Intrepid Murmurings

So most of you know, from past postings or real life encounters, of Lonnie's dairy allergy.  It came on about 7 years ago, and it took him awhile to pinpoint what was making him so sick.  Once he eliminated all sources of dairy, all was well.  Since then we've become quit adept at dairy free cooking.  I, of course, still have my dairy stash in the fridge, but he rarely misses it.

Two weeks ago, he started feeling really sick again.  At first he thought it was bad oysters. Ha. But after it continued for awhile, getting worse after meals, he started to get suspicious.  It all seemed very familiar.  He decided to cut out soy, wheat, and nuts in a quazi-elimination diet.  Things improved.  He felt fine! We lamented the challenge of possibly having to cut out such prevalent ingredients, especially since dairy is already out of the picture. It was hard to shop and think up meal alternatives.

This week, he decided to give wheat a reintroduction with some flour tortillas.  Halfway through the meal, he started feeling sick again.  Boo!

But then, ah ha! He wondered if it might be the ground beef?  We quickly realized we had not had beef in the past week, either.  The day of the oysters also consisted of flank steak.  Later in the week, hamburgers.  I think there were sloppy joe's in there somewhere, too. 

It makes sense, given the dairy allergy.  Dr. Google doesn't have a lot to say on the subject, other than some studies about allergies in children.  One found 20% of children with a dairy or beef allergy were also allergic to the other.  Interesting....

Lonnie has since reintroduced soy, wheat and nuts with no problems.  Its definitely the cow, then.  Goodbye, steaks, pot roast, and juicy old fashioned hamburgers.  But we are actually quite relieved that its beef!  Many of our favorite recipes can be made using ground chicken, turkey, pork or lamb.   Maybe this will finally get us to eat more fish!  Hello, omegas, goodbye, clogged arteries.

So, in an effort to see if there is anybody out there actually still reading this blog, I am calling for comments, please!  What are your favorite non-beef dinners?  Or what traditionally beefy dishes do you successfully recreate with alternative meats or products?   Lamburgers?  Turkey meatballs?  Vegetarian cuisine?  Inspire us!

So, Elsie & Delia are 10 weeks old, and I can't believe how the time has flown.  Though it has been a crazy blur of weeks, things have really gone better than I envisioned! 

The first few weeks were rough, admittedly, mostly because of the breastfeeding issues, both of them losing more than a pound.  It was all very familiar, though, so it wasn't quite as upsetting or emotional as it was with Emma.  The actual physical pain from nursing went away really fast this time (it hung around for 3 months last time!), and figuring out latch stuff, tandem nursing, and supplementing was HARD, but easier than if I had been breastfeeding for the first time.  While they still nurse really frequently  -- every hour or two, except at night -- we are now in a good routine with supplementing and they are gaining weight well, at about an ounce a day.  Both are right around 9 pounds!  Which seems little when I think of Emma's birth wieght (9lbs3oz) but its a good 3+ pounds more than where they were at their smallest. 

I have been noticing this week that Delia hasn't been gaining well, due to her sleeping through feedings (which her sister takes advantage of).  You snooze, you lose around here...

In terms of sleep, well there's the good and the bad.  The good is that Elsie & Delia both seem to need/want MUCH more sleep than Emma ever did.  Woohoo!   Sometimes it seems like they would sleep all day if they could.  And, they seem, at night anyway, to cycle in sync which allows us all to get longer stretches of sleep.  Right now, they often have one longer stretch of 4 hours, and then another 2 or 3, broken up, before morning.  I am feeling pretty well rested, because of this.  

The downside is that they are still very dependent on me for sleep.  They don't take pacifiers (I've tried!) and like to nurse to sleep, and don't transfer well, so they mostly nap on me.  Hence, I have a lot of time in the armchair, looking at my Internets, but not good for actually getting stuff done and tending to Emma.  Night is the same way -- they sleep draped on me, pressed on either side of me, wedged in with pillows.  Some would say a smothering nightmare, ha, though I feel it is totally safe since I can feel if they move, and know their faces are always towards me anyway.  Believe it or not, we all sleep really well this way, but I do want to get them sleeping in their own spaces (still probably in our bed for easy nursing though) soonish.

