Pregnant with Twins

The babies are here! Wait!! What?!? The babies are here! — The arrival

Baby Update being a father Parenting Milestones Parenting multiples Pregnancy Stories Pregnant with Twins

Yes! The twins are here! We are now officially a party of 7!! S@#t just got real!

There are is a lot that has happened over the last week, so I will break it down into preparation, arrival, the other 3 kiddos’ reactions, and our first week as a family of 7.

Let’s start with their arrival which I think is the most important..

The weekend before their arrival, Becca had started to feel some pressure in her belly and started to feel some contractions. They were not very consistent, but contractions nonetheless. When Monday came around, I went to drop off the kids as I do every other day and on my way out of their school, I called to check on B. She said that she was feeling the same and had made a Doctor’s appointment for 11am. We agreed that I would go to work and depending on what the Dr. said, I would go home or stay at work.

After her appointment, she told me the Dr. said that although the delivery process had “started”, it would be best to wait until we got further in as she wanted to keep the babies growing in her belly for at least 1-2 more weeks… With that being said, I headed out to the gym for what was my last workout as a father of only 3 kids…

Becca picked up the kids from school as usual and on her way home she called me to let me know that she was having regular contractions about 10 minutes apart!!! I wrapped up stuff at work and headed home as fast as I could!! All of our babies had been induced so this whole “rushing to the hospital” was new to us (we hadn’t even packed a bag)… Heck! All of this is new to us! We are rookies at everything “twin”…

While driving, I made plans with my mom and sister to drop off the kids at my sister’s house and to have my mom stay with the kids at our place for at least 1-3 nights. As soon as I got home, we packed up everyone and headed out!!

After dropping Nati, Nico and Santi at my sister’s house, we headed to the hospital and after Becca’s evaluation, the doctor said that we were not “fully” ready and that she would like the kids to “cook longer”.. I am not sure if that is what triggered Becca’s labor, but soon after that, the contractions started to spread only 2 minutes apart which drove the Dr. back into the room to let us know that we needed to start prepping for delivery!!! Holy crap…. Reality hit us…we will be welcoming 2 more kids into our home!! Were we ready? Were all of our preparations enough? Did we even bring enough stuff to the hospital to welcome them? … Regardless of the answers, it did not matter, they were on their way!!

After prepping Becca, they called me in. Although I really wanted to look behind the curtain (against every advice not to do so), I decided not to because I did not know how I would react and Becca needed me more than I needed to satisfy my curiosity (if I could handle it)…

At 7:49PM, the world welcomed Emilio and at 7:50PM, we welcomed Alejandro- two healthy baby boys. All was good in the world at that time. Momma was good, babies were good and kiddos were taken care of.

Monday 1/26/15 at 7:49PM, our world changed forever. Our hearts got even fuller with love. That day we became Happy Number 7! Yep, it could be the most challenging year yet, BUT we know that it will be the most rewarding one as well! We are so excited about the adventures and memories that await us.

P.S – the arrival of these little ones have also opened our eyes to how much love we are surrounded with. The positive energy, love and help we’ve received from family and friends (old and new) has been overwhelming and we (all 7 of us) will be forever grateful. Much love to everyone.

Babies Update!

Baby Update being a father Parenting multiples Pregnancy Stories Pregnant with Twins

The date is rapidly approaching, that day when we become a family of 7 plus our dog is less than 3 weeks away.. yikes!

Whether we are ready or not, what we have left to do, what we have done so far and whether we are freaking out or not is content for another blog… it is coming.. just not even mentally prepared to put it on paper!

This post is to share the amazing news that our baby boys have cleared the date when their arrival might have been considered risky… Cleared the date where we would have had to go to a different hospital that had special caring facilities for premature babies. We are in the clear. If they were to decide to come into this world tomorrow, we will be able to go to “our” hospital and the delivery would be performed by Becca’s doctors. The ones she’s been seeing since we were pregnant with Nati (that’s right, I said “we”). Moving forward, our babies will he delivered where we received all 3 of our other kids as it is likely that their lungs are developed enough. Again, it’s “our” hospital, our comfort zone – and this is very important at the time of delivery. Trust me, this is my 4^th rodeo.

