The twins at 3 weeks

Ethan has been up and down the last couple days. They decided a couple days ago that his infection was better. So, instead of trying to poke him so many times to get IV's in him, they were going to do another PICC (long term IV). They had to poke him a couple times to get it in, but it's in. He has also still retaining a lot of fluid lately, so they have been giving him a diarrhetic to reduce the swelling. So far, he is still swollen, but we are hoping that goes down soon. It's funny, because you look a him and it's hard to tell something that small could look "swollen".
They also decided that he may be ready to go back on the CPAP machine, so they took out the breathing tube and put it on. He wasn't responding very well to it yesterday, but since this morning he has been showing small signs of improvement. They said that if it gets worse, they will have to put the tube back in. The nurse told me last night not to be surprised if it does, but I am really hoping my Little Man it strong enough to do without it.
He is very touchy and dependent on the breathing machine, so we haven't been able to hold him lately. But he does continue to get his daily rehab and massages, and seems to love every minute.

Madaline has been doing a little better after they found her infection and started her on antibiotics. She should be on them for 7-10 days and will not be able to be fed milk while she's on them. Yesterday, they tried to get a PICC line for her. They attempted it a couple times on each arm, and couldn't get it. Her blood is thick right now and the blood vessel just bursts when they try to do it. The nurses are going to think about exploring other options, but for now, they will just have to keep poking her. And when that vein is not longer good, they will poke her again. I swear, by the time my children are out of there, they will not want to see another needle EVER again, and neither will I.
This morning when I talked to the nurse for Madaline, she said that they had decided to put her on just a Nasal Cannula. This is were they take her off the CPAP machine and just put small prongs in her nose for extra oxygen. It looks like what old people have. This is a step forward in her breathing and should be a little more comfortable for her. Plus it's easier to take pictures of her.

Pictures:
The 2 top pictures are Ethan. The first one is a picture with Brady's wedding ring around his wrist. Just a gauge of how small our Little Superman is. The next is a picture taken a couple days ago of him getting his daily therapy and massage.
The last one is just a cute picture I took of Madaline's feet. She is rubbing them together by herself which is a good sign of development.

What a weekend!

