Looking Back

It is so interesting to go back and read posts from last year when we first found out we were pregnant. I wrote a post in which I was nervous about being pregnant with twins and the possibility of being on bedrest. Little did I know just how much bedrest I would have to do! Of course, had I known my future, I would do it all over again the same way - I'd just be a little more prepared though. :-D

And for news for what's going on now - Ella is such the princess! When she wants food - she wants it NOW and she doesn't want to have to work too hard for it (so no breastfeeding). When she gets a bottle, she drinks it so fast like if she doesn't drink it quickly, it won't be there and she'll starve. She doesn't like to sleep in the co-sleeper - she must be cuddled at all times - that seems to be the only way to get her to sleep for 3 hours. I should have known that she was going to be like this - I felt like I was always telling her to calm down when the babies were put on the monitor in the hospital because her heartrate would go very fast for a while and she'd go off the monitor a lot (speaking of the hospital, I really need to send a thank you card and a picture to the hospital staff, especially the nurses, for putting up with me for so long, and one to my fertility clinic for making me a success story - I'd love to go visit the nurses who took care of me while I was in the hospital - maybe I could when my mom is here - I'm also thinking of going to visit my work and Jon's work next week to show off my cuties).

Anyway, back to the news for what's going on now - as for Ben - he is such the mellow baby still. Sure, he gets fussy but nothing like Ella. He has no problem sleeping in the co-sleeper. He likes to be cuddled, but he doesn't need it all the time. I wonder if he's going to change after his circumcision - which is now scheduled for next Friday (yep, Friday the 13th).

The babies are 3 weeks old today! I can't believe it's been 3 weeks already. It seems just like yesterday, I was sitting all bored in the hospital waiting for something to happen! And yet, it seems like an eternity since I first went into the hospital back on May 9.

BTW, I thankfully had Jon's mom here to help today and yesterday, so I haven't been by myself for longer than 4 hours yet. My first day by myself will probably be 07/16. My mom is on her way here tomorrow along with my niece, nephew and other brother. Not sure where everyone is going to fit in my house, but we made it work last time they were here.

Anyway, hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July. I'm not sure what we're doing. We might just stay at home and bbq and watch the fireworks on tv.

After their first bath

After their first bath
Originally uploaded by heathercim

Here are Ben & Ella after their first official bath at home - their umbilical cords fell off a few days ago so it was time for something more than a sponge bath. They didn't really like the bath that much.

FYI - I've posted new pictures on my flickr site.

Ben & Ella hanging out

Ben & Ella hanging out
Originally uploaded by heathercim

Ben somehow escaping from his swaddle and his sleeper suit and letting Ella know that he is there with her.

One of these days I'll get a picture while they are awake to share with everyone!

Update

Update on breastfeeding - I got the bra/bustier at Birth & Beyond that Carol had mentioned in my post the other day. I stopped by on my way to my OB appointment on Tuesday. I used it for the first time Tuesday night and this thing is great! I maybe should have gotten the bigger size, but I can now read my week by week baby book while pumping. Lovely! And I don't have to worry about leaking if I lose my grip! Super lovely!

Regarding my OB visit - I actually saw the Nurse Practioner the other day. Apparently, I'm a bit of a mini-celebrity in my OB's office since I was on the hospital stay list for so long. Something to be proud of, I'm sure. ;-D

She said that it was nice to meet the person whose name she recognized though I feel like I saw her at least once while I was in the hospital and I know she was the NP we saw at our very first appointment in that office, but I suppose that first visit was a while ago and I'm not exactly sure she was the NP who came to me in the hospital toward the end.

Anyway, she said my incision looks good. She took off the rest of the steri-strips. I asked her about this bump I noticed above my belly button and she said it might be fatty tissue caused by my huge belly I had while pregnant. She said to keep an eye on it, but it should go away on its own. She also said that I can start to lift more things and exercise a bit more, so we'll see how that goes. I took a walk the other day by myself to a nearby park and that seemed too much. We also discussed Ben's circumcision - they didn't do it in the hospital because he was born a bit too early. It is now scheduled for next Monday in the OB's office, but I need to push that back a week as Monday I might be on my own and the week after, my mom will be here. Jon will be going with me to that appointment as it was his decision to have Ben circumcised. I think that was about all we talked about - oh, she did ask me about any postpartum depression symptoms I might be having. I think I do have some bit of baby blues.

