3 MONTHS - 29 Sept. 2010

WOW, 3 months! How time flies!! The girls are doing great, they are growing and are beautiful. They fit the clothes for 3-month olds, so we guess they are normal size - though the pants are all a bit short, hopefully this just means they'll have long legs:). They are good girls, easy and happy! Liva cries a lot less than she used to, Laia cries a bit more, so it's more or less even now. They only cry when they're hungry, tired or need to be changed. When they're hungry they "tell" us, they make a sound something like "ging", which we assume means food.
Their eye color has changed, it's a really pretty dark blue, kind of like the color of dark blue jeans. They can hold their heads, and when put on their bellies they lift up their head, shoulders and chest.
They don't interact much yet, they don't look at each other and there's no form af communication between them in any way. They like touching each other when they're next to one another, they'll touch hands or put their hand on the other's leg or so. I don't think it'll be long until they'll start communicating a bit - laughing or "talking" together.
Liva talks loads. She'll have deep eye contact and garble away using all the sounds she knows, while smiling and changing her face expression. It's adorable. She has discovered her hands and find them the most fascinating thing ever. She's really good at hitting the dangling toys on their playmats and chairs. It's easy to make her smile, and she has her mother's temper - she can go from smiling to crying to screaming back to smiling all in just a few minutes.
Laia doesn't talk as much, and it's not as easy to make her smile. But when she smiles, she giggles. She has discovered that she can create different sound volumes, when we enter a building she yells, if it echoes she giggles and yells louder. She can grab things and can almost put them in her mouth. She loves putting her hands in her mouth, the deeper the better. She has her father's temper, she doesn't easily show her emotions, but when she does there's no doubt how she feels.
They are very loving girls, they love being held and cuddled - by anyone. They have started "hugging" when picked up, it's a wonderful feeling!
They don't sleep much during the day anymore, 2-3 times, enough for me to shower and get ready in the morning. They sleep really well at night, we put them to bed around 20:00, they sleep until we wake them up around midnight to feed them, then again until 6-ish and again until 8-ish.

As for me, I'm doing good, too. I had reached my pre-pregnancy weight about a month ago, and saw this as the perfect excuse to eat loads of chocolate. But since the girls don't breastfeed much anymore, I can't eat what I want, so I've gained loads of weight again in the past couple of weeks. So now I'm on a ½ diet, which basically means less chocolate and more fruit. I got my period this morning for the first time since becoming pregnant. I guess that's also related to not producing much milk. I feel really bad about not being able to breastfeed my babies, I know it's my own fault, I didn't breastfeed as much as I should at the beginning so now my body isn't producing enough milk. I've tried breastfeeding more this past week, and am pumping milk even though there's nothing to pump. But it doesn't seem to help, there's less and less milk every day:(.
As every new mother, I worry about being a good mother. Besides the breastfeeding, is there anything else I'm doing wrong / could do better? Are they eating enough, sleeping enough, getting enough fresh air? Or are they eating and sleeping too much, getting too much pollution in their lungs? Should I be taking them down to the beach more? Or maybe even out of town? Are they happy? Are they bored? Will they grow up to be happy, confident girls who know their parents adore them? So many questions to which I'll probably never know the answer.
But when they look at us and smile or giggle, their eyes shining, I'm pretty sure they know we are their mommy and daddy and love them with all our heart. And I'm pretty sure they know they are our daughters. And I'm pretty sure they love us, just because we love them. I hope they'll always know they are loved, that they come from a family with a lot of love which extends to their grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins as well. I hope that whatever we're doing, we're doing right. I hope they know they are my dream come true!

