Days Like This

It's days that start out like this that worry me.

It's 8am and so far I've changed and fed the twins and put them back to bed.  While they've been sleeping, I've washed bottles, made coffee (in the coffee press), made (and ate) breakfast (two eggs over easy on buttered white toast), read the news, showered, dressed and put on my makeup and now, I am blogging.  I contemplated going outside to fill the water tanks (to ensure Brian has water for his shower), but heard a baby stirring and thought better of it.

This day is probably going to backfire on me soon.

Though I am a worrier by nature, I am also typically pretty optimistic.  But having twins sort of made me, more than anything, a realist.

Realistically the boys are going to wake up at the same time.  And they'll be extra fussy because they are still congested from the colds they are getting over.  And then one of them (or both of them) won't go back to sleep so he'll have to sleep in the living room with me, and then he'll wake up sooner, therefore wanting to eat sooner and that will throw off the schedule.  And then the boys' feedings will be over an hour apart, making my "break*" time non-existent.

Then again, maybe not...

*By break time, I mean the 15-30 minutes I use in between feedings and naps to wash bottles, make more formula, restock the diaper bin, fold laundry (maybe), wash other dishes, go to the bathroom and/or make and eat lunch.  Sometimes I pay bills.  Once I painted my nails. 

Insanely Cute Feet

The sunlight hit Bobby's little feet so perfectly.  I tried recreating it with Jack's photo below, but it just hasn't worked.  I hope I can capture it at some point, because I really love Bobby's picture.

The sun may not have been as brilliant for his shot, but his little feed are still insanely cute.  I'm obsessed with trying to capture them so I remember them always.

Twin Hacks

I just successfully completed my first two weeks at home alone with Jack and Bobby.  When Brian walked out the door for work that first day (after being home with us for an incredible month!)  I sad that we'd no longer all get to hang out together, but also terrified of being left alone with the boys all day long.  Logistically I just couldn't fathom being able to handle it.  What would I do when both boys were crying?  How about when they wake up at the same time to be fed?  And when they were both inconsolable?  Not being able to soothe your crying baby is hard.  Not being able to soothe both your crying babies is heartbreaking.

The first day was awesome.  After my initial crying attack (hello postpartum hormones!) I thought, "I can totally do this!", and then I did.  We had a few hiccups and there certainly was a lot of crying (the boys this time, not me!) but we got through it.  I even managed to cook dinner AND to give them both baths before Brian got home.  Go me!  The next day was good as well and I used my Moby wrap for the first time.  It ruled.  But I was tired and I missed Brian.

On the third day (it's hard for me to not say "he rose again" after that phrase) I had a meltdown.  The boys wouldn't stop waking up together for feedings and Bobby spit up several times after having a really good run the week before.  Instead of having 30 minutes between feeding cycles, I had no minutes.  None.  I'd feed one, feed the other and start all over again.  It was hell.  I started wondering how the heck I was going to get through this alone, and how my boys would grow up without a capable Mama to care for them.

Anyone who knows me well though, knows that one thing I'm really good at is bouncing back.  I'm super good at rallying myself and giving myself a good "buck up little camper" speech.  And then I just push forward and make the best of things and eventually overcome.  So I pushed on.  I told myself that babies cry, and that they do have a capable Mama but I just have to figure things out.  And I reminded myself that while I'm physically alone during the day, I'm never really alone; I have an amazingly supportive partner in Brian and that is more than a lot of people have.

And then I started figuring things out.

Enter what I call, "Twin Hacks".  These aren't new, and I suppose they aren't always going to be specific to twins, but they help me handle our twins and I'm a twin Mom, therefore, I'm calling them Twin Hacks.  If you have any other ideas which you think might help, please feel free to leave your positive comments1

Twin Hack #1: The Moby wrap

I received several conflicting opinions from family and friends about this wrap, but decided to register for one based on the opinion of a fellow MoM (Mom of Multiples) who wore her twinfants in a Moby when they were newborns.  I'm so glad I listened to her, because it is amazing.  And truthfully, it's not even that difficult to wrap.

