B & C: Birth Story

Slideshow: Breeland & Camille Birth - Slideshow

September 4th was my 38 week mark and the day I was being induced!  After being on bed rest for 5 weeks prior due to pre-term labor and pre-eclamsia, I was more than ready.

The girls had different plans though and decided that we would get things started on the 3rd, right before we were to go and have a Sushi date for my "last meal."

My in-laws had just come into town and we were about to leave to go pick up Jamison when my water broke.  It was one of those moments where you just weren't sure if you were peeing your pants or something else.  Not going to lie, I had peed my pants plenty of times during this pregnancy and after it happening two more times after, I knew it was my water.

Off to the hospital we went.  I was pretty bummed about not getting my sushi but was really excited to be meeting our girls sooner than we thought.  J was beyond pumped.  He immediately got his Go Pro out and was filming us as I was getting last minute things together and we were walking out of the door.  Like a kid in a candy store that guy!

We get to the hospital and they get us in pretty quickly.  They immediately tested me to make sure that I was in fact leaking amniotic fluid.  Seeing as I was 38 weeks and being induced the next day they weren't going to be turning us away this time.  During this time, they checked my dilation and started monitoring the babies and my contractions.  I wasn't feeling any at this point but looking at the machine, I was definitely having them. 

I'm a little fuzzy at exact times but I think around 9ish is when they started the pitocin and gave me the epidural  At this point, I was a 4cm dilated.  With Jamison, I was really feeling the contractions before the epidural and I ended up puking before they even put it in.  This time around, I just bawled my eyes out.  I didn't remember the insertion being so painful.  Thankfully J was right there in front of me, holding my hand and reassuring me that everything would be okay.


Around 11pm I was at an 8.5.  This is about the time too that I started to really feel the contractions.  I don't know why but they did not fix my epidural even though I was feeling everything.  I vaguely remember the nurse telling me that they wanted me to feel something so that I would be able to tell them if I felt any pressure.  Which actually came in handy a few hours later.  I cried a lot during this time.  I've never felt pain like that and it was intense.  It took all I could to focus on breathing and just get through the 30+ seconds of agonizing pain I felt every 1-2 minutes.


Once I finally reached 10cm, I was 100% effaced and at a 0 station.  The "station" refers to where the baby is positioned.  The goal was to have Baby A (Breeland) at a +2 station for me to begin pushing.  The nurse had me lay on my right side with my left leg in a stir-up for 30 minutes.  This apparently was going to help her move into position.  I then switched to my left side, right leg in the stir-up.  After only 10 minutes of this I started to feel a lot of pressure.  We called the nurse in, she checked me and immediately told me "Do not push."  What the what!??!!  Apparently we were now in position and Breeland was crowning.  They got me ready to be pushed to the OR while J stayed back to get his scrubs on.  This literally felt like hours.  Hours and hours and hours of pain, feeling her head and scared shitless that I would accidentally sneeze or cough and that would cause a push which would then cause Breeland to come flying out!  Of course in all reality, it was only about 10 minutes from the time they wheeled me to the OR to when it was go time.  And thankfully during that time, my epidural was fixed and I was pain free at last.


Our little ladies were born, 7 minutes apart and with only one push each.  By far, way easier than my delivery with Jamison.  They were the most beautiful little girls and so alert right when they came out!  J was of course in love the second he saw them both and I was as well.  I got to hold them both, one at a time and then together.  I was shaking so bad though from the Pitocin and epidural that I couldn't hold them for very long while I was still in the OR.  By the time we got back to recovery though, it was starting to settle a bit.


Our hospital stay was great.  The nurses were all fantastic and I actually knew one of the nurses that was taking care of the girls that evening.  That was really nice to see a familiar face. 


We are so lucky to have had one of our best friends, the kids Godmother, Brittany to be there with us and take pictures (she did the slideshow).  She did the same with Jamison's labor and delivery and those are memories that I can watch forever.  We had known throughout most of my pregnancy that I was going to have to deliver in the OR and that Brittany would not be able to be in there.  I understood, but it made me incredibly sad to know that we possibly wouldn't have those first moment pictures of the girls.  While in labor, I was talking to the anesthesiologist about it and she told me that if I had the girls before 7am (when her shift ended) that she would allow Brittany to be in the OR with us.  Because we should be able to have those photos and those memories.  Happy Happy Happy!!!  So, thank you Brittany!  You again, have captured one of the most important moments in our lives and I honestly can't even express to you how much that means to us!


Breeland Marie Mahaffey
September 4, 2015
1:16am
5lbs, 1oz
18" long


Camille Ryan Mahaffey
September 4, 2015
1:23am
5lbs, 9oz
18" long

B & C: Two Month Update

Two months (and 3 days) ago we welcomed our little sweeties into the world. We knew that our lives would change drastically with adding two more and that we were venturing into the intriguing world of multiples.  

There's a certain stigma that people have when it comes to parents of multiples. They think you're so busy you can't even see straight. That they both cry all day and of course at the same time.  And my personal favorite: "Oh my goodness, you have a toddler too - you must be staying at home to take care of all three!"  

Yes, we're busy. But it's structured. Schedule is key in our household. We know what to expect and so do the babes. I couldn't and wouldn't have it any other way. 

