It has been a crazy busy couple of weeks. I was having abdominal pain and found that I needed my gallbladder removed...about 2 weeks before Fall Qtr starts! Good thing the recovery is only a week...doing much better now. I am having a hard time adjusting to the fact that I have to completely re-work my eating habits (low-fat EVERYTHING) or I still have some issues, but nothing like before.
Then there was the mix-up with my financial at my local Community College. What joy that has been...getting it all worked out, thank god, but it can be a bit stressful.
However, the thing that is really bothering me is that my children have started waking up in the middle of the night from so-called "night terrors." I am, of course, somewhat familiar with the term and what it involves so I was a bit frightened when the doctor told me that is what it sounds like. Here is the low-down: 4-5 days ago my twins woke up screaming about 2 hours or so (give or take 30 minutes) after I put them to sleep. At first they are completely inconsolable. They don't want a bottle (unfortunately I haven't weaned them off bottles at night yet), they don't care for a snack, ibuprofen (at first I thought it was teething pain?), to be changed. All they want is for me to hold them. My son is always more upset. He seems to recognize me and, ironically enough, me is exactly what he wants. He wants to lay on me and just be held. If I try to put him back into his bed he will scream until he passes out. This is my least favorite option as I feel so cruel whenever I do it. But I don't know how else to deal with it. I am concerned that what is going on isn't true night terrors...from what I have heard night terrors seem far more...intense. My foster sister had them when she was a child and according to her mom...it was horrible. From my understanding, far worse than what my little ones are going through.
So I did some research. I found another time of 'nocturnal disturbance' called confusional arousal. I guess this is similar to night terrors but far easier to deal with. But one thing that gets me....80% of the time my children seem to recognize me and understand what is going on. When I ask my sone if he wants to go see "DaDa"..he whines a bit and doesn't want ANYTHING to do with him.
To me, this doesn't sound like traditional night terrors. I am wondering if this is all a side-effect of stress. With me having surgery..I wasn't able to hold them (too wiggly) and that really upset them. There were also people here taking care of them that they aren't used to. But the doctor told me to wake them up just before they usually have one of these episodes, and when I did that, there was no problem with screaming later that night. It is odd. I am not sure what to think. If gently waking them up does the trick, then I will definitely keep up with it. I just hope we can overcome this because it's heartwrenching to see your child inconsolable.
Although on a positive note, I now have a brand new nephew. He is a beautiful little guy, and so calm! He only cried when he was changed or rewrapped in his blankets. My sister (the mommy) did an amazing job. I guess she went into labor at 4:00 am. And because she lives across the street from the hospital, she waited until about 12-1 pm to be admitted. Little man was born at 2:30!...She didn't even get an epidural, she was 8 cm. dialated when she arrived. I am proud of her to be sure.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wow so these kids surprise me every day. They were 15 mo. exactly on sunday. It seems like just yesterday I was cradling two tiny children in the hospital wondering what the heck I was gonnna do with them.
They are so darn smart! I cannot believe everything that they can do. Tiernin (like most boys his age knows how to undress himself completely...that actually seems to be a pretty fun activity right now). He can say a large vocabulary of words for his age...baby, mama, dada, ball and balloon (he can't quite verbally distinguish the two, but he knows the difference). He says nigh-nigh when he goes down for a nap or to bed, waves bye-bye, says no, gives kisses. I am surprised everyday and so proud of him. WHen they were born they were so helpless, they could never breastfeed and even taking a bottle was touch and go for awhile. And now it as if it never happened. I pray for thanks everyday that my children have overcome so much and done so well. Tiernin had a medical problem that was easily fixed, and so I have truly been blessed with healthy children.
They are so darn smart! I cannot believe everything that they can do. Tiernin (like most boys his age knows how to undress himself completely...that actually seems to be a pretty fun activity right now). He can say a large vocabulary of words for his age...baby, mama, dada, ball and balloon (he can't quite verbally distinguish the two, but he knows the difference). He says nigh-nigh when he goes down for a nap or to bed, waves bye-bye, says no, gives kisses. I am surprised everyday and so proud of him. WHen they were born they were so helpless, they could never breastfeed and even taking a bottle was touch and go for awhile. And now it as if it never happened. I pray for thanks everyday that my children have overcome so much and done so well. Tiernin had a medical problem that was easily fixed, and so I have truly been blessed with healthy children.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Emmeline Grace and Tiernin Eli
Born just over a year ago. Now they are 15 months old. They are lovingly refered to as our "little monters" Tiernin has an obsession with my broom and Emma with my phone. But they are smart.
I decided to do this blog as kind of a way to reach out to other mothers of multiples, and also so my children can possibly see how much they owe me someday for everything they put me through. :)
So lets see...probably should start at the beginning. I found out I was preggers at about 5 weeks, so Mid-october 2008. I was excited and naive thinking..."eh...whats a baby?". I was excited but I didn't doubt my capabilities to parent a newborn in the slightests. Can you see where this is going?
