Bassinets!

The boys are progressing wonderfully!  They are both now in bassinets! Each have gained over a pound from birth.  Jack now weighs 4 lbs. 7 oz. (birth- 3.3) and Will weighs 3 lbs. 10 oz. (birth- 2.7).  We are so proud of their growth! Jack is now taking ALL his feedings from a bottle. Will is up to three bottles and getting better at taking them every day. Pumping is still going great and I have actually built up an excess and have started freezing the milk for when they get home and are eating more! Woo hoo!

We did have one little scare the other day.  Jack had to have an echo because he has a heart murmur.  They determined the flap between the two upper atriums hasn't fully closed yet, which is very common (1 in 4 people have this). It should hopefully close up soon.  They will continue to listen and he will have a follow-up echo at 3 months old or so.  He isn't having an negative symptoms as a result of this, but it is something they will keep an eye on.

We are so thankful for our many blessings and that the boys are progressing so well.  While we cannot wait to have them home, we are overjoyed that they are doing great and don't have any major issues.  We anticipate that Jack will come home before Will, which is going to be difficult, but will hopefully only be for a short amount of time. 

We truly appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers and kind words!  We are so blessed!

 Yay for bassinets!!  Will is on the left, Jack on the right.

Snuggled in to sleep!

JACKSON THOMAS:

WILLIAM DANIEL:

BROTHERLY LOVE:

Kangaroo time with Nana!

Friday night we went to our old stomping grounds, The Fox and the Hound, and had a BEER!!  I was really excited, but beer definitely didn't taste as great as I remember.  Since I have a surplus of milk right now, I "pumped and dumped" my couple of beers, but decided it WAS TOTALLY NOT WORTH IT!! I kept thinking, dang, this is milk the boys could use later! So, I guess it will be awhile before I have drinks again, which is absolutely fine! :) It's amazing how quickly your priorities change when you become a mom. 

 I know my boys are super young, but I truly cannot imagine the pain that the parents in Connecticut are feeling right now.  I already love Will and Jack so much I cannot stand it.  The Devil was definitely at work and I can only take comfort knowing that all of those sweet babies are in Heaven, where they will never suffer.  It is definitely scary though and Jason already said Will and Jack are never the leaving the house! Unfortunately we cannot live in fear of living our lives though, and just have to know that we know our Lord and if something horrible does happen, we know where we are going to live for eternity.  I cannot wait to raise our boys in a loving, Christian home.  I feel so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful friends and family that will support this way of living and be excellent role models for the twins. 

Will and Jack will be THREE WEEKS OLD on Tuesday! Time flies! I'll update as soon as we have more developments! :)

Over 3 pounds!

December 10th, 2012

The boys have continued to make amazing progress.  They will be TWO WEEKS old tomorrow!! William has passed the three pound mark! He now weighs 3 lbs. 1 oz. (born at 2.7).  Jackson is also growing and now weighs 3 lbs. 12 oz. (born at 3.3).  We are so proud of how they are both progressing.  Both are taking bottles now.  Two of Will's feedings are by bottle, and four of Jack's are.  They are still working on regulating their own body temperatures.  They keep knocking down their isolettes and the boys are doing great, so hopefully they will be in bassinets before long.  We go each afternoon and do their care, feeding, and kangaroo time. We cherish this time with the boys.  We haven't been given a time frame for how long they will be in the PCN, but we know it will still probably be a couple of weeks, at least.  They are doing great, but still need to grow!  Again, we thank everyone for your constant prayers and support.  We could not have done this without everyone!  We would love for everyone to see the boys at some point, but it may have to be when they get home.  The space we have in the PCN is tiny, but we will work on getting some visitors in there with us soon!

Jackson being fed by Jason

Jackson eating

First bottle finished with daddy!  Usually the nurses had to finish up! (12/9/12)

Jackson

Will and Me

Will and Me

Will and Nana

Will and Papa

The boys were finally reunited!!  Family picture! :)

Sweet boys all snuggled together!! 10 days old

Jackson

Jackson- 10 days

William

William

William- 10 days

Tired daddy!

Kangaroo Time

December 6th, 2012
At nine days old, the boys are still doing amazingly well!  They are growing every day! Jack is now up to 3 lbs, 9 oz (he was 3.3 at birth).  Will is up to 2 lbs, 14 oz (he was 2.7 at birth).  Their feedings are increasing.  Will is taking 27 ml each feeding and Jack is taking 26 ml. They are on all breast milk (yay for me!).  Their milk is fortified to give it more calories to help them grow.  Jack has been taking his feedings all from the bottle.  Will did tonight, but sometimes has to use the feeding tube.  The nurse said preemies drinking from a bottle is equitable to an adult walking up stairs- hard work! We are so proud that are learning this "breathe, suck, and swallow" motion so well already. The better they get at this, the closer they will get to coming home. 

