sort of b/c it is in the land where we came from & hope to soon return to (OMG SOON PLEASE ahem), but isn't anymore over here. my internet hates me. and work called before pleasure but since my internet hates me, work took longer than it should. that and those babies decided to celebrate half-year-hood by taking 3 HOURS to go to bed. i'm on my 2nd glass of wine. and?

tris is a teeny-tiny thing. i'm worried about what they will say at the doctor as it doesn't seem she's gained much weight. she does seem chubbier but she still seems a light little thing. she will only chew on a bottle for .2 seconds before spitting it out & will take maybe 5 tiny spoonfuls of cereal before trying to run off. and at least half of that cereal ends up on her face, bib, hand or, of late as she's learned to SPIT, on me. nice. not awesome, trista.

she's been mobile for awhile now, with her little soldier crawl. she's getting better at it and can climb into a lap at will, if only to lie there like a little beached whale squawking because she can't get any further on top of the owner of the lap (usually me). she's found her voice in the past week and loves to tell a story, complete with facial expressions.

she can't stand to be confined in a bouncer or stroller. we borrowed the neighbor's double jogger so as to try to keep up with a running routine while L was off in greener pastures, getting someone married & straightening out some house business & not changing diapers, and tris-dini managed to escape a 5-point harness to come shooting out the back of the stroller & end up on the sidewalk wondering what the hell had just happened.  no injury, apparently, but that put an end to our running routine.  i didn't feel like the neighbor would like super glue in her stroller.  crazy baby has even tried to drown herself in the sink by tipping the bath seat over & heading head first into the water.  wonder if she'll be the one keeping us in the emergency room?


toby-sam has fully recovered from his accident.  and now he has a cold.  poor fella can't catch a break.  he's bigger than trista.  he LOVES to eat & will take all the cereal he is offered.  he'll sometimes even take a bottle.  he's longer & heavier than she is-i'm interested to see those numbers at the dr.  he seems like he's about out of 3 month sleepers.  but he's still only big enough around for 3 month pants.  hopefully we move to warmer climes soon, as i'm afraid in order for his pants to fit his waist, he'll have to be faux-european with some man-capris.

he's decided as of today that turning over from back to front is a good skill to have.  he's not so much in the mobility department, as least not consistently.  he can turn a mean circle and has started pulling his legs up underneath him.  maybe he'll just go straight to a crawl?

he's already a talker.  which escalates to what i guess are dinosaur words.  we call him tobe-lociraptor.  he's so funny when he gets going.  he's more content than his sister is.  he'll deign to sit in a bouncer for cereal & will play in an exersaucer until he ends up with a dirty diaper and then he's MAD.  but where she wakes up in a pissy mood nearly every day, he wakes up with a smile.  he doesn't like a stroller but if he's being held, he's good until he's hungry.


when the circus leaves the house, we go with the moby & the ergo.  tris is usually on the front-just not quite tall enough to ride the back ergo yet.  toby is just barely there.  he rides but he can't see much.  he's generally content & we made it to the grocery store the other day with no major calamities.  and to MOPS this morning with minimal help into the church.  i'm supposed to be "bold" and ask for help but i would rather reserve my help call for a time when i really need it.  otherwise, it may be difficult but we'll sort it out.

it's been a speedy 6 months.  it felt like nothing when it the midsts of it but now that it's over, i wonder where it has gone? 

i do love my little babies & am ever so thankful for their big siblings and all the help they've been.  5 kids.  who knew?

July 1 1:53pm is wondering if it is possible for excessive amounts of screaming to jar something loose in one's head.

July 4 11:45am  https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150247726494901&comments

July 5 11:14pm   not a bad anniversary day! started with a squishy who slept from 10:30pm-5:45am & ended with the SUPER DUPER Alex Ray Collette & Tyler Coaxum wrangling all 3 little kids so Larry Collette & i could go out for a crybaby-free dinner! i ♥ my family! what a great day

July 9 9:56am Today Toby giggled & Trista escaped the bouncer strap completely. Larry missed the giggling but discovered the Houdini move before Houdini-ette landed on her little head.

