9 1/2 Weeks or 4 Pounds

9 1/2 Weeks. That's how much more we can expect of sleepless nights, give or take. DH is counting down in pounds. He estimates we've got about 4 more to go before the boys can eat enough to keep themselves satiated through the night. Not that I'm counting, but we're looking at something around July 10. Holy crap, that seems like FOREVER!

When I was mentally preparing for the reality of life with newborn twins, and was trying to think what the greatest challenge would be, I imagined the crying. In my imagination, it wasn't day or night, it was just inconsolable crying. Which hasn't been the case at all. Our boys do cry, of course, but we can usually figure out a way to soothe them. But the nightime feeding schedule is truly kicking my a**. Is it the worst mother in the world who knows it is time to wake up her boys so they can gain weight, but hits the snooze button instead?

DH has been a saint, getting up with me three to four times a night to feed, burp, change, and soothe the boys. I say saint because he has to go to work each morning, and I can at least take naps. If he didn't help like he does, I could not function. It already takes about an hour each time, but if we didn't work together, it would take me two hours of staggered feeding, which would leave 0-60 minutes to wash bottles, go the bathroom, and sleep before starting it all over again. I would be lost without him.

Anyway, as much as I am enjoying their little newborn selves and I want them to remain wee for as long as possible, I am looking forward to that point, in the next few weeks when they can at least sleep for an hour or so more at a time.

***

My mother left this morning, and so today - with all our visitors gone for the time being - I have instituted Operation Breast Pump. My goal is that every time I put the boys down to sleep (during the day) that I will make pumping my first priority. I'm going to GNC when DH gets home from work tonight to get the supplement recommended by Elana.

I'm simply not giving up on this nursing deal. I promised myself I'd give it a month, and it hasn't even been 3 weeks yet. I am pumping right now (sorry, TMI!) so my record so far is 1 for 1. I'm sure I won't be 100% but I'm going to try to get my supply back up and keep it that way, now that I don't have to go hide myself in another room. Now that our guests are gone, I can pump in my living room without fear of snide comments or showing too much skin. Wish.Me.Luck.

***

Speaking of feeding, I was calculating last night how much it is going to cost us in formula at the boys' current rate of consumption (meaning - it will only get worse as they eat more). I think a good estimate right now is $40-50/week in formula alone. Which my husband accepted blindly, until I pointed out that our own personal grocery budget before the twins was $50/week, so we have in effect doubled our grocery budget. We could always switch to a generic formula, which I know many of our friends have done, but they are doing so well on the one we have them on (little or no spit ups, tolerable gas, etc.) Anyway, its a lot of money, and that doesn't even include diapers.

Speaking of diapers, I have now tried all the generic and namebrand diapers we had in the house. I have my favorite, and its not generic. But it has caused zero leaks, and zero blow outs, even when DH forgets to point the boys' water hoses in the right direction. So, we could probably spend $75/week on diapers at their current rate. But the avoidance of blow outs and diaper rash is paramount, as well.

I guess there are a billion other things I could cut from our budget before I would compromise in these areas for my boys. It's only +/- 6 months on formula. And they'll go through fewer diapers soon enough. Who needs Starbucks anyway?

16 Days

We took the boys to worship this morning, and I was overwhelmed with joy that they will be able to grow up in our church, surrounded by such loving, wonderful people. And I was reminded of several hymns I want to sing to my boys around the house. Well, not hymns, really, more like camp songs Sanctuary and Step by Step. Why didn't I think of them sooner? These are songs we sang around the campfire when I was a camp director. Songs I sometimes slip into in the shower. Songs that sustain me. And that I want my sons to be able to say one day My mother sang that song to me as a child. It was a great morning.

Will has lost his umbilical cord and his plastibell, so as soon as his...unit...stops looking kind of..inflamed...I won't have to worry about his wounds anymore. Jack has lost his cord, but his plastibell looks like it will be hanging in there for several more days. I am anxious for it to fall off so we can move on with our lives. A mother's love - not wanting to see your child in any situation that might possibly cause them a moment's discomfort, especially in such a tender place.

The breast feeding has all but been called off. I am pumping twice a day, generating like 2 ounces each time. I keep wondering if my body will sustain this level until I go back to work, when I could pump up the volume (pardon the pun) because at work I could take breaks and the boys will be at Melissa's house, and I wouldn't have interruptions. Hmmmm. 4 more weeks?! If not, I tried my best. I have been open to this reality all along, breast feeding twins is a big commitment. But cheapskate me will be most irritated that I spent $70 on breast pump supplies and have not gotten my money's worth.

