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November 28, 2007
Twins' Theme Song
Dueling Banjos
Yeah, it's a fun little ditty, but not the sounds we want to hear at 12, 1, 2, 3 or 5 o'clock in the morning.
Nothing like crying in stereo to keep your night interesting!!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 27, 2007
Our Model for a Swaddle
Ian: Why, oh why can’t we have normal parents?
Elanor: They think this is funny?
Ian: And why do they keep whispering "My precioussesssss"?
*pictures found at http://www.tk421.net/lotr/film/rotk/20.html
Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:55 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 26, 2007
Music and Tummy Time
Joanna: Yesterday, Tim watched the babies while I took a little nap. When I came down, he had a beer in his hand and had the babies lying together listening to Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, Op. 48. He was excited, "It's their first classical music outside of the womb!" They both seemed to enjoy it, especially the hemiola in the third movement. Here are the three of them zonked out on the floor.
Tim: The twins first full day at home went well. In addition to classical music, they also watched the Muppet Show with us (Elton John was the guest) and the Ken Burns documentary on WWII. They liked Pyotr Ilyich and Elton a lot more than the Germans. We had a brief conversation debating the matter:
Joanna (hopefully): Maybe the gunshots sound like heartbeats to them!
Tim (dubiously): Maybe...until the explosions happen
Our pediatrician told us to periodically lay the babies on us on their stomachs, to build their upper body strength and to get them to lift their own heads (we sleep them on their backs, of course). It is so funny! They get all crabby looking, like they’re saying: “Ohhh my brain is sooooooo heavy. If my head wasn’t so disproportionally larger than my body, I could do this.”
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:48 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 25, 2007
We're home!
We got home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. It took a long time to get home! But we had some great conversations with doctors and nurses about taking care of our little bits after we got home. One nurse reminded us that the floor was staffed 24/7 and we could call any time. The kindness of the nurses was one of the best parts of our hospital experience. Almost every one of them went out of their way to help us out. And they all thought our babies were cute!
When we got home, and Tim went out to get my prescriptions, I finally went into shock in the realization that we have two little lives dependent on us. I would look at one car seat and think “there’s a baby,” and look at the other one and think “there’s another baby.” This went on for awhile. I started crying a little bit realizing how completely dependent these two little beings are.
It is nice to be home, though. I took a little nap in the afternoon. Elanor was being a fuss pot, so I took her up with me and plopped her in the boppy. Tim came upstairs and said, “wow, there’s no babies crying right now!” Have the feeling that we won’t be saying that too frequently in the coming days!!
Now to learn to take care of two when I'm not allowed to do much more than pick up one...
Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:30 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
November 23, 2007
More on the twins--The Pictures
Pictures--the first of many!
Tim gearing up
Joanna meets her babies
Our first family picture!
Jo & Elanor
Little Ian
Ian & Elanor
Meeting family--Grandma
Grandpa
Aunt 'Stina
Wee little toesies
Daddy's sleepy--Ian isn't!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:54 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
More on the twins--the loooong story!
Tim: Well, here's the full story of Ian and Elanor. We came in at 6 am on Monday morning, all ready to go. St. Mary's Hospital has a posh, cozy first class birthing center and we felt right a home in room 3113. Joanna was induced at 9 am. We watched some movies during the day and watched the contraction monitors even closer. Joanna was on a harsh diet of ice so she sucked on some LifeSavers to break up the monotony. Joanna's parents and one of her best friends came during the day and visited our room periodically. They were really encouraging.