In addition to the great news above, the babies are doing great! They are growing at a very nice pace and weighing approximately 5.5 and 5.7 lbs respectively. The momma could not be doing any better (considering the circumstances). Yes, of course she is tired, in pain at times, uncomfortable, itchy, etc. but none of these are anomalies for a pregnant woman at 36 weeks of pregnancy. She is rocking this pregnancy yet again – she is good at this!

For the past couple of weeks both of the babies were facing head down in perfect position for delivery. However, on Tuesday we found out that one of them decided to rebel against the system and decided to show the other baby who the alpha kid will be. He decided not only to shift, but also to pin the other baby down so no further movement is possible, or at least the chances are minimal.

What does this mean? More than likely Becca will have to deliver via C-Section- this is new territory for us. But hey, everything about this adventure seems new. Because of the position of our little rebel, the doctors will not perform natural delivery at the risk of encountering complications and having to do an emergency C-Section- they require both babies to be head down.

The bottom line: It sucks for Becca as the recovery is longer. It sucks for me because I will be exposed to things I’ve never seen before and I am not 100% sure how the heck I am going to handle it…. I hope well enough to be Becca’s rock by her side, but I seriously have no idea what to expect … let’s just hope I don’t pass out or are scarred for life.

The good news in this is that unless the babies decide to make an appearance earlier than expected, we will book the delivery date. Doing this allows us to plan ahead, plan who’s going to be watching the kids, who’s taking them to school, who will house-sit, who can we count on for running errands, cooking meals, etc for the kids. Trust me, it is not an easy task. Taking care of 3 kids at once (ages 6, 3, and 1) when you are not used to it can be a daunting task.. only a few people (family :)) are ballsy enough to volunteer for the task.

By scheduling, we can pack our bags, set up our alarm, prepare ourselves and the kids mentally and physically, etc. I like it like this. All of our kids have been scheduled – as mentioned above, Becca rocks pregnancies and kids seem to get comfy in her belly and choose to stay there as long as allowed.. 🙂

Crazy long story short, we are in the final stretch. Babies are, thank God, healthy and so is Becca, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this insane adventure in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for “listening”. Can’t wait to welcome you to our world little ones.

To Party or Not to Party?… That is/was the question.

being a father Birthday Parties Fun with kids Life Reflections Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins

I wish this post was about Becca and I partying… that has not and will not be happening for a while.. but our day will come..

Nati’s birthday is at the end of this month.. she is turning 6! Holy cow… where has the time gone? I know it is the biggest cliché, but man, time does fly, they grow fast… too fast for my taste. I absolutely LOVE everything we’ve experienced with Nati and everything she has taught us. Being the oldest kid, she has been the one that has opened our eyes to so many things and has helped us grow as parents. She has been the “manual” for our other kids, and truth be told, a huge role model for Nico and Santi.

Anywho I digress as always…

Being that Becca is as pregnant as pregnant can get, and that the 38 weeks mark is on 2/6, we did not know whether we should even consider throwing a party for Nati. The uncertainty of what could happen does not really leave much room for “reliable plans” but, after sitting down and evaluating how Becca was feeling and how the pregnancy was going and talking with Nati, we decided it was best if we did organize a party for her. We had to plan..and quickly! I seriously bought the invitations that night, reserved the place the next day, and distributed the invitations 2 days later. Yes, we have all guests on standby in case I need to send a mass text from the hospital with party cancellations 🙂 but we are moving forward with it. We are also going to keep it simple, not a whole lot of prepping and stressing the night before: simple games, pizza (delivery) and cake.

