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, August 31, 2010

Doing Well and Growing Fast

As we approach the boys' 8 month birthday, we are pleased to announce they are doing very well. They continue to eat well and are sleeping better every night.

Both Jared and Anthony had a trip to the pediatric opthamologist a few weeks ago, for a routine eye check up. He was pleased with their vision as of yet and will be seeing them again in six months. From here on out, they will be seen every six months for eye exams unless something irregular comes up.

They are both sleeping well at night, with a few night terrors every once in a while. While, these night terrors don't wake them up, their screaming sure wakes me up. We have been directed by the nurse at their pediatrician's office, not to wake them up when they are having a night terror, but rather just to let them cry. Unfortunately, these can often last 10 or even 30 minutes. According to the nurse, babies and toddlers often have night terrors during a new developmental phase in their life. They can start as early as six months and come and go throughout their childhood. Also, both boys are rolling over comfortably now so I am in their room multiple times each night to check on them since they like to sleep on their sides and tummies now.

The boys have also enjoyed time in the pool this summer. They love the freedom of being to splash and kick. In fact, bath time has become a mini swimming/splash session, as I am usually soaked after giving them both a bath.

Bad news, the boys both had their first cold about a week ago. But with a humidifier, sleep, vapor baths and of course, saline drops and an aspirator for their nose, we all made it through fine.

Still no teeth yet. Both of them have been drooling and chewing like crazy, but no sign of a tooth on either of them. Yesterday afternoon, Anthony's mouth had a little blood in it and although I wasn't sure if that is a normal sign of teething, that was my first thought. Turns out, looks like he just scratched his gums with one of the many things he likes to put in his mouth :)

They are both getting stronger each day. While neither of them will sit up on their own for any duration of time, we see improvement day to day. Anthony, in fact, would rather stand than sit if he has his choice. He is much happier if you hold his hands and let him stand in front of you rather than sitting in between your legs.

They have become a lot more playful lately and love when I "get them" or play peek-a-boo. They also noticed each other for the first time a few weeks ago and even had their first fight. Jared wanted to suck/chew on Anthony's arm, but I guess Anthony did not want that, because Jared ended up with a scratch on his forehead. Albeit a coincidence, I still thought it was a funny sequence of events.

Anthony has found his screaming voice - yeah!! He tends to be more vocal than Jared in that he loves to talk all the time. He will talk in his sleep, talk to himself if he wakes up early from his nap and of course, loves yelling. It is funny, because you are not sure if it is happy or sad at first, but it turns out, he just loves to hear himself!

Thank you for your continued support and love,
Fight On! Little Fighters!! Love Momma

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