A Note on Videos

So apparently PicasaWeb is bad for videos.

Very bad.


See update for details.

I didn't verify the green bean video upload last night, and checking it out today, I've found that the audio is very choppy. Apparently this is a known issue when uploading higher quality video.

A search of the Google forums suggests that the solution is YouTube (way to go Google!), and I'm going to do what anyone with really cute twins would do and upload all the videos there. This makes sense in a lot of ways as YouTube is designed to handle big HD files like I'm producing and is also much much more easily accessible from mobile devices. We've wanted to show videos several times on phones and haven't been able to get Picasa to work so this will take care of that.

I've just started the upload process of the 4 videos currently on the website and hope it will finish overnight. Once they are up, you can access them via the channel I've set up at the following URL:

http://www.youtube.com/user/sooner1997

We will also create a link specifically to go to video from the front-page of the blog.

All the photos will still live at the PicasaWeb site as it is by far the best I've used for photo purposes. So follow the above link sometime in the morning and see what is to be seen in video land. I've made the vids public for the moment, but we will see how that goes.

Thanks for your patience.

UPDATE:
Everything should be up and running on YouTube now. Some of you may have tried the green bean video this morning and discovered that it was still choppy. Turns out the issue wasn't really with PicasaWeb (as YouTube and PicasaWeb are both owned by Google and appear to use the same rendering engine) but with the way Google deals with the uploads of AVCHD files and certain settings in those files. Essentially, the file was being doubled in length and the audio was being chopped up to try to fit. Seems to be an issue with 60fps video. This issues has been going on for nearly two years and appears to be random. I changed formats and made a couple of other adjustments and all should be good now.

With this new info, I could probably still use PicasaWeb for the videos now that I have a handle on the issues, but I think the benefits of YouTube for accessibility are still there. Perhaps I will maintain both.

In fact, I just uploaded the new version of the video to PicasaWeb and it works great.

Don't forget that it's possible to subscribe to the blog, to the YouTube channel and to PicasaWeb so you will be notified of any updates or changes.

Penny and Isaak's Latest Feature Film

As promised a couple of weeks ago, here is the film of Penny and Isaak partaking of green beans the second time. Sound is a must, but the facial expressions speak for themselves.

From The Penny and Isaak Video Show

We also have 162 (!) photos in the March 2011 folder. Yes, that's a lot, but it cataloged important events like the first trip to Nana and Papaw's. They also seemed to have been inordinately cute last month. What could we do but snap hundreds of pictures ;)

Those photos can be found here:

Penny and Isaak - March 2011

Enjoy!

Isaak Eyes and Frustrating G-Tube Stomas

Little guy went to Duke Eye Center on Friday for an exam under anesthesia (EUA), and the news was better than expected. I'm not sure we've been able to utter that phrase in relation to Isaak's vision in quite awhile. We were very worried about the possiblity of glaucoma surgery due to elevated eye pressure at his last checkup. After 3 weeks of drops, his pressures were well into the normal range, so no surgery was necessary. We keep him off the drops this weekend, and they will re-measure on Monday to see if he needs them or not.

In other good news, the retinal fold is beginning to flatten and the macula is actually moving back towards the appropriate location. Now, this doesn't mean that lost vision will be returning, but it does mean that the danger of additional vision loss has abated (somewhat, for now). Scar tissue is still present, but doesn't appear to be expanding. This is important as the scarring is what caused much of the tension on the retina and created the fold.

There are small fatty deposits on the retina, called exudates, that are likely a result of the massive hemorrhage Isaak experienced last July and continued bleeding afterward. This hemorrhage was the proximal cause of many of his vision complications and the advanced RoP. Nothing that isn't experimental and potentially damaging can be done about them, so we'll just be hoping they don't grow any more.

He goes in Monday for a followup to the exam and to be fitted for his contact lens. If you recall, the surgeons were forced to remove the lens from his left eye to carry out the retina surgery. This contact will help the eye regain some it's ability to focus.

His right still looks perfect. Thank goodness for small gifts.

Penny (yes, she is still around ;) Also has a date with Duke on Monday. It's been a few months since she had her last eye exam, and we want to make sure nothing untoward has occurred since then. If her eyes still look great, she'll just be on a yearly exam schedule.

Isaak will have another EUA in late summer and may very well have one annually for a while.