It has been a big year for Nati so we wanted to celebrate it. She started Kindergarten and is doing great, she showed great improvement in her gymnastics and ballet skills (as seen here), she learned how to ride a bike without training wheels (read here), she learned how to read (this should’ve topped the list :)) and she has continued to be an amazing little girl full of love, compassion and joy. How can you not celebrate!?! Hehe. And of course, we do not want the anticipated delivery of the twins to lessen the importance of her special day!

The theme she chose for her party is “doggies”. Definitely not a whole lot of activities planned that are “dog related” but at least her cake, plates, cups, etc will include dogs. We invited her classmates and a couple other friends and are hoping for another gorgeous Florida day so we can play games outside and simply let the kids be kids. My aim: keep a permanent smile on my baby girl and try for both kids and adults to have a great time. (adult beverages provided of course. #thatisagiven)

So… we are partying!!! At least we are planning on it.

Cheers to the unpredictable future, flash party planning and happiness all around!

Nati loving on our almost 10 year old black lab Sammy.

What they are not telling you: Pregnancy is hard on men too!

being a father Lessons learned Life Reflections Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins

Yes, I admit it, it is much tougher on women as they have to endure the body changes, fatigue, lack of sleep, deliver the baby (or in our case babies!), etc, etc, etc. However, it takes a village! It is a long ass process… 9 months (or 10 months as my wife will correct me) of constant support, stepping up our game to cover some of the tasks previously performed mostly by our wives, helping to parent the other 3 kids AND tending to the needs and mood swings of our lovely pregnant wife 🙂 Love you babe.

I am going to go ahead and say it: It is f**ing hard and gets tiring too! Yes, my body is not going through insane changes like my wife’s, but my mind and time management is out of whack! Because a pregnant women’s energy is being consumed by the baby, they often (and deservingly) need more “down time”. This is where our role becomes more important and more tasks are added to our list. It seriously feels like I don’t have time for anything else other than coming home to cook, have dinner with my family, spend an hour or so together, clean up the house (toys everywhere), get kids ready for bed, read, practice phonics, and then back downstairs to finish up cleaning or go to bed. Rinse and repeat the next day. And No Free passes – it’s all got to get done. Thankfully, at home we have a very good team (see previous post here) and Becca, as pregnant as she is, carries a good amount of weight (pun intended) on our daily home chores.

I am thankful that Becca is an amazing pregnant woman; she is a trooper– she is active and rarely complains. Also, during all 4 pregnancies she has not had any middle of the night cravings where I need to leave the house to find a Hot Fudge Brownie with Ice Cream or some crazy stuff like that…. Her cravings are much more manageable, very few and they usually happen at lunch or dinner times (pizza, chipotle, five guys, etc.). Her Coca Cola craving is the only one that is a bit out of hand 😉 especially since it HAS to be fountain soda so there’s no way for me to be proactive and have a 2 liter handy in the house…

Needless to say, at the end of the day it is all worth it. The return on investment is astronomical, but I am not kidding… it is hard on everyone– I am sure other fathers can relate. AND consider this a warning for those men that don’t have kids yet — Yes, she is the one carrying the baby, but the weight you need to carry around the house will also get heavier.

And this is only the pre-game show…. The real deal will begin once the babies are born. Bring it! 🙂

Christmas & New Year’s break – Best ever?

Christmas 2014 Fun with kids Holiday Fun New Years 2014 Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins Strider

Thanks to Becca’s line of work and the awesome agency I work for, we were off at the same time the kids were on Christmas break from school.

This Christmas not only brought with it the joy it usually brings, but allowed us to spend some quality time with our kids, our family and with friends (both local and visiting).

Because of how far along we are in the pregnancy (33 weeks!), we had to lay low and stay in town for the entire break. Looking back, it was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to our family. We were able to make great progress on the remodeling of the kids’ rooms and setting up the twins’ nursery and we had THE best time together. Nope, we did not do anything out of the ordinary; we did not visit any theme park or anything like that. We just stayed home, went to the beach and visited 3-4 different playgrounds to let the kids burn some energy and enjoy the amazing Florida winter weather.