They do cry!  But not all day and night and it's definitely not always at the same time. In fact, if they do wake up in the middle of the night or during a nap, they very rarely will wake up the other.  

Staying at home. No, I work. Sometimes from home and sometimes in an office. Either way, I am not cut out for staying at home. I love my kids - so so much, but I have to have something outside of my family. It's in my nature.  I have so much respect for Moms who do stay home with their kids. That's a full-time job and then some.  

It's been a fun ride though so far. That first month I felt like we were just surviving the day to day. But now, we've gotten our routine down and life has gotten just a little bit easier. Nights are more cherished and I'm loving the memories we're creating as a family of five. 

Update time!

Eat: The girls are both taking 5oz bottles of formula, 5 times a day. They eat at 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm and 10pm. It takes them about 15-20 minutes to finish their bottles and Bree is normally the first one done. They dribble like crazy so we always have to make sure we have a bib or a burp cloth around their necks.  They will typically suck every bottle down so I'm sure we'll be moving them up to 6oz here in a few weeks. 

Sleep: My first week back at work they slept through the night two nights in a row!  It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. The nights following though, at least one of them would wake up at 4:30am and the other would go until 6am.  They're never consistent - it's typically one that will wake up one night and the other one the next.  I'd put a pacifier in their mouths though and they'd go right back to sleep.  But now - last night was night FIVE that they slept all the way until 6am. Yay!!!  Let's hope this continues.  They are both still in their rock n plays too, swaddled, every night. 

Bree: I thought Cami was going to be my little diva drama queen but Miss Bree is starting to be just that. In a sweet way though. She lets you know when she's not content, wants to be held, doesn't want to look at you (she will turn her head so much sometimes to avoid you, it's actually pretty funny).  She's still the smallest of the two weighing in at 9lbs, .5oz and she's 20.7" long.  A few things she can do this month: make eye contact and lock eyes with us, grabbing for toys on her playmat, sticking tongue out and mimicking us.  She is sitting up so well in her bumbo too. I'm amazed at the head control of both of them and just how strong they are.  And my favorite - smiling!  They both seemed to smile at everyone but me, but finally this week it was my turn.  This little lady is so sweet and she still has the best hair.  Her nickname now is Bree Bree and she hears that a lot when she's fussing for something!

Cami: Our little Cami Girl. She already has a calmer disposition then Bree. Which is crazy because in my belly, Cami was always the super active one.  She is now 9lbs, 12.5oz and 21" long. She is almost fully out of newborn clothes but of course since I color coordinate/match them, I still squeeze her into some of the cuter newborn outfits :) She is on track exactly with her sister on things she can do this month. It makes me wonder so much if they are in fact identical??  She loves to sit facing out on your lap so she can see everything and she will happily do that for quite awhile. 

Jamison: He still loves them!  We've had our challenges with him (see last post), but all in all, he's done very well.  His favorite thing to do is to sing to them. He also will just lay with them, hug them all the time and of course gives lots and lots of slobbery kisses.  

Momma & Daddy: We're doing really good. Like I said, were getting into the groove of things and it has truly made our day to day life easier. We've also been allowed to take time for ourselves too. That's so important when you have kids and it's something that we both don't want to lose. The girls absolutely adore J, just like Jamison did (and still does).  He gets the best smiles from them and the way he is with them just melts my heart. 

Two moths down and a lifetime to go!

It's Only Just Begun

I've heard this phrase over the last few days when it comes to Jamison and I fear it's true. What I thought we would deal with at three, we're entering at two and a half. How did I ever think we could escape the terrible two's??

Let's be honest, kids are not perfect.  They don't clean up all their toys without being told multiple times. They don't always say please and thank you without being prompted. They don't listen the first time and they definitely don't like time-out. Are our expectations too high for this sweet little man of ours?  Are we overestimating what he can actually understand?

We've always tried to teach Jamison manners, to be kind to his friends, and to just be a good boy. And he is. Most of the time. 

We are consistent. If he gets in trouble for throwing a toy one day, he's going to get in trouble for doing it the next.  Everytime he says "yes" or "yeah" we immediately say "yes ma'am or sir" depending on who he's talking too. Saying "please" might get him what he wants, but demanding it never will. And whining - well that will most definitely get him nowhere. 

Don't get me wrong, God blessed us with a very sweet, kind and caring boy who wants nothing more but to please the people around him. I'm proud of him. We can take him places and he doesn't run around like an escaped prisoner.  He can handle walking beside us and holding our hands as we cross the street.  He will ask if you're okay if you sneeze or cough and come over to cuddle with you at just the right moments.  He has and will always have my heart. He made me a Momma and I couldn't be more blessed to have him as my son.

Parenting is a tough job though. Trying to instill all of this in a two year olds brain is exhausting, but you keep fighting through because one day he'll actually get it.  And when that day comes, he'll thank us for it.  

I know it's only just begun.  We're only in the toddler years and still have two more to get to this stage as well.  These last few weeks with him have been challenging. I know it's the changes happening around him. He's not getting our full attention 24/7 anymore.  But that's his and our reality and we have to make the most of it.

Pray, pray, and pray some more is all we can really do!