In news of a more frustrating nature, Isaak's g-tube site has remained stubbornly open. We've been dealing with a leaking, hissing tummy for two weeks now. For some reason, UNC did not schedule an OR date in case the stoma did not close and so it will be Thursday before Isaak finally has the procedure to do so. 3-4 outfit changes per day plus innumerable quantities of pads, gauze, tape and protectant ointment have been consumed and quite a bit more will be prior to Thursday.

We only hope there hasn't been tissue damage around the site from stomach contents leaking out.

A Year ago Today...

Bekka wound up at the WakeMed Cary in the middle of the night while I was delayed getting back home from a business trip.

A few days later I put this up as we were in the 3 week odyssey leading up to birth of the twins.

http://olliestale.blogspot.com/2010/04/twins-hospitals-and-amniotic-sacs.html

It is unbelievable that a year has passed. We have two (mostly) healthy babies and no spare time in our lives, but one year ago we were terrified of losing them.

April 9, 2011 is a much better day than April 9, 2010.

Thanks for the love and support!

Ding-Dong, the G-Tube's Gone!

Yes. Yes. You aren't seeing things - this *is* the third post in March.

Oh, you meant the headline? (Of course you did!)

This was a potentially life-altering week for Isaak. On Monday, Bekka took him to UNC for what we thought was going to be a pre-op appointment with the surgeon to schedule removal of the g-tube and closure of the stoma. Previously, there was evidence that the gastric mucosa (stomach lining, basically) was growing up and out of the stoma site. On this visit, they decided it wasn't and went ahead and pulled the tube!

This was/is very exciting.

It's also very messy.

You see, the closure process basically involves letting the stoma close on its own, much like an earring hole. During this process, Isaak still has to eat and drink...and this has a disturbingly frequent tendency to result in a mess. Daddy came up with a method to help control the mess - maxi pads taped to his stomach - but it's by no means 100% effective. We still get milk geysers when changing the dressing once in awhile...

The stoma site is slowly closing and already looks much better. It is supposed to close in 2-3 weeks (!?!). Sometimes we think doctors don't quite know what we have to deal with at home...

In other news, we had a visit at Duke Eye Center last week. This visit was not nearly as exciting as the UNC visit because the news was not all good. Isaak's right eye still looks great, but the left has developed new issues. There is a bit of new bleeding and also some sort of lipid deposits around the macula. To add to the concern, the pressure is elevated in the eye whereas it had previously been fine. Sooooo....we have another appointment at Duke on April 11 to reevaluate the pressure levels and sometime soon after Isaak will have yet another exam under anesthesia. It's possible (possibly even likely) that Isaak will require further surgical intervention in the eye. We certainly hope not, but we'll go with it day by day.

In the meantime, this is the first time we've had a cordless little boy since Ollie was 7 months old. This is significant for us on so many levels. It really hasn't fully sunk in yet and probably won't until we no longer have to have bandages/maxi-pads on his tummy.

There is so much more to discuss regarding their development and new-found ability to say dadadadadadadadadee, but that will have to wait for another post - perhaps the post that will have the epic video of attempted green bean feeding. (Hint: it did not go well)

I can leave you with a few numbers this evening: Both kids are basically 28 inches long. Penny weighs a tick over 21lbs and Isaak a little over 20. Such a long, long way from 1lb 7 and 1lb 11 and under a foot long.

What is amazing is how deep they both are into the "normal" baby growth curve. Penny is sitting right at the 50th percentile while Isaak is around the 25th. If you adjust for their prematurity, Penny is over 90% and Isaak over 50. Amazing little guys.

Picture Time! - Late Winter 2011 Collection

Here it is. What everyone has been waiting for. Hundreds of pictures of your favorite cuties!

Just click on Ollie or the pic below and be whisked away to the gallery.

Update: New video here. (Man have I got to get some video editing software. Lots of good stuff of the kiddles to chunk together, but everything free is terrible).

In other news, since I'm sure everyone will be wondering just how big they are:

Isaak: 18lbs 12oz and 27"
Penny: 19lbs 12oz and 27.25".

Amazing.

Pretty soon they will be outgrowing their infant car seats!

Have a great Sunday!

Let's roll, Mama!

All Better Now (Mostly)

We've received several inquiries as to everyone's health and I'm happy to report we are all significantly improved (and none too soon!).

Penny also wound up on antibiotics, but it appeared to be the right move as she responded very quickly and is probably the healthiest of us all. Isaak and I still have residual congestion (he was really hit hard by this thing). I'm the last to get better, and now that I'm through the dizziness that apparently accompanies the end of the illness, I feel much much better. Bekka got better a couple of days before me, also experiencing dizzy spells. I can only imagine what went through baby brains if they had the same experience. It might explain some of the additional yakking.

