Hey, all! Good day today. Took the twins to the pediatrician -- they are both gaining weight at a really good rate! Last week at the dr, Robby was at 6lbs, 14oz and today he was at 7lbs, 13oz!!! Hannah was at 6lbs, 4oz and was at 7lbs today! Hooray! The dr and lactation nurse were really impressed and said to keep it up! Hannah continues to be healthy and has had no more episodes since Fri night. Phew. Dr said today that we'll probably never know exactly what happened and all we can do is keep an eye on her. Robby has a small cold (and Hannah may be starting one as well) but is also doing fine.
I went to the OB today to follow up on the incision/uterine infection and it seems as though the antibiotic is doing its thing. Said it looks much better and he'll see me for my post-partum appt in 4 wks!!!
Spent a nice lunch with Grandma and Zayde, came home and napped and then Grandma D came over and chilled with us.
Oh and the babies had their first baths tonight! It was exciting. The girls were especially excited about it!!!
Steph
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
We will be okay after all...
Today I asked Faith how she was doing having the babies in the house. She said "It's fun now." Alleluia. Amen.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
We have big girls, too
Zayde rules. Thanks for the nice afternoon and evening with just 2 newborns to care for!
Holla'
Hey. Just a quick "shout out" to GT, Uncle R & D and Gpa D for leaving comments (as well as KJGL who I know tried to do so). I'm SURE there are others! Thanks to you, too!
Matt took some pics today so that the girls could take them to their music classes to show everyone, so hopefully tonight or tomorrow he can post them. They're pretty cute.
Zayde took the girls to the local big amusement park this afternoon/evening so Matt and I feel like we have a very lightened load with just the two babies! We just got upstairs from playing with our wii! I NEVER thought I'd say this, but that wii is pretty darn cool!
Steph
Matt took some pics today so that the girls could take them to their music classes to show everyone, so hopefully tonight or tomorrow he can post them. They're pretty cute.
Zayde took the girls to the local big amusement park this afternoon/evening so Matt and I feel like we have a very lightened load with just the two babies! We just got upstairs from playing with our wii! I NEVER thought I'd say this, but that wii is pretty darn cool!
Steph
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Hey. Yeah, so Hannah was really pale and listless and quiet and not crying and not nursing well all day yesterday. Finally, around dinner I took her temp and it was 97.6. I looked it up and the discharge instructions from the hospital said to call the dr if the baby's temp was lower than 98. So...I called and they promptly sent us to Children's ER. I guess they just don't mess around with that stuff with newborns. They took us right back as soon as we got there.
Well...wouldn't you know it, as soon as the nurse started messing with her and taking her vitals and all, she perked right up and screamed (she was pretty hungry, I'm sure, because she'd not eaten all day). Sheesh.
More later.
Well...wouldn't you know it, as soon as the nurse started messing with her and taking her vitals and all, she perked right up and screamed (she was pretty hungry, I'm sure, because she'd not eaten all day). Sheesh.
More later.
A teaser...
I am far too drained and exhausted to write more than this, but just wanted everyone to know that the staff at Children's Hospital is really great.
Bye now.
Matt
P.S. Everything's fine, but check in tomorrow for more details. Weird night.
Bye now.
Matt
P.S. Everything's fine, but check in tomorrow for more details. Weird night.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Keflex
Much better night last night. Matt had the "bookend shifts" (meaning, the 1st and 3rd) for the babies last night. I made him promise that he'd sleep if he had the chance instead of just waiting up on the computer or wherever just listening for the babies. He agreed and followed through. Hannah was awake for a good deal of the 1st shift. Fed them around 1am and then went "on duty". Woke up to Robby crying around 3:20. Not bad at all in my opinion. Fed them and then they slept until like 7am. I'll take it.
We both feel better this morning.
Came home from Matt's parents' house late yesterday afternoon to find water in the laundry room (the basement is finished [with BRAND new carpet by the way] except for the laundry room). My mom, who is my great-aunt's power of attorney/financial person, had just had the cracks in the laundry room sealed up with some epoxy something or other. Yeah, one of the sections was leaking. Thank God for warranties, huh? Even more frustrating, though, because we had thought it was fixed, first of all, and second of all, the dryer is finally getting fixed (as I type this) and we thought we'd finally be able to start organizing our laundry room -- pretty key in a 6 person family. So, we wait, again, to get the epoxy guys back out to repair the leak that wasn't supposed to happen. Ugh.
