08.31.09
Dagnabbit!
I knew I shouldn’t have posted yesterday! Darn Murphy and his laws! Just when I think I’m getting out of going to the hospital, the rug is pulled out from under me. Humph! So the two EPs finally talked. I will not be going on the Sotalol, but I also won’t be going on the Multaq either. Instead I’ll be going on Tikosyn, which requires 72 hours in the hospital, just like the Sotalol. 
Boo hiss!
08.29.09
Limbo
Okay, so for about a week now I’ve been in limbo regarding the hospital stay to start on sotalol. I got a phone call from my cardiologist (after I called her to find out what was decided in the conference on Monday) saying she ran into the EP that helped with my surgery in December. When she told him about my situation he recommended not using sotalol, but instead using Multaq (Dronedarone) which does not require hospitalization to start. So my cardiologist wanted that EP to get in touch with my regular EP and have them make a decision together. Well, I called Tuesday, nothing. Thursday, nothing. Friday, still nothing. The two EPs have been playing phone tag, apparently. So nothing’s been decided and I’m scheduled to be admitted to the hospital on Tuesday. I’m thinking surely I won’t be going in. At least, I hope not. Except, this Multaq stuff is really new (approved by the FDA in July), so I’m hoping they know what they are doing. I don’t want to go into the hospital, of course, but I also don’t want to be an experiment.
In other news, N’s back is totally messed up. He’s had to take some time off work because he can’t make it through the day without narcotics, which probably isn’t a good idea for a nurse to take while at work. He was able to pick up some hours by working the telemetry room yesterday (and he will again on Monday), but that’s still not his full hours. I sure hope his back is better soon!
Oh! And we finally got the twins birth certificates in the mail today! They’re official! But it was somewhat disappointing to read “Native Oklahoman” in huge letters across the top. Do they really have to remind us. 
08.24.09
First day of school
Today was the first day of school for my former students. It feels kinda funny that I wasn’t there. But Kyla and Lucas kept me plenty distracted. 
Yet, at the same time, they’ve slept quite a bit as well. And I’ll admit that some (okay a lot) of that sleeping has been on me. But that’s probably because I missed them so much the last two days.
Yesterday marked the first day of the online class I am working in as a TA. Saturday I had to go help set up, then yesterday was a face-to-face class. I actually had to give a lecture to 160+ graduate students! Talk about nervous! But somehow I managed, despite having to use a microphone, which I’ve always hated. I had a bit of down time when other people were giving their lectures, which I spent either preparing myself for my lecture, or looking through pictures of the twins on my computer. Here are my current favorite pics.
Kyla
Lucas
Aren’t they simply ADORABLE??? I can’t get over how beautiful my babies are. 
They are interacting with us more and more. Lucas babbles all the time, and usually “talks” to us before he gets all the way to crying. I wonder if he’s crying because he can’t get us to understand… Kyla continues to amaze me with how strong she is. You know, they always say that girls are more verbal and boys more physical, but I’m not so sure these two fit that mold. Could it be the broken arm putting Lucas a little behind his sister in the physical development? Guess we’ll never know.
Well, it’s bath time! I’m still waiting for the day we get through an entire bath without screaming. But they’re starting to smell a bit like sour milk, so there’s no getting out of it! LOL
08.16.09
I was wrong.
I realized this morning that I miscalculated. I was thinking “three days” when I said I’d be in the hospital Sept. 1-3. Then I realized that 72 hours would actually require me to stay one more night. Looks like I’ll be in Sept. 1-4. Blech!
And just so everyone knows, I’m perfectly aware that I need to do this so I can be as healthy as possible to take care of my babies. I wouldn’t have gone ahead and set it up if I didn’t know this. But just because I know it doesn’t mean I can’t be mad/sad about it. I don’t like that my heart is getting in the way of my taking care of my babies. It has always been one of my fears that I’m not fit to take care of children and I was unfair for wanting to try. The fact that I’m having problems so soon after their birth scares me. I want to be here for a very long time so I can watch them grow up. I will do everything in my power to make sure I am. But again, that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.
08.13.09
Blech! Heart stuff.
Of course, my heart always picks the most inconvenient times to act up.
Those who have been following along know that right as I was getting ready to start fertility drugs to harvest my eggs for our surrogacy journey my atrial lead broke. I was still able to do the egg retrieval, but then I had to have my LV lead repositioned right about when we had our first ultrasound scheduled. Then it didn’t work (the LV lead) and I had to go in again right at Christmas to get the lead placed epicardially. With it finally working I thought I’d get back to feeling as good as I did before the first lead broke. No such luck. After trying and trying for months to figure out why I still feel like crap we finally have answers. Apparently I’m having a lot of atrial disturbances that are not picked up by my ICD. So my EP wants to start me on a new med.
Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. I have to be admitted into the hospital for 72 hours for observation while it’s being started. But I have 2 month old twins now. How am I supposed to be away from them for 72 hours?? I can’t stand the thought of being away for 4 hours, how am I going to do this?! My mom says to look on the bright side. I might catch up on sleep. But I doubt it. Even if the nurses leave me alone, I’m sure I’ll hear the babies in my sleep and wake up looking for them. I’m going crazy just thinking about it. And of course N will have to take care of the twins and won’t be able to be with me. He said he’ll only bring them up for short visits because he doesn’t want to disturb the other patients. I understand it, but I don’t like it.
I’m scheduled to go in Sept. 1-3. My cardiologist is presenting my case to a team of doctors on Monday. I’m hoping one of them gives a solution that doesn’t require hospital time.
Brother/Sister Love?
Up to this point, the twins have noticed one another very little. But this morning, as I was getting dressed I swear they were “talking” to each other, even though they couldn’t see each other. Then, when they started getting fussy (and I was done getting dressed), I picked them both up to console. Kyla settled quickly, but Lucas did not. “Big” sister reached over and took hold of her brother’s shirt, looking directly into his eyes. I tried my best to capture it on film. Hard to do with your arms pinned by the twinfants. So please excuse the expressions on my face. I wasn’t supposed to be in the shot.
I can’t tell if Kyla is saying “It’ll be okay, Lucas” or “Listen here, bub. Stop that!” LOL
08.11.09
Two Month Stats
We took the twins in for their two month checkup this morning. They’re doing great and growing well. The doctor tried to tell me Kyla shouldn’t be rolling over yet and it was just a “lucky kick” but we all know she’s just really advanced. Anyway, here are their latest measurements:
Kyla
weight: 11 lbs (52%)
length: 22.5 inches (51%)
head circumference: 15.25 inches (46%)
Lucas
weight: 12 lbs 13 oz (71%)
length: 23.25 inches (57%)
head circumference: 15.75 inches (48%)
The %s are where they fall on the growth charts. I find it funny that they’re all right around 50%, except Lucas’s weight. I knew he was a chunkster! LOL
Kyla is now on the zantac (for reflux) as well. And if we can get past the day of crankiness from their shots, perhaps we’ll start seeing some happy babies from here on out!
08.08.09
Two Months!
Wow. Another month has gone by already?? How did that happen? Kyla and Lucas continue to amaze us. Thursday N says it was like someone flipped a switch on Kyla, as she suddenly started babbling and cooing at us! So cute! And the last few days they’ve really become more attentive and interested in us talking to them. N sat and told them a story the other morning and he says Kyla would smile and coo at him the whole time. Lucas is also making more noise that isn’t crying. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if they are happy or upset noises, but we’re getting there!
I think they’re also becoming more aware of each other. This morning, while taking a nap (on me), they were holding hands! I so wished I had a camera nearby. Lucas doesn’t like to wake up in his crib alone, but I’m not sure if he knows Kyla’s not there or if he’d cry for me anyway (probably the latter). Once in awhile one will grab onto the clothes of the other (if they’re close enough) but they still don’t look at each other much. I guess they figure they saw enough of each other in the womb. LOL
We have their 2 month checkup on Tuesday. I’m anxious to find out how much they weigh. I think Lucas has to be close to 14 lbs already, but I’m pretty sure Kyla’s only 10 or 11. He’s gaining fast! I think we’re going to have a linebacker on our hands. It’s amazing how different their growth has been, given the fact that Kyla tends to eat the same amounts that Lucas does.
The biggest challenge these days is with daytime sleeping. It seems the only way I can get them to both sleep at the same time is if they are on me. Which makes it very difficult to get just about anything done (FYI: they are sleeping on me as I type). Yesterday I had so much to do, so I just had to let them exercise their lungs. And gone are the days when we could just leave them in the stroller to sleep while we eat. Oh, no. One or the other is determined to make the person holding him/her eat a cold meal. Sadly, that person tends to be N. I have no idea why. I think we’ll be staying in for dinner more than we’d like. We really don’t go out by ourselves, but when friends/family get together we tend to eat a meal out. Sadly, we had to skip J’s (N’s brother) birthday meal because the twins had been over stimulated 3 days in a row already. We were very sad to miss it, but knew the babies would have made the experience less enjoyable anyway.
Night time sleep is going better, though. I can usually count on feeding them around 1:30-2:00 and again around 4:30-5:00. It’s gotten easier to get Lucas back to bed after a night feeding than it had been (or at least, most of the time), so I generally get 2-3 hour chunks of sleep at a time. Even so, I have some days when I’m totally exhausted anyway. I’m looking forward to them sleeping through the night. But I’m willing to wait for it until they are ready.