So this weekend has been pretty eventful. To the point at which I have been too emotionally spent to sit down and put it into words. This is my attempt to do so, so please hang on for the ride.
Friday during the day was pretty uneventful. Both babies were doing okay for the most part. Ethan had his daily rehab appointment at 2pm and seem to be showing some signs of improvement on his arms and legs. The developmental team and I were both curious to see if the progress that was made over the past week would hold up over the weekend since they don't do rehab on Saturday's and Sunday's.
Brady decided he should try and go to a school event since he has been M.I.A. from school functions since the twins came, (which is all school year for him so far.) He went to a football game and came home around 9:00 pm so we decided to head over to the hospital and hold the babies. We got in and they had decided that Madaline was anemic and that they were going to give her a blood transfusion. Ethan had been started on one as well during the day since he is anemic too.
We went to Ethan's bedside where he was showing signs that he was retaining too much fluid, so they had to give him a diarrhetic which should help resolve the issue. The nurse also told us that he had been having some "spells", and having a hard time coming out of them. This meant was that he was having a lot of BRADY's and needed constant stimulation to keep his heart rate up. Usually when you have a BRADY it is followed up with a DESAT, which means his oxygen levels needed to be brought up. However, this was not the case. It was just strictly his heart rate that was dropping and wouldn't come back up. At first, Brady was going to go ahead and try to hold Ethan, but he started up on another spell just as they were preparing him for some snuggle time. The nurse decided to bring the doctor over and evaluate him. At that point he couldn't figure out why this was happening, but wanted the nurse to keep a close eye on him. If it continued, the doctor said that they would have to re-intubate him and put him on a higher level of oxygen support. This would mean a step backward in his cares and no snuggle time for daddy. We sat there for a while to just watch him and he seemed to have calmed down for a while. Then the spells came back and he would not come out of it himself. The doctor and a large army came to Ethan's bedside and decided that the tube to help him breathe would need to be put back down his throat to his lungs. Brady and I sat and watched them thru the process. (I figured if my son could brave having this done to him, I could brave sitting there and supporting him. What else were we going to do? Sit in the waiting room and freak out as to what was happening). Not fun to watch, but even less fun to have it done I'm sure. They did give him a form of sedation to help relax him, but wow!
By this time it was about 1:00 am and Brady and I were completely and utterly spent on all levels. We peaked in to take a look at Madaline, but we needed to head home and try to get some rest. I called in the middle of the night to check on him and his spells seemed be improving and he was stable. My poor little man has already been through so much.
We woke up Saturday and Ethan was doing better. Brady went down to the hospital to check on the twins and I decided to hang back to try and get a couple things done. I also needed a little breather and spent a couple hours hanging out with the my sister Stephanie, sister-in-law Alix and nieces . I also got to see my best friend Miriam's gorgeous new baby Sofia that was born on Wednesday and may I say she is very cute. (Almost as cute as Madaline & Ethan). While visiting with her I got a phone call from the hospital telling me that they are noticing that there is something going on with Madaline. They noticed that her stool had some blood in it, she seemed more tired and her stomach was showing some discoloration. They started running tests to see what is going on. They were thinking at this point that she may have an infection as well (not the same kind as Ethan though). This type of infection would be in the bowel and if not caught fast enough could be a very bad problem. They stopped her feeds, took out her PICC line, started antibiotics on her and also started taking x-rays on her to make sure that there wasn't a whole present in her bowel. At this point there wasn't, but x-rays would need to be taken every 6 hours since this could be a fast moving infection. When Brady and I got to the hospital that night the doctor on call came to talk with us and told us that he is almost certain that she has a mild case of Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). This meant that she has a serious intestinal infection. They stop the feeds since they won't pass through the intestine well. This could mean surgery if it didn't improve. At this point we were going to wait to see if stopping her feeds for at least a week and starting the antibiotics with x-rays to make sure the problem is not getting worse, would be the course of action. And she was doing so well....
We got a call from the nurse this morning. She said the surgical team and the doctor came to have a consults with Madaline and both felt at this time that surgery was not necessary. She is a little more alert today. They have had to put in a new IV which she was not happy about. They tried 2 times and failed because she kept kicking them away. 3rd time was the charm. We will keep an eye on her over the next week and see how she does. Ethan seemed to be doing a little better from earlier in the weekend as well. The doctors will do another x-ray on him tomorrow as well to see how his chest and lungs are doing.
My mom was able to meet the babies for the first time today as well which was nice. And Auntie Stephanie join us as well. At this point we are limiting the visits to immediate family. Next on the list is Uncle Jeff, Aunt Alix, Uncle Kyle, & Aunt Casey.
I still continue to thank God for my babies everyday (more than once). I pray that they continue to have strength and courage to deal with all that they have to date and their future challenges. They have proved to be truly wonderful kids and strong fighters. I couldn't be happier or more proud. I also have not forgot the wonderful support that surrounds us everyday by family, friends and supporters that follow this blog. Thank you to everyone who is curious and concerned to know how our twins are doing. Please continue your prayers as I know they all count.
God Bless You!
Picture:
Top-Madaline & Mommy cuddling. And yes, that is a pacifier in her mouth.
Ethan resting after a longs days work (and believe me, it's a lot of work)

Down and Up

Well the last couple days have been pretty good. Couple ups and a couple downs.
To pick up where we left off... On Wednesday night Brady was able to hold his Little Superman for the first time. Ethan looked so small in comparison to Brady. (No comment on Brady's chest hair) He was so happy to be finally holding his son. Brady also changed his first boy diaper yesterday. the look on his face was pretty funny.
Madaline has been doing well without her PICC line in and tolerating her feeds rather well. She is enjoying her pacifier very much. It is so cute to hear her make little sucking sounds when she wants to use it. They are also adding supplements and extra calories to her feeds which should help her with energy and help her grow. This is probably the only time in her life where extra calories are encouraged. Taken it in while you can little one!
Last night was a little stressful for me. After we had a good night with both babies, I got a call at 1:00 am in the morning from CHOC saying that Ethan is having a lot of DSAT's and BRADY's. (This means that his heart rate is dropping and his oxygen levels have to be turned up). This is normal with preemies. However, he was having more than his usual amount and not recovering from them as easily as he normally does. They did blood work and found put that he has an infection. They believe that it has something to do with his PICC line, so they removed it. They sent a culture of to the lab to figure out what type of infection and had to start him on antibiotics immediately. What a feeling getting a call like that when you are sound asleep. I called back to make sure he was doing okay in the morning and they said that he was doing better after the PICC line was taken out. They did stop his feeds but started them back up later in the day. His little body is so sensitive to everything right now so it gets stressful seeing him go through that and hearing the alarms go off every time it happens. No wonder my blood pressure is high.
Today was okay day. The development team is continuing to work with Ethan on his arms and legs. They are satisfied with some of the improvements that he has made, but would like to see more movement from his legs.
Auntie Stephanie got to meet her niece and nephew tonight and she had a smile from ear to ear the whole time. She was my personal photographer as well and got some great shots of the twins. She came on a great night since we were able to give Madaline her first bath. Madaline did pretty well to start, then kinda broke down and wasn't have it. Once all was done and she got wrapped in a toasty blanket, she was happy as a clam.
On our way out, we stopped by to tell Ethan's nurse that we were leaving for the night and she said that she gave Ethan a pacifier for the fist time. She said that he was loving it, but she had to take it away after a couple minutes because he was forgetting to breathe and suck at the same time. That is very normal for preemies and is one of the reasons why both twins have feeding tubes and are not bottle fed at this point. They will grow out of it eventually though.

