Busy weekend!

Saturday I was surprised with a "welcome home Addison and Riley" baby shower. It was a nice little gathering of some family and good friends. Got LOTS of diapers. lol. The boys got to be loved on and everyone got to spoil them (after washing their hands ;) ). Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated them and gifted us some much needed supplies.
The boys are doing really well. Over the weekend they suddenly seemed to "get it" They've both been nursing a ton. Friday, between 10am and 1pm, Riley drank 5oz.! They've both graduated from their 2oz. bottles from the hospital and they're now drinking 2.5-3.5oz per feeding. They both went from one poop per week to several poops per day. They've both been awake more and alert. Their reflux seems to be a little bit better but I'm still not able to drink caffeine. I usually save my pumped milk and try to drink my coffee when they're due for meds so that it doesn't affect them too much.
I'm hoping to get some pics from the welcome home shower and I'll post them as soon as I can. I have to head out to babies r us, again, to try and find a darn stroller that is compatible with their carseats. They are in Chicco Keyfit 30's and Chicco doesn't make a double stroller that fits their carseats but they don't fit in any of the universal strollers. There's one stroller that will fit the seats but of course, it's like $600! There's one more at babies r us that I can try and if that doesn't work, I'm stuck carrying 2 carseats, 2 apnea monitors, and the diaper bag every time we need to go somewhere. Since they're not 5lbs. (Riley isn't even close), they aren't big enough for other infant seats. The Chiccos are the only seats that fit 4lbs. and up.

Today was their due date

My original due date was October 4th and it was then moved to Sept. 26th, after an early ultrasound. It's crazy to sit here, on my due date, and hold my 14 week old twins. Our lives have been one crazy story for the past 6 months. We went from thinking we were having another miscarriage, to finding out there were twins, and then having them born 2 months later, and now to have them here, after beating so many odds. We have all been so, so lucky.

I took the boys to the midwives office to introduce them to Robin (my midwife) and just to check their weights. Addison was 4lbs. 14oz. and Riley is still not gaining much and is only at 3lbs. 14oz. I'm going to take them back to the midwife next week for another weight check and if Riley hasn't had a significant gain, I'm going to call the pediatrician and get them in before their next scheduled appt. I really don't want to have to supplement Riley. He didn't tolerate either of the fortifiers that the nicu tried and I just don't want to mess up his system. He must know what's up though because today, between 10am and 1pm, he drank 5oz. of breastmilk. I've been giving him fresh pumped milk in a bottle so that I can see how much he's eating. Addison is nursing so well. Most of the time, I don't even use the shield. I've been tandem nursing and I just love sitting there with both of them and watch them watch me.

We had our follow up appointment with the eye doctor today. It's their first appointment since coming home and Riley's ROP has started to get better. Addison's left eye is also getting better but his right eye progressed a little bit. He did say that he thinks the ROP has peaked and that he didn't think for a second, that either of them will need laser surgery. We go back in 2 weeks again for another check.

Tuesday we had a social worker come from the county's early intervention program to do intake paperwork for the boys. Next week we'll have 2 therapists and the social worker come out to evaluate each of the boys. If they're behind by at least 30% for their age, they automatically qualify for therapy. They will definitely qualify just because of how early they were and we'll most likely start them with a physical therapist in the next few weeks. She'll work with them for strengthen their neck muscles and work on proper body movements.

So, a lot of stuff is going on. We've got tons of doctor appointments and my house needs so badly to be cleaned.

I took some cute pictures tonight. I got their adorable outfits at babies r us. I had been eyeing up the "twins rock" onesies since we first found out I was having twins. After they were born, I finally knew that I needed 2 blue onesies but when I went to get them, they were sold out. I was there Wednesday night and they had a ton of them again so I had to buy them. Addison is the one wearing the brown pants.

It's just now after midnight and I've got to get some sleep. skylar has a football game first thing in the morning and Ian is going to stay home with the younger kids so that I can finally see one of Skylar's games.