This past week, my first solo week with all three has gone pretty well!  There are stressful (really stressful!) times, ususally midday, when I am trying to juggle fixing Emma's and my lunches, getting her down for a nap, and two whiny screaming babies who are wanting to nurse/nap too.  I just have to let them cry, and thats HARD!  And then they get so hysterical they don't settle when I am able to tend to them.  Up until yesterday my only trick for soothing/calming both at once was nursing, but I just got my new Beco Butterfly carrier, which allows me to put one very easily on my back.  Last night I was able to put one in there on my back, one in the ring sling on my front, and bounce them both to sleep on the exercise ball!   While also watching the Olympics! 

This week has also led to having the babies put down more often, and they seem to be getting more used to that, too.  Sometimes they can sit in the bouncer, the swing, in their play gym, or under their mobile for decent stretches (of course, not always at the same time...).  Lying on the changing table is also a favorite chill zone.  My next step is getting them to take naps in these places, or in a different specific bed places.  Thats going to be a challenge, but if I can get them to do it, it will revolutionize my life. Ha.  However, since it didn't happen with Emma until much, much later, I am not counting on it.  Cautiously optimistic, perhaps?

Yeah, its been awhile, and I cannot promise it won't be again.  I just never am without babies on me, and one-handed typing is rather a challenge.  When I do have two hands free, things like showering, dressing, eating, laundry, etc. tend to be priorities. 

A lot has happened in the last month (or two) however!  The babies are two months old, and feeling a lot more "settled".  Not that we have any sort of schedule (ha!) or  sleeping through the night (double ha!) or even sleeping off the boob/arms at all, really (a million times ha!) but despite all that things seem to be less overwhelming, and more manageable, in any case.

We had to say goodbye to Grandma Elena on Saturday, which concludes a month long visit, preceded by a few weeks by both Grandpa Tony and Grandma Cynthia (and she was here for more than a month before the births, too).  It has been an amazing, amazing gift to have had so much help for these first two months of the babies lives, and there is no way we could have done it without them all.  Emma's transition to big sisterhood has been really smooth and easy, and I am sure it us because of all the loving attention from her fabulous grandparents.  I am also pretty sure that with my breastfeeding struggles, if we had not had their help, basically allowing me to nurse these girls around the clock for the past two months, we could very well not have succeeded with that as well.  Feeling very lucky and grateful that we have had these early months to focus on the babies so much....

Elsie                                                                          Delia

More photos in the July and August folders....

Delia & Elsie

 Lonnie & Elsie

 Elsie's Feet

Delia's Goofy Face

These are just a few of the photos my friend Mona took of us and the babies recently.  Aren't they great?  Elsie and Delia were about two weeks old when they were taken.  She is an awesome photographer and also a hilariously funny blogger, as well.  Thanks, Mona!

• Doing a (tiny) bit of blog maintenance.  Updated the blogroll, and added some new ones.  Check out the new twins/multiples section!  And let me know if there are others you recommend!
  
• This week, I had my first solo outing with all three kids.  A success!  We just went to our playgroup and spent the whole time outside in a friends backyard, which was a nice and easy way to ease into it.  Emma was great and the babies obliged, as well.  Woo hoo!
• Gave Aiko a bath today, first one for her since before I was pregnant, I think. Ha. Poor dog.  Emma was very amused.
  
• Tried swaddling last night with new swaddle blanket (Swaddle Me vs Miracle Blanket) to some success.  Woot!   It was much easier to put on and fit better -- didn't crawl up immediately into her face to smother her.  They still don't sleep great but it was better... 
  
• The babies are smiling and Delia rolled over today.  Found her on her face in her basket and very unimpressed.  She (and Elsie too) is small, but strong!
  
• I know, I know, we should be taking more pictures.  There are a few new ones here, though....
  

There is literally no time to post around here, sorry all.  I have sat down to work on a post at least  20 times in the past few weeks , to no avail.  My "free time" (ha!) comes in 5 minute chunks at most, and if it is longer I try desperately to do things like shower, tidy up the house, make and/or eat food, etc. 

I do get a fair bit of reading/computer/TV time (but its one handed, not at all good for typing!), so its not like I don't have some kind of down time, its just that the time that I don't have a baby or two in my arms is close to nil.  I bet it adds up to an hour or two during the day, but that is still not much.  Luckily, they don't wiegh much and are pretty cute, so its not so bad.   