By 11 pm, Joanna's contractions weren't strong enough, probably because Elanor was laying sideways in the uterus and wasn't allowing Ian to have enough of a push. We talked to our doctor and she said that we should probably go ahead with the C-section. We reluctantly agreed and soon we were decked out in scrubs. Joanna had had an epidural put in earlier in the evening so she didn't feel a thing during the procedure. Her face was just beaming with excitement during the C-section. It wasn't long before we heard a loud squeal. At 12:37 am, out came Ian! They said I could take a few pictures so I did and then showed them to Joanna on our digital camera. A minute later out popped Elanor and I took another few pictures and showed them to Joanna. Then we started bawling together! Joanna, Dr. Campbell and the team did an excellent job with the operation - the smallest possible incision and no complications. We were so thankful to God for His goodness to us. We couldn't believe how well they were adjusting to their new world, being just a few hours old. The nurses took the scrub shirt I wore during the C-section and put Ian and Elanor's footprints and names on the front. We're going to hang it up in the nursery.
Joanna's take: on Monday we left our house at 4:30 AM, dropped by Waffle House to get a nourishing meal (ooo--between this and the barbeque we had earlier in the weekend at Jot 'Em Down BBQ, these babies are going to end up southerners for sure!), and headed to the hospital. Registration flew by, and soon we were in the room and I had an IV with a pitocin drip started. Soon, I started to feel labor pains intensify. Staying in the bed was getting kind of uncomfortable, so a very understanding nurse came in and let me sit in the chair for a bit. I felt like this was really starting to get me going. Over the first few hours, I dilated from 3 cm to almost 6--it felt like it was just a matter of time now.
Because we were getting close to the end (so we thought!), our doctor went ahead and ordered the epidural to be put in place. I was kind of disappointed, but I knew that it was important, especially for the health of Elanor in case she decided not to make her descent after Ian came out. Before the epidural, I was following a home birth mom's directions for coping with and breathing with contractions. Right before the epidural, the nurse told me that I would have made a great candidate for a natural birth, that I dealt with the contractions in exactly the right way, and if it weren't for the concern for the twins' health, she would have seen no reason for me to get an epidural. I felt very...validated...since, already, the birth process wasn't exactly going the way I expected/wanted it to. The epidural was the worse part of the experience, much more painful than I thought it would be, and very unnerving to lose feeling in my legs.
When it came to 11:30 and the babies still weren't coming, and contractions had ceased for about 4 hours to make the labor progress, our very nice doctor let us make the decision about having a c-section. Even though it was clearly the best choice, and it was a terribly difficult (and tearful) decision to make, it made us feel respected to be allowed to make the choice.
From there on, things flew by! A few minutes later, we were heading to the operating room. As Tim said, I didn't feel pain, but I got terrible shakes from the anesthesia and from the unexpectedness of it all. But the procedure flew by, and soon we heard our babies crying. Actually, screaming more than crying--they were very unhappy about being taken from their warm little jacuzzis! We both burst into tears as soon as we heard them. I couldn't see them because of the screen, but they let Tim take some digital pictures of them. As soon as he snapped a couple, he would show me, and take a couple more. The wonders of modern technology!
It seemed only moments before the doctors put Ian into my arms, and Elanor beside my head. They had nearly perfect Apgar scores, and were already pink and beautiful and healthy.
We were all back in the room by 1:30 AM. We spent the rest of the night in shock--here we were with sweet, wonderful babies, and they were OURS!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 21, 2007
And they're here!!
Just a really quick update from the hospital--we hijacked my dad's laptop. Pictures to come soon!
After 18 hours of unproductive labor, and a very quick c-section (more details later for the non-squeamish types)...
Ian Alexander Smolko was born at 12:37 AM, Tuesday, November 20th. 6 lbs., 7 oz., very loud! He has Tim's nose and coloring.
Elanor Rose Smolko was born at 12:38 AM, Tuesday, November 20th, 6 lbs., 6 oz. (well, she probably was exactly the same as her big brother, except she peed an ounce as she exited her old habitation for the strange new world which she now occupies), also, very loud. She has Joanna's coloring and chin.
Both are extremely healthy, very cute, cuddly and chubby. Picking them up, Joanna has no earthly idea how they both fit inside and still had room to stir up so much trouble.