Did I mention the boys weight gain is insufficient? As of their Friday weigh-in, we are back on the 3-hour feeding schedule. Which is better than the prior 2-hour schedule, but still concerning. I kinda wanted to just wake up when they cried for me and feed them then. I'm so over resetting my alarm clock on my phone three times a night.

One last thought before someone wakes up, I am feeling irritated by the discussion of twins as a double blessing, etc. It's almost as if my mother just glosses over the fact that we suffered with infertility for those years and that we had a huge medical intervention to get these boys. I don't want to discount the blessing they are, or God's role in our lives, but these boys are bought and paid for! We had IVF. It wasn't an accident. We knew we had a 50/50 chance of twins. And we are SO grateful because we waited for so long to have them, to be blessed with them. I don't know. Maybe I'm being sensitive. But something in the way my mother and others talk about them, I am constantly trying to bring up the IVF. This didn't just happen. We suffered. We are infertile. It's more than what you say. It's so much more. I need to work through these emotions some more before I can fully articulate them. It's hard to express.

Setback

The boys are two weeks old today. We had a weight check at the pediatrician's, and then I had my incision check at the OB this morning. It's only 1pm now, but I feel like we've had a full day already!

The boys had been off of their 2-hour feeding schedule since Tuesday. However, Jack only maintained his weight and Will lost 2 ounces. So, we are now on a 3-hour feeding schedule - day and night. Which means I had to reprint the spreadsheet for tracking their intake. And most notably, means I will be getting less sleep, again. And worrying about why my babies are failing to thrive for the next week or so.

The breastfeeding, well, hmmmm. I get the boys to latch for one feeding a day, but I worry it isn't enough and they still seem hungry after that, so they end up eating their full bottle of formula shortly thereafter. The pumping doesn't seem to get done more than once or twice per day, so the volume I am able to pump each time has fallen off from 3 ounces per side, to 1. My big dream is to keep the pumping alive (even at this tiny amount) until I go back to work in another month, and then increase my volume by pumping morning, noon, and night in the parking lot. Gross? Maybe. But a definite benefit to daycare - free time!

In other news, my visit with my mother here is going way better than I had expected. She still says the most awful things. But I guess I am just so grateful to have the help, that I have become stellar at holding my tongue. She means well, and doesn't know how she sounds. I know that. But sometimes I'd like to scream in her face. And I know she bites her tongue, too. We are just so different. So, so different.

For example, today she asked me how I intend to lose the baby weight. I told her I hadn't thought about doing much more than taking care of the boys, but I hoped to take them for walks in the neighborhood in the stroller. To which, she replied, "I think its going to take more than that." Which to me, is code for, you're a fat ass. So, when I told her she didn't need to share any more helpful comments on that topic, she falsely apologized in a very masterful sarcastic tone. I told her I only have about 25 pounds to go, and I'm not worried about it. I should point out she's about 30 pounds overweight herself, so it is exceptionally hard to hear her criticize my weight.

Or, when I vented about my in laws, she suggested that maybe THEY were afraid of ME. No, don't validate your daughter or tell her she'll be okay, she'll get through this difficult time. No, a good mother would apparently suggest that her daughter is the source of the problem, and is indeed, scary. Nice, huh?

And now, yet another picture of the twins:

Major Accomplishment

Jack latched for the first time today! No nipple shield. No hitting me with flailing arms! Just a good, solid latch. And then nursed for about 15 minutes. I was in shock!

Now, if we could just get him to burp more regularly and hence have less gas. Any suggestions other than the big three - shoulder, lap, and leaning forward????

Week 1

Technically, the boys reached the 1 week milestone on Friday, but who has time to post every day?! They celebrated by staying up late, way way late.

We have the boys on the same feeding schedule. As of now, we bottle feed pumped breast milk during the day, bottle feed formula at night, and nurse Will whenever his little heart desires. It's amazing how close I feel to him and how much I enjoy that part of our relationship. I'm hoping the pediatrician will take care of Jack's little 'tongue tie' issue and he can nurse, too.

Thanks to all of you who validated my concerns and new path. I've been wondering if I don't even mind having to pump as I can't imagine finding a way to nurse them both day and night. I picture various scenarios and think I would be uber-exhausted and that this little setback is actually BETTER for us in the long run.