 Jason feeding Jackson

 

 

 

 Me feeding Will

Each night when we get to the nursery, we take the boys' temperature, change their diapers, and change their clothes.  Jason takes care of Jack and I take care of Will.  Jason is still too nervous to hold Will because he is so tiny, but he will soon.  He's doing a fabulous job changing diapers and feeding Jack.  I'm so blessed to have such an involved and loving husband. The picture below is Jason taking Jack's temperature (in his armpit). 

 Outfit change!  Here I am putting on Will's outfit that his Aunt Erin bought him.  It was a little difficult to get it over his head, but I managed.  It was easier today and I know it will just get easier.  Both boys are in clothes now and are being swaddled.

Kangaroo time! Tonight after the boys ate, we did Kangaroo time.  This skin-to-skin contact (the boys just wear diapers and go right up against our skin) has been proven to help aid in preemie development in multiple ways.  It was an amazing bonding experience and so sweet to feel their little bodies and hands snuggled up to us.  We are grateful for this time to connect with them!
 
 

Here's my little Will man.  He's starting to fill out a lot and look more like a baby instead of a little old man!  I could just sit and look at them all day.  


Well, I guess that's all our news for now! I'll write again soon, so keep checking back!! :)

One Week Old!

December 4th, 2012

First of all, we have to tell Nana Stott Happy Birthday!  My mom is absolutely, hands-down, my best friend in the whole world.  Next to Jason, she is the first person I turn to in need or excitement.  I'm so blessed to have her in my life as a friend, mom, and now Nana to my children.  She is in an absolute inspiration in all she does and I hope to one day be half the woman she is.  I know I will be relying in her a ton in the next year as we go through this adventure of raising two baby boys.  I know I can call my mom, no matter the time, and she'll be there in a heartbeat to help. Hope you had a great birthday, Nana! I Love you, mommy!!

The boys were exactly One Week Old today at 7:35 and 7:37 a.m. I can't believe that it's already been an entire week.  They have shown an amazing amount of progress in such a short amount of time!  Both babies are gaining about an ounce a day and are eating more and more each day.  Monday they moved from the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) to the PCN (Progressive Care Nursery).  Jason and I were shocked when we got there Monday for a visit and were told they were moving! The boys' goals in the PCN is to grow, grow, grow!! They will also learn to take all food from a bottle and fully maintain their own body temperature.  They will be changing from the advanced isolette to very simply isolettes or bassinets.  Jackson already had been moved to wearing clothes last week and tonight Will got his first outfit.  This just helps them look like such little babies.  They also keep them swaddled during this time.  They learn to maintain their body temperature with the clothing on.  Both of their IV lines were removed today.  These ran through their bodies, but were no longer necessary- yay!

We were able to finally hold our babies today!  Jason was in charge of Jackson and I took care of William.  We started by doing their "basic" care.  We took their temperatures  (with a thermometer under their arms) and changed their diapers.  Both boys had stinky diapers.  Even though they are wearing "Preemie" diapers, they are still huge on them. We attempted to bottle feed each baby.  Each of them took a little, but we are still working on it.  What they didn't finish was finished in their feeding tube.  Words cannot describe how incredible it was to hold and feed our babies.  It definitely made it feel like they were more "ours" since we were providing them with care.  We will now start doing this feeding and care each night now.  It's amazing how much the babies change each day, so we don't want to miss a thing.  Both boys are filling out and starting to finally look more like babies.  We are so in love with them already!!!

Today (Wed.) we hope to get to "Kangaroo" the babies before feeding them.  This consists of putting them on your chest for "skin-to-skin" contact.  This is supposed to be really great for the babies and increase my milk supply.  Right now they are burning through the breast milk I take each day.  I am making enough to ALMOST feed them solely breast milk all day, but they are having to supplement with just a little formula.  I have been very pleasantly surprised with how my pumping is going.  Of course, I am attached to the pump every two to three hours, but it's totally work it.  I get my best pumping done in the middle of the night.  I know this is the main way I can contribute to their health right now, so I consider it a blessing to be able provide for them.  

The best part- PHOTOS:

 Taking Will's temperature- 98.5- After this, I changed his diaper and the nurse dressed him in a Onesie.  I think you can really start to see how small he is here in relationship to my hand.  He's still a skinny-mini, but is slowly starting to fill out!  He loves to sleep all spread out, which is ALL Jason.  We'll see how he did swaddled to sleep when we go back in today.  

Jason feeding Jackson.  I've never seen Jason so nervous in his entire life.  It was adorable and made my heart swell with pride and love to see my hubby with his child!  Wow, it's still so crazy to say things like that!

 Me with my sweet baby Will.  He did really well at first, but is still working on the bottle thing.  He took more than he had with any of the other nurses though, so that made me feel better!

