Good Afternoon!
Time for a quick update before the girl's start yelling at me telling me they are hungry! Both girls again gained more weight overnight. Adison now is so close to 5 pounds, hopefully tomorrow she will be there. She weighs 4 pounds 15.2 ounces today. Aubrey is close on her tail weighing 4 pounds 11.7 ounces. They are getting so big! They are also very strong girls. Both of them are holding up their heads on their own when they are getting burped.
Adison's apnea is continuing but the Dr. is now thinking it is more of an acid reflux situation with her. Once her feeding tube is out we will see what it really it. He describes her situation as she is throwing something up, not knowing what to do with it in her mouth and she stops breathing to try and fix it. The Dr. said she has great skills on swallowing she just needs to learn how to solve the problem on her own without gaging. I would love it to just be caused by the tube! That would be amazing. Aubrey is continuing to be a go with the flow girl. She does not mind being poked or prodded, as long as someone is paying attention to her. She is continuing to have no apnea, just a little tear duct that is bothering her at the moment.
Have a great afternoon and by the way - Go Blazers!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Update 4-29-09
Good Afternoon! I am so glad the weather is nice out today! Much better than yesterday! I went to the store this am and got the girl's some new sleepers. They love them and only had one pair that fit them. I love the ones I got this am - check them out in their pics!
I just got done talking with the girl's Dr. and hearing their updates for today. Both girls gained weight again overnight! This is one of their requirements for being discharged, so we are happy about every ounce. Aubrey now weighs 4 pounds 9.2 ounces and Adison now weighs 4 pounds 13.4 ounces. Both girls had their eyes looked at by the Dr. today. They both have little eye boogers (as Jeff calls them) in their left eye. The Dr. is not too worried, he is just going to watch it and see what happens. Adison had one apnea issue last night where she needed moderate stimulation. That is when the nurse needs to rub her back, etc. to get her to remember to breathe. She has to go 7 days without any of those cases before she goes home. The Dr. asked me today how I feel about maybe taking one of the girls home first and keeping Adison here until she does go the 7 days. Maybe that threat will help Adison to remember the rule of breathing!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
My Niece - Rylee Braden Jensen
She is here!!!! Rylee was born at 3:19 a.m. today. She is 7.4 pounds and is 21 inches long. I can't wait to introduce her to her cousins in July.
Update 4-28-09
Good Morning! I wish it was sunny again - it is so sad looking outside the girl's window today with all this rain. Today the girl's had another great day. I just got done talking with the girl's Dr. who had great news to share again.
Both girl's gained lots of weight last night. Aubrey now weighs 4 pounds 9 ounces and Adison weighs 4 pounds 12 ounces. They are getting close to 5 pounds! I can't wait for that day to come. Today Adison only had 1 case of apnea the whole time I was with them today. I guess my talking to her worked yesterday. The Dr. also got the girl's newborn screening tests back. Adison's was totally perfect and Aubrey's came back showing an elevated thyroid producing glands/hormones. Their Dr. is rerunning the test beacause he is sure it is a false positive, like most of the positives he sees coming back on that test. We will know in a few days or so what the 2nd test has shown. I asked the Dr. how much longer the girls will be here in the NICU. The best answer he could give me is 10 days plus or minus 4 days. We are going day by day to see when they can come home! I can't wait!!!!
Both girl's gained lots of weight last night. Aubrey now weighs 4 pounds 9 ounces and Adison weighs 4 pounds 12 ounces. They are getting close to 5 pounds! I can't wait for that day to come. Today Adison only had 1 case of apnea the whole time I was with them today. I guess my talking to her worked yesterday. The Dr. also got the girl's newborn screening tests back. Adison's was totally perfect and Aubrey's came back showing an elevated thyroid producing glands/hormones. Their Dr. is rerunning the test beacause he is sure it is a false positive, like most of the positives he sees coming back on that test. We will know in a few days or so what the 2nd test has shown. I asked the Dr. how much longer the girls will be here in the NICU. The best answer he could give me is 10 days plus or minus 4 days. We are going day by day to see when they can come home! I can't wait!!!!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Update 4-27-09
First off ~ Aubrey, Adison and I would like to wish Daddy a happy birthday! He is a old 30 today!!!! The girls are doing great again today. Adison is really driving me crazy with the apnea, I just had a very serious conversation with her about how she is stressing Mommy out and it is not OK. We will see if that works! The girls both gained weight again overnight. Aubrey is now up to 4 pounds 6.5 ounces and Adison is up to 4 pounds 9.5 ounces. They are looking so big now! Aubrey is now taking 1/3 of her feedings through bottle or me. Adison is taking about 1/2 of them. They still get pretty tired during their feedings. But, to their defense it is very hard work to suck/swallow and breath at the same time! Today the girls are wearing their very cute sleepers that my Mom bought for them, check out their cute pics!
