Disappearing Blog

Well, Jessica is going to kill me. For some reason she has me proof every blog before publishing it. Tonight I was doing just that, like a good obedient husband and I goofed. All you current and future bloggers out there learn from this mistake. I made a couple of changes then decided I liked the way Jessica had it instead. So, I started hitting the undo arrow. Apparently, when editing from another computer, when you hit the undo arrow 1 more time past the changes you made it deletes the whole blog. It wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't set to auto save every 3 seconds. Hard to figure out what just happened and click the redo before that auto save kicked in. Anyway, I talked to her and she will try to do it again tomorrow.

Here's what I do know though:
1. Rebecca's echo today showed no change.
2. Joanna's head ultrasound showed no change (more detail later)
3. Rebecca's abdomen X-Ray showed air in her stomach (not a major problem)
4. They are both still growing about 2 ounces/day
5. Getting to spend the entire day with my girls in E'ville and put them to bed in their beds at home was awesome!

Happy 1st Month Birthday!!

Well the girls were born one month ago - it makes me feel so good to know that we have gotten through one month already.  Both girls had a great birthday!!

Rebecca has been adding the grams on.  Yesterday she gained 50 grams - so she is now 3.6 lbs.  Even though this daily weight was good they want her weekly gain to average 30 grams a week.  Last week her weight gain was only 15 grams.  Because of this they are toying with the idea of giving her more TPN (calories) through an IV.  The downfall to this decision is that she may end up getting fluid on her lungs because of the extra fluid they would be giving her.  This seems to be the constant dilemma that we have been facing her entire life - you want to do things for her to grow her but because of her heart they are limited on what they can do. 
I was able to hold her for about 2 hours today!!  She also was looking cute today with her bow on.

Joanna conquered a milestone today - she was taken off of the CPAP and put on a regular nasal cannula for an hour today to see how she did.  She did excellent.  They call this windowing her onto the nasal cannula and they will continue adding more time that she is on the nasal cannula until they are comfortable that she will not tire out.  They will most likely allow her to do two hours tomorrow since she did so well.  She currently weighs 2lbs 12 oz.

My mom, Aunt Sue, mother-in-law, father-in-law, kids and husband had a 1 month birthday party for the twins tonight.  I will attach pictures from this bash in the next day or two.  Wish the girls and I could have been there!!

Happy Days

Joanna had one of her best days yet!!  She was on room air (no extra oxygen given to her) the entire day.  Usually she sits at around 23-25%.  She also usually needs to be bumped up to around 28% when her care is given every four hours BUT she was able to tolerate her care on room air - that is the first.  Her day shift nurse was so excited when I came in to tell me how well she had been doing.  Joanna must have known that I was asking her resident this morning what she needed to do to get off of the CPAP.  One of the things was to be on room air for most of the day and not require extra oxygen when she gets care.  I was able to hold her for about an hour today.  When they got her out and put her in my shirt, she had her eyes open and was looking at me.  I know she can't actually see me but as I talked to her I know she knew her mommy was holding her.  It was the highlight of my day.
Rebecca's infection is a common one among preemies.  She will be on two antibiotics for about 10 days and then should be back to normal.  She was resting peacefully the entire time I was there today.  Her nurse put a cute bow in her hair today - she looked so precious.  I'm not sure if I have shared this before but Rebecca loves to have her hands up around her face.  She also loves to talk with her eyebrows!!
Each of the girls have a resident assigned to them.  The residents are assigned to a hospital for a month and then they move on.  Brandon and I have really connected with Joanna's resident Holly.  She has been another blessing in our lives and we will miss her smiling face each day.  Thanks Holly for taking care of our precious angel.

4 Weeks and Gaining

It was 4 short weeks ago when "Becca Sue" and "Shea" (as Kenlee calls them) entered our world. As you have been with us through this so far, you know it has been anything but routine. I would like to begin this blog by saying Thank You for EVERYONE reading this and praying for the girls and our family. I wish I could personally thank all of you somehow. 


The highlight of the last couple of days has been growth. Their current weights are - Rebecca 3# 4oz. and Joanna - 2# 8oz. We try not to think of it as a contest because believe it or not, Joanna has an unfair advantage because of Rebecca's heart. So, they have both gained nearly a pound since birth. Rebecca's tests have found some type of infection around her ET tube. They think it is a bacteria from her aspiration a few days ago. The original antibiotics didn't take care of it, so they started her on another one yesterday and it will run for 10 days. They will have a more specific type of infection when the cultures mature tomorrow then they can modify the antibiotic if they need to. They think this was contributing to her respiratory issues where she had to be bagged. Yesterday, she had a small fever and was somewhat lethargic. Today she seemed to be more her feisty self and the temperature was normal. Joanna had a super day also, mostly because dad got to kangaroo with her. Her feedings were increased back to full volume today after her brief stomach problem a couple of days ago. She finished her antibiotics treatments tonight. Hopefully, since they are finishing her medicine she will be able to have the IV removed from her head and she can go back to the other CPAP that fits her better. 


