Roadtrip!

Yesterday was HOT.

Really hot.

In the afternoon, the living room was at least 80 degrees, and the twins were fussy from the heat.

Terri had a great idea -- why not take the girls down to the local mall, where it was air-conditioned? Walk them around, cool down, then have dinner at the Applebees inside the Mall.

Thus, began our first roadtrip as a family.

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There were several advantages to taking our first roadtrip yesterday, as opposed to waiting until later:

1) My Mom is still staying with us, so for this first trip we enjoyed a 3 to 2 numerical advantage over the girls, while my Mom had experience in out-of-house trips.

2) The local Mall which was our destination is an OLD, TINY Mall -- i.e., it is empty most of the time. Our main concern with any outing is exposing our 3 week olds to too many people, and thus too many germs.

3) The Mall is only one mile from our house. Close enough to beat a hasty retreat if things go bad.

4) We had just fed the girls, so they were not due to be fed for another three hours. Also, they had kept awake fussing from the heat most of the day, so we had a good idea that if we got to the cool Mall, and kept them in their car seats, they would fall fast asleep.

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Being paranoid first-time parents, we packed our travel baby bag long ago. We scooped it up, and added two bottles of emergency formula in a small travel cooler. We got the girls in their car seats, and we were off.

The drive to the Mall was uneventful, but when we parked our car in the parking lot, we hit our first minor snag. David had never read the instructions on the "Snap 'N Go" stroller, and had no idea how to lock the car seats in!

After about five minutes of trial and error with the Snap 'N Go, the car seats were secured in the stroller, and we headed into the Mall.

The Mall was wonderfully cool, and, as we expected, wonderfully empty.

We did one lap around the Mall, not really going into any stores, but just walking. It was great just to be out and about.

Lots of looks and comments from people about the twins. "Look, how cute! Twins!" I must have been radiating a warning scent, however, because no one tried to approach or touch the babies!

We sat down at the local Applebees and ordered dinner. Terri even got to order a virgin strawberry margarita! Heaven.

Applebees - Child Friendly!

Half way through dinner, Caroline woke up and started whimpering.

David left his meal (he ate fastest, anyway), and took the kids for another two laps around the Mall, while Terri and David's Mom finished their meal, packed up, and paid the bill.

A quick stop to Mrs. Fields for some cookies, then back to the car, and home!

All in all, a successful trip. Some R&R for Mommy, and a nice change of pace to the day.

The only failure -- no photos! We forgot to take the camera, so no shots of Terri gushing over her margarita.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

Katherine washing her hair.

A visit from Aunty Cindy & Aunty Penny

Vin Scully Lullabys

It's said that babies will recognize and be soothed by sounds they were exposed to while in the womb.

To that end, many parents play Mozart to their children during pregnancy.

Others prefer calming nature sounds, like ocean waves, or birds chirping.

Some forward-thinking parents will play lullaby tunes to their children in utero, and later use those same tunes to help calm a fussy baby.

Of course, being a die-hard Dodger fan, I exposed my children to the ultimate soothing voice -- Vin Scully.

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For those of you who are not baseball fans, you need to understand that the baseball season starts in April, and runs through October. Games are played on an almost daily basis.

In this era of internet connections and cable access, I am signed up to receive Los Angeles Dodger radio broadcasts over my laptop. This means that during the baseball season I am able to listen to every Dodger game on the internet, just as if I were living in Southern California.

Vin Scully is the "Voice of the Dodgers". He's been broadcasting Dodger games for over 50 years. He's been elected to the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, as well as the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Vin Scully is known for his unique ability to paint pictures with words that transcend merely describing a baseball game.

Vinny is so good at telling stories, Dodger fans will actually take radios to games at Dodger Stadium just to listen to him describing the action, even though the game is being played live in front of them!

In short, a baseball game broadcast by Vin Scully is more than just a baseball game -- it's a slice of Americana.


[Click here to listen to a sample of one of Vin's most famous calls -- the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game.]