Liva & Laia

ALMOST 3 MONTHS - 26 Sept. 2010

We took the girls out all day for 2 days this weekend, and they did just great!! Friday was the Mercè, Barcelona's Patron Saint, a public holiday which meant Albert was home. We had a great, relaxing day where we spent most of the day at home just enjoying being together as a family. In the afternoon we went to visit my mother-in-law at my brother-in-law's house, she's taking care of their 2 boys (almost 4 years and 16 months) for 4 days while my brother-in-law and his wife are in Berlin for the annual Berlin marathon, bless her!
Saturday morning we went to IKEA, as everyone knows that's a pretty stressful experience! But we managed to buy everything we came for (and a lot of stuff we didn't come for!) without arguing or killing anyone. The girls did great! While we waited for some of the things we had bought, I fed the girls. Albert rode home with some South Americans who are always at the entrance offering cheap transport, while I took public transportation back to Barcelona center. We met in the center and went to a DIY center. After spending time there we were hungry so went for sushi. All the time the girls were in their stroller sleeping or looking around - as much as they can look at only 3 months... We left at 9:15 in the morning and didn't get back until 7 hours later. The girls were sooooo good all day, we were so proud of them!!
Time came to put them to bed, they were extremely tired so I tried putting them to bed 1 hour earlier than normal. Liva cried and cried until she eventual started screaming hysterically. Laia started getting all nervous because of Liva's screaming, so Albert took her into the livingroom. I stayed with Liva for about 30 minutes, I was adamant not to give up - she has to learn! Eventually she was so hysterical that there was just no way she'd calm down, and we were both quite worried - we've never seen her THAT bad before. Suddenly it struck me that they hadn't eaten much all day, and they hadn't eaten for hours. We fed them, and Liva ate like her life depended on it. Poor girl , she must have been soooo hungry, and her mean mother just let her scream for 30 minutes. Man, I felt horrible, once again I felt like the world's worst mother!! As soon as we put her in bed after she had eaten she fell asleep straight away.

Today I met up with a friend in town and took the girls along so Albert could clean the house :) We were out for 4 hours, and once again the girls were great! When we came home they ate, played for a while and then we bathed them. We chilled on the couch all 4 together, fed the girls and put them to bed. They slept straigh away (Liva actually fell asleep while eating), and have slept until now - time to wake them up for their last feeding of the day. If all goes well they'll sleep until around 6 tomorrow morning, eat and sleep again until 8 or 9.

I love my girls, I love my husband and I absolutely adore my life!!

STILL 12 WEEKS - 23 Sept. 2010

As if to prove just how wonderful they are, the girls slept through the night last night. We put them to bed around 20:00 and they fell asleep quickly - they were tired coz I'm trying not to let them sleep much during the day.
Laia woke up at 22:30, we played a bit with her and around 23:00 we fed her, then put her back to bed. At 23:30 we woke up Liva, fed her and put her back to bed. They both slept until 6:30 this morning, ate and went back to sleep, Liva until 9:00, Laia I woke up at 10:00. How wonderful, I hope this trend continues!!:)

Today we went out and as always I had loads of people making comments on the street - some actually stop me so they can look at the girls and make comments. At the beginning I enjoyed it, I got really proud. Now it just annoys me that I can't walk on the street without feeling like something out of a circus.... And what really pisses me off is when people ask whether they are boys or girls. Come on, they are dressed like girls and have pink or purple blankets. Often people reply "well, they aren't wearing earrings, so I wasn't sure". People in this country are obsessed with earrings for baby girls. Today the girls were dressed completely in pink and white - pink & white socks, pink pants, a pink and white top - even their dummies were pink and white. And STILL people ask me whether they are boys or girls. I get sooooo annoyed!! Today I felt like replying "2 boys but I want them to grow up gay!" Unfortunately I've been brought up well, so I just smile and say "2 girls". And since I don't want to pierce their ears - I don't think it's for us to make that decision, and I don't think it looks nice when babies have their ears pierced - I guess I'll have to live with that question, even if I dress them in pink.

STILL 12 WEEKS - 22 Sept. 2010

I took the girls along to a job interview today... Well, not really! I had to meet three mothers who are interested in English classes for their 5-year olds. They were all lovely, the kids were just adorable, 2 girls and a boy. They loved Liva and Laia, especially the 2 little girls had fun.
So in October I start teaching these 3 little kids, I'm really looking forward to it. I'll have to leave as soon as Albert comes home, and he'll be alone with the girls for about 1½ hours once a week. That'll be so great for him and the girls! And it'll be good for me to get out of the house and do something else again.