My sister is also in labor today. She was induced this AM and the Dr. broke her water at 6 p.m. tonight. Maybe Jeff will share his birthday with Ms. Rylee. We will wait and see!
Update 4-26-09
Good Morning!
Today the girls had a very exciting day. Their Great-Grandma Pat and their sudo-auntie Meg came to visit them. Thanks for coming Meg! You are going to have to send me the pics Jeff so nicely took of you with the girls.
The girls are continuing to gain weight, I guess they really want to come home huh? Today Aubrey weighs 4 pounds 3.9 ounces while Adison weighs 4 pounds 8 ounces. They are looking bigger and bigger by the day! They are now on full feeds of 40 ml every three hours. They are continuing to get mainly from me or a bottle, but they do continue to get feed through their feeding tubes if they are too tired for the other two options. Since they are preemies they do get very tired easily, which stresses them out. Once they are able to take every feeding by bottle or from me their tubes can get take out.
Today they continue to co-bed in one crib. Either tomorrow or the day after they will get split back up to two separate cribs. They split them up to see if they can regulate their body heat on their own. Right now they are keeping each other warm, but their Dr. wants to see if they can do it on their own. They also are going to be split up because all of the new research (really new, Jeff and I were told different not two months ago) is pointing to having twins in separate beds. This reduces SIDS dramatically.
Have a great day!
Today the girls had a very exciting day. Their Great-Grandma Pat and their sudo-auntie Meg came to visit them. Thanks for coming Meg! You are going to have to send me the pics Jeff so nicely took of you with the girls.
The girls are continuing to gain weight, I guess they really want to come home huh? Today Aubrey weighs 4 pounds 3.9 ounces while Adison weighs 4 pounds 8 ounces. They are looking bigger and bigger by the day! They are now on full feeds of 40 ml every three hours. They are continuing to get mainly from me or a bottle, but they do continue to get feed through their feeding tubes if they are too tired for the other two options. Since they are preemies they do get very tired easily, which stresses them out. Once they are able to take every feeding by bottle or from me their tubes can get take out.
Today they continue to co-bed in one crib. Either tomorrow or the day after they will get split back up to two separate cribs. They split them up to see if they can regulate their body heat on their own. Right now they are keeping each other warm, but their Dr. wants to see if they can do it on their own. They also are going to be split up because all of the new research (really new, Jeff and I were told different not two months ago) is pointing to having twins in separate beds. This reduces SIDS dramatically.
Have a great day!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Update 4-25-09
Well... I am slacking behind and not updating the blog fast enough I hear. So, here we go...
Yesterday and today the girls have continued to do very well. I had to go see the Dr. yesterday but it turns out that I am just doing to much and not taking it easy. Jeff loves to point out that he has been telling me that for a LONG time. It is just very hard to take it easy when I feel good and have many things to do. Oh well, I guess I have to listen to the Dr. now.
The girls are both continuing to gain weight daily. They are both above their birth weights now. Aubrey weighs 4.3 and Adison weighs 4.7. They both are continuing to get their feedings from me or a bottle when I am not with them. We are working to give them either at both feedings, so their feeding tubes can come out. Once they are doing full feedings of either the tubes can come out. That will be great to see them without tubes up their noses. Adison is continuing to have a few apnea issues daily but she is still (for the most part) fixing it on her own without help. Both girls are also waking themselves up for feedings and are very hungry when they wake up. This is great news and another step in the right direction to get them to come home.
Today they had a big day with visitors. Their Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Wilson came to visit them and they got to hold them. Tomorrow their sudo-Auntie Meg is coming also with Meg's mom and their Great-Grandma Pat. As you can see from the picture, Jeff and I are working on holding both girls at the same time. It will not be long before that is our daily routine at home!!!!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Update 4-23-09
Good Afternoon! As you can tell, the girls are finally together in one crib. Yesterday they passed their temp test and they held their temps where they needed to be all day long with out the bed helping them. They got moved into one isolete last night and one crib together this morning. It is so funny watching them just stare at each other. They are constantly hitting each other with their hands and feet. Aubrey smacked Adison this morning and Adison just stared at her, probably wondering where that hand came from.
