6 weeks later

It's been 6 weeks since Alma and Leo entered this world. I can't tell you how amazing these two little babies are. They were champs at this "living outside of the uterus" thing. Born at just 31 weeks and 4 days, they reached NICU milestones quick and easily. The longest milestone to reach was feeding from a bottle. This is because most babies don't have the capability of sucking, swallowing, and breathing all at once until about 34/35/36 weeks. At just under 36 weeks, Alma decided she was done with her feeding tube and pulled it out on her own. She never looked back. Soon Leo had his removed too.

On April 14, Alma and Leo were discharged from the NICU! Just one day short of their 5 week birthday. They are now with their daddies 24/7, right where they belong. Guy and Dror are proud daddies! I could watch them talk to and love on those babies all day long.

Last Friday was the court hearing to take care of the legal stuff. All went smoothly as we knew it would. After the hearing we went to lunch to celebrate. It was a great day.

We are getting closer and closer to parting ways. There is no way this day won't be bittersweet. Guy and Dror have been here since February 21. It feels like they should permanent residents now,  but I know they are anxious to get home and begin their new routine. What a journey this has been! It's crazy to think that our original delivery date was April 24 - today.

There are events in our lives that make us wonder why things happen the way they do. Why were Alma and Leo born so early? Guy and Dror have been so amazing and strong throughout the highs and lows. I realize not all IPs would have handled the stress as well as they did. I appreciate them so much for their support and love. Of course, they were concerned by the early arrival of their precious bundles, but on the other hand, as Guy once said, "we feel lucky to have two extra months with our babies."

As for me, I am doing well. I feel almost 100% back to normal, with minor incision pain here and there. My blood pressure is usually within my normal range, but sometimes pops up to a higher reading - not high enough to be concerned though. I pumped milk for the babies, but as they are preparing to leave soon, they slowly shifted to formula. I'm happy I was able to provide them breast milk while they were in the NICU. Since I could no longer care for them inside my body, at least the milk offered some healthy benefits. I've decided to continue pumping and donating it. Pumping every 2-3 hours can be a nuisance, but this is such a good cause I can't pass up the opportunity to continue helping.

This weekend we are doing a small photo shoot. It should be fun! I'll see about sharing a few here on my blog ;)

Ultrasounds and visits

Ahhh.. what a great week. After lost luggage and many, way too many, hours of no sleep, Guy and Dror arrived in Minnesota last Monday. We arranged to meet up Tuesday for breakfast. I have only met them once in person and that visit was a very quick 3ish hours long. I have to say it feels like we have known each other much longer than 9 months and have hung out many more times than just once. It felt very natural being with them.

Wednesday we walked around the mall. The mall one week before Christmas... yep we're brave like that. Actually it was fine and we didn't encounter any annoying, crazy shoppers. I was hoping to get a picture with Santa but it must have been his lunch time because he was no where to be found. Wednesday evening the guys came over to our house for dinner. My kids were so excited to finally meet them. The two younger kids had already met them but my two older ones had not. The guys are so good with kids and my kids easily fell in love with them. It was fun to watch them together. I'm guessing Guy and Dror are their nieces and nephews favorite uncles. It was even more proof of how wonderful they will be as dads. They even brought gifts for everyone... it was so thoughtful of them. Guy and Dror's parents sent me a lotion, body wash and candle set along with a beautifully written card. The kind gesture was very much appreciated.

Photobombed by the dog

Picture with my boys (my daughter had retreated to her room)

Thursday was the anatomy ultrasound. Big, big day!

Pit stop for coffee

The appointment was full of excitement. As I said before we knew the genders at transferred but I wasn't going to share until Guy and Dror were ready. You are in luck! They are ready to let the world know they will be having one boy and one girl!They are both measuring 20 weeks and 5 days. Baby boy weighs 12oz and Baby girl weighs 13oz. We have two head down babies. I have fingers and toes crossed they stay that way. I know they have plenty of time to move around in all kinds of different positions but in the end let's hope for two head down babies. A funny note... both babies are trying to reach the cervix first. Right now, it could go either way. I didn't even know this was possible. I assumed one baby was always positioned closest to the cervix. The tech named boy as baby A and girl as baby B. She said to not be surprised if that changes. I'm not posting any pictures from this ultrasound because they won't even compare to what I'm about to show you.

During my journey with Roy and Avner, I surprised them with a 4D ultrasound. I knew for sure I would do this for Guy and Dror during this visit. 20 weeks is a little early for 4D ultrasounds just because the babies generally are not quite "looking like babies". The tech said they would probably look like something that resembled half sea monkey half alien ???... lol, alrighty then. No matter to us, we were still way excited to get this awesome look into the womb. I chose the imaging place I used with Ella and Ely. The bonus... they upgraded their equipment. The images before were excellent but the images now are mind blowing! Seriously... so cool. I recommend any pregnant woman get this done.

The appointment was loads of fun. The babies are still fighting for first position. The tech called baby girl A and baby boy B. When I say they are fighting, I mean that literally. At one point, baby girl was hitting her brother in the face while he tried to protect himself with his hands. Another moment captured them telling "secrets". Baby girl had her hands up by her mouth while baby boy looked to be putting his ear to her hands. Such a sweet sweet view. We captured so many sweet and amazing moments. Another showed them cuddling together head to head. Here are a few images from the screening:

Baby girl giving us a smile

Baby girl

Baby boy

Baby boy. Can you see him holding his hand up?

Guy and Dror are madly in love with these babies. They were so happy with their visit and the peeks at their babies. The joy just seeps out of them. We joked they would spend the next few days just starring at the pictures. Only it's not really a joke because I'm sure they really will, I know I would. Later I received this picture:

Maybe it's the hormones, but this absolutely melts my heart and makes my eyes get teary.

After the 4D ultrasound we stood in the parking lot and said our goodbyes. Their visit had come to an end. I feel a little emptiness since we parted ways. I know I'll see them again very soon but the puzzle feels complete when they are around. It's very similar to how I felt when Roy and Avner left after our transfer in 2011. It's all part of this process. After dinner on Wednesday night, Guy said how happy they were to be here this week. They really struggled with not being able to attend the transfer and I was bummed by that too. But given the choice between attending transfer or the 20 week ultrasound, we all agreed how fantastic this week was and how happy we are that it could happen.

Beautiful Ella and Handsome Ely

Then and now......

Ella and Ely celebrated their 1st birthday with lots of family and friends surrounding them. They had delicious chocolate covered cake with zebra, lion, elephant and giraffe decorations. They received lots of awesome gifts and no doubt a ton of hugs and kisses. Oh how I wish I could have been there.

Happy birthday babies! I am so proud to be your surro-momma!

* Their birthday is actually January 13, but I wasn't sure if I would have time to get on the computer tomorrow. When I post this it will January 13 in Israel so it's all good  :)

Peek-a-boo!

I see two of the most babylicious faces! In less than 2 months, I will be snuggling these two lovebugs in person **and the crowd goes wild**.

In just a few short days, Ely and Ella will be 8 months old.

Ella

Ely

Don't they just put a smile on your face?!?