Speaking of leaks...yesterday I thought maybe I had a small infected spot in my c-section incision. My WONDERFUL OB, Dr. F, was able to fit me in. As it turns out, my incision looked great but he's concerned that I have a what seems to be an infection in my belly. It's all hard and warm. I truly had just thought that that was an after-affect of being so ginormous for so long with the twins. Not so much. So, I'm on a hard-core antibiotic (Keflex) -- 4x a day for 10 days. Sheesh. Have to go back to Dr. F to recheck on Tues. I'm glad my incision is good (it FREAKS me out, frankly, to even have that incision) but frustrated that my belly is taking its time to recover. Oh well. Healing takes time, right?
Speaking of more leaks, Faith had some sort of stomach bug yesterday and threw up twice. Nice. She seems to feel better today. Let's PRAY that Mari, or worse the babies, don't get it.
So, those are all my thoughts for now. I am totally amazed that there are only essentially 2 more weeks of school left (at both Matt's and my schools). This school year has FLOWN by like nothing else, for the most part. I just can't believe it.
Ok. Really, guys, please leave a comment (if you can get it to work) or a poll opinion! Matt doesn't ask for much. He just wants to know that people are reading!
Steph
We both feel better this morning.
Came home from Matt's parents' house late yesterday afternoon to find water in the laundry room (the basement is finished [with BRAND new carpet by the way] except for the laundry room). My mom, who is my great-aunt's power of attorney/financial person, had just had the cracks in the laundry room sealed up with some epoxy something or other. Yeah, one of the sections was leaking. Thank God for warranties, huh? Even more frustrating, though, because we had thought it was fixed, first of all, and second of all, the dryer is finally getting fixed (as I type this) and we thought we'd finally be able to start organizing our laundry room -- pretty key in a 6 person family. So, we wait, again, to get the epoxy guys back out to repair the leak that wasn't supposed to happen. Ugh.
Speaking of leaks...yesterday I thought maybe I had a small infected spot in my c-section incision. My WONDERFUL OB, Dr. F, was able to fit me in. As it turns out, my incision looked great but he's concerned that I have a what seems to be an infection in my belly. It's all hard and warm. I truly had just thought that that was an after-affect of being so ginormous for so long with the twins. Not so much. So, I'm on a hard-core antibiotic (Keflex) -- 4x a day for 10 days. Sheesh. Have to go back to Dr. F to recheck on Tues. I'm glad my incision is good (it FREAKS me out, frankly, to even have that incision) but frustrated that my belly is taking its time to recover. Oh well. Healing takes time, right?
Speaking of more leaks, Faith had some sort of stomach bug yesterday and threw up twice. Nice. She seems to feel better today. Let's PRAY that Mari, or worse the babies, don't get it.
So, those are all my thoughts for now. I am totally amazed that there are only essentially 2 more weeks of school left (at both Matt's and my schools). This school year has FLOWN by like nothing else, for the most part. I just can't believe it.
Ok. Really, guys, please leave a comment (if you can get it to work) or a poll opinion! Matt doesn't ask for much. He just wants to know that people are reading!
Steph
Thursday, May 15, 2008
No such luck
Finally the bad night we knew was coming. Yup. It's 4am and I'm up. Haven't had much more than a couple hours sleep tonight...and had no nap yesterday. They're both in there making just enough noise to keep me from relaxing and falling asleep.
Hannah woke up first this time...before midnight. I was so deeply asleep, I was totally disoriented for awhile. I got her up and tried to comfort her for a while, but nothing short of holding her and letting her suck my finger kept her happy. So, we hauled her in for an early feeding, and woke Robby up too. Feeding done, switch shifts, Steph is on duty.
Well, the bad news is, if Steph's shift is not going well, I'm not going to be able to sleep. I can hear the kid(s) crying next door, and not only does it keep me up, I also feel awful for Steph having to deal with it...and of course I'm also so tired that even though I want to go help, my muscles don't even move. So I basically lie awake or doze fitfully at best for most of my shift.
Finally I get up to help. This time it's Robby who's unhappy - again, all that will keep him happy is finger sucking...and that's not a good thing to do too much. So we haul him in for an early feeding. And of course, he does the classic "I've been screaming for food for 2 hours but when you get me all set up to eat, I'm gonna look around and just hang out." Finally he eats. I go to make the 'supplement' we're supposed to give for a little while more...and can't find the little caps that go on the feeding syringes, without which you can't just drop them into hot water to heat up. So to heat up the milk I have to hold the syringe under running hot water with my bare hands. Meanwhile Hannah has woken up and is screaming. Finish all the feedings. Put the kids down. Sit on the couch, exhausted, drained, yet too wired to even think about going to sleep, because I fully expect to be in there again any second dealing with more crying.
So yeah, a rough night.
