My First Days at a Stay at Home Mom

This week was the first week that I was home by myself with the girls while Keith was at work. The first day was pretty rough. I could not feed, change or hold them fast enough. They were both screaming at the top of their lungs!! Thankfully in the afternoon Marcy came over and helped me. I have never been so happy to see another set of arms in my life! The next day Marcy left in the early afternoon, and I was once again alone with the girls. Things were a lot better though. They were very mellow and just woke up to eat. Then yesterday I did it all by myself all day! Things went well, and we even ran some errands. It was a very good day.

This stay at home mom thing is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Its definitely a 24 hour a day job and its very tiresome. Its all good until they both decide to cry at the same time. When that happens I just want to break down and cry with them. I'm sure we will get into a rhythm soon and things will be much easier as time goes on.

Both of the girls are doing fabulous. They are both over 7lbs now, and their pediatrician is very happy with their progress. They both have made great strides in the eating department as well. Typically they will now eat between 3-4oz at each feeding, and they have finally mastered the suck, swallow, breath thing. Kylee has a little bit of reflux, so the Dr prescribed some prevacid and we started adding rice cereal to her bottles to help her keep it down. It seems like it is working.

Apparently Enfamil has a program right now for families with multiples and they are offering free formula for an entire year. My pediatrician is going to contact the rep and take care of it for us. That is such good news for us, right now we are spending about $15 a day in formula, and they aren't really eating that much at this point. It could not have come at a better time.

The nights aren't too bad, even though we are not even close to them sleeping through the night. Typically, they wake up when they are hungry and I feed them then they just go right back to sleep. If only one of them wakes up, I will wake the other one so they are somewhat on the same schedule.

That's pretty much all of the news in our world right now. Hope everyone has a safe and fun new years!!

We're Moving Home

Its been a crazy last few months and we having not lived at our house since September 15th, and its now time to go home. Originally we were going to wait until the kitchen was done being remodeled, but our house has been left unattended for too long. The cats need some loving, the lawn needs mowing, and most importantly my tempurpedic mattress misses me so. I am so excited to be back in my own house with my family. We have been working towards this moment for so long and it is almost here.

The girls are doing great. I think they are having a growth spurt because they both have been sleeping quite a bit. Tomorrow they both have an appointment with the pediatrician, and I am hoping they have had good weight gain in the last week.

On Tuesday Kylee had an appointment with the optometrist. They found that she has stage 1 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow and spread throughout the retina, the tissue that lines the back of the eye. It is very common in premature babies. At this point they are not worried about it but they are going to follow her very closely to make sure that it does not progress. If it does progress they will use a laser to stop the growth of the blood vessels. She has her next appointment next wednesday.

The feedings are still going so-so. Neither one of them is doing spectacular, but they are doing just enough to get by. Kaylyn is a little better and a little more consistant but that has been the case from the beginning. I am told the older they get the better their feedings will go. The main thing right now is that they continue to gain weight.

I was reading today that 70% of parents of multiples end up in divorce. Kind of a staggering statistic. I was talking with Keith about that, and not only could neither one of us imagine doing this alone. We both agreed that this whole situation has made our marriage just that much stronger. I love him so much. He is such a great husband and an awesome father.

That is all for now. If I dont get a chance to update in the next few days I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas. I know we will! I got the best Christmas present in the entire world-My two beautiful baby girls!!

I Actually Got some sleep last night

Keith ended up picking up a double time shift last night, so I was on my own once again. It was such a good night though. One would wake up, I would feed her put her down and get up the second one. No screaming at the same time, no staying awake for hours on end. It was absolutely wonderful! I can only hope that every night will go so smoothly.

Today we are taking the girls to get their pictures done. I am really excited, I hope the girls cooperate. It will be the first outing to a public place with both of them. I'm sure it will be an adventure.

I love being a twin mommy!

We made it through the first night...

Well, Keith had to work this morning so he bailed to the couch and left me by myself with the girls last night. They woke up for their 2am feeding and I grabbed who I thought was Kylee (it was actually Kaylyn and I didn't even realize it until I went to grab the other one!) and fed her. The entire time I was feeding one the other was screaming at the top of her lungs! The whole feeding process took about an hour and a half!! After all that crying you would think they would go right to sleep, Right? Wrong! They were up and fussing for at least another 2 hours. By the time I got them both to sleep I had to wake them up for their next feeding! So pretty much I think I got a whopping total of 2 hours of sleep for the entire night. The joys of being a twin mom I suppose.

This morning we have already done 2 baths and right now Grandma is watching them so I can take a quick nap before the next feeding. This mom thing is a lot of work, but it is so worth it. They are absolutely amazing!!

This afternoon the girls and I are going to take a road trip down the hill to see Kristi. It will be my first outing with both of the girls by myself. It should be interesting.

Hopefully tonight will go a little smoother. Keith doesn't have to work tomorrow so he will be helping me. I'm sure once we are able to establish a routine things will go much more efficiently.

It is so weird that I don't have to go down to the hospital today. It has been my daily routine for months now. I even called the girls primary nurse this morning (at the same time I normally would for my morning update) because she was not there yesterday when Kylee was discharged. She was very sad that she didn't get to say goodbye, so I think we are going to do lunch sometime soon.

Im off to catch up on some ZZZ's while I can....

Both of the Twinfants are Finally Home!!

Kylee did well with her feedings last night and gained weight, and so she was discharged this afternoon!!! It is so amazing to finally have them both at home, and just in time for Christmas!!

Kylee is catching up to her sister in the weight department. She now weighs 6lbs 5oz, and Kaylyn weighs 6lbs 6oz. It is crazy how much they look alike. Kylee has an Umbilical Hernia and for now that is the only way that we can tell them apart.

Kaylyn had 2 doctors appointments today. First she had to go to the Optometrist, and everything was perfect. And then she had to have a follow up appointment with her pediatrician, and that also went very well. She is gaining weight and she should and is doing great.

Now the fun will begin! Im sure tonight is going to be a little challenging, but I am sure I will get the hang of it. Keith has to work tomorrow, so I am pretty much on my own. Here we go!!

Kylee might come home tomorrow

Lets keep our fingers crossed that she continues to do well with her feedings, and that she gains weight tonight. If she accomplishes these 2 things she will be able to come home tomorrow!! She has been doing significantly better with her feedings, not she just needs to remain consistent.

Kaylyn is doing fabulously at home. Last night she decided that 2am was play time and refused to go back to sleep after her feeding. She was not screaming, but she likes to make all kinds of little noises. Daddy had to work this morning so he was forced to retreat to the couch so he could sleep. I think I finally got her back down at 4am.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day! Beside the fact that Kylee may be coming home, Kaylyn has a ophthalmologist appointment in the morning and then she has to see her pediatrician in the afternoon. If Kylee does end up getting discharged tomorrow Keith is going to take the day off of work so that will help out a lot.

We will be going back to our house in Temecula once our Kitchen is complete. I do have to say that it has been nice staying with Keith's parents, they have been such a huge help. Keith went up to the house earlier this week and got the tile counter tops done, all that is left to do is finish the painting and lay the tile on the floor. It all has to be done before the girls can come home because I don't want them around all the dust and fumes.

I just love being a mommy. Both of my girls are so wonderful, and I am just so blessed.

Kylee got her NG tube out today!

Lets hope that she continues to do well with her feedings and it stays out!! If she does do well, she should be able to come home by the end of this week. Kylee is doing fabulous and now weighs 6lbs 1oz!

