Baby Got Back...

In HER JEANS, that is! :)

Well maybe, technically, they're my "fat" jeans from before, but all that matters is that they were from BEFORE, right? I just decided that today would be the day I attempted to wear something from my former life, and lo and behold, they actually buttoned. I know what you're thinking... and no, I didn't create a muffin top to make them button. Nor did I have to lay down to zip them up. Granted, they were a tad bit snuuuuug at first, but aren't all just-washed-and-dried-jeans that way? You know it, I know it. If not, I'm telling you it's the truth :)

The reason I decided to tempt fate was due to the fact that my "hold me over" jeans only fit nicely for about ten minutes these days. At the eleventh minute, they become the most unflattering, saggy-butt, stretched out pants on earth. I detest that sloppy look, so once I realized that I had to see the general public this morning, I thought I'd just try and see how far I could get into my old pants. It's by no mistake that I picked this pair to try... they are fantastic True Religions that I bought on sale at Macy's last year and decided that it didn't matter that they were on the loose side, they were on sale. Thank you Jesus that I didn't need tight pants that day, because you've absolutely made my week/month/year that I could squeeze my flabby behind into a normal pair of denim.

If only the scale would match my pants size, I'd be straight. Unfortunately, I still have a good 20 lbs I'd like to drop before I feel good about seeing my weight again. I'm going in for my 6-week post-pardum visit tomorrow and I know I'm going to get punked down when I step on that lovely beast. Oh well. I swear to you, ten pounds has to be in my boobs. (Sorry dad, brothers, and all males who are reading this and getting embarrassed. See former posts... I'm over being shy about these things).

With that said, I'll post later on with details about the Mirena "installation" I'm getting tomorrow. Yay for birth control :)

Our Little Turkeys are 6 Weeks Old!

Have you ever seen anything cuter? Not me!

Tyler & Caroline are now smiling at us, and apparently I'm pretty entertaining when I try to take their pictures. I told Nathan today that they're going to start associating our rocker/recliner in the nursery with "mom acting stupid," because I will go all out to get them to cooperate for photos. I acted a fool and gave it my best baby talk, but Tyler seemed to think I was more frightening than funny. Caroline studied me pretty intently, but she'd laugh every now and then to my delight. It's amazing how much they change and how quickly, and it's hard to believe that they're already six weeks old. Time just passes so fast, and before I know it, they're going to be crawling and talking and cutting teeth. Heck, Tyler almost crawls already, especially when he's irritated or tired of being where we put him. Whether it's on the boppy or on your shoulder, that little fella will kick his legs and jump around until he's elsewhere. As I was getting ready for bed last night, mom had both of the babies and she was trying to calm Tyler down before their last feeding. I heard her just bust out laughing and asked what was going on, and she said that Tyler had practically crawled up her head trying to get down from there. I believe he was "having a fit," as she put it. Poor little fella... he's inherited his daddy's upset stomach, I'm afraid. Thank you, Mylicon, you're a lifesaver!

Caroline certainly has her moments of "unhappiness," but generally she's a sweetheart and is pretty content as long as she's in someone's arms. I've read that you can't spoil a baby until they're several months old, and we're thankful for that fact since someone is always holding them. They certainly don't go without being loved, that's for sure :)

In other news, Nathan has now started his month in Columbia at Palmetto Health, which is why mom will be here so much (and you'll probably hear more stories with her in them from now on :) He was able to come home after his shift ended last night (at 11pm, no less) so he spent Thanksgiving with us, but he will be gone from Saturday until next Friday. Ugh. Luckily, he's only really working twelve more days there, so although it seems like a lot, he'll be done fairly soon. We really hope that he gets matched with that program, and did I mention that if he does, we get to spend an entire month in Hawaii his third year? Oh yeah, there are a few perks to all this madness, thank God.