All of the girls from our small group visited yesterday evening and then we went out to eat, me and 7 women - not a bit awkward. I hope they made it home, they may still be driving around somewhere in rural KY :). Jessica left early this morning to go home for a couple of days. She made it just in time to get Katelyn and Kenlee and go to Church. We have been missing that part of our life for almost a month now. I visited another church here in the Cincinnati area today but found myself a bit envious of Jessica as she was surely the one in "extravagant worship". When I think about The Edge at Bethel it reminds me of the ribs at Shyler's. I've tried ribs at many other restaurants, but every time disappointed in comparison to Shyler's. Wrong? - probably, but that's my analogy. Thank you, those that have set the bar at that level.

Mary and Dave brought a special guest to see her sisters today. Can you believe she found this shirt at the mall? Ok, maybe she made it. Yes, it is the same shirt in both pictures just turned around. Love Ya girl!

Fighting Infections

I (Brandon) got back in town today around 3:00. When I got here we went to Children's to see Rebecca. She was sleeping comfortably but mom just had to get her out and hold her. This is always good for the girls, they seem to take their sleep to another level when they are being held. They had drawn some blood to test for infection. The results showed there may be something going on so they are going to start her on antibiotics again. While we were there they started an IV to begin the antibiotics tonight but she will have to get another PICC put in tomorrow for the long term medicine. She already has a PICC in her left arm but they can't run the antibiotics in the existing PICC because it has the medicine to keep her valve open. They are going to give her a 7 day antibiotics but may increase to 14 day depending if anything else shows up. They really have no other explanation for her O2 sat levels dropping. Also, we notice a change in her color that has been since she aspirated her milk last week. The potential infection may be from that incident. She did pretty good today with her O2 levels. She also had her feeding tube inserted a little deeper just past her stomach into the small bowel. This is to hopefully get her growing faster.

When we walked into see Joanna after dinner there were 3 nurses and a Dr. around her bed. That's never a good sign. The obvious change was that she was back on the original CPAP because they put an IV in her head and it interfered with her other CPAP. They told us this afternoon they had become concerned about a possible infection with her also. Their biggest concern was that her temperature had dropped and she had a large stomach measurement. X-ray showed a lot of air in her stomach so they were going to have to stop her feeds again. Her stomach measured 22.5cm before we got there. Soon after we got there the nurse was doing her assessment and when she went to change her diaper she was busy filling it. The nurse squeezed around on her stomach and helped Joanna get everything out. She measured her stomach after that and it measured 21cm. They think this was part of her problem, needed to poop. They also ordered labs on her blood. It showed she had a low hemoglobin count, so she will get another blood transfusion tonight. Luckily, she is still within time limits to receive from the same unit of blood as before which is good because we know she has no problems with it. We will know tomorrow if they will continue her feedings or if they will have to stop them for a bit. One explanation they gave for needing blood again is that her body is growing faster than it can produce blood for. They weren't concerned that she was losing blood anywhere.

Another day of minor disappointment but we are remaining positive. Hopefully, they will soon be past the volatile preemie stage where everything is a constant struggle just to stay on top of things. It will be nice to have many consecutive days of no problems, never taking them for granted.

News Flash!! - Girls are identical

Well that is the BIG news today.  I few days ago I went to a follow up drs appt and asked what the pathology report was on the placenta, whether there was one or two.  The dr told me that the pathologist report said that there was one placenta and one sac.  Well we all knew the one sac report was not correct so the dr ordered the patholgist to look at the placenta again and give another report.  The nurse called me back this afternoon and told me that because Joanna's sac was so small and it had broke that the pathologist was not able to tell there was two sacs but that there in fact was only ONE placenta.  This means that we had one egg and one sperm combine and then split to make two babies - identical twins!! 

Rebecca had two bagging episodes last night which was better than the night before.  After Rebecca's dr rounds this morning another echo was ordered to see if anything had changed to make her have the breathing issues she was having.  The echo showed no change in the heart so that was good but they still don't know why all of a sudden she is having the low sats.  I was able to kangaroo hold her for about 2 hours and the entire time I was holding her she required no extra oxygen and O2's were in the 90's.  It just goes to show she needs her mommy to comfort her!!  Again the main goal for Rebecca is to get her to grow so they are giving her breastmilk fortified to 28 calories (it is as thick as a milkshake), TPN (additional calories), and Lipids (fat).  They think they have figured out what she needs to grow as she gained 2 oz. overnight.

I didnt get to spend too much time with Joanna today as I was with Rebecca from 9am - 4pm.  The resident called me and told me that Joanna had a good night.  They were taking her off of the TPN and giving her only breastmilk.  She gained about 25 grams overnight and seems to be growing very well.  I had a number of nurses tell me in the last few days that she has really grown.  I was talking to Lindsay (her primary nurse whom Brandon and I really like) and she said that Joanna is at the weight where they will start trying to wean her off of the CPAP and on just a nasal cannula.  They are focusing now on getting her foods increased and then they will most likely focus on this.  I can't wait!!  Once she is off of the CPAP I can begin trying to breastfeed her.   

