| Can't imagine |
Hi guys, a quick note.
We are so busy here - mostly nursing and eating and sleeping for me. Mom and Lance do most of the burping and diaper changing. I can't even imagine sitting down and blogging - or reading you guys' blogs. So keep checking mom's blog if you want updates on our new family. I think I'm on a blogging sabbatical for a while. Actually I think I'm on sabbatical from a lot of things.
Things are going really well. Of course we are very tired. Nights are hard. Little Elijah fusses/cries/wails for a couple hours before falling asleep. Seems to go from 12 - 2am -- but of course there really is no routine and nothing is predictable. Eva is more easy going and isn't bothered by her brothers crying. We are grateful for this.
They are beautiful blessings and I still can't believe we have two babies. A huge blessing that is a lot of work. I'm trying to savor the moments. Cuddling a bit after nursing instead of just passing them off to Lance or mom to burp and change. Trying to soak them up and enjoy them, not just make it from one feeding to the next. Their beauty helps me enjoy them. When they have their little eyes open they are magnets for my eyes. Can't stop looking at them.
Trying to sleep when they sleep, this is not going great, things seem to come up and then they're awake and ready to eat again. Going to make more of an effort to sleep more throughout the day.
Okay, I think I better go.
Aimee
ps. I am healing well from the c-section. Trying to take it easy and think I am succeeding. Lance and mom are incredible helps.
pps. please keep praying for us. |
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| Pop's Post |
Hello everyone, Lance here. I’m sure Aimee will provide her own account of how things have been going the last few days, but I thought I should give a few ramblings myself.
Well, it has been surreal. It’s been deeper than my feelers can reach.
On Monday, June 5 we came to St. Mary’s Hospital (a hospital still run by mid-eighteenth century Carmelite nuns – no not really, they'd be super old). Aimee’s water had broke and we were told to come on in when it did (12:44pm – 11/2 cm). By 6:30pm contractions began to be a bit harder to handle (3cm). By 9pm we were cooking with gas (6 cm). We tried lots of things: walking, birthing ball, knock-knock jokes and various other positions I will not describe. Aimee was unreal. She wanted to do the labour drug-free. And she wanted me to support her in that decision, which I tried to do. However, I never totally believed that she could actually do it. Not because I didn’t think she was tough, but because I had heard that giving birth is like pulling your lips over your head and who wouldn’t need at least some minor narcotics to do that? Anyways, by 12am she was 8-9 cm and in the zone. She was a machine and I was in awe. She focused and concentrated and dealt with the pain like an absolute pro. I do not dare to assume that I would do anywhere near as well as she did. Dr. Ward came in (who is the OBGYN in Camrose) and a friend from church. He is extremely respected in the community and the hospital. He has such high levels of integrity, excellence, joy, and competence. By 1am Aimee was 10cm. At 1:44am, June 6th, ELIJAH MATS ODEGARD (6 pounds 7 ounces) came into the world grey, screaming and very much alive. As far as father-commentary goes I will say this: I think birth is one of the most earthy and sublime experiences. It’s where our humanity and God’s divinity seem to crash – and it is so beautiful and holy and, well... Even after seeing a few birth shows on TLC and hearing about it from other dads, I was totally unprepared for meeting Elijah. Elijah was born and so was my much needed larger heart. And there was much rejoicing. The nurses and doctors said things like, “He’s perfect” and “Congratulations!” and “What a beautiful boy!” and I knew they were right.
We waited for the contractions to begin for baby number 2. We waited 1/2 hour and still nothing. Once Elijah left the womb baby number 2 decided to go transverse (sideways). Dr. Ward told us that it was time for a C-section. It was strange to go from an amazing natural birth with everyone in the room cheering to the OR with everyone rushing. Now there were 4 doctors and maybe twice as many nurses milling about. Time was of the essence which meant that Aimee had to go under general anesthetic. This also meant that I couldn’t be in the OR, which was initially quite disappointing. I sat in the waiting room until I remembered that I had a son. I went down the hall and found him on a little cart in a bassinet. A nurse got me a rocking chair. I got to spend 40 minutes with my son in the nursery. I will never forget those moments.
Then, at 2:50am EVA GRACE ODEGARD came into the world screaming, round-headed, covered in vernex, and drop-dead gorgeous. They brought her to the nursery to do some tests and I saw them weighing her (6 pounds and 4 ounces) and my heart grew again. This caught me off-guard to find that there was ample room and a whole other kind of love in my heart for Eva. Soon, I was holding both of them, rocking in the chair and grinning a new grin. It was 1 1/2 hours before Aimee woke up. She was waiting in our room and I got to bring Eva and Elijah in to see her (she of course had not met Eva yet). Both Eva and Elijah had a snack and seemed to be familiar with breasts and knew what to do with them. And there was much rejoicing.
