Just over a week ago, my new blogging buddy, Rob Shep and his lovely wife Monica, celebrated the birth of twins. Their son Hayden has been home for a bit, and yesterday their daughter Reese was discharged from the hospital.
This post is a Welcome Home message for all of them. And a walk down memory lane for me. And maybe a nice enough read for you all.
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Vivian and William were born in Thailand in a beautiful hospital with garden balconies and a Starbucks that delivered. (No, the Starbucks did not deliver the babies, but close enough).
I still remember the day we brought Vivian and William home from Bumrungrad Hospital.
It was another hot Bangkok day. The nurses had wrapped our two cuties up like this.
I still have the blankets. After the photo op, I re-outfitted my Thing 1 and Thing 2 in friendlier car seat attire.
My husband hired a driver who had a car with seat belts.
I started to bawl in the hospital lobby.
The car pulled up. My Caesarian scar hurt. Everything hurt.
If the babies couldn’t go back into the safety of the womb, I wanted to go back to my private hospital room where nurses rescued me from my babies each night, ensuring I got four hours of consecutive sleep.
Due to space, my husband went in one car with the driver and the babies. I struggled into a taxi with my mom and sister.
When we lost sight of the car my husband was in, I yelled at our taxi driver in an embarrassing combination of English and Thai.
Things were not going well.
We survived the five-minute drive. So did the babies. It was forever. Or the beginning of forever.
This is what Vivian and William looked like when we arrived home.
That was nearly seven years ago.
It got easier. It gets easier.
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I guest posted at Rob’s blog yesterday. I interviewed Vivian and William, who have some sage (albeit bizarre) advice for parents. Go there. Leave a comment. Send Rob, Monica, Reese and Hayden your blessings for a journey filled with adventure, happiness, and grace. Here is the link. Go there. Now. I promise I’ll make you laugh.
Well, thanks very much. You made me cry. On a Saturday morning! This was so reminiscent of my own experience giving birth to twins (although I was driven home with a patch over 1 eye b/c the left side of my face had suffered a complete paralysis). But yes, it does get easier much to our shock, and they grow up into the most fascinating little people, don’t they.
The left side of your face was paralyzed? Maybe the Starbucks people should have done your delivery.
I kept waiting for it to get easier. It took longer than I thought.
Nice post. I read your guest piece over at Rob’s site and like it very much. In fact, I almost made it the PTP pick this week, but how could I go over the top of Search Bombing?
The GP at Rob’s was one of the most fun posts to write. I mean, it’s a transcript, with a few of W’s interruptions omitted.
And Search Bombing. Epic.
At my company, there has been a veritable slew of twins born to employees in the past two years. It’s something in the water and makes me terrified of getting pregnant while I still work there.
“Double the pleasure” must be so daunting in those first few days of motherhood; I can’t even fathom it. And to have started your journey as a mother of twins while so far from home – you are a strong, strong woman.
Having twins is a bit overwhelming in the Insta-Family way. The best decision I ever made was to give my mom and sister air miles to come to Thailand for 2 weeks. When I first discussed this with my DH, he said something about needing time to bond as a family. Bond? Bond? I just want to survive. We have 18 years to bond with them.
I was right.
Such a nice post. But as a non-parent, hmmm, well I’ll just have to take your word for it.:)
Don’t worry. I often feel like a non-parent myself. Like today.
“We were afraid to remove them.” Love it! Rather happy that I only had my kids one at a time!
Thanks for the memories!
Wendy
When we first arrived home, I still remember looking at these two foreign beings and then to my husband. I believe my first two words were, “Now what?”
Love this! Thank you for the shout and the guest post. It was fantastic. When I first read this post I thought you wrote “I started to brawl in the hospital lobby.” I knew you were John McClane-ish and could walk on broken glass, but this took you to a whole notha level of BA-ness. I then re-read the line and it said bawl. Still this was a very sweet post.
Rob, I think we need to convince Clay to do a Bruce Willis Flick Friday Face-off.
