update 8/11/11

We are happy to say Miss Caroline's heart murmur is gone!!!!! This means she will have her medicine stopped and start back on feedings. She should be on full feedings by tomorrow and have her IV taken out. We can not wait for her to catch up with her little sister!! By little I mean younger...Caroline still outweighs little Mackenzie! They are both still gaining weight which is great! Mackenzie is receiving more calories added to the breast milk which helps to add lbs a little faster! Mackenzie also nurses when I am visiting. She tries hard but is definitely our fiesty little girl!! She spends a lot of time looking around and sucking her fingers! She did take almost a full feeding of breast milk last night from a bottle!! This is just one more positive step to having our little girls home with us!

Caroline fast asleep!

Mackenzie wide awake!

update 8/10/11

Visited with the girls again today. Both are still gaining weight like champs! Mackenzie is at her birth weight and Caroline is 1 oz shy (she was bigger than her sister at birth!).

Caroline still has an open duct. The doctor said it appears to be smaller but it is still open. The nurse indicated that the murmur is softer and squeakier which is a good sign according to her! They will give her another dose of meds tonight and I believe check again tomorrow. Prayers still that it closes soon! Let's get her caught up with her sister!

No updates on Mackenzie. She is still cruising along! She was wearing a onesie today which is the first step to being in a regular crib (which means she is able to regulate her temperature without burning to many calories....one of the requirements to come home!).

All told, the girls are stable and doing quite well!! :)

Update

A lot of people have asked how the girls are doing, how long they will be in the NICU and other related questions. I am going to try to keep this updated to answer any and all questions!

As for the girls. They are both stable and doing well.

Mackenzie is tolerating full feedings. At this point they go directly to her tummy through a tube. However, she nurses when I am with her and takes at least one bottle of breast milk a day. She doesn't get a full feeding in then but it is a start. It is a lot of work for her to get everything she needs herself. She is gaining weight well! Yesterday she gained an ounce and a half. She is one ounce shy of her birth weight...3lbs 7oz! She has been breathing on her own for about a week now. She only needed a cpap for some forced oxygen for a short bit at the beginning. She is no longer receiving any additional medicine or IVs. At this point, she is "sleeping and growing". As soon as she gets a little fat on her she will hopefully be able to maintain her temp with little work and make it one step closer to coming home!

Our fiesty little princess!

Awake and Alert!

Caroline was progressing right along side her sister until the weekend. While she is still stable and doing quite well she has been diagnosed with PDA causing a slight heart murmur. This is VERY common with preemies. Part of the heart remains open when inside mom. Typically this part closes shortly after birth in all babies. However with Caroline it has not yet closed! She is being treated for this right now with medicine. This medicine can cause upset tummies along with other side effects. The doctors have put her back on IV nutrition to avoid any tummy issues. Aside from that she is tolerating the medicine well and is having no other issues. In fact, the PDA is showing minimal symptoms! We are hoping the medicine works quickly to close the duct and she can start feedings again soon to catch up with her sister! However, she is still gaining weight and slightly bigger than her sister...3lbs 8oz!

Caroline and Daddy

Sweet Caroline!

We were told that the girls would be in the NICU for about 5 weeks. With one week down we are hoping it is 4 weeks or LESS until they are both home with us! The nurses have no reason to think that the girls wouldn't be home with us by Labor Day! Continued prayers that they continue to do well and make strides towards coming home as soon as possible are greatly appreciated! Big brother Alex has seen his sisters 3 times. He seems very interested in the "bees" or "bays" and will tell you he has "two" sisters when asked (most of the time)! We can NOT wait until our family of five is together!!!

July was crazy!

Wow! July was a crazy month! Started with shingles, then bedrest and ended with a wild hospital stay spinning quickly out of control...from our perspective!

