The Beautiful Babies Are Here!!

We are very pleased to announce the birth of our beautiful cuties,

Joshua Vawter Stribling and Julia Prater Stribling

January 8, 2010 at 8:25 am

I cannot believe they are actually here. In our arms, and in our hearts. They are more than we could have ever imagined. We are beyond blessed, and beyond happy. It took us two and a half years to wait for these precious bundles to come into our lives, and I am proud to say, they were well worth the wait.

We got to the hospital around 6am on Friday, January 8th. My c-section was scheduled for 8am. They took us back to our "prep room" and started the process: changing, IV, etc. I, however, was a complete nervous, crazy wreck. I was absolutely terrified about this procedure. Its so weird when you know your delivery date. You have nothing to think about for days and days. I guess the good thing about going into labor is the excitement and spontaneity of it. With a c-section, you have nothing to do but imagine what its going to be like and just wait. Wait, and wait and wait. They then took us back to the operating room about ten minutes until 8. They left Jake outside and did my spinal tap and got me all ready to go. I was terrified of the spinal, but it was not bad at all. I barely felt it. And then almost instantly, I went numb from the waist down.

They brought Jake back in and he sat next to my head. Then my doctor said "you're going to feel a little pressure on your abdomen" and then Joshua was here! Literally- that quick! He cried immediately. He weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces. Then about 20 seconds later, here came Jules weighing 4 pounds, 11 ounces. They were both born at 8:25, which was so neat. He was perfectly fine. She had to go to a transitional room for about an hour, because her breathing was a little "grunty", but other than that, everyone was fine.

I, however, had apparently developed preecampsia. I did not have it last Thursday when I went to the doctor, but they found it before my operation due to a urine test. So, that was a little scary and had to stay in the hospital an extra day to treat it. I have high blood pressure normally, and it was sky high for that day and some of the next. I was on morphine and a magnesium drip after delivery on Friday, and I was so out of it I don't remember much about that day.

We still had a hard time with names, and they were alive for several hours before we settled on Joshua and Julia. But, now that they are named, they couldn't be anything other than Josh and Jules.

We went home from the hospital on the 13th. We are so happy to start our little family!!

Here is a video of their birth. It was so funny. Jake and I were kind of in shock when they came so quick. and the anesthesiologist kind of took Jake and was like, "well, come on, start that video"! He started taking Jake around the operating room everywhere. And then Jake was the best cameraman afterwards.

And of course, nothing would be complete without my infamous slideshows!!

36 Weeks - a Crenshaw Melon

Baby Stribs - 36 Weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

How your life's changing: Now that your baby is taking up so much room, you may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to "drop" down into your pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. (If you've given birth before, it probably won't happen before labor starts.) If your baby drops, you may also feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and you'll probably find that you have to pee even more frequently. If your baby is very low, you may feel lots of vaginal pressure and discomfort as well. Some women say it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs!

You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent now. Be sure to review the signs of labor with your practitioner and find out when she wants to hear from you. As a general rule, if you're full-term, your pregnancy is uncomplicated, and your water hasn't broken, she'll probably have you wait to come in until you've been having contractions that last for about a minute each, coming every five minutes for an hour. Of course, you'll want to call right away if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity or think you're leaking amniotic fluid, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, a severe or persistent headache, constant abdominal pain, or vision changes.

36 Weeks - Update on me! (and final belly shot!)

I took a regular belly pic and then one front-ways, so you (and I) can see that I was mostly just belly this entire time, thank the Good Lord.

Here we go! We are officially in the final week. And when I say final week, I mean we have three days left. The babies will be here on Friday (or later), if we like it or not. I kind of wish they would decide to come early, just so I can experience some type of labor. I thought we were there on Sunday night. I got about three hours of sleep b/c I was up all night with pretty regular contractions. But, they weren't getting any stronger, then they got further apart, then nothing. Stupid Braxton Hicks.

