Best Day Yet!!

 Mom and I went in for Cares at 11:00 just like always.  I said something to our nurse, Keri, about how much I was looking forward to holding them and she couldn't believe that I hadn't held them yet  I was told I couldn't hold them as long as they were on a ventilator and they are still technically on a ventilator.  Keri said that I could hold them with these new ventilators because the tubing is more flexible.  She asked me if I wanted to do it now or wait until later and, of course, I couldn't wait!

I held Addison first for about 30 minutes.  They had me take off my shirt and hold her skin-to-skin.  Cathy, the Respiratory Therapist, said that some babies take a little while to get used to being held, but both my girls seemed to love it.  Their vitals were perfect and they just pretty much went to sleep listening to my heartbeat.  Brenda, our doctor for today, came in to talk to me while I was holding her.  She said that Addi is doing really good on her new vent and also with the 2 ml's of milk.  Her stomach was a little bloated today and so they had to give her a glycerin enema which helped move things along.  They still haven't been successful getting her PICC in so they had the Pediatric Surgeon come look at her and put in a Central Line.  They had to make a small cut on her chest and feed the catheter right into one of her veins.  She did really well during the procedure and will be able to keep that Central Line in for as long as she needs it.  She's done being poked for IV's!!

Keri explained that I will be able to hold the girls once a day for about an hour each.  Jordyn was so relaxed while I was holding her.  She kept moving her eyebrows up and down and tried and tried to get her eyes open.  Brenda said that Jordyn is also doing really well with her 2 ml's of milk.  Her vent settings were as low as they could go so they decided to seize the opportunity and switched out her machine this afternoon.  She is now on a CPAP machine which covers her nose and blows out oxygen, but she is doing all the breathing on her own.  They gave her the new machine at about 4:30 this afternoon and she has been doing really well so far! 

When she was done holding onto my finger, she put her fingers into her mouth.  I didn't want to put them back in their beds, but it is so nice to know that I can hold them everyday now.  I finally get to snuggle with my babies!  It's been a long time coming, but so worth the wait!

And Another Good Day

When Mom and I got to the NICU this morning for the 11:00 Cares they were setting up a new ventilator next to Jordyn's bed.  Her stats and x-ray looked so good that they decided it was time to make the switch.  Her left lung appears to have healed itself because there are no extra air pockets showing up on her x-ray.  I asked Ron, the Respiratory Therapist, if he was going to have to take out the tube in her mouth and put in a new one and he said no.  I told him I wish he would so I could see her face without all that tape everywhere.  He told me he was sorry that he couldn't, but he could assure me that he's seen her without the tape and and she is very cute.  Obviously he is one of our favorites!

She usually gets so mad when we unbundle her for Cares, but mom and I kept commenting on how calm she was today.  It was so much easier to change her diaper without her kicking and moving all over.

Her left eye looks close to opening.  Hopefully we'll be able to see her eyes soon!

Addi is doing good on her new ventilator.  They still have not been successful getting a PICC Line in.  It's getting really frustrating for us, for the nurses, and especially for Addi.  She tolerates all the poking really well but she really needs a break from it.  The doctor decided to up the feedings for both girls to 2 ml (which is about 2/5 of a teaspoon) every 3 hours.  They both weigh 1 lb 13 oz right now so hopefully they will start gaining weight and getting bigger.

They have a Parent Support group that brings around gifts to all the babies weekly.  These lions were left by the girls' beds today.  They came with a flier that tells the story of a boy who was born with breathing problems and had to spend some time in the NICU.  When he was older he created this program.  The lions are supposed to help give you courage through the hard times and when you are done having hard times, you can pass the lion on to someone else who needs a little extra courage.  We feel so blessed to have so much support and love for us and for our girls!  Thank you for all your comments and prayers!  We really appreciate it all!!

