Doctor's Visit

Top is Juliette, Middle is Caroline, Bottom they are recuperating from their shots.

We have had a busy week. On Tuesday, Randall and I took the girls back to the eye doctor. We were prepared this time and it only took two hours, instead of four. The doctor said everything looks great Thank God, so that was the last time we will have to get their eyes examined until their normal school exams.

I had been trying to arrange RSV shots (they are to get them every 28 days) but we had some bumps in the road for insurance authorization. The girl at the office finally called on Monday to make an appointment and I called her back today and she said they were due today and could we come in. I wasn't happy about having to make a trip that we weren't planning, but it worked out okay. The office is really nice and so were the people. A group of NICU nurses opened to give the RSV shots strictly to preemies and babies with heart and lung problems. They will have to get it all the way until the end of RSV season (prob April). They will only need it next year if they get sick this year. The nurse at the office asked me who I wanted to go first. I looked down at one of the babies and said 'We'll do Juliette first" We weighed her and they gave her the shot. Boy she squealed, I comforted her and then put her back in her carrier. Then I grabbed the other baby and we weighed her. I told the lady I was going to change her diaper real quick, then I realized that her toe nails were red and that meant the baby that already got the shot was not Juliette, but was Caroline. I was so embarrassed, when the nurse came back into the room I had to tell her I got them confused. She said "That's okay. They are identical". I just felt bad because I am their mother and normally I can tell them apart. We laughed after it was all done.

When they told me they had to weigh them I was excited because I had been wondering how much weight they had gained. So here are the results-I was amazed. Juliette is 7 lbs 14oz and Caroline is 7lbs 9oz. They both eat about 3ounces every 3 hours still. We have another appointment on February 12th for a check up so we will see how much bigger they get.

Before and After

Girls in the NICU- Juliette is on the top and Caroline is on the bottom. Current pic- Juliette is on the left and Caroline is on the right.

Changes and Reflections

My suspicions have been confirmed that the girls are growing. Not only have I noticed that both of their double chins are getting bigger, but also their bellies. The actual proof is in the diapers and the clothing. The girls have now graduated to newborn diapers and some of their preemie outfits don't fit them or are starting to get too tight(including the ones with Minnie that they wore to the doctor just recently). This is bittersweet for me. I want them to grow and want to see all the changes they will make, but I will miss those tiny little clothes and diapers. Such is life, I will probably save some of my favorite ones to keep for myself and then some of the others for the girls to play with on their baby dolls, that's if Randall doesn't turn them into football fanatics. I guess they could like both.

Everyday is such a blessing with the girls. I will probably have to go back to work soon and although it's only part time I don't really want to. I love my job, but I will sure miss my girls. At least we are lucky enough that we won't have to send them to daycare. Not that they are bad, I just want to be able to take care of my own children, plus since they were preemie they would be exposed to a lot more germs. We plan on planning our schedule so that Randall, my mom and I will watch them. Then of course there are tons of you out there who have offered to watch them so watch out double trouble may be coming your way soon. Of course, we are still holding out that we might win the lottery and we would both get to stay home with them forever like we are now. Some say we might have a good chance since the odds of us having monoamniotic twins was so rare.

I can't believe it has been 6 weeks since they have arrived and 3 weeks since we have been home. When I am with them I reflect on where this journey has taken us so far. We are coming up some one year anniversaries. Last year at this time we were talking about trying to have a baby. Yes, that was a baby, little did we know then we would be blessed with two. I think about our diagnosis of mono twins and how terrified I was of all the things that could have happened, but thankfully didn't. I still visit the mono website to keep up with the women who have experienced the journey, as well as to give support to those who are just starting theirs. Unfortunately, they have not all had such wonderful outcomes and their stories and strength is a constant reminder to me of how truly blessed we are. We have learned so much during this journey and became stronger than I ever thought we could. We want to thank everyone for all their support, prayers and words of encouragement. Most of all we thank God for our two wonderful, precious gifts.

My mommy bought us boy pants!

Juliette is modeling her new boy preemie pants because babies r us only has 1 set of girl preemie pants to pick from. I had lots of onsies and not many pants So I bought one girls and one boys sets to wear around the house.

This is what happens when daddy dresses me.

Caroline

Sleep deprived

Sorry it has been week since the last post. Times flies by with two precious little girls keeping you busy. The girls are doing very well and growing like weeds. I know Juliette is definitely 6 pounds, not sure about Caroline. Juliette wakes up more and looks around now, but Caroline is still a sleepy girl most of the time. Tomorrow I would have been 38 weeks pregnant so we are closer to term.

We have gotten pretty good at telling them apart most of the time. I say most of the time because I just thought Randall was feeding Juliette and it was Caroline. Oops. Not the first not the last.