Brandon comes back up tomorrow - can't wait to see him!  Thanks for the encouraging comments on yesterday's blog.  You have no clue how much better it makes me feel when I read them.  Thanks.

Reminders

I was reminded today that we are not out of the woods yet.  You get blind to the fact that our babies are still fighting for their lives because they have been having such good days.

Rebecca had a rough night last night.  Her O2 sats dropped on four occasions and because increasing her O2 was not bringing her levels back up, they were required to "bag" her.  This means they remove the vent connection to the oxygen and manually force air in her airway with a bag they squeeze.  Right before I got there this afternoon she had an episode where her O2 sat dropped into the 40's (they want her between 75-85) and her heartrate dropped into the 70's (normal range for her is between 130 - 160).  Again they were not able to get her back to her normal ranges by increasing the oxygen so they had to "bag" her.  Then while I was there her O2 again dropped into the 40's and had to be "bagged" again. 
After her bad night an xray was done.  It was found that the vent was not located where it needed to be so they moved it down further.  They also said that the xray showed there was a lobe that was deflated so they increased her pressure into her lungs to inflate it.  When they repeated the xray again this evening, it showed that the tube was infact in the right location.

Joanna had a head ultrasound done yesterday as a follow up scan for her bleeds that were discovered a few weeks back.  After the ultrasound was read it looked like the bleeds are still grade II bleeds but there was also a bright spot on the ultrasound that the physician wanted to have scanned again with another ultrasound next Friday.  This bright spot may be nothing but they did mention one thing they look for in preemies is what is called PVL or periventricular leukomalacia.  PVL is the most common brain injury in premature babies.  It is cysts that occur in the white matter of the brain.  Some complications to PVL is mild disabilities such as learning disabilities to severe disabilities which include cerebral palsy.

Please pray for Rebecca to overcome her respiratory set backs and begin to grow so she can have the cardiac cath procedure done.  Once she has this procedure they can begin taking steps to get her off the vent.  Please pray that Joanna's bleeds and the spot they saw today will not be there next Friday.  God CAN do these things!!  Please pray for Brandon and I as we continue down this roller coster of emotions.  Pray that we will continue to lean on God and each other.  Thanks.

Girls are doing well

Both girls are continuing to have good days.  Even though we have had some set backs I thank God everyday for they progess they have made and the miracles he continues to bless our family with.

Joanna's Update:  She is eating again!!  They started feeding her a few days ago and she has tolerated the feeds very well.  Before her belly issues she was up to 12 ml and getting the milk fortified to 26 calories.  We are now starting over with the feeds so we are back down to getting only 5 ml.  As long as she continues to tolerate them well she will get mls added each day and then they will begin adding the calories back in.  Her O2 has been set between 21 - 25 % and she is still on a 5 setting with the CPAP.  She has been doing very well with the new nasal prongs they are using.  I was able to hold her again today (skin to skin).  Both girls tolerate the kangaroo hold very well.  I can't tell you how overwhelming it is to hold them when during our pregnancy for weeks we were told we may not have either of them to hold.

Rebecca's Update:  They have increased her breastmilk to 28 calories.  You should see how thick adding those calories make the milk - it is like a milkshake.  If she does well with this they may even increase it to 30 calories.  They usually stop adding calories at 28 but since their goal is to fatten her up, the nurse said they may increase her to 30.  We will just have to wait and see how she digests the milkshake.  They have been able to get her settings lowered which is getting us closer to our goal of getting her off of the vent.  I have noticed that since she has gotten her bigger tube she is breathing quite a bit over the vent settings!!  The cardiologists are monitoring her every few days to see how she is growing.  They are weighing various things to help them decide when they need to do the procedure.  They need her to grow to have the procedure but the medicine she is on for her heart is holding some things up.  It is slowing down the process of getting her off of the vent.  Because of her heart condition they also are having problems getting her to gain weight because they don't want to give her too much food because then her heart will work harder to process the food which would be bad for her condition.

My Uncle Joe, Anut Pam, and cousin Paul came up to visit today.  Because she was having company, I put a small bow in Rebecca's hair!  She looked so cute.  I have a bow for Joanna and as soon as get gets rid of her stylish hat she is required to wear, she will get to wear hers.

Being home with the Katelyn and Kenlee was really nice.  I went to Methodist to pick up diapers and was able to see some familiar faces.  We went to the Tri-Fest on Friday for lunch and a few rides.  It was so nice feeling like I was back in my routine.  I feel pulled in two directions - I hated leaving the twins but then I hated leaving Katelyn and Kenlee.  I can't wait to have eveveryone home and be a family again.  I know it is not far off, that what we are going through is only a season in our lives that will be completed soon.

Thanks for all of your prayers.  I want you to know that our family appreciates you so much and would not be where we are today without you and your prayers.  God is working through this situation in more ways than we know. 

Joanna Pics

Mommy bonding

I asked to be next but the nurse wouldn't let me

No, she's on the outside

Daddy holds me while I get new sheets

Granny's perspective

Rebecca Pics

I'm yelling, but nothing's coming out

I told her mommy was coming back tomorrow and I had to leave again

Best pic yet!