July 11 5:36pm Baby appts today! tobes is 8'14", 22 1/4 inches. tris is 9'2", 21 1/2 inches. funny how at 4 months, trista is the same size her big brother was when he was born. they are healthy & the dr. pronounced them beautiful! but we knew that already. :)

http://www.wilmingtonparent.com/blogs/bella-says/an-open-letter...

July 14 6:28pm  received baby passports & birth certificates today. they are now official US citizens. now someone please buy me a winning lottery ticket so i can get the heck out of this wet country & away from the crazy landlady. please and thank you.

July 17 9:31pm must remember that just because i have three things on my to-do list, doesn't mean that even one will get done.

July 18 9:05am dear trista-i know you love your super duper rolling skill. and it's pretty impressive. however, (you may not have noticed this) you sleep better on your belly. so how's about we save the rolling for the daylight hours? thanks!

July 18 4:43pm More shots for babies today. :(. At least now we're done til 6 months.

July 19 11:54pm hmm...it's a toss up. we've got the 1 baby who goes down early & alone & wakes up 3 hours later to eat. and then we've got the other baby who goes down late & only with nursing but stays asleep for about 7 hours. i guess i'm just destined to have someone attached to/sleeping with/nursing on me for the next couple of years. i think i'm ok with that. ♥

July 21 12:58am thanks, big jerk weiner dog, for waking up a baby. all that ridiculous hacking for nothing? it's a good thing you have no meat on you or i would have sold you in the morning!

July 21 10:34pm 10pm & guess who's still up? crazy squishy baby. so much for baking tea cakes tonight. :-/

July 22 8:55pm is getting really frustrated with always feeling like I've accomplished nothing all day. :-/

July 28 1:35pm and trista's a giggler now. actually as of yesterday. just didn't get around to posting it. :)

July 30 10:31pm dear trista: we have nothing planned this evening except a grocery list & numerous episodes of extreme couponing with a little bit of big brother catching up thrown in. there. now that i've assured you that you won't be missing anything, you may go to sleep! please! pretty please? pretty please with a clean diaper thrown in? SIGH.

June 2 9:53am dear toby sam-i get it...you figured out how your hands work & you are SO excited that they are so good at grasping things. however, grasping mommy's shirt & yanking down continuously while nursing is a good way to insure that there is no longer any nursing as your mommy will probably keel over from asphyxiation. just a thought-maybe you should pull on your own shirt instead? love-(gasp choke wheeze)-mommy

June 2 9:58pm can it be? can i actually have given birth to children that can put themselves to sleep without nursing, butt patting, rocking or singing? look out, friends, the world is going to end sometime soon!

June 7 3:36pm Woe befall the next person who rings my doorbell despite the sign in 2 languages telling them not to. If it's you, you will be handed the 2 screaming babies you probably woke up with the doorbell. And then I'll stand there & watch you juggle. Consider yourself warned. And pass it on.

June 8 12:00am Thinks that absolutely nothing is cuter than Trista grinning at herself in the mirror. Until I can get Toby to do it. Then it'll be a tie for cutest thing ever. Until next week at least. :)

June 11 2:30am My non-sleeping little Squishy just did a 5 hour stretch! Way to go, Trissy-tris!

June 16 3:53pm so...trista has started rolling-all around. i had to put her on the floor out of the pen while changing toby b/c she kept rolling over him! and then she rolled right off the floor mat. i think i will need some velcro-i'm not ready for this traveling mess!

June 17 5:58am 5am-Tris's onesie is wet. Changing her wakes up Toby who also needs changed & promptly pees all over everything when his diaper comes off. Trista rolls in it, necessitating another jammie change. And now I'm wide awake. It's a conspiracy for sure.

June 22 11:24am Fixing to brave the commissary with 4 of the 5 kids. Pray for me.

