Nothing Like A Twin Pregnancy

So I left you with last time with me being put on bed rest at 22.5 weeks pregnant with Dillan John and Daniel Jeremiah. You probably wonder how that happened. Well... it was Mother's Day, 2011. A great day. We woke up as a family, went to church, and then went to my grandparent's (Peggy and Buford Haynes) house for lunch. I was feeling fine. We bought 12 acres of land this year and it was loaded with blackberries. David loves blackberries and so do I. We decided to go over to the land and eat some. After all, it's the memories that count. Boy, did we make a memory! We came home and David took a nap. A little while later, I felt pressure. A LOT OF PRESSURE! I sat down for a little while and then David woke up. All three of us walked out in the yard. I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I came in and took a bath. No change. I called the doctor on call. He told me to take some Tylenol and if that didn't work, go to the hospital. I did and sat down in the recliner. When I stood up, I couldn't straighten up. I was walking bow-legged. I looked at Walter and said we gotta go! We all loaded up in the car, dropped David off with my mom, and went to East.
We arrived and things moved FAST! The nurse quickly asked me questions, hooked me up to monitors to watch contractions and the babies' heart beats. She said things looked okay. About 10 minutes later, she came rushing in my room with a hand full of stuff. She said I was contracting every 2-4 minutes! IVs started going in, cathera, they checked me. Thank God I was only dilated a fingertip. All of this was very overwhelming. I couldn't be strong any longer. I started crying. Walter looked very worried. We didn't know what was going on or what to expect. We knew if our babies were born, their chances were not good at all. The pill they had given me did not work, an IV of magnesium was started. We will refer to this drug as the devil drug from now on.
The magnesium made me feel drugged and drunk or maybe the day after doing drugs and drinking. The inside of my face was on extremely hot, I looked like I was sunburned, I couldn't see straight, and I was weak. I couldn't even see who people were without closing one of my eyes. When the tv was on, I would close my eyes and just listen. David came to visit and I will never forget the look on his face. He looked at me with such concern and fear. The way I looked and all the IVs in me... he knew. I stayed on the devil drug for 2 or 3 days. They started lowering the dose to see how my body reacted. Eventually the IVs were gone. The total hospital stay was 6 days. The day I came home was joyous, even though I would be on bed rest from here to the end.
I came home and we set up everything for me in the living room around the recliner. I was to lay unless I got up to go to the bathroom, shower, or get some lunch. My family, friends, and church family took action immediately. The started bringing dinner almost every night. That was wonderful . It was one less thing Walter had to do after coming home. He already had to get David to my dad's or Walter's parents each morning, work all day, pick David up, feed us and the goat, clean the kitchen, get David clean, and put him to bed. This killed me. My summer days were always for me and David to hang out, go shopping, to the park, Pump It Up, swimming, to the beach. We spent each day on a different adventure. His adventures would now be with his grandparents. Thinking about this was one of the only things that made me cry. How does he feel? Does he understand? I found ways to spend time with him in the afternoons and weekends. We played board games (I'm the Queen of Uno Attack), read books online, snuggled, and watched movies together. Eventually, I could go outside late in the evenings and watch him play for short periods of time.
Three weeks after coming home, at 26 weeks, labor was on again. To the hospital we went. Same events over. Nurses rushing in, IVs, cathera, devil drug, and this time steroids. I was contracting every two minutes, so they were in a hurry. Steroid shot in the hip; I screamed! It was very painful ( found out the nurse was in such a hurry that she didn't swap the "mixing" needle to the one that goes in the skin). Walter decided to say a joke at this moment about David getting his dramatic behavior from his mama. At this time, words I am not proud of came spilling out. I glared at him, gritted my teeth, and yelled "I will kick you in the _____!" The room went silent.
This trip went the way the first trip did except it only lasted 3 days this time. Back home we went for more bed rest. It didn't end here.
About 4 weeks later, I was having some contractions, itching on my palms, bottom of my feet, all around, and some pain in my right side. This time we were sent to TRIOG. I told them I thought I had something called cholestasis, which is uncommon. Of course, the doctor on call, Dr. Williams, did not listen. He was actually rude and told me he's been doing this for a long time and to trust him. Famous last words... Anyway ultrasound showed my right kidney was completely closed off. Admitted again. The next morning, dye was injected, xray taken. Blocked, but didn't know why. Baby A's head blocked the bottom of the urethra. Two hours later, same thing. I was finally allowed to eat around 2:00. At 5:00, another xray. Walter came to visit and Dr. Butha showed up at my door. He came all the way back to the hospital to tell me I would have no stint, Baby A had moved, and that was what had blocked the kidney. That was music to our ears! Another praise. He even got Dr. Martin to come and sign discharge papers for me to leave that night! Awesome.
I have been home ever since. I monitor myself for contractions with a machine twice a day and send it to a nurse. She calls me and tells me what she sees. That gives me a peace of mind. I am now 34.5 weeks and have been told they will not stop labor this time. I can't believe this journey is almost over and another beginning. I am determined to do what it takes to keep my babies healthy. Me being miserable is worth our sons being as healthy as possible. Walter has been great, David has been great, and so has everyone else around us. The support amazes me. Right now, both babies weigh over 5 pounds according to the ultrasound. I want them to be over 6, but I will be happy with healthy. Only 2.5 weeks left, at the most. I can't wait!
For the record, I contemplated putting these pictures on here. Belly pictures are not the most attractive thing in the world to me.

