Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
April 7, 2011
One year ago, was a day we'll never forget. We entered Dr. Forseter's office, so excited to see, and maybe even hear, our baby's heartbeat. We were 7 weeks pregnant. We had been there once before, and were ecstatic to be at our second appointment... hoping the baby would pull through and have that fluttering heartbeat that Dr. Forseter promised us three weeks prior. And nothing could have prepared us for what we saw:
"There they are." said Dr. Forseter. Like it was no biggy. Like, "There's your sunglasses." I remember him babbling after that about how "it's in the water" and we were like the 5th couple that week who found out they were pregnant with twins. But in my mind, all I could think of was we don't have room for two cribs. We just don't. We absolutely don't.
But, true to our expectations for the appointment, we were able to see the heartbeat! Heartbeats. The babies looked perfect.
We left his office dumbfounded. Where do we start? Who do we tell? Is it okay to tell this early? Who has twins? How are we going to afford two babies? We were still getting used to the idea of one baby.
This has been the craziest year of my life. Pregnancy, in and of itself, is a special time that you probably don't appreciate until it's over. Strangers see you in public and just smile. And now I look at the maternity racks at stores and pout my bottom lip just a little bit because there's nothing else like it in your life. Being pregnant.
And anticipating twins was exciting, of course. But also scary. By default, it's a high-risk pregnancy. I counted down the days to my next appointment so I could see those two heartbeats again. People, mostly strangers, felt the need to share their Twin horror stories, of which I can't even think about, yet dare tell any of you. And on top of worrying about the babies, I was worried about my own health and weight. And CONSTANTLY worried about sleeping on my back. But I couldn't help it!
Then ... October rolled around. The babies were here in an instant. Earlier than desirable. We were parents of preemies who had to stay in the NICU while we went home without them. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, leaving them. But it was somehow easy. They were in more capable hands than my own. I was getting more rest than if they were with us at home. This situation, in a way, eased us into parenthood. We could see them when we wanted. But we also still had time to go home a take a long nap. It lasted two weeks. And then we were finally all at home together.
After 8 weeks of maternity leave, I went back to work. IAnd I was ready. Caring for two infants is quite a lot of work. Certainly harder than my day job. So, as bad as I wanted to stay with them, I also wanted to leave them. [I've been told to not feel guilty about this so I choose not to].
And today, we've got 6 month olds!! It doesn't seem possible that they are so big and smiley and interactive. One year ago they were like, what? The size of an olive or something? And they are 15 lb 9 oz now. That's pretty remarkable.
That's quite a year, huh? I am so grateful for the many blessings in the last year. The girls are beautiful and healthy and they've got a great daddy who takes good care of all of us. We've been blessed in countless ways.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Our Little Date Night
Tonight, Jamie went to see The Hunger Games with our good friend Lauren from PUCC, leaving me alone with two little almost-six-month-olds (read: plug for forthcoming blog post). Of course Jamie deserves a night out, and the three of us were happy to let her have it and do our own thing. Well, really do my own thing, because they don't get to make their own choices yet.
We had to run a couple errands at the mall. I know, the mall on Friday night with a double stroller... I had to get pants taken in, though (always a good thing), and I had to get a new shirt for Easter, so we had to go.
We started at Men's Wearhouse for the pants and everything went really smoothly until the end, when it was time to eat. We had to leave, eat bottles, and come back so that I could get measured for the tux for Jonas and Erin's wedding (just in the nick of time!). Then, what basically happened was that all hell broke loose! We were full but we needed to be changed, we couldn't keep our pacifiers in, and the shoes HAD to go, as well as the straps on our seats being no good! Luckily, the nice lady let us sequester ourselves in a changing room and take care of all these needs. Thank the Lord for accomodating strangers!
Then, I was allowed to have a fairly uneventful sandwich from Chik-fil-A in the food court (diet starts Monday, or those pants might have to come right back out...).
Finally, we went and bought a shirt. However, during the shopping we had to leave the store to calm down before finally giving in and going to sleep. Phhhhheeeewwwww was that ever a relief!
Anyway, while we were at Express, I saw the BEST thing of the whole evening - another dad, by himself, with a full double stroller! I felt vindicated from feeling like a total freak. Although our good friend at Men's Wearhouse repeatedly told me I was SUCH a good dad, I got a lot of funny looks and commentary. I guess you don't see a lot of dads out and about with two infants by themselves - what, like it's hard or something?
That's a facetious question - it's very hard...I'm exhausted.
The second half of our date night consisted of Lowe's and Home Depot, where we were pricing some supplies for a backyard remodel we're considering. They didn't have all the plants we were looking for, so it was only partially successful. Sad.
We rounded out the night with an ice cream cone from McDonald's and screaming in the backset because we were ready to be changed.
We rushed home, took care of that, and now everyone under the age of thirty are in bouncers, getting ready to eat their last bottle of the day.
