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.

33 wk pics, last week

O.K. these will probably be the last I post of me pregnant! That's a lot of baby in there!! LOL!!

Thanks Terri!!
Kim thanks so much for your support and answering all of my twin questions. I'm not done with you yet. Ha! Ha! I will probably drive you crazy with questions after they get here.
3 days and counting!!!

4 days......

Thanks Kelly and Kim! I have told Chet that one of his new jobs will be laundry indefinitly!! I now have a full time job of feeding babies!!

Lisa and Diane thank you so much for your visit this weekend. I really enjoyed it.

4 days to go! We are all getting so excited! I was hoping to post some pics of my belly this week but haven't got them downloaded yet. I may not be able to post this week. My loaner computer needs to go back to it's owner. Thanks Dawayne! It has been a life saver for me.

We will post about the birth and pics of the girls as soon as we can. Hopefully before next weekend is over. Please continue praying for us this week and especially Friday morning at 9 am.

11 days and counting...

Thanks Keith and Kristie!!

Only one more Saturday and Sunday to get through, only one more week that Chet has to do all the laundry and bring it back to me!! I reminded him of that yesterday after he spent all afternoon ironing my shirts. I only have about 5 that fit!! LOL!!!

Saturday my nurse brought me some visitors....13 month old mono twin girls and their Dad!! Their Mom was visiting someone in the hospital and Dad was making rounds showing off the girls to the nurses familiar with their case. They were here for several weeks and the girls were born at 29 weeks! They were in the NICU for I think he said 8 weeks. You sure couldn't tell it by looking at them now. They are so beautiful and happy! All smiles. It was such a pleasure seeing them and talking to their Dad about their experience. I have talked to many people on line but to actually see a set in person and discuss it with a parent was awesome. I can't wait until my girls get here, even more so now!!! I sure hope and pray that we have a very short NICU stay though. I am still really worried about the NICU part. I just want to go from where I am now to all of us being home together!

Birth date in sight.......

Friday, September 1st @ 9 a.m.!!!! Woo!!! Hoo!!! In two weeks we will be meeting these baby girls!! I am so excited I can't stand it!!! I went out and shouted it at the nurses station and they all cheered for me!!!! I am so happy!!! I can't wait to take my babies home and be with the rest of my family. YAY!! YAY!! Woo!!! Hoo!!!! Yee!!! Haw!!!!

US today

Bri's first day of 2nd grade!!!

First thing this morning my nurse came in and said my US was canceled because the tech has strep throat! Bummer!! But they got me in with Maternal Fetal Medicine here at the hospital which is where I had the US the night I came into the ER and we found out we were having twins. I was mostly having an US to see the cords and do a doppler flow on them to see how the blood was flowing through them. But I told the tech I really wanted to know how much they weigh, so she did growth on them too. Natalie is ready to come out! Her head is so low behind my pubic bone that she couldn't even measure her head or see it very well. So her measurements are a little off because they factor in femur length, abdomen circumfirence and head circumfirence to get the weight. Without her head circumfirence her weight calculated to 3.34 lbs. Which we know is inconsistent with two weeks ago when she weighed 3.2lbs. Maggie weighed 3.99lbs!!! So considering that they both have weighed within 2-3 ozs. of each other this whole pregnancy more than likely they both weigh around 4lbs. give or take a few ozs.!!!!! Yippeeeeeeeee!!!! No wonder I am so miserable. I have close to 8 lbs. of baby in me at 32 weeks.
I still haven't been able to pin down a date from my doctor and he was off today. I will be calling his nurse in the morning to ask her to remind him and give the days that I would prefer. Hopefully I can report that day to you tomorrow.
Talk at you all later!!!

US scheduled...

Thank you so very much Wendy and Kim!!! XXXXOOOOOO's!!!!

We have another US on Wednesday at 2p.m. I can't wait to see how much they weigh. Dr. is concerned that I am still having some contractions and says he doesn't want me to have any. Neither do I! They are painful and wear me out. Everything wears me out right now. I am getting more and more emotional and tired every day. Anywho he talked about increasing the medication to keep the contractions at bay. So far the nurses haven't brought in anything else. I hope he didn't forget because we talked about a lot of things while he was in here.

Tomorrow is my baby's 1st day of 2nd grade and I can't take her. Very hard for me......

There is a light at the end of this tunnel though and I know that I am on the downhill side. The doc I saw today will be talking to the other docs and they are going to set a birthdate for Natalie and Maggie!!! Woo! Hoo!! Somewhere around the 34 week mark. 2-1/2 weeks!!! I am hoping for September the 1st. We will see. I will let you all know about the US and the scheduled birthdate!
Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!!

Good news Friday!!

Bri got into the traditional school we wanted her in!! YAY!! Nothing like finding out 2 days before school starts. So today I have scrambled to find out the bus schedule and afterschool care. Next week is going to be crazy for Chet trying to get her settled into school and a routine. Keep him in your prayers.

Even better news.....a neonatologist came to seem me this morning about the girls. He totally made light of the kidney situation. He said that almost every baby has some kind of abnormality that most people don't even know about because they don't have the US's we have had to catch them. Most things just correct themselves. So many babies are born with hydronocephus(sp?) and no medical intervention is ever needed. He said that more than likely the only thing that will need to be done if at all is to put them on antibiotics to make sure there is no bacteria in the kidneys that would cause further damage. He said if anything else is required it wouldn't be immediately but on down the road maybe years. More than likely they will just have to have extra check ups to keep watch on their kidneys. I was so relieved that I cried. Thank you God! Please continue to pray that these girls kidneys function as normal as can be for them when they are born. He also talked to me a little about the preemie situation and is very confident that they will require a very short hospital stay if they are born anytime around 34 weeks or thereafter. Even if they were born now they would probably require about 3 weeks hospital stay. Come on 34-35 weeks!!!

