Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Dogs in twin town
Walker: A few folks have asked about the dogs - they both are doing great.
Chili Bean is back! Not only is he back, he's plumping up nicely from his medications. The meds are also causing him to act crazier than he did before his endocrine crash, if you can believe that. He's a mile a minute.
Sedro is on the mend. He had his stitches removed today, and he should be able to go to the park this weekend. He needs it!
Both poochies asked me to thank everyone on their behalf for all the nice thoughts and prayers sent their way over the past week.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Happy Halloween from Britney & K-Fed
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Twins in the News
Walker: The New York Times published a great story about two famous identical twins yesterday, "The Barbers, Identical Twins, Are Not as Alike as They Look." To see the story, click here (registration required). The story centers on the nature v. nurture debate and offers evidence that nurture, in the end, wins. Good stuff.
We found out that our boys are in the 70th percentile size-wise. In order to send them the right message, I decided to "ground" them because C- is not an acceptable grade, and they can do better. Ha!
Seriously though, they are doing great, and we couldn't be happier.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
The Good, The Bad...
Dana: This past weekend I visited Minnesota to attend the Twins' first baby shower, hosted at my friend Tara's mother's house. It was a great opportunity to spend quality time with some of my closest friends and family.
First, I must give props to Tara for hosting such a wonderful shower. She had us decorate little onesies with twin themes, had great food and we played some very silly, fun games. Of course, it's not a baby shower until you have your nose in a diaper trying to determine its contents (all of which were different brands of chocolate bars).
Thanks to all who attended and showered our little ones with some pretty sweet gifts. It was so much fun to share my pregnancy stories and parenting fears with so many loving and supportive people in one room. I can't tell you how much it means to feel that kind of support for our new family.
Unfortunately, around 3:00am on Sunday morning , the trip took a sudden turn. I received a call from Walker, who was at the animal hospital with BOTH dogs deathly ill. After an exhausting night, Walker transferred them to our vet, where more tests were done. Oddly, it was determined that their illnesses were not related, but both very serious at the same time. Sedro needed to have a corncob surgically removed from his small intestines (swallowed several months ago) and Chili Bean was diagnosed with a endocrine disorder called Addison’s Disease (JFK also had Addison's!). He's had it since birth, yet the symptoms are only now appearing. At his worst, Chili's potassium levels had skyrocketed past that of which normally puts little pups into cardiac arrest.
It was clear that I needed to be home with my boys and help Walker out. It was killing me not being able to see them to make sure they were OK, so I cut my trip short by one day.
The good news is that they are both home with us, recovering from their near death experiences. The bad is that it cost us dearly money-wise to get them through this. I guess this is just one of life's lessons that we will learn from. I truly am grateful that they are OK...I just couldn't imagine raising our children without the joys of our two wonderful dogs.
Two Tough Doggies
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Profile
Walker: We're in the phase of Dana's pregnancy where the doctors are going keep a closer eye on her and the boys, so Dana has appointments every two weeks. The radiologist snapped this ultrasound picture yesterday, and he said the little guys are 1.8 lbs each!
The picture is of Baby B, who gets that name because he is furthest from Dana's cervix and will be born after Baby A, who's closer. According to the radiologist, the boys have moved from laying on top of each other horizontally (transverse) to laying next to one another vertically. Apparently there is more room that way, and they need every bit they can get. Both of the boys' heads are facing down, which is good news, but we'll be watching because they can still move into a breach position.
A quick acknowledgement: I would not have been able to write about the complexities of a twin birth without taking Sheryl Rasmussen's twins birthing class at the University of Washington. The class was full of great facts and tips, and we met fellow to-be-parents of twins, who I'm sure we'll contact soon. A big thanks to Sheryl for putting together such a great and welcoming course, and another to Dana for enrolling us and dragging me along.
In other news, I'm addicted to watching Dana's belly. We lie in bed or on the couch together for hours, and I rest my head against her stomach watch for little knees and elbows to send ripples through the surface tension of her skin. I had no idea.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Slings & Things
Dana: Yup, that's me and the Bean practicing the art of baby wearing...or should I say pug wearing. In my baby-gear search I have found myself mesmerized by the world of baby wraps, slings, carriers, front packs, side packs, etc.