12 WEEKS - 21 Sept. 2010

Today the girls slept until 9:30, bliss!! We've actually been very lucky, they've been good sleepers since day 1. Normally they fall asleep at some point between 19:00 and 22:30, we wake them up around midnight when we go to bed to feed them. When they were smaller they'd wake up at 3:00, 6:00 and 8:00/9:00, now they sleep until around 5:00/6:00 and wake up again when Albert gets up at 7-ish. Normally I can get them to go back to sleep until about 8:00/8:30. So I really can't complain about not getting enough sleep! Having twins is no where near as hard as we had expected it to be! :)

The girls and I met up with a German girl today, who lives here in Barcelona and is also pregnant with twin girls. She's due in December, it'll be fun to share experiences with another twin mom - it was already fun sharing twin-pregnancy experiences.

We bought activity mats for the girls last week, a great thing! They can spend a looong time playing on the mats, and it gives me time to do other things (like write this blog).

We are constantly reminded how lucky we are, Albert's best friend's girlsfriend just lost the baby she was carrying, she was almost 3 months into the pregnancy. One of Albert's colleagues recently had a baby and now suffers from depression and finds it very hard to deal with everything, the baby cries a lot and doesn't sleep at night. Our girls are so sweet and easy, it's a true blessing!!

2.5 MONTHS - 16 Sept. 2010

Today a colleague/friend came over. It was the first time she came to see our apartment and our girls, and I suddenly realized how my prioroties have changed:
1) Make sure the girls are happy and look presentable - bottles clean and ready to go, food prepared, that they are clean and wear clean clothes
2) Make sure the apartment is presentable - get rid of the dirty dishes in the kitchen (with our dishwasher I don't understand why there even were dirty dishes!), get rid of the clothes lying all around the house, and tidy up a bit
3) Make sure I look presentable - shower, get dressed, put on make-up if there's time (there was)
4) Clean the house a bit if there's time (there was, I managed to vacuum the floor)
Not that the person who came over would have cared at all, but it was a good motivation for me to get our apartment looking decent again.

After she had left I went looking for Tatanka, our black cat. As I did so, I banged my toe against a chair and now can't walk properly on my left foot. On top of that I have the flu with fever and everything...:(

Yesterday we decided to finally start a bed-time routine for the girls. We bathed them, put on their pyjama, fed them and put them to bed. Laia fell asleep right away, Liva cried and eventually screamed hysterically. Normally she would win in the end, and we'd bring her into the livingroom and let her fall asleep on 1 of us or on the couch. Last night we stayed with her in the bedroom, she was in bed while we held her hand, stroked her head etc for the 30-45 minutes it took for her to realize she wasn't going to get her way this time. Eventually she fell asleep, and slept until we woke her up around midnight to feed her.
Tonight I didn't bathe them put I did put on their pyjama, feed them and put them to bed. Liva lay there and looked around a bit, got comfortable and went to sleep. Laia tried crying for a couple of minutes, but soon realized it wasn't getting her anywhere, so went to sleep as well. Albert and I could actually have dinner together, talk about our day and cuddle on the couch. I hope this is how it'll be every evening from now on!

STILL 11 WEEKS - 15 Sept. 2010

The girls were born with a kind of de-formation at their ears, little bumps that shouldn't be there. According to the doctors it's normal and hereditary - Albert has it as well - but all babies born with it need to be checked since it could be related to a malfunction of the kidneys. So today I took the girls to hospital and they were given an ultra-sound. It was all quite surreal, they were taken into a room where pregnant women are also checked, and the doctor used the same machine as had been used on me 100s of times during my pregnancy. These little people were put on this huge bed and their tiny bellies were scanned with this huge scanning instrument.
They both started laughing when the doctor put the cold gel on their bellies :). There was a nurse there to take care of one girl while the other was being scanned, she fell completely in love with both of them, even went to the other rooms to get the other nurses to come look at these two beautiful girls.
While waiting for the elevator, I got talking to an American patient. He told me he's an identical twin himself. After a while he said "your husband must be a praying man." "Why do you say that?" I asked. "He must have at some point in his life prayed to be surrounded by beautiful women. Now he's got 3 of them. Lucky guy! Tell him to be careful what he wishes for, coz he seems to get it." Aww, that might have been really cheesy but I still thought it was kinda sweet - yes, I'm a sucker for compliments.... ;)
As I'm walking home with a caramel frappuchino in one hand and pushing the double stroller with the other, I have another "I love Barcelona!"-moment. The girls are either sleeping or half-sitting in the stroller, the sun is shining, they sky is blue and my husband has already called twice today just to see how we're doing. What more could anyone wish for?!?!?