Another Good Day

Today was another good day for the girls.  Jordyn's vent settings were even lower today which is a good sign that her lung problem from Sunday is healing and she will most likely be ready to switch to the new ventilator in a few days.  Last night Dr. Cheatham went over Jordyn's head ultrasound with us and he thought it looked the same and the ventricle wasn't getting any larger.  Today his wife (the other Dr. Cheatham) said she thought it was slightly larger.  They are going to measure her head every day and get another ultrasound in a week.  I'm hoping the husband is right this time!

Addi is tolerating her new ventilator really well.  They haven't been successful getting her PICC Line in yet.  They try about once a shift, but when they fail they leave her alone for a while so she can rest and relax.  Hopefully soon they will be able to get that in.

Star of the Cul-de-sac

Addi's doctor told me today that she is the star of the Cul-de-sac because she is doing so well.  Her blood culture has been negative for 48 hours now, which means she'll be able to get a PICC Line put in and won't have to keep getting poked for IV's all the time.  Her vent settings were so good that they seized the opportunity to try her on a new ventilator.  The respiratory therapist told me that it lets her do a little more of the work because lungs are muscles and need to be worked, but if she doesn't want to work then the machine will compensate and do it for her.  It's possible that she might have to go back to the other ventilator again, but at the moment she is tolerating this new one very well.  She was also able to start back up on her feedings again.  1 ml every 3 hours.  She hasn't had my milk for about a week and half.

This is the new ventilator.  The one on the far left is the one she had been on.

Jordyn is doing really well.  They have been ordering an x-ray of her lungs every 4-6 hours and each one has shown improvement.  Her vent settings didn't have to be as high today as they were yesterday.  She was able to start back up on her feedings today.  1 ml every 3 hours, just like her sister.  They did another ultrasound of her head this morning and things are still looking about the same.  Things haven't gotten any worse, which is a huge blessing.  The doctor is optimistic that it is running a normal course and will clear up on it's own.  It could take up to 6 weeks for that to happen though.  They will keep monitoring her head and if it starts to get worse and there is any pressure on the brain, then she will have to have surgery to relieve the pressure.

PIE

I usually call the NICU every morning when I wake up to get an update and see how the girls' night went.  When I called this morning, Jordyn's nurse said she had been naughty in the night and then kept talking about other things while I sat and wondered what exactly does being naughty mean.  The doctor got on the phone with me right after and explained it a little better.  Jordyn has pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE), which means she has a small hole in one of her lungs and the air that the ventilator is blowing into her lungs, is escaping out into the rest of her body.  They will keep getting x-rays every 4-6 hours and keep monitoring her.  If she starts to struggle and her vitals dip, they will have to go in with a needle and try to suck out as much of the extra air as they can.  The doctor said this is a common problem with premature babies who have to be on the ventilator for a long period of time.  Unfortunately, she isn't ready to be off the ventilator yet.  Bert and I both commented how well she has been doing since her surgery.  So well, that we began to worry less about her, then all of a sudden things can change.  This experience is so emotionally draining.

Addison's culture from yesterday is still negative.  I told the nurse when I left today that if I didn't hear from her that I would assume good news!  We are really praying that it will stay negative so she can start feeling better.  She's had this infection for a week now and needs a break.  They did an echo on her heart this morning and her PDA is still open.  It's moderate to small in size and doesn't appear to be affecting her right now so they are going to leave it alone and hopefully it will close up soon.  The doctor is hopeful that they will be able to wean Addi off the ventilator sometime this week.  I have so many emotions about that: scared that she could stop breathing on her own again and have to be resuscitated, but also so excited to be able to hold my sweet baby for the first time.

I'm already noticing personality differences with the girls.  Addi likes to kick her legs straight out and won't keep them tucked in.  She's also more calm and can sometimes sleep through all the bothering things the nurses do.  Jordyn gets pretty mad when we unswaddle her and so her cares are sometimes longer because I am trying to comfort and soothe her.  She loves to be swaddled and keeps her legs curled up and tucked into her cocoon.  When I think back to when they were inside me, there was always a lot more movement and kicking on my left side, which was the side Addi was on!

Sledding

Addison still has an infection, so it's not going away fast like we all have been hoping.  They need the blood culture to stay negative for 48 hours, so every time we hear the bad news we know it's just that much longer before the infection is gone.

