The Chittum Factory

Rained-Out

2009-10-31T21:19:00.006-04:00

It's a good thing that we dressed up the kids after their nap and headed outside for some pics. Tonight we were rained out! Luckily the Phillies had a rain delay as well. With a game start after 9pm we were able to get the munchkins in bed and watch the game. Here are the pictures as promised.

Pumpkin Time 2009

2009-10-26T22:53:00.005-04:00

I know i am terrible at updating this but here are some recent pics of the kiddos.
costume pics coming soon....

Updated Pictures

2009-03-08T21:45:00.006-04:00

I know, I know... I have been terrible about updating this blog. I will do my best to at least post pictures now and then. These are from this past weekend when Grandma came to visit!

Missy is slacking...so I got this one

2009-01-17T22:30:00.003-05:00

The Holiday season has come and gone...and we survived this one. But I think we are in for a rude awakening down the road.
The twins are 9 months old, Jeremy is nearly 2, and Brianna is now 12 going on 21. It is really cool to watch them all play together. Each one is always curious as to what the other is doing. Seems like Moxley has now become best friends with twins as they drop double the amount of food on the floor compared to Jeremy. (I am really updating this for you AMY DESHESKY and Aunt Carolyn and Rebecca). Don't bust our chops next time we see you.)
We can tell that all the kids love music... whenever we play it they all dance and clap. Jeremy has become the comedian of the house and Samantha says 1000 words with her "looks". Lilly is still laid back but sensitive too. Bri continues to grow vertically while Missy and I are attempting to halt our horizontal growth. We are hoping to become "Big Losers".
Be careful everyone... I have put the hex on Corey and Khrissy who are now expecting twins (our flower girl's parents). Stay tuned to see who it happens to next.

Amy Deshesky

2008-10-24T09:08:00.009-04:00

This blog is dedicated to my sister in law amy deshesky who has been forced to follow the jones' blog instead of ours since I have not updated it since July. With that said, I returned to work full time in August and just located the camera. So here are some pictures of whats been going on.

Bri went to the PA Rennisance Fair with her school

Jeremy recieved a full authentic cowboy outfit from Ganpananas

The girls are now eating baby food!

No new news

2008-07-27T21:22:00.005-04:00

Not much going on around here so here are some pictures.

In the jungle the mighty jungle the lion cubs slept last night...

2008-07-06T20:56:00.014-04:00

Wooooooooooohoooooooo! After a long and fun-filled day at Uncle Rick and Aunt Alice's house in NJ, the girls slept through the night! Lets hope and pray they do the same tonight!
Yesterday we all spent the day at a Krauss family 5th of July picnic (honoring the 4th of July of course). The day was packed with 3 very competitve rounds of water volleyball follwed by yummy food and scattered inbetween were some fun games that Aunt Judy and Uncle Ron had brought. Brian and I enjoyed not having to eat in shifts because our wonderful counsins, aunts, and uncles helped us all day. It was a very fun day but we were very exhausted when we arrived home. Thankfully the girls had slept through the night, YEAH! Here are some pictures from our fun-filled day at the Krauss House in NJ.

Some recent pics

2008-07-04T14:44:00.003-04:00

Is that Chuck Liddell?

2008-06-24T20:33:00.004-04:00

At first glace you may think this handsome hunk is MMA fighter Chuck Liddell, but at second glace you can clearly see this is Jeremy (who is much more handsome). Yes this is Jeremys new 'do' and no it wont stay this way forever. Just having a little fun before the total summer buzz. And don't worry Aunt Nicole, your little nephew will have long hair over the winter, but for now the buzz and hawk rule for the summer heat(and because I think it's cute).
As a side note: Jeremy now points to his nose... well we are working on it (see last picture)

Zoo-ba-lee-zoo

2008-06-21T14:39:00.009-04:00

Hi this is Brianna and I want to tell you about what I did this weekend. My neighbors Jerry and Rebecca asked if I could come out and play. So we decided to play with chalk. Then out of the blue we decided to make a zoo-amusement park with little plastic animals and some Barbie things. We created a wildlife center, bones (for extinct animals), sea world, danger seas, bug life, reptiles and a speed world and a little park. Here are some pictures of me and my zoo keepers as well as pictures of the things we created.