Kaylyn is doing great being home. After that first night, she settled right in and only wakes up once a night when she is hungry. If there is anything good about having your kids in the NICU for over 9 weeks, its that they are able to establish a pretty good schedule. It definitely makes our lives a lot easier.

It has been such a long road to get where we are and we are almost done!! I cannot wait to have my whole family home together!!

Kaylyn is Home!!

Kaylyn came home on Thursday night after 62 days in the NICU, and so far so good!! The first night, she had no interest what so ever in sleeping in her pack and play. Keith and I finally gave in and let her sleep between us. I know you are not supposed to do that, but I was so exhausted and did not have the brain power to figure out an alternative.

Yesterday we had a very busy day. First, Kaylyn and I went to go visit Kylee at the hospital. The nurses were glad to see Kaylyn, they were already starting to miss her. Then Kaylyn had her first Dr. appointment all the way in Temecula, so we drove up there. She now weighs 6lbs and is 19in long. She is in the 25-50th percentile, and the Dr. was very pleased. She has to go back in a week for a recheck to make sure that she continues to gain weight.

Last night was much better. We got a little space heater and that warmed the room right up. We also used the "Sleep Bear" that Michelle got for them that makes white noise so they are able to go to sleep. That combination worked beautfully, and she only woke up twice to eat and then she went right back to sleep.

Kylee is doing good. She is still not very consistant with her feedings, so we are thinking she will probably be home in another week or so. Then the fun will really begin!!

I am so happy, and I just love my little girls so much. It really has been a long road to get here, but it has been more than worth it. Soon we will all be together as a family!

We're Almost There...

The Dr's say if everything continues on track, as we would like it to, there is a possibility that Kaylyn may come home this weekend!! Kylee shouldn't be to far after that.

The feedings are coming along, but we still have some improvement to make. Kaylyn no longer has her NG tube, and she is taking all of her feedings by bottle but she is no means an expert. Often times she gets really tired and I really have to work with her to finish it. Most of the time she will finish it though, so that is good.

Kylee is now allowed to PO all of her feedings, and whatever she does not finish they gavage into her NG tube. Sometimes she will take the whole thing, and other times she will only do half of it. It is really hit or miss. Im still waiting on this proverbial "Light bulb" to go off...

Yesterday they both got their 2 month immunizations, so they were both really tired and not feeling so hot. I am hoping that they feel better today, especially because the better they feel the better they eat.

So there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. Lately, the closer we get, the longer the days drag on...

Feeding Frustrations

We are so close to the end, but still yet so far away. All that is left to accomplish is this darn feeding thing, and it is ever so frustrating!!

Yesterday Kaylyn tool ALL of her feedings PO, and they even removed her NG tube yesterday afternoon. However, last night she regressed and didn't do so well with the bottle and they had to put the NG back in. I didn't even get to see her face with nothing on it, and that kind of bummed me out. We will see how she does today, hopefully she picks it up a bit.

Kylee is still on every other feeding PO, and she does OK. She is not overly interested in drinking from a bottle, and usually will only finish half of it. This morning they tried a high-flow nipple in hopes of peaking her interest, and she did finish her entire bottle but who knows if that will happen with the next feeding.

I am supposed to meet with a discharge planner today and pick out a pediatrician for the girls once they are discharged. I know we are getting close, and I need to be patient.

Today the girls gestational age is 36 weeks. It is hard to believe that they will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. They will be getting their 2 month immunizations sometime in the next couple of days. Hopefully that doesn't slow down the progress. From what I hear kids can feel kind of crappy after getting them. Its not optional though, they need their immunizations, especially because they are preemies.

We're Getting Closer...

The girls continue to amaze me each and every day. They are both doing phenomenally well, I am so very proud of both of them.

As of last night Kaylyn weighs 5lbs 5oz, and Kylee weighs 4lbs14oz. They are getting so big! I just love them!!

The big news is that Kylee is FINALLY off of her O2. They gave her a blood transfusion the other day and it has helped bump her along tremendously. She is doing so well, they already discontinued the Pulse Oximeter that measures the amount of oxygen in her blood. The only way to tell if she de-sats now is by her color. That is one less wire that is connected to her, and one less alarm to go off- so that is OK with me.

Kaylyn is now allowed to PO (by mouth a.k.a. Bottle Feed) for every feeding. She is quite the little porker! She usually takes more than the required amount. If she tolerates all feedings PO for 24 hours then they will remove her NG tube. So depending on how her feedings go tonight, I may be able to see her beautiful face with nothing connected to it for the first time tomorrow! Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Kylee had a little issue with constipation today. Since she was clogged up on the lower end, it was causing her to spit up her food. She was working really hard to poop to no avail. So the nurse gave her a glycerin suppository to move things along. I swear she pooped a golf ball, same size and consistency. But once she got that plug out, things seemed to be moving fine. She was just Full of it!! Hopefully that will be what she needed to get back on track with her PO feedings. She is still on every other feeding PO, but maybe tomorrow it will be increased to every feed.

We're getting closer, and I have a feeling that it shouldn't be that much longer until they come home. Now all we have left to master is this eating thing, and we are getting there. I am hoping that things stay on track!

We've Almost Got 10lbs of Baby!!

I haven't posted in a couple days because there was nothing really new and exciting to write.

The girls are both getting fed by a bottle every other feeding, and they are doing OK with it. Sometimes they will down the entire thing, and other times they will just do half of it. We have to get to be a little more consistent before they move them to all of their feedings by bottle, but we will get there.

Today they did some blood tests on the girls to see how everything was shaping up. Everything was good but Kylee's H&H (Hemoglobin and Hematacrit) was a little low, so the Dr. decided that she needed another blood transfusion. This is not a big deal, more of a booster of sorts. This may be what she needed in order to get off the Oxygen, since the red blood cells are what carries the Oxygen through the body. So keep your fingers crossed, hopefully she can get rid of that nasal cannula once and for all.

Kaylyn reached the 5lb mark today, at 5lbs even! I cannot believe it. Kylee is almost there at 4lbs 12oz. They both are getting so much bigger. Everyday I go to see them I notice a difference.

So we are guessing the girls will be home anywhere from 1-3 weeks. from now Really it all depends on them. They have to be taking all of their feedings by mouth. Its our last step, and so far it seems to be the hardest. Everyone keeps telling me, that with preemies and eating it is kind of like a light bulb goes off in their head and all of a sudden they just "get it". I am still waiting for said light bulb.

That is all for now. Hope all is well with everyone!!

I Have so Much to be Thankful For

I am still in awe of the fact that I have 2 beautiful baby girls, and the most wonderful husband on the face of this earth. I am so very thankful for my family and friends. Thank You for everything!

The girls continue to progress. They took Kylee of her O2 again today, lets hope that this time she stays off of it!

The Dr. upped the orders for bottle feeding today! They are now allowed to take a bottle every other feeding, rather than 2 times a day. That is great news. Slowly but surely we are getting there. Once they are taking all of their feedings by bottle, they can come home. So long as nothing else pops up that would cause them to stay, which we don't anticipate happening.

The girls both had their hearing checked yesterday and everything came back normal. I am really curious how they test the hearing of a preemie, but I wasn't there when they did the test so I still don't know.

Unfortunately, Keith had to work today and his Thanksgiving dinner consisted of Rolled Tacos from the Mexican food shop. There are leftovers here for him, but its just not the same when it has to be heated up in the microwave. He is so wonderful!

That is all the news in the Naylor world for now. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Can't They Come Home Already!!