We are still meeting new nurses all the time, but are getting to know a lot of them.  Every day, each girl has a nurse and a respiratory therapist assigned to them.  Occasionally both girls will have the same ones assigned.  Today, two of the respiratory therapists that we like a lot were there.  They said that they had both fought over who would get the girls today, so they decided to just split them up between them and each take one!  It's fun to see them all get attached and makes us feel good that they like us and our cute little girls.

It was snowing pretty hard this afternoon while we were driving to and from the hospital.  The boys thought it would be a lot of fun to do some sledding in our backyard.  They invited some cousins over to sled and they had a blast for a couple of hours.

The sledders

On your mark, get set .....

You can tell this is towards the end and we're running out of snow.  This picture cracks me up because it looks like Cooper is having the time of his life on this dinky little hill.  They all had lots of fun though.

Milk Supply

The lactation consultants that work in the NICU have been giving me lots of good advice and because I have twins they wanted me to be able to pump 32 oz of milk in a day.  They wanted me to get there by the time the babies were 2 weeks old.  At first I didn't think that even sounded possible considering a week ago I was only getting 15 oz, but I am very excited to report that I was able to pump 34 oz today (one day shy of their 2 week birthday).

They had me bring all my milk in for about the first week because they want to use all the colostrum on the babies first, then they will have me bring in fresh milk daily.  In the meantime I am supposed to keep pumping and freezing it.  My freezer is already filling up, but it will all get used when I get these babies home with me.  And while we're on the topic...Cooper saw me getting ready to pump the other day and said to me, "Are you going to do that boob thing again?"  Yes, Cooper, I'm going to be doing that boob thing A LOT!

More Antibiotics

Addi has opened both her eyes now.  She has been sporting the one-eye pirate look for a couple days but finally got that left eye open.  Her blood culture from Tues turned positive sometime last night, so she still has an infection.  Dr. Cheatham decided to start her on some different antibiotics, so we're really hoping that she will start feeling better soon.  Poor girl!  She needs a break from getting poked and bothered!

Jordyn is doing really good!  She is now getting 1 ml of my milk every 3 hours instead of every 6.  She was poopy all 3 times I went down for cares today!  Bert got to hold her for the first time tonight when they weighed her.  He's been so nervous about doing much with the girls but I've been getting after him and the nurse started bugging him tonight, so he really had no choice.  The nurse picked Jordyn up and handed her to Bert so he didn't have to worry about all of her tubes and IV's.

The more I look at these girls, the more I am convinced that they are not identical.  Jordyn has olive skin and tons of dark hair.  Addi has more of a pink tone to her skin and a little less hair than Jordyn.  I think their faces are starting to look different too.  So I'm thinking they must be fraternal.  Only time will tell!

Roller Coaster

Jordyn got her UAC line out today.  The UAC line was attached to her belly button and had two purposes.  First, it gave a constant blood pressure reading and displayed on one of her big monitors.  Second, it was used by the nurses to draw blood from it. Now she'll have to be pricked every time when drawing blood. They use a blood pressure cuff when needing to check their blood pressure.  It's very similar to what the doctors use on us, except it's just tiny.

Addison's test results from Tuesday's blood culture showed negative.  They want to see 3 or 4 negative tests in a row before they deem the infection gone and out of her system.  She has been on antibiotics since Monday.  We're crossing our fingers that her PDA duct will close all the way while we wait for the infection to be clear so that she won't have to go through surgery.  If she does need the surgery, it would now likely be sometime next week.  Because of the infection, they did a test today by taking some spinal fluid to make sure the infection didn't make it's way into her brain.  We have to wait 5 days for the results of that test.  She was doing good tonight but they're trying to just give her as much rest as possible as she's been poked and prodded a lot these last few days.  They also took out her UAC line today. 

