twobytwo
The crazy blog of a mom of toddler twins and pregnant with a second set of twins. I write it as it is in my life...as I see it or interpret it.
Update...
Wow...a week has gone by since my last update. Here is where we are at these days.
Hadley and Gretchen still want nothing to do with potty training. Yep. 4 kids in diapers. Not fun! :)
Addison and Delaney will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! 4 weeks?!?!?! What in the world! Time really does fly! I took some great pictures of all 4 kids today and will update later (hopefully tonight, or maybe next week). The babies are growing like weeds.
I am still breastfeeding. It has definitely been a challenge. I won't go into all of the issues on here, but I definitely think that this experience has taught me the most about myself, about what I am willing to do for my family and about all women that breastfeed. It definitely is not a leisurely stroll through the park, especially nursing two babies that are always hungry! :) But, it is worth every second of the struggle!
Adam is home for a few more weeks. Very sad to see him go. Trying to figure out how the balance will work around here!
Screaming baby...more later!
Good news...
So, I just successfully tandem nursed the twins for the first time today. I had tried it out a few times before, but this was the first successful feeding (no back-up needed). What a relief. And, let me tell you...it is going to be a time saver!!! So, Addison and Delaney are 2 and 1/2 weeks old...pretty good! :) I was even able to remove my hand from the back of their heads so that I could scratch my nose (you always get an itch when your hands are tied up, don't you?) and help reposition them, but for the most part, if they broke their latch, they were able to get right back on! Addison has become a great nurser in the past couple of days and I think they are bringing in enough milk to satisfy them. If not, I am sure my supply will increase drastically now! :) And, let me tell you, tandem feeding is the only way I think a mother of twins can successfully nurse. Granted, I love the alone time with them, nursing them individually, but with two other kids, I really need to feed them in the least amount of time possible...
Tomorrow marks my 40 week due date (wow, that came quickly). I cannot believe it!!! We still don't have a great family picture of the 6 of us (just the one of us leaving the hospital), so perhaps we will convince a family member to come over and take a photo tomorrow of all of us. At the very least, I will post pictures of the babies and I...if I get around to it! :)
Adam and the girls have a cold. We have no idea where it came from, but we are guessing that one of our visitors brought it to us. No bueno, people. If you are sick or feeling off, please stay away from babies! :) Luckily, I am nursing, so that should keep the babies safe, but it still is not fun to have 2 sick toddlers and a sick husband...
That is all for now. The whole family is sleeping, the last load of dirty laundry is in the dryer and I am going to go take a really long, much needed shower! Have a great day, everyone.
2 weeks old...
Wow! This is really flying! The babies are 2 weeks old!!!
We are surviving. Taking it one minute at a time. We have a great grasp on the functioning of all of this (thanks to the first set of twins). I am sleeping better than I was those last few weeks (even though I am waking to feed hungry babies). Adam and I are so thankful that he finished up his Masters before the babies arrived. Now, we spend our time focusing on the most important thing in our life...our four kids.
Sure, we are tired. But, we are here and doing well!
The babies are interesting to watch and try to figure out. Delaney is like a doll baby with all of her hair and her beautiful complexion. She is definitely a good mix of Hadley and Gretchen. Addison...we cannot figure out who he looks like, but we think he might look like me more than Adam. Only time will tell, right? He has a scream that is ear splitting. Is he already aware that he will have to be loud to get a word in over his sisters? :)
I will post pictures soon, I promise. Who knows when, but soon!
Off to eat dinner and then feed the babies!
Hope this finds all of you well!
Born on the 4th of July!!!
Sorry for the delay in an update...my hands have been busy! :)
So, if you haven't gathered, Delaney and Addison have arrived. Here is the story...
On July 3rd, I started noticing contractions around 3:30pm. I didn't freak out/run to the car/head to the hospital because I had lived through this countless times before. So, I just went about my daily business. At 6:30pm, I was still having contractions. Hmm. They had never lasted this long in this type of pattern. I found a notebook and started writing down when they started (and mentally timing how long they were lasting). At that point, after an hour, it seemed that they were falling into a pattern of 8-11 minutes apart, a minute long. Hmm. Interesting.
I ate some great dinner at 7pm (Adam's sister, Jen, made ginger chicken for me to help bring on labor...but I think I was already in labor by the time I ate it). Kept timing contractions. Hmm. They were getting closer together. Finally, after much hesitation, I called Adam's mom and told her that I thought we should head in to the hospital to get checked out (remember, this was after 2 trips to L&D where I was sure I was going into pre-term labor and I just was not). She agreed that it wouldn't be a bad idea, so we grabbed our bags, loaded up the girls and headed to Adam's parent's house to drop off the kids. While we were there, I was getting contractions every 3-4 minutes. We headed off, but I was doubting myself the whole way to the hospital.
