Day 22 - 3 weeks old!

Josie and James are now 3 weeks old.  This last three weeks has been both the fastest and slowest of my life.  One thing's for sure- Josie and I are very ready to leave the hospital!

She passed her car seat test today and took her whole 8 am feed from me.  She also took 70 mL from the bottle at 11 and has been sleeping like a champ between feeds.  One more full day at the hospital tomorrow and she should be ready to go home on January 2nd!

Day 21- mom and Josie day

Brian and James decided to stay home and get things done around the house today so it is just me and Josie at the hospital.  At 2 pm she took her whole bottle and we've been having cuddle time ever since.  She is the sweetest little girl, I just love getting to hold her while she sleeps.

Everyday we get more good news about Josie's progress.  Today she has reached the 2 kg mark!  That means our little princess is about 4 lbs 7 oz.  That is still under the 3rd percentile for weight but it shows that she continues to gain.  She has also been taken off of the HMF fortifier and will be transitioned to a formula based fortifier. Basically we give her a really good infant formula but rather than mixing it with water we mix it with breast milk.  This gives her all the goodness of breast milk plus some extra calories so that she can continue to grow.  She will stay on this for a few weeks/months until she reaches the 10th percentile for her age/weight. 

The plan is to start her on this now so that we can see how she does while she's still in the hospital and adjust as necessary.  All this is in preparation of bringing her home!!!

Day 20 - lots of snuggles

James woke up a bit before his 2 am feed so Brian brought him into our bed to sooth him.  This is what I woke up to when I got up at 2.

After the 5 am feed Brian let James and I snuggle in bed and he got up and got stuff done around the house. 

We got to the hospital at 8, they both got their full feed with me and then Brian and I "fought" over who got to snuggle with Josie (we are both feeling like we are getting such great bonding time with James but we are missing Josie).

I won because Brian wanted to go to Home Depot.

Now that the holidays are done things seemed to have really quieted down for us and we now just wait and watch them grow until we can bring our little girl home.  

Day 19 - our little over achievers

James had an appointment with the lactation consultant so we decided to get him dressed up.  He looked very dashing in his little cardigan.  At the appointment we did a test weigh where we weigh him, breast feed, and then weigh him again.  We did this last week and he took 36 mL in 40 minutes.  Today he took 56 mL in 22 minutes.  This is a huge improvement and means that he is now strong enough to take his entire feed in only 20 minutes and not need any extra from a bottle after.  He also had another big weight gain today and is currently 4 lbs 15 oz - so close to 5 lbs!!

Tonight we did a test weigh with Josie too and she did not disappoint.  Last week she took 8 mL in 10 min.  Tonight she took 36 mL in 15 min.  This proves just how much stronger she has gotten!

She also continues to gain weight and is up to 4 lbs 6 oz!  If it wasn't for her spell last Thursday she would be ready to come home now.  The way she is going she could be close to 5 lbs herself when she comes home on Jan 2!

Day 18 - James first dr. Appt

James had his first doctors appointment today and he did great (although he did spit up on the examination table!) The best news is that he's gained 70 grams in the 2 days he's been home and is now over his birth weight.  This is really reassuring for Brian and I because it means we've been feeding him enough.

Day 18 - spa day

So it's not really a spa day but I am in the medical clinic at the hospital having my 2 hour iron transfusion and it is pretty relaxing.  I read for a little while before taking a nap.  A nurse woke me up at 11 to remind me to pump and she brought me some apple juice.  I think I'll have a little snack now and then try for a second nap!

Brian is in the NICU with the babies. Josie had another great night of full oral feeds so they removed her breathing tube!  I didn't think it was possible but she is even cuter now.  

Day 17 - unexpected surgery

Hi everyone 

Sorry I didn't post yesterday but it's been kinda crazy and I didn't want to post until I knew everything was okay.

Without getting into too many details at at about 5 am I realized that something in my uterus was just not right so Brian and I went to the ER.  They did an ultrasound and found a 3 cm by 3 cm piece of placenta still inside.  