I have always admired the beautiful woman with her babe snugly wrapped around her body in a perfectly folded, elegant fabric. I recently picked up this sling for a very decent price, and I was surprised at how easy it was to carry our 18-pound 'baby' around the house, even with my 20 lbs addition around my midsection! In further research, I've found people are nuts for hauling their kids around in the most creative ways. Here are the most common reasons I've found:
1. It's good for baby's mental development. When carried babies spend more time in a "quiet, alert state"- the ideal state for learning. Also, the baby sees the world from your point, rather the view people's knees from a stroller, and the extra stimulation benefits brain development.
2. Some people even find it easy and convenient for breastfeeding on the go.
3. When wearing the baby, you are able to sooth and comfort your little one, while also freeing up your hands to work on other things around the house, shop, etc.
4. With twins, you can carry one baby at a time and your hands can be freed up to give other attention.
My big question...can I actually carry both at the same time? I have yet to find one that looks very comfortable while carrying both children. Many of the brands claim that it's possible, but the babies either look like they are just 'hanging there' or they are all smooshed together.
I suppose I won't know for sure what will work until the little ones arrive, and I can actually strap them on. Until then, Chili will be in doggy heaven while I practice!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Archaeology
Walker: This is normal, right? As to-be-parents, Dana and I are looking for clues from our childhood to discover what our family life is going to be like - what the boys are going to be like.
Okay, okay. "Looking for clues" is too weak. Our search is archaeological. We're digging. Every bit of information we find about our childhood helps paint the picture. We are asking our parents what we were like as newborns, infants, and toddlers; pouring over every page of our baby books; watching every old 8mm home movie; and looking through countless family photo albums.
During the big dig, the thought occurred to me that we're searching for our lost memories. Dana and I obviously don’t remember being infants. Or toddlers. My life begins to fade in around age five, but those memories are foggy at best. In essence, we are recreating (creating?) the memories of our earliest days for the first time right now through our parents, home movies, and pictures. Through the focal lens of pending parenthood, we're just getting to the part of our lives where we’re babies. It's all happening a bit out of sequence.
But who likes a story told in the order that the events happened? For instance, many of my favorite movies are told out of sequence - Citizen Kane, Pulp Fiction, Life is Beautiful, to name a few. Who knows – maybe we like this type of narrative because we experience our own lives out of sequence...
Sorry. All this rambling about sequence and memory and childhood is an overly elaborate (so postmodern!) way of saying that I'm just now beginning to understand what people mean when they say they experience life through their children. Previously, I thought the phrase meant that the parent was experiencing life second-hand, but that's not it at all. It's a much more complex than that. It's looking inward and outward simulateously. And more. A lot more. I think.
Okay. That's all for now...I'm off to go dig up some more old photos.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Dana and the dogs
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Shopping List
2 packages Laughing Cow cheese
1 wedge Grana Pardano cheese
1/2 gallon 1% milk
6 honey crisp apples
1 lb new red potatos
2 lbs broccoli
1 loaf ciabatta bread
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms
1 lb new york strip
1 lb kalbi marinated flank steak
2 zucchini
1 6-pack frozen white castles
1 12-pack frozen corn dogs
2 boxes Heart to Heart cereal
1/2 gal Haagen Dazs Strawberry
1/2 gal Haagen Dazs Vanilla
1/2 gal Haagen Dazs Chocolate
Smuckers Hot Fudge topping
2 packages Bare Naked granola
1 bag Pirate's Booty
1 bag Tim's Cascade Chips
1 tub Karam's hummas
1 package Columbus Pancetta
1 bottle TUMS
Monday, October 02, 2006
Chili Bean Can't Wait For The Twins
Sunday, October 01, 2006
For your baby-spoiling fun...
Dana: My dear friend Tara is hosting a shower for our little ones in MN in a few weeks. I don't think it's in the tradition of baby showers to have one so early in my pregnancy (I'll be just shy of 6 months) but my doc says I can't fly much later than that. In preparation for our shower fun, I've registered at Target.com and thought I'd share it on the blog as well. I have to be honest, I've had some help from my mother and cousin Jeana with getting it started. I have NO IDEA what a baby needs, let alone two babies. It can all be a little overwhelming. But I think I've narrowed it down to the basics (times two!), and am starting to get very excited about wrapping our little ones in some of those snuggly blankets!