Sadie Ann's Pink and Gold Nursery

When I was planning Sadie Ann's nursery, I knew I wanted it to be soft and calming - the polar opposite of what the beginning of her life was. I immediately thought of pink and gold; as I continued to plan, I decided I would also incorporate whites, creams, mints, and corals. As far as style, it's eclectic. I blended modern, vintage, rustic, and romantic - it's a lot going on, but I think it works. I absolutely love this room. Chris and I agree it is our favorite room in the house. 

Chris insisted on the five-foot giraffe. We call her Ginger. 

The bunny wall! 90 gold bunnies and two pink bunnies. Chris and I spent an afternoon placing each decal on the wall. It was tedious, but completely worth it. 

Here's some unsolicited advice for those of you who may be in the market for a nursery chair. I highly recommend one that glides, reclines, and swivels. We haven't used the recliner yet, but I have a feeling as she gets older we will. I also recommend some type of ottoman and the high back. I can't image not having somewhere to rest my head when I'm feeding her at three o'clock in the morning. 

This ultrasound picture is so special. It was my second ultrasound and I was seven weeks along at the time. The girls were small enough that they both could be seen together on the screen - and they are in the shape of a heart. It's one of the only pictures I have of both of my girls together in one picture. I plan to have this picture enlarged and transferred onto a canvas to hang in our home. 

This hangs just outside of Sadie Ann's nursery and is a beautiful reminder of her twin sister. 

And, of course, I had to snap a few of my sweet girl.  

Nursery Details:

crib - Jenny Lind

bedding - Pottery Barn Kids

paper tassel garland - Prospect Goods

baby stats pillow - Pillows for Everyone

fearfully & wonderfully wooden sign - Handmade gift

giraffee - Melissa and Doug

dresser - IKEA

glider/recliner - Best Chairs Storytime  via Storkland

sheepskin rug - IKEA

pouf - RH Baby

wooden and gold table - Threshold via Target

bookshelf - IKEA

baskets - IKEA

bunny decals - Ohong's Design Studio

bunny mobile - DIY

mint baskets - Hobby Lobby

"You Are My Sunshine" art - Picturality 

"Hello Sweet, Beautiful Girl" art - Hobby Lobby

abstract framed art - Hobby Lobby

white and mint distressed frames - Hobby Lobby

closet dividers - Gina Marie Originals

gold lamp - Hobby Lobby

personalized hanger - Hitched Hangers 

knit booties - Handmade gift

Mary Elliotts wooden sign - Handmade gift

Rooming In

I can't believe we've had Sadie Ann here at home for over two weeks. I wanted to share some pictures from our first night together with her. Sure, it was spent in the hospital and I slept a combines 12 minutes, but it was the best night ever. Plus, we've had a lot of practice at living in a hospital. 

A couple weeks into her NICU stay, a nurse mentioned to me that prior to Sadie Ann coming home, we'd have to spend the night with her to help ease into taking her home. Since I knew very little about the NICU, this came as a surprise. We'd spend the night with her? Looking down at her only a couple weeks old, with so many tubes, leads, and IVs, the thought of us taking care of her was nothing less than frightening. However, as time passed and she continuously improved, we began to long for the day our daughter wasn't hooked up to a monitor and we could hold her without having to strategically place our hands in order to avoid setting off alarms. 

Then that day finally came. 115 days behind us. 

This hallway is so significant to her journey. We started all the way on the other end in Room 1. She spent the majority of her NICU stay in Room 1 because of her critical condition, but as she improved and eventually became "the best baby in the room" (medically speaking), she was able to move down the hall. We eventually found ourselves in Room 2. Then Room 3. And, lastly, Room 4. 

Room 4! The room babies graduate from! 

Below, Room 4 is the closest door on the left. This picture is taken right in front of the room we stayed in. We had finally made it all the way to the other end of the hall. 

The rest of the pictures are my attempt to document that special, long-anticipated, and slightly frightening night on Thursday, April 9. 

This picture below is so special and significant to her journey. I wanted to focus in on her ID tag. It's something she has worn since December 16. Most babies are in and out of the hospital within a couple days. I image their ID tag hardly has a bend on it. Sadie Ann's is crinkled, the edges are folding up, and a lot of the ink has faded and even worn off. A true sign of how long and wearing her time in the NICU was. 

Nothing but smiles at 2 o'clock in the morning! 

After a long night, the morning seemed to (thankfully) fly by! Shortly after shift change, we spoke with the nurse practitioner and the doctor and heard the word discharge. 

Discharge. A word we honestly did not know if we would ever hear. 

