04.26.09
Party
Last night was our Burgeoning Babies BBQ Blowout. We had invited a TON of people, but it turned out that this weekend (while the only one on which WE were available) was apparently a busy weekend for everyone else. We had about 25-30 people say they were going to try to make it, so of course we made enough food to feed twice that. 
N grilled beef and chicken for fajitas, as well as cooking up some of his “Mexican Hotdogs” (brats cooked in beer and salsa) and queso in the slow cooker, I whipped up some guacamole and sour cream/tomato/bacon dip, and we bought some rice and beans from a local Mexican restaurant. The spread was quite impressive. I think we’ll be able to survive on the leftovers for at least a month! I’ve put the majority into the freezer so we can have some quick meal options when the babies arrive and suck all time for things like cooking from the universe.
We ended up with about 18 adults, 6 “kids” (varying in age from 7-16), 1 toddler, and 4 babies. Man I loved it! 
The toddler has met me once before, but she surprised me when she came over to me and held her hands up for me to hold her. I enjoyed carrying her around a bit as well as watching N’s interactions with her (helping her to “play” the drums on Rock Band was too cute!). Then the triplets came! Oh my goodness they are adorable! They are almost 11 months old and so much fun to watch. N got them giggling up a storm, of course (he’s so good at that), which is the absolute best sound in the world. And watching their mom feed them all at once was quite the learning experience! I know I will be calling on her for advice when the going gets tough. I think playing with the various children was the highlight of the evening for me.
We also got to show off the nursery, even though it’s not quite done. Everyone seemed to like it. I know N and I are proud of how it’s turning out. I just hope we don’t stop working on it simply because the party is over and the pressure is off. I’d still like it to be done before the kids are in college. However, for today, we’ve both agreed that we need a day of rest. We’re exhausted!
04.21.09
The nursery
Apparently these things don’t do themselves… You can’t just come up with a cute theme for the babies’ room and then have it magically happen overnight. Nope. You have to actually put some work into it… Who knew!
So Friday N got started on the room. He taped the edges of the room and started the first coat of paint by the time I got home from work. I helped a little with the painting and then we called it a night. Saturday my MIL came over and we got a lot of painting done. We did a little more on Sunday and now the only thing left (as far as paint goes) is some touch ups. Yesterday N started getting sick, so he didn’t get as much done as he would have liked. He did put together the crib, though. It is now sitting in our dining room. I rough-cut the fabric for the curtains and threw them in the washer. Today I need to get that fabric ironed and pinned so I can sew them. Shouldn’t take long, once I get motivated enough to get started.
It would be great if we get the room done by Saturday, but I’m nervous it won’t happen. I just want the room done enough to get all of the boxes and bags out of my living room and breakfast nook (not to mention the crib out of the dining room). Plus, we need to have time to do some actual cleaning! I don’t want my friends and coworkers to realize what slobs we really are (of course, my coworkers probably have a clue if they’ve ever looked in my office. )!
PBO done!
Today I got a text from LD that the PBO has been signed by the judge and is being filed with the court!
For those of you who don’t know, the PBO (Pre Birth Order) is the document that is filed with the court that says N and I are the biological parents and we will go on the birth certificates. I guess now that it’s done I’m officially the mom in the eyes of the law!
04.17.09
Details
I’m going to attempt to get some details recorded while I wait for the first coat of paint to dry (N started on the babies’ room and I helped when I got home from work).
First of all, Wednesday night I was probably more nervous than I realized, as I didn’t end up eating dinner really (ate some chips/queso and a slice of pizza), and didn’t get to bed until 11 (that’s late for me!). I must have turned off my 1:30 alarm without waking up because I don’t remember it at all! I woke up 10 minutes before my 5:00 alarm and thought, “Wow. I feel really awake.” Guess 6 hours of sleep at once can do that when it’s been months since you’ve slept more than 3 hours consecutively! LOL
Anyway, I went ahead and got up at 5 and got ready for the day at a leisurely pace. I woke N up around 7ish and we were both set and ready to go at 8. He had even gotten gas and cash the night before, so we didn’t have to worry about that. I made coffee (for him), tea (for me), and toast, so we didn’t have to worry about stopping for breakfast either. I was SO proud of us. We were getting out early enough that we’d be able to have lunch with LD and D. … But lunch was not to be. Before we’d even gotten 30 minutes from the house we hit a spot of traffic. No biggie, right? Nope. We SAT for 45 minutes! We ended up getting to LD’s house at 12 rather than 11 as we’d hoped. We drove through Sonic on the way to the doctor’s office so that N and I could have lunch (I’d already told LD and D to eat without us). We arrived at the perinatologist’s at exactly 1 o’clock. Whew!