I'm getting really anxious for the girls to be able to get home already. Its hard to believe that we have almost been doing this whole NICU thing for 7 weeks, but lately the closer they get to being able to come home, the slower the times seems to go. They are both doing so well, and I know we have made incredible progress over these weeks but I am so ready to start being a full-time mom.

They tried to take Kylee off of her Oxygen yesterday morning and she did well until this morning. Once again, she started working too hard to breath and her color wasn't the greatest so the nurse opted to put her back on her nasal cannula. I'm sure it wont be too much longer and she will be free and clear of needing it, its just a matter of being patient and whenever she is ready.

The girls are allowed to have 2 bottles a day now (one during day shift, and one during the night shift). They both have been doing well with it. Kaylyn is our little porker and she almost always finishes her bottle. Kylee is more hit or miss, sometimes she will finish it, and other times she will just come close. They are both frequent burper's. If they are not burped at least 4 times during the feedings they wont continue to eat. I got to feed them both their bottles this morning and they both finished them. Great Success!! Hopefully in the next couple of days, they will increase the amount of times they are allowed to get a bottle a day.

Kylee has been having some arrhythmia's again. If you remember, she was the one who was having this in utero as well. They did a 12 lead EKG yesterday, but as of this morning the results were not back yet. The Dr. didn't seem too concerned, and he said that most infant arrhythmia's are benign and nothing to worry about. But its not normal so they are going to check it out anyway to make sure that everything is fine.

Kaylyn now weighs 4lbs 10oz, and Kylee weighs 4lbs 5oz. They are gaining weight, and they look amazing. Some of the preemie clothes that they have are beginning to get a little snug, but I think they are still a few weeks from outgrowing them.

Still no official word on when they will be able to come home. We are hoping about 3 more weeks or so, but we will see. I'm not getting my hopes up that's for sure! They will come home when they are ready, and one will probably come before the other. I have been preparing myself for that since this whole roller coaster began, we will see how I handle it when it actually comes to that.

We've Got 2 Bottle Feeders!!

I can't even begin to tell you how well the girls are doing, and how far they have come. I love them more and more each day, and I cannot wait to bring them home!!

Both of the girls are over 4lbs now. Kylee weighs 4lbs 3oz, and Kaylyn weighs 4lbs 7oz. The occupational therapist came and saw them Friday, and assessed their ability to suck, swallow and breath all at the same time. They both did really well, so now they are allowed to take a bottle once a day. This morning was the first time they each took the entire bottle! That is such a huge step!!! Once they get better at it, they will start increasing the amount of times a day they can have a bottle until all of their feedings are by mouth (rather than by ng tube). The nurses tell me it could take a couple weeks to get to that point. But really that is the last big milestone they have to accomplish and they get to come home.

Kylee is still working on getting rid of her nasal cannula. They are lowering the flow little by little until eventually she will be off of it completely. I cannot wait to be able to look at her beautiful little face without that big honkin' cannula on there! Im sure she will be much more comfortably as well.

There is no denying that these girls are their Fathers Daughters. They are pooping machines!! Within 5 minutes of eating, they have already filled their diapers (just like their dad, minus the diaper part...) That is a good thing though, it shows that everything is working like its supposed to.

I cannot wait until I get to post that they are coming home! We are getting there. Slow and steady wins the race....

I Fired a Nurse from Taking Care of the Girls

Well Wednesday I fired a nurse from taking care of the girls. I was so incredibly infuriated, I cannot even begin to tell you! Kaylyn is on continuous feeds (at that time over a period of 1 1/2 hours) and this nurse was giving her feedings over 30 min! This caused her to de-sat into the 60's, then the nurse didn't even come in the room when the alarms were going off, I had to go get her. They had to put Kaylyn on a blow-by oxygen mask to get her saturation's back up. There is a REASON the Dr. has her feedings going over an extended period of time!! Dumb Lady!! I was soo angry, I called the charge nurse and made sure that she will never be taking care of either one of my daughters again!!

The girls are both doing extremely well. Kaylyn is still breathing on her own, and doing fine with it (other than when the nurse tried to flood her with food!), and Kylee is almost ready to finally come off of the nasal cannula. They tried taking her off yesterday, and she did OK for a few hours, and then she started working a little hard, and tiring out, so they put her back on the low flow. I'm guessing a couple days and she will be free of it.

Today the occupational therapist is supposed to come in and work with them on bottle feeding. Premature babies have to be taught how to suck, swallow, and breath at the same time, where are with a full term baby it is a natural instinct. I am hopeful it will go well. As soon as they master this, they will get to come home!! The nurses have told me it could take up to 3-4 weeks for them to get the hang of it. But that is still before Christmas, and that is our goal!

I gave both of the girls baths yesterday all by myself! It went better than I thought it was going to, I guess I am learning. Of course right after I finished Kaylyn's bath and got her dressed and comfy back in bed, she spit up all over herself. So I got her cleaned up again, and comfy and she was fine. One benefit to this whole NICU stay is I am getting tons of practice before I have to take them home.

I think that's all for now, we are one day closer to having them home. Get ready for the big Naylor Baby Homecoming Party!!!

Friends

The last 2+ months have been extrememly hard on both Keith and I. I really don't think we could have done it without such fabulous friends. I can't even begin to tell you the amount of messages, phone calls, care packages, and gifts that we received. Everyone's outpouring of generosity has been so wonderful! This situation has really made us realize who our true friends are. Thank You to those of you who went our of your way for us. We have been really busy and there have been some messages and phone calls that we haven't returned, but I promise its not because we are not thankful you were thinking about us.

The girls are doing great. Really no new news to report. They are getting bigger. Kaylyn is 4lbs 3oz, and Kylee is 3lbs 15oz. They increased their feedings because their weight is increasing, and they are both still tolerating it. They are still working on slowly condensing Kaylyn's feeds until her tummy can tolerate a bolus feeding, but we are getting there.

Keith and I gave Kaylyn a bath on Sunday, and she thought is was really fun to fart in the water, making little bubbles in the tub. It truly was pretty funny.

Both of the girls are in open cribs now, and maintaining their own body temperature. It is so nice to reach in and grab them when ever I want without have to put my hands through the holes in the isolette.

Hopefully, they will start to bottle feed this week. I am going to talk to the Dr about it today, and hopefully he can give me an idea of the game plan. We are thinking we probably have another 3-4 weeks before they can come home. But who knows they may surprise us. We all know they like to do that!!

Time for an Update

The girls are doing incredibly well. They have both made some huge advancements in the last couple of days...

Kaylyn is now up to full feedings, and had her picc line removed a few days ago. They have started condensing her feedings now, so instead of getting fed for 24 hours a day, she is fed over a 2 hour period and then an hour off in between. They will continue to condense her feedings until she can tolerate all of her food at once. Kaylyn is now breathing on her own!! She no longer needs the nasal cannula, and is doing very well. She maintains her O2 saturation in the high 90's.

Kylee is almost breathing on her own, she is now on low flow O2 and .25lpm. You really can't go much lower than that, apparently she just needs a little puff here and there. Kylee is still tolerating her Bolus feedings, and we have continued to work on breastfeeding. It is really kind of hit or miss, sometimes she will do it, and other times she will just put my nipple in her mouth and fall asleep.

They both were moved to open cribs yesterday. Kaylyn is doing just fine, Kylee is borderline maintaining her own temperature. They are wrapping up Kylee like a baby burrito to help her adjust.

