Lessons Part 2

Or maybe they are confessions of a new mom...
1. When the changing table cover gets a little messy, from a little spit up, I put a lap pad over it. Or I turn it the other way, to where the dirty part is at their feet.

2. If a lap pad that they are laying their heads on gets wet, from spit up of course, I will turn it over, instead of washing it. When it gets wet again on the other side, then I wash it. Some people may call us dirty or unsanitary...I call it being enviromentally friendly by not washing every single solitary thing.

3. Babies make a lot of noises. Sometimes we hear puppies, birds, goats...the goat is the best one right now.

4. Babies make really bad faces, and cry out, and then in the next breath they smile. It's the craziest thing. We get up to check on them, and by the time we make it to their bed, they are smiling.

5. Boys go through more clothes than girls do.

6. Karo syrup does work. Too well sometimes.

7. Bibs are our new friend. Bibs are great. You must remember to fasten bibs before washing though, or else they stick to stuff while drying.

8. Everywhere I look in the living room,there is a burp cloth or a bib..on the arm of the couch, over the pack and play, on the floor, on the coffee table. We have a stack a mile high on the back of the couch. Easy access is a must.

9. I need to take more pictures. Some people would say I take too many, but honestly, I thought I'd be taking hundreds a day. I'm not. I take maybe 10 a day. Some days more, some days less. I feel like I'm going to miss this time though. I also need to use our video camera more. I just got it on X-mas, 2 days before they came, so I didn't have much time to learn it.

10. It's hard to decide between taking a nap and doing housework. I know I need to do both. I'm not sure how to prioritize where this is concerned.

I think I'll leave it with 10 for now...I just heard one of our little goats and Y&R is calling my name! Here are a few pictures from the last several days!



Emily in her new bed

Daddy and William

Aunt Kristin and William

Mama and Emily

Emily with her arm somewhere other than the arm hole

Lessons I am Learning

1. We are now Mama and Daddy, not Billy and Beth.

2. You really DO do a lot of laundry with babies. I didn't believe it at first, I thought I might do an extra load or two a week...but I'm doing about a load a day, of just their clothes. We go thru an insane number of burp cloths!

3. Modesty is out the window, several people have now seen my boobs that I never thought would see them. I walk around sometimes without a shirt on, like a guy, until I'm completely done with their feeding regimen.

4. Spit up/throw up is going to be all over the house, on the pillows, couch, carpet, etc. I have to accept that.

5. On that same note, my body is also going to have spit up on it. Today I got a good dose right down my chest, into my bra, between my boobs.

6. It's really easy to accidentally fold up a hand in a nursing bra.

7. I am tired and will be tired for many months to come. It doesn't mean I"m falling apart, it doesn't mean I can't go on. It just means I'm tired. Sometimes I'm sleepy, sometimes I'm not. When I'm not, I do other stuff. And when I am, I sleep. I have to let go of any "house cleaning" guilt that I have - which is actually being fairly easy to do!

8. I may never run an errand with the children. Going places is very time and energy consuming. The thought of actually voluntarily taking them out to a store of some kind blows my mind at this point. Doctor appts are the ONLY place we're going right now.

9. Babies are dirty sometimes, actually a lot of the time. I think I may have been judgemental before, not meaning to be, but I believe I was. I would look at kids in public and think to myself " how hard is it to wipe off that kids face?" Well, I'm here to tell you - the 3 times they've been out, their faces have not been wiped. They have milk mustaches and eye boogers, and Monday, as we were walking in, Emily's beautiful pink blanket had a big wad of eye booger/snot on it. Right on top, for all to see. I just looked the other way.

10. Having help is GREAT! I need help. I love help. I'm not good at asking for it..and I'm not always good at accepting it. But it's awesome, and I know I need it. I can say it. I can admit it. And that is Ok.

11. Family is so important. I miss mine more than anything right now. There is no one like your own Mama and your own Nana. Family is going to be there above all else and will stand there next to you, when no one else will.

12. Having a mother-in-law and sister-in-law within walking distance of your house = AWESOME! This goes along with number #10, but having people that love you, and love your kids more than anything and WANT to hang out and change diapers and do your laundry and talk to you, just be there, is so nice. It's actually fun and there are many people that can't and won't say that about their in-laws, but this girl is not one of them. I am very blessed to have family so close.

13. Seeing a smile in the midst of a frustrating feeding session is priceless. It makes you want to go on and continue, and just hang in there.

I think I'll end this for now. I will probably add to the list on another post.
I will leave you with a few pictures for your viewing pleasure!


Happy One Month Birthday Babies!


William, The Thug

Do you see something poking out that is not supposed to be?!

