It's an adventure a day with twins!

Last night was one of those bizarre sleeping nights. I have PUPPP - a pregnancy rash that is super itchy and uncomfortable. I thought that was what was keeping me awake, and then your mind starts to wander...have I felt baby A move recently? How long has it been? And I realized that it's been a while, but I could feel baby B moving like crazy. So I got maybe 1 hour total sleep during the night and the kids were awake by 6:15...they day began.

I decided to call my dr at 8am. When they called back they said I should get to OB to have a non-stress test immediately. Immediately was over an hour because I had to wait until our wonderful Grandma Jean arrived, but I went straight to OB. Found baby B's heartbeat with no problems but baby A (the one I was concerned about) - couldn't find it. A couple of different nurses tried and at this point you start to panic a bit. Finally they brought in an ultrasound machine. It felt like it took forever for them to get there with it. Started the ultrasound and of course the sonographer can't tell you anything. At one point I even asked, "Did you find her heartbeat?" and the answer was very non-committal. Finally the radiologist who was also in the room calls our dr and tells him, "We have one heartbeat at 133 and one at 153" - THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good fetal movement. Baby B is just squishing the heck out of baby A and not giving her much room, pushing her way back into my back where it's hard to feel movement or find that elusive heartbeat.

That was scary. I thank my mom for being there with me when James couldn't. I thank our dr for caring so much and being so adamant we get the care we needed. I thank the nurses who were so professional and didn't let on how worried they were. But mostly I thank God for giving peace and calm and helping us through, and for keeping them both growing strong and healthy!

Tomorrow I see my dr again, and Thursday I am probably going to have another non-stress test (incidentally, it was a very HIGH stress test, but I get the whole true meaning of it). I will be 36 weeks tomorrow and at 36 weeks we've said I can deliver here in Pella so this is a very big milestone! I am currently set up for an induction/probable c-section (because of their positions inside) on Wed the 8th at 7:30am. I got my wish without even having to be pushy - the date of 07/08/09!

Please pray that the itching subsides some for me. I am pretty miserable with it. Also pray that babies might decide to both be head down (vertex) so we can go for a natural delivery versus the c-section.

Today is our 11 year wedding anniversary!

Those of you who were there, remember hot stinkin hot it was? It's like that again today. Blistering. But we are enjoying getting a few projects done around here and hanging with Declan. Then tonight we are going to go out while Declan stays with James' parents overnight (bless them, no kids for us at all tonight!) - we'll pick up some last minute baby stuff and go out to eat at Spaghetti Works, my favorite!!

Today my friend Joy is marrying her best friend Rob - so happy for them!!!! God's blessings to you guys, wish I felt like I could be outside for that long.

Please pray for safe travels for many people. My BFF Heather and family are traveling to Michigan as I type. My parents and kids will be traveling HOME from Michigan this afternoon and tomorrow morning. Several of my RTS mommy blogging friends are together in Florida relaxing, but will be traveling back to their homes soon (some year, I will be coming along, mark my words!). Prayers for all of you.

A bit more about this week for you all

I haven't blogged about it. Maybe I've been too overwhelmed and emotional about it. This week has been VERY different from most weeks in our home. On Saturday morning at 6am, my parents came over and picked up Caden and Avery. They left for Michigan, yes, MI, 8 hours away from us here. I cried when they left, though in total honesty it wasn't because I was going to miss them so much, it was mostly just because I am that emotional and it's just different. Caden signed "mommy cry" a few times and Avery gave me a look that said, "Don't start this, this is NOT my first day of Kindergarten or something." But off they went.

And they are still gone and it is Thursday. And they won't be back until Sunday sometime!

