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! 

Here We Go

Hey everyone. I wanted to quickly update you before I get admitted to the hospital tomorrow. I was officially diagnosed with preeclampsia today after my blood pressure kept spiking and my liver and kidney functions are off. The plan is to do a magnesium drip for 24 hours with steroid shots to help mature the babies lungs then I will get my blood retested. Both my OB and MFM believe my numbers will stay high so they want me to have a c-section Thursday morning. I’ll be 33 weeks tomorrow. It’s not exactly MY plan but I know things will be ok. Both babies passed the non stress test today and got 8/8 scores on their biophysicals last week. Obviously I’d love for them to stay in until at least 34 weeks but my body has other ideas...

Big positives:
- DH is home and able to be in the hospital with me!
- This morning was my last Lovenox shot! I have done over 200 belly shots now but no more for me! (Well, I may have to do them for 6 weeks postpartum but I don’t want to think about that yet)
- I got to cancel my gestational diabetes counseling/monitoring appt for tomorrow! No finger pricks!!!!

My last belly shots

I’ll try to update again from the hospital. We love you all! 

24-30 Weeks!

Week 24:

Went to Birmingham to see my MFM doc.  Boys looked great (all blood flows were normal) except for A's fluid level was a little low again at 3cm but he wasn't too concerned.  Baby A was vertex (head down) and B's head was in my ribs.  Fun times haha Baby A also had hiccups during the u/s!  Cutest thing ever!  The tech recorded it for my records as they think he was practicing breathing already.  That's great news!

The next day I had my OB appt.  Kind of overkill on the u/s front again but I got another one to check heart tones and position.  I also STILL have blood in my urine.  My bacteria culture came back completely negative so no infection was seen at all. The blood is attributed to a kidney stone still. Baby A's heart rate was 158 bpm and B's was 145.  Both babies were back to being transverse with their heads on my right side.  They move a lot! B was sleepy and was facing my back so we didn't get good pictures of him this time.  A was a complete wiggle worm and dancing around the entire scan!

Prediction: A will like to be swaddled and B will not!

Week 26:
Growth scan at my MFM this week. Baby A was 1 lb 10 oz and B was 2 lb even. Size discordance is starting to go up. Fluid levels were good as well as all dopplers. That’s a very positive thing! Baby B didn’t want to cooperate to have his picture taken and kept rolling to face my back. Baby A had hiccups again!

Week 27:
OB appt this week and got a little bit of concerning news. Baby A really hasn’t grown at all since his growth scan last week. (He was 1 lb 11oz, B was 2 lbs 5 oz) Hard news for this mama to hear. Both my OB and MFM are talking about taking them at 32 weeks. My next growth scan won’t be for 3 weeks (with my MFM) so it’s a wait and see game at this point.

Week 28:
My sis and family came out to visit us and threw me an incredible baby shower! I cried all way through it and felt overwhelmed by everyone that gave us well wishes and support. Thank you to everyone that made that day so special!

My sis and bro in law also blessed my socks off by helping me so much around our new house. They fixed things, painted the nursery and have been absolute lifesavers at helping me get ready for these babies. I can’t thank them enough for their generosity and kindness!

We've put up curtains since taking those pictures and things are starting to come together!

Week 29:
OB appt this week for ultrasound, glucose and iron testing. No growth scan yet. Both boys were practice breathing (yay!) and I got to watch them both open and close their mouths over and over. (Tasting that nasty glucose drink?!?) Fluid levels good and heart rates in the 150’s. Baby A was super active and wouldn’t sit still in the beginning but by the end he fell asleep. We could actually see him opening and closing his eyes! Coolest thing ever!

I got a finger prick to test my sugars and iron level. Sugar was slightly high and iron was slightly low. Sigh. Now I’ll have to do the dreaded 3 hour glucose test that has a total of four blood draws all while fasting (and consuming 100g of sugar in 5 mins).

Week 30:
Here I am sitting in my car in the Walmart (Quest Diagnostics is located in Walmart) parking lot having not eaten in over 12 hours. I just drank 100g of a nasty sugar glucose “fruit punch” drink and waiting for my second blood draw. I have dreaded this test since finding out I had “slightly elevated sugars” at my last OB appt. The blood draws don’t bother me, the fasting does. I feel pretty lousy if I haven’t eaten so this is going to be a challenge. One blood draw down, 3 to go...

Well, results are in and I failed the 3 hour test as well.  I'm now diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The next step is monitoring my blood sugars four times a day with finger pricks.  Hopefully I can control it with diet and won't need insulin.  Has there been anything about this pregnancy that has been easy!??!!

I saw my MFM and got another growth scan.  Baby A is now 2 lbs 8 oz (He grew!!!!) and baby B is 3 lbs 1 oz.  Both are little but GROWING! Pics weren't great as neither wanted to cooperate.  My MFM consulted with Houston about my case.  Baby A still has type 1 sIUGR and while the discordance went up to 22%, as long as dopplers (blood flows), heart rates, fluid levels and my blood pressure remain stable, I *should* be allowed to deliver between 34 and 36 weeks!   That's HUGE!!  Keep cooking babies!