So, this week I've not posted much because I feel like I've learned too much to try and organize and write it all down. In Harry Potter, Professor Dumbledore has a pensive. He puts his wand to his temple and can pull his thoughts into this pensive. It's like a journal, but when you look into it, you are "pulled" into the memory and re-live the moment. I wish I had one of those. I could get my thoughts out of my head so I could relax a bit, have an accurate account of the days of my life (cue theme song from Days of our Lives), and experience significant events again if I wanted to.
Anyhow, I am going to write something before I get so behind I completely abandon the whole blog entirely.
Tuesday my great friend, Shannon, had twins! She made it to 38 weeks and they did a c-section because Emily was transverse and Shannon's blood pressure was really high. She had the babies around 5:10 and called me at just after 7. She called me herself and said everything went perfectly. Anthony weighed 5 lbs 9 oz and Emily weighed 5 lbs 14 oz. They were about 20 inches each! They had great APGAR scores and have been eating pretty well. Anthony has dropped to 5 lbs 1 oz and if he gets below 5# they are going to put him into the NICU and start supplementing his breast milk. That will be hard, but if he loses much more weight, he'll have a hard time regulating body temperature and that is not good. They are hoping to go home tomorrow - so far the prognosis is excellent that they will go home with both. A total miracle.
I went up for about an hour on Wednesday to introduce myself to the twins and then went for about 8 hours on Thursday since Ben had to go back to work. I appreciate babies so much more now that I have had my own. Shannon is already way more patient that I ever was and that will be a huge blessing as things get more hectic when she gets home. I picked up the room, got the babies clean linens and clothes, made sure the nurses kept Shannon regular on her pain meds, changed diapers, recorded feeding information and just tried to be quiet and helpful without Shannon having to ask. She actually said I brought peace to the environment. No one has ever told me I was peaceful - really. Since Anthony wasn't eating as much as he should, I showed her how to "Kangaroo". She slept with him that way for about 2 hours. I took Emily and she slept on my chest and then the nurse came to give her some shots. She was not happy, but I was able to calm her down before I had to leave. When I left, Shannon had Anthony on her chest still and Emily in the crook of her arm. That is true joy.
Shannon asked how I was doing while I was there on Wednesday. She wondered if it hurt to have lost a pregnancy so recently and try to be happy for someone else knowing what I had lost. It felt really good to say that I had gotten over the anger of loss. I felt sincerely happy for her and very privelaged to know their family. I didn't used to feel this way. It took a lot out of me to be so mad at God and the world for so many years about our struggles to have a family. A big difference with this loss was knowing that I am not being punished becasue we don't have babies easily. I'm not competitive with God now, trying to get pregnant to prove that I'm worthy to have kids. I'm grateful for the spirit we have been blessed to have for this lifetime with Lexi. I look back and see I lost out on a lot of joy by being mad. It's such a relief to be happy for other people!
Wednesday we also had New Beginnings. The motto this year is "Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works". We had the theme of "A tisket, a tasket, have you filled your basket? Are you prepared to 'be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works?'" We had one leader portray Little Red Riding Hood and she carried a basket with items representing the tools she would need to overcome the obstacles of life. We included:
A pocket size Book of Mormon
A candle to represent testimony
A prayer rock
A journal
A pencil for the journal
A heart shaped pencil sharpener to represent the love we have to have for ourselves and others to live the commandments
A pair of gloves to represent service
We had moms portray the obstacles that our youth face. Red Riding Hood had to use her tools to get past dressing immodestly (I wore pajamas and chewed gum as loud as I could, another mom wore a too low top with low rise pants and the other - also our Relief Society President - wore the grungiest outfit she could and said she just couldn't deal with putting on nylons and a skirt for a church event.) We contemplated wearing thongs and pulling them up above our pants, but thought that would probably push some of our attendees over the edge. Also, it would gross everyone out.
The second group of moms were gossiping and the last group had their cell phones out asking if Red Riding Hood wanted to see the pictures and text messages they had received.
Red Riding Hood made it clear she was on her way to the Temple and then the Celestial Kingdom and wouldn't dress immodestly, hurt other women and herself by gossiping, or let media pull her away her path.
It turned out pretty good. The girls got a laugh out of their moms and leaders playing the roles of temptation.
When I asked the group who had ever received a text message spreading gossip about other people, 90% of them raised their hands. Moms included!
I had to give a talk and I encouraged them to honor their fellow women because they would be some of their strongest advocates as they grow. Don't help the trend of destroying our sisters; I think that is so important. Women can sometimes be their own worst enemies. I explained that I hope they will use the tools given in the basket to be steadfast and immovable and to cause others to rely on them. That if they are strong in their faith, they will always be of service to others just by being good examples. At the end, they each got a cute basket with all of the items.
I love working with the girls. They are vibrant, funny, obnoxious, smart and have great potential. I feel rejuvenated after every mutual activity and our Sunday meetings. Most of the time they give me more than I could ever give back.
This week I got to be close to the veil while visiting with the twins and reminded of how awesome kids can be. When I contemplate the implications of eternity, I realize what a speck this whole life thing is in the grand scheme of things. I imagine that the journey to Earth for babies is like a slide. Jesus Christ is at the top telling them to remember him and come back. They are so close to the Savior and so peaceful.
All in all, a very fulfilling week spiritually. So, when I say I learned too much to write it all down I lied a little bit because I had more to say than I even knew myself.
Anyhow, I am going to write something before I get so behind I completely abandon the whole blog entirely.
