Sammy & Benny O: 2008 -- the year in review!

I'm copying this from my friend Holly's blog -- I thought it seemed like a fun idea!

2008 was a year dominated by Sam and Ben (no big surprise there!), as they are the center of my universe and a joy like I never imagined existed.

January -- the beginning of the new year was dominated by "baby prep," as well as keeping busy with our jobs and law school. We found out on Christmas Day 2007 that the both of the babies were boys, so we were still adjusting to the idea of being the parents to two little boys! We had heard horror stories from people about having twin boys -- but ironically, none of the people who liked to share the stories actually were the parents of the children! I think the parents of the twin boys actually love the chaos their children bring to their lives! Here is a picture of my belly at 20 weeks.

February -- this was a busy month for us. We had our 3D sonogram of the babies, and I'm still amazed at how much my children actually look like these pictures!

We finished the nursery (thanks, Mom and Dad and Lindy!)

and I had my baby shower when I was 29 weeks.

March was quite the month for us. On March 6, Roy was out of town for a day-long business meeting in NYC, and was very concerned about being away. Regina was "babysitting" me for the day, and seeing I was only 30 weeks, I was unconcerned. The day was beautiful -- sunny and mild -- so I went for a short walk in the morning, and then to school for a meeting with the Dean of Students office regarding the end of the semester, and then to class. When I left class to use the restroom and to call Roy (he had just found out a close friend of his had passed away) -- I realized my water had broke! Although in serious denial, I called the OB and was told to go immediately to the hospital. Thankfully, Regina appeared in the library during all of this (I hadn't called her or anything, and she wasn't normally at school at that time ...) and off we went to the UCONN Health Center. The obstetricians confirmed the rupture of Baby A's amniotic sac, and I was given steroid shots for lung development, as well as started on anti-contraction medication. It's all a blur to me -- I was definitely in shock, and didn't even realize I had gotten an IV in each arm and a painful shot with a giant needle right in the butt!! At some point, Roy ran into the hospital room, and the doctors realized the anti-contraction medication wasn't working -- so out came the Magnesium Sulfate (a horrible, horrible medication!). We were told that the *average* woman will deliver within 24 hours of a membrane rupture, but we needed to make it at least 48 hours to ensure the babies' lungs would be able to benefit from the steroid shots. My parents arrived very early the next morning (I didn't want them driving overnight, seeing Regina called them around 8pm), as did Becky, my sister. That afternoon, a Friday, the perinatologist performed an ultrasound to check on the babies. I was too tired and too drugged from the Mag to even stay awake to watch the ultrasound, but I remember Roy asking over and over again how much the babies weighed -- and we were told that Baby A was 3lb, 14oz and Baby B was 3lb, 11oz -- huge babies for 30 weeks! The next day, a neonatologist came to my room to talk to us about what would happen when the babies were born -- because, as we later found out, they fully expected me to deliver that night (Saturday, March 8) -- and even had the incubators ready for my children. I don't remember much about what she told me -- but I remember my parents and Roy huddled around my hospital bed as I wept -- and the neonatologist sat patiently in the chair next to me, holding my hand. Somehow, I managed to stave off labor -- and then began my stay at "Hotel Dempsey" (aka the UCONN Health Center!).

My husband and my parents, my sister and my friends were all wonderful and kept me company during my stay in antepartum. The two weeks I was hospitalized were a real rollercoaster, and on more than a few occassions, I was told by the morning nurse, "Don't eat breakfast today until the doctor sees you ..." Which meant that they were considering delivering the babies on any given day (I was supposed to have a c-section). So, to get around that, I started ordering breakfast before the first set of rounds made by the nurses!

My father's father, my Grandpa Bill, passed away at home in the care of my grandmother on March 14. My parents both came to CT that weekend (my mom came because I called her because the OB told me I was having a c-section that day -- and she didn't tell me about my grandpa!) and we mourned his passing as a family.

On Thursday, March 18 at about 4:30pm, I was walking back to my bed from the restroom (the only time I was allowed to leave my bed!) when my water broke, for the second time. I called Roy, who was at the grocery store, and then called my mom and sister, who were visiting from NY, and they were thankfully in the antepartum wing of the hospital after running some errands. Labor progressed very quickly, and at 8:09pm, Sam (Baby A) was born, weighing in at 4lb, 7oz, and 20 minutes later, Ben arrived, weighing 4lb, 2oz. Holding my children for the first time was an experience I will never forget!

The babies were in the NICU for one week, and then in the newborn nursery for 2 weeks as "growers and feeders" as they learned to eat without the assistance of a feeding tube, went without apnea attacks (apnea of prematurity - where the baby forgets to breathe), and learned to maintain their body temperatures outside the isolettes.

April was a fabulous month -- because the babies came home exactly 3 weeks after their birthday! It was quite the transition to have them home, but my mom came and stayed with us for 3 weeks to help me ease into motherhood. It was fabulous having her here!

May was another month of transition -- my mom went back to her life (I'm sure my dad was grateful to have her home!), I finished the semester (still don't know how I dealt with finals!), and we celebrated my first Mother's Day. The babies and I also made our first trip to Syracuse for my grandfather's funeral, and the babies met their Aunt Zara, Uncle Bill and cousin Aidan.

June was Daddy's first Father's Day, as well as his birthday.

July -- we celebrated my first birthday as a mom, and the babies tried out their new, "big boy" stroller!

August -- the babies went to daycare for the first time -- and did just fine (although I certainly cried -- a lot -- when I left them there for the first time!). Also, the babies finally fit into their "peas in a pod" hats I received at my baby shower, and stopped sharing a crib!

September -- the babies and I made the 4 1/2 hour drive to my parents' house by ourselves for the first time. The babies are so patient with me on our many adventures! We also began feeding Sam and Ben solid foods in an attempt to get them to sleep through the night ...

October -- we celebrated our first Halloween with the babies, and after several failed attempts, we finally decided on costumes -- pumpkins!

We also had another photo session with Mia, the wonderful photographer who took my pregnancy photos and pictures of the babies at one month old.

November -- the babies proudly helped me cast my vote in the Presidential election. A short trip to the polling place turned into quite an excursion, as all the poll workers spent a good deal of time "oooooh and aaaaahing" over the babies! We also had a great Thanksgiving at Uncle Paul's house, and the babies enjoyed spending time with Roy's family.

December -- we were very busy in December as I finished the semester and we prepared for Christmas. The babies enjoyed meeting Santa and had a wonderful first Christmas!