Day 26: The saga of the deep freeze

So our day today began by Dave discovering that our deep freeze bit the dust. He went to pull out a muffin to take to work and the muffin was cold, but not frozen as it should be. Thankfully we were able to rescue my breast milk and move it over to another freezer...whew! Then in the middle of the day we found out that Emma's PICC line went bad so they had to take it out. However, she still needs IV access so they put a temporary IV in. The nurse called to tell me about this because they had to put the IV IN THE MIDDLE OF HER FOREHEAD...yikes! As a nurse I have done this to babies and have always felt bad about it, but I never expected my child to have an IV in their head. Thankfully they were able to get Emma in for a new PICC line today so mom did not have to see her looking like a little unicorn...whew again!

After Dave got out of work we went for some very quick deep freezer shopping. We found the best "deal" (not sure that word really fits since it seemed a bit pricey) at Menards. So Dave brought it he and his dad met him there to help him get everything switched over. As they were putting the new one in the garage they discovered the new one was dented...really! So Dave's dad was nice enough to run it back to Menards to exchange it for a new one. Come to find out it was they last one in stock and they would not give us $ off the damaged one we had. They said we could buy the floor model, but they would not give us a discount on that either. Hmmmm...a bit of a predicament seeing as how we needed a deep freeze since ours was busted and stuffed to the brim with food that needed to go into a working deep freeze. So Dave's dad called the company which made the deep freeze and explained to them the situation. They are shipping us a new one...so nice! In the mean time we can deal with a dented, but functioning, deep freeze. Thanks Big C for all your help!

Needless to say by the time we were on our way to the hospital Dave and I were both a little frustrated with the days events. However, as soon as we started cuddling with our girls, nothing else seemed to matter. That is all both of us wanted to do all day was spend time with our girls. As we were cuddling a hundred deep freezes could have stopped working and it would not have mattered...I love the affect the twinners have on us :)

Anywho, the girls are doing good. They both continue to have bradys, but the majority are still self resolved. Adalyn is still on a CPAP of 5 on room air & tolerating it well. Her feedings are now 20 ml every 3 hours. She needs more calories now so she is getting 1/2 breast milk & HMF & 1/2 Similac special care (a higher calorie formula). She has been doing a little more spitting up with this so pray that her stomach gets used to this and she stops spitting up. Her weight last night was 2 lbs 5 oz (1060 grams) and tonight was 2 lbs 5 oz (1040 grams).

Emma actually decided today that she did not want her nasal cannula anymore. The nurse found her twice with the nasal cannula in her mouth. Emma there is a reason it is called a nasal cannula :) So they decided to leave it off and see how she did. She has been maintaining her oxygen saturations wonderfully. She is still having bradys so mom thinks they are going to put her back on CPAP soon, but we will see. In the meantime Dave & I really enjoyed her cute little bare naked nose :) Emma's feedings are still at 6 ml every 3 hours and she is tolerating this well. Emma's weight was 2 lbs 4 oz (1010 grams) last night and 2 lbs 5 oz (1050 grams) tonight. Please continue to pray that God protect the girls from infection, help them tolerated their feedings, keep their breathing strong, help them to have less brady's and to help them grow and develop. And please join us in praising God for blessing our girls with another great day!


Emma saying hi to her cousin Hudson

Day 25: Emma's break from CPAP

Emma in her new dress Grandma Jody made her

Adalyn stretching in her new dress

The twinners with mom & dad

Dave & I were fortunate again to spend the majority of our day today with the twinners. Both girls continue to do well. Adalyn had more brady/desat alarms over night last night. The majority were self resolved. This could be due to her being off CPAP and/or her larger feeding volume which is causing her to have some reflux. The doctors have decided to treat this in 2 ways: 1) they are giving Adalyn's feedings over an hour so that her reflux hopefully calms down 2) They decided this evening to put her back on CPAP. Dr. B said that he was doing to have a low threshold for putting her back on so Dave & I were expecting this. We are not at all disappointed since the CPAP is not harmful to them, and helps their future lung function. However we are still glad she got and break and that we were able to enjoy her CPAP free face for 2 days. Adalyn's feedings are up to 20 mL every 3 hours and besides the reflux and increased alarms she is tolerating them well.

This afternoon, after 24 hours with no alarms, the doctors decided to give Emma a break from CPAP! They have her on a nasal cannula just like they had Adalyn on. We were able to enjoy both girls today with no CPAP, it was wonderful. We are fully prepared for Emma to have to go back on the CPAP soon, but again, we are thankful for the break. Emma has been doing much better with her feeds over the past 24 hours. She has not had any more blood in her stomach since yesterday morning, she has had very little residuals, and has not been spitting up. Her feedings were increased to 6 ml every 3 hours today and she has been tolerating this well.

We are so thankful for how well both of the girls are doing. We also feel so blessed with the amount of time we have been able to spend with them the past few days. It has especially helped mommy :) We ask that you continue to pray that the girls tolerated their feedings, continue to do good with their breathing, that God protect them from NEC and other infections, and that they grow and develop appropriately.

Praise God for a good day!

Day 24: Adalyn's break from CPAP

That's right, they took Adalyn off of the CPAP today! The doctors say that it may not last for long but they just wanted her to have a break and see how she does. I spent 3.5 hours with Adalyn today and she did great, she is still on a nasal cannula with just a sniff of oxygen but she seems much more comfortable. Her feedings are up to 18ml every 3 hours today which is the goal for her weight so guess what? More good news! Adalyn had her PICC line removed! This is awesome because the PICC line is a popular place for infection to enter the body. Adalyn weighs 2 pounds 5 ounces tonight. Please pray that Adalyn continues to tolerate her feedings, that she stays free from infection, that she continues to have few alarms, and that her need for a PICC line does not return. Praise GOD for these awesome gifts we received today!

Emma had a great day today but a rough early morning with her feedings. She spit up alot last night and had some alarms with/because of this. Emma also continues to have a little blood in her stomach, the doctor says this is normal in a preemie and is probably just irritation from the feeding tube. They dropped her feedings down to 3ml every 3 hours and seems to be tolerating that better. She is doing great on CPAP and is at room air with her oxygen. Abi and Emma cuddled for about 3 hours today. She held her same weight of 2 pounds 4 ounces which is were she was last night. Please pray that Emma tolerates her feedings better so that she can catch up with big sis and get her PICC line removed. Please also pray that whatever is irritating her stomach goes away so that she can heal. And finally, please pray for her to stay free from infection, have fewer alarms, and for her comfort in general. Thank GOD for all the progress Emma has made since her surgery!