Elijah has been a bit jaundiced, so he has been under the bright lights wearing sunglasses. I went over to look at him earlier today and he had both of his hands under his head as he sprawled out on his back, soaking in the rays. He was showing off his interesting belly button I think. Eva has a bit of an infection in her cord, so she has an iv. I don’t like to see her this way. But it is healing up. They are both very alert. Especially Eva – she loves looking.
It continues to be at times peace-full, wonder-full, frustrating, exhausting, rewarding.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- Name Meanings:
o Elijah = ‘The Lord is God’ or ‘God is God’
o Mats = Swedish for ‘Gift of God’ of ‘God’s gracious gift’
o Eva = ‘life’
o Grace = ‘undeserved gift’
o Odegard = ‘desolate farm’
- Elijah looks like me. If you don’t know what I look like, think of a combination John Candy, Axel Rose, Jack Black & Don Knots. He’s a looker.
- both Eva & Elijah respond to our voices. Eva really likes singing.
- The care we are receiving is incredible. The nurses are beyond what we imagined. Aimee’s favourite is Mary who has been on unit 4 for 37 years.
- Caring for twins is a big job. The reality is settling in on how demanding this is.
- I am typing this left-handed as I hold Eva (who is arrestingly beautiful).
- Aimee is doing well. She is quite tired of course. She is moving around a little, sleeping lots and feeding lots. I think this is her biggest desire right now – that the twins learn to feed well. I’m not worried. They are their father’s children and I love feeding - especially on doritos and americanos and carrots and DQ blizzards. Aimee is recovering from her C-section. She is beginning to be more mobile and yesterday she walked down the hall. She has low iron levels, so they are trying to get those up. She is healing very well and her pain is quite low (except when I make her laugh).
- Aimee is quite happy with the 5 flower arrangements in the room. She is just happy period. Besides recovering from delivering twins, having major surgery, and learning to breastfeed, she is mostly happy. She keeps saying, “one would have been enough, but we’ve been blessed with 2!”. Blessed indeed.
- I do lots of visiting. Mostly in the hallway while Aimee sleeps.
- It has been very special to watch my parents with the twins. To see their unrestrained delight in Eva & Elijah makes me proud and grateful. There is something that I can’t describe about how all of our relationships have just changed. My mom wants to be called ‘Granny’ or ‘Grammy’ and my dad ‘Gramps’. I am trying to convince him of something else. Sounds too much like ‘cramps’. Can’t wait for the twins to meet Lando and Kathy soon.
Well, that’s all for now. Thanks for your prayers. Time to head back to the hospital.
Lance
ELIJAH MATS ODEGARD
EVA GRACE ODEGARD
Aimee and Elijah
Lance chillin' with the wigglers
Aimee and Eva
Peaceful Mommy
Proud Pops
Where's the milk? |
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| Can Shopping start labor? |
So, nothing yet. The back pain last night subsided and the night and day have been uneventful as far as the wigglers making an exit is concerned.
We went to church this morning -- Lance played 'special music' during the offering. When they asked him he said he couldn't commit - they said no problem, if we didn't show up they'd get praying! Today was the installation (a funny term I think) of our new pastor -- friend and former colleague at Camp Luther and CLBI, Dean Rostad. We look forward to having him be our pastor.
At church I was talking to a few friends about how we need a bed frame -- you may have noticed from the photo of the bedroom that our bed is on the floor. This is not intentional, but due to the age of our home the stairwell is not very deep and didn't accomodate the size of our box spring. The frame we had our bed on doesn't work without a box spring. So Ikea to the rescue we thought. I've been apprehensive about leaving town - Ikea is an hour away. I thought what if I go into labor when we're in Edmonton, do we just beetle on back to Camrose? Anyways I talked to these friends (one maternity nurse and two mothers of three) and they thought it would be totally fine -- and perhaps even get things going, which would be great. So the decision was made. Lance, Jenna (the maternity nurse friend) and I went to Ikea this afternoon. It was good - we came home with a bed - which Lance is currently building in the basement - bedding, a rug, and some small items. When we get things set up I'll post some photos.
Well, thats all for now. Thanks for your comments and encouragement and prayers. We are caught in a mix between impatience to meet these little ones, and gratitude for these last days we have to settle in and just be together. We're trying to savor this time.
Hope you guys are well.
