Sweet Babies sleeping

I placed the little kiddos on our bed and they loved it as much as we do!

I was fortunate enough to video this the other day. Poor little girl just takes a side swipe from her brother. 

Kiddos are 1 month old

It seems like just yesterday and we have been up since then. Just kiddin' but we are clearly tired because the chalkboard should read 4/22.

First trip post children

Last Monday I headed up to NYC for my first trip following the birth of my children. It was harder than I expected and found myself asking for photos from K and looking at our photo stream often. It was also easier and I went to sleep around 9:30 most nights. I had a great dinner by myself at Capital Grill Monday night. I had a great piece of filet. On Tuesday Gene, Daniel, Carol, and I headed downtown to La Sevilla for some Spanish which was so-so food with tardy service. Wednesday night brought Da Noi on 49th for some great carbonara. Later that night some of us headed to the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central. It was a good trip but I was ready and happy to get home.

Carl and Caroline's Wedding

Last weekend on Saturday Kathryn and I were happy to head to Myrtle Beach to celebrate our friends, Carl and Caroline's wedding. It was an even bigger trip for us since we got the chance to take our first road trip with the kids. We left Friday after work with my mom following behind us. When you pack two youngen's and all their gear in the car there was no room for a weekend Au Pair. We stayed just north of the Dune's where the wedding was and where Carl and Caroline plan to start their lives together. They had a really nice rehearsal dinner at a country club and the wedding followed the next day at church in North Myrtle. The reception was at the Dune's and was a blast. Kathryn and I got the chance to act like our "old normal" while mom stayed back (and up) and took care of Gray and Caroline. It was a great reunion of friends including Martin and Ivania, Dave and Robyn, Alex and Leo, and we had the chance to get to know JB's wife Teash (sp). We laughed, talked, drank, ate, and had general merry-ment. There are definitely plans to get together again soon perhaps when the Gamecocks play TAMU where we could converge on JB and his clan.

Of note it was probably the best wedding cake(s) ever. Each layer was a different favor.

Frito Bandito

No words required.

The beginning of the 4th week

Sunday marked our children beginning their fourth week of life. It is amazing how much they are changing as well as what Kathryn and I refer to as the "new normal." We have had our ups and downs but things are getting better all the time. Right now Kathryn is at a lactation class offered by the hospital and I am taking my lunch break. It is hard to weave together a narrative but here are some of the highlights.

• We sat on the couch and discussed that this is much harder than we anticipated. We read and planned and still found ourselves unprepared for these little guys.
• Our child care back out on us. We made the reservations 8 months ago but they are not going to honor them. I wanted to quote Seinfeld, "Anyone can take a reservation, it is holding the reservation that makes it worthwhile." "Take Take Take!"
• We decided to put them down last night and let them cry it out between feedings after being buoyed by a visit from Tony H. They cried for almost an hour and a half. Tears were shed on our part also and a call was placed to Jennifer for support. In the end they slept but for our sanity we have to be more regimented in creating a schedule for them.

What's next? Who knows but the journey is more fun than the destination.

Formula for success

On our third night in the hospital we broke down and it makes a good story to remember. We were running on fumes at this point and sent the kids to the nursery around 9 PM. When they left we fell into a genuine deep sleep until 12 AM or so. The doors of our hospital room burst open with Caroline and Gray crying their eyes out. One nurse walked in with each and another nurse followed to take Kathryn's blood pressure. To say we were both in a daze would have been an understatement. Kathryn was even unsure IF she had children and if these were them. She nursed them until 1 AM and then took a break for a traumatic bathroom experience. You have to understand when you have a 10 inch gash in your abdominal area, even getting to the toilet is difficult (forget about getting off it). When she got back in the bed she tried to nurse again. The well had run dry... infact we hadn't even struck the liquid yellow gold yet! Around 2:15 AM K made the call to send the kids to the nursery to be finger fed formula.

In these times this was bold. Giving your child formula was almost as bad as heating them up in the microwave according to some sources. Still she displayed a bold executive nature that is one of her many great qualities.

We felt validated the next day when the pediatrician let us know we did the right thing. They had each lost almost 10% of their body weight and were somewhat jaundice.

Today the kids are no worse for the wear and I tell this story as a reminder to us and a cautionary tale to others. In the baby business, everyone has an opinion and feel empowered to share it without being asked. In life, you have a playbook but sometime you run the statue of liberty.

The milk is in and all is well but I must sheepishly report that my children have been compromised by formula.

PS Pfizer used to own one of them. Villains that they are.

Quote of the day: These boobs are as soft as white bread.

The kids must be going through a growth spurt because the are hungry. Yesterday Kathryn said the above quote.

That said last night the young-ins slept for 4 hour stints which was sooo nice.

Good thought for the day

http://youtu.be/KktuoQwb3vQ

Easter

Our first Easter with the kiddos has come and gone. It was a great weekend that began with a dinner that included Josh and Kelly with their new baby Alex. We grilled steaks and shared laughs, stories, advice, and trials. Unfortunately I tried to step back to the days before kids and tipped the bottle a little too much which made for more stories that I can barely remember.

Poppy Tony arrived Saturday. He had a great time caring for the kids and Kathryn and I had the treat of going out by ourselves. We headed over to Daniel Island to one of our more favorite Mexican establishments. I have to commend my wife as she didn't fret about the kids while we were out. Of course they were in capable hands but it says something for a new mom to be so bold.

Sunday was beautiful in Charleston and we took advantage. Tony and I ran through the park and then went on a long walk with the family through the park. We then grilled burgers and had a lot of laughs. The pictures are Caroline in Kathryn's outfits and Gray in mine.

The days are long but the years are short.