A Day in the Life...

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know, I know, I haven't posted on here in FOREVER! Excuse me for that, but I've been a little busy (funny how that happens!)

Anyway, on a message board I frequent, we are posting about one day in our lives. This is

my week...so I will do one day...maybe more if I'm feeling very ambitious :)

Of course, I forgot about it until after morning nap, so that's when the pics start. But I'll write about my whole day...

Tuesday, September, 7, 2010 (Michael--6 years, Thomas 3 1/2 yrs, and Will 7 lucy, 9 months)

***DISCLAIMER #1...I am writing this post on Monday, Sept. 20th...sorry for the delay!

***** DISCLAIMER #2...I cannot get these pics to post right, so I am just throwing them all on here...they were cleverly labeled and ordered, but then * something* happened, so I'm loading them again and just throwing them on here...you'll have to decipher what's what on your own, if you even care!?!?

7:05...crying from the nursery. Someone is awake. Actually both are awake, but Lucy is crying. Get up and out of bed. Head downstairs. Change dipes. Nurse Will. Nurse Lucy.

7:30...Michael wakes up and heads to the computer to play "Tom & Jerry" game that I made him stop playing last night at bedtime--ugh! "Good Morning" I yell from the Family room! He comes in to see us.

7:45...Thomas comes downstairs, finds me, then gravitates toward Michael to watch him play the game....

8:00...I bring babies into kitchen to make breakfasts for all and Michael's lunch for school too.

8:05... While babies eat cheerios, I call Michael's first grade teacher to ask her a question and tell her about his dentist appt later today.

8:15....breakfast is ready and babies eat. Big Boys come in to eat, too. While they all eat, I pack Michael's lunch.

8:30...Michael goes upstairs to get dressed, while I take babies to the Family room to crawl around a bit. If this were a monday, wednesday or friday, we would have been out the door to walk Thomas to preschool, but tuesdays and thursdays are a LITTLE less hectic since we don't need to do that :)

8:45...set up stroller, grab blankets, buckle babies in, wrap 'em up, and head over to the neighbor's to drop off Michael to walk to school.

9:00...back home, crawling and playing time, then quick dipe change and down for morning naps....hopefully :)

9:15-10:30...clean-up from morning, laundry,

and play with Thomas time...

10:30...babies wake...change dipes, get babies dressed, make bottles, feed babies, change Lucy again because she is hating the dress I put her in--she can't crawl in it, so she's just on her hands and knees crying at me :(

10:45...quick trip to Home Depot--ugh!

11:30...Home again--lunchtime for all! Then some playtime. This is when we played Candy Land while babies bounced in their activity centers.

12:30...change babies and down for naps, play with Thomas for a

while, then he rests/watches tv, while I do some more housework/laundry/house projects (currently working on mailbox/front steps project before it gets cold out....hence trip to HD earlier)

2:30...babies are awake and chatting--love that! 15 minutes later the fussing starts, so I get them up, changed and prepare another round of bottles to bring with us.

3:00...pack everyone up, and load into car to go pick up Michale from school.

3:15...running a little late, so I forgo the stroller and hold both babies to go into school to sign out Michael (I am picking him up early for a dentist appt. at 3:30) The school secretary holds Lucy for me while we w

ait to Mr. Michael to arrive in the office. Then it's back out to the car, everybody buckled back in, and off to the dentist.

3:30...dentist. Michael & Thomas are SUPPOSED to be having teeth cleaned at the same time, but for some reason, they need to go back-to-back..."Will that be a problem?" What am I supposed to say??? Michael is VERY apprehensive after having cavities at last visit, so he's nervous wreck, crying and freaking out for the 45 minutes while he waits for Thomas. The babies have their bottles in the stroller. I go back and forth between the waiting room and checking on Thomas in the patient area. Luckily it is a very small, family-run dentist office. Finally it's Michael's turn. The babies are sick of the stroller, so I let them crawl around and play with the toys. We are now over-taking the dentist's office, babies crawling all over, kids everywhere! And it's only my family here!