More pre-term labor...

Contractions started again this afternoon, one on top of the other. Yes, I got another shot!!! I hate that stuff!! The shakes were not as bad this time but my heartrate shot up. The nurse said it better stop the contractions because they can't give me another shot since my heartrate went up. Thank goodness the contractions did stop but the shot left me feeling baddddddd. I could feel my heartbeating all over my body. The good news is the girls did great through all of the contractions. Yay!! Dr. Pridham came in to see me about an hour or so after the shot and said he was going to go ahead and start me on the procardia to prevent the contractions. He said the further along I get the worse they are going to get and we need to prevent them instead of stopping them after they start. Also, the procardia shouldn't make me feel bad. They start you on a very low dose and slowly increase it as needed. Well, that is the excitement for today. I don't know how much more I can take in the next 4 weeks. 31 weeks tomorrow!

Catch up..

I don't really have too much to tell but wanted to share my heartattack from last Friday. Maggie had a deceleration! I was having a long contraction while on the monitor and suddenly I could hear her heartrate drop. It dropped down to 80 and at first I thought well maybe she just moved and came off of the monitor. I kept watching it and realized that she was on there and her heartrate was flucuating from 80 to 90 for what seemed like forever. Just when I was about to call my nurse she came rushing in and said flip over on your left side. Like it is that easy with pillows all around me and being as big as a house, yes, I will just flip right over!!
Somehow with the nurses helped I got flipped and in the process knocked a full cup of water over into my bed!! By this time Maggie was completely off of the monitor and the last thing on my mind was how wet I was. The nurse started moving the little device around my belly and it took about 20 seconds or so but seemed much longer for her to find her again and her heartrate was coming up. By this time I needed CPR and clean sheets and clothes!! I ended up staying on the monitor another hour and a half and both girls did fine. Needless to say I was sick the rest of the evening, between my upset stomach and backache from having to be tied down to the monitor that long, and headache from sheer stress. So far no more decels below 110 from either baby since Friday. I sure hope that doesn't happen again. I think I aged 10 years in 5 minutes. I am glad to know that my nurse was watching from the nurses station though and was right on it. I guess I am in the best place. Let's pray for no more decels!!! So far so good....

30 week pic! Whoa!!

O.K. here is my 30 week pic. Chet is right, definitely a DUPLEX!!!
I am as big or bigger than I was at full term with Bri!!
Here is one of Bri digging thru her drawer in my dresser here. She has toys and candy in it! And here is one of the art work Bri has done for my room door.
I am just learning how to post these pics without a link and I don't think they are on here in the order I wrote about them but here goes. Leave me some comments!!!

2:30

Angelique and Kim thanks so much for you comments. I can't tell you what wonderful support it is knowing we have great friends and family praying for us and supporting it us. I get teary eyed everytime I read an email or comment on my blog from someone. I really feel all of your love and it means so much! Thanks for being great friends!

Pic of Maggie Mae!

O.K. here is the only good pic we got and it is Maggie Mae. But, as the US tech said "her sister looks just her"!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/jobrimom/Baby_A_8_2_06.jpg

Another US and we are growing!!

Yay we are over 3 lbs!! Both girls weigh 3.2 lbs.!!! WooHoo!!!! Natalie measured 30 weeks exactly and Maggie measured 29 weeks 6 days. I will be 30 weeks tomorrow so they are right on track!! They have gained over 1/2 lb. in 13 days!! If they keep this up and we make it to 35 weeks they will be around 5lbs!! Good thing I have big babies. I was hoping that it would be the same with this pregnancy.
Natalie's kidneys looked about the same. Please keep praying for Maggie's though. Hers have enlarged a little more. Both girls bladders are filling and draining and there was plenty of amniotic fluid so we know that they are urinating. They are both in the same position head down, Natalie(baby A) on my left and Maggie(baby B) on my right. Natalie's feet are under my ribs. Ouch, I wondered what that pain was. They are both still facing my back so once again it was hard to see their faces. Natalie is so far down in my pelvis we couldn't see hers at all but we did get to see Maggies. She is so cute! She is chubby cheeked like Bri was when she was born. She was awake and looking around, sticking out her tongue, and drinking amniotic fluid. It was so cool! We got some pics but they aren't as good as seeing her on the screen. I will try to get them posted this week.
My cervix is actually longer than last time even after all of the contractions I have been having. So that is good news. The tech reccommended that we have a Pediatric Urologist come and see us to discuss the girls kidneys and what to expect after they are born. We are trying not to stress and worry about them. Please pray for their kidneys.
Chet is a little tired and worn down from being "SuperDad" but he is doing such a good job! Bri seems to be fine of course. I am so grateful for her laid back personality. She just takes things as they come. We go to the nursery about every evening to see the babies when the nurses are doing assessments and Brianna gets so excited and we have to drag her away. She is going to love being a big sister! She made us some big signs and put them on my room door. I will get some pics on here of those too.
I guess that is about it for now. Almost 4 weeks down and 5 to go! I will post pics later this week. More to come.....