3 Weeks Old and 3 Pounds!

Today the babies are 3 weeks old.  Last night Ainsley weighted 2lb 12oz (up 9oz) and Lorelei weighted 3lb 3oz (up 12oz)!  I am so happy and shocked she is over 3lbs.  They are both doing okay on their oxygen.. it doesn't really changes, always going up and down.  They thought they heard a heart murmur on Lorelei but echo didn't show anything.  They did see that the PDA was still there but it was very small, almost closed.  Both of their continuous feedings have been slowly going up.  Ainsley is up to 3.8ml/hr and Lorelei was up to 4.8ml/hr until her tummy got distended.  So they took for off for about a day, then started her back up later at 3.2ml/hr and took out the protein they were adding to the milk.

Speaking of milk.  I have been pumping and doing much better than I did with Rhiannon and Konnor.  Until today.  Yesterday I got engorged and got a lot out.  Then in the middle of the night last night I only got a total of 15ml, if that.  And so far today I didn't get any at all.  It is also starting to hurt really bad.  Also, if I can be completely honest, I have been going nuts with all this pumping.  First it's a pain just doing it every 3hrs or so, it feels like I'm always doing it.  And sometimes I wish I could just stop doing it.  But then thinking that makes me feel really bad, like I'm a bad mom, because it's the only thing I can do for my girls right now - even thought it doesn't feel like it's even for them at all.  So I feel extremely bad right now.  I am still pumping hoping it will pick up again.. but I don't know if it will.

I got to hold Lorelei for the first time on July 24.  I was so happy. The other day I also got to hold Ainsley skin-to-skin for 2hrs.  And last night Brian held Lorelei for the first time also.  That was the first time he got to hold either one of them.

Ainsley

Lorelei

L's off the jet machine

Didn't get to visit the girls today but called to check up on them.  Lorelei is off the jet machine!!  She is only on the CPAC now which also means I can hold her next time I see her!!  I am hoping to go down there tomorrow, just need a babysitter.  She is doing good on just the CPAC so far and getting 1.8ml/hr feedings.  Ainsley is doing good about 21-23% on her oxygen and getting 1ml/hr feedings.

Got to hold A!

I got to go see the girls with Carol (mother-in-law) and my mom.  They were doing good everything was pretty much the same as it has been.  But I got to hold Ainsley!!  It was such a great moment.

Ainsley

Lorelei

The Girls' Birth!!

My identical girls were born on Monday, July 09 at 27weeks 6days.

Ainsley Isabella 2lb 3oz 14.5in at 10:54pm

Lorelei Annabell 2lb 7oz 15in at 10:55pm

 

Here is the story (trying to keep short but will probably be long):

July 3, 9am - I felt a little wet like I peed a little.  I went to the doctor and was told everything was find but to go to L&D right away if it happened again, just in case.

July 4, 3am - I woke up to a big gush of fluid, and continued to gush all the way to the bathroom and all over.  Rushed to L&D were they confirmed Baby A's sac completely ruptured.  I was having contractions 5 or more minutes apart.  Which wasnt surprising since I was just in L&D that weekend for contractions as well.  I was told I had to stay laying completely back (but could go on my sides too) just not allowed to sit up at all, even to eat or drink.  I was put on a fast IV plus lots of IV meds (antibiotics and stuff to stop the contractions).

July 5, 10pm - I started having a hard time breathing and was put on oxygen but it wasnt helping.  They were thinking the contraction meds were relaxing my lungs as well.

July 6 - Found out I had fluid in my lungs, around my heart, and even around my veins.  If I didnt get better they would have to deliver so they trasferred me to the nearest children's hospital (same one my first set of twins were born at).  There, they were worried something was wrong with my heart because the medication they gave me wasnt flushing all the fluid out.  Turns out... it was simply the fact that the first hospital was literally drowning me with too many IVs and meds.

