Sunday School Picnic

Here is Elianna with her Sunday School class at their picnic on Sunday

Creative Block

Elianna found a rectangle-shaped scrap of construction paper. She held it up and said, "I'm going to make a project with this!" Feeling quite pleased to see her creative juices flowing, I asked her what she was going to make. "A door!" she replied. Hmm... turning a rectangle into a door wasn't exactly how Picasso got his start. So I asked how she was going to do that, hoping for a bit more creative genius to show. She looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "I'm going to draw a doorknob on it!"

Good thing!

Selah was pushing the envelope a bit one day, and I told her in my best "stern mom voice" to come here now. Sensing that punishment was near, she gave me her sweetest smile and said, "Mom, I want to hug you." She ran up and started snuggling me, and I couldn't help but laugh at her devious little self. Seeing me smile, she sat back and said, "Good thing I'm 'have'!" (As in, I was telling her to behave, and she heard it as "be have."

Uncle Jonny's home!!

We had a lot of fun with Uncle Jonny during his leave in May. It went by WAAAAY too quickly, but we did try to do as much as we could cram in. We went to Chuck E. Cheese, Toledo Zoo, a couple parks, shooting, and even a long weekend up north. The girls were very excited to see him. Elianna especially has had a hard time with him being gone. The boys were pretty indifferent - I think they'll be more interested when they're older! ;0) We are so proud of Jon and how well he's doing. He was in the toughest platoon, but in the end he was glad for that. I was very disappointed not to be able to go to his graduation!!! Here are some pictures of that:



Sarah was very proud of him, but then he told her they needed to get serious.





The cool thing was, Jon was here for Mother's Day, which happened to be my first Sunday back to church! The twins were cleared to be around people on May 6th, so the timing was perfect. We talked Mom into coming to church with us, so the whole family could be there for the twins first Sunday/Mother's Day! Here we are at church for the first time as a family of six!

And here we are with the fam. The funny thing was, we took a few pictures before we realized we forgot the girls! They were still in their classes... Ooops!


Without Girls:

After remembering we have two more children:

Uncle Jonny with the munchkins

Me and my wittle bwother

Mommy's Helpers

So far (knock on wood) we have not had any real jealousy issues! The girls play outside most of the day, so I'm guessing that helps. They are always kissing and cuddling the babies, telling them how much they love them, and asking to hold or feed them. Elianna also helps a lot around the house. She empties the silverware in the dishwasher, cleans the toilet, puts away laundry, and is an excellent gopher for baby supplies. She is also the best at making the boys smile or getting them to quiet down and take their pacifier when I can't. Her latest skill is peeling carrots, which she is really good at! Too good, in fact. If you don't take the carrot away she peels it down to the core. Selah (she of the perpetually dirty face) is the lovey-dovey snuggler, always rubbing their hands or kissing their heads. She's also a good gopher if she doesn't lose her train of thought, which happens frequently.

Adorable... when sleeping!

Aaaaah, precious peace and quiet! Oh, and the kids are cute, too.

Fashion Statement

I always promised myself I wouldn't be one of "those moms." You know, the kind that lose all sense of style when they have kids. I figured I could always squeeze in enough time not only to see that I am presentable, but that my kids are as well. I mean, how long does it take to make sure their hair is done, their clothes match, and their face is clean? Apparently too long...

Dandelions

We have decided to forego the fertilizer/weed killers on our lawn this year. I would like to say it is solely in the safety interest of our children, but it's also because we have neither the time nor money to waste, er, spend on that this summer. The plus side is, Elianna and Selah were THRILLED at the flowers growing all over the lawn! Wild violets, snowdrops that escaped the garden, and of course dandelions, to name a few. They begged me every day to pick dandelions, until they literally stripped the yard bare. (How's that for an all natural weed removal.)

First Smiles

Levi

Micah

Still Alive

Yes, we are all still here! Unfortunately blogging has taken a back seat to sleep on those RARE occasions when I have a free minute or two. (And I literally mean minutes...) The boys are up to a whopping four hour sleep stretch, but that still leaves me and Daddy a bit groggy, to put it politely.

Today, however, Grandma has taken the girls out and Daddy is watching the boys. Although there are about 27 things I should be doing (14 of them pertaining to laundry) I have decided it is time to start sorting through pictures that have been building up on my camera and random CDs since February. There are over 800 of them, so this will take a while!!! I will post them as they interest me, so they will not be in any particular order.

