Twinners

Here are some more pictures of the twins throughout the month of May:


Our clothes are too big!
05/03/11



Little Bright Eyes
05/02/11

Sweet little dolly
05/07/11

Our bottles are bigger than we are!
05/13/11

My outfit matches brother's
05/24/11

My outfit matches sister's
05/24/11

FUN IN THE TUB

So everyone knows that you can't bathe a newborn until the umbilical cord falls off. Well, little mister's cord fell off when he was just one week old, but it took little missy's cord a bit longer so their first real baths were tonight. For being as little as they are, they were great. No crying or fussing. Just bright eyed and beautiful.

Malachi

Madelyn

Home Coming!

We got to bring the babies home today....which for twins is something of a miracle.  They are, as I've already said, absolutely beautiful.  Before we left the hospital, Richard snapped this picture of me and the dollies napping (not the most flattering picture of me, but they're perfect).

And, of course, we stopped at Aunt Jessica's first so all the kiddos could see the babies.  They're so small they both fit in one swing!

Out of the NICU

Here are some pictures of the babies since they have been moved to our room in the hospital.

Proud Papa!

Shhh....sister is sleeping.

More of Madelyn & Malachi

Today we got more time with the babies today—holding and cuddling and feeding them. Grandma and Grandpa came to meet the babies and so did Uncle Adam. We also took some great pictures!


We love to cuddle!



Grandma and Madelyn

Grandpa and Malachi

Madelyn's First Bottle from Mommy

Mommy's Sweet Angels

Madelyn's Pretty Yellow Ribbon



Eyeballs! Malachi's First Awake Time with Daddy.

AND the best news of the day is.......they are going to release both babies from the NICU and we get to have them in our room some time tonight!!!!!

Welcome to the World!

Today was the day! To make it to 38 weeks gestation with twins is pretty amazing and I did it! This afternoon Malachi and Madelyn Couch were born.  Here are my beautiful, sweet babies:



Malachi Conrad Couch
4 lb 12 oz, 16 1/2 inches
born at 12:23 p.m.





Madelyn Ruth Couch
5 lb 12 oz, 18 inches
born at 12:33 p.m.



The babies are in the NICU right now because of minor breathing problems.  I never understood, until today, what it was like for my sister to have her babies taken off to the NICU without being able to hold them.  It was 5 hours before I was able to hold Malachi and my arms literally ached to hold them during that time.  If Madelyn improves some more, I will be able to hold her later tonight.

I am, of course, tired and sore, but so grateful that my little ones are here.  Richard did great and got some great pictures.  We both feel so blessed to have these sweet little spirits join our family. 

I will keep the blog updated as the twins progress.

False Alarm

So we headed down to St. Luke's....hoping (really hoping) that it was time for the babies to come.  Sadly, no such luck.  Actually, I was more concerned that my little man wasn't moving today.  They hooked me up to the monitors and both babies had strong regular heartbeats and the contactions weren't consistent so they sent us home.  Here's the thing: I'm tired of driving to Boise for appointments and hospital stays.  I've decided that if I don't go into labor on my own, when I see my doctor on Monday, I'm going to beg him to induce me.  I'm so ready to be done!  Now, just cross your fingers that we can get all moved into our beautiful new house this weekend. 

IT'S OFFICIAL!

We just bought our first home!  Today we signed all of the papers and this beautiful, big house is all ours.  We have a few more repairs to make and then we'll be able to move in.  The whole process started in March and I was afraid to say anything in case it fell through.  But it was absolutely meant to be.  From start to finish, Heavenly Father has been guiding this transaction and working this miracle for our family.  The following is just a picture of the outside of our new home, but I promise more pictures are soon to come!

Discouragement

I'm feeling deeply discouraged tonight.  My house is trashed, I'm terribly behind at work, and all because I'm on "semi-bedrest" until the twins come.  I want my babies to be healthy, but being unable to work or clean, cook, or even move sometimes is really starting to take its toll.  I can't even play with Aiden because every movement causes pain.  I'm sure the continual insomnia isn't helping my mood.  And, of course, none of this is improved by the problems we're having with Devon.  Despite our best efforts and several therapies, he just isn't making progress.  Maybe I shouldn't be voicing all of this, but I'm just so discouraged and tired. Blogs are supposed to keep friends and family updated, be upbeat and light, so maybe this is too real and dark to share, but there it is. 

Richard has been amazing.  He works all day and then he comes home and takes care of the boys and does as much in the house as he can but there are only a few hours left after the boys are in bed.  He can't do it all and I feel guilty that I can't help out. 

As my sister and I always say, I just need to "pull up my big girl panties and deal with it".  Anybody know how I can do that?