With all that said, mom has taken a leave of absence from school until the first of January to help me out with the babies while he's gone. Trust me, I have good babies, but having two infants is a job for two people at this stage. (I think she's realized how hard it is already, and we just got started :) One of the first mornings that she was here, though, she came into my room after everyone woke up to see this:

They were too precious with their arms and legs linked together, so we were both furiously taking a million pictures and videoing them. As you can see in this picture, Caroline really isn't the runt that she appears to be. In fact, she's only a quarter of an inch shorter than Tyler, but she's just so "dainty" and feminine that she looks much smaller. Her little feet and hands are babydoll-ish compared to his, but that's ok, they're supposed to be :)

My children, the heavyweights

Ok, well not really, but the doctor was muy impressed today at how much Tyler & Caroline had grown over the past three weeks. Tyler weighed in at 8 lbs 12 oz, and Caroline was 7 lbs 10 oz. That's almost two pounds of weight on her, and over two pounds on him. I guess all that "demand feeding" I've been doing is working! Chubby babies are cute, right? :)

As promised, here is Tyler holding his bottle in the car. Superstar, I tell you.

In other news, I GOT TO EAT OUT LAST NIGHT. LIKE, IN A REAL RESTAURANT. WITH FRIENDS. It was great, so thank you very much ScanSource girls for remembering me when you planned Adrienne's shower! I am so out of touch with my friends nowadays that I was honestly surprised to receive the invite, and I think they were equally surprised to see me show up. Like I've mentioned before, I have a hard time making sure my teeth are brushed daily, much less actually showering, getting dressed, blowing my hair dry and adding a touch of makeup in an uninterrupted sequence. But that's just it... totally impossible. Everything has to be done in shifts, because thanks to my heavyweight babies, someone is always ready to eat. And when one is ready, the other becomes ready. Life's fair like that, you know :) So anyway, there I was last night, stepping out of the shower long enough to get my two-sizes-bigger-than-normal jeans on and barely making it to the first pit stop with Caroline on my boob. Lucky for me, mom & Roger were great babysitters and took over as soon as everyone was fed, but geeeeeeeez, it's hard work to go out. Needless to say, I very much enjoyed my dinner, my yummy glass of red wine, and finally getting to catch up with all my friends from the office.

With that said, we mainly only talked about one thing...

BABIES :)
(well, that and delivering babies, to be more specific).

One of the girls mentioned that I really needed to write a blog post dedicated to all the funny, gross, and stuff-they-don't-tell-you things I've learned over the past five weeks, so here goes.

First, the consensus around the pads you wear in the hospital was "OH. MY. GOD!" As I explained to them that it was easier for me to keep my catheter in than be bothered to go to the bathroom for the first 24 hours because it was just that freakin' painful to sit up, I also discovered something the size of a tablecloth underneath my backside and assumed that it was a bed liner. But no, that wasn't it at all... it was one of the actual pads I would be wearing for the next five days in the hospital. When I say "pad" I'm sure you envision something that could fit into your underwear... hardly the case. These are like pads on steroids. Industrial-sized pads. Pads that will only fit into a pair of stretchy, mesh, boy-short-looking things that will be your new panties until you don't need said pads anymore. I was so swollen from the surgery (and the fluids pumped into me) that my comfy pants turned into booty pants, so squeezing my diaper-sized pad into them was just fantastic. If you're wondering why I'd be so inclined to keep using these, you just don't have much of a choice if you're bleeding as much as I was. (TMI, anyone?) Which brings me to my next tidbit...

If the bodily excretions weren't hard enough to deal with, the random people looking at your bodily excretions might be. When a nurse has to actually wipe your bottom because you can't move enough to see for yourself, or when they're just "checking things out," you lose any form of modesty that you thought might've remained. I've never shown my boobs so much in my life, and actually had a lactation nurse tell me that I had "great nipples" :) Yay for me!! I think every single visitor we had saw me breastfeeding, since that was way before we had the tandem thing down pat and it took forever to feed both of them. Oh wait! One more lovely thing was the squirt bottle in the bathroom that they insisted I use to "wash up" with after I did my business. No clue why this was necessary since I had a C-section, but whatever. Like I said, at this point, you just go with it.

The last thing I'll mention is what things look like now. After the fact.
It's not a beautiful sight, but I've said this before - look at what this body had to go through! My stomach did not go unscathed, and although it is infinitely better than I expected it to be, the trace amount of squiggly little stretch marks on my left side still linger. The linea negra is still there, as dark as ever. And the once-small scar from my sexy lil' belly button ring from back in the day is a big ol' dark yucky spot now. As for the actual belly button, it's different. It's like it's bigger, deeper... stranger.