3 months old

So, I'm a few days late since they turned 3 months old on the 17th but I'm just now getting time to write. They're both doing really, really well. As I'm typing, Ive got Addison in my lap, getting his night time bottle with zantac and poly-vi-sol. It's hard to believe that they've only been home, together, for a week. It seems like they've always been here and aside from having to plan extra time to get ready in the morning, they've slipped right into our lives and hearts :)

They went to their doctor (Dr. Moffit, who was my pediatrician when I was a kid) for a weight check and quick check-up. He was on vacation the first 2 visits so this is the first he's been able to see them. He's happy with Addison's weight gain. He weighs 4lbs. 10oz. He wasn't too thrilled with Riley's weight gain though. He's only 3lbs. 14oz. He ideally wants them to gain an ounce per day but is happy with a half ounce. One ounce per day seems like a lot when you're talking about a baby who's not even 4lbs. They're both still just getting plain breastmilk with only vitamins and zantac. I've been getting an insane amount of formula mailed to me by various companies and I still have 3 different types of fortifiers from the hospital. Our next doctors appointment is for their 4 month check-up so if Riley hasn't gained a significant amount of weight, I may try to introduce a fortifier again. Riley has started spitting up so Dr. Moffit put him on Zantac to see if it makes any difference. Other than a few common preemie issues, they're super healthy.

They've been sleeping and eating well. Addison has just finished his 2oz. bottle and he's still rooting. Riley sleeps more and Addison eats more. They've already started to show their personalities. I can tell the difference between their tiny cries and they each have their own little sounds and quirks. Ian has even pointed out that he's surprised I know them so well.

Ian went back to work on friday. It was a bit of a challenge. He had been home since Addison came home (he worked from home until Riley came home) and such a huge help. He did almost all of the cooking, cleaning, and care for Leah and Skylar. I now have an idea of what time I need to be up in the morning so that I'm able to get myself ready before the kids need stuff.

Addison finally fits into preemie clothes. He actually almost fits Gymboree newborn clothes. A friend sent matching Gymboree outfits for them and they're for "up to 7lbs." and they only hang about 2 inches past his feet. The sleeves are just a tiny bit too long but they fit enough that I'll put them on when I'm out of preemie sleepers. Riley still doesn't come close to fitting the gymboree outfit but he's almost the right size for preemie. Hopefully Dr. Moffit is right when he said that one day, they'll just start to take off with their weight gain.

Sorry for the crappy picture, it was taken late last night with my cell phone. Riley is the closer baby.

A great first weekend

The boys had a great weekend together, at home! We went to the doctor yesterday. Addison is 4lbs. 8oz. and Riley is 3lbs. 13oz. Both are gaining enough weight on plain breastmilk so the doctor isn't interested in trying to mess with fortifiers. Addison is starting to nurse without a nipple shield. Riley has latched on without a shield but he was slow to pick up on nursing to begin with so I don't want to try to push him.

They both sleep well (for now) and their monitors rarely go off. I think Riley's has only gone off since we left the nicu (once was before we made it out of the hospital). Addison's goes off 2-3 times per day for low heart rate. He turns blue and I have to pick him up. Usually he just needs a good burp and a little tickle on his belly and he perks back up. It always happens when he's in a deep sleep. We're fully expecting Riley to be off the monitor after the company comes and downloads the first reading. Hopefully Addison will only have it for 2 months. The apnea monitors are a small price to pay to have both boys healthy and home. They're a bit tricky to keep from getting tangled and they irritate their skin a little bit but it's nice to have that peace of mind. With Skylar and Leah, I remember putting my hand on their chests to feel if they were breathing.

We've had a decent amount of visitors since the boys come home. No kids have been over but close family and friends have been allowed to come and see, but not touch. We've got Purell all over the house and soap at every sink.

We've been going through a lot of blankets, spit-up rags, and outfits. I'm not used to babies with reflux. I feel silly running a load of laundry daily just for the baby's clothes and blankets but we really go through that much stuff.

It's been a lot of fun having both of them home. My house is not as clean and clutter free as it used to be, Ian and I are tired, but it's well worth it.

24 hours with both boys

It has been fantastic!! I tandem nursed last night. It was a huge accomplishment to me and it makes all of the hours I spent, hooked to the breastpump, worth it.

