I'll Be Home for Christmas!!!

I'M HOME!!!!! so after two weeks in the hospital I was finally released the 23rd just in the nick of time for Christmas! My Dr. (who is awesome by the way) decided that if i made it to my thirtieth week and my cervix was relatively the same that she would let me go back to home bed rest. During my sonogram not only was my cervix longer but only one baby is breech and so I only have one pair of feet playing soccer with my cervix!! It was a long stay at the hospital but obviously beneficial and I'm now parked at my Mother Bendall's house were she will graciously take care of me until the babies come. I had a bit of a scare the day I was got home from the hospital, almost the minuet i walked through the door, I started to have contractions, now I've been having contractions for about 10 weeks now and these where not the same caliber. THEY HURT and they were coming every 3-5 minuets and lasted about 15 hours. Just my luck right? I sat in a hospital bed for two weeks with hardly any contractions (none worth mentioning at least) and boom I come home and go into labor!!! Luckily they did eventually stop and we are all just crossing our fingers (some of us our legs) and hoping these little boys can wait until at least January to make their grand appearance.

On a lighter note Christmas was wonderful!! my brother and his new wife of less than a week came and spent the night the two days up until Christmas and hung out, my mother baked like crazy lady and made soo much wonderful food I could die! We all sat and watched Christmas movies and had a wonderful time. Christmas really was so special this year I was home with all of my family and everyone was healthy and happy. It was probably one of if not the best Christmas ever. I love my family including all my in-laws and extended family and am so blessed to have so many wonderful and caring people in my life. I couldn't believe the amount of people who took time out of their busy schedules to come visit me and brought gifts to to me while I was in the hospital even during such a crazy time of year. I really could not ask for more.

Doxies and Coyotes

Audrey(red) Madison (black and brown)

Me and Devin bought two adorable puppies last year Audrey and Madison both mini dachshunds, when I was first pregnant I could not stomach the smell of them not that they were particularly stinky little girls but my hyper sensitive nose magnified their...Doggyness. So off to grandmas house they went (momma Laura). Their they have remained for the last 7 months. They I am sure have much enjoyed their stay in my parents grand back yard and with tons of love and moogies from all my siblings, however my parents live in the boonies and with that comes a certain collection of wild animals including but not limited to coyotes. Last spring a coyote jumped my parents fence and snatched up my childhood dog Lilly (a corgi dachshund mix) right out of her bed and tore her to shreds. Unfortunately she had to be put down due to the severity of her wounds. SO my parents were a little hesitant to bring my little rotten girlie's into their home but decided they would just make and extra effort to keep them safe such as bringing them in at night etc. They had been at my parents house a whole week before one busy morning during breakfast my 10 year old brother brooks decides to slip outside and play with the pooches. Unfortunately someone else had already joined them. The scene my brother encountered was one large coyote with one squirmy weeiner dog clutched between its teeth. Luckily Brooks screamed like a girl the moment he saw this and scared the coyote enough to drop its brunch and it ran off and jumped back over the fence. Fortunately for Audrey she only had an few puncture wounds and was happy as a clam shortly their after. Any who this strange coyote predicament has made it even harder for these little Doxie's to enjoy their simple little life, they can only be outside during the middle of the day when coyotes are no where to be found otherwise someone has to be with them at all times. So any who me and Devin all along figured as soon as we bought our own home would surly take the little girlie's back and all would be dandy, but we didn't expect to be having twins.. so we decided that they needed a new permanent home one that is not threatened by nasty coyotes, and we found just the one!! Brady (14 yr old brother) has a long time best friend named Max who lives in Sierra Vista and his mom happens to be a dachshund lover and has ever so willingly decided to take Maddie who will join her other doxie Ruby who is Maddie's twin just ten pounds bigger, and a co worker of hers happens to be coveting a red doxie and will be taking Audrey. It is bitter sweet to say bye to these cute little girls but I couldn't find better homes for them if I tried and when it comes to whats best for them.. I am not going to be able to provide that with two babies on my hip. So off my little doxies go to Sierra Vista to enjoy a new life!