Bonding time for daddy

Big yawn

Daddy back, Mommy leaving

Yesterday, I made my way back to Cincinnati after my few days back home. Jessica and I spent the afternoon with Rebecca then after dinner went to see Joanna. This morning we went to doctors rounds with Joanna and they decided to pull her replogle tube that was being used to vent her belly since they weren't getting anything out of it. She will continue to receive her antibiotics today and tomorrow and may get to resume her milk feedings tomorrow. There are no signs of infection in the culture they are growing. When we weighed her last night she had gained almost 50 grams in 24 hours. The nurse couldn't believe it so we did it 4 times to be sure. We weigh her by picking her up, zeroing the bed scale then laying her back down.

When we went to see Rebecca this afternoon we found out that they had removed and replaced her ET tube with a larger one. They had found that part of her lung on one side had partially collapsed. Since she is growing, she needed a larger tube for more volume to keep her lungs inflated. They have taken a couple of blood gas tests and they are trying to get her CO2 levels down. Her vent settings are abnormally high for her because of all of this change. They expect her CO2 levels to be down later this afternoon then they can start bringing down her vent settings. The doctor said this whole process is a very normal tweaking process. It seemed especially stressful to Jessica because she was literally on her way out the door when this was happening. The doctor assured us this was all just part of changing her tube and as her lung starts expanding back out it should bring down her CO2 levels back to normal then they can bring back down her vent settings. I wasn't too worried, but I wasn't leaving to go home either. I remember last Thursday when I was leaving to go home there was a small problem that seemed enormous at the time. It's just because you know you won't be at their side to see them through it. I will keep mommy updated with texts just as she did for me last week.

Yesterday morning before I got here, Jessica called me and said there was a chance they could bring Joanna to Children's Hospital to be with Rebecca. We have been talking about this opportunity since they were born but weren't ready to make that decision yesterday. We have tabled it for now. There are varying opinions about this move. Our current opinion is this - Why risk the potential error in treatment by confusing the two girls when the only benefit is our convenience. Actually, being able to go to two different locations kind of breaks up the day. Eventually, we will probably look into this when mom starts breastfeeding because that would mean back and forth every couple of hours all day long. Also, by then Joanna should be more stable and Rebecca may be close to having her procedure.

If you aren't blown away by the human body and pregnancy specifically, maybe this will help. Here is a small list of things that I have realized have to be monitored or compensated to keep our girls alive outside when it all just happens naturally in the womb.
Temperature, humidity, nutrition, oxygen levels, carbon dioxide levels, respiratory rate, heart valves, skin care, bodily waste, infection control, blood volume, stressors like noise, light and movement, extra fluid or not enough fluid, blood pressure, 
Not only are women's minds impossible to understand their bellies are pretty crazy too!

** Identity Crisis **

Here are a couple of pictures I put together to see if you could help us. Can you pick who is who and do you think they are identical? Post your thoughts in the comments. Just thought we could have a little fun hearing from everyone. Things are going very well in the last few days. We found out today that it is looking like Rebecca will be eligible for her heart procedure earlier than originally thought. Until now, they were saying she needed to be 5.5#. Now they say she may have it done when she is in the 3.3# range. This is brought about by the slower than expected rate of weight gain and her blood pressure drops last week. There are some other criteria that affect this decision that Cardiology will discuss with us soon. Joanna's stomach seems to be happily processing her food now. They are keeping her on the antibiotics for now as precaution. They told us that we would reach this point where it seems like nothing is happening. Not that we are at that point yet but it's not the huge milestones we were achieving last week. Each ounce of weight is a mini milestone to us and any day without a surprise phone call or setback is good enough for us. I bought a matching crib today to the one that Kenlee is using now. She will be getting upgraded soon to a toddler bed. We hope to do this in a positive manner before the twins come home and "take" her bed and bedroom. She will be moving next door to what is now the play room. We hope this is a smooth transition without much resistance. When I get off work in the morning I will stop to see the girls here in town before heading to Cincy. Jessica will stay there with me until Thursday afternoon then she will head home for her time with the girls here. We don't know if this is how it will work for the entire time but it seems right for now. She will return Saturday and I will go back for work Sunday.

Balancing Their Diets

Rebecca was swaddled in a blanket today to see if she was able to maintain her body heat without getting heat from the isolette. She has done extremely well. This is a step in the direction of her graduating out of isolette!! They are bumping up her breast milk calories to 24 and she has been tolerating her feeds very well. My mom and I went a parent meeting at Children's Hospital. There you get to meet other parents with infants in the NICU, get information about different services they offer, ask any questions you may have, eat pizza, and play games. We got to play Baby Bingo and between mom and I we took home 10 prizes.
Well it was just a matter of time but Joanna got her first belly ache today and her daddy got rid of his finally. When I got the call from her drs this morning, they said that overnight her belly began to become distended at each assessment and was tender to the touch. She also wasn't acting herself and looked pale. There was one assessment early this morning that she had 4 ml of food that was partially digested (she should only have a trace of partially digested food between feedings). Based on all of this they decided to stop feeding her today to let her belly settle. They also took blood cultures to see if they would grow any infections, started her on antibiotics just in case she was getting an infection, and ordered an xray to see if she was beginning to show signs of NEC. NEC, necrotizing enterocolitis, an intestinal infection unique to preemies and usually comes on between 10 and 14 days of life. As the day went on she began to act like she felt better. Another xray was done at 6pm and it did not show anything that should be concerning. They will evaluate her again tomorrow morning to see if the will again hold her feedings. Rebecca's echo showed no change since the last one.

