1. Sleep
If ever there was a reminder of just how precious and amazing a full night's sleep is, please come visit my house between 1am and 5am. No really. I'll put you to good use burping. :) After having Sam nearly four years ago, sleep became one of those things I realized I had taken for granted. I'm not a lazy, sleeping-in kind of person at ALL (crazy I know but sleeping in for me is 7am). HOWEVER, normal not pregnant and not newborn twin mommy me relishes the idea of falling into bed at night and dozing. I normally go 100mph all day, and once 9pm hits I am ready for the brain to cease firing and to drift into lala land until about 5am. At which point I wake up completely alert and ready to start the day (yes, yes, I'm one of THOSE people). Not so much anymore. Pregnancy wreaked havoc on my sleep. Up at least once an hour to pee, couldn't get comfortable, etc. My beloved sleep suffered then, sure. But nothing prepares you quite like having a newborn (or 2!). For those who do not have kids, there is no amount of planning or explanation possible to describe what sleep is really, truly like with a new baby. And even those of us with kiddos tend to forget after the hazy first months pass and you have that historic "my child slept thru the night" moment (which thank GOD they do). The worst part for me is always falling back asleep after being up calming a fussy baby or changing a diaper or doing a feeding. Your mind is just active enough that by the time you get settled down you realize you only have two hours, or one hour or 45 minutes...or less...before hearing another grunt, whimper and then wail. Another doozy...when you are so tired you cannot think a coherent thought, but when you lay down and close your eyes you physically are too tired to actually fall to sleep. So you end up laying there "resting" wishing the minutes weren't passing by so quickly while you were not sleeping...and then you keep hearing a baby cry, only to glance at the monitor and realize you are imagining a cry because you are anticipating said baby to wake up! UGH! And then, sometimes, you have those treasured nights you long for (like I actually had last night!) where the baby (okay, babIES in my house) eats quickly, burps effortlessly and goes back to bed with barely a cry...and then when your head hits the pillow again you are OUT. And several hours later when the wailing starts again with hunger cries you realize that (SHOCK) you actually slept. Soundly. Restfully. Blissfully. And then when your head hits the pillow another time after a feeding, that wonderful sleep meets you again. Picture me happy, smiling and "rested" after SEVEN hours of sleep last night. Sweet!!! Again, for all you without kiddos, don't worry - this seven hours was between 8pm and 7:30am, so it's not like it is at all consecutive, but hey, you learn to cherish the snippets and count up all the sleep during the day as success.
2. Health
Yes, it seems my household (and everyone else's too apparently) has been fraught with illness in the last few months. We're passing it around like we live at a hippie commune sharing utensils and everything else (which we don't by the way in case you wondered). Despite using masks, cleaning with antibacterial wipes, removing shoes so we don't traipse germs everywhere, washing hands until our skin cracks and changing clothes often, we cannot seem to shake the crud. From pharyngitis to colds to strep to the stomach bug, we've had it all. Even through all of this, I am thankful for our health. Right now my precious tiny tots are snoozing, and I can hear their noses whistling from stuffiness. They have bad colds, but so far nothing serious. Since we've had them home, every single person who has visited ended up telling us they came down with random illnesses just a few days after visiting....so much so that we had to quarantine the house for about a week...to keep more illness out and hopefully get our household yuckies under control. Worked. Except that then I finally succumbed to it all and was down hard on Sunday night. Antibiotics in me, and few days later I'm back to "normal." All the while, babies keep trucking along with annoying colds, but again, nothing serious. And for that I am thankful. I asked the pediatrician this week at their follow up appointment if we could perhaps take them down the street to see relatives during the holidays since we knew we definitely could not take them to church or public places. His response? Um...no. Too high of a risk for them to develop the flu or RSV (which in many adults manifests as just a cough and runny nose, I guess). So, that's right, we are under strict instructions not to let these guys near anyone who even has a cough or runny nose. Um, okay. Like, that's everyone this time of year (sigh). So we will forgo holiday visits this year, skipping "pass the babies" and try to keep them as healthy as possible. I texted my sister-in-law (also pregnant!!!) yesterday giving her the lowdown and explaining that Ben and Sam would be attending some family functions but I would be staying at home....her response made me smile and was a great reminder. She said, "I'll just be thankful the little guys are here and home from the hospital." The best attitude! At one point we were going to be scheduled for a csection yesterday and in the hospital on Thanksgiving! And then at another point, we thought the babies would just now be coming home from the NICU. How much more thankful am I sitting here now in my toasty warm house with two beautiful HEALTHY baby boys. What a blessing!
