christmas picture

Week 8:

...after many attempts...

I ended up just having this picture of the twins for Christmas:

our birth announcements

Make a Smilebox slideshow

...my labor story...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Me and Josh thought how nice it would be for the babies to be born on the 27th, because our anniversary is on the 27th and Josh’s birthday is on the 27th, too.

8:30 am

This was when I reported to the hospital for my induction. When I got there I was greeted by the nurses and got all situated in my labor room.

9:30-10:00 am

My vitals were taken, the heart monitors went on (for me, Baby A and Baby B), and my IV got started.

The doctor checked my cervix and told me that my body was pretty much not even ready to go into labor… (I was not dilating). So they started the induction off with a thing called Cervadil (I am not sure about the spelling), that helped me open my cervix.
At this point I was limited to eating jello and drinking fruit juice, water and ice chips. I thought it was cool for a while…

11:00 am

My mom and mother in law meet me and my husband to support us through the labor.

2:00 pm

The contractions were coming on more often, and it was intensifying. I began to do different labor techniques from the birthing class that me and my husband took in Kahuku. We pretty much did something different every hour…half hour. It really helped a lot.

The doctor tells me I am now limited only to ice chips……..it sucked, but it was ok. (not as bad as the contractions)

10:00 pm

The contractions were getting pretty tough…and the labor pains were getting harder and harder to bear. My lower back is in terrible pain and I have a nerve shooting up my right leg every couple minutes. It just hurts. I try to repeat labor positions and it’s just getting really hard.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Uncle Quaylee’s birthday…poor thing…at first he did, but as the time got closer, he DID NOT want them born on his birthday.

12 midnight

I just can’t take it anymore! The doctor checks my cervix. After everything that I went through that day, I am only at 3 centimeters…..I am starting to feel discouraged. I thought, “Man, there’s probably like 3 women that had their babies already and came after me.”

I ask the doctors for something that can take the edge off the pain, so that I can try to go longer without having to do the epidural. So, they give me something (I forgot the name of it) and at first it felt good, but the medicine went away and the pain came back on so fast.

1:00 am

I ask the doctors for the epidural. This is when the episode happened. They asked everyone (my mom, Donna, and Josh) to leave the room. This was tough for me because I was in the most pain and they couldn’t be there to help me. The nurse that tended to me that night was not the greatest either.

Right after they left the room (mind you, she told them that she would take care of me), she tells me “Ok sweetie, now I am going to have to have you move over there and do this…” I was like “Um, I can’t because I am really really sore. My back is really sore and my leg is really sore.” “Well, I guess you could grab onto my leg but don’t pull too hard or you will hurt my back.”
The anesthesiologist was da bomb. She did a really good job with the epidural. As soon as it was administered I felt really weak. At that moment, all of our blood pressures dropped (mines, and the babies). I immediately had to be put on oxygen for the doctor to stabilize all of us. I said a prayer and just told heavenly father “I don’t care about me, just take care of the babies.” I felt the presence of multiple spirits administering to the nurses aid. It was a cool experience for me.

2:00 am

Because the epidural was in, now we could all sleep….and we did.

6:00 am

The doctor checks my cervix again…. I am still at 3 centimeters…I did not progress. I am thinking “Man, I can just tell the doctors I want a C-section and the babies will be born in 10 minutes.” I was really starting to get down on myself. The nurses were telling us that I was really good for going that long yesterday without the epidural. Most women give up after the first few hours.

The doctor then starts to administer petossin to speed up the labor. I am like “bring it on…we gotta get them out!”

8:00 am

Breakfast…ice chips (yes!). My father in law stops by the hospital…and he ended up feeding me the ice chips. We were thinking what would the people say at Matsumotos if I ordered a shaved ice without any flavor.

We had everyone in our family predict what time I would give birth to the babies…pretty much everyone was all off….even myself.

12:00 pm

Doctors check my cervix, and I am still not progressing, so they up m

y dose of petossin every hour from this point.

