Baby Brown is here!

And it's a.....................


















GIRL!!!!!!!!


Ginger Aileen Brown made her way into the world:

Friday, May 29th at 1:08 am
7 lb, 2 oz
41 weeks
perfect!

Ginger decided to take matters into her own hands and not wait around for a scheduled c-section- that's my girl! I started having contractions around 2 am Thursday morning. I was cautiously getting excited about really being labor, since it's what I wanted after all (going for a VBAC) and I was down to the wire with my section scheduled the next day (41 weeks) .The contractions increased throughout the day so we finally went to the OB around 4:30, to confirm that, yes, I was in labor! I was still not dilated and doing fine, so she suggested we walk the mall and eat dinner for a few hours, then proceed to the hospital around 7:00. We did just that and arrived at the hospital to find I was ONE cm dilated woohoo! Not much but more progress than I'd ever made before! Again, it was suggested to keep walking, this time around the hospital. I'm in pain at this point but not awful. Well we walked the halls about 20 minutes and everything became suddenly unbearable. We went back to triage and told the nurse I needed to be admitted and get an epidural. At this point, she checks and I'm 2cm..and in pain! Suddenly Paul sees his wife turn into a crazy, animalistic, screaming person as the contractions start piling on top of each and I am in pain like have never experienced. Seriosuly, it's kind of funny now, but I was SCREAMING and holding on to dear life to the side of the bed, uncontrollable. Finally, about 20 minutes later, a nurse comes gets me, takes me to my room, checks me, and I'm at 7cm in that short of time, contracting every minute. She was a godsend, and got me a little under control with managing the pain and helping me focus. At the same time, she is barking out orders to get everything ready, calling my OB to get here ASAP, setting up a warmer, etc ,etc. Oh, and the best part is she got the anesthisiologist there ASAP and lied to him about how far along I was so he would still give me the epidural! I love nurses :) My OB comes, breaks my water...tons and tons and we wait. Now all of a sudden the contractions are not on top of each other, but still coming, but everything calms down a little. Next, she adds a very small amount of pitocin, but it doesn't change what my body is doing already.

By now it's about 9:00 I think, and we are all just chilling out a little, realizing baby isn't coming quite as fast as we thought. Although it seems like it was only 20 minutes, it was more like three hours that we wait. I can't get dilated past 8, and every contraction I have, baby's heart rate starts to dip, but always comes back up. My OB offers a c-section at this point, but I'm still hopefull for my VBAC so refuse unless she thinks baby or me is in danger. She is very cautious with her VBAC deliveries. She gives me another half hour or so, and then it's not my choice any more. Baby's heartrate is not good and it's on to emergency c-section. Ginger came into the world at 1:08 kicking and screaming, and is perfect, that's the only thing that matters at this point. Come to find out, she was "brow-faced" in the birth canal. Meaning that instead of the top of her head facing the top of the birth canal, it was more like her eyebrow and nose area. If you look at the pictures of her forhead, you can see a bruise where the internal fetal monitoring was done. That monitor is supposed to hit the top of their scalp, so it kind of tells you how she was positioned. I didn't get my VBAC, but my little girl still got to choose her own birthday, I definitely got a taste of what labor was like, and we are here and healthy! Or at least for awhile...

We are back in my room and I get to nurse Ginger for the first time, she takes to it perfectly and everything is great. We are snoozing a little and around 4:00 my nurse notices my blood pressure dipping I guess. She starts to check it every 5-10 minutes and it continues to dip. Apparently I have lost all color at this point, and am spacy. Next thing she is ordering labs to check my blood oxygen (I think) and calling my OB, and waiting for the results. I guess the first results weren't too bad but she is still monitoring my BP like crazy, and by this time Dr. Johnson is here...not a good sign at 5:00 in the morning. All I know is that my BP is dipping down to 60/30 and they are talking about internal bleeding. I'm really scared at this point because I don't really understand just how big of a deal this is, or how concerned I should be. Next thing I know I'm being rushed down the hall yet again to the OR. This time I'm put under general anesthesia, leaving Paul our new baby alone and scared as well.