They are making great progress, at this rate hopefully we will have them home in a few weeks. We are praying for no more set backs, but we will just have to wait and see.

We're Getting There

We now have a 4 pounder!! Kaylyn is now 4lbs 1oz. and Kylee is 3lbs 8.5oz. They are getting big, relatively speaking of course!

Yesterday both of the girls had a chest xray in the morning and they were both a little hazy. The Dr. is thinking they probably have a little fluid around their lungs, so they both got a dose of Lasix to make them pee out the excess fluid. All of their other lab work was great though, and the fluid is not overly concerning.

Kylee is still tolerating full feedings. We even tried Dry breast feeding the other night. That is where I pump first, and then put her to the boob so she doesn't get flooded. She did really well. She was getting the hang of it. Unfortunately I can't do it too much because it burns a lot of calories for her, and right now we need to fatten her up a bit before she can really have at it.

Kaylyn should be at full feedings by this afternoon. They have slowly been increasing the amount of breast milk she gets, and she seems to be tolerating it thus far. She is still on continuous feedings, but once she gets to a full feeding they will start condensing the amount of time she gets food. So rather than getting fed 24 hours a days, they will titrate it down to 16 hours a day, until she can tolerate the bolus feed (all of her food at one feeding).

Everyday they are making progress! The Dr. had mentioned that he was thinking about repeating Kaylyn's cardiac ultrasound to see if the valve had closed in her heart yet, but so far he has not ordered it. Other than that they are just feeding and growing, and working on the breathing in between.

4 Weeks Old Already

I cannot believe my precious little angels are already 4 weeks old. They have made so much progress over the last month, I am so very proud of both of them.

Yesterday they moved the girls to the less intensive Step Down unit!! This means that they don't require as serious care, so its a big step. I am so happy that they moved the girls at the same time, and they are still next to each other. The nurses has told me previously there was a chance they might have to be split up, but I am very thankful I didn't have to deal with that.

So apparently Kaylyn's scale in her isolette is broken (and apparently has been for some time), and no one caught on to this until her nurse a couple of nights ago thought she looked much bigger than what the bed-scale was reading, so she weighed her on a separate scale and got a much higher, more accurate weight for her. So Kylee does not out-weigh Kaylyn...yet. Its kind of disappointing because for the last week all of Kaylyn's weights are wrong, and it is impossible to say if she has consistently been gaining weight. Kaylyn now weighs 3lbs 15oz, and Kylee weighs 3lbs 8oz. They are both almost a pound over their birth weight!!

They are increasing Kaylyn's feedings every 12 hours, and in about 2 days she should be up to a full feeding and they will be able to discontinue her IV. Kylee is still on full feedings and doing very well with it. The Dr. wrote orders today that I can start "Dry" breastfeeding Kylee tonight. That means that I will pump and then I will put her to my boob. The purpose is to work on getting her to latch on, but we don't want to flood her with breast milk just yet. So hopefully that goes well.

Not much else has changed since yesterday. The Dr came by today and remarked how well they are both doing. I am very hopeful that continues. We are one more day closer to being able to bring them home!!

The Twinfants are doing Fabulous!!

I have nothing but good news to report!! Both of the girls are doing amazingly well! The Dr. even said that they may be discharged in about a month or so. A lot still has to happen before they come though. They have to be in open cribs and able to regulate their own body temperature (we are already close to that ), they have to be breathing on their own, and the next big step will be that they have to be eating (either by bottle or breast) and gaining weight. They will probably start introducing a bottle in the next couple of weeks, and possibly even putting them to the boob.

Kylee has now been off of CPAP and on the Nasal Cannula for 4 days!! I guess Marcy didn't jinx her after all. They even starting weaning the amount of O's (oxygen) she is getting from 2lpm to 1.5lpm, so we are making progress. She is tolerating it very well this time, and is not working to breath like she was before. This is the longest she has been off of CPAP, so I am hoping we have seen the end of that terrible device. She is still tolerating her full feedings, and because her weight increased her full feed is now up to 29ml every 3 hours. She had her PICC line (her IV) removed yesterday, so now the only tube coming out of her is her feeding tube and her Nasal Cannula! Kylee even outweigh's her sister now.

Kaylyn is down to .5lpm, so she is very close to breathing on her own without any assistance. It will be so great to see her beautiful little face without anything on it. As of last night she was at 12ml every 3 hours for feeding (she is still on continuous feeds), but I believe it may increase this morning as long as she tolerated her food last night. She also may be moved into an open crib within the next couple of days. They have turned down the temperature in her isolette to almost room air, and so far she has been able to regulate her temperature on her own.

I had them both out yesterday and at least 5 nurses saw me holding them and commented on how big they have gotten. Its hard for me to tell because I see them everyday, but it is good to hear that they are growing! Even though Kylee weighs more now, she still looks smaller because Kaylyn's head is a lot bigger. Everyone agrees they are really starting to look more alike.

Keep your fingers crossed that this great progress continues. I cannot wait to bring them home!! They are 32 weeks gestational age today, so we are getting there!

Yet Another Update

The girls are both doing fabulous! I haven't updated my blog because Kylee went back on Nasal Canula 2 nights ago, and it seems as though every time I update this damn thing, and write that she is back on Nasal Cannula she ends up back on CPAP in a matter of hours. So if she goes back on CPAP we can all blame Marcy (because she was begging for an update)! So far so good though, she is tolerating it well and doesn't seem to be working too hard to breath like she had in the past.

Kylee is now up to a Full Feeding (27ml every 3 hours), so she no longer needs any IV fluids! That is a HUGE step, and it is one of the criteria she had to meet in order to go home. Within the next couple of weeks they will start her on a bottle and practice breast feeding. We will see how that goes.

Kaylyn on the other hand is in no hurry to get to her Full feedings. She is at 7ml every 3 hours, but she is still on the continuous feeds. They gave her a suppository today, so hopefully that will clean things out. Kaylyn is down to 1lpm of oxygen now, so she is really close to breathing on her own.

We are getting there....slowly but surely. I am hopeful that things continue in this direction. Sorry Marcy, I don't have their current weights, but I do know that they are gaining weight. I will try and do better on the exact figures in the next blog update!

Monochorionic Diamniotic

Yesterday the pathology report came back from the "Products of Birth", and it found that my girls were Mono-chorionic (which means there was only 1 placenta), and Di-amniotic (which means there were 2 separate amniotic sacs). That being said, and the fact that they both have the same blood type, and because the membrane that separated them in utero was so tiny it is looking like they are probably identical. You have to have a DNA test to know for sure (which I plan on doing when they get home), but chances are they are identical. I can't wait to see when they get a little older if they look the same or not. I still have not had the chance to see them side by side, and it is really hard to tell by looking in one isolette and comparing it to the other. By looking at pictures though, I would say they look a lot alike.

The nurse had asked us to bring in some onsies for the girls to wear in preparation for the transition from the isolette into an open crib. I went to babies R us yesterday, and could not find preemie onsies anywhere! So I just brought in some of the newborn onsies I had at home. Kristi made some adorable ones with their names on them, so those were perfect! Perfect except for the fact that they are HUGE on them. Their days of eternal nakedness has come to an end. Even though they are a little big, it is nice to see them dressed. They look much more human. It was really cute.

Kaylyn now weighs 3lbs 6oz, and is on continuous feeding. That means that there is a pump feeding the milk to her 24 hours a day (It breaks down to 1ml every hour), rather than getting 3mls every 3 hours. For some reason her gut did not want to digest big amount at one time. So far the continuous feeds seem to be working, she has not had any residual and is tolerating it well. She is such a mellow baby. She opens her eyes and looks around, but she never cries. People poke and prod her and she just looks at them like "what are you doing in my little house dude?", but she doesn't really care. She's just going with the flow.