After we got word that we would be leaving soon, we dressed her up in her going home romper and bonnet. 

And then we left the hospital. Just the way we would have if things had gone normally. 

Sadie Ann was welcomed home with decorations inside and out (courtesy of a sweet friend and neighbor) and a sign from Footprints Ministry. Katie was ecstatic (and a bit confused) to finally meet her little sister. Our little girl is finally home and everything feels right in the world. 

We give God all the glory that this little girl was able to come home. She had all odds and statistics against her, but we know from the beginning He was in control and had a plan for this little girl. So thankful His plan invoked us bringing her home. We could not be more amazing and thankful for the miracles and blessings performed in the past four months. 

What NOT to Say to a Friend with Infertility

I've wanted to write this post for quite some time, but life got busy and hectic and threw us a curve ball (or five) - so I didn't. It worked out though! This week is National Infertility Awareness Week - so there could not be a more appropriate time to share this.

As many of you know, I dealt with infertility for about two years before becoming pregnant with my twin girls. In those two years, I most definitely encountered one (or more) of the statements below. I think when someone who hasn't dealt with infertility offers advice, it's genuinely coming from a kind-hearted place; however, because of the lack of knowledge surrounding infertility, it usually just plain hurts (and sometimes sounds stupid - because, again, most people just don't understand infertility).

So, whatever you do, don't say any of the following statement.

Just relax and don't think about it - then you'll get pregnant. 
I hate this. What awful advice. The first thing to know about infertility is that it's a medical condition. It's not like there's a timing issue - or that something like stress is hindering conception. No. Something isn't working correctly in the complicated process of conceiving. Telling a woman to relax and don't think about it is like telling a person with cancer or diabetes to relax and not think about it - then the disease will just go away. Not how this works. 

I know someone who tried this supplement and they got pregnant right away.
Great for that person! Sounds like they didn't really have too hard of a time. Unfortunately, a simple supplement isn't necessarily going to help produce quality eggs, make the uterine lining thicker, or make those swimmers swim harder.

Just have sex all the time. 
That's it? Never crossed my mind. I was over here not having sex to try to get pregnant. Stupid me. Seriously though - Some women dealing with infertility could have sex every day of the month and still never fall pregnant. It's not that simple. I'm also willing to bet that couples dealing with infertility are baby-making around the clock! Trust me.

Trying is the fun part. 
Trying is not the fun part. You have obviously never had to try to get pregnant if you think it's fun. I will tell you what trying is... It's stressful. It's frustrating. It's emotionally and physically draining. It's expensive. It's a roller coaster of emotions. It's a lot of blood work, shots, and medication. Does any of that sound fun? The answer is no.

I accidentally got pregnant. 
Probably the worst thing to say. Most dealing with infertility will never (ever!) be able to accidentally get pregnant. What's worse about someone accidentally getting pregnant is someone not excited about accidentally getting pregnant. If you're willingly participate in sexual activity, there's no accident involved. You know what you're doing. You know if you are or aren't preventing pregnancy when you do it. It's not an accident. Stop acting like it's the most disappointing news of the year.

Don't ever have kids.
I'm so sorry you "accidentally" got pregnant six times. I know you must be exhausted and overwhelmed. But women dealing with infertility would give anything to have an ounce of the exhaustion you are going through just to have a baby in their arms. Please don't ever advise a women with infertility to never have children. That's the only thing she wants and you're just rubbing salt in the wound. Just don't.

Pregnancy is the worst! 
Yeah, pregnancy is the worst because at the end of it you get a baby - and that's horrible! Please don't ever complain about pregnancy symptoms to a woman dealing with infertility. Please consider the fact that some of these women will never know what it's like to see a positive pregnancy test, feel a baby kick, or to give birth to their own child. Something many women are desperate to see and feel. Gaining weight or having swollen feet is something that would be joyous rather than bothersome. Please don't take your symptoms for granted and do not complain.

Have you tried this, that, and the other?
Probably so. Most of us have probably given it a try. Old wives' tales. Herbs. Vitamins. OPKs. Temperature monitoring. Positioning. Timing. Stopping caffeine cold-turkey. Massages. Acupuncture. Eating this or avoiding that. Yes, we've tried this, that, and the other. No it doesn't work.

Adopt, then you'll get pregnant. 
Oh, wow. Ok. This isn't some if-then situation or proven theory. You can't say things like that. I'm sure most women with infertility would love to adopt; however, most of us have already exhausted our thousands of dollars on infertility treatment.

