Thursday, May 13, 2010

40 Weeks!

Tears filled my eyes when I looked at my miracles this morning. Today, was a reminder to me of how faithful God is, and how blessed I am. Today, May 13th was my official due date. Its hard to believe that my girls have already been here with me for 8 whole weeks. God has brought them so far since the night they were born.
Neither one of them came out crying, or breathing. Molly was so swollen and puffy with fluid that had retained under her skin and around her organs when she was born. And poor little Emma was just a mere 2lbs 13oz. She was so tiny and sickly.And had to have a blood transfusion the hour she was born. And today, Emma is just as chubby and happy as her sister.

"Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do"

I love that song. That verse imparticular reminds me so much of our TTTS journey. My heart was definitely breaking when Doctors gave my babies such little hope. And every single day that I wake up to hearing the sounds of my two little girls, I feel so renewed. I am so thankful that God answered my prayers. And when I didnt even have the words to pray...He answered those prayers too.
Faith in God. Such a powerful thing.
Nothing short of miracles is what my girls are.

I love telling the story of what my babies have gone through because it is a testimony of how great God is.


Molly the night she was born


Molly Today! The day she was suppose to be born :)



Emma the night she was born.


Emma Today, the day she was due to be born.



My girls are the strongest little fighters I have known. Infact, every baby that has ever battled TTTS is a strong fighter in my book. And so are the moms.

My mom said that she is going to buy the girls camoflauge outfits and get their pictures made in it, to symbolize the fighters that they are! :)
My mom, Emma, Molly, and I went to lunch together then went shopping to celebrate today. I know it sounds silly,to celebrate a due date, but the day they were born was so scary for us in some ways it was hard to celebrate. But today, the day they are suppose to be born is well worth celebrating because my girls are here, they are happy, and overall healthy. They are living breathing testimonies of God's grace.
And thats worth shopping for! :)
My mom got the girls several darling outfits to wear this summer.

Happy 40 weeks my sweet little miracles. Mommy is so proud. So honored. So relieved. So blessed. SO very thankful.

I love them so much, words just cant explain.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

This and That

This is what my girls looked like today for their day around town



Love this happy little girl!! (Emma)



Pretty Molly




My favorite time of day, is when I have the moments to just do this!!



So we had an eventful day today.
I love my girls. Even in the middle of the night when they are both dirty, crying, and hungry at the same time. Even when I have had all of 5 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours and my girls are wide awake. Even when I am running all over creation from this Dr to that Dr.... Even though, I get peed on, puked on, and everything else,I just love it. I love being a mommy. I love the sleepless nights (although there are days it catches up to me...thank goodness for the days Daddy is off, to let me get some rest!)
The moments when one baby is crying and I pick her up and she stops instantly, the moments when they fall asleep on my chest, the moments when they look at you and coo or smile, make all of the tiresome moments so incredibly worth it.

We had 2 appts today. Molly had to see the neurologist this morning, and everything checked out great. Her head has grown in size a good bit within the past 2 weeks. She has gone from 12 1/2 inches to 14 1/4 inches. But the Dr examined her head and said that he felt she was fine and he didnt need to see us again for another month.

Molly and Emma both are in the 90% for their head circumference. However, maybe its because a mother's love is blind but i just do not think their heads are that big!

After leaving that appt we had time in between before our next one so we went and visited their Nannie ( my mother in law) at her work. She was very excited to see them. Sweet Little Emma decided while Nannie was holding her, to projectile all over Nannies boss. And I mean it went every where. On her back, on her chair, all over the phone. It was quite an ordeal. That darn reflux. It came all out of her nose and everything. It was a mess.

After leaving there we came home for all of 2 hours before we headed back out again. Their eye appt went well. Their eyes are looking good. Just as I expected, they hated the eye exam. I held their tiny hand through the exam and tried to talk to them to calm them down, and after the Dr was done I just held them and loved on them. We go for our final exam on the 26th. Thank goodness this is the last one. I know the girls will never remember these, but I also know that I will never forget them. I hate seeing them so scared,And hearing their cry so pitiful. :(

Since the eye dr was on his side of town, when we left we went and saw their granddaddy (my dad) at his work. He is the head Chef for a retirement home, and lets just say we made those sweet old people's day. They loved looking at my girls! And of course I loved it too. I love seeing other people admire them.