So far I've only worn one baby at a time.  I hope to try to put them both in there today with Brian's help to see how it goes.  But wearing one baby (pictured above is Jack) while feeding the other has proved to be invaluable.  Keeping the fussy swaddled baby close to my body usually buys me about 20-30 minutes-which is just enough time to feed the other fussy baby. 

Twin Hack #2: Rolled up blankets

Yes, rolled up blankets.  This hack only works for Jack.  Because of Bobby's GI issues, we still have to be more careful with him when he's eating.  This means it's harder for me to put him down mid-feed to soothe his brother if he's crying.  Jack amazingly started "holding" his bottle a couple of weeks ago, but a full bottle is too heavy for him.   I tried reaching over to feed Jack while feeding Bobby, but I just couldn't do it without laying Bobby down.  So I took a few swaddle blankets, rolled them, and propped the bottle on top to see if Jack could drink.  And it worked!  It was just the right angle too, to ensure he didn't cough and spit up.  Hooray!

Twin Hack #3: Channel 100

It's no secret that we don't have a lot of room on the boat, and that we're "baby-gear-lite".  We do, however, have a small travel white noise maker which we use in the nursery.  But it's in the nursery.  Which, you know, isn't too far away from where I sit with the babies all day, but...it's not RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, which is when I needed it.  I thought back to advice about vacuum noise and hair dryers being used to soothe babies, and I thought, "Hmmm...I wonder if TV snow would work."

It does. 

In fact, it works like magic.  And when I have the TV on during the day, I always have this channel on "flashback" so I can just hit the button and switch to snow immediately if I need to.  The boys almost instantly calm down and I'm able to change a diaper or warm a bottle without them getting overly worked up.  It's especially helpful during the very early morning feedings when I don't want to wake Brian (who would have just ended his night shift) or the other twin (so I can have a few moments alone with the other).

Secret: It doesn't have to be channel 100.  The other channels you don't get work just fine too. :)

The Rest

In the interest of catching this blog up to present day, here is the rest of our month, in pictures:

The first full day the Bobby was in the NICU the door to our shrink wrap blew off (on our way out to go see him) due to the extreme weather we had.  A quick email to our friends yielded a group effort to replace and install a new door within hours.  Best. Neighbors. Ever.

Scenes from this historic winter.  The water around our boats does not usually freeze this thick.

Jack had his very first bath.  He did not like it very much.  He didn't like the ones that have since followed, either.

My sisters and niece were finally able to come meet our boys.  And due to yet another snow storm with hurricane strength winds predicted, we spent a weekend in CT at my parents house, which doubled as a nice visit with family.  Since I wasn't able to travel after November and missed the major holidays, it was nice.

And when Bobby came home from the hospital, he received his very first bath too.  (They didn't bathe him while he was there!!!  Isn't that ridiculous?!?!)  He didn't love it, but he didn't hate it either.

We attempted to get newborn/family pictures taken on the cheap by using Target's photo studio.  Not only was it a rushed, confused photo shoot, but the girl totally messed them up and didn't listen to a word I said.  These are screenshots of the online gallery.  We didn't pay for anything (not even a sitting fee) because I was so upset.  And we have an appointment this weekend to have more taken at a different studio (that we used for our Christmas photo).  Here's hoping they come out good and the photographer listens!  These outtakes are pretty hilarious to me.

And now, I can focus on real time posts.  Until I fall behind, that is. :)

Going Home...Sort Of

...so there we were, a new family of four, packed and ready to go home for the first time...when we received a note from our friend Ahmet that we might actually not want to come home after all.  In fact, we might not be able to go home because the marina, for the first time in at least two years, might have to be evacuated due to the high winds predicted with the blizzard.  He suggested we book a room in the hotel next door, like many of our friends and neighbors just to be safe.  So we booked a room and made our way there.

The drive over to Charlestown was quite hairy.  The weather had deteriorated rapidly and everyone in the city was trying to get home before it got worse.  Traffic was horrible and our babies were in the back seat crying.  We'd heard that the mirrors you put on the back seat so you can see your babies were dangerous, so we opted not to get them...that caused us major stress.  Not being able to see if the babies were breathing when they were quiet was too much!  Yes, we pulled over on the snowy road to check.  Yes, we know this is because we're first time parents.  After this trip, we decided the risk was worth it, and we purchased the mirrors once the snow cleared!

