Sleepless

Andrew lost his first and second teeth recently.

Anastasia smiles all the time now.

Don't you love the little tush shots?

All the kids were here this weekend. We hung out and took care of babies. After all the excitement on Saturday the babies did not sleep all night. With church being at 12:30 I had no opportunuty for a nap. It is 7:30 and I am goin to bed.

Well, I thought I was going to bed. I took a little nap from 10:30-11:45, but here it is midnight, and I am finally posting my blog.

Spring!

It is spring in Texas. We had a cold day, then a rainy day or two and now there are green sprigs of grass popping through the neighbor's yard--not mine because my yard stinks and I haven't done anything with it. I did plant some bulbs last year--narcissus, to be exact--and they have buds on them!

We had a really mild winter this year. The past two years have been a little rougher. This year, I never had to scrape frost off my windows. However, I think my heating bill was higher because I was more generous on my thermostat, what with babies and guests in the house.

Speaking of babies, they are wonderful. I noticed today that they are getting a little more "fullness" in their necks. They are just starting to be more responsive. They smile more and spend more time looking around and wondering about the world. The have incredibly strong necks and like to do crunches when they are propped up against a pillow. When Amelia is leaning on my chest she lifts up her head and looks around with her wonderful cross-eyed stare and puckered lips.

To follow up on the last post, I used the Lansinoh sample that I got at the hospital and feed the girls a bottle 2-3 times a day, which has cut down immensely on my soreness.

OUCH!!

We decided this weekend to start supplementing the babies' feeding with formula. They can go about 2 hours, sometimes 3 between feedings. but they are becoming increasingly fussy in the afternoon and evening because, we concluded, they are not getting enough to eat. Besides that, I am in pain. The girls have good, strong suction and tight little jaws. Yeah, Jaws, with a capital. I pride myself on my toughness, but it is getting worse. When the latch on, I hold my breath, grit my teeth and want to cry. I guess that just shows how silly stupid I am. Many others would have quit by now. Instead, I continue flogging myself for some holy cause. When I do my one-handed blogging while I am feeding, it takes my mind off it a little, but feeding time is over. But that is a problem too, because once they are on, they don't want to let go. Ouch!@

Smile

Here are some pictures of the babies. Devanie captured Amelia smiling in her sleep.

Visitors

We had a wonderful time with the cousins here. They spent a lot of time on Hailey and Sierra's DS's. Other than that, they were out on the trampoline or coming up with games in the back yard. They went to the Duck Pond Park a few times, ans the last Saturday they were here we all went to the city park. I left the twins home with Mike, though. Devanie and I socialized and terrorized on the "train" while the kid buried their heads in the sand, or parts of themselves anyway. Because, you see, we don't get snow in Texas. The weather has been fabulous for the most part, though it has occasionally been cloudy, and/or chilly.

Sunday morning Devanie packed up her van--which was significantly less packed than it was when she arrived, and yet, the house seemed empty when she was gone. I wish we didn't live so far from family. It is so good to be with them.

What Was That?!

Monday was the babies' month-day. At 4 weeks they are both one pound heavier and their length has leveled out so they are both 20 1/2 inches. They have small heads according to the growth curve. They are becoming more alert and responsive. They show some interest in toys now when I put them in front of of them.

Sometimes when they are startled, they throw their head back and go cross-eyed, like "What was that?!" as Aunt Devanie so aptly demonstrates.

Pinewood Derby

Devanie reminded me (via her blog) that I have not mentioned anything about Mikey's first pinewood derby. The father-son project, due to time constraints and son availability became a mother-aunt-cousin project. Sierra, Devanie, and I ended up finishing the car, based on Mike's design. We did not have time to weight it properly, but he had a good looking car and was able to participate. The finnished product was gold with a white racing stripe. Oh yeah, Isaac did the paint job. It was a really great family activity, eh?

Like Devanie said in her blog, Mikey won his first race only. She knows better than I do, though, because there was a mother-daughter YW activity going on at the same time. I was with Lexi. Emylie couldn't come because of how far away she is and being a weekday.