What a fun date we had, even though we don't have any pics to show.
We had to run a couple errands at the mall. I know, the mall on Friday night with a double stroller... I had to get pants taken in, though (always a good thing), and I had to get a new shirt for Easter, so we had to go.
We started at Men's Wearhouse for the pants and everything went really smoothly until the end, when it was time to eat. We had to leave, eat bottles, and come back so that I could get measured for the tux for Jonas and Erin's wedding (just in the nick of time!). Then, what basically happened was that all hell broke loose! We were full but we needed to be changed, we couldn't keep our pacifiers in, and the shoes HAD to go, as well as the straps on our seats being no good! Luckily, the nice lady let us sequester ourselves in a changing room and take care of all these needs. Thank the Lord for accomodating strangers!
Then, I was allowed to have a fairly uneventful sandwich from Chik-fil-A in the food court (diet starts Monday, or those pants might have to come right back out...).
Finally, we went and bought a shirt. However, during the shopping we had to leave the store to calm down before finally giving in and going to sleep. Phhhhheeeewwwww was that ever a relief!
Anyway, while we were at Express, I saw the BEST thing of the whole evening - another dad, by himself, with a full double stroller! I felt vindicated from feeling like a total freak. Although our good friend at Men's Wearhouse repeatedly told me I was SUCH a good dad, I got a lot of funny looks and commentary. I guess you don't see a lot of dads out and about with two infants by themselves - what, like it's hard or something?
That's a facetious question - it's very hard...I'm exhausted.
The second half of our date night consisted of Lowe's and Home Depot, where we were pricing some supplies for a backyard remodel we're considering. They didn't have all the plants we were looking for, so it was only partially successful. Sad.
We rounded out the night with an ice cream cone from McDonald's and screaming in the backset because we were ready to be changed.
We rushed home, took care of that, and now everyone under the age of thirty are in bouncers, getting ready to eat their last bottle of the day.
What a fun date we had, even though we don't have any pics to show.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Month 4
Only a few more days and the girls will be 5 months old! Why is it that when you've been too busy to blog, you can't even remember the things that you've been busy with? Let me try...
Lucas and I have continued to train for the relay marathon coming up in April. [Except for the last week,] we have made running and/or going to gym a pretty high priority. This is stressful and a lot of work and switching around schedules and carting babies to the gym nursery, but it's important, so it's a no-brainer. Lucas will have no problem running the 6-7 miles. I am running 4 right now, and I like to think that the next 2-3 will be acheivable over the next 6 weeks that I have left to train.
Now let me say a special thank you to Melissa, Betty, my mom, and Jenn. We'd be lost without you. I think it's pretty amusing right now that I am on the loveseat, laptop on my lap, blogging. And Betty is on the couch, reading, what is probably the Wall Street Journal. And we've got two babies alseep in their cribs. Mission accomplished.
At Melissa's, Nora laughs hysterically when Violet puts her hands on head. Well, truth be told, Violet doesn't have to really do anything, and Nora will be smiling and laughing. This may be true of Margaret as well, I just haven't witnessed that yet. Melissa takes all three girls for lots of walks. A little fresh air goes a long way for sleepy almost-5-month olds. (and Vi, too).
Margaret and Nora light up when they hear Grandma's voice say, "Good mornin' Baby" on days when she's here. They know her face, her voice, and they recognize the songs that she sings to them, even if it's me or Lucas singing. They are lucky girls to get to spend some time each week with Mary, their cousin, who is such a well-behaved girl for Grandma.
On Fridays, Miss Jenn watches them and brings none, some or all of her kiddos to the party. Sometimes Grammy and Grandpa (Houts) take Bailey or Riley out for special one-on-one outings, which is really special for them.
And, of course, Betty... who loves these girls as if they were her own children. She brags about them to her friends and shows their pictures around. Her grown sons and husband are sick and tired of hearing about Margaret and Nora, and she feels comfortable enough with us to share that. My favorite thing that Betty talks about with the girls are their mobiles. What are those birdies doing? Where are they going? Are they going to get food? Are they flying through the trees? Are they swooping down, back to the nest? Yes. Yes they are!
Within the last couple of days, the girls have had some blog-worthy milestones: We are smiling big at everyone. We can both laugh out loud if mommy and daddy put a lot of work into it. We are pros at sitting in the Bumbo seats and we like to face each other and laugh and smile and kick. We went for a walk in the double stroller and sat upright like big girls instead of in the carseats. We are eating rice cereal from a spoon every evening. We tried bananas but didn't like how cold they were. We are not quite sleeping through the night, but sleeping from about 10-4:30 on a good night. (I guess technically that could be considered "sleeping through the night", except, keep in mind folks, I said, "On a good night".)
Margaret's Favorite Things: Kicking her legs and flapping her arms. Eating her hands. Finding Sissy and smiling. "Swimming" on her Ocean mat.