June 26 12:26am scared to go to bed...squishy has been asleep for almost SIX HOURS now. i have a feeling i know what is going to happen the minute i step foot in that room. :/

June 27 10:58am bad mommy moment last night...baby monitor on the fritz means toby sam was screaming in his bed for who knows how long. now it's a freak out every time i try to put him down. :(

May 3 12:03pm Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes! My mama baked me a cake & watched the cry babies so Larry and I could go out to dinner. It was a good day!

http://www.rantsfrommommyland.com/2011/05/domestic-enemies-of-multiples-mom.html#comment-form

May 4 6:31pm  i just printed out my mama's plane ticket. :(

May 5 8:56am 1st day alone all day with the littles. auri is asthma coughing despite a nebulizer treatment & toby just stopped screaming after 15 minutes. oh. dear.

May 5 10:30pm we seem to have survived the first day! thanks Larry Collette for bringing THAT auri to the dr. (seems to be feeling better) & Jessica McLemore Asher for holding THAT tobias & patting him to sleep. whew. 2 cups of coffee & a cup of wine (we're so classy) & i think i'll live to fight another day

May 7 8:15pm triste y cansada. not the best day. :(

May 9 11:47am I think it's safe to say that today is just following in the weekend's footsteps. It's so bad that auri put herself back to bed 2 hours after breakfast. On another note-happy 8 weeks, babies!

May 10 6:08pm has decided that Tyler Coaxum will no longer be attending school, on account of the fact that THOSE babies screamed all day & when the biggest sister came home? they settled down. maybe I'LL go to school & leave her home with them. sheesh. very thankful to have her right now!

May 11 10:52am Laying on the couch under a pile of sleeping (NOT screaming!) babies. Are there other things I should be doing? Yes. Are there other things I'd rather be doing? No way in the world. :)

May 13 3:15pm Toby Sam's hair is looking pretty RED these days! Hmmm...did grandma call it?

http://www.livescience.com/14103-superwomen-moms-twins-healthier.html

May 14 12:17pm  twinnies are 2 months old today! hear that racket? we're all crying. twinnies because, well, that's what they do. me because TWO MONTHS already? wahhhhh

May 15 2:56pm it seems both babies are asleep. neither on me. i'm not sure what to do with myself here. perhaps i should find my camera?

May 16 12:00pm babies had 2 month appointment today. they both weigh 7.5 pounds! but apparently gaining 2-2.5 pounds in 6 weeks just isn't enough for the army. ugh. and shots have been postponed until the pedi comes back from paternity leave (if our names ever get to the top of the wait list).

May 18 10:06am i think toby has slept for 5 minutes in the past 15 hours. and that was in the past 10 minutes. please, child, go.to.sleep.

May 18 11:57pm Very thankful for a husband able to come home from work early to make us lunch & put me to bed, a meal delivered on just the right day & friends to sit outside with & (hopefully) tire the babies out with fresh air so we can have a better night tonight.

May 19 8:32am thank you, babies, for a better night's sleep! hooray!

May 19 10:25am And Toby Sam has joined the "social smile" club! Take THAT, army! Love the gummy smiles!

May 20 6:24am Got all excited upon waking up & realizing it had been 4 hours since I nursed anyone. And then someone yarfed down my neck. well good morning to you, too! How does one go back to sleep after that?

May 23 1:03pm holy crybaby day! who told the babies that it's monday?

May 24 2:15pm bad day-babies made it to the top of the wait list & the pedi was back so they got shots. :( also, SOMEONE in the neighborhood (not mentioning any names Dan Asher & Jessica McLemore Asher) has moving trucks at their house. AND i'm out of chocolate. i don't want a do-over...i want a skip.

May 25 12:29pm poor babies feel yucky today. :(

May 27 11:16am auri (in the kitchen with a mouthful of waffle): "i -mumble mumble- butt -mumble mumble- to Jesus!"
me (in the laundry room with the washer running & a soundtrack of crying babies): "what! you showed your butt to Jesus? what?!?"
auri: "no! i showed my LOVE to Jesus!"
me: "oh. phew. that's good!"

