Playing at Murray Park

I didn't want our beautiful little boys to be forgotten on our family blog.  These pictures are taken at Murray Park on a day where Eric and I took turns going in to see the girls in the NICU.

Day 9 Things are looking up

Eric and I just got back from the hospital for the night.  Ali had to have a PICC line put in her today which is a "Peripherally inserted central catheter".  They decided this would be best for her so that she could get the nutrients and fluids she needs and hopefully recover faster.  The PICC line goes in through a vein in her arm and guided through the vein until it reaches the large vein that enters the heart (the superior vena cava).  Stitches are placed around the catheter to hold it in place.  The procedure went well but they may try again tomorrow to inset a new PICC line because they couldn't get it in far enough.  The picture above shows how small the PICC line is compared to a pencil.  It feels like a peice of floss but it is hollow.  She now weighs 3 lbs 11 ounces.  She looked cozy and peaceful when we left her tonight.  

Ava is doing really well and was all smiles tonight.  She kept making little tiny laughing sounds in her sleep and then she would get a really sad face that would quickly turn back into a smile.  She weighs 4 lbs today and is holding her temperature really well so if she keeps it up she may be moved into an open crib soon.

Twins update/8 days old

We received a call at 11:00pm last night from the nurse practitioner to let us know that another Lumbar Puncture was just done, that they did get some fluid this time, and that they would have the results in about 24 hours.  Today I spent most of the day at the hospital.  The girls are so beautiful and I could only just watch them in there Isolette's.  Ali had an x-ray at 10am that looked really good.  The doctor comments were, "no definitive signs of NEC."  That doesn't means its gone but it is responding well to the antibiotic.  She has an Anderson Tube down her throat to decompress her stomach and suck out the stomach fluids.  Today it was bright yellow which still indicates infection and they can't remove the tube until the fluids run clear.  She is entirely off of feedings and receives the nutrients she needs through an IV in her veins.  She will still feel hunger pains but as much as I ask they say she probably doesn't feel hungry because she feels so sick.  Today I got to change her diaper again which made me nervous because of all the bad news that that presented yesterday.  She opened her eyes to look at me when I changed her which makes me feel good for her to know I am there.  She had another x-ray at 5pm which also showed that she is looking much better.  She will have her next x-ray at 5am 8/12. Lastly, her results from her Lumbar Puncture (Spinal Tap) came back and she does not have Spinal Meningitis.  

Ava had a temperature today and slept the whole time I was there so I didn't get to hold her or nurse her.  The nurses have been watching her very closely to make sure she doesn't show signs of NEC.  They don't know how it spreads so they are very cautious but I was told today that just because Ali got NEC, does NOT mean Ava will get it.  Ava had an x-ray done today because the nurse felt something in her tummy.  It came back clear so she was able to have her regular feedings.   I put a picture of our family and a picture of the girls together in each of their Isolette's so they can feel like we are there with them.

Pray for Ali

Today Eric and I went to the NICU to visit our little girls.  Each day we are so excited to see them and each day they seem to get better and better.  During our visit today the nurse told me to change Ali's diaper and take her temperature.  I hadn't changed either girls diaper or taken their temp's so I started with Ali.  After I changed her I was going to get to try and nurse her for the first time.  As I was changing her diaper I noticed her diaper was a reddish color so I asked the nurse if it looked normal.  She said no and took it straight to the attending doctor.  They immediately sent it for lab work.  An x-ray machine was brought in and an x-ray was taken.  We found out that Ali has Necrotizing Enterocolitis or NEC.  "Necrotizing" means death to tissue, "Entero" refers to the small intestine,  "Colo" refers to the large intestine and "itis" is inflammation.   They had to do a Lumbar Puncture on her (spinal tap) and they were unable to get any fluid after a few attempts.  She is currently on antibiotics and they are hoping that we caught it soon enough to get rid of it.  If they can't kill the bacteria soon enough, she could lose some of her bowel from it and some babies die from it.  Needless to say, we are very concerned for our sweet little Ali so please pray for her.  On a good note, Ava is off of oxygen and I attempted to nurse her today for the first time.  She was x-rayed as well and does not have NEC. 

The girls are here!

My mom took in last Friday to get my bi-weekly NST test.  We were there for 3 hours and my contractions really started picking up.  They moved me into Labor and delivery to watch my contractions.  They weren't stopping so the only option left was to try Magnesium Sulfate.  It is the least preferred of the two ways to stop labor and since I had already tried the Nifedipine, this was my last option.  They hooked me up to the IV and got the Mag into my system.  The next 2 days were a blur but I do remember feeling so drugged and nauseous that I just had to sleep.  The contractions started coming again on Sunday (Aug. 3rd) so they decided that it was time to let the babies come.  An ultrasound was done and showed that the babies were each about 4 pounds so we weren't to worried about the babies being too small.  I ended up having a c-section and I was so drugged from the epidural and the Magnesium that I didn't know what was happening.   The babies are here now and Ali weighed 4 lbs 1 oz, she was 15 1/2 inches and was born at 4:02 p.m.   Ava weighed 4 lbs 2 oz., was 17 inches and was born at 4:03. They are doing very well and will be in the NICU for approximately 4-9 weeks.