I do miss them, but again, not all that much, LOL! That probably sounds horrible, but it is so unbelieveable to just have Declan to care for. He is simple. He doesn't require a certain drink and a certain number of scoops of Ovaltine into his milk and he doesn't argue about which seat he gets to sit in at dinner and he doesn't yell "moooooooooooommy!" from the bathroom and wherever you put him he can only crawl away from there, not get up and run away. I have spent mucho time with good friends and reconnected there. I have followed up on a Craigslist ad and found a gal with tons of totes of twin girl clothes near us and bought some more clothing for M&M. I was able to spend time with another twin mommy and they are letting us use their twins' carseats and double stroller and all of that, so I now have those ducks in a row. (pause here for scratching my face, glory BE it itches!) And as much as I wanted to get done around the house here, I have spent a LOT of time on my butt and in bed, napping while Declan naps (more scratching, sorry) and simply enjoying not being at everyones' beck and call.

But mostly, the point of this post is to say thank you mom and dad. Thank you for the break. Thank you for understanding that while we love them dearly, we love them even more when we don't have to care for them 24/7. Thank you for sacrificing things you could be doing so that you could have our kids along with you. Much love.

35 week appointments - God is good!!

It's been a busy few days. Yesterday I had my regular appt with my dr. Things are looking good as far as he's concerned. I did cry about how much pressure I'm feeling and how uncomfortable I am - he was sympathetic but said there truly isn't much we can do for right now, which I understand. I measured 46 weeks and we found both heartbeats easily.

This morning I had my ultrasound to check the twins' growth and then I was able to talk with the perinatologist about delivery plans and all of that since this will be the last time I see him before they arrive (Lord willing). Today, baby A was head down - she always has been, good girl! However, baby B was breech, which is weird because at every single ultrasound she is in a different position!! She is going to be a challenge. With this kind of positioning and delivering at a small, local hospital, our more likely outcome is a c-section. However, if I come in in labor they will scan me again and if baby B is head down, we'll go for vaginal delivery.

The biggest surprise was their weights. A month ago they were both within an ounce of each other at 3lbs7oz and 3lbs6oz. I didn't expect them to be over 5lbs. HA! Baby A is (estimated at) 5lbs13oz and baby B at 6lbs0oz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder I'm so uncomfortable!! My dr and the peri were super happy with this and I am still just so shocked! They are growing in perfect unison honestly, and we feel very blessed.

I have a horrid, itchy rash all over my face and neck. Peri said it was likely PUPPS and wouldn't get better until after I delivered. That, combined with how big they already are, has him saying I can be induced or sectioned at 37 weeks, which is just 2 weeks from today (and incidentally, is 07/08/09, the date I've been wanting for months now!). I can't believe they will be here within 2 weeks!!!!

33 weeks today, another appointment

By calendar weeks I'm 33 weeks pregnant. According to how big my belly is I'm 44 weeks pregnant. Is that even possible?? It feels like it isn't, trust me. Everything sounded good in there (strong heartbeats at 160 - baby B and at 152 - baby A) and everything as far as I'm concerned looked good as well. He told me to eat more. I guess I can handle that, but nothing sounds good and I get full pretty fast. I am now off the procardia for contractions and we'll see how it goes. He basically put me on it so James and I could take our trip and not worry about contractions. I did take one this morning but now I'm fully out so we'll just wait and see! If I make it to 36 weeks (July 1) I can deliver here which would be awesome. If I go before that and they can't stop labor I have to go to Des Moines which I'd like to avoid, what with 3 other kids to look after around here! My dr mentioned something about "talking after 38 weeks" and I think the death glare I gave him was good enough to make him understand I hoped NOT to be pregnant anymore by then......

This week is Vacation Bible School at our church and I've been busy with that. It's harder than I imagined to be upright for that long. I have employed our sweet 10yo neighbor girl for 2 afternoons a week watching Caden and Avery while mommy and Declan nap. That is very nice! I'm trying to take it easy as much as possible.

