McKenna loves her daddy!

This is our sweet little McKenna, the other day Gus was changing her diaper and right after he removed the diaper from under her bum she started pooping! Luckily he had another diaper under her and so he went to finish her diaper change and after he removed the third soiled diaper she peed all over. He had to change her diaper three or four times in a row because she kept soiling the clean ones right after he placed them under her bum; it was hilarious.
The next morning he was changing her diaper again; only this time he didn't put a fresh diaper under the soiled one and as soon as he started wiping her little bum she started pooping! He didn't have the diaper there to catch it and so he had to catch it in his hand with the wipe! I haven't laughed that hard for a long time. It hard to believe something so small and cute could create so much poo but I am grateful she is already keeping dad on his toes! hehe

A Few of my Favorite Things

This is a list of just a few things I hope I always remember about the past two weeks-
1. Both the girls LOVE to grab things they have become very accomplished at pulling out tubes but McKenna loves to hold on to my finger. It is the sweetest thing she will flail her arms like she is falling until you give her your finger and then she will grab on and totally relax. I love to feel her sweet little hand wrapped around my finger. It is my small piece of heaven.
2. How small they are. I know I will never remember just how small they are but I wish I could. They are about 4 pounds now and have no fat on them. It is so cute to see their wrinkly, skinny little knees and they don't even have butt cheeks!
3. I love it when they are awake; I can sit there and talk to them and they will just stare up at me. It is moments like this that everything starts to sink in and I realize just how much I love them.
4. Gus wants to always remember how much he loved them from the moment he saw them. He said that his heart was pounding in his chest when he saw them for the first time and never wants to forget that feeling of pure love. When he was finally able to go in and see them my family said he was doing 'victory laps' in between me in the recovery room and the girls in the NICU.
5. How sweet Gus has been this whole time. I called him that fatefull monday morning in tears because of the pain but I didn't want to go to L&D because I didn't want them to just send me home. Thats when we realized it might be back labor and I should probably go to the hospital but he was so sweet and supportive. Then I told him to stay at work and I would keep him updated but he came to the hospital and sat with me all day while they tried to stop my contractions. It was pretty boring but I really apprecaited the company; I was scared. He also cleaned the house while I was at the hospital so I didn't have to come home to a dirty house and he always drives me up to the front of the hospital and than goes and parks the car so I don't have to walk.
6. The smell of the girls. I don't know how to describe it but after we come home from the hospital we can still smell them on our skin and we love it.
Not favorite things I want to remember-
1.Due to my condition they couldn't give me a epidural or spinal block because my red blood cell count was 1/3 of the normal range. I had an emergency c-section under general anesthia which means when I woke up I had no pain medication running through my system. They hooked up the morphine pump but I had to wait for the morphine to kick in. Of the few moments I remember waking up and my mom telling me to breath through the pain. That is the worst pain I have ever felt I think that is my 10 on the pain scale.
2. I went into L&D because I was in so much pain due to back labor and my liver was swollen from the HELLPS. I couldn't time my contractions when I realized it was back labor and by the time I got to L&D I think my contractions were about 3 minutes apart! I want to remember what little of labor I felt. P.S. they did stop my contractions but I was still in so much pain from my liver that is how they found the HELLPS.
3. Leaving our babies in the NICU when we came home was the HARDEST thing we have ever had to do. When you dream of having babies you always take for granted that you will get to take them home with you and we wanted that story book ending too. Anyway when it gets rough in the next few years I know I want to remember how hard I cried and how sad I was to leave them. I know there will be times when I want to take them back to the nursery but I want to remember how hard this month is not having them home with us.

Sugar and Spice

This is our little Kaya, isn't she beautiful? I think I have the cutest babies ever! Kaya is doing very well and will hopefully be off her IV within the next day or so. They are so sweet and I live for the few hours I get to hold them. Kaya is kinda spunky and loves to pull on all the tubes even if they are her sisters; McKenna is alittle bit more eventempered (like her dad). She also loves to grab tubes but usually just holds on to them.

This is our little McKenna, she is such a sweetheart. Both the girls are doing really well, McKenna scared us but it turned out that all she has is an anal fissure. It doesn't seem to bother her and so now we are just working on getting her feeds up so she can go off her IV. We have learned that little McKenna the hardest stick in all of the NICU and her veins tend to blow or infultrate after only a day or so. Poor thing she usually needs a new IV everyother day and I have stood next to her for 2 hours while the try poke needles EVERYWHERE. She is very good and only fusses alittle bit. We are honestly so grateful that these are our only problems, they seem to be doing very good. P.S. they are identical! I am so excited

More pictures!!!

This is me holding both my girls at the same time! They limit holding time for even us at the moment due to gestational age but when we get to it makes everything worth it.

They are under the billirubin lights and so they have to wear 'sunglasses' to protect their eyes. It is so cute. Look how little her hand is wrapped around my fingers.

I was so swollen part of it was from the magnesium they had to put me on, part from just pregnancy and part was from H.E.L.P.S syndrome which is what they finally diagnosed me with.

Introducing to the world

Kaya Starlin Clark and McKenna Kathryn Clark!!!
They were born Monday 3/23/09 at 8:41 and 8:42 pm, weighing 3.9 lbs and 3.15 lbs respectively. They are doing really well, especially for being born at 33 weeks. They will need to stay in the nicu for a while, but are getting stronger.

update on the girls

These are the latest pictures of baby 'A'. This one is sideways so it might be hard to see at first but it is a complete face shot; she is smiling very big. This is her profile; it is so weird to see them because it makes it seem so much more real.
We couldn't get a good one of baby 'B' because she is facing my insides. They are both doing well and we are busy getting ready for them. We have finished with birthing classes and I had two GREAT baby showers. My mother-in-law and my mom both threw me wonderful showers and we are so grateful for all the love, support and gifts. Thank you everyone; we really feel that the lord is watching over us and using all of you to bless us. I can't tell you all thank you enough times.