Family Update:

It's been over two years since I've written anything for my blog!  Some sweet friends encouraged me to write a bit again so I thought I would.  It's pretty therapeutic to get things out and it's been a journal of sorts to look back on and see all that God has done.  While there won't be any "fertility" (NO more babies for us!) to my Faith and Fertility blog, I still thought I'd update you all on what's been going on around here.   

DH retired from active duty late 2021 and landed a job here in AL 11 months later.  Let's just say, 11 months is a long time my friends.  We had prayed (and MANY were praying for us) that wherever DH could get a job, that's where we'd go.  Most of the family (ahem, just not Skittle) wanted to move to TX to be closer to extended family, but if there was no job there, we weren't going to go.  DH got an offer here, so we've stayed.  We haven't ruled out going to TX but for right now, it makes sense for us to stay here.  

Skittle is in 7th grade. 7th! She plays the clarinet and bass drum for marching band and is still doing competitive gymnastics (going to level 8 next season!).  She somehow manages straight A's despite her crazy schedule.  She's SUPER excited and has been counting down the days to her regional gymnastics meet in NC coming up this weekend.  

Still after all this time, I'll look at DH and say "We have identical twin boys!"  We both will smile and just agree that it's amazing, and crazy, and hard to believe!  They are so full of life (and energy!) and are the sweetest little guys.  

A week old in the NICU

Back when we were even talking about transferring more than one embryo (as in, the years following Skittle's birth, 10+ years ago) the "risk" of having multiples was on our radar.  Granted, just knowing how hard it was for us to conceive ONE child, I didn't REALLY think I'd ever have twins.  But, we did have conversations about "what if" we had twins.  I knew, I'd need help.   My body just isn't like a normal persons (I really don't talk too much about it).  Anyway, we did hire someone to come in to help me, which allowed me to be able to rest some but she wasn't the right fit for our family.  We let her go in May of 2021 and hired, whom the boys affectionately call, Ms. Nell. I'll be honest here, I often feel guilty about needing extra help but since Ms. Nell has been here, I've only flared a couple times and I've easily been able to get the rest/sleep my body demands.  It's hard to admit that yep, I'm a SAHM (with a fun little eBay store!) and I have full time help.  But here we are.  She's been the ABSOLUTE biggest blessing we could have ever asked or hoped for.  

I'm going to write a bit of what the boys are doing these days, just so I can look back and it and remember some things.  They are 2 years and 9 months old.  AD is 28.4 lbs and 37.5 inches tall.  GW is 29.4 lbs and 38 inches tall. (Boy have they come a long way from 3.4 lbs and 15 inches and 4 lbs and 17 inches!) They've been about a pound a part for as long as I can remember!  Both are tall, but thin.  They still easily fit in 12-18 and 18-24 month shorts, but 3T pajamas!  

Both boys are obsessed with letters and numbers. Currently, they both know and recognize all upper case and lowercase letters, know all letter sounds, numbers up to 30, and about 40 sight words (which they've known for 6-8 months now).  They know addition math facts from 0-10 and around 100 multiplication facts. No joke.  They love to quiz me on random math facts too.  I'm running out of things for them to memorize! Ha! They know The Lord's Prayer in its entirety, and 10+ Bible verses (some with 5+ sentences!) Now, I say all that but the poor kids still struggle with using a spoon correctly, which makes me giggle.  It's made me realize that every kid learns at his own pace and these two focus on letters and numbers more than anything else. AD has taught himself how to do a headstand (most likely from watching his big sis) and both love to flip around pretending to do cartwheels. (I've started teaching them pullovers on our bar here and basic gymnastics stretches.)  Both are no where near ready for potty training (and that's OK!) although it would be great if they started to show some interest by this summer.  

One of my favorite things to watch is their made up games.  They have one called "Itty Bitty" and most of it is in their twin language, which blows my mind! I've tried to get it on video, but every time I start to record, they stop.  Typical!  

I know a lot of how they are playing together is maybe more of a sibling thing than a twin thing.  Skittle never had that built in sibling friend (not that she lacked for play-dates or friends mine you...but it's just not the same thing) so watching my boys play together is all new for me.  I absolutely love just standing back and watching them interact together.  

Here’s a list of their current favorites, according to them:

AD:

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite vehicle: Steamroller 

Favorite letter: F (he likes to go to bed holding a foam letter F. Such a goofball) 

Favorite animal: Cat

Favorite food: Watermelon 

GW: 

Favorite color: Green

Favorite vehicle: Fire Truck 

Favorite Letter: G 

Favorite animal: Duck (I think it’s really a cat though) 

Favorite food: Broccoli (umm probably not, more likely watermelon) 

Ok, this has gone on long enough.  Maybe I shouldn't wait another two years to update everyone :) I'll leave you with some pictures from over the past 6ish months.  All of us say it and know it to be true: Time is a thief.  

4 months!

 Ok, I started this when my boys just turned 4 months old, now they are almost 5! 

