Well, things are getting both easier and harder. Easier because they babies have survived 4 whole days at home and we are learning them! We know their quirks and their amazingly individual personalities and what certain smiles mean (there is a distinct difference between the “milk coma” smile of satisfaction [Matt coined that phrase and it speaks volumes of description!] and the I-need-to-burp-soon-or-I’ll-puke smile. Trial and error is an excellent teacher!) We’ve had pee-pee on the wall twice. Just at the last feeding, Marissa managed to poop throughout her diaper change, causing us to go through 4 diapers for one change. I told them that the goal is for the current package of diapers to last 4 days. It has 80– that gives us 20 per day (we use a minimum of 16 per day because they each get a diaper change at all 8 feedings). My brother-in-law was impressed with me when Zach let a stream of pee fly and I jumped in front to catch most of it. Hey, I’m easier to clean than our DVD shelf!
Our routine is setting in. I think of my day as 8 segments, 4 of them overnight. This is why nothing manages to get done around here even though I have no spare moments and am constantly busy. The twins are on a 3-hour routine, so our magic numbers are 7, 10, 1, 4, repeat. We spend those hours feeding/diapering/socializing with the babies. Then we have 2 hour segments between those hours to get stuff done. This is where sleep, showering, laundry, feeding ourselves, constant hand-washing and drying of bottle and breast pump parts, conversations, doctors visits, and life happens. I need to sleep for 4-5 segments, but so far, I can only get shadows of a measly 4 sleep segments because my sinus infection keeps me from falling asleep or wakes me up coughing. <sigh> I’m ready to feel completely better! The 3-hour schedule is overwhelming and definitely part of what is getting harder. The less sleep we get, the harder it is to function in segments. I remember Stephen and Misty describing 8 hours of sleep stretched over 4 segments as shattering a piece of glass and expecting to use it as a mirror. Yeah, you’ll get some semblance of the image, but it is NOT the same as using a non-shattered one!
Beyond adjusting to the segments is accepting the fact that if I get the babies fed, one load of peed and pooped on clothes and bedding washed and dried, get 4 sleeps, eat enough to not be ravenous, and pump out enough breast milk to feed them the next day, I’ve had a productive day. Heck, if I feed the babies and take my daily shower (which I refuse to give up!), it was a productive day! That’s new for me. I haven’t seen tv in weeks, although we cram in a Heroes episode from Season One every couple days to escape from our crazy world into theirs.
Things are easier because my mom is here and we have 3 adults. I get to sleep in during one feeding per day and Matt only does one overnight feeding because he is back at work part-time and needs to be able to think without a mid-day nap, and Mom fills in wherever we aren’t. She also stays on top of the numerous dishes… we have enough bottles to get through 4 feedings, so we wash rather constantly. It’s so great to have her here to create memories of how the babies were in their early days and to have the help! Matt’s parents are coming soon and that will be wonderful too. I’m hoping that once family help leaves, we’ll have both babies eating at the same time and I’ll be able to handle it alone, but whoa is that scary to think about right now!
I’ve never washed my hands so often, and I was already rather particular about being clean. My sensitive skin is practically falling off my hands! Matt ran a secret errand today and came back with lunch from Panera (yum!) and lotioned soap for me, and that has made a huge difference. My skin may survive this now! I don’t know how he manages to be so amazing on so little sleep, but I’m so grateful for him and how carefully he looks for needs to meet around here. We are enjoying this journey even though it is insane.
People at church have been providing meals, so we are eating AMAZING food! It’s so wonderful to be cared for in that way… I can’t imagine how we’d find time to do more than put it in our mouths at this point. Food preparation is a dream I hope to make a reality in the next few weeks, but for now, thank the Lord for people taking care of us!
It’s 2:55am, so this segment is almost spent. I better get back in bed. After intense effort and many failed attempts to catch it in time, we managed to photograph Rissa’s smile. When I find time in a future segment, I’ll post it. It’s worth the wait, I promise.
