...

And with that, another month (or more) has come and gone.  I finally got around to uploading pictures from the camera (more from the phone)...July - October!  Unbelievable!  And shockingly, not as many pictures at this point in our lives than there were of kid 1.  I suppose you'll have that.

We celebrated the babies 1/2 birthdays with a visit to the Dr and another round of (lots of) shots!  Joey is weighing in at 16lbs and is 25.5" tall.  Drew is coming in ahead at 17lbs 11oz and 26" tall.  Both are sitting like rock stars.  Joey LOVES the jumperoo.  Love may be the understatement...he's outta control when he's in there!  Sweet little love will even jump himself to sleep on occasion.  Drew is happy in the excercauser and they've both happily played for nearly 60 minutes on occasion.  Drew is enjoying purees and Joey is slowly beginning to appreciate Grammie's applesauce and squash.  Drew is fairly consistently sleeping through the night and Joey has the ability to do the same ;-)!  They laugh at their big brothers and Daddy's whiskers.  Joey is wild in the bathtub and both are grabbing, reaching, and turning for items. Including trying to gnaw on eachother!  And, Joey is even beginning to rock on all fours!  Joey is still happiest when he's around people and is more interested in watching Rudy during dinner.  Drew wakes up happy and loudly chatting and is starting to love people and will happily grab his holders face and come in for a "kiss".  They're both sweet as can be and teething is terrible!  

Joey & Drew

Roman had his 5 year well check and grew 3" in a year - coming in at 38lbs and 3'7.5" tall.  His tubes are out of his ears.  We are making (slow) progress with his tutoring and practice at home. He continues to be an awesome helper with the babies in the morning at daycare drop off.

Jack is having a great year so far in 1st grade.  I had a conference with his teacher yesterday and he's showing improvement in all areas.  He is really good at math and loves art and computer class.  Mrs. Kunk told me she can see him being in graphic design.

Jack & Roman

Time is on my side, yes it is...

Only in my dreams!

Time...is most definitely not on my side.  "I don't have time for this" probably spews from my lips atleast once a day, maybe even twice...in fact, I'm sure it does - in the kitchen every morning getting the bigs breakfasts, likely while one can't decide what he wants, and in the evenings, either asking them for the 4500th time to get naked for their shower or to stop dancing around naked and get their jammies on.

Paints a pretty picture huh?

I digress!

Back to time...where has it gone?  Two months have passed with the blink of an eye!  School has started, Coldwater played their biggest opponent of the year and won 17-14 (good job D), soccer has begun, after-school religion, the weather has cooled, and silos are being filled.  (Four years ago I wouldn't have known diddly about "filling silo"!)

Jack started 1st grade!  F.I.R.S.T grade!  With Mrs. Kunk.  So far, the year is going well.  It took a couple weeks to get into our groove of homework, but, I'd like to think we're killing it!  I am picking Jack up daily from the practice field and we are going home and busting out the homework before picking up everyone else from daycare.  He started soccer and after school religion and Cub Scouts.  He is the color orange on the calendar!  He continues to be a wonderful BIG brother!  He helps take care of Roman (although, that sometimes end up with both of them crying), and will help hold bottles, grab pacifiers, and even pickup a crying baby.  The babies are going to be two of his biggest fans!

Roman started Pre-K!  Yes...he's 4.5 going on 13!  He took a couple of weeks to adjust to school...like actually learning and having more structure than his summer fun.  He too started soccer and he's more excited to wear his soccer socks and see his buddies than attempt to kick the ball.  He'll happily run up and down the field though!  He is meeting with a tutor once a week for some speech and language therapy.  We had him tested in April, with concerns of color blindness, and it turns out, he just didn't care.  (Surprise...Roman doing things on his own time! *sigh and eye roll.)  And while his language has improved its become more of a comprehension delay.  I'm excited for the potential growth a little extra one-on-one time will provide.  He still loves to "help" with household chores and always holds the door for me and my arms-full at daycare.  He is still digging big brotherhood.  Thankfully his social calendar isn't as busy as Jack's, but he's green on the calendar and he even went to his first sleepover last weekend.  I know right?  What was I thinking.  But...really, I wonder what Will's mom was thinking!  He had a blast, and took a 3 hour nap on Sunday!

