They're home :)

Hi, friends! In my true blogging fashion, I am *a bit* behind on keeping you all up to date, but it IS the week leading up to holiday, which keeps me pretty busy each time any holiday rolls around. So, let's get to it:

The twins were discharged from the hospital last week. Baby Boy was released on (Thursday) the 14th and Baby Girl was released the next day. My crew - all 6 of us - were able to visit with C,M, and the twins for a time before they flew home on Saturday, the 16th.

I'm so impressed with how well the twins grew and how healthy they looked! Baby Boy was weighing over 5 1/2 lbs (I can't recall the exact numbers now) and Baby Girl was weighing 4lbs 5oz. They were so sweet!

This gathering was the first time my boys had seen the babies, so that was exciting for them, at least for a minute or two. ;) I was able to grab a few photos of the occassion, but my ever present procrastination has kept me from actually asking C for her permission to post it here. I plan on doing this in the few days, but we'll see. ;)

I'm glad we all got to cuddle with the little ones before they went home to begin their life, finally outside of the hospital. It was admittedly the "closure" I needed on my part in this experience. For the first time I truly felt that this, their (the twins) going home to their family with their mom and dad, was the ending for which we were all waiting. It was the goal that both our families desired to accomplish from the very beginning, before we even met one another. During the time that the babies were in the NICU, I struggled with the finality of it all, or lack thereof; but now that they are home, I feel as if this entire process has come full circle. I could talk without end on this alone.

I am still so humbled to have been priveleged to care for those babies for a time and honored that C & M trusted me and my family with such a precious task. I definitely feel that I am just as blessed in all this as they are; my heart is full.

I Know, I Know...

It's been 3 weeks since you all have heard from me. Many of you probably thought I had "ended" this blog with the birth of the twins, but I would never leave without saying goodbye. ;) In truth, if I shared with you the craziness of life that I was catapulted back into after delivering those precious babes, you'd likely be bored to tears and never check on me again. I will spare you all those mundane details and get on to the good stuff, the reason why you really check for updates...

C's & M's twins were born 3 weeks and 1 day ago today, making their gestational age 37weeks if they had remained in utero. Both babies are still in the NICU at a local hospital near me; C has been dividing her time between her twins and her family at home. Baby Boy is doing well, growing and eating as expected. Baby Girl is growing and eating as well, and just weighed in at 3lbs 12oz! Generally, for the NICU to feel comfortable discharging them, 4lbs is the "magic number" so long as other health aspects are in line. Baby Girl was still in a warming unit to help regulate her temperature, but was supposed to be removed from that today to see how well she would maintain her temp on her own. They are preparing them to go home, doing last tests and such to help the doctors determine when they can be released home. Our fingers are crossed that could happen within the week.

I get to visit with C and little babes on the weekends. (Weekdays are difficult for me to get up there since I have a toddler in tow who isn't allowed in the NICU.) Just yesterday I was able to feed Baby Girl her bottle. What a neat experience that was! And it clearly showed how out of practice I was in the art of bottle feeding and burping, hehe. I was also able to cuddle with Baby Boy and even change his little baby clothes after he yacked on himself. THAT was like riding a bike seeing how my last child had reflux something awful. I look forward to those sweet visits with C and her angels, but I'm so excited that they are so close to going home and truly living their life. Let's face it: life in a hospital is no way to live life. And of course they have tons of family waiting to share cuddles and love with them when they get home.

I am healing well, but I confess that first week was much, much rougher than I could have anticipated. Even the second week took some adjusting. But three weeks after surgery, I think I'm doing well. Obviously, I've been busy since I haven't had time to sit long enough to even blog for you all, so that must be a good sign. I did see my OB for an incision check about 10 days ago; I am cleared to begin "light exercise/activity" in about a week. I'm looking forward to adding that back into my daily routine. My final doctor's visit for this process will be a 6week post-partum check up on April 29. I should be healed and given the green light to resume life as I knew it, without restrictions. Watch out, folks!

And seeing how we all watched my belly grow, I thought it might be neat to watch it shrink (although clearly not as fun!). So, here's what I got for you:

This is my post-partum belly, taken at the end of its respective weeks. It's kinda nifty, huh?

I'm out, as my life is calling me this very moment. I can't promise it won't be three more weeks before I return, but I'll make a better effort to come back sooner. :)