Keeping Up With The Boys!

Lilypie

Monday, June 1, 2009

The Boys are Here!

My Sons Are Here
Posted Monday, March 02, 2009 11:44 PM

I'm in love with these little bundles of joy. They are just gorgeous. Ethan Samuel was born first at 2:56 pm and he is 20 inches and a quarter long, weighing in at 6lbs and 8 ounces. James Ray Thomas came a minute later at 2:57pm being 18 and a half inches long, weighing in at 6lbs 3 ounces.
I went to my Dr this morning for an appointment, Ultrasound, and NST. After the ultrasound they took me to the Dr room and a nurse took my blood pressure, and it was the first time it was above normal. It was 150/100. They called the on-call physician and he said, the cure for pre-e is having the babies, so lets take them today.
I went into the hospital and all my family was here. Matt got here from work and going home to grab the bags and the camera. Things moved along so quickly. I would say the most painful thing I had to deal with was the epidural. They couldn't get it in straight, so they kept hitting a nerve and that was just so painful. They would put it in, then take it out to start over. They tried 3 times before getting it right. I was telling it to my family, and they asked how long it took. Matt and I answered at the same time. I said 30 minutes. He said 5. I was like, are you serious?
I got my catheter, and they wheeled me back to the OR. People told me, I won't feel pain, but I'd feel pressure. To be honest, I felt nothing at all. The epidural worked wonders, so I just felt awesome, except for a teensy bit short of breath. When the boys came out, they were not crying, but I'd here them cough a little, and everyone told me they were good. I just got to see them be moved into a little bassinet right away to get clean. I just wanted to touch them so badly. When they both were out, Matt was over by their beds and said they were both perfect and I just started bawling. I don't think I've ever been so elated and filled with love and joy in my whole life.
Later in recovery, I found out their first Apgar scores were 4s and it scared me so much, but they said that their second score for Ethan was an 8, and for James, it was a perfect 10. They are my tough little men.
In recovery, I tried to nurse both boys, and man, was it hard to do as a half numb lady. Holding them and a boob was so difficult. But Ethan ate, and James was just too tired. After going to my room, it flip-flopped and James was definitely my big eater. I was told that in the nursery, Ethan peed on a nurse that my family thought was being a little rough with him. I thought that was a little cute.
Right now, the boys are in the nursery and Matt is asleep on the pullout couch. I just can't describe the kind of happiness I feel right now. My epidural and IV will come out tomorrow and I will be allowed to get up and walk tomorrow morning. I want them to have a capable Mom .
So my Boys share a Birthday with Dr Suess and they were delivered today by an OB surgeon named Dr Super. It was a magical day. Truly magical.
Here is Ethan!
Here is James!
Oh, and Ethan has dark eyes already and very dark hair. James is a little blondie with dark eyes. And I can't tell you enough how amazing they are.
Post Partum Hormones
Posted Sunday, March 08, 2009 8:54 PM
The hormones can wreck you. I have spent about 1/4th of the time since my boys' birth bawling about different things. Mostly good things. I look at them and I cry because I love them so much and I want to feed them enough and some people will say I am doing awesome with feeding and that they are looking good. Then others will say that they don't think I'm giving them enough but I don't know what more I can do. I spend 2/3rds of my whole day feeding or pumping. I just wish my boys could tell me whether they are not hungry or just too tired at times.
They both had high bili levels and came home in bili beds. Well, James did and the home nurse came to check him and I asked her to please check Ethan too, and he was in a more dangerous level than James, so now, both my boys are in bili beds and we haven't been able to hold and cuddle them except during feedings. Matt just holds the boys on each side of the bed and bounces them. I try, but I just can't get over how bad it hurts my abs from the c-section, so I end up just sitting in the floor next to them and singing to them.
Today, they told us their levels had gone way down, but from my own research, they are still in the treatable range and I worry about discontinuing photo-therapy. The pediatrician with the home nurses said it would be okay, but another Mom I am close to said her son stayed on until his range was safe. I want my babies to be safe, but I am dying to have them in my arms, so I can just kiss them and kiss them.
I cry because I love my husband in a way I never thought was possible. He takes amazing care of me and the boys and he doesn't complain at all. He is just there for us and he loves our babies more than anything in the world. I have never seen him act this way and it melts my heart to know that he loves me so much and treats these 2 little people I value above anyone, so well. I feel like he is the kind of father my boys should have. He'd do anything for them.
I am just so happy that I can't stop crying. I love my family more than anything and if terrifies me to know that I have so much to lose by having so much.