If I think of more funny things to tell you, I'll post them later. These are just a few of the topics of conversation that my childless friends found hilarious, and maybe you'll be all "guess you had to be there" and not find them funny in the least. Hehe :) For now, I've gotta run and get my H1N1 vaccine at the Pediatricians office, and lord knows it'll take that long to get my act together.

Winner

Congrats Mary Kate!
You're the winner of the $15 gift certificate from Bows by Jessica, so click on her site and let her know how you'd like to spend it!

Thanks to everyone who commented and participated. I have been contacted for other giveaways, so stay tuned... :)

One Month Old!

It’s official…
Happy ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY, sweet babies! I can’t believe you’ve been with us for an entire month now, and your daddy and I just know that time is going to escape us before we can blink an eye.

Tyler, you’re on the verge of outgrowing your newborn clothes already, and in reality, you should only be 5 days old right now. Your due date was November 10th, so if we adjust your age, you’d be quite the stud if you’d been born this late! We have our one month well-baby checkup on Thursday, so we’ll get to see how much you weigh. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 9 or 10 pounds by now, but then again, you just feel heavy to us in comparison to your sister. Truthfully, you’re still a little fella, and I’m trying to mentally capture every minute that you’re this size. As for milestones, you’ve begun to really “see” us when we hold you, and you gaze so intently that it’s breathtaking. Everyone comments on your “big, bright eyes” (that I’m convince you inherited from your daddy!), and it looks like your hair is starting to turn blonde like mine. You’re still active as a little monkey, and we can’t turn our heads for a second while you’re having tummy time or on the changing pad or you’ll be across the room. You keep your hands spread wide open all the time, and I make jokes that you’re going to be palming a basketball by next year (which would be beneficial… your dad claims that he’s going to teach you how to be the best shooting guard around). Finally, you’re eating like a champ and it’s wearing me out, but I’m happy that I can oblige your everlasting appetite. We can’t decide if you’re actually all that hungry or just like being held so close, but either way it works for us.

Miss Caroline, you’re our little beauty queen already. It’s a good thing we only had one girl, because I’m not sure there’s enough room in this house for the ego your daddy and I are in the process of creating. We can’t seem to pick you up without telling you how pretty you are, and it’s the truth… your sweet face is just too much sometimes! You’re such a happy girl, and when you’re in our arms you just seem to be at peace. You’ve got the chubbiest little neck and arms, and I have to make sure we wash between your “rolls” in between your baths (yes, I know, you’ll thank me for this tidbit later in life… :) To be so petite, you’re beginning to look quite round and it’s adorable! As much as we struggled that first week to get you to gain weight, it’s comforting to see you filling out and outgrowing clothes like your brother. On the same note, I try to savor the moments when I’m rocking you to sleep and you wrap your tiny little hand around my pinky finger, or when I’m changing your diaper and have a minute to tickle your teeny feet. They’ve already grown so much already, and I know that by next month, they’ll be twice as big. As much of a blessing as it is to see you grow up, I just wish you could stay my tiny baby forever. Milestone-wise, you’re picking up your head a lot now and rival your brother in that regard. Your neck isn’t quite as long so it’s not as obvious, but you’re getting there! You’re also focusing on us and staring intently (especially while you nurse), and just a little bit ago, I scared you to death when I shook a rattle by your head. Your eyes were as big as saucers, so we know your reflexes work :) We also joke that you've got the "Kate Gosselin haircut" since you've got some crazy fly-aways in the middle of your head, but luckily it looks good on you (and yours is much darker than Tyler's right now, so you may be taking after your daddy in that way. At least you seem to have my eyes & mouth!). One of the funniest things you do is let out this little whimper of a cry when it's too quiet in the room... it's like you're making sure we know you're there. One little "waaaaaah" in a small voice and you're back to sleep - it's hilarious! Finally, you’re comforted by my voice. I guess it’s all those months you spent listening to me from the womb (we all know I like to talk), but it seems as though I can say your name when you’re crying or upset and you’re soothed. Daddy is afraid you’re going to forget his voice when he’s gone next month, so I’ve promised to put the phone up to both yours and your brother’s ears so he can tell you goodnight :)

Happy Birthday little ones! We love you so much!

