Has it really been 4 months?!

Wow does time ever fly these days! Henry and Mason are 4.5 months old now and really the past 4 months have been a blur of bottles and diapers and very little sleep.

When we go out with them, I can't tell you how many times strangers say something to me about not wanting to be me, or how miserable two babies must be, or how I have "double trouble".  The thing is, yes, two babies are harder than one, no doubt about it, but we are so crazy about these two and are having so much fun with them.  Drew and Ethan are excellent big brothers and Henry and Mason are really happy, easy babies (we got lucky there). The only thing hard about them is simply that there are two of them.  I can't tell you how many times over the past 4 months I have looked at one of them and said, "you are going to have to wait, I am only one person!"  (I know, I know, trying to reason with or get sympathy from an infant is pointless but really it is more a reminder for me when someone is shrieking out of hunger while I clean up the other's diaper disaster that I am only one person.)

We are pretty confident they are identical.  Some of you may be wondering how we don't know that for sure, well, that is a lesson for another time and you will have to just trust me that it is possible to not know for sure without getting a DNA test.  I took them a few months back to Ethan's classroom to watch him give a presentation and one girl in his class very importantly asked if they were "identical or nocturnal" twins.  She seemed confused when I told her both.  (oh, and when I brought them to the school, Ethan's classmates swarmed the stroller to check out the babies.  You would have thought I had Justin Beiber in the stroller and I was surprised that 4th grade girls AND boys would be so interested in babies.)

Well, my blogging time is up, I hear a little guy "talking" in his crib so time for the whole bottle, diaper routine.  Below are some recent pictures of my two.  They are Henry, Mason, Mason, Henry.

They're Here!

On March 16th, we welcomed Mason Alexander, weighing 6 pounds 6 ounces, and Henry Tate, weighing 6 pounds 1 ounce, into our family.  Mason, shown on the left, arrived first followed by Henry about 20 minutes later.  Delivery went well and no csection was needed.  Both boys are healthy and were able to come home from the hospital with us a few days later.  Since then, things have been a whirlwind of sleepless nights and endless feedings.  Despite the challenges with two, all of us are thrilled to have them as part of our family and are having fun getting to know them and their unique personalities.  Both Ethan and Drew have been big helps and love to feed and hold both babies. 

A Quick Update from the Gestational Front

from here

I am now almost 38 weeks with my twins and really, I can't believe that the day of their arrival is almost here.  I will be induced this Friday morning (with twins, they don't let you go past 38 weeks because after that point, their placentas start to break down, they are too cramped and you run a risk of having one baby stillborn).  I am so excited to get a look at Baby A, who loves to mess with my sciatic nerve these days, and Baby B, whose feet enjoy my ribcage and who seems to get the hiccups like 900 times a day. 

Just this past week, I have been reflecting on this whole insane journey.  Back in July, when we found out about all of this, it was such a shock.  We weren't trying to get pregnant (contraception - not as foolproof as you would hope).  We were done having kids and I was not happy to find myself expecting.  Also, I had spent two years trying to get my life back after herniating a disc in my back and spending far too much time in pain and unable to do things and then personally I had some other stuff going on that made the additional stress of pregnancy and more children seem like something I just couldn't do.  Upon finding out about these two rug rats, I initially thought it was about the worst news I had heard in a while and I was convinced, with my spine, the pregnancy was going to be one long and painful nightmare. 

Funny thing though, I adjusted to the idea of having two more children and then even became excited about the whole thing.  Now, I am thrilled we are adding these two to our family and excited about sharing this whole experience with my husband and other two children.  And that painful, awful pregnancy I was sure was going to happen.  Well, it didn't.  I have had an occasional back pain flare up but really my spine has handled the additional weight and physical changes like a champ.  Actually, for 38 years old, my body has behaved exceptionally well.  No complications, no bed rest, really a very healthy pregnancy.  I guess the old gray mare still has it. 

I was thinking this week about all of that and how this whole experience is a reminder for me that life has a way of working things out and that getting too far ahead of myself with worrying about how things might be, or why something is happening to me, is really just a waste of time and energy because sometimes, it goes much better than you thought and you get two beautiful little lives joining your family in the process. 

Pregnancy: Not the Most Natural Thing in My Opinion

from here

I am now almost 31 weeks along with this whole gestating two at once experiment.  My youngest child is 10 years old so it has been awhile since I have done the whole pregnancy thing.  With my other two, I had easy pregnancies.  No complications, no drama, felt alright and so on but I hated it none the less.  Those women who say they feel fabulous while pregnant or that they love being pregnant, well, I am convinced that if you look up insanity or perhaps masochism in the DSM (that would be Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders), you would see their photo in the definition.  Michelle Duggar, totally in there. 