Holly's had a tough 24 hours emotionally. She's having a hard time seeing these babies so tiny and having all these tubes and IV's all over.  She doesn't want them to be in any pain.  This whole experience is so different than our last 3 births and it's a hard adjustment.  It can't help either that she doesn't have them here at home.  Everyone has been telling us that being in the NICU is a roller coaster ride and we've definitely been feeling that these past few days.

We really can't say thank you enough to so many of you who are going the extra mile in helping us out in so many aspects.  We realize that it's extremely tough on a lot of you too and your sacrifices and effort are greatly appreciated.  There have been plenty of offers of help that we haven't gotten around to yet.  Those offers aren't going unnoticed.  We truly are blessed to be surrounded by so many great friends and family.  We're very grateful for all of you.

Eye Opening

Addison's blood culture from Monday tested positive for an infection.  It's a really good thing they didn't proceed with the surgery.  The nurses kept commenting that she doesn't act sick so they didn't think she would have an infection.  Hopefully that's still a good sign that the infection isn't too bad. It was a huge blessing that they found this infection so early on since they were prepping for surgery and doing lots of tests because they said it would have taken longer to present itself.  Addison opened her right eye for the first time.  You can now see that her left eye is getting closer to opening.

Jordyn had a pretty chill day.  She was a little bit restless after cares but they upped her oxygen level a little bit and she calmed right down.  They've still been giving her some morphine when she needs it.  She started back up on her feedings and gets 1 milliliter every 6 hours.  1 milliliter is the equivalent of 1/5 of a teaspoon.

We had to get a picture of Jordyn in her rainbow bedding to send to her Aunt Kimmie!!

We tried Face Time there in the NICU with my iPhone and got it to work.  We'll definitely have to do it more often but I think it was neat for the boys to be able to see a live action shot rather than just rely on pictures.

Postponed

We went in at 11:00 to find out the latest and see what time in the afternoon Addison's surgery was going to be.  They had done an ultrasound on her had and an echo on her heart. The head ultrasound showed that everything is terrific.  The cardiologist came up to the NICU to talk about the echo results.  One side of the PDA duct still has a large gap but it tapers down to a smaller area.  The smaller area is where they would put the clip in but he was wavering on whether that opening was small enough that it wouldn't cause problems later in life or whether they should just do the surgery and make sure it gets closed completely.  There were lots of people involved and they finally decided that surgery would still be the best option.  The neonatal practitioner said Addison's CVC level was a little high and she could have a possible infection.  They decided to postpone the surgery and start an antibiotic to ensure she is completely healthy before doing surgery.

Holly went in and visited tonight and said that both girls are doing great.  Addison is 1 lb 8 oz and Jordyn is 1 lb 14 oz.  That is 1 oz. more than her birth weight.  They both were kind of out of it and are getting plenty of rest.

There is a chance the surgery could be tomorrow but it might just depend now on the surgeon's schedule.  They will do some more tests in the morning and we'll see if Addison is ready to go.

Another Surgery Scheduled

Jordyn was pretty out of it today because of the morphine they have been giving her since the surgery, otherwise she is doing great.  They did another head ultrasound and found that things are still ok and once again its not any worse since last Tuesday.  She got her chest tube taken out today that they had to put in for the surgery.   They inserted a PICC line, which is another tube but goes along side a vein all the way to the heart.  It is also called a central line catheter.  They can use it for nutrition, fluids, or medicines.

Addison's echo this morning showed that her PDA duct is large so the indocin medicine isn't working.  They are going to perform the same surgery on her sometime tomorrow afternoon.  She will need to have a PICC line as well but they didn't put it in today.

Both girls needed some blood and this is going to turn into a pretty common thing.  They will be getting blood weekly and possibly a few times a week.  

Surgery - 1 Week Old

The doctor said the surgery on Jordyn's heart went really well.  She did well herself and everything went perfectly as planned.  Her vitals were stable throughout the surgery.  Holly had asked the surgeon before he went in about the side effect of the surgery and the vocal chord nerve that we've mentioned before.  He said the problem is that it's usually right in the way and they just have to slightly move it out of the way and it is such a rare occurrence of something going wrong with it.  After the surgery he said that the nerve was right in the way as is normal and they just had to slightly move it.  He thought the surgery went really well and was happy about the success of it.  The Anesthesiologist was there with the surgeon to help as they had to put her under.