Joey is already 5 months old!  I mean really...blink of an eye!  At his 4 month check up he was 25"and 14.1 lbs.  He can roll belly to back and back to belly.  In fact, he hates his back so much he'll roll over in his car seat or bouncy chair if he's not strapped in.  He loves the excersaucer or standing on your lap.  Making eye contact will produce a smile (even at 4am).  We're still working on sleeping through the night...he's had some great nights, but nothing consistent.  I stopped forcing reflux medicine down his throat and he began (nearly) monthly chiropractic adjustments - which have worked wonders.  He requires a little more attention than his womb mate, but he's sweet as can be.  He loves hearing "Baby Mine" and is always willing to smile.  Bathtime has become a part of our nightly routine and he loves to splash.  Bedtime is between 7:30 and 8 and we'll meet again anywhere between 2 and 4:30am.  He is a drool machine and bubble-blower expert.  He doesn't have an interest in baby food.  He chews his hands and plays with his feet.  Naps at daycare are short, but they'll put him in his belly now that he's rolling.  We don't have a legit schedule and I'm hoping in the next month or two we'll be more regimented!

Drew is a few minutes less than 5 months old!  At his 4 month check up he was 25" and 15 lbs.  Let me tell you, the 1 pound makes a difference!  He has big eyes and big thighs!  He's squishy!  That extra pound is making rolling difficult - however he can go from his belly to his back.  He loves the excersaucer and standing on laps.  He sleeps through the night...except for a paci-pop atleast once in the middle of the night.  He spits up, but he's happy so we don't think much of it.  Anyone who holds him has fair warning!  He's a drool machine and loves chewing on his hands.  He's not sleeping much at daycare - I didn't consider the "saftey" issue when we started putting them on their belly to sleep.  Whoops.  He generally comes home from daycare and takes a nap...depending on when he falls asleep, he's usually only awake long enough for a quick bath, bottle, and some snuggles before returning to bed between 7:30-8.  I squeeze a happy chatty Drew around 6am.  He is more easy-going than his womb-mate.  He cries when he's hungry - which is usually to the point of hangry and fusses when he has a burp.  Bathtime is a part of almost every night's routine (see napping problems) and he's enjoying his first tastes of baby food, when he's awake at dinner.  Because of the daycare napping problems he's been spending most of his weekend days catching up.  I'm hopeful that he'll be rolling soon and we'll be able to get on a better schedule.

And there's football season.  This week is week 4.  Some folks would say...we're 40% done.  But here in Coldwater, we're 25% done.  The season will likely continue into December - yes, its presumptuous and cocky, but its the truth.  A wise man has quoted many times, "It's not cocky if its true"!  Co-parenting expectations were reviewed early in the season (perhaps with our annual "THE FIGHT", although I said it was too early to be "THE FIGHT" and I reserve to have "THE FIGHT" again later in the season.  After 11 years we shouldn't still be having "THE FIGHT" since its been the same fight for 11 years although revised 7 years ago!  Again...I digress...football season.  He loves it.  The boys love it.  Although Roman does has every Saturday morning where Dad is and when the response is football, his answer is "again?".  Amen buddy, Amen!

But, we are moving and grooving.  I feel survival is a thing of the past and although I may not be winning every moment of every day...we are rocking it!  We may look disheveled and someone may be crying at any given moment and perhaps it appears to be survival...THIS is as good as its going to get!



PS.  If you're wondering, the littles are blue, I'm purple, and Mark is black on our calendar!  Like I said...rocking it!!!!!

To Do

I will start with a truth...my creative juices aren't flowing...and a blog entry is on my to do list.  And, since its me, I MUST get it checked off.  Especially since I'm attempting to finish up a few of the things that I keep putting off before I return to work...on Monday.  The other item - updating (i.e. starting) the Baby books.  Its obvious, baby 3 and 4 have less pictures than baby 1.  I apologize to them now!

