You've Arrived!!!

Dear AJ & Jaydyn,

Mommy always knew she'd be writing this letter eventually, but it still seems so surreal! In my last letter I wrote you, I was in the hospital again with contractions and was in active labor! They admitted me overnight to keep an eye on both of you and myself. As the morning rolled around, they contacted our doctor, Dr. Boyd, to let him know what was going on. And it was that morning that Dr. Boyd decided you boys were ready to meet the world. The nurse came in around 7:30ish and told Mommy that the doctor had decided we would be delivering you that day. Mommy immediately woke up Daddy (who was asleep on the couch) and told him, then she called Papaw. It was a few minutes later when Dr. Boyd stopped by and told Mommy we would be heading into surgery by 12 or 12:30 that afternoon.

Mommy was very excited and very nervous. Papaw and Karen and Lindsay got there around 11:30, and Penny and Kasey arrived just a few minutes later. Mommy also let Sasha and Holly know that you would be arriving and they also came so they could meet you!

Anyways, everyone was there waiting and talking, when the nurse came in and told me a C-section scheduled before mine was running behind and we should be going in shortly. Then, at 12:45, she showed up in the doorway and got myself and Daddy and we headed off to get started.

Once I got in the operating room, they got my spinal block started so that Mommy couldn't feel anything from the top of her belly down. The medicines made Mommy pretty sick and she threw up 3 times while they were starting the surgery to get you out of Mommy's belly. Then finally, at 1:30 pm on February 8th, 2011 they delivered you Mr. Angel "AJ" Luis Garcia IV. Mommy saw them rush you out of the operating room to the next room so they could make sure you were doing okay since you and brother were both premature. Then I heard you scream, letting Mommy know you were a-okay. But more importantly it reassured Mommy that your lungs were working fine which was the big worry for everyone. Then a full minute later, at 1:31pm on February 8th, 2011 they delivered you Mr. Jaydyn Timothy Garcia. I waited for you to cry, and it seemed like forever before I heard you let out that little scream. But you finally did. Daddy rushed between you AJ and you Jaydyn to take pictures. As Mommy laid there, I remember crying. Not because I was sad, but because I had never been so happy or thankful in my life as I was to have you two safe and sound! You were finally here! As I laid there and waited to be taken to recovery so I could get my first glimpse of you, I said a little prayer. I prayed and thanked God that both of you were healthy, that we had made it through surgery, and to thank Him for answering my prayers to be a Mother. I had waited almost 5 full years to hold my baby in my arms, and finally that dream and prayer had come true only God had multiplied that desire doubly.

Here are a few pictures from the hospital and once since you both have come home!

I love you both so much! You have have taught me a love and joy that can only be experienced by becoming a Mommy. I love you both so very very very much.



(Mommy's last belly shot!)


(Mommy holding you for the very first time!)


(You're very proud Daddy showing you off)


(Our first family photo!)


(Hanging out with Mommy at just a few days old!)


Angel "AJ" Luis Garcia IV born Feb. 8th, 2011 @ 1:30pm. 5lbs 3oz 18 inches long


Jaydyn Timothy Garcia born Feb. 8th, 2011 @ 1:31pm. 5lbs 9oz 18.5 inches long

<3 Love always and forever and ever <3
Mommy xoxo

Another Hospital Stay!

Dear Miracle Babies,

Apparently, you two either REALLY like the hospital atomosphere, or you've just decided you are completely done with hanging out inside Mommy's belly! Either way, you've managed to land us right back in the hospital at 35 weeks 4 days with contractions that are about 6 minutes apart, and some dilation and thinning that Mommy won't even try to make you understand. Just know that those three things combined mean Mommy might meet you before Saturday! :)

I am excited, and looking forward to getting some answers as to what the current plan of action is :)

But just know, if you plan on coming a little early, Mommy full expects you boys to be healthy little men!

I love you so much, and I'll keep you posted about your arrival from this side of the womb!

Love always,
xoxo Mommy

8 days and counting

Dear Aj & Jaydyn,

It's official! We have a delivery day scheduled! In 8 days, on February 12th, Mommy and Daddy will officially be in the operating room waiting to hear your little cries and to see your sweet little faces! It's so very exciting and I just can't wait!

The next 8 days I'm sure will seem to drag by, but will appear to have passed so quickly once we're walking into the hospital.

The wide range of emotions I'm going through are phenomenal to say the least. I'm of course excited, because I can't wait to hold you both. I can't wait to see your faces, see who you look like. Did you get your Daddy's smile and your Mommy's eyes? How much will you weigh, how long will you be? Will you know my voice?

