Welcome Home Precious Angels - Happy One Week Birthday!

Jordan was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, so we all finally got to come home!  Grandma and Grandpa Purcell were there to help us all get home!  The boys had to ride in car beds instead of regular car seats since they are below 5 lbs.  Then we had an exciting 24 hours.  See some pictures below! 

The boys had a great night, and even slept for some pretty long stretches.  Eric arrived back from his trip to Denver at 2:30 AM, just in time for the first feeding.  Then they slept until 6:15!  What little angels.  It was so nice to be home and sleep in my own bed.  We are hoping for many more nights like this.

Jordan Mommy Landon

Aspen Greeting the boys!

After that, it was time to try out some of the new toys. We really liked the bouncy seats! (Landon and Jordan)

Then Aunt Lyndsay and Uncle Adam came as our first visitors. We really love them and spending time as the center of attention! Uncle Adam liked holding us together, and we liked it too!

Aspen, Uncle Adam and Jordan

Uncle Adam and Jordan

Aunt Lyndsay and Landon

Landon Uncle Adam and Jordan

Landon and Jordan - Time for a break!

Grandma bought us snuggly halo sacks to help us with our temperature control.

The nurse weighed us - Landon 4 lbs 9 oz (same as birth weight a 1 week old)

Jordan weighed 4 lbs 8 oz

Daddy bought us these cool chairs - and the hats were a gift.  They will become hankercheifs for our weddings some day!  (Very cool idea!)

Jordan so cute in his hat!

Landon hanging out on the chair

Jordan was awake, Landon chose to sleep

We went for our first walk as a family!  (don't worry, it was very short since we are only a week old, and Mommy is still healing)

After the walk, it was time for another break!

Heat Lamps and Hospitals

Well, Jordan has still had difficulty with his temperature, so he's spending the day under the heat lamp.  He will be there until Tuesday morning, then he has to maintain his body heat for 24 hours.  This means the earliest we can all go home is Wednesday morning.  Daddy had a business trip to Denver for some training, and since we are stuck at Grandview and we have Grandma and Grandpa Purcell around to help, it made sense for him to go.  He just left today and we already can't wait for him to get back and see how big the boys are!!

Jordan hanging out in the warmer (all day today)

He looks pretty cute, and they let him lay on the fleece blanket I made him!

Landon is chilling while he waits for his brother to come for a visit

And he has some pretty sweet moves for a 5 day old!

Aunt Monica came to visit today and brought us dinner.  Other than that we had a nice relaxing day which even included a nap!  Hoping for another good day tomorrow where Jordan can maintain his temperature, and we can prepare for our venture home!  We can't wait to see how Aspen welcomes the boys to our home!

Homeward Bound??

Well, we thought we were going home today, but unfortunently, Jordan was not able to keep his temp up.  It's a common problem for smaller babies, so not anything to be too worried about, but the CHOP doctors wanted to keep an eye on him for 24 more hours to make sure he can maintain a temp of at least 97.7.  They were nice enough to let us stay with Jordan, so Landon and I are technically 'discharged', but squatting in our private room in the corner of the community hospital (I'm kinda worried about the bill with all my experience with insurance companies.. I kinda feel an appeal coming on :) We are hoping to go home tomorrow, as long as Jordan can keep up his temp.  I'll let you know and share some pics when we do go home!

The last 5 days have been the most incredible days of my life.  There have been so many amazing experiences and realizations we have had, and meeting the boys has been beyond description.  I didn't know a love this deep was possible, and the more I get to know them, the deeper it goes.  They are doing so well, and I can't get enough of them.

Overall they have lost weight, which is totally normal for newborns, but with them being under 5 lbs, it does seem a little more scary.  Landon got down to 4 lbs 3 oz, and Jordan's low was 4 lbs 5 oz, but incredibly, they have both gained weight in the past 24 hours.  They are nursing incredibly well, and I'm so impressed that babies this small know exactly what to do.

We are more excited than we've ever been to take them home and start our lives together.  The introduction of the boys to Aspen will be so fun, and seeing how they do once we don't have an army of nurses will be interesting :) 

I am healing well, and came through the C-Section with flying colors.  I am feeling strong, and don't even feel like I had major surgery just a couple days ago.

Thanks to Monica who took all the incredible pictures and posted them so quickly to the blog so everyone could meet the boys!  Please don't expect the same quality from me as I have no idea how she did half the stuff that is on there now :)  She will be doing more photo shoots for us, I'm sure though, so expect to see some really good pics at some point, and know they aren't from us!

