Babies and BIG GIRL BEDS!!!

Today the girls were moved out of their isolates and into BIG GIRL BEDS!!

They are now in cribs!!! They also moved Alexis from her area into Addison's bed site. This is great for us because we no longer have to feel like we are neglecting one girl by spending time on the other side with the other one. They are now together (but they each have their own crib)!!!

We put both girls in Addison's crib to take a few pictures, since they never have really been together. I will definitely take more pictures of their cribs tomorrow since these aren't very good. Stay tuned!!!

In both pictures Addison is on the left and Alexis is on the right.

A visit from Ga Ga & Pop Pop

Friday evening Terry's parents, Greg and Linda were finally able to visit the girls again. After being exposed to the croup, they weren't allowed to see the girls for four weeks. Unfortunately, the NICU has very strict rules about visitors and their germs. We enjoyed a great dinner with them and then Ga Ga & Pop Pop helped us give the girls a bath. Enjoy the below pictures!!

Above is Addison.

Above is Ga Ga & Addison.

Above is Pop Pop and Addison.

Above is Alexis....zoning out.

Above is Ga & Alexis

Above is Pop Pop and Alexis.

Addison's FIRST BOTTLE!!!

This morning I got to give Addison a bottle. Unfortunately, this wasn't her first, but it was the first one that I got to give her. She took her first bottle last night from the nurse and drank the whole thing!! This morning she was a little sleepy and only took about 3/4Th's of it. But she did great!!! I also gave Alexis another bottle today. She also fell asleep about half way through, so we gave her the rest through her feeding tube. See the below pictures....

We've also been asked to take some pictures of what the girls areas look like in the NICU. The below pictures are Addison's bed site. Alexis' is pretty much the same, but when I went to take pictures, the cleaning lady was mopping the floor. We also are constantly being asked about the blankets on top of their isolates. These particular blankets match the theme of their room and were a gift from my boss, Andy and his wife Autumne. But, my good friend Sherri embroidered their names onto them.

On another note....We've been doing a lot of reading and research about preemies. I just thought I would share some famous people who were also preemies....Issac Newton, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Stevie Wonder, Michael J. Fox, Richard Simmons, Charles Darwin, Anna Pavlova, John Keats, Voltaire, Suzanne Vega & Gordon Ramsey

Alexis' FIRST BOTTLE!!!

Today Alexis took her first bottle!!! This is a huge step! The nurses have told us that feeding is usually the longest process and the one that will decide when the girls get to come home. Alexis did great! She only took about a 3rd of her feeding from the bottle, but they were very surprised that she took that much on her first try. She also let out a ginormous burp right afterwards. Addison fell asleep right before her feeding time so we didn't try the bottle with her. We are hoping that tomorrow she will be awake and ready. They want to make sure that the girls are alert when trying to feed so that they won't choke. They want them to fully focus on sucking, swallowing and breathing all at the same time. So, if they are sleeping at their feeding time they will just get their meal in their tube.

All of today's pictures are of Miss Alexis!!!

Double Trouble....

On Saturday, Terry and I got to hold both of the girls at the same time. This was the first time that we were allowed to do this! As you can see from the above pictures Terry and I were super excited about this!! Addison is on the left and Alexis is on the right. The very top picture has an additional person....Fred Bird, compliments of Aunt Sandy. Aunt Sandy came out to meet the girls for the first time this weekend.....along with Grandma & Paw Paw Flanigan (who have met the girls several times before). Aunt Sandy also brought with her a lot of adorable preemie clothes for Addison and Alexis.

Not much new to report on the babies. Knock on wood...they both have been doing great!!! There has been some talking going on, about the possibility of the girls being moved from enclosed isolates to cribs some time this week. They are also talking about attempting to bottle feed them on or around Wednesday of this week.

Addison is currently weighing in at 3 pounds 2 ounces and

Alexis is currently weighing in at 3 pounds 9 ounces.

Many thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers. Keep the prayers coming!!! THEY OBVIOUSLY ARE WORKING!!

More Q & A...TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY!!!

Ok, so today was another great day at the NICU that I couldn't resist posting another blog this evening. When I walked in today it took me a minute to realize it but Alexis is off her c-pap again!!! AND Addison is off her nasal cannula!! Addison is completely breathing on her own with no help!! YEAH!! We hope that the fourth time off the c-pap for Alexis is the charm!! The below picture is Addison enjoying her pacifier! She loved it! Now that she is totally off support she can start the pacifier. They both have played around with it a little but today was the first time Addison really dove in! As you can see she was making sure that no one was going to take it away from her!!!

As promised here are the answers to your questions about us and the girls. Some of these may be duplicates, but they are questions we get quite frequently so I figured I would re-post them...