Prepare for Cuteness!
Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2009 6:29 PM
I love them soooo much. They are my pride and joy! Hormones are much more stable now:)

The Boys are 2 Weeks Old!
Posted Tuesday, March 17, 2009 6:11 PM

I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. It feels like yesterday I was laying on the table just listening to hear my baby boys. Now I spend almost every free second with them. The second I get a minute alone, all I think about is whether they are okay and I miss them. I feel like I am back to normal. I get a painful twinge in my belly if I overdo it a bit, but for the most part, I am holding up very nicely, especially for a c-section. It is major surgery, but not anywhere near as scary as I thought it would be.
I love taking pictures of my little men. They turned 2 weeks old officially yesterday. Ethan is up to 6lbs 11 oz. James is up to 6lbs 8 oz. This is big because they dipped to Ethan being 5lbs 12 oz and James at 5lbs 6 oz. My boys are eating up a storm and I feel like I am living permanently attached to a breast pump. So much fun :(. I wish I could easily hold my boys while I pumped. Matt spends a lot of time with them when I'm pumping, but when they both cry and Daddy can't get them both settled, it about breaks my heart to be pumping.
Here are some pictures of my handsome little men that I took yesterday when we got back from the Dr office. I hope you enjoy.
James
Ethan

James
Ethan


One Month Old
Posted Thursday, April 02, 2009 9:28 PM
They are one month old today!
They have rolled over (Flinging their little bodies from tummy to back). James has on multiple occasions held up his own bottle. It is a sight to see (he just kinda props it, and he hates when we move his hand). They are so smart. At their appointment Ethan went up to 8 lbs 10 oz, and James is now 8lbs 4 ozs. They are so beautiful. I would post a picture, but I've had only a couple hours of sleep in the last 5 days and I think I might try to catch some ZZZZs. Pictures to come. And please God, let them sleep so I can get an uninterrupted 2 hours. I am sacrificing pumping in this 3 hours to sleep and am risking a painfully swollen chest in hopes for the bags under my eyes to turn a lighter shade of purple.
Good night.

The Wedding
Posted Friday, April 03, 2009 2:09 PM

Oh my Gosh, I have never been to a full Catholic wedding before, much less, be the Matron of honor in one. That is crazy. I was on the alter with the bride, groom, best man and priest. It was dang tiring, but I got through all the kneeling and standing, kneeling and standing.
The wedding went well. The bride was beautiful. I was in the dress just fine. We were to go to the old court house for pictures and then go to the bride's sister's house. We got the pics, then the bride decided to go to a couple other places and it took up all the time until the reception which meant no one ate a thing from 11 am to 8 pm. AHHHH!!!!!! Her sister was ticked because she bought a ton of food for all of us and cleaned her house. Also, that was a day without finding a place to pump and my milk suffered greatly. It truly sucks. I hand expressed, but it didn't do much. I've been popping fenugreek like pez candy since. Also, I'm on reglan to increase my milk.
To be honest, I don't know if I can keep up with pumping if the reglan doesn't boost my supply by a good amount.
That is about it. I am taking pictures of the boys today. My in-laws get to see the boys for the first time today and they get here in about 2 hours. Gotta get some good clothes on.

Pic of the boys! 5 Weeks and 3 day!
Posted Saturday, April 11, 2009 3:15 PM

They look bigger every day. I just can't believe how old they are. It makes me so sad that I have to go back to work on Monday. I am going to miss them so much during the day. I could sit and stare at them all day. If you don't believe me, here is the proof.

