What a Difference a Year Makes....

Wow!  At this time last year, Jen had just found out that she was pregnant and in no way did we ever expect twins, much less know about the roller coaster of a year that we were about to endure.  Funny what a difference a year makes.  From Christmas 2009 to Christmas 2010, we have experienced so many highs and lows, but through the grace of God, we are able to call this time in our lives a high!

We had a lung doctor's visit today for the twins to get RSV shots and to quote the nurse, "their lungs sound awesome!".  There was a time about 3 months ago when it was looking like Kaylan was going to be discharged from the hospital on oxygen, that I never would have thought I could here a physician say that.  Then again, three months ago, I don't think I could have imagined her being 9lb 10oz, having perfect vision, eating 4oz per bottle, having her hole in her heart close, or any of the other unexplainable miraculous advances she has overcome.  What an incredible daily reminder of God's power, mercy and grace she is.  

Dylan is a horse.  He weighed in today at 17lb 6oz!!!  He is now completely off the preemie charts and is now closing in on the 50th percentile for a 6-month old, (and he is really only 4-months old if we adjust his age to his due date).  He started on solid foods last week.  And while he doesn't LOVE green beans, he is eating them along with several other solid foods such as carrots, rice cereal, and sweet potatoes....yum!  Again, when he was getting all his feedings through a tube through his nose, I don't think we could foresee the day that he would be sitting at the table having dinner with mommy and daddy.  Amazing!  

We are so proud of our sweet preemie miracles.  These twins continue to change our lives forever.  We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!

6 Month Update!

Can you believe it? Kaylan and Dylan will be 6 months old tomorrow! Crazy! We went to their 6 mth appointment today for a round of vaccinations, flu shots, weight checks and general wellness. Dylan is tipping the scales at 16 lbs 7 ounces and is 25 inches long. He is no longer on a preemie growth chart. He's in the 35 percentile of normal size 6 month old baby boys. We are going to start trying some solid foods with him. I can't wait to give him cupcakes. I'm kidding people. Don't gasp. Only veggies and fruits for now! That will be a fun thing to see what he likes...hoping he's not as picky of an eater as his daddy ;)

Miss Kaylan weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz and is 20 1/4 inches long. She's obviously not the size of a typical six month old, but she has gained steadily and that's exactly what we (and doctors) want to see. We are hoping that in another 6-8 weeks, she will be ready to try some solids. People still think she's really small (and she is), but just look at this "then and now" picture below....She had a little peanut doll that was waaayy bigger than her when she was born. We kept it in her isolet at the NICU. Now, you can see how she's grown with the doll laying next to her. Such an awesome picture of God's faithfulness!

Well, gotta run...baby crying ;)



Thankful!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving. We have a LOT to be thankful for this year...two things in particular :) We had a really nice Thanksgiving with Landon's parents. Lots of food and lots of play time with Kaylan and Dylan. I can't believe they will be 6 mths old in another week or so. Dylan is really laughing and smiling a lot these days and Kaylan is smiling a lot too. Dylan currently weighs 14 pounds, 14 oz. Kaylan is 8 pounds, 8 oz. It's a slow and steady hill for Kaylan but we're making progress. They are sleeping well at night and I love spending my days with them. I feel so blessed. We recently had their pictures taken so I wanted to post a few from that session. It's good to see that the wedding rings fit only around their toes now, instead of their wrists ;)



The blog update because both of our moms keep asking us to update it. So there.

When we first started a blog, Jenn and I both agreed that we did not want to blog unless we had something to blog about.  We didn't want to be one of those people that just wrote for the sake of writing.  And fortunately (or unfortunately depending how you look at it), we have had LOTS to blog about since we started writing this blog back in May.   We have enjoyed sharing our lives, pleading for prayers, exclaiming praises and good news, and using this blog as a vehicle to an outlet over the past 6 months.

Thankfully, we have not have had much news to share over the past couple of weeks.  Things have been fairly uneventful as far as doctor's visits and follow-ups go, so we haven't really had much of our lives to share.  I feel like we were so much more interesting when our life was like a Carnival cruise ship with no engine in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  We were riding the waives and adapting to life as we went day by day.  Now, we have settled into somewhat of a routine, making our lives much less like a J.K. Rowling novel and more like a PBS educational documentary.

That's not to say that day to day life with the twins does not have it's interesting moments.  Here is an email I got from Jenn last week while I was at work:

8 a.m. Dylan crying wanting to eat. 8:30 Kaylan up and wanting to eat. Put both babies back down. Dylan face down asleep on our bed. Kaylan won't go to sleep so I get up and put her in swing. ring ring. It's Cynthia calling to tell me that sometimes it takes up to 3 to 4 mths to get the retro pay but they wouldn't give her any more info they gave me but things should be in process. 11:30 Kaylan SCREAMING ready to eat again. While trying to feed her, my phone rang FOUR TIMES - everyone called me at the same time. First, it was radiology scheduling the swallow study for next Wed. While on the phone with them, my line clicked and it was Pricilla. She wants to wait on swallow study. Thinks its too soon and doesn't want to expose her to the radiation again yet. She does want to watch her eat so I'm gonna go next Thurs and see how she does and then we may schedule study in another couple of weeks. I hang up with her. Phone rings again. This time its Curascript trying to verify shipping info...we get disconnected and then Dr Schochets office calls and said Curiscript said I wouldn't approve the shipping of the Synegis for November. So I call Curascript back and wait on hold forever and finally get someone so I can get them to ship next months vaccine. This is all done while I'm force feeding Kaylan and I'm on speaker phone with everyone. As I'm finishing up with Kaylan, Dylan starts screaming and crying. So, I quickly put Kaylan in swing and go get Dylan (still on phone with Curascript). He's peed ALLLL over our bed and himself and his jammies. So I get off phone with Curascript, get Dylan, take him in nursery (he's crying and very upset)....wipe him off with wet wipe cause there's pee all over him. Change his clothes, heat his bottle, come back in living room and Kaylan has thrown up her entire bottle in the swing. Awesome. so I put down Dylan and go clean her up...gave her a sponge wash off. Now they both need baths tonight. Just finished feeding Dylan and Kaylan is finally back asleep in swing. I'm so glad you made coffee this morning cause I needed it. Dylan is playing on play mat now and sheets are in washing machine.

How is YOUR day going?

Also forgot to say that during all those calls, Dr Blair called to verify tomorrow's appt and Mona called to see about tonight. It's like every person I know called right at 11:45. Melissa also called about bringing dinner. I missed her call. My phone battery is already on yellow. Insane!

We will do our best to do a better job keeping up with this blog.  Here are few pics over the last couple of weeks...

"I thought I left you at the hospital!"

Bliggity Bloggity Boo

I can't think of a blog title, so thats all I can come up with. Well hello blogging world. It's been awhile. I know.  My mother reminds me daily. Her little voice in the back of my head "You need to update the blog. People are asking" (Really? I doubt that).  Anyway....we've had a busy past couple of weeks. Landon got sick again with bronchitis. I made him wear a mask and gloves around the babies for about 5 days. He seems to be doing much better now. We've also had lots of visitors over the past couple of weeks from grandparents, family, friends as well as more dr appointments. We've gone to Halloween parties and pumpkin patches and my old work...and celebrated 5 years of marriage!  It's been busy but fun. Kaylan's current weight is 7 lbs 8 oz! Dylan is tipping the scales at 12 lbs 12 oz. He's quickly growing out of clothes and we're lucky to get one or two wears out of some things. We've got Kaylan's eye exam tomorrow morning so please be in prayer for that. That's no fun for babies. Last time, her eyes were a lot better, and this is a follow up to make sure things have stayed that way. I can't believe it's November. It's actually time to start thinking about CHRISTMAS!! Wow - CHRISTMAS!!! It's been a crazy, long, last year. Last December, I found out I was pregnant (Dec. 18th to be exact) ;-) Alot has happened since then. This is going to be a very special Christmas and I'm looking forward to cozying up with Dylan and Kaylan and Landon!  Hope we get snow again this year. Last year when it snowed, we wrote in the snow "We're having Twins!" I'll put the picture below along with some current ones. Happy Monday to all!

My anniversary present from Landon! :-)



Seven Pounds

Seven Pounds. Good movie, right? Will Smith...big blockbuster. You know the one....Awww...that's not what I mean by seven pounds! Kaylan is 7 pounds!! Well....ok, not exactly seven pounds...6 lbs 15 oz (But who wants to title a blog 6 lbs 15 oz). Anyway, we went for our weekly weight check and that is her current weight. We were really HOPING for 7 lbs, but she's only 1 oz away, so maybe by the end of the day, she'll officially be there. Over the past week, she's averaged almost an ounce a day, so we couldn't ask for anything better than that! She's been feeding better the past few days too. All in all, great week!

Dylan is growing like a weed and eating like a horse. I love these pictures of both of them :)

Finally - Game 6 tonight....come ON RANGERS!!!!

"Is this the famous Kaylan?"

First, let me say, I have completely failed in my commitment to maintain the blog since Kaylan has been home. Apologies for that. I ask for grace as we adjust to this new life with two babies at home. Bear with me...I'll get there. Now that I have that out of the way, here's today's update.  We went to the cardiologist today for Kaylan. Part of her discharge instructions were to see a cardiologist to check on her PDA (heart murmer). Many times, babies with heart murmers need surgery to close the open duct in the heart....other times, the duct simply closes on it's own as the baby grows. As of just a few short weeks ago, an EKG revealed that the PDA was "large to moderate" in size and needed to be watched closely.

Today, no murmer, no PDA. It's closed. Praise God! The cardiologist did an extensive sonogram on Kaylan (side note - kind of ironic to see my baby girl getting a sonogram of her heart...made me think of all the sonograms I had while she and Dylan were in me). Anyway, the doctor did another EKG and really spent a lot of time looking at everything closely. She didn't see or hear the murmer. What a HUGE blessing! She asked that we come back in 3 months simply as a follow up to make sure it's still closed.