I try to give them some tummy time each day and Kyla has gotten SO good at holding her head up. Lucas is okay, but his head is so much bigger, it’s no wonder he’s a little wobbly. LOL I’ve attached pictures from today. Lucas wasn’t too pleased to be put down, so forgive the sour expression in the first picture.
Lucas (upset)
STRONG Kyla!
08.04.09
Not to be left out…
Not to be outdone by Kyla and her rolling over, today Lucas had to prove he is a baby genius. LOL We have a play gym thing from Little Einstein on which you can hang toys for them to play with. One of the toys is a star that lights up and plays music if you bump it. (Boudreax sets it off all the time! LOL) Well, I needed to feed the dogs, eat a super quick brakfast, and change Kyla’s diaper, so I put Lucas under the play gym and prayed he would be entertained for just a little while… He figured out that kicking the pole makes the lights and music play! It was an accident at first, but eventually I could tell he was putting some thought into it. When the music would stop he would get a serious look on his face and start kicking (his aim isn’t too great) until he hit the pole and started the music. Then a big grin would light up his face! It was SOOO cute! Unfortunately, the best I can do for witnesses were on the phone (N and Mom when I called to brag). I wish someone else (N specifically) were here to see it too!
Fabulous news!
Where do I begin… First of all, I’m excited to report that LD and family are on their way to the airport as I type. They will be at Disney World until Sunday. I’m so excited for them and cannot wait to hear all about their trip! Last night at dinner I gave the whole family two assignments:
- When they return they must each tell me their favorite thing and I want details (“I liked the rides” will not do. ).
- They must have the best time of their lives!!!!!
I guess you just can’t take the teacher out of me…
Speaking of… That leads me to my next bit of news. If you’ve been reading along from the beginning (or really just the last 8 months) you will know some of this. But I know some just started reading, so I’ll give a little background.
As soon as we knew we were planning to get pregnant N and I discussed my work situation. I wanted very much to stay home for at least the first two years, but he was worried about $$. So we came to a compromise and decided I’d go to part time and work the days he doesn’t (he only works 3 days a week, 12 hour shifts). It seemed perfect until my district did away with all part time positions. So we decided I would stay home and take substitute jobs on the days he is home, even though it wouldn’t be as much money….
Then in April I ran into a former professor of mine and we talked about the possibility of me being a TA for one of her online classes. But when I emailed her she said she only had an on campus position available and to try back in June. I emailed her in June and never heard back. So I applied to become a sub in two local school districts.
Well, yesterday I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize… It was that professor! She asked if I’d gotten her email in response to mine (I didn’t). I had not responded, so she looked me up in the alumni files and found my number. She needs an online TA for the Fall semester and offered the job to me!! So now I’ll be able to work from home at hours that are convenient for me and N!
I know it won’t be easy, but I’m so excited to have a more regular paycheck and not have to sub every day N is not. I may still do some subbing, depending on how things go, but now it’s not as imperative if I don’t.
Speaking of N and his job (okay, so that’s a loose connection, but I had to segue somehow!)… When N works the next day, I take care of the babies every time they wake up in the night. It’s not a great idea for him to be exhausted while taking care of patients. When he will be home, he takes over for me around 4 am and lets me sleep in. For some reason the last couple of weeks he’s had to go in to work a lot more than usual (mandatory staff meetings), so he wasn’t able to do that for me much. Plus, I had them all day by myself. Needless to say, I was beyond exhausted. Well, he finally had a couple of days off in a row and without my even saying anything (I don’t think I had to. My mood and FaceBook statuses said it all!) he offered to take the baby monitor into the guest room and he would take care of the kids the whole night, allowing me the first full night’s sleep I’ve had since February! I slept for 7 whole hours! It was FABULOUS!!!!! And it really rejuvenated me. When I talked to Mom on the phone yesterday (before I’d even gotten the job phone call) she said it was the first time in a long time I’d sounded chipper. LOL It’s amazing what a little sleep can do! AND… N offered to do it again this week, despite his having seen “every hour of the night” because the twins tag teamed him all night long (he hasn’t figured out a comfortable way to feed them at the same time, which is the only thing that finally saved me from having those kind of nights). I have such a wonderful husband! <3
And now for the biggest news of all… Kyla rolled over!!!!!! Okay, I know it was an accident and it probably won't happen again for some time, but it makes me so proud anyway. After all, the fact that it happened at all indicates that her neck muscles are strong because she was able to pick up her head high enough to lose her balance and roll over. It happened Sunday while Dad and his wife were here, so I have witnesses.
So if you see me in the next few days, you'll probably see a big ol' smile on my face. Enjoy it while it lasts! LOL
