We are having the girls dedicated at our church on February 10th. We are christian and this is a ceremony that our church does for babies every 3 months. So there will be a bunch of babies. We are excited about it though. It is kind of like their debut! I took some pics here at home yesterday of them in their christening gowns but they didn't turn out very good. I will post one or two when I can.
O.K. I decided to nix the oatmeal for now and the rice went back in the bottles. Neither of them were sleeping good without the rice and the oatmeal was just too hard on their tummies. I don't think they are ready for solids yet. I am going to wait another month or so and try again. The good news is that they are taking more ozs. in a day now than they were a week ago and the best news is NATTI SLEPT ALL NIGHT 3 NIGHTS IN A ROW!!!!! Please God let it continue!! The bad news is that they are not napping well at all during the day and it makes for extremely grumpy babies. I am not sure how to remedy this problem. I do have them both down right now and just pray that they sleep for a couple of hours. They really need an afternoon nap whether they think so or not! Ha! Ha!
I will post some pics later!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Maggie's Surgery
Please keep Maggie in your prayers. Her surgery is scheduled for March 26th. We had to push it out that far because we have no family here that could help with the other two kids. So my Mom can come up that week. In a way I am glad it is a ways out and then on the other hand I wish we could just do it and get it over with.
Today has been a bad day. Both girls have been extremely irritable. I think they are really gassy. Today is the 3rd day of oatmeal. Maybe their tummies are just adjusting to it. I hope tomorrow is a better day for both of them. Natti didn't sleep all night again last night! Starting about 3:45 I was up and down with her. I decided that since their reflux seems better I would omit the rice cereal from their formula. My thoughts are that without the rice in it they would eat more ozs. in one setting. The formula has more calories, protein, fat, and carbs, so it should keep them full longer. Right? Well they only ate more one time today. Unfortunately is wasn't the last bottle before bed. I could barely get them to take that one at all. Especially Natti and she's the one I wanted to eat more!! Oh well, maybe they will do better tomorrow.
Funny thing is when Natti woke up at 3:45 she was talking and laughing and I just laid there until she started fussing. When I went in she was completely unswaddled(I swaddle tightly and tie a cloth diaper around them! Houdini!) kicking her feet like crazy and looked up at me and smiled and squealed!! Her first squeal of delight and I had to play it down. I wanted so bad to pick her up and play with her, she was so darn cute!!! But I just reswaddled her and gave her the paci and she turned her head and closed her eyes. Of course it didn't last, I was up and down with her until 5 and she finally went back to sleep until 6:25 when I fed her and then she slept for another hour. She did take a 2 hour nap today, thank goodness!!
That's all for now....
Today has been a bad day. Both girls have been extremely irritable. I think they are really gassy. Today is the 3rd day of oatmeal. Maybe their tummies are just adjusting to it. I hope tomorrow is a better day for both of them. Natti didn't sleep all night again last night! Starting about 3:45 I was up and down with her. I decided that since their reflux seems better I would omit the rice cereal from their formula. My thoughts are that without the rice in it they would eat more ozs. in one setting. The formula has more calories, protein, fat, and carbs, so it should keep them full longer. Right? Well they only ate more one time today. Unfortunately is wasn't the last bottle before bed. I could barely get them to take that one at all. Especially Natti and she's the one I wanted to eat more!! Oh well, maybe they will do better tomorrow.
Funny thing is when Natti woke up at 3:45 she was talking and laughing and I just laid there until she started fussing. When I went in she was completely unswaddled(I swaddle tightly and tie a cloth diaper around them! Houdini!) kicking her feet like crazy and looked up at me and smiled and squealed!! Her first squeal of delight and I had to play it down. I wanted so bad to pick her up and play with her, she was so darn cute!!! But I just reswaddled her and gave her the paci and she turned her head and closed her eyes. Of course it didn't last, I was up and down with her until 5 and she finally went back to sleep until 6:25 when I fed her and then she slept for another hour. She did take a 2 hour nap today, thank goodness!!
That's all for now....
Friday, January 19, 2007
4 Month check up
We are a little behind, they are actually 4 1/2 months but they had RSV shots and their kidney tests at 4 months and I just couldn't do more shots too. Ped. says they look great! They are on the charts in weight and heighth and head circumfirence. With their adjusted age (3 months) it puts them in the 40th and 50th percentile!!! Wow! Brianna was never that high on the charts and she wasn't a preemie. She was just a small baby until she was about 4 and then she caught up with other kids her age. So with that being said, I am happy with their weights and heights. Natalie weighs in at 13.1 lbs. and 23 inches long and Maggie is 11.14 lbs. and 22.5 inches long. We got the go ahead to start solids. Since they have had rice cereal in their bottles for reflux since they were about 6 weeks, he said to start with oatmeal and progress from there. This is when it starts getting fun. Maggie is sleeping all night most nights. Natalie was before Christmas and I don't know what happened to her but now she is waking up several times a night and she just wiggles and squirms constantly. Half the time I end up putting her in bed with me because I get tired of getting up and down to give her a paci!! I am getting a work out in the middle of the night! The ped. also said that maybe solids will help her start sleeping better.
I still haven't heard from the Urologist about Maggie. I haven't called them because I just don't have the heart yet to actually schedule the surgery and start counting down days. And I just keep prayng that by some miracle it will start opening up and she won't need the surgery.
Brianna just got a report card and she is on the honor roll!! 2nd time this year. If we could just get her to stop talking so much now. Like mother like daughter! Ha! Ha!
