Caroline and Juliette--Our little miracles

2010-02-04T04:28:00.000-06:00

A BIG CHANGE!!!

2009-11-03T22:27:00.002-06:00

I wanted to officially let everyone know that I have decided to no longer post on this blog. Since the evolution of facebook I have found it is much easier to download pictures of the girls there. It also saves me a lot of time. Plus, a lot of you are already on facebook. It was a hard decision for me, I guess because it was such a big part of our life the last year. It served a great purpose by allowing me to keep everyone up to speed on one of the scariest and most joyful times of our lives. We want to thank everyone who followed it and told me they enjoyed it. And also for all the prayers and support we have received throughout our momo journey. I will continue to put pictures on my facebook page and I for those who are interested in the girls growth and progress I am planning to put updates in the notes section on my fb page. It will be a work in progress. If you are not on facebook and don't want to be, but want to continue to get updates just let me know and I will try to shoot you an occasional email. I posted one last update on the girls progress below, sorry no pictures though. If you are on facebook or plan on joining just friend request me and I will accept.

Thanks again for all the prayers and support,

Love, Misty, Randall, Caroline and Juliette

LIFE IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING....

2009-11-03T21:13:00.006-06:00

I begin this blog with simple words that we all live on a daily basis...life is constantly changing. I just re read my last post and needless to say there has been a lot of change!! We are nearing a year since our beautiful girls have blessed our lives. And with that we have become much busier!! I know it has been a really, really long time since I have posted and I apologize. We used to keep our computer in the living room, but since the girls are so active we had to move it upstairs. To download 1 picture on this blog can take 10-15 minutes so it has been hard to get to it.

Both girls are doing so well. At their 9 month appointment Caroline was 17lbs and Juliette was 16. This is the largest size difference they have ever had. Both girls have 2 lower teeth. Caroline started getting them back in July and a week later to the day I noticed Juliette had some popping through too. At this point these are the only ones they have, but I have a funny feeling we are working on some more. In the last post they were not crawling, but have now blown past crawling right on to crawling very well, sitting up, pulling themselves up on things and walking along holding onto things. Just this past week I have noticed both girls briefly standing freely and they are getting stronger and stronger by the day. It will be interesting to see if they walk before their 1st birthday or not.

We were using their earrings to tell them apart, but back in August when we went on a short vacation Caroline's right ear became red, swollen and had drainage. We had to take her to an emergency clinic in Louisiana where they helped us get it out and it started doing better. A short time after that Juliette accidentally got hers caught on the loops hanging off my mom's couch pillow and yanked one of hers out. So neither of them have earrings now. I guess it was meant to be. I will wait and let them decide if they want to try again when they are older. So many people ask how we tell them apart now. Well, for now the extra pound that Caroline is carrying around has helped. She continues to be a chunky monkey, chubbier in the face and legs and Juliette continues to be my skinny Minnie.

We are moving slowly on food advancement though. I had a little bit of a hard time getting Caroline to like the 3rd stage foods or whole foods. I would give her a cheerio and it would come right back out. I give her chicken and veggies with chunks of carrots and it comes right back out. I think she is starting to like it a little bit now. They finally got the hang of picking up cheerios and putting them in their mouth, but I am having a hard time getting them to pick up other things like cut up bananas, avocado, etc. I have gotten Juliette to drink out of a sippy cup with spout, but Caroline still wants to chew on it and hasn't figured out she can get water out of it. They both love water though.

They can both say dada, this was both their first word. They babble, giggle and laugh. Juliette loves to play peek a boo and dance and she just started saying mama. Caroline likes to wave a lot and at times it sounds like she says hi to people which is always so surprising to them. She also likes to dance, but not as much. She is a traveler, she has become very curious and rarely stays in one spot. For instance, when changing Juliette's diaper I have to watch C real close because she gets into places and things she should not be. Juliette on the other hand will stay in one place where I sit her (most of the time) and play with the toys until I am finished with C.

Sometimes in the mornings I let them watch Sesame Street, particularly the last 20 minutes when Elmo comes on. They both dance and get excited when they watch it. Caroline especially loves Elmo. Sometimes they also watch Veggie tales. They mostly like the introduction song and Junior the Asparagus. I like to read them books and sing to them. Their favorite song is the itsy bitsy spider. My grandma was singing it to Caroline today and she was doing the spider with her fingers. I am hoping to get them some more books, music cds and videos for their birthday and Christmas.

The girls July 26, 2009

2009-07-26T12:13:00.004-05:00

The girls have become very active since our last posts. They are not crawling yet, but still manage to move all over the place either by rolling or scooting on their back or tummies. I can separate them and then walk over to the kitchen and come back and they are right next to each other. Juliette likes to steal Caroline's toy and then Caroline screams. Juliette also likes to touch peoples faces so she will roll over to her sister and put her hands on her face, then C starts screaming. It is so funny. They reach for toys, kick, scream, giggle, babble. They are just so cute and so much fun to watch and play with. In the pics below I think you will some of the fun they are having together.
On their 6 month check up the doctor said they are doing very well. Both over 14 lbs, probably getting close to 15 now. They were taken off the formula for preemies and now we give them regular formula. We were also able to stop giving them multivitamins every morning. They are eating cereal in the morning and evening and in the afternoon they have veggies and fruit. We are going through the process of try out new foods. It has been fun, they definitely have a great appetite. Caroline likes her veggies better than fruit, but will eat them both. Juliette eats anything at this point-she must get this from her dad. They were only a few ounces apart in weight and their height was the same, but Caroline still looks bigger. Her cheeks and legs are so chubby and Juliette remains thinner. This is how we tell them apart.
They continue to chew on anything they can get in their mouths. This past week Caroline was drooling like crazy and we finally noticed 2 teeth coming out on her lower gum. She is doing pretty good, especially for it being 2 at a time. Nothing for Juliette yet, but I am sure she will be following in her sister's lead soon. They both have more hair than I thought they would at this point, it is brown. Their eyes seem to be changing some, but I can't decide what color they will be yet. It seems like sometimes they are more blue and sometimes more brown. It seems to change depending on the lighting.
After their 6 month check up I got their ears pierced. Juliette cried, but was consoled pretty quickly, but Caroline cried for at least 5 minutes after. They both fell asleep on the way home and then they were fine when they woke up and have been since. Caroline's earring have a yellow stone and Juliette's stone is purple. We can tell them apart, but it's nice to be able to tell others who has what color earring and we don't have to repeat it over and over.
Well, that's it for now. Sorry it took me so long to post, the last month was a little crazy. My grandma's pelvic fracture is healing nicely and the girls and Randall are over their illnesses. It took me a while to download the pics, label them and organize them. I have to do all that before I can post. There are lots of pics since it took me so long. See you next month!!

Fun times with C & J

2009-07-26T11:12:00.018-05:00

(Above) Juliette in "I love Dad" and Caroline in "I love mommy"

(below) Watching themselves on TV

(below) Juliette rear ending Caroline

They love books!!

My twin did it

Hey how did you get over there?

Faye loves her cousins, she is so sweet to them!

Grandma's little dolls

Caroline in stripes(on top) Juliette in dots

I don't even know what to say about this,but it's funny!!

Who needs a toy when I have Juliette's hand to chew on

Will you hold my hand, sissy?

Again, I don't need a toy just my sister's dress

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Caroline Blog July 09

2009-07-26T10:49:00.007-05:00

Juliette Blog July09

2009-07-26T10:27:00.010-05:00

6 Months old

2009-06-09T02:46:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that on Thursday the girls will officially be 6 months old!! Last year at this time I had just found out I was pregnant, was about 6 weeks along and had no clue there was 2 beautiful girls to come bless our world. I am sure I don"t have to tell any one out there how fast time has gone by.

Juliette is my little inch worm this month. Once she figured out how to roll over onto her tummy from her back we find her rolling over a lot. At night I put her on her back and when I check on her she is either on her side or on her belly. The cutest thing is when she has her butt up in the air. I call her an inch worm because she gets on her belly and scoots around. In some of the pics you will notice her little cheeks are so red, well it's from rubbing her cheeks on the blanket. She also manages to move herself all over her crib and ends up in the corner. Also, just the other day she discovered she has a tongue and is loving to show all of us. Since this is new I have not got a pic of it yet, but it is hilarious!! I should have one for the next post.

Caroline is nosy Rosey right now. She loves to see what is going on in the room at all times. You can not lie her flat to eat, she must sit up like a big girl and keep up with all the action. She can also roll over from back to tummy, but is not as big a fan of it as J is. She has become quite fond of her feet though as you can see in one of her pics. She continues to look bigger than J. She was taken to see the Dr the other day and was 14 lbs. Jules did not see the doctor because at that time she was not sick.

Caroline was sick at the beginning of the last week and is just now starting to get better. Juliette is just now getting it and is fighting the worst of it. Runny nose, low grade fever, cough...makes it very hard for them to sleep at night (and mommy and daddy too). It breaks our hearts to see them sick and they are not fans of bulb syringes and nasal spray. Doc said it is a virus so it has to run it's course. Caroline did require some albuterol syrup to help open up her little airways and help her breath. better. It has seemed to help with the congestion in her chest. I hope Juliette's doesn't get as bad. If so we will take her to see the doc too. Otherwise they have their 6 month check up on the 30th and we will get their height and weight then.

As far as keeping up with this blog I have decided to try posting once a month from now on around this time. Since the 11th of each month is when they get older then I figured that would be a good time. I try to let everyone know via facebook and email that it has been updated as well. I bring this up because I have had several people tell me recently that I need to add more pics of the girls. I love to share pics and info with everyone and I am glad so many people find the time to look at it to watch the girls progress. Many of you have been there from the beginning and we really appreciate all the love and support we have received. There is just so much going on and it does get time consuming so I hope you all can understand. Hopefully, this will keep people from being disappointed and/or wasting time by checking the blog everyday. I know you all have busy lives too. Have a good rest of June and we will see ya in July.

Fun times with CAROLINE AND JULIETTE

2009-06-09T02:22:00.006-05:00

Caroline on the left and Juliette on the right. You can see the size diff in this pic.

(Below) Juliette is trying to roll over, but Caroline's head is in the way!

