This morning Noah proudly announced to Mark that Caleb had learned four new words–Murder, Denver, Okay and “I Don’t Know.” Mark suggested that Caleb probably didn’t say “murder” to which Noah replied, “No Daddy, he said ‘mudda.’”
The twins are great sleepers. . . during the day that is. But as soon as we turn out the lights and try to go to sleep, they immediately start to fuss. I know it’s just a matter of time and they’ll be sleeping through the night like the rest of our kids but this all night long fussy stuff is going to be the death of me, and Mark. The first night they fussed until 3:00am. The second night they fussed until 5:00am and last night they fussed off and on through the entire night, not to mention Caleb was up with a belly ache and Mark ended up sleeping on the floor next to his crib for awhile. And I’ve dealt with worse, when Noah and Denver were babies, and I know it’s only for a small moment, but none of that makes it any easier.
And then my breasts are swollen to the size of bowling balls and the twins are still new at latching on which makes the first minute of nursing pretty painful. And last night I was sitting in bed with a baby on each gigantic breast and they were gulping in unison like if either of them stopped the other would drown and I looked at Mark, who was just staring at the freakiness of it all and I was so embarassed. And Mark (sweet man that he is) just smiled and said, “I think it’s a beautiful thing and I’m just glad we didn’t have triplets.” And all I could do was laugh, which probably hurts more than anything else right now because my belly is all in stitches (or rather staples). But then I look at how sweet and tiny they are and how desperately they need me and as terrible as it all might seem, it’s also very sweet and wonderful and delicious!
For those who have been wondering, we’ve named the twins. We picked their names not too long after we learned we were having twins but toyed with several other names, including a few girlie ones, until we knew for sure what we had. Baby A (who was Baby B in utero and pushed his way to first in line) is Jericho Pearson Henrichsen. I suggested Jericho Pearson to Mark, half joking, half trying to be original and Mark immediately fell in love with the name. He reminded me of his Uncle Gerry Pearson who had recently passed away and liked the thought of naming one of our boys after him. Then, at Reunion we learned from Aunt Sharon that Gerry had been lovingly called Jericho by his mother and Co-co by his sister. After that discovery, we knew one of the twins would definitely be Jericho. And yesterday, after we discussed names one last time, we settled on Baby B’s name–Justus William Henrichsen. We toyed with Joshua (which the three oldest boys really wanted so they could sing “Joshua fit the battle with Jericho”), Jacob, Jordan and Jonah but finally decided on Justus meaning “righteous.” So, together the twins’ names will remind us that the righteous will be led to the promised land someday. And the middle names–now we have at least one name from each of our family roots: Denver Marcus is Copen, Jericho Pearson is obviously Pearson, William comes from the Stout side, and Allen (Caleb’s middle name) is Henrichsen.
Twin boys!
Stats:
Baby A
Born: 9:23 AM
Weight: 6 lbs
Length: 18.75 inches
Baby B
Born: 9:24 AM
Weight: 6 lbs, 1 oz
Length: 18.50 inches
Mother and babies are tired, but are doing well.
We don’t know if they are identical, and we don’t know who they look like, except for each other, and possibly Caleb. We are still finalizing our name choices, so stay tuned for updates.
Today is my last day being pregnant and I thought it would be fun to write down what exactly I spent my last day doing and a few other random facts. So. . .
Today was a very crisp, cool day. I think we made 53 degrees, if that. As a result, the first thing I did, after getting the boys ready for school, was to pull out the winter jackets. Hunter, Noah and Caleb have coats that will work, but Denver outgrew his. So, after I put some laundry away and Kathy and I played a round of Mario Party with Denver, we headed out to Kohls in the hopes of finding Denver a winter coat. Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder and I’m not exactly going to have time anytime soon to go coat shopping. We lucked out and found the boys’ winter jackets on sale and got Denver a great winter coat. Then I ran to the grocery store for some fresh fruit, first to stock up for Mark and Kathy and second, cause I had this crazy hankering for some watermelon. . . and grapes. . . and strawberries. . . . I’ve heard the worst thing about having a c-section is the gas and I decided (in the hopes of not clogging myself up) I’d avoid all dairy and rich foods today. Guess fresh fruit sounded good and safe. We shall see.
We arrived home two minutes before the boys returned home from school and Stevie showed up to play with them. I made Denver some lunch quick, finished a game of Five Crowns with Hunter and Stevie, and gave Kathy a haircut. Then Kathy, Caleb and I joined the kids outside to play in the leaves and check on the chickens, who desperately needed some food. The kids needed a snack when we got in and I needed a shower, which Caleb insisted on joining in on. He’s sick with a cold and has been slightly clingy today. It kills my back (and my legs and my hips) carrying him around the house all day, but he wouldn’t have things any other way. So we got ourselves cleaned up and Kathy took the traditional “belly pictures” for posterity. Then the boys needed a shower, Hunter needed to do his homework and dinner needed prepared. We ate dinner and the boys are in bed and I only have a million things to do before tomorrow. But instead, I’m blogging.
