Merry Christmas!

And He Shall Be Called...

REAGAN TAYLOR ROBERTSON!

Sweet baby finally has a name-although they did have to make an emergency trip back to the hospital this morning to change it! Hilarious! He is doing great and Laura is too-pushing herself way to hard way to fast but overall doing ok!

Baby Boy Blue

Here is our newest addition! Laura and Todd have a new little boy who still doesn't have a name and he was born on Thursday!! Poor 4th child! He is SOOO big-8 lbs 6 oz and 20 1/2 inches. It is strange to see a full-term baby in our family b/c the last 4 have been preemies! He is so adorable and the shocker is that he has DARK hair - not red like his three siblings!

Kathryn and Garrett were so excited to see their Aunt YaYa and new cousin for just a minute.

Even though I have two babies to love on at home it was still great to snuggle with my new nephew!

Last night Brad said we needed to go out on a family date and go to the Shops of Legacy to see the new fountain and the Christmas

lights. It was a great warm

night for December and so we walked around and enjoyed the Christmas hustle and bustle. Aunt Jana Banana met us there and got to love on K and G for a little bit. We found a quiet corner table at Cafe Express and ate a quick bite! It was so fabulous to get out - especially for me! Thanks Jana! We then made it home, survived Kathryn's screaming time and then all played the Wii!

I mean REALLY???

And, TAH-DAH!!! Kathryn rolled over the other night! We were so ridiculous too because we were both in there watching them play in Garrett's crib before bedtime and CHEERING her on! The silly ways you act when you are a parent. I have decided not to worry about her "eating/non-eating" spells b/c she is gaining weight, making wet/dirty diapers, and obviously developing with smiling and rolling over! I'm sure I will start to worry about something tomorrow though!! Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Hey!

We don't have the results of the sleep study yet but all went well...after Kathryn left that is. Poor girl has started this SCREAMING fit business when she eats and she did it Friday night at the sleep institute and it was one of those really uncomfortable moments like on an airplane with a screaming baby and you know everyone is just annoyed and the parents are stressing trying to calm the baby...yepp...that's how it was! So basically, she didn't eat at all at 9pm, Brad took her home, finally gave her a bottle at 11:30 and the stinker slept ALL night long until after 7am!!! OF COURSE SHE DID!!! REALLY??? I should have been excited but I was bitter-mainly b/c I was so tired but they are both sleeping pretty much thru the night now so we are good! I feed them around 9ish and they don't usually wake up until 6-8ish-now granted sometimes there is a sneak of the paci in their mouth to get them back to sleep but overall, they are doing good...longer stretches each night.

Ok, but back to the sleep study...they put about 10 leads on Garrett's head (all those little wires were somehow attached to him!!!), forehead, temples, and chin, two chest straps, and leads on his legs to monitor movements, a pulse oximeter on his foot (that was TERRIBLE), and an airway monitor around his nose. The funniest part was they wrapped his head all up in gauze and he looked like the perfect halloween mummy! He was so cute... Then they swaddled him up and told him to go to sleep! THANKFULLY, he did sleep really well that night. He woke up around 3:30 and rather than let him stir and wimper himself back to sleep, I went ahead and fed him. Since he was in a crib, I got to sleep in the actual bed which was NICE and I slept from about 11-2 and then had to get up and pump since K hadn't eaten well at 9. Then he woke up at 3:30ish and so I fed him-very tricky with all that stuff-I had to get some assistance just getting him out of the bed so I could feed him. I was totally weirded out too b/c they video monitor also so I felt like I was totally being watched by our male tech-but I'm sure it was ok. Around 4:15, they came in and had to adjust the nose monitor and I asked what time we would be done-I mean really-couldn't we be done already? But she said 5:30 and I asked if we could get out of their first so I could get home - I had no idea K was sleeping so good and thought it would just be easier to get home and feed them both. So, by that point, I am thinking, humm, only another hour, I pumped (the other side when K would have eaten) and packed up all of our stuff so all I had to do was get Garrett in his car seat. It was perfect and we were home just after 6am! Garrett went right back to sleep and all was well.