Kylee is now up to 3lbs 1oz, and is up to 12ml of milk every 3 hours, and is tolerating it well (She's getting a lot more because she was tolerating it better). Even though she is still on CPAP and struggling a little bit respiratory wise, she is kicking butt on the feedings. There was talk about possible taking her off of CPAP today, but it all depends on how she is doing at the time. She hates it so much, and it makes her a little fussy. I can't blame her though, I wouldn't want a huge plastic horn tied to my face either.

Not much else has changed in regards to their status, which is a good thing. We are making progress slowly but surely. It is hard to believe that they are already over 3 weeks old. They are both so incredible and I love them so much!

The Roller Coaster Continues

Both of the girls are doing fine, with minor set backs here and there.

Last night Kylee had to go back on CPAP (for what seems like the 100th time...) because once again she was working a little too hard to breath. In talking with her nurse the only solution to this problem (her going back and forth from CPAP to Nasal Canula) is time. She needs to get bigger and stronger. Its so hard as a parent to watch them have to take steps backwards when they are doing so well. Other than the breathing issue, Kylee is doing great. She is tolerating her feedings and she is gaining weight. Kylee weighed 2lbs 10oz at birth, and as of yesterday she was at 2lbs 15oz.

Kaylyn got her Lasix on Wednesday afternoon, and so far it seems to have helped her out quite a bit. She is not working nearly as hard to breath, and she looks a lot more comfortable. She has also started tolerating her feedings (finally!), and is gaining weight. Kaylyn weighted 3lbs 1oz at birth and she is now up to 3lbs 3oz.

The nurses in the NICU adore the girls. They even fight over who gets them . They are very animated little babies and make all kinds of faces all the time. Its really cute. They really don't cry all that much, usually only when they have to go back to bed after being held. They don't even mind getting their diaper changed. They really are good little girls.

These last couple of months feel like years, and I still have at least 2 more months to go. I know that it will all be worth it when I get to bring my beautiful girls home, it just feels infinitely far away...

Update on the Girls

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted an update! I really have no excuse besides the fact that I have not been in the mood. Really not much has changed since Saturday, which is a good thing!

Kylee was taken off of her CPAP on Tuesday and is now breathing with a Nasal Cannula. She seems to be tolerating it well for now, so we will see how she does.

Both of the girls were started back on Feedings on Monday. Kylee is doing well with her feeds, and has steadily increased the amount she is getting each day. Kaylyn was having some digestion issues, so they ran some tests to make sure everything looked OK. All the tests came back fine. Sometimes I have to remind myself that their little bodies were not designed to eat for another 3 months. Slowly but surely we will get there!

Today Kaylyn had another cardiac ultrasound, and it still showed that her PDA (the open valve in her heart) was still open. So they did a chest X-Ray and that showed that she is retaining some fluid around her lungs. The neonatologist was thinking it could be due to the PDA, so he had the cardiologist come over from children's hospital to check her out. The cardiologist said that he does not feel that she needs to have the surgery just yet. Since it is small, he still wants to try and treat it with medicine, since the surgery would be a huge step back. So for now, they are going to give her Lasix to try and remove the fluid around her lungs. So lets hope that works, and this damn PDA will close already!!

Other than that, everything is pretty much the same. They both continue to gain weight, and are doing well. They are very strong, and are doing better and better each day. I am ready to bring them home already!!!!

Two whole Weeks Old Already!

It is hard to believe but the girls are already 2 weeks old. Today I brought their NICU nurses cookies to celebrate!

The girls are both doing well. Kylee had to go back on CPAP yesterday for her breathing. She was working a little too hard, and they wanted to give her a break. They said that they are going to leave it on for 72 hours, and then they will try her on the cannula again. These up's and down's are really hard, but its all part of the territory. Other than that minor hiccup she is doing really well. We did the Kangaroo Care thing yesterday, and this time she didn't scream the whole time, so maybe she doesn't hate me...

Kaylyn is pretty much the same, but no news is good news. She just got her last dose of medicine to close the valve in her heart this morning, so tomorrow they will do another cardiac ultrasound to see if it finally closed. Hopefully, this time the medicine worked and we can be done with this whole issue. I did Kangaroo care with her today, and she loved it. She definitely was not a happy camper when she had to go back to bed.

My little girls are so amazing, and I am so lucky to be their Mommy. I just want to bring them home already so they can go on their first desert trip. Things are pretty much the same, which is good. Daddy says slow and steady wins the race!

I just took a percocet and now I fully intend on passing out!

I would have been 30 Weeks Preggo Today

The girls are now 13 days old, and have made tremendous progress in such a little time. Every day I just love them more and more, and I can't wait to bring them home.

Kylee is back on the Nasal Cannula and doing well. However, I decided that she hates me. I tried to do Kangaroo care with her yesterday for the first time and she just was not having it. She screamed the whole time (not her cute little kitten cry-but a scream). So I put her back to bed, and her nurse tried to start and IV in her foot, and she didn't even flinch. Its a great feeling knowing my daughter would rather be stuck by a needle, than have me hold her. We will try to Kangaroo today, and maybe she will like it better this time. Kylee is up to 9ml of breast milk every 3 hours. They will keep increasing it until she is at a full feeding (that could take a while because a full feeding is about 23ml's)

Kaylyn on the other hand is all about Kangaroo care. She is so cozy being cuddled up with me, she seems to love it. We got the results back from her cardiac ultrasound, and her valve is still open in her heart. It is small, and she is not having any symptoms, so they are going to try another round of medicine and hopefully this time it will do the trick. She is doing so well, that they Dr said he hates to send her to surgery because that would be a step backwards in her progress, and since it doesn't seem to be affecting her too much we are gonna sit on it a while longer and hope it closes. Unfortunately, when she is on this medicine, they have to stop her feedings because the medicine upsets her tummy. So she will not start feeding again until Sunday. I'm OK with that, I would much rather have her take this medicine and close the valve, and work on the feedings later.

My little girls are so amazing. They are incredibly strong, and I am really hoping that their progress continues without many regressions. The less bumps in the road, means the sooner they will be able to come home. Today they are both going to have a follow up ultrasound of their heads, just to make sure everything is good. So far all of their head ultrasounds have been normal, so I am hoping this one is to.

Its hard to believe that they will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. It has been the fastest longest 2 weeks of my life.

They're Starting to Grow into their Skin

When the girls were born, they looked like little old ladies-so much skin, and not enough fat to fill it! They were quite wrinkly. But in the last couple of days they have both been consistently putting on weight, and they are starting to fill it out...a little bit!

Both of the girls are continuing to do really well. Kaylyn is still on the Nasal Cannula for breathing, and Kylee had to be put back on CPAP last night. She was working a little to hard to breath, so they did it as a precautionary measure. The one thing I really don't like about the CPAP is that it makes her little eyes swell up and she can't open them. It makes me sad.

They both have all of their Belly Button lines out now. This means that we can hold both of them now!! Yesterday, Keith held Kylee and I held Kaylyn for over 2 hours. We would have switched, but its really hard and inconvenient with all of their wires and everything that is attached to them. So we will switch today.

Kylee is now being fed 5ml of breast milk every 3 hours, and Kaylyn is at 2ml every 3 hours. We are still having little problems with digestion, but yesterday they both got suppositories and they pooped so hopefully that cleaned out the plumbing to help things along.

