A lot has happened and I haven't recorded any of it, really. Other than on my camera phone.
But there is so much to catch up on I decided to just answer the most common questions I get, since the rest of you out there probably have similar questions. Here we go.
Q: Caitlin, is it everything you expected?
A: Well... I don't really know what I expected. I babysat my nephews A TON when I was in high school (I even chose to babysit on Friday nights sometimes when other teenage things were going on), but they were all different ages, and they weren't my children Being around kids and babies so much helped me tremendously with mothering now. In some ways it's actually easier than I would have guessed. Yes it's hard when they are both crying, when my husband works until 9pm, and that I can't breastfeed both my babies at the same time so I have to bottle feed one and breastfeed the other and rotate every feeding. My mothering style had to be a little different than I anticipated because I have two babies. But I've always wanted to be a mother and I love my boys more than anything. It is the hardest thing I've done, but it's also the most enjoyable thing I've ever done. I love my job.
Q: Do you just NEVER sleep?
A: Once 9 o'clock rolls around I am severely ready for bed, like I can barely stand up or see out of my eyes. Even if I got a nap that day. They have a fussy period usually around then, and then they sleep beautifully. Dave and I get at least 6 hours in a night. We can get a good 4-6 hour solid chunk of sleep before they wake up and want to eat. Dave is awesome and wakes up with me to help me feed them even though he has work in the morning. It cuts out a lot of time - although I still have to pump after so sometimes it is almost 2 hours later when I get back to sleep. And then we get another good stretch of sleep.
Q: Do twins run in your family?
A: They do not. We spontaneously conceived twins and we did not take any fertility drugs.
Q: How did you deliver them?
A: "Naturally." A nicer way of saying I pushed them out after getting an epidural. And that's a story for another time.
Q: How far along were you when you had them?
A: 34 weeks and 6 days.
Q: Are they identical?
A: They are fraternal.
Q: Does that mean identical?
A: Nope. Non-identical. Normal fraternal brothers just conceived at the same time.
Q: Are you going to have any more kids?
A: Absolutely. In time.
Q: Can you tell them apart?
A: Yes. They look completely different.
Q: What is your schedule like?
A: They eat every 3 to 4 hours in the daytime. If they are still sleeping, I get them up by changing their diaper. They usually are awake when I am trying to eat breakfast, and again at lunch. I somehow can usually get a load of laundry or two done and the dishes if necessary. At night we let them sleep as long as they can. We bathe them every other night, sometimes more.
Q: Where do they sleep?
A: Next to each other, swaddled, in their crib in their room. We will whip out the other crib once they start moving around and crowding each other.
Q: How many diapers do you go through in a day?
A: Around 20.
Q: How long were they in the NICU for?
A: One for 13 days and the other 15 days. It was SO hard leaving them there while I came home to just pump every few hours to bring milk to the hospital every day. I would usually go for 2 feedings, sometimes 3, sometimes 1... It was my time to rest and recover while the boys were getting the care they needed. But it was devastating. I cried every night and called the NICU to check on them at almost every feeding. Then Harrison came home without David and I cried for David every day even though I loved the attention I could give Harrison.
All that stress - plus the hormone changes - gave me a serious toothache and I realized I had to get a root canal. Got that done and they put me on antibiotics, to which I found out I am allergic, so I broke out in hives that increased in volume and severity over a few days. The doc said to stop taking the antibiotics and take Benadryl every few hours. Then that dried up my milk supply and I could barely make enough for one of my babies so I had to increase the formula they were putting in their milk to bulk up. What I'm saying is, July was a hell of a month for me. Thankfully it's over and I am doing much better and the babies are starting to move around and smile and make cute noises.
Q: Got pictures?
A: Loads.
Left: Harrison. Right: David
David and I.
Harrison milk drunk.
David harnessing his inner Blue Steel.
Chicken Tetrazzini: The first postpartum meal I made. The boys were 8 weeks old.
I started this post 2 days ago in the late morning, and now I am finishing it at 6 am while I pump. It has taken me this long to get this thing typed out. And now I want to be done.
Do you have any questions I didn't answer?
No comments:
Post a Comment