J'ai 5 ans..2 parties down...1 to go!
Z's favorite gift - a jewelry box of buttons and bracelets from Aunt Kia.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Presenting the amazing ToxoTwins...year 5!!
I do this every year...I relive their birth and the beginning of our lives together. My pregnancy was not fun but I ate like a demon, swam everyday and stayed chained to the daybed. Evan didn't want anything to go wrong. Despite various terrifying bouts with cramping and bleeding at weeks 6, 12, 14 and then at 26w5days, the babies were growing, kicking and playing games in my belly. I knew that Baby was a feisty girl and that Baby B, was a sleepy boy. (Not much has changed!)
On September 14th, we had a lovely rendez-vous with Katherine, a wonderful woman, who we signed up to be our post-partum doula. Friends with twins said she was the best and we should sign her on for the overnight shift. So, with a due date of December 17th and Dr Polon's thoughts that I would only make it to 34 weeks, we decided that she would come on in November when the babies would come out early. She would work 5 nights a week - on from 10:30pm - 8am, so we, the over 45 parents, could get some sleep!:)
I swam that afternoon at the lovely pool at the Austin Motel near our little house. At about 6pm that evening, I started bleeding - just a bit, with some slight cramping. My whole pregnancy had had scares like this, so I calmly called the amazing Dr Clive Polon. He responded in his wonderfully lilting South African accent, "Don't worry, sweetie. Keep careful watch and call me if it gets worse." So, I tucked myself into bed, the bleeding slowed down, but the cramping continued. Being a rather slim woman and carrying a bellyful of twins, I had almost constant menstrual cramping throughout the entire pregnancy up until this point. But I was worried and couldn't sleep. I made Evan stay up almost all night with me - quizzing him aloud from that month's Texas Monthly issue on Texas History. We sang, we talked, we called Dr Polon several times.
The next morning, Dr P said to come to his office right away. He took a look (I'll spare you the details) and said, "Sweetie, the babies are fine but something's not right. You're having contractions." My cramps were actually contractions! What did I know, having never been pregnant before!? I was admitted to Saint David's, hooked up to 3 heart monitors, one for each baby and one for me. They gave me a shot of magnesium sulfate to slow down the contractions - assuming they would abate and that I would be able to go home after a day or two - as well as a shot of steroids to assure that the babies' lungs could handle breathing on their own "just in case" they had to come out early. That was at 10am...Evan starting making the calls...Dr Polon checked in .... the nurses were on surveillance...the cramping worsened....at 4pm, the nurse came in and saw me, "I know that look," she said, "You're in labor." She then proceeded to stick her fist into my uterus and I screamed in pain. "What the fuck are you doing?"
Dr Polon came in at 6:30 pm. He calmly told Evan to go home and get everything we needed - a camera, my bed pillow, whatever else, make the calls...the babies were to be taken out. I cried, "They're too small and not ready." I was a mess. He said that they were fine, but they wanted/needed to come out before something started to get worse. They weren't sure what it was...
My sister Shakti, my sister and brother-in-law: Claudia & Lee, friends Laura, Kat & Don, Victor & Laura: our Katrina refugees from New Orleans - they were all there...the C-section room was freezing. The wonderfully amazing epidural raced through my body and they strapped my arms down in crucifixion mode as my body started shaking uncontrollably. The sheet was put up across my chest and Evan stood holding my hand. I talked of Texas History with the anesthesiologist - he said that was a first during any of the deliveries he'd assisted. Dr Polon stood on my left and out came Baby B, my little boy who quickly became Baby A in the delivery order. Then came my sweet little girl, Baby A became Baby B: born second at 10:32pm. I cried to Evan, "Where are they? What do they look like?" He replied, "Long, grey squirrels."
There were 14 people in the delivery room, besides the delivery team, etc., there was an neonatologist for each baby, their assistants and then some...a real party! I remember Dr Polon holding up Zelda before they whisked her away - she lifted her tiny, skinny grey arm and her eyes were open. They had no names yet...
On September 14th, we had a lovely rendez-vous with Katherine, a wonderful woman, who we signed up to be our post-partum doula. Friends with twins said she was the best and we should sign her on for the overnight shift. So, with a due date of December 17th and Dr Polon's thoughts that I would only make it to 34 weeks, we decided that she would come on in November when the babies would come out early. She would work 5 nights a week - on from 10:30pm - 8am, so we, the over 45 parents, could get some sleep!:)
I swam that afternoon at the lovely pool at the Austin Motel near our little house. At about 6pm that evening, I started bleeding - just a bit, with some slight cramping. My whole pregnancy had had scares like this, so I calmly called the amazing Dr Clive Polon. He responded in his wonderfully lilting South African accent, "Don't worry, sweetie. Keep careful watch and call me if it gets worse." So, I tucked myself into bed, the bleeding slowed down, but the cramping continued. Being a rather slim woman and carrying a bellyful of twins, I had almost constant menstrual cramping throughout the entire pregnancy up until this point. But I was worried and couldn't sleep. I made Evan stay up almost all night with me - quizzing him aloud from that month's Texas Monthly issue on Texas History. We sang, we talked, we called Dr Polon several times.
