Happy and Tired

I guess it would be an understatement to say that much has changed since I last posted on this blog! I can’t even begin to express how many thoughts and feelings are running through this tired brain of mine. Foremost is my gratitude to our Heavenly Father that our daughters are alive and doing very well. Second is my fervent desire to be with them right now, and all the time. I so wish that we could have taken them home with us, but I realize that they have a bit more growing to do. Although neither of the girls require assistance with breathing, they still have to get better at taking their feedings by mouth. They drank from bottles beautifully the first two days, but as happens sometimes with preemies, they’re getting worn out from all the work it takes to eat, so they may have to have temporary feeding tubes inserted. While the thought of that happening makes me cringe, I know it’s for the best – they need to keep getting more and more calories so they can pack on the pounds (or at least, the ounces!). They are both undergoing phototherapy for jaundice, so it looks like they are spending their days basking in the light of a high-powered tanning booth, complete with preemie-sized sunglasses. We are holding the girls at every opportunity, and cherish every time we make eye contact. I am thrilled to report that Susanna grinned for me several times this morning – she has a big-girl smile for someone so small! Of course, I may be misinterpreting what she actually intends to be a grimace, but it makes my heart happy to think she’s smiling, so I’m going with it! I could go on and on about how it feels to finally be a mother, and finally be home…but I’m just plain tired and think I’ll save those ramblings for a time when I can be more coherent.  Also, we will be sure to post more pictures of the girls for your enjoyment (and our pride!) soon. 

We can’t thank you all enough for your faithful support. The Lord has blessed us richly with our daughters, and with all of your expressions of kindness.  

Some early pics…

Some early pics of our girls. They and the mom continue to do well.

Meet Rebecca Faith (the white thing by her head is just her IV board – she does in fact have a hand under there!):

Meet Susanna Joy (notice the size of her fingers in comparison to mine!):


– Jim

Welcome Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy!

At 11:57PM last night (7/27) we welcomed Rebecca into the world. Her sister Susanna followed her 5 minutes later, which means they have different birthdays! Both are in the NICU right now and seem to be doing well. Rebecca is 4 lbs 9 oz, while Susanna is 4 lbs 1 oz. Rebecca is on a CPAP for the time being, while Susanna seems to be doing well breathing all on her own. Emily is resting, and is also doing well. Please continue to pray for the girls as they get adjusted to life on the outside, and for Emily’s speedy recovery.

– Jim

Lord Willing, Tonight’s the Night!

After a long night for Emily last night, and a morning filled with lots of contractions, the doctors decided to move her to Labor and Delivery. They decided to try Magnesiun Sulfate again (a terrible drug according to Emily) to see if it would control the contractions, thinking it would be a nice luxury to get a couple more weeks. However, Emily's contractions were not as easily defeated as they were at 24 weeks (we're now at 34 weeks, 3 days), and this evening they decided to take her off the Mag. Given the intensity of the contractions, the doctors expect her to deliver sometime tonight. Please pray that Emily and the babies will do well.

– Jim
Sent via BlackBerry

No Internet Access

Just a quick post to say that all is well, and no babies yet. Emily would have blogged herself (this is Jim), but the internet access has been very spotty at the hospital for a couple days. Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers.

Excitement

Well, even though the girls’ heart rates looked good today, my heart got a little jumpstart! A resident did a quick ultrasound this afternoon and she wasn’t able to measure one of the girls’ amniotic fluid level. She called in a higher-ranking resident, who similarly struggled to find an adequate pocket of amniotic fluid. They said they needed to have a “fellow” (an OB/GYN training to be a perinatologist) do the ultrasound to double check their findings, but said that low amniotic fluid levels could be caused by either my water breaking, or by placental problems. Needless to say, I was a bit worried. Jim reminded me that a nurse yesterday had mistaken him for someone else and remarked that “Tomorrow’s the big day!” We were hoping she wasn’t unintentionally prophetic!

A few hours later, two residents, a fellow and the chief perinatologist come into my room with an ultrasound machine, and I started to get nervous – why were they were bringing in the big guns? Fortunately, the “big guns” were able to quickly find appropriate amniotic fluid levels, and reassured me that the girls were absolutely fine. Hooray!

