After so many days that felt somehow happy yet discouraging in some ways...exhausting, confusing, emotional, today was a really good day.
Today was a good day. It was also, I believe, my first "solo day". My mom, bless her, has been here almost the entire month. She takes care of Arya, cleans and does household chores, organizes my chaos, and just serves as a calm, solid presence in all of this newborn baby mayhem. But this week she is with Casey in Spring Grove. We call her G4T for a reason...used to be G2T when she became a grandmother of two in very quick succession, but now she's reached SUPER GRANDMA status with four grandchildren to love and help care for. She truly is amazing. Sean has gone back to work after having used up the first week-plus of his two-week paternity leave, just with my extended hospital stay and the girls' time in the special care nursery. In addition, this crazy virus season we're having continues to remove many of my possibilities for help with Arya as I navigate the waters of dealing with newborn twins (a wonderful neighbor who watches Arya, and also Arya's "Auntie Em", my cousin Emily.) So today I was alone, and it was a great day. I know there will be many days in the future--the near future...maybe even tomorrow--that don't go this well, so I am choosing to really notice the small things about today.
1. I had a dance party with Arya. This means that a) I am feeling physically well enough to dance--not hugely prego, not in the hospital or home recovering from a very rough and complicated labor, and not barfing from an unfortunate bout of the stomach flu (see last post), and b) Arya is really getting back to her old self...the one who loves to boogie and spin around and who points at the iPod, asking for "dancing music" about four times per day. Happiness.
2. I took a nap. When you have to get up several times in the night to care for newborn twins it feels pretty rough to have that 6:30 a.m. toddler wake-up call, knowing that it'll be at least six hours until you can lay your head down again. Today I was successful in my attempts to synchronize all three kids' sleep so I could nap as well. Aahhhh.
3. I took Arya outside to get some fresh air. Winter sucks, but we've been lucky enough this year to have a very mild one. Today it was about 40 degrees, so we went outside and splashed in puddles for a little while. The fun didn't last very long because Miss Lou fell in a mud puddle and got cold, but we both got some of our wiggles out and inhaled some much-needed fresh air.
4. I washed the sheets, comforter, AND mattress pad off our bed. Yup, it's the little things. We kept the twins upstairs in our room until a few nights ago, and it just seemed like everything in there smelled like sour milk. As of this writing I still haven't gotten everything put back together, but once I do it'll be clean-sheet bliss for us tonight. Aahhh...it's the little things.
5. I ate lunch. Yes, this is an accomplishment. I spent the day alone with two 3-week-old babies and a 20 month old. #6 should probably be "I went to the bathroom", but I think that probably falls under the category of Too Much Information. And if you're wondering, lunch today was a liverwurst and ketchup sandwich eaten with Arya at her toddler table (turns out Arya and I both love liverwurst, and I lost so much blood during the delivery that I'm still trying to get enough iron in my diet to "catch up" on my energy.)
6. I remembered, and successfully administered, everyone's vitamins. Isn't this one of those things that tends to fall through the cracks when things get crazy? It is for me. But today, all three kids got their omegas, D3s, and iron, and I got all mine as well. I think I even convinced Sean to take an EmergenC as he was rushing out the door to go to a meeting. Strangely enough, Arya LOVES to take her fish oil straight from the dropper. Ugh...it smells like salmon belly meat. But getting the twins to take their cherry-flavored liquid vitamins is another thing entirely. Why do they make that stuff cherry flavored anyway? It's a totally foreign and disarming flavor for a newborn to experience.
7. I tandem breastfed BOTH twins several times today. With Keira finally starting to be able to get some of her calories from breastfeeding instead of a bottle of pumped milk, this accomplishment is absolutely the key to the rest of the day's success. Here's hoping she continues to improve so I can eventually just breastfeed both. That will mean I can drop the pumping, bottle feeding, bottle washing, pump part washing, and general asynchronous nature of the twins' feedings. That will be HUGE.
Tomorrow's a new day...let's see what it brings.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Visitors and Meals
Hi all!
Many of you have expressed interest in bringing meals over as well as coming to hold some very snuggly twins. I thought I'd just post info on here instead of replying to folks individually.
VISITORS
We have to continue to limit visitors to adults only, at least until May...doctor's orders, due to the girls' preemie status and the fact that the RSV/influenza virus season is so bad this year. And any adults who do come to visit have to be sure that they are healthy, and that no one in their household is sick.
