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.

The Girls' Birth Day - A Review in Pictures....

So, I know that some people (like my husband) are squeemish and don't appreciate "realistic" photographs. So, I've done 2 things to share the photos of the babies' birth day. I created one photo album for the squeemish that has absolutely ZERO surgery or naked baby pictures. We'll call this the "G-rated" version. There's also the "R-rated" version where you'll see all the blood and violence of the surgery - for those who dare - as well as a few naked baby bodies (in completely a non-suggestive environment).

The pictures show everything from getting monitored in the OB Emergency Registration to the post-pardom room where we stayed for 4 days.

For the "R-rated" version, click here.

For the "G-rated" version, click here.

Enjoy!

We're Going Home!

Celebration Dinner

The hospital sends us a fancy celebration dinner for our last night's stay. We get to celebrate taking home our girls (based on weight gain, vital signs, and feeding) as well as mom recovering from her surgery (they have some funny benchmarks for this - farts and other BMs!).

We enjoy filet mignon with merlot sauce, mixed greens with a champagne dressing, and sparkling cider served in fancy glasses. The table is set with white linens and a grand chocolate torte is for dessert. We are excited and bring the girls over tableside to help us celebrate. There is much to be grateful for - we have two beautiful babies that we get to take home with us, despite their pre-mature births.

Girl Time

Girl Time

Allison likes it when Paul has to move the car for parking -- she gets to cuddle BOTH!

Good Morning! Day 4

Good Morning!

We can't help ourselves... each morning, Paul and I take one girl each for some quality Kangaroo Care - skin-to-skin cuddling! Paul and Tina greet the morning on Day 4.

Twins Close Up

Ava and Tina

Here are close-ups of the twins so you can see their faces. Ava's on the left and Tina's on the right with the hallmark eyebrows!

They prefer to co-sleep and share a bassinette when Daddy and I aren't cuddling them ourselves!

The First Family Photo

Our New Family!

Mommy and Daddy with our precious gifts, Ava Angelina and Bettina "Tina" Louise. The twins are 1 day, actually less than 24 hours, old in this photo.

Mom's First Look

Mom's first look at her babies

Mom becomes "chopped liver" immediately after the twins' birth. Everyone follows the babies down the hall to the nursery while she gets stitched up and placed in the recovery room. Two hours after they're born, she finally gets to see them side-by-side and hold them for herself. Bettina comes first as Ava's blood-sugar was so low she needed an immediate formula feeding. You can see this gave her enough energy to scream and complain!

Mom is still numb from the chest down from the spinal block. She actually got 2 blocks because the 1st one didn't hit the right area in the spine, thus causing her to stay numb up until 3 o'clock am - much longer than usual! What a weird feeling and a scary, but safe, way to feel like a parapaligic.

They're Here!

New Mommy Sleeping

Ava Angelina (formerly "Baby A") and Bettina Louise (formerly "Baby B") arrived on Saturday evening, May 21st, via C-section delivery at 7:04 and 7:05 pm respectively.

Ava was 5 pounds 6 ounces and 18 3/4 inches and Tina was an ounce lighter and a quarter inch longer. Pictures will be forthcoming (the dial-up in the hospital takes forever!).

Both babies were perfectly healthy but had slight problems with blood-sugar levels that require they be on formula first. They are adjusting to breastfeeding, but get very sleepy, as most pre-mature babies do, making supplementation necessary until their strenght is up. We are blessed that they never had to see the NICU and have stayed in the Well-Baby nursery instead when they're not with us.

Ava has Paul's coloring with lots of dark, thick hair. Tina has tinier features and really long fingers and legs like her mom. Even her 2nd toe is longer than her big toe, just like mom!

We will continue to stay in the hospital until Wednesday while mom continues to heal up and babies grow their strenght. We are appreciative of the assistance while we're here. The food, services and staff are excellent and give us a little break in our recooperation as well as a few hours of sleep!! It's like a free night-nanny and we will use it as long as we can! Paul and I wake up and can't wait to see our girls. We get anxious to cuddle skin-to-skin (called "kangaroo care") with them - each of us gets our own to cuddle, too! It's very fun!

Daddy Business

Setting Up Shop

Paul sets up the girls' sleeping quarters - the posh top-of-the-line Pack 'n Play. This thing comes complete with changing table, vibrating floor, sound (music and nature sounds) and lights, and rotating moblie. The girls will be co-sleeping and with living in Gigi's house, it is compact with everything that they should need.

Of course, all dad's need to try to set it up without reading the directions first. This strategy appears to work up until near the end. Lucky for us, he won't ask for directions when lost either -- we never get lost.

Week 35 - Almost Clean & Sober

This week’s meeting with the doctor gives me some comfort from last week’s frustration. The doctor decides that the babies and I are big and healthy enough for delivery. She tells me that, come Saturday, the end of week 35, I can stop taking the terbutaline and wait for the impending labor to start. This is wonderful news to me, especially since it means I no longer need to fantasize over rebellious ways to get it all started! All without even having to admit my conspiracy theories to her – I can rest assured that it was her idea and not my rebellious nature.

So, what should I expect on Saturday when I become “clean & sober?” Well, sometimes labor comes within a couple hours after coming off the drugs; it may also take a week or more. There is no way to really predict, however, from the reaction and the couple of trips to the hospital after some late pills, I’m guessing I’ll learn earlier rather than later. Or maybe that’s just my hope. Regardless, I am glad for the news and become anxious instead thinking about meeting our babies. What color eyes will they have – brown like Daddy's or green like mine? I’m guessing they will have brown hair (since we both have that), but will they also inherit our eyebrows? Will their personalities reflect some of the movements I’ve been feeling throughout this pregnancy with “Baby A” seemingly much more assertive than “Baby B?” And, of course, what in the heck will we finally call them (this is still up in the air and continues to be the main topic and question with dinner guests and visitors)?