"slapped on hospital bed rest"

Just a funny picture of me, my grandma Staples, my mother, and aunt Nina on Thanksgiving with candy wrappers on our teeth:)

"Slapped on hospital bed rest?" A quote from my last post.... and unfortunately the outcome of my last Dr. apt.

So I knew The time would come at some point during my pregnancy where I would be put on "bed rest" but I thought I would be able to avoid hospital bed rest!! But who am I joking this entire pregnancy has been full of surprises so I should not be in the least bit surprised.

So as I said a week ago at my last Dr. Apt my cervix were looking "short" bad news when your only 27 weeks prego because once the canal is gone... than its much harder to stop labor. SO I was diligent I sat on my rump all day long and laid like an invalid in my bed! I had soo many wonderful people come over and help me make my bed rest possible everyone from my mom to my mother in-law people in my ward you name it so I was legitimately following my bed rest orders, I had been told hospital bed rest was a possibility but I figured if I was really good I would be able to avoid it for at least a couple weeks. So any way I go in bright and early on Thursday morning for about the hundredth sonogram of this pregnancy, and I was in there a whole 2 min before I was hearing those dreaded words... "hospital bed rest" unfortunately both babies are breech and all FOUR feet are literally KICKING my cervix OUT! (not that that's the actual cause of my ever shortening cervix but lets just say it sure doesn't help!!). and my Dr. looks at the screen and then I ask, already knowing from the image on the screen "is it shorter??" any who at this point the only other option I had besides having babies ridiculously early is to get a non stop trip up to the fourth floor of the hospital where I will now remain until these babies arrive. I have to say I kept it together pretty well and haven't broke down and lost it yet but, its only day three so it could be a much different story in a couple of weeks when I'm about to lose my mind! As much as I don't want to be laying in a hospital bed, if this is what it takes to have healthy babies than Ill lay here as long as I have too. Fortunately I have awesome nurses and my situation could be so much worse, I'm not hooked up to any monitors or IVs or any of that garbage and I at least have bathroom and shower privileges. I also don't have people poking and prodding me every five minuets, they check the babies heartbeats twice a day check my vitals twice as well and pretty much just leave me be. So I cant complain, I could be strapped to fifty monitors, upside down and be on all kinds of drugs to stop labor that make you sick so at this point I'm defiantly not complaining. I also have the best support system ever, my husband has moved in and is here when ever he can be, and my mother comes and visits as often as she can which really helps pass the time, I have also had visits from my mother in law and my dad so Ive had some great company to make this experience even more bare able. I really am so lucky, how often does a woman find out she is having not one but two babies?? I just keep telling myself that this is all a blessing and I know that the outcome will forever outweigh the price it took to achieve it.

Holidays, Babies, Tis the Season!

I just have to start out by saying that I LOVE the Holidays! and they have already started off with a bang. Me and Devin are very fortunate to have both of our families live so close, which means we get to double dip on all the holidays. We started off at his parents house on Thanks Giving morning and had a great time hanging out with family and eating great food, than we drove an hour to Sierra Vista and had dinner at my Grandma and Grandpa Staples house and some more of my relatives. Food was incredible as always and it was so good to just be with our families. There is something extra special about being pregnant at the holidays that I really enjoyed . I have so much to be thankful for this year and am so happy with where life has taken me and my family.

Black Friday:

So me and Devin decided to take the Wal-Mart risk and show up at midnight when the doors opened to see if we could snag some good deals for Christmas this year... I don't think I have ever seen a more barbaric group of people all crammed together in one space, needless to say it wasn't worth it so we walked in got shoved around for a few minuets and went home! I did however make it to Joanns the next morning and scored some good deals online, and eventually got everything I was hoping to get with limited black Friday crazies intervening!

