Welcome Home Celebration

We are having a come and go welcome home celebration for Joanna on Sunday, August 8 anytime between 2 pm and 5pm at our house. Anyone wanting to drop in to see Joanna is welcome, we'll provide the hand sanitizer. If you need directions, just email us at barnardtwins@gmail.com.

She went for her checkups Thursday, one at her pediatrician here in Evansville and another at the High Risk Clinic in Cincinnati. Since I had to work, our friend Emily offered to go with Jessica to Cincy. Jessica said the trip was a complete waste of time. The only news from the day was that she only gained 6 oz. in the 14 days and they want her to gain about an ounce a day so they are keeping her night feeds on the pump the same for a while longer and actually increased them just a bit. She just need to start eating during the day a little better from the bottle or mom. Other than that, she is being a pretty good little girl. Our other little ones are making up for her with their behavior. Jessica is doing awesome as a stay at home mom, somehow not losing her mind with them while I'm at work. Katelyn's swimming lessons have been going ok. The first day went great until the end when they let her go down the slide by herself and she got all turned around and went under. She was not happy. The next day I took her and she was not interested in being there at all. With much bribery and threatening, she eventually did as little as possible to keep from having to go to the truck with me. Thursday, Grandma took her and she went off the diving board by herself that day, go figure. We'll see how next week goes. Kenlee is struggling with the potty thing still, sometimes taking her diaper off after she has gone..... not good. Other times she does exactly like she is supposed to. We know it's a learning process so we just need patience. Alexis is in her final couple of weeks of summer break before going to middle school. She's not looking forward to getting up early again.


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Finding Normal

We have been home for a little over a week now and are all starting to find our normal again. First of all, Joanna is doing very well. She is still getting a continuous feed by pump for 12 hours at night but sometimes she wants a little extra by bottle. During the day she takes her bottles every 3 or 4 hours as she decides. Keeping the tube taped where she can't pull it out is probably one of the biggest problems we have. They made it look so easy in the hospital. I told Jessica we are going to have to order a dumpster because the trash cans we have for pickup don't seem to be sufficient. I don't know how one baby can make a difference but it seems like we take out the trash and empty the dishwasher 3 times a day now and we don't even put the diapers in the trash can or put the bottles in the dishwasher. Thursday we take her to her 2nd pediatrician appointment here in Evansville, then take her to Cincinnati for a follow up appointment at the High Risk Clinic. We have had some in home visits with home health and a person from First Steps for early childhood development for preemies. The other girls are adapting pretty well I would say. Kenlee brings us the remote control constantly and says "Becca Song" which sometimes means she wants to watch Rebecca's movie and other times means she wants to hear Rebecca's song. She always lets us know when it comes on the radio by yelling "Becca's song, Becca's Song". Kenlee has become very whiney and always wants to be held. This week was a big week for Katelyn. We signed her up for Pre-school, swimming lessons and tap class. The new arrangements in the house are slowly working themselves out. Katelyn actually slept in Kenlee's room last night with her because Kenlee got some new flower shaped lights that hang on the wall and she thought those were pretty cool. I topped it off by putting a spare TV in there so they could watch as they went to sleep. The TV in the bedroom thing is a special occasion for them. Jessica is doing well also with the transition from working mom to stay at home mom. She actually told me yesterday, staying home with 3 kids is less stressful than working full time with 2 kids.

Apparently, there are still a couple of people checking the blog so I apologize for the length of time between posts. It was just a lot easier when I was in Cincinnati with nothing else to do. Here are some recent pictures also.