Yesterday, when I was on my own for 4 hours with them, things were going well but then both babies wanted to be held and I'm just not coordinated enough to pick up 2 - 2 week old babies on my own. I laid them down next to me and that wasn't doing the trick for the longest time. Eventually, I was able to quiet them down so I could pump but it took a while and well, I did have a bit of a breakdown. Two babies at once is a lot of work - I need all the help I can get so I would welcome any help - especially next Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday when I might be on my own. :-D

Oh, back to breastfeeding - in response to a comment on my last post. I did get Ella to go on my breast for a little while. I was so happy she did so, but later on, she wanted nothing to do with it. She can be quite finicky and when she shows signs of hunger, she means right that very moment she wants some food and even though the breast is right there, she doesn't want it - to much work, I guess. I'm trying my best here. As long as she is getting some breast milk at this point, I'm o.k with that. There is just no way I can exclusively breastfeed twins - if others can do it, that is wonderful for them, but I just can't. Plus, the pediatrician wants us to supplement with formula to keep their weight up and I'm o.k. with that.

Thanks Kerry Lynn for your comment the other day - it's good to know that others with twins didn't pump for too long. I'm going to try to breastfeed and pump as long as I can - the original goal was 6 months but that will most likely change. Speaking of, time to go pump again!

Oh, and one small thing - I had completely forgotten until my husband mentioned it to me while he was writing his version of our birth story (of which you can read here - he's not quite done yet though) is that our daughter pooped on the doctor when the doctor pulled her out. I'm sure that is something that she will want others to know.

My version of the birth story can be found here.

Powerful Song & Video

I came across this video from another blog and wanted to share it here...

For anyone who has gone through infertility, this will definitely bring tears to your eyes. I think it could bring tears to anyone's eyes.

Benjamin & Ella picture

Benjamin & Ella sleeping in their co-sleeper bed.

Baby (& Other) News

I'm back to writing about baby stuff on this blog...it's nice to be able to access it again after so long and to be able to read other's blogs too. I haven't been commenting that much, but I try when I can.

Yesterday, the babies went to a 3rd doctor appointment because they wanted to check their weight again to make sure they're gaining weight like they are supposed to. Good news is that Ella is now past her birth weight! She's at 5 lbs 8 ounces! Benjamin isn't quite to his birth weight but he's at 6 lbs 5 ounces. He's gaining a little over an ounce a day so he'll be back to his birth weight soon.

They also had their second PKU testing done in which they poke the babies in the foot and fill 5 circles with their blood. Needless to say, the babies did not like that at all. Poor Benjamin has been poked in the foot too many times because right after birth, they had to keep testing his blood sugar.

I go to the doctor on Tuesday @ 11:20 to have my incision checked out. The steri-strips have started to come off - they said it would be about 10 days when they would come off and that's about when it started. Unfortunately, that's about when my pain started to make a bit of a comeback. Thank goodness for pain meds.

This morning, my husband took my brother to work and so I was on my own for a little while. It doesn't seem like that long, but, of course, that was when they babies were waking up for their next meal and diaper changes. I, thankfully, handled the situation rather well, I think. Both babies were changed, fed (at the same time as they laid on the boppy pillows), and burped. Poor Benjamin had the hiccups so he laid in their bed for a while trying to get back to sleep but those hiccups kept interrupting him. I hope that when I'm by myself for a longer period of time on Tuesday (when my husband will go back to work in the afternoon after my doctor appointment), things go well.

The following may be a bit TMI - so read at your own risk...

And finally, I just have to say that I really find the breast pump uncomfortable and there has got to be a better way to pump breastmilk than just sitting there holding the pumps. There are times that I will start to fall asleep and leaking will happen because I lost my grip. I'm going to continue to pump because it is good for my babies to give them breast milk, but that pump can hurt sometimes.

I'm also giving the babies breast milk by breastfeeding them, but Ella can be a bit picky as to the times she will breastfeed which is a big change from how she was in the hospital. When this first started to happen, I became frustrated and upset that my baby didn't want to breast feed a good portion of the time but I've gotten over it - for the most part, she is just getting her breast milk from a bottle - as long as she is getting some, right?

Benjamin has taken to it very well, but there are times that he doesn't want to breastfeed either.

We are also giving them formula as there is no way I could keep up with the twins by myself and that way, Jon can help feed them too.

Well, that's all for today. :-D

Ben & Ella hanging out

Ben & Ella hanging out
Originally uploaded by heathercim

And here they are... Ben is on the left with his brown hair and Ella is on the right with her blonde hair showing off her beautiful big eyes (Ben has beautiful big eyes too but he's a little shy about showing them off).

Sunday before the birth

Sunday before the birth
Originally uploaded by heathercim

Here I am on the Sunday before the birth of our twins. I was trying to smile, but it didn't quite work out and I didn't feel like taking any more pictures!

Announcement

For those who may not have been reading my other blog - our twins were born on June 12 a little after midnight via c-section due to my water breaking. Please see my other blog for details. I plan to start writing on this blog again very soon - until then, I'll continue to write updates on my "it's all about me" blog.