I called our dr. and specifically asked for Diflucan. Gave them each their first dose last night and last night's sleep was much better. Madelyn actually had a 6 hour stretch! Macey didn't do as well but James also didn't swaddle her. We stayed home last night but plan to go out tonight again camping for the weekend!
A very happy anniversary today to my in-laws!!! Not sure how many years but it's been lots of years and I think it's so neat that both of our sets of parents are still married after all these years!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
We got cocky.
What can we say? We thought we were "all that", able to camp and everything like that with newborns. Last night didn't go so well. At all. James finally just up and left the campground completely at 4:30am - nice!! At that point he wasn't so much deserting us as he was planning to just stay awake to get to work on time. Macey and Madelyn were fussy ALL night, never really having a nice stretch of time where they slept well. Their thrush is really awful, especially Madelyn. I have called the dr about it and I think we'll need to move on to something else for them because the Nystatin is not clearing it up and I think they are grouchy because of the thrush.
So no 8 hour stretches, lol. I don't know if we'll spend the night out there or not tonight. I think I'd prefer not to.
So no 8 hour stretches, lol. I don't know if we'll spend the night out there or not tonight. I think I'd prefer not to.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Happy due date Macey and Madelyn!
Today is the day we were all anticipating...July 29. When I first found out I was pregnant I was sure I would be still pregnant today and would probably even deliver in August. Little did I know then it was twins and they'd be evicted at 37 weeks! So today marks M&Ms 3 week birthday and their official due date. Thrilled they are here and doing so well!
Those of you who know us know we love to camp. James' cousin Greg and his wife Melissa had a baby last weekend and Greg's brother Jer and his wife Jaci came from NW Iowa to see them (and us, of course!). They love to camp as well so we decided to pull our camper to the campground last night and set up next to their pop-up. We all 7 stayed overnight last night and it truly didn't go horrible! Macey didn't have anywhere close to an 8 hour stretch again (I should have knocked on some wood) but she did a 4 hour stretch and Madelyn did a 5 hour stretch, so we're getting there! We'll see what tonight holds. I think M&M got cold last night - it's been weirdly cool for July, but we'll take it!
Those of you who know us know we love to camp. James' cousin Greg and his wife Melissa had a baby last weekend and Greg's brother Jer and his wife Jaci came from NW Iowa to see them (and us, of course!). They love to camp as well so we decided to pull our camper to the campground last night and set up next to their pop-up. We all 7 stayed overnight last night and it truly didn't go horrible! Macey didn't have anywhere close to an 8 hour stretch again (I should have knocked on some wood) but she did a 4 hour stretch and Madelyn did a 5 hour stretch, so we're getting there! We'll see what tonight holds. I think M&M got cold last night - it's been weirdly cool for July, but we'll take it!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Macey gets the gold star for sleeping!!
This girl seems to have figured it out! Last night she did an 8 hour stretch - 10pm to 6am! It makes SUCH a difference to get all that sleep!! Madelyn is a different story, but we're working her through it!
Monday, July 27, 2009
The sleeping continues to go well!
I should knock on some wood, but instead I'm praising God! Last night little Macey slept for 6 straight hours. And of course, Madelyn did a 5.5 hour stretch, but it wasn't at the same time. We have been trying to keep them on the same eating schedule but Macey has been slowly working up to sleeping longer and longer stretches so no way am I going to wake her up to feed her if she'll sleep 6 hours! They are swaddled, in their carseats, in the crib...it's working, and we aren't touching it! Hoping for as much success tonight!
And guess what? Madelyn has thrush now! So all THREE of my little girls are on medication!! Which totally reminds me that I forgot to give Avery her meds before bed. I am really awful about remembering meds. Anyone have any good tips for remembering that??
And guess what? Madelyn has thrush now! So all THREE of my little girls are on medication!! Which totally reminds me that I forgot to give Avery her meds before bed. I am really awful about remembering meds. Anyone have any good tips for remembering that??
Sunday, July 26, 2009
All's fair in love and....babies?
I haven't blogged in a few days. Mostly that's due to the fact that last evening I was home alone with all 5 kids and M&M screamed and fussed for 3+ solid hours. It was NOT pretty. But let me backtrack a bit so I can remember what I wanted to blog about...
