Out and About

It's been almost four weeks already. It seems like just a few days. Everyone has asked if I am getting tired of being at home all the time. No, surprisingly enough. I guess it's because there is always so much to do in a day at home. It seems like even with Mike helping a lot and my mom being here, there are always babies to feed, diapers to change, babies to comfort, stuff to clean up, and laundry to do!

For three weeks I went almost nowhere. We had one big outing to the doctor and one to our friends Kevin and Julie's house to see their new baby and have a big sister party for Maggie's friend Bethany. Here are the girls with their new friend Madelyn. They are just eight days apart! I can already see the days of playing house and tea party and all sorts of other girly things.

The big sisters are proud of their new babies!

Recently though, we have been out and about a lot! Thursday Mike and I took the babies to Target while Maggie and my mom were in Rochester. We needed to stock up on diapers. These babies use a TON of diapers. They were both very good and slept the whole time. They both started crying on the way home. When we got back, we discovered that not one, but both of them had had a major poop explosion which got all over their clothes and car seat things. More laundry to add to the already massive heap. Friday Mike and I actually got to go somewhere alone! It wasn't actually as exciting as it sounds. We had to go to the pharmacy but on the way back we stopped at Dairy Queen. YUM! Saturday we took the whole crew to the mall. We ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. The lady looked very confused when I told her we had three adults, a little girl that needed a highchair and two babies. It took her a few minutes to arrange the table to fit two of those baby sling things around it! All the girls were happy and/or sleeping the whole time. Maggie enjoyed her time at the mall play place and I enjoyed being out in public. On Sunday we even made it to church where again, the babies slept the whole time. It was nice to be out of the house, but a little draining too. I think I've had enough outings for quite awhile. It is a lot of work to get everyone ready and out of the house plus all the challenges of getting them around and keeping everyone happy once we get there. And I know this is only the beginning, what will it be like when they are 1 and 3 years old! Ahhh....

Perspective

Hey everyone, this is Mike.

In life I tend to lose perspective. When I talk about losing perspective it means that I am focusing on all the negative things. It can happen in all areas of my life. For example, when I'm trying to lose weight I focus on the weight I have left to lose instead of what I have already lost. In the classes I'm taking I focus on the points I missed instead of the points that I got. And in my spiritual life I focus on what God hasn't done and not what he has done. But being at home these last couple of weeks have been really fun because it has been hard to see many negatives.

First God blessed us because the pregnancy went all the way to 38 weeks. He came through even though Natalie had to have a c-section because Emily was never in any danger even though trying to turn her was a very risky procedure. It has been a tremendous blessing having Grandma around to help take care of Maggie. Our church family has blessed us by bringing meals every night since we have been home from the hospital. They have have also blessed me by allowing me to do minimal work these past two weeks, so I can spend a lot of time at home helping Natalie and hanging out with Maggie, Erin and Emily. God has even helped Maggie adjust to having sisters. Just tonight she said that she received Erin and Emily as presents for her "big sister" party, which seems good. And she always has to say hello to them when she gets back from going somewhere. I could go on for a long time, but the bottom line is there are times in my life when I struggle with thinking that God isn't good, but this definitely isn't one.

The only two boys in the house have to stick together!

Who's Who? Who Knows?

Superdad and babies...Erin is in the yellow outfit. (below)

Emily and her bear. (above)

Actually, it is getting easier to tell the difference between our girls, for us anyway. However, they do look VERY similar. I often find myself saying, "could you bring me that other baby?" Poor girls! I'll have to work on that, I don't want them to think their name is "other baby!" Since they both had their own placentas and their own sacs, the doctors say that they are not identical...probably. It is still possible that they are; if the egg splits within the first three days, then they can have their own placentas and sacs but still be identical. Apparently the chances of this are slim. I don't really think they are identical anyway. Erin seems to have a wider head/face, more like Maggie's was. She also has a little red dot (maybe a birthmark) between her eyes. (That little red dot is how we really tell them apart!) Emily has a smaller head and longer face. It's hard to tell if the differences in their heads are just because of the differences in their sizes though. Their ears, toes, hair, eyes, and noses are so similar we still can't tell the difference. This is becoming a problem because if we don't upload and label photos immediately after taking them, we can't tell who the pictures are of! Here are some newer ones...

