Ack!

Holy cannoli, I'm a walking heart attack waiting to happen!!! I just checked my labs online, which I had done yesterday. My Hemoglobin A1C, which measures blood sugars over the past 12 weeks, was in the normal range - good - means the gestational diabetes has resolved. My cholesterol, however, not so much - it was 344!!!!! OMG!!!! That's 100 points higher than it's ever been before! Yikes! Hmm...does ice cream have a lot of cholesterol? Because that COULD be the culprit! Guess I'll be getting a call from the doc this week!

Big and little

Okay, seriously, not even I realized how big the difference is until I laid them next to each other without their clothes on!! Yikes!! Really, I promise, we DO feed Mackenzie!!!! She gets the same food Makayla gets - just not directly from the tap!

Anthony opening his easter eggs

Ok, so I'm a complete moron and held the camera sideways while I was videotaping this!! So you have to turn your head to watch it - but I wanted to put it up b/c I think it's so funny when he says, "Oh my gosh" after opening the second egg!!

Easter pics

Anthony's Easter basket

Hunting for eggs

Opening eggs

Makayla in her Easter dress

Right before she started screaming

Best one we could get of them both - neither were very happy about the whole ordeal!!

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter!!!

What Easter is about

Pics and an update

My friend Arleen came over on Tuesday to help out, and while the girls slept, we colored Easter eggs with Anthony. He enjoyed it, and was very orderly in how the stickers were to be removed from the sheet - each row had to be completely used before we were allowed to move on to the next row!! It was pretty amusing!



Here is Anthony doing what I must ask him to do a couple dozen times a day - putting Makayla's binky back in her mouth!! (Although it kind of looks like he's feeding her popcorn - I promise he's not!!)



Makayla has started smiling more - especially when I lay her down on the changing table. At the doc's office on Friday, she weighed 10 lbs, 4 oz.



Mackenzie still doesn't smile very often - at least not so that I can catch it on camera! At the doc's office Friday, she only weighed 5 lbs, 10 oz. Yikes!!! It was only a nurse visit for their Synagis shot, but they see the neonatologist on March 31 - we'll see what they say.



We don't have any big plans for Easter. I'm certain the Easter Bunny will bring a basket for Anthony, as well as hide eggs. Will post pics of that fun!!

I'm feeling much better from my surgery and all that drama. Darrell told me to get out of the house for some me-time today, so I did some shopping and coffee-drinking! It was a really warm day - 90's - but it was good to get some sunshine. Now I'm exhausted. Am going to try to get to bed at a reasonable hour. We did great lat night - I fed Makayla at 9:30, she fell asleep around 10:00, then didn't wake up until 2:40 am, then again at 6:30 am...so a good night!! I think Darrell only had to get up with Mackenzie once too. A welcome relief after a few of the crazy, up-half-a-dozen-times nights we had this week!!!

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Typical me

Some things never change...the sun will always rise again, tax season will always come...and my body will continue to do things the atypical way.

So I got my tubes tied on Friday. I had to be there at 6:00 a.m., and was supposed to be done by 9:00 a.m. It was done laporascopically (sp???) - through a small incision in my belly button - and is supposed to have a quick recovery. Right. First of all, they were trying to kick me out before I was half awake. Then the nurse got mad at me because I didn't tell her I was nauseous BEFORE she took out my IV...umm...still not really awake?! They stripped the sheets off my bed before I was out the door - so I'm sitting there in the wheelchair holding a barf bag up to my face while I try to throw up the nothing that was in my stomach, all while I'm in pain b/c they only gave me 1/4 of the normal dose of pain medication. Then I start having chills and my teeth start chattering - so they have to run and find a recliner, get me situated, put a heating blanket on me, get some nausea medicine in me, and get some pain medicine for me. So my recovery was off to a good start.

I got home around 11:00 a.m., took some more pain meds and went to sleep. I did okay Friday during the day, other than being in quite a bit more pain than I expected based on what I had been told prior to the surgery. Friday evening I was okay - sat up and visited with a friend who brought us dinner, ate dinner with no problem...went to bed around 7:00 p.m. and slept for quite a while.

I woke up at 11:00 p.m. and had some chills, so checked my temp - 100.3. They said to call if it was over 100.4, so I just took some more pain medicine and went back to sleep. I woke up several more times, and each time my teeth were chattering and my temp continued to rise. Finally, I woke around 5:00 a.m., my temp was 103, I had a horrible headache, I puked my dinner from the night before, and my pain was bad. I called the doctor, who told me to go to the emergency room. Great. So my options are to 1.) Call an ambulance and be taken to the ghetto hospital closest to our home; 2.) Have Darrell load up all the kids to take me to the other hospital; or 3.) Call and wake up all of our friends at 5:30 a.m. to try to find a ride. I chose option 3, and after waking a couple people, our dear friend Gloria was able to take me. I must note that my friend Gina (who has 5 children) was willing to get all of her children up and in the car to take me, if I couldn't find anyone else - quite a trooper she is!!!

