John and I were basically in the NICU every minute of every day. We usually just sat in silence and stared at the twins. It was hard on both of us. There was multiple times where we would just hold each other and cry. No talking or anything. Just crying.
The nurses would come in at different times of the day so they could change diapers and check to see how they were doing. They would give us reports each time. Luckily for us, they were always good reports.
Amberley and Bryce had to stay in the hospital for exactly one month. We spent Christmas and New Years Eve with them in NICU.
When they were released, Amberley weighed 5 ½ pounds and Bryce weighed 4 ½ pounds.
The first night home was hard for me, John and my parents. None of us wanted to leave their sides because we were afraid that something bad was going to happen to them. Around midnight, we finally decided that we would take shifts staying in the room with them. We only did the shift thing for 3 days because we all ended up being overly tired.
When the twins hit their due date, we had people come over to our house so they could finally see the twins. We didn’t let anyone see them except for grandparents and great grandparents. Everyone seemed surprised how healthy the babies looked and even how well I looked. A lot of people told me that I didn’t even look like I had twins. I think they were just trying to be polite though.
After having Amberley and Bryce, I gained 15 pounds. I wasn’t really happy with it, but I knew I was still a healthy weight so I didn’t let it bother me too much.
When the twins were 2 months old, we took them to their first official check-up. We weren’t sure who their doctor was going to be, but it ended up being a familiar face.
“Hi, I’m Lexi. Amberley and Bryce both have their 2 month check-up today. I’m not really sure who it’s with. I just know that it’s a new doctor,” I told the lady at the front desk.
“Ok. Let me look you up on the computer real quick and then I can tell you who you’re going to be with.”
“Thank you.”
“What are the babies’ last names?”
“Walker.”
“Ok. You’re going to be with Dr. Harding. She’s with someone right now but she should be done in a few minutes. I’ll make sure she knows that you’re here.”
“Thank you very much.”
I sat down next to John who was holding Amberley.
We had made it a habit for him to take Amberley and me to take Bryce, but we tried to switch it up so the babies could feel love from both of us.
About 5 minutes later, the lady from the front desk called us back. She led us down the hall to the very last room.
“A nurse will be in with you in a moment and then she’ll send the doctor in.”
John and I both nodded in unison.
A little while later, a nurse came in.
“Hello, I’m Rosie Hodges. I am the nurse. These must be Amberley and Bryce.”
“Yeah,” I said, somewhat nervous.
“Ok, I’m just going to weigh them and measure them to see how much they’ve grown and then Dr. Harding will come in and do some other stuff.” She smiled.
She took Amberley off of John’s lap and weighed her and measured her and then did the same with Bryce.
She wrote the numbers down on a clipboard but she didn’t tell us the results.
She left the room and then a few minutes later, Dr. Harding came in.
I looked at her, recognizing her from somewhere. Then it hit me.
“Tiffany?”
“Hello Lexi.”
“I- You- How- I mean, you’re a pediatrician?”
“I am,” she laughed, “I must have forgotten to mention that to you when I last saw you.”
“Yeah, I kind of thought that you were an artist.”
“Because I love colors so much?”
“Yeah, I guess I should stop making up my own conclusions.”
“Oh, it’s alright. Now, how are your precious little babies doing?”
“They seem to be doing alright.”
“Wonderful. Let me look at their weight and height,” she paused for a minute to look at the clipboard, “I see they’ve grown quite a bit.”
“Yes they have. It’s amazing how big they are compared to what they looked like when they were first born.”
“It is amazing isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
“Ok, I hate to say this because this tends to be hard on every single mother there is, but I’m going to have to give them their first rounds of immunizations today.”
I just stared at the ground.
“It’s ok Lexi. I promise. I’ve been through this 5 times. You’ll be ok.”
“I know. I will.”
After Tiffany gave Amberley her first shot, I had to look away because it was too much for me to handle. John was the brave one and held both of them while they got all of their shots.
After the shots, she asked us quite a few questions about the babies and then we were able to go.
That was the only major thing that happened during their second month of life. They grew a lot, they ate a lot, and they went through a lot of diapers.
They’re now 3 months old. I’m starting to figure out their personalities a little bit. Amberley is pretty quiet most of the time. She only cries when she absolutely needs to, like when she needs changed or fed. Bryce, however, is loud. He’ll cry for anything and everything. Sometimes, I think he’s crying just to annoy us.
All I really know though is that these 2 babies are beautiful and that I love them with all of my heart and that nothing they ever do will make me feel differently.