The only things that remains to linger is Kaylyn's PDA in her heart. The valve still has not shut entirely. The Dr.'s are going to continue to monitor it. But since it is so small, and she is asymptomatic, they are choosing not to send her to childrens for the surgical ligation to close it for now. She is going to have another Cardiac Ultrasound today, so hopefully it will show it closed on its own.

I'm not gonna lie, my girls are the cutest kids in the NICU! I love them so much!! We are hoping the good progress continues.

Kangaroo Care :)

Both of the girls are doing remarkably well. I am just hoping that we continue on this forward path, and our steps backwards are kept to a minimum.

Both of the girls are now off of CPAP, and on a Nasal Cannula. They both seem to be doing really well with it. They just put Kylee on it last night so we will see how she does.

On Sunday they removed Kaylyn's arterial line in her belly button, so we are now allowed to hold her. Isn't it crazy that the first time I got to hold my daughter was when she was 8 days old! I think its been the longest 8 days of my life. Yesterday was the first time Keith and I both got to do Kangaroo Care with Kaylyn. Kangaroo care is when you put the baby under your shirt on your chest. The skin to skin contact is really good for the baby. It was awesome!!

They were talking about taking out Kylee's arterial line last night, but her latest blood gas was a little borderline, so they are going to wait until the morning and do another gas, and if its good then they will take it out. I cannot wait to be able to do Kangaroo care with her. Its really hard when you get to do some things with one baby and not the other. I know, I know I just have to be patient...

Everything else is good. They are both gaining weight and now being fed 2ml of breast milk every 3 hours. They are not digesting as well as we would like, but we are making progress. Premature babies tummies are often not mature enough to process and digest food right away. Some times it takes a few tries, and that is where we are at.

I started driving again today. Usually you are supposed to wait 2 to 4 weeks, but I talked to my Dr and she said as long as I am not on pain medicine I can drive. It was really nice to get my freedom back, even if my freedom consists of driving back and forth from the hospital. It is just nice to not have to depend on someone else to get me there, I hate being a burden.

Everyday I am one day closer to bringing my babies home!! I cannot wait...

One Week Down

Well, as of yesterday the girls are officially one week old. They are doing well, and we are seeing progress in the right direction, but we still have a very long road ahead of us.

Yesterday was a big day for both Kylee and Kaylyn. They both had Cardiac Ultrasounds done to check on their PDA's (the valve that had not closed in their heart at birth). Kylee's is completely closed, and the ultrasound tech said if Kaylyn's was any smaller it would be closed. So for now, they are just going to watch Kaylyn but she does not have to go to children's for surgery as of yet so that is good news. I am guessing they will do a repeat ultrasound in a couple of days.

The results from the Brain Scan that they did on Friday came back, and they are both Normal. I am so thankful for that!!

They both got PICC lines (permanent IV's) placed in their arms today, and this time the PA was successful. This allowed them to take out their UVC (Venus Line) line in both of their belly buttons. All that is left is their UAC (Arterial Line) in their belly button to be removed, and then we should be able to hold them. If everything goes well, they should remove the UAC in a couple of days, or possibly sooner.

On Friday Kaylyn decided she was going to try and give me a heart attack. Not 5 minutes after I got to the hospital, she decided she didn't want to be intubated anymore, and she pulled out her own breathing tube! Luckily the nurse was standing right there and noticed she did it and a whole team of people were at her bedside in seconds. She did turn a little blue, but only for a second until they started bagging her. They decided to go ahead and try CPAP and see how she would do. She has now been on CPAP for over a day and is doing excellent. She's definitely my child, she is already making her own medical decisions at 6 days old! Today her billiruben (sp?) were a little elevated again, so they decided to put her back under the blue lights to keep everything under control. Hopefully, she will not have to be under them for too long because she does not like them.

I just called and spoke with Kylee's nurse, and apparently tonight they had to put her back on the CPAP machine because she was having to work a little harder to breath. She was also a little anemic, so they gave her another blood transfusion. I know that the NICU road has lots of up's and down's, but it is so hard when your kid is doing so well to watch them take a step back. Other than those issues tonight, she has been doing really well and maintaining. Hopefully they will put her back on her Nasal Cannula soon, but I am not in a hurry. I want her to be able to breath comfortably.

So we already have one week down! My life has changed so much in the last week... I love my little girls so much and I can't wait to bring them home with me!! My body is already preparing itself for their homecoming, its 4:30 in the morning and Im awake. Insomnia is rad!

Would have been 29 Weeks Today

Even though I am not pregnant anymore, they still age the girls based on gestational weeks, so today I would have been 29 weeks pregnant.

So pretty much the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life was drive away from the hospital on Wednesday when I was discharged. I was a mess. I am sorry if you have called and I have not called you back. Pretty much my life consists of sleeping, pumping, or being at the girls bedside. Please do not take it personally.

The girls continue to improve, but there are a couple lingering issues. They both still have the PDA, which is the opening of the valve in their heart. Kaylyn finished her first round of medication, and the follow up cardiac ultrasound yesterday revealed that the duct was still open. So they started her on her second round of medicine yesterday. Kylee finished her first round of medicine last night, and they plan on doing her follow up cardiac ultrasound today. Keep you fingers crossed that it closed! Once she is off the this medicine, she should be able to start eating, and that would be awesome! Initially, they would be feeding her through a tube that goes directly into her stomach, but hopefully it wouldn't be long until she could start on a bottle.

Both of the girls have a follow up Brain Scan today to ensure that they do not have a head bleed. We should have the results from that test either today or tomorrow.

Kylee continues to do very well with just her nasal cannula for her breathing. When she cries it sounds like a little kitten. It is heart wrenching when she gets upset, and all I want to do it pick her up and I can't. I have to leave her in her incubator and watch her suffer. They tried to place a picc line (long-term IV) last night, and the dumb PA missed it 3 times. I'm not a big fan of her practicing her skills on my 2lb baby. So they are going to try again soon to get that line. Once they have the picc line established, they will be taking out her arterial belly button line, and then we should be able to hold her. She has taken to a pacifier really well, and it seems to sooth her quite nicely.

Kaylyn is still intubated, and they probably won't extubate until her PDA is closer to being closed. She is doing well though. Her PDA is also causing some metabolic problems, and they have to correct some of it with medicine. Hopefully, once the duct closes things will improve greatly. Despite not being able to eat, somehow she managed to gain 2oz. yesterday, which is really good. She is going to be our little porker. We still have not have the opportunity to hold her, and I cannot wait for that moment.

All things considered, we are holding up OK. I'm not gonna lie, its the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I am just so thankful they are both doing OK, and hopefully we continue to move in a forward direction. The girls are already 6 days old, so we are almost a week into this. Soon it will all be a memory. Well, I'm off to the hospital now. Keith's grandma is giving me a ride since I still cannot drive. I will update as soon as I get a chance.

Update on our Little Miracles

It is hard to believe that it has been about 3 1/2 days since I gave girth to the girls. They both are already making steps towards coming home. It is really important to keep in mind that a stay in the NICU is equivalent to a roller coaster ride. There are many ups and downs. When there is a regression the baby will have to return to a previously achieved status, and work their way back once again. Kind of the 2 steps forward and 1 day back thought process.

The nurses have made it very clear to get used to the idea that one twin will be going home sooner than the other. They are 2 different people and are going to progress at different rates. With that in mind, we will discuss the girls progress thus far...