May 30 12:12am impromptu cookout tonight (is it still a cookout if most of the food was carryout?), pancake byob (bring your own batter) in the morning, cookout tomorrow afternoon (with the "cake-taker" full of homemade sangria that is in my fridge!). whoo hoo for memorial day weekend! and babies who have been 1/3 less screamy!

April 20 1:32pm dear babies: it would be great if, instead of cat nap tag-teaming, you would both sleep more than 15 minutes at a time at the same time. love, your hungry mama. (remember-if i don't eat, neither can you! just sayin'...)

April 20 10:17pm and now trista has figured out how to roll over. toby has almost perfected it. i am in so much trouble

April 22 2:02pm trying coffee again today. if you hear LOTS of LOUD screaming coming from my house tonight, you'll know it wasn't a success. pray for no screaming.

April 25 12:37pm tobias. it's called a nap. it's free. take one!

April 27 7:21pm home alone with babies for the evening. didn't think they'd care too much for the cirque show. :)

April 28 7:25pm Tobes is having a really bad day. Poor fella. I wish I knew how to fix it! =(

April 29 10:09am tobes seems to be feeling better today-now tris is out of sorts. good grief.

April 29 10:03pm looks like my job this weekend is to clear the newborn clothes out of the drawers. BOTH babies in size 1 diapers & 0-3 month clothing. :( that was too fast.

maybe not since it's been months since i've been here.  sigh.  i always promise to do better but it never pans out. 

so, babies are almost 5.5 months old.  and they are still babies.  and cry babies.  and little babies.  but also cereal eating babies.  and smiley babies.  and rolly polly moley babies.  GT rolls all around & has started scooting at times to get what she wants.  BT is proficient at front to back & has recently started acting as if maybe he'll be back to front very soon. 


we still don't go out very much.  it's difficult enough with L and horrifically impossible alone & pretty stressful with teenage helpers in tow.  because i have babies that like their mama.  and hate their stroller & car seats.  and have you ever tried to grocery shop with no hands?  because when holding 2 babies, that's what you have-no hands.  not too long ago i could wrap one & football carry the other but they've gotten a bit bigger so while the wrap strategy still works, the football carry doesn't & they both demand to be carried & it is just a mess all around.  we like to stay home anyway.  much more comfortable for everyone involved.  besides, this is what happens when we go places:


yesterday:
8:20 am-leave the house for a steering team meeting 30 minutes away.  some babies cried most of the way.  you know who you are.  make it with 5 minutes to spare.  drop all 3 littles & 1 big off in childcare (not that the big needs childcare but maybe the childcare needed some help & since the big is a little bit grounded right now, then that's where the help was coming from).  2 littles stayed in childcare the whole time (1 took a nap!!!!) & the other little came to eat, hang out with ms. K, eat some more, make a yuck diaper & then get a ride back to childcare where he stayed the rest of the time.  i was suitably impressed.
11:15isham-leave the meeting for home.  some babies cried most of the way.  not naming any names.
11:45isham-reach home.  one baby sleeping.  other baby needs to eat.  nurse baby while standing in the garage waiting for other baby to wake up.  other baby wakes up while 1st baby is nursing.  big takes baby upstairs.  babies cry while everyone tries to rush to eat lunch.
12:45ishpm-pack everyone back in the van for a clinic visit for a baby who has a rash.  takes 25 minutes to make a 10 minute drive.  grr.
1:10pm-appointment.  PA hands me a piece of paper to fill out.  cause i totally have a hand to fill it out with or something.  see dr.  get prescribed new cream for persistant rash.  discuss the fact that baby is still little.  I'M TRYING OK.  I DON'T SEE YOU DRINKING THAT NASTY ASS FORMULA.  OK.  keep trying.  ok.  wait at pharmacy for cream.  must ask dr. a question.  get cream.  have to go turn in paper at front desk.  wait 15 minutes in line.  turn in paper.  try to schedule next appointment.  last appointment, was told they schedule 28 days out.  apparently they've changed their mind.  now they schedule 7 days out.  wtf?  please someone teleport me back to the states now.  i need something that makes sense. 


