Friday, May 30, 2008

Hospital - Day 13

Today wasn't great. They brought breakfast too late and I had to go to my first test w/out my nice, hot breakfast. Good thing I know where they keep the milk and cereal ;)

I had a couple of stress-invoking phone calls today. ...Don't people know not to bug the pregnant lady with problems? It's not like I can deal with this stuff!!

Then I started feeling sick...queasy and runny. Still feeling a little ick. Hopefully it'll be gone tomorrow.


The twins, however, are doing great. They take turns being ..playful (running away from the probes). But overall they're still doing well on their tests - a few decels, but they pop right back up after. So, I'm not too worried about them.

Hospital - Day 12

30 Weeks today!! Yay!! It's nice that the number of weeks down is FINALLY bigger than the number of days left :) 4 weeks to go - wish me luck.

Sexy Haqon surprised me today with a visit. It was sooo nice to see him....made my whole day happy :)

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Hospital - Day 11 (NICU visit)

The NICU was nice. They showed me the OR where I'll be ...opened so the babies can come out. Then they pass the babies through this window--like at a drive thru--into the NICU. There was a little girl who was 3lbs 50z who was born today - at 32 weeks. She was sooo cute. It made me wish I could see my own girls. But, I'm happy to wait til they're bigger :)

I miss my family. Every time I talk to them, one of em is doing something cute. I miss being around the cuteness all the time.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Hospital - Day 10 (PICU visit)

My morning nurse took pity on me after my first NST. She must've noticed my sleepwalking as I returned to my room. She guarded the door and didn't let anyone in for 4 blessed hours. The phone rang after the first hour. wrong number. again. (Someone keeps paging doctors and leaving my number instead of their own). I unplugged the phone and woke up happy and rested several hours later :)

Visit to the PICU:

I thought I was prepared to see it. It was clean...and friendly..lots of machines, but they all looked nice instead of scary. None of the babies were ever alone. The thing that threw me off was the babies. I expected the babies to be sickly or listless or sad ....they weren't at all. This one girl I saw was so very beautiful. She was awake and alert...and interactive. Her mouth was all covered up to keep her breathing tube in....but she had the most expressive eyes I've ever seen in a baby. What a strange way to start her life. So many tubes. No tears. Just looking around, taking in her world.

I waited 'til I was back in my room to cry. I called Sexy Haqon and he made it all better because that's what we do for each other. Thanks, sweetie. I hadn't thought much about after my inpatient stay. I'm not ready for it.

Monday, May 26, 2008

45 minutes from the Blood Takers ...

Gma changed, Rabbit changed, Haqon changed, and Finch changed clothes. Finch the Fount fared worst. Now an empty tummy makes a delightful Finch.

Ninja Mom lived up to her name. She snuck home through a screen-saver slide-show and looked on Strong Bear. "Mommy, mommy, mommy" from his lips and kicks, kicks, kicks from his hips.

Haqon and his ducklings run through pouring rain that bounces like rocks (for only the second time in her life, Rabbit remarks). Once inside the van, the wind joins them, scattering rain pellets everywhere, including down Haqon's pants.

Hospital - Day 9

6am - blood guy flips on the light and says, "the doctors want me to draw some blood".
....I told him off and kicked him out. Not really, but as close as I've ever come. I told him he was mistaken. Told him about the new orders in my chart. I'm pretty sure I was polite (in that way lawyers are polite when they're right and you're wrong and they're letting you know.) Blood guy backed out of the room, slowly, apologizing. My nurse came in later and told me she threw away the sheet for me that tells the lab guys to draw my blood for typing every 3 days. I'm told he won't be in again. Maybe I did scare him...hehe (no. It was NOT the same guy as last time (maybe he took a sick day).

Feeling empowered from not needing the blood draws, I also declined a heplock. A heplock is an IV without the IV part. They jab your vein and stick the heplock in you...and then if you need an IV, they just stick the IV part on and you're good to go. They told me it's standard for twins and didn't make it sound like I had a choice. I declined anyway. Later I found out they have to re-do the heplock every 3 days. ...they have to poke your vein in a new spot every 3 days...just incase they have to give you an IV at some point. I don't think of have 5 weeks worth of vein for them to poke. I certainly don't want to find out. sheesh!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Hospital - Day 8

My puter had a blue screen of death yesterday! Right in the middle of a fun webcam session with my family! I think it's happy again now, but please cross your fingers for me.