Now I’m off to watch “Anne of Green Gables” with our niece, Alli, who was kind enough to agree to one more slumber party during her visit here to Connecticut. We’ll see if we can persuade Jim to watch as well – I figure he needs to get used to chick flicks now, since two more chicks will be joining the family shortly!

34 Weeks

I can hardly believe we’ve made it to 34 weeks! What a miraculous blessing. I never would have appreciated getting this far in the pregnancy if it hadn’t been for the pre-term labor. I probably would have been griping about being so big and uncomfortable and unwieldy, instead of praising God for his mercy. It’s not that I don’t complain from time to time (just ask Jim!), and it’s not that I don’t currently feel big and uncomfortable and unwieldy…but, I am grateful that these pregnancy “symptoms” imply I have growing babies!

The girls must have tuckered themselves out from all their game-playing yesterday, because they behaved themselves beautifully during their monitoring today. I was glad I had the same nurse today – we hadn’t scared her off, after all! The girls redeemed themselves in her eyes, and she thanked them for their cooperation. And even though she didn’t have to come in to help the head nurse get my kiddos in line (like she did yesterday), my favorite nurse still popped her head in wish us a happy 34 weeks – we felt like celebrities! It’s going to be a bittersweet day when I have to say goodbye to these wonderful ladies. I’ll obviously be thrilled to be going home to my family, but I’ll feel like I’m leaving a family behind!

(Note – this post is from Emily even though it says it’s from Jim for some strange reason)

Fun and Games

The girls decided to have a little fun at the expense of my nurse this morning, much to their mother’s consternation. They somehow managed to position themselves just perfectly so when the nurse tried to monitor their heart rates, she was registering the exact same rate for both babies, which is statistically impossible. She moved the dopplers all over my belly, vainly trying to separate the two rates. No matter where she placed the dopplers, the rates registered as identical. The poor nurse, who also happened to be one of the head nurses and thus very experienced in the art of baby monitoring, was bewildered! After ten minutes of frustration, she decided to call in the reinforcements. She left the room and returned with one of my favorite nurses in tow, who was laughing at the girls’ shenanigans. This nurse calmly and slowly started sliding the dopplers into the position where we find the girls’ heartbeats 99% of the time (and where the previous nurse had been focusing her efforts), and lo and behold – in thirty seconds, we were registering two separate, beautiful rates! The head nurse shook her head in disbelief, and the other nurse just winked at me and thanked my girls for making her look good. I still don’t quite understand how my girls pulled off this stunt, but it made for an exciting morning monitoring session! And it also reinforced my theory that they know which nurses make me the most relaxed and comfortable. My suspicion is that the girls decided the first nurse would make an excellent target of their hide-and-go-seek campaign, but knew they better behave for the second, because they wanted her to be sure to come back and play again! These girls are going to be a handful – well, two handfuls!

Tick Tock

Sometimes I feel like a ticking time bomb (or at least, like I’ve swallowed one, as my belly expands on a nearly daily basis). I think Jim considers me to have a detonating device implanted somewhere in my midsection. I often catch him eyeing me suspiciously whenever I’m gripped by a strong contraction or find myself struggling to catch my breath after flipping from one side to the other. I can almost hear the “tick…tick…” in his head as he critically assesses my potential for immediate delivery. The poor guy is probably worried that if he blinks too long, he’ll open his eyes to find that his family size has doubled!

Especially now that my contractions have been more uncomfortable for the last few days, we both get the feeling that our pre-parent days are drawing to a close. However, judging from the doctors’ apparent nonchalance at even these stronger contractions, I still very well may have another month in me. It’s amazing to think that, whether or not I deliver spontaneously as a result of the pre-term labor, or end up getting induced or sectioned at 38 weeks, we will be parents very soon! The nurses are also catching the “time bomb” bug, although they seem to think I have the remote detonator in my possession, as several have humbly requested that I not deliver until they have returned from their respective vacations so they can be a part of my big day. I would be happy to oblige, if only I had any say in the matter! Once again, I am struck by my lack of control. I will be just as shocked when the time comes as the rest of you! I’m so thankful that none of this is a surprise to the Lord, whose timing is always perfect.

Belly Picture

A picture will have to suffice for now, as I’m too tired to post much. I’m just so happy that the girls and I are both showing considerable growth!