James and I did go on our 4 day camping "adventure" together and it was truly a blast. We did nothing honestly. We shopped (a very little, but he was kind enough to go to a couple of consignment stores with me and actually feigned interest!) and we ate out a couple of times, but mostly we roasted marshmallows and talked and ate and laughed and read some of The Love Dare book (from the movie FireProof) and we were responsible for NO ONE other than ourselves. We found it VERY easy to get used to doing nothing, surprisingly easy in fact. James was an absolute sweetheart to me (as usual) and I rarely had to get myself anything. He even did all the cooking and roasting marshmallows! I assembled the smores with the twins' help - my tummy is so out there I just stacked them on top of each other right on my belly! We are very excited about our baby girls to come. It seems so surreal but yet we know they're coming and overall everyone is doing well. We were able to talk openly about how much work it's going to be and how much we're going to need each other and our friends and family, but I know he's in it for the long haul and that feels great.

These twins are excited to meet their family!

I must sound like a lot of fun on the outside, because last night we had to stop some pre-term labor!

I was in Wal-Mart around 4pm yesterday and started feeling crampy. I can get that sometimes while walking so I didn't think much of it. By the time I got done I was in pain, but of course I didn't ask anyone for help, I lugged all the milk gallons and juice and all of my bags to the van, returned the cart to the cart corrall (huge pet peeve, lol), came back to my van, sat down and started having to breathe hard through the pain. I decided I better call my drs office (it was a few minutes until 5pm) when the contractions went away, and then came back every couple of minutes pretty regularly.

Long story short, I got in there and they were 1 minute apart. Not hugely painful, but definitely contractions. I got a shot of terbutaline and they started an IV with fluids...things settled down and when the first bag of fluids was almost gone the contractions started up again. So then over the course of the next 3 hours I had 5 pills of procardia and more fluid. I was super uncomfy but I think that had more to do with the way I was laying on the exam table and all of that. I am NOT dilated and my dr took some fibronectin test which came back negative (meaning I'm NOT likely to go into labor soon, very good news). I was glad to get home, for sure. I have to take one pill of the procardia every 8 hours (probably until I deliver) but our dr gave us the go-ahead for our 4 day weekend without kids so I am thrilled about that for tomorrow! Since getting up this morning I have had one mild contraction but nothing huge. I guess being pregnant with twins really IS that different! I've never had issues like this before at all.

My dr thinks it had more to do with the fact I'd had diarrhea all day yesterday (sorry if TMI, but I like full disclosure) - it started everything cramping and then I over-did it and all of that. I think this was my wake-up call, however, that I cannot be doing as much as I used to. I'd like to think I can still do it all and keep the house clean and all of that, but I think that's a no.

My appointments today!

Today I started off the morning with my routine every-4-weeks ultrasound. My mom came along with me this morning and it was fun to share that with her! She's never seen an ultrasound happening before so it was a good time. No doubts anymore that I'm fibbing about there being 2 in there - I have a witness. :)

I'm 31 weeks today. The girls measured 3lbs 7oz and 3lbs 8oz (+/-10oz, lol) and they are both in position to try vaginal delivery, woo hoo!!! (Mostly I'm a weiner about a possible c-section.) The perinatologist said it doesn't get much more picture perfect than this. He doesn't want to see me back with him for another 4 weeks for another ultrasound, which would make me 35 weeks, wow!

My reg dr (saw him about an hour after the peri) said that the peri must be feeling REALLY comfortable with how things are going or he would have never allowed me to wait so long between ultrasounds, so this is good! At my reg appt I gained 3 pounds (up 19 pounds total), bp was excellent at 110/54, fetal heart tones were both found easily again. I am going every 2 weeks and have been for quite a few weeks already. Get ready for this - I am measuring 40-41 weeks gestation at 31 weeks. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, 40 weeks is a full-term single baby. So I am as big as if I had one baby in there and I was ready to deliver. And alas, I have weeks and weeks to go/grow yet! I got into the minivan after camping this weekend and had to move the seat back - so over the course of 3 days I know I grew quite a bit. Of course it had nothing to do with the number of smores I had. Hey, one for each beating heart inside me, yes??

Declan's 1 year portraits...

taken at 16+ months, today 5/26/09. It's WITHIN the age of 1 year, yes?

