It's Our Birthday!!!

One year ago today I left work mid-morning for a 26 week check-up.  An hour later I was driving over to the hospital for a 6-week bed rest.  Two hours later I was in tears as I was told the babies were unexpectedly coming within the hour as I was whisked away to the OR where they were delivered a mere 20 minutes later.  We never got the chance to take birthing classes, take a hospital tour, put a nursery together, buy baby essentials, have a family baby shower – all things typical in the third trimester which I never reached.  Some of my extended family didn’t even know I was pregnant yet!  Nor was there time to comprehend what was going on in that very moment or to know the realities of having micro-premies.  Some days my head still spins at the thought of that day and it’s still difficult to wrap my head around how we were hit so blind-sided.  In fact I don’t know if I will ever really feel like it was me in that delivery room.  It was Niki who was at the appointment that mid-morning.  It was Niki checking into the hospital.  It was Niki hooked up to the monitors when all fine.  But the moment I was told the babies were coming and there was nothing they could do it was as though a switch flipped and I was suddenly up above watching from the outside looking in.  Maybe it was a defense mechanism to prepare for the coping of what was to come.  We went from excited expectant parents one day to bewildered mom and dad of two whom we hadn’t even fully discussed names for yet and had no concept of what their medical outcomes would look like, or if they would make it for that matter.  It took a few days to realize all that had happened.  Every day of their survival was a triumph within those first few weeks.  But after one year, and for every day to come, what is not difficult is being thankful every day for getting to have Jace and Jocie in our lives – and the way they entered into this world one year ago today and the fact that they are healthy, both medically and developmentally, just makes them that much more of a Wonder.  Happy Birthday to our precious Wonder Twins!!! 

Pictures of their one year photo shoot to come soon!  Here is a picture of them with their birthday ribbons on today - their first birthday!!!

Happy New Year!!!

                     They did good for Santa!!!

                                                             
                             Double the fun for Dad!

             Jace with Great-Grandma ("G.G.") Swanson

                         Jocie with Grandma Greenwalt

WOW has time FLOWN by! Especially since Niki has been back to work. She returned to work the Monday after Thanksgiving and then the holidays flew by. We kept saying “We really need to update the blog” and that was about as far as we got. We’ve had so many people wanting updates which is so great to know you guys continue to be thinking of us. So, here is the most recent update, which we can thank 2-hour school delays for J Well now the Wonders are almost 8 months old! So crazy! They are 15 lbs+ now and Jocie has surpassed her brother in weight but maybe not for long. Jace started having some issues with his feeding. He started being super sloppy and messy (boys, go figure!) and it seemed as though a good 1.5 to 2 ounces of his feeds were ended up soaked up through his burp rag and bib onto his shirt. We finally got in for an Occupational Therapy evaluation and found out he is a “chomper”. Basically, he chomps instead of retracting his tongue and lips back to suck. So we got different bottles for him that have a long skinny nipple (thank you Dr. Brown) and he is doing MUCH better. No more messy boy! We are on just day 2 of this and it is just SO much better. He is also getting ready to be discharged from his physical therapy as his flat side of his head has really rounded out. We have one more appointment in which the physical therapist is going to do a developmental test on him to just see where he is at with his gross motor skills.

The babies are being watched by a nanny who comes to our home and we just love her. She is great with the babies and is able to help a bit with dishes, their laundry, and replenishing supplies in their room which really makes a big difference to just have those few things not to worry about during the week.

The holidays were fun with them of course. We did suffer their first colds just before Thanksgiving (Jocie) and just after Thanksgiving (Jace). Unfortunately Jace’s came with a fever the day after Thanksgiving so we went to urgent care and then ended up in the ER because the doctor at urgent care couldn’t find the source of the fever and due to their history she didn’t want to take chances. Everything checked out okay with some baby Tylenol. Christmas was spent at our house in the morning with Niki’s parents visiting from Moses Lake and then we all packed up and went to Cody’s parent’s house in West Richland for a TERRIFIC Christmas dinner and family time of visiting and opening presents. For New Year’s Jace and Jocie got to ring it in with Grandma and Grandpa Ratliff while we went out for some adult time. Grandma and Grandpa Ratliff have been so helpful in watching the Wonders just about once a week so we can run errands, watch a movie, or grab some dinner. They even had their first over night stay at their house just before Christmas so we could have our annual Christmas party with friends.