We took Addison up to the nicu when we picked up Riley so that we could have those silly hospital pictures taken. I always thought the hospital pictures were over-priced and that they weren't very professional looking. Leah and Skylar both had pictures done when they were around 3-4 months at different photography places but because of the boys immune systems, we won't be able to take them to a germ infested photography place. I thought about having a local place come to us and take pics but our house is not very nice for pictures and it will soon be too chilly to take them outdoors. So, we paid the almost $30 to get 8 wallets and 2 3x5's. I have to say, they turned out better than I had expected. The package included a free welcome baby website so I was able to e-mail it to most of our friends and family so they could see the picture.

So, anyways, Riley has not been tolerating any of the fortifiers that are available in stores (the fortifier they use in the hospital is not available to the public so they try to wean them to something available at stores before they go home). He's been on just straight breastmilk and his weight gain has kind of tapered off and he actually lost just a little bit of weight the night before he came home. The nicu doctor wants me to talk to the pediatrician and try to figure out what to use to add extra calories but I'm not sure if that will be needed. At home, they're both allowed to eat whatever they want, whenever they want. Riley has been taking close to 2oz. from a bottle when I give him his vitamins. They have another doctors appointment this coming Sunday so we shall see how much they've gained.

It's so hard to put them down. I just want to make up for lost time but then I feel bad that they don't have any time to be together so I'll lay them in the bassinet (we have a pack and play with the bassinet attachment over the whole top) facing each other and just let them be close. They sleep so well when they're next to each other, it really is amazing.

We had a good first night. They took turns waking up and nursing but they slept side by side in the co-sleeper and neither of their monitors went off.

Riley's monitor went off a few times and Addison's goes off 1-2 times per day. It's been for a low heart rate all but 2 times since he's been home. Usually all I have to do is pick him up and burp him and he's good to go.

We got a call this morning from the nurse manager asking if there were any nurses who went above and beyond and there are 2, Tricia and Barb, who were absolutely amazing through all of this. We also got a call from Dr. Brown to just ask how everything is going. I thought that was nice of him.

So, we're all finally together and it will be a tough adjustment (especially when Ian goes back to work) but very much worth it.

One adventure ends and another begins

Tomorrow morning, we call to check on Riley and unless some extreme issue happens overnight, we'll get the ok from the doctor to come pick him up. We have their hospital pictures scheduled at 9:30am. We get to take Addison back in so they can have their pictures done together.
Tomorrow will be 87 days since they were born. 87 days. As I was sitting on the couch with Addison, I turned to Ian and said, "our boys are almost 3 months old". We've been through a lot and tomorrow we will walk out of there and be a complete family.
I'll never forget the nurses. I've grown close to some of them. They have been beyond wonderful and I don't think we could have asked for better doctors and nurses.
Riley is less than 4 ounces from being 4lbs. so he was tested in a Chicco carseat and passed with flying colors. He passed his hearing screening and he's been eating well.
The odds were against our boys. They were tiny and sick but they are fighters and they've beaten the odds. The fact that they are both "walking" out of the nicu with nothing more than some vitamins and an apnea monitor is nothing short of amazing. They're both nursing. I never thought they would be able to do it. I tried so hard to keep up my supply. Spending 4 hours a day, hooked to a breastpump is not even a little bit fun but I know it ws what they needed. They took to nursing better than I could have hoped. Addison is now nursing without a nipple shield and Riley latches right onto the shield.
They will start physical therapy through our state program. They have eye exams in 2 weeks to follow up with their ROP, and we'll have lots of visits to the pediatrician. We have to go back to the nicu in 4 months for some sort of evaluation with the doctor and while it sounds like a lot, I'd do it every day for those boys. We've already learned a lot from them in their short time with us. They've scared us, amazed us, made us laugh and smile, kept us up at night, and brought our family closer together.
Our family and friends have been our rock through all of this. Everyone has bent over backwards to help and we want everyone to know how much we appreciate it.
I have to say a quick thank you specifically to Martha. She has been extremely generous and helpful. She went above and beyond and we are so thankful for everything she has done for us.
To everyone who has said a prayer, sent a card, helped babysit Leah and Skylar, sent things for the kids, offered to run an errand, or just listened while I vented, cried, or tried to have some sort of normal adult conversation, THANK YOU! We have some of the best friends and family members.