Things I Won’t Miss About Being Pregnant
1–Not being able to sleep
2–Not being able to roll myself over in bed
3–Not being able to get myself out of bed to go to the bathroom, before I start to wet my pants
4–Constantly wetting my pants in tiny gushes all day long
5–Hearing all sorts of obscene noises under my rib cage and other various places that I shouldn’t be hearing such noises
6–My swollen left leg
7–Not being able to bend over
8–My maternity clothes
9–Waddling
10–My back ache
11–Heartburn every night at 2:00am
12–The inability to hold a conversation without huffing and puffing
13–The Non-Stress Tests, ultrasounds and doctor’s appointments
14–Driving the car with my belly smashed into the steering wheel
15–The terrible popping sensation (or massive kick in my bladder) every time I go to the bathroom
16–Bending over and farting and “hershey squirting” in my pants from the pressure
17–The unbearable achiness and pain I feel every morning when it’s time to wake up
18–Not being able to put my clothes on myself (Hunter helped me with my pants today)
19–Not being able to shave my legs
20–Not being able to put lotion on my feet or wear normal shoes
21–The ache in my knees
22-Weighing 200 pounds
23–Peeing in cups
Aren’t You Excited?
I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’m not excited about tomorrow. Sure I am. Who wouldn’t be? We’re having twins and we get to see them for the first time in just a few hours and we don’t know what Baby B is and if they’re identical or not and I don’t have to be pregnant anymore and of course, there are a million things to be excited about. And I am excited. But excitement is one of many emotions I’m feeling right now and I can’t say that its the most prevalent one. I’m afraid. I’ve never had a c-section before and I’ve heard all sorts of scary stories about them. I’m afraid of the work load I face with six very young children and all of their needs. I’m nervous about how I’m going to nurse these two babies and the guilt I might feel if I can’t do it and I end up putting them on the forbidden formula! I’m nervous about letting Mark down if we don’t have a girl. And I’m nervous about what I’ll do if we do have a girl. I’m stressed about getting everything packed and ready to go. I’m stressed about all the people who want to come visit me in the hospital and what I’m going to do if I don’t want any visitors or if a bunch of visitors show up when I’m sitting there topless trying to nurse two babies. I’m worried about the kids and the next four days when I’m in the hospital–will they do their homework and who will pack their lunches and what if Mark and Hunter fight the whole time and what if Caleb comes down with an ear infection? Who will notice that he’s not acting like himself and get him to the doctor? And will Mark be able to find all the things he needs to take care of the kids? And are the kids going to have a good Halloween, despite the new additions to our family? And is the house going to fall apart while I’m gone and if so, who will clean it up? I’m grumpy, I’m tired, I’m happy. I’m relieved that I didn’t go into labor early and that the twins are good and healthy and ready to be delivered. But I guess, like my sister Melanie says, “Tomorrow feels like Christmas.” And my eyelids are heavy and my eyes are burning and I am sleepy, but I’m not sure if I’ll get to sleep cause I am pretty darn excited. Its almost over and just beginning all at the same time.
Final Stats
1–My belly measures 47 inches around
2–My left thigh is swollen 2 inches bigger than my right
3–My left ankle is swollen 1/2 inch bigger than my right
4–I currently weigh 198 pounds
Yesterday, while I was trying to have my so-called nap, I woke up at one point to the sound of running water and Denver saying something about Noah making ice cubes. Around here, the boys aren’t allowed to play in the water unless they are being supervised, so of course, that jerked me right out of my REM cycle and I went to investigate. Noah had happily finished the last few pieces of Dentyne Ice and after getting bored of trying to teach Denver how to blow bubbles (and me telling them to stop it after Denver’s wad of gum flew on the floor for the fiftieth time) he decided the empty packaging would make a great ice cube tray. Since I was up and the boys had begun fighting over I can’t remember what, I suggested Noah bring his “ice cube tray” into the kitchen and we’d make some ice cubes. He wanted little pieces of fruit cut up into each cube and then water added. Slacker mom that I am, I suggested we just add fruit juice and skip the whole fresh fruit thing. He agreed. So we poured some juice into the empty gum wrapper and froze it. Much to Noah’s (and Denver’s and Caleb’s) delight, the mini ice cube tray worked and turned out some of the cutest little ice cubes I’ve ever done seen. And Noah declared the day not a bummer after all.