Tuesday my great friend, Shannon, had twins! She made it to 38 weeks and they did a c-section because Emily was transverse and Shannon's blood pressure was really high. She had the babies around 5:10 and called me at just after 7. She called me herself and said everything went perfectly. Anthony weighed 5 lbs 9 oz and Emily weighed 5 lbs 14 oz. They were about 20 inches each! They had great APGAR scores and have been eating pretty well. Anthony has dropped to 5 lbs 1 oz and if he gets below 5# they are going to put him into the NICU and start supplementing his breast milk. That will be hard, but if he loses much more weight, he'll have a hard time regulating body temperature and that is not good. They are hoping to go home tomorrow - so far the prognosis is excellent that they will go home with both. A total miracle.
I went up for about an hour on Wednesday to introduce myself to the twins and then went for about 8 hours on Thursday since Ben had to go back to work. I appreciate babies so much more now that I have had my own. Shannon is already way more patient that I ever was and that will be a huge blessing as things get more hectic when she gets home. I picked up the room, got the babies clean linens and clothes, made sure the nurses kept Shannon regular on her pain meds, changed diapers, recorded feeding information and just tried to be quiet and helpful without Shannon having to ask. She actually said I brought peace to the environment. No one has ever told me I was peaceful - really. Since Anthony wasn't eating as much as he should, I showed her how to "Kangaroo". She slept with him that way for about 2 hours. I took Emily and she slept on my chest and then the nurse came to give her some shots. She was not happy, but I was able to calm her down before I had to leave. When I left, Shannon had Anthony on her chest still and Emily in the crook of her arm. That is true joy.
Shannon asked how I was doing while I was there on Wednesday. She wondered if it hurt to have lost a pregnancy so recently and try to be happy for someone else knowing what I had lost. It felt really good to say that I had gotten over the anger of loss. I felt sincerely happy for her and very privelaged to know their family. I didn't used to feel this way. It took a lot out of me to be so mad at God and the world for so many years about our struggles to have a family. A big difference with this loss was knowing that I am not being punished becasue we don't have babies easily. I'm not competitive with God now, trying to get pregnant to prove that I'm worthy to have kids. I'm grateful for the spirit we have been blessed to have for this lifetime with Lexi. I look back and see I lost out on a lot of joy by being mad. It's such a relief to be happy for other people!
Wednesday we also had New Beginnings. The motto this year is "Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works". We had the theme of "A tisket, a tasket, have you filled your basket? Are you prepared to 'be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works?'" We had one leader portray Little Red Riding Hood and she carried a basket with items representing the tools she would need to overcome the obstacles of life. We included:
A pocket size Book of Mormon
A candle to represent testimony
A prayer rock
A journal
A pencil for the journal
A heart shaped pencil sharpener to represent the love we have to have for ourselves and others to live the commandments
A pair of gloves to represent service
We had moms portray the obstacles that our youth face. Red Riding Hood had to use her tools to get past dressing immodestly (I wore pajamas and chewed gum as loud as I could, another mom wore a too low top with low rise pants and the other - also our Relief Society President - wore the grungiest outfit she could and said she just couldn't deal with putting on nylons and a skirt for a church event.) We contemplated wearing thongs and pulling them up above our pants, but thought that would probably push some of our attendees over the edge. Also, it would gross everyone out.
The second group of moms were gossiping and the last group had their cell phones out asking if Red Riding Hood wanted to see the pictures and text messages they had received.
Red Riding Hood made it clear she was on her way to the Temple and then the Celestial Kingdom and wouldn't dress immodestly, hurt other women and herself by gossiping, or let media pull her away her path.
It turned out pretty good. The girls got a laugh out of their moms and leaders playing the roles of temptation.
When I asked the group who had ever received a text message spreading gossip about other people, 90% of them raised their hands. Moms included!
I had to give a talk and I encouraged them to honor their fellow women because they would be some of their strongest advocates as they grow. Don't help the trend of destroying our sisters; I think that is so important. Women can sometimes be their own worst enemies. I explained that I hope they will use the tools given in the basket to be steadfast and immovable and to cause others to rely on them. That if they are strong in their faith, they will always be of service to others just by being good examples. At the end, they each got a cute basket with all of the items.
I love working with the girls. They are vibrant, funny, obnoxious, smart and have great potential. I feel rejuvenated after every mutual activity and our Sunday meetings. Most of the time they give me more than I could ever give back.
This week I got to be close to the veil while visiting with the twins and reminded of how awesome kids can be. When I contemplate the implications of eternity, I realize what a speck this whole life thing is in the grand scheme of things. I imagine that the journey to Earth for babies is like a slide. Jesus Christ is at the top telling them to remember him and come back. They are so close to the Savior and so peaceful.
All in all, a very fulfilling week spiritually. So, when I say I learned too much to write it all down I lied a little bit because I had more to say than I even knew myself.
3 comments:
Traci, I'm so proud of you! For your personal growth and being a wonderful YW Prez!
Wow. I can only imagine how great it must feel to know that you are progressing the way Heavenly Father wants us to. You are so right about so many things in that blog, I couldn't possibly comment on them all. But I have to tell you, you do bring peace and for me you have always brought loyalty and stability when we're together. I only wish it could be more often. You are an amazing woman and I blessed to be your friend!
Sounds like a great week! I'm sure it's wonderful to go take care of two little babies, then go home to your two babies. :) Hope all is great in all aspects of your life!
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