6 Weeks Old

The last couple of days have been good. Both boys are doing great and continuing to grow.

We are still trying to get the boys to nurse, but the lactation specialist said it will just come in time. She said with them being preemies it will take them a little longer to latch on and to be happy with the progress they have made so far. So we will continue to give it our best efforts to get them to be successful with nursing. As for right now they are still on the feeding tube and have now increased to a bottle every other feeding. So that is 4 bottles a day. The next step is that they will get the feeding tube taken out and will try to do bottles at every feeding. Right now they are taking their bottles between 20-30 minutes. They only allow for 30 minutes to try to get the bottle down because they don't want them burning excess calories. They are really doing good with this and we hope that it continues so we can bring them home. Westyn is taking 48 ml of breast milk and Wesley is taking 47 ml. They are also still supplementing twice a day with formula (so 2 out of the 4 bottles) and the other milk they get are strictly breast milk. They want them on the formula because it provides them the needed nutrients that my body doesn't produce that they need being preemies.

Suzanne asked me on Sunday to bring the boys their mobiles if I had one and wanted too so that they would have something to look at since they are a little more alert doing the day now. I only have one right now and am working on getting the other one picked up. We put one in Westyn's room today and Cindi said that he enjoyed it today. She said she tried out the different  music to see how he liked it and he was just a looking at it.

Westyn did have a brief episode today with his heart rate dropping so they have hooked back up the arm monitor to keep track of his oxygen levels in his blood. Cindi said after his episode this morning her never had another one that was chartable and was stating at around 99 to 100 mostly all day. She said they will just monitor it for the next couple of days to make sure all is well. She said if he has another chartable episode (meaning it lasts more then 20 seconds) then they will do some blood work to make sure he isn't getting an infections. She said sometimes with preemies this can be their way of saying that they are getting sick. We are hoping this isn't the case and that he just had a brief episode today and will go back to doing good with no episode. So pray pray pray this doesn't happen again!

I am still slowly trying to think of everything possible that I still might need  to get before they come home. I picked up a huge bottle of hand sanitizer today and  so we are set for visitors now!! So beware if you come to visit... you will be asked to sanitize.. :)   

Stats:
Westyn - 5lbs 10oz
Wesley - 5lbs 5.5oz
Westyn - 18.3 inches long (as of August 19)
Wesley - 18.2 inches long (as of August 19)

I think that pretty much sums it up on how they are doing. We continue to pray that they will keep doing good and be able to come home soon!!

Finished Nursery!!

The boys are doing great. They are growing and gaining weight!! We are so happy with their progress as always. They are still exploring with the nursing. Westyn has actually nursed a few times and Wesley has done good at trying, but is struggling at it a little more. I talked to the lactation nurse and she said that I should be really happy with Westyn's nursing that he has done and not to get discouraged because they are still young and have a lot of growing to do. So we are staying positive with the nursing and going to keep trying. The boys are doing good with their bottles. They were getting two bottle feedings a day and were both taking the full bottle. So today they added another bottle to their eating routine and that just puts us one step closer to them coming home!! YAY!!!

I am trying to get everything as organized around the house as I possibly can before we get the great news that the boys are ready to come. I am reading up on some twin books and have found some great advice in the books that I hope will work for me. We are so anxious to get them home and it is getting so hard on me to leave them at the hospital.. especially now that they are more lively it seems like. I know they are still were they need to be so I just tell myself that everytime I go to tell them bye.

I know in the last post I put the nurses had mentioned about putting the boys in the same room. Well that hasn't happened yet. They NICU has been super busy this week with I believe 5 new admissions and so they haven't had a chance to transfer the boys into one room.. which is perfectly fine. I know it will all happen in time.

Stats:
Westyn: 5 lbs 6 ounces
Wesley: 5 lbs 2 ounces

Well I have finally finished the nursery. I am so excited on how it all turned out. My vision in my head definitely came to life if not better then what I imagine. The room that was once empty is now completely filled!! Probably a little overfilled from all the gifts that the boys have received, but it will all come into great use. (It actual overflows into the guest room and living room!!) I want to thank Amanda Klehm and her mom once again for everything they helped make for the room. I can't wait to bring the boys home and put EVERYTHING to use!! Hope you all enjoy the photos!!