11 WEEKS - 14 Sept. 2010

I AM THE WORLD'S WORST MOTHER!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to cut Laia's nails - it's not the first time I cut the girls' nails - and I cut her finger!! She cried and cried and cried, and blood flowed and flowed and flowed!! It wouldn't stop! It bled so much I couldn't even see how bad the damage was. Eventually I started crying and then Liva started crying. I was all alone, I had NO idea what to do. So I called Albert at work. He suggested I go to the doctor. I wasn't showered or dressed, the girls were just in diapers coz it's quite warm, and I couldn't think straight. Laia had stopped crying, but I hadn't.... I eventually managed to get the girls and myself dressed, all while still crying though Laia had long stopped, but when I could think clearly for a moment I realized Laia seemed OK, and her thumb had stopped bleeding. I took a close look, and the damage really wasn't that bad, at least not bad enough to rush to the doctor. Laia is OK, but I have felt extremely guilty all day. I NEVER want to hurt either of my girls ever again!! Once again, Albert was just incredible! Besides telling me that it's OK, it's what happens, it happens to everyone (I still feel horrible and am not sure I believe him!), he offered to give me a massage tonight. AND when Laia wouldn't sleep and I could do nothing to calm her down, he took her and walked around the house with her until she fell asleep in his arms. What a man, what have I done to be so lucky?

STILL 10.5 WEEKS - 10 Sept. 2010

We bathed them in their new tub today, they loved it. It was so sweet to see them splash around, especially Liva. It has a built-in seat so we don't have to hold them much, which lets us play with them in the water instead. I'm already looking forward to bathing them again! :)
Now my mother-in-law is here and Albert and I are going out to dinner, no kids! :)

10.5 WEEKS - 9 Sept. 2010

Another doctor's appointment today, their 2-month check-up. When Albert came home from work we took a child each in a baby carrier and off we went. We had estimated the girls to weigh between 4 and 4.5 kgs, last time they were weighed was about 1 month ago and they weighed 3.5 kgs. Were we surprised to find out that Laia weighs 5220 gr and is 58 cm, and Liva weighs 5400 gr and is 59 cm. Wow, how they've grown!! No wonder they can't fit half their clothes anymore.... Reflexes, sight, hearing etc all OK. They hold their own heads, they love standing and they're developing just as they should. We were told to put them on their belly more, they had no idea what to do when the doctor put them face down. They should be able to lift their head at least a bit from this position, but they both just lay there like a sack of potatoes, looking all confused. We haven't been putting them on their belly at all, no wonder they don't know what to do. So that's the next project with them, teach them to lift their heads when on their bellies!
After the doctor's appointment we went to Babies R Us and bought a huge bathtub for them. They love being bathed, we came home too late to try it out today but we'll definitely bathe them tomorrow.

10 WEEKS - 7 Sept. 2010

Back in Barcelona! The flight home went OK, not as easy as the flight to DK, but nothing worth writing about. We were 3 hours delayed, the waiting time at Copenhagen airport was tough. But we made it, and it was soooooooooooooo good to see Albert at Barcelona airport!! We went home and had a nice, relaxing evening together. Though I miss my family & friends in Denmark, Barcelona is where I feel at home.

ALMOST 10 WEEKS - 5 Sept. 2010

My mom's family have been here all weekend. They came Saturday afternoon, we celebrated my cousin's son's 4th birthday. It was fun seeing everybody, and it was nice being told once again how lovely our girls are. Once again everybody wanted to hold the girls, and once again they were on their best behaviour, my proud mother-heart was about to explode with pride and love! This evening it only got better, my parents have friends over and have been playing bridge all day. I took my girls and met up with a friend, I didn't feel like spending the day with my parent's friends and disrupting their game.
We came home around 7 pm as they were just finishing the last hand. But everything stopped when we came home, and everyone crowded around me to see the girls. I had Laia in my arms, Liva was still outside in the stroller - I can only pick up 1 girl at a time from that stroller. So my dad, the proud grandfather, rushed out to get Liva, and both my parents glowed as their friends admired the girls. I took the girls to the back of the house, bathed them, fed them and put them to bed. My parent's friends apparently commented on various occassions how incredibly beautiful and well behaved the girls are, and that it's incredible there isn't a sound with 2 2-month old babies in the house. I can only agree! :)