As for the Wonders themselves – they are just growing and growing and every week is something new they are doing developmentally. Jocie has rolled over from back to side to tummy twice. They are both talking up a storm – especially Jocie. Jocie just LOVES her toys that light up and play music where as Jace is more into physical play of being tossed around. There is nothing better than coming home to play with two giggly Wonders! They love to be helped in sitting up and Jace likes to try to stand – he seems really strong on his two feet so maybe he will reach the standing developmental milestone before Jocie since she’s taken him on just about everything else! We just can’t believe we will be planning a first birthday party here in just four months!

5 Months and Counting!

Wow it has been WAY too long since we have shared about the Wonders!!!  They are 5 months+ now.  We can't believe we are almost half way to their first birthday!  And as you can see we FINALLY got "newborn" pictures taken and thanks to firefly BLU photography they turned out great!  They are doing great too.  They are now 11 lbs.+ and are in the 50th percentle for height and weight going by their corrected age (their due date).  The only thing they take is a poly-vitamin and they don't need to sleep in their wedges any more for their reflux.  They are now in their own cribs and this past week they slept 7-10 hours 5 out of 7 of the nights!!!  That made for a happy and more well rested mom and dad!  Their eye tests have come out negative for any damage.  They just have one more check at 8 months of age.  Jocie has needed to go back a couple of times for a hearing test because she has failed in one of her ears twice now.  However, the audiologist noticed quite a bit of wax build up after she failed the second time so at our next pediatrician appointment the doctor cleaned most of it out but he did notice some still right up next to the ear drum.  We go one more time to the audiologist in a few weeks and will see the pediatrician the day before to remove as much wax as possible.  The good news is she passed her initial hearing screenings while in the hospital shortly after birth so hopefully it is just the wax that is impeding her hearing at this time.  Jace just began weekly physical therapy because one side of the back of his head is a little flat.  However, the physical therapist can't tell if it's because of tight neck muscles therefore favoring one side while he sleeps or not.  Physical therapy is the most concervative treatment and hopefully it will help.  Jace and Jocie definetly keep us busy with all of their appointments!  More than one outing a day is pretty exhausting - especially the appointments in which only Niki goes.  She should be getting some pretty buff shoulders and arms here soon though!  It is not easy carrying two car seats and a diaper bag! 

Niki goes back to work the week after Thanksgiving break so that will be a hurdle for us as parents to climb.  It will be very hard leaving them.  The thing Niki looks forward to though is seeing their faces every day when she gets back to work - that's what will keep her through her work day :)  In the past couple of weeks they have really began to show their different facial expressions.  The best one is when they smile at us when we get them in the morning :)  They truly are two amazing miracles and never will we have so much to be thankful for.

4 Months Old!!!

These two are really growing like crazy!  Just within the past 5 days Jace gained half a pound and Jocie 7 oz.!  Jace is now 8 lb. 11 oz. and Jocie is 8 lb. 3 oz.  It's funny to hear people say "Oh, look at the tiny, tiny babies" when to us they are not tiny at all!  We used to think newborn babies born at 8 lbs were tiny but our perspective has definetly changed on that!  So lots to catch up on...........
Jace and Jocie continue to keep mom and dad as happy and exhausted as ever!  They do have their bouts of good sleeping through the night - mostly Jace who will go anywhere from 4 to 6 and sometimes 7 hours.  Jocie recently started giving us a bigger break from every 3 hours to pushing the 4 to 5 and even one time 6 hours.  It's amazing what 5 hours of straight sleep can do for us - it feels more like 10!  We've had various doctor's appointments including routine pediatrician appointments, eye appointments, and a hearing test.  So far all is good with the eyes but we do have to go back one more time to be sure (these exams are not fun for the babies or us - in fact even some nurses can't be there when the optometrist does the exam so we of course leave as well).  We have to take both back in a month for another hearing test as Jocie's had some abnormal response in one ear and her ear canal was too little for the doctor to run the test to determine if it was due to fluid or not.  Jace does have fluid in one of his ears. 