Kylee, who was born the smaller twin is doing extremely well. They say that the smaller twin often times does better, because it is already used to fighting for survival in the womb. When fighting for position and size, it causes the baby to release natural steroids and endorfins that allow the baby to be very strong at birth. Kylee was extubated on Sunday, and then yesterday they removed her CPAP breathing machine and she is now breathing on her own with the assistance of a Nasal Canula oxygen mask. She has tolerated the nasal canula very well, and her oxygen saturation remains good. Keith got to hold her Monday for the first time, and we both got a chance to hold her yesterday. She had to remain on all of her monitors, but it was so amazing to have her next to us. She also practiced sucking on a pacifier. Sucking, amazingly enough is a very advanced skill that most full-term babies dont learn until around 35 weeks. She did very well though.

Kaylyn has had a little more difficulty in the airway area. She remains on a ventilator. They tried to extubate her on Monday because she was fighting her tube very hard. She was able to maintain on the CPAP machine, but did not excel. She was working very hard to continue to breath, and had a lot of chest retraction with every breath. To avoid her working too hard and going in to full respiratory depression, they replaced the breathing tube early Tuesday morning. They are possibly going to try to extubate her again today. It is hard to keep in mind that even though she is progressing a little more slowly, that she is right where she should be for a 28 week old preemie infant.

Both of the girls had a ultrasound on their brain done on Monday. The radiologist read the results as negative for any head bleeds. The girls' neonatologist had a more "inconclusive" results, and did not like the quality of the study and felt he could not come to any certain conclusions. He did say that neither one of them have a bleed in the normal spot they find head bleeds in preemies. They are going to repeat the test in 5 days, so we will have more answers then, but right now we don't have reason to worry. That too could change.

On Tuesday, they did a cardiac echo on each of the girls (ultrasound of the heart). There is a valve in the heart that is supposed to close at birth, but often times with premature babies this valve does not close on its own and medicine has to be administered. Kylee's valve seems to have closed nearly all the way on its own, which is probably why she is having a more successful time being off the ventilator. Kaylyn's valve remains open most of the way, so they started her on the medicine to help it close. They are going to repeat this test in a couple of days, and see if any progress was made. This valve is extremely important to be able to move forward with any airway progress. Also they cannot start feeding until the Dr.'s ensure this issue has been taken care of.

I never thought I would be so elated to change a diaper! One of the hardest things about the whole NICU environment has been the inability to do all of the maternal things most mothers of newborns get to encounter. Right now, I can take their temperature, change their diapers, and pump milk for them for when they are allowed to start feedings. I have not even been able to kiss them as of yet, and that kills me. I am just taking things one step at a time, and reminding myself how lucky I am to have these precious girls.

At this point, every little victory is such a miracle. I cannot wait until I get to hold both of them in my arms (We have yet to have the opportunity to hold Kaylyn). Most of the nurses are reluctant to let you hold until their aterial line in their belly button is removed. If for some reason this line got yanked out, it would be very detrimental.

They are so perfect to me, and I am so lucky to have 2 beautiful little girls. I am confident that though its going to be a long road, we are going to prevail victoriously. One day, this whole NICU stay will all be a memory. I will try to keep this updated, but its going to be really hard. They are releasing me from the hospital later on today, so I am going to have to come up with a schedule to see and feed the girls, so I will be coming and going back and forth quite a bit.

Please keep us in your thoughts. Our hope is that this NICU stay is as short as possible, but realistically they probably won't be home until around their due date which is December 28th. Thanks so much for everything. Everyone's support has been amazing, there are not even words to describe it. Well, I must go down to the NICU now to see the girls!

Daddy changing his first Diaper on Kaylyn

Kylee

Kylee

Kaylyn

Newest Additions to the Naylor Family

Here is the story of how it all went down....

As most of you know I was admitted to the hospital for Bedrest at 25weeks 1 day for Pre-Term labor, funneled membranes, and cervical dilation. While in the hospital they had me on Mag, Niphedipine, Terbutaline, and Endocin to stop the contractions and try and prevent the girls from coming too early.

Well my girls are determined, and yesterday morning my contractions came on really strong despite all the medications they had given me. My dr. did a cervical exam around 1300 and determined I was 4cm dilated and she could feel Baby A's (Kylee) Head. At that point they were going to still try and control the labor but it wasn't looking good. Kylee also had some questionable hear decelerations, and they were watching that very closely. Any signs of fetal distress and they were going to take the girls out immediately.

At 1330 I called Keith at work and told him he should probably get down to the hospital. Luckily, he had just finished a call and was offloading a patient at a nearby hospital, so he was able to come over right away. By the time he got here they were shipping me directly down to the OR. My contractions hadn't let up, Kylee was still having decel's, and they did not want to chance the labor progressing any more on its own. Keith had to scrub up in his work uniform.

At 1442 on October 6, 2007 Kylee Anne was born. She weighed 2lbs 10oz and was 15 inches long. Her sister Kaylyn Marie followed at 1443, and she weighed in at 3lbs 1 oz. also 15 inches long. Since they were still very much so premature, Keith didn't get the opportunity to cut the cord. Neither one of them was breathing or crying. They quickly and swiftly sent them off to get resuscitated and stabilized, and then to the NICU.

Keith got to go with the girls during this journey, so it was nice to know that their daddy was with them. It was however, what seemed like FOREVER until I got an update that they were doing well. They recovered me in PACU for about 2 hours before taking me up to my room. On my way to the room we stopped by the NICU and I got to see my little Twincess' for the first time myself. Keith just could not stop repeating how perfect they were and how beautiful they are.

They were both doing considerably well for their gestation upon arrival in the NICU. Thankfully, I had gotten Steroid shots when I was originally admitted into the hospital, and they gave me a booster about 2 hours before I delivered, so that helped tremendously with their lung development. Within just a couple hours, they had started weaning both girls off the ventilator. Kylee had to have a blood transfusion last night due to a low hematocrit level. And they have both had to have some supplementation of electrolytes (i.e. calcium, potassium etc...) to keep their levels at a normal rate, which apparently is very common with Preemies.

Yesterday they had already extubated Kylee, and she is doing quite well. They say Kaylyn is still pretty dependent on her ventilator and it could be a couple of days before she is extubated, but they are slowly weaning her off of it. They both are stable at this point, and look great.

I am doing good as well. I was up and walking around within hours of the c-section. It is amazing how motivated you are to get out of bed when, A-you have been on strict hospital bedrest for 3 weeks, and B-you have 2 beautiful girls in the NICU to go see.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and support. We have a long road ahead of us, but I am very optimistic!!

Kylee

Kaylyn

28 Weeks!!

Yay!! We made it to our first big Milestone of 28 weeks!! Another Non-Birthday has arrived!! This is huge because it is the time when a lot of the significant risks and complications associated with preemies disappear. My Dr says they have close to 100% viability and over 80% GOOD viability at this point, so that is tremendously better odds than what we were looking at when we started this Pre-Term labor adventure at 25 weeks. Hosital Bedrest is paying off!!!

Last night was much better. I was actually able to get some sleep. It is amazing what a difference a little sleep makes! However, this morning my contractions started up again, and this time they were more painful than ever. I like to think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but seriously these contractions made me want to curl up into a ball and disappear. They had to give me my Contraction Shot of Turbutaline (that's the one I hate because it makes me feel like a crack head), and even that didn't take the edge off. Luckily, they just started to die down on their own for now.

