Distinct Personalities

They already have very distinct personalities and these photos are SO who theses little girls are! First two are Emma, second two are Mady.

This is how we do it.

Here's a picture of how I feed the girls simultaneously. I take a break mid bottle and burp one, then the other. We don't always do this. If the girls are being patient or if one is still sound asleep, I'll feed them one at a time so that I can hold them. It takes an hour to feed them each separately and about half that time simultaneously.

My return to work.

I just got approved to return to work part time until May. The girls will not be released into day care from their Pediatrician until May, which is when RSV season (cold and flu) is over. So, I'll be working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. My parents will watch them those three days. In the meantime, I'll still be searching for in-home care, a learning center, or someone who watches just a few children in her home for Thursdays when I return to work. I think it would help the girls to be around a few other children one day a week. I'm so thankful that my company was able to accomodate us.

Our longest stretch yet.

Wow, keeping up with posts is getting harder and harder. Last night the girls went from 11pm - 4:45pm between feedings! We're getting closer and closer to a peaceful night here and there. The bad news though... Emma, for the second night in a row, spent almost 2 hours crying. We try to take her up to the crib and put her down and she just loses it. Friday night, I laid with her on the floor and that calmed her down. We fell asleep together, which I will not do again. I'm too afraid of co-sleeping. Last night, nothing would calm her. Finally, she let out a couple of horrific screams and just tired herself out and feel asleep in my arms. On the flip side, Emma has been smiling alot more. She's definitely caught up with Madelyn in that respect and they are both smiling at us and we even get a tiny giggle here and there.

We met with the developmentalist on Wednesday. The girls are eligible for weekly services, so every week and developmentalist and an occupational therapist will come in and work with us. The girls are doing great. They are right on target with a 1 month old (their adjusted age) and are even hitting some of the 2 and 3 month milestones. There are a couple areas we need to work on, such as their feedings (they aren't increasing what they eat) and things like starting to grasp at toys. Since that meeting, they have started grabbing at their toy rings/rattles and even holding on to them for a few seconds.

Madelyn can't catch a break

She now has a third hemangioma. This one is on her eyelid. We had a pediatric dermatologist check out yesterday and it's the one they are most concerned about even though it's the smallest in size. She has a very large one on her shoulder that the doctor feels should go away. It may leave a little bit of loose skin though. We will have to take her every 2 weeks to the doctors so they can keep an eye on it. It could affect her vision if it gets worse.

Capillary hemangiomas are typically found at birth. They will grow during the first decade and most will shrink (involutes). If they involve the eyelids, they can cover the eye and cause loss of vision (amblyopia). It is very important that children with capillary hemangiomas be seen by a pediatric ophthalmologist and eye cancer specialist as soon as it is found.

Diagnosis
Capillary hemangioma is diagnosed by clinical examination. It has a typical appearance and biopsy is rarely needed. It appears as a reddish tumor or mass beneath the skin. The eye care specialist will order a radiographic scan (MRI or CT) to see how deep the tumor extends into the orbit (around the eye).

The pediatrician should be advised and the child inspected for hemangiomas on other parts of the body.

Treatments
Observation for spontaneous resolution is commonly performed. If the tumor is blocking the eye and causing loss of vision (amblyopia), then it can be injected with steroid solution. This will shrink the tumor in an effort to uncover the eye. Rarely, surgery is required to remove very large tumors.

The pediatric ophthalmologist will likely suggest that the other "good" eye be periodically covered with a patch to strengthen the "bad" eye and prevent vision loss.

She certainly doesn't seem to be bothered by it yet!

The girls pictures from November

Click here to view month 3 at the Mayer house!

Me, the girls who's glass is always half empty? Me, the anxiety ridden mother of twins?

I'm strong? I'm positive? You are talking about me? I got a few emails yesterday from some wonderful women that are either have trouble trying to conceive or are pregnant with twins. They told me they look to my blog because I'm so positive and have gone through so much. That I help ease their anxiety and give them hope. It feels amazing to hear that. I'm always so down on myself. I always feel anxious. I feel like I'm never truly positive. Not a pessimist either... more like a realist.

