Switching Over...

Now that Kaitlyn and Molly have joined our family, this blog is complete. In-Vitro has been quite the experience and in 2 pregnancies has given us 4 children. Our family is complete. :) To follow the family, you will need to read the family blog: domrese.blogspot.com

This blog will remain open and active for those friends and family that are going through similar infertility experiences and for those that want to remember the journey that brought us Kaitlyn and Molly (and Thomas and Joshua).

Thank you for all the friends and family that offered support during the experience. We could never have made it without you to lean on. Everyone should be as lucky.

1 Week Old

Can you believe it's already been a week? Last Tuesday I woke up pregnant and by the time the night was over, these two little girls had blessed us with their presence.

1 Week Stats

Molly-
Weight- 5 lbs, 9 1/2 oz (over her birth weight...hooray!!!0
Height- 20 inches
Head Circumference- 13 1/4 inches

Kaitlyn-
Weight- 6 lbs, 11 oz
Height- 20 3/4 inches
Head Circumference- 13 1/4 inches

The appointment went great. The girls were fairly easy going and took everything in stride. The boys kept pretty busy and enjoyed tormenting each other during the appointment. Last time I forget to bring snacks! Oops! :)

First Outings

Mommy has cabin fever. After 3 days at the hospital and 3 days at home, it's time to get out. Yesterday we got out of the house for a short trip to the carousel. I sat with the girls while the boys, daddy, and Ba rode the carousel. The amazing part was that Ba (Aunt Kim) got the golden ring twice in a row! After that, I was done and the girls were done, so Dan dropped us off back home and went back down for a few more rides. I didn't take any pictures of the girls at RFP as they slept covered in the stroller.

Tonight we went to Applebees for Uncle Adam's birthday. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about multiple parts of this adventure. For one, just getting out of the house takes an unimaginable amount of time. Since dinner was at 4:30, I started packing the diaper bag and getting everything laid out an hour earlier. This works well until it comes to feeding time. It's tricky to try and feed the girls and get the maximum amount of time before the next feeding, but also get enough time before traveling that they aren't spitting up (or choking on spit up) while driving to the destination. Both girls decided to be hungry (again) at 4:05. Dan got the boys in the van and got gas while I fed the girls (again) and tried to get them in car seats. I was pretty impressed that we were only a half hour late. The girls were extremely well behaved and sat quietly through all of dinner. I was nervous we'd have to do a feeding at the restaurant which in itself is not a big deal, except it takes quite a while, so occupying the boys could have been an issue. Luckily, the girls were good and we escaped the outing unscathed.

More pictures tomorrow as the girls will be a week old!

We're Home!

After a long night of pumping and running milk up to Molly she was finally released to us. We just had to convince her the drinking was better with us! She came down yesterday (Thursday) morning with the stipulation that we would spend the day at the hospital making sure she ate well and kept up on feedings. No problem! We love the hospital and were in no hurry to go home! The boys spent the day with Grandma Nancy and Dan and I spent the day with tons of doctor visits, lactation consults, etc. I did manage to sneak in a nap though! :) We finally left at nearly 7 PM and got everyone settled.

We are so thankful Molly was released and able to come home with us. She is such a great little girl, so easy going. Both were up the majority of the night enjoy a multitude of feedings. They are both great little nursers and seem to really enjoy mommy time. The boys are doing great and have so much energy! It's amazing how big they seem now with the girls home!

Currently we have shut our doors to visitors so we can have some bonding time with Molly and kind of get settled. Dan, however, would like to state that food DOES allow some exceptions! :) I'll try and update again later when we are a little more rested and a little less overwhelmed.

Blessings from God

As I sit here, I realize that my life will never be the same. I went into our regular OB appointment on Tuesday prepared to beg my way into being done with this pregnancy. It appears I didn't need to do much begging. I went from barely being dilated to a 4. He actually had to move Molly's head out of the way in order to check (sorry if that's TMI). He said that I could go home and get stuff ready and scheduled the c-section for that night at 9:00 PM. I immediately called Dan home and we prepared for the hospital.

Molly Joanne Domrese- 5#7, 19 inches, 9:20 PM

Kaitlyn Ruth Domrese- 6#14, length unknown, 9:22 PM

Both girls were taken for observation in the NICU initially for breathing too fast. Kaitlyn came down with us later that night. Molly is now being held hostage (at least that's what it feels like). Kaitlyn is a voracious eater, and has her own little personality already. She hates bright lights, doesn't like it when I eat ice, and hates clicking noises. :) She has a huge mop of brown hair that is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! She is an easy baby and very very cuddly. Molly is just a little petite girl. She is absolutely a doll. I have not been up to see her too often because she will just stare at me with these big eyes and clutch my fingers as if she'll never let go. It's devastating and extremely emotional. So far I am pumping and she is eating a bottle, but I have faith that if she's released tomorrow she'll become a great nurser.

We are being released tomorrow, and are hoping to bring Molly home with us. If not, we may try and stay for another day just to be closer to Molly and hope that she can get home the next day. Mere, my sister-in-law and savior, came to the hospital tonight and fed Molly one of her feedings. She needs to successful feedings in a row in order to be released. After that first feeding Mere made me feed her. It was successful too! No promises on her release, but I'm feeling much more confident in my feeding abilities and I'll fight for her release tomorrow.

I sit here, holding Kaitlyn as she cuddles and mews in her sleep. She's darn adorable. I cannot wait to put her and Molly together to rejoin them at last.

The Babies Are Coming!

Surprise! I just got home from my appointment. It went really really well. I was prepared to beg and cry for these babies to come out but it turns out I'm dilated further, so apparently I'm in labor already. The c-section is scheduled for 9:00 PM. Updates will either come tonight or tomorrow morning...as soon as possible!!!!