We are so thankful that Penny is feeling better. Isaak became ill and basically just wanted to sleep a lot. He was clingy and miserable, but otherwise pretty normally behaved. PenPen on the other hand - she didn't want to be alone - ever - including nighttime. She spent all or part of 5 nights in bed with us. Any attempt to lay her down in her own bed resulted in wailing a bobcat would've been proud of.

The last 3 nights have been comparative bliss as both have slept through and woken up to be happy babies again ;)

I haven't had congestion-induced baby vomit in my pants pocket for 5 days now. You know that has to be an improvement ;)

In Sickness And In Health

In every marriage vow I've heard there seems to be some variation of this line. It certainly makes sense: You take care of me and I will take care of you.

What you might not be thinking about at that particular moment in time is that the vow includes kids. Snot-dripping, mouth uncovered, licking everything in a squirm-able radius kids.

We don't know how Isaak got sick. We only know that he started it. "It" being a now two week long ordeal of coughing-congested-runny-nose-fever-for-which-they can't-take-a-thing-hyper-crud-during-which-no-one-gets-to-rest-illness.

Yesterday was the two week point for Isaak. We took him back to the pediatrician and because this holy terror has been going on so long they gave him antibiotics as it has probably transformed from virus to bacterial. Penny has a script on hold in case she heads down the same path.

The rest of us trail Isaak's trajectory by as little as 3 days (Penny) to as much as a week (Neil). It is not fun. So far, Isaak has been the only one projectile vomiting due to gagging.

What it feels like is the flu without the 103 degree fever. Maybe it *is* the flu and the flu-shot is doing it's thing to keep us all from getting worse. It all started coming to a head on Wednesday when it hit Bekka full-force and me almost as hard. Two sick kids and a sick mommy? Uh-uh. Not happening. So home I stayed and to the pediatrician we drug ourselves.

It was tough enough already, but in wee hours of Thursday morning, it got worse. Much worse.

Last night, Penny cried for 3 hours straight. Was this from 9PM to midnight? Uh. No. Poor little thing started at midnight and continued to three in the morning. She was hoarse. Her eyes were watering, she didn't want to eat. She didn't want to cuddle. She finally fell asleep after sitting up in a bright room looking around for 15 minutes. Don't ask me why this was calming to her, but there was zero interest in snuggling with her loving parents.

After finally snuffling her self out, she ate a 4 oz bottle, went to sleep...and promptly woke up 30 minutes later in full-on air raid siren mode. This would be 4am. Another 15 minutes and she went back to sleep and stayed that way until 10 this morning.  Was it terrible gas? Was she just so unused to feeling this way she didn't know how to react? Did her 100 degree fever give her the ability to see the ghosts of the dead Indians upon whose graves our house must surely be built?

Elefino.

A little secret? It was also terrifying. She screamed like she had just been vaccinated, but for 3 hours instead of 3 minutes. Having seen our share of medical issues, we didn't panic, but the ER certainly crossed our minds. Neither child has ever done that and Bekka and I hope we don't see it again.

So far today, she's been clingy and miserable and still running a temp but no extended bouts of hollering practice. Isaak is still coughing and sneezing but the antibiotic and rest seem to be moving him along the right path and he's pretty chipper. Bekka has retreated into full-on turtle mode - she gets better only with mass quantities of sleep thanks to a terrible case of mono in high school. She woke up to eat lunch and feed the babies theirs.

As for me, Isaak woke up bright and sun-shiny at 9am (giving me about 4.5 hours of sleep) - and so a very sick daddy (but the least sick of the household at this point) took care of his very sick little kids and his sick little wife.

Phew. I sure I hope I can go to the office and get some rest tomorrow...

And then there was Poop....

This evening, Daddy is innocently watching his favorite set of twins as mommy has decided the double coupons at K-Mart are just too good to pass up.

The evening is fine for a time. Penny is carefully inspecting each toy attached to her super seat, Isaak is playing with O-balls on the floor, and Daddy is watching HAL9000 take it to those pesky meatbags on Jeopardy.

Life is frolicking happiness for all.

The phone rings. It's Grandma! Daddy pauses the TV to talk to Grandma and to provide the latest update on the little ones, while at the same time trying to keep them entertained. Multi-tasking: It's what you do with twins.

After daddy hangs up, he notices the smell of something rotten in Denmark wafting gently on the breeze of the furnace blown air.

Let's check Baby #1: Success! (?) Isaak has something in his breeches!

