Happy Halloween!

Thank you to Auntie Kristy for our cool Halloween outfits!

Whew!

  Having one baby home was a breeze compared to having them both here. When Jeff goes back to work I am going to cry. Thank you daddy for all of your hard work and help this weekend!

This little girl loves her daddy

This little boy loves to smile

 **Thank you to Auntie Dara for our beautiful baby blankets, we love them!!!

Dear Shenzie,

 Welcome home little girl!!!

  After 22 long days in the hospital you are home!! We are so happy to finally have our family complete. You weigh 5 pounds 15 ounces and are the cutest little girl I ever did see. Our first day went well together and I can’t wait to get to know you better. Your brother can’t tell you yet, but he is so excited to have his big sister with him again. We all love you little girl!

 Double the trouble, double the fun, double the cuddles, kisses and love!

Dear Heaten,

  Welcome home little boy!!!!

We are so excited and happy to finally have you home where you belong. After 16 days in the hospital they finally set you free. Last Wednesday, October 18, 2006 I brought you home. You were supposed to be released the day prior but due to a slight weight loss they kept you an extra day. I’m happy to say that you are now a whopping 6 pounds 6 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long. We had your first pediatrician appointment on Friday and you are doing well. This week we go for the *snip snip* and I am so sorry but it must be done.

  To have you home is amazing. To finally get to know you is so great. You smile, you cry, you grunt and groan ALOT, you sleep very well and eat like you’ve been starved to death. We still have to help you pace your breathing because once that bottle hits your mouth it is all about sucking it down and you forget to breath. Since you’ve been home you’ve thrown up on me, peed on me too many times to count and at your first bath this weekend you also pooped all over me, the counter and the floor. Hmmm, I wonder how many times your dad has been peed or pooped on??? None you say -  I wonder why that is?? Oh, because he makes me change all the dirty diapers - that’s why! Soon papa, very soon you’ll be a dirty diaper changing machine!

  Your sister is still in the stupid hospital. They think this week she will be coming home if all goes well. We can’t wait to have her here with you. She is 5 pounds 4 ounces and eating well. This house is going to be insane when she comes home. Luckily we’ve been eased into parenthood by having you home first - although I don’t think anything can prepare us for two babies at the same time. I’m keeping my fingers crossed she is as calm and happy as you are. Your dad is addicted to you. He holds you every chance he gets, he rocks you to sleep, he feeds and burps you so I can get some much needed sleep. You are one lucky little guy to have such a wonderful dad and of course mom!!

We love you little boy!!

   Today is a good day. Tomorrow will be even better. Tomorrow is the day when baby Heaten finally gets to come home!!!! We are so excited and nervous and happy and happy and happy!! He is now a whopping 6 pounds and eating like a champ.

   More good news for Shenzie as well. She is eating 10 cc’s every 3 hours and doing very well. They removed her gavage (feeding tube) so she is now taking all feedings with a bottle. Today they will move her from her isolette into a regular open air crib again. Her x-ray’s and blood work look really good and as long as she keeps her food down with no complications she will be home before we know it. She is 5 pounds 1 ounce and looking much better. More pictures of the little gaffers to come soon so stay tuned.

   Doesn’t it always seem to be that way - you finally get ahead and then WHAM! Something happens. Baby Shenzie has been having a rough time these last couple of days. She developed a preemie disease called NEC - necrotizing entercolitis, which is a gastrointestinal disease that preemie babies are prone to. She was put on antibiotics, put back on a feeding IV and taken off of eating mama’s milk, had a hose down to her belly to drain it clean, and has had numerous x-ray’s and bloodwork done. Luckily the x-ray’s look a little better and the bloodwork so far shows no infection. If she keeps doing well she should start back eating today or tomorrow and monitored very close to make sure it doesn’t come back. To top it all off they had to do a heart ultrasound on her due to a heart murmur they found. The cardiologist felt everything looked good - her left artery to her heart is a little small but he said that is normal with preemies and should get bigger as she gets older. We see him back in one month for a follow up to make sure she is ok. She is back in her isolette where we can’t hold her which is heartbreaking. Thankfully she hasn’t lost too much weight from not eating, she is at 4 pounds 15 ounces and looks so teeny tiny. She is the most beautiful baby girl in the whole wide world.

  As for Baby Heaten - he is doing wonderful. He is up to 5 pounds 15 ounces. They took him off his IV and took his gavage (feeding tube) out so he is on all bottles. The doctor feels he should be coming home early this week. We can’t wait!! It is so bittersweet to have one baby coming home healthy while the other is still not doing as well and has to stay stuck in the stupid hospital. He still has an issue with feeding, sucking, and breathing. He eats so fast he forgets to breath which is quite a scary experience. Hopefully that will pass soon as he gets older. 

  As for mommy and daddy - we are going to go insane (daddy first).  I must say this has been the hardest experience we have ever been through. The emotions are insane -the happiest of course to have our babies, the saddest to leave them in the hospital day after day, the most worried that they are healthy and doing well, the most stressed and anxious. It just sucks not to be able to do anything for them at this point to make them better.

  Please keep the babies in your thoughts and prayers that they will be home soon safe and healthy.

The babies have officially graduated from their isolettes to an open air crib where they can co-sleep. Their nurse said this morning they were cuddled together with Shenzie spooning Heaten. How precious. Here is their new home for the next little bit.

 They are both still growing and doing well. Shenzie is up to 4 pounds 13.9 ounces and Heaten is still 5 pounds 14 ounces.

Our beautiful little girl:

 And our precioius little boy:

We love you babies. We can’t wait for you to come home!!!!

A big congratulations to Jeff’s cousin Karly and her husband Jeff on their new baby girl. All the best wishes and love for Mckinley Ireland!!!

More good news from the baby front!  Both babies were moved from NICU to the Level II - Special Nursery. I was just telling Jeff yesterday that one day we were going to walk into the NICU and they wouldn’t be there - today was that day. Hurray!!  I got to bottle feed both babies last night and today. They are nippling - starting to eat with a bottle. Heaten is now on a bottle every second feeding and eats like a champ - Shenzie is still a little small and not strong enough to suck so she’ll take a bit more time. It feels so great to hold them and feed them and cuddle them.  They will continue to increase the bottles and decrease the feeding tube until they are bottle fed all meals which means one step closer to coming home!! The doctor also said in the next few days they will try to take them from the isolettes and put them into open air cribs. If they do well then they can co-sleep again. Heaten now weights 5 pounds 14 ounces and Shenzie is still holding strong at 4 pounds 10 ounces. She lost a little bit of weight, probably from using so much energy feeding with the bottle. Hopefully soon she’ll start to gain again, she is just too tiny. Our tiny, precious, little girl. Each day brings them one step closer to coming home with their mommy and daddy who miss them like crazy.