We did finally buy a new camera, and there are over 300 pics on there that I need to figure out how to share (and figure out how to even pick the best ones), but until then, here are some pics from today and yesteray :)  They are changing everyday, and I honestly usually think that newborns look more like aliens, but somehow my boys don't :)  That's obviously a mother's perspective, but I hope you enjoy the pics!! 

Landon on the left, Jordan on the right all bundled up to keep up his temp!

Landon on the left, Jordan all bundled on the right!

Aunt Lyndsay graduated today with her Masters!!!  Way to go Aunt Lynds... we love you!

Snuggling in the crib together (Landon left, Jordan right)

Snuggle bunnies.. they love staring at each other!

Landon is 'discharged'.. he loves wearing his own clothes!

Thanks so much for all the prayers and support through this pregnancy and delivery!  We are excited to continue to share our joy and updates with all of you!

Meet The Boys

Jordan was sleepy! *Yawn*

Landon was comfy holding onto Daddy's finger

Mommy and Jordan

Mommy and Landon

Daddy is very comfy with both of his boys
Looking at Landon

Looking a Jordan

Daddy and Landon

Daddy and Jordan

Thanks for letting me be the "Ghost Blogger"  :)
-Monica

The Details

We welcomed Jordan David Schmidt and Landon William Schmidt into the world on 5/13/10 at 1:12pm and 1:13pm. Jordan weighed 4lbs 10 oz and was 17 1/2 inches, and Landon weighed 4 lbs 9 oz. and was 18 inches. Mom and babies are doing well after a successful C-Section! Thanks so much for sharing in our joy!!

Lots more pictures of the boys to follow!

Announcing Jordan and Landon

Mommy, Daddy, and Babies are doing well!
Lots more pics and info to follow!

C-Section 12:30 PM March 13, 2010

We are now scheduled for a C-Section at 12:30 today.  Last night when we arrived to be induced, baby B was still in his transverse position, and things were looking great for a natural delivery.  After having some strong contractions overnight, then getting some sleep (thanks to some sleeping pills and pain meds), they decided to check this morning before breaking the water and Petocin to induce the contractions.  When they checked, baby B had flipped completely breech (so his feet were down and head was way up).  The doctor said we could still go for the natural delivery, but it would be a lot riskier for Baby B and there was only about a 20% chance that he would deliver naturally without complications.  That seemed like too high of a risk for us to take. 

It was an extremely difficult decision, but to avoid an emergency situation and a double recovery, we decided to go with the doctor's advice and schedule a C-Section.  They just brought in Eric's super cute scrubs that he gets to wear, and I'm trying to prepare myself for this now since it's quite a change of plans.

Mom and dad Purcell made it in safe last night and stopped by right before we got some sleep.  They are coming up before they take me back for surgery with mom and dad Schmidt, then they will be ready to meet the boys!  Aunt Lyndsay and Uncle Adam are also coming up, and we're so excited for the fam to be here!

The next post will have pics of the boys, I promise!!

Induction 5-12-2010

Today is the day we're being induced!
At my appointment this morning my doctor said that Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) recommended that we do an induction at 37 weeks, which is today.  We had the option of 5pm today or tomorrow morning, but we're going with 5pm today because it works well with Eric's sleeping schedule.  He's been able to nap today and will be well rested for tonight.  Being induced is different for everyone, so we could be meeting the boys tonight or sometime early tomorrow. 
Mom and Dad are on their way and we're so excited that the time is finally here for everyone to meet the boys.  We'll keep you all posted as soon as there's an announcement to be made!  Thanks in advance for all your prayers!

Estimated weights.... 5 lbs 3 oz

I had an ultrasound this morning to check the growth and development of the boys, and everything is looking good!  They are both estimated to weigh 5 lbs 3 oz each, and I'm told it's awesome that they are the same size!  The specialists are a little worried that they are smaller than they would like at this point (most babies would've gained 2 lbs this past month, and they only gained 1 lb each).  The specialists are recommending to my doctors an induction at 37 weeks (which starts Wednesday!), but they said it will ultimately be up to my doctors to determine the timing.  My blood pressure is still on the edge of being considered 'high', so that's another reason to not hold out until 38 or more weeks.

I'm really getting excited and hope to find out soon what the decision will be.  I have a good feeling about this week, and I can't wait for my parents to come out and meet the babies!

Happy 30th Birthday, my love!

Today is Eric's 30th birthday, and I'm so excited to be celebrating with him and not in the hospital!!  I would like to celebrate him and give him a huge shout out for being an amazing husband and my best friend.  I absolutely adore him and although he doesn't think 30 is a big deal, I am doing my best to make it a big deal!