Daily Update

Both girls are doing well. They are getting Human Milk Fortifier added to their breast milk at each feeding. This fortifier adds protein and calories so they will begin growing more. I was able to hold Joanna for about 30 minutes and Rebecca for about 1.5 hours. Rebecca will get another Echo tomorrow to see if everything still looks ok. One thing that both girls have in common is the good usage of their bowels. They both keep pooping out of their diapers.

First attachment is Joanna, second is Rebecca.

Another Good Day

The girls had a good day today. Rebecca's blood pressure has gotten much better since yesterday. They are trying to figure out what settings her vent needs to be set on to level out her O2. Joanna is doing very well on the CPAP. It looks very uncomfortable but I know it is better than the vent. I just hate not being able to see her beautiful face. When the resident called this morning with an update on Joanna she said she was "stable". That is the first time they have said that. They usually let us know that she is doing well but is still "critical". It was really good to hear that.
I am able to participate in their care at each assessment - diaper changes, oral care, and feedings. While they are doing more intense assessments I do various techniques that the OT taught me to make the process less stressful for them. I know its little, but helping with their care lets me feel like I am taking care of my babies.
The Ryan's and Wade's came up this afternoon to visit. They took me out to eat non-hospital food for supper. When we got to the restaurant there was over an hour wait. With my pumping schedule I was not going to be able to wait the hour. Emily told the hostess that I had just had twins who are still in the NICU and I need to get back to the hospital to pump so could they do anything to move us up on the list. Needless to say we got a table after only waiting 30 minutes and I was back in time to pump.
Thanks for all of the continued prayers! God is good.

Growing Girls

The girls are still in a race. Joanna is now at 2# and Rebecca is at 3#. Joanna is eating 11 ml every 2 hours and Rebecca 12 ml every 3 hours. Rebecca had to have her IV removed and replaced today because it was bad. Today the cardiologists thought it would be best for Rebecca to receive another blood transfusion to help with her weight gain and blood pressure.

Yesterday was mostly negative because I knew I would be leaving. It was very difficult to walk away from their beds knowing I wouldn't see them for 6 days. All we have known for the last 12 days was going hospital to hospital sitting with them. Yesterday morning when Jessica and I was waiting for the elevator I told her it seemed like we worked there. Mom got there around 2:00 then I headed home around 3:30. The reason I was leaving was to return to work today. However, last night after putting Katelyn and Kenlee to bed my stomach became very upset. I didn't know you could get Montezuma's revenge from traveling to Ohio. It reminded me exactly of the experience of preparing for a colonoscopy. So, I had to call in sick and have spent the entire day in bed (and bathroom). I think I am starting to feel a bit better, partly with help from the Gatorade my good friend Drew brought me. Hopefully I wake up feeling better so I can spend the day with my girls here in Eville.

So, Jessica and my mom made it through their first day with no problems. Also, both sets of my grandparents visited today. Rebecca and Joanna were very glad to see them. Jessica and my grandpa Lowell got to hear Joanna cry for the first time. She was unable to with the breathing tube in her mouth but now will be learning to do that more often. I hope someone slaps me if I ever get upset with them crying. Rebecca is to get another echocardiogram either tomorrow or Sunday to see if anything has changed since Thursday. Joanna's breathing seems to be doing very well on the CPAP.

Thank you for the positive and reassuring comments, emails and messages. It helps when we start to feel weak.

Less positive days

We have been reminded the last 2 days that we are not out of the woods yet. Yesterday Joanna had to have her CPAP setting increased because she was working too hard to breathe. This wasn't the worst thing in the world, just a small step backward. While we were there with her I got a call from Rebecca's Dr that they have to remove her PICC line and put a new one in. She had a dirty diaper that leaked a bit and possibly contaminated the PICC. That was completed without any problem. They took a blood sample and are growing a culture to see if she got infected. They don't think she did but just being cautious. The most concerning thing is that her blood pressure keeps dropping very low. They are giving her antibiotics in case of infection and she had another echocardiogram this morning. The initial results were that everything was the same but the attending cardiologist came by and they did some more scanning. They think maybe they took too much fluids off a couple of days ago so they are going to give her some back. Joanna's doctor called just a little bit ago and she is doing pretty good today with her CPAP settings. Her blood pressure has had some wide ranges but they think it is ok. Their feedings are going very well with both of them. This is not the type of days we had hoped for with me planning on going home this evening. My mom is on her way here to stay with Jessica tonight and tomorrow. I know this is short but I just don't have the blogging spirit right now. It really just makes me want to close my eyes and sleep it all away but when my eyes close instead I just pray that God will fix it.