About 8/9 weeks

About 16 weeks

About 26 weeks

About 32 weeks

Our Journey to Conceive

I have thought very hard about sharing this story with others. I have never had a problem with talking to people and sharing our journey. However, it seems a little different to share online. It takes away the personal aspect of things for me. Here we go anyway.

It all began about 4 months after Walter and I were wed in 2004. I messed up with my birth control pills and ended up pregnant. Easy as that! Bam! There it was. It was a big surprise, but we were both extremely excited. We have always talked about wanting children and not waiting a long, long time before beginning. We wanted to be young. We told our parents about us being pregnant and soon everyone knew! At 7 weeks pregnant, I knew something was wrong. I was having horrible cramps that had me doubled over. I couldn't get it to stop. Being young and inexperienced, I didn't want to call and bother Dr. Garrard. After a while, I called and they asked me to come in. I went, they did an ultrasound, and didn't tell me anything. I had to wait on Dr. Garrard to come and tell me... I had miscarried. He acted as if it was no big deal. Women miscarry all the time. I, however, was devastated. When I told Walter, he was too. He didn't want to talk about it. Instead, he wanted to be left alone.

Fast forward about 6 months later, pregnant again with no problems conceiving. I went to Dr. Garrard and he confirmed it. Surely, this time nothing will happen. We didn't tell anyone, just in case. At 8 weeks, while taking a final at Alabama State University, I knew something was wrong again. I called the doctor and he told me to come in immediately. Same routine. I had miscarried... again. What is wrong with me??? Again, Dr. Garrard stated it just happens. Just happens? Twice? Come to find out, I have O- blood and Walter had A+. They don't mix. If they baby's blood is A+, my body sees it as a foreign object and fights it off. Therefore, I am considered rH negative. I had to have a rhogam shot in my hip within 72 hours of miscarrying to "save" the next baby. I decided it was time to change doctors to someone more compassionate. I chose Dr. Martin because I heard great stories of him having so much concern for women with complications. He ran all kinds of test and made me feel comfortable.

In August of 2007, before Natasha and Chris' wedding, I found out we were pregnant again! I think I must have been the happiest matron of honor ever! Of course, we didn't tell anyone. We prayed that this would be the one. Everything would be okay. We passed 8 weeks, then 9, and so on. Finally! We made it to 12 weeks pregnant and told our parents, then everyone else. We were having a little BOY! Not just any boy, a miracle baby named David James Quinn. We were overjoyed! Pregnancy was great. I worked 4 days a week at Peyton's Place as a server and went to school 2 days a week. Around week 34, I began swelling. Come to find out I had preeclampsia. At about 35-36 weeks I had to go on bed rest to bring my blood pressure down. It didn't work. So, at 37 weeks, on March 23, 2006, David was born weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz and 20.5 inches long. He was perfect.

When David was a little over 3, we decided it was time to have another child. Walter didn't want David to be an only child and I had always wanted 2 children. We thought it would happen pretty easily. We had been trying for about 9 months when I had my yearly appointment. I mentioned it to Dr. Martin and he decided to do some tests. I was not ovulating at all and had PCOS... imagine that! I am in my my mid-20s and I all of the sudden do not ovulate anymore. WHAT??? Over the next several months, he tried us on different doses of Clomid, a fertility drug. Take the pill for a certain amount of time and come in for blood word to see how it was working. Never worked. Bummer. He performed a laproscopy surgery on me to drill my ovaries so they would release hormones. That didn't work either. He referred us to an infertility specialist in Mobile. I did some research. Mobile was just too far. We opted for ART of Birmingham.