Time to change the little fella! Other than it being his fourth poop of the day :-( all is well. It's a *good* poop - a poop like ricotta cheese with an extra little sumpin-sumpin. For Isaak, it's a win!

Daddy had noticed that Penny seemed a bit damp before he headed back to change Isaak, so he grabs a diaper and a wipe before heading to the front of the house,

Daddy gently places Isaak on the playmat and bends down to change Penny. Ok, let's unbutton your outfit a little sweetie ...ohgodohgodohgodohgod.... Foul on the play!  15 yard excessive poopage penalty: Something has breeched her breeches! Denmark has escaped it's borders and now seems to be heading into Norway!

Daddy grabs up mommy's little girl and springs for the nursery.

Penny has baked a sweet potato surprise! A LOT of sweet potato surprise. (more on the dining habits of the Mastin Twins later). It's about 3 inches up her back and squeezing out the sides...no use trying to salvage the changing pad now. I yam what I yam and it is what it is.

One sacrificial diaper later, Penny is something approximating clean. Daddy has managed to secure her befouled clothing away from his sweet princess and has a diaper loosely under and covering her. He takes the time to secure the previously soiled undergarments in a plastic baggie, lest they further contaminate the premises.

Dearest Penelope takes this brief moment to do something very un-lady like: She kicks her diaper open and relieves herself on it...and on the changing pad...and on herself.

In case you are counting - that was diaper #3.

Daddy laughs (and Penny laughs) and Daddy sighs (and Penny...well, laughs).  Daddy reaches for a couple of tissues....ah crapola. There are no Kleenex in the box...So saying a little prayer to Peenemunde (the German God of all things damp), he grabs his naked little girl, runs for the closet and gets a box of tissue (coincidence it's a yellow box? I think not!). Miraculously, he makes it back to the bedroom with no further liquid damage.

A few moments later, we finally have success, no more dampness. No more poop. Only four diapers! Let the dancing commence!

Cue mommy walking in the door...

As I type this, Penny's outfit and changing pad are soaking in the bathroom sink with rather a lot of soap.


Penny is getting a bath. A Very. Thorough. Bath.

Daddy is having a well deserved adult beverage.

I never did get to see how Watson fared on Jeopardy this evening...wonder if he offered the humans a chill pill?

December 2010 Pictures are Here!

I was finally able to find a few hours to download, sort, tag and upload pictures. This is no easy task when you have about 500 for a month. I think mommy may be snap happy (can you blame her). A special shout out to Amanda Milloway who took a bunch of the super cute closeups (those dated December 12). Not only does she love the babies, I think she liked our camera too. It's certainly some of the best work to come out of it.

Realizing that it is now January 26, this month's photos will be coming shortly, along with updated video. I'm afraid there will not be nearly as many shots, probably because there wasn't a huge holiday with dressed up babies to celebrate.

Penny and Isaak - December 2010

Goodbye Broviac and Hello 200th Post

UPDATE: Broviac removal is complete. They didn't even have to cut the little guy. The surgeon was able to work the catheter out gradually. He'll be bandaged for a couple of days then home free. Conveniently, they also changed his g-tube for us while they were in there. That isn't a particularly painful thing to do, but can be uncomfortable.

Tomorrow is a big day for little Isaak. A very big day. As his blood work has continued improving, the docs were comfortable with scheduling Broviac removal. We don't have a time slot yet (please don't let it be 6am, please don't let it be 6am!), but at some point tomorrow, Isaak will be Broviac free for the first time since July 13, 2010. The little fella has progressed beyond the most optimistic expectations of his various doctors and this is the latest sign.

The procedure is pretty minor, but he will have to be sedated/put under for a brief period. Apparently, we were extra-careful taking care of the Broviac and the internal cuff that holds it in place is really embedded in tissue. It's supposed to be that way, but the surgeon told us that in a lot of cases the catheter will just slide out of the patient when it's time to remove it. I guess this means we are good parents/nurses...

To top off the joy associated with this event, we have started dramatically reducing his g-tube feeds. A few weeks ago they let us drop it to 20 hours, then to 16. And 2 weeks ago we received clearance to start dropping by 4 hours a week. Right now, he's only hooked up for 8 hours overnight. That will drop to 4 hours on Friday and (pending positive blood work) nothing next Friday!

If this happens I'm not sure exactly what Bekka and I will do. It will be the first time we've had a little boy not hooked up to tubes since Ollie was 7 months old. I expect there will be dancing and tears of joy. You can't even imagine...