The girls are both doing very well today. They each gained weight again last night! Aubrey is now over her birth weight, weighing 4.2 pounds. Adison is still the front runner though, weighing 4.6 pounds. She is only .1 away from her birth weight also. We were all assuming that they would be loosing weight since their IV's were taken out but they have not been showing that yet. I had a great lesson today on how to change diapers quickly. I was taking my time with Aubrey and she sent a nice #2 squirt my way. It ended up on the blankets, her foot, Adison, my finger and the clean diaper I had waiting. I guess I need to be WAY faster next time. Adison is continuing to drive me crazy with her apnea. All of the nurses try to reassure me every time I bolt up when the alarms blare, that this is typical of their gestational age. Today they are gestationally 34 weeks and a day. I don't care how old they are - she needs to STOP doing that. How nice - she just did it again!!!! What a stinker. Today the girls are also working to get off the feeding tubes. They have tubes now that go directly into their stomachs but we are working at weening them off of them so the tubes can come out. At their feedings they either get to be breastfed or bottle fed now. I am so excited that Jeff will finally get to feed them! Aubrey drank all but 10 ml of her bottle this morning. Their nurse said that is great - she is getting the suck/swallow/breathe technique down.
I hope all is well for everyone. I heard this morning that if they keep doing so well, they will be here for 10 more days max!!!!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Update 4-22-09
Good Morning!
Another round of good news for the girls. Today they are getting their temps tested. The hoods are up on their isolates and if they control their temp on their own all day they get to move into a crib together! I can't wait to see them both in one crib - they will be so happy to be cramped together again. Aubrey got her IV taken out this am, so all they are hooked up to is the monitors for their heart rate, respiratory rates and their temp gauge. They also have their "Baby Lo Jacks" on - it is their security tags so no one can take my girls from their room. Both girls are off their IV's now totally which will cause their weights to drop for a few days while the IV water weight is disappearing. Today Aubrey is back to her birth weight of 4.1 pounds. Adison gained a few ounces overnight but not enough to move her from 4.5 pounds. They both are getting baths today and are able to wear clothes now. I have to run to the store today after I am done here, since I have ONE preemie onesie. I did not realize that preemie clothes are SO hard to find! Aubrey hated her bath this morning! I told Jeff that I was shocked he could not hear her scream while he is working from home. She was not happy at all. Hopefully Adison will enjoy it a little more when she gets her bath at noon. Today there are "Family Rounds" happening in the NICU. That is when the babies whole team (their neonatolgist, nurse, respiratory therapist, social worker, lactation specialist, pharmacist and dietitian) come into their room to collaborate on the girl's care. I will post more if there is more info that come from the Family Rounds.
Another round of good news for the girls. Today they are getting their temps tested. The hoods are up on their isolates and if they control their temp on their own all day they get to move into a crib together! I can't wait to see them both in one crib - they will be so happy to be cramped together again. Aubrey got her IV taken out this am, so all they are hooked up to is the monitors for their heart rate, respiratory rates and their temp gauge. They also have their "Baby Lo Jacks" on - it is their security tags so no one can take my girls from their room. Both girls are off their IV's now totally which will cause their weights to drop for a few days while the IV water weight is disappearing. Today Aubrey is back to her birth weight of 4.1 pounds. Adison gained a few ounces overnight but not enough to move her from 4.5 pounds. They both are getting baths today and are able to wear clothes now. I have to run to the store today after I am done here, since I have ONE preemie onesie. I did not realize that preemie clothes are SO hard to find! Aubrey hated her bath this morning! I told Jeff that I was shocked he could not hear her scream while he is working from home. She was not happy at all. Hopefully Adison will enjoy it a little more when she gets her bath at noon. Today there are "Family Rounds" happening in the NICU. That is when the babies whole team (their neonatolgist, nurse, respiratory therapist, social worker, lactation specialist, pharmacist and dietitian) come into their room to collaborate on the girl's care. I will post more if there is more info that come from the Family Rounds.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Girl's Update 4-21-09
Good Afternoon! It has been another wonderful day here in the NICU. I can't believe how fast the time flies by. I pack bags full of stuff to work on and I can't seem to get a thing done! I am spending to much time just staring at them.
The girls had another great day and night. Last night Jeff and I arrived at the hospital to see the girl's getting their labs worked up. It turns out that there was a medicine switch made by their day nurse yesterday (she gave the babies each other's TPN -total parenteral nutrition - on accident). Luckily, their bags were not that different so they are fine.
Adison got her IV taken out this AM. She looks like she feels much better without this big IV hanging out of her foot. She is still being a lazy breather, but I am reassured time and time again that it will go away. I just HATE hearing the alarms go off that she is not breathing! It drives me nuts. Adison now weighs 4 pounds 5 ounces, she is slowly getting back up to her birth weight. Today I also got to see their Apgar scores from their birth. Adison was a 9 at 1 minute and a 10 at 5 minutes. The nurse told me that babies NEVER get that high of a score for being born C-Section. Adison is a little trouper though. You can tell from day 1. Her personality it totally coming out also. Jeff and I are in for it with her. If she does not get fed or what she wants immediately, she becomes a very loud screamer!