4 Weeks Old!

Not quite a month old, apparently, but HAPPY 4 WEEK BIRTHDAY Lil' Bit and Lil' Man! Nathan corrected me when I was all, "can you believe our babies are ONE MONTH OLD??" and let me know that technically, they are not one month old until November 15th. So whatever :)

Either way, would you check out the cuteness of my babies? I can hardly stand it!!

If you're looking at this and thinking "wow, that Caroline sure is big!" I've got news for you. That's a preemie-sized outfit that was incredibly too small, and Tyler is sporting a newborn-sized version that fits appropriately. She was so much smaller for so long that I thought I was buying the right sizes, but as it turns out, our "lil bit" is growing almost as fast as her brother. She's still light as a feather compared to him, but she's pretty long and has the cutest little pot belly you've ever seen :) (Just look at the picture... it's pretty obvious in what Nathan calls her "belly shirt and booty pants"). I'm going to attempt to stretch hers out when I wash it because I really love putting them in things that coordinate, but we'll see. I may just have to go to Carter's again... dang... :)

As for what else is going on around here, we're gearing up for Nathan's two months of traveling. He leaves on Monday for Louisiana (Shreveport and Baton Rouge) to interview with a couple of LSU programs, then the following Monday he starts his month-long rotation in Columbia (SC) at Palmetto Health. We are hoping and praying that he matches with Columbia, so hopefully he'll make a great impression throughout December and will fare well there. Our alternatives are as follows: Buffalo, NY - Syracuse, NY - York, PA - Danville, PA - Bethlehem, PA - Toledo, OH - Corpus Christi, TX - Tampa, FL - Orlando, FL - Jackson, MS - and obviously the two Louisiana programs. As you can see, we will be far, far away from all our friends and family if we go anywhere other than Columbia, but Nathan is still getting invitations to interview and will continue to do so for the next few weeks. Hopefully a few more within a three-hour-or-less-radius will invite him soon :)

There's not much to report on regarding me, since my whole life revolves around keeping babies fed and diapered. If I do leave the house, it's not for very long unless I pump enough bottles for Nathan to feed them while I'm gone, and so far, that only happens when I have a doctor's appointment. I know how fortunate I am to be nursing both of them without problems, so I can't complain. So many mothers have issues with nursing (with just one baby, let alone two), so again, it's special. Everyone that has witnessed us tandem nursing thinks it's the coolest thing ever, and we're going to take a picture or video of it one of these days. (Don't worry, not for the likes of this blog!)

Oh, I've been cleared to exercise without heavy lifting, so I'll be attempting The Shred pretty soon. I'm honestly pleasantly surprised at how my stomach is shaping up, so getting back in the saddle of working out will have to speed things up. I've been strolling the babies like it's my job and have dropped a small child's weight off my body thus far... it can only get better from here! Woohoo! I may never look like I used to, but as long as I can be close to my old weight and close to my old size, I'm happy. I mean, just look at what my body went through... gotta give ol' girl a break.

In Tyler & Caroline news, we've discovered that they love to swing. So much so that I made an emergency trip out (in the middle of Hurricane Ida's whiplash on SC, no less) to buy a second one. We had one swing and one bouncy seat, because everyone told me that until we knew what they enjoyed the most, don't waste your money on two of everything. Now we swing alllllll the time, and they are quite content with doing so. We're also getting a bit more sleep at night, and if it were up to Caroline, we'd sleep from dusk till dawn. When she goes out, she's out. Tyler, on the other hand, has an internal alarm clock set for every 3.5-4 hours. Last night was a first, though... we woke up to nurse at 1am, then the next cry I heard was at 5:30am... ALMOST 4.5 HOURS LATER! This was major. Again, I can't complain about much with them since they're usually so good through the night. Tyler can be verrrrry frustrated when he wakes up, and once we jostle Caroline out of her slumber and get them both going, they nurse till they fall asleep on me. Then we change diapers, burp, and fall back asleep. Things could be SO much worse. (And to think, I never even read those sleep-training books :)

