Three Weeks of Motherhood

Addy, Justin and Vern napping

Morgan Elizabeth DuPre

Addy taking on her big sister


Morgan takes a cheap shot while Addy is sleeping



Bunk Mates

Addy and Morgan Leaving the Hospital

The DuPre Family

Addy has a Question

Nana and Addy

Morgan is Tired

Miss Morgan

What a crazy three weeks it has been. I am sorry I not have updated the blog in so long but my life is now divided into three hour increments and my goals have been modified. Today’s goals, for example, were to take a shower, go for a walk, play the bills, and updated the blog. If you are reading my update, I have completed all four. In the past three weeks I have learned that motherhood is harder than I expected, I have an amazing extended family willing to travel cross country to help out, the Western Washington community is a great support network, the mother of multiples group rocks, I want more but can get less sleep then I anticipated, dairy cows have a tough life, and my daughters are an amazing gift. There is not enough time before the 8pm feeding for me to share all I want to share with you but here are some basics.

Addy was released from the hospital after proving she could stay awake for 8 breast milk bottles over a 24 hour period. I fear if I had to nurse her out of the hospital we might still be there. My mother slept in the hospital with Addy for about a week. She read to her, held her, and loved her when Justin and I could not be there. Thanks to a lot of love Addy left the hospital at 4.9lbs. This past Tuesday at her first doctor’s appointment was a weighted in at 4.14. I finally found a carrier small enough for her and she has gone for walks with me both yesterday and today. Her grandmother Judy has figured out exactly how to burp her so she does not cry and Addy is doing great.

Morgan is officially a 7lber and has quite the personality. She refuses to be wet for a minute and cries bloody murder when you change her. She loves to nap on your chest and is a big fan of the swing. She eats more and more every day and is much more vocal and less patient then her sister. Last week when Justin was sitting with her on the couch he asked her, “Will you girls ever let your Papa watch football?” Morgan let out a chuckle like the Pillsbury dough boy. It was almost as funny as when she pooped all over Justin at the doctor’s office.

For me things are getting more manageable. The hormones are almost out of body, my incision in healing, I have decided to pump rather than nurse to buy me more sleep, and I am learning each day a bit more about what my daughters like and dislike. I could not have gotten to this point without the love of my family. Everyone has offered to chip in any way they can. My mother, mother-in-law, Aunt Donna, cousin Mica, and Aunt Nors have all made plans to visit and lend a hand. I suppose it really does take a village to raise twins. Thank you all for your support and love. I will try to do a better job updating the blog in the future, but for now my goal is to get outside every day, even if it is just for a few minutes.

Weighing in

the DuPre girls chillin togeather

Mama and Addy

Addy's big blue eyes

Nana and Morgan

Dad feeding Morgan

Addy's first bath

Morgan taking a nap

For Morgan, life is truelly excusasting, you should try being her parents.

Justin feeding Addy


Sorry we have been so out of touch, things have been crazy to say the least. Addy is still in the hospital and is unlikely to leave for at least a few weeks. It is not that she is sick, just small. But she is doing great. The bath pic of her is my favorite. She has surpassed her birth weight and is now 4.2lbs. She has no specific weight to meet but has to be able to eat on her own before she can go home. At the moment she can eat about ½ of one of her eight daily meals on her own and the other 7 and ½ are tubed through her nose. My mother has been sleeping at the hospital with her, and Justin and I come during the day. Morgan is living at home and Justin is staying up to feed her pumped milk at night. The doctor has instructed me to sleep minimum of 6 hours each day for three nights in a row, so Justin takes the night shift. If you have ever gone without sleep for an extended period of time you can appreciate what a crazy drug like experience it is. You begin to see things that are not there and have feelings you would never have otherwise. Thus, I am so grateful for Justin for insisting I return to reality. While Morgan is doing well she has not been eating enough and losing weight so I am working on pumping and nursing more. The hard part about having one girl in the hospital and one at home is that the hospital staff cannot legally treat Morgan and the home health professionals cannot come to the hospital to do things like weigh Morgan. So Justin, my mom, Morgan, and I shuffle back and forth from home and back to be with Addy and with the great help of local friends the dogs get walked and we get feed. Yet despite the logistical difficulties we are truly grateful for the two healthy and happy daughters we have. The DuPre Double is an amazing duo, we cannot wait for you to meet them.

Tuesday's update

Rae Lynn and Addyson Baye

Morgan

Addy scores a touchdown

Addyson and her Papa

Mom lends her dippi to Addyson

Well the baby blues have set in and I am working hard to keep up with feedings and trying all sort of tricks to get my milk to come in (suggestions welcome). Addy is doing ok, she had not lost any weight but no gain so far, so we might be at St. joe's hospital longer then I thought. I went outside for the first time since thursday it was so nice. Morgan is doing well and eating like a champ. Thank you in advance to all my local friends for agreeing to put the food chain in effect. I love everyone and hope you enjoy the pictues.