Our first ride in our big girl seats

Juliette

2009-06-09T02:03:00.004-05:00

Caroline

2009-06-07T17:06:00.009-05:00

May 2009

2009-05-14T13:20:00.002-05:00

I don't know where to start. It has been so long since I have last posted. Needless to say the girls have been keeping us busy. They keep changing so quickly and we spend everyday trying to enjoy them as much as we can. They have not been weighed since their 4 month check up and I don't anticipate them being weighed again until their 6 month appointment, but it is very evident that Caroline is bigger than Juliette. When I pick them up back to back or at the same time I can feel a weight difference. Caroline's face, belly and leg rolls are also bigger--she is my little "chunky monkey" and Juliette is a "skinny Minnie." They are still on 1 bowl of cereal a day since that was the Dr's orders and Juliette can still use some practice with hers. Some days are better than others. Caroline typically finishes all of hers. They become more and more active every day and can talk your ear off, esp Caroline. They both squeal with delight and of course mommy and daddy thinks it is so cute. They are also better at letting you know when they aren"t so happy. They each have a different cry, Caroline's is very high pitched and she shrieks more. I don't like to see them cry, but can't help but think it's cute too. They can both hold their heads up real well now and roll over from their tummy to their back. Caroline is better at the rolling. Juliette cheats and lays on her side. Juliette loves to stand on her legs, where as Caroline not so much. They are chewing like crazy--hands, fists, fingers, clothes, toys. Basically anything they can get their hands on. So did you get all that?? There will be a quiz later--just kidding. Since it has been so long I have tons of new pics, there are 5 or 6 new posts. ENJOY!!!

kiddie Kandid Pics-Both

2009-05-14T13:13:00.002-05:00

Juliette

2009-05-14T13:02:00.000-05:00

Caroline

2009-05-14T13:00:00.001-05:00

It's a TWIN Thing!!

2009-05-14T11:07:00.005-05:00

We share our Grandma's together!!We love to talk to each other We Play together and share our toys

And eat together too!!

So far So good, we'll see how long this sharing thing lasts!!

Pics by Aunt Lisa

2009-05-14T11:00:00.003-05:00

My Aunt Lisa took these in here back yard. She has a beautiful yard and it was a lot of fun trying to get all those kids and Grandma Estelle to look at the camera.

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa Bettis' House

2009-04-22T17:15:00.003-05:00

Faye and Ruby

Faye, Ruby and Caroline A Kiss for Juliette

Juliette doesn't like this. Ruby and Caroline are still trying to figure out what I am doing

Ruby giving Caroline a huge sloppy kiss!!!

I SEE YOU!!

2009-04-18T04:42:00.003-05:00

I think the girls have always known that the other was there, but lately I have seen them visually see the other. They acknowledge this by looking, talking and smiling at each other. Here is an example of tummy time where they spotted each other. Sometimes they do it on their back. It's so cute!! Caroline is on the left, she definitely has lifting her head down. Juliette still needs a little help.

4 months old on Saturday April 11th.

2009-04-18T02:07:00.005-05:00

We went to the girls 4 month check up on Thursday and the doctor said they were doing very well and look great. She even surprised me by telling us we could start them on cereal. I wasn't a bit prepared for that. I went to work that evening (3-11) and then as I thought about it I realized I didn't have anything to feed them cereal with or have any idea how to feed them cereal. So on Friday I was off and I read the material I was sent home with and bought the necessary supplies and around 500pm we gave it a try. Much to my surprise both the girls did very well. We started with Caroline first. I followed the instructions on the papers I was given on how to mix it and hers was very watery. When I mixed Juliette's I made it a little thicker and it was better. I took video and pictures (I have posted below). A lot of people told me to be prepared for funny faces, but they actually liked it for the most part. I guess we will have to wait for funny faces when we start introducing fruits and veggies.

Their current weights are Caroline 12lbs 2oz and Juliette 11lbs 7oz. They are sleeping through the night now so they are not eating as much and so their weight did not jump up as much as it has in the past. I am still pretty proud of them.

This past weekend was quite busy. On Saturday we drove to Waco, which was Randall's 33rd birthday. On Sunday we went to church. This was the first time we have taken the girls to church and we were a bit nervous on how things would turn out. Especially since the girls were due to eat right when we got there. Thanks to a smooth car ride they fell asleep on the way and we were able to carry the into the church with out any problem. The service had already started and everyone was meeting and greeting each other. Coincidentally there was a set of fraternal twins sitting in the pew in front of us. A boy and girl, 5 years old. They were so cute dressed in their Easter outfits with coordinating colors. Their mom saw our girls and was excited to see another set of twins and quickly pointed them out. The little girl sat with her eyes glued on the girls the whole time, just fascinated with them. She was so cute. The little boy was not as curious, but would look back occasionally. Juliette woke up not too long after that and I fed her, she did very well. Usually they like to fall asleep after eating, but she was much too fascinated by all the lights and the beautiful choir singing. She stayed awake the whole time, looking around, smiling and cooing. Randall fed Caroline and of course she stayed asleep. We enjoyed it very much. After church we went to Darren and Christine's house for a delicious meal. It was a great day. Our 2 year anniversary was on Tuesday the 14th which is the day we were driving home. So on Monday Ruth and Walter were very kind and stayed home with the girls and Randall and I went to dinner and a movie to celebrate. It was nice to be baby free and spend some time together. Ruth and Walter also enjoyed their time with the girls. Tuesday we drove home from Waco to home and the girls slept the whole time. I was so glad we did not get stuck in traffic or stop to feed them.

That is all for now. Enjoy the pics.

Juliette's First Cereal

2009-04-18T01:50:00.002-05:00

Ready to eat Umm, I think I like it

well maybe??

I definitely like it!!

Caroline's first cereal

2009-04-18T01:11:00.002-05:00

Ready to start!! This isn't so bad

Man, that was hard work!!!

Happy Easter

2009-04-09T07:07:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed Easter. I am looking forward to spending it with family. It will be the girls 1st holiday that they will not be in the hospital or held up at home. We took them to get their pictures taken with the Bunny yesterday. It was quite an experience. The line wasn't too long, but it still seemed like it took forever. Of course the girls were full of smiles at home (the pics below in the green dress) but once we got to the mall they were out like a light (car ride does it every time). So we had to wake them up to take the pic and they were not happy about that. They weren't crying for the pic, but they weren't smiling and Juliette wasn't even looking at the camera. Oh well, they are only 4 months old, what can you expect. They are still cute. I was trying to scan the pic so I could put it on here, but couldn't get the scanner to work so I will see if Randall can fix it. I also tried to put a video clip on here, but it takes forever to download so I gave up. I will try again one more time later.

The girls are doing great. We are enjoying all the smiles, cooing and some giggling we are getting from them. They are sleeping pretty good at night. We are trying to get a routine down with them so I think that has helped. They usually wake once in the middle of the night to eat so I can't complain about that. I actually enjoy sitting in the dark an rocking them while I feed them one at a time. I try to keep stimulation down so they will go back to sleep so I keep most of the lights out and the TV off. I have found it gives me some relaxation and time to reflect on how much we have to be thankful for. I find myself sitting there thinking about how everything has gone by so fast, I can't believe the girls will be 4 months old this Saturday (on their daddy's birthday).

Gotta Go, I hear someone squeaking in their room, It's 0730 which is about the time they wake up to eat again. Below are some of the latest pics of them. Enjoy and have a great Easter!!

Happy Caroline

2009-04-09T06:25:00.001-05:00

Who's idea was this goofy hat?

Happy Juliette

2009-04-09T06:17:00.003-05:00

Happy Together!!

2009-04-09T02:59:00.005-05:00

Ready to go with our goofy hats on!
We're getting better at sitting up without falling over!Okay, maybe some of still need a little work.

Juliette smiling, Caroline thinking about it!

Moving right along

2009-03-31T02:07:00.004-05:00

The girls are growing so fast. Last Thursday they were both 11lbs 7oz when I took them to get their last RSV shots. I thought for sure Caroline was bigger, because she looks bigger. I don't know their length, but I suspect Juliette is longer and skinnier and Caroline is shorter and chubbier. Sometimes it seems like an outfit is too big one week and then too tight a week or 2 later. Caroline thinks she's a big girl and can lift her head up really high off the ground or our chest. They are still like little bobble heads, but they are getting less and less bobbly each day. Juliette lifts her head too, but doesn't get it as high yet. I think Caroline is nosier and wants to look around everything. As you can tell in the pictures we are getting a lot of smiles which we enjoy so much!!!! I added some pics below.

Can someone hold me up please??

2009-03-31T01:57:00.002-05:00

This is mommy trying to take a picture of both the girls looking and sitting up without falling over.

Before and After in the CO Sleeper

2009-03-31T01:42:00.002-05:00

Above is now--They're a little squished. Below is a couple months ago when we first got home.

Smiling, Happy Girls

2009-03-31T01:37:00.001-05:00

The cutest ever

2009-03-24T20:53:00.003-05:00

We didn't see the doctor last week as scheduled so I won't know how much the girls weigh until Thursday when we take them for their last RSV shot. I will post some pics below. The girls are getting more alert and trying to sleep longer at night (yeah!) Lots of smiles and coos. They are still our little bobble heads, but their necks are getting stronger.

Caroline

2009-03-24T20:49:00.002-05:00

Juliette

2009-03-24T20:30:00.004-05:00

A Comfy Pillow

Our trip to Waco

2009-03-13T05:24:00.004-05:00

All the pictures are posted below this really long blog which is really long because I haven't posted in over two weeks and I am sorry for that. But I hope you enjoy the pictures. Last weekend we had no computer access from Friday to Monday then I had to work 3 twelves in a row. We just got back from Waco last night after visiting family there. But the good news is I have lots of new pics to post. Now just have to find the time to put them on here. Time sure flies by when your having fun with two little rug rats.

The girls are doing great and are making changes. They both smile regularly now and I finally got some pics of them doing it. They like to play more on their toys and kick and coo and of course I think it's so cute. I was not able to get that on video yet. I was feeding Caroline this weekend and had Juliette in the bouncer and I looked over at her and she was smiling as big s could be at the little animals at the top. She is also figuring out if she moves her feet it makes the sound and music go off. Caroline started doing last night as well. Makes me so proud.
We had to have the girls blood counts rechecked on Thursday and will get the results of that next Thursday and hopefully see how much they weigh. I know it is definitely over 10 lbs. They are our little sack of potato's. On Wednesday they were officially 3 months old. It's hard to believe and when I look at them it's hard to remember they were just a little under 4 pounds when they arrived. They have mastered the 1 month milestones for sure and working on the 2 month old stuff. One day they will catch up to others their age. For now we are just trying to enjoy every little moment.