So, lets back up.  Yes, I'm returning to work.  My 12 weeks of maternity leave is coming to an end.  Twelve Weeks!  Its still not long enough!  It seems like 3 days ago I couldn't bend over to pick up a pair of shoes that were taken off in front of the door.  And it seems like 2 days ago I was numb on a table with a team of Doctors and nurses around me delivering the boys.  And a day ago I was attempting to tandem nurse.  And yet, here we are...twelve weeks later...I find my time to write over a cup of coffee while Joey and Drew are napping in their swings and Jack and Roman are watching a movie because I'm tired of watching their respective shows in the Disney Channel.  Twelve weeks ago Mark was in the middle of track season, and today, he's at UD for a 7-on-7.  Twelve weeks ago I could barely walk.  Today I'm hoping to find the time to go for a 3 mile run...with or without little people.  Twelve weeks ago I was barely sleeping and desperately needing daily naps and loving the days the big boys were in school and dreading the weekends when everyone was home.  Yesterday, Drew slept from 9:30-7:30 when I had to wake him up because I was leaking so badly.  (Last night was a different story.)  Twelve weeks ago I was trying to nurse two babies.  Today, I'm nursing one, sort of ;-).  Twelve weeks (and 2 days) ago I could easily leave the house.  Today, I have to make a plan of how I'm leaving the house...we have an appointment and I have to figure out when to feed both babies to make sure we aren't late.  As for the big ones, they can grab a bar and kind of fend for themselves.  Twelve weeks ago I was organized.  Today, since being home, organization is a little lacking, but I know, in another two days, my Type A personality will be in full force and Mark will hate every minute of it.  Everyone will have their own Sharpie colors on the calendar for appointments and games and meetings.  Twelve weeks ago my babies were newborns.  Today, they're twelve weeks old.

In the past few weeks the babies are cooing and smiling and attempting to laugh!  They love their swings.  They tolerate stroller walks/runs and inevitably wake up as soon as we get home and I'm dripping with sweat.  They are both taking pacifiers and both sucking on hands, searching for thumbs.  They are eating 4-6 oz.  Joey still starts with 2 and about 30 minutes later will decide to finish his bottle.  He's on reflux medicine.  Drew is still my boob man and will supplement when he doesn't seem to get his fill.  He spits up when he's constipated.  Which is every few days.  They're starting to scoot around in their beds.  They've graduated from size 1 diapers to size 2.  Drew has graduated to 6 month clothes and Joey is inbetween.  At their 8 week checkups they were the same height at 22" and Joey weighed 11 lbs 3 oz and Drew weighed 11 lbs 14.5 oz.  The big brothers love them and the little brothers them.  It makes my heart swell and eyes wet when I see the four of them interact.  Jack will pick either of them up if they are fussing and tell them a story and Roman is always quick for a head kiss and to say "hi buddy" and share his monkey!

I can't say what we've been doing the past 8 weeks (or since the last entry).  Days revolve around feedings, football conditioning, baseball practice, and swimming.  We made our annual trip to Columbus with the whole gang and managed two visits to the lake house.  Roman went to his first movie in the theater, "Finding Dory", and the babies were baptized.

First Ball Tournament #11

Kensinger Cousins
Roman, Joey, Sarah, Johnny, Ben, Jack, Drew

Capt and First Mate

Joey's first boat ride

Drew's first boat ride with Nana

Jack...actually driving

Joey & Drew

Andrew Mark and Joseph Michael

Surviving...

We are surviving and thriving.  Twinning and Winning.  Most days.  Half the nights.  Yes...night time has been the worst.  The babies have officially made 5-8pm "witching hour" and they spend more time fussing and crying than being happy.  For every decent night, we have a terrible night.  Fresh off of one of those bad nights, I saw the clock strike 1, 2, 3, and finally at 4:30 everyone was settled.  I couldn't help but thinking of my fellow gym-goers, waking up to get in that early morning working...just as I was placing my baby back in his crib and crawling into bed!  (And once again, Mark woke up at 3:30 for the assist.)

Like I said...surviving!

The big boys seem to have adjusted to having little boys in the house.  Roman LOVES being a big brother.  He's quick to tell me a baby is crying, but he's also quick to go to the crying baby to ask which one it is and try to comfort him.  (It's usually Joey crying, and he says "Joooooey, relax" in the sweetest voice!)

Jack, although seeming too cool to be excited about his little brothers, was pretty proud to have all the Kindergartner's gawk over them when Mark showed them off at school the other day.  (Lunch time for Mark and Jack overlaps by a few minutes.)  He'll occasionally offer to hold a bottle and we'll toss him a baby from time to time if one of us needs to get up to tend to something else.

