Sunday, July 8, 2012

You Say It's Your Birthday! It's My Birthday Too, Yeah!

Yesterday started off pretty normal. We woke up, watched the Tour de France, and started working on our plan for things we could do on my day off to further prepare for the babies' arrival. Then, much to her dismay, Jen went into labor. We just went to the hospital for what we assumed would be another of our bi-weekly visits where they check Jen out and send her home after a few hours. That was not the case. Her doctor informed us that it was go time.

This meant we would not have a chance to organize our Expedits before the babies came! Clearly this was a huge disappointment for both of us. Thankfully Jen's labor carried over into today which meant we wouldn't have to have the birth of our twins be marred by that sad day when we weren't able to organize some shelves.

Martin and Mommy


After almost twelve hours of labor, at 6:25 AM, Jen gave birth to baby Martin who, after not too much trouble joined the world in that reluctant way that babies do as if to say, "Why have you done this to me? You are already ruining my extremely brief experience with life!" He was 4 pounds, 7 ounces, and 17 inches of angry, angry baby. After a few minutes he turned into a mostly startled baby who eventually drifted off into sleep.

Elliott and Mommy


After spending the last three or four months in a perfect head down position, Elliott decided to take advantage of the newly vacated space in the womb and quickly flipped around so that he was positioned dangerously feet first. This earned him the ire of our doctor and caused things to be quite a bit more difficult for his mother. However, at 6:42 AM, despite his best attempts, he was born. He wound up being the larger of the two at 4 pounds, 13 ounces, and 17 inches of defiant, defiant baby.

After the labor, moving rooms, and dealing with the overall shock of coming down off of a twenty-four hour adrenaline rush, I took a moment to return home and attend to a few things that I hadn't properly closed up shop before we came to the hospital.

Jersey Tomato, Lioni Mozzarella, Avocado, and Gotham Greens on Hot Bread Kitchen Brioche Roll


Hey, I've got to mention something about food, even if it was just these tiny little sandwiches I made with all the leftovers we had in the fridge. I toasted the remaining brioche rolls from Hot Bread Kitchen, topped them with some Gotham Greens basil, Jersey Tomatoes, Lioni Mozzarella, and avocado. This prevented a good deal of items from needing to be thrown away when we finally return home. I snapped a quick picture with my phone at a stop light as I ate them on my drive back to the hospital.

Proud Grandparents With The New Babies


After returning to the hospital my parents met us there. They waited around a little longer than the plan we'd hatched because I passed out and even my ringing phone couldn't wake me. Eventually, after Jen threw enough towels at me I woke up and met them. I was able to take them into the NICU to visit with, and hold, the babies. Martin's nurse, who as apparently an aspiring photographer, had a blast taking about fifty pictures of us all together and giving us direction like a scene out of an Austin Powers movie. I found holding both babies simultaneously to be a bit of a challenge as one baby squirmed it wasn't really possible to reach over and reposition him. Luckily with a full staff of NICU nurses I was able to manage the most challenging task of my short fatherhood: holding two babies for like twenty minutes.

Elliott and Martin Reunited (And It Feels So Good)


After holding the babies like two footballs the nurses positioned them on a pillow in my lap. It was much easier to play with them in this position and the guys seemed to like it too. After Elliott's defiance earlier in the day he seemed happy to rest his head right against Martin's, the way they've been for the most of the last few months. They both instantly fell asleep (or more asleep) white their heads touched.

Overall, this was a pretty great day. At this time yesterday the thought of actually having babies seemed like a far off and distant daydream. At this time today the idea of not having babies seems like a distant memory. Jen is enjoying the break from acid reflux but is missing the kicks she has grown accustomed to. Tomorrow she'll hopefully get a chance to see, hold, and feed the babies. And soon this Utopia -- where we have a staff of dozens assisting us with every aspect of caring for our children -- will seem like a distant memory.

A distant, sweet, sweet memory.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I adore you, Jen, (grumpy) Martin and (defiant) Elliot! What a lovely and funny memory of how the day went down for you and how you felt. We are overjoyed for your entire, beautiful family!

Unknown said...

I adore you, Jen, (grumpy) Martin and (defiant) Elliot! What a lovely and funny memory of how the day went down for you and how you felt. We are overjoyed for your entire, beautiful family!

Unknown said...

I adore you, Jen, (grumpy) Martin and (defiant) Elliot! What a lovely and funny memory of how the day went down for you and how you felt. We are overjoyed for your entire, beautiful family!

Lisa said...

The start of a new chapter of Buy the Farm...Share or a new blog on parenthood? Which ever, I'm sure it will be enjoyable to read of your experiences with Martin and Elliot. Congrats to you and Jen!

caolan said...

Those bad babies!!! Why did they have to be so defiant?! But we love them anyway, and we love you!! Congrats! xoxox Caolan and Paul

Danielle said...

So proud of Jen for the successful vaginal birth of twins! Can't wait to meet them.