Friday night my mom volunteered to keep the twins overnight. YAHOOOOO!!! So we willingly dropped them off Friday evening and went home to put our older 3 to bed and fall blissfully asleep ourselves. We slept through the night (yay for us!) and the twins did really well, too! My mom swaddled them and put them in their carseats and then went from 10:45-3:15! She then fed them and they made it until 6 again, so they did really well. In the morning I went in to my parents' house and picked them up, then brought them to a family from our church who was willing to keep the twins for the day while I went shopping with my mom. It was such a wonderful break from the ordinary and we found some great deals. James kept the older 3 during this time, and when I got home it was James' turn to go out...
James left at 6:30 to go to the races with some friends from work. I thought it was important that he go and I know he was looking forward to it. The twins started fussing about the time he left and by 7pm they were screaming, sometimes taking turns, other times wailing in unison. I got the older 3 to bed and from 7pm-10pm I basically did nothing except walk babies, pat babies, feed bottles, prop bottles, burp, give gas drops, lay them on their tummies, lay them on their backs. It never ended! I think they both had tummy troubles and they were just miserable. Finally at 10pm I fed the last bottle to each of them, swaddled them tightly and put them in their carseats in the crib...and they made it until 3:15! So just over 5 hours! Oh man, that was awesome. Let's hope it's a continuing trend!
So now I am outside and I have 4 kids with me, the oldest 2 and the youngest 2. Only one is fussy, so I suppose I am doing well! I am letting James nap while Declan naps. I hope they are able to get a few good winks in.
Friday night my mom volunteered to keep the twins overnight. YAHOOOOO!!! So we willingly dropped them off Friday evening and went home to put our older 3 to bed and fall blissfully asleep ourselves. We slept through the night (yay for us!) and the twins did really well, too! My mom swaddled them and put them in their carseats and then went from 10:45-3:15! She then fed them and they made it until 6 again, so they did really well. In the morning I went in to my parents' house and picked them up, then brought them to a family from our church who was willing to keep the twins for the day while I went shopping with my mom. It was such a wonderful break from the ordinary and we found some great deals. James kept the older 3 during this time, and when I got home it was James' turn to go out...
James left at 6:30 to go to the races with some friends from work. I thought it was important that he go and I know he was looking forward to it. The twins started fussing about the time he left and by 7pm they were screaming, sometimes taking turns, other times wailing in unison. I got the older 3 to bed and from 7pm-10pm I basically did nothing except walk babies, pat babies, feed bottles, prop bottles, burp, give gas drops, lay them on their tummies, lay them on their backs. It never ended! I think they both had tummy troubles and they were just miserable. Finally at 10pm I fed the last bottle to each of them, swaddled them tightly and put them in their carseats in the crib...and they made it until 3:15! So just over 5 hours! Oh man, that was awesome. Let's hope it's a continuing trend!
So now I am outside and I have 4 kids with me, the oldest 2 and the youngest 2. Only one is fussy, so I suppose I am doing well! I am letting James nap while Declan naps. I hope they are able to get a few good winks in.
Friday, July 24, 2009
A better night - hallelujah!
So last night we tried a few things. First off, James put in earplugs. Turns out I can sleep through a lot more noise than James can which actually I find ironic because he was always able to sleep through the older 3 crying. Hmmm. Anyway, he put in earplugs and in James fashion was asleep within 2-3 minutes (I do not kid). At 11pm, just 20 minutes or so after we had all laid down, they both started taking turns fussing. After trying the pacifiers multiple times I finally said "screw it" and gave them both 2 oz bottles, burped them, swaddled them up tight and turned out the light.
At around 1:30 Madelyn started fussing. I've been telling James we need to let her fuss a bit or at the very least offer the pacifier so she's not getting so used to the 2.5 hour schedule. I hauled her into our bed (I know) and offered the pacifier several times. It must have worked...the next time I was awoken was 3:15! Which means that little Macey went from the 11:00 bottle until 3:15 swaddled in her crib, yay! So they both ate at 3:15 and then not again until the 6:00 hour. That's great progress.
You probably don't care how often they're getting up or any of that, but I really want to remember this years from now so hopefully blogspot will still be around. :)
Edit: We also had to bring Avery in this morning because we thought she might have a UTI. Turns out she does. Another 10 days of medicine for one of my girls!
