Day 3 (this was supposed to be posted a LONG time ago!...as in day 3after boys were born)

Hey everyone,

First off, I realized in my exhausted stupor last night that I didnt give any updates about Mommy's status! Kris is doing very well (other than many tears on both our parts about Josiah). She is recovering well though she is still very swollen. She is obviously exhausted from recovering from surgery and feedings throughout the night, but she is in good spirits, and she has not had any abnormal or large complications. One of her blood works came back a little anemic, but she seems well and a little more rested after a good nap a couple hours ago.

In regards to our little Benjamin, he continues to do very well and family are enjoying his laid back and content mood as he is passed around many hands. He is a tiny bit jaundiced but not much, and he has had a little bit of trouble keeping his temperature up but nothing that a little time on Mommy's chest and some warmed blankets couldn't cure : )

As for our little Josiah, he has had a mixed day, but overall better than his previous two. He appeared much more relaxed than yesterday and his breathing appears less labored but still breathing a little hard for breast milk. He is showing quite a bit of interest in his pacifier and seems to be more interested in possible breast feeding. Hopefully if breathing continues to get better, he will be able to feed soon. The doctors decided to take him off the antibiotics, as he does not appear to be infected, liquid in lungs is improving, and white blood cell counts are down. Unfortunately, all blood counts are a bit low right now including white, red, and platelets (including specifically hematicrit-not sure of exact spelling). They are especially concerned about blood cell counts since not having enough red blood cells means a harder time getting O2 around, so he is receiving a blood transfusion right now as I am typing this. I heard that it may be because he is used to Kris' body producing a lot of that stuff for him, and he may just need a little help getting that going all on his own. Regardless, it seems to be a fairly common procedure, and they had warned me that he might need one at some point in the process. Also, just as other fyi's, they stated that underdeveloped lung issues are probably one of if not the most common issue dealt with in the NICU so they have lots of experience and many babies go through this, and it is not uncommon for babies with some lung issues to have a short 24 hour or less honeymoon period in which they seem fine, but then the lungs catch up with them, and they end up needing a little time in the NICU. Overall, our little Josiah seems to be doing well, though he may need to spend a some more time with those sweet NICU nurses before he is ready to be back with Mommy, Daddy, and Benny. We were told that when he is released from the NICU, he will be in a normal room (which we may have to share) where we can all stay together. Fortunately, if there is some time in between where Kris and I are released to go home but he is still in the NICU, we only live maybe 5 minutes from the hospital so trips back and forth not be far (glad we dont live like 40 minutes away). We are allowed to stay for a max of four days (Tuesday) in the hospital, after which if everything is great with Kris (which it pretty much is at this point), we will have to go home. We are planning on staying here with Josiah as long as we can.

Here is a some more pictures below, including our little Josiah in the NICU (so sad but at least he seems to be feeling a little better). About all those little lines going to him, he currently is getting his heart beat, breathing, O2 saturation, and blood pressure monitored at all times. They had a really hard time trying to get his IV started, probably because he was dehydrated, has such little veins, and may be a little hard to get IVs started with if he is anything like his Mommy and Grandma Jan, so he has lots of little pokes and bruising all over his hands and feet before they finally got some in through his head and through his belly button. Poor little guy! I know Kris and Jan experienced much of this while they were in the hospital too. He has a line that he is being fed through, I believe a possible second line with just liquids, a line that goes through to his artery for blood draws and such, and a line going into his stomach to keep air and other fluids out since often the O2 will get into his stomach. Lots of lines and monitoring. He also has a cool sensor on him which senses his tempature and constantly adjusts a heater above him to keep him at the right temperature. So blessed to live in a day an age and in a country with so much care for our little Josiah!

Little JoJo before he headed off to the NICU

Benny not much appreciated having his heart beat checked (he also has not been much of a fan of the temperature check either)

Josiah showing a little of that discomfort before heading down to the NICU. So glad that we at least got to spend some time holding him before he headed to the NICU

Benjamin with Mommy

Josiah with Mommy

Just cant get over all that black hair!

Benjamin checking things out

Friday night, Day 1, Josiah's first visit from Mommy in the NICU

Josiah after his oxygen was upped

Ben checking things out some more!

BenJammin : ) (my new favorite nickname for him) bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 3 am!

