Happy Thanksgiving - 2 Weeks Old

Happy Thanksgiving!  I have so much to be thankful for this year!  Our wonderful family and friends who truly set us up for success with all the necessary gear that made transitioning home with the twins quite seamless and continue to send their warm thoughts and check in on us no matter how far away they are.  Our great family who have been taking turns coming to stay with us and nurse us and the twins.    My hottie husband who has taken to fatherhood better than I could have ever expected, it honestly brings tears to my eyes thinking back of how great he has been over the past two weeks.  And of course the boys who turned two weeks old this past Tuesday, time is flying by already.  They are sleeping and eating well, super healthy and warm my heart more than I knew was possible.  Thanks Sabra for the amazing Thanksgiving onesies (Sam is on the left, Spencer on the right).

Update:

We were in the hospital from Tuesday to Friday 11/9.  The boys did great, didn't need any special attention except their birth weight dropped close to 10% so we had to supplement with formula starting on Thursday.  The nurses at the hospital were wonderful, they took the boys at night between feedings so we could get some sleep and helped me with nursing, I was tandem feeding on Thursday.  They wheeled in a fancy dinner on our last night which was really nice.

The boys one day old, Sam on the left Spencer on the right. 

HH's first night feeding (with Sam) on Thursday, I let him sleep through the first two nights since the nurses were so helpful and I was so hyped up on hormones I felt full of energy when they were wheeled in (and he was sleeping on an uncomfortable couch).

Coming home on Friday was a lot nuts.  Check out took a lot longer than expected, about halfway home the twins and I decided we were starving and it was a painfully long drive.  But we survived and quickly fell into a routine.  From start to start feedings is on average 3 hours.  We start by changing whoever is most awake, get them latched, then Sam wakes the 2nd one and gets their diaper changed, then get the 2nd one latched, then attempt to get them both some extra with a bottle of formula or breast milk and then I pump, if we are really good we can get it done in less than an hour, giving us 2 hours to sleep, but most of the time we are not that good.  After a few days we started switching off going solo for one of the night feedings to give one of us a bit more sleep.  On Sunday 11/11 we brought the boys in for their first pediatrician check-up and were happy to find out the boys weights were on the rise and that all looked great.  On Tuesday 11/13 we made it out to a restaurant and I got to chow down on sushi and sake and celebrate the babies being 1 week old.

What looks like a smile from Spencer on 11/10 during a 2 AM feeding.

Sam all sprawled out.

Spencer all sprawled out, they both have such chicken legs.

Full diaper pail after only 4 days home.

Napping post feeding on mommy, 11/13.  Spencer on left, Sam on right.

Daddy and Spencer, 11/15.

Sam on left, Spencer on right, in their co-sleeper.

On Thursday 11/15 HH's brother and wife arrived who were a huge help which was perfect timing because the hormone induced awakeness had all dissipated and being allowed to do nothing other than feed and sleep was so nice.  Then on Saturday HH's mother arrived to continue the help parade which was further great timing since HH was back to having PT at 5:30 AM Monday.

On Monday, 11/19 the boys had their 2 week checkup.  Sam was up to 5 lbs 11 oz and Spencer 5 lbs 13 oz, both 5 oz over their birth weight which is great considering the doctor says they are happy if they are at their birth weight.

We've bathed the boys only twice in the 12 days we've been home so we definitely need to get better at doing that.  They seem to enjoy bath time which makes it so rewarding and enjoyable.  Also the doctor recommended we start tummy time so will somehow have to find the time for that as well.

Personal update, a bit graphic so feel free to stop reading:

Personally I'm doing well.  They pumped me full of IV fluid for the operation and it took forever to drain.  I was still so puffy on Friday leaving the hospital that my clogs didn't fit and my normally extremely roomy slippers only partially covered my feet.  I had to wear slippers to dinner on 11/13, but on 11/17 I woke up looking and feeling much less puffy and my feet were close to normal looking again.

As long as I kept taking my meds on schedule the pain wasn't too bad.  I was happy to be off the morphine 24 hours after the operation since it made me feel really out of it.

Some nights the babies go 4 hours between start and start of feedings which are the good nights, others they have one spell where they only go 2.5 hours and I need to sleep all day to not feel crazy exhausted.