We are overjoyed and overwhelmed, and thank everyone for their faithful prayers and encouragement. More to come, especially pictures of the little boogers!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 7:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 18, 2007
Countdown, Day 27: Tomorrow!!
This has been a quietish weekend. We've both been reflecting on the fact that our years as a couple (at least a couple by ourselves!) will soon be exchanged for our time as a foursome.
After church, we took a nap and then looked at our Chronicles. Beginning when we first started dating, Tim has kept a meticulous journal of the fun things that we've done together. After we got married, I joined him in chronicling our life together. A lot of times, my blog entries end up copied right into the journal. He "publishes" them every six months--we're on volume 9 at this point, going on four and a half years of friendship, couplehood and married life!
The journals have gone through several transformations--now Tim jokes that they're like photo albums with extensive (!!!!) captions.
We looked back at our first days as a married couple (volume 4), and then jumped to volume 8 to read about when we first found out that we were having a baby, and then to the day when we found out about twins. And through the changes in our lives--job, location, etc.--that have taken place since then.
And we both realized how amazingly blessed we've been. Twists and turns have happened in our lives that we never planned, yet God has brought about so many unexpected blessings.
To wrap this up--we're going in tomorrow morning at 6 AM. We'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers over the day--for a quick, safe delivery, for wisdom for the doctor, that the babies would be healthy, that they would line up and come out in turn (please, no Jacob and Esau behaviors!!), and that the induction wouldn't lead to a c-section.
Hopefully, we'll have pictures soon. Can't wait to meet our babies!!!!!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:07 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
November 17, 2007
Countdown, Day 26: Baby Morse Code
Since they aren't going to be in there much longer, I've been thinking a lot about what it feels like to have babies inside me. I was trying to take a nap today, and just kept giggling because they were making such funny movements inside me.
It's so funny to feel them react to different things. Sometimes, it's pretty easy to know what they're feeling--for example, they hate the heartbeat monitors that get strapped on them while doctors are checking for contractions. They'll try to kick them off the entire time, setting off all kinds of alerts.
I also can tell when they get annoyed with the way I'm laying down. Sometimes, they keep kicking until I change positions. They also don't seem to like contractions that much--in between them, they'll start bashing on my belly (like there's anything I can do to control it!).
But other responses are more ambiguous. I mean, I think they like Bruce Springsteen--they always react when his music comes on, it was one of the first things I felt them both react to at the same time. I've even done that when they've been lethargic, just to make sure they're okay, and they've become quite active (especially with the song Born in the USA). But maybe they're saying, "Ewww, turn that 80s junk off already!" And maybe they actually like orcses! At this point, I guess it's all a matter of interpretation!!
It's funny, too, when they get the hiccups. Tim thinks it feels like morse code.
Dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot: "Mom, love the pizza, but maybe it's a little strong for my tummy."
Dot dot dot dash dash dash kick kick kick: "Mmm! Keep that ice cream coming!!"
The other day, one was hiccuping, and the other started kicking, like he was saying, "Dude, keep the hiccups on your side of the uterus. Don't make me come over there!"
It's really fun for Tim to feel them, too. I think they like their daddy's voice. One morning, they were sound asleep, and Tim came over to hug me. He said something to me, and one of them bounced right up, like he or she was trying to say, "Hi daddy!"
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 16, 2007
Countdown, Day 25: Three Days to Go
We just realized that we're down to our last couple of days as a couple. Not that we're not terribly excited about the additions to our family...it's just going to be different from now on out.
Not too much to report here! Still waiting for them to make their move!!
We've been watching the LOTR trilogy over the course of this past week. I discovered that the babies don't like nasty, filthy orcses. They don't particularly like battle scenes either. I try to explain to them that the good guys will win, but they still seem a little disturbed by the sounds on the tele.
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 15, 2007
Countdown, Day 24: The Nursery
Since we're renting, we really didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to paint our nursery. Instead, we recently had the idea of hanging up childhood quilts all around the room.