Sometimes, only a hair separates bawling from brawling. It’s kind of my approach to seething anger: I kick a backpack (brawl) or sob (bawl).
Clay def needs to do a Bruce Willis Flick Friday Face-off!
Awww… Such a tiny Thing 1 and Thing 2.
Both of my car rides home were horrible.
During the 10-15 minute drive, my newborns chose to scream the entire way home.
Oh the memories. I need to write them down before I forget.
Such a sweet post, and so very very true.
I love the baby knots.
Already commented on the guest post, I loved it.
I mean, Is there any parent who can get past the how-does-the-car-seat-work without sobbing?
Not me.
The highlight of my kids’ milestones was when they learned to do up their seatbelts. I’m not even kidding.
The ride home with my son was horrible. Then I gave birth to my daughter in a hospital 5 minutes away from home, so my husband walked home with her while I took a taxi because the midwife wouldn’t let me walk. The nurses went all “Is he allowed to leave like that?” on him because he had the baby in a wrap instead of a car seat. Luckily, he was allowed. The ride home (alone) was a lot more peaceful.
I love how walking home from the hospital in unprecedented. In Thailand, they assumed you were leaving without a car seat.
Did you tell the taxi driver to take the long way home? 😉
Beautiful. You must still be on vacation, Ironically Sentimental Mom (a side of you I LOVE, P.S.) Are you even still on vacation? If so, I’m moving to Canada. That doesn’t even make sense because I stay at home and everyday is a vacation. Sort of.
Loved this. Like, a lot.
Thanks, Jess. Yes, I’m finishing up my vacation. I teach at a private school so we get an extra week (though we still have more than a month more contact time than public schools!). Back at it, Monday. Back to snark, too.
Come to Canada anyway!
They tied the receiving blankets in knots?? Ah, Bumrungrad. Was Mr. Richard the driver? – I guess Baby Bjorn’s and motorcycle taxis were out of the question? 🙂
You know, in my head, Will and Viv are still not much older than this – I am trying to merge my memories of them with your reports of their most recent antics. It is resulting in a strange “dancing baby” meets “Look Who’s Talking” meets “Stewie Griffen” scenario.
Khun Richard was the driver! And you know how psychotic it is to cross Soi 3 outside the hospital.
I love your combination of imagining V and W. It works.
Come to Calgary and see for yourself!
i cannot imagine. i just cannot imagine. you are so the better woman than i.
No, not better. Just different. 😉
Aw *sniffs* I LOVE the super swaddler newborn outfit! So interesting how different cultures approach babies and infants. Mark got very into swaddling Theo as a baby and it totally helped him sleep. I still can’t imagine two Theos or a Theo and a Thea but I guess you just take the hand you’re dealt and forge ahead!
True. I didn’t know any differently, which was likely a very good thing!
The taxi scene seems like it’s straight out of a movie. “Follow that car! But slowly and carefully because my newborn twins are in there!”
They never could have been that small, could they?
Laughing at your description of the taxi scene, which is surprisingly accurate. Bangkok traffic chaos = the ultimate in separation anxiety.
Want to write a song about it? 😉
it’s a good thing I have a baby sitting in front of me right now otherwise I’d be cursing you for making my uterus yearn. How precious!
Yearning Uterus – that could be the name of a band. Or something else, I suppose. Happy Baby-ing!
great pictures – i have seen babies swaddled, but never gunnysacked.
I love those fresh-from-the-oven babies and their sweet little scrunchy faces.
“Gunnysacked” is a great description. I think I felt like I had a bag over my head. I think I still feel like that some days.
Well done! You’d do it all again if you could, right?
Do you mean again as in “an additional set of twins”? Or again as in “the first set of twins”?
Hey I was born in Thailand, too! *fist bump Viv and Will*
Except I was born in ChiangMai.
The first two months of a newborn’s life is so intense. Intensely good and intensely sleepy insane wacko womanhood.
Sawadee, Ka! So cool you’re a Thai babe.
I think I may forever be a part of “intensely sleepy insane wacko womanhood.” Is it worth striving for more than that?