I'm holding a clip in the palm of my hand that is just like the clip the doctor used to put in Jordyn.

Addison's last dose of indocin was at 5:00 tonight and an echo is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  She will have the same surgery if the medicine didn't help close the duct.  I finally was convinced to help out and gave her a swab of Holly's milk and she absolutely loved it.  She kept sucking on the swab.  Holly then stuck a tiny pacifier in her mouth which she enjoyed for a little bit too.  Her right eye is really close to opening.  You can see a tiny little crack in her eye but she hasn't quite opened it yet.

 Addison sucking on a pacifier even with two different tubes in her mouth.

We put Rylee in the car seat facing forward tonight.  We've decided to make the change now before the twins come home.  I think she liked it as she was a chatter box the whole time we were driving.

Yes we do have others in the family too.  It seems I've completely taken over Holly's blog and turned this into a blog about the twins.  Maybe I should have my own blog? :)  This is kind of like our family journal and something we can look back on.  That's why Holly liked the idea of posting everyday.  She has her spurts where she's really good at it for awhile and then nothing for a long time.  The point is, we're definitely doing this for all of you who care but we're also doing this for ourselves.  I gotta mention things about the others here and there.  Don't get yourself too attached to just the twins. :)

Comparison

The results from Jordyn's head are not showing any extra bleeding.  It is still a grade 4 but it's not any worse than it was on Tuesday night.  They will keep monitoring it to make sure there isn't any swelling or pressure on the brain.  She does have to have the surgery on her heart to close the PDA duct.  It is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7:30.  It's a pretty low risk surgery, but the one main risk is that they could bump one of her vocal chord nerves which could affect the way her voice sounds. Everyone keeps assuring us that they do this surgery all the time and they've never lost a baby during it.  They are going to make a 1 centimeter incision and put in a tiny clip on the duct.  The clip is tinier than a staple and will stay with her always.

Addison's blood pressure keeps fluctuating last night and today.  The nurses have been giving her pain medication and/or sedatives and that brings it back down again.  The doctor said she was going to just keep watching it.

Here are some pictures that we took last night for comparison purposes.

Nana next to Addison.

Both our hands holding Addisons.

The nurses said many people put $1 next to their babies so you get a good idea of their size. This is Addison.

Happy Valentine's Day

Overall the girls had another great day.  They both had been on antibiotics since Tuesday, just in case they had an infection, but were taken off the antibiotics today because they have been doing well.  There were some cute Valentine's left at the girl's beds from the Parent Support Group, so we made sure to get some pictures.  Holly was able to pick up the babies for the first time tonight at their weigh-in. She is becoming a pro already at changing their diapers and telling the nurses how to do their job.

Holly holding Jordyn for the first time.

 Holly taking Addison's temperature.

Addison weighs 1 lb 7 oz, so she has lost 5 ounces since her birth.  She hasn't been getting Holly's milk since Tuesday and will have to wait longer while she's receiving indocin.  She does receive nutrition through her IV.    She will have an echo tomorrow to see if the medicine is helping with the closing of the PDA duct.

Jordyn was able to start having Holly's milk again today since she isn't on the indocin.  She can't start the indocin yet because a possible side effect is more bleeding and they need to wait and see if the bleeding in her head has stopped.  Her head ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  If the ultrasound shows that their is more bleeding, then surgery would be the next step.  We are praying that the bleeding has decreased and she won't have to go through that.  Jordyn weighed 1 lb 11 oz, so she is only 2 ounces different from her birth.  She has been lower but has gained some back. Along with the ultrasound, they also have an echo scheduled for her tomorrow morning to see if her PDA duct is closing on its own.