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Terri, of course, carried the twins in the middle of the baseball season.

That means that during the entire time she and the twins were on modified bed rest from April until August, each night we would listen to the Dodger broadcast over the internet.

Vin Scully's voice was a constant in our house all summer. It's all the twins heard while in the womb.

We joked that when the babies were born, if they were fussing, all we would have to do is turn on a tape of a Dodger game, and Vin's voice would help quiet the kids.

Well, wouldn't you know it?

Lat night, Caroline was fussing -- whimpering, moving around, unable to sleep.

My mom brought her over to the computer, where I had turned on to the Dodger game as background noise.

Vin Scully was calling the game.

And lo! and behold -- Caroline stopped fussing, turned her head, and sat quietly while Vinny called the game.

As a Dodger fan living in Giant's country, I just about wept for joy.

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The newest Dodger fan.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

How Much Do These Kids Eat, Anyways?

One of the most puzzling things for any new parent (i.e., "ME") is figuring out how much newborn babies eat.

The books aren't much help. Besides giving you rough estimates, they are also quick to point out that "each baby is different."

Both Katherine and Caroline were small when they were born, and didn't eat much when they were born. Newborns generally only take a few teaspoons of colostrum during their first few days of life.

By the time Kat and Carol came home from the hospital, they were breastfeeding, but taking about 15-20 ounces of formula each feeding to supplement their diets.

This worked well for the first week and a half. Sometimes, one or the other would take up to 30 milliliters (30 milliliters = 1 ounce) of formula during a feeding, and then we would be really happy.

The "X" factor, of course, is that one has no idea how much breast milk each baby is getting during each feeding.

Luckily, our doctor told us not to worry too much about it. "Babies know how to tell you when they're hungry, and when they are done eating, they will simply stop feeding." Consistent weight gain, not the amount taken each feeding, was the benchmark.

And happily, during their first check-up last week, both Katherine and Caroline had not only re-gained their original birth weight, they had surpassed it!

So all's well in the realm of weight gain.

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Katherine's "Waiting to Eat" Face

Still, I continue to be amazed at trying to figure how much each child needs to eat.

Katherine, for example, is a more voracious eater than Caroline.

Kat can be asleep, yet she'll still pull the bottle into her mouth and feed contentedly on it even while sleeping!

Kat was consistently taking about 30-40 ml's each feeding, until about two days ago.

Starting this past Thursday, it seems as though Katherine can't get enough food.

She has gone up to taking 75-100 ml's each feeding.

She is ravenous. She is waking up every 2-4 hours to feed. And when she wants food now, you HEAR it from her!

This is normal, we're told. Babies often go through a growth spurt during their 2nd to 3rd week of life.

So what Katherine wants, Katherine gets!

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Caroline's "Waiting to Eat" Face

Caroline, on the other hand, is done once she falls asleep. And just to prove that she's done, she'll take a few pulls on the bottle, then spit the whole thing back up onto herself and you when she doesn't want to eat anymore. Only by waking her back up will she get back on the bottle and finish eating.

We've learned you have to wake up Caroline because she's so small, she will tire out before getting all the nutrition she needs. So you need to wake her up -- we're not just trying to raise fat babies!

Happily, though, as Caroline grows, her ability to stay awake and feed gets better. Even now she is better than she was at the beginning of this week.

And from what friends have told us, we haven't even begun to see REAL voracious feeding yet.

All we can do is keeping making formula, and keep on feeding our girls.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

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Here's a photo of Terri bathing Katherine:

August 17, 2005 - Typical Parents

I've become the parent I swore I wouldn't.

You know the parent. The one who won't stop talking about their kids.

The one who takes photos of their babies first poop.

The one who calls a poop a "poop" to begin with!

The one who wants to save the umbilical cord when it falls off.

And the one who, if not stopped, will go on and on and on to friends about all of the above, and MORE -- to the utter horror and boredom of those friends.

But having become that parent, I offer no apologies whatsoever!