Overall, the boys are doing GREAT. They are gaining weight and so far seem to be developing normally! Their latest thing is grinning, which is just too cute for words. Levi is over 10 1/2 pounds (his thighs are like hams) and Micah is almost 9 pounds. They are nursing more and more, and I am really hoping they will get to the point where we can eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) the pumping/bottle feeding. Ugh. Have I mentioned I detest pumping?!?!

They both have mild torticollis and plagiocephaly, with Levi's being worse than Micah's. (Crooked neck and lumpy head, to the layperson.) They will be starting therapy for that soon, and I have already been given certain things to do to correct it. (One is lots of tummy time, which they both hate after about 5 minutes.) We caught it early enough that it should be fixed simply with positional therapy. It is very common in preemies since their little heads are softer and their necks are weaker.

The twins are also off quarantine, and we have been enjoying that!!! It was especially nice on Mother's Day to eat my dinner warm while Aunt Coco and Leighanne held the boys for us. What a treat!!! Now I am just waiting for them to get colds from being out and about so much lately... I will blog our adventures as I post pictures.

Snuggling!

Look Who's FOUR!!!

I can't believe Elianna is FOUR years old! Granted, she acts like she is turning fourTEEN as opposed to four, but that's another story. Here are some pictures from her birthday party. Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who came out and made it a special day for her. She has really been going through a lot emotionally with my extended illness, 5 weeks in the hospital, and then having me spend the days up at the NICU with the boys... she definitely enjoyed a day all for her! In lieu of a cake, I make horse cupcakes (complete with a corral, haystacks and raisinette horse poop) since she has been on a horse obsession lately. In fact, she specifically asked for a cake with pink horses, so some of the horses were indeed pink! She got a lot of great gifts (including lots of much needed clothes!!!) and had a lot of fun. Thanks again, everyone!!

Fattening up!

The home nurse came today, and Levi is already over 7 pounds! (7 pounds, 2 ounces to be exact) and Micah is 5 pounds 9 ounces. Both are doing great! Mommy is a zombie, of course, now that life is a blur of diaper changing, feeding, pumping and laundry. But it's better than sitting in the NICU, and I have a lot of help. Chad even does an early morning feeding for me so I can get almost 4 1/2 straight hours of sleep! That is a huge luxury, and I am feeling much better with that longer stretch of sleep. Well, Micah is hungry already so I'd better run. Just wanted to let you know we are doing great. A little sleepy and bleary-eyed, but great! The boys are healthy and growing, the girls are still taken with them (no real jealousy issues yet), so far so good!

It's official!

The boys are BOTH coming home tomorrow!!!!!

I came in this morning and there was literally a line of people waiting to talk to me. (I felt like such a celebrity.) It was just like in the movies, with each person calling out what they wanted and there I am trying to give the right answers to the right people.

"The dietitian wants to go over their diet and feeding schedule."
"Your pediatrician appointment needs to be changed to Saturday. Are they open on Saturday?"
"The car seat fit test went well, it's time for the angle test."
"Do you want them to get vaccinated today or wait for their doctor visit?"
"Micah had a *brady last night, but not severe or long enough to change the discharge. Are you comfortable with that?"
"Are you going to have help when you get home?"
"They are going to be on a special formula. Do you need a prescription for it or do you want a couple cans now?"

Through this all, my cell phone rang at least three times!!! It was so nice to actually feel like we were doing something, as opposed to just hanging out in my recliner. (Which I will miss, by the way. I was one of the only moms with my own recliner, boppy pillow, regular pillow and breast pump right at the bedside. Think they would notice if I took all that stuff with me?! Probably.)

After I was able to talk to all my adoring fans individually (okay, they're not really my fans, but it made me feel important anyway. Har, har.) and work out all the aforementioned questions/issues/instructions, I met with the neonatologist who confirmed that all the docs agreed to let them go home together, even if it meant releasing Levi early. They said it would be the least amount of stress on both the family and the babies if the transition was made at the same time instead of two separate incidences. They also said that since Micah's apnea episode happened after he had nursed and was being forced to try his bottle (not my idea!), it was more than likely a lack of coordination on his part because he was so tuckered out. So although they normally keep them five days from an apnea episode, they are willing to let him go on the third day because of the "extenuating circumstances." Levi also still had about a week and a half to go, but since he removed his own feeding tube he has been eating like crazy and gaining lots of weight. (Some of the wait was that his feeding tube wasn't going to be removed till Monday, then it would be a week after that.) He has jumped from about the 5th percentile to the 22nd in his weight, though! (Micah went from the 3rd to the 8th, and they are shooting for at least the 10th within the next month or two.)