Doing this again, and with two babies at once, everything I hated about pregnancy has been amplified and after this, I am going to be taking steps to make sure this will never happen again.  Never.  Ever.  Did I mention not again?

Here's my short list of what I won't miss about being pregnant.  (Oh, and let me just say, I totally get that being able to be pregnant is a gift and that some people struggle to be pregnant and would kill to complain about morning sickness.  I get that......still hate it though). 

1)  The Clothes:  Nothing makes a woman feel more beautiful than wearing pants with elastic panels or shirts that can double as a one man tent.  Manufacturers try to make the clothes hip or cute but I am not buying it.  One pair of maternity pants I bought several months ago was labelled "sexy bootcut".  Yeah, because there is nothing sexier than a woman who looks like she ate a basketball while sporting some elastic waist pants.  Super hot.

2)  The Aliens Effect:  Remember that scene in the Alien movie where the alien rips itself out of the guys belly?  At times, I feel like I can relate to that guy.  Having something living and moving inside your body is just weird.  Amazing as all get out, but weird.  With two in there, it is doubly weird.  Now that they are each about 3 and a half pounds, when they both get moving it just feels bizarre.  The other night at around 3 a.m. it seemed they had collectively decided that it was time to try and remodel my increasingly cramped uterus.  Maybe knock out a wall and add a nice extension.  Oh, and someone (Baby A, I am pretty sure it was you) seemed intent on trying to kick my bladder into pulp. 

3)  The Seemingly Simple Things That are Now Hard:  There could be quite a few things in this category, especially with this twin thing.  Things like tying my shoes, picking something up off the floor, climbing the stairs, rolling over in bed (now a process rather than a fluid movement), shaving my legs, walking farther than a mile, maneuvering through tight spaces, breathing (yes, breathing) and so on.

These are probably my 3 biggest complaints and really, I will be happy to soon have my body back to myself.  Fortunately, I have at the most 7 and a half more weeks of this and with twins on average coming at 35 weeks, I could be done much sooner.  Despite all the grumbling, I am excited to meet these two monkeys and to have two more kids running around my house, making me laugh and causing mayhem.  I am looking forward to things like this:

Sanity Is So 2011!

from here

About a week ago, I was sitting on the couch eating my breakfast and trying to watch the news.  My two boys were doing some sort of game that involved sliding down the stairs head first, cackling hysterically at the bottom because your pajama pants are half off, running a loop around the downstairs, and then repeat.  Again, and again, and again.  There was A LOT of energy and A LOT of noise. 

Not to be left out of the bedlam, my hunting crazed Vizsla, Ella, had spied an interloper out in the yard.  Some mangy squirrel had the audacity to climb up and perch himself in one of our trees and Ella was not going to stand for something like that.  Not in her yard.  In order to alert me to the small, fluffy tailed threat outside, she was batting the kitchen door with her foot and running back and forth from the door to me, whining the entire time.  

Tucker, who appears to not have a real hunting bone in his body, didn't care one bit about the squirrel but being that he is 11 months old, he was not going to remain calm in the midst of his 4 legged buddy's frenetic energy so he was racing back and forth with Ella and trying to bite her on the neck at the same time. 

Sitting there on the couch trying to read the newscasters lips, because I had given up actually hearing anything at this point, it occurred to me that in a few months, you can take this morning melee and add two screaming infants and a healthy dose of sleep deprivation into the mix.  What a riot THAT is going to be. 

Which had me wondering if registering for a straitjacket and a bucket of Valium might be more important than things like burp clothes and bottles.  Goodbye sanity, I will miss you. 

57 Hours and 23 Minutes To Go (if you trust a 4th grader's math that is)

The house is decorated, treats have been made, the kids are off school, all the presents have been bought and wrapped, and we just got 10 inches of snow overnight.  It really feels like Christmas is imminent and in case I lose that feeling in any way, I have two people in my house who are more than happy to remind me, again, and again, where we are in the countdown to the present opening.  Ethan even calculated up the number of hours remaining this afternoon.  I didn't check his math but I think we'll just go with his number.  Here are a few things we have been up to in preparation for Christmas.

A few weeks ago, Drew's special needs class went on a field trip to a local mall.  Our school is the only school in our district which has a deaf and hard of hearing program in addition to the special needs classes and the typical students.  This mall, every year, brings in a special Santa who is trained in working with people with special needs and who also is fluent in American sign language.  It is pretty cool because kids who otherwise would not be able to communicate with Santa can tell him what they want and kids who would have a difficult time with the over stimulation that Santa at the mall can bring get an opportunity to visit with Santa as well. 