My boobs were feeling ravaged from pumping after every feeding so I have since switched to every other feeding which helped with the soreness and allows me to get 15 mins more sleep when I skip.  Also nipple butter is my new best friend.

I am thankful the hormones have calmed down.  I had two good hormone induced cries, one as a result of the first good look at my belly, the second was the day after we went out to dinner, HH foolishly assumed we had hit a new normal and asked if I wanted to go get dressed which would have been fine if I wasn't exhausted and ready to cry over just about anything, needless to say he quickly changed his tune to telling me I looked beautiful every day and steering clear of comments on what I was wearing.

I am happy to report my stomach is shrinking, I didn't think it was possible given how bad it looked a few days after surgery, it sagged so much it covered my incision.  I was happily surprised this morning to see extremely little sagging and the whole incision was visible, it's still not pretty but I'm so happy it's getting better and better, I've been wearing a compression belt which I think helps a ton.  My weight is going down nicely, I'm currently 30 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight which means I've lost over 30 lbs since giving birth (much of which I know is the babies and their accouterments) and I am back to weighing less than my HH which is really refreshing.

I went out for a girls night two nights ago to get my hands on a margarita and see Breaking Dawn which made me feel more like myself but had the most intense pang the whole time from missing my little ones.

The Arrival, 11/6/12

Samuel Clay, Born 11/6/12 1:05 PM, Weight 6 lbs 6 oz, Length 20"

Spencer Martin, Born 11/6/12 1:06 PM, Weight 6 lbs 8 oz, Length 20"

Well it all started on Friday 11/2.  I was making a trip to drop some clothes off and get myself a pedicure and when I went to put my clogs on (the only shoes that fit) I struggled to get them on (meaning my feet had done some sudden swelling).  Later while getting the pedicure I started seeing stars.  I drove home, drank water and laid down on my left side.  After relaxing for a few minutes I took my blood pressure and it was in the 150 / 90 range which is a lot higher than it had been in the past week.

We cancelled our trip to the beach for the weekend and I spent it laying down on the couch monitoring my BP closely and watching for any other symptoms of preeclampsia.  Hottie husband took amazing care of me and got me out of the house for a bit Saturday night so we could have dinner with friends at Cheddars where I treated myself to a Monte Cristo (ridiculous) and some Coldstone ice cream, yum!  Then on Sunday HH let me instruct him around the house for a few last minute items that have been bothering me and I actually got a good nights sleep on Sunday, first one in a long time.

On Monday at my doctors appointment my BP proved to still be high and had some urine in my blood so they sent me over to the hospital for some monitoring.  They took more urine and some blood and had me lie on my side to try and get my BP down.  They checked my cervix and it's stubborness that had gotten me this far by remaining nice and long was making vaginal delivery very risky since we didn't have time any more to wait for labor to start naturally.  Finally, around 8 PM, 7 hours since I had last eaten, we decided a c section for tomorrow would be best to prevent anything really bad from happeing like a placenta separating or me having a seizure.  So HH took my order for dinner, Carrot Cake pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage from IHOP and some dessert and I started mentally preparing myself to be a mom in less than 24 hours.

After enjoying our scrumptious meal together I sent HH home to get some sleep and pack up all the things we would need for the next few days and get our puppy dog squared away.

They gave me ambien to try and help me sleep but it didn't work.  I was on a BP cuff that squeezed my arm every half hour real tight.  It was hard to move around and get comfy cause of all the monitors on me.  But mostly I was anxious to see the boys.  The nurses kept telling me how great the twins are being, easy to find and really healthy heart beats.

The nurse woke me up at 5 AM so I could shower and I spent all morning trying to keep myself occupied so  I wouldn't think too much about direly thirsty or hungry I am.  Had HH bring my computer so we Skyped with both our parents.  I got all the thank yous from the NJ baby shower done and ready to mail, still a few more to do for my WA friends and addresses I haven't tracked down but just about completely done before the babies came!  And got this blog post ready to release.

Around 10:30 AM they increased the fluids into my IV and cleaned up my stomach and told me they will probably be rolling me into the OR around 11:45 AM.  I was in the OR by 12:30 and the boys were born just after 1 PM.  Everything went perfectly.