One last thing, I signed to do the CHOC walk in the park at Disneyland as I mentioned in previous post. Again, we would love to have all of you walk with us. Our team name is: 20 Fingers, 20 Toes (thanks mom for the idea). I am trying to figure out how to put a direct link out, but I am still working on it. It the meantime, if you want to join, you can go to www.CHOCwalk.net and click "Register Here". After you agree to the guidelines, so to "Join a Team" and select our team name from the drop down menu. Fill in the registration information and follow the prompts.
Again, If you don't want to walk, but would like to make a donation, it is very much appreciated. To do that, you would go to www.CHOCwalk.net and select "Sponsor Walker". It will ask you to select a person, and you can put my name or Brady's name and follow the prompts. Thanks again for all the support and love. We thank God every night for it.

Pictures:
The first 3 are Madaline. From top to bottom, this is after her bath, during and before. How cute is this little angel. She takes after her mom!!
The bottom 3 are Ethan. The top picture was taken tonight by Auntie Stephanie, the last 2 Daddy is holding his Little Superman.

The twins at 2 weeks

Today was another good day, and I am very thankful for that.
Madaline has had a pretty uneventful day. She continues to go up on her feeds and is handling her CPAP (breathing) machine well. There are many times that the nurses will go in to check on her and the machine is off her face. They don't notice it since the machines show that she is not effected by it. They want to continue to keep it on though for a little while longer since they have another things that they are taking off of her. Tonight they'll remove her PICC line (long term IV) and see how she does. I am so proud of the progress she has been making.
Ethan is doing pretty good today as well. He had a more active day. They took out his breathing tube and put him on a CPAP machine that is a little different than Madaline's. It will give him a little more assistance breathing but will not allow him to breathe any less than about 20 breaths per minute. None the less, it is a step forward. With him being on this new machine, it meant that I could now Kangaroo with him. In other words, I GOT TO HOLD MY LITTLE MAN FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY! Wow, what a feeling. We spent about an hour and a half cuddling with each other and we both loved every second. They also put him back on feeds every 3 hours in stead of every 6 hours. By friday, if he is responding well to that and everything else is going well, they will start to increase it.
Awww.... If every day could be this way, it would make for a much easier process. It sure made for a good 2 week birthday to see both my babies moving forward in their care.
Pictures:
Holding Ethan for the first time. The machine that covers his whole head is his breathing machine. The yellow tube that goes into his mouth is his feeding tube. The stuff around his mouth is what holds the tube in place so that it doesn't come out.

