When I’m crabby and think oh my God did they poop again or why did Loen just pour the brush water from painting over her brother, I need to stop and think this was all we ever wanted. To hear their cry, pray they would walk and see. That they would live.
Sometimes you just need a reminder.

Oh my god are they licking the mirror I just cleaned?? Deep breaths Hava, remember, remember, remember…..

Saying hi to Katie. Or should I say trying to get them to say hi. Loen kept acting ‘shy’.

Finally

Loen and Tomiko

The twins with Dr. Donelly

Trying not to blow away

With Dr. Lueck. I think Derby got dirt in his eye and was over it.

One of the twins nurses, Ann, does photography on the side. She posted the family picture on her website.

]]> http://thetadpoles.com/2009/10/16/nicu-reunion-2/feed/ 1 http://thetadpoles.com/2008/12/27/nicu/ http://thetadpoles.com/2008/12/27/nicu/#comments Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:29:51 +0000 Hava http://thetadpoles.com/?p=582 Here is an update about the NICU donations we collected in lieu of birthday gifts for the twins. The grand total came out to $1000! We were told that they purchased two glider chairs and a new digital camera with printer with the money. They previously used to take Polaroid photos of the babies when the parents couldn’t be there but the film was no longer available. We were happy they were able to purchase things to make life a little easier for other parents who had children in the ward.

It was weird when we stopped by the NICU to drop off the money because while we were waiting by the front doors they rushed by with twins that had just been delivered. They looked so tiny and fragile, it is amazing how hard it is to remember our twins being that small. I truly felt for the family that would be just starting their journey. 

UPDATES

• Loen: Weighs 13 pounds 8 1/2 ounces and is 25 inches long. She is now the proud owner of 2 bottom teeth. Her hair has had a major growth spurt. It is like she is a Chia Pet or one of those Play-Doh heads that you squish the hair out of.

  

  I went and bought her baby barrettes the other day. So cute and they are made to hold only a few pieces of hair. You might think I dress her up like a little doll….and you are correct. I love picking out outfits and getting them ready. Tadd wont even put pajamas on them now without asking what they should be wearing. She is a baby on the move. What with the rolling and squirming she can effectively move herself all over her crib. Tadd and I often find in her in a different place and position every time we go check on her. We spend most of our day on a big sheepskin rug that I covered with a quilt. Why a quilt you may ask? Two reasons, one Loen likes to take handfuls of the fur and put them in her mouth, I’m sure that cant be good. Two they both still spit up. I would rather wash a quilt versus a $150 cleaning bill for the rug. But like I was saying about the moving, the other day they were playing on the rug so I went and put their bottles in the dishwasher. The kitchen is steps away from the front room and I could see them. In a matter of seconds Loen rolled off the rug. When I went to put her back on it, I found her face down….licking the wood floor. I freaked out a little bit. NICU cleanliness habits die hard. She seems to have survived though. Loen was assessed by the NICU follow up team and the Early Start program last week. The NICU physical therapist said she felt Loen was closer to the 1-2 month mark in her milestones. I had a hard time accepting that. Can you really assess a child in 15 minutes, a child who needed a nap nonetheless? Early Start felt she was hitting all the milestones in the 3-5 month range. Still delayed but doing well for a micropreemie.

