Been a While

Sorry I haven't blogged in days. It's been busy around here. Part of the bloglessness has to do with my disinterest in the computer. It's amazing how getting my kids home has helped me with my internet addiction. Sure, I don't really have time to be surfing the net, but I'm also not OBSESSED with surfing the net either. It's not that I don't care what's going on in the lives of my blog friends. I just don't need to know on an hourly basis anymore :). If you've experienced this, you know what I mean. And if you don't know what I mean I'm sure you think I'm crazy and obsessive and that's true.

So, what's been happening around here? Well, I'll start with the twins. They are just getting more and more comfortable with us and this house and just life in general, it seems. This week they have come out of their shells and have whined (and whined and whined...), they have been telling us "No!" to things, they have been playing much more roughly with Chuck and each other, they are eating more foods, and they are totally understanding a lot of English. They still speak mostly Creole, but they really understand most of what we say.

We learned a few days ago that both boys have Giardia. To tell you the truth, I'm relieved to learn this. Their diapers are SO awful that it's good to know that they have a parasite and that it might be part of why they are so horrendous. We are starting them on meds tomorrow to clear it up.

Today we took the boys to the park. Last week we tried to get them to swing on some swings when we went to the lumberjack competition and they were too scared. My oh my, what a week will do! The boys had fun on the slides and on the swings. Samuel cried when it was time to leave. Speaking of Samuel, he is a total daredevil. Don't let his smaller stature fool you - that kid isn't afraid of much and he has complete trust in Chuck when Chuck throws and flips him around. I have some fun pictures to post once I get them downloaded.

Tristan continues to sleep like a champ (sorry Rockstars...). He does not sleep like a champ during the day, though. He will not sleep in his crib during daylight hours. He is either held, in his bouncy seat, or in the swing. I'm not thrilled about this, but since he's sleeping well in his crib at night I'm okay with it. I'm still not slinging him. I'm just not comfortable with it and he absolutely hates it. I do wear him in the Baby Bjorn when we go out. He's not a super big fan of that, but usually sleeps as we move around. I don't like the Baby Bjorn for around the house because his legs hang out and I'm afraid I'll hurt him with parts of him exposed like that. I'm pretty sure the kid is up to 12 lbs now. The other day I decided to put him in a 3-6 month sleeper, assuming he would swim in it. Um, no, it fits perfect. Today at the dentist office a lady asked me how old he was. When I told her he's 6 weeks old today, she said, "Wow. He's a big boy!" Then she wanted to know how big he was at birth. His gas issues have been a little bit better. By accident we think we figured out that his vitamins are the root of the problem. We forgot to give them for a few days in a row and he was much happier. Then we gave them and he was unhappy. We talked to the Dr and he told us to cut the dose in half and see if that helps. It seems to be working. I'm not sure who anonymously left the comment about the heating pad, but I want to thank you. I tried it the other day and it settled Tristan right down.

Chuck is seriously super dad. I LOVE to watch him with all three boys. He has gotten a real workout with the twins. They love to ride him and be thrown about. He knows how to calm them when they are upset and turn their tears into laughter. Am I a totally blessed woman or what? Plus, Chuck has been real good about making sure I get some time outside of the house in order to maintain sanity. I do have to make fun of him for a second, though. He is watching the Disney Channel as I type. It's not enough that it's on much of the day - he watches it on his own, too!

I'm doing well. Yesterday I had my 6 week check up and I'm cleared for all activities. That makes Chuck very happy, if you know what I'm saying. The doctor who delivered Tristan examined me and she shared a very sobering story. In case you didn't know, Tristan was deliverd via c-section because his heart rate kept decelarting. Upon his delivery we learned that he had a knot in his umbilical cord. You can read more in the birth story if you want, but beware that it is probably the longest post I've ever writen. Anyway, my doctor told me that recently there was another baby that had a knot in it's umbilical cord. Unlike Tristan's decelerating heartrate that would go back up, this baby's heart stopped. The knot became tight and cut off the blood supply to the baby. They weren't able to get the baby out before it was brain dead. I knew that Tristan had been in danger, but hearing that story makes it so clear to me that God was protecting him. I can't imagine the pain of losing a baby like that. My heart goes out to that family. When I was 28 weeks pregnant I came VERY close to switching to a local midwifery center. I'm pretty sure that if I had switched, we would have lost Tristan. The midwifery center would not have monitored the baby like my doctor did. I'm also really glad that I got the epidural because getting the epidural made them watch the baby more closely. And, believe it or not, I'm glad I was induced because being induced made them watch the baby non-stop from the beginning and they were able to see how often his heartrate decelerated throughout my labor. It had been my hope to have as little medical intervention as possible with my labor and delivery, but God knew what Tristan needed. As I looked at my scar tonight I was thankful for it. I'm so thankful that I had a doctor who made the tough call for a c-section even though she knew how much I didn't want one. God is so good.

I'd type more about our week, but Tristan is hungry. No promises on when the pictures will be posted, but I promise that they are worth the wait!