Updated Pictures of Alden and Asa
In the past 24 hours, we have received baths, lots of wellwishes, and a little bit of sleep. Everyone is doing well.
Quick Entrance: Introducing Our Babies
Spoiler Alert: If you haven't heard, Anna delivered the twins yesterday afternoon (March 7, 2012) around 4:30 p.m.
I was at the office (minding my own business) when Anna called and said that she thought she may need to get checked by the doctor. The facts were not too alarming, but we know they would make their appearance within the next two weeks. I was able to close up everything at work and meet Anna at home. After getting the dog a quick exercise break, we took off to the doctor's office for a 2:30 appointment.
After I dropped Anna off at the front door to cut out some of her walking time, I parked the car in the lot and hustled in. By the time I made it inside, Anna was in the first patient room, and her water had broken with a mighty gush. The doctor and nurse were quick to give us instructions and get on the phone with the team across the street at the hospital. We hustled over to the hospital, and the staff got us in a room and prepped with a hussle. We were able to make a couple of phone calls to "the Moms" and to send off a quick Tweet to let people know what was going on.
The doctor at the hospital came in and took a quick sonogram to find that baby girl was in the head-down delivery position, and baby boy was meandering about with his head up. Because of the arrangement, we conferred with our doctors and decided to take the C-section route. Within thirty minutes, we were in the operating room and getting it done. I wish I had more memories to give you, but we moved so quickly that I will need some more time to reflect to remember the details.
At 4:31 p.m., our little girl--Alden Jules--appeared, weighing in at five pounds, twelve ounces. At 4:32 p.m., our little boy--Asa Jude--took his first breath and was quickly nicknamed "Bruiser" by the delivery team because of his six pounds, thirteen ounces weight. That's a pretty big baby for twins at 36 weeks.
Anna is doing very well, and the babies are great. In lieu of further narrative, please enjoy some select pictures of the event. We will try to update with further pictures as we go on.
I was at the office (minding my own business) when Anna called and said that she thought she may need to get checked by the doctor. The facts were not too alarming, but we know they would make their appearance within the next two weeks. I was able to close up everything at work and meet Anna at home. After getting the dog a quick exercise break, we took off to the doctor's office for a 2:30 appointment.
After I dropped Anna off at the front door to cut out some of her walking time, I parked the car in the lot and hustled in. By the time I made it inside, Anna was in the first patient room, and her water had broken with a mighty gush. The doctor and nurse were quick to give us instructions and get on the phone with the team across the street at the hospital. We hustled over to the hospital, and the staff got us in a room and prepped with a hussle. We were able to make a couple of phone calls to "the Moms" and to send off a quick Tweet to let people know what was going on.
The doctor at the hospital came in and took a quick sonogram to find that baby girl was in the head-down delivery position, and baby boy was meandering about with his head up. Because of the arrangement, we conferred with our doctors and decided to take the C-section route. Within thirty minutes, we were in the operating room and getting it done. I wish I had more memories to give you, but we moved so quickly that I will need some more time to reflect to remember the details.
At 4:31 p.m., our little girl--Alden Jules--appeared, weighing in at five pounds, twelve ounces. At 4:32 p.m., our little boy--Asa Jude--took his first breath and was quickly nicknamed "Bruiser" by the delivery team because of his six pounds, thirteen ounces weight. That's a pretty big baby for twins at 36 weeks.
Anna is doing very well, and the babies are great. In lieu of further narrative, please enjoy some select pictures of the event. We will try to update with further pictures as we go on.
The Tummy Teller
If you haven't read Austin's Movie Maestro review of The Tummy Teller, it really sets the stage for today's blog entry. It was as if he wrote the story into life. The "movie" follows an African woman who travels from village to village to determine the gender of soon-to-be-born children with alarming accuracy. When the woman becomes pregnant and cannot tell the gender of her own fetus, mild chaos ensues. In the end, her gift is validated because she has twins: a boy and a girl.
Our lives track this character's life on two fronts. First, Austin has a still-developing passion to become a doula so that he can help women through a process that he will never actually encounter himself. He is hoping to build a team of brute, handsome midwives and brand their services MANDOULA(tm). Second, we are also having a boy and a girl.
This past Monday, we visited our friendly spectrogramographer and sent ultrasounds blasting and echoing through Anna's paunch. For the sake of our children's modesty, we won't post pictures, but we can assure you that the boy is a boy (Dad Note: "Fo' sho!") and the girl is a girl. For you twin-o-philes (which sounds pretty creepy and will not be used again on this blog), Baby A (the baby closest to the cervix), also known as "Biscuits," is the girl, and Baby B, or "Gravy," is the boy.