Day 23: Hangin out

Emma with all her CPAP off while they cleaned off her pretty face

Grandma Pammy giving Adalyn a little love

Today Abi and I spent the whole day at the hospital with Adalyn and Emma. I was able to hold Emma for the first time since last Monday. Abi was a little greedy today and held both girls for 2 hours!(That's 4 hours of pure cuddle time!) While I was getting Emma positioned on my chest her CPAP fell off but she was doing so good they let her take a break from it for the 2 hours that I held her. She did Awesome! Emma's recovery is going really well and they restarted her feedings at 3 ml every 3 hours for 2 feedings and then bumped her up to 6 ml every 3 hours which is where she was before surgery. What an answer to our prayers! She has been tolerating them pretty well, but is still spitting up at times and having occassional residuals. Please pray that Emma will tolerate her feedings so that they are able to continue advancing them. Emma weighed in tonight at 2lbs 4oz (1010 grams). Adalyn has had a good day today as well. She continues to do well on CPAP and her feedings were advanced this morning to 16 ml every 3 hours. Just like her sister she spits ups every once in a while and also has occassional residuals. Please pray that she continues to tolerate her feedings so that they are able to remove her PICC line in the next few days. Adalyn weighed in tonight at 2lbs 4oz (1040 grams). Please pray that GOD continues to protect both girls from NEC and infections. Please also pray that He continues to help them grow and develope as He has so faithfully done in the past 3 weeks. Join us in thanking GOD for His many blessings that He has given us and the girls! Please also pray for Abi as she continues to recover and learns how to cope with being away from the girls as well as the many ups and downs we are experiencing.

GOD is in control!

Day 22: Happy 3 Weeks!

Wow, 3 weeks old already.(Thursday, November 26) I can't believe how fast the time goes but I am thrilled because every day we get closer to the day when the girls can finally come home. Yesterday afternoon Emma was doing awesome with her recovery from surgery so they started to ween her off of the vent. Things were going great until 4:00pm when for some reason things started to go in the wrong direction, they brought her vent settings back up to where they were right after surgery. She continued to do poorly until 7:00pm so they did a chest x-ray but didn't really find anything except that her breathing tube was a little too far in and her right lung was not fully inflated. Since there was no other explanation as to why Emma wasn't doing very good they decided to pull the breathing tube out a little and while they were doing this the Respiratory Therapist noticed a mucus plug in her airway. They removed the breathing tube and replaced it with a new one and Emma instantly started to do much better, she remained on the vent until this morning. Last night Emma and Adalyn both weighed 2 pounds 3 ounces. Adalyn had some good cuddle time with Abi yesterday and her feedings went great! She is doing awesome!

This morning Emma was doing so good they put her back onto the CPAP and has been doing great all day. She is much more herself today and you can tell she is feeling much better. Her feedings are on hold while she recovers from her surgery. Adalyn's stomach was measuring a little big this morning so they put her feedings on hold until she had time to finish digesting all of her food. They resumed Adalyn's feedings at 9:00pm at 14ml every 3 hours. Today I was able to hold Adalyn for the first time since last week Tuesday. Praise GOD that I didn't get sick while Abi had the flu and that the girls both stayed healthy.

Please continue to pray for Emma's recovery and that both her and Adalyn stay free from infection. Please also pray that Adalyn continues to tolerate her feedings and that Emma does good enough so hers can be restarted.

Day 21: PDA ligation

Adalyn's beautiful face


Emma resting


Emma's new scar

Emma has had her surgery & praise God, everything went great. It took a little under an hour & there were no complications durring the procedure. Emma is still paralyzed right now from the medicine they gave her for the surgery. This should start wearing off in the next couple hours & then she will start moving again. She will be getting morphine as needed for the next 24 hours for pain. Right now she looks very peaceful. Much more than before the surgery, she does not like her ET tube (the intubation tube). Pray that Emma heals well & does not develope infection. Pray that as she wakes up she fights the ventilator so she can be extubated. Pray that her belly heals while she is not being fed so her feedings go better when they are restarted.

Side note: Adalyn is doing good, in case anyone was wondering :)

Day 20: Gearing up for surgery

I will have more of an update on their day yesterday later on.

Surgery

We received word from the pediatric cardiac surgery team. Emma will have surgery to close her PDA tomorrow morning at 8:30. Please be praying accordingly. Dave & I will be heading up to the hospital early tomorrow morning to spend some time with Emma before her surgery.

Day 19: Care Conference

We had a care conference yesterday with our social worker and neonatologist. We learned that both girls are doing well. We were reminded how awesome it is that both of our girls are off the vent. We were also reminded that we are not out of the woods in terms of the possibility of either of them needing to go back on the vent. At this point there is not reason for this, but if either were to start to go down hill drastically it could mean that she would have to be intubated again. The neonatologist said that the longer they stay off the vent the less likely they are to ever have to go back on it. Please pray that God continue to keep them strong, breathing well with the CPAP, and not needing to going on the vent.

Adalyn in having some alarms, lately just for desats (dropping her oxygen level). They have been self resolved most of the time which means most of the time they do not need to turn up her oxygen. She and Emma are still on a CPAP of 5 on room air. Adalyn's feedings are at 12 ml every 3 hours (still with the HMF to bring the calories to 22/ounce). To put that into perspective for you, there are 30 ml in an ounce...so she is getting almost 1/2 an ounce...big stuff! In the words of her nurse this morning she is "handling her feedings like a champ". She has had some small residuals and one small spit up this morning, but nothing that they are concerned about at this point. When Adalyn gets to 18 ml every 3 hours she will not need any TPN and lipids anymore. Which means she can get her PICC line out. SO if she keeps tolerating her feedings well and advancing like she has been Adalyn could be getting her PICC line out by the end of the week. This is huge because the PICC line is a huge source for potential infection. So getting that out means we significantly lower Adalyn's risk of infection. Please pray she continue to tolerate her feedings well so that her PICC can come out soon. Adalyn weighed in last night at 2lbs 5oz...easy piggy piggy piggy :)

Emma continues to have brady alarms, but she did not have an excessive amount yesterday and most of they were self resolved. Emma is back up to 6 ml every 3 hours on her feedings and has been having some issues. She has not been spitting up, but she is not digesting all of her feedings. Thankfully they have not had to hold or stop her feedings, but in order for her to progress she needs to tolerate her feedings better. Please pray that Emma starts digesting her feedings and tolerating them so they can continue to increase the amount that she is getting. Emma has still been occasionally getting some brown aspirate of of her tummy. The doctors feel this is still do to stomach irritation likely because of the ibuprofen she was given to before to help close her PDA. Please pray that God heal Emma's tummy and that the doctors are not missing anything.

Emma had her heart echo today and it showed that she still has a moderated PDA and that she has some enlargement of her right atrium. Our neonatologist said that he needs to discuss Emma with the other 8 neonatologists to come to a general consensus on how to manage her PDA, but he said due to the enlargement of the right atrium it is likely they will be recommending surgery. Please pray for the doctors as they make this decision. Please also pray that if surgery if what they advise, that God already begin to prepare the surgeon, nurses, and anesthesiologist that will be involved so that they can have sharp, clear minds at the surgery, steady hands, and caring hearts for Miss Emma. A few concerns with the surgery to be praying about:
1. One obvious concern is surgery on such a small baby, please pray that God protect her from bleeding and infection and hold her in His hands.
2. The nerves that control one of Emma's vocal cords runs right along the PDA and there is a risk that when they clamp off the PDA they could damage the nerve. This would paralyze one of her vocal cords which can lead to voice changes and feeding problems. Please pray that the nerve goes undamaged.
3. Emma will have to be intubated for the procedure and put back on the vent for a minimum of 24-48 hours. Putting her back on the vent means a risk of her becoming dependent on it and having trouble coming off it. Please pray that Emma is strong and begins breathing on her own again so that she can come off the vent ASAP.
4. In order to operate on the heart they must collapse her left lung for the duration of the procedure, meaning the right lung must do all the work. Please pray that God protect her lungs as this has a risk of causing some damage to one or both lungs. Please pray that her left lung re inflates after surgery with no problems.