 
Other than going to various appointments we are at home for the most part enjoying our time with the babies and keeping them out of harm's (a.k.a. germ's) way.  They are really beginning to learn the communication dance of hollering to get our attention just so they can be held.  Niki is for sure a sucker for this but it is so hard with TWO!  The worst part is when we are home alone with them and both wake up to be fed at the same time and you have to choose who is going to have to cry it out for a while.  For the most part we tend to get Jocie because at this point Jace is SO laid back and Jocie has less tolerance. Fun stuff!

It's Our Birthday - Corrected Gestational Age Birthday That Is (Our Due Date!)

The Wonder Twins are now 0 days old!  September 4th was their due date so for many developmental milestones they are considered the age based off their due date which is known as their corrected gestational age.  So even though they were born May 31st and turned 3 months old this past Wednesday we follow the charts of expected developmental milestones as if they were newborns.  Doctors continue to base their milestones off the corrected gestational age until about the age of two or three. 

Catching up on the past two and a half weeks since they have been home:  First of all - the thing most people want to know right away (and us too!) is how much they weigh now.  Jace is 6 lbs and Jocie is 5 and a half pounds and they are both officially too big for preemie clothes!  Jocie is finishing off the last pacakge of preemie diapers and then they will both have graduated to newborn diapers too!  Overall things have been going well other than lack of sleep (of course!) and a bit of a scare Jocie had a week after being home.  We did end up taking her into the ER because she had refluxed while she was sleeping one evening and Cody found her weak and pale.  He was able to stimulate her but she was having a hard time keeping her breathing going.  She was able to catch her breath on her own but we decided to take her into the hospital to get checked and see if there were some things we could do to prevent it from happening again.  They admitted her that night and kept her overnight for two nights.  Based off our observations the doctors decided to take her off the formula which had been added to the breast milk for calories and have her do breast milk only.  They based this decision because we noticed she seemed to have such a difficult time clearing her throat with the added formula as it made the milk too thick for her.  She has been more than making up for the lack of calories though by actually eating way more!  She still has reflux issues but she is able to clear it herself when she does reflux.  Hopefully they will grow out of the infantile reflux in the next couple of months.  They also decided to put them on apnea monitors at night for a few weeks for our piece of mind.  So far they have been doing great!  Their follow up eye appointments have gone well too and they will just have one more in another two weeks and then they should be done with those.  Overall, we have just been enjoying our time with them at home.  Exhausting but exhilarating at the same time :)

We Are ALL Home!!!

11 weeks and 1 day later..........we are all home together at last!  Jace and Jocie were released from the hospital on Wednesday August 17th.  It was the best feeling to get to walk around the house holding them without cords.  So their newborn stats to their coming home stats are:
Jace:  Weight - 1 lb. 15 oz at birth and now 4 lb. 15.5 oz &  Length - 13 1/4 inches and now 18 inches
Jocie:  Weight - 1 ob. 11.5 oz at birth and now 4 lb 8 oz & Length 18 inches

AMAZING!!!  They are like huge little monsters to us now :)  We have been through so much but non of it matters when you get to have these two precious little ones at home!  Their stay in the hospital was fairly uneventful for how premature they were too - just incredible.  We are so grateful for the NICU staff who cared for them initially.

Good-Bye NICU.......Hello Pediatrics!!!

