Ava & Indie: newborn's

Ooo you guys are in for it now! We just got Ava & Indie's newborn pictures back and I'm dying over here! I could literally sit and stare at them all. day. long. So precious. Chelsy at b couture photography did these and I'm so in love. If you live anywhere near St.George, Utah (or like to travel) you seeeeriously want to book your next session with her. One look at her photos and you'll be hooked... Here I am on my third session with her and I'm not quitting any time soon!

First are some of my sweet girls together

Miss Ava

Sweet Indie

all images from b couture photography

sister stats

Chandler Kate

21 months

• Chandler's vocabulary is growing by the minute. Seriously. Some of my favorites:

- "Diet Coke." She seriously asks for diet coke when she wakes up in the morning. Should I be embarrassed? Probably.

- da-bow-da-bow-da-bow. Translation: Bows. Like the bows that go in her hair.

- "Baf." Bath. Duh. And she still hears the word bath, literally runs to the bathroom and starts taking off her clothes.

- "Baby binky. Baby blanky." She lets us know which binky is hers and which ones are her sisters. Same with blankets. Such a good little helper.

- "hot dog." She knows what they are in the grocery store (and yes she loves them) but she's usually referring to the "hot dog dance" on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

-"dipsss." As in anything you can "dip" your food in... ketchup, ranch, yogurt, applesauce, bbq sauce. I'm pretty sure she doesn't care what it is or what she dips into it, as long as she has her dips... With every. single. meal.

-"fork." Without the R. I promise we're not teaching her swear words.

-Along with the last one she's picked up the word "sit" with the occasional H in there.

-"No way." I have no idea where she got this from... But ask her if she's done with her dinner? No way. Does she need help putting her shoes on? No way. Chandler, please come over here. No way.

-"Pease." Melt my heart. We've been working on saying please for a long, long time. And she's refused to say it for a long, long time... But that cute little girl now says please when she wants anything. And after she says it, she gets the biggest smile on her face. And I give in (almost) every single time she says it... I mean, come on?!?

-"snacks." She asks for these every day when she wakes up from her nap. It's usually referring to fruit snacks.

-And my favorite: "Ava & Indie." She goes back and forth between the two girls, "Ava. Indie. Ava. Indie." And when one of them cries, she says, "Okay, Ava. Okay Indie." I love.

• She loves helping with her sisters. She's always trying to give them their binky's, putting blankets on them, and giving them hugs and kisses.
• Her favorite shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sofia the First. She calls Sofia "Fia" on repeat.
• She's gotten really good at giving hugs and kisses. So much that she does it on her own now... and if she's in one of these moods and you're in the room, you're getting a hug and a kiss too.
• She has to dress herself every day now... or at least attempt to. She gets really mad if you don't let her try to do it herself first.
• We have moved her out of her high chair and over to the table in a booster seat. She's also completely off her bottle before bed. Next to go: the binky.
• We're trying to teach her how to drink from a cup. Right now she puts her whole mouth inside the cup and tips her head back so that everything that was in the cup is now all down her shirt. We're working on it.
• As of recently, Chandler has been my sourpatch kid. You know those commercials, right? The sourpatch candies that do something mean and then turn around and do something nice? Yea, that's Chan. She'll do something naughty like hit one of her sisters and then turn around and kiss their head and say, "Hi Ava."
• She's fitting into a lot of 2T clothes, size 6 or 7 shoes, and size 4 diapers. 

Ava Jean

1 month

• Ava is the older of the twins, but the smaller of the two.
• She's my little sass. She wants what she wants and she wants it right then. If she's hungry or wants to be held, she lets you know.
• She wants to eat every 3 hours. And at 2 hours and 45 minutes, she starts fussing.
• Ava is a champion pooper. And a loud one. She may be small, but she is a machine.
• She has the funniest facial expressions I've ever seen.
• Ava looks like me when I was a baby. Hallelujah. At least one of my kids will look a little like me. Not that looking like Austin is bad, but come on, I grew those suckers!!
• She loves to be swaddled and laid down in the boppy.
• She sleeps in the pack n play on Austin's side of the bed.
• She loves to nurse and would lay there and nurse all day if I let her.

Indie Mae

1 month

• Indie is the sweetest little baby. When she's held, she just looks at you with the sweetest little face.
• She's usually awake the most in the morning and likes to just lay on the floor and look around.
• She's got chubby cheeks like Chan did when she was a baby.
• Unlike Ava, Indie is very ladylike when it comes to doing her business. She's very quiet, but you can smell that she did something.
• She's a spit up girl also like Chan. Sometimes she'll keep her whole feeding down, and other times it all comes back up.
• She is a quick eater... 10 minutes tops and she's done.
• Indie also loves to be swaddled, but likes to be in the swing.
• She sleeps in a bouncer next to me at night.

• Both girls are being breastfed for the moment. It's a lot having to feed 2 babies (not at the same time. I'm not that talented) every 3 hours. I'm also pumping and giving them bottles to make sure they are getting enough to eat. 
• Both are in preemie diapers and preemie clothes. Although, I don't have many preemie outfits so they drown in their newborn things for now.
• I put them in the same pack n play during the day to kick around and no matter how far apart I put them, they always end up touching in one way or another.
• Sometimes they tag team me and when one cries, the other feels the need to cry as well.
• When I take one out of our room at night or out of the pack n play during the day to feed, the other one seems to know they are alone and they start to wimper and fuss around.
• Both girls love bath time, but don't love lotion time.