• Derby: Weighs 13 pounds 8 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. We thought for sure he would weigh more than her this time around. He feels so solid and compact. Maybe the key word there is compact. I guess 1 1/2″ makes a big difference in weight distribution when your only 2 feet tall. Still no teeth. I can see the pearly white buds glistening just under the surface of his gums. It is hard to check if they have actually broken through because he likes to stick his tongue out when you open his mouth. Derby is so much like his father. He is awake and smiling at 6 am.  You look at him and he gives a happy little squeal and smiles at you. He is ready for whatever the day has to bring. He will go back to bed if you snuggle him or lie him beside you. Loen is like me in that she will sleep much longer. We wake them up at the same time just to keep them on the same schedule. But she wakes up with the biggest grin and sleepy eyes. Derby has really been more social in the past week. Lots of smiles, even for strangers. He also has been “talking” a lot. Yesterday at Costco I don’t know what his deal was but I’m pretty sure it involved the words “Hey, Mom. Hey Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom can I have that??” At the NICU followup Derby decided he would have none of it. I take that back, he had a great time seeing Martha and Katie. He was making lovely cooing noises for Katie. When we switched to the physical therapist room Derby was done, D-O-N-E. He fell asleep and could not be woken up for the assessment. I handed him to the therapist and his head just fell forward still asleep. We tried talking to him…nada. We get to the car to go home, and yup, you guessed it. Awake, smiling, ready to go have some fun. Mari, our child life specialist, has said before that when things get too stressful he “checks out” by going to sleep. She has seen it in other preemies who have had a rough start. He is more delayed then Loen but again it is felt to be due to his vision problems.

Loen is so very animated. I swear she is trying to tell me things

Loen also likes to taste everything

They were enjoying a little naked time (with a diaper on of course, I’m not that carefree)

Working on their wrestling skills

Passed out during play time

Notice how I am doing the “mom bounce”. Right before our segment Derby started to get crabby. I noticed he was wet but I wouldn’t have had time to change him before we went on live TV. I was doing my best to keep him quiet, I was also steeling myself for the “air raid” scream. Thank goodness he kept it together till after we were done and decided to scream while we went to make their hand print tiles.

If anyone is interested in donating to CMT on behalf of Cottage Children’s Hospital click HERE

Unfortunately the pictures that Grandpa Jim took turned out blurry. But hey blurry is better than nothin

Shirts

Waiting to go into the taping area

Waiting with Dr. Silverberg

Listening to instructions

Lights…camera….ACTION The making of tiny stars!

Derby was not excited about making the hand print tile

Loen fared a little better

Finished product. Now it just needs to be glazed and mounted on the graduate wall outside of the NICU

After our segment we went up to the NICU to say hi. Derby and Debbie

Loen and Dr. Barkley. Earlier she gave him a big smile.

Derby and his first nurse, Gail (he is acting like he knows how to nurse. What a FAKER)

Last pictures in the NICU. Unfortunately the eye exam caused her to look like she had been partying all night long.

Coming home

I just feel so torn that Derby has to stay. Though he had a bad A & B early Saturday morning and I would rather him do that while he is in the hospital vs. home. You know it is bad when ICU nurses looked concerned and call the doctor at 1:30 am. They aren’t totally sure what caused it other than he got upset and had a large poop. He still doesn’t really know what to think about pooping, it is such a foreign thing to him. You can see him bare down, his head will turn red then his heart rate will drop. I tried telling him he cant go home till he cuts it out but I’m not sure if he was listening. Something we learned about Derby is he LOVES the swing. We brought in the swing we got at the baby shower and he acts like a little King in it. Bad thing Loen also LOVES the swing. She was in it earlier and I think Derby knew and he got a little crabby. Looks like we are going to have to buy a second swing! Thats ok, I hear that is the way you get a shower when you have twins, put them in the swing. Poor little Derby, he probably thought he was making out. “All right! I get the swing all to myself. HA HA Loen, too bad for you! Wait… wait a second… where are they going? And why is Loen going with them? COME BACK! You can have the swing I want to come home!”

A little one on one with Derby before taking Loen home. Poor little guy had no clue what was going on

Loen’s first night she was up almost the entire time till 6:30 am when she finally fell asleep. She didnt cry very much just wiggled and grumped. I kept leaning over the co-sleeper to check on her. Loen and I slept in till 10 when she decided it was time to eat. The last couple of nights have been better. I premade all the bottles and put them in a little cooler by the bed. I was told not to nurse her all the time because it will tire her out. So I am trying to nurse every other time. She is getting better with both breast and bottle. We have committed the unthinkable by putting her in bed with us a couple for times. I put her in the co-sleeper and she whines, I put her next to me and she is fast asleep. When you’re tired the fast asleep baby looks pretty desirable vs the whining baby. I mentioned that to the NICU nurses and they had a look of horror on their face. They told me a story of a family who took their baby home from the NICU only to have the baby suffocate in their bed. Yup no more babies in the bed!