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In the years "BP" (before parenting), I was one of those friends of parents who politely listened while my friends who had kids went on and on about their children.
"Really? He spit up all by himself? Fascinating!"

And I understood it. After all, Terri and I knew we wanted to be parents someday. And we could only pray that the level of love and attention our friends showed their kids would be the same level of love and attention we heaped upon our children.

But what I did promise myself is that I would not talk endlessley to my friends about my babies. I would keep all the minute details of my babies life to myself, and not risk boring my friends with a minute by minute blow of my childs' developement.

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As I said, all that was pre-babies.

Now, I must warn my friends -- if you call or if we meet on the phone, expect me to go on and on and on.

If prompted or encouraged, I will tell you in detail every aspect of my childrens' life up to the last time I saw them (if I'm holding one of them, I will describe their facial expressions, their burps, and their farts to you).

No attempts at self-control will be made.

Of course, I will leave it up to you to change the subject.

If you do point out that I've talked for 20 minutes without taking a breath about the babies, I will apologize profusely, then ask you how you are doing.

After listening to your answer, I will then, of course, proceed to talk, again, about the babies!

I apologize to all my friends in advance. This addiction should run it's course in about 15-18 years!

Click on any photo for a larger view.

August 11, 2005 - First Bath

The kids had their first sponge bath outside of the hospital this morning.

Terri bathed Caroline.

David bathed Katherine.

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Friends have been asking us is we do anything special to help keep track of the twins. The answer is really, "No, we don't." However, we do have to make sure we keep track of their bottles in order to track how much each baby is eating at this point. See our labeling system, below:


Click on any photo for a larger view.

Positive Thoughts on Sleep Deprivation

It's 7:49 am in the morning. I've gotten five hours sleep tonight. FIVE. That's darn good!

We are at a point now, Terri and I, where anything over four hours is a blessing. But all in all, sleep deprivation has some positive benefits.

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Katherine

The previous night I got THREE hours sleep. Katherine decided to stay awake after her 2:00 a.m. feeding.

She wasn't crying, but she made wimpering noises as she laid in the crib next to her sister. Not wanting her to wake up Caroline or Terri, I picked her up and walked her around the house.


Katherine kept her eyes open the entire time, just looking at me, looking around, etc. When I tried to put her down, she would wimper until I picked her back up.

It was the most alert I've seen her since she was born, so what are a few hours missed sleep in comparison to bonding time with your oldest daughter?


We read books, watched some T.V., and changed a few diapers.

Finally, at about 4:30 a.m., Katherine's eyes began to flutter, and by 4:40 a.m. she was breathing softly in the crib.

I crawled into bed, closed my eyes, and fell asleep immediately . . . for about 30 minutes.

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Caroline

Terri and I are tag-team feeding at nights. That means one feeding period she will feed one baby, and I'll feed the other. Then, at he next feeding period, we switch babies. This ensures each baby gets breast milk throughout the night, but it conserves Terri's energy for the long run by not requiring her to stay awake for the feeding of two babies.

At about 5:12 a.m., thirty-two minutes after Katherine had finished playing with me, Caroline decided that she was hungry (that exact time is burned into my eyeballs because I remember seeing that time on my digital alarm clock as I thought, "You have GOT to be kidding me!").


Well, Caroline was my shift. So I got up, changed her diaper, fed her, burped her, and then put her back down to go back to sleep.

Except Caroline must have seen me playing with Katherine -- because she refused to go back to sleep!

She wimpered, stirred, and moved in the crib until I picked her up.

More books, more walking -- more bonding time.

Caroline went fell back asleep at 7:00 a.m. I crawled back into bed, where Terri and my Mom took pity on me and covered for me until 10:00 a.m.

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This experience with sleep deprivation, which I'm sure will not be the last or the worst, has two positive benefits that I've been able to discern thus far:

1. The lack of sleep causes a person to have profound visions and hallucinations. This can have positive benefits to mankind. For example, last night in my exhausted state, I actually worked out a working formula for turning lead into gold! Unfortunately, the sleep depreivation also took away my ability to write coherently, so the the formula is once again lost to the ages.

