Twins-Day 14

Good Morning,
Not alot is new today.  The weights were within a half ounce of what they were yesterday; Brienna weighs 4lb 1 oz and Brooklyn weighs 4 lb 7 oz.  So, they're each within an ouce of their original birthweight, but neither one is quite there yet.  Brienna's billiruben level was up slightly this morning, but I think that's typical on the first day that they remove the lights.  So, we'll see if it was significant enough for them to bring the lights back or if they give it a day or two to correct itself.  Otherwise, they're doing very well.  Last night's nurse commented on how "delightful" the girls are to take care of and how they seem to do everything together-from "spells" to dirty diapers.
Below is a picture that we took yesterday of Brooklyn and Brienna....or Brienna and Brooklyn...I'll let you decide!!

Mike

Twins - Day 13

This will be short post, but just wanted to update with the happenings of the day.  The bili lights are gone.  Both girls numbers came down since yesterday so hopefully they will stay down!  No more goggles for them!  The girls have also been gaining weight at  wonderful pace.  Brooklyn weighed in at 4 pounds 6 1/2 ounces. Brienna weighed in at 4 pounds 1 ounce which is technically her birth weight!!!  If they keep this up they will be out of the isoletts very soon!  I hope that you have a wonderful day!
Kelly

Twins - Day 12

Hello!  I hope that everyone kept safe and warm during the snow storm!  Yesterday, was the first time that we got to hold the twins together at the same time!  It was very exciting to see how much they actually look alike.  Here is a picture of them together...

Brooklyn and Brienna Side by Side for First time at 11 days.

The girls have been doing very well.  The only set back is the bilirubin.  Brooklyn's went up again and so she is back on the bili lights.  Hopefully, she will come down quickly and we can get moving on to the next steps.  The girls are currently weighing in at 4 pounds 3.1 ounces and 3 pounds 13.3 ounces respectively.  They are still close to the same length with Brooklyn at 17 inches and Brienna at 17.2 inches.  The nurses always comment about how much the girls are alike.  Evidently even when they have identical twins in the NICU they tend to have some huge difference in size or some other characteristic that allows the nurses to easily tell them apart.  At least at this point we know which is which cause the are still hooked to their own giraffe bed!

Well, I better get on the road to visit them!  Have a wonderful day!

Kelly

Home Sweet Home

Well, we made it home after all the snow and it's nice to be home again. 

Here's a brief rundown of what's new in the past couple days:
1.  Both girls are gaining weight.  Brooklyn weighed 4 lb 3 oz today and Brienna weighed 3 lb 13 oz.  So, they're still a bit below their birthweights, but at least they're gaining!
2.  Both girls got rid of their IVs.  The doctors were able to discontinue their IVs because they are now tolerating their feedings through the feeding tubes very well.  It's nice to be rid of the IVs because they don't last very long in babies and the nurses would have to find a new vein every 24-36 hours.  But, now, the only cords connected to them are their feeding tubes and the monitor wires, which is really nice!
3.  Both girls are nearly up to full feeds.  Today, they were recieving 32 and 35 cc each feeding.
4.  They are both still having some trouble with "spells" where their heartrate suddenly drops.  This tends to happen 2-6 times per day, each.  They each have good days and bad days, but in the grand scheme of things, evidently even 6 times isn't too serious, since they are usually quite mild spells and the girls both come out of them by themselves.
5.  Brienna's billiruben was back up a bit today, after they removed one of the lights.  So, she may have to have the second light again if it continues to go up.

So, all in all, they're still doing quite well.  We hope that continues!!

With all the time spent in the hospital in the past months, Taiton has made LOTS of new friends.  Here's a picture of him with one of them...

Merry Christmas!!!

Here are a couple pics of the girls!!  We are so thankfull this holiday season for the blessing god has given to us in the form of two little miracle babies.  Thank you for all of the thoughts, prayers and messages.  We wish you all a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours.  Enjoy the pictures.

Brooklyn trying to get her nuk.

Brienna with her hat on.

Twins-1 week old

Well, Brooklyn and Brienna will be 1 week old tomorrow.  A lot has gone on in that week and things are going really well.

Since Brooklyn's PDA (duct) closed, they have begun feeding her through a feeding tube.  This is going VERY well and she has almost caught up to Brienna, who started feedings a few days before Brooklyn did.  Tonight, they are recieving 11cc and 14cc each, every three hours.  This gets increased daily until they are up to 30cc each every three hours.  30cc is considered a "full feeding" for their weight.