3. Family
I feel like a broken record here, but I literally have no words to express how much I appreciate our support system. By that I mean family, friends and even those trusty Facebookers who have followed us on this journey, chanting support and being involved, even if just online. I truly feel like this experience has allowed us to be blessed by so many people. I'm not always one to share overly personal details of my life to everyone, but this pregnancy (and the blog!) has been a good reminder to me of how opening up about ourselves often lends itself to being cared for and touched so much more deeply by others. We truly have been supported and encouraged by everyone around us, but I do have to say specifically that I do not know what I would have done without my parents. I don't mean that to exclude anyone else who has helped (I seriously appreciate you from the bottom of my heart!!!) but my parents have selflessly dedicated themselves to providing relief and assistance. Sacrificed their time, their money, their jobs, their house, their LIVES and picked up and headed this way. And every single time they arrive, they immediately get to work for ME. For us. For our family. Honestly, they rarely spend significant time with the babies or even Sam....my dad hadn't even held one of the babies for days after they were home. That's not what it's about for them. For the last month or two, every single time they have been here, it has been nonstop dishes or laundry or errands or meals or any number of meaningless tasks that mean so very much to exhausted and overwhelmed new parents. If you ask them, they jokingly (and seriously) admit that they come to work. To help. And I just could NOT do this without them. I'm not one to accept help easily...but my dad just keeps reminding me that if Sam or Toby or Gabe ever had a need or were going through something big, wouldn't I jump in immediately and just take care of it? And, knowing I would, he just smiles, pats my back, and says, YOU ARE OUR KID!!! Wow. My parents are just awesome. And yes, I'm still a daddy's girl. ;) (And again, THANK YOU to everyone else who has come over, offered to help or brought meals or a thousand other things you have contributed to this crazy process. I have not taken any single thing for granted - THANK YOU! I am seriously so grateful and am humbled by all of you. I have bit shoes to fill to "pass it on" to others.)
4. Personality
One of the most exciting parts of the twins actually being "here" and one of the things I'm most thankful for is observing their personalities and traits and getting to know them each. It's pretty great. The twins are looking so much the same now, it is just insane. Even better, they like to position their bodies the same. They are laying here by me now and Toby changes positions while asleep. Not one minute later, Gabe (also sleeping!) moves into the exact same position Toby just assumed. And so it continues. I have taken about 10 pictures of different positions and they just keep doing the same thing. It is super freaky! How do they KNOW what each other is doing when they are sleeping?? Their bodies just do the same things naturally...so crazy. What a fun blessing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. These identical twin boys are really going to provide us a lifetime of learning and experiencing one of the most unique and coolest things ever. The same DNA embodied in two very unique individual people. How can two tiny babies really look this similar? (We're talking down to the placement of a few stray hairs on their tiny ears or the angle of their big toes....inSANE!) Another thing to be thankful for? We get to see Sam in his role as a new big brother, asserting his independence and getting bigger by the day. Gives me a renewed appreciation for Sam's "spunk." Sometimes it comes with defiance and frustration and way too much stubbornness for his 3 almost 4 years...but if we can have one child as awesome as Sam, two more is going to be a BLAST! And again, I am so very thankful that each of my boys is going to add their individuality to this family!
I really think the list of things to be thankful for is endless. I am overwhelmed by the blessings (in many forms and not always what we expected or wanted!) God has given us in the past year and give Him all the thanks for each one. Little did we know last Thanksgiving that our lives would be totally different a year later. Praying that all of my family, friends (and yes, even all you Facebookers who creep!) embrace the blessings God has provided you this year and be truly thankful. No matter what challenges arise, God continues to be faithful in leading us through or carrying us along. The real joy and thanksgiving come when WE see the good in life's circumstances (even the crappy stuff) and find things to be thankful for.
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