New Pics!

Maggie goes Hollywood!!!



Busy at play! I love these saucers!!!



In Granny's lap the day before Maggie's surgery.



Nattie



This is my favorite new pic! I was trying to capture the handholding.



Bri takes Nattie on an American Girl Horse ride!!!

Maggie is doing....

WONDERFUL! You all were right when you said babies are so resiliant! It is like she never had major surgery. She is happy and smiles all the time. She keeps us laughing because she smiles so much. She has a dimple in her right cheek and it is just so darn adorable you can't help but just laugh at her. She is going to be the one that doesn't get punished when she really should because she is making us laugh!! We call her Smiley!
Both girls are very close to sitting up on their own. Still NO TEETH!! But they, especially Nattie, have been so irritable and chewing on everything. I can't keep Nattie's hands out of her mouth. I wish they would just pop on thru and give them some relief. Orajel is helping although they hate it.
I'll post some pics soon.
Gotta go somebody is crying!

Easter Pics!

Maggie's home!

Getting sleepy!

Feeling well enough to play for a few minutes.

Nothing would do but Mommy! Look how sad her eyes look!

A wagon ride to get her to sleep. Worked like a charm!

We got home today about 11:30am after a terrible, long night. Maggie's IV came out yesterday and they thought she was going home so they left it out. Late in the evening when we were still waiting to hear from the doctor the nurse came and told us that she had a UTI and that was the reason for the fever and they were worried she would become septic so they wanted to keep her one more night and give her IV antibiotics. So later in the evening, after she had fallen asleep, they came in to put the IV in. God it is so hard to watch your baby screaming while they are doing something like that to her. They finally got it in and gave her pain meds thru it along with the antibiotic. They also stuck her finger for a CBC. And would you believe the nurse dropped her blood into the sharps box??!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!! They left the room and just when I finally got her back to sleep another nurse came in and said we have to stick her again!!! I was ready to kill somebody!!!!!! For some reason Maggie's blood was very thin and when they stuck her she bled like crazy especially the 2nd time. It looked worse than it was I know but blood was everywhere, all up her arm, on her blankets, all over the nurse and Maggie was screaming!! They finally got everything done to her but neither one of us slept much all night. The doc woke us at 7 to tell us she could go home!!

You thought that was bad?? I'm not finished yet. We get home and I change a poopy diaper and see something white that looks like a wire hanging out of her and I FREAK!! I called the doc and they told us to bring her in because it is the stint coming out. It rarely ever happens. Of course it happened to Maggie. After an agonizing half hour of her screaming while they were trying to poked that thing back up in her with a catheter, pee and blood and poop going everywhere, they finally got it in. My poor sweety is absolutely exhausted after the last 24 hours. She has cried so much and so have I. She slept alot this afternoon and evening and is sleeping soundly right now. She has been eating well since we have been home. I knew she would eat better once she got back on home turf.

We are so glad to be back home. I missed Bri and little Nattie terribly. Hopefully the worst of it all is over with. Please continue to pray for her. Mostly for a quick recovery and total healing of the kidney and ureter.

Update on Maggie....

Maggie is a trooper!! She did great!! The surgery took about 3 hours, a long 3 hours for Mom and Dad. Her ureter was completely blocked. It also went into the kidney at the top of her kidney not where it should so they had to move that to the correct place. They removed lots of damaged tissue from her kidney. He said it was HUGE! They took out probably more than a baseball size amount. They wouldn't let her eat last night and she would not rest. Finally Chet and I demanded to feed her about midnight and she ate and went to sleep. She slept on and off last night and ate on and off. Early this morning she developed a low-grade fever that they are keeping an eye on. The doc said to get her up a lot today and if the fever stays below 102 she can go home this afternoon. They took the catheter out a few hours ago and she is filling up diapers!! So please continue to keep her in your prayers and I will update as soon as I can.

6 Month Stats

Their 6 month checkup was today. I cannot believe how big they are getting.