Then I think back to all we have been through. To all I have been through. Before my husband and I got married, I went through a horrible divorce. Going through that, I think, helped make me stronger. Going through everything with the girls makes me a rock. I look back at how I felt at each point in our journey. I never thought we'd actually get pregnant. I got to a point where I couldn't even imagine actually carrying a child, let alone two. Then, we got pregnant and through every step of pregnancy I worried. I just knew I wouldn't make it to 36 weeks. However, I never thought they would be so early. I sat in that hospital on bedrest for 2 weeks worrying about how much medical help our girls would need if they were born that day or the next. If they would be okay. In the NICU, I couldn't believe how hard it was to go in and out of that hospital every day without our girls in our arms. To see them with those wires and tubes. All the tests, all the worry. How exhausting it was. We just went day by day. My anxiety goes up and down, but in the end, I guess I really am strong. I really am able to make it through these things. At the time, you just worry about breathing and wonder how to get through the next day. But you do.

My husband is an amazing source of strength for me. He is the guy with the glass half full. He's the one that just knows everything will be okay. He's the one that loves me with all of his heart and gives me more love than I could ever imagine I would receive. The joy of giving him these baby girls that he loves so much is more than words can say.

Life with twin newborns is hard. It's amazing. It's wonderful. It's rewarding. It's full of love. It's worth EVERYTHING we have gone through. I remind myself of this every day when 4pm hits and I'm exhausted and wonder how I'll get through another night of little sleep and crying babies. You just look at them and know everything will be okay.

If you are trying to conceive, know that you are an amazingly strong woman. Anyone going through it, whether it's a year or 5, knows a feeling that so many other women will never feel. Keep going. Whether it's another IVF or another IUI or adoption or surrogacy or so many other paths. If you truly want to be a mother someday, you will. It may not be on the path you originally thought, but it will happen. If you are pregnant with twins, take care of yourself. Carry that precious cargo as long as you can. Know however, that if they don't make it to 36-40 weeks, you did everything you could and it's not your fault. If your child or children are in the NICU, stay strong. Care for your baby, visit them everyday, read to them, keep a journal of their progress. Find support. Email me, talk to friends, find groups online. In every part of our journey - infertility, pregnancy, the NICU and having multiples - we have found strength in support and others going through similar things. We have met some amazing friends through all of this.

Stay strong and I'll keep reminding myself that I AM strong.

so. tired.

Some days are worse than others, and today is one of them. I did get to nap for 1/2 hour with the girls. Today I took them upstairs for a nap in their crib instead of the usual mini-naps in the boppys (they are never unsupervised in them) and swings. I guess it went over okay. I had hoped for a 2 hour nap. We'll try again tomorrow. I think it may still be way to early to try to dictate when they nap. The girls are now going about 4 hours between feedings at night BUT the last few nights they have each woken up at one point during the night, crying for about an hour. We are pretty sure it's due to being constipated from now adding oatmeal cereal to their formula. I feel so bad for them. And us :)

I'm going to call a night nurse that I got the name of from another mother of twins. We may try to use her one or two nights a week to get a little break and to have her help us with sleep training. We'll meet with her first and see if we all think it's something we would benefit from. In the meantime, I'm trying to do most of our Christmas shopping online. This weekend, we're going to drop the girls at my parents to head out for our first "real" Christmas tree. I agreed to a small one to see if it works for us. I'm very afraid of what the cats will do to a real tree!

Announcments

These are the announcements I designed for the girls. I played up the "pair" and designed the back of the cards to look like playing cards. Please ... if you did not receive a card do not be offended. We had a ton to send out and may have missed a few as we tried to keep the numbers down.

Cuteness

Emma - our lil' peanut

Mady imitating mommy

Neither one of us can seem to get enough of this new "game". While trying to get photos for Christmas, she wouldn't stop sticking out her tongue!

Gaa Gaa Goo Goo?

Little Emma said her first "Gaa" today as I was changing her diaper. So cute!

Told ya!

For those that say you can spoil a baby, I found this info.... :)

Young babies are completely spoil-proof. Your baby needs all the care and attention you can give. Ignore the advice of well-meaning relatives who think babies need to learn independence. Instead, listen to your parental instinct — that inner voice that tells you to comfort your baby when he cries.

"Spoiled children" have learned to use negative behavior to get what they want. But your baby is too young to purposefully manipulate or annoy you. He cries to communicate his needs, whether they're for a snack, a dry diaper, or a little cuddling with Mom or Dad. When you respond quickly to your baby, you're building his sense of self-worth. You're also establishing a foundation of trust that can last for years to come.

If you give your baby prompt attention, he'll feel more secure and less anxious, giving him the courage to explore the world on his own. And once he understands that you take his cries seriously, he'll be less likely to cry for no reason. In the long run, responding quickly to your baby's needs will make him less clingy and demanding, not more.