Tim's mom and aunt made this one together. There's a rather poignant story behind how we came to have this quilt.
My mom made this for me, we didn't even realize the two had the same prayer until we hung them up!
My aunt made this when I was born--she was only 10!
We also have classic Pooh stuff to decorate with as well. Here's our bureau (and thanks to Tim, we have the clothes inside washed and organized into boy, girl and sizes!)
And Tim put up a shelf of stuffed animals.
The shelf is flanked by the enigmatic "www.huggable" and "www.cuddly" bears we received. If you look closely, you can also see Splash the Duck and Nibbles the Bunny. They're from our Canadian friend Karen and her family, and can pray in French and English. Tim's favorite thing to do is to start one in French, and moments later the other in English, so it sounds like the prayer is being translated.
Tim has a penchant for noise-making toys. One time early in the pregnancy, a friend and my mom took me to a consignment shop to find maternity clothes. Meanwhile, Tim discovered the toys in the back of the store. He found all of the ones that made noise and utilized their capabilities, oftentimes simultaneously. After awhile, he comes toy in hand to find me, and with a big grin on his face says excitedly, "This one plays Wagner!!"
Posted by Tim and Jo at 12:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Countdown, Day 24: The Fortress
So, I didn't write anything yesterday because it was hard to think of anything positive to say. I've found that if I get sleep, I can still get through the days fine, but when I don't, I'm pretty crabby. I didn't sleep two nights ago because of strong (but intermittent) contractions, so I was extraordinarily cranky yesterday. Poor Tim has had to deal with so much!
Today marks two weeks of showing signs of early labor.
But since I slept for 10 hours last night, I'm at least ready to keep going for a few more days! Plus--if I don't go into labor this weekend--a dear friend is going to come down and visit from Chattanooga, so that's something to look forward to.
Here's the pillow fortress created each night, and an enumeration of each pillow's purpose from the head down.
a) Two under my head to keep babies from squashing my diaphragm
b) One more to make a nice slope
c) One to support a belly full of babies
d) A body pillow to hug and keep my hips in place
e) Plus one that's like a short-stop--it can be used in different positions depending on what's bothering me. Recently, it's been an extra one between my knees, but it can also be used to create a higher slope
Seems to work--at least most nights! I guess my best advice to someone pregnant is to beg/borrow/steal miracle foam pillows. I totally wouldn't be sleeping at this point without them!
Next up--our nursery!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 13, 2007
Countdown, Day 22: quick update
Well, we went to the OB yesterday. Nothing has changed too much! The babies and my body both seem ready to go, if only I could get regular and strong contractions--to this point, it's usually been one or the other (a regular pattern but not very painful, or painful but not in a regular pattern). They're probably between 6 and 6 1/2 pounds now, a lot of baby to be carrying!!
So, if nothing happens this week, she's going to induce me on Monday morning. We're all praying (and you can too!) that they'll decide to come on their own this week. My OB is great about not interfering and letting my body do things on its own, but it is getting time for them to come out!! She's going to take a very conservative approach to the induction, but still, it would be much better if these little babies would make up their minds to come on their own.
I keep on trying to remember the nickname the little boy was given in Life is Beautiful, translated "stubborn" in English. It sounded so cute in Italian, and would be a great nickname for these silly little twins! It can't be very comfortable in there at this point!!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 1:12 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 12, 2007
Countdown, 21 days: 37 weeks
So, another milestone I never expected to make! And I think or hope this is the last one! The twins are definitely full term at this point, and should be healthy and ready to meet the real world. I should know a little more after the OB appointment this afternoon.