Nattie: 15.15lbs., length 25", head circ. 42cm. She is in the 50th percentile on weight. At 2 months she was in the 10th percentile on weight.

Maggie: 15.3lbs., length 24, head circ. 42cm. She is in the 30th percentile on weight. At 2 months she wasn't even on the charts on weight!!!!

I just can't believe how far we have come. I know the doctors in the NICU kept telling me it would happen but it was so hard to believe at the time. But look at them now!!!

Get this; Brianna's 6 months stats: 15.8lbs, length 25.75"!!!
So the twins are right on track!!

I know it's been a while....

But I haven't had any new pics and the girls haven't done anything new. Yesterday we took them to have professional pics made in their Easter dresses. We took a few pics at home first and as usual they aren't very good. We have got to invest in a better digital camera. They looked so sweet though that I just had to post a few.

Nattie still doesn't want to roll over from her tummy to her back although she is very close to rolling from her back to her tummy. Not much longer and she will be sitting up by herself I think. Maggie rolls like crazy! They are so cute right now and starting to be such fun. They laugh and smile. All I have to do is make eye contact for a big smile. They are very vocal! I don't mean crying, they just talk baby talk alot and loudly! They really are pretty good babies. They love to get out in public. If only they would sleep! Yes, sleeping is still a really big issue. Not napping well or sleeping at night. Oh well, I guess someday we will sleep in this house.

Please remember Maggie in your prayers. Her kidney surgery is next Monday the 26th. I will update as soon as I am able to. Until then....

New pics and some updates...

Here are a few bath pics. I can't get them to smile for the camera for anything but they really do smile alot especially Maggie. Maggie is in the white towel and Nattie in the yellow.

We are back on solids again and doing pretty good with it. Maggie will eat as long as you shovel it in. Isn't it funny if you go back a few months in my blog and read I was asking you all to pray that she would learn to love food and eating. Isn't God great? Wow, Did he ever answer those prayers. Weight wise she is about to pass Nattie up. Now Nattie likes the solids o.k. but nothing like Maggie. I think sometimes she could take them or leave them. They have been sleeping a little better since starting them back. Me? Well I hope squash and green beans are good for my complexion. Surely that cereal is like a mud facial or something??!! Ha! Ha!! Yes, I have been wearing alot of baby food. One day after I had just shoveled a mouthful of peas into Maggie's mouth she let a big sneeze!!! Bri walked in the room just in time to see it and said green stuff was flying thru the air!! It really was funny even though Maggie and I and everything around us was covered in peas!!!

I really think they are cutting teeth. They are drooling so bad and chewing on their fingers constantly. Nattie has been really irritable for a few days too and run a fever of a little over 99. Hopefully we will be feeling or seeing something in there in a few days.

Oh, I almost forgot the biggest milestone......THEY ROLLED OVER this weekend. Maggie on Friday night and Nattie on Saturday morning. Everytime you put Maggie on her tummy she flips over. Nattie still has to work pretty hard as she is very impatient and hates tummy time!

That's about it until next time......

Baby Dedication

The girls did pretty good considering they were really sleepy by the time it started and past ready to eat by the time it was over. I am posting this pic although it is not very good. As I have said before our digital camera is not very good and it was kind of dark in the church. I tried to crop it and lighten it up some but it made it grainy. At least we have the ceremony on a DVD.

New Pics!

Big Sis helping out while Mom attempts to cook dinner!

So cute in their little valentine outfits!

A little tummy time! Dang those blue eyes, you get

red eye in every pic.

And last, Mags sleeping. Oh, life can be so hard on a little baby!!

Baby Dedication

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!

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....

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....

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.

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.

Merry Christmas!!!

I just wanted to wish everyone Merry Christmas before I leave for TN tomorrow and post this new pic. Isn't it adorable?? Natti is on the left and Maggie on the right.
God bless all of you and your families and I pray you have the Merriest Christmas!!!

Nothing new really...