The echo tech came in and did an u/s of LD’s cervix because they had heard she’d had some shortening and wanted to check on that. Then she got to looking at the babies. They have grown SO much!
Here’s Kyla:
She was much more cooperative than last time. Though she’s so low that it’s difficult to get a good look at her. She was also being quite the pest to her brother.
Here’s the best we could get of Lucas:
In case you’re wondering, there are THREE little feed in front of Lucas’s face. One is his (we think the one on top) and two belong to Kyla. We can’t decide if she’s saying “Smell my feet!” or kicking him in the face!
The tech finished up and N and I were very confused. We asked, “What about their hearts? We were here to look at their hearts.” Well, the tech said she knew nothing about that. We started to get a bit concerned. Then she said “The doctor will be coming in and he’ll be looking again.” That made us feel better.
Sure enough, the perinatologist came in and started off asking questions about health (mine) and pregnancy history (LD’s). When he heard my long list of heart defects he said “You’re fun. I could talk about you all day!” Glad he thinks so! He then checked the babies’ hearts and they both looked great. All the blood was flowing in the right direction and beating strong. It was SUCH a relief. When he finished up LD asked him a few questions and he said he didn’t see any funneling of her cervix when he looked. Another relief.
After the stressful way the day started, I am SO glad it worked out the way it did. I’d rather have a stressful drive than a stressful appointment!
Now I’m off to paint another coat in the nursery!
04.16.09
Whew!
Just a quick note to say that the fetal echo today was great! The babies are looking great, their hearts are fabulous, AND the perinatologist said LD’s cervix looked good to him.
We’ve also got great pictures that I’ll upload tomorrow, along with more details. For now, I need to head to bed. Thanks for all of the prayers!
04.15.09
Prayers needed
For about the last month or so I’ve made sure to have my cell phone on me at all times. This morning I forgot to put it in my pocket and I missed a phone call from LD and a text message from my husband. I read the text first. It said “Don’t freak. I’ve already talked to her. Everything is fine. Signs are just pointing to early delivery. She’s getting steroids now just in case.” 
Um, WTH?!? How do I NOT worry after a message like that?!? So then I listen to the message from LD and I can’t really remember what she said, just that the babies are looking good but could I please call her because there was some new information… Of course, I call her immediately. Yesterday she was having a lot of contractions (or braxton hicks, not sure which). About 4-5 in an hour. I knew this, as I was talking to her through some of them. But they did slow down, so we weren’t worried. Today she had an ultrasound scheduled to check on everything. Well, the babies look great, measuring a little ahead even (Lucas is measuring 3.5 lbs and Kyla is 3 lbs). However, LD’s cervix is starting to thin and open up at the top. So they gave her a steroid shot and will give her another tomorrow. They are also having her take terbutaline to make her uterus relax. They suggested bed rest as well. However, she has only one more week left of school for the semester (she’s in nursing school), so DH and I both told her to finish the semester. We don’t want her to lose an entire semester’s worth of VERY hard work for just one week. And we know she’ll take it as easy as she can in class, and rest completely at home. Once classes are over she’ll go on bedrest for the remainder.
I’m encouraged by the fact that many people I’ve talked to have had this happen (around the same time) and were able to continue to cook the babies for quite some time. But I’m SO afraid of NICU time. I want to be able to hold my babies right away. But I know it is all in God’s hands and He knows what is best.
Please pray the babies stay in long enough to be able to come home and not need a stay in the NICU. And if you could add a prayer that they’ll be champion breastfeeders, that would be great too!
04.12.09
A mother’s worry (mixed with a bit of guilt)
Yes, it begins well before the baby is in her arms. Mothers worry. I know this. I’ve always known this. And it has long since begun for me in regards to my two little ones.
