Slumber Party

Christopher passed his car seat challenge with flying colors so last night, Todd & I got to "room in" with him.  It went OK - not horrible but not great.  We got to the NICU around 8:00 pm and spent some time with Kendall and fed Christopher and then got checked into our room around 10:30.

They have been fortifying my breast milk to add more calories and they lowered his powder to 22 calories so his feeding schedule changed from every 4 hours to every 3.  So, he ate at 9pm, 12am, 3am, 6am and 9am before we left this morning.  The nurse came in a few times to check his vitals and his temperature and he seemed cold -  his temp was hanging around 97.  Todd said he thought the room was chilly. So, we double swaddled him and added another layer of clothing to try to get him back up again.  I think that had a domino effect on his feedings because we had a hard time waking him up to eat.  He was so cozy in his double burrito wrap.  He did OK with his 12 and 3 am feedings but not so good with the last 2.  He didn't finish either bottle. 

I was feeling a little stressed this morning because they have conditioned us so well about the importance of getting those bottles down within a certain timeframe.  I just kept envisioning having to put him back on a feeding tube.  The nurse was very encouraging this morning and said we're doing a great job and told us not to get discouraged.  She said preemies go through spurts of eating and it's not unusual.  He's had a big 2 days between the circumcision and learning how to breastfeed and then yesterday, he had his hearing test and his Hepatitis B shot. 

So, we left him this morning and I'm thinking his homecoming will probably get delayed by a few days.  He didn't gain any weight yesterday so unless he really picks it up today, I'm thinking it will probably be Tuesday or Wednesday now.

On the brightside, Kendall has caught up.  She has had 3 really good days of eating and gained 3 ounces. She also passed her car seat challenge last night so there's a possibility they could come home together.

I'm still really struggling with how to feed them when they are home.  Last night, I breastfed Christopher for the 9, 12 and 3:00 feedings and he did pretty good.  He was slow and took about an hour each feeding. And then I had to turn around and pump for Kendall which added another 20 minutes to the total "feeding time". So, by the time I got done, I had about 45 minutes before I had to start it all over again.  I only got about an hour of sleep last night and I know I can't keep that up.  For the last 2 feedings, I requested bottles to try to give myself a break and Daddy fed him but I still couldn't sleep.  First-time Mama jitters, I guess.

I hate to throw in the towel on breastfeeding but I'm really tempted to pump only.  I guess my philosophy is that I'd rather they get the breast milk and it doesn't matter how they get it.  My supply is barely keeping up with them so I suspect I'll have to supplement with formula anyway.  

Mothers of twins - I need some guidance here.  What worked for you?

Mama, I'm Comin' Home

We got some good news today.  Christopher is close to coming home.  We think he'll get discharged on Sunday or Monday.  We have to do the car seat challenge tomorrow to make sure he can breathe in the car seat and then our hospital lets parents "room in" for a night before bringing a NICU baby home.  We'll do that tomorrow night.

Christopher has gained 3 oz so he's currently at 4 lbs 11 oz and he has really taken off with his feedings. That's the last factor for letting them go home.  He also had his circumcision this morning and he did fine.  It still broke my heart to put him through that but I definitely think it was the right decision for his health.

Little Kendall is also doing good but she still needs a little more time to get the bottle down.  She has quite an appetite but gets sleepy about 1/2 way through the bottle and sometimes can't finish.  As soon as she can show some consistency with her feedings, she'll get discharged as well.   She has gained the most weight and now weighs 4 lb 3oz. 

I'm so happy to have Christopher coming home but it is with mixed feelings.  I feel so guilty for leaving Kendall behind.  I started crying when the doctor told us about Christopher and part of it was tears of joy and the other part was tears of guilt.  I know she's not ready to come home and of course I want the best for her.  I also know that we'll continue to visit like we are now.  But, it's still killing me.  We're hoping she'll only stay for a few days to a week after him. 

Here's another pic:

One Week Old!

We've made it one week and the twins are doing great!

They came out of their incubators Friday night so they are both in "big kid" cribs now.  They are regulating their body temperatures well so one big obstacle down.

Next obstacle - getting rid of the feeding tubes and steady weight gain!

Kendall still has a better appetite - she's up to 2 oz every 3 hours.  She is 1 oz shy of her birth weight (3.15 lbs). She still has to alternate between bottle feeding and the feeding tube.  They give her about 45 minutes to finish the bottle on her own and if she doesn't, we put the rest in the feeding tube. This morning she took the entire bottle all by herself.