As for the results...we don't know anything yet. The tech did tell me that "Yes" he does stop breathing in his sleep but EVERYONE does that it just varies in severity. We would have to let the Dr determine what if anything needs to be done-like continue the O2 at night or something...SO we wait. I am anxious to hear but feel like it will all be ok...just time will tell. He is gaining weight great and is actually "heavy" comparatively speaking and is a very happy baby. He is really starting to smile A LOT and I love that...he is a big cuddler and would prefer to be held 24/7 but unfortunately, he is a twin and MUST get over that b/c it just can't happen! I have to hold both babies equally so everyone has to take turns and no one gets to sleep being held unless it is in the evenings when mommy and daddy can each have a baby to hold. And then we do and love it.

On another note...Kathryn again as I mentioned has started screaming during feedings. We have started her on Prevacid and it seems to help. If she doesn't scream, she falls asleep. She is going to cause me to drinkin' b/c it is so stressful. Garrett on the otherhand, eats until he is too full and spits up but sometimes I can't make him stop b/c I am dealing with the maniac who is screaming and wailing and flailing around that he just lays there and eats his little heart out. But she is so beautiful and we still love her, we just don't want her to hurt.

This is what happens when you get all bundled up to go outside and then have to wait on your brother to do the same. So sleepy!

We went on our first "non-medical" outing today. My sister, Laura, is having her 4th baby tomorrow and we drove down to her house to take her some newborn diapers and clothes so she would feel somewhat prepared! (Again, it is her 4th so she will be fine!) Please say some prayers for her though tomorrow at noon -- that is when her C-section is scheduled and I know after all of my drama and complications she is a little more nervous this time around. I would be too if the roles were reversed but I know she is going to be just fine and God will take care of her and her baby. We just don't take anything for granted these days!

When I went to Laura's house today, Reid RAN into the bathroom and washed her hands and ran back to me and asked if she could hold baby Garrett. I sadly had to tell her "No-not yet!" and she ran to the couch so sad and cried. I finally realized that she was so upset and so I took him over there and let him "walk" on her back and told her he already knew how to walk. (No response-still tears) then I sat him on her back and said "Oh no, I hope he doesn't tee-tee on you!" to which I got LOTS of giggles. She then rolled over and tickled his feet that were covered up and thought it was great. Laura said she has been telling everyone that she got to tickle Garrett's toes-even her ballet teacher. Hilarious!

Hope you are all staying warm! I will post the results of the study when I find out and will report on Baby Robertson #4 tomorrow. Ok, this is so long and Kathryn is crying now so gotta go! Such is life with 2!!

Tonight's the Night!

My Little Snuggle Bugs! (Garrett in white-Kathryn in Red) Yesterday these two babies SLEPT ALL DAY LONG! Even little Garrett who is not as much of a napper was zonked! And even with all that sleep - I still got NOTHING accomplished! Oh well, for another day I guess.

But if you read this today (Friday) say a little prayer for us. We (Garrett and I) are going in for his sleep study tonight. I have been a basket-case about this all week worrying about the logistics of it all and not being able to take Kathryn with us but it is all going to work out now. I just called and they said that Brad and Kathryn could come with us and get settled and then I could feed them both for the last time (which is usually around 9pm) and then lights out are at 10pm and Brad can just take K home and put her in bed. That way she only has one bottle in the night (they are going til about 3 or 4 am now) and I should be home by 7am and we can all eat again. Also that is only ONE TIME that I have to pump in the middle of the night-thank goodness! Whew-it is all going to work out!!

Most of all, I just want to get a good report on Garrett and hopefully they can say he can come off the O2 and the monitors completely. Is monitor has been going off in the middle of the night but only for a split second and I can't run up the stairs fast enough to see if it is a real desat or not...I saw it go off this morning and it wasn't real-when he kicks around it goes off so who knows...I am anxious to get the full report tonight! I will take the camera too b/c he is going to be hooked up to soooo many things - poor guy!