Click here to see the pictures

password: declan

And Caden knocks my socks off!

Just when God thought I had been wallowing long enough in my pity party, He sent a huge gift via my firstborn.

Tonight James had to leave for church a little early, which left me with all the kids when I already wasn't feeling very well at all. Before James left, Caden had taken his diaper off and was running around stark naked, nothing new there. I happened to be sitting on our bed and Caden came into our bedroom, pointing at his bottom, grimacing and whining. "Caden, do you need to go potty?" "NO!" came the immediate reply, which is his FAVORITE word these days, so joyous. So I change it up a bit. "Caden, do you need a diaper on?" "Yeah!" to which I replied, "No buddy, let's go sit on the potty." He grabbed my hand and I sat him on our toilet in our master bathroom. I showed him how to point it down and he was NOT impressed with mommy bugging him there, so I was pushed aside. I decided to take a step away and not really pay attention, and there is was, the sound of pee hitting the floor. WHO THE GLORY CARES, it's urine, it came from Caden and it was nearly immediate after being placed on the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I started whooping it up and all of that, walking back toward him to get ready to wipe up the pee when HOLY SMACK, poop hit the water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A double whammy of goodness!!! We were all so proud, SO PROUD!!!!

I got him wiped up (I thought) and we headed to start getting ready for bed. He decided to make a detour into Avery's room (still naked) and climb up on her bed. I called for him from his bedroom when it dawned on me - he scoots himself to dismount a bed and I'm not totally sure his bottom is clean....please don't tell Avery anything but we need to do some laundry in the morning.

One of those RTS days, I guess.

And yesterday, RTS stood for "Really Tough Sh!t".

It was Mother's Day. And I am admittedly grouchy and punchy lately. I probably have hurt some feelings and have a few apologies to make but at the moment the best I can do is to admit I am bitchy and move on from there.

The kids actually let me sleep in (James had to be at church early) so that was a VERY nice gift! I got up with them and we got ready for church and Caden was alredy somewhat agitated once we got to church because daddy had to go up front to sing during our service and wasn't sitting with us. He was asking for "daaaaaaaadddddy!!" and whining some, but then it came time for him to leave for Children's Worship and all was well. We made it through and then went to family's house for lunch together which was very nice. I think my neice may have broken her arm but I haven't heard from SIL so I am going to assume that she's ok for now.

After lunch we had decided to take a 1 hour + drive to see a campground that James and I will be camping at (without children!!) in a few weeks. We wanted to see what the campground was like and all of that. That went fine until James decided it was Caden's turn to hold the personal DVD player instead of Avery (who usually holds it in such a way that she and Caden can both see it and does a very nice job of it). Caden doesn't do such a nice job of it. He pushes the button to turn the screen off and on. He turns it away from Avery (which elicits an hugely unnecessary shrieking fit from her) and he just generally does what he can be to a pistol about it. Now, I understand that it might not seem "fair" that Caden never gets to hold it, but honestly, he cannot handle it. And I in turn cannot handle the subsequent hollering from Avery (again, not necessary but she's female and 4, what do you expect?) and general extreme referreeing I have to do. But I must say, with Avery I can reason with her and she understands the concept on consequence - and we made it very clear that if she kept hollering she would not be having any sort of snack or drink. Problem solved, for the next few minutes anyway.

Then we go to Target where I plan to return 3 items and come right back out. James suggests we all go in together. He knows shopping is my favorite gig ever and bumming around Target for clearance is quite high up there on my fun list and it's Mother's Day - a truly sweet suggestion James but I should have known better. We pile them all in the store and within a minute Caden has started his whining, grunting, "I'm irritated" noise - mostly due to the fact that we don't allow the pacifier to accompany him into buildings. And it's loud. And it receives stares (which truly DOES NOT bother me, but I want you be aware of what we're dealing with here). So we're trying to look for things here and there and during this time Caden wanders off twice - instant "into the cart" rule. And he isn't happy, so the whining crescendos. Long story short, we bought C batteries and toilet paper, James grabbed Caden and brought him to the van while I checked out with Avery and Declan (always the super troopers) and we headed home.