By the time your baby is 6 to 8 months old, he'll be paying close attention to cause and effect — noticing, for instance, that his bowl falls when he drops it from the highchair. He'll also start to see a direct link between his actions and your responses. At this point it's okay to set some limits. If your baby starts crying to get something he doesn't need, hold your ground and give him a hug when he calms down. Similarly, give hugs and praise for good behavior and gently redirect him when he's doing something hazardous.

The right blend of love and guidance will eventually help your child understand his place in the world. But for now, your focus should be on giving him as much attention and comfort as you can. No matter how much you give, it's not more than he needs.

Sellin' Out

I, in my total lack of free time, decided to revamp the blog a little. Still needs tweaked a little more when I have some time. I have yet to figure out the best way to print this so that we have a hard copy for our memories and the girls. If anyone knows of an online company that does this, please comment! You'll also notice the blatant advertisment on the header. This blog gets so many hits per day - over 100, that I just can't pass up the opportunity for some free marketing for Lil' LJ.com. We are doing pretty well considering we don't really advertise, but I'd love to grow by leaps and bounds this year!

The good news... Emma's first smile. The bad news, it was in the hospital

Wednesday was the girls appt for a weight check and their RSV shots. Emma is now 7 lbs 12 oz and Mady is 9 lbs 5 oz. They are doing so well with their gains! We discussed the girls reflux issues and I explained that Emma sometimes has a color change around her mouth when eating. The doc said she wanted to talk to a colleage about that, just to make sure it wasn't an issue. At 3pm, the doc called me and wanted Emma to be admitted to Children's. I left Madelyn with my parents and met Christian there. I have left my girls before, but never to take one back to the hospital and never over night. We got admitted and in our room by about 7pm. They put all Emma on all those monitors we hoped we'd never see again. They monitored her all night, especially during feeds looking for any signs of Apnea or trouble breathing. While she did exhibit some of her usual reflux issues, all her vitals remained great. In the morning a speech therapist and feeding specialist met with us and watched Emma eat. We discovered what I sort of all ready knew, she's not a great feeder. She takes several sucks before she actually gets enough to swallow which tires her quickly and aggravates her. She also has to take several minutes of deep breaths to recover. They had us thicken her feeds with the rice cereal again and upped her Zantac dose. It took several tries for us to find the correct nipple, nipple opening and rice/formula combination to find what worked best for her. Then she had a great feed. When we ready to go home though, she cried through an entire feeding and turned color. Again, her vitals remained great. So, we know she has trouble eating and is uncomfortable or in pain while eating. They are hoping the Zantac will help this as well as the rice helping more of her feedings stay down in her belly. They also want me to keep her elevated as long as I can after eating.

It was so hard to be without Madelyn all night... you'd think I would have enjoyed what it might be like to only have one crying baby :) In a bizarre coincidence, a friend of mine that I met online in a infertility forum, whom I had also met in person once at Magee, ended up being our room mate. Crazy! Her adorable son Jack was diagnosed with failure to thrive :( Hopefully they will get a simple answer for why he isn't gaining weight and they will be able to go home soon.

Madelyn has had a few bad feeds as well, so I just talked to the doctor and we are going to up her Zantac dose as well. She slept at Grammie and Pap-paps last night and had alot of fun. They finally got a dose of what 1/2 of nights are like at our house.

On to the good news... Emma and I were playing in her crib at the hospital and she smiled at me! She's been smiling for weeks in her sleep, and showing signs of excitement, but this was her first genuine smile!

Today we are trying to clean for Grandpa M's visit tomorrow. We got a little behind since we weren't home yesterday, so hopefully the girls will give me some time today to get caught up. Oh, and I'm sure this was a fluke, but the girls did one 4 hour and one 5 hour stretch last night!

Visit with the Alliance

The Alliance is an early intervention group that will help us watch our girls developmentally and help us to do everything we can to ensure they develop as they should. Since the girls were born at 29 weeks, the automatically qualify for this free service. In 2 weeks, a developmentalist and a occupational therapist will come out to the house and evaluate the girls. They'll then let us know how they are doing and what we can do for them here at home. It sounds like a great program and I can't wait to see how the girls do. We're hoping the OT may have some thoughts on the girls feedings and their reflux.

Date night

Yesterday my parents watched the girls while we escaped to the world for a few hours. We did pretty good. We of course, called and checked on them, but were able to relax and have fun. They did good too with Grandma and Grandpa. We saw Role Models at the Waterfront, then went to dinner at P.F. Chang's. Here's our first picture, believe it or not, of the 4 of us.

O.M.G.

