7 Quick Takes: Volume 9: Three Weeks Old

Thanks to Jen for hosting!

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Emily and Erin are three weeks old now, and they learn something new every day. I'm amazed at how much more alert they are when awake. Both of them are starting to hold their head up when I hold them upright; they will deliberately tip their head back to look at my face. My heart melts every time. They seem a little more interested when we talk to them, too, although when they're crying they don't seem to hear anything but their own noise. If I'm holding them, though, they will look towards my face if I'm talking (and they're not sleeping!)

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Dan and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary last night. Four years - hard to believe! It seems like it was just last summer we were standing in front of the altar. We were able to go out to dinner as a gift from his parents - they even baby-sat Emily and Erin for a few hours so we could go! I'm very thankful, because with the whooping cough outbreak here, I wouldn't have been comfortable taking them inside a restaurant, and it's too warm for them to sit outside. We went to Red Lobster, which in our town means waiting at least 45 minutes for a table. Is this the case everywhere? Red Lobster has only been open for a few months here, so I think it might be the novelty of it. We both had yummy dinners, and I ordered the first beer (well, part of a beer) I'd drunk in ten months. I'd become very accustomed to never pulling out my ID at the dinner table. It was nice to celebrate with something I had gone without for so long, but it's certainly not something I miss much.

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And speaking of marriage, my little brother got married yesterday evening! His new wife's name is Sarah also, so now my parents have two daughters named Sarah. How awesome is that?! I wish that we'd been able to attend their wedding, but it was too far to travel so soon after giving birth, and definitely out of the question for the girls to travel or to be left home while we traveled. We are looking forward to seeing the happy couple soon, though, and are excited for Erin and Emily to meet their new aunt!

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I loved this article about dressing nicely out of gratitude and respect for the situation. Jen Fulwiler is right; too often we don't take into account how lucky we are to be able to do something. Dressing up doesn't have to mean "Sunday best"; just wearing something nice enough to demonstrate your respect for the situation. This had been percolating in the back of my mind for a few months, but after reading this article, I decided to make an effort to put together some nice, coordinated outfits for church, going out to dinner, etc, to help make sure that Emily and Erin grow up with this idea of dressing respectfully. Especially where we live, I think it can be easy to dress casually and still fit in (a West Coast thing, I suppose), so I'd like to work on this myself to be a good example.

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I've gained a newfound appreciation for coffee in the last two weeks. I actually almost cried when we ran out yesterday. I thought I was addicted to caffeine before I was pregnant, but this takes it to a whole new level. My first goal every morning when I get up is to make sure I get at least one cup of coffee - without it, I can barely remember my own name!

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I've been asked a lot lately if I feel like things are "back to normal" now that the twins are here, we're all home, and I'm not pregnant or on bed rest anymore. I posted on this, and I had so much to say that there will definitely be a couple more posts on "the new normal".

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I'm starting to realize how much I took driving for granted. In April, when I was placed on bed rest, my doctor's office said they preferred I did not drive because of the stress it could place on my body and the contractions that could cause. When I got closer to full term and contractions weren't as much of a concern, I drove a few blocks to Starbucks a couple of times. Our car is an automatic, but we'd had it less than a month when I was placed on bed rest. Prior to that, I'd driven a stick shift for almost 4 years. My left foot was looking for a clutch and my hand wanted the shifter to go sideways, not just up and down. I decided if my muscle memory wasn't driving the same car I happened to be sitting in, maybe driving really wasn't a good idea. And then I had the C-section. I still haven't been cleared to drive. Not that I think I could leave the house with both girls by myself and drive somewhere, but it's the principle of the matter. I miss the freedom of driving, but all in good time, I suppose. I certainly don't feel healed yet; although my outer incision is well healed, my insides ache. I'm beginning to see why they say I'll be out of commission for the better part of 6 weeks. And to think, before my induction all I was worried about was when I could run again!

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