I awake to that awful coughing of getting the tube pulled out of your throat. I'm just happy to be awake, I was really scared. Dr. Johnson opened me up again where the section was, and found lots of internal bleeding. It was all removed, but they still couldn't find where it came from. She double stitched all the work from the section/tubal just to be safe, and watched for a good 20 minutes to make sure there was no more bleeding - there wasn't. I received two blood transfusions. She said my uterous looked good and that me previous section scar was fine, so in the end we have no idea why I bled. I ask and she says this has NEVER happened to a patient before.

Friday was a big fog for me, but I was feeling much better Saturday afternoon and today is even better. We should be home on Tuesday. Ginger got all bottles on Friday, so we've been struggling getting her to nurse since yesterday, but I'm grateful she seems to have turned the corner and is doing great!

So, we are all here and happy and healthy, and grateful we can say that! Lilly and Owen have visited baby Ginger twice and seem to like her so far. I'm sure Tuesday will be interesting to say the least. They have been having tons of fun with both sets of grandparents but we miss them and I know they miss us too. I can't wait for our new family to all be together on Tuesday!

Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I love reading everyone's birth stories so was compelled to post mine as well.

Check back often for photos!

Jennifer :)

Yes!

I am still pregnant, but hopefully not for long. I have an appointment in the morning, and I'm thinking it will be decision time! My due date is actually Friday.

39 weeks...hoping this baby isn't as big as it looks in my tummy!

I love this picture of Lilly, it says a lot about her attitude and personality. This girl is definitely into style, which if it wasn't so cute, would also be a little scary. She is constantly wearing my shoes around the house and will be quite verbal on wearing a pretty dress versus a not so pretty one - seriously you can't fool her. I tried to put on a little knit polo dress on her yesterday, and apparently it wasn't cute enough. She saw another dress I hadn't put away yet ( that really was much cuter), and insisted on wearing it instead, because it was a "pincess dess." What can I say, I choose my battles.

This morning we went to a fun playgroup at an indoor gym type place for todders. They had a lot of fun with all the differnt activities, toys, and BUBBLES! And I have to say, they played some good music for the moms, not toddler stuff, so it was enjoyable. Lilly was dancing to the music and it was so funny....anytime music comes on, she is getting her groove on.

We are having a lot of fun with our swimming pool. I don't get it out unless I have help, but it's amazing how long two tots can be entertained in about 3 inches of water. Now if only there was a bubble machine attached to the pool...

These are all the pictures I've taken in the past 10 days or so, pretty bad I know. Here's hoping I have a reason to take a ton of pictures in a few days or so. Until then, we're going to make sure and enjoy the pleasant weather we've been granted this week. Highs in the low 80's and low humidity - it feels great!

Fun week!

We've been having lots of fun lately! Trying to sneak it all in before we are at home with a new baby for awhile. I will be 38 weeks pregnant tomorrow, and again, this kiddo is in no hurry to come out. We might proceed with a c-section at 39 weeks, but are still on the fence. This hot weather is making me very thankful that this pregnancy is almost over. I don't know how all the August mommies do it!

The twinks are napping now. I usually let them unwind to their favorite, Max & Ruby, for a few minutes before naptime. This is them in "the zone."

We went to the mall yesterday with Grandma Brown and Aunt Lala and had a great time with the playground, musuem, lunch, and of course the carousel. I definitely could not have done it without them, thanks guys! We were lucky to keep them awake on the way home, they were pooped! One perk of the swine flu scare is that we were the ONLY people at the playground when we got there - that never happens! The musuem also had a nice clorox smell and no field trip kids either, so it was nice.