I have great news about Joseph. Some of you don't know but he is my older son, 20 almost 21!! Whew!! Yes, I am too young but I am feeling older everyday. Anywho, Joseph is a very talented piano player and has been playing with different gospel quartets for the last couple of years. It has opened the door for wonderful opportunities for him. If you know anything about gospel music you have heard of the Kingdom Heirs?? He was contacted by them last week and told that they had heard wonderful things about him and would like for him to come and play for them. He did and a few days later they called him to come again and offered him a position in the group!!! He will be playing at Dollywood from spring to fall and then traveling the winter months. As a matter of fact the Kingdom Heirs will be here in Louisville in February and Joseph will be with them. I am so excited for him. He is thrilled. God has truly blessed him with this musical gift and I am so glad he is using it in this way. Go see him if you get the chance!!
Well that is about all for now. I have more pics but need to download them. The girls are out and I was awake most of last night and needless to say I am exhausted so off to bed I go too!
Until next time....
I still haven't heard from the Urologist about Maggie. I haven't called them because I just don't have the heart yet to actually schedule the surgery and start counting down days. And I just keep prayng that by some miracle it will start opening up and she won't need the surgery.
Brianna just got a report card and she is on the honor roll!! 2nd time this year. If we could just get her to stop talking so much now. Like mother like daughter! Ha! Ha!
I have great news about Joseph. Some of you don't know but he is my older son, 20 almost 21!! Whew!! Yes, I am too young but I am feeling older everyday. Anywho, Joseph is a very talented piano player and has been playing with different gospel quartets for the last couple of years. It has opened the door for wonderful opportunities for him. If you know anything about gospel music you have heard of the Kingdom Heirs?? He was contacted by them last week and told that they had heard wonderful things about him and would like for him to come and play for them. He did and a few days later they called him to come again and offered him a position in the group!!! He will be playing at Dollywood from spring to fall and then traveling the winter months. As a matter of fact the Kingdom Heirs will be here in Louisville in February and Joseph will be with them. I am so excited for him. He is thrilled. God has truly blessed him with this musical gift and I am so glad he is using it in this way. Go see him if you get the chance!!
Well that is about all for now. I have more pics but need to download them. The girls are out and I was awake most of last night and needless to say I am exhausted so off to bed I go too!
Until next time....
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Don't have all the details yet but...
Maggie is going to have surgery. They will be detaching her ureter from the bad kidney and taking out the piece where the blockage is. The kidney now has some damage, swelling way beyond what it should be, so they will remove part of that and then reattach the ureter. They will place a shunt in the ureter that runs from the kidney into the bladder so that it doesn't grow closed during the healing process. Then unfortunately they will have to go back in and remove the shunt later. They hope for her to make it to 6 months of age. I guess they are basing that on how bad the kidney looks and how many infections she gets. She does have an infection now and she started a different antibiotic yesterday. We only saw the nurse practicioner who will be talking to the doctor and calling us back tomorrow with more details and a time schedule. Right now there is no change with Natalie's according to the renal US. They may schedule her for the nuclear scan again, like Maggie had on Friday, in the future.
They still would not sedate Maggie. They have to be 60 weeks old and they subtract how many weeks early they were, so Maggie was nowhere close. I was very upset and told them they had better get it right the first time! They hit the first vein and she only had to be catherized once but that was bad enough. Man she cried and it just broke my heart. And again it was a very long day.
The pediatric urologist no longer takes our insurance and they are the only one around here. They told us we would have to pay for the visits: $118 times 2!!!!! I said I don't think so. Just have the doctor call me and we will look for someone else to treat them. They went back and talked to the office manager and the nurse practicioner and only charged us $80 total for both girls. They were very nice and said they would work with us because our girls really needed help. DUHHHH.... Our medical expenses so far have been astranomical!!! I have a stack of bills that I can't get the nerve up to even look at and figure out a payment plan. Some of the letters are starting to get nasty so I know that I have to tackle this soon. O.K. I am rambling....sorry, just tired and worried.
Thank you all for your prayers and comments. I really look forward to reading them and the emails that you send me. Please continue to pray for my girls health.
They still would not sedate Maggie. They have to be 60 weeks old and they subtract how many weeks early they were, so Maggie was nowhere close. I was very upset and told them they had better get it right the first time! They hit the first vein and she only had to be catherized once but that was bad enough. Man she cried and it just broke my heart. And again it was a very long day.
The pediatric urologist no longer takes our insurance and they are the only one around here. They told us we would have to pay for the visits: $118 times 2!!!!! I said I don't think so. Just have the doctor call me and we will look for someone else to treat them. They went back and talked to the office manager and the nurse practicioner and only charged us $80 total for both girls. They were very nice and said they would work with us because our girls really needed help. DUHHHH.... Our medical expenses so far have been astranomical!!! I have a stack of bills that I can't get the nerve up to even look at and figure out a payment plan. Some of the letters are starting to get nasty so I know that I have to tackle this soon. O.K. I am rambling....sorry, just tired and worried.
Thank you all for your prayers and comments. I really look forward to reading them and the emails that you send me. Please continue to pray for my girls health.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Christmas Day pics!
Don't they look adorable??? Nattie on the left and Maggs on the right.
We had a pretty good holiday. Most of my family was sick including me. Thank goodness the twins are o.k. Nattie has had a little snotty nose but not too bad. They go on Thursday for the next RSV injection and Friday for more kidney tests. I called the urologist and voiced my concerns about having the invasive tests so soon again. Unfortunately they say it is because they are fairly sure that Maggie will have to have the surgery to correct the blockage in her ureters. I just pray that the results of Fridays test show some improvement so they will hold off on surgery and give it a little longer to correct itself.
It is back to school for Brianna tomorrow and I am dreading it. I have enjoyed this down time. No homework, no early to bed and early to rise for her, no scheduled events. It was very nice and now we are back to the grind! She is ready though.
I hope all of you had a wondeful holiday! Happy New Year!
I will post the girls test results as soon as I know.
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