The Photo Shoot

Owen and Ruby DuRoss

8 Days Old

Photos by: Julie Shipman

Salt Lake City, Utah

(to view larger images, click 'em!)

Welcome Home

This first photo illustrates how we all felt (including Kessler- not sure why- she got less activity than she ever has the first few days at home) as we made the adjustment to being at home and on our own.  There were no nursery nurses offering their watchful eyes so we could get a little sleep, no one resupplying the diapers while we held the babies or attempted to feed, no one offering to fill my bedside water because it got a little low or delivering three meals a day (although we have had SO much amazing food delivered to the house- our community here pretty much rules). 

 

Chip and I both averaged about three hours of sleep a night for the first handful of days...and if you know me very well, you know how I LOVE my sleep.  I tried to store up before hand like everyone suggested- we knew this time was coming- but that must have been a joke because it didn't work.  You can't store up sleep for something like this.  And, although it is draining to listen to crying babies, play detective about why they are awake and/or upset, and tiring to get in and out of bed in one night more times than you have in the past year cumulatively...it was fun too.  Although I did not want the babies to get any formula at all (again- lesson in letting go- breastfeeding also did not go as planned- another story for another day), it was really nice to have Chip there through the nights as an equal player and teammate.  We tagged off and tag teamed well to get through those first few difficult nights as rookies, not only to the game, but to covering two bases at once also.  

Sometimes when everyone else was sleeping I still couldn't sleep cause I might miss out on this.  Plus, I am convinced there is some mommy hormone that makes it possible to function on no sleep for longer than you would think. 

But, we did not have to fend on our own for too long!  After a few days, Nana and Papa DuRoss swooped in to help hold and love Ruby and Owen, do laundry, feed us, run errands, and generally anything we asked (or didn't ask- they had an amazing sense for what just needed to get done).  While they somehow also found time to hold and love the kids, they actually selflessly encouraged us to indulge in this activity most of the time while they ran around taking care of everything else necessary to our existence those first two weeks.  The words "thank you" and "you da bomb" somehow seem insufficient to express our appreciation for their time and efforts, so we will keep working on something more,  but I am  not sure the English language has words to express our gratitude.

Ruby and Owen's first week of life was one of extremes on many accounts.  We experienced very low temperatures and several feet of snow...which was exciting, and also added to everyone's to-do list as we did our best to maintain the driveway, stay warm (thanks for manning the wood burning stove Papa!), and get out of the house to hunt and gather for things like food and diapers. 

Owen all bundled up by the stove trying to keep warm while taking a nap. :)

Despite the weather and surgery and general whatnot, we did get out for our first family walk around the neighborhood on their one-week birthday.  Kessler was grateful (although once Nana arrived she got a lot more exercise than we were able to give her) and we enjoyed introducing Rooster and OT to neighbors while getting some fresh air.

Holding two newborns at the same time is a challenge, but we each figured out our ways to get it done. Chip's bigger and dexterous hands seemed to be able to grab them both and football hold them and/or get them to his lap together, while I resorted to the Moby wrap (thanks Dee!) to hold them both at once...which also allowed me to run over to the neighbor's house with things in my hands too!

It just made me laugh...
"When I have a kid, I want to put him in one of those strollers for twins, then run around the mall looking frantic."  ~Steven Wright

Introducing....

Owen Thomas DuRoss

AKA- OT, Little Man, or Bug. Born 12/23/10 at St Marks Hospital in SLC, UT at 3:01pm, weighing 5lbs 8ozs.