Our first family picture!! You can tell how nervous Jason is here on his face.  He's adorable! :) 

I'm going to try my best to stay on top of adding pictures and details as often as possible.  This will be how I can keep up with their childhood the best and hopefully they'll be able to one day look at the blog and follow their dramatic childhood!  We continue to praise God for his many blessings and the rapid progress of our children.  We would love to have them home as soon as possible, but know that it is all a work in progress.  We want them to be ready to go home and STAY home and not have to return.  Please continue to pray for these sweet boys.  It is evident that God has an amazing hand on them. We would love for everyone to meet them eventually, but right now we are working on building that immune system.   Love y'all!! :)

They're Here!!!

WOW! I don't even know where to begin, but I guess we'll do this chronologically. 

Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

Thanksgiving in the hospital! While this wasn't our ideal, it was absolutely fine.  My parents came up and visited Wednesday night and then Jaquie, Alyssa, and Patrick (Jason's mom, sister, and brother) came up Thursday and brought us turkey and the fixings.  We watched the parade and football and had a great day.  Erin and Ashley ran the Turkey Trot downtown so they stopped by to visit also, and took me on a fabulous wheelchair ride.  Looking back, maybe it was that crazy driving that put me into labor... lol ;) As I've mentioned several times throughout this pregnancy, we have the most amazing friends ever.  We had so many people come visit us at the hospital throughout our stay.  It made life "on the inside" so much more bearable.  God has blessed us with a fabulous group of friends who support and love each other more than anything.  I consider us much more of a family than just friends.  I can't wait for all the boys' "aunts" and "uncles" and "cousins" to meet them!!

Ashley, me, and Erin- Thanksgiving Day

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

We made it to 32 weeks! We were super excited for this because all the statistics showed babies did so much better if they could make it to the 32 week mark.  The chances for brain bleeds are MUCH lower after this point and just general development is better.  While we were thankful to make it this far, we still were hoping for more time for the boys to stay inside.  During this week, I had started to have contractions earlier in the day and they were getting a little stronger.  They were able to control them with morphine, but the nurses kept saying we were getting closer to active labor.  We continued to take everything one day at a time, our mantra from the beginning.

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

After a rough night of contractions, I had fallen back to sleep this morning and woke up at 11am to a pool of water- AGAIN.  Yep, my water had broken again! 3rd time! For those of you who don't know, your water can break multiple times.  I had always thought before this great adventure that once your water broke, you had the baby and that was it.  Well, if it breaks prematurely (called PPROM), you can hold out as long as possible, but the amniotic sacs fill back up.  They never did figure out which baby's water broke each time, but this last time was almost certainly Jack's judging from the crazy amount of water.  If you remember, the boys had Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, causing Jack's amniotic sac to have WAY more fluid than a normal baby.  

So, back we went to Labor and Delivery (room #5 at this point in the hospital stay!)  Luckily, we had started anticipating that I may be delivering sometime soon, so we had sent a lot of stuff home with family in the prior days, so Jason didn't have as much to move this time.  Once I got into L & D, they sent the doctor in to check my cervix.  Up until this point, I had been having multiple cervical checks (usually one per night), but my cervix had remained closed.  This time was different though and had dilated a centimeter.  Yikes!  So, back went on the three different monitors 24/7 and crazy strong contractions started and were super painful.  I also got a catheter, which was a first.  You pee, but you don't know it.  Weird, but nice to not have to get up to pee when connected to a million things.  Jason also enjoyed not having to empty my bedpan like he did our first night at the hospital.  The doctors came in and discussed starting an epidural, but decided to wait for me to dilate more. During this time I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything, which really stunk! I could deal with lack of food, but not being able to have water was the worst.  I felt like my mouth was sandpaper- yuck!  

They started me back on the magnesium cocktail, which is seriously the worst stuff ever and according to mother, "makes me mean."  It seriously makes you feel like you've been hit by a bus.  It makes you hot and achy and just overall poopy feeling.  However, it was a necessary evil because it helped prevent brain bleeds in the babies and seizures in me.  This is the stuff that made me so sick when I first got to the hospital and put fluid in my lungs.  So Sunday was spent with mom, dad, Jason, and Jaquie (J's mom) sitting around with me cranky.  Fun times! 

The contractions were bad, but started to slow down with the magnesium.  Oh,and for some reason they worried about my blood sugar every hour during this time.  If it wasn't 95 or below (which is crazy low), then I got a shot of insulin.  So every hour, my finger got pricked, then I got a shot.  I STILL have huge bruises on my arms and legs from all these shots they gave me that night.  My nurses were really ticked to have to do this to me, but they were following doctor's orders.  I'm still not sure why they did this, but I was NOT happy about it!  I got the steroid shots one more time this day too.  I had these when we first came in on October 21st to help with the babies' lungs.  These shots come in two rounds for 48 hours.  We were glad they were able to do this again, as it would help with their breathing.  We didn't get the full effects of the second shot, but at least we got some.  It also helped that we had already had it once. 