Aimee |
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| Wild Wigglers |
The wigglers were going absolutely wild this evening. I was just sitting on the couch and Lance and I got to watch what looked like a circus. At one point we thought we could see all four feet poking out, not to mention a couple other bulges here and there. It was a fun time to share with Lance. I keep meaning to take a little video of the wigglers - it would be cool to have as a memory -- but the time for this is coming near the end. It's wierd knowing that soon they'll come out, but not knowing when that will be.
Tonight we went out for a walk and icecream with Lance's folks, it was a good visiting time. We sat on a bench by the lake and the weather was perfect. The lake, called Mirror Lake, was like glass and reflected the sunset beautifully.
We are really getting settled in our home. Almost everything is here from our old place and all the necessities are unpacked. No pictures hung, but that is definitely an extra. I love living here. I just love it.
My flowers are doing great -- I get pleasure from looking at them many times throughout the day. I will have to take more pictures of them so you can see how beautiful they are.
Book recommendations. I've read two books recently and wanted to recommend them to you. Firstly "Living the Questions" by Carolyn Arends. Carolyn is a Christian Canadian singer/songwriter who lives in Vancouver. I have enjoyed her music -- especially the thoughtful and rich lyrics over the years. Lance had the opportunity to be one of many singer/songwriters who shared the stage with her at an event called Testimony this spring. She did some readings from her book and when he mentioned to her that he thought I'd like it she gave him a copy (not at all why he mentioned it, in fact he tried to refuse, but then she outwitted him by bending a page of the copy she had in her hands and then saying it was damaged and not fit for selling). Anyways the book is memoirish -- my favorite kind. She is honest about her struggles and writes so well. Funny stories from her childhood. Good thoughts and questions about God and faith. Oh, I'm sort of tired and this recommendation is not doing the book justice. It is very good.
The second book -- which I'm not quite done is "Life of the Beloved" by Henri Nouwen. Incredible. A very important book for where I am at. Excellent writing - a very personal feel. Emphasizes the need for us to know and grow into the understanding that we are God's beloved and that we can't do anything to add or take away from that. Highly highly recommend this book.
You'll probably all be interested to know that I'm experiencing some low back pain right now. Hmmm. A sign of things to come? I'll keep you posted.
Okay, that's all for tonight.
Aimee |
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| This and that |
Yes, you are probably disappointed that I am blogging today -- because it means I'm not in labor. :)
I thought I'd post a few pictures and write a few random thoughts.
My birthday on Sunday was lovely. They sang for me in church - that was a new experience (we attend a fairly small and very friendly church). Lance took me to Booster Juice for a smoothie and a panini for lunch. Had a great nap. Did a photo shoot. Then had a birthday supper on our deck - sponsored by the Friedrichs. Jena made delicious chicken enchilladas. Yum yum yum. The Jensens came and Lance's family too. It was lovely. Here's a photo of the delicious sugar free cake Jena made. She asked Brent if she should make something sugary as an option for other people - he said no way. I liked that.
I was showered with flowers and lovely gifts. Here are photos of some of the flowers:
Yesterday Jane called me up with a delightful plan. She was planning on planting her flower beds and knew that I'm not really up to hardcore gardening. So she invited me to come and pick my flowers and that she and Bernell would plant them for me. I had been so much wanting to put in some flowers, but there's just so many other higher priority things to get done. Anyways they picked me up and we found some gorgeous annuals -- which Bernell bought for me, wow, another gift. By the time we got home the flower bed was ready to be planted. When we had left the bed - which is fairly large -- was filled with weeds over a foot high. The Kaacks (friends from CLBI) had joined us for supper and then stayed to help with the weeding (and also caulked our downstairs shower!). What good friends.
I'm excited to watch these flowers grow and fill out. Right now you can't really tell what they are so I'll give you the run down. Dark purple petunias, pale peachy orange mini dahlias, lime green nicotiana, and yellow/orangey/bronze mixed gazanias. I'll post a photo later in the season when they're in all their glory.
Here's a photo of Jane and I - I ended up planting some of the flowers. It felt good to actually do something (I mean besides grow twins).
Apparently the gardening wasn't active enough to get labor started.
In the mornings now Lance says, "Well, nothing happened". It is totally in our heads that people go into labor in the night. This must be from the movies or something.
The Drs appointment was fine. He's always impressed with how well I'm doing. Babies are doing well too. At this point ultrasounds aren't that great at predicting sizes with accuracy - but they might be around 7lbs. I sure hope so, that would be incredible.
Please pray for us as we get closer to the next stages of this journey -- labor and parenting. Thanks.
Aimee |
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posted by Aimee at 