The urologist office called on Monday and Maggie has another UTI. My suspicion is that she never got rid of the last one she had and probably won't get rid of this one at least not for long either. Not with urine just sitting in her kidney and not draining. So I decided to go ahead with the next scan in January but I do want a long term plan from the doc after that.

Monday night was the Mother/Daughter Christmas tea at church. We left Dad with the twins alone for the first time!!! and according to him the last time!! He says I can do it but I have to have Bri's help too. He said "how do you do it by yourself?" My reply of course, "I don't have a choice!" There is no other option so suck it up!!! and get it done!!!

On the way to the tea Bri and I were listening to Christmas music and singing along when I looked in the mirror she was grinning from ear to ear and I asked what she was smiling about. She told me nothing 3 times and finally the last time I said come on tell me what you are smiling about and she said "I just you love you that's all!" Awwwwwwwww..... Made my day!!! I just love that kid too!! All evening she kept telling me "Mommy you are so pretty and I love you so much"!! I guess she needed some one on one Mommy time. For so long it was me and her and then her world got turned upside down. We had a great time and Dad took a pic by the tree before we left. I just got all my hair cut off! It makes my head look huge, hee, hee! Or maybe my head was already huge. I gotta get this weight off!! Maybe after the winter when we can come out of hibernation!!!

Thanks for your replies Laura, Kim and Stacy!! Your support really helps me along.

The dreaded day was as bad as I feared...

What a horribly long day! 1st we arrived at 7:30am and had to wait forever just to get registered. Both girls were getting grumpy because it was time to eat and we were told not to feed them after 4am because they were going to be sedated. Almost two hours after our arrival they called us back to get their IV's and catherization only to be told that they were too young to sedate. O.K. I am seriously aggravated at this point. They decide to catherize each one and then put in their IV's. It took two tries to get in Natalie's and I am not a happy Mom. Maggie's cath went pretty smoothly. IV's were a nightmare. They stuck poor Natalie 3 times before getting a vein!!!! I was pissed! After two tries on Maggie I told them to get somebody that could hit a vein on the first try. We ended up taking her to pre-op and this really nice, competent, male nurse hit it on the first try. By this time the girls were so upset they wouldn't eat. The first test was the nuclear scan. They filled the girls with IV fluids and dye and put them into a machine, looked kind of like an MRI machine and they could watch what was happening with the fluids in their kidneys. Then they put lasix into the IV to make them pass the fluids. They next test was to flush saline and dye into the catheter's and watch it. By the time we got to that department both of their catheters were out and they had to be catherized again!!!! I think the nurse we had first thing that morning was pretty incompetent!! Then we were off to the urologists office for the results. In a nutshell the tests showed that both kidneys on both girls are functioning just as they should. The problem is that there is a blockage in the ureters that go from the kidneys to the bladder. Natalie's is draining, albeit slowly, but they think with time it will open up and be completely normal. They just want to watch it for now. She is scheduled for another renal US January 5th. Maggie's bad side is not draining at all or only dripping and they can't even see it. So her kidney is staying full of urine all the time. They still think that she will outgrow it. Worse case scenario is surgery to remove the blocked portion of the ureter and reattach it. But they won't do that until they have to. She is scheduled for a renal US and another Nuclear Scan on January 5th. They promised me that they will sedate her this time!!! We finally arrive home after 3pm, very long day!
The more I think about it though, I am going to call the doc back on Monday. 1 month!!! How much can possibly change in one month? What will they do if there is no change? Is it really worth putting my baby thru that trauma again so soon? The US's are no big deal and pain free, but I can't stand all that poking and the drugs they will have to pump into Maggie for the scan. If they aren't going to do anything else no matter what the results then why not wait 2 months or 3?
Anywho, not really bad news but not great news. We are happy to know that the kidneys are functioning well. Please continue to keep our sweeties in your prayers. This is not over. Thank you all that are praying for them and thanks for all of your email and comments.
Thanks Laura and Kim!!
I think everybody is finally asleep and I am going to bed too, afterall, it is midnight!!