A better day today

Well after yesterday and the night before that it was nice to have a pretty good day with the twins today.
Ethan's stomach is back to a normal pinkish color. We found out yesterday morning that he has a hernia which is very common in preemies and even more common in boy preemies. They will continue to watch it and try to push it back in. Eventually though he will have to have surgery to fix it, but for now they will just keep an eye on it. They stopped feeding him yesterday since they didn't know why is stomach was discolored, but started him back on this morning at a slower pace. He was getting feeds every 3 hours, but they will restart him out at every 6 hours.
Both Ethan and Madaline had a consult with a therapist today. They work on their development to make sure that their muscles, sensory skills and all sorts of other fun stuff.
To top off all the issues Ethan is having to deal with, his left leg is turned out quite a bit. His right leg is as well, but not nearly as much. He also is clenching his fists a lot and not opening up his fingers. They are going to work on him 5 days a week to try and move his leg into the proper position as well as other things with his arms and hands. They will show Brady and I how to do the same exercises so we can work on them as well. The therapist was also telling me that his ears and eyes aren't quite developed yet, so we need to speak with a very soft and calm voice right now as well as keep the lights down.
Madaline is also seeing the therapist, but only 3 days a week. Her shoulders are kind of scrunched up, so we need to work on bringing them down. We are also going to work on her leg strength to build up those cute little muscles. She has gone up on how much they are feeding her as well. Within the next couple days they will be taking out her PICC line (the long term IV in her arm). If she handles that well, they will take her off the CPAP (breathing) machine to a lower type which will be a lot more comfortable for her.
Ethan is also doing pretty well on his breathing machine. His body is really irritated with the type of machine that he is on which is what could be causing him to have a drop in his heart rate and slow down his breathing. Within the next day or so, they are going to try to move him to a lower type on machine kind of like Madaline's, but with a little more support.
I have had the pleasure of changing both the babies diapers and today they both showed me what it is like to be a mom and have to change some pretty big loads for their size. It was pretty messy for both, but it was nice to help.
I held Madaline again tonight, which is always a joy. If Ethan is able to move the other machine tomorrow and everything goes well, I may be able to hold him as well which would be a dream come true.
I have been getting a pretty good response regarding he CHOC walk in the park, so I am going to go ahead and start a team. Over the next day or so I am open to Team Name suggestions if anyone has any. Again, we would love to have all of you come out to support the cause. It's only a $50 donation/entrance fee to participate. The more the merrier. If you want more info on the event, my previous post gives a little detail, or you can go to www.chocwalk.net
Thank you to everyone that has been helping me out with rides to the hospital (since I wasn't suppose to drive for 2 weeks after the babies were born), as well as everyone who has brought us a some delicious meals (so we aren't eating fast food every night). And to everyone who has ran an errand or 2 for us. All your help has made this process a little easier. Thank you so much and we love you and thank God for your kindness.

Another turn in the Roller Coaster

Well after a hard day yesterday, Ethan was doing much better today. They decided to place a feeding tube in this morning and start feeds today only giving him .7cc of mama's milk. It's a very small amount but wanted to start slow to make sure that he could tolerate the feeds. We spent our morning visit with Ethan know that we would come back in the evening to see Madaline. Since we now are trying not to bounce back and forth between the 2 little ones to make sure they both stay as health as possible.
When we went in this evening, unfortunately, the nurse said that Ethan's stomach was looking discolored again which freaked us out since they just started the feeds. They came in to take an x-ray to make sure that there wasn't a hole in his intestines, which would be REALLY BAD. His heart rate dropped a few times when we were there as well, which is not normal for him. The x-ray came back normal and the doctor on call came by to take a look at him. He said that everything sounded normal and he didn't think that the feeds would be making a difference in the discoloration. They are going to continue with them and just keep watching his stomach. It is somewhat reassuring that everything sounded ok. However, why is his stomach discolored? It makes me a very uneasy.
Madaline is doing good, she is going up on her feeds and is progressing well. We went in after a while to check on her and found her crying because the CPAP breathing machine that she was on was giving her some discomfort. She wanted to rip that thing right off her face, my poor little girl. She likes to be swaddled up but the temperature in the incubator is too warm to do that with her so I just held her hands for a while to help her calm down. It seemed to help. We also gave her a pacifier which she is doing a little sucking on. Other than that, she is progressing well. If all else looks good over the next few days, they may even consider taking out her PICC line (which is like an IV that is long term. They put it in her arm in a vein and feed it through until it sits right around her heart.)
Pictures:
Top 2 are Madaline and the bottom 2 are Ethan

At the end of the night...

Yesterday was a hard day for Ethan. He just had his PDA Ligation done and his body is so wiped out that anything could set him off. He had a lot of drops in his blood pressure and his oxygen had to go up to 100% at some point. They try to keep them as low on the oxygen levels as possible so that he won't have side effects later on, like eye sight issues. The air that you and I breathe on a daily basis is 21%. His lungs at this point still have a lot of fluid in them, so they are having to keep a very close eye him. This morning there was not much change. And since the smallest things could cause his heart rate to drop, I couldn't really touch him today which was extremely hard. By the time we left tonight though his stats seem to have improved a little and his oxygen levels have decreased. They are considering putting in a feeding tube tomorrow, pending an x-ray to make sure all looks good. Hopefully in the next couple days, they will start to feed him some milk (good thing because my freezer is going to get really full, really quick). My little man is a fighter and he is doing a great job showing me what he is capable of. I am so proud of him and thankful that he is trying so hard.