This year, Ethan, who is in 4th grade, finally admitted that he is aware we are Santa Claus.  Kevin and I decided to go ahead and tell Drew about Santa, since he is in 6th grade and we are sure all of his regular education classmates are aware that there isn't a fat man living with a bunch of elves in the North Pole.  We had told him maybe a few days before his field trip to the mall.  A few days after the field trip, he was telling me about a toy he was going to ask Santa for.  I reminded him the Kevin and I are Santa.  He said, "No!  I saw him at the mall.  He is real!"  It cracked me up because it is so like him to be so literal.  If he saw him with his own eyes, it has to be real. 

Ethan got these reindeer antlers when his Scout troop went to sing Christmas carols at a local retirement community.  Of course, we had to put them on the dogs.  Tucker was uncooperative, as any self respecting 11 month old puppy would be so he didn't get to be in the picture.  We even had to sequester him in order to get Ella's picture because he seemed to be under the impression it was his JOB to remove those hideous antlers from Ella's head.  Ella had to be bribed with some treats to pose and if you look closely at her expression you can see she is kind of hating me for making her do this. 

Monday, me and the guys made a gingerbread house.  They used every bit of candy and frosting that came with the kit and fully intend on eating that candy off the house as soon as Christmas Day comes.  They are very proud of how their house turned out and I think it looks pretty darn good. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and get to enjoy spending some time with your family and friends.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Catching Up

Okay, so blogging has obviously taken a backseat in my life lately.  I have been busy trying to get Christmas done, trying to get baby stuff bought before I am put on bed rest or just too large to move, and taking the 5 million rest breaks I seem to require these days. 

So, here is an update of the goings on in our house and lives over the past month. 

Let's start with a Puppers update:

Tucker is 10 months old now and keeps all of us laughing pretty much daily.  Looking at him sitting on the stairs, like a human on a chair, always makes me smile.  He has a blanket he drags around the house and when he is happy, which is pretty much always, he gets his blanket and wiggles his entire body. 

My sister was here over Thanksgiving with her 5 month old daughter and he was, surprisingly, afraid of the baby.  Naturally.  Those small, 15 pound humans ARE terribly frightening.  He would come near her sniffing, and then jump back.  This went on for like 3 hours and if she moved near him, he would bark at her. 

At one point, we were trying to get a picture of 3 generations of Harmer women and Tucker, never one to be left out, crammed himself into the picture but as far away from that awful baby as he could get just in case she attacked.

After the entire day went by, he finally started warming up to her and was able to get close, sniff her a bunch and even gave her some kisses.  Little does he know come March he is going to have one of those immersion, get over your fear, type experiences when there are two of those pint sized monsters in the house.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this was the first time Drew and Ethan were meeting their new cousin, Naomi.  They were so gaga over her and took every opportunity they had to hold her and play with her.  They both also got a lesson on diaper changing from my sister and paid attention like it was the most riveting thing in the world.  They are going to be excellent big brothers although I have a feeling their current zeal about helping with babies and diaper changing is going to diminish some once their new siblings are actually here.

In other news, a few weeks ago, I had my 20 week ultrasound to check the babies development and to find out gender.  I was really hoping for at least one girl in there.  Someone who will actually, willingly and without out an ironclad itinerary, go to the mall with me, or who agrees with me that Dirty Jobs is not the greatest show ever.  But alas, no.  Both babies are definitely male.  I guess peed on toilet seats and fart humor are my destiny.  Both babies are healthy as can be and because of their gender's being the same and the way they present in utero, we won't be sure until they are born whether they are identical twins or fraternal.  I am kind of hoping for fraternal as I have worries about somehow mixing up the babies in some fundamental way if they look the same.  However, my friend with identical twins assures me that it only takes a week or two to be able to tell them apart. 

On a side note, if you encounter a friend or heck, a complete stranger who is pregnant with twins, please, please refrain from asking if they did fertility treatments or pointing out that they are going to be huge.  If I had a nickel for every time I have heard either thing since being pregnant, I would be rich.  Why people feel the need to know how you conceived is beyond me and one of these days some poor soul is going to get a very sarcastic, "well, you know, when a man and a woman love each other.....", type speech from me.  Also, I am fully aware, thank you very much, that I am going to be larger than someone pregnant with one baby.  You do not need to remind me. 

So, I think that is a sufficient update for now and since my Christmas shopping is done hopefully, I won't be such an absentee blogger.