 

5 Weeks Old!!

The boys are continuing to do well and grow!! We are still so happy with their progress and keep praying they will be sent home soon. Today marks their 5 week old birthday!! Can't believe how fast the boys are growing. It is bittersweet to know they are 5 weeks old and I can feel the guilt from time to time of not having them home and what I did wrong that they first weeks of their lives we don't have them around, but then I have to redirect my thoughts to the fact that they are doing awesome and they are healthy and will be home soon. I know God has a plan for everything and this all happened for a good reason.

At my visit yesterday, once I was finished nursing Wesley, Dorothy was examining Westyn and brought him into Wesley's room and let me take some pictures of the boys together!! I was so excited to have them together and couldn't get my phone fast enough to snap some pictures.

The traveling is definitely starting to take a toll on me even though it has only been 4 days of going to College Station twice a day. I don't complain though because it gives me some extra time with my boys to be able to bond with them. The nursing is going good. They had a lazy day today and weren't interested too much and just wanted to be held more I think. They have increased them to 2 bottles a day and I asked the nurse if that might be why they weren't as interested today since they had more bottle feedings now and might be just trying to adjust and she said that was possible. The nurse practitioner said to not give up and just give it time. So we are staying on track and hoping for the best. The nurses told me before this all started, and I might have put it in prior blogs, that the feeding part can be the most frustrating because it is the last step in order for them to come home and there is nothing they can do to make them feed it's strictly up to the boys. So PLEASE PLEASE PRAY they get it soon so we can bring them home. They are doing pretty good with the bottle feeding which is a plus!! We will just continue with the nursing efforts and hope and pray it all comes out good.

The boys also had a eye screening test today, so we are hoping to have the results from that in the next couple of days. The nurse felt pretty confident that all is well because the doctor didn't mention anything after he was done with it.

The nurse practitioner mentioned today about putting the boys in the same crib so they can be together. Sandi was going to get them put in the same crib today after their eye screening, but it got busy in the NICU and they received 3 new babies today so when I got there at 5 they hadn't been switched to the same room. I asked her about it and she said she was going to ask the night nurse to do it once things settled down. So hopefully I will have a surprise in the morning!!

The nursery is definitely coming along. I just have to finish the book shelves and I will be posting pictures of the final product. I don't think my vision would have come alive without the help of Amanda Klehm and her mom (Crafty Divas).. They did so much for the room and it all turned out super cute!! I was so excited when she brought it all to me and can't believe how great everything looks!! Sometimes I just wish I would have taken on sewing when my mom tried to get me into it.. because now days there are so much neat crafts you can do for babies.

Stats: WE HAVE REACHED 5lbs!!!!
Westyn - 5lbs 1.9ounces
Wesley - 5lbs .8ounces

As you can see Westyn has passed his brother back up.. but they are still neck and neck!!

Until next time --- as always --- keep the PRAYERS coming!!

One Month Old!

Were has the time gone... One month already!! I just can't believe how fast time is already flying by and we don't even have the boys home yet. They are continuing to grow at a steady pace. When I arrived today I told Sandi that I wanted to dress them up because it was their one month birthday!! She had no problem with me doing it. I told her I wanted to take some photos and we laughed about doing a photo shoot. I told her I just wanted to get a picture of each boy in their one month outfit.. but of course once I started to take pictures it turned into more of a photo shoot because I just couldn't quit flashing the camera to capture all the memories.

Both boys are continuing to try to nurse or "explore" where their groceries come from. They are both doing good, but have some more learning until they master it. The NICU wants me coming twice a day now instead of just in the afternoon. So starting tomorrow I will be getting to the hospital at 8 for their feeding and then coming back at 5 for that feeding. They will also be introducing the bottle to the boys tonight..So I am interested to see how that turns out. We are praying for the best and that the "light" triggers on eating so they can come home.

