They're Here!! Welcome Karlee and Nicholas!

Karlee Darlene Swensen

Nicholas Mark Swensen

Already best little friends

They finally made their arrival, and not a day too soon! We made it all the way to our scheduled Cesarean the morning of January 17, 2008. Karlee came first at 8:09 A.M. and weighed in at 6 lbs. 5 oz. Nicholas came 2 minutes later at 8:11 A.M. and weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. That's a whopping 13.5 lbs. of baby!! Everything went absolutely perfectly and Lindsey was amazing. I am so proud of her. I don't think anyone was more relieved than I was when it was clear that everyone was healthy and safe. Both babies are just perfect. Lindsey is recovering well, although she is very sore today. She should be discharged either Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Karlee showed that she might be a sassy one as she was kicking and screaming her little guts out for the first hour of life, while Nicholas was just kicking back. She loves to be held and has the sweetest little spirit about her. Poor little Nicholas has had a rough first 24 hours. He came out with the cord wrapped twice around his neck and tied in a knot (Thank goodness we went Cesarean...). We couldn't see him for the better part of yesterday because his respiratory rate was too high. Because of that, they tube fed him once and reported that he was NOT happy about that. And to finish it all off, this morning he was circumcised! Talk about a rough start! I'm positive he's thinking, "What in the hell happened here? Send me back!!" (Forgive me, I couldn't resist that little swear!) He's taking it all like the little champ that he is. I am so grateful to have a little boy to throw a ball with and to have a little back up at home when it's me against all those girls!

Macy loves her baby sister and baby brother, and while it will be interesting to see what happens when the twins are home, she has done amazingly well with them. It is so cute to hear her say their names. We're working on which baby is which and we'll need to work on the correct use of the pronouns "he" and "she." In her prayers last night at bedtime, she asked a blessing on "Mommy and Babies" and right after her prayer asked if we could go see them. She is such a sweetheart and will be such a great big sister.

We are so grateful to have Lindsey's mom here for the next month or so. We are REALLY going to need the help!! You should see our house...two of everything, tons of diapers, and our sweet mini-van has three car seats in it. We are a bona fide three ring circus now...a family of five!! We are so grateful to all of our friends and family all across the country for your thoughts and prayers. We will post more pictures over the next few weeks.