Traffic

The ride home

Our bridge.  Almost home sweet boys.

Earlier in the day we received an email from the marina telling us that we couldn't park in the middle of the parking lot because of snow removal.  But by the time we arrived home from the hospital, all of the outer spaces were already taken.  Thankfully our dockmaster is cool and he allowed us to park in the main lot, even though we were in that restricted area.  After what seemed like hours (it actually did take a little over an hour to get home...it usually takes 15 minutes) we finally made it to the hotel.

Maybe it's because they saw the stressed out, new mom, we just drove in the car with two newborns and oh my God we're really parents, look on my face, we were upgraded to a suite. I'm not sure how we would have survived those first two days at "home" without a kitchen and living room to be honest. 

Welcome "home" boys...

Hotel Lobby

In addition to getting a suite, we were lucky enough to get a room that overlooked the marina, so we could periodically check to make sure our boat was OK.  (It was.)

So close to home, yet so far away!  S/v Just Married, in the middle on the left, just waiting for her family to come home!

The calm after the storm.  And before the next one.

I have to stop here and say once again how wonderful it is to live in this community.  Not only were our friends looking out for us by telling us about the evacuation, they were waiting for us when we got the hotel.  Within minutes, Brian had help unloading the car which was no small feat considering we ransacked the hospital and had several bags of groceries (thanks to my in-laws!) in addition to our duffel bags, the diaper bag and two babies.  They really helped make a stressful, overwhelming situation a little easier to bear.   

Thank you Ahmet, Walter, Jeff, Roxy and Dora...

Though the hotel was nice, we really just needed to be home.  Twins require structure and we hadn't yet had a chance to figure out what that structure was.  That first night on our own (without the nursery and nurses to help!) was rough.  Really, really rough.  It was the first time I wondered how the hell I'm going to manage this when Brian goes back to work.  (Which, by the way, is Monday!  Yikes!!)  When I woke up on day 2, I knew I needed to organize everything we had to make things run more smoothly when the boys woke up.

I laid out the diapers and the Vaseline packets (for their circumcisions):

I set up the feeding stations (Because we were in a hotel, we covered the surfaces to protect them from spit up):

 

and laid out the bottles and breast pump parts:

It did make things run more smoothly.  But we were still dumbstruck with how hard it is having twins.  And I wondered how it's legal to let new parents out of the hospital with twinfants without more training!  (And we both have always felt pretty comfortable around infants.)

Here are our first family photos:

...And finally, we were really going home!

The Day You Were Born: 1/23/15

Maybe you guessed it, or maybe you didn't, but on Friday 1/23/15 at 9:17am and 9:19am our twin boys were born via c-section. Needless to say, our lives have been forever changed for the better and we already can't imagine life without our little guys...

As you know, my pregnancy wasn't great. In fact, it was downright horrible and I never want to be pregnant again. So, on Thursday 1/22 at 9:45pm (yes, PM, after the day was already done!) when my OB called me and told me I have pre-eclampsia and asked, "How'd you like to have your babies tomorrow?" I almost yelled, "YES!". Instead I laughed in disbelief and looked at Brian and pointed to my belly mouthing, "TOMORROW!!!".

Nothing's boring with us.

Ever.

Especially because the boat wasn't ready yet, we were smack dab in the middle of projects and the boat was a disaster.  I mean, really, really disorganized.  And I didn't have the special soap yet that I was supposed to have for surgery.  So while Brian ran out to a 24-hour pharmacy to try to find said soap, I started tidying up as much as I could and double checked our bag. 

We didn't get much sleep that night.  We were due at the hospital by 6:30am but we were both up well before that time.  It didn't seem real, that after all the planning, swelling, throwing up, kicking, and anticipation that we were finally going to meet our boys.  And we'd be parents.

Holy shit.