2 MONTHS - 29 Aug. 2010

We've been in Denmark for a little over a week, and it's been great. The weather is wonderful for Danish standards, though a bit too cold for my likings! The girls get goosepumps when they are naked, and I've had to go out and buy warmer clothes for them. But we're all having a great time, I heard Laia laugh for the first time. Both girls laugh a lot, but without sound, they just kind of open their mouth and look happy. But the other day Laia actually laughed! :) They have both started "talking" loads, they're slowly becoming aware of each other though they strangely enough don't really look at each other. They like looking at people, focusing on their faces, even my niece and nephew, but not each other. They hold their heads really well, and prefer sitting to lying. They are totally sociable and are happy to be wherever there are people.
We miss daddy a lot, and take loads of pictures which we e-mail to him every few days. He shows them to his mom as well, this way we can all feel a bit closer though we're almost a whole continent apart.

Laia & Liva

ALMOST 8 WEEKS - 22 Aug. 2010

Success!!! The girls were great!! Albert helped me to the airport, we checked the suitcase in without problems. I had Liva in a baby carrier on my belly and Laia in the carseat. Getting through security was fun, I had to take out Liva, walk through the security gate while one of the guards held her and the carseat with Laia. I then had to go back, take Liva, go through the gate again, give Liva to one of the guards on the other side, go back to take Laia and walk through the gate again. The guards helped me put Liva back in the carrier and off I went with my 2 girls. The carseat fit on the trolleys in the airport, so I could push Laia around.
Laia slept practically from we left home until the following morning in Denmark. Liva was awake most of the time in the airport and on the plane, but since she's such a curious girl she just looked around with her huge, blue eyes and was impressed and entertained by everything around her.
One of the stewards on the plane kept coming over and making sure we were all OK, he helped as much as he could, helped me carry the carseat all the way to row 27, placed the seat correctly for me, showed me how the seatbelt for babies worked, and made me feel safe and comfortable throughtout the entire flight. THANK YOU for that!
In Denmark a kind couple got me a trolley once we were off the plane so I didn't have to carry the girls around, and at Copenhagen airport they let my dad into the luggage claim area to help me get the suitcase. Thank you to all these people!!
We arrived at my parent's place late, almost at midnight, but it was so worth it! Liva fell asleep in the car on the way there, and both slept until 5 the next morning, ate and slept again until 8.
Today my dad's entire family has been here. My grandmother and 1 of my aunts broke into tears when they saw the girls sleeping on the couch when they arrived. Everybody wanted to hold the girls, and I had loads of volunteers when they had to be (bottle)fed. Once again the girls were on their best behaviour, smiling and charming everyone, hardly crying at any point. A perfect day, though we missed Albert!

7.5 WEEKS - 20 Aug. 2010

Oh my, I'm flying to Denmark on my own with the girls tomorrow. I decided that I couldn't wait until October for my parents to see their grandchildren, and I would like to show off my little treasures to my family in Denmark. Most airlines won't let only 1 adult fly with 2 babies, so the tickets took forever to find and cost a fortune. Today we went out and bought a carseat, one of the criterias for flying with 2 babies is that I buy a child-ticket so I have 2 seats on the plane, and place one of the babies in a carseat in the second seat.
Though they are little angels most of the time, I am a bit worried about how the whole trip will go. Here's keeping my fingers crossed.....

7 WEEKS - 17 Aug. 2010

Thank god for mothers-in-law!!!! Things were not quite back to normal and I was going crazy! Luckily my mother-in-law is on vacation all August, she has come over almost every day to help me with the girls. Sometimes I go out, sometimes I take a looooong shower and enjoy not having to worry about the girls crying while I do so, sometimes I get things done around the house. It's been great! Never underestimate the importance of grandparents!!