 Thumbs down to magnesium and insulin shots!! My belly was gigantic.  The last we checked, I was 45 inches around and had gotten up to 163 pounds! I don't know how I could have possibly made it too much longer!  The top monitor was where Will was (he lived in my rib).  The nurses always said they had never seen a baby so high up.  They had to roll up washcloths and such every night to get the pressure correct for him to stay on the monitor.  He liked to wiggle so much on there and often had to be readjusted.  The middle monitor was for my contractions.  You can't see the third monitor, but it was right at my pubic line where Jack was.  This was how I spent what seemed like a million hours during my time at the hospital.  I never minded it though because I got to hear my boys' heartbeats which was the most comforting sound. 

 One of my finer pictures! :)

Monday, November 26th, 2012

 So the contractions continued through the night again and the parents came back up in case we were going to have babies.  We had a growth ultrasound scheduled for this day, which we eagerly anticipated.  The ultrasound didn't go all that well because it showed Jack growing (estimated at 4 lbs. 2 oz), but Will not growing at all from the week before.  At this point they said Will had IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), which is basically where he stopped growing in the womb.  We had always worried about our little guy and were devastated that he hadn't grown any.  They made the decision that the boys would definitely be delivered via C-section as to not put any added stress on Will.  We felt comfortable with this decision, but were scared for sweet baby B.  

During this time, I was still on the lovely mag, but they so kindly decided to give me an epidural.  This was when Lake Andrade flooded my L & D room. They sat me up to do the epidural and made me sit sideways on the bed (standard for the epi), but when I did this an INSANE amount of water started gushing out!!  My L & D nurse said in her 30 years of L & D, she had never seen so much fluid coming out! They filled up tons of towels full of fluid (and remember my water had already broken THREE times before).  So after Lake Andrade finally started to retreat, I got the fabulousness that is an epidural.  

First of all, I had been a bit nervous about this part when I first became pregnant, but after all I had been through out this point, I wasn't nearly as worried.  What a joke compared to the SIX IV ports I had in my stay at the hospital.  I felt like I was flicked on the back- awesome!  The epidural was AMAZING and made me feel like a new woman.  I became MUCH nicer to everyone and the contractions were still there, but I couldn't feel them-yahoo!  So we hung out some more and eventually the contractions started slowing down.  Somewhere in all this I became dilated to two centimeters, but they were still holding out on delivery as long as possible.  Since my contractions started to slow down, the doctors decided to turn off my epidural (no more meds running through it) to see what happened.  They watched the monitors and I did okay for a couple hours on it, so they told me to order food and a drink.  So, Jason went down and got a wrap for me.  I took about two bites and started to get super strong contractions again.  I stopped eating, just in case and called the nurse in again.  

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

My cervix was measured again (now 4 cm dilated).Jason called the grandparents yet again about 2 in the morning and they headed back down to the hospital.  The doctors started watching the contractions, and they became absolutely insane.  However, the doctor's took their sweet time responding (I guess that is what happens during the middle of the night).  I started to really freak and about bit Jason's finger off.  (He put it in my mouth, I bit it, he asked why I did that, but I'm not sure what he expected!)  So, needless to say, the contractions were extremely painful.  I truly thought that I was going to have a natural birth with Jason delivering them.  Jason even went out and told the nurses that they HAD to get me something.  

Finally the little nerdy resident with his circle glasses stops eating Bon-Bons and comes to my room.  He sits down and checks my cervix and I kid you not, his eyes got HUGE and he says- uhhh... we have a loose five.  So I got called loose before my delivery- not something everyone can brag about! So shift change for doctors is at seven and this doctor was waiting for the day team to come in to make a solid decision, which was done super quick once the docs arrived.

Before I knew it, they were prepping me for surgery.  I had to take my contacts out.  I've worn contacts since age 12, but was freaking out and couldn't get them out of my eyes.  It was horrible, but I eventually did it.  Then I had to put on my glasses, which I NEVER wear.  I got shaved umm... down there...  Jason says they needed a weed wacker, but I'm pretty sure it was just an electronic razor.  I do remember asking the nurse if she needed a vacuum though- me at my finest modesty.  I had been in the hospital for six weeks and wasn't allowed to do anything down there though because of infection risk- so it wasn't my fault.  Plus, I haven't seen anything down there in so long due to the huge belly, I could have grown a new appendage and not known it! Enough TMI.  Jason got his scrubs on (he was told to take off his jeans and stuff and he asked whether to wear boxers- lol).  He did. They would prep me in the OR and then let him in to keep me company.

