The alarm went off on Saturday morning 5am. With bags packed well in advance, we zipped of to the airport with one of Boston’s finest cabbies behind the wheel.

We packed as efficently as possble. We even sent a significant amount of supplies down with other relatives. All told, one (monster) bag to be checked, four carry-ons, two bjorns, two car seats, and a stroller.

Check in went great. And security was surprisingly fluid. (TSA officers and airport security even demonstrated a level of helpfulness.)

Once we got to the gate, our gate agent went out of his way to give us a row together. Huge thanks to Gate Agent at USAirways Gate B12!

Camden wins the Easy Flier Award. She got settled quickly and conked out for 90 mins. Marin was very well behaved but much more interested in the sights and sounds of the plane than sleep.

3 hours 30 mins via plane to Saint Thomas >>> 45 min shuttle to the Red Hook dock >>> 25 minute ferry ride to Saint John >>> 10 minute car ride to our destination. And not one tear from the girls.

Our nap schedule is a little off (wink) but we are all happy to be together with the family enjoying the warm Carribean trade winds.

We’ll keep you posted of how we do this week. In the meantime, here are a couple lessons that we learned regarding travel:

- Having car seats for travel with infants is extremely valuable. Graham thought that we should skip the seats and use the Bjorns, but being able to put one or both babies is so helpful. Thankfully, Kirsten won this debate.

- A couple of you mentioned that bottles at takeoff and landing help with the pressure of the altitude change. Worked like a charm. Thanks for the reco!

Finally, we want to thank some of our Twin Twitter friends who provided great sage advice on how to travel with two peanuts. We felt confident and prepared with all of your thoughts. Sincere thanks. Let’s hope the return flight goes as well as the outbound.

We’ve shed our fleece pajamas for short sleeve onesies. Time to hit the beach!

Love,

K&G&M&C

PS We miss Wrigs but we know she’s in great hands with Bri, Corinne, and her b-fry Bob.

Now Boarding, @TwinLiving!

Now Boarding, @TwinLiving!

Now Boarding, @TwinLiving!

Now Boarding, @TwinLiving!

Arrived in Saint Thomas!

Arrived in Saint Thomas!

Arrived at Red Hook Harbour, Prepping for our ferry ride (at the Rum Bar!)

Arrived in Saint John!

We thought we’d provide a quick overview of our experiences:

Babies R Us:
I’ve only been a dad for 25 days, but I’ve grown to have low expectations of shopping at Babies R Us.

How about some love for the Mom's still recovering?

We ordered a glider from them on May 1st with the promise by the sales agent that the glider would be here in the same month that the babies arrive. Babies arrive in June. No glider.

We’ve made three phone calls to the Babies R Us store that we ordered from for an update and here was the result:

Them: “Thanks for calling Babies R Us Everett, how can I help you?”

Us: “Hi, I’m checking on a furniture order.”

Them: “Hold please.”

Us: <HOLD MUSIC>
SET #1: “Girl from Ipanema”
SET #2: “If You Like Pina Coladas” Song
SET #3: “Black or White” by Michael Jackson

Them <after 14 minute hold>: “Furniture Department”

Us: “Any chance we could get an update on our glider? Our order number was OU812″

Them: “We’ll call you back with an update in the next 24 hours.”

Us: Still waiting for a call, faithfully.

It’s one thing to be patient but we’ve been through this four times now. Let us know if you’ve had a similar situation.

A friend recently said that Babies R Us Customer Service “rivals that of a busy Dairy Queen. (And for those of you who haven’t been to a Dairy Queen recently, they are not known for their Customer Service.)”

How can a national chain be so poorly managed? It’s as if they purposefully recruit individuals not interested in infant/child care.

They have one thing going for them: STORK PARKING.*  Other than that, not much positive to say about them. Further posts to come.

Our Next Discussion: Diapers.com and how it reconciled a tough problem.

XXOOXXOO.
K&G&M&C

*We love STORK PARKING, but how about C-SECTION PARKING as well? Bounce it off of your Marketing Loyalty & Retention Team.

The drive home was a little longer than normal. Didn’t go over 10 mph. And probably won’t for the rest if my life.

On to the next chapter.
K&G&M&C&W

We’re excited to be closer to the peanuts. We’ve alredy had a couple amazing blowouts that have challenged the structural integrity of these diapers.

Hugs and kisses from the 13th floor.
K&G&M&C

View from our new room.

Mom is waiting to spend some QT with babies and getting some rest. I am too amped up so I am splitting time between the nursery and the Nurse’s Station.

Still haven’t taken off my OR scrubs. I’m waiting for someone to say to me: “hey, those are OR scrubs!” to which I will reply “Oh, are they?”

And for those of you scoring for style points at home, the Docs and Nurses gave me bonus points for yellow crocs in the operating room.

Marin Judy Nelson (5 lbs 7 ounces) arrived approx. 11:45pm.

And Camden Colby Nelson (6 lbs even) arrived seconds thereafter.

20 fingers, 20 toes. Both babies have blond hair and blue eyes.

Kirsten labored most of the afternoon but Marin (Baby A presenting) was just too stubborn to allow for natural child birth. At approx 10pm our wonderful doctors and nurses concluded that K had labored enough and it was time to get the babies out.

Prep for a c-section took about 45 mins and before we knew it we were in the operating room ready to go.

You all would be so proud of Kirsten. She was so strong throughout the course of the last two days. Spending 36 hours inducing labor just to have a c-section was somewhat frustrating but we always knew it was a possibility. She was absolutely amazing and showed just how strong she was today.

And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the great doctors and nurses of MGH Blake 14. We will only be with them for a couple more hours before we move down to the 13th floor, but they feel like family to us: especially RNs Joanne and Maureen.

So, a long day comes to a close. And the beginning of the rest of our life begins.

Thank you for all your support, stay tuned for many more updates, and please help K and I welcome Camden and Marin to the world!

They have been so helpful. So informative. And so comforting. The world needs more of them.

Thanks Joanne. Susan. Natalya, and everyone else that has helped pitch in so far.

They say that inducing labor takes a while. Well, we’re learning just how long. Kirsten is doing a brilliant job but We’ve still got a ways to go.

We’re resting quietly on the 14th floor. Watching the Sox do a number on the Marlins. Lots of breathing. Lots of Coldplay.

We’re taking requests so send a “long distance dedication” to Kirsten and the twins.

Epideral coming in an hour or two. And then hopefully a couple hours of sleep.

Love,
K&G&?&?