So to all my "Blog Stalkers"-thanks for still checking on us-it is good to know I have a way to send out a quick prayer request!! I will certainly update when I know more...

Pulmonology Update

We all packed up and went to the pulmonologist this morning for little Garrett. He did great for his chest xray and it looked really good. Dr. C said he sounded great-breathing very slowly and relaxed. He laughed that we had (or Brad) had weaned him off the O2. He doesn't want us to think he may not need it again though...we still are going to do the sleep study on the 12th and then we will go from there. He reduced his diuretic to only once a day (might save us on some diapers there) and kept him on his inhaler. He said if it was the beginning of summer he wouldn't be so concerned about him but heading into winter and cold season just makes him nervous and he wants to continue to keep him on a close watch. We still keep his monitor hooked up but he said to start weaning ourselves off of that-meaning start getting comfortable with him off of it b/c eventually we won't have it on him and we will worry so much wondering if he is ok.
He weighed just over 8 pounds so that is great but he spits up A LOT so we are going to try some reflux medicine for 2 weeks to see if that helps at all...trial and error...but easier than getting into the upper GI tests!
We head to the pediatrician tomorrow for both kids and then the cardiologist on Wed just to follow up on Garrett's PDA. I will continue to update!
A fun thing happened when we went today though-we ran into an old friend, Summer! (It was so good to see you and I may just call you to pick your brain about all this stuff! It was encouraging to know this all gets easier!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know this is a few days late but better than never. Thanksgiving certainly had a different meaning this year for us. I have always loved this holiday but it was a little more special this year even though we didn't quite spend it as we normally do. Because we have to be so careful with getting the babies out, we were just going to stay home. But Brad's parents, Mimi and Papa, said they would come over and let us go over to their house and eat with Chad and Allie and the kids. Poor little Will had been pretty sick over the last few weeks so we just couldn't take the babies over but they were so sweet to let us out and spend time with everyone. We really miss being an Aunt and Uncle. We love being parents but I truly miss loving on all my nieces and nephews.
Here are a few things I am thankful for this year:
~Brad~I know this is obvious but he has been so great. I can't imagine having to go thru everything with anyone else by my side. He was and always is so selfless and does such a good job taking care of us. I am going to cry tomorrow when he goes back to work since he has been home 24/7 with me since Wednesday...it is so amazing to have another set of hands and someone that makes you go take a nap even when the babies are crying! He can do it all!
~Kathryn & Garrett~ Oh sweet babies! I am so thankful they are here and healthy. I can't imagine life without them (well, maybe it would be a life of more sleep but...) Even when they cry and I am exhausted, I am thankful for just how far they have come. I look at their embryo picture multiple times everyday and marvel at the gift God has given us.
~My Life: thanks to my Doctor and Nurses~ I am so thankful that I am here to watch them grow and to be able to take care of them. I haven't exactly told the whole story on this blog, but I had a pretty bad night after they were born. Due to the weakness of my uterus, it couldn't contract and I was bleeding internally. My nurse, Christelle, noticed that something was wrong that night and knew Dr. Wells was down the hall. She immediately got him and they came in to check on me. I remember them pushing really hard on my stomach and then telling them that I wasn't feeling well and that their voices were going 50,000 miles away and it was getting really dark. Anesthesia was immediately called in and they stopped my epidural and magnesium. My blood pressure was about 70/30 something they were about to rush me to the ICU. I just remember them telling me to keep breathing and they told me I was humming the whole time.
(They asked me why and supposedly I told them "So you know I am still here!") Dr. Wells then just said he needed to check me again and when he did he realized that I was hemmoraging and the blood was clotting b/c it couldn't come out. I lost 4 pints of blood that night and ended up having 2 blood transfusions later that week. It was rough going there for a little bit but I am SO thankful for my awesome Doctor and nurses who were able to pull me out of that scary situation.
~Modern Medicine~ This is on many levels but if it weren't for m. m. we wouldn't have the babies and I wouldn't be here. Back in the day, we would have never been able to have kids - but thanks to IVF we could. With all the technology we were able to see that my cervix was shortening drastically and could have a procedure to stop it. And had it been back in the old days, according to my nurses, I would never have survived that first night! Yikes-that puts a little perspective on life huh?
~My family & Friends~ So many people have taken such good care of us thru this whole journey and we couldn't have done it without all the help-especially now! The prayers most of all have been the greatest gift but all the help and food and everything have been great!

