Babies' Stats

BIRTH
Evie: 7 lbs ,0 oz 18 3/4 inches
Eli: 6 lbs, 4oz 19 1/2 inches

TWO MONTHS
Evie: 12 lbs 2 oz 22 inches
Eli: 12 lbs, 3oz 23 inches

FOUR MONTHS
Evie: 15 lbs 10 oz 25 inches
Eli: 16 lbs, 12oz 26.5 inches

SIX MONTHS
Evie: 17lbs, 11 oz 27 inches
Eli: 18lbs, 8oz 28inches

The First Month

The first month with Evie and Eli were filled with emotion: overwhelming love, fear of anything happening to them, doubt as to whether or not I could handle them by myself when Pat went back to work, and more overwhelming love. I had many weepy moments the first couple of weeks, and I wondered if I would ever feel normal again. Mostly during those times I felt vulnerable. There were just too many cherished people that I needed to protect, and it was scary to think that I couldn't control everything that could ever happen to them. Eventually the fears subsided and were replaced with the joys of watching them grow and change.

We started to notice personality traits instantly. Eli was intense, always staring at things intently as if to figure his new world out as soon as possible. He also wanted to work his body. It was as if he knew he was the little twin and had a lot of work to do to pass his sister up. Boys often can't handle being beat by girls. I'll eventually teach him to get over this, but it was helping him grow and learn, so I had to encourage it.

On the other hand, Evelyn was ALL GIRL. Her mannerisms, facial expressions, and cry were flowery, soft, and nothing but feminine. She always had her hands near her face or pinkies out as if posed to drink tea, and we began to narrate her movements, saying "Oh me Oh my, what is one to do?" in a very high soft feminine voice. It fit her perfectly. She had to be patient, as Eli would scream if he needed something and often got taken care of first, and she would quietly sit and watch and wait. She was also very content to sleep as much as possible in the first month, and we wondered if she'd ever begin to work those muscles.

When one speaks to infants all day, regular words take on prefixes, suffixes, and even extra words. For example, "bird" evolves into "Mr. Birdiekins," dog is "doggy-poo, and so on. And the babies' names change too. Evelyn soon became Sissy, then Missy, then Missy toes, which then changed into "Mistletoe." Then we all chimed, "Mistletoe, Mistletoe. She inspires kisses everywhere she goes." Eli soon became "Eli Patrick- Talk of the Town, replaced by the much simpler "Mister."

My Birth Story

On February 2nd I knew that my babies could come any time. Super Bowl Sunday was on the 5th, and I joked that that would be a good day to have the babies, because the Seahawks in the Super Bowl would be a great "focal point." However, on the evening of the 2nd, after lounging my huge body on the couch most of the day, I stood up and noticed that I couldn't walk normally, becasue the insides of my thighs had swolen so much that they were rubbing together. My doctor had expressed some concerns about pre-eclampsia, so I decided to go in to the hospital. There, the doctor checked my protein levels and decided to keep me on 24-hour watch. After the 24-hour period it was clear I had preeclampsia and we needed to induce labor. That night around 2AM we began the pitocin drip. I was nervous, having heard that induced contractions are more painful than natural labor. However, the contractions were not as painful as I had anticipated at all. Some hours later, my kidneys stopped functioning, as I was just not urinating, despite an IV and all the fluid I was drinking. 13 hours later, I was not dilated even to a 1, and everyone began tgalking about a c-section. My mom, Pat's parents, and the doctors were all hoping for a c-section. We decided this was the safest route. Evelyn Joanne and Eli Patrick arrived via c-section on February 3rd at 5:40 and 5:41 pm. Evelyn came out first and was screaming to beat the band. One minute later, Eli arrived, just quietly observing his new world. Pat and I called him Luke at first, because that was the name we liked most that day. Soon after seeing him though, we agreed he really looked like an Eli, which has been my favorite boy's name for years. They were more beautiful than I ever imagined. What I will remember most about my birth experience, besides getting my beautiful babies, is the deep bonding and support I felt from Patrick. I felt throughout the process like the luckiest woman in the world.