Hi all!
Thanks so much for all your sweet comments =)
We are hanging in there!
Our babies are so sweet and they really are such good babies, we are so blessed.
We gave them their first bath last night (pictures to come soon!!) and that was just hilarious. We thought they would both fit in the little baby tub together, with each David and I bathing one (and Auntie Natalie on the paparazzi duties), but that wasn't our best plan...it was crowded in there! Now we know. One baby at a time =)
I have had a really rough week emotionally, and all I can say about that is thank God for Christian girlfriends. Being a mother is so incredible, but it also has been the most demanding week of my life emotionally, physically and spiritually. Recovering from 12 hours of labor, 2 1/2 hours of pushing, and then surgery, only to dive into caring for two newborns has been so incredibly draining. David had to go back to work last week -as in while we were still in the hospital!- so that has been hard too. He is a teacher at a local university and spring break was over and it's not easy for a teacher to miss the first week of a new term. Luckily he has a limited schedule right now, so he is not gone full time. I could not have survived without help. People have offered to come over, run to the store, bring meals, etc like CRAZY. I have been so humbled by how much help I need. I guess I just assumed I would bring the babies home and just stare into their eyes all day. Not so much =). We have appointments 3 out of 5 days this week, but nowhere to go for the weekend, so that will be so nice.
Thank you so much to all of you who have been lifting us up in prayer. Again, I am humbled by how much prayer we have needed, but so grateful for so many people willing to intercede on our behalf, and grateful for a God whose mercies are new every morning.
We had another appointment with the lactation consultant yesterday and it went really well. I even tandem nursed the babies! It was really cool!! Of course, they haven't really had a successful tandem nurse session since we left, but I am hopeful. My sister ran out and got me one of those twin nursing pillows off of craigslist today, and I am excited to try it out. Luke has totally got the hang of it, Abbey not so much. She gets SO MAD and fights me every time I try the football hold with her. It just tears me up inside. I HATE fighting with my baby girl like that! Not to mention we still have to supplement them 1 1/2 ounce of formula after each feed (but that's down from 2 ounces!! we are slowly getting there!), and it's SO HARD for me to struggle with her for 20 minutes to nurse, and then pass her off to my sister or David to finish her off with a bottle and "comfort" her. Today I spent an hour between feedings with her just buttoned up skin to skin against under my jammies, we needed that =)
We would be trying the tandem again tonight, but I decided not to since Luke got his casts today. Poor little guy. They are SO big and cumbersome. It just breaks our hearts! He did SO good during the appointment, we were so proud of him. The doctor said his clubbing is not very severe at all, and that the structure and placement of his ankles and everything is really good, so we were happy to hear that. The casting itself only took about 15 minutes, and our sweet boy just laid there with a binkie in his mouth and his Momma whispering in his ear and took it like a champ. I was so proud of him and kept telling him that over and over. Since we have been home however, we can tell he is frustrated. He will grimace his face and wiggle his toes and we can tell he is trying to lift his legs and he just can't and it's so sad I can't even type about it without crying! The casts come up his thighs and are just way thicker than I ever imagined they would be. After they were done we put Luke in his carseat and David just held me while I cried. My sweet boy. We know this is what's best for him, and it's only for a maximum of 12 weeks, and we know he will get used to it, but man it's so hard to hear him cry with a new frustration he didn't have this morning. Just hard. He just looks so pathetic with these giant legs now...I will post a pic sometime soon.
I will post lots of pics soon! We have taken like 786. Ok not that many, but a ton. I just haven't had time to download them, but I will soon, I promise. I wouldn't even have time to write this long post if it weren't for my sister and ALL she does around here! I have to fight the thought every day of how I am going to do this on my own after our help leaves...
One day at a time.
Time to feed again, better go=)
Thanks for praying for us - keep it up!
Much love,
Thanks so much for all your sweet comments =)
We are hanging in there!
Our babies are so sweet and they really are such good babies, we are so blessed.