Ok, I have to stop b/c Brad is calling me to help him with "BathTime"! Again, Happy Thanksgiving!

Special Visits

We have had lots of visitors come to see us now that we are all at home. Everyone has been so great and it is nice for me especially to have visitors and social interaction.

Chad and Miranda came last night...it was so fun to catch up with y'all. They have been such good friends for awhile now - I think I have know Miranda since she was 15! Anyways, they were constantly up at the hospital and Chad is the one who brought me the original Nintendo to play while on bedrest! (I never did save the princess on Super Mario Bros!) Miranda just has about 9 weeks until her little boy arrives and I can't wait to meet him and have a playmate for G and a boyfriend for K (in the far future)!

Mike and Jennifer have been a constant in my life since I was a Freshman in High School. They are AWESOME and I love them to death! I hope we can be just half the parents they are and our kids turn out somewhat close to Haley and Ben. They are such good kids and I can't wait for them to meet the babies...so Ben get well already! :) We are hoping to get together after the Thanksgiving holiday. While I was in the hospital, they would always bring me my McDonalds cravings - chicken nuggets and I would have so much fun when they came. Mike was I think my first visitor when I got to the hospital - he came just soon after I got out of my surgery for my cerclage and it was so reassuring to see him-although I know I gave him quite a little scare! Jen gets teary everytime she sees the babies. She was so great to drive me to the hospital that first week after I was home and constantly calls to check on me and even does my personal shopping for Christmas-more on that later!!
Ahh, and my two Amy friends!! LOVE THESE GIRLS!! Amy M on the left-my awesome Swiss friend (who sends me chocolates) was in town for the holidays. She was staying with Amy D and they brought us dinner (and chocolates) on Saturday. Brad and their husbands went to the Cowboys game on Sunday afternoon and had such a great time. We all became friends in the singles group back in the day and have remained friends ever since. We stayed with Wes and Amy in Switzerland and we can't wait til they come home and to meet their new little one who is on the way.
Amy and Brian are still here thank goodness and I make them promise to never move away or change churches...I don't know what I would do...although, it's not like I have been to church in FOREVER anyways! Oh well, one day soon I will return! Amy and I both had a summer we will never forget and we each know that the other is always thinking of the other and praying constantly for each other. Love you girls!!

We have had SOOO many other visitors but I am just now remembering to take pictures when they come over...I will try to do better. We are all doing well-Brad keeps turning Garrett's O2 off and he does just fine so hopefully we will be off of it ASAP...it will be so nice to have him mobile-even if it is just around the house. My little stinker Kathryn is great too-she is a wonderful sleeper all day and night.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!!

Look at that sweet face without that silly O2 canula!! He is so handsome without that thing! Garrett is such a big boy! We went to the Developmental Pediatrician today b/c I was worried about his head - he has a flat spot on the right side and getting one on the left b/c we are trying to keep him off the right and it is protruding in the back...ANYWAYS...he is fine and they said not to worry just continue to rotate sides and continue with our tummy-time. I was so glad I went though b/c we have an appt already set for February but I wanted to be a little bit pro-active and not wait if there was something extra I could be doing until then!
THE GREAT NEWS WAS THAT HE WEIGHS 8 WHOPPING POUNDS!!! I was so thrilled by this b/c again I worry constantly about them but when you are exclusively b-feeding you don't know how much they are getting and it is SOOOO important for him to be growing and gaining weight b/c that will help his lungs!