Madelyn just rolled over again from her tummy to her back. Two times in a row!

The girls also now make some sounds other than grunts and crys. We hear an occasional "ah-ah" or "ooh-ooh".

Turkey Day

ohhhh... too much turkey!

Wednesday I was sitting at the playmat with the girls. I was holding Emma and Madelyn was doing some tummy time, but not really enjoying it. When I looked over again, she was on her back! I have no idea how she pulled that one off!

Thanksgiving was a big day for us, as it was our first time as a family out of the house to an event other than a doctors appointment. My parents set up the crib at their dining room table and we plunked the girls in their still in their car seats.


It went very smoothly! We had a great turkey day with my parents, grandma and brother and his wife. LT (little Todd, my brothers soon to be son) loves to kick the girls when Aunt Angela holds them. How cute!

Getting ready for the holidays!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

The girls are still having trouble with reflux. Emma is eating less every feeding and they are both struggling with eating at most feedings. They are still on Zantac. We tried the oatmeal in the bottles but can't seem to get a consistency that will come through the bottles for them. It either comes through too fast or too slow. The "y" cut cereal nipples are too big, as they are meant for older babies. I think I may try rice again today.

Madelyn is smiling more! It's so cute. We are all very excited about getting out of the house on Thanksgiving to have dinner at my parents with my brother and Angela. Unfortunately, we can't visit with anyone else, but at least we get out :) I can't believe it's already going on 4 weeks that I've been home with them!

Thriving!

The best words you can hear from your pediatrician when you have preemies is that they are thriving at home. We have 2 thriving girls! They are gaining an ounce a day and the doctor usually hopes for 1/2 to 1 oz. so they are right on target. We saw the doctor yesterday. They are both still suffering from reflux and gas. We are going to add oatmeal cereal to their milk, keep up the zantac and I'm suppossed to eliminate dairy from my diet. That last one may be impossible. That being said, my new goal for nursing is to make it until December 2. That will be 3 full months of giving the girls breast milk. If we make it to that day, I will not feel guilty about stopping. The girls only actually nurse about once a day. They need supplemented afterwards, so the whole process is just too long and all 3 of us get aggrevated. I do, however, think I will miss it. It does provide a closeness that just isn't the same as bottle feeding. I've been pumping less and less because the girls always seem to fuss right when I need to sit down and pump. At night, I'm just too tired and it takes away from the 2 hours that I might get to sleep between feedings...

The girls have heart murmurs, which was a new diagnosis as of yesterday. The pedi says they are quite common in newborns and they will most likely grow out of them as their anatomies change. Madelyn has to go to a dermatologist to have her hemangiomas looked at. Overall, the doctor is really happy with how they are doing.

I asked about when I might get them to sleep a little longer at night. Bad news for us... the girls will not sleep through the night for another 8 - 12 weeks. Even though they are 2 months old, yesterday was their due date, which means they are kind of starting from zero now. Their brains are not developed enough yet to send messages that they can sleep longer! I really hope they pull through earlier, because I can't imagine being back at work with this schedule.

She also brought up Thanksgiving and our need to "protect" the girls. She just wanted to make sure we would not be at any crowded holiday get togethers or around any children. We'll be going to my parents, where it will just be our immediate family.

GO STEELERS!

Original Due Date

Today is the day the girls were originally to arrive. It's amazing to think that instead of today, they were born 11 weeks ago.

Yes, it's 3:30am and I'm updating the blog so that I don't fall asleep while Madelyn rocks in the swing... my last attempt at getting her into a solid sleep for a few hours. In addition to reflux, the girls have horrible gas. I have not slept more than 10 minutes since I took a quick nap around 9pm. Today is going to be extremely difficult to say the least, as we have a doctors appt in the morning and I have a doctors appointment for myself in the afternoon. That leaves no time for the three of us to sleep at the same time. My milk supply is not keeping up with the girls demands and I think I'm okay with that. It's so hard to take care of 2 and find the time to pump. I'm setting a goal of Dec 2, which will be 3 solid months of the girls getting my milk. It's essential that preemies get the most amount of breast milk that they can, but it's also essential that they have a sane mother :) We are slowly working more formula into their day.

Eye exams

The girls had their eye exams on Friday and all went well. That is, except for the procedure to check their eyes. It was horrible to watch and the girls screamed like we've never heard them before. They have to open their eyelids with a metal device and then use another one to move their eyeball around! They are right on target, so we don't have to follow up for another 6 months. At that point, they'll be checking their eyesight since preemies have a greater chance of needing glasses.