We went on Friday to Waco, we had such a great time. Ruth(MiMi) and Walter(PawPaw) enjoyed the girls so much and we enjoyed the extra help and their company too! Randall and I got to go to a wedding on Saturday while they watched them. We had a great time, we got to dance and I can't even remember the last time we did that. On Monday Randall's brother Darren, our sister in law Christine and our nieces Amelia and Katie got to meet the girls for the first time when they came for dinner. It was a nice family get together. We had an early birthday for Darren since he will be 40 in August, but probably won't be here then. He is in the reserves and was called to go to Afghanistan this summer for a year. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. He doesn't like people making a lot of fuss over him, but I told him he was going to have to be the star of the blog this week. I can just here him now. Needless to say the girls got A LOT of attention and loving on.
The drive there wasn't too bad, took us about 4 hours which is an hour more than when it was just us two. On the way back it was a different story. About an hour after being on the road Caroline decided she would make it very clear she would not go any further until we pulled over an fed her. So we stopped and fed them and changed them which took a while. Then we got back on the road and got stuck in traffic on 35 in downtown Austin combined with the nasty wet, cold weather. So by the time we got to San Marcos they were squalling again. We were hungry too so we decided to go to Logan's in San Marco and eat and feed them. Of course this took forever. We ordered a quick appetizer and ate it, then we fed the girls. Then we ordered our meal-Good plan right? While waiting for our food I took Caroline to the bathroom and changed her diaper, then brought her back and took Juliette. But someone was in the stall with the diaper changer so I had to wait (a long time). When we finally got in there she started peeing while I was changing her and the changing pad is plastic on the top so there is pee running everywhere. I had to change her whole outfit. Then I was disappointed because they were not matching anymore, but I thought to myself "get over it" and went back to the table where my salad was waiting. Then Randall tells me Caroline had a blow out and there was pee on her shirt, but it wasn't pee. So back to the bathroom I go to change her, I guess I can't complain because now they are matching again. So I got her changed and made it back to the table where my whole meal was waiting and at this point I wasn't even hungry anymore. This was not their first trip to a restaurant, but the first time we had taken them out of their carriers in a restaurant. They were like little movie stars, the staff would stop by the table and admire them. People were good about not touching them and I was glad. Over all it took us 9 hours to get to my parents house from Waco. Felt like forever, but it was worth it. We have to get the girls used to traveling.

By the time I got back to San Antonio I got confused on who was holding which baby so I labeled the ones I could. Enjoy! Thanks for your patience and continued prayers.

Caroline and Juliette Together

2009-03-13T05:14:00.006-05:00

Our Awesome double stroller. Couldn't survive without it!!

Juliette

2009-03-13T05:06:00.001-05:00

Caroline

2009-03-13T04:53:00.001-05:00

Ruth and Walter wtih the girls

2009-03-13T04:45:00.001-05:00

Katie, Christine, Darren and Amelia with the girls.

2009-03-13T04:31:00.005-05:00

Me and my girls!

2009-02-28T00:25:00.002-06:00

The second pic Juliette is looking up at me. The 2nd to last one is Julieete and the last one is Caroline.

Me, the girls and the magic pillow!

2009-02-26T23:50:00.005-06:00

This is my magic pillow I bought to nurse both the babies. I was never able to breastfeed them successfully and they are on formula fully now. Regardless, they got 2 months of breast milk via bottle before I ran out so I feel good about that. I still get plenty of use out of my EZ to nurse twin pillow. I use it to feed both the girls at the same time with their bottles when they are both hungry at the same time. I also use it to hold them like this as well as many other positions. I LOVE IT!! Randall won't use it. He says it's too girly and is too afraid to have both of them on it. Notice how they both have their hands in the middle touching. It's so beautiful how they are always connected. They can be out like a light and still touching in some way.
I took the girls for follow up today for their colds. The doctor said if they would have had RSV they could be getting worse now (the 3rd or 4th day), but they are doing better. I am relieved. I also took them to get their 2nd RSV shots. They both weighed 9lbs 12 oz. I can't believe they are almost 10lbs!! I am not surprised Caroline has caught up with Juliette in weight she has been eating like a little pig and she has the cheeks to prove it! We went to visit my grandma afterward and they were pretty wiped out, but we enjoyed our visit and I know she did too. Not much more to say, just wanted to let everyone know they were better and their weights.

Sick babies

2009-02-24T18:40:00.003-06:00

Both the girls are sick with nasal congestion. It started early Monday morning, around 0200 with Juliette. Randall took her to the doctor on Monday and they tested her for RSV which was negative so I guess it's just a cold. Caroline started getting it yesterday. They haven't had fever, they are eating well. It's just hard to lie them flat because their little noses are so stuffed up. They have become good friends with the saline drops and the bulb syringe. They hate having their noses suctioned out and it makes them gag. I feel so bad for them, but it could be worse. I am glad it's not RSV. So we have been giving them lots of loving and keeping them hydrated, suctioned, using the humidifier and pretty much holding them upright so they can breathe better. Hopefully, it won't last too long. Tomorrow they will get another round of RSV shots and I will take Juliette back for a recheck. I will have to let them know Caroline has it now too.

Hungry, Crying Babes Video Below

2009-02-22T12:29:00.003-06:00

Below is a video clip I have been trying to download and finally got it to work. It will give you a little sneak peak of what it's like having 2 hungry babies. They are not like this all the time. This day they both woke up and were starving. Lucky for me I know how to feed the at the same time. They are both smiling more and more, it's so adorable and they can lift their little heads better and better. Sometimes they actually sleep 5 hours straight at night and then some nights they wake up after 2 or 3 to eat. They are still trying to figure out their nights and days. We have a appointment on Thursday for RSV shots and they will weigh them so I will post later this week with that info. They are out like lights right now on my chest. I wish I could take a picture to show you, but kinda have my handsful. I'll have to have Randall take one sometime.

Hungry, Crying Babes

2009-02-22T10:53:00.002-06:00

Survived work and being away from girls

2009-02-18T06:23:00.003-06:00

I survived my first night back to work. It was pretty nice. They had cake, ice cream and coffee to welcome me back. That was a really nice surprise. I didn't cry when I left the girls much to my surprise and many others. I was definitely sad to leave them, but I think one of the worst and hardest things I had to do during our journey was leave the girls every night in the NICU. Not that they were not in good hands then, but it was hard not having them at home, not having them with family and worrying constantly if they were going to be okay. When I left for work I knew they would be with family and I knew they would be home when I got done. It was nice to see my co workers and they were excited to hear about he girls and see pictures.

Randall had very little sleep on Sunday night and Monday so he gave them a bath then took them to my parent's house. They stayed the night and he picked them up Tuesday evening. I think they enjoyed their visit with their grandparents. The doctor said we can let the girls sleep longer at night, but Caroline decided she was going to party all night ( she does that several nights a week) so my mom got very little sleep, but she survived. I stopped at my parents on Tuesday on my way back to work and they were both wide awake. My mom said she thinks they knew I was coming. Caroline smiled so much, it's so cute. I can tell they are getting stronger, especially in their necks. It's amazing how much they change.

We are looking forward to an upcoming trip to Waco to see Randall's family. It will be the girls first trip out of SA. We took some pictures on my mom's camera the other night at my Aunt Shirley's house. I don't have them yet, but hope to post them sometime this week. Just thought I would let those who were wondering about work know how it went. One more shift tonight then I have 4 nights off. Have a good week.

Wide Awake

2009-02-14T09:45:00.002-06:00

The girls don't dotoo many wild and crazy things yet, but here is a video clip of them looking around. About as exciting as it gets right now.

Latest Dr's Appointment

2009-02-14T08:45:00.002-06:00

Sorry it took me so long to get this on here. I just can't believe how fast time goes by sometimes. On Thursday we went to the girls 2 month appointment. Dr Miller said the girls are doing great on their growth. Juliette is still in the lead at 9lbs 1 oz and Caroline is 8lbs 14oz. I had to take back a box of newborn diapers yesterday and get the next size up. It makes me sad when I have to do that, but I am glad they are growing. We talked about the adjusted age thing. She asked me some questions about what milestones they are doing. She said all babies are different, so for my girls although they are officially 2 months old they are not doing all the 2 month old milestones. Right now they are more like a 1 month old. They smile and coo (so cute!) and follow our voices. Eventually they will catch up with other children their age, usually by the 1st or 2ND year. They are doing good on their height and weight percentile (they use a preemie one). Now we can let them sleep longer at night and let them let us know when they are ready to eat. We were so excited that we might actually get some sleep that night, but that didn't happen on Thursday. The girls each got 3 shots and their blood drawn so they were fussy. Juliette especially. She would not let me put her in the crib that night. I even gave them some Tylenol before we went to bed, but I think she just needed to be comforted. Randall and I were so exhausted yesterday. He took care of them last night so I could get some rest. It felt so good to get some sleep. He is catching up now. They say you can't catch up on missed sleep, but I would have to disagree.
Yesterday I went to work to get clearance to go back to work. I had to go to employee health clinic and give them the form from my Dr and get them to sign off that I could go back to work. Then I took it to human resources and turned it in. So I am officially cleared to go back to work. I signed up 24 hours next week. My first day back will be Monday. Of course it is bittersweet because I am ready to go back, but not ready to leave the girls for such long periods of time. But unless I win the lottery this weekend (which I don't even play) I must go back. Randall is going to stay home with the girls for now until I get adjusted back to work then he will start looking for a job (with all the other millions of people who don't have one) after that. My mom is also going to watch the girls when we need her to, she wouldn't have it any other way. I am still trying to figure out what happened to the last 2 months. It's so surreal when I say the girls are 2 months old, just seems like yesterday they were born. I know now that I am going back to work it's going to go by even faster!

So Sweet

2009-02-09T22:51:00.003-06:00

Trying out our toys

2009-02-09T22:38:00.002-06:00

The girls love to look at themselves in the mirror on their playmat and look at the lion and the elephant on the arch. Caroline is checking out the swing.

Our orignal due date

2009-02-04T11:14:00.004-06:00

The girls are doing great. They seem to be more like newborns now. They both are more alert, especially in the evenings and really think sometimes Juliette purposefully smiles at us. When they are both alert at the same time I like to lay them on the floor together or in their crib and watch them communicate. It's so cute. They cry more often, esp. when hungry. Before we had to wake them to feed them, but now they are letting us know when they are hungry. They have baby acne and they are loosing some of their hair (boo). When I look at the back of Juliette's head it reminds me of a balding man. I guess we'll see how much they will loose. I am looking forward to our next doctor's appointment to ask the doctor how the calculated age works. Oh wow, I just realized today is the Feb 4th(it's easy to loose track of time when your in a house 24/7). Today is our original due date. I can't imagine having to be pregnant until now, I would have been miserable. But most twin pregnancies even uncomplicated ones don't make it until 40 weeks. So they most likely have would been born already.

On Sunday I went with my parents to my Uncle Jeff's to his Superbowl party. It was nice to get out of the house. There wasn't too many people there so I felt pretty comfortable about taking them. We had a good time. On our way to their house we stopped by my Aunt Lisa's and she gave the girls their first massage to help balance them out after the birth. They really enjoyed that.

Well that's it for now. Have a great week.

Doctor's Visit

2009-01-29T18:39:00.000-06:00

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

2009-01-25T10:37:00.000-06:00

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

2009-01-25T10:03:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-01-21T11:52:00.000-06:00

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.

2009-01-21T11:49:00.000-06:00

Caroline

Sleep deprived

2009-01-21T11:16:00.000-06:00

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.

2009-01-14T19:42:00.000-06:00

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.

2009-01-14T18:21:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-01-12T18:54:00.000-06:00

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

2009-01-07T13:47:00.000-06:00

Juliette in pink pants and Caroline in brown.