To distract myself, I began taking screen shots of news sites to show the world as it was the day they were born:

A friend of ours also bought two Boston Globes for us.  Thank you, Jamie, if you're reading this!

The marina and city looked so peaceful when we got into the car, so I took this picture, that shows the date and time, with both in the background.  It's a little fuzzy, but I still love it.  Very "in the moment".

We were psyched when we got to the hospital and found a spot right up front.  Not that I was in active labor, but toward the end I was REALLY uncomfortable.  And also, we will NEVER be able to park here again.  So we did!

On the way in, I realized I never took a 36 week picture.  And that's another thing we'll never be able to do.  So I made Brian take one right there in the parking lot.

We checked in, I changed and they hooked me up to tubes.  Then I walked into the operating room and hopped up onto the table for my epidural.  YES, I really walked right in.  It was odd.  Very, very odd.  What seems like seconds later (but it was really 20 minutes) Brian was by my side and they were cutting me open.

And then what seemed like hour later (it was only a few minutes) we heard Jack.  He sounded like a duck.  Literally like a duck!

And two minutes later, Bobby arrived.  Sounding like a baby.  :)

Daddy and his boys in the operating room:

 

Introducing our boys to Momma:

Jack on the left, Bobby on the right:

 Later, in recovery, I finally got to hold them:

 

We stayed in the hospital for 3 nights, 1 night less than planned.  The weather was looking pretty dismal, and a blizzard was in the forecast.  Brian and I were really overwhelmed with the amount of people who came in and out of the hospital room, and the thought of having to stay an extra night because of the snow was just too much.  So we made it known that we'd be OK with being discharged early, as long as the boys were cleared to go.  They were, and so we began preparing to go home.

I shed my hospital clothes and dressed the boys in their going home outfits, including the hats I knit for them a couple of months ago:

Brian got their car seats ready:

 

Once everyone was packed up, we headed home.  

Kind of...

The Nursery: Part 3

In case you missed it, this was the last nursery update...

We are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel-with both the nursery and this pregnancy!  Both will be done within two weeks, if not sooner. :)

Last weekend we bought the foam for the crib.  It's a super firm foam which will support the boys very well.  We found a local old-school re-upholstery shop in town which cuts full slabs of foam to any size you want, which is rare.  When we walked in it was like we entered a time warp.  It was great fun to watch this little old man hobbling around the super cramped shop, pulling huge slabs of foam out of the woodwork.  Upon leaving, we both agreed that it's exactly the kind of place we love to support and that we'd be back for sure when it's time to replace the cushions on our own bed.

The foam guy in his cramped little shop, cutting a large piece of foam to our specs.

Brian's been working so hard every weekend and after work to put the finishing touches on the construction.  It's turning out to be a little more tedious of a job than we initially thought, mainly because of time, but also because of the shape of the back cabin.  Nothing is square and because we have to think about 20 little fingers getting stuck in crevasses, Brian is being extra careful that everything fits exactly the way it should.  It's been hard for me to sit (literally) and watch him do all of the work.  But I keep reminding myself that I'm actually growing two babies, and that's hard work in itself.  I guess this is a good example of teamwork, right?

Last night Brian was able to cut the foam and install it into the crib.  First he used the insulation as a template to mark where he should cut:

And then, using an electric turkey knife which was bought specifically for this purpose, he made the cuts:

Like butta.

 

Incidentally, as a chef, I feel the need to tell you that this is the only time an electric knife should ever be used.  :)

Once everything was cut, he put the mattress in the crib and made the bed:

We're starting to try to figure out exactly where we want to put everything.  Placement is very important because its such a small space.  We're being very selective about how we decorate, too, as not to overwhelm the boys with a million different colors and patterns.  The wall below will be painted or covered in a neutral color, probably cream to match the fiberglass walls.  The cushion below was bought at IKEA in the as-is section and will be recovered to match the cover we're making for the seat cushion (which is made out of the same foam as the mattress).

The main colors will be green, white and blue, with pops of other colors that can be found in the jungle.  I can't wait until construction is done so we can get it completely decorated and ready for Jack and Bobby!

Thanks for following along with our progress!