5:00 pm

I am feeling the contractions….it is kind of funny that I feel it because I thought I had the epidural in….yeah. It pretty much wore off.

8:00 pm

Doctor checks my cervix again, and I am finally at 7 centimeters. I am like…”Yay…it’s going to happen tonight!” (Yeah, I was way off.)

10:00 pm

Baby A’s water bag breaks (yes, I have 2 water bags for each baby) I am feeling the urge. The doctor then tells me something I didn’t want to hear. She tells me DO NOT PUSH. I have to wait for Baby A to get down the birth canal on its own so that I can save my energy to push Baby B out.

This was the hardest thing for me to do.

Congrats, Quaylee….it doesn’t look like they will be born on your birthday.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

The babies are going to have their own birthday!

12 midnight

I am at 9/10 centimeters, but Baby A is at a negative station….the contractions are intensifying so I ask the anesthesiologist for another shot of epidural. (I am so grateful for the epidural….it saved my labor) I was really trying not to push but every now and then I just couldn’t resist but to push.

I am sweating….the amniotic fluid still flowing.

3:00 am

Doctor checks my station…we are still at a negative…and I am just miserable.

4:30 am


Doctors say I can start to push now, so I wake up Josh and they wheel me into the Operating Room. Yes, I had to deliver there just in case anything happens.
It feels like Baby A is going to swim out.

Did I mention that my mom and mother in law couldn’t make it to the labor? Yeah…that was kind of messed up. I only could have one person with me for the birth. So, they had to wait patiently down the hall while I was in the Operating Room with Josh.

5:00 am

I start pushing….I am pushing…and boy, I feel so good to push.

5:35 am

Jordan Lanakila Kupa’aikapomekeao Makaiwi is born at 5 pounds 8 ounces. Wooo wooo!
I am feeling real. “That was so easy, I have so much energy….let’s go!” The nurse held him up and was like…here’s your first baby! And I was like “Awe, so cute!” but I still had to push for Baby B.

6:00 am

After pushing for a half hour, I ask the doctor “What is that?” …all I hear is SNIP…SNIP…SNIP. (She’s cutting me open!) I know, she’s only helping me…and she’s trying to make it bigger so that Baby B can fit through. All they told me was… “Keep pushing! He’s right there!”

6:30 am

Still pushing. I can feel him. He’s at plus 2 station. The doctor tries the vacuum…..Baby B gets stuck. The forcepts….nope…still stuck. His blood pressure drops. They put me on oxygen.

6:45 am

“Sorry, we have to do an emergency C section! I am so sorry!”(doctor) “It’s ok” (me) “Sorry I have to put his head back in, sorry.” (doctor) “It’s ok…..it’s worth it!” (me) “We’re going to have to ask your husband to go outside for the epidural” (doctor) “I’ll be right back…you are doing so good. I love you.” (Josh)

…………

“Can you feel this pinch?” (doctor) “Yes” (me) “How about this?” (doctor) “Yes” (me) “I am sorry….we’re going to have to put you to sleep, it’s not working!” (doctor) “Ok…ok…it’s ok….it’s ok.” (me)
“All you have to do is breath through this, take deep breaths…..” (doctor) “OK, Ok….ok, ok…” (me)
(to Josh) “I am sorry, you can’t go back in…they have to put her to sleep” (nurse)

…………………………….

7:10 am

Jaydon Ikaika Ho’omanawanuiikalamekaua Makaiwi is born at 6 pounds, 1 ounce.
The nurses take the babies down to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where they will be for the next week and a half.

10:00 am

I wake up from my surgery…and I look at the time….”Wow, that took a while.” The nurse tending to me took my vitals and helped take off the tape and stuff from my chest. I told the nurse “I am so happy! I am so excited!” the nurse said, “Why?” “Because I get to see my boys!” “You had twins?” “Yes, the first one was natural, the second was C section.” “I am sorry” “It’s ok, it was worth it.” “Wow, you’re making me cry!” “It’s ok, I am just so happy….they are here!”