2X the LOVE!!!

2009-01-06T16:02:00.000-06:00

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!!

2009-01-03T13:34:00.001-06:00

Caroline

2009-01-03T13:31:00.000-06:00

Juliette

2009-01-03T13:22:00.000-06:00

The GIRLS ARE HOME!!!

2009-01-03T12:40:00.000-06:00

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.

Co Bedding NOW!!

2008-12-31T10:42:00.001-06:00

I posted some new pictures of the girls co bedding at the bottom of the screen (In all the pics Caroline is on the left and Juliette is on the right). As you can see they are quite comfy being in each others space. Must remind them of when they were in my tummy. Both girls are doing well with their feedings, Juliette has improved with her breathing. It is not mandatory they breastfeed before discharge, but we tried and they latched on after several attempts. It's a lot of work for them so we won't be doing it all the time yet, but it's good to know that they know how. Yesterday Dr. Castro came by an mentioned that they have exceeded their expectations and are doing very well. They are starting their discharge planning to go home soon, when they (the doctors) and we are comfortable. I am not sure if we will ever be comfortable. Don't get us wrong, we want our girls home, but you get used to having the security of the NICU staff and equiptment there to make sure they are okay constantly. We will see how the next couple of days go. I had to post the pictures though. Beside the Santa one's they are some of my favorites. I couldn't tell you how excited I was to see them in the bed together. Last night we put them in matching outfits and put them in the boppy together. Like I said they are right at home being all cuddled up together.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Years.

We made it to LEVEL 2!!

2008-12-29T10:24:00.000-06:00

Both girls were moved to level 2 care last night, this is the section for growers and feeders. They will stay there while they learn to eat and the get bigger. Once they accomplish these goals they should be able to go home. Caroline is up to 4lbs 7oz and Juliette is 4lbs 5oz!!! They are growing, but still learning how to eat correctly. Juliette is bottle feeding everytime, but sometimes she gets tired and forgets to breath, this is normal for a baby this age, but very scary. This is why she needs time to practice, she will grow out of it and learn to remember she needs to suck, swallow and breath all at the same time. We may see Caroline do the same once she starts feeding everytime. For now Caroline is doing well with bottle feeding two times a day, I am hoping they will bump her up to 3 times a day soon. They are both in warmers, but Juliettes is circulating regular room air temp while Caroline's is still being warmed. That is our progress for now.

Making Progress

2008-12-27T11:05:00.000-06:00

Progress is slowly but surely being made with both of the girls. Juliette continues to advance at a quick pace, as of yesterday she is being fed with a bottle for every feeding. The nurse said this morning that she got a little sleepy in the middle of the night with her 0200 am feeding and couldn't finish the whole bottle. So they had to put the rest down her little tube which goes through her nose to her stomach now instead of her mouth. They leave it in because she is still learning and it's normal for them to tire out occasionally and they want them to get all of their calories. So if they don't take the whole bottle they put it down the tube. Juliette is also able to control her own temperature pretty good, they still have her in the enclosed warmer because it is quieter. The next step would be a open bed or bassinet, but they are leaving her in the warmer for now so she can rest. Yesterday she weigh 4lbs 3oz!

Today is Caroline's last day of antibiotics and they are slowly decreasing her IV fluids as she is able to take more breast milk. She is up to 27cc which is not too far behind Juliette. We started her on a bottle on Christmas day, she only gets it once a day(Picture on the right). They might increase her to twice a day today. She did take the whole bottle the first day, but was a little confused when I first put it in her mouth. Took her a little while (unlike her sister) to figure out what to do with it. She did better yesterday. After she received her blood on Christmas day she has been much spunkier. She was able to stop the oxygen and has been fine without it. Her blood count went from 28 to 44 with a whole 18cc of blood. They will recheck it again on Monday morning. Her weight went up to 4lbs 4 oz, but some of that was probably from the blood and IV fluids so it may go down again. I haven't heard what it is yet today, just hope she stays over 4lbs with her sister.

That is it for now, I will keep everyone updated as much as possible. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Merry Christmas to All!!

2008-12-25T11:04:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone haves a wonderfully blessed Christmas this year. The girls are doing good. We opened presents with my family yesterday morningthen rushed up to the hospital to have the girls taken with Santa. It was fun, something nice the NICU staff does. We dressed the girls up in the Christmas outfits my friend Sandi got us. I wasn't sure if they were going to get to wear them, but the nurses were totally for it. They looked so cute, like the little Christmas presents they are. I don't know if you can read the tag on the outfit, but it says "Mommy and Daddy's best gift ever." We can't help but think that over and over this year because they are the best little presents ever. Juliette was up to 4lbs yesterday and is eating from a bottle every other feeding. So she gets a bottle then a tube feeding alternating every feeding. They tried to take Caroline off the oxygen yesterday, but she was breathing too hard with out it. This morning they checked her blood level and it had dropped lower than before, so they called me at 0600 am and told me they needed to give her blood. So they have given her some and hopefully this will help her get stronger. Randall's blood was not a match, so she had to get a strangers blood, but if she needed she needed. Other than the blood she is doing good and they are increasing her feedings. We are on our way there now so I will post any changes later.

The top 2 pictures are Juliette with Santa and the bottom two are Caroline

Santa's Visit

2008-12-25T10:57:00.000-06:00

2008-12-22T13:45:00.001-06:00

Just a quick note, Caroline and Juliette are both doing well. Caroline restarted her feedings yesterday and tolerated them well. She is still on 1 liter of oxygen which isn't bad and as of now does not need blood.

Juliette has been downgraded to level 2 care (this is good), but will stay in the same area as her sister until she catches up with her. Yesterday we fed her with a bottle during 2 of her feedigns and she did very well. It was very exciting. She is my little big girl because she is so little, but doing big girl things. She is wearing preemie and newborn clothes and they fit her pretty well.

Last night they both weighed 3lbs 14oz. They both suck on their pacifiers now. We give them to them when we do the feedings through the tube so they make a connection to suck at the same time of feeling the food go into their belly. Hopefully Caroline will take to the bottle like Juliette when it's her turn. They will need to keep increasing her feedings first though. I do have pictures of this excitement, but will have to put them on here later.

Test results are back.

2008-12-20T20:41:00.000-06:00

They started Caroline on her feedings again about 4:oo today. They only gave her 5cc to see how she did. About 5:00-5:30 she had several episodes of bradycardia (slow heart rate) so the nurse notified the doctors. They came and examined her and decided not to give her any more for the rest of the night since it could be related. She was also on very little oxygen (0.5liters) so they increased that to 1 liter and they will watch her over night. The results of the lumbar puncture were negative, they are still waiting for culture results, but they won't be back until tomorrow or the next day. Another common problem for preemie babies is low blood count. The combitnation of her being premature and sick makes it hard for her little body to make new red blood cells. Since she has been sick her count has become low. Right now they don't think she needs blood, but it may be a possiblity so they sent Randall to the blood bank to donate a pint of blood. If she needs blood they will give her his blood if it is compatable. Other people have offered, but it takes a couple of days to process and he has already started the process. If he is not compatable and she needs it right away they will just give her some from the blood bank. It is given based on their weight so it would be just a little bit. They are trying not to collect any more blood from her today or tomorrow. She will have her blood count rechecked on Monday morning unless she shows any changes or signs of distress before then. So she is staying strong and stable, but is not out of danger yet.

Juliette is still doing well. She is still off oxygen and IV fluids. She is also able to control her own temperature with out the warmer.

So that is the latest news, I will keep everyone updated as much as possible. We just continue to hold them when we are there and pray that Caroline gets well and Juliette stays well.

Rough and exciing few days.

2008-12-20T10:11:00.000-06:00

There has been some changes the last few days. Sorry I haven't been able to post. We have been at the hospital most of the last 2 days and then come home exhausted at night, so not much time for the computer. Since their arrival the girls have been doing everything together, until recently.

On Thursday morning the doctor called me and informed me that Caroline had changed and appeared sick. That morning when the nurse arrived she noticed that she was lethargic, having periods of apnea (not breathing), bradycardia (slow heart rate) and looked pale. She notified the doctors right away and they did blood tests, x-ray and started on antibiotics immediately. When we got there she still looked puny, but she started perking up shortly after finishing her 2nd antibiotic. Her heart rate improved and her apnea stopped. They also gave her some extra IV fluids, so that helped too. Initially the doctor was worried about a spot on her abdominal x-ray that looked like it could have infection so they stopped her feedings and put a drainage tube in to decompress it. When they rechecked her next x-ray it had improved and there were no signs of infection on the x-ray. There were signs of infection by her behavior and in her blood so they kept her on the antibiotics. Thank God the nurse caught it right away and they are so aggressive because as of yesterday it was confirmed she has a bacteria in her blood stream that is very dangerous. It could have been worse. The doctors were surprised that her blood culture came back positive for the type of bacteria it was (prob ecoli or clostridium). They said it is not common for preemies her age. Now that they have isolated a specific type of bacteria they changed her antibiotic to one that is made to fight that specific type of bacteria. She has stayed strong and did not require any changes in her oxygen and is still just on a little bit (1liter at 21%). We let her rest all day Thursday. Yesterday they had to do a puncture in her back to take out some of her CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) to make sure it did not spread there. We should get some of the results today. They did cultures of that too, but those take a couple of days to fully come back. She was fussy after the procedure yesterday, probably hungry and tired of all the pokes so we got to hold her for a long time and she slept and slept. Hopefully they will restart her feedings today, since she did well throughout the night. They don't know how she got the infection, but she has had a lot of IVs since being there or she could have gotten during birth. They will have to watch Juliette to make sure she does not get sick. This is something I knew could happen, but hoped it wouldn't. It could have been worse though. Multiple people have told me you have to be prepared for them to take 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards while in the NICU.

As for Juliette she has made tons of progress. She is completely off of her oxygen and IV fluids and her feedings are up to 32cc. They still have her on the monitor and are watching her closely to make sure she does not get sick, but she hasn't showed any signs. Yesterday she was being super wiggly and the nurse found her in her warmer turned sideways with her arms over her head and legs hanging off the side sleeping away. She said she looked quite comfy. While I held Caroline Randall and the nurse gave Juliette a bath. It was so funny, she didn't like the scrubing of the body, but she like the hair washing, don't we all! The nurse put a preemie outfit on her and she looked so cute. It fits her perfect. We didn't have our camera, but the nurse took a couple of pics with her camera and is going to have them printed for us. She was very relaxed after all that excitement and slept the rest of the day and night.

