What's been happening the last 4 weeks

The past 4 weeks since Lyla and Lexi were born have FLOWN by. It is extremely bittersweet for me because it means that I will be returning to work soon. However, I know they will be in good hands because they will be with their Daddy (that's the subject of a whole other post)! So what have we been up to since December 3rd?

We were discharged from the hospital on Friday, December 5th. For me, that was amazing since I basically lived in fear throughout the pregnancy that the girls would have to spend time in the NICU. Multiples are often born early and more often than not spend time there to help in their development before they are sent home. But not our miracle babies!

The first week at home we were joined by Zayde, my father, who graciously helped me out since Josh had to go back to work. He loved watching the girls while I tried to "rest". Thankfully recovery from the c-section was a piece of cake for me so "resting" was more like laundry and dishes! During this week we took Lyla and Lexi to their first pediatrician appointment with Dr. Lauren Mitchell. They were weighed, measured, and completely checked out...and declared PERFECT! They still weren't up to their birth weights so Dr. Mitchell wanted us to come back when they were 2 weeks. We really liked Dr. Mitchell and found out that she is a twin herself!

The second week at home brought Grandma, Josh's mother, to help out. She was also a huge help as she cleaned and ironed Josh's shirts (I'm a horrible wife and don't spend much time ironing!). She also got to love on the girls! We took the girls back to Dr. Mitchell where they surpassed their birth weights! At 2 weeks Lyla weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces and Lexi weighed 4 pounds 12 ounces...still munchkins!

The third week we got to spend the holidays with the greatest gifts we could ever receive. Bubbie and Zayde (my parents) came over to light the Hannukah candles on the first and last nights of Hannukah. On Christmas eve, Grandma, Grandpa, and Honey (Josh's parents and grandmother) came over and we opened presents. It was a quiet holiday season this year but we couldn't have asked for a better one. Oh yeah, and the girls celebrated their due date on December 27th! Mama and Daddy have enjoyed the 24 extra days we got with the two of you!

And now to this week, the fourth week. We rang in the new year by feeding and changing Lyla and Lexi! I know it sounds glamorous but really it's just like everyday for us, please don't be jealous ;) I was actually in their room changing Lexi when midnight struck so Josh came in their and we celebrated! I love our family.

Bubbie and Zayde holding Lyla and Lexi in the hospital

Grandma and Grandpa in the hospital

Honey holding a baby (I'm not sure which one!)

Lexi at 9 days old



Lyla at 9 days old

How we got here...

Early in 2008 Josh and I decided we were ready to start trying to have a baby. Josh's birthday is December 9th and he thought it would be fun to share a birthday with his baby, but how do you plan that? Well, you change your name to Josh Jones and just wait. We realized that our small East Memphis house would not be big enough so we started looking at new houses. After some drama, we finally found a beautiful house in Collierville and moved in the beginning of April.

As luck would have it, a couple weeks after we moved we found out we were expecting! The baby's due date was December 27th which was close enough to Josh's birthday to mean his plan worked! Well, almost. You see on May 28th our lives changed completely. It was on this fateful day that we found out I wasn't carrying a baby....I was carrying TWINS!!!! Thank goodness we had just bought that bigger house!

The months went on and the high risk multiple pregnancy was pretty uneventful. My doctor took me off of work on October 1st due to my increasing contractions and the horrible swelling. As a pharmacist, being on my feet for 10 hours a day was too risky according to my doctor. So I got to play house wife for a couple months until we found out that the babies were measuring small. My doctor sent me to a high risk doctor on December 2nd for a more in depth ultrasound which confirmed his suspicions. At that appointment, my blood pressure was high and there was protein in my urine, and this caused the high risk doctor to send us to the hospital for a more in depth pre-eclampsia work up. Luckily my lab work came back fine and the babies looked great on the monitor, but my doctor decided that it would be best to deliver the babies.

On December 3rd the two most beautiful little girls were born via c-section to the two luckiest parents in the world. At 9:14 am we welcomed a screaming Alexa Isabella, and not to be out done, at 9:15 am we welcomed another screaming baby named Lyla Julianne. Alexa, who we call Lexi, weighed in at a whopping 4 pounds 6 ounces, and her little sister Lyla weighed in at 4 pounds 1 ounce. Despite their small sizes, they were perfectly healthy and spent NO time in the neonatal intensive care unit! We were truly blessed.

And now my little girls are almost 1 month old. The time has flown by and although I'm exhausted I couldn't be any happier. Life takes twists and turns you never expect, but in the end it all works out!



Right before the c-section


Lyla Julianne


Alexa Isabella

I give in.

After following some friends blogs for a little while, I've decided to start my own. This is generally not my thing, but with the birth of our beautiful girls almost a month ago, I think this is a good way for friends and family to keep up with us. Unfortunately having newborn twins does not allow a lot of time for talking on the phone and I'm so sorry for not returning phone calls but maybe this blog will help everyone to see what we're up to!

Here's a picture to tide you all over until I can really get into this blog! That's Lexi on the left and Lyla on the right!