Two more days and perhaps we can start answering these questions. Still, a C-section seems to be in order so, when it happens, it will all fall into place quickly. Perhaps my chronicle for Week 36 will be birth announcements!

Oh, the latest stats: Babies' weight is about 6 pounds each. Total weight gain to date for mommy: 51.5 pounds; total girth: 48 inches, just under 20 inches bigger than pre-pregnancy!! (Yeah - it's time!)

Week 34 - The Great Escape!

The Great Escape

The Zoo
We're almost at the end of week 34 now and not a whole lot has changed. My stomach is stretched to the point where it has diminished feeling and sensitivity, giving me insight as to why some never feel an episiotomy when it happens. I hit a wall of frustration Thursday when I was instructed by my stand-in doctor to renew my prescription of the terbutaline for 2 more weeks. Based on conversations with my usual doctor, I was expecting to only have to continue a few more days. I realized just how closely I was counting down those days when I got home and became upset about the difference. I am getting anxious for the next phase of this process (as crazy as it sounds). I've now been on bed-rest for 5 weeks and it's becoming a bore even knowing the chaos that will happen once the two little girls are here.


Poor Paul comes home and, upon asking how my day was, proceeds to watch me fall to tears. Lucky for me, he’s entirely sympathetic and devises a plan to give me some sort of relief - a feeling of getting out and rebelling without really breaking all the rules: a trip to San Francisco Zoo, provided that they have a wheelchair that we can rent to keep me off my feet. His idea encourages me and gives me some “homework” to do the following day (Friday). So, Saturday, we wake up early and I get to take an outing that has nothing to do with doctor appointments or preparing for babies; it was all about me and my sanity – as well as my need to be “naughty.”


It was a nice day with slightly overcast skies, but nice enough to get a little sun and certainly to clear the blues I’d had earlier. We spent a total of 4 hours there, with Paul pushing me around the park, and saw virtually everything there we could. I drank my “freedom” deeply and was grateful for my resourceful wheelchair-chauffer of a husband!
To see more pictures of the zoo outing, click here

What's in a Name?

We'd be interested to hear what you all think... It was the topic of much discussion on Mother's Day.

What names are your favorites for the girls?

What's in a Name?

What are your favorites names for the girls?

Bettina (Tina) Louise - after Allison's Grandma and her twin sister Isabella (Bella) Allyne Mirella (Ella) Allyne - after Paul's mother and Allison's Grandmother Ava Allyne

View Result

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Belly Comparison

Just for fun, I thought it would be interesting to watch the changes in my belly via photos since we first learned of our impending arrivals. Remember, I started off at Week 4 somewhere between 29 and 30 inches at my waist. This week, I'm at 47 inches!! An eighteen-inch difference and still growing!!
Belly Study - Comparison (click week number to view photo)

Week 4
Week 15
Week 18
Week 22
Week 27
Week 32
Week 34

Happy Mothers'-To-Be Day!

One of the sweetest things to happen to me lately was receiving a letter in the mail from a colleague from work. The letter contained a card that read “For the Mother-To-Be” and was my first greeting for a Mothers’ Day. I’m almost there and next year it will be “official.” However, to be fair, I realize that I haven’t experienced the real hard-work part of motherhood. The twins, at this point, are pretty much on cruise control and auto-pilot. There have been some unique lessons and experiences, however, and with this Mothers’-To-Be Day, here are a couple examples that come to mind…
You know you’re a Mother-To-Be when:

1. you only have 2 sleep position options left: the left side and the right side. Both make you sore and are very tiresome!
2. you sleep in 2-hour cycles with a trip to the bathroom in between each one and a trip to the kitchen between every other
3. you feel there’s an anchor pulling you at a 45-degree angle towards the ground
4. you can no longer sit like a lady and skirts are no longer an option unless they reach the ground
5. your entire stomach moves on it’s own and beyond your control
6. your husband can no longer watch you dress without covering his eyes and saying, “Ouch!”
7. you can no longer cut or paint your own toenails
8. your husband has to shave your legs for you
9. it takes strategic planning to get out of the bathtub or out of bed
10. you can no longer reach when you “wipe from the front”
11. you enjoy being barefoot and having your stomach rubbed with lotion
12. you spend most of your internet time searching for deals on baby supplies and preparations
13. when stretch marks make your belly look more like a tortoise shell than actual skin
14. your girth is broader than your husband’s shoulders
15. you’re thankful for sympathy weight because it means you don’t actually catch up to your husband’s weight!
16. you start enjoying the color pink and buy the frilly dresses you swore you’d never consider
17. you’re supposedly at the height of your “femininity,” but nothing you do nor any sound you make seems anything close to feminine.

Happy Mother’s Day to all who are actually mothers and for all the Mothers-To-Be, like me!

Friends of ours who will be celebrating a Mothers’ Day with a new child since Paul and I discovered our pregnancy:
Manny and Mary – Cheyenne born in November
Brad and Holly Ficarra – Jake Bradley born in November
Ken and Kristen Baber – Sonya Chanel born in February
Cameron and Lisa Gallaway – Brynn Bassett born in February
Jon and Melissa Mitchell – Cadence born in March
Ralph and Tiffany Lopez – Dean Walter born in March
Dave and Jill Berg - Spencer born in March
Dave and Becky Cingolani – Ava Margaret born in May
Todd and Suzanne Whyte – Shannon Kathryn born in May (on actual Mothers' Day!)

And the co-Mothers-To-Be celebrants:
Teresa Moss expecting a boy in July
Jennifer Kipp expecting a girl in July
Lois Silva expecting a girl in October
Yahna Boston expecting a baby in November