At noon yesterday I had surgery to have it removed.  By the grace of God they put me to sleep so I didn't feel any pain (I had the same surgery the day the twins were born but it was an emergency then so they did not sedate me and it was excruciatingly painful!)

I woke up in recovery feeling totally fine and I was released to go visit the babies in the NICU around 5 pm.  A huge thank you to Jane and Dave and the NiCU team who looked after James while Brian was with me.

Everything is fine now, I just have to pump and dump my milk for 24 hours because of the anesthetic.  Luckily my body was made for milking and I have tonnes of milk already frozen for the babies. The silver lining of all this is that I got to have a summersby cider with dinner!

Tomorrow morning  I have an iron transfusion at the hospital to bring my hemoglobin levels up and then James has his first Dr. Appointment with my family dr. 

A quick update on Josie:

She is gaining weight like a champ.  She is also doing great with her bottle feeds.  The nursing team was talking about the possibility of her bring discharged as early as Saturday.  Unfortunately, she had a "spell" where her heart rate dipped below 80 bpm and she did not self correct.  This means she has to stay in the NICU for another 7 days.  So we are looking at January 2 as the day we get to bring our little girl home! 

Day 16 - Christmas with the Allen's

We started our day with a trip to the NICU to see James and Josie.  Both had a great Christmas Eve at the hospital.  We were able to snuggle and feed Josie before we took her big brother home with us.  We miss her terribly but she is making improvements everyday and will be home with us soon.  

James had a very busy first day home from the hospital.  We opened presents and had lunch with the Allen's, came home for a quick nap and then headed to the Goodwillies for Christmas dinner.  James has done very well all day.  Not fussing and only really waking up when it's time to feed.  

As parents we made our first rookie mistake and forgot the diaper bag by the front door when we came to the Goodwillies.  Lucky for us Grandpa Dave volunteered to go get it.  James is so small that rather than bring a pack n play for him to sleep in we just brought his bathtub.  

Here is our Christmas photo.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Day 15 - James is coming home!!!!!

Brian and I are the happiest parents on the block this Christmas because we get to bring our little boy home on Christmas morning.  He had a car seat test today, which he aced, and he has gone almost 3 days without needing his feeding tube!  

He could have come home this afternoon but I had a fever last night accompanied by the chills and then some serious night sweats (so gross!). The nurse practitioner recomended we keep him at the hospital tonight to make sure I don't have the flu. I felt great all day today but I took a shower this afternoon and my temperature has spiked again.  If you believe in the power of prayer I would really appreciate it tonight!

In other great news Josie is now 4 lbs.  That's 4 oz above her birth weight!  (James is 4 lbs 10 oz so she is getting close).  We expect to have her home in a week or two.  

Thank you everyone who is following our blog.  Your thoughts and prayers mean so much to us.  Merry Christmas!

Day 14 - a Christmas miracle

Many have been asking when the twins will be ready to come home.  When they were first born they told us it would be around 2-3 weeks.  As the days went by we figured that estimate was a bit quick and we resigned ourselves to having them home by their 38 week due date, January 4th.  

Over the last few days James has really shown how strong he is.  In fact, he has gone 24 hours doing all oral feeds.  If he can make it to 48 hours we can talk about bringing him home!  Our hope is that he will pass his car seat rest tomorrow, keep up his oral feeds and we will be able to "room in" with him at the hospital Tuesday night.  If that all goes well we could bring him home with us on Christmas Day!

Josie is also doing really well.  She is up to half oral feeds and she is putting on weight well.  She probably still needs a few more weeks here but that's okay.  The hospital will keep James' bed for him so that we can bring him with us everyday when we go visit her.  

Nothing is fit sure yet but I am one proud mama!

Scott and Erin came by today and each fed one of the twins.  I think they are ready to be parents too!

Day 13 - bad weather? No power?