Our first try with the sling

Twins are Twice the Fun!

Can you tell they were not overly impressed?!

Photo essay

Emily's first mail



William's first mail

On the way to the doctor

Getting ready

William is a little wiggle worm

Our House

Is now filled with sounds we've never heard before...grunts, moans, whimpers, laughs, chuckles, cries, puppy noises and bird noises...then we hear our own laughs at this amazing situation. We went from a family of 2, just me and Billy, to a family of 4 in a matter of minutes, and we are left to care for these 2 tiny creatures that now live with us! They are our children!!!!
OURS!!!!
I'm still not sure reality has totally set in, that these kiddos are ours, no one will take them from us, they will be with us forever, and we are in charge of making sure they have what they need.
They are both so funny and so different. Emily is just hilarious, we laugh at her all day. Her faces and noises she makes are priceless. William is much more laid back, he just does his thing, smiles occasionally, but normally just "is."
But they are very both sweet and I can't wait to see how they unfold as they days go by.
All of that being said, caring for them is very hard work, and I wouldn't trade it for anything...but it is VERY hard. I'm not sure what I was expecting....but it's harder than I thought.
William threw up on me yesterday and yes I know many moms have had this happen, but this was my first actual throw up down my skin...my shirt was pulled up and down it went, over my chest, down my stomach into my pants.
Both of them go crazy when it's time to eat, they root around, turn their heads, and once they start eating...right to sleep they go. It's amazing they can be SO awake one second and then just like that, their little eyes close, and it's a miracle to get them to wake up again to eat!
They have been home with us for 2 weeks and one day. People keep asking me what they need, what I think, and all I can say is " I have no idea." I don't know if they need more to eat. I don't know if we should check their diaper again. All I can do is guess. It might be wrong, it might be right. But I believe that if we are doing everything the best we can, and doing it in their best interest, and just loving them with all of our hearts...we will be Ok.
Today is a new day. Last night was a rough night, and I said several prayers that I would get through it, in one piece, and so would they. I had to enlist help from Billy, which I didn't want to do, but I sucked it up and did it anyway. And it worked out fine. So now they are sleeping peacefully, about to be woken up to get ready for the doctor...but I will accept this time to look at their little faces and say Thank you God for giving them to us.
Happy Tuesday!

3 week Update

Yes, this post is very very late! Sorrrrry! Since the last time I posted, our twins arrived ( which all of you already know)!
They arrived very unexpectedly on Saturday, December 27, 2008. We had a normal day, and about 4pm, my water broke. For no reason, it just broke, and my 9 pm, they were here!
I still think we are in a bit of shock, lol...
I will post about the actual birth, and leading up to it another day, but here are a few recent pictures of the babies.

From Friday, 33 week appt

We had our ultrasound today and everything looks good with the babies, and with me! Baby A is measuring about 5 pounds and 1 ounce, and Baby B is about 4 pounds and 12 ounces, so they're about 1/2 pound apart, which is fine. As long as they are within 1 pound of each other, that is good. Both babies have good fluid around them, and seem to be progressing and growing just as they should be. Baby A is still head down, and it is stretched out and up, it's back/butt is up toward the top of my stomach, on the right, along with its feet. Baby B is still head up, and exactly the opposite way, it's butt is down the left side, and right now, it is folded up with it's feet up and right near it's head. so basically, both of their feet are toward the top of my belly, which is right where I feel most of the movement. I am definitely swelling, and it's not going down too much at all. The doctor said that whatever I decided to do about work, they would support, and it would be completely fine and normal if I decided to quit work early. I'm going to just play it by ear, work the next 2 weeks, since I have 2 days off anyway, and then after the first of the year, see how the swelling is and see how uncomfy I am. Driving is not an easy thing right now, and having to drive 45 mins each way can be a bit much at times. They told me again that the babies probably would not move much more at this point, due to space constrictions. So unless a miracle happens and Baby B really decides it wants to completely flip, the likelihood of having a c-section is pretty high, since both of them will not be head down. I'm sure stranger things have happened, but the chances are decreasing, that's for sure! So in a nutshell, everything is still going just fine! They said the babies look good and healthy, and I am doing good. I am def. having contractions, I had 3 while I was there in the doctor's office, and I just have to watch them and be mindful of them and try to count if I can. I still dont' always know exactly when I'm having one, but I'm going to try to be more conscious of it. Since we've had some computer probs, my scanner is not hooked up anymore, but I'll see if we can hook it up again, and I'll scan a few ultrasound pics over the weekend and send them. You can see Baby B's face really good, Baby A's is all crunched down in the pelvis area, so you couldn't see it's face very well at all. Anyway, something is better than nothing! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, it's getting close! :-)