Lots, lots, lots happening in the past couple of weeks.  We FINALLY got our computer fixed so we can now update.  A first from the previous week:  we got to dress them for the first time!!!  It's amazing how much seeing them in clothes instead of just diapers in an incubator makes them seem so much more like regular babies!!!  The nurses began putting them in clothes prior to moving them out of the incubator and into the open crib which they handled well and were then able to be tranferred to the pediatric floor this past Sunday August 7th.  So as of Sunday night we now know the real sleepless nights as we stay in their room with them!!!  The room has a fold out couch for us and a little refrigerator.  The pediatric floor itself has a parent haven room with a full kitchen, T.V., computers, etc. so it makes it easier for staying their day and night.  Jace is now 4 lb. 10 oz. and Jocie is 4 lb. 4 oz.  Jocie has been having a difficult time with acid reflux issues so she has been placed on Prevacid, which is an acid blocker, in addition to being placed in a foam block that's been cut-out by the occupational therapist at Kadlec to keep her upright.  As of today (Thursday) Jace has been placed on the same medication and has received a foam block as well as he began to have lots of spitting up episodes.  The big thing now, for Jocie especially, is to gain some weight as she hasn't really gained much in the past week.  So they are going to increase her fortifier from 24 calories to 26 calories to add to the breast milk.  Crazy how much 2 calories will make a difference!!!  We are hoping between the increase in calories, the Prevacid, and the foam block she will begin to gain weight more steadily like she once was.  Jace got circumcized on Tuesday so he was on the mend for the past couple of days but has been doing well overall.  His big thing to master is pacing himself with feedings - just like a typical boy he just goes for the gusto and forgets to breathe when he eats!!!  Overall the doctor is pleased with where they are at right now and we are basically just waiting to "fine tune" some things.  As of this past Tuesday she said they could be ready to go home possibly as soon as this Saturday but hopefully not as late as Tuesay.  But, of course, the twins are in the driver's seat for that depending on how they are doing.  We are on toward the home stretch!!!

We might be rounding third!!

Real quick, Jace and Jocie have been in an open crib for the past 3 days! They are even talking about them going home late this weekend! Excitement  for sure. The timetable is not completely accurate but there is talk about them going to the pediatric floor very soon..... and a lot of kids are homeward bound soon after. We will keep you updated.

Overdue Update, Jace hits 4lbs!

Hey all,

There has been quite a lot going on since the last update but our computer was on the fritz.We wanted to update  the blog with pictures too so here is a long overdue update. Jocie came off oxygen on July17th and they attempted with Jace. He was only off for a about a day and had to go back on. We were told this is normal in the transitioning period. Since then he has come off and now both are off and have stayed off.  Both Jace and Jocie have started bottle and breast feeding and are doing pretty good. Niki is finding that bottle feeding is a little more difficult than breast feeding! Jace had been doing so good that they took out his feeding tube for a day or so. He had some problems keeping all his feedings down so they put it back in. He still could be days away from having it removed again. Its an interesting time not only for them learning a new skill but for us as well. They bottle feed so different so its a lot of trial and error trying to get ones habits down, let a lone both of them since they feed so different. Practice makes perfect and we are figuring it out pretty quick. The twins had also had doubled their body weight on July 17th as well, another mini milestone.

Things are moving along on a number of fronts. Jace hit 4 pounds last night (yay!) and Jocie is right behind him 3oz away. There is talk about moving them to an open crib soon and we are excited about that. The twins will be home before we know it, probably in 3 weeks or so. Its getting close!

Growing Phase!!!

These two are getting so BIG!  Tiny still to most but HUGE to us :)  One of the nurses said we are getting into the growing phase and I guess she meant it when she said it.  Jace is now 3 lb 5 oz and Jocie is 3 lb 2 oz!!!  Just in the past couple of days they have each gained about 3 oz!!!  They are still both on oxygen but the nurses are slowly beginning to wean them off by taking the nasal canula out for hours at time.  They have stopped the caffeine on both of them (yes, they have been getting their daily jolt since about a couple weeks after birth!).  The caffeine is used to help stimulate their overall neuro system as it was so immature.  They have a couple of times fit into little premie onesies that the nurses placed on them to keep them warm if their temp's were a little cool in their incubator (clothes were still big on them yes but wasn't too bad!).  They have also been doing well with bottle/breast feeding a few times a day and the rest of their feedings coming through the feeding tubes.  And a "first" for mom - Jace sent some projectile poop flying and then came the fountain of pee just afterward (at least we have to wear a gown when we are with them!).  We know, we know - it won't be the worse we see :) 

The next big milestones we are looking forward to is when they are weaned off the oxygen (maybe in the next week or two?) and are able to go into an open plaster crib (maybe in a week or two as well? - this will happen when they get big enough to keep their own body heat in). 