James is sick :( But he is so big! :)
Posted Saturday, April 18, 2009 1:46 PM

James has a upper resp. virus. I took him to the doctor this morning. He was 6 lbs 3 ounces at birth, but now at a bit shy of 7 weeks, he weighs exactly 10 lbs! I can't believe it. And his brother eats more and is bigger and he was born at 6 lbs 8 ounces. He must be over 10 lbs. I'm shocked but so happy.

It has been awhile (Long Blog) and PICS
Posted Thursday, May 07, 2009 9:04 AM

I am finding that raising 2 babies and working leaves very little time for blogging :) anyway, things are going very well.
I am going to talk about a little bit of guilt. I feel guilty when people ask how I can do it. Matt and I are constantly working together to get the boys through the day. And when we are at work, my Mom and my Grandma watch the boys. I always told myself I could handle them on my own, but I didn't want to because if both boys scream, I feel terrible calming one son and just putting the other baby in a bouncy seat as I rock them with my foot. It makes me feel bad, especially since James is constantly crying when he is sat down. I feel like if I'm by myself, I can't give Ethan enough attention.
The other day, I wanted to smack one of Matt's co-workers for what she said to him. In the mornings, we have a routine that I feed, change, and dress one baby and Matt does the same with the other baby. One morning we all slept in and I had to run out of the house to catch my carpool. Matt had to feed, change and dress both babies while they are big grumps in the morning. It is hard and I felt bad for leaving him alone to do it. We are capable of watching both babies, but it is just so much easier to share the responsibilities. Well, Matt did it all, brought the boys to my Mom's house, he had spit-up on his shoulder and he got to work and said, "I'm so exhausted." A co-worker asked if the boys kept him up all night. He said no and said what happened that morning. And his co-worker said, "Oh, so you are complaining that you have to raise your children and do the job that their mother does?"
When DH told me about it, I was so angry. He has done a lot and he has really been a savior to me on so many occassions. He takes care of his kids more than a lot of fathers I've heard described. He gets up with them at night just as much as I do, he feeds them, he plays with them, and he loves them more than anyone. I was never so happy to be the person he loves third-most.
Okay, so on Tuesday, the boys got 2 month shots and I took off work to watch them. I gave my Mom and Grandma the day off and I basically told the boys, "Lets try this, Just Me and you guys." It was not too hard. I sang to them, we all danced around, they watched me exercise. I turned on Barney and I sang along with Barney too. It was just a very good day. I think I got over a huge fear that day. So at 2 months old, I got over my fear of my children. I love them more than anything in this world, but I was just so scared of not being able to take care of them the way they deserve, and even though I think they deserve the greatest things in life, I think they did good with a somewhat fearful Mom that did her best.
Anyway, that is all I can think of for now, how about some pictures:

Got Your Face! 7 Weeks
Something must have been interesting, and it wasn't the camera. 7 Weeks

Tuckered out and holding hands after a long day at the Garden 7 weeks 5 days

James is so smily! 8 weeks

I've been trying to get a picture of Ethan doing it, but 2 of James will have to work. 8 Weeks!