Lilly and Aund LaLa

We went to the antique show in Montgomery Saturday. Owen found his buddies once again and they were gracious enough to let him practice the fiddle again. He looks scared and shy in the picture, but he loves it and could seriously listen to the music all day. He stands there and taps his foot to the music, it's adorable!

The outing was not complete without some kettlecorn!

AND peach cobbler!

So if anyone has tips for inducing labor that don't involve sex, castor oil, or pineapple, send 'em my way! Hope everyone has is well and has a great weekend. Jennifer :)

A great visit and more.

Yes, I am still VERY pregnant. I promised myself I wouldn't be so impatient, but if you know me, that's a hard thing to do! I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow, and if tator tot, has any say in it, I will probably still be pregnant in June..he/she is VERY happy in my tummy! My OB has offered to proceed with a c-section as early as next Friday, the 8th - yikes! But I think I am going to hold off for at least a little longer.

This weekend my oldest friend came to visit, and it was SO great to see her! Angie and I met in 4th grade, and went through the rest of our "schooling" together until college. That makes 22 years of friendship, if I did the math right :) She brought her youngest son Ethan down too, and I think we did a decent job of entertaining him. She lives in Dallas but is soon moving back to Oklahoma, so I'm glad we got to have a little time together just on our own. I'm so glad you came, girl!

I just got Lilly out of her crib from naptime...I could hear her saying "Hey! How you doin?" to noone in particular. Luckily Owen sleeps through her waking-up talking as long as I don't wait too long to get her. Her other newest phrase is answering "I not know Mommy" when I ask her a question...too cute!

Owen is into their new refrigerator magnet letters. He suprised us by being able to identify most of them by pointing. Lilly has known all of hers for awhile, but Owen also knows quite a few it seems. You can tell he's really enjoying learning them so we're working on that.

The twinks have both picked up on kissing boo-boos to make them "aw betta", which is adorable, and also really comes in handy. I don't mind demands for kisses if thats all it takes to stop the crying!

Paul and I are going on a real live date tonight, so I have to go take a shower or something! Here are some pics from the week.

Feeding the HUGE catfish behind Sam's Boat at Lake Conroe.

Angie and Ethan

22 years of friendship :)

The BEST daddy!

"Painting" the driveway with water (aka paint).

Playgroup and Preggo Poll!

We had a fun morning at a twin's playgroup today. We got to play outside with tons of other kiddos and had lots and lots of new toys to play with!

What? No one told mom their was going to be a swimming pool!

This water table was pretty fun!


Lilly wasted no time in findng the perfect accessories for her outfit. She arrived wearing a pink bow, and within minutes was sport of flapper head band and pearls.

We've been in an inground pool before, but we think this is MUCH more fun!

How come we don't have a pool Mom!?!?

Fearless Lilly as always!

Hmm...I think I'll know what we'll be doing this weekend! After we got home and woke from naps, all I heard from Lilly & Owen was "pay water" and "ammy's House" which I think meant Emma's house? So thanks Danielle for a great time!

I had my weekly OB appointment yesterday and all is well! We also had an US afterwards to check the estimated weight. During these appointments they also check on things (mommies you know what I mean) to see if our little "tator tot" has plans to make an appearance any time soon. Well, it appears this little one is REALLY happy in my tummy, so I'm not holding my breath for an early arrival, but a girl can always hope right? I right at 36 weeks, and the baby measured right at 6 lbs. That means around an 8 lb baby at 40ish weeks, which is what I kind of figured from the beginning. The women in my family do not make small babies...except for the twin thing.

It's NOT a basketball! 36 weeks...

OK, so let's have a little fun and take a guess on the sex of the baby. My gut feeling from the beginning has been that it's a girl, but I'm the only one who seems to think so. You can vote on the front page of the blog (if I did it right!).

Happy Easter!

