Lou Lou lost her right front top tooth. It completely changed her look and made her look more growny and so cute. She wanted me to help her write a note to the Tooth Fairy. She could have written it herself but it was bedtime and my patience is not usually the greatest at bedtime. I helped her write, "Dear Tooth Fairy, Please do not take my tooth. I want to show my teacher. Love, Lou Lou".
The Tooth Fairy followed directions and left the tooth in the sandwich bag with the note.
A few days later, we were cleaning up her room. I glanced at the note and realized that she had added something to the bottom. She had written, "You can take my tooth now." When I asked her about it, she said that she had shown the tooth to her teacher and no longer needed the tooth. She said, "I don't know why the Tooth Fairy hasn't come back by for this tooth!":)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Party Time
For the twins' seventh birthday, we did a boy/girl thing. The boys all went to All-Stars, this big play place in Goldsboro. The girls stayed at our house and did makeup, nails, and tea party. Then they all came back together with cake and presents. They had fun. Next year, I think we're going to try to do something special with one friend rather than a shindig.
Birthday Memories
This is the first time since the twins were born that I haven't practically mourned on October 26. This is the day that I rode the ambulance to the hospital in preterm labor. I ended up staying at Pitt on bedrest for three weeks. In past years, these few months seem to hold heavy memories for me...
Oct. 23 - bedrest at home
Oct. 26 - from Wayne Women's Clinic, to WMH, to PCMH
Oct. 28 - to a regular room, back to an ICU room
Oct. 30 - back to a regular room - I had a nice big room with a great view of the door where all the new moms left with their new babies.
Nov. 15 - contractions, which had been continuing throughout most of my stay, became more noticeable and closer together
Nov. 16 - they determined that they needed to do a C-section on this day to prevent an emergency C-section the next day - Apparently, Bear's foot was kicking down, and they didn't want his leg hanging out. I only saw pics of the babies on this day, pictures of them hooked up to this and that. I tried to go see them in NICU in a wheelchair but got sick halfway there. They actually started out in the regular baby nursery but got moved to the NICU with breathing issues.
Nov. 17 - I held Lou Lou for the first time. It took several minutes for them to get all her cords straight and tape cords to my gown so that I could hold her. I cried as I held her. She weighed 3 pounds 13 ounces and Bear weighed 4 pounds and 5 ounces. Bear's nurse said he was not doing well and I couldn't hold him that day. Both babies were intubated and could only make crying faces but no crying sounds. This was the hardest part of all for me. Later on this day, Lou Lou's nurse labeled her "feisty" as she had already pulled her intubation cord out. Thus, she graduated to CPAP. Later on, she moved up to the intermediate nursery. I didn't get to visit with her as much because she was always sleeping. They said that sleeping babies are growing babies so I wanted her to sleep as much as possible.
Nov. 18 - Jimmy's birthday - I had been pumping since the 16th and continued to do so. I did get to hold Bear on this day, but he was still intubated. He had a much harder time learning to breathe than Lou Lou did. According to research, white baby boys have it the worst. I didn't cry when I held him, almost like I knew I needed to be strong for him. Later on during their stay, I did kangaroo care with him, at least twice, which was skin on skin contact. His arms outstretched only reached from one bra strap to the other. While Lou Lou was asleep, Bear always seemed to be awake. Because of my lack of sleep/stress/pain from C-section, I always found things humorous by his bedside. Once when my sister and I were there with him, we pushed something on his bed and the top lifted off slowly with a beeping noise. The nurses said it was no problem, but it was hilarious to us.
Nov. 19 - After seeing all the new moms leave with their newborns, I left without mine. I came home long enough to get some clothes and then headed over to the Ronald McDonald house to move in there. From here, I could walk or ride the bus to PCMH to visit the twins. Bear's bed was right by the window, so after going through the 3-minute hand washing procedure, I could peep in at him before visiting Lou Lou in the other room.
Nov. 20 - My sister and I went nursing-bra shopping. My milk arrived for the first time in the Greenville Wal-mart. I was so relieved!
On Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, I cried and told Jimmy that I wanted to have another baby. My desire to have a house full started right then. His comment was, "Let's get these out of the hospital first!":)
Sometime during their stay, one of Bear's nurses, named Cheri, helped him get off CPAP. I was so excited!
Nov. 29 - The doctors gave Lou Lou the okay to try to breastfeed. Because she was tube-fed, they filled her stomach while she was "hanging out" beginning to learn how to breastfeed. I thought this was pretty smart. She attemped nursing twice that day. I needed a lot of the nurse's help because of all the cords, although Lou Lou had less cords than Bear. The second time she nursed, Lou Lou had a male nurse named Steve. I had to have help and felt that my modesty was less important than my child's learning to eat, so I called Jimmy that night and told him about the "other Steve":).
Nov. 30 - Finally we moved to WMH. Things were a lot more independent there. The only tubes and wires were a heart monitor and a feeding tube. I tried to go in three times a day, feed, pump, etc.
December 18 - The twins came home! This was the best day ever! I remember telling Jimmy to drive real slow all the way home.
Once they got home, it was just exhaustion, exhaustion, exhaustion. The doctors didn't feel that they were breastfeeding well enough to only give them their nourishment there. I woke up Lou Lou first because she was more vigorous, let her practice breastfeeding, fed her a small bottle, woke up Bear, let him practice breastfeeding, fed him a small bottle, laid them both back in bed, and then pumped. Doing this whole procedure every three hours was tough. We kept going in for weight checks until we got the go ahead that they could try on breastfeeding alone. That was a happy day for tired old me!
I still had such a depressed feeling (common with preemie moms especially) and somehow knew that it would stay around until their due date. Once I got to their due date, January 10, I felt like they were "supposed" to be here then, so it was okay. However, every year except this year, I've had a sort of blue feeling from Oct. 26-Jan. 10. Jan. 10 is like my "let myself off the hook" date. I know that's crazy!
This year, Oct. 26 slipped right past me. No sense of blue surrounding the holidays this time around I hope. This is an unintentional but welcome step forward.
Oct. 23 - bedrest at home
Oct. 26 - from Wayne Women's Clinic, to WMH, to PCMH
Oct. 28 - to a regular room, back to an ICU room
Oct. 30 - back to a regular room - I had a nice big room with a great view of the door where all the new moms left with their new babies.
Nov. 15 - contractions, which had been continuing throughout most of my stay, became more noticeable and closer together
Nov. 16 - they determined that they needed to do a C-section on this day to prevent an emergency C-section the next day - Apparently, Bear's foot was kicking down, and they didn't want his leg hanging out. I only saw pics of the babies on this day, pictures of them hooked up to this and that. I tried to go see them in NICU in a wheelchair but got sick halfway there. They actually started out in the regular baby nursery but got moved to the NICU with breathing issues.
Nov. 17 - I held Lou Lou for the first time. It took several minutes for them to get all her cords straight and tape cords to my gown so that I could hold her. I cried as I held her. She weighed 3 pounds 13 ounces and Bear weighed 4 pounds and 5 ounces. Bear's nurse said he was not doing well and I couldn't hold him that day. Both babies were intubated and could only make crying faces but no crying sounds. This was the hardest part of all for me. Later on this day, Lou Lou's nurse labeled her "feisty" as she had already pulled her intubation cord out. Thus, she graduated to CPAP. Later on, she moved up to the intermediate nursery. I didn't get to visit with her as much because she was always sleeping. They said that sleeping babies are growing babies so I wanted her to sleep as much as possible.
Nov. 18 - Jimmy's birthday - I had been pumping since the 16th and continued to do so. I did get to hold Bear on this day, but he was still intubated. He had a much harder time learning to breathe than Lou Lou did. According to research, white baby boys have it the worst. I didn't cry when I held him, almost like I knew I needed to be strong for him. Later on during their stay, I did kangaroo care with him, at least twice, which was skin on skin contact. His arms outstretched only reached from one bra strap to the other. While Lou Lou was asleep, Bear always seemed to be awake. Because of my lack of sleep/stress/pain from C-section, I always found things humorous by his bedside. Once when my sister and I were there with him, we pushed something on his bed and the top lifted off slowly with a beeping noise. The nurses said it was no problem, but it was hilarious to us.