He and his sister were pulled out into the world in the same minute, so technically, they are exactly the same age. Owen, to me, has DuRoss written all over him. He has the narrow DuRoss face with the very distinctive chin his dad and uncle Chris sport as well. He has a few traits from the Mulliken side as well, making for a very handsome combination in our opinion. ;) He is our sensitive boy, wearing expressions of joy, determination, and concern on his face I never would have imagined possible for a newborn. His Oma said the other day, "Look at that face, when he speaks, people are going to listen!" When he cries he has a lower lip that trembles, making him and you feel so vulnerable, breaks your heart, and makes you want to fix whatever it is that could be wrong as SOON as possible.

and

Ruby Elizabeth DuRoss

AKA- Rooster, Ruby Du, RuDu, Ru, Rubes, RED (her initials), or whatever else you come up with- the nicknames seem to be endless. :) Born 12/23/10 at St Marks Hospital in SLC, UT at 3:01 pm weighing 6lbs 3ozs.

Ruby seems to have more of an overall Mulliken look and already makes lots of noise, leading us to believe she will be talkative like a Mulliken. She also has several DuRoss traits making for another perfect creation in our opinions. Her Nana said, "Look at her face, such wisdom!." Grandmothers (or Nanas and Omas, know things) She is calm and serene much of the time, gazing around intently at things, unless upset, at which point her cry seems to say "I am pissed! Get out the way!"

It has been amazing to see their personalities. I guess I didn't think newborns had much of a personality. Or, maybe it is that having two side by side which allows us to really see the differences, similarities and distinguish personality from regular baby behavior. Anyway, all very fun.

One last photo from the hospital. I am sure these two will be great friends one day. Right now they don't seem to acknowledge each other much even though they share a crib and breastfeed only inches from each other. However, in this photo, it appears they are communicating...perhaps just verbalizing some feelings left over from the womb.

"Sibling relationships—and 80 percent of Americans have at least one— outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust."
Erica E. Goode

The adventure begins!

The final hours of pregnancy- we left the house at 4am on 12/23/10 with many fresh feet of snow on the ground and no power at our house due to down power lines.

I was induced around 8am, labored until I was dilated to 9cm, and then ended up in an emergency C-section when the babies heart rates dropped to a scary place. In less than 15 minutes I went from standing, laboring with Chip in one room, to laying in bed getting an epidural, Chip got thrown scrubs and was told to "put these on and meet us in the OR" (where they locked him out and barely let him in, in time to see both babies pulled out within seconds of eachother), the epidural didn't take effect before things got under way in the OR so I got knocked out entirely, and then woke up to Chip holding our daughter and son (pictured below- this scene will forever be imprinted in my mind)...seriously, all that...15 minutes. The last thing I remember the doctor saying is, "these babies need to come out now!" and I saw her literally running around the OR. Everyone did an amazing job- worked like a well oiled machine- and Ruby and Owen joined us outside the womb for the first time. An amazing whirlwind for sure. One we will never forget.

So, as I attempt to remember and record our first few weeks as a family of five (including Kessler), I will start with the hospital, where we spent the first three days together in a 10x10 room getting to know each other. Stay tuned for pictures from our first days at home, and onward. And, on a final note, we are SO grateful to the doctors and nurses that worked over the Christmas holiday with smiles on their faces and love in their hearts for us and our new family when I am sure they would have rather been with their own families.

Owen (baby B) shortly after taking his first breath

Daddy gives Ruby and Owen their first baths.

I have to take this opportunity to talk about my incredible husband. I thought I was in love with him before 12/23/10...well, I guess I fell in love with him all over again and had feelings for him I never knew could exist. That is pretty cool after almost 10 years of marriage. He was so attentive to Ruby, Owen, and myself. It was a somewhat strange (and certainly unplanned on our parts) birthing scenario. I was unconscious as our babies were brought into the world and for the first 6-8 hours of their lives I was pretty out of it and in a drugged haze. I felt so helpless, not sure where our babies were sometimes or clear about how well they were doing, and unable to meet their needs in those first hours...not how I pictured starting my career as a mom. And, although feeling helpless is not normally comfortable for me, I remember feeling at peace with the situation and confident that Chip was taking care of, checking in on, and loving our babies when I was not able to. I remember feeling like he really was my hero, our hero...and that Ruby, Owen, and I were very fortunate people to have Chip in our lives.