Speaking of weight, each of them have started to gain some weight back.  Brooklyn was down to 4 lb 1 oz and Brienna was as low as 3 lb 10 oz yesterday.  However, they've both turned the corner and gained weight from Monday night to Tuesday night.  They will weigh them again tonight at midnight and I'd imagine that each of them will have gained weight again, especially since their fluids and feedings are increasing.

Also, both girls got rid of their nasal canulas today, which means that they are breathing completely on their own!  As the tubes on their faces are slowly removed (only the feeding tube is left), we're able to see more of their facial features.  They are starting to look more and more like their older siblings did when they were babies.  And, all of the nurses can't get over how truely identical they are-they seem to be an exact carbon copy of eachother at this point...except for their personalities.  Brooklyn tends to be very laid back and likes to be held, while Brienna tends to turn into a "drama queen" every time anyone messes with her.  Ironically, this is exactly how they acted when Kelly was pregnant.

So, both of them are doing very well and progressing rapidly.  Their billiruben levels are also dropping and they'll likely be done with the billi lights within a couple of days.  We'll try to get some updated pictures put up here tomorrow.

We are in Sioux Falls for the rest of the week.  We decided to get a hotel and not try to drive through the snowstorm that is heading our way.  So, Kelly and I will be taking turns in the NICU and with Sydney and Taiton from now through Christmas.  I called Santa today and told him to leave the kids' presents in our van outside the hotel instead of bringing them to our house tomorrow night.  Hopefully he checks his messages...

Mike

Twins - Day 5

Well, I guess the responsibility of updating has been passed back to me!  Thank you all for the well wishes!  We are very happy and excited to have the girls here.  I am getting back to myself again, just a busier version than I have been for the past 8 weeks!
Mike and I spent some time with the girls today.  Both are doing very well.  Brooklyn had an ECO done on her heart today and the PDA (duct) is closed!!  It is great to know that the treatments worked.  She seemed very relaxed and content today.  She held her oxygen level up where it should be and had no "spellls" with her heartrate dropping today.  She has began to gain a little bit of weight back, too.  Since her PDA is closed she will be starting feeds through a tube in her nose tomorrow.
Brienna is doing good as well.  She has been taking her feeds very well and the amount was increased today from 3.7 to around 5 ccs.  The bili lights are working and her bilirubin has finally started to come down.  So that is really good news.  She will continue with the light and blanket until it has dropped even more. 
Both girls were awake with their eyes open for a period of time today which is so much fun.  I love being able to see them awake.   Thanks for checking in with us!  Enjoy your evening!

Twins-Day 4

Good evening!  Well, today was a big day because for the first time since October 21, Kelly was home for supper!  We went down to see the girls right away this morning, then went back to Kelly's room and packed.  She was discharged around 1:00 pm and we went to the girls' room again before heading home for the evening.  I think Sydney and Taiton are glad to have mom home again!

As for Brooklyn and Brienna, not a lot was new today, which is OK.  They are working on getting Brienna's biliruben under control and put her on a lighted blanket that will hopefully help.  Brienna was pretty bruised after birth, and they think that the bruises are contributing to her higher biliruben levels.  She has also done very well with her feeding tube and continues to progress nicely with that. 

With Brooklyn, we are still waiting for the duct between her heart and lungs to close.  This will help her breathing and will also allow for other things, like transition to a feeding tube.  She had her third treatment of a drug (basically ibuprofen) that should help with this.  She will have an ECG on her heart tomorrow to see if it worked.  If the duct has closed and her breathing continues to improve, there's a chance that they'll put her on a feeding tube within a few days.

Kelly and I spent some time holding the girls again today.  They seem to like that and their vitals all improve quite a bit when we're holding them!

Finally, we'd like to thank the staff at Sanford.  Since October 22, we've made a few friends in the High Risk OB wing.  There are some amazing people that work there.  The doctors are very knowledgeable and the nurses did a great job taking care of Kelly.  Likewise, our experience with the girls' doctors and nurses has been a very positive one so far.  Granted, we're only 4 days into it, but they do a great job of answering our questions and allowing us to be involved with the girls' progress.  To be in the hospital for 56 days and come home and say "I wouldn't have changed anything" says quite a bit about the care that was recieved.  So, thank you to all the doctors and nurses that have helped get us to where we are so far!

