First full day at home...

The girls spent their first night at home and daddy already misses the nursing staff! But we are really enjoying being able to deal with both girls at once. While we were in the hospital, we had to put one of the girls on a portable monitor to bring them close to each other.

So when we came home, I had to get a couple pictures with the girls together. I hope to take some more artistic pictures (or at least try to).
Later in the evening, Sonia and her family came by to see the babies. While they couldn't stay that long, we were happy have them.

22 Days in the NICU and their home

Susana, Don Ofilio and I went to the hospital and were pleasantly suprpised to hear that both girls would be coming home today. Not only that, but McKenzie crested 5 pounds today. (5 lbs 0.2 ozs) So we have two girls that actually look like small newborns and not tiny preemies.

In the picture above, Susana and the girls pose with one of our NICU nurses Yvonne. Yvonne had the girls for probably 6-9 day shifts over the three weeks we were there. Some of the other nurses that had the girls for multiple days are: Debbie, Elizabeth, Sarah, Stacey, Christine, Christopher, Jossy, Korena, Tori and a host of others. Thanks to all the wonderful nurses for a job well done. Now if only we could have them at home too!

Granny, Rebecca, and Andy went to Briseis' 1st birthday party this afternoon. Susana and I would have gone, but with the twins home, we stayed with them. Rebecca reported that everyone had a good time, though.

3 Weeks old and almost ready to come home

Ana Lucia and McKenzie Rose crossed their 3 week mark today. Ana weighed in at 5 lbs 5.6 ozs and McKenzie weighed in at 4 lbs 14.6 ozs. Ana has been bradycardia free since Aug 28 and McKenzie has been brady free since Aug 29.

What that means is that as long as nothing goes wrong, they will end up coming home this weekend. Granny Birmingham came into town Thursday afternoon just in time to see the girls come home.

Soon we will introduce the twins to Andy and our family will be complete!

Over 5 lbs and Brady free (so far)

We had some good news over the last couple of days. Yesterday, Ana Lucia crested 5 lbs. Today she weighed in at a healthy 5 lbs 2.8 ozs. When I hold her you can really tell the difference between what she weighs now and where she was a couple of weeks ago. McKenzie is doing her best to catch her sister. Today she weighed in at 4 lbs 11 ozs. She'll be over 5 lbs in no time.

In other excellent news, neither Ana nor McKenzie has had a bradycardia event since 9 pm on the 29th of September. This is the longest stretch in with neither girl has had a relapse. This is really promising and is a sign of their continued maturing.

There are now three sets of twins in the NICU and two singletons. Of course, McKenzie and Ana are the only girls, so we have our pick of the clothes bin right now.

During my trip to the hospital this morning I decided to take a bunch of pictures in the hopes of getting some good shots. These are a few of the matched sets that I was able to shoot. I was even able to catch Ana with her eyes open. (which has been rare these first few weeks) If you haven't guessed Ana is on the left and McKenzie is on the right. These pictures all but confirm for me that our girls are fraternal.

Tia Idis and another Brady

Tia Idis came to the hospital with Susana and I today. She hadn't been able to make it to see the girls since they were first born. They enjoyed being held my their Tia. In the picture, McKenzie is getting her turn.

Unfortunately, we still had some bad news, on the 28th Ana Lucia had what amounts to the worst bradycardia event of either girl. She didn't recover her heart rate until the nurse actually picked her up. This definitely reset her clock, so the earliest we will see her home is either Saturday the 4th or Sunday the 5th.

And then, not to feel left out McKenzie had another brady this evening. Thankfully, she self corrected quickly but that still means that her clock has reset as well. At this point I would love to see them come home this weekend, but the most important thing is that they come home healthy!

Of Video's and Brady's

Susana took this video earlier this morning and I wanted to post it (even though you can't really hear the purring we were hearing). I think it gives a better perspective to see my hand as a reference to the girls size, even though the girls were pretty still.

On, sadder news, Ana had another Bradycardia event today after eating with Susana and unlike past events, this one lasted long enough that Debbie our nurse had to pick her up to bring her heart rate back up. (it had dipped into the low 40's). This is the first time that either one of the girls has had to be touched to get the heart rate to correct. One thought is that breast feeding followed by the bottle is tiring the girls out. If that is true they may get their feeding tubes back. It sometimes seems that we are on a rollercoaster with our little ones, but I have faith we'll get there.

At this point, however, it is likely that they won't be home before labor day. We'll just have to wait and see.

Look Mom, No tubes!!

Today was a big milestone for Ana Lucia and McKenzie. Overnight the NICU took our the feeding tubes for both of them. Now we can see their beautiful faces without those pesky tubes and tape. This also means that for now, the girls have checked another box on their way to coming home. Without a feeding tube, the nurses will be giving them all of their feedings from a bottle or breast. This had to happen before they could go home.

Over the next few days they will be monitoring the girls to make sure they get enough to eat and continue to grow. Now if only we could get them to stop the Bradycardia's.

Speaking of growing, the girls are now 15 days old and Ana Lucia is about to crest the 5 pound mark. Today she weighed in at 4 pounds 14.8 ozs. McKenzie is trying to keep up with her sister and weighed in at 4 pounds 6.4 ozs today. We are also happy with their growth and hope that it continues at a good pace.

Now that Ana and McKenzie are getting older, both Susana and I believe they are fraternal. Today just added to that because it is getting easier and easier to tell them apart in photos. For those that can't do it, in these pictures today, Ana is on the right and McKenzie is on the left.