Who was it that said that we better get our sleep before because we wouldnt be getting it for a while? Oh yeah, everybody!

Josiah and Benjamin updates

Unfortunately,

I wish the rest of our day went as well as it started off.  Both Benjamin and Josiah went back to the  recovery room with us and stayed with us for about 8-9 amazing hours.  During that time, Benjamin did great, but Josiah had trouble getting his temperature all the way up and was grunting a lot, which can be a sign of difficulty breathing, usually from liquid left over in the lungs that didn’t quite make its way out in the process of birthing. 

The doctor decided to take him down to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) at about 4:30 PM for monitoring just in case.  After a few hours, they determined that he was having trouble breathing and his oxygen (O2) levels in his blood were low, so they decided to put him on antibiotics (a minimum 2-3 day stay) and continue to monitor.  They gave him an xray and it showed possible liquid on the lungs, which they wanted to be sure that it wouldn’t turn into an infection/pneumonia.  He ended his birthday in the NICU : (  We didn’t sleep much that night.  Its amazing how instantly our family went from 2 to 4 and just didn’t feel right with only 3 of us in the room.  We missed him so much!  Updates and texts became sketchy as I was spending most of my time in the NICU with little Josiah, and Kris was and still is way too busy recovering and taking care of baby Benjamin to manage phone calls or texts at this point.   (Sorry if any of you sweet and amazing friends and family are finding out through the blog and not through us, just couldn’t keep up with updates and texts). 

Overnight, Josiah's oxygen levels dropped and so they had to up the oxygen.  Also, they noticed a slight heart murmur and so came a scary phone call early this morning that they were calling a cardiologist to come check him out to be sure he wasn’t having any heart problems like possible heart defects.  Also, if surgery or other cardiac treatments would need to be required, he may have had to be sent to another hospital.  So, with much crying, some update texts and phone calls were sent out for prayers, and the rest of today was pretty much a blur.  The cardiologist came and reported that his heart was great (Praise Jesus!!!) but his lungs appeared to be underdeveloped.  It was somewhat unexpected considering his strong birth weight and how far along our twins made it (not too many make it all the way to almost 38 weeks), but little baby Josiah unfortunately just was developing his lungs a little later than his brother.  There is a substance in the lungs that helps them inflate fully and stay inflated and elastic, and he appeared to not have enough of it.  After some more monitoring, they inserted a tube into his lungs and gave him a synthetic form of this fluid to help tide him over until his body produces more of it.  They rolled him back and forth to make sure the lungs were fully covered.  They also discussed placing him on a ventilator to help him with his breathing if he continued to have trouble, but his oxygen levels continued to be good after the increase in his oxygen that they did the previous night.  Also, they did not want to increase the risk of infection in the lungs that comes with the ventilator.  After they gave him the synthetic fluid as well as did more tests, he was a very unhappy and very uncomfortable little Josiah and it took a lot of comforting from Daddy and Mommy and amazing nurses (and a little Tylenol) to finally get him settled down about three hours later.  We so wish we could hold him but just too many tubes, including IVs in arteries that would be dangerous if came loose, to pick him up  for now.  Right now, he seems to be doing much better after a hard afternoon.  His breathing seems a little more regulated and less hard, though his breathing still continues to be harder and faster than they like.  He is being fed through an IV, but hopefully if his breathing gets down enough, we can start feeding him breast milk.  Unfortunately, he cant have any until his breathing is down because it would be like trying to eat while jogging, and he might have a chance of throwing up or aspirating.  Keep our little guy in your prayers!  He was sleeping a little better when we left him for tonight.  Many thanks to all the family and friends who are offering your support, prayers, food, gifts, and extra hands while Mommy and Daddy visit Josiah!  We love you all!

As for Benjamin, he has been healthy and amazing the whole time!  He is eating well and has barely cried a bit!  He is just the most content little guy in the world right now (Praise Jesus!) which makes it possible for us to leave his sweet, sleeping, and content little self with family and friends as we visit Josiah.  I will be spending most my time in the NICU with Josiah, while Kris will still be spending most of her time recovering and taking care of Benjamin with family and friend help, so updates, pics, and such are still going to be spotty for a little while, but we will try to get them from time to time.  Feel free to call other family and friends to get updates as we may be busy, though they’re hands may be full as well so be patient : )  Love you guys!!!