Need your prayers...

The kidney tests are Thursday morning. We are just ready to get it over with. Please pray that all goes smoothly.
Here are a few more pics! Maggie is showing off her usual personality and Natalie's face says it all..."Can you please make her be quiet!!". Big sis watching TV with Natti B on her chest. Aren't they so sweet??

Happy turkey day!!

We have so much to be thankful for this year!! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Recovering nicely....

according to the pediatrician! He changed their breating treatment meds thinking the albuterol may be why they aren't sleeping well. Also, he did say to give them some benadryl tonight. They have been awake pretty much all day so I am hoping with the med changes that they sleep tonight.

Good news! Even thru all this sickness and not eating Maggie has gained weight! She weighs 7.15lbs!!! We are about to break 8 lbs!!! Natalie weighs 9.6, so she didn't gain as much which I knew because she has really not eaten much for a week. If you don't look closely they are really hard to tell apart now.

Keith thanks for the aquaphor suggestion and yes I have tried it. The problem is that the skin is oozy and nothing will stick to it. I bought some more stuff tonight with a higher zinc concentration in it. The doc suggested it. We shall see. They also cut back her antibiotic so maybe her stomach will calm down. And I am putting rice back in her bottles again for the reflux and it kind of constipates her. Surely she will plug up soon!!

RSV!!!

Laura does it really get better??? I don't even know what sleep is anymore!

The girls are recovering from RSV. They were admitted to the hospital last Saturday. Maggie also had a UTI. They were so sick. They were released on Tuesday but still were very sick little girls. They are just now starting to get back to their full eating schedule. The antibiotics Maggie is on for her UTI have given her severe diareaha(sp?). Her little butt is raw. I have coated it in everything but nothing seems to help when she constantly has poop on. They go back to the pediatrician today for a recheck and I am hoping they have some suggestions. Just in the last 24 hours I can tell that they are feeling much better but they still are not sleeping much. They doze and cat nap. No real sleep. Which means I get no sleep. I am starting to have a hard time dealing with it too. I just so want my life back to normal. I love these babies so much but my God this is so hard........ Sorry I am just feeling a little sorry for myself. I just wanted to give you all an update. Please pray for healthy babies the rest of the winter and for my sanity!! I'm not joking!

Busy, busy, busy.....

I know it has been a while but I have been very busy and sleep deprived!! I had a terrible scare with Maggie last Thursday. She projectile vomited across the room and it came out her nose and she wasn't breathing for what seemed like forever! I kept trying to clear her mouth and stimulate her and it just kept coming out of her nose. Yes, I panicked!!! I was screaming and crying for her to breath and about to call 911 but I knew it would be too late by the time they arrived. She did finally catch her breath. I cried for hours that day. I took her to the doc because they wanted to make sure that she didn't aspirate any into her lungs and thank goodness she was clear. They said I did all the right things and gave me a few more pointers for if it happens again. They added rice cereal to her bottles for a thickener and it does seem to be helping if we can get her to eat it. She just isn't even interested in food at all. I really worry about this wee one. I have never been so scared in my life. I just pray that her reflux gets better soon and that she gets an appetite. It takes forever just to get 2.5 ozs. in her. You have to coax her the whole way. But in 8 days she did gain 10 ozs. So the docs aren't too concerned at this point. They go for their 2 month check up on Wednesday and I am anxious to see how much she gains in 6 days.

Natti B we don't have to worry about her eating!!! She lives for food!!! I bet she weighs close to 10 lbs. by Wednesday. She is so filled out and chunky and cuddly!! I should know, she spends a lot of time in bed with me!!!! She likes to be close to me. Hey, whatever it takes for sleep!!!

I have new pics but they aren't downloaded right now. I will try to post them soon.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. I ask that you please continue to pray for their kidney issue. They go on 11-30 for the tests to diagnose them. It will be an all day event and we are not looking forward to it. Also, please remember Maggie especially in yours prayers. Pray that the poor baby learns to love food soon!!!