At around 1:30 Madelyn started fussing. I've been telling James we need to let her fuss a bit or at the very least offer the pacifier so she's not getting so used to the 2.5 hour schedule. I hauled her into our bed (I know) and offered the pacifier several times. It must have worked...the next time I was awoken was 3:15! Which means that little Macey went from the 11:00 bottle until 3:15 swaddled in her crib, yay! So they both ate at 3:15 and then not again until the 6:00 hour. That's great progress.
You probably don't care how often they're getting up or any of that, but I really want to remember this years from now so hopefully blogspot will still be around. :)
Edit: We also had to bring Avery in this morning because we thought she might have a UTI. Turns out she does. Another 10 days of medicine for one of my girls!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Weight checks and thrush - oh my!
Today my sister in law had my older 3 kids - thank you! That was a welcome respite and they had a blast as well. During that time I took the twins to the drs office for weight checks. At our last check (1 week after birth) Macey was 5#6oz and Madelyn was 5#8oz. Today Macey finally gained! She was 5#14oz and Madelyn was 6#1oz. They're doing great at the eating thing!
While there, I noticed Macey's mouth was FULL of white spots so I asked the float nurse doing the weight checks if it looked like thrush to her. Sure did, so she found the PA who came in and verified it was thrush and ordered the Nystatin for us. She's supposed to have it 4 times a day for 10 days. Notice I said "supposed to" - crazy insane medicine schedule!!! But after stopping by my friend Heather's house for a few hours I picked up the prescription and boiled all the bottle nipples and such. I'm trying really hard to be good about it and help her to get over her fussiness and gas with it - poor baby!
While there, I noticed Macey's mouth was FULL of white spots so I asked the float nurse doing the weight checks if it looked like thrush to her. Sure did, so she found the PA who came in and verified it was thrush and ordered the Nystatin for us. She's supposed to have it 4 times a day for 10 days. Notice I said "supposed to" - crazy insane medicine schedule!!! But after stopping by my friend Heather's house for a few hours I picked up the prescription and boiled all the bottle nipples and such. I'm trying really hard to be good about it and help her to get over her fussiness and gas with it - poor baby!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Picture posting help for blogspot please!
Those of you who blog here and are familiar with how it all runs...what is the easiest way to post pictures fast on here? I'd love to share more pictures with all of you but it always seems to take me forever to get them uploaded and stuff. What's your sure-fire way to get pics up??
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I wish I had blogged more when Declan was little.
I wish I knew how long he was sleeping at this point and things like that. As a friend just posted in my comment who had twin girls exactly one week before M&M were born - "did you know they'd be this much work?" and the answer is a resounding HECK NO. I never imagined.
At first, the first few days home, I told someone it was "easy". HA! Omgoodness there is nothing easy about it. And with the work of them comes the guilt over not spending good time with the older 3. The worry about them being upset at being sent to someone else's house (not Caden, he'd go to ANYONE'S house, but Avery will quite often be upset over having to leave and I know Declan doesn't nap as well...the list goes on). My new mantra is this: This TWO shall pass, this TWO shall pass...
Macey and Madelyn have given me a run for my money this afternoon. I think the feeding takes up a lot of our time and that is amplified by the fact that someone usually requires just one or 1/2 extra little ounces about 45min - 1hr after a regular feeding. Which is TERRIBLY hard when you're trying to get them both on the same schedule, because if Madelyn (who's chunking up quite nicely, we had to finally cut off her hospital ID ankelet Sunday night because it was TOO tight!) wants that extra ounce an hour after she's fed then she is satisfied longer than Macey who wants a regular full feeding (which is 2 ounces for each of them right now) about one hour after Madelyn's extra ounce. Make sense? I know, hardly, and it's very hard to keep track of who ate what and when and how much and ugh. I am honestly very tempted to make 2 little paper plate clocks, labeled with their names...and set the hands to the last time they ate so that at 4am when we're totally bleary-eyed because we've been up multiple times already we can remember when they ate and see if a pacifier might do the trick. But honestly, you cannot stop a hungry baby from crying because they need to EAT, no matter if it's been 1 hour or 4 hours since they last ate.