Randall and I had decided to try to start putting the girls in their crib a night. We wanted to sleep at the same time and then get up to feed them. Before then he was up all night and me all day and we never saw each other. It worked really nicely in the beginning, but was not realistic for us long term. We started our new venture 3 nights ago and it's been rough. We put both the girls in their crib together and they would wake up right away, especially Caroline. She didn't like it and would make a lot of noise. When one makes a noise and the other wakes up and does it too. It was so hard to sleep because I was worried they were not sleeping or something was wrong with them. Occasionally, Caroline would let out a little cry, but then stop. I wanted to pick her up so bad. I tried different things to get her comfy. Didn't really sleep much that night, but Randall did. I woke him up at 5 and he took over. I guess it took all of us (except Randall) sometime to adjust to the new routine because last night was better. The "What to expect the first year" book recommended putting them toe to toe. The first night we put them side by side, the second night toe to toe, but not touching. Either way, they will manage to work their selves toward the other so they are touching. So last night I put them toe to toe and had them touching right away and they fell asleep pretty quickly. I guess we bypassed all the work they had to do to get to each other.

So now we feel like real sleep deprived parents. Just like everything else it will take some time to adjust to it. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Getting ready for our first doctor's appointment.

These are the outfits we wore to our first doctor's appointment. Grandma Bingo gave them to us. They fit us just right and they were great for the weather. The feet are closed in and look like ballet slippers. Won't be wearing these too much longer.

Nightmare at the doctor's office.

I really try not to complain, but after spending over 4 hours at the eye doctor yesterday I will have to let it rip. Our appointment was at 2:30 which we arrived at 2:15 to fill out paper work, I was impressed for our second day out with twins. I remember when I could barely get myself to places on time. Anyways, by the time I stood in line to check in, filled out at least 4 sheets of papers for each girl then stood in line again to turn in the papers to the receptionist it was past 3. The girls usually eat at 2:00 so my mom started feeding Juliette while I was filling out the gobs of papers. We waited in the waiting room for a while, which was pretty full of other patients coming and going. Someone called us and we went to a room where he asked for medical info on the girls then he explained he needed to dilate their eyes. He said that with adults we can get one big drop and then they can do the exam, but with babies they have to spread it out over 3 different intervals. He applied the first drop then we went back out to the waiting room. Now imagine me the woman who never leaves the house with these girls and is keeping visitors away because I don't want them to get RSV or anything else sitting in the waiting room for hours with them while people (nicely) gawk at them. Only one person touched Juliette and it only happened because I was in the bathroom. When I came back my mom whispered to me that the man across the room touched her two fingers. I quickly grabbed some hand sanitizer and rubbed it on her hand. I know, I know I am probably too paranoid, but can you blame me?

Now I understand that the eye drops had to be administered in 3 different intervals, but it would have been nice to know all this ahead of time. I should have pumped at 3:00, so by the time the eye drops were done and we were seen by the doctor I was way overdue and very miserable. I had my pump along with two extra bottles for the girls (I brought just in case) , but I left it in the car because I never imagined it was going to take that long. It was ten til five when they took us to the room to see the doctor and the girl said "The doctor will be right in, you're next." I don't know what her idea of right in was, but it was almost thirty minutes WHICH FELT LIKE FOREVER! I kept telling my mom "I hope we never have to come back" The girls were due to eat at five, but I didn't want to leave to go get the bottles and miss the doctor so we decided to wait since we were next.

Once the doctor came in he walked in with out an introduction and fumbled through their charts, mumbling to himself. Then he said who will be first? My mom took Caroline to the table, he put in some numbing medication and then said the lights and pressure will still bother her as he cranked her right eye open with a speculum and started probing a metal device that looked like a Q-tip around her eye. She started screaming, it broke my heart so much then he had to do it to the other eye. When he was done, I picked her up right away. Then it was Juliette's turn, she didn't scream as bad. When he was done he said everything looked good, but because they were premature and on oxygen they would have to come back one more time. Premature babies are at risk for retinal detachment which can cause blindness. Deep down inside I was screaming NO! But you gotta do what you gotta do so we have another appointment in 2 weeks. At least this time I will be more prepared with my pump and bottles.

When we left I decided to try to to breastfeed the girls in the car while in a parking lot since the milk in the bottles were cold, to try to relieve some of my pressure off me, to comfort them and to feed them. Caroline did awesome, but Juliette could care less. My mom had to help me since I didn't have my special pillow to hold them up. It was quite hilarious. It was dark and no one around in the spot we were in plus I was using my nursing cover up but I didn't really care after all we had been through. I was disappointed too because I was planning on going by the NICU to say hi to the nurses and doctors and show them how well the girls were, but since it was going on 6:00 when we got done I all I could do was go straight to the car.

On a positive note we got to use our double stroller for the first time. I was so glad Randall insisted on putting it together yesterday morning. It was awesome and a lifesaver, much easier to haul everyone and everything around compared to the first day. It's a tandem, not a side by side so we looked like a train coming down the hall, but it was great since this office was at the hospital on the second floor. It has attachments to put the girls car seats on it. I kept them covered to keep the wind and people from getting them when on our way to and from the office.

So that was our horror story at the eye doctor, thanks for letting me vent. Hopefully, next time it will be better since I will know what to expect this time.