More pics of first few minutes/hours!!!

Little Josiah, so much black hair!

They look so different!

Hangin out together!

Dad trying to get in on the sweet fun!

Josiah playing with his tongue!  Sorry if some pics arent oriented right.  Program was refusing to load them the right way up.

Happy Momma!

Happy Family!!!!!

Benni and Mommy

They're Here!!!

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the delayed blog post and let me start by saying that I apologize if you have or have not been receiving updates.  It has been a hectic first two days, and my skills with Kris' Iphone are not quite up to par.

First, let's start with the birth announcements! Josiah Parker was born yesterday at about 9 am weighing 6 lbs. 12 ounces! His brother Benjamin Gregg was born only 1 minute later weighing 6 lbs. 3 ounces! Both were born via C section. Josiah sure liked playing with his tongue and was sticking his tongue out almost immediately. Josiah has some pretty thick and very black hair (on both head and back, lol) and Benny has blondish hair (though early pictures may not show well) They look so different! Both did very well for the first few hours and were able to latch on and breast feed directly after the procedure. Check out some pics below!

Just before babies!  Look at those cute socks/sandals!

Thats one excited Mommy!!!

Getting cleaned off!

Two for the price of one!!!  Wasnt quite sure how to hold two at a time but the doctor told me I would have to learn quick!

Benjamin is on the left and Josiah is on the right!

Josiah, the slightly older and bigger brother!

Benjamin, our slightly smaller and one minute younger little boy!

37 weeks!!

I seriously can't believe our baby boy buns have stayed in my oven for 37 weeks! I remember in the beginning when we first found out we were having twins and our doctor said she would be really happy if we made it to 36 weeks. I also thought because I am what some may call "vertically challenged," that would make my body not the most suitable place to grow 2 babes in. Well, God knows how to stretch a body to make room for more little bodies to grow in, and I'm so glad they've stayed in there as long as they have.  Our Doctor feels confident that they shouldn't have to spend any time in the NICU, as long as there aren't any complications that pop up post delivery. Woohoo!
The boys had a growth ultrasound at 36 weeks and were both weighing in at 6 lbs 2 oz each!! We haven't had a growth ultrasound since 32 weeks, so it was fun to hear and see how much they've grown in the last month. We have a regular ultrasound every week  at our Doctor's appointments and we had found out that Benny had flipped from his breech position and was head down like his brother.  We were so excited because that meant I could attempt a vaginal delivery.
So, when the ultrasound tech asked us how the boys were doing and what positions they were in, we informed her that they were both head down. She pulled out her equipment and began examining me and chuckled and said, "um, Benny flipped...so he's breech again..."
Kirk and I both just laughed because he's been such a monkey this whole time and we have NO clue how he was able to flip for a THIRD time with such limited space!
So, on that day our Doctor scheduled us for a C-section for THIS Friday, August 26th and I will be at 37 weeks 4 days! 

36 weeks

37 weeks

Can't believe there are only 2 days between now and when we get to meet our precious babies...I seriously don't even know how to wrap my brain around this!  Looking forward to posting pics and giving updates on how the babies are doing.  Again, thank you for your thoughts and prayers...these boys are already so loved, and as their mommy...I am so grateful for that.

35 Weeks!

Wow, I can't tell you how happy I am to be writing 35 weeks and 3 days pregnant!  Throughout this pregnancy, we were given different milestones to shoot for and many of them have come and gone.  We are now hoping and praying that we can make it to next Tuesday, which would be week 36.  Not only is it week 36, but it's also the day our Doctor comes back from vacation.  I thought I had told her that she wasn't allowed to take vacation in August, but I guess she didn't listen to me.

34 weeks, measuring at 42!

35 weeks, measuring at 40 (measuring smaller because my stomach "dropped" this past week)

We  now have weekly Doctor's appointments and twice a week non-stress tests at the hospital to monitor each baby's heart beat, brain waves and my contractions as well.  At this week's appointment, we found out that I am dilated 1-2 cm. and am 80% effaced (how thinned out my cervix is).  Our Doctor said she felt pretty confident we could make it another week or two.  I'm at this crossroads right now, where everyday feels like a victory, another notch on the belt that allows our babies to hopefully avoid any time in NICU.  But, I'm also pretty uncomfortable and feel like there's literally no more room for these little men to grow while living in my tummy.  The discomfort is nothing in comparison to them being as healthy and ready for the world as possible. How did Octomom do it?!  We'll see how much longer they can stay in there!  Babies are looking healthy and happy and we'll find out at this Monday's appointment how big they are now.  Thanks again for all of the prayers and encouragement...it means a lot!  We will continue to update the blog with the babies' latest news.