Both babies were placenta previa most of my pregnancy. I was doing quite well with that until just after 28 weeks. I was admitted to the hospital in early July and was having contractions about 2 min apart, only mildly uncomfortable. The contractions were stopped with two doses of medicine and I was sent home on modified bedrest. Again, a few days later I was admitted. I only spent a few hours there that night and sent home with the same instructions. I really wanted to make it until at least 32 weeks...at that point Meritus (in Hagerstown) is able to handle the girls. I was doing well for the most part. Weekly appointments were showing healthy babies with good growth! July was almost over and I only had to make it until August 4...longer would have been nice!

July 31st arrives...and once again I am admitted to the hospital. Baby B's placenta had moved up but baby A was still giving me trouble! Shortly after I arrived it seemed I would just stay over night and be sent home Monday morning...such a relief...or so I thought! That evening I started to have mildly painful contractions again 2 min apart. I wasn't worried too much at this point becuase I figured I would be give a dose or two of the meds given previously and things would settle down. As they didn't settle down, the doctor, after talking to a perinatologist about my situation and a neonatologist regarding the girls, decided to have me transferred to Frederick Memorial Hospital. They have a stage 3 NICU and can handle babies as young as 28 weeks. My girls were very close to the 32 week mark (only 4 days) but all doctors thought the transfer would be the safest move at this point. The intent was to admit me Frederick until Wednesday then have me return back to Meritus.

I was given magnesium sulfate to stop the contractions and sent on my way in an ambulance. Nick met me at the hospital. The contractions unfortunately were not letting up. This continued all night. Not only is Magnesium sulfate possibly the worst drug I have ever experienced...it wasn't doing what it was supposed to do! The next several hours I drifted in and out of sleep experiencing a lot of pain! My contrations were about a min apart and not letting up! An ultrasound was issued in the morning. Both girls still looked good but it appeared that I was in active labor. Unfortunately with placenta previa this is not a desired situation. It can be very dangerous for both mom and babies! At about 830 am the doctors at Frederick Memorial decided to deliever the girls. This was NOT what I wanted to happen. I was very upset, scared, nervous, overwhelmed and sad. I was happy to meet my girls but it wasn't time!

Nevertheless...our two beautiful girls were born shortly! Caroline Susanne was born at 912 weighing 3lbs 10 oz and Mackenzie Christine was born at 913 weighing 3lbs 8 oz.

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!

15 weeks...with twins!

Well I have been scolded by a dear friend for not updating this enough...so here goes. The reason for the lack of updates is mostly because there doesn't seem to be much to say about me and I am too busy chasing after my biiiiig boy. I am starting to feel much better now that I am well into my 2nd trimester. Aside from feeling huge, I am happy to report that I can eat a meal without feeling sick and I am not ALWAYS tired...just most of the time! hah! I am anxiously awaiting May 2...that is the big day and by that I mean...the gender reveal, IF both babies cooperate!

On to the part of my life that is ever changing and ALWAYS exciting...Alexander. I am amazed at how much he changes everyday. He isn't talking much but very clearly says ball and dad (although he calls me dad much of the time). He can say mom but chooses not to...nice huh! haha. He also says dog, and a from of yes, and 'Gah' which I think means Uncle Gabe and/or Uncle Nat. He is becoming quite the expert with sign language as well. We decided early on to teach him baby signs in order to help with knowing what he wanted from us. He now signs the following with great ease: more, please, all done, thank you, drink...and there might be a few others. It is very helpful when trying to decifer all his needs, and let me tell you they are endless!
Alex's FAVORITE activity is 'ball'. He will do anything he can to have, kick, throw, catch or bounce a ball. He is becoming quite the little athlete which I am sure makes his father very proud. Now if only we could teach him that our faces and the backs of our heads are NOT to be used as target practice!

Recently Alex has choosen that it is better to run everywhere. I actually think he might have forgotten how to walk. This makes life challenging but always fun! He also loves the dogs, unfortunately probably a bit more than they love him, unless of course he has food. Maslow is very patient with him. Molson keeps his distance unless he might get a piece of food or all of Alex's dinner since that is what Alex chooses to do with most of his meals these days.

