Nothing Sweeter

Whew...it's been a tiring day for Daddy and the babies!

The babies had their 1 month doc's appointment today. They are growing like weeds and are both just over 7 lbs and 20 inches long. Thankfully the colds they're both suffering from are strictly in their heads and have not made their way to the lungs. We'll just ride it out and hope their breathing eases up very soon because it's just plain sad to listen to them struggle with a stuffy nose.

I am on week 3 of the Bells Palsy and it looks to be getting a smidge better. I can will my mouth to move ever-so-slightly on the paralyzed side which is HUGE strides from where I've been. My eye is cut to pieces, though, since I haven't closed it in 3 weeks. Guess that's par for the course. It twitches all day long so I'm hoping that means it's trying to remember how to close. That would be a clutch move! Still have the ear pain (which is not actually the ear but the 7th nerve that surrounds my ear), but even that is easing up just a little. I now only recognize that pain in the middle of the night when I'm up feeding babies. So...these strides may just be in my head, but I'm thinking we're moving in the right direction. Here's hoping.

The 4-Week Journey

So it's been a month and the sleep deprivation has finally reached a new level. For some reason I have forgotten that I was sleep deprived with the first 2 kids (though Carter says he remembers it well), but this go-round is a whole different ball game.

There is no "It's your turn" comments to make because every time it's "our" turn. It's a team effort. And the team starts breaking apart at 3am when there's incessant crying (in stereo) and all we want is to grab a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Doesn't happen.

But the team rallies. And all is forgiven once the sun comes up. And then the babies sleep. Like champs. For 3, sometimes 4 hours straight. Thanks guys. Could we switch that to the nocturnal hours to save some parental sanity?

I have hope that this too shall pass and the babies will some day sleep like little angels all night long.

With as quickly as these last 4 weeks have flown by, I know the next 4, and the next 4 after that will fly too.

And someday, I'll forget what it's like to have bobble-headed, soft as silk, 6 pound newborns that smell like sweetness and spit-up.

Then I'll get baby fever again and..........

WWWWHHHHHAAAAATTTTTT????????

Pardon me. Had to take that thought captive.

A Whole New Meaning

Times, they are a-changin'

So we had us some babies.

2 as a matter of fact.

Cutest darn little muffin cups you ever did see.

There have been approximately 0 minutes and 4 seconds to update this blog since the little muffin cups shouted their arrival.

And the story goes...

I spent week 34 1/2 to 35 1/2 on complete bed rest. No moving except to go to the bathroom or from the bed to the couch. Talk about feeling useless (as if I hadn't for the past few months anyway). I had some incredible friends pull through for me and got me through the week by taking morning and afternoon shifts. They entertained toddlers (who were in massive need of entertainment!), fixed snacks and meals, cleaned up, kept me sane, and did whatever else was needed. It was extremely humbling to have to sit and just accept the help, but I had no other choice. Contractions were coming often and the medicine I was taking to slow them down made my heart go into attack mode and left me with the shakes. An excellent combination.

Woke up Sunday morning, April 19th to Buster Boy busting up in our bed. After rolling awkwardly out of the bed, I headed to the bathroom. HELLO! Water broke. I'm not gonna lie and say I didn't pump my fists a little at the readiness of these babies to come on out. I worried a lot about how early they would be (4 1/2 weeks) but I knew there were not many days any of us had left in our current state. Called Doc and got the game moving. Babies were born, healthy as larks, 3 hours later. They required a night of oxygen in Level 2 nursery and a round of IV antibiotics, but by day 3, they were living in our room, wire free. We went home on day 4.

Since then, life has been a cake walk with 4 kids 4 and under.

The End.

p.s. In the 3 weeks since the babies have been born, we have also enjoyed many other highlights. An emergency 911 call as rocks (craters) were being hauled at our living room window, shattering glass a foot from our newborn babies' heads. Talk about a Mama Hen ready to kill. Love those random acts of kindness.