They will be closely monitored now by their pediatrician, and I am kissing any aspect of my life that does not involve feeding or pumping good-bye. Between teaching them to nurse, supplementing with bottles (so they can get their fortifiers), and pumping to keep my milk supply up, I don't know when I'll have time for much of anything else!!!! (Like sleep maybe?) I have begged a couple of my favorite nurses to come home with them. I assured them I was secretly a millionaire and would hire them as private nurses, most notably for the middle of the night feedings that they have been handling for me so well. They didn't believe me about the millions, though. Probably the social worker asking if I had a WIC appointment yet didn't help...

Naturally I don't know how often I will be able to blog after we all go home, but I will try to keep you posted on their progress. There won't be a crew of nurses to watch them while I run and sit on the computer with a cup of coffee!!!! (So I guess I will miss a couple things about the hospital. That and the giant cookies. I'll miss those, too.) I think those days of getting a break whenever I want one are gone for a few months... okay years now!

Now just pray that nothing happens tonight. Babies in the NICU are very prone to last-minute drama when you start planning to go home, but let's hope not. The usual discharge time is between 3:00 and 4:00, so we should be home by dinner time!

P.S. Because this is still considered RSV season, the doctors told me to keep the boys at home/away from large groups of people at least till the end of April. You are more than welcome to visit us, but I won't be able to take them out anywhere where there is a high risk of catching something (stores, church, etc...) for a few more weeks. Just wanted to give you the heads up about that!

*A brady is when their heart rate slows below 100.

Busy busy busy

The action has picked up a bit here, as they make preparations for the boys to come home. Initially, we had hoped Micah could come home this week, but he has had two more apnea episodes, which bought him 5 more days. This gives Levi some time to catch up, so maybe they will come home together?!?!

Levi has been doing great. They were talking about taking out his feeding tube next week, but he apparently didn't like the idea of waiting. He pulled it out twice himself! The second time, they decided to leave it out and see how he did. He has been eating like a champ and gaining weight like crazy. He is now up to 6 pounds 10 ounces!!! Little oinker. He is still having tummy issues, but they are not hindering his eating or weight gain. I personally think it is all the extra stuff they add to the breastmilk. When he has a bottle of plain breastmilk, he does much better, has less gas and doesn't get constipated. So I am guessing that issue will resolve itself once he is home. I nursed him the first time today, and he disliked it as much as Micah initially did. It will take some time, especially since Levi is not the most motivated baby in the world! The bottle works just fine in his opinion, so why go through the effort of learning something new?!?!

Micah is also doing well, and I have been able to start nursing him three times a day. Unfortunately, he is now preferring to nurse over the bottle (I don't think he likes the taste of the doctored breastmilk now that he's had the real thing) so I have to keep clarifying with the doctors and nurses WHY he isn't finishing his bottles anymore. That way they don't hold it against him and put off his discharge even longer.

They both were circumcised today, which is why I am hiding out on the 8th floor playing on the computer. I know, I know. I should be there comforting my boys, but I'm too big of a wimp. (Even the doc performing the procedure said she didn't watch her own son's!) As soon as they got out that little clamp and explained the gory details to me, I ran away. (After signing the consent, of course.)

They also have their angle test today, where they have to sit in a car seat for an hour while being monitored for heart rate, breathing and oxygen saturation. (Basically the monitors they always wear.) They showed me how to prop them properly when they are in a seat of any kind, whether a car seat or a swing, etc... since many babies actually can't breathe well in them.

I am meeting with their doctors today sometime to talk things over and see what their timetable is now (adjusting for Micah's apnea episodes). Honestly, I don't mind Micah staying a few extra days or even an extra week if it means both boys coming home together. It will be much easier to have them both home than to have one home and one still in the NICU! But we will have to work all that out. Well, it is feeding time already! I'd better run for now.

Day 24 - In the home stretch!