  As the staff and visitors come and go we keep hearing about an ice storm that has halted the GTA.  Meanwhile we are huddled up in the NICU, nice and toasty warm.  We have got a room to stay over again tonight so we continue to get to snuggle with the twins throughout the day and night.  

I am sorry for everyone whose holiday plans have been interrupted and who are without power.  Our own Allen extended family party that was scheduled for this afternoon has been postponed.  Whatever you are doing to keep warm and prepared for Christmas, don't worry about me.  I have Brian and my babies and that's all I need!

P.S.  I am so grateful for the Ronald McDonald room we get to stay in over night in and the lounge where we come to eat and take a break when we are not sleeping or cuddling our babies.  

Today we were in the lounge and Brian put on the coffee maker.  I asked him to put on the kettle for me to have tea. Well before he could get up to make the beverages after the water had boiled one of the staff had made them for us and brought them over on a silver tray.  Amazing!  I think I've found my new favourite charity.

Day 13 - a good night sleep

For the last few days, and now nights we have had a very kind nurse, Entella.  She is the one who helped me with the photoshoots and has been taking great care of our little ones at night when we are not here.  (All the nurses have actually been wonderful).  Well tonight Entella gave me an extra treat.  She did all the baby care and she altered my pumping schedule slightly so that is just got a three hour block of sleep twice!  Not only that but I just came back to the NICU to pump and she had just finished bottle feeding both babies and the BOTH finished their bottles!  Josie is still awake so I am going to give her a little snuggle before I go back to bed.  Life is good!

Day 12 - just another day in the NICU

We slept over at the hospital last night because of the freezing rain.  I gave James  a bottle at 2 am because he was wide awake and he drank about half.  The rest was given to him through his tube.  We are finding that the nurses are really keen on getting the babies, especially James, to breast and bottle feed but there is a find line between helping him learn to feed orally and over exerting him so that he doesn't gain weight.  It's hard to know what is best for him, and also hard to go against the nurses suggestions because we want him to have more time to rest.

All in all it was a pretty typical day.  We snuck  out for a few hours in the morning to go Christmas shopping which has left me totally exhausted.  Brian is going to have to do the rest, hopefully there isn't too much more because it means he has to be away from me and the babies.  

We are staying over at the hospital again tonight and Brian is going to give Josie a bath when we go back in to visit with them at 8 pm.  

I am a little worried about our holiday committeements over the next few days.  I am still in a lot of pain and I get tired very easily.  It's also hard to imagine celebrating Christmas away from our little ones.  I think it is going to be an exhausting and emotional few days but hopefully we will be able to get back into our routine with them soon.  

Day 11 - the highlight of my life as a mom!

Tonight I was alone at the hospital and when I went to go see them they were both awake but not restless.  I got to hold both babies for an hour while they got tube fed and then fell asleep in my arms.  It was the highlight on my life as a mom so far!  Also, our nurse, Antella, enjoyed helping me with my photoshoot so much last night that the two of us did a second photoshoot tonight!  

In other great news.  Both babies gained weight today and Josie maintained her temperature so she gets to stay in her big girl bed!  

Day 11- grow Josie grow!

The babies are now 10 days old!

James is now 4 lbs 8 oz.  so he has lost 7% of his birth weight.  It is common for babies to loose up to 10%.  Here in the NICU they start to worry if the babies loose more than 8%.  It is unlikely that James will loose anymore.  He is breast feeding like a champ and had his first bottle feed last night.  In the last 2 days he has had 3 full oral feeds (nothing given through his NG tube ).  In order to go home he has to be able to take all his feeds orally.  The new schedule for him is to breast feed at 8 am, 2 pm and 8 pm.  After Brest feeding he will be "topped up" either through his NG tube (if he is tired) or with a bottle (if he is awake).  At 2 am he will take a bottle.  On all other feeds he will be fed through his NG tube (11 am, 5 pm , 11 pm and 5am ).  This allows him to rest in between breast/bottle feeding so that he can continue to grow big and strong!

