Newborn Photos

Thank you to my wonderful sister-in-law, Janelle Zeller, we have the most wonderful pictures of our sweet newborns. I am realizing each day how much they are growing and am so grateful to have these photographs as memories of this special time in our family history. Enjoy!

The Lehman Twins Have Arrived!

Well, I know several of you have been wondering about the twins, so here it goes!

Noah James Lehman was born on Wednesday, January 5th, 2011 at 10:38 pm. He weighed just 5 pounds, 12 ounces and is 19" long! His sister, Lily Anne Lehman came out screaming just 14 minutes later at 10:51pm, weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces (also 19" long). Both babies were "star gazers" but were still able to be delivered without a c-section! Praise the Lord! Mom is doing great and recovering well.

Many people have been asking me about labor, and to sum it up in one word I would like to say "WILD"! It was the most amazing, incredible and yet traumatizing experience. No words can really explain the whole process, other than that at the end you have a beautiful baby (or in our case 2 beautiful babies) to take home with you!

The first night at the hospital was a bit scary. Noah had low blood sugar and almost had to go to the NICU. Finally we were all able to go to our hospital room, and shortly after Lily choked, turned purple and had to be rushed to the nursery to be aspirated. The next day they babies had higher belli ruben numbers and had to go to the "suntanning booth" for 8 hours. It is amazing how 8 hours away from your babies can tear you apart.

Thankfully our God always provides and has a a perfect plan for us. All for of us left the hospital on Friday evening and have been home without any complications ever since. The babies are eating well, and are back to their original birth weights. The pediatrician is very excited about the babies' health as well. Nala and Miko have sniffed out and licked the twins; we are all adjusting well!

The first few days home were a complete blur, with very little sleep. Fortunately for our siblings (Jason and Melinda who have twins of their own, Jason and Janelle who have four children of their own and JR and Lorie who have two children of their own) and of course both sets of parents we have a schedule that is allowing for happy, satisfied babies (and a lot more rest for mom and dad too!)

My awesome sister, Janelle, took the twins' newborn photos this week! Here is a sneak peak of my sweet, sweet babies in model mode!

Wednesday is the Big Day!

Well, Wednesday is the big day! It is kind of strange to be able to make arrangements for the dog, pack our hospital bags, have our parents and siblings plan ahead to come visit us, etc. Being induced is definitely different than the typical "my-water-broke-in-the-grocery-store-let's-rush-to-the-hospital" scene you see in movies!

Tonight and tomorrow will be our last evening's at home without children, and our last nights of unawakened sleep (minus the 5-7 times I get up to use the bathroom) for quite some time. The Lord has blessed our family and this pregnancy in so many ways, they are too many to even name. Today I have been mostly daydreaming about this journey the past 10 months, it brings tears of joy to my eyes.

Things I Will Miss Most About Being Pregnant:

• Knowing I am carrying precious cargo on board every second of every day
• Feeling those sweet kicks, rolls, turns and jumps and no matter what is going on in the world, everything just seems perfect in that moment
• Looking down and only being able to see my belly and bellybutton, realizing how much our two children have grown these past 10 months in the womb to become healthy and happy babies
• The royal treatment I have received from my husband and family (cooking, cleaning, beautiful gifts, being driven to appointments)
• Extra grace for being tired or forgetful because cooking two babies warrants that
• Being able to protect my babies from the world

Things I Never Thought I Could Be This Excited About:

• Hearing two babies scream and cry
• Changing poopy diapers
• Touching my toes
• Standing up from the couch/toilet/dinner table without grunting in pain
• Walking like a 25 year-old instead of a 90 year-old
• Putting on my own shoes and socks
• Sleeping on my side instead of sleeping sitting up!
• Being able to know my babies are healthy by looking at them in their crib instead of wondering how they are doing in my belly

Almost 37 weeks!

Well this week has been great! The weather got cold here in Anthem and we even got snow! Take a look at my sweet niece, Gracie (I just love her!)

I don't believe it has snowed here in the Phoenix area like this in about 10+ years. People everywhere were in amazement!

This morning Josh took me for the last non-stress test before the twins get induced! (It is only our 2nd non-stress test in total, but still exciting it is the last.)

The babies are happy, healthy and moving around like crazy. I was told and read that they slow down at the end because they have no room.... well not the Lehman babies.

We are excited that we are set to deliver on January 5th (if they don't come on their own sooner.) It won't be long now! Plus, I have literally cleaned and organized every inch of the entire house. I have nothing more to do! It's hard to believe I would ever say this, but, I am so ready!

I hope everyone has a very safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Update

Well, it seems like things can change so quickly at the end of a pregnancy! Here is the update of what is going on with the twins and their arrival (given that winter break is already more than half way over.) Well, I went to the doctor on Monday morning and I am 3 cm dilated, 100% effaced, and Noah is at the +1 station. My blood pressure is still high (145/93) but other than that, everything is looking stellar. My blood work is fantastic, no protein in my urine, no pre-eclampsia, babies have plenty of fluid around them both, no distress on the babies, they are growing great, etc. Other than being pretty uncomfortable, I am so happy to say the doctor things I am still "too healthy" to force induction. I was pretty grouchy Monday morning when I found out that we would not be going to the hospital to deliver as we anticipated. Our hospital bags have been sitting in the trunk of the car, and we were planning on going straight to the hospital today. (It is another great lesson in learning about how life doesn't always go how you plan; time to roll with the punches!)