Because of Emma's fluid restriction she was on for a few days as well as her issues tolerating her feedings, she has lost a little more weight. Emma is now down to 2lbs 1oz. Again please pray that Emma will start tolerating her feedings better so that she can gain weight. And also so we can get her to the point where she can get her PICC line out so that she can get rid of that source of infection.

As always please continue to pray that the girls grow and develop well and that God protect them from infection. Thanks again for your faithfulness in praying for the girls!

Day 18: Ups & downs

Today we will start off with Miss Emma. She had a really good night Saturday night & a good day Sunday. She was tolerating her feedings well (still at 4 ml every 3 hours) and was having minimal alarms and was not needing much if any stimulation. Her neonatologist was very encouraged and said that if she remained relatively symptom free she would not need surgery for her PDA unless her symptoms came back. Sunday the nurse practitioner also noticed Emma had greenish drainage coming from her eyes, so they started her on antibiotic drops. They are not sure if it is an infection or plugged tear ducts, so they started the drops to be safe. Last night Miss Emma had a bit more of a rough night. She had an increase in her brady alarms, she needed mild stim for a couple, and she had more residuals with her feeds. Emma's murmur is still there and she has a cardiac echo this morning to see if the PDA has changed at all. We have a care conference later this afternoon with her neonatologist so we should find out what the echo showed and what the plan is. It scares me to think of her having surgery for her PDA, but if it means that she will do better with her feeds and have less alarms, I know that God will take care of Emma during and after the surgery. Please pray that the doctors do what is best for Emma. Please pray that God give Dave & I peace about whatever decision they make.

Miss Adalyn is doing well. She has been having a few more alarms now that her feedings are up, but they reassure me that it is nothing abnormal. Adalyn is on 10 ml of breast milk every 3 hours and they are also adding human milk fortifier (HMF) to bring the calorie content of the breast milk up to 22 calories per ounce. This will help Miss Adalyn gain weight. For the most part Adalyn has been tolerating her feedings well, she did spit up a couple of times during the night, but nothing excessive. Both girls are still on a CPAP of 5 on room air. Please pray that Adalyn continues to do well.

Emma's weight Sunday night: 2lbs 2oz (970 grams)
Adalyn's weight Sunday night: 2lbs 3oz (990 grams)

Please continue to pray that God protect both girls from infection. Also continue to pray that God help Adalyn and Emma grow and develop appropriately.

Day 17: A murmur

WARNING!
The photos you are about to see are of two VERY cute babies. The diapers are not trying to eat the babies, they are trying to keep the linens dry as apparently the babies have figured out how to pee out of the micro preemie size diaper.
(Dave went to the hospital yesterday to drop off breast milk and the nurse snapped a few quick pictures of the girls for us. Apparently she felt the micro preemie diapers were too small as the girls were peeing out of the diapers. So she put them in preemie size and mom thinks it looks quite hilarious as the diapers are HUGE on them.)


Emma in her preemie diaper...loving being on her belly!

Adalyn in her preemie daiper...also loving being on her belly!

First off, a quick update on me. I have been fever free for over 24 hours! I am feeling good too! However, I am back to having to wait 7 days after my symptoms started to see the girls. The CDC recommends waiting this long to be around immune compromissed individuals which both of our girls are. So as much as I miss them (which is a ton) it is not worth exposing them to something. We found out that the nurse told us wrong, Dave has to wait 4 days after my fever is gone. So that means we both can go visit on wednesday. Hard, but so worth it to keep our girls healthy.

We will start off with Miss Adalyn first. She is doing well. They increased her feeds yesterday to 10ml every 3 hours and so far she is tolerating that great. She did not poop last night so hopefully she does that today. She is still having brady alarms, but not too many & she is not needing any stimulation most of them time. She is still on a CPAP of 5 on room air.

Miss Emma had another rough night friday night in terms of number of brady alarms. Saturday morning her nurse came in and heard a murmur on her. So the doctors ordered a heart echo and her PDA is back. It is moderate size which is what is was before she got any medicine. The doctors said that this could explain why Emma has been having periods of more alarms, needs a little more oxygen at times and also why she spits up more at times. The PDA can open and close on its own so that is why the symptoms may not occur all the time. However, the fact remains that the PDA is back. The doctor said that PDAs can reopen for different reasons, but one is an increase in fluid volume in the body. Well, this has been happening in the form of increased feeding volume. So they have decided that at this point Emma's symptoms are not severe enough that she needs surgery, but rather they want to try decreased her feedings to 4ml every 3 hours, leave her TPN & lipid volume as is, and watch her til monday and see if the PDA will shrink or close again on its own. So Emma will have a echo again on monday as long as her symptoms do not get worse. Emma had a good day yesterday and last night in terms of brady alarms. She had minimal alarms and needed minimal stimulation. She also did not need any oxygen and was not spitting up. One other thing her nurse decided to change was to get rid of her and Adalyn's Z-flo beds (these special foam beds that they can mold to any position). The nurse felt that these beds may be contributing to the problem since both girls are very sensitive to position and these beds are not the most supportive. They can still hear Emma's murmur, but we are encouraged that for the past 24 hours it has not been causing her any problems. Please pray that the Ultimate Physician, the God of miracles, our Amazing Heavenly Father, do His work with Emma and close her PDA so that she does not need surgery.

Emma is doing fine with her feedings, but she also needs to poop. Never knew I could be so hung up on poo :) Emma is also on a CPAP of 5 on room air. Please continue to pray that God protect Emma and Adalyn from infection, that they tolerate their feedings, that they continue to grow & develope appropriately. And please join us in praising God for protecting the girls from my illness. It has been 4 days since they were exposed to me and if I had Influenza and either of the girls caught it from me they should have shown symptoms by now. Praise God!

Oh weights. Adalyn & Emma both weighed 2 lbs 3 oz (990 grams) last night...ladies and gentlemen we have a tie :) The nurses tell me that they look bigger...Mom can't wait to witness this on her own!