My incision seems to be healing fine, but my body is in such sad shape. Do all mothers get this droopy belly syndrome? Is it the c-section? Is it all the oreos I ate? Seriously, my skin, in this area of which I speak, is like raw chicken skin. Tough. Yellowish pale. Large pores. Did I mention tough? It's so freaking disgusting!

Today is our last day 'alone' without visitors actually staying in our home. My brother and his family arrive tonight. My mother on Tuesday. I'm mourning the loss of alone time already. And instead of pumping and typing this in the living room, I'm going to have to AT LEAST move the pump to the nursery. Wouldn't want to scar my dear brother for life!
DH and I have commented several times how simple it must be to just have one. We are surviving life with twins and without sleep very well, I think. We definitely make a good team. We are very happy with our double blessing, and grateful for every moment.

We have had several more run ins with DH's parents. They are normally very rational, loving people, but seem to have lost their minds this week. I won't bore you with the details, because I'm trying to emotionally move on. But the final straw was when DH's mom stayed home SICK FROM WORK on Friday, but yet thought she was going to come over and visit that night. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?????? Yes, they are 7 days old, please help us celebrate by bringing your germs into our home. SELFISH. SELFISH.SELFISH. Anyway, after the week we've had, I am feeling a lot more free to be honest, direct and vocal about my concerns with them. But with my family coming to visit this week, I'm sure they will back off and I will get some relief from the stress with them. Bring on the stress of fighting with my own mom ;o

At least my mom will actually be helpful. Sure, she will say hurtful things and scold when she should validate (check back regularly for ranting about her!). She will smother me with physical affection that doesn't match her behavior or words, and that I don't feel in return, she will talk incessantly and she will reek of chain-smoking. But she will wash her hands regularly and she will clean and cook and fold laundry, too.

Probably should reward you all with some pics. We haven't been good about taking pictures, but hopefully with my mom here this week, we will. Actually, I haven't found my way into a photo since the delivery, so yes, we definitely need to remedy that this week.

And as soon as those little umbilical nubs fall off, we are SO scheduling the photographer!

Jack

Will

Homecoming

We were released from the hospital mid-day today. I'll post a pic of the boys in their 'newborn' sleepers which are obviously entirely too large.

I've backed off of any worries I had about bottle feeding them. It is just so much easier than fighting to get them to latch. Correction: easier than encouraging Jack to slow down and attach. He is an aggressive eater! Little Will has a great latch.

But since they had lost more than 10% of their birth weight in the hospital, we were supplementing with formula in a syringe with the nipple or a finger. Which was effective, but took a lot longer than just a bottle. I was even pumping and then sucking that into a syringe for the finger feeds.

Now that we're home, they can eat what I pump out of a bottle. And we're using the formula supplement with a bottle instead of the syringe. If they get nipple confusion, then they can just have my pumped supply from a bottle from now on. Pretty much 99% of the people at the hospital (doctors, nurses, pediatricians, etc.) said they had never heard of one true case of nipple confusion, so to do whatever worked best for us.

I would like to give the boys the best nutrients my body has to offer, and save the cost of formula, so this is working for me now. I do have a fear in the back of my mind about the latching, and about how I should have given it more time. But maybe now that we're at home and can settle into a schedule without the interruptions of hospital life, and now that my milk appears to be coming in, maybe now I can work with Jack to latch.

Sidenote: the formula we are using is what you typically see people come home from the hospital with - premixed formula in tiny little 2 oz bottles. We got about 50 extra of them, because one of our nurses used to volunteer at the church camp where I was the director. She had twin boys who were some of my favorite campers ever. She came in to write her name on my white board yesterday morning, and I asked her if she recognized me. Then, all day long, she was bringing people in to meet me and the boys, and totally loaded us up with the formula, diapers, wipes, and a bunch of other great stuff. It was so nice to connect with her, and to talk about old people and times. The best part was that by the time she was our nurse, the worst of my recovery was over, so I didn't have to ask her to clean my privates, or hold my puke bucket!

I'm so tired, my eyes will barely stay open. And yet, I need to go check in on everyone's blogs. I don't want to get behind!

Birth Story

Starting this post on sunday evening, around 10:20pm. We'll see how far I get before the boys wake up or I fall asleep!

***

Friday morning, we left our house around 7:15 and headed to the hospital. We got checked in, and the nurse started trying to monitor the boys. She couldn't tell for sure that the second heartbeat wasn't the first, and had called for a sonogram when it was time to go to surgery. I was not worried, Baby B had been difficult to find all along, so I didn't let that freak me out.

