Unlike the manic Monday misery most people feel at the start of each week, Monday is fun-day for the muppets.
Our nanny, Holly, is officially attached to the boys. And boy, do they love her – she’s fascinating, fun and oh so entertaining. For several weeks, Search has greeted Holly with a big grin. This past week, the three of them had a little chat.
Hi. Ink. And arf.
As part of a campaign to generate awareness about the crisis of premature birth in our country, the March of Dimes designated November as Prematurity Awareness Month. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death worldwide. And the rate of premature birth has risen by 30 percent since 1981.
“We need to fight for our little ones so they don’t have to.”
Every year, 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely – that’s more than 543,000 children. This year, that number includes my twin boys. Compared with one baby, twins (or other higher order multiples) in California were about six times as likely to be preterm in 2007. A traditional pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks; full term is considered at 37 weeks. My muppets arrived in the middle of their 27th week – 12 weeks early.
I don’t call them my million dollar miracle muppets just for fun. Care for preemies costs more than $26 billion a year – 10 times greater than the average expense of a full-term newborn. The costs break down as follows:
(These estimates come from Preterm Birth: Causes, Consequences and Prevention, a 2006 report published by the Institute of Medicine and funded in part by the March of Dimes.)
Having a child draws out a wide range of emotions in any case. I remember lying in my hospital bed, watching nervous and excited moms rush into the Labor and Delivery unit. Inevitably, I’d hear the mom or dad gleefully shouting that they were about to meet their new family member. I’d always envisioned that same scenario for my family. Instead, I was wheeled into the OR sobbing, clutching a nurses hand as I chanted “chubby babies, chubby babies.”
Born three months premature, my sons were a tiny two pounds. But from the very beginning they were perfect in all the littlest ways. They each had a distinct personality and a desire to make their preferences known to the world. I am a mother, a mommy to two precious twin boys. My husband and I are parents. But they were not yet really ours. You meet your children and you would do anything for them – then you are faced with the guilt of not having provided enough to keep them out of harm’s way.
I learned so much during the 10 weeks my boys were residents of the NICU. They had the most amazing nurses, who patiently explained everything to my husband and me and cared for the muppets as though they were their own children in the hours we couldn’t be with them in the hospital. Those nurses became family.
Today
My muppets are doing great. They’re great big boys (at five months old) and spend their days smiling and giggling. With each passing day, the NICU becomes more of a distant memory. But for all the families currently going through that experience, I hope someday the NICU nurses are all out of work because they are no longer needed.
November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Chances are somebody you know has experienced the roller coaster of emotions a baby born too soon brings. – it’s far more common than we like to think.
Happy Halloween everyone! This is such a fun holiday for the little ones – cute little kids in warm fuzzy costumes and sleep-deprived parents sporting zombie-like circles under their eyes simply blend in with the crowds.
On this first Halloween for the muppets, they will be helping me hand out candy to the slightly larger little ones traversing the neighborhood in search of fun-size goodies. Our celebration was yesterday.
With lions and tigers and bears – oh my – a number of moms gathered to watch our progeny dive headfirst into a massive sugar high (and ball pit provided for toddler entertainment). Chaos ensued. There were Buzz Lightyears and Jesse the Toy Story Cowgirl, a skunk, giraffe and butterfly. Sadly, the jovial atmosphere was dampened when Mickey Mouse took a bite out of the bear (literally). The bear spent the rest of the afternoon running amuck in his undies – judging by the pattern on those, I suppose he transformed into a fire truck.
But, of course, kings of the jungle were the lion and the mischief-making monkey.
Search
Destroy
Destroy was my little lion and Search was mommy’s monkey. I grew up collecting stuffed animals – I have containers full waiting for the boys and still more stored at GrammaJ and GrampaTavo’s house. Today, my million dollar miracle muppets were by far the cutest and cuddliest stuffed animals to ever exist.
