No room at the inn...

Elzi and Lilly are doing great! We are expecting them to be moved to the Special Care Nursery at Durham Regional any day now. The doctor told us a few days ago that they were ready to be transferred as soon as two beds opened up at DRH. When we visited today the nurse said that there were now two beds open, so they may be moved tomorrow.

Lilly has been put back in an isolette, because she was burning too many calories trying to regulate her temperature, causing her to lose weight. She is now taking every other feed by bottle and weighs 3 pounds 9 ounces.

Elzi is also growing and is taking at least one bottle per day. She now weighs 3 pounds. I think she is happy to be beside her sister.

We have an appointment with the lactation consultant tomorrow to try to get the girls started with breast feeding. Hopefully, things will go well. The sooner we can get them feeding, the sooner they can come home. We can't wait!

One Week Old!

Well, the girls are one week old today, so I have a week's work of updates to fit into one post. I will try to be brief, as it will soon be time to pump again.

Ben and the grandparents were able to visit the girls in the NICU a few hours after they were born. They took some pictures to show me when they returned to my room. They explained that both girls were breathing room air, but Elzi had a little tent over her head to help her.

I was finally able to go down and see them around 9 PM that night when I was able to get out of bed and into a wheelchair. Lillian was in a crib with a warmer over it, and Elzi was in an isolette. They were both breathing on their own, and I got to hold each of them. It was sooo wonderful!!

I began pumping on Wednesday night, so that the girls could be fed breastmilk through a tube. Their tubes run through their noses and into their tummies. We visited them a few times on Thursday, and they were both doing fine. We were told that Lilly would probably move to the Transitional Care Nursery (TCN) the next day, and they hoped Elzi would soon follow.

When I went down on Friday, expecting to visit Lillian in the TCN and Elzi in the NICU, I was told that both girls were in the TCN. That was very exciting, as the TCN was described to us as the place where babies just practice breathing, eating, and growing until they go home.

While they have been in the TCN, both girls have received phototherapy to break down their bilirubin and prevent them from developing jaundice. Lilly spent a few days under her bili light, or "Lilly light," as Ben refers to it, while Elzi only needed it for a day. Both are now finished with their lights.

Lilly and her "Lilly light"...super blonde hair...and adorable butt crack

Yesterday, the doctor told me that they wanted to transfer the girls to the Special Care Nursery at Durham Regional Hospital. We would love for them to be moved as they would be closer to home and parking is a nightmare at Duke. However, Lilly has been having some trouble tolerating her feeds. She has not been fully digesting her food. They have run tests to determine that this problem is simply due to her prematurity and is not uncommon. However, we are waiting for her to tolerate her feeds before the girls will be moved.

Lilly is now taking some of her feeds by bottle, when she is not too sleepy. Today, she has been moved into a "crib" (without a warmer) since she is doing a good job of regulating her body temperature on her own. She was even wearing clothes today! I am hoping to get her into a Christmas outfit tomorrow.

Daddy feeding Lilly her bottle

Lilly in her new crib on Christmas Eve

Elzi is still in her isolette, but was moved into Lilly's room. Now they are side-by-side which makes visits much easier. Elzi has been gaining weight, but is still working on her temperature. Ben got to give her a bath today with the guidance of the nurse. He loved it!

Daddy's first baby bath with Elzi

Elzi warming up after her bath

...so much for being brief ; )

Daddy's First Bath with wiggle worm Elzi...and his video editing of the event

The Birth of Elzi and Lillian Buchanan

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. I am still trying to adjust to traveling back and forth to the hospital twice per day, organizing gifts and preparing the nursery, and of course, pumping every 3 hours. I'm pretty tired, but getting into a routine.

I guess I need to describe the birth of the girls before giving an update their current status.

On the morning of December 17th, my parents and Ben's parents joined Ben and I in my hospital room as we awaited 10:30. My nurse, who was great, started to get me ready around 9 or so. I was getting pretty anxious as we approached 10 o'clock, and it was not until 10:45 that the nurse and anesthesiologist came in my room and said, "We're ready." I was very nervous as they wheeled my bed out of the room and I left my family behind.