My family came to visit me today. Just seeing them walk down the hallway towards me made my whole day. They were super cute from the first 'See, there's Mommy' to the last wave g'bye. I even changed Delightful Finch's Diaper. (yes, she was delightful - smiling and giggling while I pretended to eat her toes. No, it wasn't poopy.)

The twins did really well, again, on their NSTs. They have a favorite nurse. When she does my NST they stay on the monitors the whole time....or if they go off, she just has to say "come back, baby" and they do! Usually they prefer to play hide-and-seek part of the time....esp BabyA.

-------------------------------------
Sexy Haqon: Home is really different without you.
Beautiful Rabbit: Yeah! It's super clean!!
.....

Friday, May 23, 2008

Hospital - Day 6: How to Wake up on the Wrong Side of Grumpy

Step 1 - Stay up really late the night before
a- take your last NST at 11pm instead of 8pm because everyone is busy
b- make sure the twins move all over the place so the test takes forEVER
c- drink lots of orange juice for the test so you can't lay down without getting heartburn for an hour after the test is over.

Step 2 - 6:45am have someone wake you up by flipping on the light over your head and announcing, "I need to draw some blood".
bonus points if said person:
a-says "I don't know" when you ask what they need the blood for
b-has a nasty cold and keeps sniffing the whole time he's leaning over you trying to find your already bruised vein.
c-Stands there blowing his nose into tissues until he can breath again. Leaves the tissues in your garbage can (to permeate the room). Uses your sink to wash his hands....prompting you to call housekeeping and beg for some Lysol Disinfectant Spray.
d- Doesn't manage to leave until 7:20am...you need to get up at 7:40am
e- leaves the lights on and the door open a crack so you have to get up and turn it off and close the door.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The nurses explained later that it's hospital policy to retype your blood every 3 days. (so that they have recent blood in the lab already if I should have an emergency and need blood.)..and for some reason they'd decided to retype mine two days in a row. They assured me that from now on they'd only wake me up to draw blood in the early morning (before the sun comes up....hmmmmm) every three days. Comforting.

My doctor's answer was much nicer. "Oh, you don't need that." He said that's for people who are at risk for bleeding and I'm not. So he wrote notes in my chart for them to stop doing it. yay :)

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hospital - Day 5

"Did you go to _________ High School?"

...my friend's little sister recognized me from way back. She's one of my nurses! Last time I saw her I was graduating from Highschool...and I think she was about 9 yrs old. It's been fun to talk to her and catch up. She was always a cutie and she's still a cutie. And since I'm here for 5 more weeks, I get to see her lots :)

I am 29 weeks today!!! /cheers

The twins are doing great. They're funny. They're so close together that their heartbeats tend to be the same for long stretches. So, it's really hard to make sure you're watching two different babies on the monitors. You have to just watch for a while and wait for their heart rates to split off. The machine often complains that it's montioring the same baby twice.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Misadventure's of Haqon - Part 1 of 435

We lost Delightful Finch's binky yesterday, so I bought a couple of new ones. We sterilized them last night in boiling water and then gave them to an immediately happy and quiet Finch. Good job, Dad!

This afternoon Gma was holding a complaining Finch who was fingering her gums and I decided to once again be an awesome Dad. This comes easy for me.

I grabbed the nearest binky on the counter. It looked odd - something was different from what I remembered about the two I bought yesterday. Shrug. "Here cutey pie - do you need this?"

Gma calmy said, "Oh, we found the other binky today. [Strong Bear] found it ..."

I skillfully popped the binky in my daughters mouth and she sucked it right in and started chomping away.

"... in the toilet."

.

.

.

"What!"