Nov. 19 - After seeing all the new moms leave with their newborns, I left without mine. I came home long enough to get some clothes and then headed over to the Ronald McDonald house to move in there. From here, I could walk or ride the bus to PCMH to visit the twins. Bear's bed was right by the window, so after going through the 3-minute hand washing procedure, I could peep in at him before visiting Lou Lou in the other room.
Nov. 20 - My sister and I went nursing-bra shopping. My milk arrived for the first time in the Greenville Wal-mart. I was so relieved!
On Thanksgiving, Nov. 22, I cried and told Jimmy that I wanted to have another baby. My desire to have a house full started right then. His comment was, "Let's get these out of the hospital first!":)
Sometime during their stay, one of Bear's nurses, named Cheri, helped him get off CPAP. I was so excited!
Nov. 29 - The doctors gave Lou Lou the okay to try to breastfeed. Because she was tube-fed, they filled her stomach while she was "hanging out" beginning to learn how to breastfeed. I thought this was pretty smart. She attemped nursing twice that day. I needed a lot of the nurse's help because of all the cords, although Lou Lou had less cords than Bear. The second time she nursed, Lou Lou had a male nurse named Steve. I had to have help and felt that my modesty was less important than my child's learning to eat, so I called Jimmy that night and told him about the "other Steve":).
Nov. 30 - Finally we moved to WMH. Things were a lot more independent there. The only tubes and wires were a heart monitor and a feeding tube. I tried to go in three times a day, feed, pump, etc.
December 18 - The twins came home! This was the best day ever! I remember telling Jimmy to drive real slow all the way home.
Once they got home, it was just exhaustion, exhaustion, exhaustion. The doctors didn't feel that they were breastfeeding well enough to only give them their nourishment there. I woke up Lou Lou first because she was more vigorous, let her practice breastfeeding, fed her a small bottle, woke up Bear, let him practice breastfeeding, fed him a small bottle, laid them both back in bed, and then pumped. Doing this whole procedure every three hours was tough. We kept going in for weight checks until we got the go ahead that they could try on breastfeeding alone. That was a happy day for tired old me!
I still had such a depressed feeling (common with preemie moms especially) and somehow knew that it would stay around until their due date. Once I got to their due date, January 10, I felt like they were "supposed" to be here then, so it was okay. However, every year except this year, I've had a sort of blue feeling from Oct. 26-Jan. 10. Jan. 10 is like my "let myself off the hook" date. I know that's crazy!
This year, Oct. 26 slipped right past me. No sense of blue surrounding the holidays this time around I hope. This is an unintentional but welcome step forward.
Another Wedding
We attended the wedding of one of the teachers at the daycare where the baby girls go. Ms. Shamane was actually the twins' teacher for two years, and we loved her as if she was a member of our own family. Lou Lou and Bug went with me to the wedding. As Ms. Shamane walked in, Bug said, "Can I go love Ms. Shamane?" I, of course, said no. When she asked why, I told her that Ms. Shamane was getting married. All through the ceremony, she asked me, "Is Ms. Shamane married yet?" Finally, at the end of the ceremony, when the groom kissed the bride, Bug asked, "Why is that man kissing on Ms. Shamane?":)
New Money
During school, the twins' teacher talked with them a lot about the election. Here are some of the funny presidential comments they made around that time...
Lou Lou said, "Mama, the bad thing about voting for a President is this...If you don't get the one you like, you have to deal with it for four years.":)
After Barack Obama won the election, the twins talked a lot about him moving into the White House. They were excited for his girls that they got to live in the White House and that they were going to get a new puppy. Lou Lou asked me, "Mama, if Daddy were the president, would we get to move in the White House and live there?" When I said yes, she said, "Well, can we ask Daddy if he can try for President next time?" Before I was able to answer, Bear said, "I already asked him. He said he wasn't interested."
