The Birth Story

I was hoping to wait until Sunday to have the babies, since I had a few things I wanted to do over the weekend, but the babies had other plans.  I’d been having false labor all week, and wondered if I’d recognize real labor when it finally came.  Saturday morning, I didn’t have to wonder anymore.

My water broke at 8 am.  I wasn’t sure at first, since I don’t normally wet my pants, I called Steve to come downstairs and get ready to go. I was making waffles for breakfast, since that was William’s favorite meal. Steven’s parents had recently left for the annual Firestorm Bike Ride, so we called his brother Kevin and his wife, Mary Jane to stay with William until Bill and Karen got back. I called Steve’s parents and Bill had been about to tell us we could watch the ride at the base of the canyon when I told him we were headed to the hospital.  It was show time. 

Contractions started not long after Kevin and Mary Jane arrived.  We had breakfast and then prepared for our new journey, making sure to have one last belly shot:

Still only 44 inches around, with a final weight gain of 41 lbs.  That’s 4 inches bigger and 11 lbs. heavier than I was with William.

We also made sure to get one last family picture before we practically doubled in size.

Before I had these babies, I always wondered if the birth would be anything like William’s.  With him, my water broke at 8 am, and he was born 32 LONG hours later.  I was surprised when my water broke (again at 8 am, no less), since apparently it only happens like 10% of the time. And a Saturday birth again, no less.  This makes all three of our kids born on Saturdays. But that’s where the similarities end.

When I kept dilating, I figured it wouldn’t be anywhere near the same…I hoped I’d be lucky enough to make it to the hospital by the time I actually noticed contractions. Luckily I did…but just barely.

We called my parents on the way to the hospital, and had to tell them we wouldn’t make it to dinner the next day…they understood. We texted a few friends/family that the babies were coming, and checked into the hospital as contractions started coming fast and furious every minute or so. Ridiculously AWFUL back labor.  Felt like broken-my-tailbone-during-each-contraction back labor. We barely had time to get the epidural in place and functioning properly (side note: I actually refused a cervix check because I wanted needed more medicine in case they told me it was time, as we were expecting a possible breech extraction due to Baby B being transverse/oblique---ouch! without proper anesthesia) before I was checked and headed to the OR to deliver.

I had to deliver on one of those tiny little operating tables.  As soon as they lifted me on the table, the doctors could already see his little head without even checking me.  It was go time.  We had quite the party in that little room…funny enough, it was all girls except for the anesthesiologist, 2 pediatricians, my husband, and Baby A.  There were 2-3 OBs, 2-3 nurses for me, and at least one per baby, 1 anesthesiologist, and 2 pediatricians.  Somewhere in the vicinity of 10 people, not counting Steve, the babies, and me.  Standing room only, lol.

I was delivered by the on-call doc, since mine had gone out of town for the weekend. Figures that’s when I’d go into labor, right?  Luckily it was too fast to worry about anything. Less than 3 hours after my water broke, and after 2 minutes of pushing, at 11:02 am, we were greeted by Baby A. A tiny little boy who was less than happy to join the real world despite his quick entrance.

He weighed in at 5 lbs, 10 oz.  We named him Caleb Anderson Garff.  Caleb (nicknamed Cal, after the character in Steinbeck’s East of Eden, one of Steven’s favorite books) because Steve let me pick the names and Caleb was the name Steve liked best from my list. Anderson is Steven’s mom’s maiden name.  A nurse from LA actually recommended the name when she found out we were having a boy and I mentioned I liked last names as boy names and it stuck with me ever since.

After Caleb was born, I had to be given a bit of Pitocin to encourage Baby B.  She was less sure about joining us, but decided to venture out head down so we had to wait a bit.  The OB had to use forceps to “encourage” her out faster due to a dip in heart rate, but she came out crying.  At 11:38, our baby girl joined the party in the OR. Caleb was excited to see her on this side of the womb.

Lily Anne Garff weighed in at 6 lbs, 6 oz. We named her Lily, because she was a spring baby and Anne is after both my mom’s middle name (Ann) and my childhood best friend, Annalisa (who’s birthday is April 10…we almost made it).

