should be about 2 1/2 lbs now, so that's 5lbs of baby in there already! We'll get to confirm their weights on Tuesday. Here is my latest belly picture:

Baby Names

Drumroll please.......... Well, that's probably not necessary since most of you already know the names! :)

For those of you that don't know yet, the babies' names will be:
Emmalee Grace and Logan Vincent

We made our decision within a few days of finding out that we were in fact having a boy and a girl. We have actually had our little girl's name picked out since before we even started "trying" to get pregnant. We're SO thankful to be having a little girl - because with two boys, one of them would have really been picked on with the name Emma!

We did have several recommendations and suggestions for "twin" names and my all time favorite has got to be "Fannie Mae" and "Freddie Mac" - thanks to Joyce for coming up with that one! For those of you not in Real Estate, you might not quite appreciate the humor in that as much as we did :)

We are really getting excited for the arrival of our precious little ones. As my belly grows, so does the anticipation! I think reality is really starting to set in for both of us. We're hoping to focus on the nursery over the next couple of weeks and get that finished. I'll post pictures as we get it put together.

25 Week Update & New Belly Pics

I am now 25 weeks pregnant - less than 13 weeks before I'll get to meet these two little ones. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. I have really enjoyed the past couple of weeks because I have been able to feel the babies moving around SO much. It's really an amazing feeling. Most of the time I'll feel one of them moving around at a time, but there's been a few times where they both get to going and it's like fireworks going off in my belly! My favorite thing is to be able to sit and watch my belly and actually "see" them kicking me. Sometimes I'll see the actual kick, sometimes just quivering, but it's such an awesome sight!

We got good news back from the Doctor on Monday - I did "pass" my glucose test, so I do not have Gestational Diabetes, which was such a relief! Bring on those carbs!! :) They did say my iron level was a tad bit low, so I have to take an iron supplement each day. Nothing to worry about though, it was just slightly below the normal level.

Now for those of you out there wondering what a twin belly looks like at 25 weeks, here's a few pictures for you :)

24 Week Doctor's Appointment

We had our 24 week Doctor's appointment, Ultrasound and Gestational Diabetes test on Thursday. According to the Ultrasound, the babies are looking great - they're getting so big! Our little girl is now 1lb 13oz and little guy is 1lb 15oz. Unfortunately Little Girl is NOT cooperating as of yet and is still breach. Since she'll be the first one out, it's a guaranteed C-Section for me if she does not turn head down. She still has time and room to turn, so let's hope she does so soon!

I met with one of the other Doctors in the practice at this appointment. They have us meet all the Doctors at some point, so in case my Doctor is not available when I deliver, I won't have a stranger delivering the babies. She listened to the heartbeats and measured me. I'm currently measuring 33 weeks - WOW! For those of you not familiar with what that means - they measure your uterus from the outside and that corresponds with how far along you are. So basically, I am the size of someone having one baby at 33 weeks. That's how much room that extra little one is taking up! What this means for me though is that my body actually thinks I'm about 33 weeks pregnant, which is why it's so common for women having twins to go into pre-term labor.

My next doctor's appointment will be at 28 weeks - scheduled for April 21st. After that, I will go in every two weeks and they will start monitoring me very closely to determine if I'm showing any signs of pre-term labor and need to either cut back at work or go on bedrest. She said bed rest is very common for twin moms. Let's hope things go well and I can continue "business as usual" for a while longer!

I will work on getting some of the Ultrasound pictures scanned and posted for everyone to see. Also, no word yet on the Gestational Diabetes test - hopefully I will hear something on Monday! Praying for good news!

23 Week Picture

Here's a new picture of me and the twins at 23 weeks!

As you can tell, my belly is growing and growing :) But that means the babies are too, so that's good! The questions when out in public have now started - like "When are you due?" - when I answer June, they kind of look at me funny - like WOW! You're huge if you're not due until June - at least that's what it seems like to me. Or even better "You don't have too much longer do you?" and then I answer "Three more months!" - again with puzzled looks. But when I tell them I'm having twins, I get the "Ohhhhh!" response. It's actually quite comical. Definitely an "ice breaker" when you tell someone you're having twins.

The babies are both moving around like crazy! Our little guy was wide awake this morning at 4AM doing what I can only imagine are his karate moves - and his sister did the same thing the night before! I think they're taking turns at getting momma ready for the sleepless nights!

Our next Doctor's appointment is coming up on Thursday. They'll do another full anatomy Ultrasound to check the babies' growth and development and I'll also have my Gestational Diabetes test. I hope all goes well!

Babies are on the Move!

I've been feeling the babies move around for several weeks now. I would say I felt the earliest movements around 16 weeks or so, but at the time, I wasn't 100% sure that's what I was feeling - since it was so light. Now, I can definitely feel them both kicking and it's strong enough now for me to sometimes even see from the outside.

The most exciting news of the week though is that Tony was able to feel both babies kick on Wednesday. It seemed for a while now that they only kicked during the day when I was at work. Luckily on Wednesday when I was sitting on the couch, I felt our little girl kick and said "come here, come here, come here" - he was able to catch her in the act! Later that evening, the little guy started kicking while we were watching TV and Tony was able to feel that too.

Michael and Thomas haven't been able to feel them kick yet - and I think it's about to drive Michael crazy, but I have a feeling it will happen soon. They're more and more active all the time. The little guy is kicking up a storm while I type!

I'm officially 5 months pregnant this week and I cannot believe how much time has passed since I first found out! Only 3 - 3 1/2 months left until we can meet our little ones - I can't wait!

Nursery

We have officially "started" on the nursey - Tony and his best friend Darren put the two cribs together yesterday. They started to put togther the changing table and there was no hardware included in the box - bummer! So Tony had to go by the store we bought it at to get the hardware for it. We still have some more furniture to buy - at least one dresser (maybe 2) and possibly a closet style armoire of some sort, since we do not have a closet in the room. Still deciding exactly what we want/need to finish it out.

We have decided on the bedding for the cribs. Instead of going gender neutral on both, we decided to do pink/brown for one crib and blue/brown for the other - both in the same patterns. Here's what the bedding will look like (the crib and other furniture is/will be white):