A-mazing

Hello friends and family! Wow...It has been a magical 48 hours! Magical and miraculous! For all of you who haven't had a chance to actually talk to the glowing new mommy and daddy, I wanted to give you the update: Yesterday was a really good day for Amy, Charles and the girls. Amy is recovering quickly and is in great spirits - even on practically zero sleep! I don't know how she does it, but she is definitely on a mission right now: Feed those babies! :) The girls are starting to gain weight which is awesome, and all vitals are stable. Charles has been an amazing "hands-on" dad and is so great with Amy. He has been there every step of the way, and really helps her stay on track to accomplish the mission! In a nutshell, the prognosis: Amy will be released from the hospital tomorrow and the girls will stay in the "nick-you" for another week or so.

For those of you that don't know, the girls were born somewhere between 1-3 weeks early and are being closely monitored 24/7 by special doctors and nurses in what Amy keeps calling the "nick-you." After hearing her talk about this place over and over again, I finally had to ask her what the heck it was! If you are like me and haven't been around babies much, there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to pretty much everything new, born and baby. Put it this way...I have never seen (let alone hold) a newborn baby since my sister Hayley was born when I was 11 years old! (Omg that's 25 years ago!) So imagine what it was like seeing two tiny little newbies trying to"latch on" to mommy in their very first "feeding" in the "nick-you." Umm...pretty much mind-blowing! My first impression of the girls was that they looked and sounded exactly like baby kittens! Their little eyes were as blue as the ocean and full of wonder. I'm sure they were a bit confused too. They kinda looked like they were thinking: "Hey wait a second...wasn't I just in a...? Where the heck am I? Man..it's cold and really bright in here!" And those little tiny noises they make...I swear it sounded kittens mewing and purring! :) Pretty much the cutest thing - ever. I was nervous when Amy unexpectedly asked me to hold one of them - afraid I would drop her or something stupid. But Annabelle's little head fit right in the palm of my hand and then instinct took over (thank God!). Her tiny hand wrapped around my finger, and soft, floppy head full of hair on my shoulder felt beautifully natural. Seeing Amy and Charles cool as cucumbers definitely helped. Even though this is their first experience with childbirth, they have a sense of serenity about them. I'm know they are ecstatic (and relieved) that the girls are finally here. and that the girls got to choose their own birthday - naturally.

That was one of the coolest things about them being early. As the final weeks approached, Amy knew she needed to schedule a C-section because "baby A" was breech (feet first). She was stressed because she had to "choose" their birthday and astrological sign - either April 13th (Aries) or April 20th (Taurus). Kind of a weird thought, right? Of course I pushed for the 13th so they could be Aries girls like me! :) On Saturday the 27th around 3pm, Amy and I chatted on the phone and were trying to figure out the best dates for me to get time off from work and a plane ticket up to Napa. I wanted to come up right after Easter Sunday (the 4th) to hang out with her while she was still preggers and help out before the big day. Well...one of the most amazing things about life, is the roller coaster ride. Revelation: No matter how much you plan and try to prepare for the future, the universe will always remind you that you need to live and embrace every single minute in the present moment. You never know where the journey will take you, so you may as well enjoy the ride! Amy said to me: "You know Guinevere...I don't think I'm gonna make it to the 13th. I'm huge and can barely move around. These girls want out!" she laughed. Cut to: 3 hours later and Amy is grocery shopping at Trader Joe's when her water breaks. She drives herself to the hospital (which was luckily right around the corner in small town Napa) and checks herself in with her clothes soaking wet. Sure enough, the doctors admitted her right away because those girls were coming fast! Wow! A mother's instinct! So rad! Charles was at the hospital within minutes, and Stephanie, Erica and Matt were close behind. Like clockwork, everyone had their designated "jobs" and kicked it into gear: Stephanie made the initial round of phone calls and guided Amy with her humor and experience. Charles rocked the supportive, loving husband and helped her stay calm as doctors tried to stop her contractions so they could schedule a C-section the next morning. Erica got into scrubs as the designated paparazzi snapping photos. Matt was the communications hub providing a play-by-play to his frantic sister (me) as I scrambled to get to Napa at warp speed. Spring break in Palm Springs meant NO outgoing flights until 7:30am the next morning, so I rented a car hoping to race my way up to Napa in time for the C-section. By the time I was about to hit the road at 11:30 pm, Matt texted me at 11:26 informing me that "the C-section is happening in an hour." My heart sank, but I knew Amy was in good hands. At 1:09 am I got the news: "It's official - you are an aunt! The girls are doing fine." Once I knew that, I decided to stay the night and try to sleep so I would be well-rested for the drive in the morning.