Have a good night,

Mike

Good Evening!  Sorry these posts are getting shorter, but we find that the better Kelly feels, the less time we spend in her room.  Today we spent a good portion of time in the NICU with the babies.  Here's a quick rundown of what's gone on today:

1.  Brienna had her umbilical central line removed.  They used this when they couldn't get an IV in her on Thursday.
2.  Both girls were taken off the CPAP and put on nasal canulas for breathing.  They are getting relatively low oxygen assistance and are pretty much on "room air".  The nasal canula is much less invasive than the CPAP, so I can only imagine it's more comfortable for them!
3.  Brooklyn was put under the jaundice light because her biliruben numbers were a little high.  Both girls are now under lights.
4.  Brienna recieved her first feeding through a feeding tube this afternoon.  Both girls had been receiving nutrients through their IV.  Brienna graduated to a feeding tube and was given infant formula.  she'll recieve another feeding every 3 hours.
5.  Kelly and I each changed Brienna's diaper today and each held her for awhile!  We're planning to do the same with Brooklyn tonight.  We find that we need to sort-of "schedule" what we do with the babies around their routine and what the nurses' plans for them are. 

Things have progressed pretty well today and we hope the trend continues.  I've included a couple pics...

Mike

Brienna.  Hopefully this isn't too dark...

All this time, the concern with the pregnancy was that the girls' cords would get tangled.  Turns out, they just can't escape the "tangled cords"!!

Twins-Day 2

Hey everyone, Mike again.  The girls are doing well this morning.  They each had one "episode" during the night where their heartrate dropped, but they both pulled through it just fine.  They are both doing very well on the "CPAP" (oxygen mask) and they actually turned them down during the night from a 5 to a 4.  Basically, this means that they turned down the amount of force that the air has, which makes the girls do more of the breathing on their own.  4 is typically the lowest setting before they come off the CPAP and begin breathing on their own, with a little supplemental oxygen through a nasal canula.  This canula would just be a tube under the nose similar to what you or I would have if we needed supplemental oxygen.

They were doing ultrasounds of their hearts and x-rays of their lungs this morning to see how everything looked.  But, every indication is that they're doing very well!  Hopefully they'll be off the CPAP in the next few days.  This will make it easier to see their faces and also easier to take them out of their beds and hold them. 

We'll update again when we get any new information.  Have a great day!

pictures!

Brooklyn-12 hrs old (sorry about the glare-the picture was taken through the glass of her "giraffe" bed).

Brienna-12 minutes old.  The best we can do for now, since her face is covered (oxygen) in all her other pics.

New Arrivals!

Good afternoon, everyone! This is Mike.
I thought I’d jump on here and provide a quick update for everyone-we’ll update again later.

Delivery went well this morning-Brooklyn Mae was born at 8:33AM and weighed 4 lbs, 8 oz. Brienna Morgan was born at 8:34AM and weighed 4 lbs, 2 oz. Brienna was just short of 17 inches; Brooklyn hadn’t had length measurements yet.

Both babies are doing very well-they were both on ventilators for a brief time this morning-just long enough for the doctors to administer some surfactant to help their lungs. Now, both girls are on basically an oxygen mask, but with the equivalent of “room air” rather than supplemental oxygen. Brienna is also under jaundice lights as a preventative measure for some bruising (likely caused by her sister).

Kelly is also doing well-we’re back in the room after a short visit to the NICU and are going to try to get some sleep.

We’ll try to get a couple pictures posted-hopefully we can find some when they don’t have oxygen masks covering their faces.

The babies seem to be doing very well and apparently were pretty rambunctious for the NICU nurses! They have developed quite a reputation over the past 8 weeks because they like to give the nurses and ultrasound techs a run for their money when doing monitoring or ultrasounds.  It looks like they're living up to their reputation already!

Day 55 - Inpatient Stay

Well, we are at one day until the girls arrive and the emotions are very mixed. I am nervous, scared, excited, anxious, and impatient all at the same time. Tomorrow will be one of those days in our lives where we will think back 20 years from now and be able to remember every vivid detail. And I am sure we will recall the story numerous times for the girls.


After 55 days of inpatient stay, I have developed some new friends here at the hospital and many of them have been stopping by today to say good luck and congratulations. The nurses and staff here have been absolutely wonderful and I will miss seeing them everyday. I have begun taking down the cards that I have received off the door and all of the pictures that Sydney and Taiton have colored for me down off the walls. I am so excited to be going home in a couple of days even though I know it will be hard to leave the girls behind.