Day 16: Good night, Good day

Both girls had a good night last night. Emma had 4 alarms all night and Adalyn had 6. Adalyn's hemoglobin was low so she got some blood this morning. Neither of them spit up with any of their feedings. Adalyn had one large residual with one of her feedings during the night, but a much smaller residual at the next & none at the next. Dr. S decided to keep Adalyn at 8 ml every 3 hours (we accidentally reported yesterday that she was at 10ml...oops...she was at 8 ml), she has tolerated that well during the day today. Emma is still at 6ml every 3 hours and tolerated that well through the night and during the day today. Last night Adalyn weighed 2 lbs 1 oz (940 grams) and tonight weighs 2 lbs 3 oz (990 grams). Emma weighed 2 lbs 3 oz (990 grams) last night and 2 lb 3 oz (1kg) tonight. Both girls are still at a CPAP of 5 on room air and doing well with that. Dave and I are thanking God that in our absence the girls are doing well and that they have not shown any signs of illness. Continue to pray that they continue to grow & develop well, that they continue to tolerate their feeds well, that their number of alarms continue to go down, that they do not require any higher CPAP settings, that God continue to protect them from infection, and Praise God for continuing to hold them in His hands!

I thought that I was on the upward swing today. I went 10 hours after my last motrin with no fever. And then...it reared it's ugly head again. At 4pm I had a temperature of 101.5...grrrrrrrrrrrr! So please continue to pray that I get better. Praise God that Dave has not gotten sick! Pray that God continue to protect him from illness. I know at some point this will end & I will be able to go see my girls again, I just miss them. I have definitely learned some serious lessons about patience through out these last couple months. One way I have been coping is by calling to check on Adalyn & Emma every couple hours. I am probably driving the nurses nuts :). The phrase "no change, we are having a good day" was music to my ears all day today.

A big thank you!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you that have helped us out. I have wanted to do thank yous, but I have run in to a couple problems with that.
1. I do not have many of your addresses
2. Up until my sick time at home I did not have any spare time

So forgive me, but I am saying a big thank you here on our blog. Thank you so much to everyone who provided meals, gifts for me while I was on bed rest, gifts for the girls, cards, words of encouragement, prayers, hugs, phone calls, emails, gas cards (we have been going through a lot of that lately :) ), flowers, and I am sure I am missing stuff, but thank you!

The generosity of our friends, family and coworkers has really opened our eyes to what it really means to be part of the family of God, taking care of those in need.

You all and God have been so good to us through all of this. I always thought that God was a busy guy, but last night while pumping (I know...kinda strange, but I have to keep myself awake somehow) I was marveling at how truly busy he must be. All the prayers that are going up for the twinners and all the other babies is NICUs all over the world, let alone prayers for everyone else...WOW! Holding all of those babies in his hands and watching over them while still be able to watch over all of us...WOW! And in the midst of all of this He remembers each of our individual needs...WOW! I serve an absolutely amazing God!

I hope that each of you in some way is blessed today and also that you bless someone else. I know that I feel blessed today, I have 2 beautiful 2 week old girls who are doing well, Praise God!

Day 15: Quarantine!

Happy 2 Weeks!

Today was a good day for Adalyn and Emma, not so good for Dave and Abi. Abi has influenza! She talked some more with the doctors at the NICU and they said she doesn't have to wait until next Wednesday to see them, she just needs to be symptom free for 24 hours.(Good news?) Now for me, because Abi has the flu and I don't, I cannot go to see them for 4 days! The reason for this is that they need to be sure I haven't contracted what Abi has. So even if Abi feels better tomorrow she can go on Saturday but I can't. This is hard on both of us, with only a limited time each day with the girls due to work and life in general, we are really going to miss our time with them over the next couple of days. It feels like we're not being good parents because we can't be there for them but in actuality staying home is the way we can help them the most. Tough. Once again I'm thankful that one of our "bad" days has to do with us and not with Adalyn and Emma, they are both still doing so good!

Last night at Emma's 2:00am feeding she started to brady again because she was spitting up her food. She continued to do this through her 5:00am feeding and had 25 brady's and many of them she needed stimulation to get her going again.(Sit her up, rub her belly, basically just move her.) The doctors decided to hold her feedings for a couple of hours to give her a break until they could see her. She did really well the rest of the day with very few bradys and they resumed her feeding tonight, she is at 6ml every 3 hours. They did her blood work and gave her a chest x-ray and everything is looking good, they said it is typical for preemies to need a break every now and again from their feedings. Emma has had no blood in her stomach for almost 48 hours and we are very thankful for that. They also increased her caffeine dosage to help her breath easier. She continues to be a good pooper:) Adalyn has been a trooper with only a few spit ups(again, normal for preemies) and is up to 10ml every 3 hours on her feedings. She is also a good pooper and seems to be tolerating every thing really well.

Please pray for Abi and me as we have to stay away from the girls for a couple of days. Please ask GOD that he keeps them safe and comfortable while we are away. Also thank Him for their continued health, weight gain, and growth as they are now 2 weeks old!

Prayer warriors we need your prayers!

I just wanted to post a quick note to ask again for your prayers. Your have all been such faithful prayer warriors so far. I still have a fever today and my doctor thinks that I may have influenza. Please pray that God protect Adalyn and Emma from infection. As I said in my post from last night please pray that if they have contracted this from me already that God heal them before they ever show symptoms. Please also pray that God bring me comfort as the neonatologists have asked that I wait until 7 days after the onset of my symptoms to come visit. Which means that I cannot see my girls until next wednesday and I am having a really hard time with this. Thank you again for all of your prayers and praise God that so far the girls do not show signs that they are getting sick. Please also pray that Dave does not get sick so that at least he can still be up there with our girls.

Day 14: Mom is missing the twinners

Adalyn just chillin

Emma holding daddy's finger

Last night after coming home from visiting Adalyn & Emma, I came down with a fever. I was feeling fine yesterday. This morning I felt a little more punky & tonight even more punky. I had some blood work done & gave a urine sample & they are not sure what is going on. I was started on Augmentin as a precaution. Please pray that I get better so that I can go see the twinners. Today was hard not being able to see them. Please also pray that the twinners do not catch whatever I have if it is contagious. Pray that God continue to protect them from infections of both bacterial and viral nature.

First of all, praise God, the girls had a good day. We will talk about Emma first. Emma had a little bit of a rough night having multiple brady alarms, but the majority were self resolved. After drawing her blood work during the night they found out Emma's hemoglobin was low. They gave her some packed red blood cells to help bring this up. They suspect this is part of why she had so many alarms last night. She had much less alarms during the day today. They said Emma's hemoglobin was most likely low due to the frequent labs she needs and the inability of her body to keep up. They said it is not uncommon for preemies to need to receive blood products. Emma had 1 aspirate from her feeding tube today that was slightly brownish. No fresh blood though. The doctors are not concerned about this. They also do not think that this contributed to her lower hemoglobin. Emma went up to 6 ml every 3 hours on her feedings today and so far has been tolerating them well. She is still on a CPAP of 5 on room air (these are the lowest settings). Emma's weight yesterday was 2 lb 3 oz (990 grams) and tonight was 2 lbs 3 oz (1000 grams or 1 kg). Oh and Emma did have a big poop during the night last night :) Praise God that Emma had a good day!

