Hope and Jack are here!

We got word at 9 am on Thursday April 22 that they were ready for me downstairs.

and by 10:20 am, I was all stitched up and on my way back to recovery - now a mother. I was a little scared about the surgery and the first few moments in the operating room sprawled out on the table with 13 people moving busily about the room as my legs faded away were nerve-wracking. But soon they brought in Kevin, all gowned up and telling jokes, and I was fine.

Seconds later, Hope was out.

and immediately followed by Jack.

Kevin got to cut both of their cords and take some photos. It was great. Despite his smaller size, Jack came out screaming immediately showing his tough guy personality. Hope had a harder time initially with her breathing and required some oxygen, but luckily is doing much better with that now.

The last 48 hours have been wonderful, busy, emotional, exhausting, -- really a lot of different emotions. The babies are doing pretty well. Kevin has spent a lot of time in the NICU escorting grandparents in/out, learning about diaper changing and burping, and helping with their feedings. He is already an amazing over-achieving father. I haven't been able to spend as much time down there, but have gotten in a few quality visits with multiple holding and feeding opportunities with both kids. Yesterday I think I did a little too much and ended the night in a lot of pain and a bit of an emotional mess (apparently normal for post-delivery moms and esp. those with NICU babies). Today I am hoping to stay on top of my pain meds and be a little more realistic of what I am up for. But until the babies are both home with us, my life will consists of a combination of time spent visiting the NICU and time spent hooked up to hospital grade breast pump with naps and meals worked in somewhere in between. I am sure I will find a balance and a schedule that works, and hopefully my hormones will calm down.

There are really no words to describe what it feels like to have Jack and Hope here.

In a lot of ways, it still does not even seem real. Having them in the NICU is both wonderful and difficult. I want to be with them all the time, but they are small and I feel completely clueless in terms of how to care for them. I am jealous the NICU nurses who get to be with them all the time and for the fact that they have the experience to know how to care for them. But as Kevin reminded me last night, we are new parents and feeling clueless is to be expected.