The drive up Highway 5 from Southern California to Northern California is usually a long, boring and definitely not a scenic route. It is straight through rural Central California - all agriculture, stinky farms and brown, burnt-looking hills. I've never traveled up the 5 in spring - after the rain washes away all the smog and makes way for lush green hills and miles of purple and yellow wildflowers. It was gorgeous! I flew up there (with a few stops) in less than 9 hours just as the sun was going down over the San Francisco skyline. I met Matt at the house and followed him to the hospital just in time to see Amy and Charles with the babies for the first time in the "nick-you" since they were born. It was pure joy, and has been since then. Like clockwork, we all fell into our designated rolesagain. Stephanie and Erica left the hospital with amazing photos - before, during and after the birth...Matt had to be up in the morning for school and was relieved of his duties as communications director. Charles had a much needed break to (try) to sleep in his own bed while I had a chance to be the "love" (as appointed by Amy) and vibe-out the hospital room with flowers and snacks :) It was so fun to visit and chill with Amy through the night and try to make her pop her "glue" (not stitches) from surgery! (sorry Charles). I've witnessed the out-pouring of love, visitors, phone-calls, gifts for this awesome family as well as the trials and tribulations that it took them to get here. They have been so patient and persevered - together. After all this time, thoughts and prayers have been answered...it is the circle of life and nothing short of a miracle.

So...back to this whole learning curve thing...I finally learned what that special baby room was called: The "Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit" or NICU. It's basically The Matrix for babies (check out the movie if you haven't seen it). It's a special room with all kinds of special equipment and pods (better known as incubators) that monitor the babies' temperatures, feeding and protect them from infection while they are still growing. Amazing!

 So that's the update from proud "auntie Gigi" for now. If you have pictures, thoughts, stories and video to share, please feel free to send links! Also, if you want to send gifts, mommy and daddy can't think of anything else they need right now except for pampers and GIFT CARDS. As far as "big stuff," goes, they will probably need another crib in about 4 months, so keep that in mind! :) They are so thankful to all of you who have given them so much fun stuff! Thank you aunt Jeanette and Michael for the car seat that just arrived today! It's party time...Pictures and video to come!

Congratulations Amy, Charles, Annabelle and Abigail! You did it!

With all my Love,

Auntie Gigi

Click here for my iphone photos.

More photos...

Thanks to Jeanette for posting pictures in the earlier post. Here are some more (including a few pregnancy photos). All photos taken by good friend Erica. She was the designated photographer and was also in delivery room. Thanks Erica!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=129069381310:454712347

Also, if you missed it, Amy has posted some official baby stats and great stories in a previous post. So make sure you check them all out!

Beautiful Stark Girls

Hi all. Isn't this a wonderful time in our lives? I can't tell you how amazing it was to see Amy, Charles, the girls, and proud Uncle Matt yesterday.

Great Auntie Bennie and I planned on heading to Napa early in the morning Sunday and be there in time for Amy to head into surgery. Imagine my surprise when I checked the blog just before leaving the house only to fine the Stark girls were already here. Amazing. They just couldn't wait.

We headed out to Napa bright and early anyway and had a wonderful visit with the new family.

Amy is doing so well. Of course she is tired but she was glowing and as proud as could be. Daddy Charles (Chuck) did a great job of taking care of the new mommy making sure she got to hold one of the girls first after delivery. He's my hero!

The great aunties got to visit the girls in they special nursery. It was so quiet in the room. Little feet and toes, little hands and noses, lots of hair and beautiful skin tone. But why spend time trying to tell you how beautiful they are when you can see for yourself.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Annabelle Lilly and Abigail Novella Stark.