Support

We really appreciate the help and support that we've been getting from all of you, our family and friends.  Those that have helped with the kids, visited us, talked to us on the phone, prayed for us, and just plain old thought about us.  We want you to know that we love you all.  With your interest in mind I've decided to try and help Holly out by keeping this blog updated more often so that we can keep you all updated on our ever changing life.  This is not by any means a replacement for phone calls, visits, text messages, etc.  Feel free to call or drop by anytime.  I hope this will just be a common place to get a quick update on what's new and the ability to see some pictures of the babies since they won't be home for quite awhile.

Safe Day

The babies got lots of rest last night and had a really good day today.  Addison's echocardiogram came back today and the results are showing similar to the day before.  They started giving her indocin at 3:00 this afternoon and will do 3 different doses at 12 hours apart before doing another echocardiogram to see if the duct closes.  They will run a few courses of these doses and if it doesn't close then surgery would be the next option.  The nurses have said lots of times that they had a very safe day and gave them lots of rest since yesterday was so difficult.

Jordyn sleeping on her belly.

Addison and Holly's gigantic hands

Addison's cute little feet.

Setbacks

I woke up this morning with an update that the babies were doing very well.  Jordyn had been off the ventilator since last night and Addison was just about to go off the ventilator.  We were told that they were doing better than 90% of the babies that usually come in to the NICU at their age and weight.  Holly got her staples out and I went and picked her up from the hospital and brought her home.  We picked up some lunch and hung out at her Mom's for a few hours.  On the way home I got a phone call from the NICU and we were reminded how quickly things can change and how much of a rollercoaster ride this is going to be.  Addison had stopped breathing and they needed to put an oxygen mask on her and put her back on the ventilator.  By the time we got home, we got another call saying that she was doing much better already but Jordyn was starting to have the same problems so they were going to put her back on.  After visiting with our sweet neighbor for a little while we received another call saying that Jordyn had lost a significant amount of blood and they had to do some chest compressions on her.  They needed my permission to give her some blood and then wanted to know if we were coming back at 7:00 for cares so we could talk.   We sat down together and prayed and prayed for our little ones and let Heavenly Father know of our will for them and pleaded that they will be able to have a full mortal life on this earth with a family that loves them so much.  The hardest part is trying to keep in mind the perspective that Heavenly Father's will might be different than what we would like.  Another sweet neighbor came and dropped off dinner right at this most emotional time of day for us but it's just another reminder how much we appreciate all of you who are praying for our well being and for the many acts of love and support.  We thank you so much and want you to know that we love and appreciate you.

We proceeded down to the hospital and sat down with the doctor.  She talked to us about Addison and how much better she's been doing.  She does have a setback with the PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus).  I found a quick link if you want to read more about it here (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/pda/).  The duct hasn't closed yet and is still moderately open.  This can hopefully close soon on it's own or they will have to try a medicine called indocin, if that doesn't work then surgery is the next step.  The medicine could have other side effects so they are hoping it will close on it's own.  Other than that, she is doing fabulous. 

Jordyn on the other hand had a major setback.  First off, she has the same problem with her PDA.  Secondly, the reason that she needed some blood is because she has some bleeding in her head.  An ultrasound of the head is showing that she has a grade 4 (highest grade) issue in that she is bleeding out of the ventrical and into the blood tissue.  If the bleeding doesn't stop she could damage some blood cells and would also need to go see a neuro surgeon at Primary Children's to have surgery.  Because of the bleeding she is at a higher risk for developmental delays later on.  Hopefully the bleeding could clot on it's own and she won't need surgery.  They will do another ultrasound in a couple of days to check the bleeding again. 

It was really an emotional day and we knew that setbacks were going to occur but to us it just seems like from one extreme to the other extreme, not just a little setback but a major setback.  We can only hope and pray that everything will develop, heal, and work itself out that they will be able to fully recover and be healthy babies.  The risks of pre-term labor are significant like we've been told many times and now Jordyn is in that category of even bigger risks with the problems that she is facing.  You can only imagine the up and down rollercoaster ride that each day brings us and we rely on your faith and prayers and know in the back of our minds that we are being watched out for and hope that more good days like the previous 3 will be much more often then the day we faced today.