Blessings

Anastasia and Amelia were blessed on Sunday--sort of. Mike took the one I had out of my arms and said "Is this Anastasia? I hadn't looked, but he is good at telling them apart, so I just glanced and confirmed. He blessed her that she would have a strong testimony and be filled with compassion for others. Then his mom beckoned him to her side of the front-row pew to inform him that he had named the wrong baby. "This is Anastasia," She said handing him the unblessed twin.

"Not anymore" Mike retorted. The congregation had no idea what was happening as Mike moved with a sense of hesitation and confusion and consulted with the bishop. Then he Began the next blessing with the next baby the exact same way as the first, name and all. This child was blessed to be strong in the church and serve throughout her life. After the congregation's hesitant "Amen," Mike retrieved the first baby, to be blessed--Baby B, Amelia--and renamed her with the right name. He did not repeat the blessing, as per (I assume) the bishop's instruction.

Both sets of grandparents were there, except Grandpa Skembo was stuck flying a plane to China. We were also blessed to have Aunt Devanie and her 4 kids present. The grandparets left on Tuesday. Only Devanie remains. Monday we all went shopping at Dillard's Clearance Center, which I have developed quite an affection for. The main thing I like them for is shoes. I am just the right size. They don't have a whole lot of size 6, but they have a bunch of 5 1/2 and lower. My mom scored on the size 4, which you really can't find anywhere else.


Mom bought my shoes (2 pair), Mikes mom bought him 3 shirts and a tie, Devanie bought me a shirt to go with the 2 skirts I bought for myself. Dad bought us lunch at the food court. Mom shoplifted for Devanie. She was anxious to leave, so she took Zack in the stroller that Devanie had been using as a shopping cart. Nobody said a thing about when she went out, and nobody said anything when Devanie strolled back in with it.

Tomorrow Devanie and I are hosting an open house for Cookie Lee. I am exploiting my children as a lure for people to come. I invited them to cuddle my babies.

Pictures compliments of Devanie's Camera

One-handed Blogging

If I am only feeding one baby, I can sit at the desk and use one hand to type. It takes a lot longer,but it is making use of time that I would not otherwise have. My babies are 3 weeks old today. It seems an eternity ago that they were born, but it was only two lifetimes ago. They are growing to the point that they are filling out their newborn outfits. I made a Dr. appointment for them next week so I will have weights and measures.

Devanie is here. We had fun a couple of days ago trying on Cookie Lee Jewelry. Accessorizing is fun to do, fun to do, fun to do... Mike is excited about me being a consultant, given Devanie's success.

I know most of you are aware that Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the LDS church died this week. I absolutely adored that old man., but it was funny when I heard the news, there was no sadness whatsoever. I was more surprised than anything. He seemed to be doing so well at the last conference. There were other general authorities that seemed much worse off than the prophet. I still would not be surprised, though if there was one other vacancy to fill at the April Conference. He has been an amazing leader, but it is clearly time for a new chapter in church history. It will be interesting to see what happens with the next leader (presuably Thomas S. Monson.)

The last paragraph was so long because Anastasia is now sleeping on my chest and I can use both hands, making me less stingy with my words. It is about time for the kids to get home from school.

Weekend

Saturday we mat with a Realtor to see a couple of houses we found online. Only one even had potential. We need more space than we have, we want to be closer to the kids' other houses, and we don't want to pay as much as we are for rent if we can get into a house we can own. Mom has spent a lot of time helping us search while she has been here. Dad has been chauffering her around to various locations so she does not get lost.

After we looked at the houses, mom and dad took us to a breakfast buffet for brunch. Then, sice we were in the neighborhood, we visited one of Mike's friends. Then we went home. it was late afternoon and Mike had to go into work. I tried to get the babies to sleep so I could take a nap, but their restful time is in the morning. So after having a day without a nap, I had a completely sleepless night. Then, of course it was Sunday, and while I am thankful that our services start at 12:30 instead of 8:30, It again made it impossible to get my good sleep. I was heading for another sleepless night, but after Devanie arrived here after 10pm, she and mom got settled, I fed th babies AGAIN and it was nearly 1am, they decided to take the babies and keep them in the living room. The babies slept on Mom and Devanie's chest until 6:30 when everybody had to get up for school and work. I don't know how I would have survived without that.

The kids are excited to have their cousins here. I am excited that the weekend is over and I don't have to go anywhere or do anything I don't want to.