Adalyn has still been having occasional brady alarms, but again the majority self resolved. Today they increased her feedings to 8 ml every 3 hours and so far she has been tolerating them fine. Adalyn is also on a CPAP of 5 on room air. Adalyn's weight last night was 1 lb 15 oz (880 grams) and tonight was 1 lb 15 oz (890 grams). Praise God that Adalyn had a good day!

Lord Jesus,
I come to you first of all praising you for the good day you gave Adalyn and Emma. Thank you Lord for watching over Adalyn and Emma and for holding them in your hands. Lord I ask that you continue to protect the twinners from infection. I ask that you protect the girls from whatever I have. Lord if either of them have contracted what is making me ill, I boldly ask you to please heal them before they become sick. Father please heal me so that I can go up and see my girls again. Lord thank you for the many blessings you have already given Adalyn and Emma and please continue to bless them each day. Thank you for the blessing that Adalyn and Emma are to Dave and I and for the amazing gift that they are. Lord please continue to help them grow bigger, stronger, and to develop.
In your awesome name I pray,
Amen


The twinners saying hi to mommy

Day 13: A good day

Today was a good day for both girls. Emma had a little more of the brown stuff in her tummy early this morning but hasn't had any more all day. Emma's weight last night was 2pounds 2 ounces, she is showing up big sis. Today they changed Emma's feedings the same as they did Adalyn's yesterday and she is at 4ml but she hasn't had a good poop yet so hopefully that happens tonight. Adalyn's weight last night was up to 2 pounds! Today they moved Adalyn's feedings up from the 4ml yesterday to 6ml and she has been digesting great.

Abi and I were both able to do Kangaroo Care again today and it was awesome. It was my first time since Saturday and it was a little hard getting used to the CPAP and working around that for me. Please continue to pray for healing in Emma's tummy, for both of the girls to keep tolerating the CPAP, and for both to continue to have less bradys.

GOD You are in Control and thank you for the good day that Adalyn and Emma had today. Please hold them in Your hands tonight and keep them from harm until Abi and I can see them again. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen

Day 12: A slight scare

Last night miss Emma gave us a bit of a scare. When her nurse went to check to see what was in her stomach before her 11pm feeding she found a brown substance which was most likely blood. She called Dr. S, the neonatologist that was on, and he immediately came to examine Emma. His initial impression was that the blood was caused by irritation from her feeding tube. He did not believe it was anything more serious because her belly was nice & soft, she was not requiring oxygen and she was not having an increase in her alarms. He decided to hold her feedings and continue to check to see what was in her stomach every 3 hours. Though the night she did not have anything, but this morning when her nurse checked at 8am she again had a brown aspirate. So Dr. B, her neonatologist, decided to order an x-ray. The x-ray just showed gas in her stomach, which is common with the CPAP. There was no signs of anything more serious, such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Dr. B said that his exam was consistent with this. She was not showing any signs of NEC or any other intestinal issues. He agreed with Dr. S that the blood was likely from her feeding tube. Her old tube was pulled and a new one was placed. Dr. B restarted Emma's feedings and thus far she has been tolerating them with no more blood. Praise God! Please pray that she continues to tolerate her feedings and does not have anymore blood. Please pray that God protect both girls from NEC.

NEC is an infection in the intestines that can result in portions of the intestines dying off. At times it can require surgery and can be quite severe. They cause of NEC is not known but studies have shown that feedings preemies breast milk lowers their risk for NEC, but it does not protect them from NEC. Both girls are getting breast milk exclusively. Dr. B said that the girls are at high risk for NEC until they are 30 weeks gestation, so for about 3 more weeks.

Today they went up on Adalyn's feedings from 2 ml every 3 hours to 4 ml ever 3 hours...big stuff. So far she has been tolerating it well. Pray that she continues to tolerate her feedings. Emma is due to go up on her feedings tomorrow if she does not have any more problems.

Both girls are still on CPAP, on room air. Both are still having some alarms, but less than they were having yesterday. Dr. B said he would like them to be "symptom free" before they come off CPAP again. For the most part for the twinners that means no more alarms. He said that at this point keeping them on CPAP as long as they are having alarms with protect their lungs in terms of future problems. He said they could likely breathe fine without it, but if they are having alarms it could result in some damage to their lungs. And it could result in them having to be on oxygen which at this age can cause damage to their eyes. So mommy & daddy are okay with this, whatever is best for them. We just think it looks so uncomfortable.

Adalyn has earned her sunglasses back again. Her bilirubin was slightly elevated so she is back under the phototherapy lights.

Sorry no weights to report yet for today. We will have those for you tomorrow :)

Please also be praying for Dave & I. We have both been feeling the stress of being back home, driving, being away from the girls. We both would love to be up there all day every day, but life will not allow that. Please ask that God help us find balance and that he help us cope with not being able to be with the girls as often as we would like. Also, we are rather germ shy these days so if you are sick in any way we will be keeping our distance. If we contract anything it means that we could accidentally give it to our girls which would be devastating and if we get sick we can not go see the twinners. Please pray that God keep Dave, Adalyn, Emma and myself healthy. Thank you all so much for your prayers.

Day 11: A day away, sort of.

Emma all sprawled out.


Adalyn all tucked in.

So last night I went up north to get a little hunting done. It was really nice to take a break and get away from the hospital and the worries that have been on my mind for the last couple of weeks. But... this morning as I woke up at 5:20am and put on my hunting gear and walked out to the deer blind, I felt like I was missing something. I enjoyed the fresh air and watching the wildlife, but I couldn't seem to relax. It was hard to get comfortable and I couldn't even concentrate enough to read, that's when I realized I missed ALL my girls.(Really! After only about 12 hours! What is going on!) By the time I got back to the hospital on my way home at 8:00pm I was feeling tired and sore from the drive and the 12 hours in my deer blind, I was even a little crabby. I passed Abi in the hallway as I got up to the NICU and she was on her way to go pump, I was a little short with her but she acted like she didn't notice. As I walked into the nursery I was still crabby, sore, and tired. I went to help out with Emma's care and as I folded back the blanket on top of her crib I just took a moment to admire her, one of my two little miracles. My headache and stiff muscles relaxed and went away, I forgot I was tired, and I was instantly in a good mood. What an amazing thing, just looking at my daughter turned my whole day around. Do we have that affect on GOD? Does GOD really love me as much if not more than I love those girls? I think I'm just starting to understand what an amazing GOD we serve.

Okay, now on to the updates. Both girls are still on the CPAP today and have had a lot less brady's, it really seems to be helping them. They both have been on room air with the CPAP since late last night.(another good sign) The nurse said "It kind of depends on the doctor, but if they have another day tomorrow like the one they had today they could possibly come off again for a few days." So far both girls have been tolerating the CPAP really well and they don't seem to be uncomfortable. Adalyn gained 2 ounces since last night and is weighing 1 pound 15 ounces!(Back up to birth weight!) Emma still has the lead in the weight department with her astounding 2 pounds 1 ounce. Emma's heart echo results came back this evening and the doctors say her PDA is minuscule! For now they are going to stop the medicine and just keep a close eye on her, they think it will close the rest of the way on its own.