Good news - they removed Micah's feeding tube yesterday! He has been eating so well by mouth that they even increased his feeds today. (He's up to a whopping 47 mls now. That's just over an ounce.) Chad spent the day here yesterday with the boys, and they told him Micah could be coming home sometime this week!!!! Looks like the little stinker will beat his big brother home after all. Levi is off his IV and back on bottle feedings. He still is not consistently taking his whole bottle by mouth, but he is taking more than he was. He is also still gaining weight and having slightly fewer tummy issues. They still have not figured out what his digestive problem is, but it might be that he just has a sensitive tummy and will be prone to gas and spitting up. Also he seems to get constipated, where his little bowels just decide to stop working. At least it doesn't look like it is anything serious - his blood cultures are all still clear. They said he is about a week or so behind Micah, so they shouldn't be apart for too long. (I hope!!!) Chad had a great time here with his boys. He fed them, bathed Levi and got lots of cuddling in. I took the girls back to our house to see if I still freaked about about going to the house. Fortunately, it went much better the second time, and I was able to get some MUCH needed cleaning done. Okay, cleaning is an understatement. It was more like an archaeological dig unearthing what had once been a home. Sheesh - no wonder I had a panic attack! What a mess!!!! Chad had spent some time cleaning and rearranging furniture (and packing away anything remotely related to my pregnancy), which I think greatly improved my frame of mind about being there this time around. Also, Sarah and Eric stopped by to help out for a while, so I put Eric to work doing the heavy lifting and hauling. There is still a lot of work to be done. The house has been sadly neglected for the better part of a year, not to mention I still need to clean out and organize the girls clothes (they have outgrown what is in their dressers, plus it is the wrong season...) to make room for all the boys' stuff! Argh!! I have a feeling life is about to get really crazy here in a little while. But it's crazy in a good way!

No place like home?

I had the weirdest experience, and it's actually a little embarrassing to share BUT I figured I could use the prayers. I haven't been home since January, between being in the hospital and being on bed rest at my in-laws. Since the babies were born, we've still been staying with my in-laws so I can be here at the hospital. Anyway, there were a few things I needed to grab, so I stopped by the other day. As soon as I walked in the living room, I started to have a panic attack. I used to have them as a young child and into my late teens/early twenties, but I have not had anything like it happen in years. I tried to ignore it, but it got progressively worse. Finally it got to the point where I was just haphazardly grabbing what I needed off my list and trying to ignore the panic welling up. WEIRD!!!! I finally just had to leave, even though I didn't get everything I needed. It took about five minutes driving down the road to calm back down. I don't know if this is a kind of postpartum hormone craziness or what! My sister suggested it was seeing the living room set up exactly the way it was all those months I was sick. (It was exactly the way I left it, with the couch made up like a bed and my table with my meds next to it, etc...) Sort of a PTSD kind of thing, since being that sick for so long really does mess with your mind. I knew I had been having mental issues coping while I was sick, but I assumed it would all go away once I was better and the babies were born. (Especially since they are doing so much better than we'd hoped.) Needless to say, I would really appreciate your prayers. I have not felt like I was struggling emotionally to that extent (not any more than would be expected in this situation) so this really caught me off guard. I am hoping it's just a hormonal thing and it will pass!!!! It will be quite an inconvenience if I am petrified of my own home. ;0) I have been having a much harder time recovering from this pregnancy than I expected. This one really kicked my butt!! I am still in a lot of pain physically, which I wasn't expecting to last this long. (Although part of it is my own fault, since I really was bad about keeping up with my physical therapy.) Anyhoo, I am hoping as I feel better physically this panic issue will resolve itself. Oh, and I'm having Chad rearrange the furniture to see if that helps! ;0)

A little better

Levi is feeling a little better today. They have put his feeding tube back in and are giving him about 7 mls of breastmilk just so he'll feel like he has something in his tummy. It doesn't work - after about half an hour he is angry again because he's hungry. There's no fooling him with the pacifier either - he wants FOOD!!! The preliminary tests are showing no signs of an infection, and he has had a couple poopy diapers so that rules out a major bowel obstruction. Again, they give the blood cultures a few days to grow before they completely rule anything out, but so far so good. He had another round of x-rays and they look better than the last. So, although they are not sure what was causing the problem, it seems to be clearing up on its own. They are keeping him on antibiotics for 72 hours still, just to be safe.

Micah is eating and growing like a champ. He is still tiny, especially compared to Levi, but developmentally he is progressing right along. They told me today it is likely he will go home before Levi! (But the nurses assured me I have to bring him back for lots of visits. He will leave quite the wake of broken hearts.)