Nighttimes are killing me, though I suppose it could be worse.  Our current arrangement is Elsie and Delia with me in our bed (with crib attached, though they refuse to sleep in it) and Lonnie in the guest bed, dealing with Emma wake ups, if there are any.  The babies current nighttime trend is to sleep from 10 or 11pm to 1 or 2 am, and then be awake for 3 hours after that.  They will nurse and fall asleep, but as soon as I transfer them down to the bed, they wake and cry.  I can nurse one down from there, but the other cries, then I switch, and they switch.  The 2 or so hours of crying is HARD to deal with!   Its not even really bad crying, sometimes just fussing as they are gearing up, or complaining while I try to nurse one and hold a pacifier in the others mouth, but still, definitely not sleeping.

Eventually, around 4 am I give up and pile up the pillows in a ridiculous arrangement to support them in my arms so they can both nurse to sleep, while I am flat on my back.  It works, but its not all that comfortable and really not what I want to get them used to.  But what else to do?  I think they would fall asleep hard enough to transfer if I walked them around, or bounced them, but I can't do it for both at the same time.  So one would have to cry, for quite awhile, by themselves (they tend not to fall into a sound sleep if the other is screaming in the same room -- and if I go into screaming babies room with sleeping baby, to transfer, that one will wake up again).  Luckily, though, I am able to get a few more hours with them sleeping on top of me, and can even move them down onto the bed at some point when they are in a deep sleep. 

Ah, this too will pass.  I hope?  

On the upside, they are finally gaining weight!  About an ounce a day, which is good, though more would be welcome as well.  They both reached their birth weights again this week (which is pretty late, as they are 4 weeks old today!), and will hopefully continue that trend.  We are supplementing with formula as well as TONS of breastfeeding, and I am still on the meds, which seem to be doing pretty well.  My doctor again reinforced how I really ought to be pumping since I am taking these meds (guilt guilt) but I Just Cant.  Not enough minutes in the day!

They are also getting more alert all the time, and they are doing lots of head raises to show off their strong necks.  They look like little turtles!   I can't believe its almost been a month since they were born, holy cow.  Gotta write up my birth story before I forget!

Ack!  The girls are already beyond two weeks here (3 weeks on Tues!)
and while I have intended to write a whole ton of blog posts, they
sadly haven't materialized.  Mainly, because when I have "free" time
(ha!) there are about a hundred things I want or need to do.  And when
I do have time on the computer (which is, admittedly, more often than I
expected!), I still am mostly just reading, since typing requires more
hands (and energy) than I usually have available.  But!  I know you want updates, so here are a few bits and pieces of whats happening. 

Breastfeeding:  Since this is basically all I do all day, it merits top mention. Having gone through so many troubles, for so long, with Emma, it was definitely a worry of mine as to how it would go.  With twins, no less!  Initially, in the hospital, both Elsie and Delia were able to latch and nurse pretty well, in the hour after birth.  Hooray!  By day two and three, however, things were really painful (VERY similar to Emma, and OMG that was bad).  I was able to tell that it was Elsie, more than Delia, that was sucking weirdly and hurting me though, and that was helpful to know.

Also on day 3, we found they had lost more than a pound each, getting dehydrated, and my milk had not come in yet.  Ah, memories.  We had to start supplementing with formula, though instead of bottles we did syringe and finger feeding, and cup feeding.  Since this was all totally familiar, it was not half as stressful and emotional for me as it was with Emma, but still it is Not Fun to see your babies getting smaller and smaller and thirstier and thirstier. 

So, I started on the Domperidone, a galactagogue (milk increasing) med I took with Emma, and also Metformin, something new to me that is supposed to help people with PCOS and low milk supply.  I am working both with a lactation consultant and a breastfeeding doctor, who is a specialist and very well known in the lactation community.  SO glad to have that support this time around. Luckily, my milk did come in, and I think has been getting more plentiful.  Both babies are now hydrated and gaining, but as of last Thursday, not gaining enough, and not back to their birth weights yet.  To help me keep track of how things are going better, I rented a baby scale -- instead of making me obsess more, it helps reassure me that we are on track, and that I am not supplementing too little or more than necessary.  We have moved to bottles for supplementing, and they are getting that (with formula) 2-3 times a day.  I should be pumping, and am supposed to do it at least once or twice a day.  I think thats doable, though I didn't get it in today.... 

Luckily, the horrible nipple pain subsided (after taking a break and exclusively pumping on one side for a few days) SO MUCH faster than with Emma -- during the second week, instead of going on for THREE LONG MONTHS.  I am feeling so so thankful for that.  If it were that painful and hard this time, I am not sure how long I could take it.  Because we nurse A LOT around here. 