When people tell us we have our hands full, they have NO IDEA. Literally, our arms are full of baby.

Both babies were born healthy (no NICU!!!) but with a few minor issues that they had to be monitored for.  Caleb had a hard time breathing and was grunting. He was monitored in the nursery for a few hours with Steven before I got to see him again. Lily had blood sugar and was immediately returned to me for feeding.  Luckily, that did the trick.

It’s easy to tell them apart (despite the obvious gender difference) due to their face shape.  Caleb has a short, square face.

Lily’s face is longer and more full.

And both of them have LOTS of brown hair.  In fact, they both have more hair than William does at 2 years old.

We had lots of visitors when in the hospital. Papa and Grandma Garff brought William to meet his new siblings.

William brought his Easter babies some bunny toys…but got confused when he realized he didn’t get to keep them.But left full of my dinner. Good thing I don’t like peas or pumpkin pie.

My parents came to visit with my younger brothers and sister. Since their 3 youngest grandchildren were in the hospital, it gave them the opportunity to see them all during the visit.

My brother Arthur nicknamed Lily, “Chewbacca” because she has a hairy back due to her early birth.  I hope for her sake neither the hair or the nickname stick.

We also got visits from Mike and Catherine just in time for their first baths.

And Sunday night we had a surprise visit from Mike Cook and his friend Julie, Donovan and Cortney, AND my brother Daniel and his wife Karalee.  It was quite the party.

We went home Monday night with both babies.

And have since survived the first week…but just barely.

Birthday Babies 3/31/2012

We didn’t quite make it to April Fool’s Day.

Introducing…

Baby “A” Caleb Anderson, 11:02 am

5 lbs, 10 oz; 18.9 inches

Baby “B” Lily Anne, 11:38 am

6 lbs, 6 oz, 19.69 inches

Before Baby To-Do List---Complete

I got everything I really wanted to do on my pre-twins to-do list.

Each baby got their own custom sling made by me, all the necessary baby items were purchased and organized, and then we had time for some fun outings.  Liam and I rode Trax to take his friend Kambree on a date to Temple Square to see the museum exhibits. 

It was super fun for them, but a lot less fun for me, since that much walking was too taxing on a very pregnant mom.

We got the dogs all groomed and after picking them up, made a stop at Sugarhouse Park to feed the ducks.  This was totally a bribe to get my son to take a nap…it worked.

We also went with cousin Daniel to visit Papa at work…he is letting a woman keep 2 Shetland Ponies on the empty lot next to the office and we thought it would be fun for the boys…they had more fun with the rocks and sticks.

I joked that since I got all the major things done, I would go into labor the next day…just like it happened with William.  I had no idea I was right.

TO BE CONTINUED

36 Weeks and Still Counting…but Barely

I finally got off bed rest last Monday at 35 weeks. My doctor figured I didn’t have much time left so I may as well enjoy it.   And enjoy it we did.
We visited my friend Kristi and her new baby Lina in the hospital (luckily our Silly Billy handled it pretty well),

Had playdates with his friend Kambree (below) and cousin Abby (not pictured),

Improved William’s biking skills,

Gave William a makeover,


Spent a morning at the new City Creek Mall, prepped for babies, and Steven and I also had one last date (for awhile, at least) of Hunger Games and Cheesecake Factory.
I’m glad we did.  It’s looking like these babies will be here within the week (I know, I kinda sound like a broken record). I only have a few shirts left that actually fit, so I guess that’s probably a good thing. I went to the doctor today and was dilated 5-6 cm with Baby Boy so low that I practically got a yelp of surprise during the check up from the doctor.  I almost was requred to walk around the hospital for an hour or 2 to make sure it wasn’t actual labor, but since I still wasn’t even feeling contractions, I was allowed to go home and eat dinner.  Yay! But stay tuned to the Garff blog…I get induced April 9th at the latest.
And for your viewing pleasure…the ever growing baby belly.
35 weeks:

36 weeks:

And today, 36 weeks, 2 days. After getting my membranes stripped today, we’re thinking this is likely the last one.