We still aren't at a point were they will sleep longer than 3 hours at night. We're hoping that approaches soon! :)

Dad, I can do this myself

Madelyn seems to be able to hold her own bottle at 2 months!

Ugh. Reflux.

Madelyn's reflux is getting worse. We can see her pain when she eats. Emma has it as well, but not quite as bad. We have a call into the doctor today to see what we can do. We added rice cereal to their milk and they didn't react well, so that preventative measure is off the list. We didn't really sleep at all last night. Madelyn was crying off and on throughout the night. I'm hoping that once we get their reflux a little more under control, they'll sleep a little better :) Wishful thinking?

and in this corner...

weighing in at 7lbs 1oz... Madelyn! and weighing in at 6lbs 4oz... Emma! They've gained about an oz a day which is right on target and the doctor is very happy with their progress. Ufortunately though, they have both been diagnosed with reflux. We are starting off with the preventative approach and if it doesn't work, we'll need to give them Zantac twice a day. The preventative measures are adding rice cereal to their breast milk and keeping them at a 45° angle as much as possible. They have another appt next week and then one at the end of the month for their RSV shot. After that, they'll be going to the Pediatrician about once a month.

Thank you so much to my parents who have been running some errands for us and bringing us food as well as giving us some breaks with the kids. Sunday, our friends Kim and Mark came over and brought us "poor man" perogies! Today, our neighbor is bringing us some pasta :)

I had my follow up doctors appt today from my D&C and all looks good!

Photo Shoot

We did a mini photo shoot today of the girls for their birth announcements. Below are some outtakes and some other shots from the last few days. Yesterday the girls had their first big girl baths in a little tub. They seemed to really like it!

Today Emma was alert a lot more than usual and was awake for her photo shoot and hung out and watched Mady's. It was great to see her as wide-eyed as her sis. They have been sleeping better at night - in fact, I had to wake them up last night to eat. They still need to stick to an every three hour schedule to keep gaining weight and growing. Hopefully soon we can go a little longer at night. Christian and I have been taking turns at night so that we can get at least 4 hours of sleep at a time. In between feedings there is about 1.5 hours of time to nap and then it's time for the next feeding. My mom came over every day this week to help during or after a feeding so that I could shower or nap. Now with Christian home with us, things have definitely calmed down. We'll see what happens after he goes back to work in a week. I can't believe I've already been home with them for a week. It feels like only a day or so. Time really does go by too fast.

Quick post

The girls are sound asleep, so I'm going to attempt a nap :) A quick update: we had our doctors appointment Tuesday and the girls were so good. We're going to keep an eye on Mady's hernia and the doctor is going to talk to the neonatologist to double check that we don't want to follow up with a neurologist about Mady's cysts. We talked about RSV and basically no one can hold the girls outside of our immediate family and close friends until summer. That unfortunately includes our nieces and nephews :( The girls will get to meet their cousin when he is born in February but won't be able to hang out with him after he enters daycare while the RSV and rotovirus seasons are here. It's the only way to truly keep them safe. We take them back on Monday to make sure they are increasing their weights and then their opthamology appt is Friday. They may have an early stage of ROP (retinopathy of prematurity), which is a condition in which the small blood vessels in the eye grow abnormally. ROP usually only occurs in babies who are born very early, at 32 weeks of pregnancy or earlier. By keeping an eye on them now, they can help prevent vision problems.

All is good here! The girls seem to love being home and are doing really well. We have an occasional choke or cough during feeding, but they seem to come right out of it after a good pat on the back. Christian has had to work all week but will be taking time off to hang out with us at home starting tomorrow.

I'll post some new pics soon!

S.W.A.K.

Our first full day at home was pretty good considering the lack of sleep from last night! My mom came over today to help with 2 feedings. The home nurse also stopped in and they girls are doing great! Madelyn had some great tummy and play time today on her play mat. Emma didn't seem as enthusiastic, but she did hang out with her lil' sis for awhile on the mat. Mady loves to stare at herself in the mirror!

Here's a few adorable pics I caught today. They LOVE to snuggle with each other.

Ssshhh don't wake the babies!

Our girls are finally home with us. We nested Sunday night with them at the NICU, which is basically like a tiny hotel room where they are off of all their monitors, but the nurses are available if you should need them or have questions. It went pretty well, with the exception of Mady choking on her feeding. She turned color, but after a few tries we were able to get her breathing as she should again. Other than that, it was a pretty easy night. They get up every 3 hours to eat, which takes about an hour between changing them and getting them both their bottles and then settling them again. The next morning however, Emma started crying and didn't stop for quite some time. We think it was gas because the girls are not very good burpers. We left the NICU around 2:30 to head home with our daughters! The ride went great, they seemed to love it.