Blogging 2 Days in a Row! Mother's Day
Posted Friday, May 08, 2009 9:21 AM

Wow, this is starting to feel familiar again.
I am so excited about Mother's Day this year. Matt and I were going to buy a patio set and get curtains for our bedroom for my present this year. We just needed to get our tax refund back. (Stupid Turbo Tax glitched and I had to file by snail mail) Well, the refund is not back yet, so I was going to get a 'tide me over gift.'
Well, last night, DH calls on his way home from work and said he got my gift and I would need to hide away when I got home so he could bring it to the guest bedroom and put it away without me seeing. I said sure. I really like surprise gifts, so I don't snoop, and I don't want gifts early. Anyway, I hide in the dining room and DH gets the gift put away. Later while we are eating, he says, "Do you want your gift now?" I told him with it being my first Mother's Day as a Mom, I'd really rather wait until Sunday. He kept on and on. He was so excited about it. Then he gets up, I think he is going to use the restroom, but instead, he comes back with my gift. I was like, "Babe, can't it wait til Sunday." He said, "No, absolutely not, you have to open it Now."
It was a Wii Fit! I love it so much. I spent over an hour playing on it last night. I broke a sweat. I was surprised it was such a good workout. Lord knows I want to lose more weight.
So now, I won't tell you how much I weigh, but since I had the babies, I lost a total of 58lbs. I have gained 4 back though. Grrr! And I didn't gain anywhere close to 58lbs during the pregnancy. However, my pants still don't fit, Go figure! So I need to find some major motivation because I want to lose another 30 lbs. Wii only let me set a goal of 22 lbs over 3 months. I think I need to set more short term goals though. On top of that, I'm taking alli and dieting.
I am praying that one day, I will fit into my old bras. I feel like such a hooker with these big boobs. Boobs this big make all my clothes look trashy. I stopped breastfeeding, and let me tell you, once you quit breastfeeding, the girls don't stay perky. If they sagged just a little more, I wouldn't have to worry anymore about bras, I'd just tuck them into the maternity pants I'm still wearing and go about my day.
Anyway, I missed all you guys. It is nice to be in touch again.

Bumbo!
Posted Monday, May 11, 2009 8:42 AM

I wanted to get a picture of the boys all smily in their Bumbo seats yesterday, and I'll just let you see for yourselves how it turned out.
Pic #1) No Smiles

Pic #2) We are SOOOOO over the Bumbo!

Pic #3) Well, Ethan Still Likes it :)

I know there are pregnant girls who follow my blog...
Posted Monday, May 11, 2009 3:54 PM

I thought I'd post this because it was really helpful to me. There are tons of really good freezer recipes here. Not a long blog, but I thought some of you might be able to use it.
http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/user/default.aspx?UserName=FreezerMealsBio

Happy Friday!
Posted Friday, May 15, 2009 9:31 AM

Ugh, this was the week that just would not end! I am so excited for the weekend. I've been really dying for it since Wednesday when Matt got to spend all morning with the boys. He kept calling and telling me just how alert and fun they were being. I was so jealous. He got to watch Sesame Street with them. And he kept sending me cute texts like, "The letter of the day is G. Cookie monster ate a Grape, a Guitar, and he found a Girl" and "The number of the day is 9. The Count, counted 9 bats dressed to the nines." and "Anderson Cooper is on Grouch News Network and he is interviewing Walter Kranky and Dan Rather Not."
I've been dying to spend the morning with them, since during the work week, my only contact with the boys before work is me whispering "I love you and God bless you." and blowing them kisses. I just miss them so much when I'm working. They are so much fun to hang out with, I never want to leave them.
I had been doing so great at working out lately, then I skipped on Tuesday and Wednesday. The boys just needed me too much for me to step away to exercise. Last night though, I made myself work out. I picked up James and we did hula hoop, step aerobics, and some yoga together. It was a bunch of fun looking down at him and making silly faces while I did my cardio. During the 20 minutes of step aerobics, James just fell right asleep. That was so cool. I got fit while cuddling :)
Tomorrow is a big day for us. We are going to get portraits made of the boys. I feel like we have waited so long. Now, we have taken plenty of pictures of them, and I've staged some photos like the bumbo pics with a white blanket draped over my headboard and the boys sitting on my bed, but I'm happy to be getting real sit-down portraits.
Anyway, that is about it for me. Everyone have a great weekend!

What a Night!
Posted Tuesday, May 19, 2009 9:21 AM

The boys had been sleeping in their crib since Thursday. They were doing so great. They were so content. Last night, that changed and I'm hoping that it is a fluke.
Yesterday, James had a bad day. He scream cried every second he was awake at my Mom's house yesterday. I suggested so many things to do but absolutely nothing worked. It was frustrating all around. James was making himself miserable, he could barely catch his breath. The only times he'd stop crying was when he'd cry himself to sleep out of pure exhaustion.
Matt picked him up after work and it was like he flipped a switch, Matt held him and he stopped crying, and when Matt kissed his nose, he started smiling and cooing. Can you say separation anxiety!?!
I am hoping this does not happen every day, or every Monday. He's my emotional baby who cries big fat tears when he gets upset. It is the saddest sight. Well, because he exhausted himself, we had such a hard time keeping him awake during the day. So at 2 am, he was wide awake. And he was unhappy that we were not in the mood to play. He was yelling at us for hours, which woke up Ethan, who also decided it was play time.
We were up from 2 am til I had to get ready for work at 5. We gave them another bottle and wouldn't you know it, they fell asleep. I feel so exhausted. Matt and I looked like zombies walking around the house this morning.