And of course I'm a little nervous. Since Mommy has never had any major surgeries (other than her tonsils being removed), the fact that we are having a C-Section to deliver you both (since you Aj are breech and you Jaydyn are transverse) is a little nerve racking. But of course, Mommy is more than willing to endure pain and surgery because at the end of it all, it means I will be holding two perfectly made gifts from God. You two are truly my miracle babies, my gifts from God.

We have one last final appointment before Daddy and I meet you! Our next appointment is on Tuesday, February 8th, at 9:30 am. We get to see you on the ultrasound machine for the last time before we get to see you face to face for the first time! After our ultrasound, we'll get to see our doctor, Dr. Boyd (the man that will be delivering you), for the last time before we see him Saturday morning when he delivers you both! How exciting!!!

Mommy is going to end this letter now. I love you both so very much. Please use these last 8 days to get bigger and grow stronger.

See you soon.

Love always,
Mommy xoxo

34 weeks! Woohoo!

Dear Aj & Jaydyn,

Today officially marks week number 34 that you have been hanging out in Mommy's belly! How VERY exciting! Especially since we had some issues nearly 3 weeks ago with you two trying to come a little bit too early.

We had an appointment yesterday that went ok. Mommy wasn't feeling too hot during her appointment, but we managed to make it through. The ultrasound technician didn't have much luck at all with trying to figure out your living arrangements in Mommy's belly. I am really hoping that next week's ultrasound technician will have much better luck. It makes Mommy nervous when they have trouble getting things figured out. So unfortunately, since the tech had so much trouble, they really weren't able to see or tell much. They told me that you, AJ, are weighing in around 4lbs 8ounces, and that you Jaydyn, were weighing in at 5lbs 2ounces. Mommy is hoping to get both of you right at or very close to 6lbs by the time you arrive, so it looks like I'm going to have eat more than I'm eating now.

Mommy's doctor did a check on her yesterday. He says everything looks good, and that his office will be calling me by next Tuesday to schedule your birthdays! That's right, in about 2 weeks, I will finally be holding you both and we will be celebrating your entrance into the world. Unfortunately, because of the way you are laying in my belly, Mommy will have to have a C-Section, which is when they have to cut Mommy's belly open, to get you out. To be honest, Mommy is a little nervous, but she is also so very excited. I know God will be right there with all of us in the operating room.

Anyways,that's just a quick update on our appointment yesterday. It wasn't too exciting because of all the issues we had with the ultrasound and such.

But our next appointment is on Wednesday, and we will be having another ultrasound! So Mommy is hoping things will go better. Also, your Papaw will be taking us to that appointment since they could not get us a morning appointment. Because since Daddy works during the day, we have to have to have morning appointments (because Mommy is not allowed to drive on her bed rest) in order for him to take us.

Mommy will keep you posted on how things are progressing. In the mean time, you two keep growing and putting on weight. Mommy wants you to be healthy that way we can all come home together.

I love you both so much. I'll see you sooner than we all realize.

Love always,
Mommy

32 weeks and holding!

Dear Aj & Jaydyn,

Mommy here to update you on how our appointment went today. We are 31 weeks 6 days pregnant, meaning tomorrow we will be 32 whole weeks. It was an interesting appointment.

It started off with an ultrasound, in which Mommy got to see how both of you are growing again and how things are progressing in there. AJ you're still holding firm at 4lbs 2ounces and Jaydyn your weight had gone up a bit to 4lbs 5ounces. You both looked healthy, and we even got to see some neat things this time. AJ, we got to see part of your little face and your little foot on 3d, and Jaydyn we were able to see hair on your little head. It was very exciting. The most exciting thing for Mommy however, was that we got to see you both practice your breathing. This makes Mommy very happy as it is a signal that if something happens and you do come early, chances are breathing isn't going to be as difficult for you as we previously imagined. I know it doesn't ensure you won't have any problems at all, but at least it is a good sign that you are preparing to breathe on your own once you both make your arrival here.

Then we saw the doctor, who checked Mommy's cervix. So far we're still holding at 1cm dilated and my cervix is still long, which is a good sign. But it also means Mommy has to maintain her bed rest orders. And of course, I'm still having to keep an eye on the contractions I'm having. All in all, the doctor says Mommy is pretty much a ticking time bomb! He says he would like to keep me pregnant at least until 34 weeks, which is only 2 weeks away. In a way, that seems like so far away given the bed rest orders and having to time all these contractions and things, and in another way, it seems close. Almost closer than Mommy can believe.

It's hard to believe that in 2 weeks (or less, or more, depending on God's will for us), the hopes and dreams I've had since 2006, the prayers I've prayed since getting saved in 2008, could/will be a reality. It's hard to believe (in a way) for Mommy that after struggling for nearly 4 years with infertility issues, the big day is so close. God has been so good to me, and the double blessing that He has given me (and your Daddy) in you is a very real testimony to that.