We gave them their first bath last night (pictures to come soon!!) and that was just hilarious. We thought they would both fit in the little baby tub together, with each David and I bathing one (and Auntie Natalie on the paparazzi duties), but that wasn't our best plan...it was crowded in there! Now we know. One baby at a time =)
I have had a really rough week emotionally, and all I can say about that is thank God for Christian girlfriends. Being a mother is so incredible, but it also has been the most demanding week of my life emotionally, physically and spiritually. Recovering from 12 hours of labor, 2 1/2 hours of pushing, and then surgery, only to dive into caring for two newborns has been so incredibly draining. David had to go back to work last week -as in while we were still in the hospital!- so that has been hard too. He is a teacher at a local university and spring break was over and it's not easy for a teacher to miss the first week of a new term. Luckily he has a limited schedule right now, so he is not gone full time. I could not have survived without help. People have offered to come over, run to the store, bring meals, etc like CRAZY. I have been so humbled by how much help I need. I guess I just assumed I would bring the babies home and just stare into their eyes all day. Not so much =). We have appointments 3 out of 5 days this week, but nowhere to go for the weekend, so that will be so nice.
Thank you so much to all of you who have been lifting us up in prayer. Again, I am humbled by how much prayer we have needed, but so grateful for so many people willing to intercede on our behalf, and grateful for a God whose mercies are new every morning.
We had another appointment with the lactation consultant yesterday and it went really well. I even tandem nursed the babies! It was really cool!! Of course, they haven't really had a successful tandem nurse session since we left, but I am hopeful. My sister ran out and got me one of those twin nursing pillows off of craigslist today, and I am excited to try it out. Luke has totally got the hang of it, Abbey not so much. She gets SO MAD and fights me every time I try the football hold with her. It just tears me up inside. I HATE fighting with my baby girl like that! Not to mention we still have to supplement them 1 1/2 ounce of formula after each feed (but that's down from 2 ounces!! we are slowly getting there!), and it's SO HARD for me to struggle with her for 20 minutes to nurse, and then pass her off to my sister or David to finish her off with a bottle and "comfort" her. Today I spent an hour between feedings with her just buttoned up skin to skin against under my jammies, we needed that =)
We would be trying the tandem again tonight, but I decided not to since Luke got his casts today. Poor little guy. They are SO big and cumbersome. It just breaks our hearts! He did SO good during the appointment, we were so proud of him. The doctor said his clubbing is not very severe at all, and that the structure and placement of his ankles and everything is really good, so we were happy to hear that. The casting itself only took about 15 minutes, and our sweet boy just laid there with a binkie in his mouth and his Momma whispering in his ear and took it like a champ. I was so proud of him and kept telling him that over and over. Since we have been home however, we can tell he is frustrated. He will grimace his face and wiggle his toes and we can tell he is trying to lift his legs and he just can't and it's so sad I can't even type about it without crying! The casts come up his thighs and are just way thicker than I ever imagined they would be. After they were done we put Luke in his carseat and David just held me while I cried. My sweet boy. We know this is what's best for him, and it's only for a maximum of 12 weeks, and we know he will get used to it, but man it's so hard to hear him cry with a new frustration he didn't have this morning. Just hard. He just looks so pathetic with these giant legs now...I will post a pic sometime soon.
I will post lots of pics soon! We have taken like 786. Ok not that many, but a ton. I just haven't had time to download them, but I will soon, I promise. I wouldn't even have time to write this long post if it weren't for my sister and ALL she does around here! I have to fight the thought every day of how I am going to do this on my own after our help leaves...
One day at a time.
Time to feed again, better go=)
Thanks for praying for us - keep it up!
Much love,
2 comments:
Thank you for that wonderful post. Nice to know that photo's are coming, but you paint a wonderful word picture of life in the Hoffman World.
We'be been so curious how the nursing was going. There was another piece in the news recently about the wonderful health benefits of nursing. So, hang in there. It's worth it (easy for me to say :)
Ann was just asking if I knew whether Luke had his casts yet, so I was glad to read that has started. Sooner it starts, sooner it's over. You two are great parents, and Luke knows he is loved.
Sometimes all you can do is BE there for your loved ones. Christ promises no more than that for us, and the Holy Spirit is there for us and for Luke & Abbey.
You are so blessed to be so lifted in so much prayer. Praise be to God for the power and ability to pray. Yay, God!
LOVE,
GRAND DAD
I am so happy that you are posting!! So happy!! I was so afraid that I would not hear from you and I would so miss your posts!! And of course, I am so glad to hear updates on the babies. That is so nice of your sis to stay with you, I can only imagine what a helo she is to you. Poor Luke. I saw the pics you posted of his cast. They look so big on that little guy. But lets just hope and pray that he gets used to them very quickly!! Praying for everyday to get easier!! :)
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