Both girls LOVE nursing, and, like Emma did, nurse very frequently and for long chunks.  They would prefer to live on the boob, especially at night.  Part of this, I am sure, is because my supply and flow is low and slow, so it takes awhile to get enough.  Partly, its because I tend to try nursing to soothe before anything else, because its so easy and takes no thinking/work on my part.  I do not think this is necessarily a bad thing, but I realize I need to help them learn other ways to soothe (like the pacifier!!!) so that we have a few more options.  So that is currently on the agenda.  Will keep you posted.  Send any pacifier vibes this way, if you have them.

We are, however, on the upswing, as for the past few days, Elsie has gained around 2 ounces a day! Thats huge!  Delia is slower and gaining a bit less than an ounce a day.  Elsie is now really close to reaching her birth weight, and also close to catching up with Delia.  I am pretty sure this is happening because she wakes up and wants to nurse twice as often as Delia.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, I guess!  I try to wake Delia when she has gone longer than 2 hours or so without eating, but she still eats less often and for shorter periods than whiny Elsie.  Ha! 

All in all, I do feel like my supply is quite a bit larger than it was with Emma, which is good, since I need twice as much!  I likely will not get to a full enough supply to feed them both exclusively, but I am feel lucky and happy to be giving them as much as I am currently... 

Sleep -- My second favorite thing to obsess about, as you all know!  So, Elsie and Delia are both so much sleepier babies than Emma ever was, which is, admittedly, quite nice.  Part of this is due to being a few weeks "early", but I am hoping it is also because they are just better sleepers.  One can hope, right?  During the day, they can sleep a lot, and we can even put them down, OMG.  However, they often seem to think that nighttime is for fussing, crying, screaming, complaining, or just being awake, and held, continuously.  It is quite unfortunate. 

We do have successes, though!  Once they are finally asleep, they can go a good 3-4 hours!  This is way better than Emma was for ages.  But it often it takes hours and hours of me nursing (or bottlefeeding) them, burping and helping them deal with gas, nursing,  changing diapers, bouncing on the ball, nursing, trying to ease them into the bed or crib, nursing again, did I say NURSING?!?!?  Just like Emma, they Will Not Transfer and tend to wake upon any kind of putting down.  This is where nursing to sleep in our bed (cosleeping) worked wonders with Emma, but its really hard to simultaneously nurse to sleep two babies (while also getting any kind of sleep myself!).  In desperation I have figured out a few tricks and can actually do it, but I hope we can move away from this soonish.  They have got to get the message that sleep is doable, at night, while not being in contact with Mama (or Daddy).  Hopefully, the above mentioned pacifier lessons might help with this?  Come on, pacifier love!  If you have any other ideas, feel free to send them my way! 

Well, I have more to say but am going to save it for another post.  Next up -- specifics on Delia and Elsie as we get to know them better, their differences and funny quirks, etc, etc. Also, funny Emma-isms.  Stay tuned! 

On Tuesday, May 27th, Elsie Olivia and Delia Grace joined the Hutchinson family.  Finally!  Labor was boosted/officially started at 9:30am with a rupture of membranes, and from there progressed really well.  We were able to have pretty much the birth we were hoping for, given the challenges of a twin delivery! 

Elsie was born first at 2:33 pm, weighing 6lbs 12 oz.  After a bit of manipulation to get her heading in the right direction, Delia was born at 2:55, weighing 7lbs 5oz.  They are doing great and were able to stay with us the whole time and go home on Thursday AM. Right now we are working A LOT on breastfeeding (going fairly well, with some very familiar and expected bumps due to the whole milk supply business, and sleepiness).  Sadly, the sleepiness does not include the hours between 9pm to 3am!

Emma has been enjoying her new sisters, loves giving kisses and hugs, and remarking on their tiny hands and feet.  She is also obsessed with their tiny diapers and all their gear.  But she (and her parents as well) is also very glad Grandma Cynthia is here to pay attention to her, too!

Here is a link to some pics -- more coming soon, I hope! At this point, we are having trouble even remembering to TAKE pictures!

So, in another two hours we will be checking into the hospital to have some babies!  Crazy!  The induction starts tonight with a med to help prepare the cervix, then, hopefully, we will be able to get some sleep until the real action starts in the morning. 

Unfortunately, the laptop is broken-ish (the screen won't close without threatening breakage) so we will not have that for updates, and we don't really know how to text message from our phones (lame, I know) so we probably won't get the news out over the web until later.   We will have our cells and will be updating friends and family through that, of course.  Wish us luck!  Babies tomorrow!  