So some stats: They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Macey's cord fell off sometime during the night on Sunday night into Monday morning. Madelyn followed suit (in typical fashion, baby A first, then baby B) and lost hers Monday late afternoon. They are each eating just shy of 2 ounces at each feeding and eating every 2 hours...sometimes that is stretched to 3 hours but that is very rare. They very much like to have an extra 1/2 to 1 oz about an hour after they ate to drift them off into a deeper sleep. (Hateful, lol.) They have more head control and are stronger than any of our other babies have ever DREAMED of being...could it be possible they'll walk at or before 12 months of age? I can't fathom.
At first, the first few days home, I told someone it was "easy". HA! Omgoodness there is nothing easy about it. And with the work of them comes the guilt over not spending good time with the older 3. The worry about them being upset at being sent to someone else's house (not Caden, he'd go to ANYONE'S house, but Avery will quite often be upset over having to leave and I know Declan doesn't nap as well...the list goes on). My new mantra is this: This TWO shall pass, this TWO shall pass...
Macey and Madelyn have given me a run for my money this afternoon. I think the feeding takes up a lot of our time and that is amplified by the fact that someone usually requires just one or 1/2 extra little ounces about 45min - 1hr after a regular feeding. Which is TERRIBLY hard when you're trying to get them both on the same schedule, because if Madelyn (who's chunking up quite nicely, we had to finally cut off her hospital ID ankelet Sunday night because it was TOO tight!) wants that extra ounce an hour after she's fed then she is satisfied longer than Macey who wants a regular full feeding (which is 2 ounces for each of them right now) about one hour after Madelyn's extra ounce. Make sense? I know, hardly, and it's very hard to keep track of who ate what and when and how much and ugh. I am honestly very tempted to make 2 little paper plate clocks, labeled with their names...and set the hands to the last time they ate so that at 4am when we're totally bleary-eyed because we've been up multiple times already we can remember when they ate and see if a pacifier might do the trick. But honestly, you cannot stop a hungry baby from crying because they need to EAT, no matter if it's been 1 hour or 4 hours since they last ate.
So some stats: They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Macey's cord fell off sometime during the night on Sunday night into Monday morning. Madelyn followed suit (in typical fashion, baby A first, then baby B) and lost hers Monday late afternoon. They are each eating just shy of 2 ounces at each feeding and eating every 2 hours...sometimes that is stretched to 3 hours but that is very rare. They very much like to have an extra 1/2 to 1 oz about an hour after they ate to drift them off into a deeper sleep. (Hateful, lol.) They have more head control and are stronger than any of our other babies have ever DREAMED of being...could it be possible they'll walk at or before 12 months of age? I can't fathom.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Thanks for the support!
I am not quite so tearful, but I would pay a good price for tons of sleep. Honestly, I got up 100% with my older three, James never did. I never expected him to. He was working full-time and I nursed Caden and Avery, so it didn't even make sense for him to get up. But this time (it must be the c-section) I don't even hear the girls when they start to stir. James often has one completely fed before I am even aware that anyone was up. (They are in a crib in our bedroom, so it isn't like they are far away and hard to hear.) I feel really bad about that but I am so thankful for his help! We just talked tonight about how to get better sleep...do we both just get up every time and make it quick? Do we take shifts - I would take 9pm - 2am and he'd take 2am - wake up time? We're not quite sure what the most sure-fire way to go would be.
This week I'll be starting to lift my older kids more. My dr asked me to not lift anything heavier than one baby for 2 weeks, and that will be Wednesday. After that I think that I'll be starting more and more to be on my own. James will be home on Monday, our awesome respite provider will be here most of the day on Tuesday, my mom is coming on Wednesday to help and then we'll start going for it. I am planning to ship out my oldest 2 for sure during naptime, and all 3 of them whenever possible for a good chunk of the day.
So, that is that. I'm trying to plan ahead. Trying to set up as many volunteers as possible for help with the older 3, specifically the oldest. I can't leave him alone in a room with the twins. I can't leave him near them - he tries to pick them up, hugs them SUUUUUUUUUUUPER tight, is just untrustable with them though he loves them SO much. I'm waiting for the new baby novelty to wear off for them, mainly for Caden. I must admit though, they are so cute they are hard to resist!