When I got to the OR, I was prepped for surgery. Once they were confident that my spinal had taken effect and all medical staff were in place, they sent for Ben. I was SOOO happy when he finally arrived. He sat beside me and held my hand as the operation began. Because Elzi had made her way to the bottom of my belly over the last month or so, she was the first to be delivered. She immediately began crying when they pulled her out. They held her over the curtain, so I could see her.

Next, they explained that Lillian was breech, so they were bringing her out very slowly. When they finally got her out, we did not hear her. They said she was a little stunned, and a few seconds later, she began to cry, too. They also held her over the curtain, and then took her out of the OR to where the baby teams were set up. Ben and I could hear them crying loudly through the OR door.

After a few minutes, they told Ben that he could go and see them. I told him to go ahead, and after a short time I heard, "We have a surprise for you, Mom." I was totally surprised when Ben came around the curtain holding both girls. He was able to sit down for a few minutes, so that I could look at them. It was so wonderful and comforting to see them both, and I was able to relax as they finished my surgery.

THE BABIES HAVE ARRIVED!!

At 11:38 and 11:40, December 17th, two wonderful twin girls were born.

Elzi Grace at 11:38 AM weighing in at 3 lb 1 oz, 17 inches long.

Lillian Elise at 11:40 AM weighing in at 3 lb 13 oz, 17 1/2 inches long.
Everyone is doing fine.

Amy will update you later.

Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers.

Love ,
Grandma Linda

My Nerves are Getting the Best of Me

With only about 35 hours to delivery, my nerves are beginning to take over. I am trying to keep my mind occupied with other things, but the fact that I will have 2 tiny little daughters soon is beginning to freak me out!

I had an ultrasound this morning, and both girls are doing great. Elzi was practicing breathing almost the entire time. It was to the point where my ultrasound was twice as long as it should have been as we waited for her to stop practicing, so the tech could do the cord dopplers. I think she just knows she will have to be breathing for real soon, so she's cramming for the big test.

I also took a tour of the NICU today. There are some really tiny babies in there. I got to see another 32 week baby, but he was pretty big for his age. He was trying to drink from a bottle. He was not very successful, but he was trying, and he was only about 14 hours old. I also saw some twins, but they were only 29 weeks. The one I saw was 2 1/2 pounds and she was TINY. I think the girls are going to be smaller than I had pictured them to be.

There is an antepartum lunch tomorrow for all of us still pregnant ladies. That will get me out of my room and allow me to socialize with some other patients. Then some of my fellow teachers are planning to come visit after school, and Ben will be coming later to spend the night. I am hoping that all of this action, and hopefully maybe some anti-anxiety medicine, will allow me to make it to the big day without a major breakdown.

My mom will be posting the birth announcement for me on Wednesday. I have no idea if my surgery will actually be on schedule or how long it will take them to deliver the girls, so be sure to check the blog periodically after 10:30AM. The next time I post, the girls should be here!

Nothing New

Well folks, I wish I had something to report, but everything is pretty much the same. I'm beginning to get a little bit restless, but I only have 4 more days, so I think I'll make it. I found another momo mom on the support website. She is 24 weeks and was admitted upstairs last night. She and her husband chose to be admitted that early. Most of the women on the website went in at 24 or 25 weeks. I guess I'm just fortunate that my doctors were so understanding. I would have gone absolutely crazy if I had to be here that long!


As it stands, I should be home a week from today. They usually keep c-sections for about 3 days unless there is a complication, which they don't expect with me. It will be sooooo great to be back in my own bed!

Probably my last weekly picture...31 weeks

Awaiting arrival

I hope I have not worried any of you by letting a few days lapse since the last post. I had a wonderful weekend and was actually too busy to blog. My parents came to spend the day with me on Saturday, and my friend Kate flew in from Atlanta to stay with me Saturday through Monday. While they were here I took several wheel chair rides, visited the cafeteria (it was nice!), took a ride outside, watched several chick flicks, and had some pregnancy pictures taken by Kate. I almost didn't feel like I was in the hospital for a few days. It was definitely a wonderful break in my usual routine.