Sometimes less is more and this was one of those times. We are now getting back into our “normal” groove. This week will probably be challenging trying to get the kids to “re-adjust”… but as I am losing my mind arguing with them to go to bed and trying to wake them up in the morning, I will try to remind myself (and my wife) of the awesome time we had for the past two weeks.

Here are some pics to prove it. 🙂

Parenting: A team sport.

Life Reflections Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins

This is true regardless of the number of kids you have– whether it is 1 or 5! Of course, the more kids you have the more “complex” the job could get but luckily, the more “seasoned” you are. The team chemistry has developed and the team (mom and dad) have a good idea what to do to get the job done.

This certainly applies at our house, in parenting and in life. It works differently for everyone so I am not trying to say that what we do is “the best method” (not even close)… it is just what “works” for us. Just like when it comes down to finances, for some couples a joint account is the best option, for others it’s not.

At the end of the day, we know what tasks need to be taken care of (dinner, lunch for the kids, laundry, cleaning up after the kids, getting ready for school, getting ready for night time, etc). At home, we don’t have assigned responsibilities so it really becomes a “you do this while I do that” approach. And it works. I am glad because it could be an overwhelming ordeal! We have a good team. 🙂 We work together to complete tasks, maintain a sense of balance, maintain our sanity (for the most part) and the kids are always being watched and taken care of. Also, as they grow up, they are given more responsibility and become an integral part of the team.

Oh yeah, there are days when we feel we could recruit an army to watch our kids AND still not get the job done. Sometimes when all the planets are out of whack and all 3 kids are in the “I am going to make my parents life impossible today” mood, it feels as if nothing works! It feels like a “I am going to pour me some scotch and hide for hours while I remind myself that this too shall pass” kind of day! 😉

So, hats off to single mothers and single fathers. I honestly have NO idea how you do it and how you manage to raise good kids and maintain your sanity while holding a job. Parenting has got to be one of the most challenging tasks (and of course THE most rewarding as well) and I cannot imagine doing it without my partner. I am grateful for my team.

Cheers to parenting teams! Cheers to family. Cheers to making it “work”. Whatever it takes. 🙂

The wheels came off… How we ended up our week…

Children Milestones Fun with kids Parenting Milestones Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins Weekend Fun

That’s right, after a fun week that included having the kids at the office, celebrating my mom’s (nona) birthday, spending thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones and even doing some Black Friday Shopping (I know… we thought we were crazy too – shopping with 3 kids and a pregnant mom), the wheels came off on Saturday and Sunday— Nati’s bicycle training wheels that is.

Yes! After pushing it off for so many weekends, we finally committed to making it happen this weekend. Saturday afternoon we decided to take the bikes out to teach Nati how to ride without the assistance of training wheels… This was the first time I had taught someone how to ride a bike, so it was a first for both of us and I had no idea how it was going to go down…

After removing the wheels and adjusting her seat, we started off with me holding the back of her seat. After a couple of rides in front of our house and reminding her to “keep her balance” (which I read after the fact is one of the worst things you can say when trying to teach someone to ride a bike – of course…) we took a break and when we got back into it, I held less onto the seat while helping maneuver the seat to correct her balance…

After a good 20 minutes or so, I was able to let go for a second or two at a time without letting her know about it…. (all while running next to her). Little by little we both got better at it and finally I was able to let go for longer periods of time!

When I was able to let go for probably 5 seconds and then stopped the bike, I was SO happy for her! I got on my knees next to her, high fived her and gave her a huge hug for her awesome accomplishment!! She was so happy. I was so proud. She was so proud. Truthfully, I was probably more excited than she was. 🙂

I still picture that moment. The moment where she smiled back at me and we both realized she now knew how to ride a bike; it will be a moment I will never forget. It was such a great accomplishment for both of us and I will forever cherish those few seconds when we cheered and held each other in celebration.