Grab a bottle of Jose and put on some Lil Jon. 
Ok, so I'm sure this isn't your typical advice; not many are going to specifically recommend this duo, but they will recommend the idea. Usually saying something like, "I've heard countless stories of a couple deciding to go out one night, go on vacation, or on a cruise - they let loose, have a few drinks, and two weeks later they are pregnant."  That's great, but been there, done that, didn't happen.

When are you two ever going to have kids?
This usually comes from someone who doesn't know there is a struggle with conceiving. I get that. However, starting a family is such a personal and intimate decision between two people - there's really no good reason to butt-in and be so nosey about such a big decision - especially if a couple hasn't previously been open about discussing it. If you must ask about starting a family, maybe go about it with a more gentle approach. Do you think you two might want to have children one day? Do you want children? Those sound so much better than the former nagging-type question above.



A couple things you CAN do for a friend with infertility. 

Educate yourself. 
To some people, all you have to do to get pregnant is have unprotected sex. Boom. It's actually an incredibly complicated process where a lot of things have to happen together and in a timely manner to achieve pregnancy. If just one of those things is off, it can make conceiving extremely difficult. Men can abnormal or slow sperm for various reasons; women can have issues with eggs, the uterus, fallopian tubes, endometriosis, or hormonal imbalances. Any one or combination of these things can make conception incredibly difficult. Hopefully you can understand how recommending relaxation is dumb.

Pray.
I know not everyone believes in the power of prayer, but I'm here to tell you I have have seen it work. Pray for God's will. For peace for the couple. Pray that the friend or couple can conceive. Pray for the child. Pray for decision making and guidance. Pray for understanding. Pray for patience.

Acknowledge that you don't understand.
It's ok, we don't expect you to know everything about infertility. We only know everything because we've all graduated, with honors, from Google University. I'm not going to pretend to know everything about a medical condition a friend or family member may have. That's not my role - that's the doctor's role. As a friend or family member, sometimes it's nice just to have someone listen. To sympathize on the hard days.

Hopefully this week of awareness will help those with friends and family members struggling to conceive understand, just slightly, what they are going through. Hope this post was slightly enlightening as well.

A Bittersweet Week

The first picture of all four of us. 

At our gender ultrasound appointment, two days before my water broke, we discussed a tentative date to have a c-section with my doctor. She voiced that she recommend a c-section at 37 weeks for her twin moms and we agreed. So we went ahead and looked at a calendar, found my 37th week, and planned for that Monday, March 23rd. I thought, what a wonderful way to start a week. 

I expect that had everything gone the way we'd planned (ha!), we'd be taking home two beautiful, health baby girls this week. Instead of typing this, I'd be listening to two newborn girls, using their perfectly healthy lungs, to scream and cry - alerting us that they are hungry or want to be held. But I'm not. I'm surrounded by late-night silence. A cruel reminder that things did not go the way I prayed they would. 

That being said, given everything that has happened in the past five months, I'm incredibly grateful to be able to hold and love on a relatively healthy baby. It may only be twice a day, with limited amounts of time to keep her out of her isolette, but it's more than I could have asked for. It's more that what statistics say I should have. And soon enough, I will no longer be surrounded by late-night silence. 

For that I am grateful. 

It is a bittersweet week. 

Birth Story: Twins at 23 Weeks

Monday, December 15, started out like every other day since starting my bed rest. I was awake when Chris would leave for work - he spent every single night at the hospital with me, so we had our own bed rest routine. Around this time, my nurse would come in for my 6am medication - and after that, I would have my quiet time. I'd read Jesus Calling and spend some time in prayer. Every morning I thanked God for a new day, which meant another day behind us; I prayed for our girls and their specific needs and I prayed for Chris. Me being on bed rest was just as trying on him as it was me, if not more.

After my quiet time and the local news, my doctor came for her morning rounds. We chatted; talked about how exciting it was to be into my 23rd week and that in less than a week I'd be getting my steroid shots. We were both so excited for where I was and what the upcoming week meant.

After her visit, I closed my eyes and fell asleep until breakfast was brought in. Most mornings, I would be anxiously awaiting the delivery of my breakfast tray - but after my doctor left the room, I fell asleep. When breakfast was delivered, I remember being hungry and wanting to eat, but fatigue won and I fell back asleep. This never happened. I was always ready to eat.

This was the case throughout the day. I'd eat, then nap. Had my ultrasound, then nap. Got assessed by the nurse, then nap. Ate lunch, then nap. And that went on until the evening. I slept more this day than any other day. Looking back, I see God was giving me rest and preparing me for a long night and even longer day ahead.

Chris got "home" from work around 7pm. Once he ate dinner and settled in, we got out the computer. We'd been on a weekend binger watching The Killing on Netflix - and we were ready to dive back into the show.