So much for being first on the list to be scanned this morning. My Dr. came in and immediately she had to do an emergency C-Section. She just came back and told me it would probably be sometime this afternoon because she has 2 procedures scheduled for this morning. I am sooo ready to just get it over with!!

I know, I know, this whole experience is a lesson on Patience. Everyone knows that I am the princess of instant gratification. I truly believe that this whole experience is to teach me the critical parenting skill of Patience. And you know, it just might be working.

That's all for now. I will update with the results from the scan!

Sleep Is Over-rated Anyway!

Last night was a really long night, I think I managed to get a total of 30 min of sleep the whole night. Maybe its practice for when I bring my newborn twins home! Regardless, it sucked and now I am going to be tired all day.

My contractions started getting really bad yesterday around 4pm or so. So they did they usual dose of Niphedipine, which did nothing. The contractions continued to increase in quantity so they called the Dr and they increased my magnesium, which did nothing. So I am still contracting at about 12 an hour and I am only allowed 6 an hour. I miss the contractions that I could not feel! I can definitely feel these contractions, and it is not fun!! So I guess I will have to wait until the Dr. makes rounds today to figure out what the heck they are going to do.

All of this contraction action was not helped by the fact that I really did not care for my nurse tonight. She kept coming in and wanting to put the babies on the heart monitor. I told her that I don't want to irritate my uterus any more than it already was, and I wanted to wait until my contractions were under control. I can feel the babies move, I am sure they are fine. She got a little huffy with me and explained her "Clinical Perspective" again...and again. And I explained my "Motherly Perspective"-that I don't want 2 plastic dopplers being pressed and angled against my uterus when I am contracting the way that I am! If my girls were good at going on the monitor, and they could set the doppler down and that was that, it would be a different story. No, my girls HATE this game and fight it tooth and nail. Yesterday afternoon it took over 3 hours to get them on the monitor, and I am not about to have by uterus bothered and probed for 3 hours when its contacting the way it is on its own.

So...Ugh! Just a long, long night. I am going to try and get a little sleep before I get bombarded by the day crew nurses. Sorry if this blog has a grumpy tone, I am not in the best of moods, as if you couldn't tell!

Disapointed...

I'm so frustrated!! First my Dr said that she was going to scan the babies and re-measure my cervix on Monday, then it was pushed back to today, and now she just canceled for today at 7:00pm! To top it off, she is not rescheduling until Friday or Sunday. I just wish she hadn't told me she was going to do it today, and then I wouldn't be so disappointed. When you lay in bed all day, there is little else to think about, and worry about for that matter. I am just a little ticked about the whole thing.

They ended my dose of Endocin last night, because you can only be on it for a 48 hour period and ever since my contractions have been out of control. I am really starting to feel them, and they are becoming painful. I'm hoping they will calm down soon!

Overall today has been a long day. Much of the day was spent in anticipation for the scan, of course followed by disappointment. I really just want to go to sleep and they aren't even putting the babies on the heart monitor until 9:30 and they have to stay on for an hour…

Oh yeah, my cell phone is on the brink of death. It officially is pretty much out of commission. I did order a new phone, but it won't be here for a couple days so if you need to get a hold of me call me at the hospital. I hope my new phone gets here soon!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better! I'm over this day!

Another Day

We made it through another day! Nothing really exciting to report. Dr. G didn't have time to scan the girls yesterday, so she scheduled me for the growth scan tomorrow afternoon. I believe that is when she will also re-measure my cervix, so we should be able to see if anything has changed in that regard.

The girls really feel like they are getting bigger to me. I can feel body parts now when they move around. As of yesterday Kylee was vertex (head down) at my cervix, and Kaylyn was transverse (sideways) across my ribs. Surprisingly, they still have quite a bit of room left in there. Their kicks are also getting a lot stronger, and they are mastering the "rolling" motion, which is totally weird to me. It trips me out to see this baby rolling across my belly, it is the oddest sensation. It is very reassuring that they are so active through. They say that fetal activity is the best indicator of fetal well-being.

My phone charger is on the fritz, and my phone has been dead or not cooperating, so I apologize if I have not answered or returned your calls. The only way I can get it to charge is if I manually sit there and hold it in a particular spot and even then it doesn't even always work. I am going to have to get a new one, but I am due for an upgraded phone so maybe I should just do that. I don't know, I will get it figured out. But I am sorry in the meantime.

Our friends Howard and Arlene had mentioned the girls at their prayer group when I got admitted here, and their church decided to do a prayer quilt for the girls. Apparently how it works is that every time someone says a prayer for the girls, they tie a knot on the quilt. I thought this was such a cool idea! I guess it was finished over the weekend and Silvia picked it up yesterday, but I have not gotten to see it yet. I can't wait, I think its going to be great!

Everything else has been fine. My contractions have seemed to have mellowed out for the time being, I am not even feeling the allowed 6 an hour that I had been in the past. So that is really good. Keith has had the last 2 days off, so it has been really nice to spend some time with him. He had been working so much I really hadn't seen him much at all.

We are getting closer and closer to the HUGE 28 week Milestone!! Only 3 more days!! I will let you know how the growth scan goes tomorrow. I am a tid-bit anxious about it, but I suppose it goes with the territory. I will be worrying for the rest of these girls lives!

We're Still Pregnant

The last couple of days have been very hard on me emotionally, so I haven't really been in the mood to blog. It is getting harder and harder to lay in this bed 24 hours a day. It is definitely the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. Of course, I know it is what my girls need right now and that is why I am doing it, but I am still human...

Yesterday morning they had to give me 3 contraction medications because they were so out of control. They had me on Magnesium (the one I have been on since I got here), then they decided to start Endocin (its a 48 dose of contraction meds), and I had still had more than the allowed amount of contractions in an hour (6 an hour). I think I had like 12 one hour or something so they had to give me the Niphedipine. Since they have started the Endocin, I don't feel as many of them but I am not sure if that is good or bad, but hopefully good.

Then yesterday afternoon when they were doing the babies heart monitoring, Kylee's arrhythmia came back, and you could totally hear it. So again, I started to get extremely worried. The nurses paged the Dr., and the Dr. on call for the day said that he wasn't going to take care of it, he was going to leave it for Dr. Gerstenfeld (the Dr. that admitted me), but he was going to recommend a fetal echo test. Well this pissed me off because who knows when the next day that Dr. G is on, it could be several days, and what if something was wrong with my baby. So then I proceeded to get more anxious and get myself worked up. It wasn't good, but I eventually calmed down. It didn't help that Keith was gone and I was here by myself, and with everything else-I was just was mess.

Last time she had this arrhythmia it corrected itself by the next monitoring session Well, I think the girls just wanted me to worry some more because when they came in later that evening to do the baby monitoring, her arrhythmia was definitely still present. And of course I freaked out again, but the nurses wouldn't do anything this time because the on-call Dr. had already been made aware. They told me I had to wait for Dr. G.

Thankfully, Dr. G came in to see me first thing this morning. She reassured me that they see these arrhythmia's all the time and 99.9% are benign and will resolve themselves by birth or shortly thereafter. She also talked of re-measuring the babies and my cervix today, since today is the 2 week mark of my admission into this hospital. I think I would rather have these measurements taken care of today because Keith is here today, and I seem to do a lot better when he is around.

So the girls gave me quite a weekend, but thankfully we are still pregnant and that is what matters, and that is the whole reason that we are here (even as hard as it is) I feel so out of control of my own life, and all of you that know me-know that doesn't fly with me. But I am learning to adjust, and I am learning to be patient.