A Great Welcome

Joanna's Homecoming from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

We made it home at 7:00 last night and the trip went amazingly well. We only had to stop once to feed her and she was peaceful the entire trip. The first night also went very well. We, yes we, were only up a couple of times throughout the night and she hardly cried at all. Unless we were just so tired we slept through it with her in our room. Kenlee spent her first night in her new toddler bed in her new bedroom. That was a bit of a problem, but as long as I was lying on the floor beside her, she was cool with it. That has become the routine even in her crib so the new bed wasn't the issue. The most stressful time so far was after everyone left and we were trying to get her milk mixed up for the night feedings. As much as we thought we were prepared to do this by ourselves, there were a couple of small details left unclear. They weren't critical, there are just a bunch of little details with medication, timing, planning, thawing and so on that were always done for us. I have no doubt in a couple days Jessica will have it running like a well oiled machine. There is a pattern of Jessica asking my opinion of something then telling me we aren't doing it that way. With the news of meals coming, that definitely will eliminate a ton of stress. So thank you in advance for helping in that way. After today, I will have a few days off work so we can all enjoy our first real time together. We once again want to tell the nurses, especially Lindsay, thank you for all of the time that you spent with Joanna and that we will miss you.

< 24 hours

That's how long it will be before Joanna is FINALLY at home in her own house. The anticipation is building and all of the last minute details are being worked out. Scheduling follow up appointments, getting CPR trained, packing everything and cleaning the room at RMH. All of that was on Jessica's end. I have been working on finishing Kenlee's new room and moving her into it, and getting all of the baby clothes, swing, vibrating chair and other essentials out of the attic. You're right, why are we just now doing that? I really don't know, I guess we just wanted to enjoy that extra square feet in our house as long as possible. In 5 years, we have gone from just me, Jessica and Alexis in our house to now 3 additional little princesses and they all came with a little more stuff. The thought of moving now makes me cringe. No, we are not moving anytime soon. We can't wait to have everyone together and make home "home" again. My sister is awesome and she is going to ride with me in the morning over to Cincinnati and come back by herself so I can drive Jessica and Joanna home. It will be 109 days that she spent in UC NICU and she's coming home on Kenlee's birthday which is special other than we won't get to spend it with Kenlee. Between me and Jessica, nearly 40 trips to and from Cincinnati, I had been there about 4 times in my life before March. Jessica and I both have mentioned there is a part of it that we will miss. I guess when you do something for so long, no matter what it is, you become used to it. So when you leave it, there is an adjustment to have to make without it. I don't expect any problems, although there are some people we will miss, like the ones we've missed from Children's this past month - you know who you are! Pod D will forever be special to us and we will look forward to taking Joanna back to visit periodically.

Check out Joanna's pictures she had taken today Here

Happy Birthday Girls!

Yesterday, we celebrated Katelyn's 4th birthday (the 7th) and Kenlee's 2nd birthday (the 14th). They had an awesome time playing in the water and in their new jumping inflatable. They both got some great gifts but Kenlee is getting the best gift of all. Joanna is scheduled to come home Wednesday on Kenlee's birthday. We are very aware that going home dates can change even as you are getting ready to walk out the door but we are hopeful she doesn't do anything to change it. She did have to have her feeding tube put back in yesterday because she wasn't getting her full feeds from her bottles before stopping eating. I actually put the tube in so I could know how before bringing her home. She will keep it in at home if she needs to. She has had no problems being off of oxygen for almost a week now. Her weight is now 7# 6oz. Here are a few pictures so you see how cute she is now without her tubes.

Rebecca Sue Video

Rebecca Sue from Brandon Barnard on Vimeo.

Saying Thank You

Here are a few updates but this post is mostly about saying Thank You.

Jessica was pretty much over her infection on Saturday so she just had it for a couple of days. I spend the weekend with Joanna and came home Monday night while Jessica was able to spend the weekend with friends in Cincinnati hanging out doing girl stuff. Joanna is still doing well and now just shy of 7#. She had her oxygen weaned to 3/4 liter yesterday and is doing fine with the change. We have reached that anxious state where we are really wanting her to get home even if it is on oxygen and feeding tube. We probably would be a little more hesitant if they actually said ok lets get her discharged and we would take her out of there where she is constantly monitored. We continue to truck cooler loads of breast milk home to the point I had to buy a freezer because my parent's was full. I think the one I bought (craigslist of course) may be too small. 