For some reason, Tim and I were talking yesterday about how fun it will be to have kids at Christmas time. And I realized that I've never blogged about our fun Christmas traditions. Some come from my childhood, some from his, a lot from his bachelor days, and some we've created together. A lot revolve around life at Pittsburgh, so we're going to have to adapt them for when the kids get older--or just drag the kids up to Pittsburgh! Tim has a really special way of creating Christmas traditions without everything having to revolve around materialism. Some of our traditions:
*making gingerbread cookies and/or houses, and inviting people over to decorate them with us
*digging out Tim's extensive collection of Christmas specials (including Charlie Brown) and watching them over the weeks leading to Christmas
*cutting down our own Christmas tree
*listening to Tim's LP of Handel's Messiah
*going to the Strip District to get cheese and crackers and special Christmas coffee to have on hand as we have people over on Sunday evenings and other times
*ice skating and looking at elaborate gingerbread house (oftentimes Steelers themed!) made by local students at PPG Place
*rounding up the highschoolers (and others in the church) to sing Christmas carols at a local nursing home
--Later today, I want to update this with a diagram of the elaborate pillow structure that I create each night to help me sleep. Right now, I need no less than six pillows to create the pillow fortress!
PS I was wondering who all was reading this! I know some old friends and family have started reading the blog, so if you can, why don't you just click on the comments link and say hi!
Movie of the Day: Ken Burns' The War. Thought it was an appropriate choice for Veteran's Day. Tim and I have mixed reactions to it. He thinks it's too narrow in scope. I'm fascinated by the social history approach, an approach I studied for the chapter in my dissertation that I'm currently working on. More on that later!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:16 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 11, 2007
Countdown, Day 20
Tim: Yesterday, we had another fun day with Austina, in which we discover, not only is she a gourmet cook, she is also something of a prophetess.
Last Sunday Austina presented us with a puzzler concerning twins being born right at the shift of daylight savings time. Well…today she told us that it actually happened! Saw a video on CNN of a couple talking about it. The boy was born first, but since the girl was born after 2 am, technically the girl is “older” than the boy!
Austina: Oh my word! I must be a fortune teller. Ha Ha! Can you believe it and they too had a boy and a girl. Crazy.
Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 9, 2007
Countdown, Day 18: Onesies and tidbits
So, over the past couple of days, I've had a burst of creativity energy. Or maybe it's just that I'll do anything to distract myself from the fact that the babies still aren't here! (or maybe it's the burst of energy that precedes "real" labor for many women--please let it be that!)
So, here's the outcome!
A couple of weeks ago, I made some t-shirts and a onesie for my brother's brood. For another week, they'll have four under the age of three!
Other bits and pieces:
*Looks like I'm last in the baby line-up. Found out my old friend had her little girl last night! A short labor and a healthy baby, hurrah!
*This has been a really long week (understatement). I don't know how well I would have gotten through it without all of the people who have called to check on me. This morning, I had three in a row--as soon as I hung up, someone else would call--brother, husband, aunt. A great way to wake up!
Movie of the Day: Well, more technically, a TV series. I've really gotten into Jim Henson's The Storyteller. I think I may have seen it once or twice as a child. It's gorgeous. It's a little dark--more like Grimm brothers than Disney--and the stories unfold beautifully. There were two series, one on fairy tales and the other on Greek myths. The fairy tales are my favorite. John Hurt is a brilliant story teller. The stories are told with the rhythm and repetition of old fables. The sets are almost surreal, alternating between the story teller by the fire, watercolor sets, and more realistic sets, using live action and puppets, including some haunting sequences using shadow puppets.
Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:04 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 8, 2007
Countdown, Day 17: Conversation between wombmates
As overheard by Tim...
Ian: Ach! I just can't stand it anymore!! I'm breaking out of here.
Elanor: (yawn)
Ian: I'm so sick of being wet! I hate being wet.
Elanor: Dude, there's a drought going on outside. You should be thankful we have all the water we need. And would you stop kicking my head?!
Ian: If your head wasn't so big, we'd have more room.
Elanor: Wait. I just realized something.
Ian: What?
Elanor: I'm naked!!!
Ian: For crying out loud...
Elanor: How did this happen??? I feel so .... naked!
Ian: You really shouldn't complain. Wait until you see what they're going to dress you up in!