This week I'll be starting to lift my older kids more. My dr asked me to not lift anything heavier than one baby for 2 weeks, and that will be Wednesday. After that I think that I'll be starting more and more to be on my own. James will be home on Monday, our awesome respite provider will be here most of the day on Tuesday, my mom is coming on Wednesday to help and then we'll start going for it. I am planning to ship out my oldest 2 for sure during naptime, and all 3 of them whenever possible for a good chunk of the day.
So, that is that. I'm trying to plan ahead. Trying to set up as many volunteers as possible for help with the older 3, specifically the oldest. I can't leave him alone in a room with the twins. I can't leave him near them - he tries to pick them up, hugs them SUUUUUUUUUUUPER tight, is just untrustable with them though he loves them SO much. I'm waiting for the new baby novelty to wear off for them, mainly for Caden. I must admit though, they are so cute they are hard to resist!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Soooooooooooo
The teary-ness has set in. James comes home and gloriously takes care of the older 3 but often that means leaving the house to go outside or whatnot and I am just here with the girls yet again. I cry over anything...the 2-2.5 hour stretches of sleep don't help at all, plus recovering from a c-section just blows. Madelyn is now screaming after just having been fed so I must go!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Staples are OUTTA here! And 18mo well-child for Declan.
And I couldn't be happier. I was scheduled to see my surgeon on Thursday to have the staples removed and check things over but I just couldn't stand it - they were poking into me and just generally uncomfortable. So I called them this morning and they said to come in today at 3:30 instead, which was perfect because Declan was due to see our dr in the same building at 3:15 today for his 18 month well-child check up.
My mom stayed with the other 4 while James and I brought Declan to the hospital/clinic. I went upstairs for my appointment and James stayed for Declan's appointment. The staples came out quickly for me and it didn't hurt, like I so feared. He said the incision looked great and to just keep on doing what I was doing. All done there. They did joke with me..."See you in 18 months or so?" Haaaaaaaaaa.
Declan's appointment went well. He is 27 pounds some odd ounces and 31 inches I think? I have it written down but I don't have it here with me. He's short. And he's heavy. His BMI is a little on the high side, so we're watching that but we think when he starts walking he'll trim down. He's a pretty sedentary boy save for the crawling so I'm sure that makes a difference.
My mom is here and is staying overnight. She is going to take the twins with her into Avery's bedroom for the night, woo hoo!! Avery is patiently waiting on the top bunk for grandma and the twins to come in...time will tell if she actually falls asleep or not but she has assured me that she will wait for grandma to come in before falling asleep. :)
My mom stayed with the other 4 while James and I brought Declan to the hospital/clinic. I went upstairs for my appointment and James stayed for Declan's appointment. The staples came out quickly for me and it didn't hurt, like I so feared. He said the incision looked great and to just keep on doing what I was doing. All done there. They did joke with me..."See you in 18 months or so?" Haaaaaaaaaa.
Declan's appointment went well. He is 27 pounds some odd ounces and 31 inches I think? I have it written down but I don't have it here with me. He's short. And he's heavy. His BMI is a little on the high side, so we're watching that but we think when he starts walking he'll trim down. He's a pretty sedentary boy save for the crawling so I'm sure that makes a difference.
My mom is here and is staying overnight. She is going to take the twins with her into Avery's bedroom for the night, woo hoo!! Avery is patiently waiting on the top bunk for grandma and the twins to come in...time will tell if she actually falls asleep or not but she has assured me that she will wait for grandma to come in before falling asleep. :)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Today's late update brought to you courtesy of...
James! Apparently he doesn't realize that bringing the laptop upstairs means that I cannot have any computer time. You know, since I have so MUCH time now available to me and all.
Things still going well here. M&M are perfectly adorable and perfectly on schedule with each other (for the most part) and it's just going good. This morning we had their home visit with the nurse. Madelyn passed Macey up, weighing 5lbs7oz to Macey's 5lb6oz. Their color looked good, temps were good, all over good! I've got some drainage from my incision so the nurse said to shower twice a day and let it air dry for 30 minutes or so (lay on the bed and just let it dry). You know, I really like that nurse, and so I didn't want to be rude, but that was hilarious. Twice a day? I think she meant to say twice a week or something, there's just no way twice a day is going to be possible. I'm still laughing.