Y’all. I have four month old twins! Just about once a day, I will look at my boys and say, “I have twins!” It still blows my mind. We have three kids!!! 

A lot has happened since I posted last so I’ll try to give a quick run down. 

It was noticed in the NICU that Gideon has a heart murmur. We had his first appt with a pediatric cardiologist when he was 2 months old. It was deemed “significant” after an ultrasound but we are still hoping he will outgrow it. A vessel from his lung to his heart is too small, which is causing the problems. Anders never had one until we had their 2 month pediatrician appt where he also got a referral to the pedi cardiologist. Both boys recently had the cardiologist appt and Anders is totally fine and while G still has a murmur, it’s getting better. We don’t have to go back for another six months. At that appt, G weighed 10 lbs 8 oz and Anders was 9 lbs 4 oz. Still so little! I have to remind myself that G has more than doubled his birth weight and Anders has almost tripled! Both boys roll from tummy to back (and have been doing it since they were 11 weeks old). And we just got our first belly laughs! 

G at his first cardi appt

I’m still pumping for them and while I hate it, I’m still plugging along. My goal was to give them breast milk until they were two months old but here I am still pumping and getting enough to feed both. I make anywhere from 52-55 oz per day and pump 5 to 7 times in 24 hours. My new goal is to pump until they are six months and reevaluate. I’ve had to go completely dairy free for Anders, as we suspect a cows milk protein allergy/intolerance. I haven’t had a single bite of dairy in almost 8 weeks now. (Did you know even McDonalds fries have dairy?! Even some lunch meats use a dairy starter culture! It’s been a huge learning curve!) It is HARD but we’ve seen a huge improvement in his temperament, although he’s still dealing with terrible acid reflux-as is Gideon. Most likely, I need to cut out soy in my diet as well...(so much easier said than done) I have around 1000oz (with about 200oz of that dairy free) of breast milk in the freezer. I’m thankful I can produce enough milk for them at this point, but did I mention that it sucks and I hate pumping?! 

We are starting to get consistent 4 hour sleep stretches at night and a couple times have gotten 6. Last night they did two, five hour stretches! My body thanks them! 

Long story but we were kicked out of our pediatrician office in town. Here’s the cliff notes version. At 3 months old, G spiked a fever one night. I freaked out and called the after hours pedi. They agreed he’d be ok until the morn but to get him in first thing. I did. He had a low grade fever that morn and after a lot of testing, he had a UTI. The doc was still very concerned for him and she sent us to the ER. After 8 awful hours in the ER, it was again concluded, he had a UTI. He no longer had a fever, and his white blood cell count was falling back into normal range. Our pedi wasn’t satisfied and wanted him to have a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis. I said no. I also said no to flying him to children’s in Birmingham...HE WAS GETTING BETTER and didn’t even have a fever! The ER doc was in complete agreement with me and thought all of that was crazy and unnecessary. We did a full round of antibiotics and he never had any other issues. Anyway, our pedi said we were no longer welcome in their practice because of that. SO, we just transferred care to the military base. We had their 4 month appt yesterday and overall I’m pleased with how it all went.  

In the ER with my sweet boy

Anders is struggling to gain weight, despite me going dairy free. (Although, he grew 4 inches in the last 2 months so that has to count for something!) The new pedi said I absolutely need to go soy free as well. Sigh. I might start supplementing with formula to see if that’ll help him gain, but finding a soy free, dairy free formula without crap in it is challenging. He’s in the 0% for adjusted weight and height at this point. Gideon is in the 2%. Both are fine with meeting milestones although Anders feels like a limp noodle at times so we are having him evaluated with early intervention. 

They both are pretty happy little guys. Both love to talk (especially with Skittle!) and are constantly moving and wiggling. Anders could prob still fit in some newborn clothing but I tend to try and have him in 3 month outfits even though many run big on him. G easily fits 3 months and some 3-6 months. I bought Christmas outfits in 3-6 months so most are way too big. Oh well! G hates sleeping anywhere but his bed at home and will let you know with his big powerful lungs that he’s unhappy. Anders will sleep anywhere but prefers his bed too. We won’t be starting solid foods with them until they are 6 months adjusted age (so almost 8 months old). Both are waking from their nap...I hope I can write again soon! 

They are starting to notice each other now. 

Both smiling for the camera at the same time! It only took 47 tries to get this pic! Ha! 

My Due Date

 Tuesday was my due date! It’s crazy that my boys are now 7 weeks old (2 days adjusted).  

Gideon is now 6 lbs 12 oz and Anders is 5 lbs 12 oz. They are still little peanuts but are growing and filling out. They both take just over 2 oz of my expressed milk every couple of hours and we’ve started trying to nurse more. Both are able to latch but it’s definitely a work in progress! 

Anders HATES diaper changes and bath time but loves to be swaddled or being held upright. He’s starting to wake up more during the day and we love to see his little eyes! He’s still in preemie clothing and sometimes they are still big on him. 