The Baby Update

had another sonogram this week and the babies are growing like weeds. I am now 27 weeks and 5 days pregnant and I can't even think where all the time has gone. Baby B the little guy having all the trouble is also looking good, his measurements have gone up substantially and he is nearly on track again. Baby A is as big as ever and running out of room to move around but still looking good. My last few sonograms the babies have been on top of each other, or facing down and we haven't been able to get many good facial shots, they were both on their best behavior yesterday and we got some really good facial shots, I can't help but think how stinking cute they I can't wait to hold them and squeeze them! Baby B also gave quite the performance and gave the first offically 100% acurate reveal of his little manhood and there is no more room for argument their! so he is indeed a boy and there will be no surprises at the delivery. As far as all the issues I explained last post here is where we are now, I went back and did enough blood work to provide 50 blood transfusions and they ran every test possible, and the results were really good, I am positive for CMV but it was so distant that my body is immune to the infection and they now believe that it will have no direct consequences to either baby!! So I think we are out of the woods on that one. They think the calcification s are little to no issue and that baby B will be as healthy as any other baby. A nice relief let me tell you!! Although everything looks great with the babies, it seems I can't leave and appointmet scott free gosh darn!!! I started having some pretty hard contractions on Sunday and continue to have pre term labor, during the sonogram the tech measured my cervix and they are quite thin... so we could be having babies much sooner than expected, I seem to be having contractions and labor issues that I am not even really aware of. So they gave me two rounds of steriods shots to help the babies lungs develope faster (these shots were HUGE) in my rump yesterday and today. They also monitored my contractions and the babies heartbeats for a while and without even knowing it I had 3 contractions right then and thier. So I am on indefinite bed rest. I can get up to go the bathroom and eat, nothing else is negotiable. But hey I'd much rather stick to the rules keep these babies cooking as long as possible and not get slapped on hospital bed rest. I knew this time would eventually come where my bed rest would get serious and I'm just glad I made it to 27 weeks. So Now i get to go in twice a week for stress testing and contraction monitoring, cervix checking you name it! Its a good thing I live 5 min from the Dr and hospital! My dr. says she would be overjoyed if I made it to 36 weeks which is only 8 weeks?~!!!! holy cow when did we get down to the single digits??!!! so we will probably have babies sometime in January.. so crazy!!

Special shout out to my mother who has already completely filled my kitchen with groceries and has been so helpful with trying to make this whole bed rest thing as easy as possible!! I don't know what I would do without that lady!! And also my mother in law who brought over some really yummy turkey soup!!! My husband has also stepped up to the plate and started doing the cleaning washing etc. that usually do. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!!

Another Baby update sorry to those of you who are sick of hearing about my babies but there always seems to be something to talk about so here we go again. So, I did my blood work before my last ultra sound on the 17th and the results are in.. I tested positive for something called CMV, never in my life have I heard of this before, but apparently it is pretty common. My doctor told me I likely contracted it many years ago and it presented itself with flu like symptoms, this would make sense because I honestly cannot remember how many years ago I had the flu. Any way what does this have to do with the baby? Well, let me tell you. Since having CMV I am now a carrier, in very few cases a mother will pass on the infection to her baby in uetro. Sometimes the baby contracts the infection in utero and the doctors don't even realize it until the baby is born, but in extreme cases the baby will show signs such as calcification's on the stomach intestines and kidney (all of which baby B the little guy has)and smaller size, including head (also present in baby B). So what does all this mean well like any other diagnosis its per case but babies with these signs in utero usually are born with or will develop hearing or vision impairment in the firs few years, all at varying degrees. Other side effects include mental retardation, enlarged organs at birth, jaundice, purple splotches at birth, and seizures. There is also that chance that the baby will be perfectly fine. Now that I have written this all down it seems so much more overwhelming but I have to be honest I am not scared or worried. I know that this is all in the lords hands and whatever happens happens and all I can do is just make the best of it. So as for now I will go back to the Dr. tomorrow for more blood work, to confirm the previous test results and the doctors will continue to monitor both babies. oh and I forgot to mentions they are both BOYS!! SO nice to finally know! We have also picked out names they are Tristan Ryan Estes and Atticus James Estes. I knew i had good reason not to start sewing dresses!!! any way . so that is whats going on with the babies. I am now 26 weeks pregnant and I can't believe how fast the time has gone by I cannot wait to hold these little babies!!

On a lighter note me and Devin were sealed in the Mesa temple this Saturday (the 20th). Besides our small wedding last October it really was the best day of my life! I am so happy that I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and the knowledge of eternal families. Its so comforting to know that no matter what happens my family will be together forever.