I was very surprised yesterday when Dorothy told me that they had been taken off their caffeine, which they were on to remind them to breathe, and they weren't having any episodes. So she said really the only thing holding them back from going home is getting off the feeding tube. So we are getting really close to our boys coming home!! It really put it into realistic perspective that I need to get on the ball with things because they might be sent home any day now.

So when I got home yesterday I started with the deep cleaning on the house. I figured I would try to get one room a night done and on the weekends knock out the kitchen and living room!! My mind has just been running today on everything that needs to be done still. I went and got the rest of the items order off my Target registry and now just have to work on the Babies R Us one. I have to start washing clothes and deciding do I keep the preemie size or go with newborn since they are growing so fast!! So many decisions!! But I am so excited and just can't wait.

Westyn was also taken off one of his monitors today that checks the oxygen levels in his blood.. this is the monitor that is normally always going off that we watch so closely to make sure they are stating right.. which he has been so they took him off. Sandi said that Wesley is not far behind him. I am really hoping they stay neck and neck with everything so we can take them home at the same time.

Stats:
Westyn - 4lbs 11.7ounces
Wesley - 4lbs 12ounces

Until next time - Happy One Month Birthday to my sweet baby boys!! Keep the prayers coming because God is definitely answering them and keeping them healthy and growing!!

4 Weeks Old!

Where is the time going… It feels like the days are all flowing together as one. My days seem like they are repetitive and my routine is definitely a tiring one, but it’s all worth it! The boys were 4 weeks old yesterday!! I just can’t believe it has already been 4 weeks. I remember writing the blog last week when they were just 3 weeks and now it’s 4 weeks and 2 more days they will be a MONTH OLD!! We are so anxious to bring the boys home. We just can’t wait. The boys are continuing to grow!

Westyn has been exploring with nursing since Saturday and I can tell that he is hopefully getting the idea in his head that this is where his “groceries” come from as the NICU nurse says. We started Wesley on nursing yesterday and he did a great job with exploring. So we are hoping that both boys will be great breast feeders!! I am continuing to try to nurse each day and they want me to try to be there close to feedings so that they boys are alert. I am so glad we have started this because this is one of the last things they need to do before getting released from the NICU. The nurses have told me that this can also be the most frustrating phase because there is nothing we can do to make them feed on their own. They just have to pick it up on their own. So let’s pray they pick it up fast!!

The boys both had hearing test done on Monday and both past the test. The nurse said the boys were both asleep during the test, which she said was good. They put headphones on them and then a stick monitor pad on the front and back of their heads. So the headphones concentrate on the ear drum and the monitor pads check the brain waves. So we were so pleased to hear that.

Stats:
Westyn – 4lbs 9.8ounces
Wesley – 4lbs 8.7ounces

Westyn has passed his brother back up. I love calling in the morning to check on them and see how close they are with their weights. I was talking to the Nurse Practitioner yesterday and was telling her that I am thinking that I won’t need preemie clothes at the rate they are growing (no complaints on the weight gain!). She agreed with me. Sunday I had just picked up about 8 preemie outfits.. So now I will be taking them back to get either newborn or 0-3 months!! Definitely not a bad thing because the bigger they get the more calories they are storing and that is one of the things they need to do in order to be released!!

Once again.. Keep the prayers coming!! We hope to have the boys home soon!!

First Family Photo!!

We had a great visit today! We had to have a little earlier visit because I had to work today and so I had told Suzanne on Saturday that we would be there around 9am today. Which we had planned just right because she wanted me to try to nurse Westyn since he had been doing so well with his paci. I tried to nurse him on Saturday, but he just fell straight asleep. When we got to the hospital this morning Westyn was very alert and sucking on the paci. So Suzanne checked his vitals and then let me change my first poopy diaper!! That was quiet an experience, but it is so nice to be able to interact with them and start stepping in to take care of them and do all the mommy tasks! Ronnie of course set back while I changed the diaper and made the faces of that little man can put off that much of a smell..!! So now he knows what he has to look forward to.