Thursday we will be going up to have a fetal echo. This is to check the babies’ hearts and make sure they haven’t inherited my wacky heart instead of my nose or chin. For the most part I’m confident they are fine. We have no evidence that my heart defects are genetic, and quite possibly could be a total fluke. But that doesn’t stop that tiny little grain of doubt to creep into the back of my mind. What if I’ve set up my babies for a life of cardiologist appointments, medication, and surgeries? How am I going to live with that guilt? Yes, they have the advantage of having us as parents, being that we’re VERY familiar with the medical world and will make sure they are taken care of in the best possible way. Not only that, but I can prepare them for what they will face on a personal level, not just medical. However, even with that, and the fact that I am aware that my heart defects have made me the person (and parent) I am today, I would not wish this on my children for all the world.
So I’m hoping to breathe a heavy sigh of relief on Thursday afternoon.
Countdown
Yes, we still have a couple of months left before we meet our babies. But the countdown is on, and it feels like we may not get everything done before they arrive.
Things left to do:
- Paint the nursery (we bought paint this weekend, and finally got the couch moved, but still need to clean a bit more before painting).
- Make curtains, blankets, wall decorations, etc. to accessorize the nursery.
- Put together the crib and other furniture.
- Find and purchase a dresser/changing table (we want a combo, to save space).
- Organize and put away all of these gifts from friends and family (right now they are piled in our living room and breakfast nook).
- Prepare for our BBQ Party (our last hurrah before adding babies to the mix).
- Host our BBQ Party.
- Video Race (this is scheduled for Memorial day weekend. It’s an annual event that we’ve never missed. Hopefully we get to participate this year).
- Pack for the delivery (we’ll need to have stuff ready if we happen to get a call saying “Come now!”).
- Thoroughly clean/scrub/vacuum our house (we live like pigs. Seriously.)
- Collapse from exhaustion, since it’s the last time we’ll get to collapse. Ever.
Looking at our task list (which I’m sure I left lots of stuff off, but it’s already intimidating enough) and the number of days we have that we won’t be at work is making our heads spin. Will we get it done? Especially since Nathan has set the goal of having the babies’ room done by our BBQ party, which is only two weeks away! YIKES!!!
04.06.09
Exhausted
I got home yesterday around 6:30 or so from the TLA conference in Houston. I’d stayed a couple of extra days to see family (W is getting SOOOO big!). I picked up the dogs and came home to a very empty house. N is on his way home now, but won’t be in until midnight or so.
I was able to get a fridge delivered to our room at the Hilton. They asked if it was for medical reasons, and I said yes. Though I guess technically it was not. At any rate, there was no charge because of my answer (it would have been $25 dollars for any other reason, which I was willing to pay). I did have to dump my first evening/night’s milk, though, because the fridge didn’t get cold and it stunk. I didn’t want to chance it. The next morning I told the front desk and they brought another one. This one smelled better, but wasn’t cold either. Then I noticed there was a knob for the temp. They’d only set it at the first level. I turned it up and all was well. I wasn’t able to pump as often as I do at home, but I managed 6 times each day (normally do 8). Not too bad considering I had to ride the bus back to the hotel every time I wanted to pump.
Today I submitted my letter of resignation to my principal. I had already told her I wouldn’t be coming back and she asked me to make it official so she can start looking for my replacement. It feels very odd to have quit one job when I don’t have another lined up. Well, I guess I do… Being a mom. But I am not used to not having a paying (or grade earning) gig on the horizon.
Speaking of, I MAY have a job opportunity ahead of me after all. And I’m not talking about substituting (though that is still an option). While I was at TLA I took the time to stop by the UNT booth in the exhibit hall. I was looking to talk to my ex storytelling professor. Luckily, I was able to talk with her on Thursday. After doing a little bit of catching up I told her I was wanting to look into working as an adjunct for SLIS. She lit up and said “I’m needing someone for the fall. It’s not storytelling, it’s 5600, but it would get your foot in the door.” I pounced on it. I asked what I needed to do to apply and she said to contact her after the conference and she’d send me the links. I emailed her just a few minutes ago and hope I’ll hear from her soon. The position would be teaching online, which means I could do it from home! And it would be a guaranteed 20 hours a week. She even said we could work due dates around N’s schedule so I’d have time to do grading. 
The way she talked it would be easy for me to step into this position. She even said “You would work so well with our team!” If this works out I would be SO excited. I really think it would be perfect for me. Keep your fingers crossed that it really does work out!