6 WEEKS - 10 Aug. 2010

Things are back to normal in our little home! :)
We bought a laxative tea at the pharmacy, both girls pooped bigtime for a few days and now seem to be back to normal. No more crying, no more stress, no more arguing.
We went to lunch at my mother-in-law's this weekend, the girls had been up most of the night before. In a way this was good, because it meant they just sat on her couch and stared into space while we all had lunch. When we finished they got a bit cranky, my mother-in-law offered to babysit while we took some time off. An offer we didn't need to hear twice!!
Albert and I left as quickly as we could and had a lovely afternoon in the center together. When we came back the girls were sleeping peacefully and had been on their best behaviour all afternoon, my mother-in-law was so happy to have had them.
Things are back to normal, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

5.5 WEEKS - 5 Aug. 2010

AAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now we know how lucky we've been so far!! The girls cry and cry and cry and cry... Luckily they sleep at night, they just kind of collapse around midnight, wake up at 3 to eat and collapse again until around 7 when Albert gets up. Then they spend the day crying and sleeping a bit. It seems to be belly-problems, we have no idea what to do!!! We can't eat, I'm in such a bad mood from being at home all day with 2 crying girls (when I take them out they decide to scream instead of cry) so when Albert comes home stressed after a hard day at work we do nothing but argue - while trying to cope with 2 crying girls.
Please let this be over soon, we can't take anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 WEEKS - 3 Aug. 2010

We took the girls to a restaurant for the first time this weekend. They did great! We went shopping to buy things for them, when walking home we came by a sushi place and realized we were hungry. The girls had already drunk all the milk we had brought in bottles and were sleeping, so we decided to have sushi for lunch. Just as we had sat down - entering the restaurant with a double stroller was quite a feat in itself - Liva woke up. I ate a bit, she became restless. I ate a bit more, she became more restless. In the end I pulled out my boop in the restaurant and fed her, something I hate doing but I guess certain barriers have to be crossed at times.... She ate, relaxed and was put back in her stroller. All in all, their first time in a restaurant was a huge success!

4.5 WEEKS - 30 July

2 weeks of managing the girls on my own during the day. There's been crying & screaming (all 3 of us!), but more laughs and smiles. The girls are wonderful and I'm starting to learn why they cry or scream, so I can deal with it.
They make me smile about a million times a day - just feeling them, holding them, looking into their beautiful blue eyes makes me smile. When they look back or even smile a little I just melt. I love watching them develop into little people, I love seeing the changes every day. I just love them!

1 MONTH - 29 July

WOW, I can't believe they are already a whole month old! I can't believe it's been a month since I was at the hospital pushing, wondering what I was pushing out. I can't believe these amazing little lives have been in our life for only 1 month!
They can already focus on things for longer periods of time, they move their heads towards objects of interest, they can almost hold their heads, and they love pushing themselves up into a standing position.

Laia

Liva

4 WEEKS - 27 July 2010

My second day of being completely alone with the girls. It's gone OK so far, we're all 3 still alive. We go out for walks during the day, the girls sleep in the stroller while I try to get back in shape. Breastfeeding both at the same time is virtually impossible and is stressing us all 3 out totally. With nobody here to help me position the girls they just don't get positioned right, they roll off the pillow, get angry and scream. Then I get stressed, and it ends with me just giving them a bottle each instead. No tears, no stress, much easier. I'll breastfeed 1 while the other sleeps. Though they're pretty syncronized when it comes to eating and sleeping, they're not 100% synchronized - I'll take advantage of that next time.

3.5 WEEKS - 23 July 2010

My parents went home this morning. It was difficult to say goodbye, we won't see each other until they come back for a few days in October. My mom cried, she's going to miss her grand-daughters terribly. I didn't want to cry, it would make it even harder for my parents. I will miss them and I'm quite worried about having to manage with the girls on my own. Luckily it's Friday which means Albert's home from work early and here the next 2 days.
I cried in the evening, though. I was on the couch while Albert was in the kitchen. He came back to the livingroom just to find me bawling. Poor man was all worried, but when I told him it was only because I missed having my parents around he was relieved. He held me tight and as always made me laugh - isn't laughing through tears just one of the best feelings in the world??