If you are healthy and want to come hold some very snuggly babies, though, send me an email and we will find a time for you to visit! We kind of have to spread the visits out because the girls are still so small and their immune systems are still vulnerable, so you may have to wait a bit for your "time slot" but I know many of you are anxious to meet our little angels!!
MEALS
Many of you have sent emails wondering if you can bring food or meals by as we navigate this crazy time. We appreciate any and all offers of assistance - especially food-related! :) Cooking and preparing meals just isn't in the realm of possibility most days. I think with a single at-term baby, a household can sometimes be in a pretty good groove. But I am finding that the complicating factors--twins, premature, some trouble with feeding, a 21 month old also at home, a mommy who had such a rough pregnancy and complicated labor that she's slower to fully recover, etc.--mean that we're still "in the thick of it" at this point! Both the pediatrician and the lactation consultant said it's truly remarkable what happens when a preemie baby reaches their original "term" date, though... things just start to fall into place!
I apologize for not having the chance to get back to you individually regarding your offers to bring food. Please feel free to bring stuff over - just call or email to let me know when. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many of you have expressed interest in bringing meals over as well as coming to hold some very snuggly twins. I thought I'd just post info on here instead of replying to folks individually.
VISITORS
We have to continue to limit visitors to adults only, at least until May...doctor's orders, due to the girls' preemie status and the fact that the RSV/influenza virus season is so bad this year. And any adults who do come to visit have to be sure that they are healthy, and that no one in their household is sick.
If you are healthy and want to come hold some very snuggly babies, though, send me an email and we will find a time for you to visit! We kind of have to spread the visits out because the girls are still so small and their immune systems are still vulnerable, so you may have to wait a bit for your "time slot" but I know many of you are anxious to meet our little angels!!
MEALS
Many of you have sent emails wondering if you can bring food or meals by as we navigate this crazy time. We appreciate any and all offers of assistance - especially food-related! :) Cooking and preparing meals just isn't in the realm of possibility most days. I think with a single at-term baby, a household can sometimes be in a pretty good groove. But I am finding that the complicating factors--twins, premature, some trouble with feeding, a 21 month old also at home, a mommy who had such a rough pregnancy and complicated labor that she's slower to fully recover, etc.--mean that we're still "in the thick of it" at this point! Both the pediatrician and the lactation consultant said it's truly remarkable what happens when a preemie baby reaches their original "term" date, though... things just start to fall into place!
I apologize for not having the chance to get back to you individually regarding your offers to bring food. Please feel free to bring stuff over - just call or email to let me know when. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
They're Bulking Up!
At our last pediatrician's visit this past week, we learned that the girls are both gaining weight really well! Well enough, in fact, that our doctor said they didn't need to return for any more "weight check" visits and could just be seen at their two-month appointment! Yay!
As of Thursday the 26th, Lyanna weighed 6lbs, 11.5oz and Keira weighed 5lbs, 15oz. And since Thursday, we have seen Keira get noticeably "chunkier" in the face, and Lyanna just continues to grow steadily. That means at this point they are both definitely more than a pound over birth weight - not bad for only 3.5 weeks old!
Keeping up with those growing girls keeps me very busy with feeding and pumping, but it gets easier as they continue to do better at feedings with less choking and spitting up. This is a natural consequence of them getting older and closer to their actual due date - they get more and more coordinated and their suck-swallow reflex gets more in sync.
Arya is doing well as usual. She loves helping with the babies, and her verbal skills have really blossomed in the past few days. I think she's also adjusting more and more to her new life as "big sister", i.e. the kid who no longer gets all of mommy's attention all the time :)
In other news, I came down with the stomach flu this past weekend. Ugh. Not fun when you're trying to keep up your milk supply and are already exhausted. Luckily, I have the best hubby in the world. He took over all of the twins' feedings for an entire day so that I could just sleep, only getting up every three hours to pump. And I also have the best mom in the world! Grandma stayed at our place past when she had planned to leave this time (sorry cousin Casey...Namma Kathy is going to be late to come get you!) It was a rough 24+ hours to be sure, but I'm on the mend now. Let's just hope no one else gets it.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading - your comments and emails really keep me going, so keep 'em coming!
Love to all,
Alicia
As of Thursday the 26th, Lyanna weighed 6lbs, 11.5oz and Keira weighed 5lbs, 15oz. And since Thursday, we have seen Keira get noticeably "chunkier" in the face, and Lyanna just continues to grow steadily. That means at this point they are both definitely more than a pound over birth weight - not bad for only 3.5 weeks old!
