Feed, Burp, Change, Repeat (x2)

This is what daily life in the Isidro household has become this past week. A regimen dictated by the needs of two babies! I had forgotten how intense the first few months, let alone weeks, are with newborns. I give all the kudos to Tangie though. Not only did she carry two, up to a total of almost 13 lbs, for 38 weeks, but now she is feeding both every 2-3 hours for, oh say, the next 6 months, at least! Tremendous dedication and commitment, I say. Our family is blessed to have her as Mommy.

Nana (Grandma Campbell) and Deeda (Great-Grandma) are also a big support every day. Deeda is a wunderkind when it comes to taking care of babies. She is amazing! I love to watch her interact with her great-grandkids, and to think, she's done this now for 3 generations! She has a knack for soothing, and is so patient amidst the screams. Nana has been helping us get our other house in Apopka ready for our new tenants, as well as doting on Braelyn and spoiling her with gifts and treats!

We were also blessed this week by our friends. We were treated to Thai food by the Grodacks who graciously reciprocated from when we had brought them (ironically enough) Thai food after the birth of their 2nd daughter Aubree. They have become close friends of ours and we always enjoy getting together with them for any occasion, despite the fact that we live half a state away. Not really, but living on opposite sides of town make for a very long commute! Their first daughter Calleigh and Braelyn love to hang out and act very silly when together. Oh wait, that's her daddy Duncan and me. My mistake.

Another good friend Jennifer Bergherm swung by Thursday evening with a cornucopia of culinary fare. She baked 2 casseroles, some steamed veggies, and topped it off with fresh baked cookies! And she apparently baked some gourmet chocolate cake that was eventually eaten by her 3 year old! Amazing, that woman, since she has 2 very active boys, plus watches 2 more boys from another set of friends of ours. It's all very 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon. I don't know where she found the time to include cooking us food but hey, I'm not complaining! Same time next week Jen? ;-)

We have been averaging around 3 and 5 hours of sleep each night. Not consecutive, mind you, but collective. The twins have been sleeping in our room so we can get to them quickly. That and because over the weekends my parents sleep in the trundle bed in the nursery; Nana & Deeda have taken residence in the guest quarters. So anyway, last call for feeding happens around 11, burped, changed, and in bed by 12:30 or so. And, fingers crossed, the twins start stirring around 3:30 or 4 for the next meal, depending on how much they ate previously. Then we do it all over again...3 hours at a time.

Both have regained back their birth weights. Infants usually lose a few ounces after birth and during the first couple of weeks. I don't blame them for eating so much ~ Tangie is like a factory! We could feed a small town or municipality with the amount of breast milk she's producing. I've even thought of putting up a kiosk on the side of the road and selling it by the liter. Ka-ching!

The twins are starting to develop their own characteristics, although we could see it coming from the ultrasounds and what Tangie felt in her belly. Kohlden is the chill, quiet one. He only squeaks when he's hungry or needs to be changed. Madelyn has quite the temperament, and demands attention. She is very loud and insists to be held all the time! And oh, those screaming fits! Gotta love them!

Braelyn is adjusting well so far. She dotes on both siblings, always wanting to hold them and/or carry them, of course with adult supervision. I found an inflatable neck cushion that we converted into her very own boppy so whenever Mommy is feeding the twins, Brae also feeds her dollies, boppy and all. It's so fun and neat to see her interacting with them. She also has decided to come and help us in the middle of the night, insisting on getting the diapers ready, helping get mommy a snack out of the fridge (and eating almost all of it) as well as letting us know the baby wipes we were using were not the twins' wipes, but were hers.

The hardest one dealing with the transition is our 5 year old pet Cocker Spaniel Zoe. She was our "baby" before Braelyn arrived but has dropped to #4 in the pecking order. Hopefully the transition won't be as resentful as in the previous time -- she's so possessive! :)

All right! Another week down, 50 more to go! Have a great weekend everybody!

