The Benson Twins are 15 days old!

Two weeks, one day!

The boys are doing great. They are gaining weight, staying awake longer after feedings, and both are lifting their heads and turning their necks when they lay on their tummies on my chest.

On cloth diapering:

Both are wearing cloth diapers during the day, and I have to say, the sight of their fluffy little butts in big cloth diapers warms my heart. They are just too cute for words! Joel lives in bumgenius diapers, and Roman has been wearing prefolds and covers--he's still too small to fill out a pocket diaper. I'm going to become a cloth-diaper evangelist if I don't watch out. I just love the way they look on the boys, and they catch the pee better than the disposables for sure. Roman rarely leaks out of a cloth diaper, but put a pampers on him and you are taking a serious risk of baby pee out the backside of the diaper blowout.

I'm also learning when NOT to change a diaper. Believe it or not, there are times when its best to just let them sit and work it all on out. Right after a poop is the WRONG time to change a diaper. Its best to let it sit for about 15 minutes--because more is often on the way. I learned this the hard way when I changed Roe's diaper 4 times in a half hour. I filled a laundry basket pretty quickly that day.

The nursery nurses at Northside Hospital are kindly invited to Go to Hell...

We went to the pediatrician yesterday to get the boys weights checked, and each baby has gained 12 oz. in the past week. That's enough to put them both well over their birth weights, and they have been exclusively breastfed since last Wednesday.

So, all those nasty nurses who didn't think it was possible to breastfeed twins can bite me. And then they can Go to Hell.

One week and three days old

We're getting into a nice predictable nighttime sleep/wake pattern. The boys like to sleep from 10:30 at night until 1:30 in the morning and then until 5:00 when Mark gets up for work. They eat every two hours during the day and sleep between, so I am so glad their "longer" stretch is at night. Its nice that we can still get up and enjoy our morning cup of coffee together. Usually by the time Mark is showered and dressed I am finishing up the morning feeding and getting ready to get out of bed.

Loving my boys so much more each day. :)

We're Home!

A week ago today I was trying to get some sleep while waiting for the hospital to call and tell me that my bed was ready. Finally at 1:30 in the morning, I called to find out if the induction had been cancelled or if we were still a go. They said to come on down.

So we went to the hospital at one thirty in the morning and they started the induction around 4:00 AM. Labor progressed smoothly, and at 10:00 I was put on a pitocin drip to escalate the contractions. Within a few hours my dilation had increased and my water was broken at 3 in the afternoon. By four o'clock, things were starting to feel a little rough so I asked for an epidural. At that time, The anesthesiologist came in and they were missing some bloodwork, so my epidural was postponed while they rushed some blood to the lab to get the information they needed. Around 5 pm, my epidural went in and I slept for a few hours. When I woke up, I started having progressively harder and faster contractions. I was feeling feverish and complained that my epidural had stopped working (it had, actually, run out). I was given three doses of medication through the epidural but still felt the contractions just as strongly as ever, and was shaking and throwing up. I repeated that I felt feverish and was given tylenol for a headache. I tried to sleep some more, and later in the evening the midwife came in and told me I had a fever. She ordered everyone but Mark out of the room and packed me with ice packs. She lowered the thermostat in the room just as low as it would go.

For the next few hours, I labored under ice. It was pretty weird and surreal feeling, I know I was awake and aware, but the fever made it seem dreamlike. At 2 am the midwife checked my cervix and I was dilated to 9 cm. She informed me that I was not ready to push, but that the boys needed out--she apologized profusely as she told me I needed a c-section. I had no problem with this. I'd been in labor close to 24 hours and was tired, fevered, and packed in ice. I just couldn't wait to be warm again.

I was awake for the surgery--they wrapped my legs in warm blankets and tied me down to calm my shaking. I watched as they prepped my belly for surgery right up until they drew the curtain across my belly. I didn't feel them start to cut, but eventually felt the tugging and pulling sensations as they pulled my organs out and rearranged them on my abdomen. They let Mark stand up and watch as they pulled Joel out at 2:49AM. A moment later, Roman followed.

Both boys are absolutely wonderful, and we are all happy to be home and healthy.

Decision Day

And those New Hampshire voters thought THEY had a big week.

I'm 38 weeks pregnant today! Back in May, I was told to be prepared to deliver between 34-36 weeks, in other words, within the second half of the month of December.

My hospital bags have been packed since October. They've been in the car since November. The nursery's been done, the clothes have been washed (along with 7 dozen cloth diapers for their little tushies!), and everything has been ready for weeks and weeks, just in case.

Today I have my last prenatal appointment/groping. I will have an ultrasound to determine first of all what position the babies are in. Baby B has been wriggling and writhing and may have turned this week--its possible he just rolled over, but with his trend over the last six weeks from vertex to vertex/oblique, to vertex/transverse, its possible he's pulled his head up and is now fully transverse. Before an induction is done, they will want to verify his position. If all looks good at the ultrasound, one of three things will happen: I'll either be sent to the hospital after my appointment for the induction, or I'll go home, get a good dinner and a good night's sleep and go to the hospital in the morning, or they will schedule my induction for sometime next week--we really hope it's one of the first two. If Baby B has indeed turned transverse, we will most likely opt to schedule a c-section.

I am so relieved to have made it to the point where there is no question that these guys are fully cooked. I probably won't need the preemie onesies I bought, but I'll bring them to the hospital just in case. I feel stretched beyond capacity, and this week my belly button has finally popped up like a turkey timer.

we're done, we're done, we're done

2 days and counting

It looks like an induction is all but a foregone conclusion.
Mama is going to rest up, drink lots of fluids, and try to sleep as much as possible between now and Thursday. Here's hoping the hospital won't make us wait until Monday to be induced!

3 days and counting

...fingers tapping....

5 days and counting to induction deadline...

Midwife says if Roman and Joel don't come out by 1/10, they are going in after them!

Come on guys, don't you want to pick your own birthday?

Still waiting!

It's cold outside, so we decided to stay inside where it's warm another day...