Little Miss Priss wanted to pose for a picture in her most adorable outfit from RaeRae and Methodist Mary! We wear it about every OTHER day (only b/c we wash it the other day) and I must say it is our FAVORITE...I wish so badly that we had it in next years size too...its so cute!!!! I love the flared leggings :)

Our favorite thing to do is SUNBATHE! The sun pours in downstairs just around 11am and as soon as they have eaten they go immediately in the sun. They absolutely LOVE it-it is so warm and toasty. The sun moves quickly though so it doesn't last long but long enough for mommy to eat or do laundry or just breathe for a second!
We really are doing well. So many have been so worried about me being cooped up in the house but honestly it is fine...it allows me to stay on schedule and be organized! It is more stressful to try to time "getting out" for myself than it is worth so I would rather stay in. I am really dedicated to b-feeding and staying home allows me to focus on that and keep them in a routine and lets me take a nap here and there! We are great and happy and loving these babies! Have a great weekend!

SIX WEEK WRAP-UP

My babies turned 6 weeks yesterday! I can't believe it. It's funny that we are just "starting" with them both home but yet they aren't just days old. We had a rough weekend trying to get everyone adjusted - but it was worth the lack of sleep and turmoil because we seem to be getting "organized" around here. (Ourselves-NOT this house)

Kathryn is eating every 3 hours like clock-work and pretty much stretching to 4 at night. She is usually the one stirring and waking up first so she gets to eat first. She is just a beautiful baby. (to me) We do think she may have a bit of reflux though-she can certainly scream bloody murder - it's that or she is just REALLY EXPRESSIVE! (Which could totally be the case)

Garrett is also doing very well. His appointment at the Pulmonologist went great yesterday. They put him on an inhaler that he does well with and I think it is already helping b/c he didn't desat with his feedings at all yesterday after he started it. He did desat in the night last night and when I checked him the nasal canula was in his mouth. It comes out all the time and he doesn't desat b/c we put it back in but it must have been out a long time in his sleep. Thank goodness for the alarm.

Here is the monitor. You can see the top # is 99 - that is his "saturation" # and he usually does stay in the high 90's or 100. The lower # is his heart rate!
Here is his Oxygen tank. We "set up shop" for the day downstairs so we don't have to be moving everything around. He has a little portable tank too for when we travel to the doc or something.

So far we are hanging in there. I had my check-up last week and my bloodwork came back all normal-of which I am very thankful. We were watching my iron especially due to the severe bloodloss I had post-op. Looks like mommy is back in business-and back in her "skinny" jeans! (That was a good treat the other day...I have been back in my regular clothes after the second week but to get in my favorite jeans last week was greatness - almost better than sleep! I guess one thing has finally gone right with this crazy dramatic body of mine!)

Brad loves this bib-he thinks it's so funny! This is actually a terrible picture b/c Garrett is getting his medicine and blowing bubbles and making a goofy face but I still think he is a cutie! (Don't worry-just using a syringe-no shots around here-it looks awful) Brad has been so helpful and he cracks me up b/c he is constantly talking and trying to figure out the best about this or that...it is so funny. He is a fixer and a researcher and I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants person so between the two of us surely we can do this! I just laugh constantly to keep from going crazy or maybe that's just the lack of sleep!

We are all home!

Both babies are stirring and that means they are both about to start screaming so I only have a millisecond...but...GARRETT is home! He actually came home on Wednesday afternoon with oxygen that caused me to have a near mental breakdown on Tuesday, but he is doing great with it and so are we. He is quite the cantankerous baby - at least in the last 24 hours but still so sweet and wonderful that he is home! Kathryn doesn't know what to think...I think it threw her for a loop there for a little while but now she just does her thing and wonders why he is always upset and crying :)

He went to the Pedi yesterday and he weighs 7 pounds 5 ounces and got an A+ on his "report card". We go to the Pulmonologist on Monday so we will get a plan going for this O2 business.

