Pediatrician visit

One of the things I love about carting the twins around in their car seats is the looks you get from other people. I suppose it's something of an oddity, but practically everyone stopped and commented. At least to whomever they're with. Most everyone that speaks to us in passing say, "Twins, huh?". I paraphrase Douglas Adams when I say, why do people have the unmistakable habit of stating the very, very obvious?



In the pediatricians office, you see lots of mothers first give a look like, "Wow!" then the look slowly morphs into pity. One little girl being held by her grandmother asked if she could kiss the babies. VERY cute. Now get yer germy kid away from my children.



Doctor Garber seems to be an excellent pediatrician. He's very confident and, too, seems to be tickled by the twins. Perhaps he's smiling because he knows we have parental love eyes and can't see our babies for the little aliens they are. Either way, the boys behaved exceptionally well for their visit. That fact was commented on several times. Good boys.



Jason weighed in today at 6lbs, 12oz. Kevin weighed in at 5lbs, 12oz. They both gained exactly 10 ounces since the last Dr. visit last Tuesday. Yes, we are extremely anal retentative (though it would seem the boys are not...wooowee...stinkay). Dr. Garber said he thought both babies are doing very well, and asked us how we were. That was nice. Could be because we have huge bags under our eyes and appear to not have slept for 11 days. Appearances are not, in this case, deceiving.



We're having our chimney liner replaced today, as the old one seems to have crumbled, blocking the furnace's ability to expel fumes. Smells like the waiting platform at the North Station commuter rail at our house whenever the heat kicks in. Our sons will be excellent commuters.




My father-in-law, Roger, arrives tomorrow afternoon from Texas. He's a really great guy. Sadly for him, I have a little list of to-do's waiting for him.

More later,
-Joe

Paternity leave at an end

Man, what a difficult morning. No...not the babies keeping our sleeptime to a minimum. The fact that I had to go to work. I'm astounded at how attached I am to the little buggers. Even at 4:30 this morning they were still making me smile. Oh well. This is the way life works. I need to earn diaper money.

Anyway, I apologize for not writing more often. I know that lots of people out there are waiting to hear news. I wanted to minimize time on the computer and spend it tending to my fledgling family. My sons and wife are doing very well. If my mother-in-law wasn't staying with us, I know things would not be going as smoothly. She's a wonder; taking care of the pets, laundry, cleaning, meals while allowing us to figure out this parent thing. But overall, everything is going very well at the ol' homestead. One of the other benefits of working close to home is going home at lunchtime to visit (which I will do in a few minutes).

Once again, I need to say how proud I am of Kathy. She's so astoundingly strong, loving and intelligent that I sometimes need to pinch myself (ow) to remember how lucky I am.

The boys are cute as can be. I am fully aware that parents all believe their children to be adorable. Heck, that's how species are propogated: we find little creatures with giant heads and big eyes irresistable. So, yes...in reality, I know that the rest of the world sees our babies and thinks, "aww...lookit the little aliens!". But to me, they're the cutest aliens I've ever seen.

They're eating very, very well and seem to be gaining a decent amount of weight. Kevin is an eating champ these days, and they often eat up to 3 fl. oz. Normally 2.5 fl. oz is the amount they happily consume. All other bodily functions seem to be working...sometimes amazingly so. They are definitely my sons when it comes to poops, God bless them.

More later,

Joe

They're home.

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know we picked up the boyz from the NICU yesterday. They are now residing comfortably here in Framingham. Needless to say, not that much sleep was had by Kathy & me, but I'm thrilled regardless.

More later as I regain my coherency (say, oh, 18 years),

Joe

The boyz are now one week old

Kevin & Jason are still in the NICU over at NWH. Kath & I visit them every day, and every day they get a little stronger. The big question is, when can we bring them home? We don't know...it's a day by day wait 'n see type of thingydo.

In the meantime, Kathy's mom Kay is taking remarkable care of Kathy while she heals. Every day Kathy also gets stronger and every day wants the babies to come home even more.

In reality, it's a mixed blessing. Yes, we're anxious to have them home for just the fact that we miss them...but more importantly, it's a sign that they're strong and healthy. The upside of all this is that my beautiful wife has the time to sleep and heal from her ordeal this weekend.

Last night we went at feeding time to see the kids. I changed Jason, fed him, burped him (3 good ones) and held him for an additional half hour. Kathy did the same for Kevin. We've discovered that Kathy has the power to make them fall asleep, while I have the ability to keep them awake and hiccup.

I've also discovered something else. I honestly don't know what I was expecting when I became a father. You know...how it would feel. Yes, I would feel anxious, tired, elated...all the stuff you read about. But what I mean is: what does it feel like when I, Joe, would be a father. The answer somewhat surprised me.

You hear about the bond you feel with your own children, but it's really impossible to describe the sensation. The words have just not been invented to describe that bond, that...base emotion...that you feel. It's different than feeling love. More primal. Almost like you're holding a part of your self, except you would be totally ready to die for that part without hesistation. It's like pure love, joy, elation, fear, protectiveness, and thousands of years of propogating the human race all stuck in a blender, pureed and injected into your heart.

In other words, it feels f***ing astounding and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hey, with base emotions comes base language...don't blame me.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Kathy is back home

Well, here we are, five days after I posted the announcement of the birth of my sons. Still getting used to saying that term..."my sons". I almost sound like I'm an adult. Almost. So what has happened? Tons. Let's just say I have significantly more grey hair than I did on Thursday.

Out of respect for Kath, I'm not going to post the details of everything that happened. I know, that's a first. But I will say that if having an emergency c-section is the easiest part of your weekend, then I think you can just imagine. Did I mention grey hair?