Today Noah went to school on his own for the first time. Hunter wasn’t barfing anymore but my barf rule is “no one goes anywhere until 24 hours from the last barf” which techinically put him at the end of school today. So, while he stayed home, Noah marched off to school alone. Upon his return he proudly announced to both Mark and I that we were going to be shocked about what he got today and instructed us to look in his back pack. Then, before either of us could look into his back pack he pulled out a bag and said, “I got a $5 award for a drawing I did today and they let me go to the book fair and I got this book and this eraser!” Of course, neither of us were shocked that Noah got picked for his artwork, because Noah is just a fabulous artist, but we were surprised at the unexpected award. Congratulations Noah!
I took this picture of Caleb on Monday. In just a matter of days, he’s no longer the baby of the family. Makes you want to cry, doesn’t it? Me too. I’ve been super emotional lately and I think knowing that Caleb is going to grow up so fast has something to do with it. I can’t seem to cuddle him enough and even though I know he’s not going to remember any of this, I am and the anguish of seeing my baby grow so fast will last in my memory forever. I still cry over videos of Noah when he was a baby–it was all such a blur with Mark losing his job and Christmas and finding out we were having another baby and Mark leaving for his new job and me selling the house and packing up the house–somehow Noah’s babyhood got lost in it all. And I hate that I can’t remember him very small. I don’t want it to be the same for Caleb. Anyway, I just saw him laying there and I thought, how precious that little man is and had to take a picture.
I had a NST today as well as a doctor’s visit. The doctor said if this was a single pregnancy I would be measuring at 48 weeks–I’m only 37 weeks. That’s a little disturbing but that’s exactly how I feel. Huge! He saw my swollen foot and expressed some concern about preclampsia, even though my blood pressure is normal. He said he’d arrange for some blood work to be done during my NST and save me a trip. Then I asked him about Kathy being there for the c-section and he said he hadn’t quite figured that out yet. I left to make my 2-week post-op appointment and the doctor came out and said, “All set.” I said, “For the blood work?” And he said, “No, for Kathy to be in the OR with you.” Great, I thought, she’ll be so excited. So I headed off to my NST and when I got there I mentioned to MaryAnn that the doctor wanted some blood work done for preclampsia and she said, “I just talked to Dr. S but he didn’t mention you.” Hmmmm. . . I thought. I may die of preclampsia, but at least Kathy will get to be there for the delivery of the twins. At least we know one of us is loved. MaryAnn said the babies are doing amazingly well and we even got to see Baby A sucking his thumb. Baby B is determined to be deliverd first and has literally kicked Baby A all the way over into my right hip. It’s very comfortable, to say the least. Only one more NST and this will all be over.
Probably because of the nearness of the twins delivery, I decided today to do a little Christmas baking and stocking up. So I finished cutting out some gingerbread I made a week ago and whipped up a double batch of sugar cookies–some for Halloween and some for Christmas. Then Denver and I made some more pumpkin cookies together. Anyway, after the mixing was done, he and Caleb sat on the counter taking turns licking the beater and I couldn’t resist another picture. The cookies aren’t so great, but hopefully the memories will be. I also had the chance to snuggle Hunter to sleep today, which is something that RARELY happens around here anymore, especially in my condition. But he had complete meltdown at one point and after sending him to bed and listening to him vent for about 10 minutes I wandered upstairs with some Tylenol and snuggled in with him for a few minutes and I’m glad I did, even if it hurt. Who knows when I’ll get to do that again? I’m afraid pretty soon snuggling with Mom won’t be so cool anymore and that will be a very sad day indeed.
I had the most wonderful realization today. This is my last day going solo for awhile. Mark will be home tomorrow and through the weekend. And then, Kak-Kak is coming on Monday. She’ll be here until the first of November. And then Mom and Dad are coming. That doesn’t mean things are going to get any easier–since we’ll be increasing the size of our family by “four feet” in just a matter of days, as well as our work load. But, there’s something nice about knowing I won’t be alone through it all. The end is so totally in sight!
Of course, today, Hunter came down with a stomach bug and spent the entire morning and a good part of the afternoon barfing and crying and hollering for me to bring more popsicles and coke. And around 2:00pm when I’d finally had enough and started to doze off, the other three boys decided to be their noisiest. Noah decided he just had to practice piano. Denver needed to practice his ninja moves off the couch. And Caleb discovered he can open and slam shut the entertainment center door, which he proceeded to do for an entire 20 minutes straight. So much for resting. But I suppose it was all made bearable by the mere fact that today is the last day I’ll be doing this all on my own for awhile and I am very happy about that. Very. Happy.