So, I said my goodbyes to everyone and was wheeled out.  This was right around 7:15 or so.  Like I said, right around shift change, so things were a little nuts.  They took glasses and gave them to Jason, so now everyone was a huge blur.  If you don't know, I'm EXTREMELY blind- like can't see the Big E on the eye chart blind.  So not only was I scared, I couldn't see either.  I was wheeled into the Operating Room and this was when, pardon my French, shit got real.  I had to be transferred from my bed to the operating table.  The main thing I remember was how WHITE and BRIGHT the room was.  I was definitely scared during this portion.  People kept talking to me.  Anesthesiologists (seemed like 17 of them!) were poking and prodding me to be sure I was numb in all the right spots (which I definitely appreciated!!) Doctors and nurses were asking all sorts of questions and before I knew it, it had begun.  I had to do a lot controlled breathing so that I wouldn't freak out.  If I thought about what was happening, I was afraid I would break into mad tears and not recover.  Luckily, they were able to let Jason in and I at least got my glasses back so I could sort of see (good and bad, I guess!).  Jason was awesome and talked to me, but I could tell he was scared out of his mind too.  

Jackson Thomas was born at 7:35 am weighing in at 3 lbs 3 ozs and was 16.9 inches long.  He cried almost immediately- an awesome sound to hear!  I couldn't really see him, but hearing him was so nice!  We were now officially parents- woah!  We later found out his initial APGAR score was a 6, then an 8.  Overall pretty good, considering his tiny size. 

William Daniel was born at 7:37 am weighing in at 2 lbs 7 ozs and was 15.7 inches long.  We didn't hear Will cry, which was freaking scary.  I kept asking Jason if he was okay and he said yeah, but I could tell that everything wasn't.  When you're with someone almost eleven years, you know when they are lying, and he was definitely lying to me! Turns out Will was blue and totally unresponsive at first.  They finally got him going, but dang, that still upsets me so much to think about.  His first APGAR score was a 2, then he recovered to an 8.  Whew- we were so fortunate our little man had made it.  The doctors never told us, but we feel very strongly that he would not have survived had they attempted a vaginal birth.  Our little Will is a fighter.

So we were now parents- no going back! :) They put the boys in an isolette together and wheeled them down to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).  I waved bye, and they started to put me back together.  We heard them count all the surgery utensils many times, which was nice to know that they weren't leaving anything extra in there! Jason asked them to give me a tummy tuck while they were in there, but they didn't-  boo! Jason had to leave once they started sewing me up, so then I was there by myself again.  I felt tons of pressure and it was really weird.  

My next stop was the recovery room.   This was huge room with different curtained off areas.  Jason was allowed to come back here with me and we hung out and talked to two nurses the whole time.  I was FINALLY able to have water- an amazing feeling and I think I drank about 17 gallons in the hour while laying in recovery.  During this time, the nurses had to press on my stomach every so often which was kind of painful, but I was still pretty numb.  Jason had my mom come in for a little while with me too which was so comforting.  I was definitely loopy during this time and chatted away with the sweet nurses.  I could hear other moms with their babies in the recovery room too.  It was sad not being able to see my babies, but I knew they were being well taken care of.

After recovery I was wheeled into my post-partum room on some really good drugs.  Like everything else, I was of course in the High Risk Post Partum wing.  This was a TINY room.  Here I got to see all the family again.  I tried to eat some food, but barfed it up all over myself- yay.  Got a little eager too fast.  Jason and the grandparents were then allowed to go down to the NICU to see the boys.  This was definitely hard not to be able to see my babies on the day they were born, but I was so out of it and tired, I hardly knew.  I fell asleep while trying to eat food again several different times.  While I was snoozing, Daddy Dan (Jason's dad) arrived from Atlanta and then found the rest of family and saw the boys in the NICU.  Daddy Dan and Kandi are coming again this weekend to see the boys.  They are so blessed to have the most caring and loving grandparents!

 Jason and Will- Day 1 :)

 Jackson- Day 1

 Will Day 1 with the CPAP- looks scarier than it is!

  Will initially had to be intubated (put on a ventilator- scary!) and Jack was put on a CPAP.  The CPAP machine is like a sleep apnea machine and basically just keeps them from "forgetting" to breathe.  Will was moved to a CPAP after a couple hours, which was definitely a progression.  Both boys were off their CPAPs the next morning and breathing room air on their own- woohoo- huge milestone already!!  Jack had a bowel movement early on, which is a big deal to have one so quickly.  Will was called "feisty" by the nurse because he punched her when she tried to move him.  They were already full of life and energy!