I have been wanting to mention some Thank You's on here for a while but I realize that is a slippery slope with the risk of inadvertently leaving someone out. I have come to the conclusion that some of these can't go without mentioning and I will do my best to acknowledge those. I am certain none of this kindness was an effort for recognition or attention and would guess they would rather me not mention it. We feel extremely blessed to have these people in our lives that took it upon themselves to do something to help our family with the expenses we have, and will be absorbing through this. There have been some individuals that have made very generous personal contributions to us and our Twin Benefit Fund, but I'm sure those would not want to be mentioned. One of the most touching stories came out of the fundraiser that was held in Wayne City, my hometown. I was told there was a family with very little that saved their money for a period of time and gave $6 to be given to us. I have no idea who this family is, but we want to say thank you for what means so much more than $6. We have had so many people that we would never have even thought of send us cards and donations, some we have never met before. We want to say thank you to those that we haven't seen in years or even met at all. These are the many that have given a wide range of donations.

The others are those that have collectively put their talents, efforts, and goodness together in organizing and putting on various types of fundraisers for us. When I mention these, please keep in mind I only know what I know. Some of this stuff was happening in a very big way while we had very little exposure to it from being in Cincinnati. We did our best to find out who the major players were in making these happen. I know there were more but here's a few.

911 Gives Hope
Evansville Firefighter Mike Doran asked me several times what they could do for us but I kept avoiding an answer, uncomfortable with asking for anything. They decided to donate $5000 to the Twin Benefit Fund which was to cover the cost of meat and supplies for the BBQ sale. They had a presentation on  May 28 which we were not able to attend from being with Rebecca after her procedure 2 days before. Please remember this charity next spring when they have the annual Guns and Hoses boxing match between the Evansville Fire and Police Departments.

Twin Benefit BBQ Sale
Several weeks ago, some guys from EFD got together and decided to open an account at the Credit Union to accept donations. One thing led to another and before long there was a BBQ sale planned. From what I know, this sprouted from my Captain Jim Pauli, Lieutenant Mike Ewald and Captain Gary Green with the EFD. Then it went to the BBQ kings Tim and Will Nalin. In just a few days they had scheduled it for June 19th. Not intentionally, but the due date of the twins. Orders started coming in like crazy and they cooked over 400 slabs of ribs and port butts. Many other people helped out with one thing or another and we thank you all! The bake sale was by another friend Barb Day which makes the best peanut butter balls on earth. If you need any baking done, she's your lady.

Wayne City Silent Auction and Dinner 
This event was planned by cousins of mine Kristen and Lezlee Barnard and Amber Green. Unfortunately, this one happened without us also. It was June 4th in Wayne City. It was the same night as Katelyn's dance recital in Evansville and I was in Cincinnati. My parents attended, representing us in our absence. They spent what had to be tons of time gathering donated items for a silent auction and food for the dinner. Thank you to Steve Ehrhart for his delicious cooking. It was great going through the records seeing names of people that I knew growing up. We will be looking for you all at Bean Days this year to thank you personally. Thank you everyone in and around Wayne City for making this event a success. It reminded me big things don't just happen in the "big city".

Methodist Hospital
You were the first to jump into action with a bake sale the first couple of weeks. You had a couple of other events including selling lemon shake ups. It seemed like there was always someone bringing an envelope from Methodist Hospital that was full of cards and money. I'll never forget the first night in our Ronald McDonald House room opening cards mostly from people at Methodist Hospital. I'm glad Jessica was surrounded with such great people in her time there.


Pace with Purpose

Our friend Emily Ryan and her running partner began this organization to raise money for causes while getting people to run and stay in shape. The Barnard Twins were their "cause" last month and they were able to raise funds for our expenses. Thank you both.

Ronald McDonald House
Lastly, for those that have made a contribution to the Ronald McDonald House in memory of Rebecca we thank you for that. We continue to get letters from them telling us of those contributions. We plan to make that charity one of which we will keep dear to our hearts.

I could write all night about how each and every one of the gifts we received made a special impression on us. I think it is important to share with all of you that your generous giving and support has provided us with over $20,000 for bills or other related expenses. Jessica and I hope to have some left over when everything is paid to use to give back in some special ways. We will blog those opportunities when they become available.

Thank you again for everything from what seems the smallest card or gesture all the way up. None of it was accepted lightly or without sincere appreciation.