Few more items to share.

Stacy insisted I share a picture of me holding a baby so here I am holding Joseph.

Also, I thought I'd share a video of their first baths given by their nurse the first night.  We weren't sure who was who yet, but the first video is William, the second Joseph.

Everyone is home safe

Getting ready to go home with mama

What's going through my mind: You mean you're actually letting me take these out with me?!?

 Just thought y'all would like to know that we're all home safe... I still can't believe that they let us take two actual living breathing human babies home!  The boys are day sleepers apparently as they kept me up all night last night but are sound asleep now... I've come to realize that I have grossly underestimated my role in this whole parenting thing.  Looking back, I actually believed that I would just hand the babies over to Stacy to nurse while I napped.  When she was done, I'd check for poopies, change the diaper, and then I'd put them down where they'd slip quietly off to sleep for another 3 hours.  Yeah, not the way it works AT ALL! 

Sleeping as of an hour ago

Because of the C-Section, Stacy hasn't been able to move or lift anything really, so, when it's feeding time (which is practically every hour :-/) I'll pick up the baby that is going to be breastfed, check the diaper, prep some formula (since there are two, Stacy is unable to produce enough to feed them both, so we have to supplement) pass him to Stacy who attempts to get the baby to latch on.  While that's happening I'm picking up (usually waking up) the next baby, checking his diaper and prepping another bottle.  Then I wrap him up, feed him, and put him down just as Stacy is finishing her nursing attempt (babies are still learning how to do things the old fashioned way ;-).  Then I wrap and feed the baby who was nursing as Stacy revs up the 'ol breast pump and tries to get what she can from her gals.  After baby 2 is finished eating (and burping... who know something so small could produce so much gas out of both ends!) I put him down, clean all the bottles, rinse off the pump parts, lay down, close my eyes, and just barley slip into unconsciousness when one of the babies starts crying again...

Joseph, our pacifier baby

Dr. Herzog with the boyz... Joseph is not amused!

It's been so much fun getting to know the boys though.  Joseph is going to need a lot of security.  He'll probably be a pacifier baby, he's totally content as long as he's being held or has a nipple or a pinky finger in his mouth; lay him down by himself though, and within seconds no one is sleeping! 

William is totally chill though, he just goes with the flow.  Last few changes he barely even made a sound.  He's not eating as much as Joseph though, which is troublesome, but then again he's a bit bigger so maybe he's just waiting for little brother to have his growth spurt and catch up.

William with Grandma

I can't believe how adorably cute they are though, seriously, I'm surprised baby photographers aren't banging down our door for the opportunity to do a photo shoot!  I've collected more pictures that I'll add later, but I also wanted to share the link to the professional photos they did at the hospital.

William with Mama

www.our365.com
 They look great, and you can order prints if you want... who wouldn't want a print of these adorable little bugs!!!

Introducing William and Joseph

They're here!  After 91 days in the hospital the boys have finally arrieved.  William Wallace (formally Apple) is on the left, Joseph Fredrick (Banana) is on the right.  They have started nursing pretty well, though they're midnight snackers as they havent fed at all this morning, they're just too tired to eat. 

Mommy is recovering well.  Doctor induced around 10:00am, broke her water around 2:00 and wheeled her into the operating room around 5:00.  After several attempts at pushing, the doctor concluded that we needed to move to a cesarean birth, as William was refusing to budge, even with significant help from the doctor trying to coax him out.  After the operation though, William gave up and was finally born at 6:11pm and was 7lbs 1oz, 19 1/2 inches long.  Joseph grabbed hold of his heel and came flying out at 6:12pm and was 6lbs 11oz, 18 1/2 inches long.  Stacy is exhausted, and in significant (but managable) pain, but is loving every moment of being with her sons. Daddy can't believe that these two little men are actually his to keep and be responsible for. 

Both of us are so thankful for the other, as one baby might be manageable by a lone parent, but two babies is nearly impossible to handle.  Stacy's familay has been very supportive, her mom is going to be an indespensible asset to us in the weeks and months to come, as already we're feeling quite overwhelmed.  Thanks to everyone who has sent us well wishes via text message and phone calls.  We're both pretty tired, and Stacy is downright delierious with exhaustion, so please forgive us if we don't respond right away.  I'll post more pictures and videos as we start to recover and get a handle on exactly what we've gotten ourselves into!

2 Days Left!

Thursday is the day!  It's been a long time coming and Stacy is more than ready to have them out and not kicking her in the ribs and playing drums on her bladder.  We're both anxious, excited and scared to death to meet the the two new lives that we're going to be responsible for, for eternity...  The nursery is looking good, the young women came and cleaned the house, painted the walls in the nursery, and Desiree Follet (friend from church) came and painted a couple of trees on the walls (pictures to come). We have car seats and baby clothes ready to go, and our changing table is fully stocked with diapers and wipes.  The only thing left to do is to call my benefits department and apply for a leave of absence.

Please keep up the prayers, we need a smooth delivery and an even smoother transition to our new lives with kids!  Thanks everyone!

34 Weeks and still going strong.

Stacy's spirits have been down a bit this week.  She's just getting really tired of being in the hospital, being pregnant, and having to force feed herself even when she's not hungry, just so her blood sugar stays normal.  She's hanging tough though, she's just ready for the babies to come out already!  She's also concerned that since school is starting soon, I'll be at work when she goes into labor, and may not make it to the hospital in time for the babies to be delivered.

If she makes it to 37 weeks that will be the first full week of school when kids are back.  It's a critical time because it sets the pace for the rest of the school year, but I'm just going to have to plan on being out for a while.  Stacy's school has been great, they told her not to worry about anything, that they'll take care of securing a sub and getting the kids off on the right foot.  Of course we want the babies to get as much time in the womb as they need, but I think secretly we're kind of hoping that they'll make their grand appearance during week 35/36 so if I have to I can leave in the middle of the day and only miss out on some of the teacher prep activities going on that week.

Whatever happens, God is in control, and the sequence of events He chooses will be the right one, and I'm sure everything will work out fine.