I made him a strawberry pie "cake" and we enjoyed it yesterday.  With today being mother's day as well, we wanted to make sure he had a special time to just celebrate him!

The "birthday cake" (Thanks to Laurie Mangin for the recipe)

Schmidt tradition of 'clapping' the candles (so wierd!)

He's 30!!  Yikes!

Happy Birthday, bubbies, I love you!!  The boys are so lucky to have you as a daddy!  Can't wait for you to meet them!

As for me and the boys, we are doing well this weekend. I am having stronger and more contractions lately, but the labor seems to be going VERY slowly. We did have a nice overnight stay at the hospital on Friday thinking it was it, but unfortunately, it was not active labor. We only have a week and ½ until they would induce me or schedule a C-Section, so we’re doing our best to be patient. These last couple weeks of pregnancy are pretty uncomfortable, but I am so thankful that we are all healthy and still growing strong. Hopefully more news to come very soon!

36 Weeks and counting....

Well, I was hoping that I could just wait until the boys arrived to post again, but who knows how long that will be!  The third trimester of pregnancy is brutal!  I have at least 3 appointments a week hoping each time that they will say it's time to deliver, just to be sent home for more waiting :)

So far this week the boys are doing great.  Baby A is still head down, and I can tell my body is starting to prepare for delivery.  We got some good pics again this week of baby A.  Baby B being up high and transverse doesn't really cooperate for the 3D pics, but the techs have fun trying :)

Baby B Profile

Baby A

Baby A

My blood pressure was down this week at my doctor's appointment, so my bedrest is less restricted now, and I'm so relieved.  Everyone keeps saying how great it is that I have made it to 36 weeks and the doctor said, if I choose, I can be induced at 38 weeks.  That is coming very quickly, and while I would rather go into labor naturally, I'm not sure my body can take much more stretching!

Eric has a full schedule coming up, and we'll see what he gets to do vs. has to cancel.  He has his favorite golf outing with our church on Friday, his 30th birthday Sunday (which totally trumps Mother's day), then a business trip to Denver May 17th-19th.  I'd love for him to be able to keep all these plans, but I don't have much control :)

Bed Rest - Day 1

Well - the full moon did create some problems :)  I had a nice visit to the hospital last night, and the results of which are full bed rest until these little ones come.  They are worried about my high blood pressure still, and have decided the only remedy for now is bed rest.  All my bloodwork came back OK, but they couldn't get the numbers down to where they felt more comfortable. 

I had them check, and baby A is still head down, so we're excited about that part, but we aren't excited to have restrictions.  I am lucky to have family closeby and lots of help.  I hoping this is short term, and we can just have the babies soon and get on with this!  In the meantime, I'm told to get lots of rest b/c once the boys come, I will be busy! 

Thanks for your prayers and support!  Hopefully my next post will be the welcome post with some super cute pics!

New Neighbors and 35 Weeks!

We are more than excited that Adam and Lyndsay had a smooth closing this morning and now live just a few streets away, in the same neighborhood!  This will be especially nice for the nights Eric is working and I'm home alone!!  The next few days will be a lot of moving and cleaning and time with the family which will be so fun!  Hopefully Eric can carry our weight since I won't be able to do too much, other than encourage and smile a lot :)  Adam and Lynds were here for our move and they were such a huge help that I hope we can give back.  Here's a pic of Lyndsay and I from my shower... isn't she the cutest??

I also hit my 35 week mark today, which was very exciting!  I had a doctor's appointment and learned that I have gained a total of 37 lbs during my pregnancy!  We discussed all the options for delivery, and as long as baby A remains head down, I'm going to try for a natural delivery.  If baby A flips any other way, we will need to schedule a C-Section between 37 and 38 weeks at the latest.

For those of you who like stats, I was checked and I'm 1cm dilated, 60% effaced and baby A is in -2 station.  I honestly don't know what all that means, but the doctor says it means my body is getting ready, but it could still be a couple weeks, or it could be very soon.  Both heartbeats sounded great, and the doctor says the babies would be in great shape if they come even today!  This is great news as I'm hoping they will be able to come right home with us, and have no extended stay in the hospital!

My friend, Monica who thinks the babies are coming today (b/c of the full moon or something) decided last night that we should take some pics.  I am nervous to post these belly pics as they are little more skin than I like, but she did such a great job taking them and making them look good, that I am going to just do it!  (Also, my other friend, Jess posted some of her belly, and if she's brave enough - so am I - thanks Jess!!)

Can't wait to meet you, boys!!