Monday, November 22, 2010

Welcome to life...

Our family is all under one roof.

Last week we brought home Ana after 15 days in the NICU. Those 15 days started out rough with my early delivery and then juggling life at home with my babies in the NICU. And then it seemed a sudden transition to bring home Grace one day, and then equally sudden when Ana came home four days later.

So far, so good.

The girls were on a similar schedule thanks to the NICU and for the most part we have continued to keep them on this schedule. While in the hospital the girls were bottle fed with breastmilk, so I am now trying to transition them to the breast. I need them to do this for my sanity. It takes long enough to feed two babies. But then pumping on top of that is like having a third baby. I have one kid who can do it and another who refuses. Go figure.

I am trying to approach infant parenting with a sense of humor. There is nothing serious about any bodily function that can become projectile-- so I just laugh. I am washing so much laundry and trying to be lighthearted about the number of diapers I have changed already.

I know that my mom is surprised by the way that I have embraced parenting, and to be honest, I have surprised myself a little. I was always a little wary of babies and no one was afraid to say that I was better with older kids than the younger. And then to have two? Forget about it. But the natural part of motherhood has overtaken me. I don't know how I feel about vaccines; I have no real opinion on whether formula is bad for your baby; I don't know if I want to be a stay at home mom or go back to work-- but I do know that I feel a deep urge to protect my girls and to care for them at all costs. We are figuring it out. It feels right. My instinct to care for them manifested itself from deep inside me and it is a beautiful feeling.

This post is mostly to say that we are well. In just a short time Brandon and I doubled the size of our family and went from husband and wife to dad and mom. I didn't know what to expect, but what I got is two beautiful girls and a life that I am loving. I am sleeping (enough) and accepting help (most of the time) and enjoying my days filled with visitors. My former self is retired and I am discovering myself again from a new role.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Erin!
    Vaccines are SUPER DUPER important! Read up on the whooping cough break out... it is fatal for babies.. and easily stopped with a vaccine. There is no link to autism! That research was proven wrong, faulty and unfounded.
    AND... breast milk is 1000x better for your babies!! :)
    Sorry.. this is the nurse in me having to respond to your post! Six months is all you need and then you can switch! Just my two cents... Congrats on becoming a mommy!

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  2. Erin
    From another nurse perspective I agree about the vaccines! I'm am so glad things are going well for all of you!
    Stephanie

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  3. Dear Erin,
    I know how you feel... it's like some machinery comes alive, and takes over, and motherhood kind of just takes over. It's like... sometimes I look at her, completely overwhelmed with love, and i can't believe she's mine, that I get to keep getting to know her every day. And even though there are times when I'm tired, as soon as I see her and hold her, I know that i want to make this world as beautiful as I can for her... big hugs and kisses to the four of you. ~maryann

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  4. I'm so glad you're well and adjusting to this major change. Excited for you and your little family! Take good care of yourself. xoxo

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  5. Erin, Kat came home with a feeding tube. She spent one week in NICU as well. Kat pulled out the feeding tube & I took her back to have it put in again. A couple of weeks later, she did it again. This time, since she was gaining weight, I didn't put it back. She continued to drink from a bottle (25cc) & I would gravity feed the rest. Hang in there. Soon they'll be asking to go in the spa...& you might ask your 13 year old (w/o thinking :)), "what's in your pants as he's undressing to his undies", then he replies, "mom, I just went pee outside. what do you think it is?" I didn't have a reponse...Have a great Thanksgiving.

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  6. It does not produce thumbnails. At least not with some WP installations. I wasted far too much time last night trying to get it to work. Others have brought this problem up with the developer and he is at a loss to figure out what it’s not working.

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  7. I like your attitude, Erin. Keeping your sense of humor, and trusting your instincts will continue to get you through. All my friends were reading so much about babies, vaccines, reviews on the best equipment, the best way to train them to sleep, and on and on. I felt like I didn't have time for all that reading, so I just did what felt right for our family. It works.

    I don't believe there is anything wrong with formula or bottles. In fact, I wish my girls had taken the bottle occasionally. But I nursed them both, exclusively for 6 months and continued until 13 months. It was particularly special for me, because I nursed them individually and really felt like that was my time to bond with each of them. Again, it was best for us; it's not the same for everyone.
    Keep it up!

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