40 Days....

We can't believe it's been 40 days already that Jace & Jocie came into our lives.  Here's the catch up from the past week:  Jocie got put back onto oxygen with the nasal canula on Friday so she was able to be off oxygen for about 5 days.  We are hoping she will be able to come back off of it soon because she seems to be much more comfortable without the tube on her face when she sleeps :)  Jace is still on oxygen but has been improving as he has been requiring less assistance from it.  Jace & Jocie both latched on to breast feed twice.  A couple of other times were attempted but they were just too tired.  They are still getting all of their nutritional needs through the breast milk boosted with a calorie fortifier via a feeding tube through their nose but showing they know to latch, suck, & swallow is a good sign when they make the slow progression from tube feedings to bottle/breast feeding.  Their feedings up until this past week have been on continuous feeds.  They have since been attempted to have what is called consolidated feedings which means the same amount they get within a 4 hour period they are receiving in a 2 hour period with 2 hours of no feeds.  This is an attempt to get them to complete bolus feeds similar to an infant being fed once every 2-3 hours.  They have been having a difficult time with this though as they have been having increased residual and some spitting up but it's a day by day - and feeding by feeding situation.  On Saturday they received their first eye exam which is pretty stressful for the babies.  So far the exam came out as expected with no major concerns at this time.  Their next exams will occur every two weeks.  A couple of fun little "firsts" for us this past week was seeing their first goofy reflexive smile while sleeping (so cute!) and we gave them "sponge baths" (just using wet wipes - no submerging into water just yet).  And, they graduated their diapers up a preemie size!!!  Their sizes now are Jace @ 2 lb. 13.9 oz and Jocie @ 2 lb. 11.2 oz so they are both almost a pound bigger than their birth weights!

Happy 30 days and 4th of July from Jace and Jocie!

A few milestones this week for Jace and Jocie. First, they turned 30 days old on June 30th! The nurses in the NICU do an awesome job with pictures for our little ones as you will see. They even dressed them up for the 4th! Second is they put them into the same Isolette. This is the first time they have been back together since birth. They were a little stressed for a few days but adjusted as brothers and sisters do by elbowing, hitting, rolling and of course cuddling with each other. After the adjustment they both continue to gain weight. Jace is 2.10 and Jocie is 2.7 pounds. Multivitamins were added to their milk in addition to the fortifier this week to help with growth. Both are also still on EPO for red blood cells and will continue with doses every other day. Probably the best news of the day was that Jocie is now off the nasal canula! She looks soooo much better and we can actually see her nose. Im sure that she is so much happier.Thanks for checking the update.

Catching Up again...

Last wednesday 6/22 Jace had his PICC line removed. His feedings have been going really well and the Docs decided it was the next step. They have added the fortifier to Niki's milk to add calories to the feeds to try and make them more dense for him. On Saturday Jace lost is regular IV and is now only on the feedings. His IV fizzled as all of them wear out sooner or later, and  it had to be removed and started in a new location. The nurses tried to start a new one a few times but with no  success. Jace was what they called "dry" for a couple days and during this time Jocie acutally passed him in weight! On friday Jace got his first shot of EPO to help his red blood cell count- (yes that is the same drug that distance athletes use).

On thursday Jocie had her PICC line removed as well as the docs felt she had progressed enough. They removed her regular IV as well so now both are just on the feedings. Also on Friday they added the fortifier for Jocie.
Both Jace and Jocie had some goobers in their eyes and are getting drops to help. Neither one had a positive lab on the culture so that is good.

A lot of feeding and growing last week. Jace is now 2.7 and Jocie is 2.5 as of yesterday. They think that soon they will share an Isolette and be together again :) It should be interesting. Jace is much more squirmy than Jocie and might annoy her when they are side by side. Hopefully he will behave!

Quick update/pics of growing babies!

Jace

These are some pictures that the nurses had made up for Fathers Day. It was really nice of them. Jace continues to tolerate feedings well and is now at 2lb 4oz!

