Babies!

Something quite strange and wonderful happened this week. A lot has changed quite suddenly around the house. At the beginning of the week I had a very large, complaining wife and lots of spare time. We took a trip around the corner to the hospital and all of the sudden I have almost no spare time, a shattered sleep cycle, and two of the cutest tiny humans I have ever seen. All of it feels rather like a surprise - I didn't have an intuitive grasp on what was happening inside of Naomi.

Kalia came all the way from Alaska to help us out, and we were so grateful she did! It has been a gift to have her around and part of this whole process. She got here on Monday and already left yesterday - we all wish she could have stayed longer.

Tuesday morning we checked into the hospital. They ran some tests and gave Naomi a pill to induce labor. They planned to give her another every 4 hours until she began to dilate and said it could easily take 8 pills for that to happen. Fortunately the first one did the job. By two or three in the afternoon she was around 3 cm and they put her on a oxytosin (sp?) drip to speed up the contractions. It made her a bit high. Kalia and I and even Naomi to an extent had a lot of fun for the next few hours. Naomi came up with the funniest descriptions of her contractions and Kalia and I laughed and recorded them for a later day.

Around six things started to get bad, so Kalia went off to find some dinner. We were expecting some progress after all the pain Naomi was in, but she hadn't dilated much further. We were quite disappointed as the doctor (who we really like - she skipped her kite surfing to deliver our babies) said it would be normal to add one centimeter for every hour of contractions. At this point they got far too painful and they added a morphine drip to the oxytosin. This helped but Naomi lost her upbeat attitude entirely.

After two hours of intense pain, the doctor came back to check and was surprised to find that Naomi had opened up to 8 cm. She had done a great job of relaxing. At this point our room filled up quickly. About 8 doctors/assistants came. They brought many large machines with them. Naomi had to try so hard not to push.

Around 8:30 the pushing began. No need to dwell too long on what happened in the next 45 minutes, but I will say that I can't adequately describe the moment that they came out so I won't try. Abigail was born at 9:08 and Amélie at 9:18. It felt like a lot more time in between though. Abigail came out head first and Amélie butt first. I cut the cords.

Naomi was in really rough shape the next day, but was quite fortunate to not need a c-section. She asked a nurse to stay another night in the hospital but the nurse said there was no medical reason so we had to go. Shortly after one of the doctors we like came in to congratulate us and to tell us that she had arranged for another night which was a big comfort.

On Thursday we came home. It is standard here to have help in the home for about a week after birth so our helper came. We really like her. She teaches us all about how to handle and take care of the babies. She does the laundry. She cleans and changes the bed. She washes dishes, will cook for us, and even run errands. Why don't they do this in America!? We would have such a rough time without her.

The babies are really good. They are both gaining weight now although they lost a lot early on. They seem to want attention in the evening before midnight, but after that they have been sleeping soundly until their feedings. When they sleep they sleep. You can talk at a normal voice around them, vacuum clean right next to their crib, even give them a little prick in the foot to take blood and they don't wake up.

Because of all the help we have I am starting to adjust to this strange sleep cycle. When all goes well in is an hour and a half of work followed by an hour and a half of rest. They need to eat every three hours. Afternoons have been the time where we have been getting the most consecutive sleep and it is paying off - I start to get a bit of energy again.

Week 36

The Birthing Suite - with a private bathroom.

And a nice view.

We're Ready!

Great Success. 

Incubating.

Climbing feet.

Separate for the first time.

Happy Auntie.

Finally home. 

Warm, clean, and dry.

Bath time.

Sunbathing.

Fashionista.

Pinky pacifier.

Sweet babies.

Week 37