Emily

Mommy, Maggie, and Emily

(and Bunny trying on Maggie's new shoes!)

The "Green" Park

For my little sisters' first outing, I wanted to take them to one of my favorite places...the green park! (Mommy and daddy still don't really understand why I call it the "green" park, but that's ok...) I immediately went to the swings, my favorite thing at the park, and started singing the Barney song. Daddy joined in to. I can't understand why my little sisters couldn't swing to, but they seemed content enough with Grandma walking them around. I really wanted them to go down the slide, but daddy said no. It didn't really matter anyway, I got scared at the last minute and didn't want to go down myself. I just like playing with the sticks (aka mulch) on the play structure anyway.

I wanted to play in the sandbox at the park, but daddy said no to that too! He said it was too muddy. So, we all went home. Erin and Emily had to go in the house but Daddy stayed outside with me and we splashed in puddles and played in the sandbox. Mommy and daddy think it's strange, but I really like to play in the sandbox in the winter...even with my boots and gloves on!

Our First Bath!

Emily's Bath (above)

Erin's Bath (below)

We had our first bath at home the other day! Daddy got us all undressed and washed us in the sink. We can't actually go in the water yet so it was more like a sponge bath. Emily thought it was very cold and she screamed the whole time. Afterwards, mommy was trying to warm her up in a cozy towel and she pooped all over it just to show her displeasure about the whole thing. I (Erin) just watched the whole thing with my big sister and Grandma, but it made me pretty nervous about having my turn. It really wasn't as bad as Emily made it seem though. Yeah, it was a little cold, but I actually kinda liked it...and I don't like much.

Maggie liked helping too!

Our first few days at home...

Time is flying by! Our first few days at home haven't been nearly as bad as I expected. The girls are both still very sleepy. They probably sleep 80% percent of the day and, for the most part, haven't given us all that much trouble at night. Emily seems to be the more calm, happy baby and Erin seems like more of firey, particular child. I would have expected it to be the other way around with all of Emily's stubbornness coming out and all. However, neither baby (and even the combination of the two) seems to be giving us as much of a challenge as their big sister did. Both girls love their little pacifiers, especially Erin. They also seem to like being close to each other and are enjoying sharing a crib. Amazingly enough, they don't always wake each other up, even when the other is screaming very loudly!

Apparently there are good and bad things about them being so sleepy. They have been very sleepy, lazy nursers and we have had a lot of trouble keeping them awake to eat! At the hospital, they suggested giving them a formula supplement for awhile until my milk came in and pumping to encourage that to happen sooner. We did that for awhile until it seemed like all was going well. Unfortunately, we were wrong. They are still too lazy and since they don't suck well enough, my milk supply has started to go away. Yesterday the lactation consultant said that I'd have to pump after every feeding if I didn't want to lose it completely. As if there isn't already enough to do!! I want to give up, but I know that it is better for them so we'll give it awhile longer...at least until they wake up more and hopefully can do the job on their own. Until then we are still giving them some bottle supplements. Maggie and Grandma like to help too!

I am feeling ok...as long as I have lots of pain killer. I decided today that it is definitely awful to have one baby naturally and one c-section (not that that is surprising). I am definitely hurting. The most surprising part has been the soreness/bruising on my belly from them trying to turn Emily around for so long. Another really awful part has been how much water retention I have! They give you a ton of fluids for an epidural anyway, but even more for a c-section. The Dr. said it might take two weeks or more for it to totally go away. Imagine my surprise when I weighed myself a few days after getting home to find out that I actually weighed 5 pounds MORE then went I went to have the 12 pounds worth of baby! My feet and legs are especially huge and painful...my feet look like little piggy feet! The Dr. said to try drinking some green tea, keep my feet up, etc. I think it has been working a little. My feet and legs still look huge, but I have already lost 17 pounds in the last two days! Hopefully more will come off soon.

Thanks to all who have offered to help us with things, brought us dinner, etc. We definitely appreciate it. Grandma has been here helping out a ton too. We wouldn't be managing without her, that is for sure! Every once in awhile things still seem completely overwhelming, but at least for now Mike and Grandma are here to help!

Big Sister!