These girls are some of the biggest blessings. The twins have been so good and Chan is adjusting really well. I still wake up every day trying to wrap my head around the fact that I am a mom of 3 kids! Ah! But they really have been so much fun and I can't imagine life any other way!

Up next: the twin's newborn pictures!

the day we became a family of five

Yikes!

Did I just say family of five??!!

Yes. Yes I did.

I made it past my goal of 36 weeks and actually made it to 37 1/2 weeks. I seriously thought my belly might burst at that point. Growing two babies in there is serious business. I was set to be induced on September 16 at 7:00 am. My parents and Austin's mom and sisters came up the night before and my parents came over to keep Chandler while we left Brian Head at 6:00 am.

We got to the hospital and they started me on IV's and got me all registered. By the time everything was ready to go, they started me on Pitocin and my Dr came in and broke my water.

Nastiest. Feeling. Ever.

I highly recommend an epidural before they break your water if you can help it. It's like involuntary peeing. And peeing. And peeing. Yuck.

Anyway... When I got to the hospital I was already dilated to a 4, so I kinda knew I would move pretty quick... but I was not prepared for how quick.

I decided to wait on my epidural for a while. Partly because I hate the way I feel when half of my body is numb, and partly cause I wasn't feeling any pain at this point. I actually didn't want an epidural at all, but Dr's recommend getting one in case of an emergency c-section. And I didn't want to feel anything if that were to happen. So about a half hour later, my contractions were rolling in pretty good, so I called in the anesthesiologist for my epidural only to find out he was doing someone else's which was fine. I wasn't in that much pain. Yet.

Eh, maybe 15 minutes goes by... and I'M DYING. Every time a contraction would hit it would last for 1-2 minutes, give me oh a 10 second break and start back at it again... I was trying to breathe (but not really) and gripping the sides of the hospital bed thinking to myself, "Seriously, Ashley? You've got to be maybe to a 5 or 6... are you really that big of a wimp?" I went to a 7 with Chandler before my epidural and it wasn't that bad... But this time, oh man I was in some serious pain. I toughed it out until he finally came in and hooked me up. I thought I was good to go when Annie (my nurse) went to put in my catheter... WRONG. I could feel everything. I don't recommend that either. So she decided to check me and see how far I had progressed. Since I was having twins, and attempting to have them natural, I had to deliver in the OR just in case of an emergency c-section. I was supposed to go in the OR when I was dilated to an 8. So i was pretty surprised when Annie checked me...

And I was at a 10. Complete. Ready to go.

Umm... excuse me?!?

The next 10 minutes were a little chaotic. Nurses running around suiting up in their surgery gear and making phone calls to the bajillion people who would be in the OR when I delivered. Calling over to the OR telling them I and the twins were a-comin'. Dr's running over. Austin suiting up in his surgery gear. Just call him Dr. Hunt. And me, laying my hospital bed. Crying.

I was not ready for this. Not this quick. Before I knew it I was being wheeled into the OR. I don't recommend delivering in the OR either. Cold and white and everyone ready to cut you open at any given second. Yikes. Oh, and let me just tell you, there really were oh probably 20 in there with me. Talk about zero privacy. My Dr, my 2 nurses, Austin, the babies' Dr, the respiratory therapist, the anesthesiologist, a whole surgical team, some random (probably not really random, but to me) people just standing in the back, and little did I know there was a window behind me where people could watch. What is this, a movie?? And don't mind me while my legs are up by my head wiiiiiide open. No biggie.

But really, none of that mattered. 

MY FREAKING EPIDURAL WASN'T WORKING!!!

Well, that didn't matter either because when your Dr says push, you listen. 

Hello, it's eviction day for you, Dip and Dot. Everybody out!

So, I pushed for eh, 3 minutes... out pops my sweet, oh so tiny, Baby A.

She was laid on my chest for a minute before she was taken to be seen my the Dr.

I could feel everything with her birth. And one thing I do recommend is that. Actually birthing a child without an epidural is waaaay better then going through the contractions without one.

Game time Baby B. My Dr broke my water (again. yuck.) and had me start pushing. Well, by this time, I was SO numb, I could't feel a dang thing. Sorry 'bout it doc, but I don't know if I'm pushing or not.

But, about 30 minutes later, my Baby B unwillingly joined her sister in this world. She came out with her feet up by her head (glad my epidural worked for that one. Ouch.)

Introducing:

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Ava Jean Hunt                       Indie Mae Hunt

September 16, 2014               September 16, 2014

11:36 am                               12:12 pm

5lb 9oz                                  6lb 9oz

18 1/4 inches                         19 1/2 inches

Both girls came out strong and healthy. We had to stay in the hospital for a few days to make sure their blood sugars were regular but other then that they have been so good. Good eaters, good sleepers... I honestly can't complain at all. For having 2 babies at once they have been angels and I'm so lucky to have them.

Our first family of five picture. And no, I'm not showing my swollen, busted, cry face... so you get to look at the top of my head instead.