Once the fam saw the babies, they went home to give us time to rest.  I kept getting sick and wasn't able to hold anything down.  I was still on my best friend- Magnesium and feeling like crap.  I slept extremely fitfully while I got a lot of different meds.  Sometime in the middle of the night I got a 103 temperature, which was really bad.  They immediately started me on a lot of antibiotics and broke the fever pretty quickly.  I was unable to drink any water, YET AGAIN, during this time, which made me extremely miserable.  Doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, etc kept coming in.  I kept watching the clock praying for 7:30 am to hurry up because that would be when I would be finished with the Mag and could start feeling better finally.  I swear every five seconds there was something beeping and I was definitely miserable during this time.  Eventually I was taken off everything except for antibiotic IVs.  My catheter was taken out and I got out of bed (OUCH) and used the bathroom on my own for the first time- not pretty.  I was still not able to eat during this time because of the antibiotic IVs.  They actually didn't let me eat anything until the next day.  They aren't really sure what caused my fever, but figured it was an infection of some sort that most likely caused me to go into labor in the first place.  My oxygen levels went way down this time and they had to put my back on constant oxygen.  This was super uncomfortable and added to my misery, but I survived!! :)

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

Since I had a fever, I had to wait another 24 hrs to see my boys.  I was definitely a little bummed to STILL not be able to go see my babies, but Jason did at least Face Time me so I could see them a little.  Not the same as in person, but better than nothing.  I tried to get some sleep, but was still pretty unsuccessful.  Drs, nurses, specialists, etc, continued to come in and mess with me.  I had the joy of getting yet another IV port during this time since my other one went bad.  Ugh! I got a TDAP (whooping cough) shot.  My blood glucose levels continued to be checked, but luckily they didn't have to give me quite as many insulin shots as before.  

The Lactation Consultant came in and we learned to use the breast pump.  The first time I didn't get anything, but the second time we got some colostrum!!  If you don't know, this is what first comes out of a lactating woman's breasts.  It is extremely nutritious and the NICU nurses called it "Liquid Gold."  The challenging part was getting it out of the pumping shields and into the little syringes they gave us.  It took mom, me, and Jason.  They kept making me laugh, which I didn't want to do because it hurt so bad, but it was definitely a sight!  Jason PROUDLY took our little drop of colostrum down to the NICU in hopes they would be able to give it to the boys.  They were so proud of us and we sent it down a couple more times.  I pumped every two hours trying to build it up to send.  We only got something the first few times and then NOTHING for a while.  A little saddening, but I kept at it, getting up at two hour intervals to try.  The next day I was rewarded with a little tiny milk!! From there, the supply has steadily increased and now I am producing a good amount.  I pump every two to three hours, even in the middle of the night.  We take the milk to the boys everyday and they are taking more and more each day.  I know this is all I can really do for them right now and am so glad that my boobies are cooperating!  I have named them Lorraine (left boob) and Rita (right boob) and praise them all the time! :) I know I'm weird, you don't have to tell me.  The other night I was introduced to the most fabulous invention- the hands free bra (thanks Allison and Jennifer!!) This has allowed me to have my hands back and not have to sit and hold the pump on.  It's AWESOME!!

Thursday, November 29th, 2012

Okay, I got a little off track there.  I steadily started feeling better and was trying to get up and walk and get things moving back to normal.  I couple of really gross things- my body was still wrecked!  I still looked Nine Months pregnant after the C-section- what the heck!?!?  So sad.  My stomach was so insanely bloated and I felt awful.  They told me try to pass gas as much as possible- through burps and farts.  The thing is it hurt so badly to do these things.  Hurt, but felt good.  Weird, but true.  There was one time mom was helping me go to the bathroom and I burped so hard that she thought I was falling off the toilet.  Another thing that happened after my surgery was I got really bad Edema- swelling and water retention.  My ankles, knees, legs, butt, EVERYTHING was insanely swollen.  I am STILL extremely swollen now and it should take a couple weeks to get rid of- UGH!  I have ONE pair of shoes that I am able to squeeze my HUGE feet into.  This has been a little depressing, but is getting better.  Sucks though and definitely isn't something you think about happening when you realize you're pregnant and picture yourself with your baby! Thursday was spent finishing up my antibiotics and trying to finally eat.  They still didn't let me eat "real" food, but I was at least able to have chicken broth and Jello, providing some nourishment.  The TDAP shot I had gotten the day before had to be given AGAIN because the pharmacy screwed up and just gave me the tetanus part.  What's another shot at this point?? They did give me two free meal tickets for the screw up! :)

I was finally able to be wheeled down to the NICU Thursday to see my sweet boys!  I was a little worried that I was going to be super emotional, but I only choked up for a second.  I was so happy to see my little men! It was crazy to think that they had been INSIDE me not too much earlier.  We weren't able to touch them still at this point, but I loved being able to sit and watch them.  During this time they were on lights since they had a little jaundice.  This is normal, but still kind of hard to see.  What makes it look scary is the masks they put on to protect the babies' eyes.  Will kept pulling his off, and then got angry and would cry.  It was pitiful! 