The big boys have become a little more independent - getting snacks and drinks for themselves.  And unfortunately they hear a lot of, "just a minute".

The little boys are 4 weeks old.  I think I'm getting used to sleeping in 2 hour spurts, although the past few nights I've officially given up trying to get out of bed at 11 or 12 for a feeding.  Thank goodness Mark stays up late and he's mastered the double hold and feed!


The boys had their 4 week check ups yesterday:
Joey:  (slacked on birthday stats, 6 lbs 3 oz   19")
Weight: 8lbs 13 oz
Length: 21"
Food: Formula (and a splash of expressed milk)
Likes: Eating, Sleeping, Pooping, Stroller Walks, Swinging, Being Held
Dislikes: Baths, the pacifier (mom keeps trying), gas bubbles, not being held

Joey
"I'm Cute, Mom's Cute, Dad's Lucky"

Drew (6lbs 7oz, 18 1/4")
Weight: 9lbs 5 oz
Length: 20.5"
Food: breast milk and formula (did you see how much weight I've gained...I need lots of food)
Likes: Eating, pooping, stroller walks, the swing when Joey lets me have it, being held when Joey isn't too fussy, the pacifier helps me calm down and keeps me quiet while Momma attends to the other kids.
Dislikes: Sleeping (I'm like Dad, I don't require as much as Mom), baths, diaper changes

Drew
"Dad and I agree, Mom is the boss"

And then...there were 4...

April rolled around, like most April's in Ohio.  Rainy and cold one day and warm the next!  I had multiple doctors appointments each week to make sure Twin A and Twin B's fetal heart rates and fetal movements were good.  I was busy cleaning the house nightly, convinced I was going to go into labor at any given moment.  The hospital bags were packed (because if not, my water would break at 3am and I wouldn't be able to wake up Mark)!  We were preparing the big boys for the upcoming changes and I was trying to keep a smile on my face with all the dumb "end of pregnancy" comments coming my way!  

Finally, my 38 week appointment came and it was time to make "the plan".  I'd been hoping (and planning) on a vaginal delivery from the beginning.  Baby A was head down and that was all I needed!  Well, go figure, both were ornery from the beginning (ultrasounds were confusing and Baby A never stayed on the heart monitor during my NST's)!  I had yet another ultrasound showing Baby A, head-down (holla) and sunny-side up (what?); and Baby B was Transverse (eyeroll) and spine up...making a vaginal delivery possible.  Possible.  That was the key phrase.  Possible but highly likely that I'd end up delivering one vaginally and then having an emergency C.  Worst idea ever!  So, after crying at the Doctor and nurses, chatting about it with Mark, mom, and Elizabeth..."the plan" changed.  We scheduled a C-section.  Holla for no laboring!  And holla (on Mark's account) for adding "sterilization" to the list of procedures to occur.  And holla for my type A personality having a final date, the end was in sight.

I spent Wednesday cleaning the house, one last time.  

And getting blood work done.  

And just being a slightly anxious and nervous wreck.

Thursday, April 14th arrived.  A beautiful, warm and sunny spring day.  We took the boys to school and the dog to the Clubhouse.  We arrived at the hospital at 9am.  I was IVed and we were gowned by 11:00am.  Around 12:00 the Doctor popped in, followed by the nurse, and I walked to the OR.  Holy emotions!  There was the table, two cribs, 2 anesthesiologists, 1 person counting and laying out surgical tools, and more nurses than I even thought to count.  I climbed up on the table, and had my first (of many) ridiculously high blood pressure readings.  I chatted with a nurse, about my two boys at home.  We laughed about the two more boys I was about to have.  (Not to mention the husband in the other room waiting to come in and the male dog!)  My BP came down and I got my spinal.  I tingled and then I was numb.  And nauseous.  Mark came in after what seemed like forever.  He says I was squeezing his hand really hard.  I told him I could barely feel my fingers, so how hard could it really be?!

