Remember When?

2 years ago today, folks.....straight from our old CaringBridge page. Holy crap.


SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2006 06:00 PM, CST
We are parents! As of 10:18PM and 10:51 PM last night, James "Yancey" Stribling, IV and William "Foster" Stribling have arrived. And boy are they tiny. 1 pound 14 ounces and 2 pounds, respectively, these boys have a lot of growing to do. Tracy delivered them via C-section last night after progessively worsening preeclampsia symptoms that came on quickly. She was so strong and was concerned only for the babies - amazing. I (Jenny) was able to be in the delivery room to see the babies come into the world - both came kicking and screaming (literally), which was a sight and sound to behold. Both have little heads of hair and are tiny but adorable.
The NICU team here at Scott & White Hospital in Temple are wonderful and kind and positive and patient and detailed in their explanations. They knew who we were and were ready for us - they have already gotten my name on the babies' placards as the mother, and we have been treated so very well in this regard.
Although we won't be able to hold the boys for a while, we have been able to be with them as often and for as long as we would like ever since last night, and this will continue as long as they are here. We can touch them and kiss them, but their nervous systems are so fragile right now, we try not to do that too often. There are many things that we will be facing very soon - medical information, decisions, possible complications - the list is endless.
But for now, we are so thankful to God for the miracles that are our baby boys.


SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2006 04:52 PM, CST
Today was a good day. We learned a lot about all of the wires and probes that are helping the nurses take care of the boys. Foster was cold this morning, so they kept a sign on his isolette that said "Brrr....I'm cold...please keep lid closed while I warm up...Love, Foster." Yancey got a second dose of surfectant for his lungs, and that should help him breathe better in the coming days. Foster's breathing is still pretty darn good - the nurses say he is showing off.
We are often reminded by the nurses, though, that the first 2 days are like a "honeymoon period." Things seem stable, but around Day 3, those stable values often get worse before gettin better. So, we are trying to prepare for that.
Yancey and I each took a temperature and changed a diaper today. Yancey said I looked like I was trying to diffuse a bomb! Both boys like to sleep on their tummy, but Yancey curls his legs under him while Foster kicks his legs all the way out. It's funny to watch. So, for today things have been good at the end of the day.

Pavlov's Dog

Watching my family pass The Cold around for 4 months has made me nothing if not hyper-vigilant. Yes, the boys still have It, but one is now almost well while one is newly sick. I am very much in tune with their every sniff, snort, sigh, cough, moan and rustle. I know when it is time to go upstairs and administer love or medicine, and I know when I can sit downstairs - muscles clenched - to wait it out. Snotty Snotterson and Stuffy McStufferstein have earned their weight in Mother-lesson gold. In fact, I am so in tune with symptoms that I drooled when Pavlov rang his bell tonight.

I was talking to my sister on the phone this evening - after a particulary snotty episode with Foster who was trying (?) to go to sleep - when I realized that Annie was drooling. Not just a little bit either. A lot of drool. Which, even though I basically suck snot out of noses all day long (and feel triumphant about it), totally grossed me out. Then it freaked me out. Yancey had just walked in the back door, so I started motioning to him (while talking on the phone to Katie).....pointing to the dog.....mouthing (sotto voce) "she's drooling....she's Drooling!" Can't you see, man? She's DROOLING! Something is wrong - she's been stung, she's had a stroke, she's going blind! Yancey dutifully walked over, accepted the paper towel I had on standby (I am nothing if not prepared for a symptom), and pronounced Annie........hungry. The two bison burgers he had recently deposited on the counter seemed to have accounted for her drool. Ummmmm. OK. But, if she *had* been suffering from a malady, I would have been ready!

Short and Sweet

I am 38 years old, and yesterday I pulled my child's hair. On purpose. He and his brother insisted on running in circles around me and laughing as I sat Indian-style on the floor (wait, am I still allowed to use that term?) pulling my hair every time they got around to the back. I laughed at first (yes, a mistake and thank you very much Parenting magazine for pointing it out), then I tried telling them that pulling hair made an ouchie for Mommy. No sympathy from those two. Then, I got stern. When that didn't work, I spun around on my butt and pulled my child's hair and said (maniacally) "SEE? SEE? Now THAT is an ouchie!!" Oh my Lord, how the mighty have fallen.

And the worst part? He looked so totally bewildered, like he might cry....then burst into peals of laughter.

Can A Day Start At 9PM?

Whew. Another one bites the dust. Another day, that is. I didn't think it was possible for Yancey and I to barely speak to each other during a day in which we weren't angry with each other. Today, though, I was proven wrong. Y4 is taking oral steroids - sort of a "reset button" for his chest stuff that's been ongoing for a few months. We are happy for it, but the side effects (per the pulmonologist) are "grumpy, moody and hungry" and we had yet to see the hungry. Of course, as soon as I told Yancey what the side effects were, he kindly asked how long *I* had been on oral steroids. Ha ha ha. I would add a couple other words to the end of that, but they aren't safe for the blogging world.