In triage, the checked me (between 3-4cm dilated, 70% effaced), and hooked me up to the monitors...3 total...one for contractions and one for each baby. Sit there and wait an hour. No fireworks on tv because our triage room didn't have NBC. After an hour and noticing that I was having contractions every 3-4 minutes, they came back to check me. Over 4cm, 80% effaced. A few minutes later, a nurse came in and told me that she was going to be my L&D nurse. WHAT?!?! We were staying? I couldn't believe it. I was thrilled.
We arranged for the epidural, I walked to my room from triage and got the IV started, hooked up to more machines. Shortly thereafter, my epidural was placed (they really only take 5-7 minutes to place...I don't know why books say it takes 20+ minutes).
Boring part...laboring. In the middle of the night. ZZZ. I did get nauseated, so I had some meds to take the edge off, but of course, they cause drowsiness. Fell asleep. Had the most difficult time staying awake for the next 3 hours. When I woke in the morning, I noticed that my contractions had all but stopped (one every 10 minutes). At 6am, I was given Pitocin. Things started up again. By 8am, I was ready to go. But, I got bumped back out of the OR (have to deliver there with twins 'just incase') because another mom had a baby that was having heart decels. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally, was wheeled back a bit after 9:30am to have the babies. Set up took forever, or so it felt. I got sick after I was wheeled onto the delivery table, but I think it was mainly because I was so nervous about the babies being healthy.
Finally started pushing. After 4 contractions, Delaney Suzanne was born at 10:16am. Full head of hair, big hearty cries. I kept asking if she was ok. I was so nervous. But, she was great! Weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces! WHAT? After the shock of that all wore off and the doctor had Addison in place (they broke his water, pushed him down, put a scalp electrode on him and we were ready to go), he was born in 2 contractions. Addison Joseph came at 10:23am, another full head of hair, stunned to be in such a bright place, but crying nonetheless. He was great, too, a whole 6 pounds, 2 ounces! It was amazing, laying there in the sterile OR on a delivery table that I felt like I could fall off of at any minute listening to my two babies cry, the last two babies I will ever have. I cried, Adam cried, the medical team was excited.
I dared to ask the question...will they get to come back to my room with me? The NICU nurse sent down to assess them looked at me and said, "Yes, they are healthy and will go straight to your room with you." Oh, tears of joy. What I wanted so much to avoid the entire pregnancy was avoided and that quick sentence made me feel so amazing. Cleaned up, headed back to the room. Smiling from ear to ear. Two healthy babies. Amazing. God listened to my prayers.
Family poured in to meet the newest members. I felt exhausted but exhilarated. The following day, both of the babies and I were discharged by our doctors and we were all home by dinnertime. And, the best part, Adam and I (and our newest additions) were home all day long for Hadley and Gretchen's 3rd birthday the following day!
Life is good. It is really good.
Will post pictures later.
I love...
This cooler weather we are experiencing! Ah, such a nice break from the heat we have recently had! I was not very happy about the hot weather!!!
Still at home, if you haven't gathered. I keep waking up early, so that leaves me very tired during the day, but I will survive. I think it is just my body getting prepared for the lack of sleep our household will be getting very soon. I am trying to get some stuff done around the house today, we just went grocery shopping after lunch (oh, it was nice to do that again...I had given up the responsibility for a couple of months). Just another lazy day. Watching some fireworks on tv tonight...hoping to watch some live ones tomorrow night after a good 4th of July picnic!
Have a safe holiday weekend, everyone!
Up before the sun...
While my eyes might not be fully opened at this point, I am up before the sun. It is nice. This time of the day is always so peaceful and I rarely get to experience it without a sick kid (but will be experiencing it daily very soon). It helps remind me that while the news is filled with negativity, there is still a peace-filled beauty to my little spot on this Earth.
So, after the weeding and then a walk to get ice cream last night, one would think I would have a contraction. Nope. Just woke up at 6am to enjoy the sunrise and my aching legs and back. Ha ha!
Off to do some stretches.
July already?
Well, we never thought that I would still be pregnant in July...I mean, we both hoped that I would be, but never in a million years actually thought that I would be pregnant in July.
And, I don't think these babies want to come meet us anytime soon. I just spent a good 2 hours weeding my flowerbeds (what a great feeling). Not one lousy contraction. I cannot believe it!
We have a few errands to run, so I better go get ready for those...have a great day!