ALMOST 3.5 WEEKS - 22 July 2010

We're going out to dinner tonight again, once again leaving the girls with my mother-in-law. But this time I'm not worried at all, I know we'll be OK, all 3 of us! :)

3 WEEKS - 20 July 2010

Doctor's appointment today, my mom is coming as well.
Everything is fine, the nurse cleaned Liva's belly button and took out the hardened blob of blood, now it actually looks normal. Next appointment not until September.

ALMOST 3 WEEKS - 18 July 2010

Liva's umbilical cord came off. With a lot of blood... It's Sunday, no doctors are available now, we don't want to go to the ER, that would probably be too exaggerated. Luckily my parents are still here, they help keep us calm. We clean the belly button with alcohol, on Tuesday we have another doctor's appointment, we'll see what they say then.

2.5 WEEKS - 17 July 2010

Albert and I are going out to dinner tonight, just the 2 of us. Approximately 1 year ago Albert lost a bet we made, my prize was a dinner at a nice Thai restaurant in the center. When he came home from work yesterday he found a card and a small present on his side of the bed, as a thank you for being such a patient and understanding husband. I know I haven't been easy, not during the pregnancy and not now - lack of sleep, too much attention on the girls and my parents and not enough on him, etc. He's so caring and wonderful with me, sometimes I feel I don't deserve him! I know how lucky I am, and I wanted him to know that I know. For now, a card and a small present was all I could think of.

The dinner was great. I had no problem saying goodbye to the girls and leaving them with my parents, it's not like it's the first time I'm going out without them... The food was - as always at this place - wonderful, and it was soooooo nice being out with my husband and just being Stine & Albert, not being Liva & Laia's parents!
As if confirming that Albert is the greatest guy in the world, he gave me a present - a beautiful necklace with a diamond which matches my wedding ring. It's the most beautiful necklace I have ever owned, and I feel bad about my pathetic little present for him yesterday! I love him so much, and I really don't deserve him!

Oh, by the way - Laia's umbilical cord has come off. Gross... Her little belly button is perfect. Now we can bathe her, and hopefully Liva's will come off soon as well.

2 WEEKS - 13 July 2010

Another doctor's appointment. By now I'm a pro with the stroller and my mom's coming along, so no worries at all. The girls are weighed and the nurse looks at the umbilical cord. I ask my 10.000 questions, and 30 minutes later we're done. Once again everything was perfect, once again I'm so proud of my little girls!
Barcelona is experiencing a heat-wave and we have been adviced not to take the girls out. I decide to take advantage of this little excursion to go a few blocks further and show them off at work. As luck would have it, the 3 people I really wanted to see were having a meeting, which was of course interrupted the second I walked through the door. For 20 minutes we were showered with compliments - the girls were sleeping and on their best behaviour, looking like 2 little angels. It was wonderful seeing everyone from work again, and it was wonderful leaving without having to work. Time to go home and enjoy another afternoon and evening with my family - my daughters, my husband and my parents.

1.5 weeks - 9 July 2010

Tonight we're going out for dinner. That's my parents, Albert and me - not the girls. We're leaving them with my mother-in-law. It's the first time they'll be without me since they were born - or should I say the first time I'll be without them, coz they probably wont even notice! I have no doubt in my mind that my mother-in-law will take great care of them and they'll be just fine, but I'm soooo worried about leaving them. As we leave her house and I kiss my girls goodbye I have to focus not to cry. Gosh, how pathetic, I don't want to be the kind of mother who can't leave her girls!! But they're only 11 days old, will they be OK without their mother???
Luckily, as soon as I feel Albert's hand in mine and we're out on the street on our way to the restaurant I feel better. We have a wonderful evening and when we pick up the girls a few hours later they are just as beautiful and healthy as when we left them. And once again I'm proud of myself, this time for having parted with my girls for a few hours. So I'm not one of those moms who can't leave her children and have a life without them for a few hours!

