Week 5 - Back in the Saddle Again

After a very long absence from the barn, I finally was able to visit my mare! With the break for the required bedrest, it had been 3 months since I'd seen her and I was aching to visit. While Paul humored me and introduced the twins to welcoming friends, I caught a quick ride. Just 15 minutes or so in the arena - and bareback so I didn't "waste" any of my precious time dealing with cumbersome tack, but they were very sweet 15 minutes. Here's a picture of one very happy mother!

Back in the Saddle Again - Ava with Allison & Misty

Afterwards, we drove a little further down the coast to one of our favorite exercise trails. We spend the next couple of hours walking along the trail along the ocean bluff-tops. Very relaxing and we enjoyed the people watching as the beaches and trails were full. It's nice to start including the kids in some of our old routines. Also, a nice way to celebrate their 5th week of being with us! (Happy Birthday, girls!)

Paul & Bettina - At the Beach

Week 4 - Baptism Day

What would have been their official due date was instead the girls' Baptism Day. Family, some close friends and the chosen god-parents gathered 'round in church for their holy day.


Baptism Day

Ava's god-mothers are Liz and Lisa. Allison is god-mother to both their first-born daughters, so now the trio is complete. Ava's god-father is Mike, a good and trusted friend.

Ava's god-parents

Ron and Jodi Lom and Scott are Tina's god-parents. Scott, being quasi-family, knew and loved Tina's namesake, Allison's grandmother and therefore has a special kinship to her.

Bettina's god-parents

Week 3 - How to Lose 30 Pounds in 3 Weeks

Although the twins have been having bi-weekly appointments with their doctor, it's taken me a bit longer to circle back with mine. Two weeks after being discharged from the hospital, I had my first follow-up appointment with my OB after the C-section. Basically they wamt to touch base to check to make sure that the incision is healing properly and to remove the bandage that protects the incision from shower water and normal wear-and-tear. While there, however, they go through the other normal routine of checking the blood pressure and body weight. I was a bit disappointed when I weighed in - no longer pregnant - and heard "one-hundred fifty-seven pounds." That's a lot, I thought. "What was I last time I was here?" Of course, then I was still very pregnant and about five days from giving birth. The nurse looked through the chart and said last time I weighed in at one-hundred eighty-nine. Wow! I couldn't believe it! That number seems so big now! It's amazing how quickly the mind forgets how big I was and the discomfort that came with it.

The upside is that I've lost over thirty pounds in under 3 weeks! I'm not sure the popularity of this radical diet, though. Seems that eating grapefruits for 3 weeks straight or counting carbs would be a lot easier than being pregnant for 8 months, although the alcohol regime would probably be the same.

So, just when I think I'm doing pretty good - focusing on the 30 pounds lost rather than the 20 pounds I'd still like to lose - a harsh reality check hits: As a treat, I hired a babysitter so I could take my hard-working, supportive mother out for lunch and for a bit of Nordstrom shopping (still have some good deals at their Half-Yearly sale). Lunch is perfect and served on the warm and sunny patio. Shopping is nice (although I realize it's going to be awhile before I feel inspired to buy something new). The nice Nordstrom sales assistant who's been helping my mom and I remarks as I come out of the dressing room, "I didn't realize until now that you were pregnant!" "I was, but I actually gave birth 4 weeks ago," I answer. I was dumbfounded when she answered, "Well, it does take some time to take it off again, doesn't it." Stupid lady! I didn't want to hear that! Bad sales associate! No commission for you!

It's a good thing I'm not already sensitive about my weight - nor really ever been. However, the comment, as well as the mirrors in the changing room and my general desire to "do more" with my day has inspired me to be a little more active. More walking and exercising. It does feel good, though, and is also good for the babies to get some more fresh air.

First Adventures

Emily & Jonathan Kalbach with the twins at their wedding

Paul and I have been challenging ourselves with some increasingly difficult/longer excursions from home to see what we can handle - including working out how to use all our baby toys. It also helps us work out what we're forgetting or overpacking in the diaper bag.