Anyways, they ran a bunch of tests - blood work, x-rays, CT scan, etc. - and decided I had a UTI and my white blood count was elevated - they didn't know for sure if that was from the UTI or if I was getting an infection from the surgery. So they ended up admitting me for IV fluids, antibiotics, nausea medicine and pain control. Our friend Marlyna, who had flown in from San Francisco and was planning to spend the day helping Darrell with the kids while I recuperated, ended up spending much of the day in the hospital with me.

Today I am much much better, and they let me come home. I'll still have to take antibiotics for a week, but my fever is gone and my white blood count was back down, so those are good signs. I still have pain, especially when I'm up and around, but it's definitely better than it was. Let's hope I continue to improve without any more obstacles!!!

P.S. Darrell did awesome on his own with all three kids!! He even somehow managed to clean up the house, clean out the refrigerator, and put together Anthony's train tracks for him!!

Surgery tomorrow

It's been a busy week! I think we stayed home Monday...can't really remember that far back b/c my brain is mush. Tuesday I had my pre-op appointment at the hospital; took all three kids with me, and my friend Arleen met us there to help with the kids while I did my registration and such. Then she followed us over to the lab and kept two of the kids in the waiting room while I took one baby with me in to get my blood work done. It all went pretty well - the worst part was that both babies screamed the entire way home - 1/2 hour - and it totally stressed both me and Anthony out!!

And since Tuesday went so well, I decided to try again and took all three with me yesterday to my breastfeeding support group. That, too, went remarkably well once we got there. Getting everyone out of the house and loaded is a bit stressful. But once there, Anthony was so good - played quietly and didn't whine at all, and the lactation consultant fed Mackenzie her bottle while I nursed Makayla. It was nice to visit with my new friends!!

Ready for the weigh-ins?? Makayla, the little porker, weighs 10 lbs, 1 oz!!! Mackenzie, slow but steady, weighs 5 lbs, 12 oz...do you think maybe next week will be the week we finally hit 6 lbs???!!! I am convinced Makayla wants to be double Mackenzie's size!!

So tomorrow I have to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. for my 7:00 a.m. surgery. They say I'll get to go home around 9, though I'm wondering if my body is so sleep-deprived that they may have a hard time waking me up once they've got me knocked out!!! Darrell's staying home with the kids; one friend is taking me to the hospital and another is picking me up to bring me home. Anyways, keep me in your prayers that everything goes smoothly!!

Milestones

Well, both girls are holding their heads up, although Mackenzie does it MUCH better than Makayla. Mackenzie can also roll herself from her tummy to her back!! My theory is that there just isn't much to roll, so it's easy!! Both girls are also finding their smiles - they've been smiling in their sleep for a long time, but now they are starting to actually smile intentionally. Yay!! My stepdaughter Samantha came Tuesday night and spent the night, and helped me out all day yesterday - she was a HUGE help!! We went to the pharmacy and got Makayla's new tummy medicine - the doc put her on Prilosec for her reflux...here's hoping it works! We also took the kids to my breastfeeding group. Makayla, the little chub, weighs 9 lbs, 10 oz !!! She's so rolly polly, it's so cute. Mackenzie, sweet Mackenzie, still only weighs 5 lbs, 7 oz - but at least she gained 5 oz this week!! We're gonna have to throw a party to celebrate when she hits 6 lbs - maybe by 3 months of age??

Here are some pics - haven't posted any for a while.


This is from several weeks ago...aren't they just adorable?!


Isn't this so cute, how Makayla puts her arm around Mackenzie - the protective big sister!!


This is from maybe a week or two ago.


Whatcha doin' mom??


This is today...I am so amazed at well Mackenzie holds her head up. They say you can use this little seat once they can hold their heads up...but I don't think they anticipated that would happen for a baby less than 5 1/2 lbs!! I had to put a blanket behind her to fill in some of the vast empty space!!


My little china doll.


Look, mom, I'm learning how to smile!! This is fun!


And this is what Makayla thought of the whole idea...you want me to do WHAT???? Waaaahhhhh!

Oh, and let me explain this pic...I've been talking with a couple friends about our breastmilk. Normal breastmilk separates after it sits for a while, and usually you end up with most of it looking like slightly cloudy water, with a thin layer of milky cream on top. My breastmilk? Well, apparently I make SUPER milk...this is what it looks like after it separates - a thin layer of cloudy water on bottom, topped by several ounces of very creamy milk, topped by an even thicker custard-like layer of pure fat!! They've been wanting to see it for themselves...so here it is!!

How Could I Ask For More?

I've always loved this song, but lately I can't stop singing it...here's a video of the song that I found on YouTube.

Seriously, ridiculously, indulgently good caramel popcorn

OK, so my sister told me about this caramel popcorn recipe - I was a little timid about making it, b/c I hate making stuff that creates a sticky mess...but it sounded so good this afternoon that I decided to just go for it. OH MY GOSH, I cannot stop eating it!!!! It is seriously addictive. Here's the recipe:

Grandma Paula's Caramel Corn

1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 qts popped corn

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Over medium heat, combine first 4 ingredients - bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Stir well. Pour over 8 quarts popped corn. Stir to coat well. Bake in large roaster or pan for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to dry/cool.