4:45..we are all DONE at the dentist's and heading back to the car. The boys were great and the babies were too, but I am exhausted.

5:00...Michael reads with me for 10 minutes while the babies start their dinner, then I cook, Thomas and Michael do some work at the table, and babies eat.

6:00...Daddy gets home--yay! dinner time for the rest of us...the babies crawl around at our feet.

6:30...babies have bottles, big boys play wii, babies play a few more minutes, then it's time for new dipes and jammies. We bring babies up to bed...books and lights out :)

7:00...play/downtime for daddy and

big boys. I clean up kitchen for the night, after it's been ravaged all day!

7:30...up to get boys ready for bed. Quick bath and books with Daddy, I come up for prayers and tucking in, then lights our, night-night.

8:00...all are in bed...not all asleep yet, but that's ok! I am pooped, but now it's time to pick up the house and get ready for tomorrow.

9:30...crash on the couch, watch some tv, and fold dipes with my husband.

10:30..bedtime for Mommy and Daddy...

F-O-U-R months!?!?

Yes, the twins are 4 months old, and I haven't blogged for ages! Yikes, but who has time? There is just so much going on, regular, everyday stuff, and it doesn't seem worthy of a posting, and then, before I know it, they are 4 months old already!

They are doing really well, still nursing and growing. We were at the doctor last week, and Lucy is up to 10-15, while Will has fallen back to 10-5. He needs to take in more, more, more, but unfortunately he spits up like no one's business, so it's tricky. I am working with a LC, so we'll see how he does.

We have a decent schedule starting to form, with a few naps a day, although we are still working on getting them to sleep in their cribs for their naps--now it starts there, but usually ends up in a swing or bouncy seat. And they are sleeping great at night, usually feeding around 8:30 and then again at 10:30 then out for the night. I'd like to push their bedtime up earlier, but they aren't going for it--they always wake for that nightcap before a full night's sleep. I know these are my last few days/weeks of night-nursing, and I will miss it, so I'm trying to enjoy those quiet, cozy moments.

The weather is finally starting to show signs of warming up, so we ahve been able to go on some nice walks, taking big brother to school or everyone to the library. And going out with the twins makes you a mini-celeb, for sure! But I really appreciate the kindness of strangers as they hold doors or talk to my boys.

The cloth diapering is also going well, although not perfect just yet. In fact, the babies sleep much better at night with a disposable, which I only discovered after Will got a bit of a rash that we couldn't kick, so I put in in disposables to use the hard-core butt cream. So, for now, they are in disposables all night--I will try the cloth overnight again once their skin is a bit less sensitive.

So much to talk about: cloth diapers, sleep schedules, growing babies while nursing, finding quality hubby time, starting solids--when? But these few minutes in the morning, when I have my coffee, eat my breakfast, and check email, facebook, and read a few blogs, and then the babies are up and at 'em, and there's no more time until everyone's in bed, which is when I just sit on the couch for a few minutes with my hubby. So, the blog isn't getting done. Oh well. That's my life!

But the smiles and talking from these pumpkins make it all worthwhile--the only thing better than waking up to a tiny baby smiling up at you, is doubling that with two toothless grins! The BEST!!!

8 weeks today!

Yep, they are 8 weeks already! And both were sleeping, so I thought I'd do a quick post, but now Lucy is suddenly screaming, so I guess not! I was going to post that things are going so much better and my house is in order and over all I feel pretty great...but it'll have to wait :)

6 weeks already?

Well, here we are, 6 weeks after the babies arrival, and I still feel like I'm treading water--barely. The babies are so wonderfully cute and adorable and sweet--usually. But they sure do have their moments--often at the same time. And it is truly a "Bittersweet Symphony" to hear both of them screaming their little tiny heads off. But sometimes just can't get to them right away. I just can't. So they cry. And other times I've got BOTH of them, in my arms, rocking, patting, and swaying like a mad-woman, and they are still "singing" for me. Oh my.

