The sins of chocolate cake

A lesson to be learned by those are wise and can avoid my pitfall...never ever eat dense, dark chocolate cake smothered in dense, dark chocolate sauce at 8 in the evening. Because otherwise you'll be up at 4 am ruefully reflecting on the sleep that still eludes you and wondering if you'll ever actually sleep again. I'm sure the raspberry tea had something to do with it as well, but still.

Until the whole 'awake at 4 am' fiasco, we had a really excellent day. It started not so auspiciously with Zoe still cranky from things being topsy-turvy and a bad night's sleep. However, as the day wore on, she became sunnier and brighter and by bedtime, she was her sweet self, happy and laughing and loving again. It is so wonderful to have her back! I'm really glad we kept her with us, even though it's made it harder to see the babies.

Speaking of the babies, I went at noon to nurse, but there was a miscommunication and the day nurse was in the middle of finishing Deet's bottle - Sophie had already eaten. So I was able to finish feeding Deet, but couldn't nurse. Nothing daunted, we came back at 6 pm to try again. I took Sophie back first (they have little nursing alcoves, painted in soothing colors, with a recliner and soft instrumental music playing - I've nearly fallen asleep several times now). Last time I nursed her, it took about 5 minutes to convince her to open her mouth - this time she was wide awake and rarin' to go. She latched on instantly and ate voraciously for nearly 15 minutes - clearly I have another baby barracuda on my hands! She eats rapidly, with great concentration, and it is so fun to watch her little brow furrowed as she works away at it. Her blonde hair is like velvet and I can't stop stroking her head as she eats.
Then it was Deet's turn - I hadn't been able to nurse my little old man at all yet, so I was curious to see how he'd do. He latched on instantly as well and ate for 20 minutes straight! He's so different from his sister - much more methodical and deliberate about his eating. Not fussy, but he likes things just so, and he works hard at it but isn't a devourer like Baby Sister (hey, two minutes is two minutes, and I'm sure he'll hold it over her head in years to come!).
Erich went up to the hospital by himself once we put Zoe to bed, since I'd been with the twins twice and he hadn't been able to see or hold them at all. He spent about 2 hours and came back beaming. He got there in time for evening feeding, and the night nurse, Janet (who is wonderful and we love her), let him feed them both, take their temperatures, help weigh them, and change their clothing.
He said that she was telling him that all the nurses love our babies - when they're tired and frustrated with dealing with their fussy, cranky charges, they come over to our babies' crib (they're sleeping together now!) and cuddle with them to relax. :o) Janet said she almost didn't know what to do with babies that actually EAT when offered a bottle - most of the babies, even though they're in the progressive unit and getting better, still have to be coaxed to eat, and it can be exhausting and frustrating. She said it's so refreshing to just pop a bottle in their faces and have them suck it down!
She also said all the nurses are just amazed at how EASY our babies are. Again, (and understandably) the majority of babies there tend to cry a lot, and they can't get over the fact that our kidlets don't cry unless there's absolutely something wrong. Quite often Janet will go to check on them, thinking they're sound asleep, only to discover that they're wide awake, gazing around peacefully and not making a peep.
They are definitely opinionated and make their feelings known when something is done that they don't like, but they are so easy-going! It gives me hope that I might actually get some rest when I get them home. :o)

Gabby comments...

I wanted to record these while I'm thinking about them - I'll forget otherwise.

Gabby was holding Deet while sitting on Nanay's lap; while gazing lovingly down at him, she said in a tone of soft wonder, "Oh, you pweshus little baby Deet."

And a little later, still holding him, she looked up at Nanay and said, "This is my baby." We said, "Oh really?" And she nodded and said, "It's not Mama's baby anymore. It's my baby now." (Meaning he was mine while in my tummy but now he's hers.) I suggested that we share the baby and he be hers and mine both - ours. Her eyes got big and welled a little with tears - she did NOT like that idea. But instead of protesting, she just bit her lip and said diplomatically, "I'm finkin' 'bout it." (Today the novelty had worn off - 5 minutes after seeing the babies, she was agitating to go play again. :o)

Erich is enjoying making me laugh - he rolled over and nearly fell off the twin bed yesterday and I thought I'd burst my stitches, I was laughing so hard. His arms and legs were everywhere!

His latest was last night at the dinner table. The Ronald McDonald House offers dinner every night donated by various businesses - last night's was sponsored by "The Aerospace Optimist's Club". His comment, "Well, they kind of have to be, don't they? Do you suppose they fly along thinking, 'Gee, I sure hope this airplane doesn't crash!'?"