Hospital - Day 3

Good news! 6am doctor isn't a figment. She came again today and I asked one of the other patients who said that she was visited, too :)

I slept really well last night. They drag me around to so many tests that I'm exhausted by the end of the day. I wonder if I could get the nurses to check my blood pressure/temp without waking me up at the 3am session. I guess the blood pressure cup would either wake me up or give me scary dreams.

They woke me up this morning at 7:30am so I'd be able to eat before my first Non Stress Test (NST) -- that's no stress on the babies...mommy's still allowed to get a lil stressed. The twins passed all their tests today beautifully.

The doctors changed my orders so I am allowed to walk around the hospital now. (The wheel chairs are nice sometimes...but it's weird to not be able to walk when I'm perfectly capable of walking....if slowly.)

The twins had another echocardiogram today. They wanted to make sure everything was the same - no more new complications or worries. Everything went as expected. I was supposed to tour the nicu before I came back, but I had to get back for another NST before that department closed.

The NSTs measure the twins' heart rates. When they're sleeping the heart rate is at rest. When they're moving their heart rate goes up. (Just like your heart rate goes up when you exercise.) So, we monitor their heart rates without giving them any stimulation. They're supposed to have 2 accelerations in 20 minutes time.

We monitor the twins for an hour. They're having about 20 accelerations (each) in an hour. They only need 6, so they're doing really well. They also look for decels. The twins have 1 or 2 decels, but they always pop right back up...so that's ok. If they didn't pop right back up, I'd be rushed to the OR and have 2 new, but very tiny, babies.

I've been having lots of contractions...but they don't hurt at all and they're irregular. Most the time I can't tell if it's a contraction or a baby poking at me. It's pretty normal when you're carrying twins.

Thanks to the nutrition center, I'm eating my meals on time. They even bring up food after hours if you call them. They make an amazing fruit platter that I love.

I just chatted with Beautiful Rabbit on the phone for 40 minutes before Sexy Haqon came in to say it was time to go home. She immediately complained: "but..I'm talking to Mom and we JUST BARELY started talking!!" hehe. I love her. It was really fun to talk to her. :)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Hospital - Day 2

6am - I must've been asleep because a doctor came in and woke me up to introduce herself to me. I have no idea who she was or why she had to get to know me at 6am. hmmm...I never saw her again so I really hope she wasn't a figment of my imagination.

I couldn't get back to sleep so I unpacked.

8am - omelette for breakfast, yum!(once I scraped off the mushrooms. I like mushrooms...but not so early in the morning. The kids do NOT get their picky food genes from Haqon..)

For some reason, I'm not allowed to walk anywhere. So, right after breakfast the nurse brought a wheel chair and whisked me away to ultrasound. BabyA=2lbs10oz BabyB=2lbs8oz. Then I was wheeled to more monitoring and then back in time for lunch.

I snuck in a nap, but it looks like my days have been all planned out for me. Much better than just sitting around, I think.

Everyone who walks into my room comments on the cute pictures of my kids. I really wish I'd brought a picture of Sexy Haqon, too. I had one, but I must've left it on the piano. /sniff sniff.

They jabbed my hip with another steroid shot - to help the twin's lungs develop. I think it'll be the last one. There's another gal with twins that's 30 weeks along, but they're not momo twins. I better get some sleep before they check my vitals at 3am ;)

Hospital - Day 1

I checked in Sunday night (so I wouldn't miss Bear's birthday and Haqon wouldn't miss any work to bring me in.) As soon as I finished the paper work, they gave me a shot in my hip! Ouch! Then they monitored the twin's heartbeats for 2.5 hours. Everything went well.

Sexy Haqon was a sweetie and kept me smiling and happy and feeling loved. He stayed until I felt pretty settled and let him know I'd be OK. He even tried to set up my internet connection before he left. (sadly we didn't have all the info to get it done)

Then they moved me to the room I'll call home for the next 6 weeks. To my great relief, I have no roommate :) Don't get me wrong, I LOVED my roommates in college. But, pregnant women should not be forced to live in the same room as other pregnant women for 6 weeks. There's just not enough tact or politeness to go around...!

