Happy Birthday Babies!

At the last doctor's appointment I had, Dr. Kanios threw me for a huge surprise. After receiving the measurements and development of the babies from MFM and talking to the specialist, Dr. Hnat, they decided to move the scheduled C-section up from June 29 to June 23. I was very excited about this, but because it was not scheduled to happen until 3 in the afternoon, we decided not to tell everyone since we did not want visitors other than our parents there that first night since I knew it would be an exhausting day for our new family. Here's a picture of me leaving for the hospital, not knowing when or how many of us would be coming home: We got to the hospital and got checked in, surprisingly both of us pretty calm. They had to due quite a lot of prep stuff, give me two IV fluid bags, some blood work, and more questions/paperwork. We did find out that we were very fortunate that I delivered Wed. because my platelet level was 103,000. Apparently, if it is below 100,000, they would have to have me under a general anesthetic for the surgery, which it probably would have been that low had we waited until Friday.

Once the surgery was started, it went VERY quickly. I was most nervous about getting the spinal for some reason, but it was really nothing at all. By the time I got done saying two Hail Marys, my body was already starting to tickle. Not being able to move your body is such a scary feeling, but I was quickly distracted by all of the people in the delivery room. Al made the comment that the delivery room was kind of like "Scrubs." There were a lot of people, but everyone was very nice and joking around with our sarcastic humor, although Dr. Kanios did refuse to remove a couple extra inches of skin from my tummy, per my request :( In the delivery room, I believe there was a team of three people for each baby, two doctors for me, two anethesiologist for me (I think one was a resident), at least two nurses for me, a neonatalogist, some other residents, and I'm sure I missed some others. We had quite the crew! There was a sheet up so Al and I could not see exactly what they were doing, but we were asked if we wanted to see the babies born with a mirror. I wasn't sure about this, but after talking with the doctors, thought it would be amazing to see. When the babies were ready to be pulled out, they positioned a mirror that Al and I could look into and watch the babies actually be born. It was such an overwhelming and emotional experience! I am so glad we decided to watch...it was priceless! In multiple births, the doctors try to pull the babies out in order, baby A, B, then C; however, Dr. Kanios made the comment that she thought pulled out the wrong bottom, and sure enough, they were born A, C, then B (order then being Lillian, Addison, then Griffin). The babies were then quickly rushed by their teams and all we heard in the delivery room was the LOUD cries of three beautiful babies. Such a beautiful sound that we had been waiting for for many months.

Lillian Jean - Devired from the flower, Lily. Symbol of innocence, purity and beauty. Her middle name is my mother's middle name. 5 lbs. 12 oz. - 19 inches longAddison Marie - Meaning, son of Adam. We really liked this name and I think from the show,
"Private Practice," always reminds me of an independent, brilliant, almost defiant woman. From inside the womb, to outside, Addy has lived up to her name perfectly! 4 lbs. 13 oz. - 18 in. long

Griffin Michael -Derived from "Griffith," meaning prince. This has definitely fit him as he is as handsome as a prince and seems so mature and alert already. 4 lbs. 14 oz. - 18 inches long. This picture is of him in the NICU, where he spent 2 days, because he had a little fluid in his lungs and he was spitting up his food.

The VERY proud dad and new family:

I don't think there is anything comparable to the overwhelming experience of the miracle of life. The birth of our babies was a day Al and I will never forget.