 Will tanning- see how he knocked off his mask? Silly boy.  He is super skinny and his skin was saggy here.  He's already changed so much since this picture was taken!

Jack under his lights.  You can see he's sucking on the pacifier- which was great that he was working on this.  

Friday, November 30th, 2012

 We were hoping to be discharged Friday morning and would have been, but my stupid blood pressure went up WAY too high Thursday night.  I got medicine quickly and then it went back down.  Add it to my list of drama! :) Friday morning they told us we wouldn't be discharged that day and we were disappointed.  They wanted to get my blood pressure regulated correctly with medicine before going home, which was good.  High blood pressure can be extremely dangerous, so it was good they watched me and got me regulated.  

It turned out to be a productive day of pumping and visiting the babies though.  When we went down to visit the babies, their lights were off and they looked great.  It was amazing how much they had changed in just one day.  Will had a bowel movement, which showed us his GI track was working correctly.  Like all babies, they lost weight after birth, but had put their weight back on soon after.  They had Jack in clothes now because he weighed enough to maintain his own temperature.  It was amazing how he looked like a little baby now.  Will had visibly already filled out more, even though was still a skinny mini.  :)

Jack's hand.  This was when they still had their IV's in their hands.  They did a procedure where they ran the IV through their body.  You can see this in later pictures where the tube is coming out of their noses. It's a lot easier for the babies because they were always knocking out the ones in their hands. 

 Baby Jack in REAL clothes!! :)

 Baby Jack's feet! The red glow is from the oxygen monitor.  I actually had to wear these monitors quite often too.  I hate how they have to prick their heels for blood all the time :(  You can see his poor little heel is wrecked. 

 Baby Will.  He likes to spread out and the nurses say he's stubborn and doesn't want to be in any certain position.  To give you an idea how small he is, that is newborn pacifier, but is just huge.  He loves sucking on that thing though and gets really fussy when it falls out.  The things they lay on are kind of like memory foam mattresses that they can squish around to make them comfy. 

 Will giving the death grip to his cord. The nurses say it's great that he's able to grip this well at such a young stage. 

Little wrinkly forehead.  He looks like such a little old man. He's starting to grow into his skin, but isn't quite there yet! :) 

Saturday, December 1st, 2012

 FREEDOM AT LAST!!!! We were FINALLY discharged Saturday about noon!  We were SOOO excited to be going home! Of course, it was difficult to leave our sweet babies in the NICU, but we knew they were in the best hands! We went by and visited them before we left and told them we would be back each day! It was surreal when I walked back into our house.  I got super teary eyed because it was so nice to be home! My water broke on October 21st and I got home December 1st! That was a total 45 days in the hospital!  I am a major homebody, so it was super difficult to be away that long!  It was also so hard because it was completely unexpected! However, we were so thrilled for the extra time that we were able to keep the boys inside because we can't even begin to think how tiny they would had they been born when my water first broke.  We were so blessed to get so many extra days! Once we were home, we went and visited friends which was AMAZING! It was SO nice to be able to hang out with everyone and regain a sense of normalcy!! Even though I had to get up and pump every two hours, it was still the best night's sleep I'd had since we were at the hospital! It was awesome to be able to sleep in a bed with my husband again and be surrounded by my own stuff. I was pumping at some point in the night and Jason groggily woke up and said "Shut the door- someone will see you."  I laughed and told him we were home and no one was coming in.  We were so used to be walked in on constantly.  It is fabulous not to be poked and prodded every five minutes by someone or just have my sleep interrupted.  There is nothing like your own bed and that saying "Home Sweet Home" was made for a reason!

Jason's mom made this amazing flag for by our mailbox to announce the boys' births:

Sunday, December 2nd, 2012

I was so excited to go see Jack and Will when we got up Sunday.  Mom and Dad came over and the four of went to see our sweet boys.  Mom and Dad brought Izzy back to (she'd been staying with them for a while) and I definitely choked up when I got my sweet puppy back.  I am so happy to snuggle with Izzy and Lily again.  I love my furbabies too.  They were troopers during this whole adventure.  I felt so bad for them, but they were resilient.  It will be interesting to see their reactions when the babies come home!! The boys were awesome when we saw them, but we didn't get to stay too long because they had to close the nursery to do a procedure on another baby.  This is common, but stunk for us since we didn't get to see them very long.  Mom and I went to Target and  bought some fun baby stuff and dad and Jason got all the Christmas decorations down out of the attic.  We still haven't had a chance to decorate yet, but at least it's all out of the attic now! We're hoping to get the house decorated this week so that it will be ready in case the boys do get to make it home before Christmas.

 Jackson- 5 days old- In clothes and swaddled.

William- Day 5.  He had to go back under one light, but he's back off it again.  He was chilling hard core here.  He would arch his back and stretch really big. It was super cute (but I'm bias!)