Please continue to pray that both girl's PDAs stay closed and that they continue to stay comfortable while they are on the CPAP. Also, thank GOD for Emma's good news and for both of the girl's weight gain.

Day 10: Back on CPAP

Sorry I am posting this a day late. Believe it or not we had a busy weekend :) Both girls are doing good, praise God! Yesterday morning Emma went back on CPAP too, so now both girls are. They both still seem to be tolerating it fine, abother sign it was needed. They both continue to have alarms for bradys (dropping their heart rate) and low pulse-ox (oxygen level). They are having less than they were before they were put back on CPAP & they are not requiring any stimulation. Meaning when they drop their heart rate and/or oxygen level they are coming out of it on their own without the nurse having to go touch them or sit them up. Adalyn's appear to be due to apnea of prematurity (she stops breathing for a few seconds) which is normal for a 25 weeker. The nurses have said they have not noticed this as much with Emma. Mom thinks maybe Emma is refluxing because she seems to have more alarms after her feedings and I notice her swallowing. At least this is what I have noticed when I am there. Reflux is also very common in preemies due to their immmature muscles. Mommy could be wrong about this though, time will tell.

Both girls are still doing well with their feedings. They are due to go from 2 ml every 3 hours to 4 ml every 3 hours soon...big stuff! They both gained weight last night. I cannot remember what their weights were...sorry...still having trouble finding some of those crayons :)

I had a hard time with the girls going back on CPAP. Largly due in part to the post partum hormones, but also because I do not like seeing that on their pretty little faces. So I had to get some much needed reminders from the nurses yesterday about how good they are doing for 25 weekers and how they should still be intubated. Mommy just has some high hopes, as unrealistic as they may be, I believe in the power of prayer. So I pray for things that medicine says should not happen. Like cervixes going backwards in dilation and effacement :) It was good for me to hear though because I need to remember how far they have come already in their 10 days and how much God has blessed us and them. Just please continue to pray that God continues to do the unexpected in the twinners and that they continue to do better than what a 25 weeker should.

Some people have requested I update how I am doing in my recovery. I am doing well. I have not taken any Vicodin since friday morning, just some occassional motrin. I am getting around MUCH easier than before. Dave still makes me ride in the wheel chair at the hospital even though I tell him I am fine. I have an appoitment tomorrow with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctors to check my incision. We are supposed to find out then if the studies that were done on my placenta at Mayo showed any cause for my preterm labor. I joked that I with some friends that I was going to put something on the blog about my belly button...and they thought I was kidding. I wasn't. I was so excited yesterday morning when I woke up to an inny belly button again. Woo Hoo the belly is shrinking. Sorry. Besides seeing my daughters it was the highlight of my day :)

Thanks again for all your prayers. We ask that you please continue to pray as our girls have a lot of growing and developing left to do.

Day 9: All dressed up

Emma in her cute outfit her nurse from last night found for her

Adalyn in her cute outfit

Adalyn (left) & Emma (right) in their first picture together since birth

Emma & mommy doing kangaroo care

Adalyn & daddy doing kangaroo care

Ladies & gentlemen...I am back :) Everyone keeps telling me what an awesome job Dave is doing, and might I add I agree, but I thought maybe a few of you would like to hear from me again now that I am off mag & making sense. Well sort of, I am still having some trouble locating some of the brain cells I lost between pregnancy & the mag, but I am trying :)

Well yesterday was the girl's 1 week birthday so we decided to spoil them with some girly blankets to decorate their cribs. So if you notice the cute blankets in the pictures...that was their birthday present from mommmy & daddy.

Emma had her repeat heart echo on Thursday and it showed that her PDA went from moderate to small. So they are continuing the ibuprofen for another round (3 days) and will do another heart echo on Sunday. Just like in adults, ibuprofen in neonates can affect the kidneys. Emma kidneys have been showing some effects, but not enough that they need to stop the medicine. So please pray that her kidneys do not show any more effects from the medicine so that they can complete this round. And pray that her echo on Sunday shows that the PDA is closed or is continuing to shrink.

As Dave mentioned on Day 7, the girls have been showing some signs that they are working a little harder to breathe. Adalyn has been having more bradys (when her heart rate drops). Most of the time it comes back up on its own, but occasionally they have to stimulate her to get it to come back up. Yesterday the turned her high flow oxygen up to give her a little more time off CPAP. Today Dr. S decided that Adalyn was ready to go back on CPAP. He said that preemies do not have the muscle strength needed to keep their lung fully inflated at all times and that is frequently when they have bradys. He said when they begin to have multiple episodes on this like Adalyn has they put them back on CPAP to allow them a break & fully inflate their lungs again. He said that he is hoping she just needs a short time back on to "reset" things to how they were before when she came off CPAP, and then she should be able to come off again. But he said it is also possible she may need to be on it for a while, it is up to Adalyn. Mommy & daddy think Adalyn was ready to go back on because she did not even put up a fuss when they put it on. Give her some time, she will be feisty again :) Please pray that the CPAP does what it is supposed to, that Adalyn stays comfortable and that she only has to be on it for a short period of time. Emma actually has had less bradys today so for now she gets to stay on the high flow oxygen through the nasal cannula, but she may also eventually have to go back on.

Our lovely ladies have been gaining some weight back for the past couple days. Adalyn's lowest weight was 1 lb 10 oz and Emma's was 1 lb 8 oz. Their weight's as of last night were Adalyn at 1 lb 12 oz and Emma at 1 lb 13 oz.

A big thank you to my friends on 7 center at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital for the flowers, so sweet, thanks guys!

Day 8: Happy 1 week!

These pictures are from last Saturday, many people have requested the "wedding ring" photos.(Emma is the one with the CPAP)


Today Adalyn and Emma are 1 week old, praise GOD. This past week has flown by and when we take a step back and look at where we started and where we are now it is incredible. Last Thursday I woke up at 4:30am to my phone ringing, I missed the call and noticed I had missed eleven calls before this most recent one. Disoriented with sleep I called the most recent number and it was my mom saying my dad was on the way to wake me up and I had to go to the hospital. I flew out of bed and threw on clothes(for some reason a Deleeuw Lumber t-shirt was the shirt I picked for the day my daughters were born) and jumped in the car and made a call to my dad I barely remember telling him I was already on my way to the hospital. When I became fully aware of what was going on I called my mom back and asked her to pray for Abi, the twinners, and for me as I drove. I then called Abi and told her I was on my way. Upon arriving at the hospital Abi and I had little time to cry, pray, and get excited about meeting our children. As I walked into the operating room after they had gotten Abi ready it was like walking into a different world. The lights were so bright after the dark room where Abi had spent the last week and there were probably a dozen people in the room. As they started Abi's c-section I remember sitting down next to Abi and thanking GOD that we were more excited than scared. The next 20 minutes flew by as they pulled first Adalyn(To which Abi said "You were right, its a girl!), then 2 minutes later Emma out and into our lives.(Abi's tearful reaction to Emma was "No wimpy white boys!" The doctors all laughed at this, realizing Abi was from the medical field.) As we waited in the recovery room our girls were brought to the NICU. While we waited we experienced both joy over our two daughters and fear for there well being as we waited for the call that they were stable and we could go see them. Again I thanked GOD that we were more excited than afraid, I didn't want the birth of our children over shadowed by the fear of their premature birth. When we finally went to see them we were over joyed that they were alive and doing well on the vent. We began mentally preparing ourselves for the long road ahead. Now, 1 week later, we would have never guessed that our little girls would be off the vent and breathing on their own! Not a day goes by that a professional in the medical field doesn't say that Adalyn and Emma shouldn't be doing this well and most say they haven't seen progress like theirs before. GOD's hand is clearly seen in our daughters lives.