July 8, 4pm - I was feeling much better but they were getting worried about my contractions so wanted to keep me on the monitors for a while and I wasnted to eat or drink.  A few hours later, I started bleeding.  I thought for sure they would be born that night.  Oh was also giving two bags of blood due to sever anemia.

July 9, 8pm - They finally said I was going in for a csection due to placenta abruption (placenta seperating from the uterus), which is why I was bleeding of course.  When I finally went in, they wanted me on just an epidural because the other stuff could cause more problems with my breathing and other things like that.  They kept having a hard time getting me numb all the way... I was numb at the bottom of my tummy.. but it wasnt going high enough up.  Finally things looked good and they cut me open (didnt feel anything except them shaking my body around a little) and then as they started to actually open me up I could feel everything on the top half... I was screaming out in pain - its like nothing I could ever describe - so they put me to sleep.  I hate that DH had to leave the room and could see the babies being born.

Ainsley's apgars were 2/4/9 - so she was doing good at all at first and quickly starting looking really good. Lorelei's apgars were 8/9 so she was great.  They were both on oxygen but doing well.

They are now 11days old.  Ainsley is on the CPAC (as of 07/15 otherwise she was just on regular oxygen), was having blood in her stool but it looks like it was blood she swalled from the placenta abruption, had one blood trasnfusion due to anemia, stated a continuous feeding of my breastmilk through a pump thats like the IV pumps currently giving her 0.3ml/hr. She is currently 2lb 5.6oz - more than her birth weight! Lorelei is on the CPAC and another breathing machine (dont know the name), had a tube in her chest after her left lung collapsed but that was taken out 07/16, also had a blood transfusion, also started feeding currently at 0.6ml/hr.  She is currently 2lb 6oz - only 1oz less than her birth weight.  The most serious thing both girls had is called PDA, its an opening between the lungs and heart that is suppose to close at birth.  Theirs still had a very large opening.  After a series of meds, they finally got a followup echo exam that showed both were almost completely closed - so no surgery!!!  Head ultrasounds came back normal, so no brain bleeds!  As far as I can tell, if everything continues as it is right now, all we have to focus on at this point is getting off the oxygen and eventually feeding. It will still be a long road ahead even with just those things.. but it makes me so happy nothing is actually wrong right now.

AINSLEY

LORELEI

L&D

Starting Saturday (26wks4days) afternoon I started feeling pain.  My hips mostly, just sore.  At first I figured it was from van shopping all day on Friday and it would go away after a while.  As the day went on it got a little worst until the very end when it was getting really bad.  I took a shower thinking the warm water would help with the soreness - but it got even worst when in the shower.  That was when it really starting hurting in my lower back.  That was when I really got worried.  I only felt a few contractions throughout the day - but with my first pregnancy I wasn't feeling contractions at all... just pain in the hip.  So I told Brian that I should probably go to the hospital.  This was already around midnight.  He was at work so his mom, Carol, came over to watch the kids and give me her car.  I got to L & D around 2am.  Pretty much right away found out I was having contractions 2-4min apart and dilated (up to) 1 cm.

They did an fFN (Fetal Fibronectin) test.  This test checks for the fFN protein which basically helps stick the baby to the uterus.  So if extremely little to no protein is present then the baby hasn't started 'unsticking' yet.  Basically a positive results mean you will deliver within two weeks.  And a negative result means you most likely won't - but can still go either way.  My results came back negative - so that is good still.  After monitoring me for a long time they finally gave me a shot to stop my contractions (I'm never good with all of the names of different medications).  The contractions slowed down a lot, but didn't stop, so they gave me another one.  I had them before with my first pregnancy and I really don't like them.  I naturally have a high pulse and they make my heart race even more, and my body shack.  I only feel "okay" if I lay completely still and don't move even the slightest.  They actually wanted to give me a third shot but my pulse was too high - around 140bpm.  My OB came in the morning and checked me out... since my contractions seemed to have stopped and I didn't dilate anymore so he sent me home.  I wasn't out of there until 11am.

So its started already... this is a sign that I can end up on bedrest at any time and we are not ready at all.