Month: December 2014

Early arrivals

After an ultrasound with babies that were doing well, but seemed a little sluggish, the mfm decided that we should do the c section today. The girls arrived at quarter of four and all are doing well.

Totally exhausted. More information later.

today, tomorrow, and the next day

squashAs of today, Christine has been in the hospital for six weeks. Tomorrow is the 32nd week of the pregnancy. The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve – and the twins’ birthday.

We’re scheduled for a Caesarian section at 8am. C-sections tend to be pretty quick procedures. By 9, the girls will be born and I’ll be a dad twice over – a daddad.

The girls likely won’t be home until mid to late February (around the 40-week mark), so we have a while to go. But I’m still marveling at the passage of time. When we found out in September that we were having a monoamniotic pregnancy, it felt like the next months would be interminable. And it was long and tough and I do have a few new gray hairs.

But the pregnancy has also been quick. We didn’t know that Christine was pregnant for the first several weeks. That cut down on the first trimester. And, because the C-section is happening at 32 weeks, the third trimester is shorter as well. The second trimester was the only one we experienced fully.

And we rushed the pregnancy along, praying to make it to 20 weeks, to 26 weeks, to December and 28 weeks, to 30 weeks, and finally to 32 weeks. When Christine entered the hospital at 26 weeks, we started crossing each day off on the calendar. Soon we’ll be praying that the twins make it through their time in the NICU without any lasting issues and crossing off the days on a new calendar.

One of my hopes for 2015 is for the luxury of being able to be in the moment instead of straining for the next goal.

Some hospital thoughts

  • I like when Christine is on the monitor because when I make her laugh, her tummy moves and the monitor makes a noise. It’s like it’s saying, ‘yeah, that’s pretty funny.’
  • Christine has diapered her teddy bear, dressed him in baby clothes, and is now carrying him around in a ring sling. If she weren’t pregnant, this would be super creepy.
  • So I know that I’m just cranky because I have low blood sugar, but it still irritates me that all of the salads and pre-made sandwiches at the hospital cafe have meat in then.  Meat salad? Really?
  • Some nurses knock and wait for a response before entering Christine’s room, some nurses knock and enter without waiting for a response, and some nurses do not knock at all. Does this bother me? Um. No?
  • Walking between the maternity area and the cafeteria, I pass the birthing unit, the recovery area, classrooms, a NICU, and (although I believe it’s a little hidden), the OR. Whoever built the hospital worked very hard to ensure that the hallways and their taupe walls remain unaffected by the noise and frenzy surrounding them. It is odd walking in relative quiet, knowing (or at least assuming) that what’s happening around you is so different.
  • The food here is pretty good, but there are only like 10 meals. When you’re here for more than 10 days, the food starts getting old.
  • I’m pretty sure this hospital has stairs, but I’ve never used them.
  • I shouldn’t have married a Smith alumna if I wanted to win at Words with Friends.
  • Our options are limited. All we can do is eat, read, chat, watch tv, and play games. I’ve trained my whole life for this.
  • This shower is way too small for a normal-sized person.
  • They can call it a “husband couch” if they want. We all know it’s a futon.
  • I’m savoring these weeks before the delivery: I can hold my entire family when I hold Christine. I realize that is an agonizingly syrupy thing to say, but it’s also true and being able to hold your whole family in one go is lovely. So shut up.
  • Every day the girls are still in utero is, so they say, equal to three days in the NICU.
  • Eventually, I’m going to need to go through all my posts and standardize my categories. Luckily, I’m a librarian.

When the cat’s away…

Christine has been in the hospital for over two weeks now and I’m setting into my quasi-bachelor lifestyle, which I have not enjoyed/endured since college. My first item of business was to not do dishes or laundry for multiple days. I have since caught up, which was an ordeal. I’m considering bringing back the trencher. Also, who’s wearing all these clothes? I realize that it must be me, but if my neighbor told me that he’s been sneaking his clothes into my laundry, I would believe him.

My second item of business was to catch up on some important projects. I’ve now finished season one of The Clone Wars. I like that the show is styled – tongue-in-cheek – after adventure serials; the “our hero, Anakin Skywalker, is on a mission to…” voice-over announcements are fun. The show has issues that I could rant about at length, but it has  reawakened my love for Star Wars. I like the movies, but I’m more into the books. Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire is one of the most important books in my history as a reader. A quick search of Wookiepedia (okay, I was there for like 2 hours) revealed that there are over 200 Star Wars books. I think I’ve only read 50ish. I found out that Zahn had a few Star Wars books I didn’t know about, so I’m working my way through those.

Also, I bought queen-sized Star Wars sheets. In my defense, they were on sale.