As we started watching, I began to notice I was having several Braxton Hicks. I mentioned in previous updates, that I would have them fairly often, but it was never worrisome and my doctor was aware. Most days I would have 4-5 within an hour and then none the rest of the day. After subconsciously noticing that I was having several of them, I began to pay close attention. Within a 45 minute show, I had 10+ Braxton Hicks. I knew that was too many for that time frame, but I didn't think too much about it. I tried to steer clear of over thinking anything my body did. Let's be honest, when you're pregnant, you're hyperaware of any and everything your body does or feels. Even more so when on bed rest. So I always made an effort not to think too much - and definitely no Googling.

As we started a second episode, I noticed the Braxton Hicks continued and were more noticeable. I continued to brush it off because they still felt like the Braxton Hicks I'd been having for the past several weeks.

By the third episode, my Braxton Hicks began feeling different. My uterus was contracting, but instead of it being in the middle and upper portion of my belly, it was low. There was still no pain, just a change in their typical location.

After the third episode, we decide to call it a night.

I was laying in my bed, in complete silence and darkness aware of nothing else except what my body was doing. I began to realize that whatever I was feeling was becoming consistent and getting stronger. I grabbed my phone and watched the clock. Every four minutes, my uterus contracted. Each one a little stronger than the previous. I could feel pressure in my pelvic region that radiated to my back. After 30 minutes, I told myself, Ok, if I have one more, I'll call my nurse. I had another one, but I was in denial. One more, then I'll call her. Ok, one more.

I finally confronted what was going on and called my nurse.

I never called my nurse. My nurses knew I never called them. She popped her head into our dark room and the first words out of her mouth were, "Are you OK?"

I explained everything from the multiple Braxton Hicks to the worsening contractions. And from this moment on everything became a blur. For the next 8-12 hours, time stood still, yet it all happened in a flash.

She put the toco monitor on me, which measures contractions - and sure enough, I was having contractions four minutes apart. After my water broke at 17 weeks, the monitor showed I was having contractions, but never strong enough to the point that I felt them. I'm guessing I had contractions all day before giving birth, but never felt them until they were getting closer together that evening.

My nurse initially told me to start drinking as much water as I could, but it seemed like as soon as I reached for my water bottle, she had already decided I needed IV fluids. Once she got my IV going and called my doctor,  she gave me two shots, 30 minutes apart, to try and stop the contractions. The medication slowed them down. They were barely noticeable and further apart. A bit of a relief; however, this lasted for about an hour after the last shot. Then they came back. Stronger.

My nurse spoke with my doctor again at this point and she was given orders to check my cervix for any dilation. So she did. And after she did, she didn't say anything. So I asked.

Six centimeters.

My heart dropped. 

I had just noticed mild contractions and I was already six centimeters dilated. This can't be happening. She stepped out of the room to call my doctor again. When she came back into my room, she had my chart. My heart dropped again. She calmly told me I was going to Labor and Delivery.

If I've learned anything about myself since Halloween, when my water broke, it's that when I find myself in high, emotionally-charged situations, I go into shock-mode. I'm sure for everyone it is different, but for me, my shock-mode is a lot of different things, in no particular order. I'm calm. I'm freaking out in my head. I'm still. I react. I move forward. Then, in the blink of an eye, hours from when it all began, reality takes over and I cry.

As soon as she told me I was going to L&D, I went into shock-mode. My bed was being rolled out of room 205 and I was being pushed down the long, dark hall that led to the double doors of L&D. I was pushed through the double doors and passed by several familiar faces before entering into my room. None of us said anything, we just looked at each other. We exchanged silent looks that screamed fear and sadness; we knew what the near future held.

I was rolled into Room 11 that was already filled with several people. Two NICU beds were being prepared as I was being asked if I wanted an epidural or pain medication. What? I didn't know. Was I really about to have these babies? Somebody tell me what I need to do. I must have had a look on my face that read exactly that. One of the nurses informed me that the pain medication would reach the babies and could possibly make them lethargic if they were born - which would make things even harder for them.

At this point, a whole new level of shock hit me. I'm in L&D, talking about an epidural and delivering my babies. I had always wanted to have natural deliveries - I was even one of those women who considered a home birth, but these contractions were no joke. I'm not sure if I have a low tolerance for pain or if they were just that bad. They felt debilitating. I knew I didn't want my girls to be lethargic, so I got the epidural.