Aubrey is also getting her IV out this afternoon. The Dr is letting her finish her TPN bag that they hung this morning. Aubrey's apgar scores were 8 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes. Aubrey is also getting bigger and bigger. She is catching up very quickly to Adison. She now weighs 4 pounds exact, which is only 1 ounce away from her birth weight. Aubrey is the go with the flow baby. She is a good eater, but she let you know if you are running late with her food. She is doing very well with her breathing, she does not have as many apnea issues as Adison.
Oooppps... Adison is waking up. I better get their feedings ready!!!
The girls had another great day and night. Last night Jeff and I arrived at the hospital to see the girl's getting their labs worked up. It turns out that there was a medicine switch made by their day nurse yesterday (she gave the babies each other's TPN -total parenteral nutrition - on accident). Luckily, their bags were not that different so they are fine.
Adison got her IV taken out this AM. She looks like she feels much better without this big IV hanging out of her foot. She is still being a lazy breather, but I am reassured time and time again that it will go away. I just HATE hearing the alarms go off that she is not breathing! It drives me nuts. Adison now weighs 4 pounds 5 ounces, she is slowly getting back up to her birth weight. Today I also got to see their Apgar scores from their birth. Adison was a 9 at 1 minute and a 10 at 5 minutes. The nurse told me that babies NEVER get that high of a score for being born C-Section. Adison is a little trouper though. You can tell from day 1. Her personality it totally coming out also. Jeff and I are in for it with her. If she does not get fed or what she wants immediately, she becomes a very loud screamer!
Aubrey is also getting her IV out this afternoon. The Dr is letting her finish her TPN bag that they hung this morning. Aubrey's apgar scores were 8 at 1 minute and 9 at 5 minutes. Aubrey is also getting bigger and bigger. She is catching up very quickly to Adison. She now weighs 4 pounds exact, which is only 1 ounce away from her birth weight. Aubrey is the go with the flow baby. She is a good eater, but she let you know if you are running late with her food. She is doing very well with her breathing, she does not have as many apnea issues as Adison.
Oooppps... Adison is waking up. I better get their feedings ready!!!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Girl's Update 4-20-09
I was discharged from the hospital yesterday, which was very weird, since the girls were not coming with me. I do get to spend 24 hours a day with them if I would like -which is wonderful!
The girls are both doing very well. Their Dr. is calling them "her super stars!" For considering how young they are (they were born at 33 weeks and 1 day gestation) they are both doing great. Adison still is having a few apnea issues, which is totally normal for a premmie. She is just a lazy breather, she will forget to breath randomly but she usually starts right back up on her own. Both of the girls have continued to need no help breathing, they are breathing the room air on their own. They both passed their bilirubin tests again today and are not needing to go under the lights. They both lost a little weight after birth but are gaining it back steadily. Today Aubrey weighs 3 pounds 15 ounces and Adison weighs 4 pounds 4 ounces. The Dr.'s are slowly taking them off of their monitors and IV's. It is great to see all of their cables and connections getting taken out!
I will post more updates and pics as we get a chance!
The girls are both doing very well. Their Dr. is calling them "her super stars!" For considering how young they are (they were born at 33 weeks and 1 day gestation) they are both doing great. Adison still is having a few apnea issues, which is totally normal for a premmie. She is just a lazy breather, she will forget to breath randomly but she usually starts right back up on her own. Both of the girls have continued to need no help breathing, they are breathing the room air on their own. They both passed their bilirubin tests again today and are not needing to go under the lights. They both lost a little weight after birth but are gaining it back steadily. Today Aubrey weighs 3 pounds 15 ounces and Adison weighs 4 pounds 4 ounces. The Dr.'s are slowly taking them off of their monitors and IV's. It is great to see all of their cables and connections getting taken out!
I will post more updates and pics as we get a chance!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Aubrey Diane
Aubrey Diane Gay - Born April 15th, 2009 at 10:04 a.m. She weighed 4.1 pounds and is 16 inches long.
Adison Stephanie
Adison Stephanie Gay - Born April 15th, 2009 at 10:05 a.m. She weighed 4.7 pounds and is 17 inches long.
Here are a few pics to hold everyone over until the next update.
Here are a few pics to hold everyone over until the next update.
The Girls Are Here!!!
Our girls are here!!! They are doing great and are so beautiful! My dear cousin Meg is begging me to update the blog - I will write more when I have a longer chance to. I promise! More to come soon....