Love you all,
The Reinle 6!

Big & Little

I had to add this one too. It is too cute! All my girls. Maggie on the left and Natalie on the right and big Sister Bri in the middle and proud as a peacock!!

My darlings...

Here are some new pics of the most beautiful babies you have ever seen!

Natalie is on the left and Maggie on the right.

Here is Miss Natalie! Natti B I have been calling her. We did an unofficial weighing technique.....weigh big sis and then hand her a baby! He! He! Natti B weighed in at a whopping 8.4lbs!!!!!
She is getting to be a little butterball. Eats like her Momma and Daddy! Ha!
She is absolutely a joy. She is our snuggly one. Loves to cuddle and sleep with Mommy. That is when we get our best sleep.

And this is our tiny one, Miss Maggie. Her unofficial weight is 6.4lbs. So basically she hasn't gained any since last week. She is so tiny and sweet. I can't stand to hear her cry. It is just so pitiful. I call her Little Bit. Chet reminded me that I called Bri Little Bit too. Until Brianna was about 5 she was very small. Even though she weighed almost 8.3 when she was born. Maggie is our thinker. She just studies everything. We always wonder what she is thinking.

We are all doing well. I have switched to every 3 hours feeding. They actually go about 4.5 or 5 hours at night but feeding every 3 during the day gets in an extra feeding in 24 hours. It seems to be working better because they are eating more in 24 hours and I am getting more sleep. I have to work real hard to get Maggie to eat at all but she is getting a few more ounces in a 24 hour period now. She is just not interested in eating. I hope this changes soon. I can't dress them alike because they aren't wearing the same size now. Maggie is pretty much still in preemie and Natalie is in newborn and 0-3 mths.
Tomorrow is my postpartum check up and Wednesday they go to the pediatrician for the 2nd Hep B shot. I am dreading that.
Gotta go shower before feeding time again!

Monday's Appointments...

Their eyes look perfect! The doc says it looks like they are going to have blue eyes! They have to go back in May for a recheck and then again around 3 years old.

The urology appointment didn't really tell us much. Everything could have been discussed over the phone. They have to have two more invasive test. They will be catherized and have to have an IV to inject radioactive dye through. They are looking to see if there is a blockage in the ureters from the kidneys to the bladder and if there is reflux into the kidneys. We will know more after these tests. They will have to stay on antibiotics for years probably to prevent UTI's. That will more than likely be the only treatment until they are at least two years old "if" they do anything then. So basically this is still a wait and see situation. No really bad news but not really good news either. We are dreading the tests. They are supposed to call us back with an appointment date.

Oh we did get a little good news. Maggie is weighing in over 6lbs now! I guess the prevacid is helping her little tummy. She isn't vomiting like she was before. Natalie is over 7lbs!!!

I will try to post some new pics this weekend.

Thank you God!!!

Maggie's echocardiagram and EKG were perfect. Her blood pressure was good. The cardiologist says she still has a "tiny hole" in her heart but he expects it to close up just fine. It could take anywhere from 1 to 3 years. He does want to recheck her in 6 months to make sure all is continuing well but he said that he thinks she has a perfectly normal newborn heart!!!

THANK YOU FATHER GOD!!!!!!

Thank you all for your prayers!!!!!!!
Thanks for your help today Angelique!!

2 appointments down this week...