July, 2010 was our first appt. We were nervous and didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be lots and lots of blood taken, an examination, and Walter had to be tested. We were there for a while. Dr. Houserman talked to us about options: 1)We could try clomid again with her, 2)clomid- this time an IUI (insemination) would be done during ovulation, or 3) skip to injections called Gonal-F. We chose to try clomid with her to be on the safe side. There was a very small chance of multiples with this. We couldn't believe when they called and told us we were pregnant the first month! Finally... only to miscarry about 2 weeks later. Not this again! NO! NO! NO! Here we go again. From July-December we made almost weekly trips to either the Birmingham office or Montgomery office for blood work, ultrasounds, injections, or the IUI. If anything had to be done on the weekend, it had to be done in Bham. Same with all IUIs. It was draining, emotionally, physically, and everything else. We often wondered if we were doing the right thing. Is this what God wants us to do? Eventually, we started injections with Gonal-F. It took 2 months of that and two days before Christmas 2010, we got the phone call that we were pregnant again. This would make the 5th time for us overall. Happy and cautious is how we felt. On Christmas, I started having trouble breathing and my chest hurt so bad. Turns out, I was overstimulated from the fertility drugs. I had very large cysts! They had to watch them carefully over time. They shrunk slowly, but surely. Two weeks after finding out we were pregnant, we found out there was more than one! OMG is all I can say! Then I had some bleeding and the ultrasound showed a blood clot behind one of the sacs. Now I was on light duty and had to sit down as much as possible. The clot was watched closely to. At 11 weeks, we were turned over to my regular doctor, Dr. Martin. Things were pretty smooth from there on out until Mother's Day, 2011. I was 22.5 weeks pregnant with twin boys and having preterm labor! Great... this part of the story will be finished at a later date...

David Turns..........5!!!!!

Great Grandpa (Pop) and David

Happy 5th Birthday!

See the love...

We celebrated our baby turning 5 at Bama Lanes in Prattville. This was the first paty that I did not do myself. I actually enjoyed it. David first noticed that he got a REAL bowling pin! He was impressed by that. Then his friends started arriving. Daddy was in charge of putting names into the computer... not the easiest task! The kids bowled for a little over an hour. David won! He still talks about that! Then we all had some chips, Batman cake, and ice cream! Yummy! Thankfully, David didn't notice Publix had made the wrong Batman cake. It was even the one he specifically said he DID NOT want. Whew! After food, it was present time! His friends brought him some wonderful gifts. Overall, party was a success.

David's Friends

The Birthday Boy

Thomas the Train

Walter, Grandma, David, and Me ready to ride Thomas

Group shot with Thomas before the ride David can't wait for it to start.

We went to Thomas the Train again this year. It is always great! We got there just in time to get a picture with Thomas before our turn to ride. During the ride, we listened to Thomas music, looked out the window at all the scenery, and talked to the conductor. He gave David a certificate for his ride! David was super excited about that! After the ride, we enjoyed all the fun activities outside. David played with the bubbles. I think he let the kid next to him wear all of his bubbles! I'm sure his parents were thrilled with us. Then we took pictures with Sir Topham Hat, went to the gift shop, jumped in the bouncer, played putt-putt, and played with all the train sets under the tent. David really gets into all the trains. He "zones out" on them. Maybe he will be able to "zone out" on his teacher this year in Kindergarten. :)

Some of My Favorites...

The Only Grandchild's First Christmas

Santa Claus visited David for the first time when he was 9 months old. I have often wondered why do people buy babies so much when they don't even know what is going on. I mean... they would be more that happy with a box to play with. They're not interested in every toy known to man.
Guess what? David got every toy imaginable to man! Everyone was excited to watch him. Mama, Daddy, Granny, Pawpaw, Grandma, Papa J, Uncle Josh, and Aunt April came to be spectators. David was interested for a little while and then more into the paper. Whatever... everyone had a good time.

SANTA!

Mommy's present

Granny, David, and Pawpaw

Grandma, David, and Papa J

Daddy and David

The Scariest Lion

David's first Halloween... I am partial, but I think David was the cutest lion ever! Drew came over to Granny's house so the lion and Tigger hung out together for a bit.

The night was busy. We went by Walter's parents house so they could see him. We also went to my mom's house to Trick or Treat. Yes, that is right... David went trick or treating and he always will as long as their are porch lights on. It makes me irritated when I hear poeple talk about how unsafe it is or whatever! Don't take the fun out of Halloween. Yeah, we do the church thing to, but when I think about Halloween, I think about trick or treating and getting tons of candy! Enough about that, we hauled David in the stroller and took off around the neighborhood. We have done the same thing each year ever since.

