The Birth Story

So, we've been rather busy these last few weeks but now I have a few moments while the babies are sleeping and Mac is napping to tap out their birth story. Since we knew Mac was having a c-section we knew the girls' birth date would be February 1st. We were ready, and so was mother nature. With a blizzard scheduled to start at 6am that day we chose to stay in the swanky guest rooms at the hospital the night before. Well, maybe not swanky, maybe more like a really clean Econolodge that used to be a hospital room. The bonus was that we were already inside the hospital and our car was parked in a parking garage so we wouldn't have to clear it off later.

We hardly slept that night. I don't think it would have mattered if we were at home in our own bed either. We were too excited. I woke up at 4, showered, and attempted to go get breakfast in the cafeteria which did not open until 6am. I managed to fall asleep for another hour while Mac watched some TV.

Next, we start getting ready. Mac took a shower and had to use this unfriendly soap per the doctor. Next we headed over to the larger hospital guest room Mac's parents were in so she could open some presents for the babies from her great grandmother. There were many matching hand-smocked dresses by an 88 year old woman. These dresses are beautiful and filled with love. Soon, it was time to head upstairs for the birth. This is the last morning the girls would be on the inside.

We reported upstairs at 8am sharp. Mac wore her PJs, one more benefit of not having to leave the hospital to go for the surgery. They had Mac change into a hospital gown, oh the fashion. Then it was a lot of waiting, punctuated by some engineers testing the fire alarm for 30 minutes. I distracted Mac with Baby Mama on the tablet and before we knew it all the IVs were hung and preparations were finished. She had to go in by herself to have the spinal block done. I put on my fancy paper scrubs. They wouldn't let me in until the anesthesia had taken effect. I waited in a tiny room with two chairs and a table between the prep/recovery room and the OR for what seemed like forever but was probably less than 10 minutes.

I walked into the room and there was a sea of people. Mac's OB, the amazing Dr. Saunders, the assisting OB, Dr. Morgan, the anesthesiologist, resident anesthesiologist, anesthesiology nurse, two surgical nurses, two neonatal nurses, and the neonatal nurse practitioner. That's TEN people besides Mac and me. They looked ready for anything and I was grateful for that. Mac had a couple of blood pressure drops after they administered the anesthesia, but that is a common side effect and the nurse quickly gave her something to combat the nausea. I sat on a stool next to Mac and the doctors started cutting. Mac was doing great and asked the nurse where the doctors were with the surgery. They were almost to the babies! I was told beforehand that I could not take pictures of any procedures and I waited patiently to photograph my children's first moments of life. Suddenly, the nurse is telling me to get my camera and stand up and take pictures! The surgery went well, the babies came out screaming, and everything was fine

A very proud Mommy

First Family Photo

Gray Lillian

Nora Frances

Nora Frances

The Babies Are Dropping

Check out this photo from 1-8-11...

And then this photo from 1-18-11...

They're getting ready to be born. Too bad they're coming out via c-section. Poor confused babies.

"THE" Study

So there's this study that has been following lesbian families for about 25 years now. It keeps coming out with more and more positive information about lesbian families and I hope all of this exposure will help those who believe we are unfit parents to see the light. Last year they released the finding that there was no abuse in lesbian households in the study! Hooray! Last week we found that it does not affect the children one way or the other if they know or do not know their donor (Findings). Glad to hear it!

All That Legal Mumbo Jumbo

We have a lawyer. Well, we have two lawyers. One to create all of the documents we need to puzzle together the rights straight people get when they are allowed to legally marry in this state and one to conduct my adoption of our babies. While I am glad to know that my friends are all astonished at all of this it also puts things into perspective. There is a general sense of, "Of course you should have those rights!" However, we don't have those rights and people on the "right," in general, condemn GLBT activists as a special interest group seeking special rights. We don't want special rights and the more that people perceive them as "special" the more we will be marginalized. We want the same rights as any two consenting adults that want a family.
So, we will put out so much money to cobble together these "rights" that straight people can get just by driving through a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. Beyond my ranting I am happy that a friend of a friend recommended a great lawyer who will be able to take care of our adoption for a reasonable fee. After they are born we will go to court to get a temporary order of custody for me and when they are six months old I will be able to officially adopt them. The babies will be here in 19 days and we still have so much to do.

Hurry Up and Wait

Well, we have almost reached the debut of these babies, but not quite. We have an official date for delivery, February 1, 2011 and the girls are doing well. Mac went to the perinatologist yseterday and they estimate that Nora weighs 3 pounds 11 oz and Gray weighs 3 pounds 14 oz. They are doing really well! It's Mac's goal to fatten them up now.
We have done everything we can think of to prepare at home. We have the double snap n go, carseats, 600 newborn diapers, everything. It's thumb-twiddling for us now. We keep telling the girls to, "stay in their room," hoping they will listen and not arrive until they are supposed to do so.

DIY Onesies

So, we have purchased and received so many cute onesies for the girls but I found this awesome pattern to applique our own onesies. We started with the elephant, owl, and guitar from the pattern and then went rogue tracing giant letters from their nursery onto the double-sided fusable webbing (which is pretty much magic for people who don't really sew) and created these awesome onesies! Look out, I am pretty excited by all this and may start appliqueing anything that isn't nailed down.

Mac's Ever Growing Baby Belly

Well, we've been lax in taking the baby belly photos but there is a dramatic difference between weeks 18 and 25!

18 weeks, Oct. 1, 2010

25 Weeks, Nov. 18, 2010