Next up, the so-called Naming Summit, where Austin and Anna will compete in a series of physical and mental challenges to determine the name of each child. Then, we shall all visit the Sorting Hat to determine which house each child will belong to.
Family Discussion Questions: How do you think you could tell the gender of a fetus without an ultrasound? Can you truly give names to people without meeting them outside the womb? Can you imagine the weight of the responsibility in naming someone when he or she will likely outlive you?
Our lives track this character's life on two fronts. First, Austin has a still-developing passion to become a doula so that he can help women through a process that he will never actually encounter himself. He is hoping to build a team of brute, handsome midwives and brand their services MANDOULA(tm). Second, we are also having a boy and a girl.
This past Monday, we visited our friendly spectrogramographer and sent ultrasounds blasting and echoing through Anna's paunch. For the sake of our children's modesty, we won't post pictures, but we can assure you that the boy is a boy (Dad Note: "Fo' sho!") and the girl is a girl. For you twin-o-philes (which sounds pretty creepy and will not be used again on this blog), Baby A (the baby closest to the cervix), also known as "Biscuits," is the girl, and Baby B, or "Gravy," is the boy.
Next up, the so-called Naming Summit, where Austin and Anna will compete in a series of physical and mental challenges to determine the name of each child. Then, we shall all visit the Sorting Hat to determine which house each child will belong to.
Family Discussion Questions: How do you think you could tell the gender of a fetus without an ultrasound? Can you truly give names to people without meeting them outside the womb? Can you imagine the weight of the responsibility in naming someone when he or she will likely outlive you?
Catching Up: The Padgetts Go to Washington
Aspirational and Glowing View
Pessimistic and Dingy View
[In the Catching Up series, the Padgetts try to give you fair and adequate notice of their various goings-on during their long hiatus from posting on the blog.]
A few months ago, Anna and I traveled up to DC for me to swear into the DC bar and to see some friends. It was a great trip, and we wish we could have spent more time in the city.
Our hotel was a block from the Capitol. So I found a park bench and plowed through some work during some our down time. The day was beautiful. Matching-shirt tour groups passed by me, and I was in a suit flipping through redweld files. I wonder of any of the touring folks thought I was someone important. One could hope. Perhaps I should have worn sunglasses or a Bluetooth earpiece. Are those items not the indicia of highfalutiness?
Photo Notes: Credit to me. Taken on the above-mentioned trip.
Family Discussion Points: What is your favorite DC landmark? Can a career politicians ever truly represent their constituencies? Do fat cats ever eat regular ketchup, or do they forever dip their fries in a truly fancy tomato-derived product?
Working Titles
When you are pregnant with multiples, the doctors and nurses adopt a clinical and cold reference system for your children: Baby A and Baby B. Baby A is the baby closest to the cervix (wherever that is--that isn't a lady part the dudes are responsible for knowing, I think). Doesn't that seems a bit harsh and boring?
We have abandoned these so-called "doctors'" system and given our fetuses working titles. Baby A is Biscuits, and Baby B is gravy. This follows our Southern culinary roots and, I believe, serves as a compromise on Anna's behalf. Addy's middle name is Macaroni, which Is the result of a long-fought lobbying effort with the wife. I like food names, but I can understand why they may be a poor choice for a lifetime commitment. Still, I am happy I at least got biscuits and gravy in the mix somewhere.
Photo Notes: This picture is licensed from the appropriately named Flickr user snowpea&bokchoi. I altered the picture slightly under the license. It looks delicious, which is a weird thing to say in a baby-related post.
Family Discussion Points: What is your favorite food? Would you want to be named after this food? If you were trapped with your friends on a snow-covered mountain pass for months, do you think you would start naming your friends after foods?
We have abandoned these so-called "doctors'" system and given our fetuses working titles. Baby A is Biscuits, and Baby B is gravy. This follows our Southern culinary roots and, I believe, serves as a compromise on Anna's behalf. Addy's middle name is Macaroni, which Is the result of a long-fought lobbying effort with the wife. I like food names, but I can understand why they may be a poor choice for a lifetime commitment. Still, I am happy I at least got biscuits and gravy in the mix somewhere.
Photo Notes: This picture is licensed from the appropriately named Flickr user snowpea&bokchoi. I altered the picture slightly under the license. It looks delicious, which is a weird thing to say in a baby-related post.
Family Discussion Points: What is your favorite food? Would you want to be named after this food? If you were trapped with your friends on a snow-covered mountain pass for months, do you think you would start naming your friends after foods?
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