Keeping up with those growing girls keeps me very busy with feeding and pumping, but it gets easier as they continue to do better at feedings with less choking and spitting up. This is a natural consequence of them getting older and closer to their actual due date - they get more and more coordinated and their suck-swallow reflex gets more in sync.
Arya is doing well as usual. She loves helping with the babies, and her verbal skills have really blossomed in the past few days. I think she's also adjusting more and more to her new life as "big sister", i.e. the kid who no longer gets all of mommy's attention all the time :)
In other news, I came down with the stomach flu this past weekend. Ugh. Not fun when you're trying to keep up your milk supply and are already exhausted. Luckily, I have the best hubby in the world. He took over all of the twins' feedings for an entire day so that I could just sleep, only getting up every three hours to pump. And I also have the best mom in the world! Grandma stayed at our place past when she had planned to leave this time (sorry cousin Casey...Namma Kathy is going to be late to come get you!) It was a rough 24+ hours to be sure, but I'm on the mend now. Let's just hope no one else gets it.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading - your comments and emails really keep me going, so keep 'em coming!
Love to all,
Alicia
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Message from the Zoo
When I found out I was pregnant with twins, after the shock wore off I could often be heard saying, "Bring it on. Bring on the crazy." I think that's the right (read: only) attitude to have at a time like this, and let me just say the crazy has arrived! But in a good way. I'll miss these days someday, so I am trying to enjoy every minute and relish every challenge.
We are all doing well. Arya is adjusting remarkably well, in fact, and Lyanna and Keira are gaining weight and passed their first pediatrician visit with flying colors. The first 30 (okay, maybe 90) days with newborns are all about baby mayhem and sleep deprivation, so we're right on target!
The thing we're struggling with a bit right now is that Lyanna breastfeeds quite well, but Keira is not quite there yet. I continue to work with them with the goal of being able to nurse them at the same time eventually. Right now, though, with one baby nursing and another requiring a bottle, we use up a whole lot of our 3-hour between-feedings interval, well, feeding. And then I have to pump breastmilk. Add to that multiple diapers and some spit-ups, and we have newborn twin mayhem!
Bless her, though, Arya likes to help with the babies and is remarkably understanding that Mommy and Daddy are busy sometimes.
An apology to you all: I'm sure you've noticed how BAD I am at posting pictures... but I offer this explanation - I don't have enough hands to take pictures!! I'm trying to get better at that, but it's difficult to take photos when we can't just set a baby / the babies on a blanket on the floor to take cute pictures together because we have a very energetic bruiser of a toddler running around. And, see "3-hour between-feedings interval" above.
I hope you're all doing well, too! We would love to hear from you when you get a chance. Feel free to use the comments section or just send an email!
We are all doing well. Arya is adjusting remarkably well, in fact, and Lyanna and Keira are gaining weight and passed their first pediatrician visit with flying colors. The first 30 (okay, maybe 90) days with newborns are all about baby mayhem and sleep deprivation, so we're right on target!
The thing we're struggling with a bit right now is that Lyanna breastfeeds quite well, but Keira is not quite there yet. I continue to work with them with the goal of being able to nurse them at the same time eventually. Right now, though, with one baby nursing and another requiring a bottle, we use up a whole lot of our 3-hour between-feedings interval, well, feeding. And then I have to pump breastmilk. Add to that multiple diapers and some spit-ups, and we have newborn twin mayhem!
Bless her, though, Arya likes to help with the babies and is remarkably understanding that Mommy and Daddy are busy sometimes.
An apology to you all: I'm sure you've noticed how BAD I am at posting pictures... but I offer this explanation - I don't have enough hands to take pictures!! I'm trying to get better at that, but it's difficult to take photos when we can't just set a baby / the babies on a blanket on the floor to take cute pictures together because we have a very energetic bruiser of a toddler running around. And, see "3-hour between-feedings interval" above.
I hope you're all doing well, too! We would love to hear from you when you get a chance. Feel free to use the comments section or just send an email!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Keira is Coming Home!
Keira is coming home tomorrow (Friday, January 13th)!!!
If Lyanna continues to do well with her feedings, she will probably be able to come home in a few days as well!
Wish us luck... here goes :)
If Lyanna continues to do well with her feedings, she will probably be able to come home in a few days as well!
