Jack and Hunter's Birth Story

On October 13, 2009 we found out for sure that we would deliver the boys on October 14. This gave me a day of dashing around madly to get ready. I had three girls to pack up and send off to friend for sleepovers (they were more excited about this then having their brothers arrive), plus a house to clean and myself to get ready. We arrived at the hospital at 6am on the morning of the 14th. I was very nervous, this was my first c-section (Hunter was breech and left us with no other option!), and I wasn't really sure what to expect. My deliveries have been fairly easy...so this one has been my most challenging. At 630am all my I.V.'s were started, and the "risk" talks had begun. By 7am, Dennis Turner ( Matt's executive secretary for Church) came and started the prep work for my spinal block ( he did great...Thanks Dennis!!!!) At 8am I was walked to the OR room and everything was prepped. I got to wear a pretty floral cap, and Matt got to wear purple scrubs! Purple for boys....oh well!!! Everything was marked and color coded for Baby A and Baby B. It was determined that Baby B would probably be delivered first since he was more forward then Baby A. Once I was numb, the surgery began. As I was opened up, Jack (baby B), waved at the doctors from inside the amniotic sac. My doctor and the assisting doctor thought this was most amazing, and talked about it for days. Jack was delivered without complications, and was crying right away. ( sigh of relief). Hunter was delivered next, and also started crying right away. What a wonderful feeling, hearing my boys crying in stereo all around me! Matt got to "trim" the cord on both his boys. They both got great AP GAR scores ( 8's and 9's), were wrapped up, shown to me, and whisked away to be observed and warmed. Matt went with them, and I went off to recovery until I could wiggle my toes (ugh!). It seems like I was there forever. They brought Jack to me, and he nursed right away, first try. I was so drugged up with morphine it was hard to keep my eyes open, but I remember thinking how beautiful Jack was. Hunter I met a few hours later. He had some trouble adjusting to "outside" air, and was breathing really rapidly. He needed oxygen for a bit, but pulled through beautifully within a couple of hours. At that point I was able to have him brought to me, and love on him as well. He took to breast feeding right away too. We will see how long I am able to keep it up, I plan to also supplement with formula too. They are both beautiful, and such good nursers. They are really very good babies. We feel very blessed to have these perfect, healthy boys in our family. Myself, recovery had been normal. It took a little longer the a normal delivery to recover, but I feel really good now. I am just enjoying loving on my boys and getting to know them. Below are some pictures documenting their birth and first day in the world.

Announcing The Jeppson Twins

On October 14, 2009 our boys were safely delivered into this world.

We feel very blessed to have them here safely, and we are enjoying having that sweet spirit of a new baby(ies) in our home again.

Jack Matthew was born at 8:58 a.m. and weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. and was 18.1 in. long

Hunter Wade was born at 8:59 a.m. and weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz. and was 18.9 in. long

Everyone is home now, and the boys are a week old. We are starting to get the hang of having twins, but each day is different. For now we are just enjoying holding and cuddling our new little ones. My blogging will happen when it happens, but I will post more pictures at some point. I promise!

Is it time????

YES! It is time!! We are scheduled to go in for a C-section tomorrow morning, October 14. I am supposed to be at the hospital by 6am...so we will keep everyone posted when the event occurs. My amino results came back "golden"...looks like lungs are perfectly developed and ready to work. So the eviction notice has been turned in, and the boys are coming out! Your thoughts and prayers in our behalf will be greatly appreciated :)

Still Here....

I am still here, still pregnant (a good thing for now, LOL), and I have only 4 more days until my goal. After October 1, 2009, these babies can come anytime they want too :) I still can't believe we made it this far. So many times during this pregnancy I thought " well, this is it...". Thanks to all of you for your prayers, thoughts and support. We couldn't have made it this far without them. Now we are just going to gut out the last few days of bedrest, and these last couple weeks of pregnancy until these babies decide to come.

The Belly Chronicles; edition 7

Me enjoying bedrest!