2. As many of you who are parents have shared with me, "Although it may not seem so at 3:00 a.m., the time with your newborns goes really fast, and they grow fast, so enjoy every moment." Thus, if my girls want to explore the world at 3:00 a.m., who am I to argue? I'll catch the exta hours sleep when I retire.

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Click on any photo for a larger view.

Terri with Katherine

Tag-Team Feeding!

Aug. 9, 2005 - First Full Day at Home

The babies are adjusting well to being home.

Yesterday, they fussed a bit in the afternoon, but by the evening they had settled down and slept pretty well in the night.

Caroline is waking about every two hours for feeding. Katherine is able to go a bit longer -- usually about three to three and a half hours.

To keep Terri sane and healthy, David helps out with the feedings. Because there are two mouths, we are supplementing with formula, and David is in charge of those feedings.

Katherine
Caroline

The hospital even gave David a device called a Nutritional Supplement System ("NSS"), which allows the babies to be fed formula but minimize nipple confusion. Check out the picture of David's "fake nipple"! (Think "Meet the Parents!")





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Here are also more photos from the hospital:



Meeting cousins Jonathan and Lauren

Terri on the way home with the kids

Some of Terri's c0-workers visiting.


Click on any photo for a larger view.

Home From The Hospital!

Caroline Elizabeth
08/04/05
1:30 p.m.





Katherine Anne
08/04/05
1:29 p.m.





Sorry for not posting new photos in such a long time, but there was no internet access at the hospital. Something about a wireless connection interfering with sensitive hospital equipment!


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Terri, David, Katherine, and Caroline returned home from four nights in the hospital this afternoon.

After four fun-filled but tiring days and nights at the hospital, Terri got the okay to come home.

So far, Terri and David are averaging about 3-4 hours of sleep a night, but their joy over fussing with the newest members of the Lim clan have not waned.

Terri is a real trooper, waking up every three hours to feed not one, but TWO babies. David also wakes up. His job is to burp the babies, change their diapers, swaddle them, and hold them until they fall asleep while Terri works on the other baby!

We will be posting more photos as time permits. As you can imagine, things are busy right now.

And if we don't respond immediately to your emails or phone calls, please don't think we don't want to hear from you or aren't appreciative of your congratulations. We want Katherine and Caroline to meet all their aunties and uncles, but probably not for at least a month.

So we WILL be back in touch, we promise!!

Click on any photo for a larger view.

New Arrivals!

The Lim Family is pleased to announce the arrival of

their two new family members:

KATHERINE ANNE LIM
AKA, The "older" sister
Born at 1:29 P.M.
5 pounds, 12 ounces - 19 inches














CAROLINE ELIZABETH LIM
AKA, The "younger" sister
Born at 1:30 P.M.
4 pounds, 15 ounces - 18 inches













All three Lim ladies are doing great.  Terri was a
trooper throughout the whole process.  David is
spending the next three nights with Terri at the
hospital -- already they've gotten only 3 nights sleep
the first night!  But life is GREAT!!

More photos forthcoming.  Thanks again everyone for
their words of support and love.  You are all invited
to babysit anytime!

Love,

Terri & David

Two girls!

Terri 8:22

August 4, 2005

Today's the day!

It's now 6:50 A.M. The C-Section is scheduled for 9:00 A.M., but Terri just called the hospital and they said the procedure has been pushed back to 9:30 A.M. We are heading leaving the house at 7:30 A.M.

Restless night. Terri couldn't go back to sleep after 4:30. David slept in fits and starts. David's parents are here, and slept on the couch.

Thank you to everyone for your support and positive thoughts through this whole process! David thinks he has technology that will enable him to post photos of the babies from his camera phone straight to this Blog site -- so check back here about noon -- we MAY have photos of the newest members of the Lim clan up by then!