Last Sunday, I was getting some money ready for the children to give during Sunday School. The twins said to me, "We need to get some money with Barack Obama's picture on it. He's the new president now!"
Lou Lou said, "Mama, the bad thing about voting for a President is this...If you don't get the one you like, you have to deal with it for four years.":)
After Barack Obama won the election, the twins talked a lot about him moving into the White House. They were excited for his girls that they got to live in the White House and that they were going to get a new puppy. Lou Lou asked me, "Mama, if Daddy were the president, would we get to move in the White House and live there?" When I said yes, she said, "Well, can we ask Daddy if he can try for President next time?" Before I was able to answer, Bear said, "I already asked him. He said he wasn't interested."
Last Sunday, I was getting some money ready for the children to give during Sunday School. The twins said to me, "We need to get some money with Barack Obama's picture on it. He's the new president now!"
Sickness
For the last month, someone in our family has had some kind of illness. It started with Bear and bronchitis. Next was Birdie with an ear infection. As her ear infection went out the door, an unusual stomach bug came in the window. She threw up, but only at nighttime an hour or so after suppertime. During the day, she was fine. On her last night of sickness, it transitioned to poop, smeared all over everywhere she had been crawling for the last few minutes. Meanwhile, Lou Lou began developing a bad cough and sore throat. I still haven't taken her to the doctor with it, because she seems to manage fine with it for now. Anytime I've taken a child to the doctor "too soon" to try and get ahead of the illness, they've always told me that they can't do anything at this point until more symptoms appear. However, a week of bad cough and sore throat seems awhile.
On Thanksgiving Day, Bear got his hand shut in the crack of a bedroom door, and we thought we were going to have to visit the doctor for that. We waited it out, and it turned out to be only a sore finger and not a broken one.
On Friday night, we went to visit MaJe and Papa J. That night, Bug woke up with an upset stomach and began throwing up. This morning, she had bad diarrhea.
Through all of this, I don't feel well myself. It sort of feels like I have the beginning of bronchitis, but I don't take the time to go to the doctor myself because I don't feel that it is severe enough to warrant that. Also, I think I feel more worn down than usual because of the massive amounts of laundry that sick children create. Our laundry is piled piled piled up in my closet. During one of Birdie's throwing up spells, we decided to have her sleep in the pack and play, also in our closet. Jimmy closed the door so that we wouldn't disturb her as we got ready the next morning. Apparently, after he shut the door, some of the laundry fell and I had to push and shove a bit to get in the closet. This situation made me laugh, which is exactly the medicine I needed...Laundry piled up so high that parents can't get to their child. The laundry hadn't fallen on her, but had barricaded the doorway just a bit. It only took a small shove and I was in, but the thoughts of what more laundry could have done was humorous, probably because everything's funnier when I'm tired.
On Thanksgiving Day, Bear got his hand shut in the crack of a bedroom door, and we thought we were going to have to visit the doctor for that. We waited it out, and it turned out to be only a sore finger and not a broken one.
On Friday night, we went to visit MaJe and Papa J. That night, Bug woke up with an upset stomach and began throwing up. This morning, she had bad diarrhea.
Through all of this, I don't feel well myself. It sort of feels like I have the beginning of bronchitis, but I don't take the time to go to the doctor myself because I don't feel that it is severe enough to warrant that. Also, I think I feel more worn down than usual because of the massive amounts of laundry that sick children create. Our laundry is piled piled piled up in my closet. During one of Birdie's throwing up spells, we decided to have her sleep in the pack and play, also in our closet. Jimmy closed the door so that we wouldn't disturb her as we got ready the next morning. Apparently, after he shut the door, some of the laundry fell and I had to push and shove a bit to get in the closet. This situation made me laugh, which is exactly the medicine I needed...Laundry piled up so high that parents can't get to their child. The laundry hadn't fallen on her, but had barricaded the doorway just a bit. It only took a small shove and I was in, but the thoughts of what more laundry could have done was humorous, probably because everything's funnier when I'm tired.
Angel Baby
Birdie is such an observant baby. She is still not walking, which really concerns me none, but does concern others around us. She cruises around, holding onto things, but has no interest in letting go at this point. She has her mind on other things, I suppose.