First Date

2008-06-12T15:35:00.004-04:00

On our way back from our daily stroll through the neighborhood, a little girl named Katelyn asked if Jeremy could come over and play in the water park that her mom had set up out front. Jeremy was nervous but excited too. It turned out to be a wonderful afternoon. Here are some pictures (of course mom went on the date with him, duh!)

Let the sun shine in!

2008-06-05T16:15:00.009-04:00

Today the girls enjoyed some sunbathing outside while Jeremy played with his new pool and sandbox. (don't worry grandparents... jeremy had sunblock on and the girls were under an umbrella)Enjoy the pictures!

Since all you really want to see is pictures anyway...

2008-05-23T22:07:00.005-04:00

The younger half of the chittum factory have recently had their pictures taken. Follow these links to see them. Enjoy!
JEREMY
SAMANTHA and LILLY

the latest pics

2008-05-08T20:47:00.010-04:00

matchy-matchy

2008-05-04T13:51:00.003-04:00

On a serious time crunch, but here are some pictures...

Two of a Kind

2008-04-26T23:41:00.001-04:00

The rest of the she-bang...

2008-04-26T23:22:00.002-04:00

So when I last blogged I wrote about our trip to the OR (read previous blog to catch up). So now we are in the room with 18 other people (20 including the 2 of us). The crowd included 2 NICU teams, an anesthesiologist and his resident, my doctor and his resident, the house OBGYN, 2 nursing students and their instructors, and a handful of nurses. Brian and I were quite overwhelmed but knew we had a job to do. And so began the pushing. Not too many contractions had passed before Samantha made her debut and she was quite an easy delivery. Her weight had been called out from across the room, 6lbs 14oz. Oh boy, i thought. If Samantha is 6,14 and Lilly had been tracking a few ounces more, how big would Lilly really be? I sent Brian through the maze of people to be by Samantha's side while we began our long wait for Lilly to "come down the hatch". At this point there was a lot of room in my stomach for Lilly to move around and she had already been head down prior to Samantha's delivery. With that said, I had four hands pressing on my stomach and holding Lilly in place. Despite the commotion in the room, I tried my best to focus on the instructions my doctor had been giving me. As you can see from the times the girls were born, Lilly arrived 1 hour after Samantha. I can remember that it had taken her awhile to get into position and then came the pressure. Her head was lodged into my pelvis and did not want to move. Dr. Paws actually had to reach in and pull my pelvic bones apart to create just enough millimeters on each side for Lilly to come out. I remember having the strong urge to stand up, thinking she would just fall out (yea right). After lots of pushing and extreme pressure, Lilly finally made her debut and joined her sister in their first crys. Everyone healthy and happy! Thanks to everyone who prayed for a safe and healthy delivery. Our prayers were answered and we are certainly DOUBLY BLESSED. Stay tuned as we update with pictures as the girls grow.

The Whole She-bang!

2008-04-22T09:37:00.002-04:00

The wait is finally over! After an appointment on the 15th and a belly measurement of 51 weeks, my doctor decided the 17th would be the day to induce. We arrived at the hospital at 6am (6:15am Chittum time), checked in and waited a few minutes in before we were called back for a final weight and vital check. We were then led down to the Labor and delivery unit to settle in for the day. While the induction began at 7am or so, I had a feeling the girls would arrive by 1pm. Apparently I was the only one that felt that way. Brian, the nurses, and my doctor all felt we may be there all day. Since Franklin Square is a teaching hospital, we were approached by the nursing instructor who asked permission if some of her students could follow our delivery that day. We agreed. My L & D nurse, Aimee, was amazing. She was very good and was completely on top of thing despite the fact that she had a 4 month old at home (i wouldn't be able to put two words together if I was her). After about a half hour of waiting after the induction began, my doctor came into the room to break Samantha's water and check my dilation. (Side note: we call my doctor DR. PAWS because he may quite possibly have the largest hands of any OBGYN on the planet, ouch). After shouting some explicits, i had dilated to 3cms and one of my waters had been broken. A few more hours we sat and waited for more dilation to occur. While the contractions I was having were completely manageable, we called for the anesthesiologist to start the epidural (9am). Brian, still convinced we would not meet our little ones until later that night, made a couple phone calls to wrap things up at work. Now about 12pm DR.PAWS came in to check dilation before beginning another surgery he had scheduled for the day. He said "you're ready". My response
"8cms?, 9cms?"... "No, 10cms, lets get you ready to head out to the OR". About 10 minutes later I felt intense pressure and explained to my nurse that I believe we may deliver a baby right here, right now. She checked me and suddenly the rush began. Phone calls all ending in STAT, and a rush of numerous docs, nurses, and hospital personnel all appeared in the room and quickly (literally they were running) got me to the OR. I had warned that if we had hit a bump, Samantha may deliver in the hallway. The attending OB was by the bed the whole way from our induction room to the ER. We made it! And just in the nic of time! Wheeling into the OR, there were about 5 people waiting for our arrival. Little did I know that there were 13 more behind my bed waiting to push their way into the room and take their position. 1 person missing... where is DR.PAWS? Just as quickly as the thought popped into my head, there he was. OK we were ready to have some babies. MOTHERLY DUTIES CALL, I WILL FINISH WHEN I HAVE A CHANCE...

