First things first, I would like to report that with 99.999% (Luke) and 99.996% (Clare) certainty, there is 'Very Strong Support' that Luke and Clare are the descendants of 'good Midwestern stock' (see post #19). Let the passport making begin!
Being away from the US almost a month now, one of the things we are surprised to learn that we miss (and we never would have predicted this) is commercials. TV for us is pretty much one of a handful of English-speaking channels: CNN Asia (there are only so many Air Malaysian flight disasters we can watch), HBO (a random selection of movies including Men in Black, Les Miserables, The Smurfs 2, and Superman), National Geographic (yawn after awhile), and our most watched station, TLC Asia (Project Runway, Extreme Makeover Weight Loss, Sister Wives, Breaking Amish, Say Yes to the Dress, etc....yeah, sad that this is about as good as it gets). Most TLC shows are from seasons past, but the worst part is, by far, watching the same 8-10 commercials promoting their limited programming over and over again. I'd do anything to see somebody advertising something (or a game show if someone is granting me wishes!), and I'd do anything and more to eliminate Honey Boo-Boo.
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| We're sick of being told we better 'redneckognize'...go away |
Yesterday, we headed back to the hospital for our 2-week checkup. We stopped at our favorite food stall again for lunch on the way,
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| Nothing spicy, please |
and noticed that a whole lot more of these are beginning to pop up in front of businesses and in public spaces.
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| The Queen's Birthday, also when Thai's celebrate Mother's Day, is coming soon...Aug. 12 |
After lunch, we made our way to the hospital, checked in, and headed to the scales. We were, again, hoping to see some weight gains. We are proud to say that both or our children managed to urinate on the scale this week. Fantastic. Clare weighed in first at 2508g/5.5 lbs (up 368g/0.8 lbs from last week), and Luke weighed in at 2714g/6.0lbs (up 424g/1.0lbs from last week).
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| Whoa, Bubba! Good boy! |
The numbers made the nearly 150 combined feedings and sleep deprivation all count for something! Next, we waited to see the doctor, sitting in the pastel colored seating area. The twins were wide awake so we all hung out looking at the other families around us and the strange Thai cartoons on the TV screen.
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| Clare psyching herself up for another successful checkup |
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| Luke doing the 'Luke pose' |
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| Me imitating Luke, or is it Luke imitating me?? |
Our pediatrician was actually tending to a freshly born baby, so we had quite a long wait. One thing that humored us during the wait was a girl wearing a t-shirt with English wording.
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| WTF?? Totally lost in translation! |
We have seen this all over Asia this summer, in China, Cambodia, and now, Thailand. Usually the phrases are something insignificant and/or nonsensical and we guess it must be 'cool' over here to wear English on your shirt. This shirt left us stunned. I am guessing (hoping) this girl (who was with her family) has no idea what her shirt says.
Soon, we were in Dr. T's office for her to take a closer look at the twins. She applauded the fast weight gains saying, 'now is good...later, not good'. Clare is looking great. Her umbilical cord fell off a couple of days ago.
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| Now there's a little less Clare |
We asked about Clare's inability to stay comfortably asleep for more than an hour or so at a time, especially at night. The doctor told us babies don't know night vs. day for the first few months. As far as any gas issues she might have, the doctor vividly described to us how hard it is for babies to pass their business due to such a tiny opening at the exit. Most of her commentary sounded like, 'better get used to it'. Luke had a good report as well. The doctor says he is doing well to catch up to a normal 2-week old. The Knapp-Heald twins are rocking these checkups! We made one last appointment for an eye check in about a week. This should be our last trip to the hospital here in Bangkok. We can't say enough about how pleased we have been with the level of care at BNH Hospital.
Now, it's off to Saturday night dinner. Clare and Luke are taking us out to celebrate this week's work and gains. We are hoping our momentum continues into next week.