10:30 am

I get wheeled from recovery to my maternity room on the 6th floor. All I remember was being super tired. Some of my family and my in laws were there. Josh told me that he got to see the babies in the NICU…I was jealous, but I knew I was in no shape to see them…and was happy that at least he could see them.

11:30 am

Our family left me and Josh to sleep in our room. We were so tired.

6:00 pm

Dinner…. Water, jello, and juice….wahoo! I graduated from ice chips! I just want to go down and see babies.

8:00 pm

We finally get to see them! I am so happy!

...the countdown starts now...

So we went to the doctors yesterday.......

Baby A weighed 4 pounds, 12 ounces

Baby B weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce

And I am starting to dilate (I am at 1 cm now)

The doctors were saying that if I don't go into labor in two weeks they are going to induce me for the sake of the babies.

The good news about everything is that the babies are still doing very fine. They are going to keep a close watch on Baby B because he is not sharing and he is growing way faster than the other baby. They are both in the vertex position so my chances of delivering naturally looks really good right now.

If there are any other suprises from now til the end of the month we will let you know.

Love you all and thank you for the support.

Our recent blessings...

Our week since the troubles has been awesome. :)

Josh's boss was able to allow him to start work at 7:00 am instead of at 8:30 am. This enabled him to not have such a long day in town. The city bus gets him to work at 6:30 every morning, and with the early morning schedule he is now able to finish work at 3:30pm instead of 5pm.

Most of my doctors appointments are around 3:30/4:00, so it is such a blessing that his boss is flexible with his work schedule so that he can be with me when I get in to see the doctors.

I had a baby shower two weekends ago, so amist the trials, we were blessed with more clothes and diapers and wipes for our babies.

At the last appointment at the hospital, the nurses monitored our babies for about 20 minutes.....their heart rates were totally fine, totally normal and healthy. The doctor did a full ultrasound on the boys and checked/measured everything. Baby A measured at 3 pounds, 11 ounces, Baby B was 4 pounds, 8 ounces! Doctor said they are big babies for what was then 29 weeks, and that I didn't have to see them for another 3 weeks!

I am now into my 32nd week.....look at me now..........man, I am getting so big. I swear every day there's always someone asking me when I am due......and I am kind of tired of saying it all the time, because I feel like a scratched cd or something....but if anyone asks, or if you didn't know.....you can tell them that......

......my due date is not until November 30th......

Honestly I think the biggest reason why everyone asks is because of how huge I look. I know, I totally look like I am ready....but the babies still need time. If you combine the weight of the two babies, yes, it looks like I am carrying a 8-10 pound baby (hehehe).

You know in the beginning, I was just hoping that if the babies could get to 5 pounds that's all we would need.....but they should be at about 5 pounds this week (they've been gaining a pound a week), and I don't want them to come out yet. I want them to stay in as long as can....and at this point I don't really care about how I look...as long as they are growing and that their bodies are fully developing.

I actually don't mind being pregnant...in fact, I know I will miss it once it's over. I don't think I will be able to have the experience of carrying twins again....and I will miss having 2 sets of hands and feet punching or kicking me or two babies hiccupping and moving around.....but when the babies come I will be so happy.

We are super excited for the babies and honestly me and my husband feel like we are ready for them....we've been preparing and waiting for them for so long (or so it seems like). Our families have been waiting, too.

My OBGYN says anything can happen from now til November. I know there is still a chance I could still go into pre-term labor......so even though the hospital is projecting me to give birth around 36/37 weeks, anything can happen between now and then.....but please pray that the babies will stay at least till 37 weeks.....that would be da bomb........please not in October.

Someone already put in a bet for me to deliver October.....please not in October.

I love all you guys. Thank you for supporting and blessing me and my husband.

Our recent troubles.......

Here's an update on our lives since the last post.

As you probably know, we moved into a bigger studio next door about a month ago.....we will have pictures posted once everything is all set up for the babies....this will be their home sweet home for their first few months.