We had the US's yesterday and I won't even get into what a fiasco that turned out to be! I could see myself that there was no change in their kidney status but they wouldn't tell us anything.
Today we saw the pediatrician and confirmed my fears that Maggie hasn't gained any weight this week. Doc agreed that it is probably reflux causing some of her problem and put her on prevacid. Poor thing projectile vomited this afternoon and it came out of her nose and she was choking and screaming and I cried with her. It just breaks my heart to see her in pain and not able to eat good. I pray this medicine helps.
Natalie is up to 6.12lbs! I knew she was getting close to 7 lbs. She seems so much bigger than Maggie but it is only a pound. Amazing what a difference one little pound makes.
Doc did say that the hydronephrosis was confirmed by US and something about dilated ureters in Maggie, I don't really understand and didn't ask a lot of ?'s because I would rather discuss it with the urologist on Monday. She did say that this does not mean that they will have to have a kidney removed. As long as the diseased kidney isn't causing problems there is no reason to remove it. That is a relief because I thought surgery was inevitable. Still I will feel better after talking w/the urologist. Please pray about this.
Maggie is still scheduled to see the cardiologist on Friday to check her blood pressure and the little heart defect. Hopefully it is closing up on it's own like it is supposed to. Poor thing has enough to deal with.
They are at risk for RSV and will be getting the shots this winter. They cost approximately $20,000!!!!!!!!!!!! Please pray that insurance will cover most of this cost. We are covered by my insurance, but since I am not going back to work will be picking up Chet's co. insurance. I am so afraid they won't want to cover much on the girls because they will say it is pre-existing. I guess we will know soon enough. If it isn't one worry it is another.
Thanks Kim and Stacy for your comments. Stacy I hope your little one is doing o.k.
Sorry to be long winded.......more pics later.

New Pics!

They both had a bath Saturday night and we all got a little sleep!! Woo! Hoo!! How many times a day can I bath them?? Ha! Ha! Anything for some sleep!!! Bri had to have her baby in the pic too. She has been heating up it's bottle, feeding and burping it everytime I do the girls! Yes, I am as tired as I look!! Don't Mag and Nat look adorable in their little hats?? Thanks Angelique!! This week starts all of our appointments. We have their renal US's on Tuesday, Pediatrician on Wednesday, and Maggie sees the cardiologist on Friday. Busy week! Next week is almost the same! Oh well, this is the new normal for us. But we sure are lovin all these girls!!

Hospital Pic Link!

I don't have any new pics to post. We have been too busy to take pics! Ha! Ha! And yes, we are seriously sleep deprived!!!!!! But I know it will pass quickly and it is all worth it.
Here is the link to the hospital pic. I hope it works.
http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=3Y2H7D5E1Z

We are Finally ALL HOME!!!

Can you believe it? Finally, almost a month after they were born everybody is home. Natalie did come home on Saturday and things have been pretty smooth but wow what a difference adding another makes. Last night was a long night. Chet took the first feeding although I did get up for a few minutes. Somebody was kind of fussy all night. They sound just alike. So until I got up to look I couldn't tell who it was fussing. They took turns. I am exhausted this morning! But thrilled we are all home. We have a busy few weeks ahead of us. They have about 8 or 9 doctors appointments between the two of them. I don't know how we are going to pull that off. I am supposed to have a recheck this week also but I don't see it happening. I just want to stay home with them for a few days and rest and get to know each other. We only took a couple of pics last night when we first got home but I will post more later.
Thanks for your comments, emails and especially your prayers!
MAGGIE IS ON THE LEFT AND NATALIE IS ON THE RIGHT.

Rough Week...

I don't have time to reply personally to all of your emails right now but I want to thank you all who sent them to me.

I ended up in the hospital Tuesday. I was there visiting the girls and was leaving to take a break and by the time I got to my car I was out of it. I sat in my car for 3 hours going in and out of conciousness before Chet called and all I could do was cry. He finally figured out where I was and got the emergency room personal to come and get me. I had a fever of 103.7! I was full of infection because of the mastitis and dehydrated. They admitted me and pumped me full of IV fluids and antibiotics and thank God, lots of good drugs! I have never in my life been in so much pain! I was pretty much out of it for about two days. My girls were supposed to come home Thursday but the docs were so good to work with us and kept them until today. My doc wasn't going to release me until today but I begged to come home yesterday afternoon and he relented with strict orders and precautions. I am feeling much better. Still having a lot of breast pain and trying to dry up this milk!! No more nursing for me, I am done with it. It about killed me, literally. I envy those that can do it but I gave it my best shot and my docs even agreed it was time to stop. Thank God my Mom is here or I don't know what we would have done. She has been a big help this week.