So I made the routine doctor appointments and we let our families know. His mother was stunned and kind of excited. At this point in time his sister had no plans of having children. His sister was less than thrilled, knowing we weren't ready for kids yet. My mom was also less than thrilled, as I was still attending college, and my sister was shocked but excited. She expressed a wish for a nephew considering we only have nieces. All of our friends were happy for us.
A month later I am sitting in the waiting room of my doctors office with the father. We had just gotten back together after a 6 month long break, and we were joking about "what if there were triplets?" We talked about trading my VW Beetle in for a Honda Odyssey because we would need the space and it had dual sliding doors.
Within minutes I was in the back, all measurements taken. Laying on the exam table for the lovely first ultrasound of pregnancy. I first saw a tiny blob, about the size of a jelly bean. It was moving gently (yeah, the experts that think a baby doesn't move until late in the 1st trimester are off on that) and to the side we saw another sliver of what appeared to be liquid. The doctor moved the wand and suddenly...TWO BABIES!
Instantly I froze. I wasn't stupid. The screen was clear enough to tell that the two very separate and distinct blobs was two babies. The doctor and her nurse screamed with excitement. Another nurse poked her head in asking if there were "twins in here?" After receiving word that yes, it appeared to be a multiple pregnancy, she shut the door and yelled the news to the rest of the office. It was a bit like being on display at a circus.
Michael (the father) and I were in shock. We both wanted kids, a minimum of two, but preferably farther apart than just a few minutes!! But there was a weird feeling among all the emotions of fear and excitement; relief. I was happy to know that even if I never had another child, barring all unforeseen complications, my children would never be alone. They would have a companion from day 0.
So we then had to make more ultrasound appointments. The doctor wanted to be sure that the twins were fraternal, with separate sacs and placentas. We all prayed for this one as there is a much higher risk for babies sharing either of the two. Personally, I didn't care if they were identical or as different as night and day. I just wanted two healthy children. It seems odd, but once you are finding out you are carrying more than one child, you want both children. Even if the idea of multiples is scary.
The rest of my pregnancy was major ups and downs. We were told there was an increased risk of twin B (the one up higher and also who turned out to be Tiernin) having downs syndrome. Thank god for that being just odd measurements. I had tons of episodes with preterm labor including dialating to 4 cm. at 31 weeks and being shipped to a hospital about 2 hours away so the twins would be close to a state of the art NICU. Luckily though my pregnancy was rough, my delivery was beautiful.
On May 22nd, 2009 I delivered both children vaginally. Emmeline was first at 3:03 pm weighing in a 4 lbs 8 oz and 17 7/8 in. long. Tiernin was next at 3:36 pm (I needed a bit of a rest between deliveries) weighing in at 5 lbs 1 oz and 18 1/2 in. long. Both were incredibly healthy and good sized considering they were exactly 4 weeks early. We did have minor issues in the beginning, but nothing major. The twins both dropped quite a bit of weight. Emma went down to 4 lbs 2 oz. Tier went down to 4 lbs 6 oz. Neither one were able to breastfeed or even drink from a preemie nipple and had to have feeding tubes for three days. I pumped milk and within 2 weeks we were home and they had started gaining healthy amounts again.
The next three months were a blur. I was like a zombie. I eventually swithed to formula completely because I was just too exhausted to pump every two hours. They grew steadily and hit all the milestones either on time or early. They smiled at 6 weeks, rolled over at 4 months, sat up at 6 months, crawled at 7 months, pulled themselves up at 7 months, and walked at 10 months. At ten months Tiernin had minor surgery to correct a Urinary tract defect, but other than that (and some painful months spent teething) the have had no issues and have grown amazingly well. They are small for their age, at 15 months they still fit into 6-9 month size clothing (though it is finally getting to be a bit small) but they don't seem to suffer from any disadvantages from their early birth.
These days we are up to 12 hours of straight sleep a night, running around tearing apart our home, talking more and more each day, and doing cute imitations of adults. For example:
Emma will grab my cell phone and put it to her ear, walk around and babble into it while making the cutest facial expressions.
Tiernin picks up their baby doll and says baby while giving it a cuddle (and then throwing it down violently).
They know how to "wash hands" with soap.
They wash their own hair, eat with utensils, pick up items from the floor and put them where they belong, and can almost reach the front door handle.
So from now on I will be talking about the joys, fears, frustrations and all-around amazingness of parenting these two active toddlers. New words, accomplishments, and situations will be documented and posted with as many picturs as possible.
I have included pictures from birth and a few along the way.
Emma about 5 mins old. 
Tier about 5 mins old. 
10 Days old.
1 week.
Emma at 3 weeks.
I decided to do this blog as kind of a way to reach out to other mothers of multiples, and also so my children can possibly see how much they owe me someday for everything they put me through. :)
So lets see...probably should start at the beginning. I found out I was preggers at about 5 weeks, so Mid-october 2008. I was excited and naive thinking..."eh...whats a baby?". I was excited but I didn't doubt my capabilities to parent a newborn in the slightests. Can you see where this is going?