While we were there today, the doctor came in and said, "Is this the famous Kaylan I've heard so much about?" (I think Kaylan was some what of a celebrity in the NICU). This cardiologist had looked at many of her EKGs and sonograms while she was in the hospital. Another thing she said (after seeing Dylan), was "Oh, I had no idea she was a twin.". (That's not the first time we've heard that either). Poor Dylan...just sits quietly in the background...along for the ride while sister goes from one doctor to the next.

Today is my first day on the job alone...solo...me verses two babies. Whew...The situation is under control at the moment. Both babies are sleeping peacefully (we'll see if that's still the case by the time I finish this blog). Landon took off work for a week to help when Kaylan came home. He is sooo incredible with the babies and they both just love him. Kaylan can barely take her eyes off of him. I miss his help during the day, but I've got to learn to manage from 8 - 5 on my own ;)

Next up....pulmonologist (lung doctor) for both babies next week. Until then...GO RANGERS!!!

The Event

If you watch much TV, you may have seen a preview for a new show on NBC called "The Event." I haven't watched it , but I can tell you that our trip to the pediatrician's office yesterday with the twins can be described as "the event." Getting myself, and two babies ready (with Landon's help of course) was a workout. Our appt was at 11 a.m. and we were up several hours earlier starting morning routines, feeds, diapers, etc. We actually got out the door on time, but by the time we reached the end of our street, Landon realized he forgot his wallet and I forgot my purse. We made it to the doctor office on time. I think I'm so used to just jumping out of my car, slamming the door, cell phone in hand and running into wherever I'm going....Not any longer....No, we became "that family". You know the one...the one that you are waiting on their parking spot, but they have a stroller and 12 kids and 32 bags. Yeah, that was us yesterday. We busted out the double stroller (or the twin limo as I call it) and snapped in two car seats and a diaper bag. We managed to do this while Kaylan and Dylan slept through it all. (Thank God). The pediatrician visit went well for the most part. It was Kaylan's first pedi visit post discharge so we had to go through her history with the doctor (which took a LONG time as you can imagine). When I filled out the new patient paper work, there was a question that said "Has your child ever been hospitalized and if so, what for?" I was tempted to write "see attached" and staple the 40 page file folder I had in my purse.

Kaylan and Dylan turned 4 months yesterday. That means one thing - 4 mth shots at the doctors office. Now, I must say that I've always heard about moms crying when their babies get their shots and how awful it is. I always thought "Well, I've had two babies in the NICU - a couple of shots isn't gonna bother me at all". Um, I would like to apologize for ever having such a thought. I think I cried as much as Dylan and Kaylan did. And the worst part, I had to HOLD THEIR ARMS down while the nurse put 3 needles in their legs. It was the worst, most heart breaking crying I have EVER heard. Landon stood over in the corner and got to be the comforter after the shots while I held down the next one's arms...Ummm.....I told him he can take them to the SIX month shots. That was horrible! All day yesterday Kaylan and Dylan were sleepy, sore and sad. We gave them Tylenol and let them rest most of the day. Today should be better.

Dylan's weight is up to 10 lbs 15 oz (almost 11 lbs) and he's 22 1/8 inches long. Kaylan is 6 lbs 7 oz and 18 inches long. She has only gained an ounce since discharge so we were a little disappointed about that. The dr is having us come back this Friday for another weight check.

I just want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has prayed us through this time with Kaylan and Dylan being in the NICU for so long. We've closed one chapter and are beginning a new one....but it's still going to be difficult. We will commit to keeping you updated on their progress and we ask that you commit to continuous prayer. We are thankful Kaylan is finally home, but we still have a LONG road ahead. She has home health care coming out twice a week for 3 weeks just do to weight checks...Early Child Intervention will be coming starting this week. We'll be seeing a nutritionist, a pulmonologist, a pediatrician, cardiologist and and opthomologist all within the next 30 days. She's going to be getting a lot of medical care as an outpatient. We need lots of prayers for this new chapter. If she does not gain weight, we'll be right back in the hospital and have feeding tubes put in. We do NOT want that.

Thank you for all the encouragement, cards, letters, blog comments, meals, text messages and phone calls. It helped us survived the last 120 days. Here are some pictures we've taken since Kaylan has been home....Reunited and it feels so good....

Kaylan's Journey...

I have put together a little video testimony of Kaylan's journey.  It has been the most incredible experience we have ever encountered.  (I feel like the words to this song were written solely for us on our faith journey.)  God is faithful...

Best if watched in full-screen

T minus 24 hours!

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love you...Tomorrow...You're only...a ...day...awaaayyyy!!! YES, we are bringing Kaylan home tomorrow!! She's had a great week! She's gained a considerable amount this week and we are so excited. She's about 6 lbs 6 oz now and will be very close to Dylan's discharge weight! She's feeding much better and has made it known she's ready to come home.

T minus 24 hours! Let's do this!

We're ready! We're excited! We're ecstactic.....well, Dylan's face below pretty much sums up how we all feel about it ;)