After all, it was a Maternity Ward.
Over five and a half weeks, Janne certainly saw a lot of women come and go (some back a second time after having been admitted, determined to have had a 'false alarm', and then sent home). Lorena was one of the women with whom Janne connected and became friends. I used to see her husband, Nick, in the ward's kitchen with their oldest boy, Nicholas. They were usually grabbing something out of the fridge to take back to Lorena's room or just getting her ice water. (I got Janne a LOT of ice water over her stay. I'm a little surprised she's not still in the bathroom, actually.) Nick and I'd always nervously say "hi" to one another.
Hey.
If you're not nervous in this situation, you haven't been paying attention.
On Tuesday this week, Janne got to visit Lorena at her home while I was at work. You see, not only did Janne meet Lorena at the ward in McMaster, but we ran into each other again at St. Joe's hospital while Liam and Morgan were in neonatal intensive care, because Lorena eventually gave birth at St. Joe's, rather than McMaster. "If you're just joining us", as they say in my line of work, Liam and Morgan were seven weeks early, and weighed only 4.2 pounds and 3.99 pounds, respectively. They had no complicated issues, so, rather than stay in McMaster NICU, considered Level 3, they were transferred to St. Joe's, a Level 2 NICU, and cared for by the wonderful nurses there. We learned a lot from them.
Back to Lorena.
Four days prior to Janne giving birth to The Tinks at McMaster,
Lorena gave birth to Noah and Julia at St. Joseph's.
Yep.
Twins.
I used to think twins were far more uncommon.
I've come to learn otherwise.
Twins are frickin' EVERYwhere!
Check your living room carefully.
You might have a pair that you didn't know about.
When Janne first showed me this picture, it reminded me, for some reason,
of a scene from the old Monkees TV show, all colourful and psychedelic and
spinnin' around. Then again, maybe I should check my caffeine levels.
So, this is Nick, Nicholas and Lorena with only one of the twins, Julia.
Apparently, they've lost Noah under a couch cushion.
All of a sudden, I'm not sure about these people.
Anyway, Lorena's and Nick's bundles of joy were also born about seven weeks early, with Noah weighing slightly more than Liam did at birth, and Julia weighing slightly less than Morgan.
We saw them many times in St. Joe's NICU, and Janne and Lorena exchanged phone numbers, and have kept in touch. They obviously have shared very similar paths to becoming mothers of twins. I'm sorry I didn't get to go see everyone on Tuesday, but I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time. The twins got along great, young Nicholas really enjoyed meeting Liam and Morgan, too, and Janne got some pretty neat pictures of the event.
First rule of Twin Club? There are no rules in Twin Club.
I love watching babies tip over (as long as they're in a safe
environment, of course) when they don't yet have enough
strength to keep themselves upright. You'd be amazed at how
many new parents revel in putting their babies in positions
in which they know there's no possible way they can stay.
It's sorta like cow-tipping, but it happens in slow motion.
They're in the middle of a domino-style slow tip above.
You know, an afternoon like this may not sound like much to most,
but trust me - "We don't get out much" is not a punch line when you
have twins. It's your life.
I'm glad Janne and The Tinks got out.