Christopher is still trying to catch up to his little sister.  He is up to just over 1 oz every 3 hours.  He still spits up occasionally and is still hit or miss with taking it from the bottle.  He's also 1 oz shy of his original birth weight (4.09 lbs).

I've been pumping at home every 3 hours to try to keep up with their intake and it's going well.  I'm able to get about 2 oz at every pump so I'm hoping to get caught up enough that I'll be able to freeze some for when they come home.  I only tried to put them to breast a few times in the NICU but it's hard to time their feedings with my pumpings and since they are still trying to figure out the whole suck/breathe thing, it's just easier to pump and have it ready for them.  Plus, the nurses are fortifying the breast milk so it's higher in calories.  As long as they are getting the milk, I don't care how they get it.

We've been going to visit them twice/day for about 2 hours per visit.  It never seems like enough and it's so hard to leave.  I could sit there all day and just stare at them.  Kendall has been more alert and awake the last 2 visits and we can already see her starting to interact with us.  She shifts her eyes toward our voices and you can see her trying to focus on our faces.  It might've been gas but I swear I've even detected a few smiles.

We're still hoping they can come home within the next 2 weeks.  The doctors said to expect them home around the time that I would have delivered so that's the last week of October.  The goal is to have them home by Halloween.  My little goblins!

Christopher

Kendall (that looks like a smile, right?)

Brother & Sister

Update

Thanks again to everyone for all of your well wishes and congratulatory messages!  The support I've encountered since starting my blog has been so awesome.  I can't imagine getting through everything without you guys!

The twins are doing good.  Kendall is a little chowhound and is already taking in 1.5 oz per feeding.  Christopher's appetite has also started to increase.  They discovered he had a heart murmur on Tuesday and the cardiologist came in and evaluated him.  There is an artery between the heart and lungs that is supposed to close after birth (PDA).  His didn't close.  This was also causing some increased respirations and we think his inability to keep food down. The first course of action was to limit his IV fluids and then if that didn't work, there's an ibuprofen-like medication they could've given him.  Thankfully, limiting his fluids worked and as of yesterday, the murmur had corrected itself. 

I was released from the hospital yesterday and I'm feeling pretty good.  Still taking Percoset as I need it but everything is about what I expected.  We're visiting the twins twice/day and spending about 2 hours each visit.  It's such valuable time and we always hate to leave but I know they are in such good care and I feel completely comfortable with that.  We think they will probably be in the NICU for about 3 weeks and I'm keeping my fingers crossed they'll be home by Halloween.

I'm still trying to figure out breastfeeding - which has been difficult considering there's about 5 miles seperating me from the babies.  I'm pumping at home and taking the milk to the NICU when we visit.  My milk just started coming in yesterday so I'm not generating a huge volume yet.  It took 3 pumps just to get 1 ounce but I was so proud of myself.

"Look what I did!  These things on my chest really do work!"

Here's a few more pics of the babies.  You can really tell how small they are when you see the pacifier in Kendall's mouth. 

Christopher

Kendall

More Twins Pics

Thank you so much to everyone for your well wishes! 

Ah, the wonders of Vicodin.  It has really helped with the pain management so I'm able to move around fairly well.  Since I had a similar surgery when my left tube was removed, I had a pretty good understanding of what the incision would feel like so I felt prepared.

Not so prepared for the hysterectomy part.

I've had a few people ask if I'm OK with it.  Before the c-section, I had asked to have my right tube tied because Todd & I knew we weren't going to try to conceive again.  This was our last year of trying - conception or not.  So, we had already made the decision to take measures to prevent any future pregnancies. To be blessed with twins is beyond words.

I'll save the whole birth story for another post but suffice it to say the hysterectomy was required to save my life.  The babies came out fine and they were attempting to remove the placenta previa when they realized it was deeply attached to my uterine wall.   I started to hemorrhage and they couldn't stop the bleeding.  I was awake and heard the doctor yell 3 things:  we need a mop over here, I need 2 units of blood stat and I need my hysterectomy kit.  And, then it got a little chaotic.  The anesthesiologist started ordering different medicatons and started 2 new IV lines.  He was doing a good job of talking to me to let me know what was going on and at that point, I only worried about my babies being safe.  I remember thinking, "Do whatever you have to do to me".

My blood pressure dropped pretty quickly and I heard the doctors talking to each other trying to get the bleeding under control.  "I need more suction" was a popular phrase.  All in all, I feel OK with everything.  I have my babies and I have my life.  Without the blood transfusion, I don't know where I'd be today.  I urge everyone to give blood at their local Red Cross or blood bank.  I plan to give back as soon as I'm able.