Have a great weekend!

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go!!! K and I played dress-up the other day! I was just wanting her to wear something pretty besides all of her pajamas :) It makes a girl feel better to get cute sometimes right? She is doing great! She went to the Pedi on Friday and weighs 6 pounds 9 oz!!! That's 2 pounds in a month-woohoooo! We had a little bit of a rough go earlier in the week when she decided she didn't want to breast-feed but now she is eating again like a champ. We had our first "Battle of the Wills" and both survived!!! Dr. G said she was doing absolutely fantastic and he would see her at 2 months. She is such a sweetie and I just love to kiss on her...I love that I can snuggle her anytime and bond with her. She is going to be spoiled and have a shock when she has to share mommy and daddy when Garrett gets home. Things she loves at one month...being swaddled in her awesome swaddle blanket (more on that later), eating - she likes taking a bottle b/c it's easier but she is doing good with me too, and sleeping on her tummy-DON'T PANIC-I don't LET her but she would if I would. She doesn't mind tummy time at all...loves Kangarooing with Daddy.

Here is Garrett's Halloween Picture...He posed a kissy face with his I love my mummy shirt! Ahhh, he is also soooo sweet! We have made MAJOR progress today...they actually turned his Oxygen OFF so pray that it stays that way! He is doing great now-they have changed a few things about his feedings and he is chowing down double the food he was eating in half the time and gaining more weight-which is the goal for him so his lungs will grow too! Finally-we have turned a corner hopefully and we are soooooooo thankful for all the prayers and for God taking such good care of him. We hope to have him home soon - off the oxygen - and back with his sister.

Kathryn is doing very well at home! We are getting into a semi-consistant schedule and overall she is still pretty content most of the time. She loves to take her time eating these days and I am trying my best to b-feed her as much as possible rather than giving her a bottle b/c she is becoming lazy b/c the bottle is so easy!

My little Garrett is also doing well but still in the NICU. He just can't kick that oxygen and they are threatening to send him home with it and a monitor...which totally scares me. The pulmonologist met with Brad tonight and said G would definitely go home on O2 and would most likely be off of it by SPRING... WHAT??? You've got to be kidding me!! That's NOT what I wanted to hear but we will do whatever it takes!!!

He is the sweetest baby though...he absolutely LOVES to be held and cuddled and it breaks my heart to leave him each morning. He is a tremendous b-feeder...he goes to town and would feed for an hour if the nurses would let him - I just let him keep going until they come in and bug me about it...he is going to be so rotten b/c I already just want to let him do whatever his little heart wants. Speaking of which, several of you have asked about his heart and his his PDA hole. When they checked it again, they said it was just "intermitent" so they weren't concerned at all with it - it was closing on its own.

And as for momma here...we were certain I had moved past all my "dramas" but once again I throw a wrench in things...I got Mastitis over the weekend and let me tell you...that is NOT fun. I woke up with a high fever and flu symptoms and now I am on some good ole antibiotics...lovely! Oh well, as long as it's not the babies I can handle anything! Speaking of which...gotta go feed Kathryn!

Home Sweet Home...

We have survived 3 nights now! I call them a success because we haven't had to use the "Bulb syringe" at any point but others may rate success differently. Brad didn't get much sleep the first night but I slept surprisingly better than I thought I would. Each night we change something about the night before so we are slowly finding what works for us! Kathryn of course is oblivious and just sleeps thru everything. She is so content at this point and very easy - and don't worry - I am not so naive to think this is how it stays but I am going to enjoy it while it lasts!!(I don't know why this picture is turned this way-blogger keeps flipping it?? But she loves to sleep with her hand up by her face and I think that is how she was in-utero too!)

