Where have the last 2 months gone???

Wow. Just wow.  I will begin this update with some comical realizations of motherhood. Feel free to empathize or sympathize at will.

1. People tell you that you'll be tired. Tired like you never were before. And no amount of telling will prepare your baby addled brain for the level of exhaustion that comes from a 24 hour schedule.

I feel as if the last two months have been one long day since sleeping is a series of naps, and I am now awake during the night several times.

And I have no room for complaining!! My babies are sleeping well! They have recently moved up to sleeping 5 (glorious) hours in the middle of the night. My subconscious has kicked into gear again, and I am dreaming, weird strange dreams, but at least I am reaching deep sleep!

2. People tell you that breast fed babies' poop doesn't REALLY stink. That is smells sweet. This is of course a fabrication of some other mother's baby addled brain. It is poop. It stinks. No matter how cute your baby coos at you while you change their diaper... sometimes, the smell of what we Coopers have defined as old macaroni and cheese, makes you gag. End of story.

3. People will tell you the joys of breast feeding. They will tell you about the lasting connection you will feel and the bond that will grow between you and your baby. They will tell you about the nutritional benefits. They will leave out, however, that you will begin to feel like a baby food factory, the proverbial milk cow. (I have much more pity for milk cows as of late, except I keep thinking maybe I could get ahold of that pump they use to cut the time in half at least!!)

Oh, they also leave out that your body, or at least parts of it, no longer belong to you. They become public property and are also simultaneously on display in public due to the necessity of feeding your child/children. I think this is compounded in twins since well... I have to get both the girls out to feed the girls. I was never much for exposing myself in public... How about you?

On that note, we are pumping and feeding the girls. Much less stress, still nutritional, and the added bonus... Josh can help feed! :)

4. People will tell you that your life will be completely different. That you will not be able to do things that you used to do prior to your sweet bundle of joy.

This of course is the understatement of the century. You can never in your wildest dreams begin to imagine the planning, packing, and time it takes to simply go to a friend's house, or run a few errands. The sheer volume of stuff is enough to make anyone take pause because YOU as the "adult" must be prepared for every eventuality occurring not just once but multiple times in one trip.

I have this one times two. I must have enough diapers, clothes, blankets, bibs, food, medicine etc. just in case each baby decided to spit up, poop out, get sick multiple times all over themselves...

5. And I would like to add my own personal admonition. If you on the off chance do not like laundry, or a cluttered living environment. DO NOT have children until you are willing to sacrifice your home to mounds of both.

However, I have to tell you that no one, NO ONE will prepare you for the following:

My girls are the light of my life. The absolute privilege of being a part of creation, the making of the future, is overwhelming. Hearing them coo and laugh, watching them grow and change simply between naps is amazing.

I have never felt more loved, complete, and purposeful in all my life. I have never known with more clarity than I do now how much God loves us, as His children.

I truly appreciate everything my parents have done for me, and see many more of their decisions and sacrifices as wholly for my benefit. I see my past with such an aching transparency. I see that my life has been building towards this time, preparing me for the hardship of raising these two miracles.

But nothing and no one prepared me for how much I would love my daughters. Their sweet faces and plump bodies, their growing personalities, the hope of their future, the absolute perfection of holding them in my arms, the way they make me laugh and cry daily all blindsided me completely.

There was also no knowing how close to Josh this would bring me. That in these two, we are physically one. Motherhood is more romantic than I had ever imagined.

Motherhood is absolutely, positively glorious.

Twinformation:
Both girls weigh 9lbs 6 oz. They are eating up to 4 oz a feeding. They are sleeping up to 5 hours at night. They are both holding their heads up, and carefully watching the world around them. They love their baths. They are both cooing and smiling like crazy.

In short, they are perfect. :)