Make sure you check out the post below - Steph finally found time and energy to post a bit. Oh, and AS pointed out that you don't click the envelope, you click on "Comments" to leave a comment. Sorry....
Matt
Hannah woke up first this time...before midnight. I was so deeply asleep, I was totally disoriented for awhile. I got her up and tried to comfort her for a while, but nothing short of holding her and letting her suck my finger kept her happy. So, we hauled her in for an early feeding, and woke Robby up too. Feeding done, switch shifts, Steph is on duty.
Well, the bad news is, if Steph's shift is not going well, I'm not going to be able to sleep. I can hear the kid(s) crying next door, and not only does it keep me up, I also feel awful for Steph having to deal with it...and of course I'm also so tired that even though I want to go help, my muscles don't even move. So I basically lie awake or doze fitfully at best for most of my shift.
Finally I get up to help. This time it's Robby who's unhappy - again, all that will keep him happy is finger sucking...and that's not a good thing to do too much. So we haul him in for an early feeding. And of course, he does the classic "I've been screaming for food for 2 hours but when you get me all set up to eat, I'm gonna look around and just hang out." Finally he eats. I go to make the 'supplement' we're supposed to give for a little while more...and can't find the little caps that go on the feeding syringes, without which you can't just drop them into hot water to heat up. So to heat up the milk I have to hold the syringe under running hot water with my bare hands. Meanwhile Hannah has woken up and is screaming. Finish all the feedings. Put the kids down. Sit on the couch, exhausted, drained, yet too wired to even think about going to sleep, because I fully expect to be in there again any second dealing with more crying.
So yeah, a rough night.
Make sure you check out the post below - Steph finally found time and energy to post a bit. Oh, and AS pointed out that you don't click the envelope, you click on "Comments" to leave a comment. Sorry....
Matt
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Ok, ok...
So I'll attempt to post. I can't promise that it will be written all in one sitting, but I'll do my best.
The dr's appt. went really well yesterday. Fri. night in the hospital when they weighed the twins, Robby had lost 10% of his birthweight and Hannah 11%. The max is supposed to be 10% so the nurse had to call the pediatrician. They wanted us to start supplementing my nursing with formula. Not happy about that but we complied of course.
Well, Sat. morning the lactation consultant comes in (and if you have never experienced a lactation consultant [LC] -- they are WONDERFUL, AMAZING lifesavers but can be a bit...opinionated?) and was all mad that they had us use formula and a bottle, etc etc. So she set us up with a new plan which involves me pumping and Matt using that after after other nursing.
ANYWAY, I was nervous about the dr appt but both babies have started gaining weight and are now within the safe range of weight loss. Everything else looks good with them and Hannah had to get her frennulum snipped (that's that little flap thing underneath your tongue -- hers went all the way to front of the bottom of her tongue and it impeded her being able to get her tongue far enough out to latch well). Totally not a bit deal, though. A tiny drop of blood, a little cry and she was fine.
Had another really good night last night (for 1 wk old twins that is). They went two long stretches (including a 3 1/2 hr stretch) between feedings. Wouldn't go back down after the 5am feeding, but my big-time morning person of a husband was totally ok with that. As he said, if we can get them to sleep for the better part of between 10pm and 5am, we should count ourselves lucky.
Got a nice visit today by my uncle John (mom's brother) and aunt Kathy and cousing Johnnie as well as my grandma. They are such busy people (they live near Louisville, KY) and we are too so we don't get to see each other as often as we would like. Also had a short visit from aunt Margie (mom's sister) and the girls had a really good time playing with her, which was a Godsend to Matt who was trying to multitask (not his best gift) and cook dinner and calm fussy babies at the same time.
Sooo....hopefully tonight will go well too, although we are SO not getting our hopes up for a third night in a row!
Tomorrow morning we look forward to hanging out with Grandma Specter while Mari and Zayde go to "gym class".
Later. Steph
The dr's appt. went really well yesterday. Fri. night in the hospital when they weighed the twins, Robby had lost 10% of his birthweight and Hannah 11%. The max is supposed to be 10% so the nurse had to call the pediatrician. They wanted us to start supplementing my nursing with formula. Not happy about that but we complied of course.
Well, Sat. morning the lactation consultant comes in (and if you have never experienced a lactation consultant [LC] -- they are WONDERFUL, AMAZING lifesavers but can be a bit...opinionated?) and was all mad that they had us use formula and a bottle, etc etc. So she set us up with a new plan which involves me pumping and Matt using that after after other nursing.