That's How I Like It
Posted Wednesday, May 20, 2009 7:02 AM

Yesterday was such a huge pain, but I got through it and hopefully, things will go better today. The boys got so off schedule yesterday when they woke up at 2am, so they wanted to sleep all day, and that was not going to happen. They fussed at me all evening, but I kept them awake. I like playing with them, watching them sleep all day was only acceptable a couple months ago, now, I need some bright and alert babies.
It was a productive day. I made an awesome dinner, chianti beef with veggies! Then I got done with all the dishes that were piling up. And to be honest, the house was just a wreck, so I cleaned up almost everything. I made a chore list for today of the things I didn't get done which consists of vacuuming and washing the bathtubs, so I did not to shabby yesterday. Matt spent time with the boys while he looked for jobs online. He's been peppering St. Louis with his resume. I hate where he works. They make him miserable, he doesn't like his co-workers, and they give him a really hard time when he needs to leave to pick up the kids, even though he puts in a full day. He never leaves early. Something I've always admired about my husband is that he works so hard at his job. No matter what he does, he wants to be the best. He would never slack off like I have done at times. His work will definitely lose a great employee. But I'm okay with that if it makes him happier. I want him to have a job where he doesn't absolutely dread the coming Monday.
Anyway, after chores and dinner, we all watched Dancing with the Stars and I mean all of us. the boys love that show. I guess the pretty costumes entertain them. I got the boys bathed and we gave them their bottles and they were so ready to fall asleep by 9, that I think they took their bottle while they were asleep. So with the boys sound asleep, I got a great bath. This may be TMI, but any day when I get to shave my legs is like a freakin Holiday. It just feels great. I like feeling a bit like old me.
The boys only woke up at 2 for bottles and slept well for the rest of the night, I blew them kisses on my way out this morning and they were still zonked, but breathing (Had to check).
I am so happy last night went well, I have so much to do at work, I couldn't afford another day of feeling like the walking dead.

Teething and Thinking About another Baby
Posted Tuesday, May 26, 2009 9:52 AM

Okay, so Ethan started teething and he isn't even 3 months old. For anyone who would like to say BS, look at the picture:

Crazy, huh!?!
He has been so miserable. Poor Baby. And Matt and I are getting very little sleep now, boohoo all around.
Also, Matt and I have been putting a lot of thought into the possibility of a third child. Anyway, I am on the fence on whether I really want another baby anytime soon. I think if I got pregnant, that would be my answer and I'd just get a tubal during my next c/s. Although, I've basically decided that we would not entertain the idea of another pregnancy for at least 5 more years. Then DH says this to me last night, "I really wish we could adopt right now." I was like, "Really, with 2 little babies, one which is teething, you want to adopt now?" He said "Yep, I want a little girl the same age as the boys. Then we could tell everyone that they are triplets." I kinda laughed. Then he said, "I really am serious about not waiting to adopt. I really want to have another little one around, it just seems right to have a girl too."
So my hubby wants to have triplets. I have to admit, I'm not nuts about getting a girl the same age as the boys right now. I think taking care of 2 is going to be work enough when it comes to potty training, walking, and talking. Not to mention, my Mom would have a stroke if we told her that babysitting 2 has turned into babysitting 3. I think if we wait a year and a half or 2 years, that wouldn't be so bad. Adopting a child the boy's same age, then, wouldn't be bad at all. Plus, I think if the boys thought of their sister as a triplet because of their age, it would be so sweet.
I never thought Matt would be so gung-ho to have 3 kids. But he is having so much fun with it, all except for the 'No sleep-teething' part.

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