Nesting with daddy

We came home to a balloon out front that says "welcome home" and some surprises inside. My mom made us dinner with several courses and set up a little candlelit dinner for us. My parents got us a gift basket of goodies as well. It definitely made walking through the door with our girls even more emotional for us. They came over in the evening and hung out with the girls while we caught up on some sleep.

Grandpa and Grandma

Last night the girls did NOT sleep. It was mostly Madelyn, but they kept us up all night. They only way they were content was in our arms. Needless to say, we probably got a total of maybe 2 hours of sleep. What's quite funny is that this morning, after their 7am feeding, they fell right to sleep and have been sleeping for 45 minutes. We have been walking around on tiptoes and whispering :) We think maybe they are just adjusting to life outside of the NICU. I also think that the 2 times we nursed during the night did not provide them with enough food to keep them satisfied. A home nurse will be in today to check on us and then we will go to our first Pediatrician appointment Wednesday!

It's so wonderful to have the girls home. It's just really hard to function with no sleep! Christian had to go into work today and tomorrow to finish up a project and then he'll be home with me for a week while we all adjust to our new life!

Pictures to come!

It's almost time!

I spent the day cleaning and grocery shopping and Christian had to work. Needless to say, we aren't as rested as we should be for tonight! We are going into the NICU around 6 to "nest" with the girls. We'll stay overnight in a room and as far as I know, we only call for the nurses if we need them. We are so excited about having our girls home, but we are both nervous as well. The girls do not always do great at their feedings and on occasion still turn color. We have to keep a tight eye on them and know when to help them pace and when to stop and stimulate them to breath. I can only hope that once they get home it all just clicks!

I'll update soon. I think tomorrow may be a crazy, wonderful day :)

Trick Or Treat

Sisters First, Friends Forever

Our Nursery

It was alot of work, but we think the nursery came together pretty well! Thanks to mom and dad for helping us by painting the grass graphic on the wall and my friend Keith, who made the vinyl letters for the wall quote.

Is this really real?

Our girls are coming home!!! Maybe an hour or two after my post yesterday, I got the call. They will be coming home Sunday or Monday. We're ecstatic. We are however, a little nervous. Not so much about bringing home two lil' ones, but about them being preemies. We will have to watch them pretty closely during their feedings for awhile and they still may come home on a monitor or two. Mady had a B (drop in heart rate) while at rest yesterday, which is why she may need a monitor. They fed great for us last night and for the nurses all night and this morning... no alarms at all :) I'm taking in outfits for their Magee photo shoot today and we'll be taking in the car seats tomorrow for their 1.5 hour test. They have to sit there in them with no alarms! In the morning, I need to take my car in to the Police station to have them check the installation of the car seat bases.

I'm so excited to have my girls home with us! Check back tomorrow for their halloween pics!

Patience

Patience has never really been my strength... right now I really need it! I need to not focus so much on when they are coming home, but focus on the fact that they ARE improving. The girls have now been off of O2 since Monday. They've had ups and downs since then. Yesterday I assumed they'd be home this weekend. Today, I'm not so sure. All I know is that they will tell us 3-5 days before the day they can come home. The hang up now is their feedings. One day Mady does well and Emma doesn't. The next day it's the opposite. They are having some trouble on occasion with the suck, swallow, breathe thing. Emma turned dusky on me yesterday and we had to turn her upside down and pat her back pretty hard to get her back to normal color. Last night, during the late night feeding, Madelyn did the same and had a B (drop in heartrate). They will not release them as long as this continues, nor do we want them to. We want them safe. However, at 60 days, it's killing us to not have them home. They are so much more alert now. They are smiling more. They are making more noises. They know who we are! On the plus side, they do great when nursing and have no issues when they are. And, while their improvement is very very slow, they ARE improving. They ARE doing great for girls born more than 2 months early.

We are reconsidering moving them to TIC (transitional infant care). The DR thinks at this point it may be a good move because it will offer them more one-on-one care, a better developmental atmosphere, and will teach us how to work with home monitors just in case they need them. It's a little further for us to travel, but not much. It's near the new Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. Christian and I are so indecisive... but maybe this is what they need to get home?!

Finally, we meet again!

The girls were put together in a bed yesterday! Madelyn is a bed hog! It is so cute to seem them together.