Then the nurses (who were each very, very sweet) start doing what they do....checking everything every couple of hours...making sleep even more impossible...and then wondering why I'm tired the next day..hehe

My doc left me the OK for Ambien to help me sleep, but I just haven't wanted to try it yet. Hopefully I'll naturally figure out how to sleep in a bed that's 1/4 the size of the bed I'm used to....hehe

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Strong Bear turned 3 on Sunday. I'm terribly biased, but I've never seen such a cute mix of troublemaker/hugs/sweetness/playing rough. He's such a good kid and I miss him like crazy!

Back to his birthday....

Sexy Haqon protected me by not letting me plan a big birthday party. Instead, I thought of an idea - a scavenger hunt based on Diego/Dora cartoons Bear likes. I gave my idea to Beautiful Rabbit and she did an absolutely fantastic job pulling it off. She made the map and kept the game going through all of the stops on the map until we finally found the present that Swiper had swiped!

It was soooo fun. Sexy Haqon got to play a grumpy, old troll on the bridge over the lake. I got to be Mama Jaguar (which was just a lot of walking.) We topped off the party with presents and cake. Fun Fun!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

1 day left at Home

The house is mostly clean. Strong Bear's birthday cake is baked. I finally packed. I've never packed so much in my life. 6 weeks is a really long time. I'm going nuts over my camera. I have to leave it home so my family can take cute pictures to send me. but....I also need it with me when the twins are born. I can't imagine missing those "first moments" pictures. (esp since I might not be awake to see them for myself.)

Sexy Haqon hunted the yard sales today and came home with some really nice treasures. It inspired us to hang the pictures in our den. (ya know - the ones that have been sitting on our piano for 5 months waiting for us to figure out where to hang them.) Now that I'm leaving, the den looks really nice. Haqon also found something for the kitchen....and we finally bought the greenery we'd been wanting to top the kitchen cabinets with. All of this deserves pictures but I'm sleepy and still need to do my daily puzzle regiment to keep my brain from mushing.

The kids are happy that grandma and grandpa are here. I am, too. I guess everything's ready. It's weird being the one leaving. Usually it's Sexy Haqon leaving for a couple days for a business trip. It's super weird being on the other side of it. He said it's weird for him, too. Atleast I'll only be 50 minutes away, have wifi, and be within 4 ft of a phone....hehe :)

Friday, May 16, 2008

3 days left at Home

"I don't want to go!" ...says the girl who used to get "homesick" for her mom watching mom's car back out of the driveway. ...says the girl whose parents picked her up for a day out when Beautiful Rabbit was 2 only to turn the car around after 2 blocks because Gpa noticed the tears streaming down my face and asked if I needed to go back home. ..says the girl who can't fall asleep when her hunny isn't in the room. ...says the girl who bursts into tears at random moments and is extremely grateful to be able to blame hormones!

I like being the mom. I like hearing "do you need a hug?.....well, do you need a mommy hug?" and then little footsteps coming towards me. I like getting Rabbit's snack and hearing about her day. I like kissing Finches toes and stealing her binky after changing her diaper. I like being the one to get Finch out of her crib in the morning - she giggles and "runs" away...and "falls down" and finally comes over and wraps her arms around my neck so I can pull her out of the crib and slide her down to the floor.

I like anticipating their needs and knowing how to say just the right thing to diffuse problems. I like understanding toddler-speak. I like knowing the words to their favorite songs.

I like giving the first hug to Daddy when he comes home. I like the way Sexy Haqon reminds me that I'm not just a mom. I like staying up all night talking about book stuff and I like sneaking upstairs to cuddle til the kids notice we're gone and come jump all over the bed.

Do you have any idea how many hugs I'm going to miss while I'm gone? I'm going to be seriously lacking in the hug department!!


I don't have to want to go. Even if I could forget for a second why I'm going, Haqon wouldn't let me not go. He's all full of reminders of happy thoughts. Honestly, though, I'd be going crazy if it weren't for the Grandparents coming to look after the kids (and the hubby, but don't tell him that - shhhhh!). My kids adore their grandparents. and "it's ok, I already fed the kids once today" isn't nearly as funny as Haqon thinks it is :P


anyway, I'm kinda bummed today because I ordered a birthday present for Strong Bear online and it was supposed to come by today and didn't. So...I won't get to see him play with it for the first time. I know it's such a little thing....but he has the cutest smile....