Oh, and guess who can hold their own bottle? Our future Tarheel athlete, who I'm convinced will be palming a basketball before he's a year old. That's right, our little Tyler, whose not even a month old, did this one while we were on our way home from the beach Monday. I had to pump from the backseat (and yes, what a sight this is) since they got a bit hungry before we'd even reached the halfway mark, and next thing I know, I'm handing the bottle over to him. If I hadn't been hooked up to a machine at the same time, I'd definitely have a picture to prove this one. We've also started doing tummy time on the boppy since both babies love to strain their little necks while they're on our shoulders. Both of them can pick their heads up and plant big kisses on my cheek, not that it's what they're intending, but still adorable nonetheless. If Nathan ever gets around to downloading all the videos we've taken, I'll post the one we took of Tyler gnawing on my cheek. It was too funny! But back to tummy time, this is what it looks like...

The scene plays out something like this:
We're not happy about being here...
Well, it's not so bad...
Hey, wanna blow this joint and climb/roll outta here?

Needless to say they must be supervised while hanging out in the boppy.

Well, I've got two crying babies and I can't believe I've gotten to type this much, so I'll leave you with a few more pictures from our beach trip. Thanks Granna & Pa Jolly for letting us hang out at your house all week! :)

*PS, I'm tentative on the current name of this blog. Coming up with something cute & clever is hard work...

Giveaway!

Hey guys, Jessica has offered one of my readers a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to her Etsy store, "Bows by Jess." I adore the cute hats, crocheted mary janes, bows, and so much more -- so check out her store and tell me what you'd buy with the gift certificate if you won.

To enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post as to why you'd like to win.
2. Click here!
3. Become a follower of my blog if you aren't already.

I'll post the winner on Tuesday, November 17th. Good luck!!

Celebrating 3 Weeks at the Beach!

Happy Belated 3-week birthday, Tyler & Caroline! You guys change every day, and it's amazing how alert you are now. We only wake up every 3-4 hours at night, and you're usually like clockwork... eat simultaneously (thanks again, EZ 2 Nurse Pillow), burp for a second, fall back asleep on mom or dad's shoulder, then get swaddled back up and in bed. Aaahhhh.... :)

This week, Nathan and I decided that we could just as easily sit at the beach with the babies as we could at home, so off we went to Myrtle Beach. When we were here last summer we assumed that it would be a few seasons before we could come back, but luckily our children are superior car-riders and LOVE to be in their car seats. We took off on Wednesday afternoon, and after one major wreck, one pit stop for food/Connor to walk & pee, and one major road work situation, we finally made it to the beach. Guess who we didn't hear a peep from during the entire 4 1/2 hour trip? Oh yes, that would be my sweet little angel babies. I'll probably regret this later when they're screaming bloody murder and I'm all alone with them, but seriously folks, I have reeeeeeeally good babies. We are SO LUCKY.

Since we've been here it's been a relaxing few days. We stroll. We sleep. We hang out. We shop at outlets and have a million people go, "DO YOU HAVE TWINS?!"

Let me go there for a second...

Do I have twins? Are you for serious?? I contemplated letting the smart @ss come out a few times yesterday and go, "no, we just like to keep a doll in the other seat to keep our real baby company." Just kidding -- I mean, I wouldn't say that, but I wanted to :) People absolutely crack me up, and this was the first time I have experienced the twin phenomenon in public. Thank God we have a great stroller that can entirely cover up the babies. (Without this, I would never leave the house. Strangers WILL. NOT. TOUCH. THEM. or breath on them, thanks.)

But anyway, we have had a good time and really don't want to go home on Monday (which we may not... I mean, it's not like we're on a schedule these days). With that said, I refused to leave here without at least one picture of the four of us together since we have yet to take one thus far, so here's our little family on the beach!

I'll try to post more later and *hopefully* we can take more pictures of Tyler & Caroline on the beach. We were en route to the outlets when we stopped to take these, so we didn't have a lot of time to lounge about on the sand.