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
News from the Hospital!!!!!
Good Afternoon!!
News has arrived - I am officially scheduled for a C-Section for 9 a.m. tomorow morning! We will send pics/info when we get a chance!!
News has arrived - I am officially scheduled for a C-Section for 9 a.m. tomorow morning! We will send pics/info when we get a chance!!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Blogging from the Hospital
Good Afternoon! I finally have a minute where I am not getting poked and proded - I can let you all know what is going on.
After feeling icky all weekend, my water broke last night at home. We went to the hospital where they were deciding if they were going to take the babies last night or later. They decided to give me a steroid shot to help their lungs develop quicker. The Dr. decided today that we are going to try to make it to Wednesday before delivering. I am getting another steroid shot tonight and 24 hours after that, they will take the babies if I do not go into active labor before that. They are very hopeful that there will not be many complications since I will be 33 weeks tomorrow and will be getting both doses of the steroid. The girls will be going straight into the NICU - since they are still pretty young. How long they will be there is how well they are doing when they arrive.
We will keep you posted as much as we can!
After feeling icky all weekend, my water broke last night at home. We went to the hospital where they were deciding if they were going to take the babies last night or later. They decided to give me a steroid shot to help their lungs develop quicker. The Dr. decided today that we are going to try to make it to Wednesday before delivering. I am getting another steroid shot tonight and 24 hours after that, they will take the babies if I do not go into active labor before that. They are very hopeful that there will not be many complications since I will be 33 weeks tomorrow and will be getting both doses of the steroid. The girls will be going straight into the NICU - since they are still pretty young. How long they will be there is how well they are doing when they arrive.
We will keep you posted as much as we can!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
31 Weeks and Counting!
I can't believe the girls are almost here! I am now 31 weeks and we are shooting to get to 36 weeks, so only 5 more weeks to go. This week I had another Dr. appointment, Non-Stress Test and an ultrasound. What a way to spend my Spring Break vacation! I have to admit - it has all been spent shopping, sitting on the couch and go to the doctors. Not a bad way to spend a week!
This week all my appointments went very smooth. We have decided that the girls do not like the Non-Stress test. They can handle it and be calm for the first 20 minutes but then the last ten is a pain to keep the monitors on them! They must not like me being on my back for so long. I am now measuring around 39-40 weeks. No wonder I am getting stared at everywhere we go! It is getting harder and harder by the day to get around. The littlest things make me so tired. I am so thankful that Jeff is ready and waiting to help me with anything!
We also had another ultrasound yesterday. The girls looked great and were very active. They are both around 4 pounds now which is around the 50% percentile. Very normal for twins. We got to see Aubrey sucking her fingers and hiding down in my hip like she loves to do. Adison on the other hand loves to be transverse and push herself up into my ribs everyday! What a stinker! At the ultrasound they noticed that Adison's fluid is a bit more than Aubrey's. This could be due to many different things. It could be her position, the movement they are doing, etc. This is a bit of a red flag but not a huge one. The Dr. will just be keeping a closer eye on them from now on. If they do continue to grow at different rates there is the possibility of delivering them early for their health and safety. Nothing to worry about we have been told, just something to keep an eye on.
I go back to the Dr. on Monday - keep checking back for more updates!
This week all my appointments went very smooth. We have decided that the girls do not like the Non-Stress test. They can handle it and be calm for the first 20 minutes but then the last ten is a pain to keep the monitors on them! They must not like me being on my back for so long. I am now measuring around 39-40 weeks. No wonder I am getting stared at everywhere we go! It is getting harder and harder by the day to get around. The littlest things make me so tired. I am so thankful that Jeff is ready and waiting to help me with anything!
We also had another ultrasound yesterday. The girls looked great and were very active. They are both around 4 pounds now which is around the 50% percentile. Very normal for twins. We got to see Aubrey sucking her fingers and hiding down in my hip like she loves to do. Adison on the other hand loves to be transverse and push herself up into my ribs everyday! What a stinker! At the ultrasound they noticed that Adison's fluid is a bit more than Aubrey's. This could be due to many different things. It could be her position, the movement they are doing, etc. This is a bit of a red flag but not a huge one. The Dr. will just be keeping a closer eye on them from now on. If they do continue to grow at different rates there is the possibility of delivering them early for their health and safety. Nothing to worry about we have been told, just something to keep an eye on.
I go back to the Dr. on Monday - keep checking back for more updates!
31 Weeks - Girls Pictures
Here are the latest pictures of the girls. Aubrey is the top 3 pictures and Adison is the bottom two.
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