The girls have arrived!

I know this blog is more than a week late in announcing the arrival of our baby girls, Addilyn Kate and Ella Grace, but motherhood keeps me VERY busy.

My doctor induced me Monday, February 9 at about 8:00 a.m. He broke my water around 9:00 a.m. only to discover later that day that he had only nicked the sack and had to re-break it when my chief complaint was that the blood pressure cuff was more horrendous than my contractions.

After that, the blood pressure cuff wasn't noticeable and I was asking for an epidural within 30 minutes. Everything sort of gets hazy and happened pretty fast after that. I'm not joking when I say I dilated from 5 cm to 10 cm in a matter of about 30 minutes.

I was whisked away to the operating room (just in case an emergency c-section was needed) while Matthew fumbled with getting scrubs on trying to keep up with my rolling bed. I think I endured an out of body experience delivering our girls. I didn't think I had it in me to do, but it was done and before I knew it they were both here!

Addilyn Kate Hutchison arrived at 7:26 p.m. weighing 4 pounds 13 ounces and measuring 17.75 inches long. Ella Grace Hutchison arrived 13 minutes later at 7:39 p.m. weighing 4 pounds 7 ounces and measuring 17.5 inches long. Both girls immediately began breathing on their own and never had to go to the NICU. We are so blessed to have such healthy babies considering they were born 4 weeks early. We all got to come home from the hospital on Thursday, February 12.

The hospital stay was especially difficult on me. I never knew how much the nurses bug you when you're trying to rest. The stress of childbirth and being in a hospital and fatigued brought on a minor case of Bells Palsy. The right side of my face is slightly paralyzed, but thankfully enough not droopy. I saw a neurologist on Monday, February 16 and he thinks we started treatment soon enough that I will recover. The bad thing is that it could be a few weeks to months before I recover. I'm trying to stay positive about it, but it is hard not being able to smile at my baby girls. Eating, drinking, and even brushing my teeth is a bit of a challenge now too. I vow to never take these things for granted again. I'm also struggling to regain a normal blood pressure. My doctor had to prescribe meds to help get it down. So far it hasn't done any good and is still in the 180/90 range.

The girls go in for their one week follow up to the pediatrician tomorrow. We are hoping to hear good news about their jaundice depleting and that they are gaining weight. I'll update again after their appointment.

Enjoy the pictures!

Addilyn & Ella

Addilyn Kate

Ella Grace