Okay, so I guess you had to be there. :-P Everything's funnier when it hurts too much to laugh at things!

Allie the nag...

Is the only reason I'm posting right now. That and the fact that my tummy hurts and I'm not looking forward to the long walk back to my room, so I'm putting it off. :-P

So this is a (hopefully) brief update on how we're all doing.

The babies are doing great. Sophie nursed for 15 minutes on me this afternoon, which was wonderful. (And a little startling - I didn't think she was ready but she chowed down!) Deet was not interested when I tried to nurse him, but the night nurse said that he took a bottle this evening very well, so maybe tomorrow he'll be ready to try nursing again. In the meantime I am pumping as often as possible, but a little worried because my wonderful pump is finally starting to fail. The motor is catching and not wanting to turn on all the time, which makes me a wee bit nervous.

Gabby spent last night and today with us and we all had a wonderful time. She and her daddy played in the playground outside the hospital and rode the elevator to the 6th floor and back a dozen times while I nursed the twinfants this afternoon. :o)

Gabby went home this evening and Zoe came back with her daddy. She is happy to be here but had a hard time settling into her playpen for the night. Everything is topsy turvy and really difficult for her. Lots of cuddling and reassurances of love going on.

I'm doing well, healing up okay. I think I would be walking a lot easier if it weren't that my back is still very tweaky - leaning forward to accomodate my stomach makes my back scream, and vice versa. But we have a wheelchair for me, and I'm using it as much as I can to keep the pain to a minimum while I continue to heal. I feel more than a little silly being wheeled everywhere, but it does help.

The doctor will reevaluate on Monday and determine if either twin is ready to be discharged. If one and not the other is, then we will wait here at the Ronald McDonald House until both babies are ready to go home. The trek home is just too long otherwise. From the looks of things, it won't be too long now before both are ready.

Thank you to everyone for your continued love and prayer and support. I know it's helping, and it is so nice to know that we have so many people lifting us to Heaven in this trying time. We love you all!

My daughter made me proud

Gabby spent some time alone with me in the hospital while I was recovering there, and a nurse came in to check my vitals at one point and started chatting with her. Of course Gabby's excited about Christmas, but we're working hard on not ramping her up about the presents she might be getting - she's excited more about the whole experience itself. We mention that we get and give presents in passing and that's it. Well, this nurse said, "Are you excited about Christmas? What are you getting for Christmas this year?" (It really frustrates me to see people encouraging greediness and materialism in young children, even though I know she meant well - she just wasn't thinking.) Anyway, Gabby ducked her head and got shy for a minute, but then she looked up and said (with NO prompting from me, I swear!), "I'm getting two babies called Sophie an' Deet."

Gabby funny

Well, she might not think it was so funny, but we got a kick out of it! From my mother:

"Gabby poked herself in the eye and after tears and 'eye medicine' (silver spray) she felt better, but then asked for a Kleenex so 'I can bwow my sadness out.'"

Gabby logic

"Mister Rogers is a good friend because he have short hair."

Zoeisms

I am recording some of Zoe's pronunciations for posterity because they're so darn cute.

Hanger = hayno

Yogurt = yaya

Lolo = yoyo

Thank you = kankum

Poopy = popey (as she backs up to me and pulls up her shirt so I can check)

Fiddle = foohdle (and she recognizes "foohdle" music on the radio and loves it!)

Balloon = banoo

Muffin = mussy

Graham cracker, cookie, Saltine = crockie

Kitty = kiki. And when she calls them, it's "kikikikikikikiki!"

Pug = puck

Princess (her small orange stuffed fish) = kissess

Babies = "beebees!" (as she pulls up MY shirt and points to my stomach)

When I'm hurting, she'll lean against me with a worried look on her face and say, "I sowwy, Mama." (Who says toddlers don't learn empathy before they're three??)

And one of my favorites: Cuddles = cuddos (as she puts up her arms and asks to be picked up and held tightly)

A Gabby short story

"Dere was a monster in our house yesterday and it scared me. But Nanay got her gun and shot it and it went away. And dere were two baby monsters too but Nanay didn't shoot dem. God told 'em to go away and dey did."

I have come to the conclusion...

That I'm going to be pregnant for the rest of my life. Yep. Pretty sure I am. What they neglect to tell you when you learn you're pregnant with twins is that gestation may be shorter in actual fact, but it feels at least twice as long. I feel like I've been pregnant for about 18 months. I just thought I was huge before. And it's not over yet!
From the way things have progressed so far, I may even make it to 39 weeks, which is when the doctor said he'll induce me, because after that the placenta will start to deteriorate and the babies could begin to fail.
Personally, I'm hoping for middle of next week, but I doubt highly that the twinfants will cooperate - I think they're happy where they are and if they have their way, they won't come out at all. (I'm really not complaining - I LOVE feeling the lumps and bumps of them as they squirm and roll, but I definitely could do without looking like a river barge.)
Among Erich's favorite names for me: Momzilla. Mount Mama. And my personal favorite - the Mother Ship.

