like a cold splash of water.

Home. It is hard. Twins. Harder. That is the conclusion I have come to over the past few days. All through the pregnancy, people would comment about the sleep deprivation and the constant feeding/changing. But like anything painful, you can't know what it feels like until you know what it feels like.

The help that has come to our rescue has been unbelievably necessary. Nonna (as she prefers) has been the most amazingly helpful and necessary addition to our household as I can think of. She has helped us shop, do laundry, cook, change, burp and clothe the babies and anything else. If you are expecting a baby (and twins especially) GET HELP after coming home from the hospital.

But the Misses is having a hard time recovering and that is making things a bit more challenging than anticipated. Also unexpected is how dang long it takes for Twin A to burp. 15 min, 20 min, 30 min...45 min sometimes. And if you don't burp him, watch out because some carpet/couch/clothes are going to take a direct hit.

Observations thus far:

Twin A: (defined by being closer to the cervix during pregnancy)

First to squawk, first to calm down. Higher pitched wail when naked, acts like he doesn't need to cuddle with Twin B. Less of an appetite and much more of a fighter when it comes to changing time. Legs crossed and pee-shooter out.

Twin B:

Lover not a fighter. Likes to cuddle with Twin A when sleeping and is fairly mellow. He will not cry very easily, but when he does he gets going and calms down less easily. Right before a latch on the old milk factory, likes to let out a squeal of either delight or fright. I can't tell yet. Monster eater and much more alert when awake. Caught him checking himself out in the mirror today.

Tomorrow is their one-week old day. Just painted Twin A's toe and finger nail today as we cannot still tell them apart. I can't tell you how maddening it is to try to bond with a baby only to realize you had the wrong baby in mind. Also today, Nonna and Grammy (the other white meat) gave each an introductory bath. That is a perfect illustration of what this week has been for us. Like a cold splash of water up the quester, we're just trying to control the shiver.