Names

Holly called and said that the babies are doing great and the doctor came in and said that she will be able to go home tomorrow instead of Wednesday.  I went in to work as the plan was to have Linda watch the kids so that I can try and work when it's convenient and save up some vacation days as there will be plenty of times I will need to be at home to take care of the family.  Everyone at work was completely shocked at what transpired over the weekend.  Holly ended up calling me around lunchtime and was having an emotional day (can you blame her?). I'm sure she was extra lonely with everyone doing their thing and her without a baby to care for. I bagged the plan of working and came to the hospital to be with her.  She seemed to have a much better afternoon.

We finally sat down and made a decision on the names.  Baby A is now named Addison Claire, and Baby B is Jordyn Elizabeth.  We let Jackson and Cooper pick the middle names.  Cooper has 3 Claire's in his class and wanted us to name her Claire G to distinguish which Claire we're talking about.  Hopefully Cooper will be fine with just Claire.  Jackson chose Elizabeth because he likes that name.

Blessings

We got a visit from Doctor Drewes and he said that Holly is doing really well.  He said they still have no idea why the babies came when they did and that she shouldn't beat herself up like it was her fault of any kind.  He did reaffirm how good it was that we came into the hospital otherwise we would have had a real emergency on our hands.  Her water sac could have ruptured and the babies would have been born at home.  That makes us so grateful and feel blessed to have that tender mercy from the Lord.  Mark and I were able to give the babies blessings today.  We still haven't decided on names so we continue to call them Baby A and Baby B.  I know Holly is going to win out on naming Addison instead of Madison or Madeline that I want.  I prefer Maddy over Addi but I think we all know who is going to win this battle. We missed Ben's birthday party (hopefully for a good enough reason) but they were nice enough to come down and bring me some dinner.

This was our first time seeing Baby A's face without her eye mask. 

 

Baby B all snuggled up.

Unexpected Delivery

Holly thought she might be leaking amniotic fluid this morning when she woke up.  She talked to the on-call doctor and was told to go down to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital around 10 a.m. and got checked in.  The nurse took all our information and discussesd many possibilities and went over several tests to figure out what was going on.  Just before she left to take the tests down to the lab she decided to check and see how dilated Holly was.  She couldn't tell because Holly's water sac was half in and half out like an hour glass.  She didn't want to puncture the water sac while checking the cervix so she went and got our doctor who was in another delivery.  The doctor came in and checked her cervix.  He reached around the water sac but couldn't feel her cervix and told us that she must be dilated all the way to a 10.  He told us we were going to have to deliver these babies today.  He did a quick ultrasound and found that the babies were both breech so we were going to have to do a C section.

Holly and I were shocked with the what was going to be a pretty normal low key Saturday and what really transpired in just a few hours.  The decision was made and the preparations were all done so quickly.  Holly's Dad came down and helped me give Holly a blessing just before Holly went in to the surgery room.  We had doctors and nurses visit us several times to give us expectations for lots of different things.  The one thing that stuck in our minds and surprised us the most was that they have a 85-90% survival rate when born at 25 1/2 weeks.  I decided not to watch the C section and sat next to Holly until the babies came out.  Baby A was born at 12:22 and weighed 1 lb 12 oz and is 12 1/2 inches long.  3 minutes later Baby B came out weighing in at 1 lb and 13 oz and is 13 inches long.  It was crazy to see such tiny little girls.  I tried my best to follow the babies and keep Holly updated on what was happening.

With all the craziness and trying to sort out all that has transpired in the last few hours, we were told to expect the babies to be in the NICU until the time of our due date, which is May 20.  We were forced to choose 4 people and 4 people only that will be allowed to visit the NICU and they have to be 18 years or older.  It will be hard for all of you not to be able to visit and might be difficult for our other kids to fully understand what is happening since they won't be able to see them.  You'll have to rely on pictures.  We've been told by many that this is the best NICU and they couldn't be at a better place.

Baby A right after the delivery.

Baby B after arriving in the NICU.

Holly's first contact with Baby A.