An update on the girls: Adalyn received her PICC line last night and that went fairly well.(they had to try twice) Adalyn gained 2 ounces and is up from 1 pound 10 ounces to 1 pound 12 ounces. Emma put on 2 ounces as well and is now weighing in at 1 pound 13 ounces. Until now they have both been slowly loosing weight so it is exciting to see them put some back on. Both are doing great and seem to enjoy the Kangaroo Care as much as Abi and I do. Tonight Emma peed on me and took a poop in her diaper while I was holding her.(I guess I'll let it go this time, but next time she is in trouble:)) Adalyn slept the entire time Abi was holding her except for the last 5 minutes when she got the hiccups. (A 1 week old micro preemie with hiccups is about the cutest thing I have ever witnessed!)

GOD Is In Control.

Day 7

Today the girls are still doing great. Abi had Emma today for Kangaroo Care and I had Adalyn, we both enjoyed our time with our other daughter. It's amazing how much this helps us bond with our little girls, every day we feel more like parents and it is a little harder to leave. The girls are starting to show signs of getting tired from all the hard work they have been doing with their breathing. Today they put them on the high flow nasal cannula(high flow oxygen) to give them a little break. They are both still breathing on their own but this just helps blow the oxygen into their lungs. This has been doing the trick all day but the doctors just want us to be prepared that they may have to go back on the CPAP for a couple of days just to give their little bodies a much earned break. We are okay with this but we still hope it isn't necessary, we feel bad for them for how hard they have to work and are so proud of them with how far they have come.

The last thing I ask for today is this: I know how easy it is to get comfortable when the good news keeps pouring in every day and we start to "forget" to pray in earnest. GOD has blessed my family more than I could have hoped for and to be honest probably more than I would have thought he would. Please stay vigil and continue to pray for Adalyn and Emma every day and also thank GOD daily for the many miracles he is working through these two precious daughters of HIS.

Again thank you GOD! Thank you for all the wonderful and supportive people You have placed in and around our lives. Please hold Emma and Adalyn in Your hands this evening and keep them safe. AMEN

Day 6: Kangaroo Care!

Daddy and Emma

Mommy and Adalyn

Another day for good news, Praise GOD! The results are back from both the brain ultrasounds and the heart echos. Both girl's brain scans showed no bleeding and "look to be normal premature brains." Awesome. Adalyn's heart echo showed that her PDA was closed and that is good news, they will recheck her in a couple weeks just to make sure it stays closed. Emma's showed that hers was open so they started her on medicine that will hopefully close it. The medicine is a 3 day "course" and they say that 80% of babies have their PDA close after 2 courses. If it doesn't close they go in and close it at the bedside in a 45 minute surgery that they say is as routine as any heart surgery on a premature baby can be. We hope this doesn't have to happen but we will continue to trust in GOD.

So today Abi and I had the awesome opportunity to hold Emma and Adalyn skin to skin to our chests in what they call Kangaroo Care. They place the diapered baby to our bare chest and we just relax for 1-2 hours, it was another moment we will forever remember.(I may have cried for the first 2 minutes.) Studies show that this increases weight gain, regulates their heart and breathing rates, they will spend more time in sleep, spend more time being quiet and alert and less time crying, maintain their body warmth, and have a better chance of successful breast-feeding. They both were so calm and relaxed and seemed to enjoy it as much as we did!

Dear LORD,
Please continue to hold Adalyn and Emma in Your hands, watch over them and protect them from sickness and harm. Thank you for the many blessings you have already shown us and the many wonders you are working in our little girls. Also LORD, please watch over Max as he has had a "roller coaster day", continue to protect and heal your little son and allow him to go home with his parents.

In Jesus Christ Name: AMEN

Day 5: Abi goes home

Emma off of CPAP

I took a day off on the details yesterday so today I have a little more info for you all. Abi is feeling much better and was down to see the girls 3 times on Saturday. She was still uncomfortable but is slowly on the mend. Saturday night I took part in the care of the girls: I was able to change their diapers, take their temperatures, feed them, and help weigh them which meant I held them again.(Abi is jealous)

Sunday Abi continued to feel better but we both took it a little bit easier and requested less visitors for the day. When I went down to say good morning to Adalyn and Emma I was greeted with good news: Adalyn is off the CPAP and breathing completely on her own! Also, Emma was moved down from 40% oxygen to 21%!(room air) Emma's PICC line also went in flawlessly and she is doing great. Both girls have been receiving 2ml of breast milk every 3 hours since Saturday afternoon and so far are digesting well.(including cute little poops) Both of their Billiruben levels were good so for right now they no longer need to be under the phototherapy lights.(They most likely will need to be put back under the lights for a short time again.) Sunday night I helped again with Adalyn's care.(I still cannot get over how awesome it is to help out and hold them!) Abi was feeling better after a little rest and joined me as I was finishing up. We hung out with Adalyn and Emma for a while and said a prayer with both girls. As I was checking Abi and I out of the NICU the docs decided to pull Emma off of CPAP so we hung around for awhile longer and she was doing well as Abi and I went back to the room with tears of joy in our eyes from all of GOD'S blessings.

Monday: Going Home

This morning when I went down to see the girls they were both doing great! Adalyn is still breathing on her own and so is Emma!!!! Emma still is having just a little more trouble breathing than Adalyn so she is on 40% oxygen the same way you or I would be if we were at the hospital and needed a little help.(No CPAP for either of the girls so far.) We are so proud of both girls and cannot give GOD enough thanks for their progress so far. Abi had a few more visits today to the NICU than she has so far and was able to take part in the care of both girls, she is as happy as a clam.(temp, feeding, diapers, and weighing) Adalyn and Emma both had their heart echos and brain ultrasounds today but we will not here the official report until Tuesday.

So, the doctors let Abi make the decision if she was going home today or tomorrow and she is feeling so good she decided to go home tonight. This meant I was in the middle of a whirlwind of clothes, food, magazines, and pink as I scrambled to pack everything up so we would be ready to go home after our evening visit with Adalyn and Emma. I worked so hard I decided to take a short nap from 4:00pm to 6:30pm. This set us back a little but we still had an enjoyable evening with our beautiful daughters. We are now home and less emotional than I would have thought for or first night "away" from the girls, we know that they are in great care with the nurses and that GOD is holding them in HIS hands. Abi is doing awesome with the breast pumping and she is producing plenty for the girls so far. I cannot believe what a strong, caring, wonderful woman Abi is.

