Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Doing alright





Well, it's going pretty well here. Perhaps as good as I had hoped for. I think the first night home was just a fluke, and maybe they were just uncomfortable from their circumcisions because they've been better since then. Still better sleepers during the day probably, but not as nuts as Cash was.





Phoenix (left); Ashton (right)

And I've done a few things right, like sending them out of our room (where their crib is since we only have 2 bedrooms) after that first night so they only keep one person awake (namely my mom, downstairs in the living room - thanks mom!) instead of two. Also, my other good move is sleeping through one of the night feedings while somebody else feeds them so I actually have managed a few 5 hour stretches of sleep. And last night it was close to 6 hours I think. I'm not sure at what point you can let them sleep longer at night without waking them to eat, but we're about at that point where we'd welcome it, so last night they slept 4 or 5 hours straight. Oh yeah, and the other thing we did right was hide the train set Cash got for Christmas until the day we brought the twins home. That's been a lifesaver.


As for Cash's reaction - well this picture pretty much sums it up. "Um, what are these, and can you get them out of my way so I can watch tv?"

He's been a bit out of sorts, and I've had a hard time feeling so neglectful and sort of missing the days when I just had one child and could be such a doting and attentive mother, but overall he's doing pretty well. And it is cute to see him peeking in over the pack 'n play to make sure where they are once in a while.














Ashton (left) Phoenix (right)
As for the twin thing - I guess they send the placenta to the lab and that's supposed to give them some sort of idea if they are identical or not, but we haven't heard back about that yet. I think I mentioned the doctor said there were some things that made them seem very identical, but it's hard to tell sometimes since there heads are shaped differently. But based on what it looked like in the ultrasounds - one placenta with one big sac and two smaller ones, and the fact that there are enough similarities that we still think they're probably identical. The only real other way to tell is genetic testing. When I look at pictures, it's sometimes quite easy to tell them apart, but when they're all bundled up with hats on, we have a hard time. I must say we refer to them as "this one" and "that one" quite often so as not to have to use the brain power to identify them. And sometimes the same one gets their diaper changed twice instead of them both getting changed once. Ryan was pretty adamant that we put a dot of nail polish on one of them in case their heads changed overnight, so we did that. But then he decided to paint the other ones toes. So then the next day, of course I couldn't remember who had the toes and who had the fingernail.

I don't know if you remember my coveted crib bedding:










but I used that as the inspiration and begged my mom to make something comparable. I LOVE the results!! I would wait until we had them in their own cutely decorated matching room to display them, especially since this picture doesn't do it justice, but I have to put it on here so you can see her work because it's just too great. And saved me $600. The one for the other crib is the same fabrics but a little bit reversed. Love it mom! Thank you!


















As for having a great recovery, well, I probably spoke too soon.


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the pictures!!! Thank you!!!! I check many times a day or an update, but figure I shouldn't tell a new mom, of twins... to "put more pictures" on!!!! I've figured you have your hands full and will get to it when you can! Sometime let us know which one is Ashton in the pictures and which one is Phoenix. It's so bad to not even have a clue which one they are, especially because they are my own nephews!!!! The crib looks awesome!!!!

Love you guys! Julie

Unknown said...

Jen they are adorable. Are the names you were considering final? I would like to know who is who as well. But, I can't really tell them apart anyway. I wish I could take some pictures of those two together, it would be so fun. Coming up anytime soon?! Just kidding, you will be lucky if you get all three out of your house at the same time. Keep the updates coming, I love seeing "that one" and "this one".

Anonymous said...

They are so cute! I am glad you have your mom there to help out, can she stay indefinitely? :)

Tyler Jorgenson said...

Awesome bedding (is it weird for a guy to say that) does your Mom take contract work on the side?

I put a note up in the SAJM part of facebook but don't know if you check there, William Rasaonaivo told me yesterday that Sister Akhonya died in the recent violence in Kenya. Here's a video of her for you:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RKrkc-MtaVU

I still laugh when I picture you driving her around because she was mad at you and wouldn't sit up front.

Oh, the twins look good too... almost forgot.

Shannon said...

Thanks for posting so often Jenn. Glad all is going well. Tell your Mom fabulous job on the bedding. I hoped you would get it.

LuAnn said...