The ride home was pretty much silent. Caden fell asleep nearly immediately, Declan had napped a little bit and was content to chatter a bit to himself and Avery was singing, rather quietly which was nice. The silence was finally broken when I said to James, "Does it even feel to you like Caden ruins most of our family outings?" and James concurred. And that, my friends, is Really Tough Sh!t. It's the truth and the truth hurts. While I don't wish (anymore) for Caden not to have RTS (the syndrome), the truth is the wish is very much there for him to be more normal. I can't FATHOM what he would be like without RTS as it's the very essence of who he is, but I suppose I wish I could tailor RTS to suit our family's needs better. And can you even imagine, do you even KNOW how much it breaks a mother's heart to wish that your kid wasn't the way they are? To look at him, my heart adores him, but in the very same heartbeat, I want something different for him, for all of us. I want it to be FUN to go out and do things together as a family. I wish we didn't have to curb the things we do because Caden can't handle it, won't understand it, won't cooperate, doesn't understand consequence so there's no punishment that works...the list goes on.

And these are the moments where you feel very, very alone. James doesn't get it in the same way I do. He doesn't deal with him for as many hours as I do. And he isn't currently pregnant, either, which makes him a LOT more even-tempered, lol. Caden is ageless, in so many ways...I don't even think about what he would be doing as a typical 6.5 year old because I can't even imagine it. I tell people that I have a 6yo, 4yo and 16mon old and they say, "Oh, your 6 and 4yos will be a big help with the twins!" and I think, "No, no, no, he's honestly MORE work than the rest of them combined!!" but yet I just nod - what can you say?

I don't like asking for help with him. I feel like he's "my problem" - one I never asked for but apparently I needed. And he acts so dang good for others! At home it's where we have issues. I suppose that makes sense in terms of how we all behave differently at home and I am glad he's comfortable here obviously. It's just...different.

I'm throwing this all out there for heaven-knows-what reason. Some because I think I inadvertantly portray that everything's a-ok for us when it comes to Caden - and mostly, it is, but there are days, and then those days spiral downward so fast because it's all been building up. Some because these feelings are real and raw, and I think it needs to be ok to share them. And some because I just need a hug.

A year ago today...

Avery's potty training began. Remember that saga? That was fun to read. She is quite the Avery.

The reason I can even remember those sorts of details? Today is also my parent's wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary mom and dad!! We love you!

Today Caden walked part of the parade route with his Kindergarten class. He was so cute in his Dutch costume. The rain cleared off and the weather turned out to be beautiful this afternoon so Tulip Time started off just fine! We are now done with our Tulip Time committments - time will tell if we go back uptown to do anything else. I know I'd prefer just to stay away from it all, but the food is truly calling me....

An overview of our life

My SIL (sister in law, for those of you who aren't internet lingo savvy) started a letter today that got the ball rolling for the rest of us. I thought I would share the portion we wrote to update all the rest of you!! --

Hey, I'll chime in. We're doing our usual - James nearly passed out in front of the tv and me parked at the computer. I really should have my feet up but alas, I do not. So sue me. If someone would buy us a laptop then I could do as I should and have my feet up. But alas, they have not. So sue them.

We found 6 wood ticks either attached to or near our children's heads tonight within the course of 30 minutes. That's disgusting, but it is just about our biggest news. So we do not have new pets, just new ticks.

I think we might go camping this weekend. Caden was supposed to be involved in 3 parades during Tulip Time but we have narrowed it down to only 1 parade on Thursday afternoon that he is involved in. So after that we're happy to be doing not much of anything at all. Time will tell if we go camping or not....we have loaded up the bed of the pickup with TONS of junk from around here so that has to go to the landfill before we can haul a camper to the campground. We joked that it would be funny to pull up in a crowded area of the campground with all that junk in there, spill all the kids out, start waddling around with my hands on my back and start yelling at James and the kids - wouldn't that be funny???? Yeah, only to us I think. But the mental picture is kinda funny.