TWO VERY important things I forgot to mention!!! My brother Bryson is officially engaged to a wonderful girl named Kassidy, we are all so excited! they are planing on a mid December wedding! And last but not least Devin and I are going through the temple to be sealed this month!! WOO HOO!!

So yet another sonogram has passed and things seem to be looking pretty good. Twin A our big guy is starting to even out and is only measuring a little more than a week ahead of schedule which is good because he was off the charts for a couple weeks. The smaller baby is also doing a little catching up instead of being 2-3 weeks behind he/she is only about a week and a few days behind as far as cerebral measurements go. However his/her little limbs are still measuring two weeks at least behind, but that's OK hopefully at my next sonogram which is the 17th we will see even further growth in all areas. The sonogram tech did however, happen to find some calcium spots on the head of the smaller twin. Poor little guy just can't catch a break. Calcium spots are usually a result of some sort of infection. However if their was an infection it would have also affected the other baby and no spots were present on the boy. So I am back to the lab for some more blood work and tests to rule out the possibility of infection in which case the calcium spots should be no issue. As far as pre-term labor goes I haven't had any contractions in a week so as long as I keep my self grounded and stay off my feet I should be able to control anymore pre-term labor contractions.

Border Patrol update: Devin had is oral interview last week and PASSED! on to the next phase!! which includes PT tests and physical exam with any luck he will be out of here before the first of the year.

Miscellaneous:

I officially HATE getting the mail twice the babies means twice the medical bills I think if i were to even walk into the hospital and sneeze they would send me a bill! Too bad pre-natal care just isn't something you can scrimp on so coupons and super sales have become my best friend.

Have I mentioned that I have turned into a sewing junkie?!! Its amazing what you can cross of your "to buy for baby list" with some fabric and and a sewing machine. So far i have made a dozen burp rags, two complete crib bedding sets including skirts, bumper pads, fitted sheets and matching blankets. I have also made several minky, and flannel receiving blankets and two patch work quilts. I think If I was ever a millionaire I would spend the majority of my wad on fabric and sewing projects. Its Dangerous!

I will post pictures of all our latest adventures and creations soon.

23 weeks Pregnant

EEK So here is one of those stories where I totally ate my words! It was only last week I was talking to mother on the phone and we were planning Christmas, Thanksgiving, holiday stuff and coming up with all these marvelous plans. Then my mother gets realistic and says "Haley is this going to be too much for you to handle?" I've already been put on bed rest once during my pregnancy so now that I am no longer on complete bed rest I have conjured up this idea that I am invincible and will be baking pies and sewing mounds of quilts all the holiday season. So I said to her "oh I'll be just fine I haven't had a single pre-term labor contraction yet!" So yesterday I woke up at 6a.m. to help Devin prepare for his border patrol interview and get ready. I am not even half way done ironing his shirt before I'm back in bed because I'm having a contraction!! BROTHER! So much for no preterm labor right??!! I sat around all day and had several more contractions (none that really hurt but a contraction is still a contraction and when your pregnant with twins you cant really just pass it off on good ole' Braxton hicks) So I call my Dr. and tell her, trying ever so hard not to make it seem like a big deal I'm having some contractions. She commanded me to check into labor and delivery regardless of how "minimal" they were. I guess with twins you really cant get off the hook. So I do and I'm their less than an hour before they send me home. They feed me the whole sch-peal if your contractions worsen or increase to about 6 times an hour come back. So now I am back on absolute bed-rest at 22 1/2 weeks and my holiday plans are out the window. A small price to pay for two babies, healthy would be good but at this point viable is much much better.

SO its only been two weeks but so much has already happened! Well for starters me and Devin celebrated our first wedding anniversary in San Diego! It was so wonderful! I must say my husband is the best travel partner ever! We always seem to be on the same page, whether it be multiple doughnut stops, ice cream, or just how much we are going to tip our waiter, going on vacation with my little husband is the best because we seem to crave the same things and have the same ideas! We really had a blast in San Diego, we went to the Zoo, Sea World, we went to movies, did a little shopping, we hung out on the beach, and we slept in and just had an awesome four days together that we will remember for ever! I really love Devin more and more every day, he isn't just my husband but my best friend and I am so glad that he is the person that I get to spend forever with!