It would also be good with some nuts added in - mmm...some almonds and cashews...yum!

Two months old already!!

Wow, I just realized I haven't posted in almost 3 weeks...oops! Sorry 'bout that! I can hardly believe it - the girls are 2 months old already! It's a surreal feeling - at the same time, it feels both as though they just got here and as if they've been here forever! I can honestly say I have never been so exhausted in my life, nor have I ever felt so strong...it's amazing how you are given the grace and strength you need, when you need it. Before the girls were here, I couldn't imagine how I was going to handle a 2-yr old and twins; never imagined one of the twins would have special needs! I am definitely relying more on my faith than ever before in my life, and I often recite one of my favorite scriptures - "My grace is sufficient for you."

Makayla weighed 8 lbs, 9 oz last Friday 2/22 (was 5 lbs, 6 oz at birth). She is finally on the regular growth chart, though still only at the 5th %ile - but ON the chart, nonetheless!! She is so snuggly and sweet, though she is by far the needier of the two as far as needing to be held and comforted. She has really bad reflux, which so far is not really responding to the meds, so she cries a LOT. I feel so bad when I can't comfort her...it's very sad. She is BFing really well and loves to be worn in the sling. She's a funny combination of Darrell and me - her features are so me - looks exactly like I did as a baby; but her skin is so much darker than mine. She's just precious - and SO much hair - it just keeps getting thicker and curlier - so cute.

Mackenzie has had a really hard time with feeding and gaining weight. She was 4 lbs, 2 oz when she came home from the NICU on Jan 26; a month later, she's only 5 lbs, 2 oz (she was 2 lbs, 15 oz at birth). She actually went the entire week last week (Fri-Fri) without gaining even an ounce, so I was glad to see on Wednesday that she had gained a couple since Friday. She's still not even on the preemie growth chart, let alone the regular one! We're still not entirely sure why she hates eating so much, but her feedings are pretty traumatic for all involved - she just screams and flails and pushes the bottle away...etc etc. The doc put her on reflux medication in case that is the problem, and we met with an Occupational Therapist this yesterday. They gave us some calming techniques to try, and a new bottle to try. They would like to see her weekly for 6 months - but we have to wait for insurance approval. It truly breaks my heart b/c she cries b/c she's hungry, but then she cries when we give her the bottle...it's a catch 22. She is just as cute as can be, and amazingly strong...holds her head up so well, rolls over from her stomach to her back...it's so funny to watch her, just this teeny tiny thing with so much spunk!

Anthony is so in-love with his baby sisters. He calls them "mister 'Kayla" and "mister Kenzie." Mister is his way of combining "My" and "sister" - how cute is that?! I've tried, fruitlessly, to explain to him that mister means a boy, but he just shakes his head and laughs at me...LOL. He also keeps up a running commentary for me on what's happening with the girls - "Mama, Kenzie's crying." "Mama, Kayla's hungry AGAIN." "Mama, Kayla spit out her binky." "Mama, Kenzie spit up milk from her nose." (When she spits up, b/c of her palate, sometimes it comes out her nose - really gross!) And it's hysterical listening to him talk to them the same way I do - he's a little parrot. "What's the problem, mister Kenzie?" I always tell the girls, "I know, honey, I know..." when they're upset abut something. Now Anthony says it..."I know, baby girl, I know.

I had family here helping out until this past Saturday, when my mom left. Monday, Darrell went to work and it was my first day alone with all 3 kids. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but by the time he got home, I was definitely ready for a break. So I told him I needed a steaming hot bubble bath and a glass of wine. He said to go ahead. Of course, before the water was even finished running, Makayla was awake and hungry - so my steaming hot bubble bath with wine became a luke-warm bath with a nursing baby!! LOL - at least I got a bath! Darrell's been off the rest of this week - but come next week, he's back to work full time, and I'm on my own. I do have a friend lined up to come over on Tuesday for a few hours to help out.

On Wednesdays, I've been going to a breastfeeding group, which I really enjoy. But I've been just taking one baby pretty much, other than the time my sister went with and we took both of them. So when I told the other moms and the leader - a lactation consultant - that this week I would be on my own with all 3, so I didn't think I'd make it to group, they all insisted that I bring them all along. OMG - can you imagine what that would be like?? I am so scared to try it, but I guess I'm gonna have to figure it out sooner or later, so depending on how I feel that morning, and on how everyone's temperments are that morning, I may give it a try.

I have my tubal ligation scheduled for Friday, March 14th. This shop's closed!!! A good friend is flying in from San Francisco to help out with the kids and for a visit that weekend. Yay!

I don't know what we're doing for Anthony's 3rd birthday on the 17th. Since he's no longer in daycare, he doesn't have a bunch of friends to invite to a party. I have several friends with kids near his age, so maybe we'll all just have a picnic at the park or something like that.