The doctors have said that everything is fine. My blood pressure is okay, and the babies are monitoring well. I am still having NST's twice a day to monitor the babies' heart beats. I am also having 2 BPP's per week, where they use the ultrasound to check on the babies' movement, muscle tone, breathing practice, and fluid. I had a BPP yesterday, and the girls did really well. They were practicing breathing a LOT, and as usual, they were moving around very well. I also had cord dopplers done to check the blood flow through the umbilical cords. The results from that were also good. They will do dopplers once a week, which I guess means I will only have one more!

I am counting down the days that I have to remain in the hospital. 8 more till delivery! I'm glad the numbers are getting smaller, but am beginning to get anxious about the fact that our daughters will be here in a little over a week! It's a lot to think about, so I try to keep my mind off of it. Now I'm just trying to stay busy until the big day.

13 More Days!

Everything is going well here in hospital land. The doctor told me this morning that there was basically no protein in my urine, so I may just have gestational hypertension. My blood pressure has been good since I have been here though, so now the priority is monitoring the girls. They are doing NST's twice a day to monitor the babies' heartbeats.

The main concern now is the possibility of cord accidents, which has been a concern the entire pregnancy. If either of the babies' heartrate slows down too much while they are monitoring, it would be a sign of cord compression. If this happens, an emergency c-section will be performed to ensure the babies' safety.

As long as the heartrates are normal, as they have been, the babies will continue to cook for 13 more days. They have scheduled my c-section for the morning of December 17th. I guess we need to get to work on coming up with some middle names!

The Girls are Growing

It has been about 4 weeks since my last growth ultrasound, but I had another this morning. Both babies are doing really well. They each scored 8 out of 8 on their BPP (biophysical profile), meaning they are moving really well, practicing breathing, and their heartbeats look good. They have also grown quite a bit since the last scan.

Baby A, Lillian, is now about 3 pounds, 3 ounces. This is a good size for a singleton her age, so I am thrilled! Baby B, Elzi, is about 2 pounds, 5 ounces. This means she is about 2 weeks behind now, but that is not too bad since she was also behind last time. She has gained almost a pound in the last 4 weeks, so that is pretty good. The ultrasound tech told me about another mother who had twins at 32 weeks where one was a pound heavier than the other. She said that they were fine.

Ideally, I think would like for Elzi to be at least 3 pounds when she is born. I guess she's got about 2 weeks to continue to grow, so hopefully she will bulk up in that time. She will undoubtedly be smaller than her sister, but at least we will be able to tell them apart!

Here's a picture of happy, little Lilly. Elzi's face is too burried to see, but since they are identical, we know she looks the same!

Down For the Count

This is it. I'm in the hospital until I deliver these babies. I went to my NST yesterday, and everything was fine. I had a small ultrasound, and everything was fine. Then they sent me to see a doctor to follow up on my hospital visit. My blood pressure was down to where it usually is, so I thought I was good to go...nope.

The doctor discussed with me the fact that my urine had 400 grams of protein when 300 is baseline. He explained that this meant that I did have preeclampsia which could affect many bodily systems. The protein in the urine indicates that the preeclampsia is affecting my kidneys, but I currently have no other symptoms of problems from preeclampsia. Due to the complicated nature of my pregnancy in general, and now with the preeclampsia on top, he recommended that I be put in the hospital for monitoring until delivery. He called the director of maternal fetal medicine to get a second opinion, and he agreed.

"Same plan, different location," is how he described it when he came back in. They are still planning to deliver at 32 weeks, but they want me in the hospital until then. He explained that the preeclampsia can worsen overnight, and they would not want me to be at home if that were to happen. As much as I really don't want to be in the hospital, I think it is probably the best precaution. I guess I'm lucky to have stayed out of the hospital this long. Many doctors put mothers of momo twins in the hospital automatically at 28 weeks, if not before. If there are any major changes in my condition, they will deliver right away, so now we just hope everything is okay until the 17th.