So I made the routine doctor appointments and we let our families know. His mother was stunned and kind of excited. At this point in time his sister had no plans of having children. His sister was less than thrilled, knowing we weren't ready for kids yet. My mom was also less than thrilled, as I was still attending college, and my sister was shocked but excited. She expressed a wish for a nephew considering we only have nieces. All of our friends were happy for us.
A month later I am sitting in the waiting room of my doctors office with the father. We had just gotten back together after a 6 month long break, and we were joking about "what if there were triplets?" We talked about trading my VW Beetle in for a Honda Odyssey because we would need the space and it had dual sliding doors.
Within minutes I was in the back, all measurements taken. Laying on the exam table for the lovely first ultrasound of pregnancy. I first saw a tiny blob, about the size of a jelly bean. It was moving gently (yeah, the experts that think a baby doesn't move until late in the 1st trimester are off on that) and to the side we saw another sliver of what appeared to be liquid. The doctor moved the wand and suddenly...TWO BABIES!
Instantly I froze. I wasn't stupid. The screen was clear enough to tell that the two very separate and distinct blobs was two babies. The doctor and her nurse screamed with excitement. Another nurse poked her head in asking if there were "twins in here?" After receiving word that yes, it appeared to be a multiple pregnancy, she shut the door and yelled the news to the rest of the office. It was a bit like being on display at a circus.
Michael (the father) and I were in shock. We both wanted kids, a minimum of two, but preferably farther apart than just a few minutes!! But there was a weird feeling among all the emotions of fear and excitement; relief. I was happy to know that even if I never had another child, barring all unforeseen complications, my children would never be alone. They would have a companion from day 0.
So we then had to make more ultrasound appointments. The doctor wanted to be sure that the twins were fraternal, with separate sacs and placentas. We all prayed for this one as there is a much higher risk for babies sharing either of the two. Personally, I didn't care if they were identical or as different as night and day. I just wanted two healthy children. It seems odd, but once you are finding out you are carrying more than one child, you want both children. Even if the idea of multiples is scary.
The rest of my pregnancy was major ups and downs. We were told there was an increased risk of twin B (the one up higher and also who turned out to be Tiernin) having downs syndrome. Thank god for that being just odd measurements. I had tons of episodes with preterm labor including dialating to 4 cm. at 31 weeks and being shipped to a hospital about 2 hours away so the twins would be close to a state of the art NICU. Luckily though my pregnancy was rough, my delivery was beautiful.
On May 22nd, 2009 I delivered both children vaginally. Emmeline was first at 3:03 pm weighing in a 4 lbs 8 oz and 17 7/8 in. long. Tiernin was next at 3:36 pm (I needed a bit of a rest between deliveries) weighing in at 5 lbs 1 oz and 18 1/2 in. long. Both were incredibly healthy and good sized considering they were exactly 4 weeks early. We did have minor issues in the beginning, but nothing major. The twins both dropped quite a bit of weight. Emma went down to 4 lbs 2 oz. Tier went down to 4 lbs 6 oz. Neither one were able to breastfeed or even drink from a preemie nipple and had to have feeding tubes for three days. I pumped milk and within 2 weeks we were home and they had started gaining healthy amounts again.
The next three months were a blur. I was like a zombie. I eventually swithed to formula completely because I was just too exhausted to pump every two hours. They grew steadily and hit all the milestones either on time or early. They smiled at 6 weeks, rolled over at 4 months, sat up at 6 months, crawled at 7 months, pulled themselves up at 7 months, and walked at 10 months. At ten months Tiernin had minor surgery to correct a Urinary tract defect, but other than that (and some painful months spent teething) the have had no issues and have grown amazingly well. They are small for their age, at 15 months they still fit into 6-9 month size clothing (though it is finally getting to be a bit small) but they don't seem to suffer from any disadvantages from their early birth.
These days we are up to 12 hours of straight sleep a night, running around tearing apart our home, talking more and more each day, and doing cute imitations of adults. For example:
Emma will grab my cell phone and put it to her ear, walk around and babble into it while making the cutest facial expressions.
Tiernin picks up their baby doll and says baby while giving it a cuddle (and then throwing it down violently).
They know how to "wash hands" with soap.
They wash their own hair, eat with utensils, pick up items from the floor and put them where they belong, and can almost reach the front door handle.
So from now on I will be talking about the joys, fears, frustrations and all-around amazingness of parenting these two active toddlers. New words, accomplishments, and situations will be documented and posted with as many picturs as possible.
I have included pictures from birth and a few along the way.
Emma about 5 mins old. 
Tier about 5 mins old. 
10 Days old.
1 week.
Emma at 3 weeks. Oh, by the way, I do drive a 2000 Honda Odyssey and those dual sliding doors have saved my back. :)
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