38 Weeks

Boys are two weeks away from there due date and it is hard to imagine Amber being pregnant all this time. This has to be the slowest 38 weeks ever. Well Brody is getting closer to coming home. Brody is scheduled to have his hernia surgery at UCD on October 1st. He getting bigger and bigger everyday. He is currently 6 pounds and 14 ounces. He has been nipple feeding well prior to the eye surgery but since he hasn't been doing as well. We hope that he is on full nipple feeds by the time he goes to UCD. He will be going over to UCD on the 30th and we hope that communication for his care is pretty smooth.
Drew is hanging out trying his hardest to gain weight. He is around 1925 grams and needs to be between 2000 and 2500 gram to have his surgeries. His weight goes up and down and he is just hanging out. He has had to have his stoma open to room air making it hard to have his arms and legs free. He is often very upset wanting his arms and legs free to move about. He has a couple of great primary nurses and that has made it easier for us. His primaries have been holding him and loving him when we are not there. We know that no loving is like his mommies loving but is very comforting to us that he has people that care about him visiting him and caring for him.

37 weeks

Brody is a big boy! He weighs six pounds and 3 ounces almost as much as Coo when she was born. Last week Brody had eye surgery because the blood vessels have not developed properly, common in preemies. He had a hard time coming back off the vent after his traumatic experience. Today five days after he seems to be more alert than even before the surgery. He is nipple feeding most of his feeding and doing well. We were actually able to bring in some of his clothes to wear and that was nice. Brody is doing well and we have heard a lot of talk about him coming home. He does have to go to UCD before he comes home. He has a hernia that he has had since birth. We have know about it for awhile but were not aware that he would have to have surgery on it prior to coming home. He may come home on oxygen but we are not sure at this point.
Drew is also doing well. He is off oxygen and doing great. He isn't gaining as well as we all would like but he is slowly gaining. Instead of feedings at 3-6-9-12 he is being tube feed continuously. Since the continuous feedings have started he has been gaining. He weighs 1786 grams which is about 4 pounds. They can't reconnect his intestines until he is 2000 grams. Once he is reconnected he will need a shunt then on his way home. He is doing great.

Questions or Answers

It wasn't too long ago that a mother of twins born at 24 weeks and 3 days told us that it just gets harder the closer they get to coming home. When she said that I had no idea what she meant at the time. Now I understand. The waiting and anticipation is driving us crazy. So many details! Although Amber's work is so supportive it is hard to be away this long and not know how long until she will be back. We are slowly but surely getting the boys stuff ready and putting their room together. Final touches will be put in after our shower/ welcome party.
At times we wonder what the future holds for our kids and how this journey will all play out. What will they remember? One day we will read this blog to them and I hope it gives them strength and hope. Will they ever know how strong they are and how proud we are of them? We may not have all the answers at this time but we will always be changed for the better because of the birth of our children. Brody and Drew have fought so hard to be here and although it was hard we have been honored to join their fight. Right now we use this blog as a way to keep friends and family updated on the twins journey. We also have given this blog to other mothers that are in our situation. We have heard that Brody and Drew's story have given others hope.They amaze us everyday and we are so proud that they have helped and amazed others.

Still doing well

Well quick update:
Drew is doing GREAT! He went down to one liter of oxygen last week and did great. Today he went to room air. Amazing. The doctors are very happy with his progress but concerned about his weight gain. He weights 3 pounds 6 ounces and needs to weight 4 pounds 5 ounces before they can reconnect his intestines. It is common for people with stoma's to have trouble adsorbing food because it is in the intestines long enough. It has been nice for us because we have been able to hold Drew and bond with him. He has a great little personality, so alert, attentive, and happy. He smirks a lot and smiles showing off his very cute dimples. He loves his Binky and can hold it in all by his self. For all he has gone through he is very content holding his hands together and listening to the voices of his favorite nurses. Go Poo Go!
Brody is huge. He has no problem growing at all. At 35 weeks he is 5 pounds and 6 ounces. He is eating a whole bottle when he is feed it twice a day. He has been breastfeeding and latches right on. Brody is still on one liter and doing well. Mercy is trying to get him off. Brody has weekly eye exams since he has been in the NICU. They are tracking the growth of the eye due to the prematurity and the oxygen that has been provided to assist in breathing. They will need to do eye surgery this week or next week to help the direct the blood vessels in the right areas and prevent the eyes from going blind. This is pretty routine procedure that is common in micro preemies. Brody is doing well and could be coming home in a couple of weeks and by the looks of it if Drew didn't need another surgery her would have been to. Can't wait to get them home but very scary at the sametime.

Baby Steps

Well both boys are making baby steps in the right direction at 34 weeks gestation and 9 weeks old. Drew has recovered from a pic line infiltration that caused a large amount of fluid to accumulate around his lungs. A chest tube was placed for a few days later he no longer needed it and it was removed. We sure could tell he felt better after all the fluid was drained. Drew is off the vent (breathing tube) and placed on a nasal cannula. We are both very happy to have him off the vent because it is a step in the right direction and we get to hold lil Poo. He is slowly getting the tubes removed because he is moving in a positive direction. Drew is being feed full feeds at 32cc and doing really well with that. The breast milk is agreeing with Drew's gut issues and he is passing stool well. Drew weighs 3 pounds and 7 ounces.
Brody is huge! Well he weighs 4 pounds 12.5 ounces. He is also on full feeds at 42cc. Brody has been drinking a bottle a couple times a day and breastfeeding. Brody graduated from the isolette to a big boy crib. Weekly the boys eyes are tested to make sure they are developing correctly. Brody may need a routine eye surgery to allow his eye vessels to develop correctly. It is really strange but on more than one occasion they have mentioned that Brody may come home in a few weeks. So weird, and really scary to think we will two of our kids at home under the same roof and one still in the hospital.
The boys make us feel like we can do anything we are very proud of how hard they have worked to be with us.

Brody

Well Brody has been a really good boy lately! He is twin A and the one that wanted out so bad. He really shoud have discussed this with his brother. Brody has proven that he was ready by not needing one surgery in two months. I no way is he out of the wood but we acknowloge his progress. It amazes us how different the boys roads have been.
While talking to Brody he felt that he need his own post. Brody is 3 pounds and 13 ounces. He is still on full feeds and 20 calorie added. He loves to be held and snuggled. He was just moved up to a bigger binkie. He is currently 32 weeks and in the next couple of weeks he will be getting ready to nipple feed. They will start by putting a couple of drops of milk on a binkie. He love his binkie! Very proud of BOO and how hard he has worked.

Drew Poo

We have been asked a lot lately to update the blog in regards to Drew and his status. The truth is we don't really know anything. We have been told that he doesn't have NEC and he doesn't have any strictures. UCD has irrigated his stoma a couple times and they were able to pull out rock hard stool. He seems to be feeling a little better. He has a staph infection that is being maintained. Why the stool is backing up we just don't know.