That's what we have now! Yesterday actually marked the threshhold of the girls weighing in at a total of 9 pounds. Sydney is hanging around the 4lbs, 1oz mark; while Olivia surpassed the 5lb mark as well. Reminds me of those Sunday morning "Wrestling at the Chase" episodes I used to watch where the tag team champions were introduced as "Coming in at a COMBINED weight of so-so hundred pounds..." Well, I guess my girls have a ways to go before they can start their wrestling careers...
To make sure they are as well-rounded as possible, I'm going to start taking note of what I consider great pieces of Americana to introduce the girls to. A week or so ago, I made a reference to the great 'Blazing Saddles'. It's a must see for anyone... Probably not something I can watch with them until they are nearly 12, but something I'll look forward too. As mentioned above, Professional Wrestling is another one... And, The Three Stooges. What is he talking about, you may ask? Well, I have fond memories of many Sunday mornings of waiting for Jerry Falwell to finish with his TV sermon so that I could watch Andre the Giant put the beat down on the Iron Shiek or Nikolai Volkov (yes, kids, Americans hated the Russians and the Iranians back then, too). And nothing rounded out the afternoon like watching Moe Howard whack Larry Fine with a sledge hammer followed by an eye-poke by Curly... Luckily I have the Stooges on DVD in case they can't be found on TV... And yes, ladies, women can love the Stooges. It's rare, but it can happen and hopefully will with my girls...
These are the kind of thoughts that stream through my head as I'm sitting in traffic each day... Anyway...
As I was leaving the hospital today, I pondered some of the things I've learned since I've become a father, only 7 weeks ago...
1. Not all newborn babies look like aliens or rhesus monkeys. Did you see the pics of my girls? They were friggin cute the moment they arrived! As Nana Sharon remarked "They just look like regular little babies, but smaller!" Love you, mom.
2. Pride can make you cry. It's quite cliche, but everyone says that the day your kids are born is the best day of your life... Well, that's true. And the pride you feel is like nothing else you've felt before and something that you can't prepare for. With the rollercoaster ride Jeni and I have been on the last 8 months, the safe, healthy arrival of our girls was truly amazing.
3. Childbirth is NOT beautiful... the CHILDREN who come from it are. Belive me, I was in the room... I know. That was a messy, gross scene. There was way too much blood and fluid for anything like that to be considered beautiful...
4. Parents stare at their children for a reason. As a kid, I caught my mom staring at me a few times for unknown reasons. At the time, I thought this was weird. Now, as a dad, sitting in the NICU looking into the tiny plastic boxes keeping my daughters warm, I realized what that whole staring thing was about... and found myself doing it too.
5. In the words of Jack Nicholson in 'The Bucket List', "Never trust a fart." I say this regarding our lovely little adorable gassy daughters. Just when you think the kid can't possibly have any more gas... She rips one so loud you think someone stepped on a duck. The real mystery is whether it was all gas, or if she's left you a present too... And the smells that can come out of a human weighing less than 6lbs are astonishing.
6. In the NICU, normal folks are a minority. On my first few trips to the NICU I started noticing an odd trend. I seemed to be one of the few men there who had all of his teeth, didn't think camoflage should be a staple to all of my outfits, wasn't there visiting my shorty & baby's mama, and wasn't someone who isn't old enough to buy cigarettes but had brought a child into the world. The NICU is quite the cornucopia of humanity. Unfortunately, it's mainly the side of humanity that causes most of us to gape in awe when they walk by.
7. I'm ready for sleep deprivation. No matter how much I enjoy my 7 hours of sleep, sleeping in on weekends, or naps in the afternoons, I'm ready for my girls to come home. The NICU is giving my girls the best care possible and it's a top notch facility with AMAZING doctors and nurses... But, I want them to be here. I'm done with my drives to the hospital every day... I'm actually looking forward to the day when they wake me up screaming in the next room. I know, you think I'm crazy. But, until you've had to wait these long 7 weeks, you probably won't understand.
I'm sure I'll stumble across more... I'll let you know if I think of some.
So, today the girls did their usual routine of practice time with mom and some bottle feeding from dad. Olivia seems to be our early-adopter of the nursing from mom. She's been pretty consistent. However, she doesn't seem to be a big fan of eating from the bottle. She's quite content just sitting on dad's lap and looking around or napping. She'll take the bottle but hasn't been eating much of her feeds that way. Sydney, on the other hand, hasn't been a strong nurser. She's getting the hang of it now and is improving, but didn't do so well in the beginning. However, with the bottle she's been great. She has regularly taken all of her feed from the bottle with none left to go in through her feeding tube. I guess the girls are working to establish their own personalities already... :)
Finally, my artsy-fartsy side took over today and I attemped some black & white photography. Not sure what it is, but black & white photos just seem more professional or classy... I mean, Ansel Adams was pretty much just taking pictures of rocks and mountains and stuff, but people buy that crap up! Anyway, hope you enjoy the new pictures.