Yeah, we are heading towards an induction, currently set to begin Monday night.  Whee!  

I was actually encouraged by the Dr of the day to do it tonight, and man, it was HARD to say no to that, but I really think its for the best.  Everything looked fine with both my health and the babies, including a quick ultrasound to check fluid levels.  The main reason for his wanting to schedule the induction this week instead of early next is because the 38 week mark falls on Saturday, and they don't schedule elective procedures on weekends or holidays.   But the 38 week mark, based on my due date, was set by an ultrasound at around 11 weeks, which is known to not be entirely accurate to begin with...

Many crunchier folks really disagree with the 38 week rule for twins, but my perinatal practice is pretty firm that the research shows a (very) slight increase in fetal demise after that time.  If the babies don't come on their own it will be 38weeks 3 days, which I am fine with.  And while I am SO ready to be done and SO uncomfortable, I do really want to  give my body all the time we can to bring things on naturally.  The rate of inductions that end in c-sections is really high, due to all the interventions (and the fact that your body may just not be ready) and I would really like to avoid all that. 

So, yeah, here we are.  Ho hum.  At our appointment on Weds we had a non-stress that took 90 minutes (instead of 20 or so) because the babies Would Not Cooperate, and could not be tracked down for more than a minute or so before moving or having their heartbeats disappear.  Not scary, since the heartbeats were fine, it was just annoying because the nurses (2 of them!) were poking, prodding, and rearranging me that entire time to try and get a good reading.  They finally did, all looked good, and we were able to move on to the Dr.

The cervical exam showed no progress, a dilation of 1-2 cm which it has been at for weeks.  I still think Baby A "lefty" moved back up, and that is what caused our progress to reverse.  Today I've felt a little like she might have dropped more again, but its hard to tell.  I am not sure Emma ever did, actually, because she was high throughout my labor and I finally just pushed her down at the end.  If we can get Lefty to drop, though, it could make things move along, perhaps...

So, thats the story!  We will have babies by Tuesday, I think, unless they decide to come sooner.  Come on babies!  Memorial Day Weekend is a good time to be born! 

Happy Birthday, kid!  We had a fun day yesterday with a picnic in the backyard, lots of friends and family.  Emma enjoyed all the company, adored the babies who attended, and for the second year in a row, was not at all interested in her cupcake.  Ah well.  More for me.  

I am sorry I am lazy with the pics -- we have a few to upload and more on my moms camera, and will try to get those up soon!!! 

The weather here has been AWESOME, and yesterday was pretty hot by Seattle standards.  I love it, generally, but until I am no longer pregnant and can actually fit into summer clothes, I am fine with things getting back to normal, heat wise.  I know I am super lucky to have made it this far without experiencing swelling during pregnancy, but for the first time ever I had some and I'd prefer to not have it get any worse!  Feeling lucky to have had spring due dates both times around, and no hugely pregnant in the middle of summer issues. 

Sorry for no update this past week -- this weeks appointment showed no progress on the baby front.  Baby A has still not dropped (after her move back up a few weeks ago) so it kind of looks like they will be hanging in for the long run.  However, if there is no action this week, I will be induced on Monday the 26th-ish.    So no matter what, in less than 8 days we will have babies!  Yahoo! 

Well, this weeks update is...

...no progress!   And in fact, things seem to be moving backwards.  WTF?!? The doctor of the week (we see many since its a large perinatal specialist group) did a check and I appear to be less dilated and effaced, the cervix is posterior (far back) and baby A is "high".   As opposed to "right there" last week.  Not sure how much of this is due to different doctors interpretations, or if things have really changed, but I think its possible that once she moved back up everything closed back up again.  That would explain the considerable decrease in contractions and feelings of labor.

Ah well.  This really is good news, though of course we are anxious to meet them.  I will be 36 weeks tomorrow, which is the average delivery time for twins, but they would still be premature and could easily have feeding issues and NICU time for that.  Another week or two would significantly increase the chance that breastfeeding will go successfully, I have to keep reminding myself.  And hoo, boy, we can use all the good mojo we can get in that realm.

Meanwhile, I am trying to get off my butt and move around a little more, both to get back some of my strength and t o encourage the babies to "drop".  Supposedly lying reclined (as I have been doing, a whole lot) can encourage the  babies to be 'sunny side up" (facing my stomach, not my back) which leads to extremely challenging "back labor".  I think I may have had some of that with Emma, in fact, which might have been why things got beyond my coping abilities then.  But when you have a stomach the size of a beach ball, one is rather limited to the positions one can hang out in for long, so we'll see....