(Momentary tangent: I was completely unsuccessful in my attempts to locate muppet costumes for tiny infants. Apparently they only come in size six months and up, which is too big for the muppets even if they were term size. I figure I have at least one more year of getting to choose their costumes. Who among my loyal readers is crafty enough to create the perfect muppet costumes for Halloween 2011?)
One little boy was wearing an oversized “My First Halloween” onesie. He was one week old. I looked at the tiny man, who weighed in at a hefty seven and a half pounds, and exclaimed, “He’s so tiny!” I had become so used to my little perfect preemies that I hadn’t realized how quickly they were growing up. Not only are the muppets no longer the youngest kids in the crew, they are no longer the smallest!
I was thrilled to actually feel a baby (full term) was small. Look how far we’ve come – and that realization was the best “costume” of the day.
We’ve all had a great time during our first official kickoff to the 2010 holiday season. And Search thinks this weekend’s adventures have been hilarious.
Trick-or-treat!
The muppets had a good day. This morning, I asked Jon how they were. He replied, “Smiley.”
And they are! Destroy responds best to “mawwww,” while Search appears to giggle at “bibbity booos.”
As a new mom, one of the most common coy premonitions of veteran moms was – just wait until you see them smile. It melts your heart.
Far be it from me to keep that joy from you. For your viewing pleasure, I present Destroy’s first smile caught on camera. Whether it takes you back to when you had your own little ones or just gives you unexplained warm fuzzies because babies are cute – there’s something to be said for the pure unadulterated joy a smiling muppet can share.
The muppets and I have just returned from the airport. After a fun-filled weekend whirl of a visit, the muppets reluctantly agreed to release Paul and Stephanie back to the badlands.
Somewhere in an album, hidden away in my parents’ closet, is a photo of me holding Paul. I’m three; Paul is perhaps three months. He is slouching down and looking very concerned that someone thought it was a good idea to hand the newborn to the toddler. What a different picture this weekend – now it’s Paul holding the babies. (Although, there were certainly some of the same concerned looks…)
The newly engaged couple arrived on Friday evening. Since the muppets didn’t appear interested in sleeping, both were wide-awake and ready to meet their new family. Stephanie didn’t make it two steps into the house before her arms were outstretched for a little man. In the arms of the adorably pocket-sized Steph, the boys looked ginormous. Paul smiled and admired them from a distance.
Uncle Paul and Aunt Steph had procured stuffed animals for the muppets during their engagement excursion in Hawaii. A green sea turtle with giant bug eyes and a soft grey dolphin. Naturally, I was very excited about the turtle. Paul noted that even though everyone (from purchase through delivery) seemed to get so excited about the turtle, he’d picked out the dolphin. Brothers-in-arms, Destroy was fully on his side regarding his favorite animal. He hugged the dolphin close and snuggled into my chest with his new toy. In contrast, he eyed the turtle very warily. I do not think he was a fan – in retrospect, it may have been the bug-eyes that threw him.
Saturday morning, I heard Paul pacing near the bottom of the stairs. Search had finished breakfast but was not content to sit back and give his brother a chance to fill his tummy. So, I instructed Paul to join me in the nursery and make himself useful. He sat down and I put Search in his lap. Search and Paul were wearing matching concerned looks. Paul was so afraid to move, he asked Stephanie to itch his eyebrow for him. He became a lot more comfortable as the hours passed.
We spent the rest of the morning in the living room as Paul explained the merits of college football to the next generation quarterback and linebacker. Destroy looked up at Paul wide-eyed and arfed. Not to be outdone by his brother, Search waited for Paul to feed him and had a major diaper blowout. But both, feeling better with more room in their tummies, rewarded Paul with a grin.
(Not the actual wedding dress)
The muppets were very spoiled. The slightest muppet noise or coo and Steph had them scooped up into her arms. Smiles were had by all.
Sunday was wedding focused. The love-birds met with a photographer (my favorite, Keary Dee) and then we bundled up the boys and went to try on wedding dresses. Paul was in charge of babysitting the twins. Auntie Ivy was on hand to babysit Paul as needed. (Turns out she wasn’t.) Aunt Steph is going to be an amazingly gorgeous bride.