I’ve officially put on 40 lbs. and have a 44-inch belly. Just about right for 2 good-sized babies.

Bedrest and Book Review

It’s been a long 4 weeks of bed rest, with an ever-growing belly and doctor visits as my only (allowed) escape.  Luckily, this means I have been able to get a lot done on my resolution to read 12 books. Barely 2 months into the year, and done.  Glad to be done, since I’m not sure how much reading I’ll actually get done with 2 new babies, but at least that’s one less thing to worry about. I actually read 13, since one book was started before the year began, lest I be accused of cheating.

1. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith: This was a Christmas gift (books are a tradition in our stockings at our house) last year, and it took me over a year to actually complete it.  Started out slow, but did get a lot better. Lots of romance and some mystery, but really not my kind of book.

2. Twinsense: A book about having twins.  I’ve read a lot of these over the last 6-8 months, especially because of the bed rest.  No point in reviewing the twin books, but if any of our readers end up with twins, let me know and I’ll send reccomendations.

3. The Multiple Pregnancy Sourcebook.

4. The Money Saving Mom’s Budget by Crystal Paine.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  With 2 periods of unemployment over the last year, I have learned a lot from the author’s blog about saving money, definitely my go-to blog. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn good ways to save money…and I do have a copy I’m willing to loan out.

5. When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads.

6. Raising Twins.

7. Expecting Twins, Triplets, and more.

8. Politically Correct Holiday Stories. I meant to read this around Christmas, but didn’t end up reading until January, (silly, I know). If you liked Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, you’ll love this.  Basically, it’s just classic Christmas stories written in a funny, trying-hard-not-to-offend kind of way.

9. Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider.  Got this as a free Kindle download from Amazon.  Not the best I’ve seen about organizing, but not bad for the price.  I’ve been way into decorative organizing this year…too bad most of our things are stuck in a storage unit until we get our own place.

10. My Grandfather’s Blessing  by Rachel Remen. A book of life stories from the perspective of a Jewish Doctor.  Some of the stories were AMAZING.  Others left a lot to be desired.  I had to plow through to the end, but there were definitely gems to be found inside.

11, 12, 13. Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay.  I read the entire series, mostly while I was in the hospital, thanks to my awesome sister-in-laws.  I hate to admit it, but these are my kind of stories; action, violence, and a bit of fantasy and romance.  Reminds me a lot of Ender’s Game. I was getting pretty sick of reading until I started this series…perked me right up and sucked me into the story. Couldn’t hardly put them down. Hoping the babies hold out until the end of the month so I can see the movie!

In other news, I’m nearly 35 weeks with the twins and feeling bigger every day, though the actually measurements vary pending the babies’ positions. Putting on socks and getting up after squatting down has become quite the challenge due to my current size. My weight has started hitting scary number…a 40 pound gain! But considering I’m growing 2 babies and can’t exercise, I can’t really complain too much. They are measuring 5 lbs, 2 oz (boy) and 5 lbs, 13 oz (girl), great sizes for twins, especially considering baby boy is so low, that they couldn’t really measure his entire head properly. These ultrasounds aren’t entirely accurate, but thinking I have 11 lbs of baby and only measuring 39 weeks is pretty mind-blowing. I even got my first stretch marks. :( 

I’ve been pretty consistently dilating  (currently at 4 cm and 90%, more than after 12 hours of labor and my water breaking with William, lol), and it won’t be long until the babies arrive. My MFM is surprised I made it this long, considering. We’re hoping for April babies to avoid NICU time. If they decide to stick around longer (which I’m totally fine with, btw), they will be induced around week 38 (April 7-ish). Not sure how I feel that we only have 3 weeks left, and even though I’ve been through this before, I’m not looking forward to the delivery part.  It has to be better than my LONG experience with their big brother, I suppose, so all this pre-term labor may actually be a plus in that respect.  Kind of crazy to think that it won’t be long until we get to see their cute little faces and become an official family of 5!

