When I got back to the hospital on Monday both the boys were doing great!!

Nicolas' pneumonia is getting better each day. His swelling has gone down, his lungs are clearing up and he is kicking and squeezing my finger again!!!!

Ethan too is doing great. This will probably be the only time I say this but..... Ethan threw a fit today, and it was kinda cute. The nurse turned him on his back and he did NOT like that. He was kicking and swatting at us and crying his lungs out.... though you cannot hear him cry yet.

He can't make any sounds until his ventilator tube is out. They are both still relying on the ventilators a lot so they will be on it for a while.

Well we have made it though the first week and a half. It has been a roller coaster ride, as we were told to expect. We have good days and not so good days. But overall everything is going well.

Both the boys are on an antibiotic due to an infection they had at birth (that may be the reason I went into labor). They have been responding to that well.

Nicolas had a rough couple of days this week. A couple of days ago they found he has pneumonia. So he is on more antibiotic to treat that and he is responding. The nurse says his lungs are sounding better now. Nicolas also had some seizure activity one night, it was only in his left leg. They are doing a test to see if it is caused from infection or it could just be because he is so young his brain waves are not firing correctly. He will be on medication for that for quite a while. The Dr. said these are not uncommon occurrences with preemies. He is out from under the light for his jaundice.

Ethan has been eating for a couple days now. Finally all my pumping seems worth it!!! He hasn't seemed to have any other complications at the time. He's still very active as well. Below are some more pictures of both the boys.

I was able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house Thursday and Friday night. I am going back up there on Monday and will stay the week. It is a really nice place and the people have been great. At the hospital as well, all of the nurses and Dr.s have been wonderful through all of this. We appreciate all of the love and consern all of our family and freinds have shown too. It's nice to know we are not in this alone.

Pictures

Giving Ethan his 1st bath

Ethan's 1st bath

Ethan sleeping on his hand

Nicolas sound asleep

Nicolas holding Trevor's ring

Nicolas holding Trevor's ring

The boys are now 8 days old. They are doing exceptionally well. They were both under a light to help with jaundice but Ethan has come off the light and Nicolas will be able to come off soon they say.

They both have their own personalities. Ethan is active, moving and kicking. He was the one that would always move around during ultra sounds giving the techs a hard time getting his measurements and... he was always kicking me in the bladder.

Nicolas was always more laid back, he was a lot more cooperative with the ultra sound techs. He is the same now, laid back.

They are now both strong enough to squeeze our fingers, that was amazing. Just little things like that are so precious.

Early Arrival

For those of you who don't already know, The twins have arrived!!!!

I went into labor on Tuesday night the 15th of September. Trevor drove me an hour to the hospital in Springfield late that night. (that is the closest hospital with a NICU) I was contracting every 3.5 minutes and I was dilated to a 4 when I got there. They tried to stop the labor with a shot but... that didn't work. I kept contracting and dilated to a 5. So I delivered by c-section at 2:23 AM Wednesday September 16th. The twins were only at 25 weeks (6 months and 1 week) gestational age. They are both in the NICU and they will be there for 2-3 months. They are both in critical condition but are stable. We have a long hard road ahead of us. Everyday will be different but so far each has been better than the last. All their tests are coming back with good results. :)

We named them Ethan Cole and Nicolas Conner. Ethan was 2.3 lb. and Nicolas was 2.5 lb. They are so tiny. There arm is no bigger than Trevor's finger.

I got discharged from the hospital on Saturday. I came home to re-coop for a couple more days then I will pretty much be living in Springfield through the week and coming home on the weekends. At least that is our plan but we will take it one day/week at a time. I am still waiting for a room at the Ronald McDonald house to open.

Here is a picture of each of the boys: sorry the pictures dark and not good quality.

The top is Nicolas and the bottom is Ethan.

All of your thoughts, prayers, phone calls and support have meant the world to us. It is comforting to know that we have so many friends there for us. Thank you!!!

been busy

Hello everyone!! Well the past couple of weeks have been pretty busy for me. so I didn't get to post as I told a few of you I would. One of the other girls at the office was on vacation so I worked extra---- which means I was extra tired. They have hired my replacement so I have been training her for 3 weeks now. I just gave my notice on Friday so I will be done working at the end of the month.

Then I will be able to concentrate on getting everything finally ready for the babies, there is still a lot to do!!

We bought cribs this weekend and set them up. They are a beautiful dark brown color. I will post a picture when the nursery is done or closer to it. Right now everything is piled on the floor since I don't have a dresser or any storage shelves up in the closet yet.

My mom also had a small shower for me last weekend. I stayed there for the weekend so Trevor finished painting the living room and get it aired out!!! It is so inviting and cozy now!!

P.S.-- haven't picked out any names yet.

Pictures in the Park

I had a baby shower this weekend in Neosho where Trevor grew up. We have a nice start in getting ready for the twins now. We have car seats and double stoller and a lot of cute DOUBLE outfits!! It feels real more and more as we get prepare.

Before my shower a friend took some pictures of me in the park. I thought I would share a couple of them here with you.

The last picture was at the end of the day, I finally crashed on the couch a my other 'baby' came for a snuggle on my belly. I thought it was cute!!!