And best of all..........my girls come home today!!!!!! I will post pics as soon as I can and a link to the hospital nurseryweb so you can see their pics taken at the hospital.
Scratch that, the doc just called and Maggie lost weight for the 2nd day in a row and can't come home today. I am crushed.
I'll update as soon as I can. Please continue to remember us in your prayers and thank you all so much that are praying for us.

2 weeks old...

Good news!
Maggie was checked out by a cardiologist and had an echocardiagram. It looks like she has a small Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). It is the most common heart problem in preemie's. Before birth there is a passageway from one blood vessel to another instead of through the lungs. The passageway should close soon after birth but with preemie's often takes longer and with some babies requires surgery. Maggie's should close on it's own with time. They think this could be the cause of the high blood pressure. Today though, her BP has been significantly lower all day! Yay! Hopefully we have crossed that hurdle too.

Both girls have been eating by bottle almost every feed for the last 24 hours and are doing very well. The wonderful nurse/lactation consultant caring for the girls today helped me nurse both girls successfully this afternoon. It was great! The mastitis has had me down all week. I have been very sick! I still don't have much energy but feel much better than I did.

As of last night, Natalie weighs 5.1 and Maggie 5.4!! If they don't get to come home soon they won't get to wear any of the preemie clothes we have for them! The nurse did say today that she bets they will be home within a week. I pray she is right.

After I nursed both girls today I held them both next to one another. Maggie was fussy and as soon as Natalie was next to her she quieted down. She kept looking at Natalie like "Hey, I know you!" We didn't have the camera with us!!! Darn!! They do look different when you look at them side by side but I think it is just that Natalie has a more narrow head, just a preemie look. Maggie is rounder in the head and face and just looks like a little baby. If you have seen many preemie babies then you know what I mean. I bet they really start to look alike in the next couple of weeks since they are getting so close in weight. I will take some more pics this week and post them.

Thank you all for your prayers!! and don't stop yet!!

We need your prayers....

Yesterday while at the hospital I started chilling really bad and then spiked a temp of 103! I felt like I had been hit by a train. Turns out I have mastitis(a breast infection). The docs insist that I stay home and in bed for a day or so. I am taking an anibiotic. Please pray that this clears up quickly and that I have a better milk supply afterward.

My favorite NICU doc called this morning to insist I stay home and in bed and keep pumping for my girls. But she also delivered a little bad and scary news. Maggie has been having intermittent high blood pressure. She says she isn't too worried about it yet and will keep a close watch on it but that if it continues they will call in a cardiologist and get her on some medication because they don't want her heart working so hard. Her heart sounds fine and it is probably just a preemie issue but Chet and I are scared to death nonetheless. Please continue to pray for our precious girls and for Mom and Dad's sanity. We are both sick with worry.

There is a little good news...both girls took their bottles pretty good yesterday. Maggie took all but 10 cc's and Natalie took about 25 cc's. That is much better than they have been doing!

Thank you and I will update as soon as there is any new news.

Quick Update!

Natalie lost her umbilical cord!! A real bellybutton!! Maggie's will be off soon if not today. Maggie is in an open bassinet and holding her temp well. I have been bottle feeding the last few days and I think the girls are finally figuring it out. I can't wait to see how they do today. Natalie is back to her birthweight and Maggie is only 2 ozs. away from hers. The docs up their milk amounts a little every day. They are both on the prilosec now but still spitting up quite a bit. Hopefully it will get better in a few more days. That's about all there is to tell right now. Please continue to pray for out girls!

One week old today!!