Once in the surgical room, I had the shakes because it was cold in there, plus my IV bag was cold. I was a little afraid of shaking too much for the epidural, but the anesthesiologist was great. He predicted every sensation and it was truly over right away.

Once that was in, they made me lay on what other women have told you and I am here to confirm - is the smallest table in the world! The prep work continued. My surgery was scheduled for 9:30 and my OB showed up at 9:55. There was some waiting around until he got there, but I was so happy to see his face when he peaked in to mark up my belly, I didn't care.

The boys were out soon enough. I felt the pulling that everyone tells you about, but it was the weirdest sensation ever when they pulled Jack out, I actually felt my right side of my belly deflate. Their cries seemed water-logged at first, like they were crying under water, but they were strong cries and they scored 8,9 and 9.9 on their apgars. Wahoo!

Stitching me up took forever. And I lost more blood than they would have liked. The procedure was pretty simple. Only side effect was that I was itchy everyone, but especially under my pressure cuff. So, I enlisted DH to scratch that for me from time to time.

Jack was born at 10:07am, weighing 7lbs 11oz. Will came next at 10:09am, weighing 6lbs, 6oz. There was some confusion over Baby A vs. Baby B for some time, because they were in reverse order during all the previous sonograms. So, anytime someone has a question, I let DH tell them which is A and which is B. I'm getting better, but I still have to think it through.

We were in recovery from 11am until about 5:30pm. It shouldn't have been that long, but I had lost a lot of blood, and was continuing to bleed more than they wanted, so they wanted to monitor me more closely. They gave me some drug that is intended to make the uterus 'clamp down' and that seemed to make all the difference in the world.

I was able to tandem feed the boys (with the help of one nurse on each breast!) in the recovery room. I tried to make a few calls, but left the majority of those to DH. They were checking the boys quite often, so I didn't see much of them, but I could see them and hear them and I knew they were okay.

We had a lot of guests Friday night, but I was feeling up to it. Seemed like the weight of the world lifted off of me when we got to "our" room, not just some holding area. The boys fussed until about 3am when I finally asked DH to put them both in bed with me and to let him get some sleep. They didn't wake up until the nurses woke me up and I tried to feed them.

Saturday was a freaking zoo in here - hospital staff including pediatrician, audiologist, camera dude, cleaning people, nurse and nurse, resident, my OB, plus family and friends. I probably was up too much during the day, because last night I became ill. I had the worst stomach cramps from gas that alternated between stabbing pains and vomiting. I was so disappointed about that, because I had gone the entire pregnancy without puking. DH had rested the night before, so he got to be in charge of the boys while I was ill.

Finally, around 5:30 this morning, I just knew I was better. So, I let the nurse bring me my pain pills and give me my shot - two things I had asked to skip until I knew I wouldn't just puke up the Percocet.

I was able to walk back/forth to the bathroom all day, and even took a shower all by myself. I haven't dared to look at the incision, but trust then the nurses tell me how great it looks. I'm pretty sure we'll go home tomorrow. I'll miss the constant catering of these nurses, who have been so good to us, and I'll miss the hospital bed, but I won't miss being pestered for my blood pressure, a blood sample, etc. or watching the boys get their vital signs taken which causes great consternation on their part.

The boys are amazing! They are so healthy and so adorable. I still can't believe that I grew them in my belly. I'm enjoying getting to know them, observing their facial expressions, and learning about their different cries. I could watch them all day, but my nausea medication makes me fall asleep. Breastfeeding puts me to sleep, as well.

***

My husband's family have been the biggest baby hogs ever. They don't put them down and they come to visit for 5 hours at a time. They also don't share with other guests. It's getting really, really old and it has only been about 3 days.

I seriously feel like I have missed a lot of time with my boys, because I want to be a gracious host. I know that no one is here in the hospital to see me!

Anyway, after my night o puking, we wanted our guests staggered, and my inlaws called to say they were on their way. When DH called back to suggest they wait until 3 so another visitor would have their own time, his step father replied with the old "so you're keeping us from the boys' lives" Are you freaking kidding me?! My husband was so upset about it, when they did arrive we had to discuss this. Not that they even listened, because obviously they're not rational. But we tried. A one hour delay does not a life take away. And its totally unfounded. I took my MIL to a sonogram appointment. I constantly sent her emails of sono pics for the appointments she didn't attend. I didn't have to do that. I went above and beyond to include her because I knew she was so excited to be a grandmother. So, lest I sound like a total meanie for wanting the boys to myself here and there, I just wanted to remind everyone that I am indeed a good DIL. They are just completely unrealistic freaks.