Nora's Favorite Things: Her Paci. Looking at her curtain by the changing table. Seeing her bottle. Stretching big after being unswaddled.
The picture below is very special because they are sitting in front of an afghan knitted by their Great Grandma Houts. She didn't knit it for them specifically, but I know she'd be happy that the get to snuggle with it!
Lucas and I have continued to train for the relay marathon coming up in April. [Except for the last week,] we have made running and/or going to gym a pretty high priority. This is stressful and a lot of work and switching around schedules and carting babies to the gym nursery, but it's important, so it's a no-brainer. Lucas will have no problem running the 6-7 miles. I am running 4 right now, and I like to think that the next 2-3 will be acheivable over the next 6 weeks that I have left to train.
Now let me say a special thank you to Melissa, Betty, my mom, and Jenn. We'd be lost without you. I think it's pretty amusing right now that I am on the loveseat, laptop on my lap, blogging. And Betty is on the couch, reading, what is probably the Wall Street Journal. And we've got two babies alseep in their cribs. Mission accomplished.
At Melissa's, Nora laughs hysterically when Violet puts her hands on head. Well, truth be told, Violet doesn't have to really do anything, and Nora will be smiling and laughing. This may be true of Margaret as well, I just haven't witnessed that yet. Melissa takes all three girls for lots of walks. A little fresh air goes a long way for sleepy almost-5-month olds. (and Vi, too).
Margaret and Nora light up when they hear Grandma's voice say, "Good mornin' Baby" on days when she's here. They know her face, her voice, and they recognize the songs that she sings to them, even if it's me or Lucas singing. They are lucky girls to get to spend some time each week with Mary, their cousin, who is such a well-behaved girl for Grandma.
On Fridays, Miss Jenn watches them and brings none, some or all of her kiddos to the party. Sometimes Grammy and Grandpa (Houts) take Bailey or Riley out for special one-on-one outings, which is really special for them.
And, of course, Betty... who loves these girls as if they were her own children. She brags about them to her friends and shows their pictures around. Her grown sons and husband are sick and tired of hearing about Margaret and Nora, and she feels comfortable enough with us to share that. My favorite thing that Betty talks about with the girls are their mobiles. What are those birdies doing? Where are they going? Are they going to get food? Are they flying through the trees? Are they swooping down, back to the nest? Yes. Yes they are!
Within the last couple of days, the girls have had some blog-worthy milestones: We are smiling big at everyone. We can both laugh out loud if mommy and daddy put a lot of work into it. We are pros at sitting in the Bumbo seats and we like to face each other and laugh and smile and kick. We went for a walk in the double stroller and sat upright like big girls instead of in the carseats. We are eating rice cereal from a spoon every evening. We tried bananas but didn't like how cold they were. We are not quite sleeping through the night, but sleeping from about 10-4:30 on a good night. (I guess technically that could be considered "sleeping through the night", except, keep in mind folks, I said, "On a good night".)
Margaret's Favorite Things: Kicking her legs and flapping her arms. Eating her hands. Finding Sissy and smiling. "Swimming" on her Ocean mat.
Nora's Favorite Things: Her Paci. Looking at her curtain by the changing table. Seeing her bottle. Stretching big after being unswaddled.
The picture below is very special because they are sitting in front of an afghan knitted by their Great Grandma Houts. She didn't knit it for them specifically, but I know she'd be happy that the get to snuggle with it!
I've discovered the joys of pinterest. (Turns out, sometimes I miss the bandwagon and catch up with it 2 years later). I would tell you here how to find me, but I don't know how to do that. I don't care that it's "social networking" - I would do it even if no one could see what I post. Here's what I like about it: It takes #1 your idea. #2 anything you might find in "Google Images" pertaining to said idea and #3 puts them into organized folders or "boards". Except, it's not taking up any harddrive space. And you can email a link to your board, rather than a zip file of all your tutu ideas or cute felt food or what have you.
Other things going on: We joined Kirkwood Baptist Church. There we have found a great Sunday School class, a safe nursery, lots of new friends, and it's close to home :) I FINALLY joined the St. Louis Mothers of Twins Club. We had someone come out to look at our cracked basement floor and he suggested that we call a Structural Engineer. That can't be good. (As Betty aptly put it: Structural Engineer never spells "C-H-E-A-P"). We got to meet precious Baby Emily, born 2 weeks early on February 24th at a whopping 8lbs. I am happy about the fact that Emily, Margaret and Nora will all be in the same grade at school. :)
So all that, and watching a lot of episodes of Friends, is what we've been up to lately. Thanks for tuning in! And look for the 5 month post on Saturday or shortly thereafter!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Monday Funday - Thanks, Mlis!
Last Monday, Melissa took some great pics of M&N, including a smiley M, and a very shocked-looking N.
Check them out here:
http://www.tenholders.blogspot.com/2012/01/monday-funday.html
Check them out here:
http://www.tenholders.blogspot.com/2012/01/monday-funday.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)