Thanks for all the well wishes for Levi!!! I passed them along to him, but he was more interested in sucking his hand. Sorry, I'll have to work on those social skills.

A Bad Day

Today was a bad day. Levi's digestive issues have escalated, and this morning his little abdomen was all distended and hard. The docs did an x-ray which showed loops of intestine bloated up with gas, and they are worried about an infection. They ran a battery of tests including bloodwork, cultures and a spinal tap, but if it is an infection there is not time to wait for the results of the tests. (For a preemie 12 hours can make a difference in whether or not they are able to fight it or not before it gets too far advanced.) So they have started him on antibiotics, pulled out his feeding tube and they are giving him fluids and lipids through his IV. This makes him even more miserable, since is hungry now on top of everything else. Also, they have a tube down his throat to keep his tummy empty, and he keeps pulling on it which makes him gag constantly. It was so difficult watching him be so miserable all day. He just kept crying and tossing around. If I held him and held his pacifier in his mouth he would calm down and suck that until he realized there was no food in it. Then more crying and flailing around...

As if that wasn't bad enough, after he was back in his bed for a while, I noticed his breathing and heart rate were accelerating. This continued until his heart rate hit over 200 and set off the alarms. His nurse was busy so I called another one, and we figured out his temperature sensor on his body had malfunctioned. It's supposed to monitor his body temp and the bed heats or cools to maintain temperature. For some reason, it wasn't reading his temperature right, so the bed thought he was freezing and had cranked up the heat. His temp was almost 100 degrees when they caught it, and so they had to cool him slowly to avoid shocking his system. I was so frustrated!! As if he wasn't suffering enough.

Anyway, the first of the bloodwork results will be back soon, but the cultures will take a few days. If there is something, it will show up in the cultures in about 24-36 hours, but it takes 5-7 days to consider him clear. Just to be safe they have started treating him, as I mentioned before, but naturally we are hoping it is not an infection. Just pray they figure it out and get it treated soon. It is heart-wrenching to see him so miserable.

Micah is doing fine through it all, thank goodness. He did not take any full bottles by mouth today, but he did gain a little weight. The doctors told me they are very pleased with his progress. They even suggested I try nursing him, but he was totally appalled by it. He kept glaring at me with his brows furrowed like "What are you trying to do to me!??!" I guess it will take a while for him to catch on.

Day 17 - Gaining weight...

Finally both boys have gained weight over the last three days! Levi is now up to 5 pounds 14 ounces, and I didn't get the conversion on Micah yet. (They weigh them in grams.) He is about 4 and a half pounds, though. Micah has also taken three consecutive feedings by mouth, so we are 2 for 4 of the "Big Four" for him to come home! They are joking that Micah will come home, and Levi will still be there when he is over 7 pounds, just kicking back and letting everyone wait on him. Hey, having women attend to your every need all day, why try to change anything!?!? He's definitely a man. He refuses to take more than 10 - 15 ml by mouth, and even that is only every third feeding. In all seriousness, he is having digestive issues since they are fortifying the breast milk they give him. This gives him a rash, gas and poopy troubles... with lots of spit-up for good measure, so he really isn't feeling all that well anyway. We are assuming this is the reason for his lack of interest in eating, since they have checked him for more serious issues and nothing else appears to be wrong. Poor little guy. Both boys have their incubators open full-time now, although they are thinking they may have to close Levi up again if he doesn't start feeling better soon. This would be frustrating to go backward again, but babies set their own pace whether we like it or not.

So, we are hoping they continue to make progress. It's nice after so many of days of just breaking even. Let's hope it keeps up!

No more pictures, Mom!!!

I think Micah is tired of getting his picture taken. Or maybe he's playing peek-a-boo?

Snuggling little brother

Today we let the girls hold Levi for the first time. They were VERY excited about it, and just kept hugging and snuggling him. (No, Levi isn't crying in the above picture - he's actually yawning. Whenever he would feel their face on his cheek, he would open his mouth. So, he has the right instincts, now if he would just actually drink from a bottle!!!!)

Daddy's Girl

Irish Babies

The whole Irish thing is kind of a joke with my family, but they are in fact part Irish! Micah's nickname in the NICU is the little "Irish Temper" because he's so feisty! The girls made shamrocks to decorate their incubators for St. Patrick's Day, and we had to make them pose for a few Irish pics.