K&K, Holding Rebecca, Joanna extubated

What could have been a stressful and miserable day turned into a great day of smiles. Katelyn and Kenlee stayed with us at a hotel last night and it was awesome. We got up this morning and went to Waffle House. Then our plans were to go to the zoo. As we found out, it was every other person's plan in Cincinnati. We got stuck in zoo traffic just trying to get back to RMH so Katelyn could go to the bathroom. Luckily, we made it - and we just stopped for her to use the bathroom a few minutes before if you know what I mean. We went back toward the zoo which is just down the road from RMH. Traffic was sitting still and the minutes we had left with the girls was dwindling quickly, not to mention the rapidly approaching time to pump. The best I could estimate, we would have approximately 37 minutes of actual zoo time. We decided to abort the mission and we bribed Katelyn with ice cream and a park. I think we had ambitious plans because we just wanted to do something awesome for them. We located a park not far from there and headed there to spend a couple of hours. We had a great time and got lots of pictures. Then we got ice cream which took the place of lunch.

We had told Joanna's nurse we would be there at 2:00 because they were going to take her intubation tube out. A little after 2:00 we got there and they removed the tube. She reacted perfectly. She went onto the CPAP machine which is just a pronged tube into her nose. She had another ultrasound today of her head and abdomen. Her abdomen ultrasound was ordered because they noticed something while doing her echocardiogram yesterday. What they found today was something on her liver. It was something bright on ultrasound but was not an active bleed. The radiologist and the resident that reported to us don't really know what it is. The dr. told us she really don't think it is something to worry about, they will just follow up with another scan. Her head ultrasound was about the same as the last one. It is a grade 2 on both sides. It is a small bleed but nothing to be concerned about right now. Again, they will follow up with another scan to check progress. An occupational therapist has started working with her joints and positioning to try to overcome some of the problems from her fetal conditions.

Mom got to hold Rebecca tonight (kangaroo care). They just placed Rebecca face down on Jessica's chest to provide warmth and so she could hear mom's heartbeat. They both absolutely loved it. They had been talking about taking her tube out also, but she had to have a setting increased on her vent so it will be delayed a little. I get to do the kangaroo care tomorrow, we'll see how she does for me.

Holding Joanna

We are starting to get a little more hands on with the twins as they are getting more stable and the nurses are getting to know us better. Today Joanna got her house switched out so we got to hold her while that change was made. In the video below, the crying was not Joanna. It was pretty amazing getting to hold her, mom first of course followed by me. She was bundled in a couple of blankets which made her look big but there was hardly any weight to her. She did great during the transfer keeping one of her eyes open the entire time Jessica held her, but never opened them once when I had her. I think I have a calming touch. They started giving her caffeine today to help remind her to breathe because they are planning to take here off the ventilator tomorrow. She has her follow up head ultrasound Wednesday but there are no signs of bleeding on the brain right now.

It almost seems like it is a race between these two. Each one of their milestones they pass it seems like they know what the other is doing and don't want to be outdone. They are back and forth on the light therapy for bilirubin, each day they trade off. Rebecca had a head ultrasound today which had clear results.

For the first time in 11 nights we were able to put Katelyn and Kenlee to bed tonight. Mom and a friend of hers brought them to see us today. When they got here we first visited with Rebecca then Joanna. Overnight arrangements were not real clear at first since our room at RMH was very small. We decided to get a hotel room for the 4 of us. Before going there we had to stop at Chuck E Cheese's though. It wasn't quite the reunion we had hoped for with Kenlee crying most of the time. The time we spent at Chuck E Cheese's was pretty good but she crashed on the way to the hotel. We may take a quick trip to the aquarium or the zoo in the morning before they leave around lunch. Katelyn keeps saying she wants to go to her bed so we have to keep reassuring her that this is only for a little while then we can all be together. Then she reminds us she doesn't want 2 sisters, she wants 1 brother and 1 sister.

Also, we want to say thank you to Alexis for all of the gifts that she brought Saturday for all of her sisters. They have the best big sister ever!

Already 1 Week

It's hard to believe it has been a week already. So many things have happened this week, it's hard to believe it all fit into just one. It's very late, as usual and I would like to write more but I must get some rest because Katelyn and Kenlee are coming to visit tomorrow afternoon and overnight. My mom is bringing them to spend some time with us for a couple of days. We can't wait to see them. Joanna and Rebecca are doing so awesome. They both are improving daily and continue to surprise their doctors and nurses. Jessica got her staples removed today. She was very scared but I held her hand and told her we could get ice cream afterward. She elected cheesecake instead, she was a champ. I got to change Joanna's diaper today. She had a big surprise in there for me too! I think the nurse knew this, which is why she asked if I wanted to do it. We forgot to mention it, but we changed both of their diapers on Friday too. Last night we searched the web for a church to go to today. We found Vineyard which turned out to be a very nice church. It wasn't quite our Bethel home but was a great place to give thanks to God and celebrate Easter. I told Jessica I bet we were the only people that ate Mcdonald's for lunch in the parking lot of Church today.