Joshua finally got his background check cleared, so he started working about two weeks ago at the Federal Building in Honolulu.....(yay!). He works with the department of Justice, and enjoys his job a lot. The only thing about it is that now he has to wake up at 4:45 every morning to catch the city bus to work, and man, is he going to have a crazy sleep schedule when the babies come and he has to work. (I don't think he's going to get paternity leave...if there ever is such a thing)

During his second week of work, Josh had gigs lined up in the evenings in Waikiki, so we decided to have him drive our only working car to work (my car has been dead for almost the whole summer)...........the first day it was fine...but the second day....it was a bad idea.

The car stalled in temple valley while it was in traffic. Good thing he left extremely early, because when the car stalled he had a lot of time to try to figure out how he was going to get to work on time, despite the traffic nuilding up. Luckily one of my aunties(bless her heart) lives in Temple Valley, so we got to leave our car at her place and borrow her truck.

Because the car was not working, for that whole week I was left at home having to walk to work everyday.....not good for a pregnant lady at 7 months with twins....so I had to do that and then figure out how my husband was coming home every night for the rest of the week without a car.

His gigs ended at 10pm in Waikiki, and luckily Tyrone, our bass player(bless his heart) was able to drive him at least to Temple Valley. So I either had to borrow a car or have someone drive me to go get my hubby at Temple Valley.....the bummer thing about that whole week was:

1. the car not working
2. having to walk to work or ask people to take me places, because I really couldn't get there myself
3. not having a lot of time to eat as good
4. not being able to get that much sleep

Good thing it only lasted us a week. We were so happy when the weekend came, because we then had time to get the car fixed and play catch up on our rest. Come to find out the car was not in as bad of a condition as we thought it was, so it was an easy fix and it's back to normal now. There was a lot of people that helped me get places and helped me get my husband home every night....to which I am very grateful for.

crazy week!

this week has been crazy for us, but ended out on a really good note. it was good for us to have the Labor Day weekend. work has been crazy for me because fall semester is about to start already.......

we went to a birthing class tuesday night and i swear i was the biggest one in the class. we had to introduce ourselves at the beginning of class and tell everyone when our babies are due and all that. when i told them that we were not due until the end of november, you could just see the suprised look on their faces....like, wow you look like you are due now....but when we explained ourselves and told them that we were going to have twins, it made sense to them.

later in the week josh got a call from the mainland....they told him that his background check is finally done, and that he can start work next week, so we've been really happy. josh starts working at the federal building next week friday!!

today we went to the hospital for a check up and the doctor said that the boys are both doing fine. they are both no longer head down, though......Baby B keeps scooting and shifting, while Baby A stays put but is the active kicker. Baby A is head down, but Baby B is sideways...... they are both getting bigger but they still have time to move around a bit more.

todays check up was very assuring for me....knowing that the babies are doing fine. hopefully i can make it to 8 months.....i am really not in the position to deliver this month! (please no! babies need more time to grow in mommys tummy)

Here I am at 27 weeks!!!

I've been so bad! So I finally took my picture for the month yesterday.......

This is me at 27 weeks! I am getting so big! But, for once, it's such a good thing! :)

Baby Update!!

We went into the doctors yesterday....and usually when I went in for the ultrasounds, the boys would be up and awake, but this time, they were both asleep. It was nice to see them sleeping.

Here's a picture of Baby A........he's very healthy, and although he's the tinier one, Baby A is weighing this week at 2 pounds, 4 ounces.

Here's Baby B (isn't it funny....they were both doing the same thing...sucking on their hand) Baby B is now 2 pounds, and 11 ounces. Doctor says he's a fighter, because he was kicking me while he was sleeping. (hehe) I thought that was funny.

.....babies kicking 24-7.........thats the story of my life right now. Sounds like they could be big babbies...that makes me happy.

That's my report for the 26th week.......... :)

Family and Twin Update

We are both still on the hunt to get into a bigger place for our babies, because we currently do not have any room for them in our little studio. We are both starting to get really worried, because time is getting closer and closer. Soon the babies will be here, and we want to be prepared as much as we can for their arrival.

