First Solo Visit

Friday the 13th was a good day for the boys:-) I got to go over and spend all morning with them. Josiah had just had a "bath" without his mask and the nurse said he did very well. I got to hold him on my chest skin-to-skin - much better than wrapped in blankets! He just snuggled up and slept. It was a lot like holding a puppy because he's about the same size and he would make little whimpering noises like a puppy. I got to hold him for more than an hour this time. So sweet! He did get a little bit irritated and make some louder noises after the nurse put him back in his bed. He had pulled his feeding tube out (AGAIN!) and the nurse figured out he really liked his pacifier without the feeding tube in his mouth so she put the feeding tube in his nose. Josiah may only be 2 lbs 10 ozs and 1 month old, but he WILL let you know when he doesn't like something and he did NOT like that tube down his nose! He is a little stinker! The doctor is very pleased with his progress and said we just need to fatten him up now. Gideon was looking much better today. I did get to hold his hand today. He does have pneumonia so they will change the antibiotic to one more specific to fighting that. He was more alert and active today and seemed to be feeling better. The doctor seemed to think we may be able to have him off the vent in a week. Thanks to everyone for their continued prayers! Funny story: As I was leaving the hospital, I got to the parking garage only to find that the elevators were not working (hopefully no one was on them). Of all days to park on the 5th floor!! Yes I had to hike up the stairs! Great exercise, but after 2 1/2 months of bedrest and another month of limited activity, my muscles were not happy about it:-) Lucky for me I had my Chick-Fil-A waffle fries to snack on all the way up! Hee-Hee.....this is similar to eating your candy bar with a Diet Coke isn't it??? They cancel each other out, don't they?!!

Finally!

We went to see the boys last night and I finally got to hold Josiah!!! FOR AN HOUR!! He's so tiny. He's doing really well on his new "Darth Vader" oxygen mask. They went up on his feeds again. The Dr told me Gideon does have an infection - they just still aren't sure if its pneumonia, a blood infection, or what. He's still getting antibiotics. His brain scan was a little worse this time, but the doctor was not surprised by this. He said it will usually get worse before it gets better and he is very optimistic that it will be better next week when they repeat the scan. He said it is not so much worse that they will have to drain anything or do surgery so he was very pleased with that. We will go back over Friday so maybe they will have results back regarding the infection.

30 weeks OR 1 month

Today the twins are 30 weeks (gestational age) and tomorrow they will be one month old! Hard to believe. We have had some milestones this week! Josiah is doing fabulous! They are taking him off the vent today!!! Yea!!! This means we should be able to hold him in a couple of days after they see he is stable. He will have to wear a CPAP mask now which still provides oxygen but he is doing the breathing himself. He also got his IV out! Josiah is now eating 22cc's - the same as Gideon - and doing very well. He was awake when we were there the other night and he doesn't care for all the tubes and wires and he was trying to get rid of them. Believe it or not, I can't wait to hear him cry! Gideon's neural ultrasound was done this morning, but the doctor hasn't had a chance to read it. She said she would call me when she did and I'll pass along the info as soon as I can. The doctor told me Gideon had an episode and they had to bump his oxygen to 50%. She doesn't know if he has had a lung collapse or if he has pneumonia. They are running labs now and will go ahead and start antibiotic just in case. Hopefully they'll have results back from that by the time we go over this evening. Keep up the prayers! They are appreciated!

4 weeks old!

Just a quick update on the boys. They are doing really well. Josiah weighed 2 lbs 9.6 ozs yesterday. His feeds are up to 17cc's and they should take out his last IV today. They have started weaning both boys off the vents. They could be off the vents by the end of the week or it could take 2 weeks just depending on how they tolerate it. Josiah was sleeping on his tummy Saturday and he's really beginning to fill out. Gideon weighed 2 lbs 2 ozs on Saturday. They have increased his feeds to 20 cc's. He has been spitting up some so they are feeding him over a 2 hour period. He did better yesterday, only spitting up once. They will be repeating his brain scan (neuro ultrasound) this Wed. When we got there Saturday, the nurse had the top off Gideon's bed so we got to "cuddle" with him for a short while. We can't hold them until they are off the vents. Just talked to the nurses and they have moved Josiah into the same room as Gideon! Yea! Josiah is having a good day. Gideon is going to have to have some blood today. His numbers were low. Their blood tests this morning were ok - good enough to leave the lower vent setting in place, but not good enough to lower it again.

Who Do I Trust?