Jocie

Jocie is also tolerating the feeding well and first reached 2lbs on saturday the 18th. As of today sheweighs in at 2lb 2oz. She is following in the footsteps of her brother and hopes to catch him!

Forgot One More Thing!

Jace reached the 2 lb mark!!!  And Jocie is close behind at 1 lb 15 oz now.  Their weight will still continue to fluctuate but it's like he's a big boy now that we can say 2 lbs!!

Catching Up........

WOW....16 days old now!!!  Here's the latest on Jace and Jocie's progress and our "firsts" as parents :)  More pictures to be posted soon.

Sunday June 12th: 
Cody held Jace for the first time and changed his first diaper ever!!!  Jace did well for him!

Monday June 13th:
Jocie was taken off the nasal canula to just breathe on her own for a couple of hours and she did well!  They do that to just build her stamina.  They both began taking medication to hopefully help close the valve to decrease/eliminate their heart murmurs.  They both restarted their feedings and Jace FINALLY pooped!  Apparently he was saving up because the nurse said it was a good one!

Tuesday June 14th: 
Jace and Jocie got to meet their aunt Angi and Tami for the first time!  Jace required another blood transfusion and both were able to increase their feedings.

Wednesday 15th:
Cody changed his first diaper with Jocie and she wasn't as nice to him as her brother on Monday - it got to be Cody's first poopy diaper (mom has yet to experience it!).  She was such a squirmy worm that she ended up with some on her foot and the new diaper so this one wasn't as easy!  Lots more for us to learn I guess :)  They also took an x-ray of Jocie's stomach to be sure she has been tolerating her feedings.  She won't show much residual but her belly gets pretty distended.  The x-ray showed she is tolerating the feedings but it's just that she gets a lot of air in her belly throughout the day from the nasal canula.  Poor little girl because that cannot be comfortable.  But they extract air out of her belly throughout the day.

Kangaroo Care - Times TWO!!!

We got to hold Jace last night for the first time (Saturday)!!!  I held him for the hour of kangaroo care while Cody held Jocie for the first time for the hour of kangaroo care.  I also heard Jace "cry" for the first time (they were more like those grunting/just waking up sounds).  I also changed my first diaper - with some help from the nurse - they are just so little!  Lots of firsts last night.
They were also able to successfully place the PICC line in for Jace and increase his feedings a bit as he was doing well with them.  They started the medication for Jocie's heart murmur to hopefully help the Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) which is a condition in which a blood vessel called the ductus arteriosus fails to close normally in an infant soon after birth.  Both Jace and Jocie have the condition as of now but hers continues to be loud while Jace's appears to be getting quieter.  Hopefully this will help close the valve.

Good Day!!!

Jocie was taken off the c-pap and is now on the nasal canula.  Jace was extubated and went straight to the nasal canula as well!  Hopefully he shows he has enough lung support so he doesn't need to be reintubated.  Jocie's head ultrasound came back negative for hemorrhages.  They are both still off the light so we get to see their sweet little faces without so many tubes, converings, and premie shades on!!  I got to hold Jocie for another hour too.  They are going to try to place a PICC line in Jace again tomorrow.  All in all it was an 'up' on the roller coaster ride.

Kangaroo Care

Today Jace began some feedings - again.  Jocie will restart hers tomorrow.  We will see how long their tolerance holds this second go round.  They attempted placing a PICC line in Jace but they were unable to thread it through his vein so they will try again tomorrow.  His head ultrasound came back negative so no hemorrhages are present.  He also FINALLY had a sliver of poop!  Jocie had already pooped a couple of times now - oh the joys of children and talking about POOP! 
The biggest news for Jocie is that I got to start Kangaroo Care with her which is a technique used with preterm babies where the baby is held skin-to-skin on the chest for at least an hour - or as tolerated.  She tolerated it well and was able to keep her body temperature up against my body.  She felt so little against my skin!  It was an awesome feeling to hold her like that.

Holding Jocie pics

Here are the pictures from our first time holding Jocie on Wednesday June 8th.