Elanor: It won't be just me...
Ian: Don't go there!
_____________
Speaking of twins, I was wondering what kind of traumatic elementary school experiences led these 8 year old twins to create their big invention. But reading the article, it turns out it's what they were doing to each other that led to it.
Yes, we're going to have our hands full!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 6, 2007
Countdown, Day 15: The Big ?
Question of the Day: If I've been in early labor off and on since Thursday, why is there still a countdown going on?
Thankfully at the dr.'s appointment yesterday, we found out that I am making progress. The contractions are doing something, even if they aren't doing all that they could do.
But I'm getting rather antsy and uncomfortable and tired at this point. I've tried to find things to do--getting rest when I can, checking e-mail, watching movies, talking on the phone, counting contractions (and irrationally hoping that if I count them, it'll make something happen), etc.
Not too much to report.
Movie of the Day: Babe. I love the quirky, quiet farmer man!!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 5, 2007
36 week belly pic
Think this is going to be the last of these!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Countdown, Day 14: 36 weeks/9 months
The good news is that 36 weeks is considered full term for twins--so no more worrying about preterm labor!
The bad news--well, since Thursday when my OB said that I was in very early labor and that they should come at any time, I've been getting increasingly uncomfortable. The contractions aren't coming strong enough in a regular enough pattern to do much as far as progressing towards the end goal. But at the same time, they're uncomfortable enough to keep me from sleeping much. So, I'm exhausted and impatient, but still hanging in there. I just wish that the contractions would stop or get stronger, instead of these wishy-washy, indecisive contractions that don't quite know where they're going.
I joked with a friend earlier that I'm in the "already, not yet" stage of labor.
I'll see the OB later today and hopefully get some updates on what's going on.
Hopefully we'll update later with a picture of my 36w belly (which is measuring at 45w, if I were only carrying one!)
Movie of the Day: well, I stuck with Simpsons flashback episodes of their kids' births--"Lisa's First Word," & "And Maggie Makes Three"
Posted by Tim and Jo at 2:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 4, 2007
Countdown, Day 13: A puzzler
No babies yet...
Tim: Austina, ruminating upon the birth of the twins, put forth an interesting proposition concerning daylight savings time. Say Twin 1 was born at 1:47 am last night. Say Twin 2 was born after 2 am. Since the clocks are supposed to be set back 1 hour at 2 am, would that mean Twin 2 was born before Twin 1. Such are the philosophical conundrums of Austina!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 5:08 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 3, 2007
Countdown, Day 12
Tim: Looks like we have little break in the action. Joanna's contractions have let up a bit. We thought the the babies were knocking at the door on Thursday but they decided to just kick back and enjoy their comfy pad inside Mommy for a little longer. So we had another last chance to go out to the movies. Austina came along and last night we saw 2 Days in Paris at our little art house movie theater.
Stay tuned for updates!!
Posted by Tim and Jo at 1:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 1, 2007
Countdown, Day 10: Bumping & "The Look"
1) The most popular form of entertainment at the Smolko household these days is watching Joanna's wiggling, wriggling belly as the babies bump around. The previously mentioned lumping is more of a static activity, but it often gets combined with bumping in amusing ways. It's like those arcade whacking games, or a Bugs Bunny cartoon, where one lump gets pushed down, only to have it pop up in another place.
It's really fun when they both get going--my belly looks like a rolicking sea!
Sometimes--I know I shouldn't tease them--I'll egg them on. If I push down on a spot right beside a lump, the lump will then bump to that spot. And then I find a new spot to poke...
And guessing the body part sticking out is fun, too!
2) When I go out in public these days, I'm starting to get The Look. The "please don't drop any babies out on the floor of my store/restaurant/place of business." Sometimes The Look is accompanied by commentary. One woman opened the door for me the other day, looked down at my belly, looked back at me and drawled, "Bless your heart!"
Movie of the Day: TBA
Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack