Reflections on a date.

It seems remiss not to remember what Friday, June 3rd was - the girls' due date.  40 weeks. 10 long months from a fateful day in September when, amazingly, surprisingly, unbelievably, we created life.  And not just one life, but two sweet, little, precious lives.

Emerson & Charlotte, 8 weeks gestation

It's amazing to think they've been in the world for 7 weeks already, time that should have been spent growing and developing in the womb.  I hope between the NICU and our little happy home that we've provided some semblance of a replacement, although I know it's just never the same as those precious days inside.  Nothing can really replace the perfect system that is growing an infant in utero, the body being so cleverly designed and adapted for that purpose, and some would argue, that purpose alone.  It's even more amazing when you consider that some call the first 3 months of a child's life the fourth trimester - a period of growing and developing that is more womb-like than it is child-like.  We have that ahead of us now!


The girls are just beginning to "wake up".  They have a little bit of alert time every day, and during these periods we try to walk them around the house so they can look at different objects, or we use the activity mat that Mimi & PopPop gave them.  They're too little to really see anything, but it's a beginning!  Pretty soon we'll be able to start "tummy time" and help them strengthen their neck and back muscles.  


I was holding Charlotte the other day and she looked at me.  It was only for a few seconds, but she held my gaze, and my heart rose.  It was in that moment that I really realized that one day she'll actually look at me and know who I am...  I guess it seems obvious, but for the past 7 weeks we've been diligently tending to every need of 2 beings who, although they very much know us, don't recognize or acknowledge us (yet).  I am used to being a silent but necessary part of this process, and the realization that they'll wake up and know who Leah & I are was just amazing to understand.


But for now, we'll continue to revel in these two sweet, perfect creatures who are, in essence, just being born.  


A retrospective of their first day...

6:40am:  Minutes old, not even wiped clean yet!

7:00am:   Emerson, on her way up to NICU.  I mean, seriously.  Can it get any cuter??

8:00am:   In recovery from the section, pretty wiped out.
I had been up for 36 hours at this point, and in labor for 8.

10:00am:  In my room, having pumped colostrum for the girls to eat.  The girls were born at
6:36 & 6:37am, and my doctor said I could go up to the NICU at 12:00pm IF the anesthesia
had worn off sufficiently.  I spent the next 5 hours determined to move my legs...

11:30am:  I made it!  Holding my daughters for the first time.

8:00pm:  Leah feeding colostrum through a syringe and nipple.
The girls' first nutrition comes from mom (besides their IV fluids)!

Happy moms!!