Foster woke up cute as a button this morning, talked a blue streak, and ran downstairs and hid behind his high chair with Monkey to read a little book. Laughed his butt off. Yancey.....well, he cried. Another lovely side effect of these meds (I HOPE) is that he wakes up in the AM (and from naps) crying hysterically and telling something to go "awayyyyyyy." Please Lord, don't let me be poisoining that little guy (she says half-jokingly). It's too cold outside to play, so we muddled through. Steak & Shake for lunch was pretty easy. Although with no makeup, bad skin, and a bad new haircut OF COURSE we saw someone Yancey knows (we always do). I'm sure that nice man and his 12 year old son were thinking Yancey could have totally done better.

Then, we were "those people" in the grocery store around 5PM. We had no clue why Y4 was screaming, and Yancey was trying to push Foster in the twin stroller by himself, but Foster kept trying to climb out. So, stroller out to the car, Yancey on Mom's hip, Foster in grocery cart, Dad pushing from the sides because Foster wants to Drive. Got everything we needed, but Yancey screamed the whole time. So, I took him to the car to watch Monsters, Inc. and drive around the parking lot while Dad and Foster checked out. Yancey kept wanting "MOVIE OFF" but every time I turned it off he wanted "MOVIE ON" all while crying like his heart would break. Then, when we got home, he wanted "MOVIE ON" for an hour. Then he asked for oatmeal. Now THAT I can do! He ate 2 and a half packets. He's 20 pounds. Good Lord, I guess that's the "hungry." Bath and bed. Thank you Jesus. I realized that all day, Yancey and I had that "hunker down" mentality - don't look to either side, just keep going whatever you do. We didn't talk much, although we did look at each other and laugh bewilderdly (a word?) many times. Thank God for the 15+ years we have behind us.

So, now we sit with a wreck of a kitchen and a couple bottles of red wine open (with scotch on standby). Somehow, we have made it through this day without filing for divorce. I credit the "not talking" portion of the day for that. Now, we are watching football, and I am reading the new James Patterson book - short chapters, easy story - just perfect. And, as I type, Yancey has actually built a fire. Ahhhh.....now the day begins.

Mine. To Have and To Hold.

The word of the day is "mine." Specifically, "mine mine mine...Mine....MIne...MINe...MINE MINE MINE!!!!!" Also, "Hold It." And, "Have It." Lord knows I am glad the boys are talking (remember how I was convinced they would *never* say Mommy and would call me Jenny?). But, this is a little much. No matter how many times Yancey and I try to explain that, "No, those pop beads are not YOURS, they belong to Mommy and Daddy who are nice enough to let you use them," they just don't seem to get it. Everything is Mine. And, whatever I have, they both want to Hold It or Have It. Sweet little things saw me talking on the phone and both started saying, "Hi Mimi! Hi Mimi!" but the minute I offered to call Mimi and got her on the line, they both wanted to Have It (the phone) and wouldn't say a word other than a high pitched scream. They also want to have and to hold the shower head in the bathtub, the steering wheel of the car, my purse, a spoon and open jello container (ugh), the stroller, my Coke*, scissors, the pen at the doctor's office, and a glass of wine. Who taught them to say those particular words anyway? Probably the same people that taught Foster to say, "one more time." Now, that's a good one. Especially around 8:15PM. Ahhhhh. Talking. But, should I be surprised? The apples have *definitely* not fallen far from either tree on that one.

Today also marks an occasion for me.....4 years ago today I entered the hospital, pregnant with twins, and was placed on bed rest for what ended up to be the biggest, scariest, saddest roller coaster ride I had ever been on. As most of you know, we ended up losing those beautiful twins at 21 weeks, and I came (relatively) close to joining them. If you don't know the story, it is not a happy one in any respect but one**. That one respect is Yancey. The words To Have and To Hold have never been more apt. From talking me through a totally doped up 24 hour labor and delivery with promises of Caribbean vacations and continued love with or without children.....to nursing me back to health then driving 120 mph to get back to the hospital again when the ambulance came to get me....to working through the intricacies and fears and hopes of gestational surrogacy....to giving me a puppy for my birthday the same day we met our potential surrogate, in case the meeting didn't work out (it did!).....to being my absolute rock (along with my sister) when I called him in tears saying the boys were about to be born over 3 months too early and we had to leave NOW.....to getting back on a Texas-bound plane with me after the engine blew 30 minutes into the flight (still hysterical to me).....to standing beside me for 3 months nursing those little ones and doing copious amounts of laundry and running completely random errands (I still don't know what all he was doing, especially during a *tornado*)....and finally to being the most loving hands-on Dad there is. Yep. Mine. To Have and To Hold.

*Note to Aunt Susan - they both say, "Coke! Have it!" You have done your job well.
**The narrative was better saying there was only one happy part of that crazy time, but there were actually several.....renewed faith....kindness of strangers....above and beyond from family and friends....and a true and real belief that life is, in fact, good.

Love Y'all! Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!! Hope yours was good. Mine was AWESOME but somehow, more tiring with almost 2 year old twins. Go figure! ;-)