32 Weeks!



Kirk was having so much fun decorating the nursery.  We got this cute plaque from one of our friends, Lanae...and we LOVE it!

Cute banner our friends made the boys at their last shower.

Wow, I can't believe the boys could be here in just a few weeks!  Since we're having weekly Doctor's appointments from this point on, I'll try and send out a weekly update.  As of this past Monday, the boys were both measuring about 4 1/2 lbs each...2 weeks ahead of schedule!  I, on the other hand, was measuring at 40 weeks...whoah Nelly! 
I still feel them moving quite a lot these days, which is surprising as I know their space is so limited at this point.  One day last week, one of the boys wasn't moving as much as the other one and I started to get a little worried.  It's also hard to determine who's who as there are two sets of every body part in my tummy :-)  Like in the past when I swore one was a crazy baby and the other was extremely tranquil...just to find out that they were in the "bunk bed" position and both of their feet were on the same side.  So, it wasn't one really active baby...it was 2 active babies kicking their Mom with their cute little feet.  So, I called my Doctor when I felt like the one wasn't moving as much and they suggested I go into triage and have them monitor each baby.  I went in and was seen immediately and was on my way out within the hour.  Both babies heart rates were within normal range and the nurse said they looked great!  It was so nice just to have peace of mind...thank you Lord!
As of this most recent appointment, Josiah is still head down and Benny is still feet down, so we are still planning on a C-section at this point.  I am feeling more and more comfortable with a C-section, even though I was a little disappointed to find out that that means I won't get to have very much skin on skin/bonding time with them right after delivery.  With me needing to be put sewn up and them needing to be whisked off to get poked, prodded, and measured...it sounds like I'll just get a little time with them and then Daddy will probably go with them while they finish up with me in the OR.  The stats for twin births (according to one of the books I'm reading), is about 70% of Moms deliver their twins by C-section and 30% are delivered vaginally.  Who know though...anything could happen in the next few weeks.
Speaking of anything happening...I started getting my first "real" contractions last night.  I've had Braxton Hicks contractions now for a while, and was told you would be able to distinguish the "real ones" from the "practice ones."  They weren't unbearable by any means, but they WERE frequent, which sorta freaked me out.  So, I called my ObGyn's office and spoke to the Doctor on call.  She told me to lay down, drink lots of water and monitor my contractions over the next hour and if I was having contractions more often than every 15 minutes, I needed to go into triage.  The contractions did seem to lessen in intensity and grew farther apart, but were still happening about every 5-7 minutes.  So, we went in around 9:00 pm, and left around 11:30pm.  They put monitors on each of the babies and also began monitoring my contractions.  They were pretty frequent, but not that intense, so after talking to the Doctor on call, they decided to do a Fetal Fibronectin Test as well as an exam to see if I was dilated at all. They determined that I was barely dilated at all.  This is Baby Center's description of the Fetal Fibron test:

"The fetal fibronectin (fFN) test can't tell you for sure that you are in labor, but it can tell you that you're not. This is useful because in the early stages of preterm labor, it's very difficult to tell if a woman really is in labor based on her symptoms and a pelvic exam.

A negative result on the fFN test means it's highly unlikely that you'll give birth in the next week or two, which can set your mind at ease and allow your practitioner to hold off on treatments that may prove to be unnecessary. A positive result, on the other hand, is not as useful. It means you're at a higher risk of giving birth early, but it doesn't guarantee that you're about to give birth or that you'll deliver early at all, so it won't help your practitioner decide how to manage your situation."

So, I called this morning and they told me the test was NEGATIVE...woohoo!!  Looks like these boys are going to be "womb mates" for a few more weeks, and hopefully even more than that!  Once again, good to have peace of mind.  I felt a little silly going in, but both Kirk and I wanted to err on the side of caution just in case I was going into preterm labor.  So, that's all for this week. Thank you for your prayers and love to you all!