The husband, of whom I am so proud, dumped grad school off his shoulders and is now the proud recipient of a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Georgia Southern University. Then he topped it off with a job promotion as Assistant Principal at his current school. A nice week.

And I received the gift of Bells Palsy. Whatever the heck that darn virus is. A week after the babies were born, I woke up with numbness on one side of my face which progressed over the next 3 days into a full-out paralyzation of the left side. My left eye, ear, cheek, and mouth have gone on hiatus for 6 weeks to 1 year (LOVE that prognosis). No meds can heal it. Just a wait it out and enjoy the benefits of slurping food, drooling liquids, speaking with an impediment and scaring my husband with the eye that never closes. Awesome.

Here's a glimpse at Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum...

So now we are:

The Akins Family, Party of 6.

Wow.

35 Weeks and prepping

Made it to 35 weeks. That's about all I can say about that.

There is a lot of nesting going on in our house, none of which is by me though, and that is quite painful. There is nothing I'd rather be doing than scrubbing the grout on the bathroom floor or dusting the ceiling or deep cleaning the freezer, but unfortunately all I can do is watch the world go by from my horizontal position.

And play Tetris.

Thank you, 1989.

The kiddos, on the other hand, are tackling Parenthood 101. They received a set of twins for Christmas (who they've named John & Anna - and though John is actually dressed in blue with pink bows, we're claiming him to be a "him") and have set off to make sure these babies receive the top care they deserve.

They swaddle, they feed, they rock, they slam their heads into things so they can take them to the "doctor", they dance with them, sleep with them, and take care of their everyday needs.
And sometimes, parenthood just gets a bit daunting, especially when challenged to multi-task. Baby's crying, the phone's ringing, and Mommy wants to go to bed. Oh the woes.

The true Mommy of the house (that's me) is a ticking time bomb. There will be an explosion soon, albeit the bomb that's going to go off in the hot air balloon around my waist, or the bomb within my brain that is losing patience on pain-tolerance and emotional dishevel (as is increased with lying down for 24 hours a day).

Oh the woes.

More stress test time tomorrow so we should know more soon...

"Ruh Roh" says Scooby Doo

The babies are coming.

When, you ask?

Excellent question. I'd like to know myself. Promptly.

Sat on a monitor yesterday at Doc's and found out my contractions were 6 minutes apart (I didn't even really know I was having them....sometimes 2 babies can cause the same pain so I'd just assumed it was them!). And it looked like Baby Girl was about to bust out. Settle down, girly. Settle down.

So I got a steroid shot to boost the lung development of the babies since they'll be quite early (about 5 weeks) and underdeveloped. We're hoping this will help them suck large amounts of air when they enter the world!

And so we wait. I'm on full-out bed rest and though I thought that sounded like a dreamy option at one point, it's actually quite annoying. I would much rather be up and about with the kiddos enjoying our final day(s) of "just us". But it's all good. The "just us" is not going to know what hit the fan when these babies arrive!!

I'd post a picture of my 45-WEEK SIZED SELF but the bedhead I'm dealing with is not working out. That, and the fact that not a single bit of my clothes fits over my stomach anymore. Could it be because my body is cranking under the allusion that I am OVER 10 MONTHS PREGNANT???

Ruh Roh.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter which started out with an EARLY morning egg hunt (note: 7am kick off). The "Easter Bunny" didn't hear his alarm and when we were greeted by our early risers, we had to make a quick decision.

"Kids, Mommy is going to read you the story of Easter first! Hop in bed!" Not bad for thinking on my feet before my eyes had even opened!

While this went on, the Easter Bunny quickly hid eggs in the backyard, fully clad in his pj's.

Then we had a great morning at church. It was our first Sunday in our new sanctuary (same campus) and it was BEAUTIFUL! Word on the street is that we had over 900 people between the 2 services. Thinking about being a part of the 7 who started the church a few years ago, it just about made me weepy.

Lunch was at The Herndons for those of us who don't have family nearby. Our group continues to grow each year - the amount of babies and toddlers is hilarious! Next year there will be even more!