Madaline had a good day yesterday. Since her lung collapsed, she has shown signs of improvement. They decided yesterday to clamp off the tube and see how her respiratory system would handle it. If all went well for 4-6 hours, they were going to take the tube out. She lasted the 6 hours and the tube came out last night. She has been doing well breathing with just the CPAP machine so far. They have to take it off of her sometimes, and she seems to be breathing well on her own when they need to. They will keep it on her though until she is approximately 36 weeks old. We did have a hiccup in her care today. Madaline tested positive for MRSA which is a type of Staph infection that is very common is hospitals, so they moved her into a private room and she will have to stay there for the remainder of her care.

What does this mean???

Well, lets see if I can explain this properly. There is nothing to be alarmed about right now. They are putting her in her own room for the safety of all the babies in the NICU. Because all of them have some sort of IV, they all have to potential to get this. It is only contagious through contact of an open sore, which she does not have. If she did they would just need to make sure that the dressing on the sore was clean and dry until it healed. Everyone has some sort of Staph bacteria on their skin. It all depends on how your body reacts to the bacteria. When she's out of the hospital there is not going to be any change in the way that she is handled compared to Ethan or any other baby. Since it is not contagious, once the babies are in a stable place, people will get to see her. I will still get to kangaroo her (which I did tonight and loved every second), and when she's ready, I can breast feed her. The best way to prevent this kind of stuff is just making sure that you wash your hands constantly. Unfortunately in hospitals these things happen. Especially since she is handled by so many people throughout the day.

At the end of the day, she is doing pretty good. It's just another bump in the roller coaster and we will just have to make a couple alterations along the way.

I have a couple new pictures on Madaline, I just haven't uploaded them yet to the computer. I didn't take any pictures of Ethan today since he is so unstable and I didn't want the flash of the camera to make him uncomfortable and make his heart rate drop. I'm waiting for a good day when he is stable enough. Thanks again everyone for all the love and prayers you have been sending our way. I know that it's making a difference.

One other thing.... Every year CHOC has a charity event that they do that Brady and I are seriously considering being a part of. It's called the "CHOC walk in the park". Stephanie and I did this with Tilly's a couple years ago and it was a lot of fun. It's a 5K walk through Disneyland and California adventure in support of CHOC. The walk in scheduled for Sunday, October 17, 2010. I would like to start a team of people to do this walk with Brady and I. The team needs to be a minimum of 6 people and each person has to raise at least $50 donation to walk. I want to know how many of you would seriously consider doing this walk to see if I can get a team together. After all that CHOC is doing for us right now, I thought it would be a fun way to pay them back. You can get more info on the event at www.chocwalk.net. Please let me know if you are interested so I can get a head count. You can email me at JakaSandra@aol.com, or text me if you have my phone number. It would mean a lot to Brady and I to have your support. If you can't walk, but still want to support, you can always make a donation.

Lots of love from us and the Twins!!!

Wow, what a day!

Wow, what a day this has been to say the least. I went to see the twins today and both were doing pretty good. The twins doctor came in to give me an update to the progress.

Madaline is doing really well. She still has the tube in her chest from her collapsed lung but things are looking pretty good. They are considering taking the tube out (extubating) within the next couple of days. I am in no rush though considering the last time they took it out, her lung collapsed right after. Other than that, he said that we will just continue to keep her on the CPAP machine until she hits about 32-33 weeks gestation (4-5 weeks old). Also, they will continue to feed her and we just watch her grow (pending any issues that may come up). Brady was able to hold her for the first time today and he was loving every second of it. It's really cute when she makes little sucking noises, they are even giving her a pacifier when she'll take it and man will she go to town.