Isaak only has a few blood test results that are out of range, including phosphorus and a couple of liver enzymes. He'll probably have to continue getting monthly or bi-monthly blood draws for a bit to make sure he is getting fully hydrated and not having kidney or liver issues (thank you TPN and preemie-ness). That was one nice thing about the Broviac - they could draw labs without having to stick him. We'll still trade (not sure what Isaak's opinion is on this yet). Much like with the Broviac, the g-tube will stay in place for a while to make sure he is doing well enough to go without.

In other areas, Isaak is doing fairly well. He is still lagging in gross-motor skill development and muscle strength but has made really good strides the last few weeks thanks to weekly physical and bi-weekly vision therapy. We work with him everyday to improve strength. We have been able to play with him more and more as he's spent less and less time hooked up to feeds. He appears to be responding well. Why is he lagging his sister? Other than being a male preemie (a huge strike), he was also unable to be handled and/or moved as much as Penny. Thanks to the tubes, we actually had to restrict his movement.  Even though preemie developmental milestones are based on adjusted age, they frequently lag in development. By 2, they are usually caught up. While mommy is very confident, daddy waffles between extreme concern about Isaak's physical skills to very impressed with how he's doing on a given day. I'm afraid that Ollie left daddy overly sensitive to these things. Here's to more progress and less worry!

He has a follow-up at Duke Eye Center on Thursday (busy week). The vision therapist from the Governor Morehead Preschool has been quite happy with how he's responding. We'll see how the eye is physically doing this week and go from there. Externally, it looks to be healing well and he is even still tracking objects with both eyes. His left eye looks a bit odd with it's missing lens and huge pupil, but if the eye is functional at all, we are ecstatic parents.

Looking back over entries in the last months, it's clear that Penelope has received short shrift due to her "boring" lack of medical problems. Well, Penny is anything but boring. She is a mess. Her head is something like a radar dish as she constantly whips it around to absorb EVERY little detail of the world around her - especially when she's sleepy (which is also when she'll slap her leg to keep from falling asleep). She loves to play rocking horse with whomever is holding her (whether they are ready or not) and has been testing her lungs at maximum volume regularly for weeks. She also likes to raise both legs and slam them into the mattress or floormat.

Repeatedly.

For an hour.

The only weird thing is a persistent refusal to roll over. She appears to have the necessary strength and coordination and can roll to either side with ease, but just won't quite go on over. My theory is that one day she is just going to stand up, turn around and lie down on her belly rather than bother with rolling.

Oh yes, recent measurements on the two: Both were 25.5" long (a couple of weeks ago). Penny is now over 17 pounds and Isaak is over 16.5 pounds. These babies have come a long way from 1lb 7oz and 1lb 11oz.

Know that we haven't forgotten about photos or videos. The last few weeks have been inordinately busy with work, doctor appointments and family emergencies. Soon though, we promise!

----------------------------

This is the 200th entry on Ollie's Tale. A little over 2 years ago, Bekka posted this. Our first, painful entry in the too-short story that was to be Ollie's life. We look forward to many more posts that are less and less about medical news and more about the little (and big) joys in our life. Bekka and I have talked about creating a new blog more focused on the twins and preserving Ollie's Tale as an archive of his struggle and the struggles of his little brother and sister as they first entered the world. We haven't made a final decision yet, but will soon. Penny and Isaak deserve their own space, I think.

Yes - We ARE still kicking

No, we haven't been ignoring the twins' adoring public.

Yes, we have a few quick updates!

It's really incredible how busy life is with these little guys. They take so much time and energy and we have to sneak in regular life events at the same time.

Isaak has been doing really well post eye surgery. The two week check-up indicated that his eye is not worsening, which is all we can ask right now. He has elevated pressure in the left eye and is getting drops for that and he'll be on steroid drops for another week or so.

He had another positive visit with the GI doc. His continuous feeds are no long 24 hours, but 16, meaning he has 8 hours a day connected to nothing! That was a fantastic Christmas present (one we got on 12/27, but close enough to count). You can believe we are taking maximum advantage.

Having children around as well as Nana and Papaw and Auntie Amanda and Uncle Philip made it a very special holiday. It could only have been better if Grandma and Grandpa could've made it too. Next year will be oh so much fun as they will be big enough to be tearing around the house (and tearing through the wrapping paper).

I promise we'll have some photos and video up soon. In the meantime I will leave you with this parental nugget: An LED maglite is a *great* distraction in a car with screaming babies at night. Maglite FTW!