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Sharing A+++


Strong Bear is such a gentleman! This morning he sweetly shared non-washable markers with Delightful Finch. Not only that, he removed the cap for her and shared drawing space on the white door. We've been working on sharing lately....so how can I be anything but delighted! Bear picked blue. Finch picked red.


They also decorated several natural-wood cabinets and railings. I was able to get that off, and the blue off the door, but the red is now a "feature". It matches the decor on the other side of the door which was done in pencil instead of marker.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Peri Appointment

Today was my last appointment with my perinatalogist outside the hospital. It was so early in the morning that I barely remember it. (I do remember the contractions on the way home!)

BabyA=2lb6oz
BabyB=2lb3oz


The babies look good. The cords look good. No compression.

The contractions were awful! They're mostly gone now, but I find myself with a whole day ahead of me where I'll have to just sit with my feet up. Hopefully I'll be able to pack for the hospital tomorrow :)

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

6 Days Left at Home

OK. I found my camera, so time to catch up on cute pictures:

Beautiful Rabbit slaying bad guys in the basement.









Strong Bear teaching Delightful Finch how to use the Wii.









Finch fell asleep on Bear's bed. They'd been climbing on boxes and jumping onto the bed. Finch fell asleep mid-climb. Don't you miss your play-til-you-crash days?

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mothers' Day !

Today's been pretty good despite the fact that I ignored my lil brother's advice and caught a cold! I have allergies AND a cold. I don't recommend it.

Bear and Finch are sick, too. They've been giving me lots of hugs. Earlier I was laying on the couch and Strong Bear came over and covered me with a blanket and then patted my head. :)

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Tummy Time

Mom: Wow, I can't believe how big my tummy is!
Beautiful Rabbit: I know - it looks like you ate a basketball!!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Peri Appointment--26 weeks 6 days


We had a good appointment today. I've been worried because I've been feeling lots of pressure. It felt like the babies might just fall out while I was walking. My cervix is fine. Dr. Peri said both heads are down and that's why I'm feeling so much pressure.

BabyA was shy today--she must've learned it from her sister. We did get cute pictures of their feet. BabyA is 2lb3oz. She's in the 43rd percentile on weight for her age. She gained 10oz this week. Her heart rate was 150 - it's been the same the last couple of appointments.

BabyB weighs 1lb15oz. She gained 7oz this past week. She's in the 37th percentile on weight for her age. Her heart rate was 153 - faster than it's been in past weeks, but still within normal range.

They're both kicking high on my tummy. They really didn't want to be spied on today. They kept kicking the ultrasound wand. It was fun to have them being so responsive.

The cord scans were promising--lots of tangles, but the scans indicated no compression today. Dr Peri also told me that it's better for the cords to wrap around the babies heads than around the other cords--compression/danger-wise.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Beautiful Rabbit the Composer

I uploaded a copy of Beautiful Rabbit's composition from the Reflections contest earlier this year. She won awards in the first three levels of the competition--school, district, & regional. Mostly she had lots of fun making the song. (Recording it perfectly is hard to do!)

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Potty Training.

FRIDAY:
Lately we've been letting Strong Bear run around bare for potty training. Friday I put some Diego underwear on him. He was doing great until he decided it was time to pee in the potty. He ran in, climbed on the toilet, and peed! ...next time I'm hoping he'll remember to take his underwear off first.

SATURDAY:
We're trying something new - a 3 day potty-training method. Saturday was day 1. Strong Bear did better than I expected. He had lots of accidents, but at the end of day he went poop all by himself without me reminding him....and his underwear was dry!

SUNDAY:
Day 2. It was pretty scary last night when he climbed into our bed after a bad dream....but he didn't pee on us - yay! We took Strong Bear out in the car with us. He went potty before we left. He stayed dry the whole time we were gone - phew!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Haqon look

My wife is going to leave me alone with three kids for six weeks, so I filled a shopping cart with relaxing herbal tea and duct tape. I'm all ready!

Happy May Day :)

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