ANYWAY, I was nervous about the dr appt but both babies have started gaining weight and are now within the safe range of weight loss. Everything else looks good with them and Hannah had to get her frennulum snipped (that's that little flap thing underneath your tongue -- hers went all the way to front of the bottom of her tongue and it impeded her being able to get her tongue far enough out to latch well). Totally not a bit deal, though. A tiny drop of blood, a little cry and she was fine.
Had another really good night last night (for 1 wk old twins that is). They went two long stretches (including a 3 1/2 hr stretch) between feedings. Wouldn't go back down after the 5am feeding, but my big-time morning person of a husband was totally ok with that. As he said, if we can get them to sleep for the better part of between 10pm and 5am, we should count ourselves lucky.
Got a nice visit today by my uncle John (mom's brother) and aunt Kathy and cousing Johnnie as well as my grandma. They are such busy people (they live near Louisville, KY) and we are too so we don't get to see each other as often as we would like. Also had a short visit from aunt Margie (mom's sister) and the girls had a really good time playing with her, which was a Godsend to Matt who was trying to multitask (not his best gift) and cook dinner and calm fussy babies at the same time.
Sooo....hopefully tonight will go well too, although we are SO not getting our hopes up for a third night in a row!
Tomorrow morning we look forward to hanging out with Grandma Specter while Mari and Zayde go to "gym class".
Later. Steph
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Nightly News
Last night went pretty well. Both twins slept from the time of the post until almost 1, then after their feeding, both slept until about 3:30 something. After that Robby was not ready to go back down and had to be comforted until about 5 or so.
So I am getting small chunks of about 1-2 hours of sleep 1-2 times a night. Enough to keep me from going totally loony, but the pace IS starting to catch up with me during the day.
This blog has become a bit of a comforting thing to do during the first part of the night...allows me to organize my thoughts and process them, which puts me into a better state for the remainder of the night. People keep telling me that lots of people are checking in and reading the blog, but no one ever comments on anything (well, almost no one, thanks mu and AC). You all realize that there's a little envelope icon down at the end of each post? Click on that after a post you particularly like or dislike and leave me a note. It'd be nice to know that this isn't just a personal diary disappearing into the ether.
To quote a line from this year's first grade play, "People, people, I'm falling apart here!" Well, maybe not that bad, but some responses would be nice. C'mon - I've got newborn twins and I'm finding time to do this blog - drop me a line.
In other news, I may possibly be having a trip to plan again. An awful lot of speculation and ifs, but since the big Specter reunion in Cleveland has fizzled, Dad is looking at other options. Small options to be sure, but a very low-key, week or so escape to the Smokies and possibly some other Tennessee city (Chattanooga is looking very nice) sounds like a lot of fun. An awful lot has to happen to make it all come together, not the least of which is us feeling like the twins will be on some kind of regular schedule by around July, and that we'll be feeling ready to take on that kind of a challenge. But the idea of researching another trip (if I can find the time to do it) is a bright ray of sunshine.
So, I'm off to grab an hour or so of sleep. Good night all - see you in the morning.
Matt
P.S. Doctor's visit went fine, Steph can fill in the details later. I'm going to bug her to post tomorrow.
So I am getting small chunks of about 1-2 hours of sleep 1-2 times a night. Enough to keep me from going totally loony, but the pace IS starting to catch up with me during the day.
This blog has become a bit of a comforting thing to do during the first part of the night...allows me to organize my thoughts and process them, which puts me into a better state for the remainder of the night. People keep telling me that lots of people are checking in and reading the blog, but no one ever comments on anything (well, almost no one, thanks mu and AC). You all realize that there's a little envelope icon down at the end of each post? Click on that after a post you particularly like or dislike and leave me a note. It'd be nice to know that this isn't just a personal diary disappearing into the ether.
To quote a line from this year's first grade play, "People, people, I'm falling apart here!" Well, maybe not that bad, but some responses would be nice. C'mon - I've got newborn twins and I'm finding time to do this blog - drop me a line.
In other news, I may possibly be having a trip to plan again. An awful lot of speculation and ifs, but since the big Specter reunion in Cleveland has fizzled, Dad is looking at other options. Small options to be sure, but a very low-key, week or so escape to the Smokies and possibly some other Tennessee city (Chattanooga is looking very nice) sounds like a lot of fun. An awful lot has to happen to make it all come together, not the least of which is us feeling like the twins will be on some kind of regular schedule by around July, and that we'll be feeling ready to take on that kind of a challenge. But the idea of researching another trip (if I can find the time to do it) is a bright ray of sunshine.
So, I'm off to grab an hour or so of sleep. Good night all - see you in the morning.
Matt
P.S. Doctor's visit went fine, Steph can fill in the details later. I'm going to bug her to post tomorrow.
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