They want to come to the house every day once we get home and stay for hours, as well. That's totally not happening, but I just bit my tongue. Sometimes avoidance is the best tactic I have for dealing with these issues. I just won't answer the door if they won't listen to reason. I'm desperate for some alone time with my husband and our sons. I don't want to hurt DH's family, but they have to have their own kids if they want those kinds of visitation rights. I think one hour is plenty. And actually, if it happens everyday, one hour is probably more than I want.

We shall see how my husband handles this task. I told them never to pull the 'babies out of our life' card again. There will be a big blowup if they do. Wish me luck to handle this the right way for our family. I just don't get where people come up with these expectations that we're going to have these children that we have wanted for so long, and then leave them all the time, or never want alone time. We are both only children, we are both independent, and we want to figure this out. I will never get to know my sons if I allow my MIL to hold them all day, every day. So, anyway, I'm just rambling now, but you get the idea. Family drama. Grrrrrr.

***

I'm sure I've left out a billion important details, but I've hit the highlights. My husband has been super. He's changed every diaper, swaddled after every change and feed. He loves these boys so much, and is going to be the best father ever! I am so proud of how we've handled the crying, and tried things together. It truly is going to be a great adventure for us both. And I'm so excited to raise these boys with him.

Holy crap! I'm a mom!

Birthday Pics!

One last belly shot - check out those cankles!

Daddy entertaining mommy during prep for surgery.

Mommy pretending she's at the spa.

The Happy Family

Big Jack and Little Will

38 Weeks!

We hit the 38 week mark today. Can you believe it? With twins?

After all the worry worry worry I put myself through for fear of premature birth - here we are at 38.

My. My. My.

***

We had our final OB appointment yesterday. Baby A's estimated weight was 7lbs 9oz, and Baby B estimated at 7lbs, 6oz.

Why yes, that is 15 pounds of baby in me right now!

Dr. C told me he will have to cut through my FuManChu for the section. But he referred to it as 'that fleshy, swollen area' on my lower abdomen. I was embarrassed to discuss this particular feature of my body, but now wonder if that makes the surgery more troublesome, or the recovery worse, or if there maybe weren't some questions I should have asked when he mentioned this. And I'm pretty sure I won't get the opportunity tomorrow.

***

I left the office shortly after 1:30 today and am resting at home, finishing up some projects on my laptop. My goal is to have my final to-do list wrapped up by the time DH gets home shortly before 5pm.

We have a date tonight for our 'last supper' at our fav restaurant.

I had to leave work so people could get some work done. It seems like all we've done all week is talk about babies and birth and me, and today, knowing they wouldn't seem me for about 6 weeks, they all had even more well wishes. I only teared up twice, which I thought was a pretty big accomplishment.

***

Here is our schedule for tomorrow, assuming I am able to sleep tonight

6am Alarm Goes Off - shower, final packing of hospital bag, etc. Impeccable makeup job for all those delivery-room photo ops. (yes, I am terribly vain. This should not be news)

7am Depart for Hospital

7:30 Check in at L&D

9:30 C-Section

10:30 Head to recovery

11:30 Head back to our room

12:00 Start calling friends and family, and hope to ward off all visitors until at least 5pm so I can get some rest!

I will post pics of our boys sometime this weekend. As soon as I trust myself not to make a total fool of myself because of the drugs. Here we go!

So....Tired.....

Today is Saturday, which means I have only 6 MORE DAYS until our baby boys arrive!

DH and I are SO excited, and impatient for their arrival. It seems like there is nothing else we can talk about.

***

Today, I made my *final* weekly grocery trip. I stocked up on food for this week, plus plenty of easy stuff for next week - DH requested frozen pizzas, I chose meat, cheese and crackers. And for some reason, I'm obsessed with toilet paper. We must have 60 extra rolls in the linen closet! I guess I'm just anticipating a lot of house guests in the next few weeks.

After that excursion, I worked on some more thank you cards for gifts we received this week, plus some extra baby cards for some gifts I plan to mail on Monday.

And then I took a 3-hour nap.

I normally don't allow myself to nap during the day, because I worry I will be up all night. But I simply...could....not...go...on. And now I'm still feeling rather exhausted. Even two tall glasses of Coke have not sped things up.