You know I have heard before "look at those cheeks" but today I heard something new and It really makes me laugh to think about it. This lady at my dad's work says to me referring to Emma " My,my, look at them JAWS" hahahahaha Guess you had to be there! All I can say is, she got it from her daddy!

My dad sent some food home with me, so of course I had to share with Rick so I dropped him some off at work then headed home. A friend of mine came over tonight and brought us some home made lasagna and bread and it was fabulous! We will get several meals out of that.

My grandma from California is coming in town this weekend and staying the week. I am so excited about her meeting her 1st great grandchildren! I have been her only granddaughter for 25 years, all her children had boys. So now Molly and Emma are her next generation of granddaughters. I cant wait for her to meet them!

The girls have had their bath, and are sleeping soundly so I am going to go join them for the next hour and a half before time to feed again.

Until next time...

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Mother's Day

We had a great day today. My girls and I went to the park together this morning and then this afternoon my mom, brothers, and sister came over and mom treated us all to some good ole fried chicken and pizza :) Afterwards all of us went to the park and walked around for a couple hours. We then came back to the house played some Wii bowling and listened to some music. I definitley had a great 1st Mommy's day. Here are some pictures of me with my little ladies.



Me with my beautiful girls on our 1st Mother's Day


Me with my sweet Molly


Love my Emma!




My mom on her 1st Mother's Day as a "Granny" :)




Saturday, May 8, 2010

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Pieces of Me



Is it just me or does Miss Molly favor her mommy's baby picture just a tad? The eyes, the thin lips...her ears are covered but yes she has those too. Well maybe not SO much of the ears. lol.... Ahh I love seeing parts of me in them.
However,even though Molly and Emma are twins, and do look a lot alike...its funny to me how Baby Emma is a shriveled up version of her daddy while Molly is more like me. :) However, they have both inherited Daddy's cheeks and nose! And Mommy's LONG fingers.
I wish I had some pictures to compare Emma and Rick together but maybe next time...:)

Molly



Mommy





IF you look closely, you can see every part of Rick in this little face. This was taken when Emma was 2 weeks old. Her cheeks, her nose, her full lips, her daddy all over!

Monday, May 3, 2010

TTTS Flashbacks

Miss Molly, isnt she cute?


My Pretty Baby Emma




But I Dont Wanna Take Pictures Anymore!!!" LOL... This picture makes me laugh. :)


Molly


Big Chair for such a Tiny Girl :) (Emma)


Well I went in for my 6 wk visit with my Dr's today. I saw DR G and he wanted to take a picture with me and the girls so we did that then went over to L & D where Dr B was so that he could see the girls. Of course everyone bragged about how beautiful they are. I love hearing that. It never gets old. :) My pretty girls may be just a tad vain when they get older if everyone keeps telling them how gorgeous they are. haha :)

Dr B told me that he has two new patients that are pregnant with twins and they both have TTTS. My heart sank when he said that. Thinking about those poor moms and their babies brought back so many of the emotions of fear and sadness that I felt while I was pregnant.

These women arent even at the age of viability in their pregnancy. One mom is 18weeks and the other mom is 20. So this means that their TTTS journey may be a lot harder than mine was just because they will have to struggle longer. And hopefully they can make it longer. When I found out at 24 weeks that I had it, Dr's didnt expect me to go past 27 or 28 weeks of pregnancy but God was gracious enough to take me to 32 weeks and just 3 short weeks later I was bringing my babies home.

Anytime that you think of me,Emma, or Molly, please think of these two other moms and pray that they too get to bring their TWO babies home with them. Pray that God gives them strength, pray that God guides the doctors and nurses in their treatment process, pray that God protects all 4 of these babies, and pray that just like with Molly and Emma that He would be glorified through saving these babies.

Pray that God gives these moms peace and hope. Pray that these moms know the right questions to ask and decisions to make. Pray that God saves their babies.

Gosh, my heart just aches because it was just 6 weeks ago that I was where they are.
I know their fears and their frustrations their sadness and their pain all too well. These feelings will never fade. They will always sit fresh and feel brand new. And I truly truly hope that God shows them the same mercy he showed us. Please please pray for these women and their sweet babies.

Friday, April 30, 2010

6 Weeks



Well Mercy,

Here we already are. 6 whole weeks has gone by since that one day, that has forever made my life better than it already was. The day my sweet girls were born.
It amazes me how fast time goes by.