And dare I mention my house? Which looks like "new babies" and "Christmas" exploded and will never be recovered--ever!?!?! I mean, we have gear and gifts piled everywhere. Everywhere. And my other sons who live in their pj's (until my oldest has to go to kindergarten, and we have the mad rush to find a semi-clean piece of clothing.) Which brings us to the ginormous volcano of clean laundry that continues to spew all over my laundry room floor. And meals? Well, they can hardly be called that. Unless someone else makes them--which they have. (Thank GOD for www.carecalendar.org) But my children are eating. They are being fed. But actual "meals?" Well, that might be a stretch...

And then there's me. I was pretty miserable being pregnant with these twins. But I Still do not feel good, physically. I still have weird pains and twinges, and my hip still kills me, and my hands hurt all the time, as do my feet. And I still have the pain in my pubic bone. And my tummy will NEVER feel the same, after being stretched to Timbuktu and back. And then the c/s incision and scar. And I'm still exhausted after exerting not-much energy. I'm not sure that I'll ever feel better. I know I'm still carrying around a lot of extra weight, and my exercise is still practically nothing--we don't' even go for walks b/c it so frigid here. And even after being cleared to exercise now, I can't possible imagine when or where I might be doing THAT! {And so here I sit, having lost 33 of my 56 pounds I gained with them. And after I lose that, I've still another 30-35 to go, which is weight I've gained from my other pregnancies and life in general...}

And can I complain about my b--bs for a moment? They hurt. All. the. time. They hurt before I nurse b/c they are so dang FULL. And after they hurt b/c they have just been ravaged by two power-suckers fro 30 minutes straight. They hurt in a bra b/c they are sore. And without a bra, they are so heavy I could cry. Even the shower provides no relief.

Nursing two just isn't as nice as nursing one. Especially that 3am feeding.

And speaking of that, guess what? They are both stirring , which means all out screaming in seconds flat, and that will lead to even more pain in my b--bs, until they are hooked up and eating once again. I never had such sensation caused by the crying of my babies. Each scream causes new tingles of pain...Ouch!

But I LOVE these babies--I really, really do! I'm so happy that they are here and part of our family. I'm just venting here--where else can I, really?

I'll close with a picture from the day before they were born. It amazes me to see this picture. I am SO glad that's not me anymore. I'm SO blessed to have Will and Lucy in my life now. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with them. Amen.

3+ weeks with the twins...