School is winding down, and that means tons of field trips for Caden. He is going to the zoo with his spec ed class, then to the Youth Special Olympics (his best event is cycling, aren't you proud grandpa??), then to the zoo again with kindergarten...maybe. We'll see how he does with all of it and go from there. His last day will be June 2, barring any unforseen H1N1 battles (I try to be PC at every turn, you know, don't want any swines to be offended). Caden will be repeating Kindergarten next year, but isn't allowed to have the same K teacher (sniffle).

Avery only has 3 more preschool sessions left and then she graduates - back to the same preschool! Only next year she is doing 3 afternoons a week compared to the current 2 mornings a week. I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how it's all going to work out but I know God will make a way. After that the plan is that she will go to Kindergarten (in her words) "at Nathaniel and Emma and Tressa and Jacob's school!!!!!" and she is excited for Kindergarten when that time comes as well, but for now she is very content to go back to the same preschool, the house she knows, the teachers she "loves" (her words again) - and we are excited for her!

Declan. What can I say seriously? He melts you like a stick of butter on high in the microwave. He gets CRAPLOADS of attention when we go places - oh, he's so cute! How old? Oh, he WAVED at me!!! He is like a mini-celebrity and it's hilarious to me, not so fun to Avery but we are trying HARD to make sure she doesn't get lost in the shuffle of special needs older brother and super cuddle younger brother...and then indentical twin girls to follow up. He is a crawler now (FINALLY!) at 15 months and he goes places! Lately he's been sick with some crud and is back on breathing treatments but we hope he's turning the corner.

I'm feeling good! 28 weeks tomorrow and going strong, although I must admit that having a kitchen with concrete floor is MURDER on my back, legs and ankles by the end of the day. I am just nesting away, both inside and out and it's fun to see the progress, though at times the babes destroy it faster than I can clean it. Our pastor's wife gifted me with a certificate she won for 3 hours of cleaning service but I have no idea how to use it. Probably showers I guess, unless she's willing to change a diaper or two. That's truly dirty.

Caden's ears.

If you have a child with special needs, you soon come to realize that there is that "thing" that becomes the "thing" that's terribly frustrating. For Caden, medically speaking, that is ear infections. He is home again from school, day 2 now, with a high fever and lethargy. Most likely cause? Ears. And this is the 2nd round of it in as many weeks.

And I'm also annoyed at his ENT. I called them first to see if he could be seen instead of asking his regular doc to see him again. "It's too difficult to tell from your description if it's ears or not - but let us know if it IS his ears because we'll want to see him." ARGH! I truly DO know my son well enough to tell you what's going on but nope, they couldn't see us. So our regular dr (God bless that man) just called in a prescription for us and Caden seems better today.

In other news, I am 27 weeks today. Still feeling good, nesting like a CRAZY woman. Today I cleaned out the closet off the laundry room, cleaned the pantry (didn't organize yet, just cleaned it), sorted through all the craziness we call Tupperware (anyone need some onion holders? I am so a minced-from-the-jar kind of cooker) and cleaned out the cabinet where we put all the small appliances. Felt good, too! Avery and James spent the morning at preschool together - it was Ave's snack day and they had a good time.

A funny for your mid-week.

Hats off to my dear friend Mindi, the one girl who always knows what she sends into my email inbox will literally make me Laugh Out Loud!! This gem came from her:


Loving Couple -

A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on the beaches in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Their domestic Tranquility had long been the talk of the town. People would say, “What a peaceful & loving couple.” The Local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage.
The Husband replied: “Well, it dates back to our Honeymoon in America,” explained the man. “We visited the Grand Canyon, in Arizona , and took a trip down To the bottom of the canyon, by horse. We hadn't gone too far when my wife's horse stumbled and she almost fell off. My wife looked down at the horse and quietly said, 'That's once.' We proceeded a little further and her horse stumbled again. Again my wife quietly said, 'That's twice.' We hadn't gone a half mile when the horse stumbled for the third time my Wife quietly removed a revolver from her purse and shot the horse dead.”
I SHOUTED at her, '”What's wrong with you, woman!?!”
“Why did you shoot the poor animal like that, are you frickin crazy?”
She looked at me, and quietly said, “That's once.”
“And from that moment on.... We have lived happily ever After.”

