Penelope's and Isaak's Second Day

Today has been a pretty good day. We went back to see the babies around 12:30 (boy did we both need sleep after being up 24 hours - and Bekka had a little thing called a c-section during that time!).

Both babies are still doing very well. They are under sun lamps to take care of the elevated bilirubin levels. Most impressively, both babies have already had a BM! That's a great sign that the plumbing is working well. We also found out that since being on CPAP, Isaak has had only 1 (one) instance of apnea and Penny none! Apnea is very common with these babies as they aren't used to having to do so many things at one time and their autonomous nervous system doesn't quite do everything smoothly sometimes.

The nurses in the ICN have take 3 photos for us. They are scans of so-so prints, but at least you can see the little guys. Just a warning that they are very very "real". Remember that they aren't quite done baking! In one of the photos, Isaak really looks like a little ET doll. You will also notice that their skins are red. This is due to the last two layers not yet having developed. That should happen in the next couple of weeks and they'll have more normal skin tones.

So many things stand in their way; from infection (their little immune systems are barely there) to high risks of cerebral hemorrhage and an increased risk of cerebral palsy. That being said, they have gotten off to a running start in their very young lives. Thanks for following their story!

Friday Night Twins' Birthday Update

Tonight things are going pretty well.

Bekka continues to recover from her c-section and they should have her up and walking around tomorrow.

We made a visit to the twins this evening around 9pm. It's amazing how well they are doing. Both of them are on a bubble CPAP machine without supplemental oxygen. That's really incredible for 25 week babies on the day they are delivered.

Isaak has some bruising due to the delivery and his bilirubin levels are elevated. His little liver isn't really fully working at this stage of development so to help him out, he'll likely begin tanning sessions tomorrow. Penny is doing great and both of them have maintained their birth weights. They are likely to lose a bit of weight, but this is a good start.

We were able to see some really cute yawns and stretches and some funny but painful looking hiccups. Poor little guys shake their whole bodies when they do that!

If they are doing well, I'm hoping to make it by the house to scan some pictures taken by the nursing staff. (We aren't allowed to take pictures at this stage - we are anxiously awaiting the day).

The ICN staff has been fantastic - well really the whole OB and pediatric staff at WakeMed has been looking out for Bekka and the babies. Looks like we'll be seeing them awhile longer...

Thanks for the kind words, thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming as these little guys can use the support!

Babies are in the ICN and Bekka in Recovery

We are waiting for an update from the ICN (Intensive Care Nursery) staff but both looked pretty good when they took them back. Good heart rates and very wiggly. Both opened their eyes a crack when I talked to them. That was a tear inducing moment!

Bekka is doing well in recovery. They were able to do a modern c-section (across the belly) which is very good for her recovery.

More once I get to see the little guys...please continue praying!

Bekka back for c-section

More later. Little girl was just Too unstable.

Contractions Update

So Bekka is still having contractions but they haven't gotten any stronger. They have put her on IV fluids and that seems to have lowered the frequency and the intensity.

No telling where this is headed. Best case this slowly resolves itself and we go merrily on our way. The possibility also still exists that Bekka will wind up in the OR sooner rather than later.

Overall, we are in an OK place but it surely isn't the greatest. I'll update again in the morning to let everyone know how things are going.

Contractions

A couple of hours ago Bekka began experiencing contractions. They are very erratic and not very strong but they are there. We hope this is just a random event and that it will ease off very shortly but who knows.

Both babies look great on the monitors so that's a good thing. We will update as we find out more.

25 Weeks, 1 Day and some Sweet, Sweet Kool-Aid

So today was another boring day. These things are great! We hope they continue unabated for some time and we can continue to mark off blocks on the calendar.

We have a couple of updates on questions we've been getting:

1. The doc indicates that we'll be having ultrasounds 3 weeks apart as that is about what it takes to show substantial changes in size and weight for the babies at this point. That means the next ultrasound will likely be around May 10.

2. Some talk had been floating about regarding another dose of steroids. It looks like that will probably occur around 28 weeks if we make it there (let's hope!). Dr. Wells says research indicates that 24 and 28 are the critical points to hit. Shots in between those time frames don't seem to have nearly as much efficacy.

In another news Bekka was supposed to have a glucose test done today. It's standard procedure for pregnant women and especially important if they are going to give you steroid (can create blood sugar issues). She drank a quart of what can charitably be described as the sweetest orange kool-aid you've ever had - then they forgot to draw her blood. So they are going to do it tomorrow. At 6am.

Quick Update.....from Bekka!!

Howdy!  I finally managed to wrangle the laptop away from my devoted hubby.  (Love ya, Neil!)  So tonight's quick update will be from the incubator herself!    =)

I'm happy to report that there's not much to report.  The bleeding increased a little bit this morning but then subsided quickly.  Of course, with an increase in bleeding came an order not to eat or drink anything from the doctor.  Oh, how I hate the letters "NPO."  I was promptly hooked up to the fetal monitors which showed that both Isaak and Penny were doing just fine.  After an hour of monitoring the babies, the doctor looked at the print out and gave me permission to eat and drink again.  So today's breakfast was more of a brunch.  I'm not complaining, mind you, as I am thrilled I didn't have to stay NPO for very long.