The proud Nana and Papa

Our first family photo (not complete without Kessler of course :)

Love these three

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."
Dr. Seuss

Crestview Dr.

The new house on Crestview Dr.- 36 weeks pregnant

The view from our front porch- on a clear day you can see some peaks in the distance

Chip and I (and Kessler) assembling the two cribs- feels good to actually be getting ready

The weeks are blurring... Kessler, what week are we?

Not too many pictures, but a few capture this busy and exciting time. We are LOVING our new house and neighborhood. Great people, great views, great space...not sure what else we could ask for right now. It has been a flurry of gathering random things- a trash can for that bathroom, a bed set for our room, random missing items for babies' arrival, wood to burn in the stove, etc. The list has seemed endless, but slowly and surely we have chipped away at it and are feeling pretty settled and ready to bring two new family members home. In addition to the nesting, Chip has started his new job on the trauma team and is loving it as well. He is putting all that he worked so hard to learn the past few years to work while gaining even more skills and experiences as well. So far, it seems to be a good fit!

So, we are down to the final moments. Doctor told us last week to come to our appointment tomorrow "packed and ready" just in case. Hopefully we have another week for them to grow and develop in the womb, but if that is not the best place for them anymore, bring it on! We can't wait to meet them!

Synchroni City

Family photo in the POD. Kessler seemed worried that we were going to forget to pack her. She would crawl into the POD whenever given the chance.

In the last four weeks-

• Pack Portland pad into a POD
• Give two weeks notice and wrap everything up at work
• Say goodbye to our friends in PDX
• Research future places to live once we arrive in UT
• Make the drive, in two days, with the remainder of our things, two cars, and the dog to UT (nice stop at Josh’s parents in Boise along the way)
• Settle into Chris and Erika’s guest accommodations
• Have family dinners and play with Finn
• Find a house to buy
• Buy it
• Realize we need two four wheel drive cars to live in Summit Park
• Sell the Matrix
• Look for a new car
• Meet our new doctor at St Marks
• Set up a million appts (NST, ultra sounds, and weekly check-ins with the doc)- three in our first week
• Chip- navigate hospital credentialing and Utah PA licensing
  
• Four day breather in Driggs to sit in some silence and contemplate all the changes

Week 32- In front of our amazing accommodations with Chris, Erika, and Finn in SLC. We showed up to a fall extravaganza in Utah.

To do this week-

• Chip- start work at IMC on the trauma team
  
• Close on house
• More doctors appts
• Buy a 4WD car
  
• Celebrate everything we have to be thankful for with friends and family (one of the very things we are MOST thankful for)
• Snow blow the 3 feet of snow that fell at our house so that our POD can be delivered
• Move into new house
• Audrey- try to not help or stress too much- keep babies in so they can go on the list for at least next week…maybe even a few weeks out

Week 33- All of us feeling SO good about our choice to come back to the Wasatch all this place has to offer.

Wow- these lists actually look doable. I mean, they must be doable…we did and are doing them. However, it is amazing the number of details that didn’t make it onto the list, like the 26 (yes, he counted) phone calls it took to get our closing date secured yesterday due to complications, or the number of hours we spent talking about the different approach of our new doc and whether we were okay with it or not. Not to mention the emotional drain of saying goodbye to coworkers, clients, and friends, being 30+ weeks pregnant, and then being in and out of houses trying to find the right place, with some sciatic pain on my end and a twisted ankle on Chip’s to boot! But, we did it…. and we are feelin pretty good about it so far. We feel so fortunate, blessed, lucky, cared for, supported, and loved, which is what has made all of this possible. So, thank you to those of you who have been encouraging, helped us move our stuff, are praying for us, putting us up, making us dinner, and phoning us to let us know you are thinking about us and helping us weigh through tough decisions. We could not have accomplished the tasks above on our own. We hope you all enjoy an excellent holiday this week. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kessler and her new roommate, Hudson.

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." -Christopher Robin to Pooh (A.A. Milne)