Re-living the Twin's birth

This week-end was the 9th birthday of my twins. 9 years ago, they were tiny preemie twins, who would not suck and could not maintain their body temp. They spent a month in the NICU, and it was no fun, but we were so grateful for their health. In hindsight, their problems were really what is called "normal preemie issues", and there was really no serious alarm, but it was still very scarey to these first time parents. Our journey through the past 9 years has been an adventure, and along the way, we added a couple of siblings to the mix, which now makes us a family of SIX. We cannot check into a normal hotel with our family unless we book 2 rooms or leave one child off the information we share. I will drive an SUV forever... and if we run out of room, the next step is a van like those they haul prisoners in. Let's hope it doesn't come to that! The twins now don't look anything like twins. Twin A weighed 4 lbs, 9 oz at birth, and weighs in now at 87 pounds. Twin B ( who sat on her brother's face through utero, causing him to be born with a flat nose) was born at 4 lb., 6 oz., and now weighs 46 pounds. Yes - 41 pound difference. He is also 10.5 inches taller than she is. He always brags about being the oldes, and I have trained her to remind him that she kicked him out, which was why they were born when they were. He is a bossy overbearing brother, but she is pretty good at holding her own by now. She often surprises people because for a little thing, she is quite brave and fast... comes from having 3 brothers.

Twins has been an adventure, and not one I ever dreamed of, but I would not trade it for the world. I have never had just one child, and I will always feel like I was robbed of the true opportunity to bond with a baby. With twins, it is a blurr. I usually ended feeding one early, because I couldn't take the crying fo the second. I later mastered a strange yoga position, which allowed me to feed them at the same time, which allowed me to get 4.1 hours of sleep per day, as opposed to 1.5 that I had previously gotten.

I went back to work part time because I really thought that I could not (was not capable) of keeping these tiny things alive by myself, and the only way I could justify help was to go back to work. I found work to be a great release though, and the bonus of getting to use the restroom by myself, I learned was something I had taken for granted previously. The point is that I really thought I was not capable of properly caring for them. After 2 more babies, I think I can do newborns in my sleep now, and I actually love the newborn stage. I would change diapers all day long over teaching 9 year olds complicated skills they need to join the society -- manners, kindness, ethics, self esteem -- these are difficult to teach to a young child.

I will share more later on our exciting (and as usual, exhausting) birthday celebration. I just wanted to remember the beginning. As you can see from my previous post, I am affected by learning that a teen recently died in a car crash only .25 miles from my house. I don't know the family, but I know they are in pain, and I can't stop thinking about them. They are in my prayers.