Today Kathy arrived home. I took half a day off from work and brought her back from the hospital. Fortunately, her mom (Kay) flew in from Texas on a moment's notice and is there to help us both. I cannot tell you how amazingly good this is. She's tireless in wanting and being able to help, even the most mundane tasks. For this, I need to thank her once again. Thank you, Kay.

Okay, I'll back up. I'm at work? Yep. The boyz are still in the NICU over at the NWH (I love initials). They are in amazing care up there and I decided it would be better to take my paternity leave when the little buggers finally come home.

What?! You want to know their names?!?! Well, fine. Be that way. Kicky and Jumpy are now officially named Kevin and Jason. They share a middle name: Johnson (Kath's maiden name).

Don't fret...The blog will still be called kickyandjumpy.

K&J are doing pretty well. They're a bit jaundiced and Jason's being sort of a slow eater. So once he gets the eating thing down well and they're done with the UV lamps, we'll have a better indication of when they'll come home. On a personal note, I've changed my first diapers with success, did the swaddle wrap, fed and burped them. I know this will not only become routine, but I'm sure I will roll my eyes when I re-read this a year from now. To think such mundane actions would be worthy of blogging. Yeah, well. Future me, get over it.

One last thing before I let you watch the video of Kathy holding her (technically) first born son for the first time. Remember a while ago when I wrote about what Gomez told me? How you don't know what love feels like until you hold your newborn child in your arms? He is completely right. I fall in love with them every time I see them. And my love for their mother has also exponentially increased...and I didn't even think that was physically or emotionally possible.

Yet, here we are.

Enjoy the movie.

Well, guess who's suddenly a father...

Kathy & I would like to introduce to you our sons. They arrived quite a bit ahead of schedule (35 weeks), but both babies and mother are doing fine.

They are, as of yet, unnamed. But here they are (see attached photos) and their stats:

Twin A (aka Jumpy) arrived at 3:13pm 02/08/08 at 6lbs even.

Twin B (aka Kicky) arrived at 3:14pm 02/08/08 at 5lbs 4oz.

Kath had some fairly major complications after the c-section and the babies are premature so they are in the NickYou (I have no idea what the actual spelling is. It's late). So for the moment, I must ask potential visitors to refrain from visiting until mom & babies are given the green light. Please keep her and the babies in your thoughts and prayers that they all heal and develop without further complications.

Personally speaking, I've never been so proud of anyone than I am of my beautiful wife and her ability to make this look easy...when in reality it was anything but. I have more respect and love for her than ever.

More later,

Joe

Wednesday is doctor day

Kathy & I were late getting to the hospital for our 8:20 appointment this morning. I felt terrible because I went back to sleep when she got up for her shower, and that made us leave later. I should have been feeding the pets. Since it was raining this morning, the traffic was at a standstill. And, to make traffic matters worse, there was an accident right near the hospital that had traffic backed up for a mile or so. And it was a doozy. So, we were late.

Fortunately, the twins felt our anxiety and performed marvelously for the non-stress test. We were in and out in about half the usual time. We tried to videotape them moving the sensors, but you really couldn't see much. We should have taped them last night. During the election returns and Kevin Lemanowicz's weather forecasts, Kicky was moving all around like a turtle under a blanket (interesting mental image, huh). He was a RIOT. Dumbass Joe didn't think to get the video camera. Sigh. Oh well. Still reeling from the Pats loss, I suppose.

We then went upstairs for our 9:30 appointment with Dr. Attanucci. Kathy's blood pressure was pretty darned high today. 138/108. This wasn't a good thing. Preeclampsia is a real issue and high blood pressure is a sign. We waited for a while and then they took her BP again. This time it was back to where it usually is, 138/82. Dr. Attanucci was still concerned, however. She had Kathy go for a blood test and she will give a call in a few hours. If Kathy's positive, then we will have to go back immediately and see what's what. The only cure for Preeclampsia is the birth of the babies. So, fingers crossed for good results, everyone. We want the babies to stay in there to cook some more.

-Joe

** Afternoon update - the Doc called, the bloodwork came back normal. We do have to go to her doctor's office to have her blood pressure checked again, though. Fine by me!

Cindi made Sunday a good day

Before the debacle that my evening turned into with the Pats, my sister Cindi came over to help us organize. You know, it's one of those things where you don't know what you need to do until it's too late...or you have an experienced hand helping you.

When Cindi first arrived, she wept at the sight of how beautiful and big(!) Kathy's gotten to be. Believe you me, photos do not do Kathy justice. You have to see her in person...she's so damned beautiful. Anyway, Cindi brought over tons of great stuff, like another crib, a gate, boxes of cleaned, labeled clothes...I almost feel ready to be a dad.

Cindi & I went over to my cousin Brian's as well, as Cindi was bringing him some delicious food. For those of you in the know, Brian looks tremendous. His coloring is good, he's thin (he calls it the "cancer diet...didn't have to exercise or anything!"), and they also gave us a wonderful gift and tons of great hand me downs. We are thrilled and thankful that they would even think of us during such a tough time.

My sis came back and basically single-handedly organized our closets and bureaus. Plus, she & I got to chat a bit about what I should expect when I become a father. Questions I just need to kinda know the answers to, like: I'm a big guy. How hot should the water for bath, milk for eating be? I mean, what's warm to me might be hot for an infant....questions like that. She answered everything without even laughing and pointing at me.

Anyway, she's a wonder, my sis. I'm lucky to have her in my life.

- Lucky Joe

Superbowl Results

Now I have to buy a new remote. No, I broke this with my hands...I didn't break the TV. Sadly. I could have got a new flatscreen or something. At least I have my children to look forward to.