this is why we stay home.  less germs, less crying, less stupidity. 


anyway, i may well lose my mind over the next 3 weeks as SOMEONE is going on vacation & leaving me all alone, i am.  and the big kids start school on monday & for some strange reason, i told the middle kid that we would start her school on monday & the little kids still don't sleep for crap at night & like to nurse all day & someone will have to do laundry & make dinners & generally make sure we're all still intact on september...uh...september somethingth when L comes back from his vacation (which he truthfully has well earned but i'm still completely freaked out by going this alone).  and then scant weeks later, an uncle will be coming to visit.  not real sure what we'll do with him but i'm sure we can figure something out.  there may be an uncle & big kid trip in the mix.  who needs school when there's an uncle to play with?  we're not telling them that yet though. 

and a BT is awake from a nap.  and probably would like to eat.  because that's what he does.  must go oblige.

it's late here.  later than i should be up on account of early rising babies & a meeting 1/2 an hour away that starts at 9 tomorrow morning.  that i'm planning on attending.  with babies.  without grandma.  yikes.  anyway.

i'm writing long overdue thank you notes with a GT in tow.  BT is on his daddy's chest on the couch.  GT has eaten & was rolling around on my lap.  because, although she's pudging out nicely (i did that!  hey!  I DID THAT!), she's still small enough to do that.  and i picked her up because she was threatening to roll off onto the floor.  and the biggest burp ever came out of the little baby ever.  and it was funny.  and then we were face-to-face and i talked to her & smiled at her.  we've been trying to get these babies to smile at us on purpose but had no success. 

AND GT SMILED!  and i was so excited!  because she smiled!  at me!  AT ME!  at me, her mommy!  whee!  yay!  and then i noticed she was doing crazy eyes...which she does before falling asleep.  and, alas, i realized...she wasn't smiling at me.  not on purpose, at least.  she was playing with the angels.  guess i have to wait a little bit longer.  it was a nice thought while it lasted, though!

cause i couldn't handle regular blog posting with 3 kids...what makes me think i can handle it with 5?  so.  here's the random collection of facebook posts from labor day on forward.  and since most everybody has already read them on FB, i'm gonna go ahead & admit it's so I can remember stuff.  cause if it don't get written down, it just flat out didn't happen.  here you go:

March 13, 5:26 pm:  not to alarm anyone but there may be babies in the VERY NEAR FUTURE. :)

March 13, 7:25 pm:  hmm. seems contractions have arrived. eww. i guess this means we really will have babies soon!

March 13, 9:44pm:  headed out the door in a few minutes. yay babies!

March 14, 12:44am:  Whee hospital! Thus far have run into 50's style medicine (don't ask), Korean style medicine (chest xray? Drs. sucking their teeth but not telling you why?) & some generalized WTF medicine (opening the window b/c I'm hot which immediately followed the 50's style medicine). Larry just got back from taking pics of the recovery room which is as big as a barn. And now we're trying for a nap.

March 14, 2:42am:  Stalled at 2. Contractions pretty much stopped. Still can't sleep, please pray.

(somewhere in here i posted a recipe & of course that was hilarious.  what else was i supposed to do while trapped in the bed not having contractions?)

March 14, 9:02am:  Movin on up to a big 4. Whoo! The "c" word has been mentioned again due to possibly uncooperative Toby. Sigh. However, "little bit" of pit is on board due to the 24 hour clock so we're still working towards the preferred ending. Nothing else exciting for now except they've agreed to turn off the heat! It's the small victories, people.

(L posted pics at 1:30 pm)

March 14, 1:48pm:  Babies are here! Best outcome we could ever hope for! God is so good!

March 14, 1:57pm: Trista Gracie @ 12:52, 4.98 lbs, 16.33 in.  Tobias Samuel @ 1:19, 5.34 lbs, 17.95 in.