After we returned home from our little vacation, we moved into our new apartment! Its crazy how much you appreciate the simple things of life when you have to do without them. Such as having a washer and dryer in your home, ice makers, a smoke free smelling apartment, ceiling fans. double sinks. Our last apartment was not horrible but I think everyone needs to experience going without certain luxuries just to you can truly appreciate them later. Needless to say I LOVE our new apartment, I've already hung pictures and done a little decorating and it is so wonderful to have a home with my husband!

We also had another sonogram. We still are not 100% sure if the second baby is a boy or a girl. Its not that we cant see whats going on down their its just hard to tell! like I said before the second twin is quite a bit smaller than the HUMONGOUS boy and his/her little parts are just hard to decipher, however the sonogram tech did say that at this point she would say that it is probably a girl. As much as I would LOVE to run out and buy a bazillion girl clothes and make fifty stupid headband and bows I am going to refrain because I'm still not convinced! Luckily I'll be having sonograms every two weeks so I'll hopefully get some closure with the next few sonograms.

As far as the concern for the difference in size goes this is what I was told and this is what we saw at this sonogram: Both babies are continuing to progress which is good news. The smaller baby is still quite a bit smaller but is continuing to grow. Last sonogram the deviation in size was 32% this time it was 35% so their was a slight increase in the size difference but not a huge difference so that is also good. Twin to Twin transfusion syndrome is only present in identical twins and if one is a boy and one is a girl then obviously they are not identical so that is also really good news (not making any bets on that yet though). the boy is approximately one pound and the "girl" is half a pound reasons for this could be the following: the umbilical cords connect very close together at the placenta, so its possible one is getting a little more nutrients and the other is getting a little less because they are so close in proximity, and lastly the umbilical cord of the "girl" could be attached to the outer portion of the placenta which is not "ideal" placement for the cord also causing the baby to be smaller. Overall this appointment was much more assuring that their is not some MAJOR problem and both babies are looking healthy. This also means I will continue to have sonograms every two weeks which is perfectly fine with me becasue I love to see those babies any chance I Get!

That is pretty much it for now I am getting bigger and bigger I found my first stretch mark on my thigh the other night and since I don't wear booty shorts and never intend to Its really no big deal. I am eating like a hobbit I swear these last two weeks I have been ravenously hungry and am about two pounds short of passing my husband on the scale but he's a little shrimp anyways so that not a huge accomplishment lol. Being pregnant is the coolest thing ever I can feel the babies move constantly and I am so excited to be a mother. Devin is still working like a mad man but received his appointment for his oral interview with the Border Patrol so we are still crossing our fingers and praying that works out. Until next time.

San Diego Temple


At Sea World eating the most disgusting smoothies EVER!

Me and my favorite Beluga Whale

Devin and I on our Anniversary Vacation!! YEAH MAN!

I can't believe it is already October!! this year has gone by so fast I hardly know what to do with myself! This Saturday the 9th is mine and Devin's first wedding anniversary! and to celebrate we are going to go hang out in San Diego from Sunday until Thursday. Before me and Devin were even married we both talked about how much we wanted to travel, but I never thought in a million years that on my first wedding anniversary I would be nearly 5 months pregnant! so Greece, Spain, Italy and Japan, will have to wait! I'm beginning to realize that although I would still love to travel to all those places someday, even going to phoenix is a nice getaway! SO San Diego here we come!

Update on the babies. Last Monday I had my 18 week ultrasound, the Ultimate ultra sound where we get to find out the sex of the babies! WELL the ultrasound went really well and we know with out a doubt that baby A (names are undecided so a letter is better than a number right?) is definitely a boy. and he is BIG quite a bit bigger than baby B. To give you some idea baby A is measuring in the 60th percentile, and baby B is measuring in the 20th percentile. Baby B is developed and has all ten fingers and toes, but we took several ganders and just couldn't quite decide what exactly he or she was. I would be surprised if it was a girl, but at this point it was just a little to soon to tell for baby B. I also was able to figure out why the baby I thought was on my right side never moved! because they are both on the LEFT go figure. I was kinda getting nervous and thought that maybe something was wrong. I would feel movement all day long on my left side, and little to nothing on my right, come to find out I have a nice and healthy placenta that is eating up the space on the right, and the twins are stacked like bunk beds on the left. So the ultra sound went good, they were a little concerned about the difference in size and come to find out they may in fact be identical just with two sacks and a fused placenta. I thought the whole fraternal and identical twin thing was cut and dry but apperantly there are a lot of different ways they turn out. Because of the large difference in size and the thought that the two individual placentas look fused the twins may have what is called twin to twin transfusion syndrome. This basically means that their umblillical cords are connected at the placenta and they share vital blood vessels. If this is the case one twin gives away some of its blood flow and nutrients to the other twin causing the difference in size. I have another sonogram in two weeks to measure and look at all these possibilities. At this point there is no need to worry chances are one twin is just bigger and one is smaller.