When I came home from the hospital when I was a baby, my big sisters had made me a banner welcoming me home. From an early age this has always meant so much to me and I love the picture of my sisters on the bed anxiously awaiting my arrival. (It made me feel special even if 3 days later they wanted to send me back to the hospital and then spent the next 10 years trying to convince me that my parents adopted me from the Boles Home)
ANYWAYS...so as the babies have arrived in our family, I have made them their own banner welcoming them home. And it was so awesome to come home and have a banner waiting in my room and then little Kathryn to have her own banner too! Silly family traditions but so special-I still have my original banner in my keepsakes...
This is walking out of the NICU-Kathryn failed her carseat test twice and so she has to ride in a "carbed". She actually loves it and it gives us a place to carry her around all over the house and watch her sleep!

Ok, that's all for now...gotta go feed a baby, pump, and repeat! We go to the Pediatrician tomorrow so hopefully Kathryn gets a great report...

My little girl came home yesterday!!! What a great day - I have pictures to post and will get those done ASAP but just wanted to give you all the good news. This is her hospital pic and although I think she is beautiful always it isn't her best pose :) I can't believe her eyes are open!!

Little Garrett is doing well also...we are working on his feedings and getting him off the oxygen. They are trying some asthma medicine today to try to open up the rest of his lungs and let him breath easier...we are praying that is just what he needs. The doctor calls it Bronchial Pulmonary Displasia...I haven't googled it either one because of time and the other because I think ignorance is bliss :)

Have a great weekend and I promise I will get pics on here ASAP!!

TWO WEEKS OLD ALREADY!!

I can't believe the babies were born two weeks ago! What a whirlwind it has been and I know it will only continue. They are doing really well.


Kathryn got moved to "8 of 8" which means she can take all of her feedings from me or a bottle! That is her big step to getting home so we are expecting her to be home by the weekend?? Anything can change that but we are hopeful still. She is so beautiful-she got her feeding tube out tonight and had her first bath, too. (Her cord fell off last night so she got a real bath tonight.) It was a little traumatic for both of us actually. She liked the bath part...but NOT the part where they pulled off all of her sensor leads and the major tape on her face holding on her feeding tube. She cried so hard that I cried...I couldn't stand hearing her cry like that because I knew it was because that hurts. Broke my heart-I always said I would be so tough-not so much. I just wanted to shove that nurse out of the way and pick my sweet baby up out of that water and tell her to leave my baby alone. Oh goodness-thankfully Kathryn stopped crying as soon as all the tape was off so I pulled myself together quickly too! She also got her first bow...her daddy thought she was pretty cute-she is going to turn him into a softie!

Garrett is also doing well. He hates his oxygen canula!!! He knows exactly how to reach up to his nose and pull it out. He never has it in his nose so I personally think that they should take it off and see how he does since he obviously isn't using it...I'm not the doctor though. As for his feedings he can have "2 of 8". He doesn't know what to do yet...he just hangs out with me and barely takes anything from a bottle yet. He will get it though. He is so cute-he loves to just let me hold him and he is perfectly content then...hopefully if he catches up on his lovin' time he will then decide it's time to eat. Poor little man just needs a little extra time and love.

We'll keep you posted...

Mommy: The Guest Blogger

Well, here it is...Our first official family photo. This was on Wednesday when we finally got to hold little Garrett. As you can see he was wide-eyed and happy when he was swaddled tight and with his parents and sister! It was such an amazing moment to be able to hold both babies together...it has been a long and incredible journey-of which I would do all over again for them but don't plan on doing ever again!!! :)

Kathryn is doing fantastic...could even come home this week sometime. She is a very content little girl and does not get worked up about anything. She has done incredibly well breastfeeding and can down a bottle in 10 minutes flat. My girl likes to eat!! She weighs 4 lbs 11.5 oz now so she has already passed her birth weight.

Little G-Man is also a champ. His oxygen is turned almost all the way down and he just has the lowflow nasal canula now...which he can't even be relying on because it is always out of his nose because he pulls it out...he doesn't like it-just like the vent and the c-pap. I think he will be even happier when they just get that out of his nose and off his face! He just moved to feedings and is trying to figure all that out...he has done ok with me and the bottle and he just needs more practice and a little more energy. We are so happy, proud and thankful for how far he has come in just 2 weeks.

