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!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Slight change in plans

Anthony's surgery has been rescheduled for tomorrow. They had a hard time getting everyone's schedule to work out for a procedure today (especially Anthony...he could hardly clear room room to fit it in tomorrow).

Jared will not be coming home today because he needs to have a follow up eye exam before he is cleared to go home. The opthamologist will perform the exam tomorrow either before or after Anthony's surgery since he will be at the hospital.

Jared will also need a hearing test before he can be discharged. They attempted to perform this test on Friday, but he was so squirmy that the audiologist could not get a good read because of all of the interference. Anthony did have a hearing test on Friday and passed.

We are not sure when they will be making their way home yet. On Saturday someone suggested that Jared may come home mid-week and Anthony may come home later in the week or on the weekend, but then yesterday Dr. Patel said that it would make the most sense to hold off a few days and send them home together. It all depends on Jared's follow up eye exam and how Anthony's surgery goes. Anthony will also need a follow up exam but we are unsure if that will possibly be an outpatient exam or if he will stay in the NICU until the opthamologist checks him next week.

It seems that the roller coaster ride continues...

Health wise, both boys are doing very well and continue to gain weight. Jared weighs 4 lbs. 13 oz. and Anthony weighs 5 lbs. 4 oz. Currently their feeding orders are ad-lib which means they can eat as much as they want at each feeding. They each range from 30 - 70 cc each feeding averaging around 50 cc. The issue is that the nurse prepares 60cc for each boy for each feeding and any unfinished breast milk gets thrown out. It makes me cringe...because I work so hard for it :).

Jason and I are both getting excited and anxious to bring our babies home. We spent time this weekend getting everything ready for them and are eager to acquaint them with their new home. Big brother Schnitzel is also quite anxious for them to arrive. He will scavenge through the laundry bags that we bring home from the hospital then roll around and lay on their clothes and blankets.

Thank you all again for all of your support. There is no way we could make it through any of these bumps without all of your love and prayers.

Fight On! Little Fighters!! - Love Momma

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