I am just sitting here relaxing after a great, long weekend. Seriously, it felt more like a whole week than just three days, and I mean that in a good way. I think it felt longer because Paul and I got so much accomplished around the house, and we also had time to enjoy ourselves and visit with friends too. I'm pretty sure I've got the "nesting thing" going because it's not like me to want to tear the house apart and organize and clean, but that's exactly what we did. I feel so much better to get it all done, and the house looks good too. AND, we are pretty much ready for tator tot's arrival, just in case he/she decides to make an early appearance. And, according to every stranger we met in public this weekend, there is no way I'm going to stay pregnant for six more weeks, and the general consensus is that it's a boy... I forget the reasoning. Should we have a poll? I'm still sticking with girl!


We took part in some Easter festivities last weekend with our multiples club. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time. We even stopped for donuts on the way, and that was quite a hit. They had never been in a donut shop before, and I'm pretty sure they were wondering why we'd be holding out on them!

The Easter egg hunt was at a park with a great playground, and there were also bunnies!

I was kind of wondering if the tots would pick up on the whole finding eggs and putting them in your basket, but I guess that is innate -they had no problem at all, especially Lilly! She was so mesmerized with the eggs she even put all of Owen's in her basket as well when he wasn't looking. And this was before she knew the eggs were filled with stuff.

I think these are our first ever pics with the Easter bunny. Lilly thought he was great, which was quite suprising after the whole Santa pic fiasco at Christmas. I think Owen prefers Santa...

Bunnies!

The Easter Bunny was sitting near the bunnies. When Lilly saw him, she just took off and got in his lap. Luckily the people actually waiting in line were not too perturbed..

We had fun today as well and let the kids hunt eggs in the yard this afternoon, once the bad weather was gone. I'm pretty sure they would hunt eggs everyday if they could. Paul made a great dinner for the fam tonight, and we are enjoying what's left of our weekend.

Momma hit's the big 3-1 tomorrow so I guess I need to savor my last few hours of being 30...but really, once you're out of your 20's, does it really matter. 31 is pretty anticlimatic. I have shed no tears about it, unlike last year! I can't even have any birthday cake thanks to my gestational diabetes- boohoo! We're meeting Daddy for lunch tomorrow, but I get a facial and pedicure on Tuesday, so I am definitely looking forward to that!

Hope you are all well! Goodnight.

Wild Weekend

We headed off to Dallas to visit some good friends this weekend. We hadn't seen Uncle Mikey since last May, so it was great to visit him and see his new house too! We got to see our friends Heidi and Joe also, as well as their kiddos. We finished up on Sunday with Jenni and Tyler, who we hadn't seen in about 3 years. We had a great weekend, and Lilly & Owen did really well.

For anyone who knows me, I'm pretty strict with naptimes and bedtimes, to say the least. I can honestly say that in the over 1.5 years they've had a 7:15 ish bedtime, they have NEVER stayed up past 8:00, and that's only been a few times. Well.....I decided to let loose, although not totally by choice, and just enjoy the weekend, and go with the flow. That resulted in my tots going to bed at around 10 PM TWO nights in a row - does it get any crazier than that?!?! I know, I'm a wild woman :) They did great, and I'm pretty sure they have recovered at this point, it's nice to know they can be flexible too.

We got to go see Mike and Joe play hockey on Saturday night. I was too busy making sure the tots didn't fall down the stairs, but it was pretty exciting anyhow and I was very impressed that they could ice skate, much less play hockey while doing it.

The highlight of any sporting event, particularly when eaten off the floor.

Abby & Owen kissing on demand...but still so cute!

Heidi, holding down the fort...

Chillin.

Fashions by Lilly. Not from Dallas but had to fit it in!

OK, so one of the highlights of staying at Mikey's house was when Lilly prompted Mikey to turn his alarm clock on...and the music blasted. We couldn't get the video camera fast enough - this girl just started rocking, and it was hilarious! I have a feeling we're gonna have to watch this girl when she gets a little older...I see a wild woman in my future!