The DuPre Girls

Rae, Justin, and Morgan

Miss Morgan Ready to Eat

Morgan and her Nana


Morgan DuPre

Morgan and Addyson and their Papa

I am sorry to be so out of touch with so many of you that have called and sent your love. Briefly here is where we are: Addyson was admitted to the nursery because she is just a bit too small, 3lbs, 15 oz as of last night. She is otherwise healthy but not able to have the strength she needs to feed and keep up her figure so to speak. Justin, my mom ,and I do see her often. We hold Addyson in the nursery as she tube feeds and today she even practiced tandem breast feeding with Morgan. It was so cute and kind of funny because I feel right to sleep.

So while Morgan and I are being officially discharged tomorrow, Addyson is being admitted as a pediatric patient. Morgan, Justin, and I will move to the pediatric ward to be Addyson's support team. Everyone is in good spirits and confident that more time Addyson spends in hospital care the sooner she will become big and strong and able to meet her older cyblings Vern and Scout. Please forgive me for not returning your calls and emails since my schedule for days now has been: feed, pump, eat, sleep, feed.. . Getting to go home with my girls will be such a treat, I remain focused in this direction.

Welcome the DuPre Twins

Born Sept 17th @ 9:45 am

Addyson Baye 4.1 & Morgan Elizabeth 6.11

Morgan and Rae
Addyson and Justin

Addyson

Justin and Both Girls

Last Pregnancy Post

I am officially out of maternity clothes. I have no shirts that cover my big belly and only two bottoms that fit; a black skirt and a pair of white summer pants (post labor-day, I would not dare). But that’s OK because I am also almost out of days being pregnant. I have four days left to be exact. This week my doctor was pleased with the way in which bed rest was helping me maintain my mild preeclampsia and agreed to lets me go till 37 weeks. 37 weeks is considered full term. So hopefully these few extra days of growth will reduce the time the girls will/would have to stay in the nursery. In fact, for ever extra day in they spend in my belly that is two days they will not need in the nursery. Additionally, girls have a far better rate of success then boys when born small, so the stats are on our side. Hopefully they will big enough to take home.

So if I do not go into labor before Thursday, my girls will be born on Sept. 17th. They will be born near the Jewish New Year, the day before my Aunt Donna was born, on the day the US Constitution was signed in 1787, 89 years to the day that the NFL was organized in Canton, Ohio, and 29 years after NASA unveiled the first space shuttle. They will also share a birthday with Sara Greenwood’s father Rick Halpern, Hank Williams Sr., Phil Jackson, John Ritter, and Jimmie Johnson—to name a few.

In other news my girl Vern, who tries to do everything her Papa does, tore her ACL, like her dad did last year. At 12 ½ surgery would be too hard for her, so her doctor put her on temporary bed rest. She, unlike me, is not really listening to her doctor, and continues to bark at birds trying to eat from our feeders. She is crazy as ever. Justin and I seem more upset about her injury then her. She is doing great on three paws and is in good spirits eagerly waiting to harass her new sisters.

But Scout and Vern have been great company for me. I have not been able to do much but lay in bed. Justin continues to do all the house work, dog care, shopping and manages to keep me in good spirits. He was relieved that the girls were not born today on opening day of football (although if you saw the Panther game, it might have been better he missed it). He is so excited for Thursday, I am truly scared. I am not scared to be a parent as much as I am to be awake during the c-section. I know I will not be able to feel it but the whole idea of being awake in the operating room is a bit freaky.

Everyone has been telling me to enjoy the free time now before things get too crazy but I kind of wish there was an in between. That is, I am going from total bed rest to caring for two daughters. There has to be a transition of sorts, but I guess it is just one of those rides I should hold on for. I am grateful for all of you that have been entertaining me during bed rest and supporting me during this long journey. I promise to keep you updated, but I cannot say for sure when my posts will resume—I might have a few other priorities to attend to. But, if all goes as planned, I will introduce you to the DuPre Double shortly.

Bed Rest

Today is a sad day for my family. After a long struggle with cancer my cousin Doug died this morning. I cannot help thinking how much life and death coincide with one another. The hardest part for me is not being able to be with my cousin Mica to comfort her during this difficult time. But everyone understands I am doing my part to complete the circle of life.

Now that all the visitors have left I am pretty much in the hurry up and wait mode. On Monday my doctor diagnosed me with a mild case of preeclampsia. While a lot of women get this condition towards the end of their pregnancy, the high blood pressure associated with it makes it a condition worthy of close watch. The only way to cure it is to give birth. The only way to managed preeclampsia is with bed rest. So here I am on bed rest (no worries a film career is not in my future).

Ideally one might think it is a great time to get a lot done, but with so much on my mind, school work and productivity has given way to boredom and a lot of Law and Order (this is less than an exciting TV time to be on bed rest). Every other day I go to the doctor for tests to make sure my condition is not worsening. At one point she was talking about a c-section this Thursday but I will not find out for sure until tomorrow's appointment. I have somewhat mixed feelings about having the girls on Thursday. On one hand I am so big (48cm of belly) that I can barley move, which is good I guess since I am not allowed to go anywhere. And if the girls were born this Thursday (I would be 36 weeks) they would be ok. There is a realistic chance that their small size might buy them some time in the hospital nursery. While their lungs should be developed by now their small size might make it hard for them to feed. So honestly after this long haul I would be grateful to keep them from entering the world for another week or so so we could take them home when we leave ths hospital. But luckily this is not my decision to make. I have the upmost confidence in my doctors and will be sure to keep you updated.