Hi Everyone, I am a big sister now! We have been talking about the two babies getting here for months and now they are finally here. I didn't really know what to think at first. I walked in and just looked at them very quietly. Even though I seemed a little scared of them at first, it didn't take me long to want to touch and hold them. I really would like to hold them and sing "Rock-a-bye-baby," but daddy says he has to help me. When we were at the hospital visiting them, I got to watch the nurse give them their first bath. I was very fascinated by the whole thing. The bad part was that they both had to get a shot and they cried a lot! I offered them my bunny to hold and kiss "to make them feel all better." I know that bunny always makes me feel all better when I am hurt or crying! I even offered bunny to mommy, she had a boo boo on her arm. When it was time for the babies to come home, Grandma and I went back to the hospital to help bring them home. I had a fun time playing there and helping put the babies in their car seats. They did not like it though and they cried a lot! It stressed me out!! Mommy suggested that I sing them a song to help them feel better. I sang them the Barney song and they calmed right down. I am such a good big sister!
I was even excited to have the babies home. I like watching them eat, helping them get their diaper changed and watching them sleep in their crib. They sleep and eat a lot but I am excited to see them when they are around. Mostly though, I am still living in my own little world and ignore that they are even here. I am sad that mommy can't pick me up and hold me much, but I am enjoying the time with daddy and grandma. Daddy took me to the mall play area today and Grandma has been playing with me and reading me lots of stories. The best part has been the "Big Sister Party" that I got to have yesterday. Bethany, Kevin, Julie, and my little sisters came and we got to open presents and eat cupcakes! I got a new Little People Zoo, some books, and some accessories to play with my dolls. I have been having so much fun playing with my new toys. Mommy and daddy hope that they will keep me occupied for awhile since we will be home a lot the next couple months. Right now my baby sisters don't do much at all, but I am looking forward to when we can have tea parties and play together!

Here are some pictures of my big sister party (above). Bethany and I wore some hats that the babies got for our party hats. Don't we look cool?!

The Babies Have Arrived!

As you have probably heard, the twins have arrived!

Labor wasn't too bad. I started having some contractions around 12pm, we were at the hospital by 3:30pm and I had an epidural by 4:30 or 5pm. (Nothing compared with the days of contractions I had with Maggie!) By some miracle, both babies were head down for the first time in the pregnancy! That meant that things were looking good for a natural delivery for both babies. The other cool thing was that we had the same nurse Gail who helped deliver Maggie (and we really liked her!).

The epidural I got was so good, that I really couldn't feel anything. By the time they thought to check, Erin was ready to come. They rushed us off to the operating room (you have to deliver twins there, just in case) while Mike was still getting on all his OR garb. Half of the world was in the OR and once they got everything organized, Erin arrived after a few pushes at 8:26pm. She remained "Baby A" for awhile since she didn't actually have her name yet. It was between Erin and Kaitlyn and we didn't decide until around 11pm. She was tiny, but beautiful...6lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long.

After Erin was born, Emily was still pretty high so we waited for her to come down. However, with all the extra room, she decided to turn around and was breech again! They worked very hard to turn her around. Several people pushed and pulled and turned my belly for 45 minutes before they gave up. She did not want to turn around! (It seems like she may be a stubborn child.) They thought maybe they could just grab her leg and pull her out, but her cord was going to come out first, which is a very bad thing. That is when they decided to do a c-section. Bummer! The possibility of having both things was the one thing I had been dreading since we found out we were having twins. Maybe it was because I was SO drugged up, but I didn't take it too badly. At least it wasn't an emergency because Emily was in distress. That is what I really didn't want. They got everything ready and pulled her out at 9:54pm. She weighed in at 5lbs, 11oz and was also 20 inches long. I didn't get to see her quite as quickly, but she was beautiful too! Both babies were very healthy, they got 9's on the apgar scale. The nurses said that only Dr.'s kids get 10's, so that is very good. It took them quite awhile to fix me up so we didn't get back to our room until around 11:15pm. Since everything was going so well for me and the babies they decided to move us out of the high-risk unit about an hour after that. It was pretty much a parade of people coming in and out after that...checking this baby's temperature, that baby's blood sugar, my blood pressure, etc. We did not sleep at all. Here are some more pictures of us at the hospital.