Now we are just waiting for Caroline to get better and catch up with her. As of yesterday Caroline weighed 3lb 14oz and Juliette 3lb 12oz. They are both 17 inches long as of Monday. They are so beautiful and amazing, I sometimes still can't believe they belong to us. We are so blessed. I will try to post an update tonight or tomorrow if I can. Please pray that Caroline gets better , Juliette stays healthy and we don't have any more problems. I was a mess on Thursday until I saw Caroline look at me and start moving around. She looked at me with this "I'm going to be okay, mommy" look and I immediately felt better. Thanks for all the support and prayers. Oh yeah, there are a couple of new pics at the bottom of the page.

We're making progress

2008-12-17T11:17:00.000-06:00

The girls are doing so well. I am amazed each day at how strong they are. They are still on oxygen but very little and I hope we are close to getting them off soon. They were taken off their photo therapy lights yesterday and their bilirubin levels were rechecked this morning again and they were good. Yesterday Caroline's level was high normal, so if it was higher this morning she would have gone back on it, but was good. They are eating well, last night they started them on 20cc of breast milk every 3 hours. Their weight yesterday was the same as Monday and today it is back up. Caroline is 3lb 110z and Juliette is 3lb 10oz so they are getting close to their birth weight. Since they are doing so well they changed their IV fluids to a less stronger form last night as well.

I can't drive because of my surgery and Randall is not working right now so we are able to go to the hospital together. It has been really nice, we are getting a little bit of a routine now. We usually each hold one, which I love. If it's time for their feedings and we are there we help the nurse. Before each feeding their diapers are changed, their temperature is checked and they clean the umbilical cord. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's very exciting for us. The nurse also does an assessment before she feeds them each time.

Once the girls get off the oxygen and IV fluids and can regulate their temps and breathing they can be moved to the level 2 area and we will start working on feeding them orally. They will also be in bassinets there and less wires/tubing. It has been less than a week and the girls have made so much progress. I pray that they keep progressing well and we will be to level 2 soon.

Update-Sorry it's been a while.

2008-12-15T11:18:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't got to post in a while. It has been a busy couple of days. Saturday morning they came in and said I was going to be discharged. I immediately started uncontrollably crying. The thought of me leaving my girls seemed so unbearable. The doctor said I could stay another day, but after much thought and crying (even while I was pumping) I decided it would be just as hard on Sunday as it would be on Saturday. So we got our stuff together and went to see the girls in the NICU for a couple of hours then we left around 2pm. It is nice to be home and I am still pretty tired after the surgery, plus I am pumping every 2 hours while awake. I stretch it out a little throughout the night and manage to get around 5-7 hours of sleep. I can't imagine trying to take care of two little girls and recuperate from surgery at the same time. Time just flies by each day since we have been home. We have seen the girls twice each day since we've been home and they are doing well. I have posted some pictures on their latest progress.

As of today Caroline's weight is down to 3lbs 9oz and Juliette is 3lbs 9oz. It is normal for all babies to loose 10% of their body weight initially. They are getting fed my breastmilk through an oral gastric(OG) tube and are up to 12cc every 3 hours. They are also receiving TPN (an IV of vitamins) and lipids(fats) through their IV to provide nutrition. Caroline is still on oxygen and her breathing gets fast sometimes, but then she slows it back down on her own. This is normal for premature babies. Juliette was doing the same, but has progressed a little better than her sister and at last check was off the oxygen. They are both on photo therapy to help bring down their bilirubin levels (jaundice) which is another common problem with babies their age. On the pictures you will see Caroline with purple mask on her face under a light and that's basically what it is. It just looks like they are at a tanning bed. They stay under that 24/7 unless we are holding them and their levels are rechecked every morning. They have both been moved to isolated warmers and there is also a picture posted of that. It provides a quieter, warmer environment for them. It's like they are back in my tummy and helps them grow, since there is decreased stimulus. They are not able to move to this until they are more stable, so I was happy to see Juliette in hers when we arrived yesterday. Holding them is the best thing ever, we only do it once a day because too much stimulus can be bad for them too. I am so excited about all the progress they have made since they have arrived. They are so strong and beautiful and can't wait to have them home. For now I know they are in the right place. The NICU is an amazing place and the staff there is awesome. They are great at explaining things and getting us involved. Randall has changed multiple diapers, fed them, held them and taken a temperature and he jumps right in there, no fear. I believe we will be well trained by the time we get home.

2008-12-15T09:43:00.000-06:00

So truly blessed!!

2008-12-12T08:23:00.000-06:00

Good Morning to All,

I had to come back onto the site to make sure what I typed yesterday made sense. Randall and I were so exhausted yesterday that we were having a hard time posting what we wanted. As you can see I have added some more pictures and hope to have some more later when my mom gets here. We got to hold both of the babies around 5pm yesterday and my mom took pictures. I was so tired I could barely hold my eyes open, though. The surgery was amazing. While waiting to go to the OR I felt so excited and still wasn't scared, but Randall was very nervous. I was worried for a little while he was going to pass out. When they took me to the OR they took him to change and when I hit the OR entrance I felt sudden panic and was scared. It finally hit me that it was going to happen. It all went so fast, I had people attacking me from all sides, but they were great and explaining what they were doing. The did a combo spinal/epidural on me and the doctor did a great job. I had some itching (still do, but better) from one of the medications they gave me and it made me a little sleepy, but I was awake. My face, especially my nose was itching so bad I thought I could scratch it off, but I couldn't move my hands. The faculty anesthesiologist, Dr Wheeler was my dedicated scratcher until Randall got there. Randall arrived as the doctors were cutting me. They had a big screen up so he couldn't see anything. He jumped right into calm mode and took care of me. It seemed like it took forever for them to get the girls out. It didn't hurt, but I could feel pressure in my belly. It felt like some one was playing football there. Caroline was born first at 0902 and they apparantly had a little bit of a hard time getting her out, all we heard was a little wimpy cry and they took her to the OR suite next door. Then Juliette came at 0903 and she cried immediately. Of course I cried when they both came, it was so amazing to hear them and to know they were here. Randall was there dabbing my tears for me. They let him go over and see Caroline after they stabilized her (those are the naked pictures). They brought Juliette over to us all wrapped up and I got to give her kisses and they took her to the NICU. Then they brought Juliette all wrapped up for kisses before they went to the NICU. That was so nice, I knew they were doing well if they had time to stop by and show us them before they went up stairs. They had to sew me up which felt like forever, but Randall stayed with me. The whole thing went smoothly and everyone was so informative and nice.

After about 2 hours Randall and our parents were able to go see the girls. I didn't get to see the girls again until around 4pm right after they gave me the nausea medication phenergan. After we got to hold them, we went back to the room and went to sleep until about 930. Around 10 last night we got to see them again, we held Juliette for a while. Caroline was very comfy and sleeping so we let her stay warm. They were both doing good, still have nasal oxygen and feeding tubes. They might start trying to feed them today. We are going to head that way shortly to see them again and see how the rest of their night went.

Welcome Caroline and Juliette!!

2008-12-11T15:08:00.000-06:00

Caroline Elaine Drake (naked baby 2nd picture down) arrived @ 0902 am weighing 3 lbs 13oz and 16 inches long. Juliette Ruth Drake arrived at 0903am weighing 3lbs 12oz and 16 1/4 inches long. Both were breathing and pink on arrival, only requiring a little bit of oxygen in their nose. The doctors are very pleased with how they look at this point. Amazingly, their cords were not knotted, we were very surprised by that. I got to see them for a few minutes each after they stabilized them and then they took them to the NICU. They are so beautiful, I can't wait to see them again. Mom and Yvonne are laughing at me right now because they just gave me some phenergan for nausea and I am trying to type, but I am falling asleep. I will post more later. Thank you to everyone for all the support and prayers.

Pre-Game Day

2008-12-10T23:08:00.000-06:00

Here is Pookie Pre-Game Day Picture.

Info about the day of Surgery-3 days left!

2008-12-05T13:05:00.001-06:00

It's Monday, survived another weekend here. I look back at the previous post titles and can't believe that there are only 3 days left until the arrival of Caroline and Juliette. Still not scared, but there are a lot of things going through my mind. The weekend was pretty uneventful, all the NSTs have continued to be great. Had a little more visitors than usual so that made time go by. Randall and I watched the Cowboys give their win away yesterday at the last minute, which was quite frustrating. But it was fun, I like spending the time with him and I am taking the opportunity to learn more of the terminology of football. So he quizzes me during the game, I still have a lot to learn.

A lot of people have been asking questions about the day of surgery so I thought I would share how the events should hopefully go. My surgery is scheduled for 0600 am and one of the nurses told me I would probably go to the Labor and Delivery area for some monitoring approximately 0500. They will start some of the pre surgery stuff the night before and finish the rest in the morning. The doctors will look with the ultrasound machine at the girls just prior to moving me to the operating room (which is right by the L&D dept) to see what positions they are in and they will decide what type of cut they will perform based on that. Randall will get to go in with me and stand or sit at the head with me. There will be a big screen up so we won't be able to see them cutting me, probably a good thing so Randall doesn't pass out. There was another couple here recently that I met (this is very rare) that delivered mono boys and they were able to get some pictures of the girls cords. I am hoping to get pictures of the girls, as well. Not sure if we can get pictures of the girls in the OR, we will probably have to wait til hey get to the NICU. They said Randall and our parents should be able to go up there approximately an hour after they are born. Of course it all depends on what they have to do with them. After I recover then I will go back to the floor I am on now, I may not be in the same room. I will have to wait at least 6 hours to eat, then I can start slowly. Once I get back to my room, if I am feeling okay I will be able to go to see the girls. It all depends on how I am doing. I guess only time will tell.

I am planning on assigning a family member to keep the computer with them so we can post as soon as possible and share everything with you. Hopefully, all will go as planned.

Good Friday to all, 6 days to go!!

2008-12-05T11:29:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone is doing well. The girls NSTs continue to go well and without signs of distress. The last couple of days they have been changing positions on us and making it a little hard to get a good strip, but we have managed to find them and get it done. I have had to hold the monitors in a very specific place to get the machine to pick up a good beat. It's hard to explain on a blog, but can be wearing on your fingers, hands and arms after holding it in place for an hour. But it is all worth it, especially after the doctor reads the strip and is satisfied with it. In 6 days we will not have to do that anymore and we will be onto the next challenge.

They started a second round of steroids yesterday, I will get the second dose today. It's not the funnest because it's a shot and it hurts some. The nurse that gave it to me yesterday is here again today and she did a really good job with the injection. I got the first round at 25 weeks in case the girls would have had to been delivered emergently. This will help the girls lungs develop before the delivery next week. It is controversial whether a second dose helps or not(limited studies), but all the doctors talked about it and decided to go ahead with it. I feel like it was a good decision. A lot of the moms on the mono website have done it, too.

