Slemons Kids 2: The Reclamation

Anniversaries naturally lend themselves to nostalgia. As we approach the first anniversary of my Baby A's water breaking (on Jan. 21), it reminds me that my sweet baby girls very nearly didn't come to be. Of course, when we were in the middle of everything, we couldn't really stop to ponder the what-ifs. We had to talk to the neonatologists about what would happen if they were born at 22 weeks, 23, 24, 25...but it was our inexplicable good fortune that we never had to make that call.

Aside from the obvious, there are a few wonderful things that came out of my fortunate incarceration:

1. I got to be in my PJs for 12 weeks, and because I didn't walk much, some crazy stuff on my feet healed.
2. I started this blog. My new position at work is to manage a blog, which I'd never done before. No drama, no blog, no new position (which I love and am unbelievably thankful to have).
3. I met my friend Lani, who was also on bed rest, and who's in the same boat as me, a working mom with a 3-yr-old and 9-month-old twin girls. It's so wonderful to have someone to commiserate with and to not be judged about my motherhood-related shortcomings.
4. In case we had any doubt, we absolutely, positively, without question found out who our friends are. We could not possibly ask for more support than we received and are still receiving-- we continue to be humbled by and grateful for them. (You know who you are. We love you!)

In related news, we brought Bayla and Harper in for their 9-month checkup today, and they're just doing fantastic. Bayla weighs 19,15 and is 27.5 inches long. Harper weighs 19,10 and is 27.5 inches long. Both have excellent muscle tone and are meeting all their regular milestones. They are marvels, miracles, the best nature has to offer. But these little miracles need to sleep through the night....so we're going to have to try some stronger tactics. I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it looks like we're going to have to let them cry it out in the middle of the night. We shall see how it goes, and if I can stand it, and if Brady wakes up, etc. I am not looking forward to it. NOT. LOOKING. FORWARD. TO. IT. But after 9 months, it's time.

I don't usually let my mind wander there, but if we'd only had one baby, he or she would be sleeping through the night by now almost without question. But when one baby cries at 2 a.m., I dash in there, bottle in hand, to make sure she doesn't wake up the other one, or-- horrors -- the oldest one. So I need to woman up and get this done. And Shawn needs to buy me some earplugs, or sleeping pills, or both. Sigh.

We've pretty much spent my last year in survival mode, but it's time to start getting some (new) normalcy. That means not feeding the girls the moment they become fussy so as to head off a full-scale two-babied meltdown. That means getting them to sleep better, longer, and through the night-- without the swing. That means figuring out how to do bedtime with all 3 kids so we're not all separated at night. That means reading to the girls more, not just going from task to task. And of course, that means re-baby proofing the house, b/c these babies are on the move. They're scootching backward with SPEED. And that means soon they'll be crawling forward with precision.

And so, because they're happy, healthy, and moving forward (and literally soon will be), it's time to get this household back on track. I'm reclaiming my sleep. I'm reclaiming my eldest. I'm reclaiming just a wee bit of sanity. So wish us luck!