Josie has been steadily gaining weight and is currently 3 lbs 14 oz which is  2 oz bigger than her birthweight!  She is however in the 3rd percentile for her gestational age so they have recommended starting her on a breast milk fortifier.   This will give her extra protein so that she can catch up to her big brother.  The lactation consultant recommended this a few days ago and I met with the dietician this morning.  Now that Josie is 10 days old she can start it.  The dietician said that the fortifier will make it much more likely that they will be able to go home at the same time!

They temporarily moved Josie into a big girl bed so they could do some electrical maintenance.  She is technically a bit to small for it, but I bundled her up well and they've said that if she can maintain her temperature she will get to stay in it.  

I won't pretend that having twins in the NICU is not challenging, emotionally more than anything else.  However, our babies are getting the most amazing care here.  Everyone who helps with them goes out of their way and they are so great about teaching us what to do when we get to being them home!

We have also been so blessed by the amenities provided by the Ronald McDonald Children's Charity.  They have a great lounge for family to use with TV, comfy chairs and snacks.  They also have sleeping rooms where we can go for a nap or stay over night if we want to. It may not sound like much, but having these options available to us is amazing!

Thank you to everyone who is reading our blog and following along with us.  It means a lot to us and to our babies.  We can't wait for you all to meet them!

Xoxo

Michelle 

Day 10- their first photo shoot!!!

So JJ endured their first photoshoot tonight.  We bought a new camera which ended up being terrible.  Here are a few pics I took with my iPhone.  I think we will invest in a good DSLR come Boxing Day so that I can continue with my photo shoots!

Day 10 - great morning!

So after my pity party last night I am happy to say that my babies had their best feed yet this morning. One of the nurses, who happens to be neighbours with Goodwillie cousins, helped me to tandem feed for the first time (as in both babies at once).  Both babies did so well!  James drank so much that they didn't have to top up his feed through his NG tube!  I am definitely feeling a lot better about my role as mom this morning!

Day 9 - rough day

So today was a pretty rough day for me.  The twins are not gaining weight like they should be and everyone has a well intentioned, but contrasting opinion about what I should do about it.  The hospital has a fantastic lactation consultant whose advice seems to be the best so I am going to go from there.  The babies are now going to be breast feeding less and not taken out of their beds as much so that they can focus on resting and getting bigger.

So tonight is my first night away from them.  It's nice to be home in my own bed but it's sad to be away from them.  Pair that with post- parttem hormones and I am pretty much a big mess right now.  

On a happier note here is James rocking his Syracuse colours!

Day 9 - playing dress up!

Today we put the twins in really cute little premie sleepers.  About 2 minutes after I put James in his he threw up all over it.  

Josie on the other hand has been wearing hers all day and looks adorable!  

The twins have been put on a new feeding plan because they are not gaining weight.  The hope is that if we feed them through their tube more often then they don't have to work as hard and will be able to plump up.  We are going from 4 oral feedings to 3 so I no longer have to stay over night at the hospital to breast feed them at 2 am.  I am excited to sleep in my own bed, but a bit anxious about leaving them.  I'm not worried about them, they are getting amazing care, I just worry that I will miss them too much. 

Day 8 Good night

This afternoon Brian and I had to sign some papers so we ended up going home after and I pumped from home instead of in the NICU.  It was nice being home for a bit but weird being away from my babies.  We had dinner together, went through some of the stuff I sent home from the hospital and I got to see the finished product of our basement renovation!!  Like I said it was nice being home but I would much rather be with the babies and I was happy to be back with them for their 8 pm feed and cuddle time and to be staying at the hospital over night again.

Here is a picture of Dad with his little ones from tonight.  They really recommend that we both do skin to skin with them because our bodies keep them warm and they get used to our sent.  Plus there is absolutely nothing better than snuggling a warm little baby.  

Day 8 - one week old!

All the days are blurred together but I am pretty sure that it is Tuesday which means that Josie and James are one week old!  

