Jack and Clare make their grand debut!

The beans arrived! Monday 8/18/2014 at 10:48 am Jack Thomas made his way into the world and at 11:15 his little sister Clare came. I know I'll post a labor and delivery post because truly, it was such an amazing day that I never want to forget (even though I'm already forgetting stuff...I had to ask David [again] what their birth times were hehe). It was mostly uneventful, apart from a blood transfusion for me (I lost a lot of blood during labor, turns out...) everything went better than I could have ever dreamed of :) How blessed are we!?

They're already a week old...8 days actually and it has been such a crazy roller coaster 8 days. Here's some things I've jotted down on my phone (which is now officially attached to my hip since that's where I track all their daily deets) about them, me, David, adjusting to this new, beautiful life.

Things about being home with our twins

-Pump right after feeding both and eat a lot of snacks/drink tons of H2O. It seemed horrible at first to pump after feeding two babes, but if I waited an hour to eat and let my boobs have a break, the milk would get backed up and I'd end up even more sore and heavy.
-8 days postpartum and I'm down 25lbs. It's blowing my mind at how incredible women's bodies are.
-David is an amazing partner and daddy. I've never seen him more grateful, more spiritually present, more in love than when he's got a babe in his arms
-A hands free pumping bra is more than a necessity. It changed how I felt about pumping. Not that I love it now, but it's turned into 20 mins of tv watching, snack eating, instagramming, resting time every 4 hours or so. Way nicer than having to hold up two pumps to my boobs for 20 mins. SO boring.
-Jack and Clare are two different people so one might (and probably will) eat more or goo more in one day than the other. And that's totally normal. Don't freak out.
-I'm learning to trust our instincts as parents and not get too wrapped up in what everyone tells you twins should be doing (i.e. eating every 3 hours, gooing every 5 hours, etc.) All those statistics makes me doubt how well we are all doing. My mom's coworker, a postpartum nurse, told her to tell me (hehe) that as long as they're eating and pooping...they're fine. So I've [mostly] stopped worrying. Because a happy momma means happy calm babies. Truly.
-The Total Baby app has been a lifesaver for keeping track of when one ate for how long on which boob, for a pumping log, and for diaper changes. I'm sure it'll be just as handy when I need to start keeping track of naps. It does all the stupid recording for me with just a couple pushes of buttons. Thanks, technology! 
-Breastfeeding is very hard and frustrating and painful. I've never felt more defeated by something and more determined to keep at something in my entire life. It really has gotten easier [and continues to get easier every time] and every time they latch on great, eat till they pass out on me all limp and vulnerable, I'm blown away at how accomplished I feel and how proud I am of these two little people. I will also say this...BF is such a huge challenge and although I've had great support from lactation consultants and even more amazing (really beyond what I could have ever expected of him) support and love from David, it has at times felt so lonely. No one else can do this job. Which I know is such a blessing, but at the worst of times feels like such a burden. I keep reminding myself to keep on keepin' on....these babies are loving you for it.
-No matter what kind of night we had or how much sleep I didn't get, I wake up so excited to see them again.


Things about Jack and Clare [their first week]

-Jack has a dimple on his right cheek and Clare has dimples on both sides
-Clare makes grunting noises which turn into super loud cries when she wants something. We started calling her our monster baby when we were still in the hospital :)
-Jack makes tiny mewing noises when he isn't getting enough attention. He's our sensitive little guy, and we've called him our little lamb since hospital.
-When Clare nurses, she attacks my breast, hence her other nickname, Shark Baby. Jack is more mellow and will mostly mew loudly if he can't latch properly.
-Both love falling asleep in daddy's arms
-Jack loves being burped by daddy
-Clare loves getting goo on daddy
-Both like being swaddled, as long as they can have an arm or two out


That's it for now! Clare is hungry! <3 Pics soon