The biggest excitement of the day was the arrival of a large-ish dorm fridge!  One of our friends had offered to bring a small fridge from her home.  (Thanks again for the offer, Leslie!)  When I asked the nurse if that would be alright, the nurse said that she'd have to check with engineering.  Later, she informed us that engineering said they had one they could bring to my room.  And it arrived early this afternoon.  Now I can hoard yogurt and milk with abandon!  Well, that and Neil can stock it with tasty beverages and pudding cups.

On the whole, I can't complain too much about bed rest.  (Or bed unrest, depending on the number of interruptions during the night.)  It's not the most exciting thing I've ever done, but I fully realize how important it is for Penny and Isaak.  I have four calendar pages taped to my wall - one for each month from April until July.  Every Tuesday is marked with a number to designate how many weeks along I am.  Tomorrow, by the way, is 25 weeks.  And every night we cross off the day we just finished.  It's a great visual reminder of the progress we're making.  Plus, I got to use my crayons to decorate each page.

I can't thank everyone enough for their thoughts, kind words, and prayers.  This has been a bumpy ride with plenty of scary moments.  But knowing how many people are rooting for us has helped make it that much easier. 

Quick Update for Friday 4-23-2010

Bekka is doing great. She had a little light bleeding today but nothing on the scale of events earlier in the week. In fact, it's already cleared up which is quite remarkable. The twins' heartbeats were fantastic today so they seem to be enjoying their extra baking time.


On an important note (especially if you are visiting or sending something):
 
We are now in a different room: 4B22 (B as in Boy)

This makes number six (though 2 of those were for only 15 minutes at a time when we first arrived here at big WakeMed). Still no fridge ala Cary, alas.

I'd also like to take a moment to profusely thank all those that have provided a little sanity in this madness. You mowed lawns, fetched clothes and pillows, brought food, cleaned house and dropped by to say Hi. Thanks so much! This is going to be a long slog, but it could have been even crazier without all the help.

We love you guys!

Everything is Quiet

The news is simply no news. Bekka did get a shower today and was very excited about that. They gave her five minutes and used a shower chair. I would imagine it feels pretty good after 2 weeks of intermittent sponge baths!

Baby heartbeats were good at last check. So for now you can rest the itchy refresh button fingers...

Much Better Night and (so far) Uneventful Day

Last night was a pretty good night. Bekka had an uneventful afternoon so the docs decided she could A) Have real food again and B) Get up to go to the bathroom. Apparently, that's a pretty big deal if you've been confined to bed for 2 weeks and Bekka is ecstatic.

Bleeding is at a very slow level. Still there, but very gradual. We hope it stays that way and isn't just biding it's time for another big event, because let me tell you that's a scary experience.

Since everything looked good last night, they have moved to 12 hour fetal monitoring. This means that the nurse does not have to come in and wake Bekka every 4 hours (and therefore myself). Bekka is probably her own best monitor by reporting any contractions or bleeding. She'll be right back on the monitors if something goes haywire, but for now, it's a much lower key existence. The result was more than 8 hours of sleep for both of us last night. We almost feel human again.

We've been very happy with the nurses and doctors at both hospitals. They're very engaged in what's going on and friendly to a fault. It's reassuring that good people with a real interest in the patients are involved. Even the food service person has taken a special interest in Bekka and making sure she gets something she likes.

That's it for now. We hope everything stays boring and I'm only writing these every couple of days. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers and comments on the blog. It means a lot.

Scary Night, OK Day

For now, things are OK in waiting for babies land. Bekka's bleeding stopped late this morning and hasn't reappeared yet. We don't know if she is still bleeding (the large clots suggest that she had built up some blood before it all just came gushing out). We hope not, because otherwise she's doing pretty well. Over the past few days the pattern has been for it to stop for about 18 to 24 hours and then resume. Let us hope that changes and she has smooth sailing for a while.

It was a long day as both of us had very little sleep and Bekka struggled with nausea and heartburn through much of it. This is largely due to being taken off all oral intake last night in anticipation of a possible cesarean. After they allowed her to eat a bit, she began feeling better. Overall, it was a very nervous touch and go day. In the early evening they switched her nurses from Labor and Delivery to Ante-partem. This indicates some semblance of improvement. Of course, as we know well, a 2:30am event like last night gets her switched right back to L&D

In the plus column, the babies seemed to do fine throughout the day with consistent heart rates and Bekka did not experience contractions. She was ecstatic when the doctor allowed her to go to the bathroom on her own (well, with nurse escort). She is still confined to bed, but as long as she is not contracting or bleeding, it looks like she'll be able to get up occasionally for potty breaks. When you have been in bed for almost two weeks, that's a big morale boost.