That moment also reminds me of how awesome and rewarding it is to raise kids. The thought of so many more moments like these with Nati and our other children fills my heart with joy and anticipation for the future.

Nati will be the one that will pave the road for the other kids and the one that will fill our lives with a lot of “firsts”. She is also the one that with her life experiences will teach us how to be better parents and be better prepared for when her siblings experience similar things growing up.

So Thank You, Nati. Thanks for that amazing moment, for the many more moments to come, and for helping us weave through the parenting maze. We love you.

“Me time” is just as important. Weekend Lessons and fun.

Lessons learned Life Reflections Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins Weekend Fun

This weekend started off rather early for me. I had to do a delivery for a client in Indian Rocks in the morning so I started my day earlier than I wanted to, but it was worth the effort – on my way to pick up the equipment I found a Colombian Bakery and although I did not have time to stop on my way there, I made sure to stop on my way back. Around 10:30am I was back home with some yummy bakery treats for everyone!

The rest of our Saturday got busy doing stuff around the house. We finally got ready and left the house for lunch with the idea to go to Target and let the kids pick what they wanted for their Christmas list for Santa… That plan got interrupted by a lady that was interested in some of the clothes we had for sale from our failed yard sale so we went and met her instead…

At that point, the kids had started to get restless; we needed to find an activity for them or else our afternoon drama would be intense! We needed a playground and we needed it quick! Energy HAD to be burnt! 🙂 Thankfully we remembered there was a playground close to our meeting point so we headed there for a good 45 minutes.. the weather was kind of crappy so we left before we had planned…

Once home, the kids continued to play as Becca and I were trying to finish up stuff around the house… in one instance and after many times of asking the same thing from the kids and frustrated by no one following directions, I snapped… raised my voice and sent everyone to their room – not gonna lie, not my brightest moment… but I felt that my frustration was building for hours!!… Rightfully so, Becca was disappointed at me, we had a small discussion about it and she went up with the kids…. I headed to the kitchen, poured me a single malt and went to my room to practice learning the ukulele…. And while playing is where I learned my lesson…

First of all, I learned I need to work on my patience with the kiddos – sometimes I forget how young they are and I expect too much of them. I honestly need to make a conscious effort about it. I am admitting my issue and going on record so this blog can hold me accountable for my improvement.

The other lesson I learned is that sometimes we need to be “selfish” and spend some “Me time”. Before you judge me, listen up. Just like spending time with the kids is a main priority, spending time as a couple and spending time with yourself is just as important. To be able to be happy and joyful around the kids at all times, one must be happy with themselves and with each other. I really enjoyed taking 1 hour to myself to play and to just “disconnect” for a little. By the time I was done, I had time to reflect on my stupid reaction, I was able to spend time doing something I like to do for myself and was able to get back to my kids and family with a “fresh” new attitude and had a great night thereafter.

So although it is very easy to get consumed by “kid time”, as adults we need to make an effort to work on our relationship with our significant others and ourselves. We need to find a little time to fulfill our happiness as individuals and as a couple. Whether it is time throughout the day or late at night once everyone is asleep, the key is to find the time and make it count. Trust me, it transcends to the relationship with our kids and our home’s harmony.

Our Sunday was a lot of fun, we spent our morning at home being lazy followed by an awesome lunch at a local place that offers my 3 favorite things when wanting to hang out: outdoor eating, live music and beer. The kids had a blast jamming to the tunes played by the band and enjoying the nice Florida sunshine and breeze.

From there we went to a playground to get some exercise and then back home to cook dinner and get ready for the night. By then, we were ALL tired.

“You may want to sit down” – The day we found out we were having a total of 5 kids!

Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins

Those are the words Becca chose when I was staring at the Ultrasound after she had gotten back from the Dr. that afternoon. Let’s backtrack a little though…

2 weeks prior to me staring at the ultrasound, Becca mentioned she was not feeling well… Being that she had been pregnant 3 times before, I suspected she could’ve been pregnant so I bluntly asked/commented “you are not pregnant, are you!?”… to which she responded nervously… “I don’t know…”

At that point, we had not yet shut down the idea of having 4 kids, but in reality we were leaning towards “closing the shop” – the kids had been more demanding of our time, and although a lot less dependent on us, they required more direction, re-direction and parenting. They had also started extracurricular activities that demanded more time with them (gymnastics, ballet, soccer, etc).

I said, “we need to find out ASAP”– if we were having a 4^th kid, we needed to know so we could plan accordingly. The list included finances, work, home arrangements, cars, baby needs, daycare, school, drop off, pick ups, night-time schedules and the list goes on and on… So, I went to Publix that same afternoon, handed over the test to Becca and waited for the results… She wasn’t ready to find out, but I could not wait any longer… so I went to the bathroom, looked for the stick, and looked at the results… My first thoughts were “f***, we are pregnant” followed with a smile and a feeling of joy with a “f***, we are really pregnant!”. I shared the news with Becca and together we experienced mixed emotions as we waited for the news to settle… After thinking, “well, we have 3 what’s a 4^th one” and realizing we had all, if not most of the baby equipment needed, we felt blessed and began to embrace the idea. Becca confirmed the news that week and scheduled her follow up appointment for the following day.

This brings us to THE day…. Becca’s appointment was in the late afternoon. After she picked up the kiddos, we decided to meet at the Dr’s office parking lot. This was our 4^th rodeo so we did not feel the need for me to go with her to the appointment and instead I took the kids home to make them dinner while Becca went through what we thought was a “routine check up and first ultrasound”.

After leaving the Dr’s office, Becca called me but I could not answer. She followed the missed call with a text “All is good. No need to call me back”. I continued prepping dinner so it could be ready upon her arrival… And this is where we were….

As I am staring at the ultrasound, this one seemed a little bit odd to me compared to the other 3 kids’ ultrasound images. My initial thought was a concern that there was something wrong with the baby… To me, there was more “stuff” in that picture than I had previously seen… Becca noticed my confused face and when I said “there’s more stuff than usual.. I can’t really “read it”” she said…. “You may want to sit down”… As my a** fell backwards into our kitchen stool, I said “f***, are you pregnant with twins?!?!” Becca’s eyes got a little watery and as she nodded… I was in disbelief… we both were in awe not knowing how the heck we ended up being pregnant with twins!! We don’t have any history of twins on either side of the family and we were not even ready for a 4^th kid, much less a 5^th!!! We held each other, nervously laughed, Becca cried a little, and as in many situations, we were able to find comfort in each other and embraced the idea and the new babies coming into our lives.

It took us a couple of weeks to let the news sink in. Every time we talked about it we could not believe our situation and discussed all the things we needed to do to prepare for their arrival. Getting used to the idea and being able to turn the corner to embrace the new challenge and adventures took time. I think it took me longer than Becca. I am (or try to be) a planner, I like to try to make sure our family is ok at all times, therefore until I got to the point where issues like finances, schooling and house arrangements were taken care of or at least planned for, I had not allowed myself the opportunity to fully embrace the arrival of our 2 little boys. I wish I had done it earlier because at this point, the more I think about raising 5 kids and the enormous amounts of memories we are going to build, I get really excited about the future and know that God has a plan for everyone. And I really like what he planned for us. 🙂

The love and positive vibes from family and close friends as well as reading blogs from parents of twins and multiple kids made it easier for us (me) to get more and more excited about the idea. Surrounding ourselves with such great support has been a key element to helping ease the transition into our new adventure and we are very thankful for everyone in our lives. Thank you.

So, Becca was right. I needed to sit down. What she forgot to mention was to buckle up because we are about to embark on the best ride of our lives! 🙂

B rocking her pregnancy - 26 weeks in :)

Becca has been a trooper throughout her pregnancy. She makes it look easy… Maybe that’s why we keep having kids? JK.