1 WEEK - 6 July 2010

Yippee, my parents are coming!!
For the first week Albert was on paternity leave. It has been such a great week, enjoying each other as a family. This morning we had to say goodbye for the first time since the babies have been home, and it was a strange feeling. On top of that, I have to get all 3 of us ready and make it to an appointment with our pediatrician at 10:40. I have to get the babies and the stroller out on the street with no help, I have to walk for 7 blocks on my own with the girls. Oh, what scary thoughts!! And I have to make it home before my parents get here.
Luckily I have practised the whole stroller-thing with Albert, we took the girls on a walk yesterday and surprised his mom, she was thrilled. And I actually manage to get us all 3 safely out on the sidewalk and all the way to the doctor's office. I arrive sweaty but very very proud of myself. And I only become prouder when both the nurse and the doctor are in awe over the girls, telling me they are absolutely adorable. They probably say that about all the babies they see, but I'm convinced they mean it this time!
The girls are checked - ears, eyes, reflexes, weight, height etc - and not only am I told they're doing great, I'm told they're quite advanced for only being 1 week old. My proud mother-heart overflows with love and pride and I can't wait to call Albert and tell him.
As I'm walking home my dad calls, they are already inside our building waiting. Oh joy, it will be so great having them here for 2.5 weeks!!

DAY 3 - 2 July 2010

Today we get to go home!! The pediatrician has been here, the girls are doing great. The gynecologist has been here, I'm recuperating fine. My husband is here, he's called a taxi. We somehow manage to get flowers, bags, babies and ourselves into the taxi. The taxi driver is a really great guy, telling us about his own kids and I think he mentioned something about twins as well - not his kids but maybe his nieces and nephews?? I don't remember... I am so worried about the other cars, since our little treasures are on the back seat in lifts, not at all secured as they should be. When Liva starts crying I pick her up, I'm in the front seat with a 3-day old in my lap, oh please let us be home soon!!
We make it home without problems, get all the flowers, bags, babies and ourselves into our apartment on the 6th floor, and what do you know - the 2 crying little bodies we had gotten used to in the hospital suddenly relax completely. They sleep for 5 hours straight, longer than they have ever slept in one go before. We check on them every 10 minutes (at least) to make sure they're still breathing. When they finally wake up, we show them around their home before I sit down to breastfeed. Since this day they have been the sweetest, easiest babygirls we could ever have wished for!

DAY 1 - 29 June 2010

"There'a a contraction coming up, get ready to push!"
Thank god the machines knew when the contractions came because I couldn't feel a thing. And thank god for that too, since the pain before the epidural was bad enough. And the women screaming in pain in the other birthing rooms would have made me reconsider the whole thing. Not that I hadn't reconsidered a few times... Don't get me wrong, I had wanted this for years! But the pregnancy had been quite a surprise - one time without protection and bingo, double up: twins!! A life-long dream for me, but a huge surprise for both of us... A scary thought at times, and as the date came nearer I started wondering whether I could just keep the girls in my belly. At the same time I was as huge as a house and sooooo fed up with being pregnant and having a belly bigger than a basket ball.
Giving birth is by far the most incredible thing I have ever experienced! The doctors told me when to push, I pushed, and after just a few pushes, shortly after 14 pm on June 29th Liva came to the world. 11 minutes later Laia followed. I didn't get to hold them, they had to be checked and were then put in the arms of their father, which I'm happy about. I have so much contact with the girls every day while he's at work, I'm happy he was the first to hold them. When the doctors were sure everything was OK with all 3 of us, my husband was let into the room and we were given a girl each. Wow, what a feeling! Though one of my main thoughts was "water". After 16 hours in labour with no food or drink I felt completely dehydrated. I had begged the nurses for water, only one nurse felt sorry enough for me to give me about 5 drops, but that had been hours ago. When I asked the doctors for water I was told to wait until we were in the room. Nobody knew when that would be. So I decided to enjoy the precious moment with my husband and 2 daughters. Liva was 48 cm and weighed 2445 gr, Laia was 49 cm and weighed 2855 gr. They were beautiful, eyes open already looking around.
The next 3 days we spent in the hospital, I guess doing what every new family does - learning to breastfeed, getting to know our daughters, not sleeping at night, learning how to change diapers with the umbilical cord in the way and just enjoying holding, touching and smelling our beautiful little daughters.

 Liva

Laia