The next morning, Dr P said to come to his office right away. He took a look (I'll spare you the details) and said, "Sweetie, the babies are fine but something's not right. You're having contractions." My cramps were actually contractions! What did I know, having never been pregnant before!? I was admitted to Saint David's, hooked up to 3 heart monitors, one for each baby and one for me. They gave me a shot of magnesium sulfate to slow down the contractions - assuming they would abate and that I would be able to go home after a day or two - as well as a shot of steroids to assure that the babies' lungs could handle breathing on their own "just in case" they had to come out early. That was at 10am...Evan starting making the calls...Dr Polon checked in .... the nurses were on surveillance...the cramping worsened....at 4pm, the nurse came in and saw me, "I know that look," she said, "You're in labor." She then proceeded to stick her fist into my uterus and I screamed in pain. "What the fuck are you doing?"
Dr Polon came in at 6:30 pm. He calmly told Evan to go home and get everything we needed - a camera, my bed pillow, whatever else, make the calls...the babies were to be taken out. I cried, "They're too small and not ready." I was a mess. He said that they were fine, but they wanted/needed to come out before something started to get worse. They weren't sure what it was...
My sister Shakti, my sister and brother-in-law: Claudia & Lee, friends Laura, Kat & Don, Victor & Laura: our Katrina refugees from New Orleans - they were all there...the C-section room was freezing. The wonderfully amazing epidural raced through my body and they strapped my arms down in crucifixion mode as my body started shaking uncontrollably. The sheet was put up across my chest and Evan stood holding my hand. I talked of Texas History with the anesthesiologist - he said that was a first during any of the deliveries he'd assisted. Dr Polon stood on my left and out came Baby B, my little boy who quickly became Baby A in the delivery order. Then came my sweet little girl, Baby A became Baby B: born second at 10:32pm. I cried to Evan, "Where are they? What do they look like?" He replied, "Long, grey squirrels."
There were 14 people in the delivery room, besides the delivery team, etc., there was an neonatologist for each baby, their assistants and then some...a real party! I remember Dr Polon holding up Zelda before they whisked her away - she lifted her tiny, skinny grey arm and her eyes were open. They had no names yet...
Zelda at 1 month old
Creed at 2 months old
Happy Birthday to my dear Toxotwins!!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
The letter A...
...is one dot. A Braille cell is made up of 6 dots - 2 vertical columns with 3 in each column. The letter "A" is dot number one, the upper left corner position. Zelda is learning the Braille alphabet. She is grasping the concept of reading - left to right, starting in the upper left hand corner. Just like Creed is learning the concept of reading by holding a book upright as opposed to upside down, moving his eyes from left to right, following the letters, words and sentences. I am very specific with her teachers when we get together to set her IEP (Individual Educational Plan) for the school year. Her goals must be the same as a sighted child at her age. In this case (among so many others!), it's great to have twins; not to compare them, but to track and be aware of age appropriate goals. So, Zelda is learning her ABC's and every time she feels one dot, one button or even a small knob, she will proudly announce "A"!
Another thing Zelda likes to do is snuggle, kiss, and pat my body. She'll gently pat a part of my arm and ask "Mommy, what's this?" And I'll respond, "That's my wrist, Zelda" - constantly trying to add to her specific vocabulary.
"Mom, what's this?" "That's my back, Zelda."
"Mom, what's this?" - as she pats my chest. "That's my chest and those are my breasts."
And then... she feels my nipple and proudly says: "Mommy, "A"!!!"
Another thing Zelda likes to do is snuggle, kiss, and pat my body. She'll gently pat a part of my arm and ask "Mommy, what's this?" And I'll respond, "That's my wrist, Zelda" - constantly trying to add to her specific vocabulary.
"Mom, what's this?" "That's my back, Zelda."
"Mom, what's this?" - as she pats my chest. "That's my chest and those are my breasts."
And then... she feels my nipple and proudly says: "Mommy, "A"!!!"
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Merci, Madame Darla...
A brief interlude, a photo shoot and a connection to my Blackmail Design Blog... go there to see more photos and read about that morning...
Zelda
Friday, July 30, 2010
Etape 3...New Hampshire & beyond.
So, we left New York and headed north to New Hampshire - the little town of Henniker, to be exact. We arrived in the midst of yet another Memorial day parade but I'll spare you any more flag photos. Our old friends from Austin, Adam & Mary Catherine left Manhattan a few years back with their kids, Quintana and Levi and built a lovely house on the side of a mountain. It's all pretty idyllic - they can both travel for work when they need to, yet live in a small, New England town with other like-minded people and their kids can go to a cool school not in the big city.
Needless to say, Levi and Creed hit it off swimmingly - literally and figuratively. Toy cars and light sabers were exchanged. Quintana willed Zelda a beautiful pink dress. Neighbors dropped by for Evan's famous caipirinhias and in the evening, after Adam left to fly off to Florida for a directing job, the adults sat out on the porch, listened to the sounds of the night, shared stories and drank wine.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
...and holiday: Memorial Day
Stay tuned for Etape 3: Henniker, New Hampshire...
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
L'Etape 2: Yale, a birthday and a holiday...
Evan's birthday just happened to be the Saturday of his 30th Yale reunion. Such a party with more than a hundred people under a tent. And as a group - that is, Evan's friends - we all decided we looked younger than anyone else. Having the twins with us definitely helped.
Many thanks to Jerry and Mary for their hospitality in Beford, Ann for the cake and babysitting in Woodbridge, and the Peabody Museum and the dinosaurs for not kicking us out when Zelda opened the fire door and set off the alarm in the entire building. "Mom, what's that sound?"...
Many thanks to Jerry and Mary for their hospitality in Beford, Ann for the cake and babysitting in Woodbridge, and the Peabody Museum and the dinosaurs for not kicking us out when Zelda opened the fire door and set off the alarm in the entire building. "Mom, what's that sound?"...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)