One of Our Trips to Gulf Shores

Our chunky monkey playing in the sand.


Family photo at the beach. The first of many.

David wasn't so sure about the sand being on him.

Mama enjoyed the sun.

Baby Dedication

As a Baptist, we believe in dedicating babies to the Lord. What does that mean? It means that the parents are making a vow to raise their child in a Christian house, teaching them about God.

On October 15, 2006, when David was 7 months old, we dedicated him during a small ceremony held at New Home Baptist Church in Titus, Alabama. Our family was there to witness this very special occasion. My parents, Walter's parents, my grandparents, and Aunt NaNa was there, which meant a lot to us.

Our little baby, was always a BIG baby and high on the scale. When Brother Bill went to lift him up to the Lord, he almost didn't make it! He made a comment about David being too heavy and the congregation laughed.

We have kept our promise by raising David up in church and teaching him about the Bible and God the best we can. I pray we continue to do so.

Water Baby

Our beautiful baby boy was almost 5 months old when we decided it was time to introduce him to swimming. We didn't know what to expect... crying, screaming, smiling, laughing??? We packed a bag and hiked on over the our wondeerful neighbors' house- Tony and Kim. Walter and I got in the water with hime and guess what he did. NOTHING!!!! NO CRYING, SCREAMING, SMILING, OR LAUGHING! I guess that was better than crying.

At the age of 5, this boy loves to swim, but he will pass on the deep end. Not his favorite!!!

Fire Trucks, Here We Come!

David James made his first visit to Pawpaw's work at the age of 4 months. Of course, he couldn't climb on the trucks by himself, but we helped him along the way. He was mostly there for Pawpaw to show him off to the guys he works with. Since this visit, we have made many trips to Dannnely Field to see Pawpaw and climb on the trucks, wave to the pilots, watch the F-16s, and play pool. Who knew there was so much to do at a fire station?

Quinn Family~ Established March 6, 2004

Bridal Portrait

and another one.



He had a little too much fun!

We are married!!!

Walter and I dated a year and a half before getting engaged. A year and a half after that, on March 6, 2004, was the BIG DAY! Walter was 23 and I was 20. The place was Millbrook Presbyterian Church with Gerald Wood officiating. We were joined by our wedding party which included: Natasha Glasscock McMillan, Amber Brooks, Elizabeth Mercer Jackson, Jessi Milam, Jim Quinn, Richard Pinckard, Eddie Pope, and CJ Orndorff. Tristan and Brandon Orndorff were our adorable flower girl and ring bearer. My mom and aunts did the decorations, flowers, and food. What a talented bunch! They did an awesome job! We enjoyed the evening with our family and friends.

Afterwards, we left for St. Petersburg, Florida to stay in a condo high rise. Hulk Hogan owned a condo in the same place we stayed. The view was gorgeous. We saw dolphins from our balcony. The first day or two I couldn't eat. I actually lost weight on our honeymoon. I guess it was nerves, but I got over that! While we were there, we went to Sea World, Busch Gardens, bowling, and sight seeing. It was a week of happiness!

Walter carried me into the house and we were surprised by a freshly painted dining room and kitchen.

Getting Started

Blogging came across my mind one day while I was on bed rest. I finally had time to sit and type about Walter, David, Dillan, Daniel, and me! I wondered if it would be worth the time and how many people will be interested enough to take the time and read the posts. Anyway, here it goes!

It all started 10 years ago on a Spring Break trip to Panama City Beach, Florida. I was 17 and a Junior in high school. Walter was 20 and I don't know which job he had then. I think he had just quit working for the State of Alabama??? Anyway, Natasha, Amber, and I were riding on the strip when Natasha spotted her ex-boyfriend, Jason Shumaker, riding in Walter's Rodeo. She flagged them down. We parked and rode around with them a while. We danced and hung out the rest of the night. I thought Walter was OLD and would not even think about it! We parted our ways and went back to our own hotel. Natasha convinced me he was not OLD... he just looked it because of all the facial hair and such. A few days later, I ran into him at the Chevron in Elmore. He invited some of my friends and me over to hang out at his trailor. We ended up going and I have been stuck with him ever since!

Engagement Picture

Fast forward three years and we were married... March 6, 2004. I was in college at the time and Walter was putting on vinyl siding. We bought a house in Titus just in time!

On March 23, 2006, we welcomed our first son, David James Quinn, into the world. Now we are expecting twin boys, Dillan and Daniel, in August.