I have been getting asked a lot if I am getting scared about the delivery and the girls being here. Truth is that there has been so many times during this pregnancy that I have felt scared, not to mention many other emotions. Right now I feel reassured that we have made it so close to the girls being here safely. Not everyone is as fortunate as us to make it to this point. There have been many that have lost one or both of their twins due to cord entanglements, birth defects and other problems. There have been some who have had to deliver their twins early, ranging from 26-30 weeks because of abnormal testing while in the hospital. I find all this out from the monoamnitotic website, it's a constant reminder of the danger of this type of pregnancy. It also has the many women on there with success stories. Some people wonder why I read it or how I can read the loss section and not be scared to death. Well, it does scare me, but I guess I am the type of person that wants all the cards laid out on the table. I have known all along it is in God's hands and he will only give us what we can handle. But it has helped tremendously knowing all the possibilities and between the website and my doctors I feel like we have been prepared for whatever we are given. So we are very blessed to have made it this far and still have both our girls doing so well in my belly. Right now I am excited and I can't wait until they are here with us.

I do have to admit it feels a little weird knowing the date that will change our lives forever. I wonder how they are going to look and how they will do when they come out, especially since they will be preemies. It's hard to picture in my head 3 pound babies. I used to be scared to death to hold a normal size baby. When Chelsie and Trevor were first born (I was 19) I would not hold them too much until they got bigger and their heads weren't so floppy. It's a good thing I got used to it with Faye and Ruby, but mine will be half the size of them. I feel confident we will figure it all out and be old pros before we know it.

Thanks for everyone's prayers and support, we could not have made it to this point without it.

The results are in!!

2008-12-02T11:51:00.000-06:00

Just got back from our ultrasound and the girls are looking great. Their hearts and lungs are working well and their cord blood flow looks great.

Baby A is on the left and she is breech/transverse (head up still), her weight is 1594 grams, which is 3 lbs 8.22 oz.

Baby B is transverse (across the top of my abdomen). I am pretty sure she moved this morning because I noticed her head was in a different spot and I thought I felt someone kicking my right ribs. So her head for now is to the left and her feet to the right. Anyways, she is 1637 grams, which is 3 lbs 9.75 oz.

Now that we are in the third trimester this is the time when they put on the most weight, so hopefully they will gain more weight in the next 9 days. My belly sure does feel like it's been getting bigger and I am starting to get a little uncomfortable, but that's okay as long as they gain as much weight as possible.

No Ultrasound Today

2008-12-01T12:18:00.000-06:00

When the doctoring covering for my doctor came in this morning came in to see me this morning she said that my doctor was going to do the growth scan ultrasound tomorrow since she will be here. My doctor is at the clinic all day on Mondays. I was quite disappointed since I had been waiting to see how big the girls have gotten and Randall stayed last night so he could be here too. I guess we will have to wait one more day. Our NST last night was good and they did really great this morning. They were very active and stayed on well.

Well, I wanted to fill everyone in since we I had said in the previous post I would post the results of the scan today. Have a great Monday and I will hopefully post the results of their growth scan tomorrow.

Today I hit my 6 weeks mark here at the hospital. Hard to believe!

12 Days to go, but who's counting?

2008-11-29T22:17:00.000-06:00

Well, this is my 6th Saturday here at "Hotel University" and every thing is still going great. Thanksgiving has come and gone. I went ahead and ate the hospital food for lunch and dinner. We had turkey and ham for lunch and chicken for dinner. It wasn't bad. My mom offered to bring me food, but I was worried I would eat too much. I did have her bring me pumpkin pie and fruit salad. I had the pumpkin pie after they checked my 7:00pm blood sugar, it was so good. When they checked it again at 10:00pm it was normal. I ate the fruit salad with my trays in place of the fruit they bring me and kept all my sugars normal. So I was able to cheat a little and still keep my babies safe.
Like I said in the last post, Randall stayed the night and we watched football, of course the Cowboys. It was a lot of fun. The only problem was that I kept thinking that the next day was going to be Monday. So it has been like a really long weekend, but so far I have managed to survive. Lori and Bryan came to see me today and I was glad to get to see them. They have been staying very busy since the arrival of their new bundle of joy, Blayne. Of course she did not bring him, too many germs around this place for a cute little guy like that. I will have a lot of catching up to do once I get out and the girls are going strong.

On Monday, I am looking forward to the girls next ultrasound. It is scheduled every 3 weeks to check the girls growth and fluid levels. For now we will continue with the NSTs and the dopplers and hope all keeps going well. I hope to post on Monday to let everyone know how the ultrasound goes.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!

2008-11-26T12:34:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and a lot of you are probably wondering what my plans are. I will be staying in the hospital. In the beginning I thought maybe I could go home, but it would just be too hard to do that, they would have actually had to discharge me and re admit me. It's not that big of a deal to me because I am used to missing out on holidays since I have been in the medical profession so long. Randall is going to stay with me tonight and we will be together all day tomorrow and plan to watch football. Les and Yvonne are coming in the morning and of course my parents are coming to see me later and I hope they will bring us some good food. So although I won't be able to be a my family's home for the holiday I will be with family. We have so many things to be thankful for this year. With all the hard times in this country right now we are actually very blessed. We still have our family and friends, we have our jobs, our homes, our health and most of all we still have our girls on their way. Each day we make it towards that 32 week mark is a blessing!!

As for the girls they have been doing great on the NSTs that are done twice a day. The doctors and nurses are always impressed. The tests are an hour long now and the nurses are so thankful that they are able to consistently find the girls in the same spot and strap me onto the monitor(they are running out of room in there to move as much). The first 4 weeks they would have to hold them on and chase them. I can feel them moving and see them poke their body parts into my abdomen and then I try to figure out if it was a hand, foot, head, back or their bottom. The last time we had to have an ultrasound they were both breech (heads up) so I am assuming it's their head I see poking up and then of course they like using my bladder for their personal trampoline. It all so amazing, although I know there are 2 little girls in there it's still some times hard to believe. I can't wait till they get here and I can hold them, I am sure it will be real then, but I will miss them being in my belly. I guess all of us do, but definitely don't want to be pregant forever.

As far as their delivery date, it has been a busy couple of days to clarify all the details. December 11th, 2008 @ 6:00 am is when I am officially scheduled for my c-section. Like I said before the girls will be 32 weeks that day. Randall still had some questions and felt surprised about the decision so we had the nurse have the doctor come talk to us again on Sunday evening. He was able to ask her the questions he needed to and now feels better about the whole thing. On Sat evening Randall, my mom and I went to the NICU for the tour. It was awesome. The charge nurse showed us their Level 3(highest level of care) and Level 2(stepdown unit) areas and all that had to go with it. Randall had so many great questions and she answered them all. It really relieved a lot of the anxiety I had about that process. They very supportive of family being present as much as they want. The only time we can't visit is during change of shift, but the nurse did warn me that I need to take care of myself too, especially right after the c-section. And my mom reminded me I won't be able to drive for a while. So I guess I will have to depend on others for a while. Because each child is different we still don't know what our girls will have to face when they are born, but I at least feel more prepared on what to expect. Yesterday I spoke with the neonatologist who will be on the day the girls are born. The doctor recommended I talk with them one more time about the differences between 32 weeks and 34 weeks. The four requirements for the girls to be able to leave the NICU will be 1)off oxygen, 2) weight at least 4.5 lbs, 3)able to feed by bottle or breast and 4) maintain their temperature. These are the main complications with both 32 and 34 week old babies and the doctor said we would need to expect that at 32 weeks it will take them a little longer to get through the process than a 34 week baby. There can be a lot of other complications, but we will not go into those details at this time.

Is December 11th a good birthday?

2008-11-22T10:56:00.000-06:00

Friday was a nice day, I stayed inside because it was too cold for me to go outside and finally worked some on putting my wedding pics in photo albums. I still didn't finish, but will try to finish today. I had a nice visit with Shelly from work, it's always a nice surprise to see a face from work. Thanks Shelly for coming to see me. Of course my mom, dad, grandma came in the evening. My mom had to go get Chelsie and her boyfriend Eric and brought them by, too.

I had a nice surprise this morning from the doctor. Every morning when the doctors come in they usually ask me how I am doing and tell me that the girls tests have been good. This morning the doctor came in and told me they are planning to go ahead and schedule me for my c-section at 32 weeks, which will be Dec. 11th( this is a tentative date). I was a little surprised and caught off guard. It seemed so out of the blue, especially since they have been saying 32-34 weeks all this time. I didn't ask much questions, I guess I was happy just to hear they had made a decision. They are still going to discuss whether or not they will give me another round of steroids to help develop the girls lungs prior to the date. I already had one round at 24 weeks and a second round is controversial so the MFMs (specialists) are going to discuss it and let me know what they think is best. I couldn't go back to sleep after that I had so many thoughts racing through my head. That date is less than 3 weeks and there are still some things left to do. When I called Randall he asked me "Why 32 weeks, when they have been saying 32-34 all this time." I told him I didn't really ask because I was caught off guard, but there will be time to ask more questions since they come see me at least once daily.

Now I know to most people it seems logical to wait until 34 weeks so they can develop more, but with twins it's different, especially mono amniotic twins. All twins have increased risk for still birth starting at 32 weeks and then we also have to worry about our girls tangling their cords for 2 more weeks. At that point the girls still won't be fully developed, but most doctors agree that the risks of them being born (at 32weeks) outweigh the risks of them staying in longer. On the mo mo website it seems that most deliver at 32 weeks and they are fine. So it seems reasonable to me to have them delivered then. I have had so many months of worries, to wait 2 more weeks seems like forever. Of course there is still the possibility that an emergency could develop and we could deliver sooner, but hopefully that is not the case. If we can make it to 32 weeks and deliver both girls safely I will be happy.

Now regardless of when they are born, it is going to be a definite c-section and they will have two teams of nurses, pediatricians and neonatoligists in the operating room waiting for the girls to assess them immediately. I am not even sure if I will get to see them right away, maybe a quick glimpse if we're lucky. They will go to the NICU and depending on how they look will stay there as long as necessary. All babies are different so it just depends on how they look when they come out. They may or may not need breathing tubes or they might just need regular oxygen. Only time will tell all these little details, there is no way anyone can tell us what we will face on what other mo mo moms call the" NICU Roller coaster". Just like our pregnancy we will hope and pray for the best. There have been babes born at 32 that have only had to stay one week, while others have had to stay months. They will definitely have to be breathing on their own, feeding and growing well to go home.

I am going to place a NICU video on here that you can click on if you would like to know more about the NICU. There are two, about 5 minutes each. #1 A visual tour and #2 How parents can help. I know a lot of people want to be here for us and we really appreciate all the support, but please keep in mind that as long as the girls are in the NICU they are limited on visitors. I think only the parents and grandparents. We are going to go visit our NICU some time today for a tour and I will clarify with them. I hope to be able to add as many posts and pics to this website for all to keep up with their progress. When the girls finally do make it home, it was mentioned that we may want to keep their visitors and outings limited. Since the girls will be born premature that puts them at high risk to pick up all the bugs that are floating around out there right now, especially during the winter months. So although my journey here at the hospital is coming close to an end, we still have a long road to follow.