What else do I want to remember? I'm not that sleep deprived, thanks to my awesome, amazing, wonderful, treasured husband who puts up with my "you've got a set of pipes, babe" snoring due to having had surgery and taking good pain meds. Apparently he gets up several times that I don't even know about during the night. God bless you James.
Tomorrow James is headed back to work and my mom is going to come for a few days. Yes, she lives near us anyway but she is still going to essentially move in for a few days which will be fun! After that we'll see what/when James is going to take off - I know I can't wait for the go-ahead to lift more weight and do more stuff around here, but I still have quite a bit of pain in my incision and I can't overdo it.
Things still going well here. M&M are perfectly adorable and perfectly on schedule with each other (for the most part) and it's just going good. This morning we had their home visit with the nurse. Madelyn passed Macey up, weighing 5lbs7oz to Macey's 5lb6oz. Their color looked good, temps were good, all over good! I've got some drainage from my incision so the nurse said to shower twice a day and let it air dry for 30 minutes or so (lay on the bed and just let it dry). You know, I really like that nurse, and so I didn't want to be rude, but that was hilarious. Twice a day? I think she meant to say twice a week or something, there's just no way twice a day is going to be possible. I'm still laughing.
What else do I want to remember? I'm not that sleep deprived, thanks to my awesome, amazing, wonderful, treasured husband who puts up with my "you've got a set of pipes, babe" snoring due to having had surgery and taking good pain meds. Apparently he gets up several times that I don't even know about during the night. God bless you James.
Tomorrow James is headed back to work and my mom is going to come for a few days. Yes, she lives near us anyway but she is still going to essentially move in for a few days which will be fun! After that we'll see what/when James is going to take off - I know I can't wait for the go-ahead to lift more weight and do more stuff around here, but I still have quite a bit of pain in my incision and I can't overdo it.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Night one at home - successful!
No, the tiniest two and the biggest two did not sleep through the night, but the other 3 did and it truly wasn't that bad. I have to give kudos to James for his willingness and helpfulness with all of this. The nurses kept reminding me I am recovering from major abdominal surgery and will need to rely heavily on others. I am not supposed to lift anything heavier than one baby for at least until I see the surgeon again at the end of this week, then we'll see what he says.
We got home around noon yesterday and my mom was here with the other 3 kids. We came in and Caden and Avery were so obsessed with the twins. It is a good thing there are two newborns to go around, but sir Caden is going to be a challenge. He ended up going to my parents' house for the day - he's just too rough and too loud and too...lots. He had fun with my parents and even napped there for a bit. Then they went to Wal-Mart and got a haul of practical and fun stuff for the house here, bringing supper with them. Grandma and Avery painted fingernails when they got back, complete with nail stickers! That was a hit.
Back at home, we had lots of visitors and when that waned I went down for a 2 hour nap while Declan napped. James had all 3 of his little girls for that time and Avery is SUCH a good baby holder (she is particularly fond of Macey, but in time I think it won't matter so much...my gut tells me it is because we have differentiated Macey and Madelyn's stuff with pink for Macey and purple for Madelyn and Avery is VERY partial to pink, therefore, she loves Macey...makes sense in a 4yo way). I got a good nap as well.
At bedtime the twins ate around 9pm and then we swaddled them and put them down in the crib in our bedroom together. They woke just after midnight to eat again and did very well. After 1 they woke again, but this time we (I should say James) searched for their pacifiers and offered those, which gave us until after 5am before they woke again! Very nice girls!! We then all slept until nearly 8:30 and they ate again at 9am.
It's 10:40 and Avery is hounded me to hold Macey again. I must go!
We got home around noon yesterday and my mom was here with the other 3 kids. We came in and Caden and Avery were so obsessed with the twins. It is a good thing there are two newborns to go around, but sir Caden is going to be a challenge. He ended up going to my parents' house for the day - he's just too rough and too loud and too...lots. He had fun with my parents and even napped there for a bit. Then they went to Wal-Mart and got a haul of practical and fun stuff for the house here, bringing supper with them. Grandma and Avery painted fingernails when they got back, complete with nail stickers! That was a hit.
