Guest Post: A view from the waiting room

Donna:
The only thing that could have made that day more fabulous is if my Mother had been there. I'm sure she was watching though. Everyone told me that the love of a grandchild was special and overwhelming and I see that very clearly now.
As Karen stated above about the wagers going on...I won! Well, I shared the pot with Uncle Morgan and Poppy Tony. I'm sure through the years I will return that money to these children a thousand fold!
This "grandparenting" thing is a life changer for sure. I think my life as I knew it is changed and I may not be at Blues or the Rifle Club as much but that's OK. I can't take my eyes off of them!
I'm going to be an obnoxious Grandmother so please bear with me and enjoy this ride with us!

Karen:
Such an exciting and much anticipated morning!!!! The day we had been waiting for was finally here and the big question would be answered within a couple of hours! What are they? boy, boy? girl, girl? boy, girl? I love surprises and I love that Beau and Kathryn chose to wait til delivery to find out! Like we did in the "old" days, when they were born! Lol!
So, the welcoming party gathered on the 3rd floor of East Cooper Hospital, coffee in hand to await the BIG news! We had such a good time sharing stories, laughing together, and just being silly. It was truly a joyful couple of hours. To add to the fun, we decided to wager bets on what the sexes would be- $20 per guess! I chose B,B along with Beau! Of course, now you know we were wrong!!

One for me and one for Donna!!!! And it was LOVE at 1st sight!

Fwd: Additions to the Evans' household

Nine months of waiting has brought us a boy and a girl that we are in love with...Gray and Caroline. 

Sunday morning Beau and I decided to call our doc. I was having some minor contractions and pain and was just in general, very uncomforatble. The doc said to come in and let her do a quick check. With being 6 cm dilated and major contractions starting once I got to the hospital, we were getting this thing rolling.

Beau called the family and gave them the go-ahead that this thing was on go! For me, that meant checking into the hospital, setting up monitors and calling the anesthesiologist to come on in.

About an hour later I was in the OR with a bunch of nurses, tables, monitors and really bright lights! The anesthesiologist came in and gave me the block. That worked within seconds. I didn't even have time to get my legs up on the table. It was a strange feeling. Thinking my legs were in one place, but seeing them in another.

The doc and her team did their thing to get me prepped and tested to make sure I couldn't feel a thing (thank you!) and then brought Beau in. As soon as he was in place the party began. Beau with his Go Pro on his head, documenting the whole thing with photos being taken every 1 second. It felt like it took them forever to finally get a baby out. But when they did, it was so exciting! Baby A came first and I was finally able to see and know who had been kicking and punching me and having the hiccups in me for 9 months. 

The doc and Beau agreed that Beau would be the one to tell me what the sex of the babies were. The doc held the first baby up so Beau could see and all he could get out was "Aaaaahhhhh!!!" The nurses yelled "Well, tell her what it is!" Beau said, "Oh. It's a boy!" He was so completely thrilled and excited he was speechless. 

It took less than a minute to get Baby B out next and I was able to know and see the little one that gave me heartburn and some major acid reflux for the last two months. It was a girl! The whole OR screamed in excitement. Not a soul in that room knew what they were going to be so it was one giant surprise. Beau and I were given the greatest gift, one of each! 

We are proud to announce the birth of Caroline and Gray Evans

Kathryn and I are proud to announce the birth of our little ones, Caroline and Gray Evans. They arrived on March 22 at East Cooper Medical Center. Gray was first to enter the world at 10:17AM and was a big boy at 8 lbs 8 oz. He measured 21 inches long with a head (like his daddy) of 14 inches. Caroline came only a minute later at 10:18 AM and was a petite little girl weighing only 5 lbs 14 oz. Her head measured 13 inches and she was 19 and a half inches long.

Soybean Wind

This had to be shared. I know that everyone is thinking where are the twin blogs. They are coming. I am trying to get out of the cellar of sleep and catching up on emails. Enjoy and more important things to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX8BXH3SJn0&t=846

Watchin' the World Wake Up

One of our last mornings of just the two of us. Sittin' on the screen porch drinkin' coffee, watchin' the world wake up.

36 Weeks

Well, we've made it to 36 weeks, the official average for twins. And today when I write this, we're two days past! So we're doing quite well!

Recent Happenings:
1. Dilated 3cm now.
2. Hospital visit last Thursday due to decreased fetal movement. But after three hours of monitoring, all was perfectly fine. I guess a mother worries even before they're out in this big world!
3. Beau and I celebrated 4 wonderful years of marriage. And this past year has been the best yet! We stayed close to home and had French at Bougat. Yummies! Great date night!
4. Still no stretch marks!
5. Craving for Honey Comb cereal almost resulted in buying a box for $10 from Amazon. But alas, Target carries it! 😝
6. Made a goodie basket for the nurses at the hospital.
7. Babies love bath time!
8. Argos had seven teeth removed, which resulted in a very lethargic and sad dog and diarrhea on our floors. 😁

Fwd:

We are officially 35 weeks as of Saturday! Every day in there is better for them and we're thankful.

Recent Happenings:

1. Bed rest continues and for this girl it's difficult. I admit, I've been cheating. For I cannot help myself.

2. Strange cravings that Kathryn normally doesn't eat: sushi, hot dogs, orange juice, strawberry ice cream

3. Belly is getting so tight that even when the babies aren't moving there's a permanent fist or food that is jutting out the middle of my tummy. I guess he/she has no where else to go.

4. Received beautiful flowers from my sister.

5. Brought down a 32 count package of newborn diapers to set up the diaper-changing station downstairs and had to laugh. I realized that the 32 count I thought would be enough to get us started would only last 1.5 days between two babies. :) I'll need to bring more down.

6. Babies are kicking while I sleep. I'm used to it, but apparently they kicked Beau last night and woke him up! 

7. Both weighing in at least 5 lbs now!

8. I successfully put together their little vibrating rocker chairs!

9. Great girlfriends of mine (Jamie Lee, Katie and Lauren) brought this girl some delicious Thai food for dinner last week since I'm home bound. Thank you!

10. Braxton Hicks contractions are getting pretty intense when they come.

11. Lower back pain/discomfort is requiring a heating pad to ease it.

12. Still no stretch marks! I can't even believe. Gosh I hope the babies come before those things develop.