The magnesium drip went fine on Monday night. The first couple of hours were the worst. After that the biggest problem was keeping the babies on the monitors. They evidently don’t sleep much at night. Which I am sure is something that we will know all too well. So, I did some sleeping during the day on Tuesday and went to bed early hoping to catch up on some sleep. However, for anyone that knows me I don’t do napping during the day so that was a little difficult for me.

On Monday morning my blood pressure was a little elevated so they ran some tests and my body is beginning to show signs of preeclampsia. At the current moment it is not severe enough so there is no treatment that I need to undergo but, delivering the babies will put an end to the problem. They figured that with out the planned c-section I would have had to deliver in about a week or so do to the preeclampsia anyway. So, I guess that just reassures us that it is time for the babies to be born.
Tomorrow will be a big day for us. We are hoping to have pictures up on the blog tomorrow late afternoon or evening. Along with the pictures will be the details such as measurements, names and so on. Since the ban on visitors still stands in the NICU, we will try to post pictures and information periodically over the next couple of months to keep you up to date on their progress. Thanks again for all of your support through thoughts, prayers, and all the other kind acts over the past 6 months. Look for the update tomorrow!!!

Day 52- Inpatient Stay

Good Afternoon Everyone! We only have 4 days left until we get to see the twins. Time seems to pass so slowly when you are sooooo looking forward to something!


About the weights on Friday, after talking to the doctor yesterday he has expressed that he is not concerned. If there was a weight difference because of a restriction of the blood flow in the cords the ultrasounds would have picked up a problem with the dopplers. The restriction would have to be a very significant in order to compromise growth. Also, since it was on baby A, she could have been sitting really low and that could throw off the measurements to get really accurate weights on the babies. So, we will see what the weights are on Thursday and how they compare to the estimates.

Also, yesterday it was recommended to us that I receive the 12 hour magnesium drip again before delivery. The magnesium helps to prevent cerebral palsy. There is a lot of research that says this has a significant improvement in preemie singletons but, not a whole lot of research has been done with twins. But, we agree with our doctor when he says that it should have the same effect. This was not a positive experience for me last time I received the magnesium and so I am not looking forward to going through this again. I will be starting the magnesium at 7 pm on Monday night and it will run until morning. Wish me luck!

This next week is a big one for us. Not only is our family of four going to become a family of six but, we are going to close the book on one chapter in our journey and open the next. We have looked at this pregnancy as including four different steps. Step one was pre-hospital time with doctor’s appointments and hoping that each time we went for an ultrasound we found two healthy heart beats. Step two was my inpatient stay which was to last 8 weeks and the main goal was to do all that was possible to keep the babies inside until 32 weeks gestation. And now step three is the NICU stay. We know that it will be a roller coaster ride just like the past two steps but, none the less we are excited to be one step closer to being home and hospital free! A lot of questions about the health of the babies will be answered on Thursday and that is one thing that we really look forward too. We met with the neonatologist yesterday briefly to get a run down on what to expect from the girls after delivery. He gave us some information about what he typically sees with 32 week babies. But, he also stated that we will not know for sure until the babies are born. He actually said minutes after the babies’ birth he could tell us how they will do. I know these are strong babies and hopefully our NICU stay will be short and sweet.

Well, thanks again for all of the thoughts, prayers, visits and everything else. We really appreciate all of the care we have received. I hope that you have a good start to your week and I will try to update on Wednesday to let you know the final details of my inpatient stay.

Day 50 - Inpatient Stay

So, the weights are in. They are not what we were expecting and so that is a little troubling to us. I am hoping to talk with the doctor shortly to better understand what is going on.
Baby B today looked great. She weighed in with a gain of 1 pound and 1 ounce. She is 4 pounds and 7 ounces which puts her measuring at 32 weeks and 2 days gestation. With this weight she could be about 5 pounds by next Thursday!
However, Baby A was not very impressive. She has always been the smaller of the two babies but this time around only had a gain of 6 ounces. She is 3 pounds and 10 ounces today, which would put her measuring at 30 weeks and 6 days gestation. That is 2 days behind what her gestational age is right now.

Our biggest concern is why one baby gained over a pound and the other didn’t even gain half a pound. The difference in weights of the babies is only at 18% currently and anything over 25% is a worry. So, they are not different enough to make the higher % which I guess is good.

On a more positive note the dopplers looked really good and the cords seem less entangled. I will update when I have more information.
Can you believe that I have been living in this tiny hospital room for 50 DAYS!!!  But, the end is in site!  Have a good weekend!