Wish us luck... here goes :)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Introducing Lyanna Grace and Keira Jean
So let's start at the beginning! I hope to go back and write some posts reflecting on the experience of being pregnant with twins, and definitely want to record the wild and crazy story of Lyanna and Keira's entrance into the world, but for now I will stick with basics and updates.
Lyanna Grace Duncan was born on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 6:10p.m. She weighed 6lbs, 3oz.
Keira Jean Duncan was born on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 6:59p.m. She weighed 4lbs, 15oz.
Both girls are still in the Special Care Nursery as of today, January 11. 2012. Today's news is that they are both in cribs instead of isolettes. Lyanna was taken off her oxygen assistance yesterday morning. I cannot express what a relief that is...and to be able to hold her!! Wow.
I've been working hard to bring in my milk so they don't have to have formula anymore, and the strict, round-the-clock, every-three-hours pumping routine has finally worked! I am now making almost enough milk for both of them, and every time I am able to go visit them we practice at breastfeeding, too. It's not unusual for preemie babies to have trouble breastfeeding in the beginning because some of the necessary coordination may not be there, but the girls are doing great and I'm confident that we'll all get the hang of it!
That's all for now - thanks for checking in!
Oh, and a giggle for the day, courtesy of our own Arya Lou. Tonight, Arya said, "Auntie Em play with Arya; Mommy Daddy go ride in alligator, see babies resting at doctor." That's our amazing girl - such presence of mind and verbal skills for a 21 month old. Honestly, we knew she was amazing, but she has been such a trooper through all of this. I went into the clinic for an appointment last Wednesday morning and didn't come home until Sunday afternoon. She saw me twice in the hospital for very short visits, and otherwise was with Grandma the entire time. Prior to this, she had never spent even a fifth of that time away from Mommy, and yet she handled it all like a champ.
Lyanna Grace Duncan was born on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 6:10p.m. She weighed 6lbs, 3oz.
Keira Jean Duncan was born on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 6:59p.m. She weighed 4lbs, 15oz.
Both girls are still in the Special Care Nursery as of today, January 11. 2012. Today's news is that they are both in cribs instead of isolettes. Lyanna was taken off her oxygen assistance yesterday morning. I cannot express what a relief that is...and to be able to hold her!! Wow.
I've been working hard to bring in my milk so they don't have to have formula anymore, and the strict, round-the-clock, every-three-hours pumping routine has finally worked! I am now making almost enough milk for both of them, and every time I am able to go visit them we practice at breastfeeding, too. It's not unusual for preemie babies to have trouble breastfeeding in the beginning because some of the necessary coordination may not be there, but the girls are doing great and I'm confident that we'll all get the hang of it!
That's all for now - thanks for checking in!
Oh, and a giggle for the day, courtesy of our own Arya Lou. Tonight, Arya said, "Auntie Em play with Arya; Mommy Daddy go ride in alligator, see babies resting at doctor." That's our amazing girl - such presence of mind and verbal skills for a 21 month old. Honestly, we knew she was amazing, but she has been such a trooper through all of this. I went into the clinic for an appointment last Wednesday morning and didn't come home until Sunday afternoon. She saw me twice in the hospital for very short visits, and otherwise was with Grandma the entire time. Prior to this, she had never spent even a fifth of that time away from Mommy, and yet she handled it all like a champ.
Information on Lyanna and Keira's Journey
First let me just say, I know I'm a terrible blogger! I develop a blog about my first pregnancy and then don't even update it when the baby is born. Ugh. When I was lamenting about this fact several months back, I said "I'm the worst blogger ever." ... to which one of my dearest relatives/special friends said, "no, but you're definitely in the top 10%" I thought that was hilarious, and oh so true.
So now I find myself with a nearly two-year-old Arya Lou (geez, where does the time go??) and two brand new baby girls in the special care nursery. I decided that resurrecting my blog is the easiest way to keep everyone informed about what's going on with the Duncan family. I will not make any promises about how often I will update--especially in the first weeks after the twins come home--but I will keep it updated with information on how the girls are doing in the special care nursery, and hopefully continue to provide a bit of a window into our lives after they are able to come home.
So now I find myself with a nearly two-year-old Arya Lou (geez, where does the time go??) and two brand new baby girls in the special care nursery. I decided that resurrecting my blog is the easiest way to keep everyone informed about what's going on with the Duncan family. I will not make any promises about how often I will update--especially in the first weeks after the twins come home--but I will keep it updated with information on how the girls are doing in the special care nursery, and hopefully continue to provide a bit of a window into our lives after they are able to come home.
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