Welcome to the 7th installment about the belly. I recently had some dr. appointments and thought you would all enjoy a little update. A few weeks ago my body decided to have a fit of regular and scary contractions. They landed me in the Labor and Delivery for 5 hours Friday and two hours on Saturday (yes I went back). Luckily they never got stronger, and my cervix never changed from the 1 centimeter I was on Friday...so false labor for now! Dr.W was still being extra cautious though and put me on full bedrest until 36 weeks. I am hoping to make it a little farther then 36 weeks. My goal is to make it past Oct.1....I think we just might make it! So now I am laid out on the bed, with the most wonderful husband picking up the slack I have left behind. He really has taken the brunt of all this. He cleans, cooks, gets kids ready for school, drops off kids, works full time, and is the ecclesiastical leader of our church. Needless to say, he has a lot on his plate, but somehow (through the blessing of the Lord) we are able to all make it work out. The kids have really stepped up to help too. They are doing more chores, and helping each other out more so Dad doesn't have to do it all.

I am still have contractions, but they are irregular and very mild for now. I am working hard to stay hydrated, taking my meds, and rest,rest, rest!

We went to Apple Valley to see the specialist again. They did another growth scan on the boys, and gave us these 3D shots of the boys faces. They have a lot of hands and other stuff in the way, but from what we can see we are guessing they look a lot like Matt and the Jeppson side of the family!

Baby Axel (probably will be Jack)

(( still not sure who will be who yet...we have to see the babies first ))

Looks great! He is being a little bit of a stinker and is flat out breech. He has been in this position for the last few visits...so hope that he will turn is waining. Since he is on the bottom, he gets to decide how the birth will go. Right now, it is looking like it will be a C-section...so that is what I am mentally preparing for. He is about 4 pounds and 11 ounces now, so he is getting bigger!

Baby Bronco (probably will be Hunter)

Looks great also. He is the quiet one, I don't feel him move as often as I feel his brother. I have heard that is typical, and am hoping that will mean he is calm when he is born. I need at least one of them to be calm! He is very compliant, and is head down...just like he is supposed to be. I will still most likely need a c-section though...because of his brother :) He is weighing in at about 4 pounds 1 ounce...so a little smaller then his brother, but not drastically so. We were assured that it is normal, and they are not discordant for them to be different weights. They are both still within healthy parameters.

They both are looking good, lots of fluid, good movements. So we have our eye on the ball for delivery after Oct.1, and we are hoping it happens soon after! If not, then I will be induced (or c-section) by 38 weeks. I am hoping to go on my own though...so I won't be bumped :)

Aquarium of the Pacific

The beginning of August we went to Long Beach, CA to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a lot of fun. I was big and hugely pregnant...on semi-bedrest, so Matt got to push me around in a wheel chair for the day. It was an interesting experience. There were many times that I would get pushed the opposite direction I wanted to go. A very interesting feeling, being out of control where my own motion is concerned. It sealed the theory that I am a back seat driver!!

We got to do a lot of amazing activities while there. This aquarium has many hands on experiences for the kids. They got to pet sting rays, star fish and other tidal pool creatures, and the favorite of the day were the sharks. Yes the kids got to pet sharks! Granted, they were young sharks, but still sharks. They had a whole, shallow pool area set up filled with sharks. We could barely keep Hannah from falling in, she was soaked by the end. The kids didn't want to leave, and all agree that the shark petting was the most exciting event of the day!
Here are some shots of the girls in the aquarium area. They love sea life. Sea world is one of their favorite places to visit, so we knew that they would be fascinated here at the aquarium.

There was a bird section as part of the aquarium. The girls were able to feed the birds (some sort of parrot). This was also very exciting for the girls! They really liked Hannah!

We have to get a shot of all three together when we can. I can't believe how fast they are all growing up! They are all doing so well, and had a blast at the aquarium! Our next big family outing will be as a family with 5 kids, we better enjoy the 3 kid status while we can!

Aquarium of the Pacific