Ethan had a little more of an eventful day to say the least. The doctor said that he has what is called a PDA (which every baby has when they are in the womb.) It is an extra blood vessel in the heart that filters oxygen to the body when in the womb since the lungs are not producing it at the time. This blood vessel closes in babies within 72 hours of birth. Because Ethan was born early, his isn't closing. With that being said, the doctors were recommending surgery to close the blood vessel and hopefully get him moving in the right path. They gave me the pros and cons of the procedure and it is a surgery on the heart, so it was extremely scary to have to make a decision on my sons well being. In a sense, this was the first MAJOR decision, (besides getting them out when they were born), that Brady and I had to make. We decided that the surgery would be better done than not, so they contacted the surgeon to try to set something up for tomorrow or Friday. I left to grab a bite to eat and when I came back, the doctor had talked to the surgeon and there just so happened to be an opening in his schedule this evening, so all this was going to happen within the next couple of hours. They were getting him prepped and ready for surgery and it was extremely nerve racking. The surgeon came out before starting to explain the procedure one more time and to have us sign the consent. When he was explaining it to us, he told us that there was another issue that could happen when he got in there but wouldn't know until he started the procedure. If the narrowing of one of his chambers by the blood vessel was too narrow it could pose as a problem and they probably would not be able to close the blood vessel. If that were the case there would be a BIG DECISION we would have to make. But of course, he would know what was there until he started the surgery. This put more stress on an already stressful issue. We signed the consent and put our baby in the hands on the medical team and prayed that there wasn't going to be an issue and that everything was going to be okay. The procedure only took 20-30 minutes, but of course it felt like forever. Especially with this new issue that might be there. After the procedure the medical team came out and said everything went well. Thank God! They they were able to clamp the blood vessel shut (with what looks like 1/3 size of a staple) and didn't see any issues at this time with the narrowing of one of the heart chambers. What a relief. He is now resting comfortably for the night. The doctors warned us that the next couple days for Ethan may be a little hard. The up side to it all is that he will have a scar on his back he can brag about to all the ladies. My little man is truly a fighter and I can't express how thankful I am to have such a wonderful little boy.

Hopefully we can rest a little easier tonight.

Pictures: Brady holding Madaline for the first time

It has been hard to get good pictures on Ethan since he's got more stuff going on. I had every intention of going in today and having a little photo shoot with him, but it didn't pan out that way. Hopefully tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

Twins are 1 week old today

Well the twins turned 1 week old today and I couldn't be happier. There really hasn't been much change today other than the fact that I got to hold my precious Baby Girl for the first time today and boy was I in mommy heaven!

When the twins are stable enough, they like the parents to do what's called "Kangaroo Care". It's skin to skin time that they say is proven to do wonders for the babies' health and development. Not to mention the snuggle time I get in. Madaline likes to be swaddled and to feel secure. When she s taken out of her comfort zone, she lets you know. Once they put her on my chest, her crying subsided and all was well in Maddie-World. I could have done that ALL DAY.

Ethan had an okay day today. I got to change his diaper which is always enjoyable. Thankfully he didn't pee on me today which I'm sure is only a sign of the times to come.

Both babies had head ultrasounds today to check for brain hemorrhaging. The preliminary reports came back for both of them as negative, which was very good to hear. They will continue to repeat this test to and to monitor this possibility.

In the meantime, I have been talking with my mom and sister. They have been communicating with us about all the support and prayers we are getting and I couldn't be more thankful to have such wonderful support around our "Party of Four". I thank God for every one of you and will try to keep you all up to date as to how my gorgeous twins are doing. Thank you all again and we love you.

Pictures:The bottom picture is Ethan getting his temperature checked by Daddy.

The picture on the top is my first time holding Madaline. The machine on her head is the CPAP machine that helps her breathe a little easier. Ethan's machine is a stronger one, but doesn't have the big hoses that cover up their faces.