We got to see one place that we really liked....a two bedroom (2 story) apartment, but we are on the waitlist for it. We are looking around still just in case this one falls through.

Kealani is still working in the office. It is getting a bit harder for her to do things as fast as usual, but she still manages to stay on top of things.

Joshua is still playing music every weekend. His group, Po'ohala, has a website now:

http://www.musicinhawaii.com/

They have improved a lot over the summer, and we are starting to see the potential the group has for the future.

Kealani is at 23 weeks now....

Baby A is 1 pound, 3 ounces.

Baby B is 1 pound, 7 ounces.

They are both healthy as can be and are on the right track. Daddy and mommy are very grateful and happy :)

summer update

Sorry for not updating as much as we should.....we've both been busy and of course have been through a lot this summer.

In the beginning of June we got to go visit the Jordans and play music in Kihei on Maui. It was good to take a break from work and to just relax for the weekend.

Joshua just got hired to work at the Federal Building in Honolulu, working at the US Attourney's Office with the big time prosecutors and lawyers. As soon as the background check gets done he'll get to start work. This is going to be such a blessing for our new family, for him to be working full time during this hard economic time. It's definately been a wait, but it's been worth it. Heavenly Father knows that we need it!

We're still on the hunt for another place to live by the end of the summer......which is approaching very soon. I am getting worried, but I know that we will find something soon, and that everything will work out as long as we continue to do our best with everything and make good choices.

Still also looking to possibly buy a bigger car, or maybe even a van.......it's been a learning experience...prioritizing things and managing our finances, yet still trying to save for our house.

We went into Moanalua two weeks ago to find out the progress of our babies....baby A was measured at 11 ounces and baby B at 10 ounces. We found out that they are identical boys, so we are really excited and are starting to think of names.

We are going back to the doctors again so I'll give you another update on how the boys are doing.

Aloha no.

Just Another Week

I wish we could say that something has excited us in these past few days, but after learning that twins are on the way for us, you can't really find anything more exciting. This week we have been busy as normal with our jobs........

The one thing that has recently been going on for us is that Josh will be finishing up with his job in Pearl City soon...because school will be out in one week. So he's been on the job hunt for quite some time. The challenge of course for us..... is finding a full time job for him........but since the news of our twins, heavenly father has blessed us with people to ask Josh to play hawaiian music for.

For two blessed weeks, Josh has played music at various occasions, primarily on the weekends. Hawaiian music is such a passion of his, and I am glad he has the opportunity to share his talents with others.

We will continue to update everyone on how the babies are doing. That's it for now...

My First Ultrasound

...May 14, 2009...

At first I was a bit nervous attending my first ultrasound alone, because I've heard of so many things that they could do to you.

When I went in to see the doctor, she told me that she would only be about 5 minutes, but after 10 munites or 15 minutes went by, she asked me "Are you still with me?" "Yes," I said. She apoligized, and then explained to me that the reason why she took so long with the measurements was because there are two babies inside.......

We are having twins!!!!

The start of our lives together...

We were married on December 27th, 2008...and from today it seems like we've been married forever(we have). Me moved into our little studio in Laie shortly after and called it our first home....

Kealani continued to work at BYU-Hawaii for the on-campus single student housing. Joshua started his first career (with his new college degree in Hawaiian Studies) as a Hawaiian Studies teacher at Lehua Elementary, in Pearl City.

We had our first family trip during Spring break. We first travelled to Las Vegas to visit Nana and Papa Makaiwi, and also our uncles, and aunties, and cousins from the Makaiwi side. They were unable to attend our wedding thats why.....

We then headed to Utah, where we stayed with Aunty Rona and her family and got to visit our sister Rachel and close friends: the Naluai's and the Lindo's. Here are some things we did....

A few weeks after our trip, we recently found out that we are now going to have a baby at the end of this year! So we decided to finally commit to some kind of journal writing, to give you an update on our little family...hence, the start of the New Makaiwi Ohana blog.