Two Weeks

The twins are two weeks old today. It seems like forever ago that I was in the hospital. The discomfort of pregnancy is a vague memory. Now I have the "discomfort" of little mouths chomping down on my nipples for a total of 8 hours a day and sliced up gut.

My stitches were reinforced with tape, which was taken off at my Dr. Appointment Wednesday. Since then, I have renewed sensitivity. All I do these days is eat, feed, and try to catch up on sleep. Still, it makes me weepy to think how blessed I am. I love to hold and smell and kiss my babies. Years ago, I thought I would not have any more. Now I have two precious, perfect darlings.

Their faces are changing and becoming a little more alike. They do both have matching dimples on their right cheek. Anastasia still spends more time with her eyes open. Today she was looking around, but starting to get a little fussy, so I sang to her. She smiled and listened intently. She did that in the hospital too. My children are my favorite audience. I love it when Andrew or Claire ask me to sing to them.

Mike has been pretty busy at work for the past few days, but when he has a spare second, he is fun to watch with his little girls. I love to see him love on 'em and get excited about their responses to him. They love their daddy.

Go Ahead, Hate Me

My babies are 10 days old. I am now at my pre-pregnancy weight of 110 lbs. I expect that I will still drop down another 7lbs or so. I need to start exercising to help regulate my thyroid and build some muscle density. At least I have room in my stomach now so I can eat like I like to. My ankles look as scrawny as the babies now. It took several days for the swelling to go down, but down it is. It has also taken a lot longer for my stomach to shrink, because it was so distended, but as of today, I don't really look pregnant any more--just poochy.

I had Isaac c-section, and I remember recovery being more painful with him. Maybe that is because I had staples then. They just put me together with string and tape this time. It is really starting to itch. I know that is a good sign, but it's not a good feeling. At least my uterus isn't cramping when I feed the babies anymore.

They are eating fairly well. Sometimes I feed them tandem, but mostly I do it one on one. I was kind of trying t keep them on a similar schedule, but with tiny babies, it really is best to let them do their thing. As they get into a more regular routine, then I can step in and regulate it.

Mom and Dad Skembo were here until Saturday. My parents came in on Friday, so there was a really short overlap, which was actually kind of disappointing because Mike's mom and mine get along so well.

The babies and I had our first outing since coming home from the hospital on Saturday, when we all (Skembos, Lays, babies and kids) went out for brunch at IHOP. I inhaled mine. Later that afternoon, my mom took the kids shopping. She spent today with them as well at the movie theater. Dad was here most of the time. But every time he leaves, he comes back with more groceries. Maybe I won't drop another 7 lbs after all.

One of These Kids is Not Like the Other

I have been trying for a few days to get some distinctive pictures, but the girls won't open their eyes long enough (when I am close to the camera) to give you a good shot, so you are going to have to take my word for it. Anastasia and Amelia are not identical twins.

Grandma Skembo says Anastasia (Left in top picture) has a bigger lower lip and Amelia has a bigger top lip. Anastasia's eyes round out, where Amelia's are deeper set. Anastasia has a receding chin and Amelia has a cleft in her chin.

The way I see it, Anastasia looks more like her dad's side, and Amelia looks more like my side. Either way you look at it, they are precious, perfect princesses. Neither of them have defined eyebrows and the both have short, light lashes. Fortunately they are girls and just around puberty, they will be endowed with Makeup.


The two pictures with the open eyes are Anastasia after her first bath. She is more alert than her sister at this point. Then again, she seems more alert than her other sister as well.

They're Heere

Anastasia Llynn Skembo arrived into the world at 7:56 Am Friday January 11, 2008. She was followed immediately thereafter by Amelia Consuela at 7:57. Anastasia was 6 pounds, 2.7 ounces and 17 1/4 inches long. Amelia was 6 pounds, 3 ounces with a striking additional length of 19 inches. Amelia was the one on the left in my womb who had her feet so much in my ribs. Here is a picture of them in the hospital bed positioned about exactly the way they were for so many months. Anastasia's head is a little pointy because of how low she was in my pelvis.

They had a hard time with nursing because of how early they were born. They slept most of the first day and would not wake up to nurse or suck once they latched on.