I was also given antibiotics, magnesium, steroid shots, and fluids. I had two dopplers and a toco on my belly. I spoke with many different people including the nurse anesthetist, a NICU nurse, my nurses, my OBGYN, a phlebotomist, my husband, and my mother in law; however, I don't remember much of what was said. I do remember asking the NICU nurse if she'd ever seen babies born this early survive. She told me she did, but I could read the sense of doubt in her voice and on her face.



At some point, things settled down. The room cleared out. Everything was set up. The room was ready for whatever the future held. So I tried to sleep. I wanted to take a break and escape the madness that had been going on for the past five, six, seven hours. But it was impossible.

All of a sudden it was shift change. My night nurses were leaving me. Surprisingly, I found myself scared and anxious about the fact that those who were with me since all this started so many hours ago weren't going to be here. I clung to them. I didn't want them to leave. They had gotten me through the chaos and all settled in my new room. For some reason, them leaving made me uneasy.

Shortly after shift change and getting acquainted with my new nurses, my OBGYN came in again - she had checked me earlier that morning when I first got into my new L&D room and I was still six cm, but she wanted to check my cervix one more time before she headed over to her office for the day.

She checked.

I was completely dilated.

She told me in a very quiet, calm voice that she could feel Mary Elliott's head and arm and that she was ready to come out. I felt tears running down my face. I called out Chris's name. Between my tears and my doctor beginning to suit up, he knew too.

Just like that. I was going to deliver. Within seconds, before I could even process what just came out of her mouth, she was dressed in blue from head to toe, there was a table full of sterilized tools at the end of the bed, and my legs were bent up.

There I was, four months before any of this should be happening - my husband holding my hand, a nurse at each of my legs, and my doctor at the end of the bed saying, it's time to push. 




I found it incredibly difficult to really know if I was pushing because of the epidural. The coaching and encouragement I received from everyone during the pushing let me know I was doing something right. So I kept on.

I pushed. Maybe three or four times… and there she was.

Our first born daughter. I burst into tears that both celebrated the life of our child, but also feared for the future. She was out. No longer safe inside of me. She was impossibly small. I could only see tiny hands and tiny feet over my belly that still housed Sadie Ann. I cried. And cried. I was overjoyed to see her, but scared because all odds were against her. I could no longer do anything for her. She was taken across the room to her NICU bed where it seemed like dozens of people were surrounding her. I laid my head back and prayed for her.

WIthin minutes my doctor looked up at me and said Sadie Ann was coming too. Before I could even process that Sadie Ann was coming too, she broke my water and told me to start pushing again. So I pushed. Pushed. Pushed. And there she was. Four minutes later. Our second born daughter. I could see her a little bit better. She was moving and kicking. Then quickly whisked away to her NICU bed.

The room was chaotic once again. Lots of voices talking at one time. People in and out. Surrounding both of our girls. People cleaning up the bed. Asking me to roll left, roll right. Taking out my epidural. Taking off the dopplers. Cleaning me up.

Just like that it was all over. I was no longer pregnant. No longer on bed rest. I could no longer provide a calm, safe environment for my girls. I could only lay there and watch the backs of several nurses as they did everything they could for two babies born 17 weeks early. 17 weeks early. 

Although in the moment, time did not seem to exist, it was after about 30 minutes of working on Mary Elliott, that her neonatologist came over to my bed. She told us that they tried everything that they could, but her lungs would not inflate. They were just too premature; too firm from the lack of fluid in the past seven weeks. She told us that she still had a heartbeat and thought it would be best if we held her rather than for them to keep working on her.

With tears pouring down our faces, we agreed.

A nurse brought her over. There she was. Finally in our arms.

Perfect. Beautiful. She was showered with kisses. Told hundreds of times how much she was loved. Told how proud we were of how strong she had been in mommy's belly. We smiled and celebrated the beautiful life we created. A life that God decided to place in our arms. How blessed to be hand-picked by God to be this little girl's parents during her short life here on earth.

Since this day, I often find myself overwhelmed with sadness, sometimes even anger, at how fleeting my time was with Mary Elliott. However, when those feeling strike, I redirect my thoughts to this fact: as she took her last breath on this earth and left my arms, she then opened her eyes for the first time and saw Jesus. My daughter never had to see or experience this broken world. She's only ever seen heaven. And although I selfishly want her here with me, I'm oh-so thankful she knows no pain or sorrow. Having faith and confidence in this makes it all bearable.

After our time with Mary Elliott, Chris went to the NICU to see Sadie Ann before she was transferred to a different hospital with a higher-level NICU that she needed. Before she left, the NICU transport team brought her by my room. I held her little hand and told her how much I loved her. Then she was off to what would be her home for the next several weeks to come.