At yesterdays appointment we had the usual non-stress test, and the babies heartbeats were good and responsive.  No more ultrasounds scheduled for the rest of the pregnancy!  Weird, after having them every 2 weeks since 16 weeks!  I didn't ask why but have a feeling its because a)they've been looking so good all along, and b)the weight estimates become less and less accurate near the end.  I know tons of folks who've had estimates up to 2 pounds more or less than what their babies came out as, so you really really don't want to base any birth decisions on those estimates (which is another good reason not to think these babies are "ready", since they could be 4lbs something instead of 6 lbs something, and that would mean a lot more trouble for them).  But, in the same vein, that means, especially by the end, they could both be 9 lbs something, OMG.  My doctor said this is not a problem, though they would watch me carefully after delivery for bleeding issues due to the uterus being so distended. 

Our specific doctors are pretty adament about inducing at 38 weeks (2 weeks from now), to avoid risks of stillbirth that have been shown to increase after that time.  I know a lot of natural leaning folks adamently disagree with this, but I will take the induction, thanks (even knowing 50% or so of inductions end in a C-section).  Hopefully we won't get to that  point -- if we get to 37 weeks I might try acupuncture or some of the other things we tried last time.   Seems funny to be thinking about all this considering all that was happening a few weeks ago! 

This is pretty inspiring.....

No babies yet!  There have been many times over the past few days where I was pretty sure they were coming soon, and then, alas, nothing.  I have been having periods of lots of somewhat painful and regular contractions, then they die down and just come every once in a while (still 4 or so an hour, but they need to be 6+ to be considered anything, really).  They feel different and I think they must be doing something, just not enough, yet.

Meanwhile, I feel HUUUUUUGE.  I don't want to complain, as I know its best to get as far along as we can here (currently 35 weeks 2 days) but AHHHHH (see, I am going to anyway)!  My stomach is stretched so far, the skin hurts constantly where the stretchmarks are continually growing, yet its also basically numb, too.  I have zero clothes that will even cover my stomach, nada, nothing.  Even though I am off bedrest, I can't really do much because my belly is just too huge, and hurts because it hangs down with the wieght.  I can't even sit upright in a chair, because there is no room for the belly!  Still super itchy due to what I think is a PUPPPS rash -- I just CANNOT stop scratching even though I know it makes it worse.  It has spread up my back and on my arms.  Boo. 

At night, I can sleep for about an hour at a time without having to use the bathroom, which is fine, since I am at least getting some sleep!  But in fabulous news Emma has slept through the night TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!!!!  This is a major development that I really hope sticks (but won't count on it, as its pretty common for all sorts of regressions when new babies come on the scene).  

Next appointment is Weds (or Thursday? I forget) and I have to admit we are hoping not to make it that far.  Though its probably good if we did, I know, I know.....

So, the ramping up of contractions was enough to get us to finally pack the hospital bag (last night) and write up a birth plan (this morning).  Today, we had three appointments:

ultrasound:  all looked great.  baby A (lefty) estimated at 6lbs 2oz, baby B (righty) at 6lbs 7oz.  Both head down, normal amounts of fluid, good blood flow in the cords, etc.  

Non-stress test -- both babies heartrates were reacting well, and they were picking up my contractions that ranged from every 4-8 min or so.  Lefty was so low it was really hard to get her heartbeat, and then she was not moving/reacting so the nurse had to jab at her a little and buzz her with a noise machine.  Good times. 

Dr. Appointment:  She checked my cervix and it was 3 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and very soft.  She felt the head of Lefty right there, as well.  She gave us the okay to stop the meds as of today or tomorrow, and gave us a 50/50 chance of making it to next week (I am guessing it won't be that long, but who knows, I did walk around at 3-4 cm for 2 or so weeks last time).  

As of Saturday, the babies will be 35 weeks.  The doctor said that at this point, the meds won't do much to stop labor anyway, which is why we are stopping them.  While it would be ideal, perhaps, to have them stay in a bit longer, the doctors all seem to think they will do pretty well once they are out.  We are getting excited to meet them!  Lonnie actually assembled the crib today, so they will now have a place to sleep once they are home (assuming they will actually sleep in it, unlike Emma).