Despite my best efforts, I don’t see the two abandoning their new beach house to move up north. They were such a help and great with the boys. And I can tell the muppets love them just as much. In fact, I think the muppets would like them to come back. Soon.
In the meantime, since Paul and Steph have just moved into their new home, I shall make it my responsibility to ensure an appropriate number of muppet photos are proudly displayed in each room.
Fall flew in with a fury today. Crisp air tinged with a cool breeze swirling the falling leaves from the tree in our front yard greeted me when I left the house this morning. A far cry from last week’s (and the whopping seven days of “summer” in 2010) heat wave.
Luckily, the muppets and I closed out the dog days of summer partying the weekend away.
We kicked off the fun on Friday night – heading to a friend’s birthday party. The shindig was at a small café. A small, small café. Even before I arrived, I was that mom. “Scuse me, pardon me…” all the way down the sidewalk towards our destination.
We almost took out a Golden Retriever. Although, I’m pretty sure said puppy lived with his own muppets. Instead of jumping or snapping when we got a wee bit close to his tail, the pooch simply turned his head and looked up at us with an expression that said, “Oh brother, this again.”
We finally got to the café. It took four people to get me and my pint-sized minions to the back of the restaurant where the party was underway. Two people each took an infant seat and corresponding infant. Two more of us collapsed the land-yacht stroller and dragged it through the European ambiance.
Now, before you question why I was going through such hullabaloo, I am well aware that the celebratory invitation only included me so that I could transport the muppets. As a fellow attendee asked me if I was going to leave the boys in their car seats since they were starting to wake up. But the birthday girl was already removing them from their restraints to say hello. Don’t worry, she assured me – she’d also already liberated my sanitizing gel from the diaper bag.
The boys stayed awake, drinking in all the attention, and the constant stimulation from their adoring fans kept them awake late into the night. We stayed out and up until 10 p.m.!
When we finished sleeping off our adventure (7 a.m. Saturday morning), we had to start getting ready for our next party. There, we got seriously trashed.
The boys friend Peyton was turning two at a Waste Management themed party. There was a bouncy house and bubble machines, but the muppets were completely pre-occupied flirting with the other moms.
By the end of the afternoon, Search and Destroy were sleeping soundly. I was exhausted, but seriously impressed that I’d managed to get us all to these parties – and more importantly all three of us returned from the parties. A group of us took a photo with our babies (toddlers not pictured). They’re so small right now but, before we know it, they’ll be all grown up. So, we cherish these hectic moments.
And then Mother Nature steps in to tell all us crazy moms it’s time to cool down.
The twins photo session has been featured on the “Inspire Me Baby” blog – a publication aiming to providing inspiration for family photography.
The muppets are young celebrities.
“From Keary Dee Photography: I shot these twins just a few weeks ago, but you’d never know they were 3 months old in their pictures. Destroy and Search were born 9 weeks premature. They were in the hospital for about two and a half months before they even got to go home. So at 3 months old, they were finally at newborn weight. The session was so fun and I absolutely ADORE their nursery. It’s Calvin and Hobbs theme! The ginormous brown bear is my favorite :)”
Check out the full article at http://inspiremebaby.com/2010/09/29/inspire-newborn-twins-by-keary-dee-photography/
(Minor correction: The muppets were actually 12 weeks early. Nine would have been fabulous…)
The title says it all. Look who’s smiling now.
Happy Muppet
Family legend has it that I was an ornery child. Stubborn, strong-willed and independent.
I was famous for “the look” – an exasperated eye roll that clearly expressed my displeasure with a given situation.
My cousin Mitch picked up the reigns when I outgrew it. (To clarify, I only outgrew people applying the phrase to me – I still have a quality exasperation expression.) When he was young, people used to tease that he’d been practicing “the look.” Well, Mitch is now a teenager. And it’s time to educate the new generation.
An argument for nature in the nature vs. nurture debate, karma has reared its ugly head and gifted my young muppet Search with “the look.”
Seriously, people? Come on...