After we got finished with that she had mentioned to us about taking Westyn into Wesley's room for some pictures and that made my day when she said that. I was so excited to finally get them together!! So she proceeded to check Wesley's vitals while me and Ronnie spent some time with Westyn and after she was finished with Wesley she came back in and unhooked Westyn and we went into Wesley's room to take our FIRST FAMILY PHOTO!! Ronnie held Westyn and I held Wesley and my heart just melted as our family was finally together in one room. It really brings tears to my eyes now and I can't want to bring them home and it is getting harder and harder to leave them now that they are getting more alert and continuing to grow. I keep telling myself I know they are where they need to be and they will be home soon enough, but it still is the hardest thing leaving my little love muffins there.

After we took our family photo we both switched off holding both boys and that definitely makes it set in that we have twins. I just can't explain what a great feeling it was. After all the pictures Suzanne took Westyn back in his room and Ronnie took Wesley from me so I could go to Westyn's room and try to nurse him. So I headed to Westyn's room and Suzanne handed him over and I tried to nurse. He did take interest in it, but after about 8 minutes he was done and ready to nap again. So we put him back in the crib to get his feeding. Suzanne was very impressed and has talked to the nurse practioner and we are going to go ahead and start trying to nurse him once a day to see how he does and then we will build from there! While I was nursing Westyn, Suzanne started Wesley's feeding and Ronnie held him during that. Once his feeding was over he switched to Westyn and help him for the rest of his feeding. All in all we had a great visit and is definitely a day we will remember with all the stuff we got to experience today with the boys.

Stats:
Westyn - 4lbs 4.5ounces
Wesley - 4lbs 4.7ounces
The nursery is still coming together and I am very close to having it all completed and I can't wait to post pictures to show everyone where the boys will get to come home to. We are hoping it might be in about 4 weeks from what I had talked to the nurse practionioner about, but we know it just depends on how well they do with everything.

Once again, as always, keep the prayers coming!!

First Day to Miss My Daily Visit

So a lot to me has changed within the last couple of days... They boys are still doing great and continuing to grow. The nurses and doctors are still pleased with their progress. Westyn is still in his big boy crib and now Wesley has graduated to a big boy crib and both are doing awesome keeping their body temperatures up. The nurse told me that they will probably put them in the same crib soon so they can be in the same room. I was hesitant when she told me that because when they come home I want to put them in separate cribs. So I asked her if that would affect them once they get home and be used to being together, but she told me they are so small now they wont even realize they are in the crib together. She said when they are sent home they recommend that you put them in separate cribs.

Yesterday was the first day that I have missed going to visit the boys and I am for sure having withdrawals and so ready to head up today for our visit... Just waiting on daddy to get done with hay. I told the nurses on Wednesday that I wouldn't be there Thursday because I was going to try to put in some overtime at work and then go to dinner with a group of ladies that I used to work with that are very close to me. So of course the nurses jokingly tried to give me a hard time, but told me just to call a couple of extra times on Thursday and it would all be okay. Which I took their word and called multiple times to check up on the boys. Of course, every time they told me they were doing great and nothing to worry about so it always eased my mind after I had spoke with them. I can't wait to go up today and visit them and see Wesley in his big boy crib since he was put in there yesterday after his 3pm feeding.

The boys are continuing to grow. Westyn is at 37ml at each feeding and Wesley is at 33ml at each feeding.

Stats:
Westyn: 4lbs 0.1ounces
Wesley: 4lbs 2ounces (he hasn't pooped yet {big thing in the NICU} so they are expecting that he might loose some weight once he does. They said when measuring in ounces that going potty can make a big difference.)

We are headed to college station in about an hour with Russell and Morgan to do our daily visit and to get our holding time in. I will post some pictures this weekend of both boys in their big boy cribs.

Till next time - Prayers are welcome as always!! We seem to be getting one step closer to bringing the boys home and we can't wait!!