Jeremy at the playground

2008-04-12T17:13:00.007-04:00

In an attempt to try and forget I am pregnant (yea right) we took Jeremy to the playground today to see some new sights. This may have been more fun for me seeing as these sights were much more interesting than the four walls of our bedroom. Clearly Jeremy had a great time and he really loved the monkey bars and swings. We wrapped up the afternoon outing with Rita's Water Ice and now a nap. Enjoy the pictures!

2 at 2 after 2

2008-04-10T21:32:00.004-04:00

If you were hoping to see pictures of the newly hatched twins... sorry to disappoint you. After 2 appointments this week, no new news (the theme of the last few blogs). The 2 girls are hanging tight. And I am still only 2 cm. Other than the feeling that my pelvis is constantly dislocating, I am doing OK. Doctor says we can negotiate a day to evict the girls next week.
On another note, what a bold move on American Idol this week. The contestants sang "Shout to Lord". How awesome is that! While David Cook and Brooke White are still our favorites, David Archuleta is very talented and we enjoy listening/watching him as well. Posted at the bottom of this page are the performances referenced above.
We'll post more news when we have some...

Not much of an update... Playing the waiting game

2008-04-02T09:23:00.004-04:00

Now measuring 47 1/2 weeks. Baby A is vertex and Baby B is breech. Staion -1. Still 2cms (was 2cms with Jeremy for 3 weeks). Other than that we are just waiting for the twins to make their debut. Another stress test and OBGYN apt are on the books for next week. With both girls well into the 5lb range, here is an updated picture of what I look like now.

Too uncomfortable to be creative

2008-03-28T14:34:00.003-04:00

Here's the latest facts:

2cm dilated

Station -2

Blood pressure is up but still within normal range

Doc is pretty confident that the twins will arrive within the next week and a half

Bri is competing in her last competition for extended season this weekend

Jeremy has added a handful of words to his vocabulary

Brian has nearly completed "Project Chittum"

We have a stress test at the hospital on Monday and our next OBGYN apt on Tuesday

Stay tuned for updates next week!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T11:53:00.008-04:00

"Cervix of steel"... Are you serious?

2008-03-20T16:05:00.009-04:00

Yes this is the comment my doctor made today at our appointment. Apparently these girls aren't going anywhere soon. While they are both head down (with baby A wedged in place), both seem perfectly comfortable for the time being. Myself on the other hand, ugh! You can imagine. Here are the latest facts.
1. Measurement: 44 weeks
2. Actual week: 33 1/2
3. Baby A (Samantha) is tracking at 4lbs 11oz
4. Baby B (Lilly) is tracking at 5lbs 3oz
That is nearly 10lbs of baby. Holy Hanna!
While I was pretty frustrated today that we probably wont be meeting the little ones for awhile and I would have to tough out the sleeping and breathing problems- I realized that not everyone is as fortunate as we are to have these little blessings. God must have chosen me to have these little ones because he believes I can survive the pregnancy. So with that said- I will continue to wait this out until the girls are good and ready to make their debut (as if I had a choice).
We have another appointment next week where I will be fitted with multiple monitors to track the babies heartbeats and my contractions. At this point its not easy to tell if I am having contractions because I feel constant pressure and tightness across my belly. These monitors will allow me to sit back (as if I haven't done enough of that lately) while my doctor can regularly check the data that is transmitted daily. We were able to get 3-D pictures of both girls today so here they are... and yes they are pretty squished in there.