Ok--it's been a awhile--I guess I have been a little busy :) So, the babies are almost 4 weeks old already--time is flying by, of course. I thought I'd post my uneventful birth story and a few pics, while Will is in the sling, nursing. I am home alone with all 4 of my kids today, for the first time since they were born, as my mom went home. So far, we are surviving... So, the story... I went in for my 37 week appt, on the monday before t-giving. This was when I had been hoping to have them, all along, b/c it was the holiday week and my kindergartener didn't' have school all week, and my DH had a few days off, too. But they wouldn't schedule me this early, so I Was scheduled for my c/s the next monday. Anyway, my DH and I went to my MFM appt at 8:30, for a cord-flow doppler study and NST, as the babies were measuring pretty significantly different weights the week before (A was 5-1 and B was 6-10 ...so they thought :) Anyway, everything looked fine at the MFM appt, but I did have a bit more protein in my urine, so they were asking about any other symptoms for pre-e, but I had none. Even my BP was very low still, as always. So, home we went. My DH works in the city, and takes the train there, about an hour ride, so he decided to head into work at that point, instead of going to my OB appt at 10:30, b/c I said they would just find all the same results. So off he went, and I went to my appt. Well, my OB didn't like th e protein in my urine, and didn't want to wait around a fe w more days to see if it turned into full-blown pre-e. So he says, "when was the last time you ate or drank?" I was surprised by this, and didn't make the connection that he meant he wanted to deliver them that day! But I had just eaten and drank water before the appt, so he said to take my time, get my kids set up withe childcare, etc, and to head to the hospital later that day for my c/s. I was shocked and excited, as this was what I had been hoping for all along. So, I called my DH, who had to turn around and get on the next train home--bummer for him :) Then I headed home, make a million phone calls, showered, cleaned up a bit, hung out with my boys, and went into the hoptial around 4:00. The next 2 hours were surgical prep, and it went very fast. then at 6--into the OR for the c/s. It was quick and easy--I didnt' feel a thing the entire time! IT was so thrilling and emotional when they showed me my babies, born just one minute apart. I was filled with adrenaline after that and felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. It was of course love at first sight--and I cried much more than I had after delivering my other boys. This journey was just so much more long and difficult...but sooo worth it! In recovery, I didn't feel so good and was sick a few times. I tried to nurse Will, but I was too groggy and felt too yucky, so he just went to get cleaned up instead. Later, in my own room, they both nursed like champs! My recovery went really well--I took all the pain med I could get, and was up and about a little on day 2. I sent the babies to the nursery each night, where they had formula (so I could sleep--take it while you can get it, b/c at home you don't' have that option!!!) I stayed 5 days, and went home the day after T-giving. Things at home have been great--hectic at times, but really fun, too. I am in love with my tiny babies and can't wait to get to know them more as they grow. My boys love them--especially my 5 year old. We've had a lot of sickness in the house with my older 2 boys--colds, pink eye, ear infections, croup--with a midnight ER visit--but that;s life with school-aged kids and a closed up winter house. But the babies are healthy as can be, so I am thankful! they have both gained a lot of weight already, too, with my only nursing them. I am thrilled about that, too! The evenings are the roughest, as one or both usually cries inconsolably from 6-9 or 10, but they are sleeping great at night, only waking to eat and then back to sleep. ...Ok, both are stirring now--gotta run.... Sorry for ALL the typos--I tried to catch most, but my brain isn't quite functioning yet... More later! Oh, here's a link to my pics on FB-- Share this album with anyone by sending them this public link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127448&id=576194521&l=74f84b81f8

Today's the BIG day!!!

So, after all my appts today, had some protein in my urine, and the OB decided to just take them today, rather than wait to see if any more signs of pre-e show up. So today's the day I'm going to meet my babies! Can't wait!!! I will post again once we are home...later this week! Happy Thanksgiving!

36 weeks--still pregnant!

I had my 36 week u/s and NST today, and once again, all was well! Yay!!! We've reached the *average* gestational age for twins, so anything past today makes my babies *above-average* right???

Both babies look healthy and strong, and they passed the NST even before the 20 min. time was up yet!

So, the big news today was that there appears to be a pretty significant size difference between them. Baby A is measuring 5 lbs 1 oz, while his sister is measuring a whopping 6 lbs 10 oz! So that puts him in the 22%ile and she's 75%ile. We had to have a consult with the MFM doc, but he says b/c everything else looks so good, he's not concerned. So, in they stay!

I really thought we might be having them today, but no. So, he says he wants me to do another NST in 1 week, and another cord doppler reading in 10 days. Then he's quiet for a minute, then says, "Except, I don't think you'll still be pregnant in 10 days, so let's do the doppler reading in a week also."

I don't know why they say these things to you, about when they *think* we'll have them babies, when really they have NO IDEA! But, I still like hearing it! I'm hoping that next week (if we DO make it that far) I can talk them into scheduling the c/s a little earlier, rather than waiting until Nov. 30. I'd really prefer to have it scheduled, rather than go into labor, while my DH is at work in the city or during the night when we'd need to wake people to come over to watch the boys. Anyway, I've said all along, I wanted to have them Thanksgiving week, and that is still what I'm hoping for... We'll see!

I didn't have cervix check, and won't until next week, so I have no idea if I've made any more progress on that front. Not that it really means anything anyway... But Baby A is STILL breech, although his BIG sister managed to flip from last monday to this monday, so she is now head-down! Why won't he turn????

Oh well... Grow, babies grow, especially my l'il peanut!

Not long now....I can't wait to meet you two!!!