I can't explain how I'm feeling right now. Its all so unbelievable. I can't believe I have two full-size babies in my belly. I don't feel like I am that big. I really hope they are a good size, and get to come home with us. I know in my head that we will have babies on Friday. But, the other night I woke up in a panic attack actually realizing what this means. I know people have babies all the time, and I know it is life-changing. But I am still terrified as to what that actually means. Our lives will change, and for the better, and for the rest of our lives. I am still just in awe of all this. I can't wait to meet them.

How far along? 36 Weeks, 3 Days
Total weight gain/loss: as of this moment, +40 -45 pounds, which seems to change dramatically througout the day. (trust me on this one, I am dying to get my final total). What is crazy is 40-45 lbs is exactly what I was supposed to gain, and I can't believe I have done so well with that, since I have been eating everything that is put in front of me. (especially this week - I am kind of "indulging" b/c this is the last week I get to)
Maternity clothes? I have about three things I can wear at this point. yea.
Best moment this week: Quinton is in! Let the fun begin! (actually, this is just a quote from Can't Buy Me Love, but this made me thing of it, even though it has nothing to do with Quinton.)
Movement: They are still moving pretty good, I suppose. I guess they are happy where they are are not ready to go anywhere yet. I'm sure it doesn't help that it's 20 degrees outside the womb. These are brilliant babies.
Waist Diameter: I went down an inch. I measured last week at 47 weeks for a single pregnancy. This week I am at 44 weeks. My doctor says its because they have dropped. And I guess by looking at my belly pics, you can kind of tell that too. I think I look a little smaller than I did two weeks ago. 44 inches.
Food cravings: Whatever you have, I'll eat it.
Gender: Baby Stribs are a boy and girl. No extra parts, and yet, still no names :(
Labor Signs: just stupid old Braxton Hicks.
Belly Button in or out? Do I need to still answer this one
What I miss: Nothing. The time is here!
What I am looking forward to: Babies, babies, babies, babies, babies, babies, babies, babies!!!!!!
Milestones: 36 WEEKS!!!!!
Realization of the week: We are gonna have Baby Striblings!! And they still remain nameless!!!!

Some fun outfits

I obviously am bored today, since I have blogged so much lately. I even told Jake today that I wish they would come b/c I was bored and wanted some babies to play with - HA!! I wanted to share some special outfits with you that are too cute for words.

First off, Babies R us had all their Christmas stuff marked down the other day, so even though I don't have babes yet, I couldn't resist going ahead and buying their Christmas outfits for next year. I mean, I'm sorry, but could you please just die from the cuteness????

Next are the outfits that they will be going home in from the hospital - NEXT WEEK!! EEEEE!! Aren't they precious? Jake's wonderful grandmother got them for us. Yes, I know we have monograms again with no names. But I am sure their names will just be fabulous :)

A white receiving gown with blue monogram, blue hat, and blue and brown polka dot blanket

A white receiving gown with pink monogram, pink hat, and pink polka dot blanket.

Showers!!! - Shower 3

When: Saturday, November 14th
Where: at Mackie's restuarant in Green Hills in Nashville
Given by: Marette Beziat, Gina, Neckar, Jennifer Stribling, and Sumita Banerjee
Who attended: all my Nashville girls, along with Jake's family and mine

Showers!!! - Shower 2

When: Friday, November 6th, 2009

Where: at the home of Steve and Tina Mann

Given by: Steve & Tina Mann, Jeff & Shelley Devereaux, Lori & Nate Fowler, Tom & Andrea Scobie, Kim Hessel, and Brad Lebo
Who attended: this was a couple's shower for friends in Nashville who Jake plays golf with mostly. Also, a few childhood friends of Jake's came as well

Showers!!! - Shower 1

When: Sunday, November 1st

Where: at my Mommy's house in Knoxville

Given by: my longtime friend, Larissa Weber, and helped by mom

Who attended: my Knoxville friends, and friends of my mother

I decided to have professional photos taken at this one, due to Ginny having friends that were photographers! So, thank you to Shelley O'Barr and Annie Fletcher. There is a ton of them for this shower, but they are beautiful photos.