It's been a few days

Thought I would take some time to finally write. Addison is tuckered out from his first visit to the doctor and he's sound asleep. He weighed 4lbs. 6oz. at the doctor today. They did say the scale may be off compared to the hospital scale so we're going back in a week for a weight check. The doctor said he looked good. His heart and lungs sounded great, he's eating plenty, and although he hasn't pooped since he came home, his belly looked just fine. The nicu gave me some glycerin and the doctor told me to give it to him if he still hasn't gone by tomorrow night. He's had a lot of food changes in the past week so we're giving him a little bit longer for his belly to settle. He was sent home with instructions to add Neosure formula to a few bottles per day (he gets 3 bottles per day so that i can give his poly-vi-sol and Zantac) but the nicu doctor told me to just give him regular breastmilk for now. Riley started spitting up the Neosure fortified breastmilk (I would too, who wants to drink the good stuff with nasty formula mixed in??) so he's also just getting straight breastmilk.

This weekend has been a lot of bittersweet fun. Addison is a perfect baby. He sleeps and eats well, loves to be cuddled and held, his monitor rarely alarms, and although I wish we could get rid of the nipple shield, he's nursing and that's more important than getting rid of the shield. The kids are so in love with Addison. Leah wants to talk to him and tickle him. Skylar loves to be my "look out" and sit with him while I run to the bathroom or fix a bottle. Leah's having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to being the center of attention but she starts school tomorrow so hopefully that will help her feel important too.

Skylar had his first football game of the season this past Saturday. We all went because I didn't know exactly where it was so I knew Ian would never be able to find it. Of course, as soon as we got there, it starts to rain so Leah, Addison, and I stayed in the van. I missed Skylar get his first touchdown but it was nice to be out as almost a complete family.

So, we were hoping for Riley to come home today but early yesterday morning, he had to go back into the isolette. His temp was down a little bit so they bundled him and left him in the open crib and for his next feeding, his temp was still low. I called this morning and was told that he's going into the open crib again this afternoon and his nurse moved him to a different section of the nicu where there is less of a draft. There was a big vent in the wall right behind where his bed was so hopefully he'll do better in this spot. He weighs 3lbs. 11oz. We're hopefully shooting for Thursday as a discharge date now and I don't think there's any way he'll hit 4lbs. by then so he'll probably come home in a carbed. He's eating really well and not having any reflux issues. He had one event yesterday but none so far today.

One down, one to go

After 81 days in the NICU, Addison is HOME! We got home with him just before dinnertime. He is on an apnea monitor for at least 3 months and he has a prescription for Zantac but otherwise is completely healthy. He weighs a whopping 4lbs. 5.3oz. (3 pounds above birth weight).

Ian and I both had busy mornings but all of the hardwork is worth it.

Our day started off with a visit from my good friend Jenn who brought us a meal and tied balloons out front. Then we had a porch fairy (Amy) leave a balloon and goody bags for Skylar and Leah on the front porch. When we came home from the hospital, my sister had tied more balloons outside and put one of those stork signs in our flower bed. I always thought those signs were so silly but having him be celebrated felt so great! We were scared to celebrate too much when they were born since they had only a 50% chance of survival. So now, we celebrate!

Riley should be coming home before the end of this coming week. He's supposed to move to an open crib tonight and if he does well, he could come home as early as Monday. He was 3lbs. 9oz. as of this morning so he may make it to 4lbs. and not have to come home in a carbed.

I've been typing this one-handed for a long time now so I'll end this for tonight.

I will try to keep updating daily at least until Riley comes home, but if I don't, you know why :)

It's been a long road!

Mr. Addison Ryker Macomber will be joining us at home tomorrow afternoon, and per the head neonatologist Riley may be joining us as soon as Monday; however, he will certainly be home by the weekend of the 13th!

We'll know for sure this Sunday. Thank you everyone for everything. It looks like we're all but there!

There is so much to do tomorrow, and I will be working from home on top of that, so I best get to sleep.

Ian

Back to an open crib

Addison is playing a not so fun game of flip flop. Today at 1pm, he went back into an open crib and so far, so good. I went in to nurse them at 6pm tonight and his temp. was just fine. He's 4lbs. 4oz., eating well, and doing everything that he should be doing. His reflux is much better now that he's back on the zantac. I just called his nurse to get a late night update and he's doing wonderfully in his crib. He's doing so well that she got rid of the isolette!!