Our new babies

Well this has been a journey over the last 8 days to say the least. Last Saturday night I noticed that something was wrong. I decided to go the emergency room. Brady was at the Orange street fair ready to have a long night of drinking, and partying with friends. I called him up and told him that he needed to come home immediately. Stephanie drove us all to the hospital and we went straight up to labor a delivery. They took a look and couldn't quite figure out what was going on so we thought at that point I would just be going home after a little observation. Then Ethan had a dip in his heart rate (called a D-Sat), that sparked a need for an ultrasound. After that was done, the doctor came in and told us that I wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. The doctor said that Ethan's placenta was not functioning properly and the he was half the size of his sister Madaline. I would be in the hospital to monitor him anywhere between a day and the duration of my pregnancy (12 more weeks).
We had a high risk specialist(Dr. Lindsay), come into to speak with us to let us know what our options were. He let us know that since the placenta was functioning very poorly, there was a strong chance that we would need to get the babies out on Tuesday morning. At 28 weeks and 4 days pregnant, I knew this was far too soon, but what choices did we have? No matter what there could be a risk to either 1 or both babies. At that point I had a steroid shot to help the babies lungs develop a little quicker. The game plan was to stay at the hospital and monitor the babies until Tuesday. If the there was no change, or things got worse, the babies would be delivered no later than then. If things improved, we would need to take it 1 day at a time but the babies would stay in my belly.
Tuesday morning rolled around and there was no change. We had to speak to my doctor and decide what we thought would be the best option. After tears and talks we all decided it would probably be better to get the babies out. From then, it was time to get ready for C-section surgery.
I got into the OR around 10:45am for prep. Everything went well as far as the surgery.
The Babies:
Ethan Michael Richards came first at 1 lb 5 oz and 11 inches (the length of a piece of paper) @ 11:25am. I didn't hear a cry. They took him into the room next door where there was a team of doctors and nurses waiting to help him through his first few minutes before heading over to CHOC.
Madaline Gianna Richards came second at 2 lbs 9 oz & 15 1/2 inches long @ 11:27am. I didn't hear her cry either but they took her in the other room as well where she had her own team ready and waiting for her.
Next was the recovery room. I was lucky enough for the babies to be in good enough shape where the medical team could stop in with each of the babies so I could see them. I only saw the nose and lips of Ethan since he was bundled up so much and he was really small. They also had a mask over his face to help him breathe. They brought Madaline in next. With her I was able to touch her through the incubator and tell her that her mommy loves her.
Both were transferred over to CHOC which is right next door (Thank God), were they were put in the "Small Baby Unit" NICU. This is a subsection of the NICU that just finished construction on March of this year. It was designed for babies that were born premature and weigh less than 1 1/2 pounds. Brady went with them to sign a bunch of papers and to get them set up. I stayed in recovery for a while until I was transferred into my room. (I ended up getting a private room which helped a lot. I didn't want to be in a room with another mother that was able to have her new baby in the room with her, when I couldn't share in the excitement.) Both Brady and my family were there for support and prayer (Except for Kyle & Casey. Unfortunately Kyle came down with a nasty cold, so they couldn't be there. (In sprit though)). And lots of prayers were being said from friends, family and extensions of both. All were and are much appreciated more than we can express.

The next day I was able to go over to CHOC to visit with my babies for the first time. Boy, what an emotional first visit. I can't tell you how hard it is to see both your babies in an incubator. You can touch them, but you can't caress or rub, or stroke them. I causes too much stimulation and right now the goal is to keep them as calm as possible so they can work on keep themselves stable. You can't hold them since they are far too fragile at this point. The next couple days were going to be the hardest start to a long, emotional journey for Brady and I.

Over the last few days we have had some good and not so good moments. I have been able to change both Ethan and Madaline's diapers (which are soooooo tiny!). Ethan has already pee'd on his mommy and Madaline has shown signs that she is going to be my feisty one. They both had to be put on breathing machines. Madaline's lung collapsed so they had to intubate her. When they saw that she was getting well, they thought that they could take the tube out, which her body was not ready for, and they had to stick the tube back in. They have been able to feed her though, so hopefully a little mothers milk with help make her a little better.

Ethan, at this point is going to have a longer road ahead of him since he is so small. He is on a higher breathing machine and is continuing to have some dips in his heart rate. At this time, it has been helping when that happens to turn his oxygen level up a little, and he stabilizes. They are concerned about an extra vein in or near the heart that all babies have, but closes before they are born. Because they were born so premature, his has not had a chance to close, which can pose as a problem as far as blood circulation in the areas that need it. They are also concerned about the development of the intestines. Again, since he is so small, it's one of the major medical problems preemie babies have.

It is projected that both babies will be in the hospital for somewhere around 2-3 months. During that time, they warn us that this journey is a roller coaster. One day can be good and next, not so good. There will be times when the babies will take 1 step forward and 2 steps back. We just have to pray each day and thank God for the gifts we have. We ask that they are given strength through this process as well as us. We thank God for the nurses and doctors that are there to take care of them and to help us understand what is going on.

What I am asking from you is to please pray with us.... This is the best thing anyone can do at this point. I think the best way for you to get a hold of us is to e-mail Brady of myself and we can try to get back to you when the moment allows us to.

In the mean time, now that I have finally had a chance to catch everyone up to speed a little bit, I will try to continue to post updates on the twins and post a couple pictures as well. We love you all and can't tell you how much it means to us to have your support right now and over the next couple months.

Pictures:Ethan is the top picture and the last 2 are Madaline