Molly


Molly is such a ham. She has attitude when she wants to get her point across, and she is sweet as can be when life is going her way. She is a bed hog! Just like her momma, she loves to be sprawled out when she is sleeping.No matter where she is sleeping, my arms, her bassinet, her bouncy, she always has her little arms stretched way above her head. :)




She is still very alert, and attentive. She is still the bigger one. She was 5lbs 7oz when we were at the doctor this week. I can not believe how fast she is growing! She is already out of preemie diapers and has out grown several of her preemie outfits.
As great as it is, too watch my miracle grow right before my eyes, I will admit a big piece of me is sad at how fast this happens. One day I was taking a pregnancy test, the next day I was giving birth, and today my babies are on their way to 2 months old. I have found myself in tears many times this past week thinking about how fast everything has happened.
Molly's visit with the neurosergeon this past Wednesday went okay.
He said that her spinal leak has not gotten worse but it also hasnt gotten better. She does have fluid on the brain as a result of this leak. He said it is not a severe amount of fluid, but it isnt a mild amount either. As long as it does not get worse, she will not need surgery to correct this problem. So please continue to pray that if God chooses to not heal her, that He would atleast allow her to remain stable. My girls have been through so much already, and the thought of one of them possibly needing a knife to their brain....well I can not tell you how fearful that makes me. So, I am going to continue to go on good faith, and assume that God has this one just like He has had everything else, and that her spinal fluid leak will continue to remain stable.
After the visit to the neuro, we went and saw her peditrician because she now has the same Upper Resp. Infect that my sweet Em has. :(
The acid reflux is still an issue. She doesnt choke as much as she use to, but now she just projectiles when she vomits. :(
Molly came home from the NICU eating just at an ounce every 3 hours and now she is up to 3 ounces!

All in all my sweet little girl is getting big way too fast, and she is doing very well. I love her so much.

Now about my sweet Emma.



She is still very laid back. Very passive. Sweet as can be. Nothing seems to bother her. When she does cry, its only because her tummy is hurting. She rarely cries for any other reason! Oh well, except when I am putting her in her carseat. She HATES that. Now actually riding in the carseat, she does great. BUT...it is a pretty dramatic event getting her buckled in. :) My precious girl, is so loveable. They both are. WHen Emma is sleeping she love having her hands on her face. And she loves her eyes being covered. If she is wearing a hat she will pull it down over her eyes. If she has a blanket within her reach she will pull it up to her face.




Emma is also eating 3 ounces now. She is doing everything she can to keep up with her sister. Im not exactly sure what she is weighing right now but she has typically been running about 8-9 ounces behind Molly So im going to guess that she is close to 5lbs now. Which to me is crazy. She was only 2lbs 13oz at birth, and to see her now at 5lbs just fascinates me. SHe is on medicine for resp infection, and her reflux and medicines are not her friend. I think she will be like me in this area. I to this day, will not take liquid medicines. And when I was a kid, my mom had to hold me down to get me to take it. And well, Em has gotten to where, if she does not want to take her medicine she will either hold it in her mouth and not swallow, or she will slap my hand out the way when I go to give it to her. It's a true story. Little rotten booger, does not like her meds! I told her yesterday that she didnt stand a chance at getting better, because she spits out half of what goes in. I dont think she will beleive me, until she sees for herself. :)
I just love her!

Its so easy for me to forget about the housekeeping, and just enjoy the company of my babies. When they first came home I was very adament about keeping everything orderly, and on schedule and being the perfect mom but also the perfect houeswife. But I found very quickly that in trying to obtain perfection in my home, I was taking a way a lot of precious time from my girls that I cant get back. Time has passed by so fast with them, and I just want to Enjoy them every moment of the day that I can. No matter how much I stay busy in the house, there will always be SOMEthing that needs to be done. And, well my new attitude is, I will get to it a little bit at the time.

As long as My babies have clean bottles, clean clothes, the rest of the to do list can wait. I have babies to enjoy before they arent babies anymore. :)
And no, my home isnt a pig stye, but there are dishes in the sink, and clothes in the laundry basket, and Im okay with that. :)

We had a fabulous week with my Aunt Marsha from Florida.She was very helpful to Rick and I. And I was able to catch up on some much needed rest. We sure are going to miss her but she will be back in just a few weeks when my baby sister graduates from Highschool. :)