Silly Billyness: First Haircut

It took 2 years and 4 months but we FINALLY cut William’s hair.  It’s a good thing, too.  William had started get get embarrassed by how long it was getting. Especially the little curly rat tail in the back

He hated that when we washed it, he would get water in his eyes, and had quite the comb-over to cover a few bald spots on the sides. It was starting to get unmanageable.Our little William was such a good sport (watching Sesame Street and the promise of a cookie will do that to a kid). 

We all enjoyed watching.  Especially cousin Daniel.

Catherine Cut’s William’s Hair

Special thanks to Aunt Catherine for the trim!

We think our little boy looks so handsome, though I do miss the bit of curl we were hoping would continue.  But it didn’t, so we gave up on the surfer look and went for something more practical. What a big boy!

In other news, I have finally made it to 34 weeks.  Still on bedrest, but at least the babes are still cooking.  We’re hoping to go another month.  We’ve been lucky enough to have a few days of nicer weather and I got to do bedrest like this:

Now THIS is what I call bedrest. 

A Better Way to Spend the Weekend

I’ve been so sick of being at the hospital, I was THRILLED to not end up there this weekend as well. As a reward for my good behavior (i.e. not going into labor or some other emergency), I let myself cheat and went to my nephew Spencer’s birthday party Friday night.  It was fun to see the family.  Liam adored spending time with his cousins…in fact, he cried when we left, shouting “more Abby, more Abby”.  Luckily he woke up saying “Abby” (Spencer’s big sister) interspersed with shouts of “Disneyland!” That’s my boy!

I had permission from the doctor to go to my nephew Kit’s baptism on Saturday, and I was so glad to get out of the house again and see some family members I hadn’t seen in a few months.  My nephew Kit gave me a hug and noticed I was pregnant.  When I told him there were 2 babies in my belly, his eyes got so wide, like it was the craziest thing he’d ever heard.

Liam has been really into singing “I am a Child of God” and luckily, we sang it there.  He has been so taken with the song, that he has been sitting at the piano, playing and singing.  Steve had to be a bit sneaky since Liam gets so excited when we pull out the video camera, but was able to get a quick video Saturday evening of his encore performance.

William’s Amazing Rendition of “I am a Child of God”

I also got permission to go to a baby shower for the twins after the baptism, put on by The Man Basket Society. It was just my closest friends and family, and everyone put in so much time and effort to make it seriously the best. shower. ever. Liam LOVED playing with the presents.  I hope it won’t be too hard for him to give up his new “toys” to his little brother and sister.

In lieu of party games, the girls made homemade laundry soap, baby wipes and onesies…we’re totally set on the basics!

Some of us (Catherine) had way too much fun with the onesies. Hers turned out to be my favorite.

Katie, her sister Emma, and her mom made me the cutest coordinating car seat covers.  I’d been wanting these forever, and I love them in all their Disney glory.  The yellow buttons were an especially nice touch.

I was really disappointed to miss Kristi’s shower last week, even though being in the hospital was a very reasonable excuse.  The date had been picked to allow me to come and participate (I was in charge of games, thanks to Katie for picking up the slack!) Luckily, Kristi was nice enough to hold off on labor (she’s 39 weeks) so we could get some awesome belly shots.

My belly is ever-changing in size, though I still don’t feel too massive (yet). Pictures I have seen of other twin moms at 33 weeks always seem so much bigger, and full of stretch marks.  At this point in time, I feel reasonably sized and stretch-mark free, and I am hoping it stays that way. Last Saturday, The Belly was 40 inches, this Saturday morning it was 42 inches.  I felt so huge Saturday night that I measured again.  44 inches! What a change within a week.  Now I’m back to 42 inches, but depending on the babies stretching and positions, I am always changing.

Speaking of bellies, have you ever hugged a pregnant woman when you were pregnant?  It’s such a weird feeling.

I wasn’t the only one who had an awesome, hospital-free weekend. Steve took the opportunity (since I would be surrounded by help) to go skiing with his dad for what may be the last time, in a long time.

As of now (33.2 weeks), no babies have made their appearance.  I’m hoping for between April 1-10 for a birthdate.  We’ll see how that goes.  So far, so good.