Gideon also hates diaper changes but actually likes his bath. He adores sleeping on his daddy’s chest (really they both do!)  He has the best “alert, calm” attitude when he’s not hungry. He’s also still in preemie clothes but is starting to fill them out. 

They both had eye exams (which was pretty traumatic for us) and passed with flying colors.  No ROP (Retinopathy of preemies) here.  They'll have a regular eye exam in 6 months.  The ophthalmologist said they'll have blue eyes with a little green (they had their eyes dilated and he was able to tell), which is just like their big sister! 

They were swaddled...but they break out pretty much every time now

Play time! They will look at each other and usually end up bopping each other at least once

G baby

Baby update!

So, my plan of writing my blog from the hospital failed miserably. And I’ll tell you why.

We got to the hospital at 9am as instructed.  I was nervous about knowing where to go but it was easy enough to find and figure out. By 11am, I was hooked up to monitors and the magnesium drip (along with fluids and antibiotics) was started. I was warned that the first small bag of mag isn’t much fun but it should only take about an hour to complete. Then the next 23 hours it will be a constant flow. Y’all. The first hour was totally fine...as were the next 7. It was after that that I felt as though I wasn’t going to make it. I started contracting every 15-30 mins ALL night long and the headache that accompanied the mag was absolutely brutal. I don’t know if it was the mag itself or the preeclampsia but I had to cry uncle and get pain meds. (Which made me instantly vomit and pee myself all at the same time...which happened over and over the next 12ish hours) At the 8 hour mark, I also became overwhelmingly fatigued. My doctor had mercy on me and didn’t require me to have a Foley catheter, but that meant getting to my bedside commode every 2ish hours. I should have just gotten the dang cath. I was so weak I could barely lift my head, bend my fingers or eat, let alone get myself to the toilet.  My husband is a saint...he never left my side during all of this and helped me every step of the way. I don’t think I could have done it without him.

At 7am the next morning (I still had 4 more hours of mag) my doc checked in on me and saw that I could barely open my eyes. He allowed the mag to be turned down thank goodness. Finally, by 11am, I could move again and was taken off the mag.  I remember feeling very cold all over my body but yet my face felt as though it was on fire. It was a very strange sensation and one I hope to never repeat. I also got two steroid injections, which hurt like no other injection I’ve ever gotten. 

The next 24 hours, I was told to rest and regain my strength. I was even allowed solid food again. I thought for sure I’d be able to at least watch TV or read or write my blog. Nope. I spent my time sleeping and pee’ing away all the fluid and antibiotics they were pumping into me. I was also told that if my contractions didn’t calm down, I’d have a c section that day. It was funny that the mag made me contract since that’s the medication they use to STOP contractions. 

Thursday July 16:

Baby day!! I was nervous yet calm about the c section. I do believe that everyone praying for us gave me a greater peace about it. It’s still a major surgery, even if it’s a pretty common one. I met with the anesthesiologist and she seemed confident with my spinal block (I’ve had one before and didn’t have any issues then so I wasn’t anticipating any now) and then, it was time. Here she is about to wheel me back.

I numbed up easily and it was go time.

Anders (baby A) came out first and didn’t have a full cry. We got to see him briefly over the curtain and then he was taken immediately to the side with the nicu team. (There were easily 15 people in the OR with me!) Gideon (baby B) was born 2 minutes later crying his head off. We saw him briefly too and then he was taken to the side. Both were breathing on their own! I got to snuggle them for several minutes as I was being stitched up. They were even doing so well, they got to be carried out of the OR to the nicu and didn’t have to go in the isolettes! 

Anders was 3lbs 4 oz and 15 inches and Gideon was 4 lbs even and 17 inches! 

Both only needed oxygen with a cannula and no ventilators or CPAP. 

They will be in the nicu for several weeks if not a month. At this point, they both have IV’s for electrolyte balancing and feeding. They have tubes down their throats for when they can tube feed. And of course, heart and BP monitors. It’s a lot on my little babies! 

July 17:

Gideon 

Anders

July 18: First time trying to bottle feed. 

Both are needing some donor milk as my milk took 5 days to come in. 

July 19/20: Anders got off the oxygen cannula before Gideon.

We are starting to see their little personalities! Anders loves to hold on to something to soothe himself and Gideon loves his binky! Both like to be swaddled and snuggled. Every day they get a little stronger. Feeding tubes were changed to their noses and iv’s were removed. Both had some jaundice so they were under the lights for about 48 hours. 

In order to come home, they have to take all 8 bottles without needing their tubes to finish their milk. They both get tired very easily so getting them to take the full bottle has been a challenge.

July 24

July 25: Eyes! 

July 26: They get to wear clothes! They are trying to regulate their own temperatures now

July 27: More bottle feeding. They are doing about 2 bottles per day.  I’ve also been able to pump enough so that they are only getting my milk. I’m very proud of that! They are super close to their birth weights now too. Now they just need to learn to eat without tube feeding every 3 hours before we can take them home. 

Sorry for the picture overload! We’re just a little excited! 

Thanks once again for all the prayers and support you all have shown us. We love you!