I can not even begin to explain the endless love I feel for that little guy. He makes me smile everyday! His laughter is contagious and no matter how I am feeling, each day is made when I see him smile and hear him laugh! I love watching him grow everyday! I love seeing him learn and experience new things. I can not believe how fast my baby boy is growing! I am positive he is going to be a great big brother!!

Our big announcement!

 Wow! Where to begin. Looking back I wish I had started this 2 years ago so that I could document the adventures with our little, soon to be big boy Alexander. I am not a writer by any means. In fact, I required multiple revisions for every paper I wrote in college. I would most often find my one of my college roommates senior year, she was an English major! Anyway, more to the point..I decided to start this blog to document take 2 for our family.

Nick and I recently found out that we are going to have another baby. I truly can't believe it. I feel so blessed. Often I focus on the negative in my life. I tend to be a worrier. a pessimist, a nagger. I really want to take this opportunity to start focusing on all our blessings. We have a beautiful 15 month old boy who is the light of my life. Every day he makes me laugh, smile and thank God! We are fortunate enough to own our own home and I love it! We have an amazing family, both near and far, who support us every day! We have some of the greatest friends who are always there for us no matter what. We have two furry babies who drive us crazy but whom we couldn't do without! And now God has blessed us with another baby to love, care for, and support! I can not wait!

So there it is! We made the announcement! Alex is going to be a big brother!!!! The new little guy or girl is due to arrive in early October! Alex was fondly referred to as Plumpy...wonder what fun name baby 2 will take on!

This was my initial post....things have changed a bit...

On February 18th, I had my first ob appointment. It was pretty routine, very similar to my first appointment with Alex. Everything looked good but the midwife wanted to do an ultrasound to determine our exact due date. The ultrasound tech started and I immediately noticed something different from any of Alex's. I think I thought my mind was playing tricks. The tech asked me if this was our first, I said "no, we have a little boy". Her response...

(sorry about the quality...it is a pic of the sonogram!)

"well there is two in there."

So there it is...two announcements in one...WE ARE HAVING TWINS! They will arrive most likely sometime in early September...hoping to make it to somewhere between Sept 8 and the 15th.

We have experienced many emotions since hearing this news..excitement, nervousness, overwhelmed, scared, happy, surprise! Ultimately we are thrilled to be expanding our family of 3 to a family of 5. While we know there will be many challenges along the way (we will have 3 kids under 2!) we are thrilled to take on this new adventure!!

Plumpy Grass...

Plumpy grass...a strange name for a blog...possibly! But for me...it is a perfect fit.

Two years ago, Nick and I found out we were expecting our first beautiful baby. (I still can't believe it has been two years.) One of the first things I think many expecting parents talk about is "what will we name him or her?" That was definitely true for us! It was important to Nick that the name had meaning to him or us! Some connection so to speak. Ultimately we quickly decided on a middle name for a little boy...Trafford...as in Old Trafford. Nick's favorite soccer team is Manchester United and of course that is where they play!

As a joke sorta, our little bean quickly adapted the name plumpy! Many probably did not know where that came from but he was referred to as plumpy on a daily basis by both friends and family. And it sorta stuck!

When Nicholas was a little boy growing up outside of Toronto, he has many fond memories of time spent with his grampy. Sadly, I was never fortunate enough to meet him but Nick has many happy stories to share! One of these memories is watching the trains. Nick is a BIIIIG fan of trains, in fact he desperately wants to buy Alex a train set for them to put together. Alex isn't quite big enough yet but it will happen soon enough! When Nick recalls watching the trains he remembers "going to the plumpy grass and watching the go trains with Grampy". Nick lights up when talking about these things. The obvious choice for a name that has meaning to Nick is plumpy grass right!?!? Of course, the name isn't one we would put on a birth certificate but we fondly referred to our little Alex as "Plumpy" for his extended stay in my tummy and it is a name that will always bring me to smiles and tears!  (and maybe Nicho too!)

Our little "plumpy"