Milk is Flowing

Another milestone was reached today. Both Rebecca and Joanna are now getting the liquid gold. Today, we went to Joanna's Dr. rounds and it was decided to remove her from the oscillator vent and to the normal one. So around 10:15 they switched her over. To see how her body responded to the change, her blood was drawn and tested at 1:00 and all numbers were great. Also, her feedings were increased to 2 ml. I was wrong yesterday, she was getting 1 ml at that time. Rebecca is getting 2 ml every 3 hours. I know it does't seem like much but these accomplishments are huge to us. Joy, we left the stuffed pig with Joanna and the rabbit with Rebecca, not in their bed but close by.

Three different encounters with medical staff today cannot go unmentioned. When we talk to the attending doctor, he won't say it, but we know he really expected her not to make it. You can hear it in his words and see it in his expressions when we talk about it.

We also talked to the first nurse that took care of Joanna after she was born. She was awesome that day. She told us after she left work that night she called back in later to check on Joanna. She said she really didn't expect her to make it that night. That was the night her Oxygen was so low and she had to be put on the Nitric Oxide.

The third encounter was when we took Dr. Kelly a card that Alexis made and brought for her. It thanked her for keeping mom and her sisters alive. We also, gave her a printout of the blog that Jessica wrote about that experience. So, again - Thank you Dr. Kelly if you are reading.

Everyone tells us she is a little fighter, which is what her mom has been saying since the 10th week. She has a will to live that cannot be taken away. Rebecca is now starting to open her eyes every once in a while. I snap some pictures when I can, which is all the time. We are give all glory and thanks to God.

Thanks, Bryan and Ashley for visiting today and Granny for coming and bringing Alexis.

Good Friday

Today was another unforgettable day. We started the day with Rebecca and she had an excellent night and day today. They've started talking about taking her intubation tube out which may happen this weekend. She had another echo-cardiogram today that showed the same as the previous ones. Her case was presented to the cardiac surgery team today as they do every Friday. The plan is to insert a balloon catheter into her heart when she gets to the 5.5 # range. If she were to require it before, then they would attempt it but it would be very risky because of her size. Today we expected the results of Joanna's genetic testing for any chromosomal abnormalities. We were with her this afternoon when they got those results. More of those tears of joy started coming uncontrollably. God again has answered our prayers and spared her of that complication. She has been taking mommy's milk like a champ. They even increased her feedings to 2 mL every 2 hours and she is digesting it just fine. They decided to give her kind of a free day to relax and to adjust to no Nitric Oxide. We enjoyed some more visitors today. My parents, sister and brother-in-law, and Jessica's brother came to see the girls. Although short, we had a good time with them sharing our good news and little princesses. Some time later I will tell you about the couple we met tonight at the Ronald McDonald house. It's one of those cases where you don't meet by accident. God put them in our life for a specific purpose.

Wondrous Blessings

Jessica posted a blog also before this one.....She wanted me to update on the rest. Actually, it ended up being a combined effort toward the end.

I don't know where to start after a day like today. First of all, I thank God for the continued healing and improvement of Joanna and Rebecca. They are both doing exceptionally well this past day or so. Second, I thank God for the Doctors and support staff that have touched and continue to touch our lives. Third, I thank God for friends that are as good as we have. And Fourth, I recall a message from Pastor Bret a few weeks ago and thank God for the people that plant trees that we can sit in the shade of.

Joanna had her Nitric Oxide removed today and she received a feeding tube and is now taking mom's milk through it, although a very tiny amount. When we went to see Rebecca today, we were given a plastic bag with her hair from her first haircut. This is one small example of how the people that are caring for our girls go the extra mile and do things that are beyond their job description. They are ALL special in our hearts. It's Dr. Kelly though that we will never forget. What Jessica didn't mention, is that Dr. Kelly more than likely saved all three of their lives rather than just the babies'. More than one person that has heard the story has told me that we probably don't realize how close we were to losing mom and both girls. Let me tell you, that gets your attention. Jessica talked about miracles. There are a million scenarios I could come up with that would have put Jessica out of reach of medical care when that placenta detached.

Today was a testimony to the meaning of a life group. We had several friends visit that either are or were in our life group at some time. Not only did they spend their entire day travelling and visiting with us. They brought tons of gifts for the girls and us. As the Foreman's were leaving, we both were just about overcome with everything that the day had given us. When we finally got settled in for the night we began to open them as tears of joy and appreciation began to overflow. One gift after another, just reassured us that no matter what we will go through we have tons of people going through it with us. Also, the people of Methodist Hospital sent some gifts.

-Jessica's note-

Methodist Hospital Family - thank you so much for everything you sent up. It was what topped the night off yesterday. You have no idea how much reading the cards and opening the gifts meant to us. I love each one of you and am so blessed to work with such a wonderful group of people. I miss you all terribly.