I will most likely be discharged after a couple of days after delivery and will be glad to be home, but hear it is hard to leave your babies at the hospital. We all know I have issues about leaving family members at the hospital anyways (might have to do with the fact I am a nurse?). I know I am going to have a really hard time with it. I hope the NICU here is supportive of me being around as much as I can because they are going to have a hard time getting me to leave my girls. I hope to be as close by as possible, I hate the idea that we live an hour away. They only have 1 room for parents to stay in here and I think that's for parents of really sick children. I hope not to require that, but may find somewhere to stay closer. I guess only time will tell.

You can probably tell there are fifty-million thoughts being processed in my brain right now. I hope this blog made since and filled everyone in on all the changes that are to come. Let me know if you have any questions. I can not say thank you enough for all the thoughts, support and prayers we have received. We are so blessed to have such great family and friends!!

29 weeks TODAY!!!

2008-11-20T17:51:00.000-06:00

We have successfully made it another week. I did have some more contractions this morning during my NST, but like yesterday they did not last long and were mild. The babies did great on it too. They have been moving around all day. The evening NST was good as well. They have been quite active today, I think they're excited that we are 29 weeks!!

I have quite a few visitors today so it really made the day go by fast. It's so funny how no one overlapped. My friend Marla from work came by and not too long after she left, Lori came by. When she left I walked her outside to get a little stretch and as soon as I returned to the room and my friend Jozett came by. We went to nursing school together and works here at University in the Transplant ICU. I did sneak in a nap around three o'clock. When I got my dinner I was starving and they brought me roast beef, mashed potatoes and green beans. I ate the green beans and I was going to try the roast beef, but the knife could not cut it because there was so much grizzle. Yucky, yucky, yucky. Needless to say I made a quick dash to the cafe and got a Blimpie's sub. It hit the spot and my tummy was satisfied. Then Nora from the EC came by to say HI. Yvonne came too, this is her normal day to come see me. I walked her to her car around 9pm and I can't believe how cold it was. Randall would have come too, but he had an upset stomach earlier today and we did not want him giving it to me if it happened to be a virus, so he was instructed to go home. I talked to him a little while ago and he was feeling better which I am glad.

I enjoyed my visit with everyone and appreciate it so much!! I know everyone has so much going on and hard to come by. Thanks for the continued support and prayers.

Is that a contraction?

2008-11-19T21:33:00.000-06:00

Since I have been here I am constantly being asked if I am having contractions. I usually say "I don't think so." because I don't know what they feel like. During my morning NST I felt this slightly uncomfortable feeling in my lower back and abdomen, then across the top of abdomen. I thought to myself, I wonder if that's a contraction. When the nurse came back she said I had a contraction showing on the strip. One of the babies heart rate decelerated right after which can be concerning or normal. The doctor came and did a BPP (ultrasound) to double check them and they looked great. The contractions did not last long, but I felt tired and uncomfortable all day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

We just got done doing my evening NST the girls were quite wiggly this evening, but because the strips are 1 hour long they were still able to get what they needed and they said it looked good. No contractions on that strip.

Tomorrow will be 29 weeks, so I am excited about that. I want to thank everyone for all their thoughts, prayers, visits and phone calls.

Here 4 weeks Today!!!

2008-11-18T01:00:00.000-06:00

Today has officially been 4 weeks here and I have survived. It has gone by faster than I thought. Only 4-6 more weeks to go!! I had a really nice Sunday, it was pretty uneventful. Chelsie stayed the night on Saturday and we watched TNT all day because we would finish one movie, then another one would start. Aunt Lisa came by for a while, then my mom came. They left about 10pm so I was kept busy all day and that was nice. The weekends have a tendency to drag, especially when I have no visitors.

My plan of care has changed some. Now that I am almost 29 weeks and 28 weeks was a huge milestone for the girls, I felt like I needed to increase the frequency of monitoring. I spoke with the MFM(specialist) about my concerns, we discussed the pros and cons and came up with a new plan of care. So now we will have NSTs in the morning and the evening and they will be at least 1 hour long. So I have had 2 today. The second was at 8pm and was an hour long, it went well. They moved, but they weren't out of control. Hopefully they keep this up. I think I said it before, but just in case I will say it again, as they mature they are not supposed to move so much, so this will help things. Thanks so much for all the support, thoughts and prayers. I will keep everyone updated.

3rd Saturday at the Hotel

2008-11-15T23:50:00.001-06:00

Well, today started off a little differently. I had to make myself stay up after breakfast and the 7 am nurse came in right away to the NST so I could get to the class by 9am. The girls were doing really good in the beginning and she was able to strap me onto the monitor and leave the room for a while, but then I heard one disappear and called the nurse. Once she came back in she had to sit there and hold them on because they started wiggling. We were able to get it done and it was a good strip. Just took longer than I thought it would and I started sweating the time, but I was able to make it to the class on time.

Randall and I learned about car seat safety, home safety, infant CPR and basic infant care. I felt a little stressed out at times talking about all the things that can happen to these girls. I know it won't be easy, but it definitely makes you realize that the worries won't be over any time soon. As most of you know me working University with all that trauma makes me a worry wort anyways. I guess Randall was right, you'll probably see my kids outside and they'll looked like armadillos covered in armor from head to toe to keep them safe!

I had a nice surprise visit from my friend Rose from work, she stayed for a while and I talked her ear off. When your stuck in a room by yourself most of the day, it's easy to do. Then Jody, Felton and Chelsie came, too. They came right after the I got my dinner tray of my most unfavored dish--Beef Stroganoff, yucky, as Faye would say. I still ate the veggies, milk and fruit from my tray, but got Jody and them to bring me another Whataburger and again it was sooo good. Chelsie stayed the night with me tonight and we watched Atonement (love it) and now we are hanging out. It's now midnight and I am waiting for the 11-7 nurse to come do my last doppler for the night. So I thought I would toss in a little update.

Hide and Seek for Today!!

2008-11-14T21:20:00.000-06:00

So the poor nurse tried really hard this morning to do the NST on the girls, but they did not want to cooperate. The nurse tried for over 30 minutes to get a good strip, but they just would not do what we wanted them to do which was hold still. So the doctor said she was going to come and do a BPP as soon as she could. Well, it was almost 7pm when she finally got to the room, she looked so worn out. She said she had some really sick patients. I felt bad because a little after 6 I had the nurse call and make sure she did not forget about me, but she had been busy. When she got to the room she said their heartbeats were good on the strip, but it just did not make her completely happy so she wanted the BPP. My grandma and mom were here visiting so they were super excited to get to see the ultrasound. My grandma had never seen one before and Dr Rice is really good at explaining the things she is seeing and doing on the ultrasound so it was awesome. The girls looked great, one had her fingers in her mouth and of course they were all bundled up together at times.

On Wednesday night Randall and I went to the breastfeeding class, it was 2 hours long. It was really good, we both learned a lot. Unfortunately, it did not cover a whole lot about breastfeeding twins and my situation with the girls since they will need to be in the NICU, but I have been reassured that when the girls come I will get help from a lactation consultant. Most likely they will not be able to actually breastfeed right away, but I will be able to start pumping right away and then they will give it to them in the NICU. They are very encouraging of babies getting breast milk, especially preemies. I did not know that my body would know that I had premature babies and would make extra nutrients and calories for the babies for the first couple of weeks because of it. It's amazing what the body can do!! Tomorrow we are going to go to a class from 9am-3pm, it has 4 components. I am sure we will learn a lot. I will fill you in on how that goes.

The daily life of a prego in the hospital..

2008-11-13T12:49:00.001-06:00

A lot of people ask me what I do all day. Just a little insight on how my days are while I am here in the hospital for the most part. Sometimes I vary from the schedule, but most are like this.

6am- Tech arrives to take vital signs, blood sugar and weight, then I try go back to sleep.
630am-The doctor arrives to check me, then I try to go back to sleep.
7am- The day shift tech arrives and takes my vital signs, then I try to go back to sleep.
730-8am- Breakfast arrives, my daily dose of 2 eggs, a pork chop and 1 piece of toast. (Yes, I said pork chop--EVERYDAY!!) I eat it then I try to go back to sleep.
9am- Day shift RN arrives to do my NST on the girls.
10am- Blood sugar checked, snack arrives, usually piece of cheese, milk, crackers.
10am- I turn on the shower to run the water so it will get hot.
1030am- I take a shower because it's finally hot, get dressed, put on my makeup, do my hair.
1130am-12pm- Blood sugar checked, brings lunch. It usually takes me 5-10 minutes to gobble it down.
After lunch- I watch the channel 12 news at noon and check my emails, blog, do stretches in my room.
1pm- I go for a walk outside, take a book or magazine and sit and read it.
2pm- I must return to my room so the tech can check my blood sugar. They bring a snack, usually slice of cheese, milk or tomato juice (yuk, I don't drink it) and a piece of fruit (yummy!) Then I watch "A Haunting" on the discovery channel and play on the computer.
3pm- Vital sign check. Time to watch Ellen or The doctors or take a nap or play on computer.
330pm- Evening RN checks babes fetal heart tones.
4pm- Oprah or nap time, depending on what's on. I have been know to fall asleep or play on computer.
430pm- blood sugar check, time for dinner, YES, I said dinner at 430! Got to keep us diabetics on schedule!
5pm- Watch the news, again followed by the evening new, followed by the 600 news And then Wheel of Fortune (kinda goes with the 430 dinner, right?)
5-8pm- Visit with visitors, if they come, this is the typical time to have visitors. Visiting hours are 10am-8pm. If they get here before 8 they usually don't kick them out, they just don't let you in after 8pm.
7pm- Blood sugar check, snack time
7-9pm- Check the TV guide (no there isn't any direct TV menu here) to see what I want to watch on one of the 10 channels they have to offer and watch it.
10pm-Blood sugar check, bedtime snack and the News again.
1030pm- Get ready for bed, start yawning, try to hold my eyes open.
11pm- Last set of vital signs for the night.
1130pm- Night shift RN comes to check the girls heart rates. Most seem to get to my room first to this so I can go to sleep, except for nurse that I had 2 nights in a row recently who came in at 1210 and then 1230am. It's really hard for me to keep my eyes open this long.

That's a total of 7 blood sugar checks, 3 main meals and 4 snacks. This helps to keep my blood sugar regulated. My fingers get a little sore, but you get used to it.