March 14, 5:53pm:  Dinner just showed up. Who knew hospital food was sooooo good? I suppose after 20 hours & birthing 2 babies, ANYTHING would be good. But I'm still not eating the fish. No thanks.

March 15, 7:47am:  "breakfast" is served. Eggs, bacon, hot dog, lettuce salad, soup (?), two kinds of rolls, unidentifiable fruit & cereal. Interesting as usual.

March 15, 10:18am:  Home today! No more breakfast hot dogs or rock hard beds! Whee!

March 15, 6:34pm:   home now! trista & toby have met the dogs & some neighbors. and trista made an enemy of her carseat. guess we'll be staying home a good bit. but everything else is wonderful!

March 16, 8:28am:  night 2-apparently babies like hospital sleeping better. yikes.

March 17, 11:01am:  better night last night. whew. thank goodness.

March 17, 10:35pm:  babies are napping in their bassinet...although i put them near each other, they just keep scooting closer. i have no idea how they are doing it but it is melting my heart! ♥ ♥ ♥

March 20, 2:23pm:  day 6 or something post-partum & the wonky hormones have set in. i just spent 15 minutes crying over maternity clothes. good Lord-where's the chocolate?

March 21, 5:50pm:  baby update #1-they're a week old today! wow! baby update #2-trista won the belly button race. she's two up on toby-i told him he needs to catch up.

March 23, 11:10am:  and now (actually as of last night) toby has a belly button.

March 25, 7:37am:  NO sleep last night with a fuss butt toby & chain reaction trista. headed to seoul-not for fun stuff. :(

March 28, 10:23am:  babies are 2 weeks old today! they celebrated by staying up all night last night. we got to sleep from 6ish-8ish. blech.

April 5, 1:05pm:  happy to report that at 3 weeks & 1 day, toby finally fits into a newborn sleeper. trista, however, is still swimming in hers.

April 8, 2:01am:  can someone please teach these bebehs a new way to celebrate? it's another "milestone" (today is due date day!) & finally, at 2 am, it looks as if everyone is settled down enough for a few minutes of sleep. although, now that i've said that, someone is sure to wake up shouting for something.

April 12, 9:25am:  reasonably certain the babies don't like coffee. it's a sad, sad day. if you see me out wandering around lost, please just gently guide me home.

April 15, 9:05am:  toby just turned his mad self over from front to back. oh. crap.

April 17, 9:14am:  twin mama life is so much better when there is not a constant tag-team screamathon going on!

April 18, 10:40am:  5 weeks of my life just flew by & all i did was blink.

My due date was either April 8 or 11th, depending on who you asked.  Since I know when the firefly got me in trouble, we've always said the 8th (the army can't seem to operate without a CHART.  OMG THE CHART.  had i known, i would have lied about my LMP but i digress).  So according to my time frame, on Sunday, March 13th, I was 36 weeks 2 days.

 

I'd been sick for about 2 weeks-some kind of crappy sinus thing & cough that I couldn't shake.  The plan was to hold out til my appointment Monday & beg the dr. for something, anything to allow me to breathe & stop coughing.  I woke up at 3am Sunday with the worst headache ever that refused to go away.  Larry took all the kids to church &  I stayed in bed while my mom sat on Auri's floor (just down the hall) for hours in case I needed something.  The headache finally subsided enough around 2 or 3 so that I could make it downstairs to the couch, where I was still pretty much useless.  About 4:30, I got up to go to the bathroom.  And then my friend showed up at the back door & came in to visit for awhile-the first thing she said to me was that my belly was SO big & maybe the babies would come soon!  And then I realized that things were a little...err...damp.  So back to the bathroom I went.  And yeah, things were damp.  My water has never broken itself before-it's always been done for me.  That was a little nerve-wracking for me.  That was at about 5.