God never ceases to amaze me.

Had my regular 4 week appointment with the perinatologist this morning - mostly a fetal growth ultrasound. These little girls - verified girls once again - are doing PERFECTLY. They are active (baby B is quite a bit more rowdy than baby A) and they look wonderful. They are measuring just 2oz different from each other, which means they are both growing at nearly identical rates. Baby B is slightly bigger at 1lb 15oz and baby A is weighing in at 1lb 13oz. The level of fluid surrounding them looks good as well. I had tears in my eyes, I am just so thankful for God continually showing me that He is in control and He has a perfect plan for these double surprises. The perinatologist came in and literally spent about 30 seconds with me - "everything looks wonderful, your risk of twin-to-twin transfusion is nearly gone at this point, though we'll still watch carefully for that, keep on doing well and I'll see you in another 4 weeks." Hallelujah! So I've moved on to every 2 weeks with my regular doctor (mostly to keep good tabs on my blood pressure and thinks like that) and will have another growth ultrasound in 4 weeks.

In other news, please welcome little James (RTS) and his family to my blogroll! Head on over and visit his blog and tell me he doesn't look just like our Caden!

Had another appt on Friday

Things seem pretty normal I guess. We were able to find both heartbeats (this was just an appt with my regular dr, not with the perinatologist for an ultrasound and more in-depth look) and heard a lot of movement as well. I asked my dr if it was common to be more anxious when pregnant with twins about all the possibilities of things that might go wrong and he reassured me that it was more common. I felt better about that, but I am truly trying to give it to God and not fret about things - easier said than done! Anyway, I have been measuring about 2-3 weeks ahead but on Friday I measured 5 weeks ahead...and off I went in my head, thinking that must mean there's too much amniotic fluid for one twin (meaning twin to twin transfusion), etc. We'll see on Wed morning when I have my ultrasound, but I could use prayers that everything is just fine. I also had my glucose test Friday morning and passed with flying colors, although I am anemic and need to take an iron tablet daily. I can do that!

Things around the house are interesting. I have been nesting quite a bit and want to get to a place where I have nothing to do at night because I am *that* caught up. I know, I will give you a moment to stop laughing. However, several of my friends have been doing this lately and say it's so freeing. I can only imagine!! James has been a peach about pitching in lately and that is such a huge help to me, especially on those days when I am extra tired or extra grumpy, lol.

Caden is recovering nicely from his ear infection. I need to make an appt with his ENT to have his ears checked again, but sometimes I just don't FEEL like making more appts (and you RTS mommas know what I am talking about there). He went back to school on Friday and they said he did great, even went swimming with his special ed class. He's back to his usual self, antagonizing Avery at every turn. It's nice to have him back. (kinda??)

Avery is...something. We're not sure what is going on specifically, and maybe it's normal 4yo stuff, but she is a crybaby and she is DEFIANT lately. When things don't go her way we get 20 minutes of full-out sobbing about life in general. We get sass when the answer to her request is "no" - and then more crying. To be perfectly honest, it has spiraled downhill since we have been preparing for the twins. Everyone tells me "Oh, she'll be such a big help" but I gotta tell you, she might be my biggest challenge! It's such a fine line between letting her have her way so she's happy and laying down the law because she can't always have her way. I guess it's about choosing your battles, but sometimes I wonder why everything HAS to be a battle in the first place!