I guess we all knew this time would come.

***

I have a mere four days left in the office - two at my desk, and two in meetings - before my leave. I worked steadily on Friday making final preparations, and will meet with my boss on Monday to review where I've left everything. If I can get everything on my list done by the end of the day on Tuesday, they shouldn't hardly know I'm gone!

My company does not offer paid maternity leave, but I have saved up 29 days of vacation and/or sick leave. Which is about 6 weeks, but then I will have NOTHING until my leave renews at the end of September. So, I'm considering taking one day unpaid each week to save myself some extra time with the boys, for later, when I'll need the pay because we are paying daycare.

37 Weeks!

8 More Days! 8 More Days!

Husband Update - DH picked up our taxes this morning and was supposed to call and tell me the results. I’m going to make him take ‘excellent communication skills’ off his resume because of this conversation:

A: Did you get our taxes?

T: Yes. [pause] I don’t know how they got so messed up...

A: What do you mean?

T: Well, one is $3,100 and the other is $1,100.

A: WHAT?!?!?!?!?

T: Yeah, I know.

A: How do we owe that much?

T: No, I’m sorry. That’s what we’re getting back.

After my heart moved back into my chest and its rate returned to normal, I pointed out how fabulous it is to have this cushion in our finances, and give DH some breathing room in his job search, so if he has to be unemployed for awhile, its even more doable!

And a few hours later, he called to tell me he has yet another job interview on Monday. Wahoo!

***

Last night was another rough night on the couch. Note to self: no more hot chocolate in the evenings! I had to sleep sitting up for several hours for fear my stomach would leak out my mouth. Oh, the indigestion!

The past few days, I have noticed an increase in contractions. They're still not frequent enough to time. But I get more than 1 or 2 a day. Still not painful, but definitely noticeable. That could mean they come before our scheduled section, or that my body is just doing its thing. More news later...

9 more days...

9 More Days! 9 More Days!

In case you were worried, I did not kill my husband. Nor have I nagged him any more about the stupid water heater or his blowing me off yet again for that ridiculous job. Our friend installed the new one today, so all is well at our home. For now.

***

We had our weekly biophysical and appointment with Dr C today.

Mysteriously, Baby B has flipped himself over and his head is now in my right hip. How didn't I feel that????? Also, their weights are now both 6lbs, 11oz which would indicate that Baby B did not gain any weight during the past week. However, even-keeled, not-freaking-out me is going to be realistic and believe my doctor when he says not to worry about that, because its probably more a symptom of the way they estimate weights, which I already knew and had told DH would be the only thing Dr C could say about it that could make me feel better. So, I am choosing not to obsess about the health of Baby B. I'm sure he is fine. I thought him gaining 1 pound in the week before was too high, so this is more realistic.

Breathe.

The bad news is that I have to go back again next Wednesday, even though we're scheduled for a c section two days later. What is up with that? But, I want to be compliant, so I didn't complain. But seriously?! I have had enough of that waiting room!

Our sono was at 12, and appointment at 1:30, so DH chose to attend the sono and skip the appointment.

DH's questions today were 1) how long will the surgery take; and 2) how long will I be in recovery. I answered both of these for him while we were at lunch, but promised to ask Dr. C in case I was wrong. Dr. C's first response was And why is he worried about this? to which I replied I think he wants to know how soon we can have visitors. Specifically, his parents.

I had already recommended to DH that anytime after they get off work on Friday will be soon enough. I do not want people traipsing in and out of our room while I'm trying to breastfeed, or having my cooter checked by the nurse. A few hours to rest after major surgery is not too much to ask.

I think he's just anxious to share this joyous event with his family, which I'm sure is his way of feeling involved with everything.

I myself am selfish and want to keep DH and our boys to myself as long as possible.

So, again, anytime after work. That's my recommendation. And I WILL.NOT.HESITATE. to ask people to leave the room if I need to whip out a boob. So, I will ask that he make that a part of his speech.

Dr. C gave me some good ammunition pointing out that in the first few hours we get settled in our room, the nurses will be checking my 'bottom' and 'incision' regularly as well as the babies, and the nurse would be kicking people out to do these tasks anyway.

DH's parents are not fully able, and have difficulty walking anyway, so I think this will definitely help me get the additional recovery time I am seeking.

We shall see how that conversation goes.

***

Either working all day or having Chinese for lunch or both has caused my feet to swell to just about uncomfortable. I definitely see a foot rub in my future this evening.