Do you ever wonder when you're going through a trial: Is this because of sin in my life and God is using this time to draw me closer to Him OR Is God using this trial as a means of refining me and drawing me closer to Him? I have been wondering that a lot these past few months. But I guess what it boils down to is, either way, God will use this time to draw us closer to Him, if we let Him. So we have made a choice. I'll get to that in a minute. Last night, I called to check on the boys and the nurse transferred me to the doctor so he could give me an update. OH BOY! I love doctors and God has gifted them (whether they believe that or not) and we truly believe the boys are where they need to be receiving the best possible care. However, I do not enjoy talking to the doctors! I'm sure some parents NEED all the information they give, we don't, so much! He wanted to tell me that they had repeated the sonogram on the boys' brains to check for any bleeds. They did this the first week of their life and didn't really find anything. This was a repeat of the same thing. Josiah's was good-no evidence of any bleeds. Gideon's was not so good. They found evidence of a bleed that apparently occurred sometime between the first scan and this one. The doctors were surprised because this typically shows up within the first 3 days of birth. There is no treatment other than to observe and then repeat the scan in a week or two to see if the blood has gone away or not. The doctor then went on to tell me that this makes Gideon more at risk for developmental delays. BUT he also said some babies have delays, some do not, only time will tell. Here's what we know: God created these babies when we were not planning for them; God made 2 babies when the odds for having 2 sets of twins (one fraternal and one identical) is a little mind-blowing; God made them enter the world at 26 weeks because they were in jeopardy of not surviving; God placed us where we needed to be, when we needed to be there.....God's got this! We don't know the outcome, but God does and as Pastor Rhoades said last night: There's not a path you're walking down or will walk down that God hasn't walked down ahead of you. We may not know what lies ahead but God does because he's already been there to prepare the way. So will we choose to trust God for this journey or not? We make the choice to trust Him, whatever the outcome. Does that mean we're not scared or anxious at times? Absolutely not! But knowing that He is in control makes it easier. Knowing that He is leading the way and carrying us in His arms makes it bearable. Please remember both boys in prayer, but especially Gideon that the bleed will clear up and the doctors will be just as surprised when they repeat the test and find nothing there to report.

Great Visit!

We went to see the boys last night and had a very good visit. They are doing really well! Josiah is getting feeds now! He started at 2 cc's, last night they told us he was getting 4 cc's every 3 hours and today, when I called, they had bumped it up to 8 cc's. I got to check his temperature and change his diaper last night. He had a large poopy diaper! Yea! Josiah is a little stinker and can throw a fit like I've never seen. He had pulled his feeding tube out last night! I don't know about that boy. I'm sure he'll be a tough one! Josiah weighed 2lbs 6ozs last night. Gideon is doing well too. He is at what they consider full feeds, so he'll stay at that for a while to make sure he can tolerate it long-term. He has had all of his IV's taken out! Yea! He weighed 1lb 15ozs last night. He was still under the phototherapy light last night, but they have taken him off that this morning. Today was first day back at school for everyone except Isaac. He is getting some Mommy time today! I think Mommy will be exhausted by the end of the day:-)

Sunday's visit

We had a very good visit with the boys yesterday. They are looking bigger already. Gideon finally hit the 2lb mark!!! Both boys have not had to be under the phototherapy light in a while, but I just talked to the nurses today and Gideon had to get back under his. Gideon is doing so much better on his oxygen. He is eating very well (15cc's every 3 hours). Yesterday they even had a pacifier in his bed with him. It looked as big as his head, but he was able to suck on the tip of it. The nurse said he was rooting around and that seemed to calm him. Still haven't gotten to touch him, but hopefully won't be much longer. Josiah was stirred up yesterday. His nurse told us he gets very upset when he has a wet diaper and wants it changed immediately! Boy, oh boy, he is in for a rude awakening when he comes home to the Stanley house! We believe in getting our money's worth out of those diapers!! Josiah was being a little toot yesterday. Before I left he got VERY upset and was pitching a fit---he would have been screaming, and he was waving his arms and kicking his feet. All of this made his oxygen level drop so the nurse had to adjust his levels. He was not a happy camper. I did get to touch Josiah yesterday. The nurse let me put my arms in his bed and hold his head in my hand and rest my other hand on his chest. Yes, his little head fit in the palm of my hand. He really enjoyed that and it calmed him down for the moment. Hopefully he will get to start eating again in a couple of days. Please pray for us as the kids go back to school Wednesday that we will figure out some sort of routine for visiting the boys and managing things here as well.