Sending tons of love,

Jeanette

Abigail Novella

Annabelle Lilly

Random Thoughts

I guess I snore now. It is really embarrassing. Charles told me it has woken him up more than once. In fact, it is such a bear of a snore, I have even woken myself up (especially when I am napping during the day when my sleep is not as deep). I asked the nurse if she thinks it will go away after the pregnancy and she said, "Probably. Right now your diaphragm and everything else are so crammed, they have no where else to go." Let's hope so!

I ran into a group of toddlers the other day. One of the little girls looked at my belly (straight up for her) and said, "What's wrong with your belly?" Then before I could answer, she fired another one, "Is there a baby in there?" I quickly said, "Well, yes." Then she said, "Can I see it?" I couldn't help but laughing. Toddlers are absolutely hilarious.

Baby stats

Two fraternal girls were born on Sunday, March 23 via unscheduled c-section. After my water broke at 6:00 pm, I drove myself to the hospital and the nurses put my belly on contraction monitors, and put each baby on a heart monitor to measure their stress. Baby heart rates were normal, but my contractions started and then began to increase. Dialation was small at 0.5 cm so doctors figured we could hold out till morning (9:00 am) before surgery. It seemed the NICU was pretty full and doctors would like to start their days In the
morning.

However, contractions continued to increase in intensity and quickness (every 5 min so doctors tried to slow labor down by giving me muscle relaxer shots every 20 min. I do hate those shots as they cause shakiness, hot flashes, and general uneasiness, and for me, although they slowed down contractions, it didn't stop them.

Doctors and nurses regrouped and decided that since we were having a csection regardless because baby A was breech, why put me or the babies through more meds that weren't working, and pain that was draining my precious energy away.

A csection was ordered for that evening--they would just need to make space for the babies!!! Within 1 hr, my regular OB was here (even tho he was not on call...) He came anyway to perform the surgery and the oncall Dr. assisted. What a lucky duck I was!!!

The csection was THE oddest surgery I have ever had because I was awake the whole time. I am glad I was because I got to meet our little girls for the first time!! And Charles was there holding my hand the whole way. Matt was in the waiting room and videotaping the leading up events while answering phone calls, texts, and emails, with good friend Stephanie who was moral support grabbing last minute items from home etc, and good friend Erica was everywhere taking pictures for us.

Baby A- Annabelle Lilly was born 5 lbs 1 oz at 12:33 am.
Baby B- Abigail Novella was born 4 lbs 13 oz at 12:34 am.

I was 36 weeks pregnant, and full term for twins is considered 37-38 weeks so they are still considered preemies, and are learning to suck, swallow and breathe (they tire easily) and learning how to control their body temperature (they cool easily and can't warm back up).

I'll be in hospital at least till Wednesday and we won't know if babies can come home with us or not. It depends on how well they pass these tests...

Off to sleep now before babies wake up for feeding...
Amy

Baby schedule

Thank you to all my amazing friends and family for their awesome posts on facebook and the blogger site. I can feel the love! I am on "baby schedule" now, in addition to recovering from survey so if you get a post at 3:00 am but try to email at 3:00 pm and I don't respond, you'll know why. My current day is spent trying to stand and  go to the bathroom on my own, to pumping milk or attempting to breastfeed two, adorable but somewhat immature babies, talking to nurses, doctors, lactation consultants (I have so much great help here at the hospital), eating, or sleeping. All in 30-40 minute increments, including the sleep.I can't wait to see you all in person and show more pics of the babies!!!
Amy

Quiznos trader joes and baby toes

I was hungry yesterday on the way to the grocery store. They say not to shop on an empty stomach. So I sopped at quiznos and ate a turkey and Swiss sandwhich with a bag of cheetohs. Drank a whole bottle of
water in one swig and made my way to trader joes. As I sat in the parking lot at TJs eating the last of the cinnamon cookie I had for dessert I felt a little gush. Uh oh I thought. I sat and waited and another gush came. All I could think of was how hard Charles had worked to clean the car!

Luckily TJs is about two blocks from the hospital. And being that gushing water was one of the criteria for going in, I drove myself there.Once i parked, As soon as I stood up, the gushing became a waterfall and I walked my wet self into labor and delivery.

Babies were doing well and were Ancy to come out. Contractions started within one hr and soon a csection was ordered.Two prs of feet and beautiful toes were born late that morning!!! More to come. Sleep calls...
Amy