In The Beginning...

In the beginning...  there was a very big belly, and a very uncomfortable Kate. My back, my hip, my everything hurt! I was measuring at something like 46 weeks pregnant if it had been a singleton pregnancy. I was proud of that number because I wanted something to point to to illustrate how uncomfortable I felt. I had gestational diabetes. I was on bed-rest for one month. Bored and sore! And trying to eat often to make the babies grow. Finn (called then "Pudding Pop") was in the 4th percentile so we were worried about his growth. I tried to eat as much as I could, and as healthy as I could, because I read that that (my weight gain) would help the babies not be premature, and be bigger when they did come.

In the beginning... there was pre-eclampsia and a surprise C-section.  Even though I was planning a C-section at "twin term" which is 37 weeks, the twins arrived 1 week early because pre-eclampsia is a serious condition that can have dire consequences for mom and babies. So I went in on a Monday to get my blood checked (based on the advice of the ante-partum nurse who visited me that day and noticed my blood pressure) and had them at 10:06 and 10:08 that night.

In the beginning... there were tubes and the NICU. The nurses were kind and funny and knowledgeable. We have good memories of those women. It took us until Saturday (5 days) to get the babies home. They began with feeding tubes and monitors stuck on their little bodies. Olivia had some breathing problems and Finn had some blood sugar problems. I wish I had a photo of his little foot. It was covered in scabs from the many many pokes he got in his heel. That's where they get stuck to take infant blood. Every two hours they pokes him! Poor guy. Not a nice welcome to the outside world.

We finally got home on Saturday evening. They were put in the cradle that David slept in as a baby. They were together again!

Olivia can spit!

I love "Gripe Water". Before now the babies would have to swallow whatever we gave them. Gripe Water is this great mix sodium bicarbonate and herbs and water. It is a miracle cure for hiccups, which Olivia gets after many feedings. But now she is refusing at will!

Both of them are also grabbing hair and holding on. They seem to calm down when they have a fistful, and it certainly gets my attention.

Finn is loving sleeping on his stomach. He can't flail like when he's on his back. And someone's watching him 24 hours a day, so I'm sure it's safe.

Also swings are great! The baby swing often help settle a fussy baby.

First Entry: New Babies! New Kind of Memory Book

Well, The babies are 5 weeks plus, and own our hearts. I don't know how much time I'll have to update this blog, but I'll do my best to put in news as it develops. They are Finn and Olivia. They went to the doctor today and are average size, so that means their growth is good as Finn started out quite little (he's gone from 4th percentile to 50th percentile. Now they are about the same size. They are both about 8 lbs 5 oz. We found out that Olivia's "bindi" is called a strawberry hemangioma, and may get bigger before it goes away, but should be gone before she reaches 3 years old.

They are starting to smile a little. It is still very rare though.