He has been having some trouble taking bottles though. He gulps and gulps and forgets to breathe and de-sats really low. She had to give him a little blow-by oxygen (holding the oxygen mask her his face). He does so much better nursing and the nurse says that once he's home, he'll likely take bottles better because it will be less stressful.

Riley is still in an isolette. Their primary doctor is in tomorrow (I think) and hopefully I'll get to talk to him about when he plans to move Riley to a crib. He is the opposite of Addison when it comes to eating. He'll take a bottle like a champ but he doesn't quite get nursing yet. He will latch on and nurse but not until he's had 15 minutes of just lying there, doing nothing. His nurse tonight said that she thinks he's going to be a thumb sucker. He always has his thumb in his mouth.

Ian and I go for our apnea monitor training tomorrow evening and I think I'm still planning on doing an overnight. We're not ruling out a Friday discharge date but we're thinking saturday or sunday is more probable. I'm making cookies, brownies, pumpkin muffins (Sandi's wonderful recipe), and possibly cheesecake if I'm feeling ambitious as thank you gifts for the nurses. I've taken them donuts and bagels with cream cheese before and everyone has always loved it. I hear many of them talk about how they don't get their meals or don't have time to eat and it's nice to take them something that they can grab in a minute to hold them over.

Downstairs carpets got shampooed this afternoon, tomorrow I plan to tackle the upstairs rooms. I'm going to go stock up on some stuff at the store so that Ian will only have to run out and grab basics. We're ready!

I'm up way too late tonight. I've actually been getting to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour and I got sucked into Sarah Palin's speech since I was curious as to what she had to say.

Back to the isolette

So, Addison didn't do too well in the open crib. By noon, his temperature dropped from 36.5 degrees Celsius (the minimum temp. allowed) to 36.0. He will likely try again tomorrow and him not doing well today doesn't necessarily mean that coming home Friday is out of the question. Hopefully, he'll be home by the end of the weekend, at the latest. He is back on zantac and having much less events than yesterday. He's also not having any spitting up caused by the zantac. He's still on the 22 calorie fortifier. He weighed 4lbs. 3.9oz.

Riley weighs 3lbs. 6.3oz. and has downgraded to the 24 calorie formula. He's also allowed to have up to 40cc of milk. He's having no more than 1 event per day and he just needs to grow a little bit more before going to an open crib.

My grandparents are up from Florida to visit and to attend my cousins wedding. They came in to meet the boys tonight and my nana was thrilled to hold them. They were both wide awake for her and I got some good pictures.

Quite a bit of good news to report

I'm still feeling sick today but I had to take in milk so I put on my face mask, scrubbed my hands and arms real well, and went in to visit the boys. While I was sitting there, holding Riley's hand, their doctor came over to me.

Tomorrow Addison will be moved to an open crib! We will have a definite answer on Wednesday but as of now, Addison should be coming home this FRIDAY!!!!! He has to maintain his body temperature while in the open crib and our plans for Thursday are to do the carseat test, apnea monitor testing, and I'll stay overnight with Addison in the overnight room if he's coming home Friday. He is off the Zantac and having a few more episodes than before but the doctor is going to wait a day or two to see if he needs to go back on Zantac. He's down to the 22 calorie fortifier and he's retaining a little bit of water but they aren't concerned or planning to start on the diurell again. He will come home on the monitor and with the poly-vi-sol, vitamin E, and folate. He'll also have to have some of the fortifier added into a bottle. He now weighs 4lbs. 3.5oz. and is 16.5" long.

Riley has finally hit 1500 grams!! He is now 3lbs. 5.1oz. and 15.9" long. He was taken down to the 24 calories fortifier and on all of the same vitamins as Addison. He is not having any events and is eating wonderfully. He's now allowed to take up to 40cc and he's been taking all of that almost every feeding. Dr. Brown said that Riley is not far behind Addison and should hopefully move to an open crib in a few days. When we met with him last week, we decided that if they were only a day or two apart, we wanted them to come home together. He told me today that Riley is more than 2 days, but less than 1 week behind Addison.

We've got a lot of cleaning to do between now and this weekend. We spent the whole afternoon deep cleaning the house. Tomorrow I'll shampoo all of the carpets and deep clean the bathrooms. We have the co-sleeper out of the attic and ready to be set up. So exciting!!

Keep your fingers crossed that he does well in an open crib and passes his carseat test!