At the daycare the other day, the director said that Birdie was whining and she wasn't sure why. She decided to undo her onesie so Birdie could touch her belly button rather than pushing it through her clothes. She said that she immediately stopped whining and began sucking her thumb and pushing her belly button in and out:)
Last weekend, Lou Lou decided to teach my mom (MaJe) some of her new ballet exercies. In turn, MaJe taught Lou Lou some of her Wellness Center exercises. I took part in all of these lessons, and Birdie sat and watched. After a few minutes of observation, Birdie got down on her stomach, put her hands down in front of her as if to begin doing a push up, and made grunting noises as if she was really giving herself a workout:).
On Wednesday night, we decided to do our devotion and prayer early because I had choir practice that night, and that usually means they're in bed before I get back home. After reading out of both devotion books (Joey's preschool one and the twins' more in-depth Bible story book), we all got on our knees to pray, everyone but Birdie. During devotion time, she typically sits around, looks at us, plays with her toys, and puts things in her mouth. I prayed, then Jimmy prayed, and then he asked the children if they wanted to pray. For some reason, they each said no, so then he looked at Birdie and said, "Birdie, do you want to pray?". She immediately got down on her stomach with her hands under her face and said, "Ah goo gah." Then she lifted her head back up, went back to a sitting position, and smiled a big grin at us as if to say, "Thought you'd never ask!".
Birdie is also very into praying before a meal. On Thanksgiving, when I set her plate down on the highchair at MaMa's house, I would have thought that she would have immediately begun eating. Instead, she held out her hand to me, so I held her hand and started to pray. What an angel baby!
At the daycare the other day, the director said that Birdie was whining and she wasn't sure why. She decided to undo her onesie so Birdie could touch her belly button rather than pushing it through her clothes. She said that she immediately stopped whining and began sucking her thumb and pushing her belly button in and out:)
Last weekend, Lou Lou decided to teach my mom (MaJe) some of her new ballet exercies. In turn, MaJe taught Lou Lou some of her Wellness Center exercises. I took part in all of these lessons, and Birdie sat and watched. After a few minutes of observation, Birdie got down on her stomach, put her hands down in front of her as if to begin doing a push up, and made grunting noises as if she was really giving herself a workout:).
On Wednesday night, we decided to do our devotion and prayer early because I had choir practice that night, and that usually means they're in bed before I get back home. After reading out of both devotion books (Joey's preschool one and the twins' more in-depth Bible story book), we all got on our knees to pray, everyone but Birdie. During devotion time, she typically sits around, looks at us, plays with her toys, and puts things in her mouth. I prayed, then Jimmy prayed, and then he asked the children if they wanted to pray. For some reason, they each said no, so then he looked at Birdie and said, "Birdie, do you want to pray?". She immediately got down on her stomach with her hands under her face and said, "Ah goo gah." Then she lifted her head back up, went back to a sitting position, and smiled a big grin at us as if to say, "Thought you'd never ask!".
Birdie is also very into praying before a meal. On Thanksgiving, when I set her plate down on the highchair at MaMa's house, I would have thought that she would have immediately begun eating. Instead, she held out her hand to me, so I held her hand and started to pray. What an angel baby!
Funny stories
So I haven't gotten on here lately and recorded all our funny stories from the past month. I'm going to try to catch up, but probably not tonight. Currently, Jimmy is gone to Chicago to his cousin's wedding. He comes home on Monday, so it's just me and the four children until his return. I've not been feeling the greatest for about the last week and a half, and there's more to do around here with just one grownup in charge. The tag-teaming thing works really well for Jimmy and I, and when he's not around, I usually do okay going solo. However, when I'm already not feeling great, and the work around me is piling up, and the lists in my brain are getting longer and longer, it's easy to become frustrated.
Right now, everyone except me is lying down, but only Birdie is asleep. I may try to add a story or two each time I come to the computer rather than catching up all at once.
Right now, everyone except me is lying down, but only Birdie is asleep. I may try to add a story or two each time I come to the computer rather than catching up all at once.
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