So, how about a baby update?  Both are doing well.  I FINALLY got to see them for the first time last night at 6:00 and then I went back down around 9:30 and spent another 2 hours with them.  Since they are in the NICU, they can't leave the room so we need to visit them. I am so in awe when I see them.  First, I can't believe how small they are.  While they were a good size at birth, they are still so tiny - especially Kendall.  Second, I can't believe I had both of them in my belly.  It's just amazing.  3 days ago, they were in me. And today they are breathing, eating human beings. Simply amazing.

Kendall is taking to feeding a little quicker than Christopher.  Since they were born so early, they haven't learned the sucking reflex yet but they are starting to get it.  Kendall is drinking formula through a nipple and seems to understand how to drink and breathe at the same time.  She has a great appetite and took in 7 cc of formula last night. Christopher is still learning - he was really "gaggy" last night and took in about 3 cc of formula but he spit up some of it so they went ahead and put a feeding tube in to get the rest of the food down.  They'll continue to try to feed him via mouth but will resort to the feeding tube if needed just so he can get the food.

I started pumping yesterday and I am getting some colustrum but no milk yet.  Maybe by tomorrow or Thursday.

Here's a few more pics.  I know everyone says it, but it's true.  I am so in love already.

Christopher
He's now off oxygen but still has the IV lines.

Kendall (for some reason, we have more pics of her.  I'll have to work on getting more of him today).

Our first family photo (don't be jealous of my super sexy look that I have goin' on). 

The Twins Are Here!

I'll post more details later but the twins were born last night (10/4) at 32.4 weeks.

Christopher
11:00 pm
4.09 lbs
17.5 in

Kendall
11:01 pm
3.15 lbs
17 in

Started bleeding and water broke at 5:00 pm.  Started active labor around 7:00pm.  C-section didn't go quite as planned.  Placenta previa ended up being a placenta accreta.  Hemorrhaged, lost half of my total blood volume in 20 minutes and blood pressure dropped to 90/30. They had to do an emergency hysterectomy to stop the bleeding and to save my life. 

Babies are doing well.  Only placed on oxygen last night.  Kendall is already off oxygen and breathing on her own.   Christopher should be taken off today.

Christopher

Kendall

32 Weeks (and 2 days)

Yesterday, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it.  I woke up and had a lot of discomfort in my lower belly.  It has happened before so I just figured Christopher was doing something funky and it would go away.

I had an appt with my peri at 9:30am and both heart beats were good at 145-ish for both.  And, then the u/s tech scared the ba-jeebus outta me.  She asked if the babies were still active and I said "yeah".  She went back to Christopher and we could see his heart beating but he was very still.  She poked and prodded to get him to move and he wouldn't.  At first, I thought to myself, "They aren't usually active in the mornings and he's just sleeping" but the more she poked, I started getting scared.  And, then just like that, she stood up and said, "Everything looks fine - I'll get the doctor for you". 

About 5 minutes later, she came back in and said the doctor got called away for a patient in the hospital and asked if I wanted to wait.  Not knowing how long he'd be gone, I decided to leave.  I didn't want to overreact and Christopher's heart beat was very strong so I knew the likelihood of something being wrong was low.

Anyway, I came home and layed on the couch.  The appointment was still in the back of my head so I kept prodding my belly trying to feel some movement.  Any movement.

Finally, he got the hiccups.  And, then a small kick.  Phew!

And, then the backache started.  Just a low, dull backache like when you stand for too long.  But, no matter how I laid, it wouldn't go away.  And, I still had that lower belly ache that had now started to radiate toward my sides.  It wasn't cramping and I wasn't having contractions so I chalked it up to ligament pain or gas pains.  But, damn!  It hurt!

I usually drink 2-3 liters of water per day and I knew I wasn't on track yesterday so I beefed up my water consumption around 3:00.  That helped with peeing but nothing else.  By 8:00, I broke down and took 2 Tylenol.  And, then finally, everything started to subside around 10:30 last night.

At one point, I was tempted to head to the hospital but since I wasn't having contractions and I wasn't bleeding, I thought it would be a wasted trip.  I took today off and woke up feeling much better.

You might also notice that I added a new ticker to my blog.  We have an official birthdate for the twins!  The hospital confirmed the c-section for 10/29 at 9:30am EST.   I can't believe there's only 27 more days!