I survived 3 weeks at "University Hotel"

2008-11-13T12:22:00.000-06:00

Since I decided to start this blog late I am jumping up to 3 weeks. Today we are 28 weeks, it changes every Thursday. I am excited and feel so blessed for each week we make it without problems. I have been very reassured being here. I hear their heart beats multiple times a day and feel reassured knowing that the doctors are just down the hall if there are any problems. We were very lucky to have only one scare, in which the nurse had the doctor come to my room right away. The doctor thought everything looked fine, but did send me down to labor and delivery to be monitored longer just to make sure. Everything turned out okay and the nurse was just extra cautious. She actually apologized, but I told her I would rather her be over cautious, rather than under cautious and thanked her. I have no doubt I have done the right thing. Everyone is really nice here and the room isn't too bad, most who have come to visit have been impressed with the accommodations. Since I have been here Randall and my mom have brought me more stuff. I was sent a plant from Walter and Ruth which is very lovely and I had Randall bring me 2 from home that require frequent watering and I feared would not survive if we had to depend on him to water them. The staff is always impressed by them. I also have a collage of pictures on the wall, most of them are from the wedding since I had Randall bring me all the wedding photos so I could get those organized while I was here. I am waiting for some more from Yvonne, especially of the Faye and Ruby since I didn't have any of those with me.

Why I started this blog

2008-11-13T12:11:00.000-06:00

A lot of the women on the website monoamniotic.org that I spend a lot of time on for support have blogs like this. I told Randall before I came into the hospital I was thinking about starting one. Once I got her I was not sure I wanted to do it now or wait til the girls arrived. I am just was not sure if people want to read what I have to say. I definitely wanted it once the girls get here so that I can let ever one know how their progress is going and I can post pictures. I was thinking about it more and looking at the others and decided it would be a good way to keep people posted on our status now. I have been sending out weekly emails to those that I have addresses for, but there are still a lot of people that would like to know what's going on that I don't have addresses for, so I thought I would give it a try. Anyways, I decided to get it started and tell the story from the beginning just so it seems complete. It keeps me busy and I hope that it helps everyone keep up to date on our progress. I sure don't want to bore anyone!

We made it to 24 weeks!!!!!!!

2008-11-12T16:28:00.000-06:00

So after much worry and stress, multiple ultrasounds and doctor's visits we made it to 24 weeks. I took off work 2 weeks before my admission to get things ready at home for my and the girls return. At 21 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and they sent me to see an dietitian at the clinic. Much to my surprise I was able to control my sugars better than I thought I could. The diet was better than I thought. It was convienant timing since I had just stoppped working too. In that 2 week time frame we put together 2 baby cribs (thanks to my mother and father in law) and arranged the furniture in their room. We had 2 baby showers, received tons of gifs and washed, dried them all. My mom and I went back to Babies R Us and bought at least approximately $600.00 in more stuff. You need a lot when you have to double it times two. We killed the dryer trying to wash all that stuff! Had to go find a new dryer and have it delivered, finished washing, packed my bags and much more. Plus my Uncle Ronnie was here visiting from Cali, so I wanted to visit with him as much as possible. Needless to say it was a busy 2 weeks.
We checked in on Monday, October 20, 2008. For those of you who really know me, I am proud to say I only cried once through that whole process and I really want to say it's my mom's fault. We went by her house before we went to the hospital and she was sad she couldn't come with me, which made me sad. But I had my Randall and he is always strong, maybe a little squeamish about hospitals, but he did well. We got settled into my room around 6:00pm thanks to the help of my friend Sandy, it went pretty smooth. I had 1 suitcase, clothes on hangers, several other small bags, laptop and more. It looked like I was moving in, I guess I was!

Our Monoamnitotic Story

2008-11-12T13:54:00.000-06:00

When the tech gave us the print out of the ultrasound results I had noticed a comment at the bottom that said "yok sac present unable to visualize dividing membrane, fetus were very close together at present time." She did not say any thing to us about what that meant, she had scared us about a possible placenta previa. So when we got home we focused on that. When we saw our Dr. the next week he said it was normal at 9 weeks for placenta not to in its normal place yet, but he did mention it was concerning that there was no membrane seen in the yok sac. He said it was still too early, they would plan to do more frequent ultrasounds in hopes to find it. He did not go into much more detail other than it could be a problem in the future if they didn't find it. On July the 30th we were sent for the high resolution US, it was Randall, My mom and I we were very excited to see the babies. We were a day short of 13 weeks. We met the doctor who specializes in doing high risk US, he looked vigialantly for the membrane, but we still did not fully realize what it all meant. After looking for the membrane for almost an hour he broke the news to us of what exactly "no membrane meant." We were not prepared at all for what he had to say. I remember him stating "If you make it to 24 weeks they will probably want to put you in the hospital for monitoring." It was so surreal, I thought he was talking crazy. We walked into that office happy and excited. We walked out with our world rocked! You could tell we were all trying to process it in our own way, we could hardly say anything to each other. I had been up all night at work and had went straight to the appointment and was supposed to work that night again, but it was too much for me. I was so tired, I had a headach. I decided not to go to work and went home and went to sleep. When I woke up I felt like I was able to face what he told me, but I felt like I needed to know more. My sister-in-law had a co-worker who had previous experience with these types of prenancies and I spoke with her. She reassured me. After I spoke with her I headed to the internet. The doctor told me there was not much medical data out there for them to refer to, but I knew I had to look. That's when I found the monamniotic.org website. It was a lifesaver. I felt relieved to see that others had gone through what we had, I saw their beautiful children, I read the introduction, which explained a lot. I read as many of the posts that I could, including the loss and surviving twins forum. Which brought reality to the whole situation. Overall, I felt more reassured than when we had left the office. I was encouraged by what I read on the website.

Our journey to parenthood...

2008-11-11T22:03:00.000-06:00

My husband Randall finished school we decided to try to start a family. So keeping it a secret we started our journey towards parenthood. I was not always sure about having children, but ever since my niece Faye was born I knew I wanted to be a mother more than ever. I just felt different, I guess that's what they call the biological clock ticking.
One night at work I felt really nauseated and had heartburn all night long. When I got off work I stopped and bought a two pack pregnancy test and headed home. I had been trying for a couple of months and had taken quite a few tests. I had seen so many negatives tests I was in total shock when the little stick read pregnant, I just stood there and stared at it and then of course I started jumping up and down and screaming. Nobody was home, but our dogs Will and Grace and of course they were looking at me like I was going nuts. Randall had taken a job that summer which required him to travel out of town a lot and of he was in Dallas when I found out. I had just talked to him before I took the test and he was going to a sales meeting. So I sent him a text to call me ASAP, it was very important, no matter what time it was, he needed to call me. When he called back he knew right away. He said "you're pregnant!" I told him yes. He was with his friend Arthur who later told me "I wish you could have seen his face when you told him." Of course, we were both excited, but you really do feel all kinds of other thoughts and emotions, especially it being our first time. I remember being excited, scared, emotional, worried and thinking "Oh my God, this is really happening."
I went right away to my parents house to tell them in person and then I told Randall I would call his parents in Waco. Of course they were all shocked and elated. We had not told any of them we were even trying. My mom had the best reaction of all. When I told her she said "Well, how did that happen?" with a confused look on her face. I looked at my brother, thinking to myself, do I really need to explain this to her. She said she was just so surprised because they didn't even know we were trying or had planned to try. So that was the end of May and I called the doctors office and of course they couldn't get me seen until June 13th so we waited anxiously for our appointment.
Unfortunately, we had waited to see the doctor on the 13th of June for him to inform us we were only 6 weeks pregnant instead of the 9 weeks I thought I was. So he opted not to do an ultrasound that day. So again we must wait, I was so disappointed. I felt like I needed to see the baby, to know it was a good pregnancy and just be reassured. So on July 2, we had an appointment with just the ultrasound tech scheduled. Randall and I went together that day and the tech asked if it was okay if a student started the exam and then she would review it to make sure she did it right. I work at a teaching hospital so I am used to students and had no problem with it. She started the US (ultrasound) and seemed to be having a hard time with it so she called the regular tech over. When she tried I thought something didn't look right, like there was almost two shadows or two heartbeats, I did not say anything because I did not want to get myself too excited and I really don't know how to read them. My dad and my grandma had both commented several times each about me having twins. My dad has twin brothers (not identical) so he would say "Wouldn't that be something if you had twins?" Never in my mind did I think it was really going to happen. When she confirmed my suspicions I started laughing and crying at the same time. Randall sat there, looking shocked and confused and said "there's two?" He couldn't tell what he was looking at at all so it was really hard for him. It was an amazing feeling, I just can't explain it! She gave us a copy of the report and some pictures to take with us. Of course, we went straight to my parents. My mom was sitting at the table when I took the picture over to her. I pointed at the tiny little figures, barely recognizable as babies at 9 weeks old. I said there's baby number one and there is baby number two. Again, pure shock, she didn't even react right away. It took her a few minutes to let it sink in then I knew when it hit her. She was so excited and started saying "I have to tell everyone, who can we call" Everyone was so shocked to hear the words two babies coming out of our mouths. I have received all kinds of reactions. People have told me "better you than me or good luck or you are going to have your hands full." Well, maybe but I wouldn't want it any other way. I am not the first to have twins, all the others have survived and mangaed to raise them. So I knew we would too, but it would be with double the love.

Caroline and Juliette--Our little miracles

A BIG CHANGE!!!

LIFE IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING....

The girls July 26, 2009

Fun times with C & J

Caroline Blog July 09

Juliette Blog July09

More Posts to come

6 Months old

Fun times with CAROLINE AND JULIETTE

Juliette

Caroline

May 2009

kiddie Kandid Pics-Both

Juliette

Caroline

It's a TWIN Thing!!

Pics by Aunt Lisa

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa Bettis' House

I SEE YOU!!

4 months old on Saturday April 11th.

Juliette's First Cereal

Caroline's first cereal

Happy Easter

Happy Caroline

Happy Juliette

Happy Together!!

Moving right along

Can someone hold me up please??

Before and After in the CO Sleeper

Smiling, Happy Girls

The cutest ever

Caroline

Juliette

Our trip to Waco

Caroline and Juliette Together

Juliette

Caroline

Ruth and Walter wtih the girls

Katie, Christine, Darren and Amelia with the girls.

Me and my girls!

Me, the girls and the magic pillow!

Sick babies

Hungry, Crying Babes Video Below

Hungry, Crying Babes

Survived work and being away from girls

Wide Awake

Latest Dr's Appointment

So Sweet

Trying out our toys

Our orignal due date

Doctor's Visit

Before and After

Changes and Reflections

My mommy bought us boy pants!

This is what happens when daddy dresses me.

Sleep deprived

Getting ready for our first doctor's appointment.

Nightmare at the doctor's office.

We're growing like weeds!!

2x the love pics

2X the LOVE!!!

OUR HOMECOMING OUTFITS!!

Caroline

Juliette

The GIRLS ARE HOME!!!

Co Bedding NOW!!

We made it to LEVEL 2!!

Making Progress

Merry Christmas to All!!

Santa's Visit

Test results are back.

Rough and exciing few days.

We're making progress

Update-Sorry it's been a while.

So truly blessed!!

Welcome Caroline and Juliette!!

Pre-Game Day

Info about the day of Surgery-3 days left!

Good Friday to all, 6 days to go!!