So here was the updated plan as of Monday. I will go to the hospital Tuesday (yesterday) and Friday for non-stress tests of the babies (to monitor their activity and keep a close watch on things in the next 7 days.) I will go back to see my doctor on Monday and if for some reason I still have not naturally gone into labor then I will be induced on Wednesday, January 5th in the morning. My doctor says that going into labor on my own is very possible at any time (but knowing my babies, I wouldn't count on it.)

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UPDATE AS OF WEDNESDAY MORNING:
So I went for the first non-stress test yesterday and it went beautifully! They hooked me up to 3 monitors (one for Noah, one for Lily and one for me!) The babies have to show 2 accelerations each in 20 minutes, and leave it to the Lehman overachievers, they were done in 5 minutes! Basically, they just have to show that they are healthy when they are active and healthy when they rest. My babies like to play a lot, so the test was a piece of cake. My nurse was great and it was actually really soothing to hear their heartbeats on the monitor and just relax and enjoy them! I will take a picture when I go this Friday to post. My contractions are 4 minutes apart now, so the nurse also said labor could start any moment; she was very encouraging though and really lifted my spirit about keeping them inside as long as possible and all the benefits of them staying in just a few days longer!

At 5 pm yesterday I started having chest pains; I shook it off thinking it was heartburn, took some tums and tried to ignore it. Around 6:30 pm it was getting worse, but I thought I would eat a little dinner and see if it passed (I figured it was just 4 little baby legs sticking in my ribs.) After dinner I was getting a little panicked; took a bath, tried all the different pillow positions, but I was so short of breath, and it was pretty painful to breathe in and out. Finally we called the OB Triage line and spoke with the doctor on call and they told us to come in to the hospital. I knew everything was fine with the babies, it was just worrisome to be 45 minutes away from the hospital and having respiratory pains. 2 hours later (11:30 pm) the pain just started to subside and we ended up just going home. I felt horrible making us go to the hospital, and after all that it was nothing. Josh says, better safe than sorry!

I am really hoping for a smooth rest of the week and into early next week; no more false alarms or hospital trips (unless it's baby time!)


All in all, I am overwhelmed with excitement and am anxious to meet my sweet, dark-haired babies! Although I really want them to come out, I am filled with gratitude that my children are so incredibly healthy and that I have been fortunate enough to carry them throughout these past 9-10 months. Please pray for a patient and content heart for me in the upcoming days; each day is a struggle to try not to rush these babies out. God's timing is perfect and He will send them when they are ready! I am trying to keep my faith in His sovereign plan for our family. Please also keep the babies in your prayers as things are getting really tight in there for everyone. Josh could use some prayers too; he has been such a willing, kind and unwavering husband these past two weeks (lifting me in and out of bed, household chores, driving me places if needed, helping with aches and pains, satisfying food cravings and the list goes on.)

36 weeks pregnant

Well, we are now at week 36 and I couldn't be more excited! Tonight's newest event was the swelling of my right foot. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning at 10am with Dr. Sawyer so we are not too worried about it, but I really have a feeling that tomorrow might be the day! Ah! I cannot stop thinking of my two precious babies, what they will look like, sound like when they laugh or cry, smell like... everything!

Here is a picture from me this past week (35 weeks). Josh has been off from school, so he has had me on house arrest, resting on the couch and whatnot. We had my parents over, visited Josh's parents several times, and the siblings here in Anthem. I have been craving sushi, so Josh took me to Ebisu one afternoon. It has made the time pass quicker. (Not to mention all the December birthday's and Christmas festivities!)

The animals are taking very well to me being home and available to them at all hours of the day. I think everyone's worlds are going to be rocked when these babies arrive in the Lehman household!

Please keep us in your prayers, for a safe and healthy delivery and recovery. Noah and Lily are so excited to meet all of their wonderful family and friends that have already blessed them so much throughout their time in my belly.

Simon Says

I have to cherish some of the pregnancy moments and stories that are so fresh in my mind, because I know over time they will become lost in my scattered mommy brain! This morning when I woke up, I just laid in bed with Josh for a while. Lily started moving around sleepily and I said to J, "Uh oh, Lily is up, which means she will be waking up Noah pretty soon too." Within 5 minutes the two of them had started what I called "Simon (or rather Lily) Says." Lily would do something, like kick a foot into my rib. Then she would stop and Noah would do the same. Then Lily would do a quick jerky movement in there; Noah would follow shortly after! It went on for a good 10 minutes too. I was literally laughing out loud because normally they both just squirm and wiggle around simultaneously. This morning's exercise was very strategic though, one right after the other. I feel like I already know these babies, their personalities and all, and have not even met them yet. Being pregnant has been a wonderful experience.

Lily doing her yoga pose at 22 weeks!

Sweet Noah at 29 weeks!