Day 49-Inpatient (or impatient) Stay

ONE WEEK LEFT!!! 7 days from now the girls will be here!!


This week has been pretty uneventful. There have been no problems or scares with the girls and my health is holding up pretty good. However, the closer we get to the delivery date, the longer the days seem to take.

This week the girls have decided to play “hide-n-seek” a little more often than appreciated. Three different times this week it has taken over 3 hours to be able to get both babies heart rates on the monitors at the same time. I guess they are getting anxious too!!!

Last Sunday during the ultrasound, the tech pointed out some little pieces floating above the baby’s head. She said that is her hair sticking straight out of her head! It still amazes me what they can see in these pictures. The larger the babies get the harder it is to get 3D pictures so I don’t really have any good pictures of them lately. But, their cheeks are getting bigger!

As an FYI, there are currently visitor’s restrictions in place in the NICU and only parents and grandparents of the babies are allowed in. (We are still working on explaining this one to Sydney). So, we will do our best to get a couple pictures posted on here when the girls finally arrive!

We will be getting weights and measurements on the babies during tomorrow’s ultrasound, so I will update again when I know more. Have a great day!

Day 48 - Inpatient Stay

Hello Everyone!  I just thought I would let you know that everything is going great so far this week!  Only 9 days left!  We are in the single digits now!  I am getting very anxious and excited to see my girls.  Thanks again for all of the thoughts, prayers, visits, and cards!  I hope that everyone stays safe during the snow storm!

Day 43 - Inpatient Stay - 30 weeks

30 weeks today!!! 2 weeks to go!!! As of yesterday I have been inpatient for 6 weeks. The time does seem to pass quite quickly which is really good and I am hoping the next two weeks go by just as fast. Waking up to a coat of snow on the ground today was kind of refreshing. Of course I don’t have to go out into the snow or drive in it!


Not much has changed since Tuesday. The babies dopplers have come back down and everything looks pretty good. Both girls are getting 8 out of 8 on their bio/physicals which is wonderful and that reassures us that the babies are healthy and getting the blood flow they need.

My contractions have stopped and I will be ending one of the medications today. Hopefully everything will stay calm.

Thank you again for all of the cards, thoughts, prayers, visits, food and everything else. We feel truly blessed during this holiday season to have the support we received through this journey. I will update the blog again when we have any new developments. Until then have a wonderful week and weekend!

Day 41 - Inpatient Stay

I hope that everyone's week is off to a great start. Ours has been very stressful and frustrating. Of course yesterday was a typical Monday with all of the problems that Monday's seem to bring. The difficulties started off with the morning monitoring when Baby B had heart rate decelerations following my contractions. She followed that up with an absent flow on her ductus doppler during the ultrasound. This is one of the things the doctor’s are watching for to indicate problems with the tangling of the cords - which I will get back too.


Upon returning to my room the doctor came in and said that due to all of the complications we were going to get all of the predelivery medications in my system. I was going to be getting magnesium for 12 hours which is something that is used to reduce the risk of the babies having cerebral palsy. I would also be getting my second round of steroid shots and be put back on the medication to stop contractions. It was a very long day that resulted in 13 hours of continuous baby monitoring, 3 different ultrasounds and two different types of drugs to control my contractions.

On Tuesday morning I was hooked back up to the monitors for the morning session and I was still contracting every two minutes. Only about every third or fourth one was uncomfortable for me.

During the morning ultrasound they took a cervical length measurement to see if the contractions were making any progress. Unfortunately, the contractions are doing what contractions do best. My cervix shortened from a 34 to a 23. Below 29 is considered not good and means restrictions on movement and activity level. Since the contractions were still coming the doctor put me on yet another med to control contractions and this one finally did the trick. The babies looked about the same as yesterday during the ultrasound and so the doctor increased the monitoring intensity to every six hours and also is doing two ultrasounds a day to check the ductus dopplers.

One major concern currently is the condition of the babies’ cords. At the current moment each baby has approximately only 4 to 6 inches of cord before the cords are entangled. They believe they have also identified a true knot in the cords now. This brings up even more concern for the well being of the babies and adds only more worry for us.

Currently we are 16 days until the delivery of the girls and only two days from 30 weeks gestation. Each day we can postpone delivery of the babies will really help them out. We are praying that god is keeping a close eye on them to keep them safe until their entry into the world comes. We are also hoping that tomorrow is a complication free day!!!! Thank you so much of all of your thoughts and prayers. I will update with any new developments or I will update at 30 weeks on Thursday! Have a good evening!