Happy Birthday! (via induction)

Well it's been 8 days since the births, but I'm sure you all want to hear/see all about the events leading up to it.

Tangie had been off work since March 31 (@ 35 1/2 weeks), thinking "any day could be the day". It didn't help that her doctor told her, "It could be 3 days, it could be 3 weeks. You're ripe and ready." I continued working though, each phone call quickening my pulse just a smidge.

Her mom and grandmother arrived to assist us on April 7. Still no babies. So they gave themselves the responsiblity to help induce active labor, namely, walking the malls, shopping, and eating out. It was like a vacation! This continued for another 12 days.

We did have several instances when we thought we were going to go to the hospital. Tangie had some pretty big contraction periods that were intense and consistent, but then when we thought this was it, they stopped. So we got an appointment to be induced at 38 weeks on Monday April 19 @ 9 AM at Winnie Palmer Hospital, where Braelyn was born.

The process started slow. Her doctor had a full morning schedule and didn't want her to start before he could finish, so we really didn't go gangbusters until around 3 pm. Upon arrival Tangie was already 4 cm, and received her epidural around 5 cm. It was nice to have our backyard neighbor, Barbara Tovar-Leon, as a nurse anesthetist there at the hospital. She was able to check up on us periodically and made sure Tangie was in good hands with the anesthesia people. Once the doctor broke her water, we started to see progress. They prepped the Operating Room since they needed to have precautions for multiple births in case they need to do an emergency C-section (thankfully wasn't our case) or complications with the babies. I was dressed in gown and mask. There were 17 people in the room; It was quite the production.

Kohlden came out kicking and screaming at 7:19. He was 6 lbs, 1 oz, 19" long. At 6 lbs, 12 oz, & 21" long, Madelyn came out 3 minutes later. She was blue and un-responsive. I noticed something was wrong when I saw her color and the doctor shaking her vigorously as he cut her umbilical cord. The team surrounded her and moved quickly, as we heard "She's aspirated." "Her heart rate is dropping" and "Call Neo-natal now!" As strong as I needed to be for Tangie at that moment, it was the most scared I had ever been in my life. It was the longest 2 or 3 minutes while I watched them work on Madelyn, putting a tube down her throat to remove fluid from her lungs and forcing oxygen through a mask. I saw a nurse wink at me and then I heard Maddy scream. Loud. It was the most beautiful sound as I re-assured Tangie that Maddy was okay. It was only then that Tangie opened her eyes.

We were only able to see the twins for a brief moment before they whisked Maddy off to Neo-natal Intensive Care for observations. The twins would be separated for the next 4 days. We took turns going down to visit her during our stay in the hospital while Kohlden stayed with us in the room. It was like having 2 different babies in different hospitals. But we were all able to leave the hospital together on Thursday. It was nice to be a complete family.

Braelyn visited us at the hospital everyday. She is enamored by her new brother and sister and shows a love and maturity about her that totally blows my mind. I know she will be a good influence and support to her siblings.

My parents joined us last week as well to support with meals and chores and baby duty, so we had a full house. Now it's time to learn our new schedules and challenges that accompany this next chapter in life!

New Beginnings

So, this is my next attempt to keep everyone updated and in the loop with the on-goings of our family. Three years ago, after the birth of our daughter Braelyn, I had sent out a weekly email for an entire year that chronicled every highlight and event, something that everyone on the email list (namely, grandparents and their friends) looked forward to receiving when they opened their inboxes every Friday morning. I guess it would only be fair to bring back that weekly tradition, although in a different format, to share our adventures along with the newest additions of our twins Kohlden and Madelyn.

It is, as the title implies, a new beginning. Our life, as we knew it, has changed again ~ Tangie and I as parents to twins; Braelyn a new big sister. Being responsible for 3 kids instead of just one. Our family growing from 3 to 5. A new beginning.

So, bear with me as I try to share what I can re-tract from a sleep-deprived brain. I will most often utilize pictures in times when my memory fails me. I hope you all will enjoy keeping up with us!