Our first car trip was a true adventure. We went to borrow some preemie clothes from one of our Twins Clubs. I went in to get the clothes and Paul stayed in the car with the sleeping babies. I came out a bit later than I expected and when we tried to start the car up again for our trip back home, we found that the car battery had died. Well, the good news is that we carried a pair of jumper cables and, within 10 minutes we were on the road again. That was a pretty intense 10 minutes in between, however. And, wouldn't you know that these quiet kids would burst out in tears the second the car started moving again??

After surviving that trip, we took another trial run to the Lafayette Reservoir for some picnic time under the trees. That trip was very enjoyable and boosted our confidence. Other excursions had us practice for what we thought would be our big test: the trip up to my cousin's wedding in Sacramento. We didn't know how long we would be able to stay, but we surprised ourselves by staying nearly to the end of the wedding. The bride and groom, pictured above, also enjoyed the Navy-themed outfits that the girls sported to match the Navy Dress Whites theme (my cousin is a Navy pilot).

Our next test: the week-long family reunion vacation, this year located in eastern Washington at Lake Chelan. We will need to build up to a plane ride followed by a 2-hour car ride. With the practice we're getting, the challenge may only be the packing of the trip and not so much the traveling.

If You Bear Them, They Will Come

Well, it's not really baseball or dead relatives that come out of the cornfields, but we did have many visitors from afar in a short number of days...



Aunt Ainsley with the girls

Visitors come from far and near to visit the girls in their first couple of weeks. Their Aunt Ainsley, who just finished all her schooling for her nursing degree, visits just after her pinning ceremony. She drives down from Lake Tahoe - about a 3-hour drive - to visit for a couple of days.


Grandpa and Bettina

Their maternal Grandpa drove down a few days later from Anacortes, WA, nearly Canada and a 15-hour drive.


Scott from Australia with Ava

However, the longest traveled to visit these little girls is former flatmate, Scott, who came with his wife Nicole all the way from Sydney, Australia. Granted, they were passing through on their way to Charlotte, but none-the-less, they made a special stop in San Francisco for 2 days to visit.

I Am Mother - Hear Me Moo!

"Moo!"

Well, one of the primary concerns one has as a new mother to twins is whether or not you will be able to feed them both without supplements or extra time. How to balance getting all the benefits of breast milk with the conveniences of bottle feeding and a busy life of keeping up with the kids as well as your sleep. In all the articles and books you read, they sear one thing into your head - in the hospital, try to get the babies to the breast as soon as possible - within the hour - to avoid this thing called nipple confusion (when the kids get confused by the different shapes of the breast, bottle and/or pacifier and refuse to take one or all of them). This could prove an obstacle and limit the way/s you can feed your babies and spell near disaster for a planner like myself. This possibility of nipple confusion set me up for near panic when, while just after giving birth, I not only didn't get to see my girls for the first 2 hours, but the nurses fed them through a bottle without even checking in with me first. Sounds like a little issue, but to a new and brainwashed mother like me, this was a bit scary.

Fortunately, this fear has also proven benign. Perhaps it's luck or just alarmism, but my girls - especially Tina - have overcome these challenges without fail. Ava initially was a little too lazy to feed at the breast (it seems to take more energy), but has bulked up enough to gain the strength to join her sister at the double nursing pillow. A proud moment for Mom who was always hoping her kids would follow in her "efficiency" footsteps!

However, the joke's on us... Paul and I have come to realize that, if we truly do want to save time, the girls actually feed faster from the bottle. So, especially at night, when we're sleep-deprived and just want them to feed and then fall back asleep, we have defaulted to bottle feeding, saving the leisurely breast feeding for during the day. This means I have become a pumping machine. Paul has done the math (as every good engineer-minded daddy would) and determined that I pump about 1 1/4 gallon of milk a day. We have over 50 bags stored already in the freezer and think that we could continue to exclusively feed them breast milk for a long time after I quit feeding and pumping. I still can't help but be proud of my double-feeding girls. The goal I built up so long ago during the Breastfeeding for Multiples classes has been realized - even if we only use it for fun and in leisure now.