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!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Time flies when you have twins!

Both "eating" thier drums
First visit with Santa

Jared giving a new meaing to being "in" the saucer


Anthony on the one day he decided to smile at the camera
I tell my self multiple times each week "You really need to update the blog!" I feel that I am letting down those of you who still follow the blog regularly. I am not really one to set resolutions for the New Year, but I will definitely do my best to update more frequently. I am sure you can only begin to imagine how hectic my life is everyday :)


One of my books about raising multiples has a Congratulations chapter near the older infancy/first birthday section. The author (pediatrician and mom of twins) congratulates me for making it through the first year with twins. She writes about how as a Mom of twins I have probably never felt more house-bound than you have this past year and how the year really does fly by because of how amazingly busy you are. This is so true. I do my best to take in each experience I get with Jared and Anthony because it moves so quickly.


The boys are doing very well. They just got over a cold which means Anthony needed to have his ear infection re-checked so he began another antibiotic last Thursday. It is definitely no fun having twins with colds but doubly no fun when they have ear infections also. The doctor recommended bringing them in for a recheck if they happened to get a cold, good thinking Doc!

Jared and Anthony had their first appointment and CHOC's developmental clinic last month. It was kind of a culture shock for Jason and I because the therapists, doctors and dietitian that we met with only refer to them as their adjusted gestational age (three months behind) where as our pediatrician always treats them at their actual age.

So, at the time of the test (Age 10+ Months) their adjusted age was 7 months 2 days. The therapists tested them at that age. We met with an occupational therapist and a child psychologist that basically played with each boy separately to see how they interacted, manipulated toys and applied problem solving skills. Both Jared and Anthony scored within normal limits (at or about their adjusted age of 7 months) on all areas of testing and actually both tested higher (at 9-11 months) on both active and receptive communication skills. We were very happy with their report. Unfortunately, this being their first assessment, although good scores this time, they warned us that there may still be bumps in the road for them in the future.

We met with a dietitian who spoke with us about the boys eating habits. We were happy to report that they love food (everything except cottage cheese). She was surprised that they were doing so well with finger foods and actually was slightly put off that we started them on the food schedule based on their actual age rather than their adjusted age. We explained to her that our pediatrician treats them at their actual age and we go by her advice. When the dietitian found out the boys' were already on toddler formula and we would be transitioning to milk at 12 months, she explained to us that they may not be ready. Jason and I had a discussion when we left the clinic and decided that with no disrespect to the dietitian, we would go with our doctor's advice...she did make it through medical school!

Both boys are on the move! Jared is a crawling fool and Anthony still gets everywhere he needs to go by rolling. Anthony is now pulling himself up and is often standing in his crib when I go to get him from his nap. It really is the cutest thing, he thinks he is just so amazing (which he is!). Jared is beginning to stand with his hands still on the floor (similar to the yoga pose: Downward Dog) and they both enjoy standing while holding on to something.
Their first trip to visit Santa went surprisingly well. Neither of them cried and Anthony just stared at him and played with his beard. So funny! We are definitely ready for their first Christmas and then their First Birthday just 11 short days after that. My how time flies.

This time of year as been incredibly hard for me personally. I have so many memories of my pregnancy during the holidays (mostly of my swollen feet) and then it always leads to the day that they were born. Such a bittersweet day for Jason and I. We have been talking a lot about how we will handle Jan 5th 2011. Obviously, it is the day that our amazing miracles were born and the day that our lives were blessed forever. However, the day also brings up some very traumatic memories that I am still dealing with, or trying to anyway. I often wonder if it will be this way for us forever, for the next few years or maybe just the first year...only time will tell.

Thank you again for those who still follow the blog. I make a promise to you (since you care enough) that I will do the same and update more frequently.
Fight On! Little Fighters!! - Love Momma




2 comments:

  1. I love to read about the boys! Thanks for the update!

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  2. OMG Anthony and Jared are so big and soooo cute!! It's great to know the boys are doing very well , I love all the pics.
    I wish you all a Merry Christmas & a very Happy New Year!
    Edila

    ReplyDelete