Declan is crawling. It's slow, but it's OH so cute. He started last week sometime in pursuit of a much desired sippy cup. It was worth the 15 month wait! He's also been half-standing near things lately so he's just sort of taken off all at once. He adores getting into cupboards and I let him - he is entertained and James can pick it up later, hee hee. He went through a spell there where he was pretty difficult, but I think it had more to do with not being able to motate and always seeing the same scenery. That's not an issue now!

Caden's got a bad ear infection.

Something hasn't been right since Sunday or so. They've been saying at school that he is very disagreeable to doing things, which isn't usual. Then last night he was awake until 9:30 crying and finally passed out on James' lap in front of 24 (I know, such good viewing for a 6 year old, sometimes that non-verbal stuff pays off). He was then up during the night sobbing. I sent him to school and he was agreeable about it, but I called after picking Avery up from preschool at 11:30 and was told that he wasn't himself at all and had been laying on a special person's lap for the past 45 minutes. Time for a call to the dr and to pick him up from school. Turns out, it's a nasty ear infection (and both ear tubes are out, oh joy, I think now we'll be going to tube set #4) causing him to be so sick, poor boy! I have had to carry him for most of the day, and at 45 pounds and me "great with child(ren)" that is no easy task. So he stays home tomorrow, and I had plans to get things done that I have been neglecting but such is the life. Can anyone run to Wal-Mart for me in the morning?? :)

Kristen's blog address:

If you'd like to follow Kristen and her identical twins, feel free to visit her blog at www.rockyrieman.blogspot.com (and can anyone tell me how to make that a clickable link????). Keep praying for them please!!

I haven't forgotten about you, blog...

I have just been busy with everything and nothing, all at the same time. You know how that goes? You don't have anything on the calendar, yet your days are full of "stuff." Add that to the fact that I have been nesting like a crazy-momma and we keep busy around here!

I finally talked Caden and Avery into watching The Polar Express and I am getting a few minutes' peace. Declan is napping, bless him. He's always been a very good napper, I'm glad of it and I hope it continues for YEARS, lol.

Twins are doing well. My blood pressure has risen a bit, and I have more protein and ketones in my urine than I should AND I've been losing weight. I had to go into the clinic twice this week to have that all checked, but for now we're just keeping an eye on things and I go for my next regular appt a week from today. I'll be glad to have my next ultrasound as well, just to check on them and see how they're doing. I don't feel a TON of movement, actually not more than I did with any of my first 3 singleton pregnancies, so at times it's easy to worry that something might be wrong. There's just lots of unknowns with a twin pregnancy I guess, and sometimes that's disconcerting, to say the least.

Please keep my friend Kristen in your thoughts and prayers. We met via searches on the internet - she lives in Wyoming and is also pregnant with twins (identical). Right now she has traveled over 7 hours to go to Salt Lake City because her twins are in the beginning stages of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Keep praying that they will be able to help the twins grow strong and healthy!!!!

Think Caden's retarded?

You're right. Think it's ok to use the word "retard(ed)" outside of a medical description? You're wrong.

When you saw the title to my post I bet you wondered how to feel. You wondered if I was joking or if I was serious. I'm serious. Caden is considered mentally retarded. Problem is, in this society, which claims to embrace and encompass those with any kind of disabilities, the word "retard" has been changed to mean stupid, and is typically flung around as an insult at those with normal cognitive levels. No one wants to be CALLED a "retard" but yet it's fine to say "that's retarded" about something. No one wants to be CALLED a "retard" yet it's acceptable to say "you're retarded" if you're just joking around with someone.

Today, I am asking you to change the way you feel about this word. It's used as an insult, and it degrades those who are mentally handicapped. It's not "fine" to use it as long as you're not talking about a person, because it perpetuates the stereotype that people who are mentally retarded are somehow stupid and incapable. Let's end the use of this word altogether. If you use it, will you please stop? If you don't but you hear it used, are you brave enough to say something? Today, March 31 2009 is the day to end using the word "retard(ed)". It's not about being oversensitive. It's about respect for all. http://www.r-word.org/