Claire Mackenzie and Annabel Marie

THEY ARE HERE!!!!

i can not believe that i have not posted anything over the last few weeks. if you have been trying to follow along, im sorry you have been left hanging. unless we are friends on Facebook/twitter/instagram, you would have no idea. "my" laptop had to be turned in when i resigned from my job, and our home computer pretty much completely crashed that same week.

so, the quick version goes like this: after that 33 week appointment (last post) my blood pressure was all over the map at pretty much any given point. i would have really good days and really bad days. of course, it just so happened that each time i would have a doctors appointment, i usually had a bad day. i was asked to stay for observation 3 times. those stays always involved a 24 hour urine test to see if there was a certain protein in my urine that would be indicative of pre eclampsia. there was one visit (at 34 weeks) that peter and i took ourselves to the hospital because i was having regular contractions. turns out it was not true labor and we were sent home, but not before a 24 hours test :). in the end, peter and i met up for my bi-weekly appointment with dr. todd on friday march 8. my blood pressure was very high (no surprise to us) and we were admitted. at the end of another 24 hour test and no eating or drinking for over 9 hours, dr. todd came in on march 9 and gave us the option to deliver that night (saturday) or sunday morning. we chose right then...we were tired of all the back and forth, plus i had already not eaten...what was a few more hours? dr. todd thought the girls were ready and based on an ultrasound from friday, told us to expect 6.5-7lb babies, pretty big for 35 weeks and 3 days!!!

on saturday, march 9 at 8:02pm, Claire Mackenzie Loeser was born, weighing 4lb 11oz and 18 inches long.

on saturday, march 9 at 8:04pm, Annabel Marie Loeser was born, weighing 5lb 9oz and 19.5 inches long.

thankfully, the girls came out doing great. they were smaller than what the ultrasound predicted (no surprise there), but were very healthy! they were breathing great on their own and showed no signs of needing assistance. they did go to NICU for the first night for observation and to "be safe"...after all, they were twins and born late term pre mature. unfortunately for me, things didnt go quite as i had planned in my head. dont get me wrong, i had two healthy beautiful babies, but because of my BP issues and because i have amazing doctors who are cautious, i was unable to spend much time with the girls until 6pm sunday night. i was taken to antipartum instead of postpartum to have medicine to control my BP (although it was stable after delivery). i was not allowed to leave my room, and the girls were not able to leave theirs. so, outside of seeing them for 5 min between my move from recovery to antipartum, i did not see them...just a few pics and videos peter and other visitors would show me. BUT all things considered, i am so blessed!! i have said several times over the last few weeks, we make plans so that we can change them!

the great news is that after the normal 4 days after c-section stay in the hospital we came home all together as a family of four! in fact, we could have left after 3 days, but we opted for the extra day to adjust to being parents with the nursing help if needed. how many 35 week twins can go home 3 days after delivery??!!??

after being home for a few days, i am so happy to say that we are all doing fantastic! we are TOTALLY in love! i have the cutest baby girls (no bias there), they are good eaters, amazing sleepers, and all around perfect!

they do not really look anything alike and we can already tell they are going to have unique personalities...its so fun! they also have their daddy wrapped around their little, tiny finger! peter has been an amazing dad from the get go, and this week he has really stepped up his game. i feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have him as my partner in parenthood (more on this later).

for tonight, i will leave you with the above...maybe i will share more later...like my c-section experience...not at all what i thought it would be. and of course i will have to really tell you how life at home is going. please feel free to follow me on the social media sites...there have been some really cute pics of my sweets added over the last week. geesh...my babies are a week old already!!! but, in case you dont want to do that, here are just a couple.

first day! top is Claire (baby a) bottom is Annabel (baby b)

taking a snooze on daddy's lap in the hospital. Claire on the left, Annabel on the right

i am one tired momma, but soooooo happy! (day 3) Annabel on left and Claire on right

finally at home! Claire on left, Annabel right

one week old at the newborn photoshoot. peter loves his new job! Annabel on the left, Claire on the right

cant believe they have been here a week! Annabel on left, Claire on right

thanks for all the prayers and support and encouragement for peter and me and our girls. we really could not be more blessed or more thankful for all that God has given us in the form of these amazing little people!

blessings, ALo