Snoog-ling

2008-03-05T12:12:00.005-05:00

Today was... interesting. We saw our OBGYN who informed us that both girls were still head down. That's a really good thing! Not so good thing... I am now measuring 41 weeks! Good golly. Feeling okay today but having trouble sleeping, naturally. Thankfully my mother invested in a Snoogle. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it is a pillow about 4 feet long and hooks around on either end. I have been using that for the last week and even though I can't get any sleep, at least I am more comfortable.
Not too much going on around the house. Last night Jeremy discovered the sounds he can make with a wooden spoon and some pots and pans. Other than that, just waiting... counting down the days. Looking forward to my last outing before the twins debut as I visit Jen, Rob, and new baby Aiden this weekend. Stay tuned for an update on the 20th of the month (our next sono and OBGYN apt).

Two in One

2008-02-27T21:52:00.003-05:00

Ok, it's offical... I am finally in shock. TWINS?! With 5 1/2 weeks to go I guess the fact that this is just now hitting me is better than panicking when I am actually in labor. So- remember last week when I hinted at my shape as big as a ship? Well, maternity clothes are no longer an option. I now shop in the plus size department. Which I must say has quite the selection of hip clothes at great prices. Whats going on in the rest of the house? Brian continues to be very busy at work (which is a good thing), Moxley finally got a bath, Bri has just completed her science fair project and Jeremy has a total conniption when bath time ends. If I let him play any longer I think his fingers and toes would permantly look like rasins. Thats all for now... I am looking forward to writting about my "back to a size 6 body"... sometime... later... if ever... good heavens

Ship-Shape

2008-02-20T21:31:00.010-05:00

Today we attended our monthly appointment at the perinatologist. Everything looks ship-shape for now. Or is that - my shape is as big as a ship? Probably both. The girls continue to rank above the 50% for weight and are tracking at 2lbs 15oz (baby A) and 3lbs 11oz (baby B). With 8 more weeks to go, these girls are going to be huge. My OBGYN said last week that I was measuring at 37 weeks (basically a full term pregnancy for one). He believes I will make it to about a 50 week measurement. Now for those of you who have had the joy of experiencing pregnancy... can you imagine continuing on 10 weeks past your due date? yeah.. yikes! Thank goodness one-piece bathing suits are back in style, aren't they? (new strech marks are apearring weekly). The picture here is a 3D shot of Baby B's face. If baby A hadn't been camera shy we could have gotten a shot of her as well. Enough about me- here's what's going on with the rest of the household... Brian is still on a euphoric high from the NY superbowl win. Last week a Shockey jersey arrived, sent by the coach of course, to Jeremy. This is going to be difficult- having to explain to Jeremy that he is truely an Eagles fan will not be easy. Brianna brought home a B on her English test (a class she had been struggling in) and Jeremy will eat anything your put in front of him- edible or not. The little monster ate hot dog, green beans, cheese, and stawberries for dinner last night. What a combination that was. I volunteered Brian to change his next diaper. Well- thanks for checking in. Check back next week for more updates.

2007...

2008-02-16T22:03:00.003-05:00

Well 2007 was quite a year. Not only was Jeremy born but we married and became pregnant with twin girls! What did you accomplish last year? So far 2008 has begun by celebrating Jeremy's first birthday and a superbowl win for the NY Giants. You can imagine Brian's enthusiastic satisfaction. Currently I am confined to bed rest until the girls are born in April. Hence, I have time to write. Brianna is more than half way through extended cheer season and is a flyer on her squad. Next week we will be traveling to OC Maryland for the Reach the Beach Competition. Unfortunately that will be the last one I can attend this year :( Moxley,our dog, continues to amuse Jeremy on a daily basis. Everytime he walks in the room Jeremy giggles with a deep belly laugh. Well, thats all for now and congrats Rob and Jen! Aiden is so precious.