After many tears and a few miles, we made it home last night around midnight. I think the hardest thing a new parent can do is leave the hospital without babies. It is sort of a bittersweet homecoming because though our boys are fighting for their lives in the NICU, at the same time it is so nice to sleep in our own bed and have a nice hot shower in our own shower. Not being able to walk down a floor and see our boys at will is very, very hard. We miss them so much already and having to wonder about how they are doing from hour to hour is difficult on us.
It was good to see our puppy who we missed so much as well. It is so strange to me how dogs have a sense of when something isn't right. Schnitzel has been very clingy, and loving since we got home and won't let us make a move unless he's right there with us. Having him back with us makes us feel like more of a family again. Danielle and I don't know what we'd do without him.
The boys are still stable.
Anthony is cruising along, and his nurses only have the best things to say about him. We had a little worry yesterday when his night nurse, Hazel, told us she found a little bit of blood in his feeding tube. An immediate X-ray was negative and the doctor thinks the bleed is most likely from the Ibuprofen he's on to close his PDA. Another X-ray this morning hasn't been read by the doctor yet, but his stomach is measuring normal which suggests there isn't any blood. Hazel also told us late last night that upon a second check of the tube she didn't see any blood. Stay tuned on this issue.
We were happy yesterday to get to see Anthony's face for the first time since birth. He has a beanie and little "sunglasses" on to protect his eyes from the light over his bed. Danielle and I think he looks like an old man. I thought he looked like he'd been 10 rounds with Manny Pacquiao because one of his nurses (who remains a mystery we are determined to solve!) stuck some Velcro on his cheeks to keep his glasses on and the way they were stuck on there have have made him look like he has two swollen eyes.
On an better note, his CPAP machine had to be taken off so we could see his face and Anthony was breathing at 100% room air with no help at all. The oxygen saturation in his blood was still at 100% with no help from any machine! Once he's done with his Ibuprofen regimen the doctors think they may try to take him off of all breathing machines.
After some coaxing from Mom, Anthony tried to open his eyes. Jay and Hazel tell us they've seen him open them, so we are hopeful soon he'll show them off for Mom and Dad.
Jared is still cruising as well. He is on the CPAP machine and all of his numbers look good. There have been no complications so far from his blood transfusion. Infection is the biggest threat, and his blood cultures have been negative so far. He has a follow up ultrasound on his head today.
The doctors usually suspect a worsening of a bleed on the brain like Jared had a few days ago, but all clinical signs point to the opposite so far. The bleed was very small, so I am hoping it is gone already. We are hopeful his results come back negative, and of course you'll know when we do.
Jared's PDA is very small and the doctors are hoping it will close on its own. We are not sure if they have Ibuprofen scheduled for him, but that would be the next step if the ductus does not close.
Once we can fix the PDA, the doctors and nurses think they want to start feeding the boys. They will start with 1 CC of food. To put that in perspective, that would be about 1/5 of a teaspoon of food. If they handle that, then the feedings will increase and hopefully they'll start packing on some weight.
Oh yeah, if both boys come off the CPAP machines then Danielle and I can finally hold them. We're excited about that!
So, thank you again for all of your love and support, and keep praying for our little guys. The NICU road is a long and bumpy one, and our boys still have a lot of fighting left to do.
Fight On, Little Fighters!- Love Daddy
Welcome to Our Blog! Our Story Starts Below...
Welcome to our blog! We set this up as an information hub about the progress of our little twin boys who were born on January 5, 2010. We along with our little boys first thank you so much for your love and support, and hope that this blog will give you an opportunity to follow their progress as they grow in the NICU at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton.
Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.
Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.
The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.
I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.
On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.
After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.
The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.
The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!
Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.
There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.
Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.
So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.
Enjoy!
Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.
Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.
The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.
I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.
On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.
After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.
The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.
The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!
Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.
There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.
Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.
So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.
Enjoy!
Hey Guys! We are happy to hear that things are moving along! We know that it is hard to come home but we also know that both of you are extremely strong people and you will persevere through this! We think of you both constantly and we continue to pray for all 4 of you! Know that we are here if you need us! Love you all! Fight on, little fighters! Love Josh and Jen
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