Happy birthday, Zoe!

Zoe turned two years old today! Of course she woke up crabby and clingy and went down for a VERY early morning nap, but on take two, she woke up bright and cheerful and stayed that way the rest of the day.
She was fascinated by everyone singing Happy Birthday to her. And she really got into unwrapping her presents! She got a new Duplo set from Erich and me (for her and Gabby, of course), a fairy princess outfit from her daddy, and a small stuffed elephant from me. Nanay and Lolo gave her a Richard Scarry book (our favorite author!) and a small mop, which she loved and waved around wildly until we rescued it from her. And her grandfather gave her a bee-yoo-tiful, incredibly soft brown bunny with long floppy ears that she cooed and cuddled with immediately. She named him Buckle (don't ask me where that came from), and the elephant became Camel (again, no clue). She also got a neat squeaky stuffed mouse from her grandmother, but by then she was so overwhelmed with all the attention that we put it aside for her to open later.
I got pictures (of course!) but haven't downloaded them yet. She danced in her fairy princess outfit (complete with wings) and had such a wonderful time!

God truly blessed us when He gave us our Zozobean. She is such an amazing child, so full of life and love and cuddles. Where Gabby is the whirlwind, Zoe is the eye of the storm. Not to say she doesn't have her tantrums - she does! But she has a peace to her that Gabby's never had.
Speaking of Gabby, she enjoyed Zoe's party as much as Zoe did! She even wrapped several presents for her (with help) and really got into the spirit of the thing. I hope we did a decent job of showing her that everyone gets a special Day; today was Zoe's and her turn will come soon. Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes and presents and helped make Zoe's birthday so special!

In other news, we went to my regular ob today and had a good talk with him. I am measuring 43 weeks now! I am actually 35 weeks today, which is what we were really hoping for - it means I can deliver in Stephenville now! No more worrying about having to trek to Ft. Worth while in labor! Now all I have to worry about is going into labor while my doctor is out of town next week. Ack! Well, if he does, the doctors at Harris Methodist (Hairy Methodists, according to Erich) are quite competent and I know they'll take good care of us all.

I'm working on a neat pattern for a crocheted lap throw that I found in a magazine. It's beautiful and very quick, which is good, since it's a Christmas gift. ;o)

Erich passed the physical and written tests for Stephenville last week (of course) and scored highest of anyone on the written test (of course). Next is putting his background information together and turning it in so that they can do the necessary background check and then call him for an interview. Somewhere in there they'll call me and interview me as well. Fun fun!

That's all the news from the Neumanns lately. Hope everyone is doing well!

The boob story

First, a little background: Gabby went through a phase of commenting on the size of various things. "Mama tall. Gabby short!" "Big cow and little cow!" Etc. At one point, she was watching her ballet show and commented, "Dancer have little boobs. Mama have BIIIG boobs. I have baby boobs!" (Insert red face on Mama here.)

So anyway, the other day she was going inside Mum's house and she mis-stepped and banged into the doorframe. She stumbled inside, grabbing her chest dramatically and exclaimed, "Oh! I hurt my wee tiny boob!"

Caving to pressure

After being nagged by several different people that the blog has not been updated recently, I bow to popular demand and am creating a new post. Not that I have anything to say, mind!

We've all been sick and are only now finally getting over it. The girls are still dealing with sore throats and sniffles, not to mention the increased tendency to melt down over the littlest thing because they feel so crummy.

Zoe and I walked across the street to the gas station to pick up a gift for the twins left there by the woman who owns said gas station. She brought along her balloon (banoo), which was running out of helium but bounced cheerfully along the ground behind us. At one point it got tangled in my feet; I stumbled and exclaimed, and she looked up and said, "I sowwy, Mama!"

She is gradually phasing out her morning nap. Now she has a "play nap" - in her crib with books and toys (while Mama sneaks a real nap) and only sleeps in the afternoon.

My beloved mother and I are working hard on getting us moved. Problem being my stamina is good for about an hour before I deflate like a leaky banoo. I just keep reminding myself of the tortoise winning the race...speaking of which, I do an excellent flipped turtle impression when I'm trying to get to my feet these days. Erich seems to think it's hilarious, for reasons completely beyond me.