No More Quiet Weekends

The cry of a newborn baby boy filled the birthing room at Evergreen Medical Center at 4:30 pm. Doctor Arleta Lewis handed the baby to a nurse, who very quickly whisked him away to be cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket. Doug’s worried face watched her attend to his son, until I squeezed his hand as another contraction wracked my body. The other one was coming!

We sat in a hot tub, with the jets pointed firmly at my lower back, and waited. One more contraction, and I could feel the baby moving. Three contractions later, our daughter was born.

Dr Lewis pulled the baby from the tub, and the nurse handed our son to Doug. She took our daughter from Dr. Lewis. Arleta delivered the placenta, and declared that I was doing wonderfully. The nurse returned with the baby, and placed her in my arms. Doug and I cried and kissed and said hello to our new little ones.

Eventually, I had to get out of the tub, and it took two nurses to help me out of the tub and into my bed. When I was settled in, Doug handed me my son, grabbed his daughter and scooted next to me on the bed.

Molly Lynn was 5 lbs, 7 oz and 18 inches long. Ryan Douglas was 5 lbs, 9 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. Ten little fingers and toes on each child, and two perfect little noses and four rosy cheeks. Molly had my mouth, and Ryan had his daddy’s eyes.

Doug called everyone we knew and announced the babies weights and measurements like they were Easter hams to our family and friends.

Jack asked why they weren’t named “Arwen” and “Legolas.” Truth is, I suggested “Eowyn” as a middle name, but when Doug didn’t know who she was, I stopped suggesting names from the Lord of the Rings. Molly is a fairly common name, but also was my little homage to Harry Potter.

We spent the rest of the night learning to feed twins, sleeping, and talking to family and friends. Molly and Ryan ate and cried and we tried to figure out what was wrong. When they finally fell asleep, we stared in wonder at the new little miracles that had been bestowed upon us. I fell into an exhausted, but contented sleep that night.

The next day, after a thorough examination from the doctor, Doug and I were escorted to the parking lot with our babies, and we headed home. They were so tiny in their little car seats.

Chris met us at the door. She had been watching Pugsley and Wednesday. Pugsley was now full
grown, but not grown up…he bolted out the door and attempted to climb into the car as we detached the car seats from their frames. I blocked him from jumping up, and he hopped up and down and ran between the front steps and the car in smaller and smaller circles, until he had led us to the front door. We stepped inside, where Chris was barely managing to constrain a wiggling Wednesday. We put the babies on the dining room table, and Chris put the pug down.

I gave Chris a hug and introduced her to her neice and nephew. She said Jack was going to be so jealous that she got to see them first!

The dogs ran and yipped and chased each other through the entry and dining room, until Wednesday stopped short, sniffing. She barked, a short warning bark, to let us know something had changed. Chris jumped. Doug and I laughed. Molly cried. Wednesday and Pugsley tilted their heads.

I picked up Wednesday and scratched her ears. She sniffed the air over the babies. We had been introducing smells of baby lotion and shampoos for several months now, and making sure that Pugsley and Wednesday did not cross into the twin's room. She knew the scent and started backing up. Molly cried again, and Wednesday wiggled her way out of my arms and ran into the kitchen, peeking through the door and barking. Pugsley followed her into the kitchen before we could get our hands on him!

Chris stayed for a couple of days and helped out until we got a good routine going with the babies. Pugsley and Wednesday finally learned to sleep in their crates again. They would bark when the babies cried and more than one early morning was spent trying to calm the twin that had been sleeping until the dog barked at them.

Doug went back to work a few days after the twins were born. He worked half days for awhile, and I was really grateful when he walked in the door! We each were in charge of a kid, and handled the feeding, diapering and napping until bedtime.

The pugs were not so cooperative. Once, Wednesday jumped on the couch and tried to sit between me and the baby when I was changing diapers. The resulting mess was disgusting, and made me very glad that I had tile floors in the living room. We changed the babies in their room from then on.

We also made sure we spent time with the dogs without the babies around.

One night, Doug and I laid in bed with our babies sleeping between us, Wednesday and Pugsley snoring in their crates. He looked me deep in the eyes and said, "I guess this will have to pass for quiet weekends now!"

Ryan inhaled stiffly and we braced ourselves for a scream, but he only sighed and drifted back to sleep. I said, "We'll take as much quiet as we can get!"