Their siblings came to visit a couple of times over the weekend. It has been wonderful to see their excitement and love. It makes us a complete family.

The girls arrived home with Mother late Monday afternoon.

I will keep it short for those with short attention spans. I know you only want to see the pictures anyway.

Last Look

This is what a sexy-hot mother of twins looks like the night before she delivers.

It's Time!

Today is my last pregnant day. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 11th) so that I can be prepped for my 7:30 surgery. I went to the doctor yesterday morning and they talked about checking to see if there had become any openings on the 16th because the last I spoke with them, I wanted to wait another weekend. I told them to just keep the appointment we had. After last weekend, I lost all interest in waiting.

Church was ridiculously uncomfortable. I stood up to bear my testimony and couldn't talk because I couldn't breathe because of a sudden back spasm. The Relief Society President said the bishopric sitting on the stand behind me were really funny the way they panicked. The last hour of church I spent breathing through contractions and trying to keep my leg where it wouldn't puff up out of my shoes. Then I found out that one of the sisters in my ward, who is a Labor and Delivery nurse at the hospital I am going to was scheduled to be in the OR the morning of my c-section. She only works one day a week for half a day, and that is where she happens to be. I figured that was a good enough sign that the babies would be fine.

Mom said MaryAnne and Molly were due on the 27th of Nov. and were born on the 4th. If mine are due on the 29th and come on the 11th, they have still had more time in than mom's kids. I am not looking forward to c-section recovery, having experienced it before, but I am resigned to it.

Mom said she was 60 inches tall and 50 inches around by the end of her pregnancy. I am holding pretty steady around 43 inches in circumference at 62 inches tall. I guess that two more inches in height makes a lot more room so they don't have to poke out so much. And they are certainly using every bit of space they have. I get a foot all the way up in my sternum. It pokes out between the ribs.

Mike and his dad insisted yesterday that I get pampered with a manicure and pedicure. Who am I to resist patriarchal authority? So I have supersoft feet and matching french manicure polish on my toes and fingers--and swollen, ugly pig feet.

I have not packed my hospital bag or anything so far. I feel like I am having the opposite of the nesting urge. I think that's the problem with having unnatural delivery. Your body doesn't give you all those neat preparation cues. Maybe I can make an effort, though.

I got the crib all made up yesterday. It made me cry. I'm so excited to have two little babies in my house. I think there is nothing in the world I love more than an infant. But I am so not ready. It still seems so unreal to me.

When I pass by the mirror, I laugh at myself. Mike keeps using the word caricature. I guess that is appropriate, except that it is my head and legs that are disproportionately tiny.

I am not having the baby on the 16th after all because the hospital will only schedule so many c-sections a day. The doctor went ahead and scheduled me for the 11th, but I am not comfortable with that. I want at least another weekend to have a chance to deliver them normally. I suggested to the receptionist that we could fake an emergency c-section. She smiled over the phone and suggested I talk to the Doctor about that when I see him on the ninth.

Consie arrived last night. Today we have set a wonderfully slow pace for ourselves. We have managed to tidy things up a bit without undue strain. Consie is still recovering from an accident where she broke her neck and arm. She is certainly more functional than I am, at this point.

We are having a good time.

Solo

Happy New Year!

It is 5:15 Am and I have already eaten breakfast, taken my husband to the airport and returned. He will be return in 5 days--unless I call him to change his flight and get his butt back home. Yesterday I took the kids back to Hallsville for the rest of the week. That means I am all alone--except for what's in my belly. Mike's mom should be here tomorrow or Friday.

Now I am going to do what I usually do at this time of day.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz

Birth Day

Mike and I just got done talking with my doctor. Their normal procedure for twins is to deliver them by 38 weeks, 37 being just as good of a choice. I am 36 weeks tomorrow (Tuesday). The doctor is willing, though reluctant, to let me go into natural labor, so he is giving me until the 16th to do it. Otherwise, I am on the books for cesarean delivery the morning of January 16th.

I will be making an effort to stay active and encourage contractions, however, I still have to be semi-cautious because Mike is leaving for DC in 2 days and won't be back until Sunday night. His mom is coming in 3 or 4 days, so that I am not by myself. And yet, I have little expectation that I will actually go into progressive natural labor since only one of my other children was born without a little pitocin to help them along. My doctor will not induce me. If I come in for the c-section dilated to 8, (or any time before) he'll just let me go. Past experience says it takes me a week or two of consistent contractions to progress that far.

In conclusion, you can pretty much mark your calenders that Anastasia and Amelia have a birthday of January 16th.

I'm Done

I had an ultrasound today from an ultrasound specialist. They finally got all the measurements down. According to their calculations, each baby is now about 6 pounds. I am done being careful. I am done taking it easy. It is time for these critters to come out. I am 35 weeks and 2 days. At 36 weeks is when doctors feel completely safe with the delivery of a baby. According to the doctor I saw today, although 40 weeks is full gestation, with twins they take the babies at 38 weeks. Yeah, I am having a contraction right now.

I will be talking to my regular doctor tomorrow to see what he has to say about it. If I can manage to go into labor before that, I won't have to debate with my Doc about whether or not to do a c-section.

You know what's funny? I heard my babies' heartbeats today for the first time. I have seen their hearts beat on the ultrasound, but not heard it. Today they hooked me up to a fetal monitor and I got to listen to their shwop shwop shwop shwop for several minutes. Usually I get the doppler mic on me about the 12th week and get all misty eyed when I hear my baby for the first time. It is then that pregnancy becomes real to me. Of course, when you don't go to the Doc until your 24th week, there are several other reality checks you get without the Dop mic.

You know, I actually did hear the babies heartbeat before. I wasn't sure because before I went to the Doctor, I borrowed a stethoscope from a friend and found one heartbeat on the left side. But I know now it was the baby's heartbeat because it was in exactly the right place. I got a really strong pulse in the center of my belly and today learned that it was the blood pumping through the umbilical cord.

The kids have dinner on the table, so I better go. But not until this next contraction subsides.

Christmas Vacation

No Snow, for Christmas, just showers of love. If you read Mike's blog, it sounds like all we got was movies and video games. The movies were what we got from Thomas and Vickie, who were our exchange family. I had mom and dad, and since they are coming in January, I figured I would give them their gifts to take home. I will probably make them go shopping with me at Bed Bath, etc because it is now Clearance Season, where everything that is on clearance is brought back out of the stock rooms and is marked down an additional 30% off the lowest ticketed price--and you can still use the 20% off coupons on top of that (which is what I would automatically get if I was still an employee, but I am not.)

The girls got dresses and the boys got new suits for church from this awesome store called Syms, to which I had never been, but love. Lots of high quality brand-name clothing and great discounts. I got Mike a robe and a shoeshine kit. I also gave him a promise that we would go back to Syms and get him another suit or two. He only has two and he has to wear a suit to work every day. I like watching my dapper darling go out the door in the morning.

Mike got me a case for my makeup because he hated the one I had. It is big enough and nice enough that I can even put all my new Cookie Lee Jewelry (as well as previously existing accessories in) along with my makeup. So I am now a Cookie Lee consultant, but I have yet to look at my information and imitate getting started.

The kids are all here all week, and I am here with them. I like it. Mike has short workdays this week, but he is working. The boys--get this-- played video games all yesterday while I took the girls shopping. Where do stereotypes come from? How did we fall so easily into them? I left Lexi and Emylie at the Mall while Claire and I exchanged her 18" bike for a 20" bike that would continue to fit her for much longer than the smaller one. There ended up being no price difference either. Since Emylie has a WalMart gift card, she is anxious to go, so we may do that today (depending on how their rooms look by the time I have my Dr. appointment).

Isaac and Emylie both have cell phones now. Isaac is on my plan and Emylie is on her dad's plan. Those little boxes have generated the most excitement for them. I resisted them having a cell phone for a long time, but I am tired of wondering where Isaac is after school. He has no excuse now not to let me know where he is.

Emylie has decided to go back to her dad's for the rest of the school year. She misses her friends. She wanted to go a long time ago, but I made her stick it out a little longer. Splitting parenting necessarily means less control over your children's lives. It is hard, but you have to continue to teach them and trust them to be mature and make their own decisions based on what you have taught. I guess it gives them a chance to mature a little sooner. Good or bad, that's the way it is. I treasure the time I have with them.