OK, its a miracle that I am posting again and in such a short time span from my last post because I really am terrible at keeping up with things in the realm of blogging, journal writing, e-mail, etc so we will see how long I stay on this good streak. Since my last post I have been completely and utterly absorbed by the book series the Hunger Games. It has taken over my life no really. I read the first book last week, then insisted my mother read it, went out of town over the weekend where she went crazy and finished the entire series in two days, and am now half way through the third and last book. I wont spoil it for any one who is currently, or plans or reading the series but its really awesome, like Twilight Harry Potter noteworthy awesome, and to be completely honest I think the author is way better than Stephanie Meyer. So not only is it a good read but an intelligent one as well. With that said if your looking for a wonderful fall read go get the first book the Hunger Games and while your at it grab the second and third book as well because they are so good your not going to want to put them down!

Besides being completely consumed by books I have had a really good week. Devin has worked a ton as usual but we got to spend a little more quality time together than normal due to some of his schedules being pushed back later than usual and I must say it was nice to kind of have my husband around more than two hours a day! If only it wasn't just a fluke! Devin has recently applied to be in the Border Patrol and we are crossing our fingers and praying our hearts out that he gets in! It would be such a relief for him to be able to work just one job instead of two! Not to mention the simple idea that Devin could quit working nights and actually sleep like a normal human being! So far he has passed the written exam with great scores, and this week he sent in a package they requested of about 40 pages of information and questions which is the second step of many to the hiring process. Now we wait for him to be contacted for an oral interview and go from there!

On a lighter note, Devin and I are really looking forward to a short but sweet getaway this weekend. Devin's very best friend from high school just returned home from a mission in New Jersey Last week. During the span of Kimball's mission his parents moved to California and since Devin NEVER asks for anything, I figured it wasn't too much to fly out to California for the weekend and catch up with Kimball, and also see his homecoming talk on Sunday. Not to mention the fact that this will probably be one of the last opportunities for Devin and I to get any sort of vacation before I am either too hugely pregnant or two tied down with baby duty!

So that's about it with our lives for now, Devin and I are so grateful for the opportunity we have to be parents and although the road isn't always easy we are doing great and I am so lucky to have a husband who is willing to literally put in 70+ hours every week go to school and provide for our family! I love him so much and could not have asked for a better husband or friend!

Well, since I've now had a blog for about six months and I have NEVER made a single post, I think it is safe to say that I stink at blogging...but hey I guess since I'm on bed rest and have nothing to do all day long I should get with the program!! Since sucking at blogging pretty much makes you a bad Mormon, and that's not what I'm going for. So for starters I'm now pregnant with twins. I am really excited to be having twins hopefully they can keep on a cooking till February. My official due date is the 27th, but we will see how that blows over. Right now I'm an official stay at home wife and am taking it easy cooking, cleaning, sewing, and just living the dream. My poor little husband works his hiney off all day and all night! In the day he works at Wells Fargo and is a Security Guard by night, while I sit at home sew, read books, eat chocolate chip cookies, pizza, and air heads all day long. This weekend I ventured out from my normal routine of sitting on my butt all day and drove to Thatcher to visit my great old roommates, Ashlee Ray and Wendy Wolslagel. So far its been a great experience and probably the last time in my life I'll get to hang out with them without two babies sucking on me. Well that's about it for now I hope you guys can all bear with me and my crazy hormonal self for the next few months. Happy Blogging!

16 Weeks and 6 days at the Gila Valley Temple in Thatcher