Recharged!

Jenn had a conference in Washington, DC at the end of last week. Spouses were not only invited, they were paid for. I will admit that I slightly panicked when I heard about this many months ago. I've only been away from the girls for a night here and there. I couldn't turn down the opportunity though, so off I went. I met Jenn down there on Thursday and stayed through Sunday. Three whole nights and almost four days of freedom!

I did have some anxiety over leaving since the longest I've been away from them is about 36 hours. I know, I know! I desperately needed the break. Once I got to the airport, all was well. The anxiety started to subside.

It takes a city to raise twins!

T&Q were in very good hands. They spent the first two days with my parents. The girls came back to our house on Friday night to stay with Rob and Kelly (my bro and his girlfriend). On Saturday, Michael and Paige (other bro and his girlfriend) came by to take the girls to the park and hang out for a few hours. They returned to my parents house on Sunday for lunch and a nap. It is because of the six of them that I could truly relax and enjoy my time away.  If it wasn't for my family, I couldn't have comfortably left the girls for three nights. T&Q, of course, had a fantastic, fun-filled weekend. They got to go swimming, to a birthday party, watch Sesame Street with Grandpa, eat croissants from the French bakery and play at the park, among other things!

Jenn and I, on the other hand, got to sleep in past 7am! I got to flashback to the pre-twins days of going where I want, when I want. Not gonna lie...it was fantastic. It was nice to be selfish since the last 2 years have been the complete opposite. We took in the sights of DC, seeing as much as we could despite the shutdown. We enjoyed unseasonably warm weather. Summer in October. 34C or 90F. As much as I'd like to say that we partied, I can't. My body was exhausted and completely let down. I slept for 10 hours on most nights! It was a good mixture of work functions and our own fun.

The time away was the best thing I could have done. It was a rough September in our house. I now feel rested and recharged. My patience and energy level are back up. Since I'm with the girls 24/7, I never get the chance to miss them. I loved the time away, but truly missed them. I got the greatest hug from Teagan when we arrived back.

Since we picked them up on yesterday afternoon, they've been quite clingy. It's understandable though -- I've never left them before so it was confusing. Bedtime took ages last night. Q finally went to bed at about 9:30! Last Friday and Saturday were also the first days ever that they didn't have any breast milk. I did wonder if they would self-wean after my time away. It was actually quite the contrary. Within minutes of arriving home yesterday, Teagan was asking for milk. She completely dried me out last night, asking me confused, "Mommy, no more milk?"

My advice for newer parents...get away, even for a night. Don't wait! Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder...and the patience grow thicker :)