 

Around 7, contractions showed up.  They really had no regularity to them but did eventually seem to be getting a little closer together & stronger.  Nothing I could really time, though.  We ate dinner & packed a bag & Larry played a video game.  And about 9:30, I started getting a little nervous about the 45 minute drive to the hospital so around 10 we hopped into the car & headed down the road.  Called the nurse & told her we were coming...contractions still had no pattern to them.  Got to the hospital at about 11 & found labor & delivery & got checked in.

 

When regular things are going on in Korean hospitals, the patients wear mens pajama sets-button front tops & pajama pants.  Even when I had my surgery, I had to wear the pajama set so I was kind of expecting the same thing.  Oh, but those crazy Koreans surprised me!  Still with the pajama top but this time it was paired with a long skirt!  And for only the 3rd time this pregnancy, I had to pee in a cup.  And other fun check in things, to include an ultrasound.  And for the first time that night, the "c" word was mentioned.  More along the lines of maybe but it was still said. 

 

Around midnight, they put me in a labor & delivery room.  I had already gotten an IV & then they put me on the monitors.  Contractions were still erratic & not very strong.  I was only dilated to a "2".  They came in & gave me a chest Xray & EKG.  They said it was standard for admittances...I think it probably had something to do with the fact that there might be surgery involved as it was the same stuff I had as pre-op for the other surgery.  We tried to sleep but the room was so hot & poor Larry couldn't get any sleep sitting in the rock hard chair.  The International Clinic (english liasion people) nurse came in with the key to our private room & Larry left to find it & get our things put up. 

 

**GRAPHIC PARTS AHEAD**

 

And finally the 50s era medicine showed up.  One of the nurses came in with something in a cup & said "I'm going to shave you."  Oh really?  This has not happened before during labor!  Why?  "To prevent infection."  I already felt like a difficult patient what with my insistence on no c-section, episiotomy or epidural so I figured that this was an issue not worth fighting about.  And THEN oh indignities of childbirth, there was an enema (had one with first labor that I had an epidural with, didn't have one with my second labor that was natural).  I was glad that the timing of Larry putting our stuff up coincided with all that ickiness.  Once he finally came back, he told the nurse that we were really hot.  Well, no air conditioning unit for us...they opened the windows!  Uhh...you want to shave to prevent infection but you'll open the window?  I began to live for my room's door to open as it created a breeze from the window.  I would have given my right foot for a fan at that point.

 

I think at about 2:30, everything stopped.  I was still only at 2 cm.  Larry had gone to sleep in the room so he could get some rest.  So I was just hanging out in L & D waiting for something to happen & it just wasn't.  Larry checked in every once in awhile but things were just at a dead stop.  I couldn't sleep so I just sat.  And played on Facebook.  And sat.  And prayed.  And sat.  Sigh.  Somewhere between then & 8, contractions started again but were still a little erratic.  Finally moved up to 4 cm.   I think my cervix was still pretty high because it really hurt every time she checked me.  The doctor decided to give some pitocin as we were moving along the 24 hour clock that had started at 5pm Sunday when my water broke.  She was really trying to avoid having to do a c-section.  I really appreciated that.

 

The pitocin finally kicked in & things kind of started to MOVE.  Another ultrasound occurred somewhere in there.  At 6cm, I asked to go to the bathroom & was declined.  High five for a bedpan!  That was around 11.  A different International Clinic lady came in to talk to us about something...maybe insurance but I am not real sure.  While she was there, I felt Trista's head turn in my pelvis.  It was 3 seconds of horrible pain.  Shortly thereafter, the IC lady left.  And the contractions began really rolling in.  I couldn't get into a comfortable position to labor in.  I kept turning around in the bed so I could prop myself up against the back of the bed on my elbows...everytime I did the nurses showed up to check me.  They kept asking me if I felt like I needed to defecate (Koreans like to use the proper words).  8cm showed up around noon.  Somewhere out of nowhere, Larry got a mask & hat.  He stationed himself behind the bed to hold my hands and my focus-which seemed to have gone off somewhere out of the room (I couldn't even remember how to hold my breath to push-that was definitely aggravating the dr!).  I'd heard several reports of people being tied down to the bed.  My feet were velcroed onto something like stirrups but it didn't feel confining-more helpful.  I didn't think I was far enough to deliver but the dr. did.  And at 12:52pm, after about 2-3 pushes, Trista Gracie entered the world at 4.98 pounds & 16.33 inches.  And then things stopped again.