Calm Before the Storm

It has been a lovely, quiet weekend, with just Mike and I hanging out together and tying up loose ends before Christmas. We may have one more weekend completely to ourselves before the babies are born, but then never again.

My focus this weekend has been on keeping my activity limited and my feet up, to reduce swelling. In the second trimester I could feel the tension of my skin being stretched as me belly grew. Now I have that same sensation in my feet and ankles. It's really gross.

I have also been working on a little sewing project that has to be completed before Christmas Eve. I can't say more than that at present, because we never know what prying eyes may happen upon my blog.

Tomorrow is my last day of work at Bed Bath and Beyond. I told my store manager I would try to hang on until Christmas, and I have. Everybody says I am doing really well for having twins, and I guess I am. I have gotten to the level now where I am familiar enough with my discomfort that it doesn't bother me so much. I just don't like those moments when I really need to go to the bathroom, and then I get a contraction, and with all that pressure, a child decides they need to adjust themselves. But it only lasts for a couple of minutes.

Mike and I will be going separate ways tomorrow night to pick up kids so that we can have everybody wake up at our house on Christmas morning. We are excited about it. It will be our first Christmas all together. Last year we had to have two separate Christmases.

We had a fairly warm week last week, but we got wind from the north. It is really cold again, and they are saying that there is a chance we could get some snow flurries for Christmas. That is exciting in Texas, for those who may not appreciate it.

Look at the Baby

This is me in Missouri at Thanksgiving, looking every more like Joan Cusack. It was just Mike and I for that trip. Below is a more current picture. It is the profile of Righty. We can't see lefty's face because of the way she is turned.

As you can see, full lips are an inheritance from both sides of the deal. The NP noted that these babies were not small. They are skinny, but they are long, hence the pain in my ribs. Lefty's head is lower, so she will probably be born first. She seems to have a bit more of an aggressive--or at least active--personality

Wuh Wa Wa Wa

Okay, I'm sick of people saying I'm cute, and I don't want to be told "You look really good for having twins." I'm huge, uncomfortable, and in fact, sick. My belly is as big as it was when I delivered my biggest baby (Andrew) but I am still 5lbs under that weight. I want to eat, but I have to eat in smaller portions and I don't have time to graze all day. I have gotten so used to being hungry that I don't even recognize my hunger. I want to take care of my babies, but that requires me standing on my feet a great deal longer to fix something significant for myself and my children. It's not that I don't have food in the house, I just don't have convenience food.

Because of poor nutrition and improper rest, I have a major head and chest cold that is a week old. I never have that problem. I have become glad of my pads when I am seized with violent coughing episodes.

Anyway, I was out for the past week because I had to spend every spare hour doing data entry for the Bishop, who owns a number of dental offices. He just bought another one because the dentist died, but everything was hand-written on ledgers, with no computer files at all. Mike and I put over 1,000 names and basic patient information on an excell sheet in four days, in addition to our full time jobs, and trying to keep our house together--missed on the last, but we tried.

I would love to be involved in Christmas. I am missing it. I want to bake--not just have a couple of buns in the oven. I enjoy shopping. I want my house to look nice. I got my tree up, but it has been partly decorated for a week with the remainder strewn about the living room. All of those things are doable for even a pregnant mother of twins, but not one who is working 8 hours a day, five days a week. Today was really rough, though. I am going to talk to them tomorrow about cutting back what I already have on the schedule, because if I work the full schedule, this will probably be my last week. I would rather just scale back, though.

It looks like I am going to have a few visitors when the babies come. I am excited, and look forward to seeing everybody.

Whew!

Mike had an interview on Friday at 8AM. By 4PM he had a job offer. He accepted, and he starts on Monday! Just when the bank accounts looked hopeless... It will pay an okay base salary and have some commissions as well. I am really not sure what he will be doing, but it has something to do with doing setups for tech companies at events and conventions. Getting a company to go with his services is, I guess, where the commission comes in. Maybe he will post a blog to correct my ignorance.

He has not heard word back from Microsoft, which he interviewed with on Wednesday. I don't know what we would do if we did get an offer from them. Just because of the benefits, we might withdraw from the other company, but taking their offer right now is much wiser than waiting on the unknown.