Back at home, we had lots of visitors and when that waned I went down for a 2 hour nap while Declan napped. James had all 3 of his little girls for that time and Avery is SUCH a good baby holder (she is particularly fond of Macey, but in time I think it won't matter so much...my gut tells me it is because we have differentiated Macey and Madelyn's stuff with pink for Macey and purple for Madelyn and Avery is VERY partial to pink, therefore, she loves Macey...makes sense in a 4yo way). I got a good nap as well.
At bedtime the twins ate around 9pm and then we swaddled them and put them down in the crib in our bedroom together. They woke just after midnight to eat again and did very well. After 1 they woke again, but this time we (I should say James) searched for their pacifiers and offered those, which gave us until after 5am before they woke again! Very nice girls!! We then all slept until nearly 8:30 and they ate again at 9am.
It's 10:40 and Avery is hounded me to hold Macey again. I must go!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Laptops are fun!
It's so much fun to sit in the hospital and blog away on our laptop. It makes me think of those commercials where the person is sitting at some random place using their wireless internet service instead of doing what they're supposed to be doing there...only we are allowed to use this internet service so I suppose it's not nearly as funny. I digress.
Macey and Madelyn are doing so well. They are just peaceful little buggers who've barely cried or needed much besides feedings and diaper changes. My nurse last night has identical twin girls at home who are 20 months old and she gave me some good tips and advice - it was so fun to talk with her! People come in to visit and can pick them up and hold them, put them back down and just unneccessarily manhandle them and they don't wake up or anything. You can tell they are used to being bumped and jostled by each other which will serve them VERY well in a family with 3 young children who want to poke and prod at them. We've also noticed that the girls prefer to be near each other in the same tiny basinette and will turn their heads toward each other every time they are near each other. It's very precious!
Macey had a 2 vessel umbilical cord, which was noted from a very early ultrasound. Usually, this means nothing but our doctor ordered an ultrasound on her kidneys which was done this morning already. We don't have any news from that but hope to hear in the next several days what the results of that are.
The ultrasound technician who was the person to tell me I was having twins and has followed them every month since that Feb 4th day just came in to see them and held Madelyn for a bit. It has been so fun to share this pregnancy with her and she is so excited to meet them on the outside! We love you Donna.
I'm doing ok. Somewhat overwhelmed, but mostly I feel that's due to the c-section recovery more than anything else. While I don't have a lot of constant pain, I am very uncomfy when I stand up straight and it's just tough to move around like I would like to. I know I am going to need quite a bit of help when I go home and that's tough for me because I am so ready to feel well and do the stuff I wasn't able to do because I was "too pregnant" to do them before. I'm going to try to remember what a gifted nurse up here told me this morning - newborns won't know they're wet or poopy, but your older kids will know if they're being left out. Make it a point to nurture them well right now and don't stress about the bitty baby stuff. I find that so helpful, because I think it could be very easy right now to think overwhelmed thoughts about how to care for the babies when instead I can be focusing on how to reconnect with my olders who have missed their momma when I was hugely pregnant and missed me personally while in the hospital. I just want to recover fully, and I know in order to do that I HAVE TO take good care of myself. That is my most important goal right now. Everything else? Baby steps.
Macey and Madelyn are doing so well. They are just peaceful little buggers who've barely cried or needed much besides feedings and diaper changes. My nurse last night has identical twin girls at home who are 20 months old and she gave me some good tips and advice - it was so fun to talk with her! People come in to visit and can pick them up and hold them, put them back down and just unneccessarily manhandle them and they don't wake up or anything. You can tell they are used to being bumped and jostled by each other which will serve them VERY well in a family with 3 young children who want to poke and prod at them. We've also noticed that the girls prefer to be near each other in the same tiny basinette and will turn their heads toward each other every time they are near each other. It's very precious!
Macey had a 2 vessel umbilical cord, which was noted from a very early ultrasound. Usually, this means nothing but our doctor ordered an ultrasound on her kidneys which was done this morning already. We don't have any news from that but hope to hear in the next several days what the results of that are.
The ultrasound technician who was the person to tell me I was having twins and has followed them every month since that Feb 4th day just came in to see them and held Madelyn for a bit. It has been so fun to share this pregnancy with her and she is so excited to meet them on the outside! We love you Donna.