Again, thank you to everyone for their continued support and prayers. GOD has blessed us with great families, friends, and neighbors. Most of all: thank you to all of your children who are praying for "the twinners", I really believe these are the prayers that GOD pays the most attention to.

After a huge poop, Adalyn only had enough energy to open one eye!

Day 4: Praise GOD

Here are the girl's cribs, both are off the phototherapy lights!

Adalyn is breathing completely on her own!

Emma is still on CPAP, but is on room air.


Dear Lord,

We come before You this morning to give You thanks and praise Your Name. Thank You for Your healing hands with Abigail and for her continued health. We also are left speechless while we witness Your Holy Power as You watch over Adalyn and Emma and continue to bless them with their health and improvement day after day! Lord, please continue to give them strength as they journey down the long road ahead. Tomorrow please help the results of the chest echos and head ultrasounds show us that their hearts are strong and that they have had little or no bleeding of their brains.

Again, Thank You GOD, You Are In Control!

Amen

Day 3

Emma on CPAP.

Emma on the vent.

Adalyn on CPAP with her eye open.

Adalyn on the vent.


Good morning everyone! Today Adalyn and Emma are still doing great! Emma is still having a little bit harder of a time with the CPAP than Adalyn but is still doing good. Both girls are under the light today to help breakdown their Bilirubin level.(This is completely normal at this stage.) Emma's UVC is too low so they need to take it out.(this is in her belly button right now to provide her with fluids.) She will now need a PICC line in her arm or leg and will get that today. They are little miracles already and Abi and I are very excited about their progress so far.

Last night the pain became unbearable for Abi and the surgeon (Dr. Leary) came to visit us around 7:00pm. Earlier in the day Abi had a CT scan and they discovered clotted blood about the size of a hardcover book left over from post-op bleeding. During the exam Abi was having trouble breathing because of the pain and Dr. Leary decided to go back in and remove the clot. Fortunately they were able to take her in right away and she was in the operating room by 9:15pm. After about an hour Dr. Leary reported that everything had gone smoothly.(They actually discovered more clotted blood than they had first thought was in there.) Abi was returned to her room at 11:00pm and was feeling much better, she was even doing her patented "finger dance" to some music on the TV. This morning at 6:30am the nurses got Abi standing and I took her down to see the girls! This was an important visit for us and both our spirits are much higher today.

Last night wasn't all bad news, while Abi was in surgery I went to visit with Adalyn and Emma and I was able to hold them both while the nurse changed their bedding! That will be a moment in my life that I will NEVER forget. Trent was also up here last night(our pastor) and said a blessing over the girls, prayed over Abi, and prayed with me and Abi's parents. This was also a very calming time for me.

Please continue to pray for Abi, Adalyn, and Emma.
GOD Is In Control

Day 2

Good news for Day 2! Adalyn and Emma were graduated to CPAP at 5:00 this morning and so far are doing great. Adalyn is on room air but Emma still has 44 percent oxygen because she is having just a little bit harder of a time breathing on her own than Adalyn. We praise God for this and hope the twinners can continue to breathe on their own.

Abi had a rough night last night and continues to have a long recovery. Her Hemoglobin level was a 5.8 so they have given her 3 units of blood.(They think she may have lost more blood during surgery than they first etimated.) She also had a fever last night and put her on antibiotics to help with infection.

Please pray for a safe and fast recovery for Abgail and continued progress for Adalyn and Emma.

God is in control-Dave

Happy Birthday!

This morning we welcomed 2 beautiful twin girls into this world. At 7:54am Adalyn Jean Lamar entered this world at 1lb 15.4 oz and 14 inches long. Her sister Emma Gail followed at 7:56am weighing 1lb 14.7 oz and 13 inches long.

As of right now they are both doing fine. Both are intubated due to their age. The neonatologists call this the honeymoon phase & say the next 48 hours are really critical. So please be praying that thet are strong, healthy, and surrounded by God's strength and power. The neonatologist already commented that they are fiesty & he knew nothing about how they were durring the pregnancy. So keep it up girls, you are strong & mom & dad love you so much!

25 weeks 1 day

Last night I continued to have some irritability & contractions. The docs checked me & I am the same (dilated to a 3, 60% effaced). So they decided to give me a special "cocktail" at bedtime to help further relax the uterus & help me really sleep. Well, apparently I am a cheap date. The cocktail was a morphine & phenergan shot (oh yes in my bum again) and I still cannot keep my eyes open. I guess that is one way to pass the time :) So we are continuing on the same path & taking it day by day. The nurses call me their little time bomb, no one knows when I will really blow :) Thank you for the continous prayers and support!

25 weeks!!!

We are so thankful that God has kept the twinners inside this long. Each day is a blessing.

Last evening I was contracting every 8 minutes again so they turned up my mag to 3 grams an hour. My contractions have slowed down. Dr. Z does not want to check me because she does not want to stir things up if she does not have to. I am staying on 3 grams an hour of mag because it seems to be working. Unfortunately that has brought my mag level to 6.8 and I am feeling pretty crummy. Please pray that God give me the strength & patience I need to tolerate feeling this way. Also, as usual please continue to pray for the twinners.

God bless!

24 weeks 6 days

We are still hanging on. I continue to have periods of uterine irritability and contractions. Twice today my contractions have been 6-8 minutes apart, but then they space out on their own. This morning when Dr. Z checked me she said I am the same as yesterday, dilated to a 3 and about 60% effaced. She is going to leave me at my current mag dose (2.5 grams per hour) and leave me on labor & delivery. She said we will not move me to OB special care until I am stable for a least one full day. What that means I am not quite sure :)

I got to move to a bigger room since I am staying on this floor. I now have 2 windows...yippee! I have been quite tired the past couple days. I think it is a combination on the mag & the contractions. So I am just trying my hardest to relax as much as I can.

Thank you again for being our prayer warriors. Keep it up!

24 weeks 5 days

Yesterday evening I started to notice more contractions and uterine irritability. At midnight my nurse put me on the monitor & the irritability as well as some regular contractions were showing up on the monitor. So the doctors turned my Mag up to 3 grams an hour. At midnight my cervix was dilated to a 3-4, 60% effaced, & they were able to feel the bag of water bulging into my cervix. At about 5am I was the same except I was dilated to a 4. Around 8 this morning Dr. S checked me and said I am the same except dilated to a 3. The contractions and irritability have calmed down so they have turned my mag down to 2.5 grams an hour. Needless to say I am not feeling too hot again. Better than thursday, but not great. So they are going to keep me on the 2.5 of mag and recheck me later if I continue to have irritability and contractions.

Again we are thankful for each day God blesses us with. We just ask again that you pray for strength & health for the twinners for whenever God has planned for them to be born. Thank you for the continuing prayers and support!