We were supposed to have our first pediatricians appointment yesterday but alas mommy missed it. I thought it was at 11 am and I was in the car getting ready to leave when I got a call from his office. They wanted to know why I missed her appointment, I said I thought it was at 11 and I was on my way. Well it was at 10:45 and I was told it was too late to try and see him. The rescheduled for today at 12:30 and I was told NOT to miss this one. I’m sure there is a sticky note on the chart about how I am a loser mom. CRAP! So much for the good first impression. I told Tadd I am afraid we will never get anywhere on time again. I feel like by the time I feed and change Loen, clean myself up, change Loen again because she spit up, try and get some food it is like 2 pm! What is going to happen when Derby comes home?They both take anywhere between 20-40 minutes to eat. It is going to be a never ending cycle of eat, change, sleep..repeat.

Loen test driving the changing table

Loen in her crib (not like she sleeps there!) Nice job by my mom and brother on the bedding!

Derby’s crib is ready and waiting….

Loen looking very smug watching Lost.

UPDATES:

• Both: Had their cranial ultrasounds. They were done 3 times when they were first born and we were so lucky that they were negative. They check them again before they get ready to go home to be sure nothing has changed. Derby’s was still negative. Loen had a small amount of “shadowing” that the doctor said was clinically insignificant. Essentially a Grade I brain bleed. The good news is they had no signs of leukomalacia which is often a sign of cerebral palsy.They also had their 2 month vaccinations (yes, a month late). They said that they waited because they can sometimes cause apnea and bradycardia, so they wanted them to be a little more stable before they got them. Were working on the breastfeeding. On Tuesday Loen was able to get 12 cc’s. Yesterday she only got 3 but she was trying. Derby was able to get 9 cc’s. He likes to think it is one huge boob shaped pacifier. He falls asleep on me all the time. One day I took him off the breast because he wasn’t doing anything and tried to bottle feed him. He started SCREAMING, so the nurse said since he was awake try and put him back to breast. He screamed a few more little muffled screams into the boob then promptly feel asleep with it in his mouth. We need to practice a little more….

• Loen: Did not like the fact that Derby had one upped her on the nasal cannula so she decided she wasn’t going to use hers either. They are both down to just their feeding tube. Occasionally they will need a little “blow by” (where they hold up a oxygen mask to their face and let them have a little O2 to help bring their sats back up). Loen mainly needs that when she is bottle feeding. She had her eyes examined today and they look good. The best part is the doctor wrote for her to have a check up in 3 months! No more Thursday morning eye exam torture for her. Loen is getting chubby now that she is weighs 5 pounds 1 ounce.

• Derby: Weighs in at 5 pounds 1 ounce. I cant believe they weigh the same. Derby still looks heavier but we think it is due to the fact he is shorter and has the big ol chin. For one whole day Loen was 1/2 an ounce heavier than Derby but I think he tried extra hard to gain to so she wouldn’t be ahead of him. I can tell they are already very competitive! His eyes are the same so they will keep checking every Thursday to see if he has any changes. He is so much more alert now. I think he realizes this is when he was supposed to be born and is ready to start living it up.

Today the cable guy came out to turn on our cable. We haven’t had cable since last summer. We turned it off when we realized we were sitting at home watching crap like Wife Swap. With the twins comimg home we thought it might be good to have since we wont be leaving the house for awhile. The workers to install shutters in the house were also here. Next weekend is the baby shower for the twins and a few things have already arrived so the boxes are sitting in the front room. I felt like I had to explain why we had all this baby stuff but no babies. I wouldn’t want them to think we were preparing to kidnap a baby!

Loen

Derby

Oh well, he was quite stylish while it lasted.

And I cannot leave out my little Loen. Though she has been a fashion plate for sometime now

Showing Loen how things are done (He looks smug about the no nasal cannula. Loen looks she is getting ready to tell on him. “MOM, he is on my side AGAIN”)