Sorry it has been so long but I literally have not had time or felt much like sitting at the computer.
The girls are doing great! No IV's and no oxygen. Natalie is in an open bassinett and trying her darndest to nurse good twice a day. They did start her on Prilosec today for the reflux and she already seems a little better. They are both gaining some weight thank goodness. They were looking pretty scrawny for a few days but much better now. Maggie is still in the isolette because she cannot steadily maintain her temperature but she isn't far behind her sister. They are so beautiful! Big sis got to hold Maggie today for the first time. She was thrilled. I got to hold them both at the same time a few days ago and I was thrilled!! Here are just a few other pics also. Daddy and Natalie, the stork in the yard thanks to some good friends!! and Maggie giving us some of her sleepy smiles!! I need to go and pump now but I will post more as soon as I can. Thank you all so much for your comments!!! I really enjoy reading them.

Mixed emotions..going home..

First off let me correct the pictures in the previous posts, please excuse my painkiller induced fog....Maggie is on my right with the hat on and Natalie is on my left.

No new pics right now but I will post more later.

Today is going home day for Mom. I have been crying on and off since midnight. I am so homesick but leaving my girls here is very emotional. I like being able to walk down the hall in the middle of the night to see them. I know once I get home and in a routine it will be easier but it is so hard right now.

They both had a little setback yesterday. Their heartrates kept dropping so they put their oxygen back on and then started them on caffeine neither of which helped. It seems to be a feeding issue. They have reflux. So they now have a thickener added to my milk or the formula and it is put into their gastric tube via a timed pump. Twice a day they are either bottle or breastfed or at least attempted. Nursing was so awesome!! There mouths are so tiny they can't hardly do it but they sure did try. I will nurse them today at 3 and then go home. Pray for me.

I will give more updates later and pictures.
Thank you all for you kind comments and for thinking of and praying for out family!

I got to hold both girls at once!!

What an awesome moment! I was surrounded by all my girls!! Yes, I cried again!! Maggie is on my left and Natalie my right. Maggie has on the hat. She was checking out her Momma in the first pic!! Oh thank you God my cup runneth over!! I am in love!!!

Update...

The first pic is me and Natalie and I was crying, I just couldn't help it I was so happy to hold them. The 2nd I am feeding Maggie and the last is Daddy and Maggie.

Both girls of course lost a few ozs but are already going back up. They had their 1st feeds today thru the gastric tube and then this afternoon I got to bottle feed both of them!! It felt so good to have my babies in my arms. I got very emotional as you can see from the pic. My milk isn't in yet but I have a little colostrum that they are mixing w/formula for now. Neither one of them took much from the bottle so they were given the rest thru the gastric tubes but they did great for their first time. I am so in love with these babies!! There are no words to describe my feelings.
I was feeling great last night and this morning but I think I over did it today and I had a rough afternoon. Chet made me get in the bed for a few hours and I am feeling better now but still need to take it easy. We just took some breast milk to the NICU and told the girls good night, so I will try to get some sleep now. Yes Kim, Thank GOD for PAINKILLERS!!! Thanks for your comments. Pam thank you too. It is always nice to hear from someone from the momo boards!

Natalie and Maggie are here!!

They were born @ 9:22 and 9:23. First Natalie came out weighing in at 4lbs 11 ozs and 16 and a half inches long. Then Maggie quickly followed weighing 5 lbs 11ozs and 16 inches long. They are both in the NICU to stay warm and Maggie is having a little breathing problem but they are both on oxygen only. If Natalie continues doing so well she will completely be off of it tomorrow. Maggie wasn't doing too good when she was born and it seemed like forever before she started crying. Natalie was crying before they even got her out of me!! They are so beautiful! They look a lot alike but the 6 oz. weight difference makes a big difference and right now it makes it easier to tell who is who. I got to hold Natalie around 6 tonight and I was in heaven. They still won't let us hold Maggie because of her breathing issues and she doesn't need to be stimulated. I pray she is doing much better tomorrow and we get to hold them both.

I only slept 3 hours last night and it is catching up with me. Although part of that could be because of the great painkillers they are giving me. I have been up 3 times today and each time it gets a little easier.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I am going to attempt to post some pics. Here is one pic. I will write more and post more pics later but I am going to see my girls again in a few minutes and then I am going to try to sleep for a while.