James slept the whole night in his big boy bed so they've removed his isoltet.  Josie has started to develop a better handle on breast feeding.  They both got little premie onsies yesterday and Grandma Charlotte showed up this morning with little premie sleepers so we will try them soon!  

Today they weighed each baby before and after their feeding to see how much they had taken in.  James breast fed for 30 min and got 26 mL.  Josie breast fed for 12 minutes and got 8mL.  Knowing this helps the nurse figure out how much extra pumped milk to give them after they breast feed. 

As for me I had a minor set back yesterday night.  I was briefly readmitted to the hospital after passing a blood clot. The dr checked things out and couldn't find any fresh clots so hopefully that is the last of it.  It is great that I am able to sleep over at the hospital in case anything goes wrong.  It was also sweet of Brian to sleep over with me just to be sure I was okay.  

On the plus side I was able to get more sleep last night (as in I got to sleep for 2 hours straight- twice!)

Here is a pic of their space in the NICU and of James in his big boy bed!  As well as one of grandma Charlotte holding both babies yesterday afternoon.  Grandma Jane also came by yesterday evening to help me feed the twins so that Brian could run a few errands.  She got some good cuddle time with James.

Day 7 - more pics of our growing babies

I stayed over at the hospital again last night.  It is so great being so close to them and getting to feed them/pump every 3 hours in the hospital.  We are on a schedule now where every other feed I try them at breast feeding and the opposite times they get all their milk through their NG tube.  The NG feeds are much faster for me and the babies so it gives us all more time to rest (it takes 15 min to pump and the the nurse does the tube feeding).  Breast feeding them takes about 1.25 hours because I have to feed them individually and then pump after.  

James has become a champion breast feeder, he can go for like 20 min!  Josie is a little slower to progress but we've been given some tips to try with her today. 

 

I got some great pictures of Josie this morning while my mom was holding her.

I also got to cuddle them both together  at 2am last night because it was just me there for their feeding.  Josie was trying to snuggle into James, it was so cute. 

Day 6 - good night

Tonight featured more little milestones.  Both Josie and James were taken off their photo lights and had their IVs removed!  This means that their area in the NICU is much less crowded and that they are one step closer to bring ready to come home.  Although, to be honest,  we are getting such great care and support here I don't actually want to leave.  

Grandma Charlotte come tonight and helped the nurse give Josie a bath while I fed James.  She then got to have some snuggle time with James while I fed Josie.   I don't know how I would do this witho a second pair of hands!

Day 6 - my view

So it is day 6 with James and Josie and it is amazing how much my life has changed to revolve around them.  My schedule now consists of pumping, sleeping and bathroom breaks.  I do my pumping in the NICU so I never go more than 2.5 hours without seeing my babies.  It is wonderful!  Here are some pics of my babies while I snuggle with them.

Everyday we have new milestones. 

 Today Josie will be completely weaned off her IV.  That means here only nourishment is breast milk or formula.  I have been pumping like crazy so we haven't had to give them formula since their 8 am feed!

 Today James will finish with his phototherapy for his jaundice.  He only needed it for two days!  I have noticed an improvement in his alertness since going on the phototherapy so it seems to have worked.

My mom is on her way to spend the evening with me and help me when I get to breast feed the twins again at 11 pm.  Then she will be going home for the night and joining me again in the morning.  Brian is going back to work tomorrow so he will come by for the evening.  At night all I do is pump every 3 hours so I handle that myself.  

I am off to the NICU now to give the twins their first bath!

Diaper Battle

# of poopy diapers changed:

Brian - 3

Michelle - 0

:-)

Day 5 - the babes are gaining weight!

Now that the twins are getting lots of breast milk and formula they are starting to gain weight.  They lost a bit in the first few days, this is normal, but now they are making it back up.  Both James and Josie gained 20 grams today (30 grams is an oz.). They also both breast fed like champs the two times we tried.  Brian and I are loving all the little milestones they are achieving.