The girls are doing so amazingly well that I almost can't believe it. This time two weeks ago I was being wheeled into recovery and Mike was with the girls, head spinning, trying to make as many mental notes as possible to bring me back a full report. A 2lb Maddie was on a ventilator and a 2 lb 12 oz Lia was on CPAP. Both trying to make sense of the world that they'd just entered so unexpectedly. Both trying to breathe. Both trying (successfully) to be strong and fight their way through. We've had two weeks of ups and downs - gratefully, mostly ups! Now, two full weeks later, as they're exactly 14 days and 1 hour old as I type this entry, they have each gained over 4oz with Miss Madison now tipping the scales at 2lbs 5oz and Miss Melia weighing in at a whopping 3lbs .6oz, they're both breathing with only the assistance of nasal cannulas on no more than 25% oxygen and only 3 liters of air pressure flowing through. We've held them, we've changed dirty (and super dirty) diapers, we've taken their temperatures and each day we're engaging with them and being allowed to partake in their care more and more each day. The smallest everyday things are milestones for us and we live for the moments that we get to do these things. It's nothing short of amazing! It's put a lot of things in perspective for me - as a mother (wow, still getting used to that!), as a wife, as a friend, as a daughter, as a human being really. Creating a new life is a miracle. Watching new life is a phenomenal experience and there is truly nothing like it. 
Not that I ever thought that they wouldn't be, but everyday I realize more and more that my little girls were worth the severely swollen ankles that I still have today and the scar that I'll have on my bikini line forever...they're worth every day of morning (and evening) sickness, every migraine headache, every terrible bit of heartburn that came after every single meal, every day of bloody mouth teeth brushing gingivitis, every pimple I got on my face, every stretch mark I have, every pound I gained, every night of pure exhaustion putting me to bed by 7pm in my first trimester, every single day of incapacitation on bedrest at home and at the hospital - and the pelvic pain in the last 2 weeks before they arrived that had me unable to walk, every tear that I've shed, every minute of missed sleep, every ounce of pain that I endured before, during and after they were delivered, every turkey or tuna sandwich and dirty water hot dog that I craved and couldn't have...I could go on and on, but some of my side effects are things that no one would ever want to discuss, so I'll stop. :-) But, you get the picture. Getting pregnant was not easy, being pregnant proved more difficult than I ever anticipated and staying pregnant was the most challenging thing I've ever had to do (with being completely stripped of my independence for months coming in at a not too distant second). But they are worth it all. My life has been made complete because of them. Mike and I have started our family and it's brought us so amazingly close that I can't even put it into words. And to think, all this perspective and it's only been two weeks.**the top picture is Madison wearing her fancy new hat and the bottom picture is Melia during bathtime when she had a quick minute without her nasal cannula in her nose**
