Admittedly, I have been remiss in keeping our family blog updated in the past months. In short, May thru August were just absolutely brutal. There were times (more than I'd like to admit) when I questioned not only my sanity, but our original decision to take that long, arduous road to parenthood. Ours has been a journey riddled with obstacles since the beginning and once the babies arrived, boy did things get...louder...busier...
A friend pointed out in her blog that it is national preemie awareness day, and while our little preemies were much much luckier than so many others to be born no earlier than they were, it still makes me recall the emotional upheaval of this past spring and the months following it.
When the nurse told us that the night of May 3rd seemed like a good night for a birthday, I admit I had not yet prepared myself for the eventuality that I wouldn't be released from the hospital that evening. It had become so routine in the two and half months leading up to it. Too many contractions. Go into the hospital. Get hooked up to an IV. Talk of steroids to slow them down. Monitoring of the preeclampsia. Get sent home. However, I did make sure to remove my icky nail polish before going to the hospital that evening on the seriously off chance that they would be born...I didn't want my first pictures with them to be taken with chipping nail polish. Hey, every girl's got her thing ;)
But, that night Steve and I were hurled into the swirl of parenthood rather rudely. Molly was wheeled out of the OR before I could even see her and Wyatt was rolled into the nursery...Daddy followed close behind to make sure both babies were okay, while I waited rather impatiently to be sewn up and cleaned up.
What nobody told us that first week was all of the potential complications that come with having a preemie...even ones born relatively late by comparison. I admit to crying in the NICU when the neonatologist told us that Molly wouldn't be coming home with us. It was an eventuality I hadn't even thought about...never considered that there would be something to prevent both our twinkies from coming home with us. But, there you have it...one of life's little curveballs.
Once everyone was home, the first 4.5 months of their lives were colored by a kind of frantic desperation I have never known. Pumping six-eight hours a day...4 hours of sleep each night...babies screaming in pain...bottles that didn't work...you name it; it got piled on. Our preemie presents were unfortunately experiencing their own bouts of preemie problems...
So, imagine my surprise when, after all is said and done, we have happy little people at the end of the newborn road. In August, Molly's tummy troubles seemed to finally be under control...and thank goodness, because the only other option was a feeding tube. Wyatt continued to be exceptionally pukey - our living room rug is like a Superfund Site. But, it was like my fairy godmother (or whomever) finally took pity on me, and suddenly our babies started to resemble happier little people...We got to see them smile for the very first time.
This week, Wyatt finally found his giggle...and he hasn't stopped. Molly is perpetually entertained by her brother - can actually be found laughing hysterically at him for minutes on end. And, they both have an obvious love for music. It's so awesome, in the truest sense of the word, to watch them develop into these little people (who aren't so little anymore).
So, in the interest of sharing the love, I will do my best to stay better abreast of the blog...
Happy November!