Finally, at 12:41 I heard the first cries of Joseph Michael.  At 12:43, Andrew Mark was crying.  There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of their first cry!  (Well, maybe their heartbeats at 8 weeks...)  The rest of that hour is a blur.  The babies were taken to the nursery and Mark followed behind.  I was stitched up and spent an hour with a recovery nurse.  That hour came with a wave of confusion, information, and decisions.  Drew wasn't breathing well and he needed to be sent to Dayton Children's.  Mark and I looked at eachother and said Columbus, we also said we'd send our kids to Columbus.  But in this moment of uncertainty, and needing to make a decision and plan transport, we opted for closer proximity and chose Dayton.  The Pediatrician on staff explained what was going on with Drew.  In all honesty, I didn't hear a word he said, and thankfully the nurse explained it again, but I still don't remember everything.  Basically, he didn't want to take a "deep breath" and breathe on his own.  He also had some fluid in his lungs, which is a risk of any C-section baby.

Eventually Joey was brought into my room and we were able to love and snuggle him while we waited for information on Drew.  Finally, after hours of waiting, Drew was brought into my room, along with the transport team.  He was hooked up to God knows what and I was told I could reach in the incubator and touch him.  I wanted to hold him.  They were taking away my baby and all I could do was touch him. The team left with Drew and assured me he'd be in good hands.

Thankfully, we have a family of rock stars to take care of all of our needs the next several days.  Mark and Donna went to Dayton.  

Mike was in charge of the big ones.  

And Mom enjoyed crappy hospital food and crappy hospital sleep along with me!  

Joey and I bonded!  He is sweet as can be!  He figured out how to latch within a day and since I couldn't do anything but sit in a bed, I was happy to have him learn to nurse.  Mark would send updates of Drew when he could.  And he didn't stay on oxygen long.  I opted for the 3rd night in the hospital after the nurses said Drew could stay with us and the nurses could help with any breastfeeding issues with him.  The extra night was probably in my best interest, since nothing could have prepared me for C-section recovery.  Drew picked up nursing immediately.  Finally and thankfully on Sunday, we were all able to go home!  And the whirlwind began!

Drew

Joey

Watching TV at the hospital

Jack and Joey

Roman and Drew

Playing

Snuggles

First Family Photo

The Big's and The Little's

Ugh!

Ugh!  On so many levels!

Ugh that the last bloggy update was in October.  Someone totally skipped a Happy 4th Birthday entry for Roman.  I guess he's technically the "middle" child, so this is to be expected.  Right?

Ugh that I never mentioned anything about Christmas.  And how amazingly spoiled we all are.

Ugh that I never blogged about how nesting began as Christmas decor was coming down.  (Its like my brain knew my body wouldn't be able to handle it later on.)

Ugh to the way I'm feeling.  Ugh to my nickname, "Big Belly" given to me by one of the boys (Mark, Jack, or Roman, I no longer remember...but its stuck...and its true).  Ugh to the sound that I probably make multiple times a day, when it comes to putting on pants, rolling over in bed, and getting up from a seated position.

I don't remember this feeling from the other boys.  Perhaps its that amnesia you hear about, which makes you think, YES, lets do this again...its not so bad!  I know I shouldn't complain.  But lets face it, physically, this is probably the most demanding challenge my body has ever been put through.  Although, I'm already Super-Mom, this makes me think I'm the Ultimate Super-Mom =)!  I wonder who would play me in Super Woman vs Super Mom for the Super smackdown?  I literally make a mental game plan for how to best attempt, most painlessly each task I need to undertake during the day.

Yes, I know this is the "easy" part.  Yes, I know I'll be physically exhausted soon.  And yes, my house will be messy and loud and I'll have to find our new "normal".  But, yes, I want to be able to wear shoes again, and shave my legs, and not need to sit down to rest after cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, and be able to sit on the floor with my big boys and play legos or read books, and join the post-dinner wrestling shenanigans!

Fast Foward:
And...since I sat on this for a few weeks, the "ugh" changed.  Ugh to needing a C-section, dealing with c-section recovery, the breastfeeding struggles (x2), the first post-partum poo, and all the other ughs that come with newborn life, and the amount of diapers we're going through!  And then there's the hormones!  THANKFULLY, their newborn scent is to die for (although, ugh, its wearing off)!  Ugh to the long nights, transition time for the big boys, and for me and Mark as well.  Thankfully today, is a "T-WINNING" day!  (I showered, cleaned the bathroom, and caught a nap...the babies must be making up for their shenanigans last night!)