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

Today I went to my post-partum appointment at my regular OB.  He hadn't seen me since before my water broke.  He is at Lake Normal Regional Hospital, which of course we didn't end up delivering at since my water ruptured so early.  It was nice to see him though and everything looked great.  In six days I've lost a total of 30 pounds!!! I could hardly believe it when I stepped on the scale because I know I still look about six months pregnant!  My blood pressure was back to normal, but I am staying on the medicine for about a month just to be sure everything is good.  

This afternoon Jason and I rode up to the hospital to go see Jack and Will.  When we got there the nurse at the desk told us they were moving the boys to the Progressive Nursery!! This is where they go once they just need to feed and grow before they go home!! We were absolutely shocked that they were already well enough to go there!! So, while we were there we were able to move the boys over to their new spot.  They have a nice end unit right next to a window.  They will still get monitored, but will hopefully be changing beds soon.  They are still in their isolettes, but should be going to the open ones soon.  We were finally able to touch them and we could really see how tiny they are in relation to our hand.  Just to give you an idea, Will's back is about the same size as my hand.  My index finger is the same size as his arm from his elbow to shoulder.  They are both so tiny, but so perfectly formed. 

 Jackson- 6 days old.  Just moved to Progressive Care Nursery.  Weighs 3 lbs, 7 ozs now- up from 3.3.  Took his entire meal from a bottle!!!

William- Day 6.  Progressive Care Nursery.  Weighs 2 lbs, 10 oz. up from 2.7 at birth.  Finally starting to fatten up a little.  Still not really taking the bottle, but will be before long!

FINAL THOUGHTS (for now! :)

So, needless to say, we've had quite the adventure just getting these boys here!  We are so in love already.  It's amazing how quickly our priorities have changed.  I hardly sleep at all now due to all the times I'm pumping, but I truly don't care.  I am so happy and can't quit smiling because I have babies!! We are so excited to get them fattened up and home as soon as possible. They are already working on taking their food from bottles instead of the feeding tube.  We have been so amazingly surprised by the quick progress of the boys.  We can only praise God and pray that everything continues in such a positive manner!! We have realistic expectations and know there will be good and bad days.  We are being super careful and haven't even held them ourselves yet.  We are hoping to "Kangaroo" them tomorrow.  This "Skin to Skin" time is supposed to help them thrive and also increased my milk supply. 

There are so many people to thank for all our blessings.  Number one - God.  There has definitely been a divine hand in all that has transpired in our lives the past year.  First of all, just getting pregnant with twins was a miracle in itself.  We were watched over, guided, and protected throughout this entire pregnancy! Our friends, family, and the medical staff at CMC have been the best support system.  We truly could not have done it without any of the above-mentioned people! We are SO happy with the way things are progressing and hope they continue to do so in the future.  We will continue to post on Facebook regularly and post more in-depth information on this blog.  It's hard to believe this adventure has only just begun!! 

 I didn't see Jason's Facebook message until recently that he put up the day the boys were born.  It said: I am a Dad!!!! Words can not express the happiness and joy I feel. Jackson was born at 7:35 and William was born at 7:37. Amy is doing great. She is a the epitome of strength and courage. I am so blessed to have her in my life. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayer. We are truly blessed!! Additional information to follow.

See why I love this man so much?  He's amazing and supportive.  He waits on me hand and foot now and is so active in his children's lives already.  He's so interested and worries himself to death over them.  I don't know what I would have done without his strength during this pregnancy.  I've said it before, but I'm really not sure what I did to deserve such an amazing man.  I can't believe I am so lucky to have him as my partner for life and father of my children.  
Daddy Dan (J's dad) has such a kind heart too and total made me blubber when he wrote this the other night in response to Jason's message:  It is awesome for you to know the feeling of being a dad. I hope Jack and Will give you the love, joy and pride of being their dad, as you have given me. I know you and Amy will make the best parents. It shows already and they are only days old. You both had us loving them before they were ever born into this world. Love you, Dad

Yep, still makes me tear up.  I don't do this often, but I have weird little triggers every so often.  Like the other night when we got home, I was getting my Chap Stick from my bedside table and saw this heart beat sensor thing with headphones that we had.  I totally teared up- I guess because it reminded me that I was no longer pregnant, but they weren't home with me yet.  I try to stay really strong because I know they are in the best care possible, but it is hard that we can't have them home with us yet.  Then I remember how amazing they are doing and know that they will be here in no time and God is just giving us extra time to prepare ourselves for them.  I know time is going to fly and we'll have them home in no time and then we'll all be crying because I will be so tired and overwhelmed!  They will be ONE week old tomorrow!! We are overjoyed that they are doing so well.  Once again, thank you everyone for your amazing support.  We will keep you updated with pictures and information as often as possible. The little men will be home soon and everyone will get to meet them in person!! :)