I am making booties for your boys. I figured hats would only be needed another month and I could have made them for next winter but I don't think you'll need hats in Miami. I love the booties and I've always had a pair for Simon and he wore them all the time. They are solid cream and I can put a design on the top. I've been debating over turtles or letters. I thought the letters might help to identify them. But take your pick.

LuAnn said...

When I say letters I mean their initials. A on the left foot, I on the right for Ashton and P and I for Phoenix. Or just A or B? 1 or 2? 1, 2, 3, 4? Okay, enough...what do you want?

Anonymous said...

Just read and showed the pictures to Carter.

About 5 minutes after. . .randomly while eating. .. .

Carter said, "That's funny, 'uh, can you get these things out of my way, I'm trying to watch TV!'"

H. said...

First of all, I'm amazed you are functioning, let alone keeping your blog so updated. Second, you have 3 darn cute boys! Third, I'm bringing you dinner on Monday for sure, okay?

Jenilee said...

The pictures are great. Thanks. I don't know if it is different for twins, but I am all for letting babies sleep at night until they wake themselves up to eat. As long as they are gaining weight well, let them sleep. I did that with Isabella and she still managed to gain 2 lb 11 oz in the first month.

Matt and Jen said...

Your babies are so adorable. I was excited to see the new pictures posted. I love the bedding, aren't grandmas the best!!Good luck with all your cute boys!

Erin said...

hooray, hooray for jen! your boys are BEAUTIFUL! i love the names.

The Millers said...

So the baby are beautiful. That first pictures in their hates and matching oatmeal jackets -- so cute. The the crib bedding is amazing! Why buy when you have a mom who is so talented. So glad that your mom is there to help out. Thanks for the update. I love living vicariously through you and your twins!

The Millers said...

Sorry about my poorly edited last comment. The babies are beautiful, and the first picture of them is so cute. As for the next line, well, you know what I meant. Geez, you'd think I was the one who had just had twins and was getting little sleep.

Rochelle said...

I like your mom's bedding more than the original! So sweet. Those boys make me WANT to have twins...they are so darn cute. You can talk me out of it later :-) Keep posting pics (when you can)...and hoping for a speedy recovery for you!

Sarah Fox said...

The look pretty identical to me. And so adorable. Kudos to Carolyn for the bedding. That looks really awesome. Such a talented Mom you have. And getting up in the night with the babies. You don't get better Mom's than that. Glad to hear you're feeling well and the babies are doing great.

Sarah

Kimi said...

Cash is wondering why there are two little creatures in HIS house. That is funny.

Anne Marie said...

Hey, I'm Anne Marie, a friend of Heather S.'s, and I stumbled upon your blog, so I hope you don't mind me commenting. I am also a twin mama (I know you've probably met 100 of those in the past few months, all with great advice and stories plus the 1000 people who know someone who had twins in the last century). Anyway, I just had to comment because seeing another set of twins is absolutely delightful! Congratulations!!! They are absolutely adorable. My twins are 2 1/2 years old, and I recently finally wrote my pregnancy, labor, and recovery story on my blog. Feel free to check it out sometime (with all that free time. ha!)www.lovingour4boys.blogspot.com. I posted it February 11, 2008. Those first few months are incredibly draining. I still look back and have no clue how anyone is supposed to take care of two newborn babies, let alone any other kids. Hang in there! It gets better.

Anne Marie said...

Thanks for stopping by on my blog. And I am so glad everything worked out with your labor. A vaginal birth is definitely much, much better! I really like your twinners' names. They go together but are not too much alike. I have 3 words for you for the next year or so: LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS. With two babies and a toddler to take care of, there's no way your home and life will look the same as before. And that's okay! I think our house looked like it had been hit by a tornado for at least 6 months, and it seemed that we alternated between hot dogs and pancakes for dinner for at least a year. So do the things each day that are the most important, and then don't sweat the rest. And I survived some weeks because of a wonderful place called Target. I loved getting out of the house and wandering the aisles, didn't even matter if I got something or not. By the way, I highly recommend a book called "Ready or Not, Here We Come" by Elizabeth Lyons. She is hilarious! May not have the most practical advice, but will make you laugh and see the humor in all the insanity. Anyway, you'll do great! And, I can't stand how cute your boys are!

chyayn said...

Oh wow. They are SOOOO DARLING!!! I love the bedding your mom made.:) Glad you are doing ok!

A said...

Okay Carolyn should start making crib sets and selling them on Etsy for a fortune. Those look better than the original, I'd say!