Someone long before us realized a need for a place for families to stay while receiving medical care away from home. Therefore, we have shade from that tree they planted. We are staying at the Ronald McDonald House right next to Children's Hospital. You would not believe all of the things that this house provides. After Brandon got the tour, he came back into the room and said he was getting our kids together and relocating up here while the twins were here. Probably not possible, but would be awesome. It is like a resort for the kids. They have crafts each day, ice cream socials, a huge playground, movies, everything you could ask for. They have breakfast, lunch, and dinner served but if you don't make it down for them, they have a fridge that is labeled leftovers. You can come and get as much food as you want. There is a fridge with milk and eggs and a pantry filled with food items you can prepare if you like. Laundry is available for 50 cents, there are movies you can rent, a courtyard to enjoy the weather and try to forget about your troubles. There are only two paid staff members here and the rest are volunteers. Life Group - I have an idea of our "outside the church walls" volunteer project!! Our family will be forever touched by this place.

Our Angel

I was released from the hospital around noon today. It felt so good being able to get outside of those walls. Even though we were ready to leave I cannot pass this opportunity to tell you how wonderful our hospital experience was. As many of you know I work in a hospital so I can sometimes be a tough critic. At NO point were we given poor customer service. We were treated like royalty. I distinctly remember one day our housekeeper came in to clean our room. She asked how our babies were doing and at that time Joanna was the only one named. She left that day saying she would be praying for Joanna and her sister. That was the common thoughtfulness we experienced every day. It was unbelievable and Brandon and I will never forget those whom we've encountered.

It been put on my heart to share the miracles we have experienced since arriving here. To do this I must share some of the details of the days before our twins were born.

After being on the anti-contraction medication for two days the plan was to take me off of it on Saturday morning and wait and see what would happen. Thank God after being off of that medication my contractions did not begin as some thought they would. Saturday night was a rough night. I didn't get a lot of sleep and just couldn't get comfortable. Sunday morning came around and the plan was for me to be moved to another area of the floor for observation since again I was not having contractions at that point. The physician on staff noted that I had some uterus irritations the night before and was not sold on moving me to a different room. After it was decided I was not switching rooms that day, I requested to be able to take a shower. You see, I had three monitors strapped to my belly and oh how I longed for them to be off even if it was only for 15 minutes while I took a shower. My nurse was able to get that approved and when I got up to take a shower there was blood in my bed. Not a lot, but enough to have my shower privilege taken away. The physicians came in to discuss what the game plan was going to be now that we had this added complication. Dr. Kelly was just coming on shift and would be in charge of me for the remainder of that day. The physicians told us that our time of just waiting and hoping we would not go into labor was over now that we had some blood in the picture. This new discovery could mean that things may be getting more complicated very soon. The placenta may be starting to pull away from my uterus wall. What this means for all of us non-medical people is that the placenta is Joanna's lifeline and if it becomes detached, it is as if she now has to hold her breath until she is delivered. They were going to be monitoring me much closer now to see if other symptoms appeared. The physicians and nursing staff left the room. I begin to get really nervous and started to "feel different". I was sure it was all in my head but I couldn't get comfortable and began to feel like I was having more contractions so I called my nurse in again. She came right in and noticed on the heart monitors that Joanna's heart beat was increasing to around 180 beats and then decreasing to 70 beats - she called this decelerations. She called in Dr. Kelly immediately. Within minutes Dr. Kelly was telling everyone in the room that we had to get these babies out now. It all happened so quickly but I remember being so scared and looking at Brandon and knowing he was scared too. We kissed each other, said we loved each other and I was out of that room and on to the OR which was just down that hallway from the room I was in. Once in the OR I am not sure if I was crying or just had a look on my face but Dr. Kelly got behind my head, held my face, looked me straight in the eyes and said "You are going to be fine, we are going to take care of you." I remember at that moment feeling a sense of peacefulness. I shut my eyes to block all of the commotion out and began to pray that God would protect my babies.

The reason you need to know this history is to understand how miracles keep happening. Miracles: 1. The Dr. said that if we had been moved to the other room like we were told we were going to we may not have had two babies born alive. That extra time it would have taken them to get us to the OR may have cost Joanna her life. 2. If I wouldn't have wanted to get a shower I would not have gotten out of the bed to know that I was bleeding. 3. If the nurse wouldn't have came in at the exact time she did Joanna would have continued to have those decels and eventually her heart rate would have stopped. All of these were just daily happenings until you look back at them and see there were reasons behind them all we just didn't know it yet.

Dr. Kelly was my angel. I know after speaking with her today that she is a Christian who was sent from God to protect my babies. When we spoke with her today, she said it is a blessing each time she gets to deliver a baby but there are those special deliveries that she never forgets and ours was one of them. We weren't just another delivery, we were a delivery that she knows she was able to save two lives and it was "a very powerful experience". She said only God knows why things happen when they happen but she was so blessed to have been able to be a part of our delivery.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your many thoughts and prayers. God is working miracles.