I'm doing ok. Somewhat overwhelmed, but mostly I feel that's due to the c-section recovery more than anything else. While I don't have a lot of constant pain, I am very uncomfy when I stand up straight and it's just tough to move around like I would like to. I know I am going to need quite a bit of help when I go home and that's tough for me because I am so ready to feel well and do the stuff I wasn't able to do because I was "too pregnant" to do them before. I'm going to try to remember what a gifted nurse up here told me this morning - newborns won't know they're wet or poopy, but your older kids will know if they're being left out. Make it a point to nurture them well right now and don't stress about the bitty baby stuff. I find that so helpful, because I think it could be very easy right now to think overwhelmed thoughts about how to care for the babies when instead I can be focusing on how to reconnect with my olders who have missed their momma when I was hugely pregnant and missed me personally while in the hospital. I just want to recover fully, and I know in order to do that I HAVE TO take good care of myself. That is my most important goal right now. Everything else? Baby steps.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
The twins have arrived...
God is so good! They are just two tiny bundles of adorable. I will post more later, but wanted to put a few pics up here to tide you over. I went via c-section yesterday morning (7.8.09) and all is going very well. Macey Johanna weighed 5lbs 11oz and was born at 7:50am. Madelyn Corinne was slightly more stubborn but they yanked her out at 7:53am weighing 5lbs 10oz. No, I cannot believe I had all that baby inside me either!
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Still here...
I know. You go for a few days without posting anything and people start to wonder. But yes, I am still here, still hugely pregnant, still waiting. We actually made it to church this morning and a lot of people were suprised to see me there, but we figure this is our last chance to go in oh, 2 months? So we did it and the kids are out of control nuts lately so it wasn't exactly good but we were there.
I also had to go to OB this afternoon for a pre-OP teaching thing...basically an early check-in so everything is not so hectic on Wed morning. I can't believe they'll be here in just a few days!!!!
I also had to go to OB this afternoon for a pre-OP teaching thing...basically an early check-in so everything is not so hectic on Wed morning. I can't believe they'll be here in just a few days!!!!
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
36 weeks today - a big milestone
I believe 36 weeks is considered term for twins. I FEEL term. I know I've mentioned the measurements before and how they measure you just like you're carrying a single baby - the "biggest" being 40cm because you're 40 weeks pregnant, kwim? Well, I measured 49 today. HAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I just find that ridiculously funny.
So yes. The appt today went well, blood pressure is excellent, I have lots of swelling in my legs and feet and face and fingers and everywhere, but I am upright and walking and I really don't have much to complain about. I did get some prednisone for the intense itching of PUPPP. Let's hope that alleviates it somewhat. The rash should start to go away within 1-2 weeks after delivery. I was hoping it'd be 1-2 days but knowing there's an end in sight helps (a little).
I have a non-stress test again tomorrow afternoon at 3pm. After that it's just a waiting game to see if my body actually ever WILL go into labor on its own or if, like all of my kids, these girls need to also be evicted from their cushy water home. I am a fingertip dilated for those of you who care...basically that means nothing is happening. He did however say he could feel a prominent head down there, which is our sweet baby A who has been pushed to the netherregions of my uterus but is still staking her claim at FIRSTBORN! Will keep you posted - thank you for the support and prayers!
So yes. The appt today went well, blood pressure is excellent, I have lots of swelling in my legs and feet and face and fingers and everywhere, but I am upright and walking and I really don't have much to complain about. I did get some prednisone for the intense itching of PUPPP. Let's hope that alleviates it somewhat. The rash should start to go away within 1-2 weeks after delivery. I was hoping it'd be 1-2 days but knowing there's an end in sight helps (a little).
I have a non-stress test again tomorrow afternoon at 3pm. After that it's just a waiting game to see if my body actually ever WILL go into labor on its own or if, like all of my kids, these girls need to also be evicted from their cushy water home. I am a fingertip dilated for those of you who care...basically that means nothing is happening. He did however say he could feel a prominent head down there, which is our sweet baby A who has been pushed to the netherregions of my uterus but is still staking her claim at FIRSTBORN! Will keep you posted - thank you for the support and prayers!
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