I want to be the best Mommy I can be to both of you. Daddy and I want nothing more than to raise you in the way that the Lord would have us to, so that we can show you that your very existence is a testimony to God's love for you, and God's love for us. So that you two can grow up to be strong, stable, courageous men of God, serving Him in love with all of your heart, mind, body, and soul. Nothing is more important to myself or your Daddy. Nothing. You could grow up to become firefighters, or police officers, or doctors even, and although we would be proud of you...Nothing would ever make us more proud of you than to know you both are saved born again Christians who love the Lord and Jesus Christ with all your hearts.

So I guess what Mommy is trying to say is she's a little nervous. Not because I'm afraid of not being able to take care of you, but because Daddy and I know God has trusted us with two precious little lives, two precious little souls, and He expects us to teach you all about Him. That's a bigger responsibility than most people realize. Which is why Mommy has already started praying for your salvation.

Anyways, that's it for today's letter. Mommy will write if anything happens between now and next week's appointment. But in the meantime, Mommy would like it if you two would just stay put and continue to develop into strong, healthy little men so that if it would be God's will, we can avoid a NICU stay.

I love you both so very very much! More than you can even comprehend. I'll be holding you both so very soon.

Love Always,
Mommy

Not yet!

Dear Aj& Jaydyn,

Mommy here, writing you from the Labor and Delivery here at Dupont Hospital. Mommy is 31 weeks 3 days pregnant today, and last night you two decided you wanted to be stinkers and cause a few issues. Because apparently, last night you two thought you were ready to meet the world.

Mommy had some terrible pains last night that landed her a trip to the ER in Kendallville. The minute Mommy & Daddy walked in, they called L&D there and sent me up there. They put Mommy on a monitor, and gave each of you your own heart monitors, and then checked Mommy. My cervix were dilated to 2cm. Then came the bigger surprise to Mommy from her monitor, I was having contractions every 2 minutes. The nurses called the doctor who immediately ordered a magnesium IV drip, and shot of steroids to help mature your lungs to help you breath should you end up coming into the world earlier than they expect. It was then he decided that all of us were going to have to take an ambulance ride to the hospital where Mommy would be delivering you (here at Dupont) just in case you two decided to make your entrance...that way you would have access to a NICU.

So after our ambulance ride (which I'm sure will cost someone somewhere a pretty penny), we got here and continued our mag drip... Daddy ran home to get Mommy a bag packed, and to let our puppy dogs go potty. The he came straight back to the hospital to be with us. He's such a good Daddy. :)

Anyways, once we got here and got settled in, Mommy found out she was definitely experience pre-term labor, not to mention she somehow got a UTI. So they began to treat Mommy for that.

Now, at 4:18pm, the contractions are now something I can identify, but are very few and far between now. It looks like Mommy and Daddy will be staying here another night according to the doctor who saw us, just to make sure things go well.
They did an ultrasound at 2:00 today which revealed that both of you are doing great despite the complications.AJ you weigh 4lbs 2oz and Jaydyn, you weigh 4lbs 1oz. This makes Mommy very very happy.

Daddy and I are so very blessed. Although we know it's still a bit too early for you two to say hello to the world, we know that God's way is better than ours, His timing is perfect while ours is not, and that no matter the time that you two will come the exact way and time that God wants you to. We have a wonderful peace about everything, and we know that peace only comes from Him. The same God that gives us all we have, and the same God that gave us you two!

By the way, I also have to admit the upside to being hooked up to so many monitors here, is getting to hear every move that you two make and listen to every little beat of your perfect little hearts. Although you two are giving the poor nurses here a run around. If Mommy isn't unhooking from the monitor to pee every 5 minutes, one or both of you are letting them find your heart rates with your monitors only to move away when she walks out of the room again. You two should really play nice lol!

I love you more than you know. Grow babies grow.

Love always,
Mommy

p.s. Just so you know, Mommy and Daddy run late fr everything. So we're still trying to figure out where you two got your insatiable urge to be early. :)

Just wanted to say...

Dear AJ & Jaydyn,

In 65 days or less, I will be holding you in my arms and I can not wait to meet you. But the purpose of Mommy's letter to you tonight is very important but very short.

I just wanted to say: I love you. I've loved you before you were conceived. Before you were even an itty bitty baby in my belly, I loved you. And now that God has given me my miracle babies, I just want you to know, that I will always love you both. Mommy and Daddy have wanted you and loved you for a very long time! And although I'll miss having you in my belly, I can't wait to have you in my arms.

I love you baby boys, always and forever.

Mommy