We're growing like weeds!!

Sorry it took me so long to post. I know some of you have been patiently waiting to see more of the girls. Randall's parents got to come see the girls this past weekend (grandparents are allowed). The last time they saw them was right after they were born. We all enjoyed the visit very much. Of course we stayed home and loved on the girls all weekend. I know they were sad to go, the girls change so quickly.

Sunday was the 11th of January so that makes the girls 1 month old, but they are not really one month old since they were born at 32weeks. If I was still pregnant right now I would only be 35 weeks almost 36. So they have an adjusted age, but I can't tell you what it is because I forgot to ask the doctor how that works. I will have to ask at our 2 month appointment. Regardless, they are doing so well. They weighed them this morning and Juliette is 5 lbs 14oz and Caroline is 5lbs 9oz. I knew they were over 5 pounds, but I did not expect Juliette to be almost so close to 6 pounds. My mom was surprised too, she said by the time most people get to see them they will be like normal size babies. I forgot to ask their length. I know, I know I need to write these things down. The doctor said they both looked great. Caroline had to have her thyroid levels rechecked because one of them was too high before discharge (this is common with preemies) so they rechecked to see if it is now normal. It takes a couple of days to come back on the results. At their two month appointment they will have to have their blood counts rechecked because it can start to drop again about that time. For now we will continue feeding them every three hours routinely. I am hoping they will both start breastfeeding soon. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the eye doctor for a recheck. Preemies can have eye problems so they also keep an eye on their eyes. Their first check was in the hosptial and everything was fine. I hope everyone enjoys the pics I added. I hope to have some more soon. Sometimes it's hard to get on here and post with two babies eating every 3 hours and pumping. My goal is 2-3 times a week. I try to space it out. Have a great day.

2x the love pics

Juliette in pink pants and Caroline in brown.

2X the LOVE!!!

Everyone is doing well here at the Drake residence, as we are settling into a routine. As I had said in the previous post Randall and I are taking shifts right now. Some people might find this unrealistic, but it's working out really nicely for us. It started because we were paranoid to leave them alone (and still are), but found we get more sleep if we do it that way. He stays up at night and I do the days and we overlap in the evenings. Once we have to go back to work we will have to try something new.

It it so wonderful to have them home, they are so amazing and all they do is eat, sleep and make poop. I love the little sounds they make when they sleep, a lot of times when one starts making noise the other does the same. I love to put them next to each other and watch them interact, they touch each other, talk to each other and look at each other. It amazes me how I can see they have a bond and they are so young. For Christmas the girls received the shirts that they have on in their 1st video appearance above that say 2X the diapers, 2X the feedings, 2X the love. This can't be more true. I remember when we first found out we were having twins. I had so many people tell me they were scared for us, say better you than me or you are going to have your hands full. Sure it is double the work, but it is double the love and well worth it. I have to admit sometimes I wondered how we would do it, but now that their here I know we will be okay. Randall is so good with them and I think they already have him wrapped around their little fingers, but don't tell him that.

I so badly want everyone to see in person how amazing they are, I want to take them out in the world and say these are my babies, look how beautiful and cute they are. BUT we are too paranoid with the germ issue. They were just talking about RSV season on the news last night and how it's peaking right now. We appreciate everyone's understanding and hope you enjoy the posts, pics and video in the meantime,

OUR HOMECOMING OUTFITS!!

Caroline

Juliette

The GIRLS ARE HOME!!!

We were able to bring both Caroline and Juliette home yesterday. Juliette was 4lbs 14oz and Caroline was 4lbs 9oz. It felt like such a long ride home with them, they are so tiny in their car seats even though they are made for 4 pound babies. I rode in the backseat with them and I kept checking them to make sure they were okay. We are so excited to have them home with us. We gave them each their first bath at home. We definitely need some improvement on this process. Caroline got a sponge bath, she still hasn't lost her cord. It's hanging on for dear life. Juliette's fell off a long time ago so she gets dunked. It took us almost an hour to bathe both of them. Hopefully we will get better. We feed them every 3 hours around the clock, like they did at the hospital. Just after the 2 am feeding we decided to put them in their crib and try to sleep then Juliette spewed milk like a volcano while she was lying on her back and scared the do do out of Randall and I. We were too worried after that to leave them with out one of us directly watching them. We were worried she might do it again and be on her back and choke (1st time parents!) So Randall stayed up with them and I slept until 6 am( whew hew a whole 3 hours of sleep!) when I had to get up and pump again and then I fed them their 0800 am feeding and Randall went to bed. My mom stayed the night, but we did not wake her. She is on the afternoon shift, so I will hopefully get a little more rest this afternoon. Randall is sleeping now.

So as you can see we are still getting into a routine, especially since they haven't even been home 24 hours yet. I know a lot of people want to come see the girls, but for now we are hoping to limit their visitors since it is the cold and flu season. Premature babies are especially at risk for picking up those yucky germs and I sure don't want to end up back in the hospital with them again. So for now I will keep posting and put as many pictures on this site so everyone can see how they are growing.