 

The ultrasound machine was brought back into play.  There had been some concern that, since both babies were vertex, once Trista was born, Toby would wander off course.  So ultrasounds were going & my belly was being massaged in an effort to remind Toby that he still had a job to do!  I think the dr. was massaging the amniotic bag trying to get it to break but it wouldn't.  She went ahead & broke my water & BAM contractions came right back.  Another 2-3 pushes & out he came.  Tobias Samuel, 1:19 pm, 5.34 pounds, 17.95 inches.  Per my request, no episiotomy had occurred & apparently I had the greatest doctor EVER as I didn't even tear-something that happened with both my previous deliveries.

 

We got to say hi to the babies & give them a kiss shortly after they were born & both were taken to the nursery to be cleaned up & all that stuff.  Trista came back first & Toby not too long after.  After awhile they took us down the hall to our private room.  It was HUGE.  3 families could have camped out in there.  No kidding.  I walked down to the room-I was feeling that good.  :)  Larry hung out for a bit & then went to pick up my mom & the kiddos.  It was an enjoyable evening as everyone met the newest members of the family.

 

After all the anxiety I felt over delivering in a Korean hospital, I have to say that it was a wonderful experience.  The results were great and the recovery has been the easiest yet.  I am just amazed at how well things went.  There were people all over the world thinking about us & praying for us & I know that all of that had something to do with the amazing outcome of this-including the fact that my little bitty babies & I all came home TOGETHER the very next day!

L, ntm3 & i headed out for the 3D ultrasound clinic & despite some premature turns, managed to locate the objective.  small amount of language barrier but someone had written instructions in english & i followed them & 3 minutes later, was taken back to a room.  L noticed (because he sees these things & i don't) that the machine is the same one that our friend in the states uses, the one that did all the ntm3 ultrasounds.  and i tried to tell the lady that there were 2 in there but i don't think she was listening.  so when she saw that there were 2 in there, i got the idea that she was a little surprised.  sorry, lady!

GT was in much the same place she's been for every other ultrasound.  BT, on the other hand, was transverse across the top &, judging by the expression on his face, none too happy to have his sister's feet in his face.  ultrasound lady poked & prodded & i tossed & turned, trying to get the little guy to move so that we could get a better shot of him but to no avail.  and she no doubt learned a new american name since we kept calling him by his, as if that was going to work.  i think we spent about 1/2 hour in there & ended up with 2 "color" pictures of our choice & about 20 black & whites.  also a cd.  for the bargain price of 50000 won (we're sitting a little above a one-to-one conversion rate right now so a little less than $50).  it still amazes me how different the price structures are between here & the states!  and that was that.  24 hours later...regular appointment.

same old, same old.  ntm3 & i headed for cheonan, armed with an ipad since the koreans like to spring things on me.

remembered to take my blood pressure this time before visiting the window.  weight-check.  there's a handy chart on the wall so i don't have to do mental calculations from kgs (scale) to lbs (how my american brain works).  4 pounds in 4 weeks.  apparently that is acceptable.  sit & wait.

ultrasound #76 or something.  everybody looks good.  ntm3 learned what a heart does & got to see her baby sister's & brother's pumping away.  BT decided to relocate back to where he belonged.  sit & wait.

doctor visit.  babies look good.  BT has gotten bigger than his sister!  both Ts are measuring right where they need to.  gained between 300-400 grams since last visit.  vitamins?-check.  see you in 4 weeks unless something happens before then.  and off we headed for home again.  and i've made it 2 1/2 weeks with nothing happening.  next visit on the 8th.