To make sure they are as well-rounded as possible, I'm going to start taking note of what I consider great pieces of Americana to introduce the girls to. A week or so ago, I made a reference to the great 'Blazing Saddles'. It's a must see for anyone... Probably not something I can watch with them until they are nearly 12, but something I'll look forward too. As mentioned above, Professional Wrestling is another one... And, The Three Stooges. What is he talking about, you may ask? Well, I have fond memories of many Sunday mornings of waiting for Jerry Falwell to finish with his TV sermon so that I could watch Andre the Giant put the beat down on the Iron Shiek or Nikolai Volkov (yes, kids, Americans hated the Russians and the Iranians back then, too). And nothing rounded out the afternoon like watching Moe Howard whack Larry Fine with a sledge hammer followed by an eye-poke by Curly... Luckily I have the Stooges on DVD in case they can't be found on TV... And yes, ladies, women can love the Stooges. It's rare, but it can happen and hopefully will with my girls...
These are the kind of thoughts that stream through my head as I'm sitting in traffic each day... Anyway...
As I was leaving the hospital today, I pondered some of the things I've learned since I've become a father, only 7 weeks ago...
1. Not all newborn babies look like aliens or rhesus monkeys. Did you see the pics of my girls? They were friggin cute the moment they arrived! As Nana Sharon remarked "They just look like regular little babies, but smaller!" Love you, mom.
2. Pride can make you cry. It's quite cliche, but everyone says that the day your kids are born is the best day of your life... Well, that's true. And the pride you feel is like nothing else you've felt before and something that you can't prepare for. With the rollercoaster ride Jeni and I have been on the last 8 months, the safe, healthy arrival of our girls was truly amazing.
3. Childbirth is NOT beautiful... the CHILDREN who come from it are. Belive me, I was in the room... I know. That was a messy, gross scene. There was way too much blood and fluid for anything like that to be considered beautiful...
4. Parents stare at their children for a reason. As a kid, I caught my mom staring at me a few times for unknown reasons. At the time, I thought this was weird. Now, as a dad, sitting in the NICU looking into the tiny plastic boxes keeping my daughters warm, I realized what that whole staring thing was about... and found myself doing it too.
5. In the words of Jack Nicholson in 'The Bucket List', "Never trust a fart." I say this regarding our lovely little adorable gassy daughters. Just when you think the kid can't possibly have any more gas... She rips one so loud you think someone stepped on a duck. The real mystery is whether it was all gas, or if she's left you a present too... And the smells that can come out of a human weighing less than 6lbs are astonishing.
6. In the NICU, normal folks are a minority. On my first few trips to the NICU I started noticing an odd trend. I seemed to be one of the few men there who had all of his teeth, didn't think camoflage should be a staple to all of my outfits, wasn't there visiting my shorty & baby's mama, and wasn't someone who isn't old enough to buy cigarettes but had brought a child into the world. The NICU is quite the cornucopia of humanity. Unfortunately, it's mainly the side of humanity that causes most of us to gape in awe when they walk by.
7. I'm ready for sleep deprivation. No matter how much I enjoy my 7 hours of sleep, sleeping in on weekends, or naps in the afternoons, I'm ready for my girls to come home. The NICU is giving my girls the best care possible and it's a top notch facility with AMAZING doctors and nurses... But, I want them to be here. I'm done with my drives to the hospital every day... I'm actually looking forward to the day when they wake me up screaming in the next room. I know, you think I'm crazy. But, until you've had to wait these long 7 weeks, you probably won't understand.
I'm sure I'll stumble across more... I'll let you know if I think of some.
So, today the girls did their usual routine of practice time with mom and some bottle feeding from dad. Olivia seems to be our early-adopter of the nursing from mom. She's been pretty consistent. However, she doesn't seem to be a big fan of eating from the bottle. She's quite content just sitting on dad's lap and looking around or napping. She'll take the bottle but hasn't been eating much of her feeds that way. Sydney, on the other hand, hasn't been a strong nurser. She's getting the hang of it now and is improving, but didn't do so well in the beginning. However, with the bottle she's been great. She has regularly taken all of her feed from the bottle with none left to go in through her feeding tube. I guess the girls are working to establish their own personalities already... :)
Finally, my artsy-fartsy side took over today and I attemped some black & white photography. Not sure what it is, but black & white photos just seem more professional or classy... I mean, Ansel Adams was pretty much just taking pictures of rocks and mountains and stuff, but people buy that crap up! Anyway, hope you enjoy the new pictures.
Olivia
Sydney
Until tomorrow!
M
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to comment about our blog entries. We'd love to hear from you!