As for their mommy goes...I am doing great! I of course get tired but I am trying to pace myself and get as much rest as I can. I spend the mornings at the hospital with them, then come home in the afternoon for a couple of hours and rest and then we go back to the hospital for thier 5pm feedings. It is a good schedule for us so far-now that their feedings have increased it will be a little different but that is what is working so far. Oh and in the midst of all that I am pumping every 2 hours...it is all a workout for me compared to laying in bed for 3+months. I never thought I would feel this good so quickly but compared to the week after they were born, I feel like I could do anything...that is a whole other story for another post...but I do want to write about the day they were born and all the little details before I forget.

Thank you for all the phone calls, emails, cards, etc...Please give me time to get back to them all!! I can't have my cell phone on in the NICU so I am way behind. I can't wait to get my babies home and then at some point start having visitors - most likely after RSV season - but I promise we will let you all see them in due time! We are so excited for you all to meet them!

In the meantime, I will leave you with a picture of the two of them. Kathryn is on the left with her lion lovie and Garrett is on the right with his tiger lovie and IV in his head-although that is not there anymore-thank goodness!!

Moving along...

Meredith came home on Monday and she's doing very well. I'm surprised by how quick she's gotten back on her feet, but then again, she's not one to cave in the face of adversity. Kathryn has moved out of the isolette and into a nursery bed. She's gotten the IV out and most of the monitors off except for the heart monitor. She's feeding 2-4 times a day, with some of that nursing or from a bottle. The rest of her feedings are through her feeding tube. She's doing really well and is ahead of the curve for most babies her age. Garrett just got off the ventilator today and has moved down to a CPAP machine which offers extra air pressure support. We haven't gotten to hold him yet as he's been in the isolette the entire time since he was born. With so many things hooked up to him, you can't take him out of the isolet. He seems to be doing better each day and the last echocardiogram he had showed that the pda was very tiny. Now it's just a matter of him learning to breathe on his own and avoid apneas (where he forgets to breathe). In order to help with the pulmonary hypertension, they pumped oxygen in at high levels through the vent from Thursday through Monday and gave him two blood transfusions. The blood pressure also seems to have stabilized now and the hypertension is apparently corrected. As always, premature babies can have setbacks, so we hope he won't have to go back on the ventilator. They'll both remain in the NICU for at least two weeks, but that will give Meredith some extra time to get her strength and stamina back.
More updates to come...

Update

Kathryn is doing well and is completely off the oxygen. She may get to move into a regular bed in the NICU today or tomorrow. It turns out Garrett maybe isn't a wimpy white boy after all. They did an echocardiogram yesterday and it revealed that he has a large PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) and pulmonary hypertension. Thus the reason he hasn't improved at all since Monday and hasn't been able to breathe much on his own. They're going to do another echocardiogram this morning to see if the treatment they gave him overnight worked. It's tough to see him still hooked up to all of the equipment as his sister continues to improve, but we feel confident in the doctors to work through these issues.

Meredith is taking it one day at a time. She gets tired very easily and her blood pressure still isn't quite under control. We know it's going to take her some time, maybe several weeks, to feel even slightly strong again.

Please continue to keep Meredith, Garrett & Kathryn in your prayers and I'll post updates as we get them.

Brad

First Pics...

Here are a few first pics...

This is the last picture we have of Meredith pregnant. This was at 33 wks & 1 day. We wanted to take a picture of her with all of the monitor straps on.

Kathryn's arrival.

Garrett's arrival.


















Mom, Dad & Kathryn


















Kathryn with her "privates" blurred out in the picture, thanks to editing by dad.


















Garrett with his privates kept private.


















Mom & Dad seeing Garrett in the NICU.


















Mom & Dad with Kathryn.