1. Why are you so sensitive to people calling the girls "twins"? Technically our girls are not twins. I delivered three babies. They have another sister, who we have named Hope. Hope is in heaven acting as their guardian angel. I know that as the girls get older and my sensitivity fades, it will get easier, but we will always in our hearts, be parents to triplets.

2. What is a brady? You've referred to it in previous posts, but I don't understand what a brady is? Brady is short for bradycardia. It's normal for preemies to do something called periodic breathing; they take some deep breaths and then pause for five or ten seconds before taking the next one. Only when a pause lasts for 20 seconds, or is accompanied by a slow heart rate or change in the baby's skin color, is it considered apnea. Bradycardia in most cases is a result of apnea and is defined as the slowing of a baby's heart rate from its usual range of 120 to 160 beats per minute to a rate of less than 100 beats per minute. Right now the girls are only having 1-2 brady's a day....compared to the 15 or 20 they were having a few weeks ago.

3. How long were you on bed rest before you had the girls? I officially went on bed rest March 3rd....What was supposed to be just a routine ultrasound visit, turned into me going in for emergency surgery to have a cerclage put in.

4. Are you still pumping breast milk for the babies? This is very sad for me, but unfortunately the answer is no. I tried for one month. I would pump for an hour and only get a couple of milliliters. I was getting up every 3 hours during the night and not getting anything. My doctor even prescribed medication for me to take to help the milk come in and it did not work. Terry and I discussed this numerous times at length. We decided that it was more important for me to get my rest and recover from the delivery. I need to be fully recovered for when the girls come home. Trying to pump was causing me more stress than it was doing good. This was a VERY difficult decision for me to make.

5. How often do you visit the babies and for how long? We visit the girls every day. On a typical day we usually arrive at the NICU around 1:00ish and stay until they close at 6:45. The NICU closes from 6:45-8:00 (both a.m. & p.m.) every day for nurses & doctors shift change. Some days we go earlier and some days we go later. It really just depends on the day.

6. Why did the babies have blood transfusions? Doesn't this freak you out a little with all the diseases out there? Why didn't you as parents donate the blood? During the first weeks of life, many preemies have blood drawn frequently to monitor their blood chemistries. All of these draws deplete the number of circulating blood cells. Because a premature baby's bone marrow, which is responsible for making more blood cells, is still immature, it usually can't replace them fast enough. As a result of this they developed anemia. (low red blood cell count) Yes, I was totally scared about the transfusion, but was 100% assured that the Red Cross has a special pool of donors whose blood goes through extreme testing before it will even enter the hospital. I did ask about the potential of donating my own blood for the girls. They explained to me that only type O blood is used (the universal blood type) and that it takes up to 10 days for the blood to be cleaned and tested before a transfusion is done.

7. Who do the girls look like? I know I answered this before on my previous q & a blog, but things have changed. The girls are bigger now and have developed more. Alexis looks just like Terry in my opinion. She has his eyes, nose, everything. Addison on the other hand is starting to look a little like me. She does have Terry's pouty face and some of his mannerisms, but as they get bigger I'm sure their features will change even more.

8. I thought that since all three girls were is seperate amniotic sacks meant they can't be identical so I don't understand why you are waiting on the test of the placenta to find out? ok, so here is the definition of identical vs. fraternal twins taken straight from by book on Preemies.... Identical twins.... In the United States today, about one-third of twins are identical. These pairs, with their breathtaking similarities, come from the same egg and sperm. After the egg and sperm have joined, the resultant cell, called a zygote, starts to multiply into the millions of diverse cells that eventually compose a single baby. In identical twins, however, the resultant cell separates into two zygotes, each with the same genetic material. This kind of twinning happens in about one out of every 240 pregnancies. It takes place among all families and cultures and is not caused by fertility drugs. Fraternal twins.... On the other hand, fraternal twins are the result of two different eggs becoming fertilized by two different sperm. Although both zygotes share the same uterus, they are no more similar than any other set of siblings. This kind of twinning runs in families and is prevalent in certain ethnicity's. Africa sees the highest incidence of fraternal twins; Asia, the lowest. Fertility drugs increase your chances of having this type of pair. Most of the time, parents have to wait until birth to find out if their twins are identical or fraternal. Occasionally hints surface before then. For example, if the twins share the same amniotic sac, they are definitely identical. However, the majority of identical twins--and all fraternal twins--have their own amniotic sac, so you still may end up being in the dark until the delivery. And, of course, if ultrasound determines one twin to be a girl and one to be a boy, you can be certain they are fraternal.

In our case, all three girl had their own sacs. Two placenta's were delivered so we most likely had a set of identical's and a third. We just won't know for sure if Addison and Alexis were the identicals or not.

So, that's all the questions I have for now... please feel free to email me with any more.

Thursday Update...

Both girls are continuing to do really well. Last night when I called to get updates on the girls, Lisa told me that they both had gained a lot of weight.

Addison is currently weighing in at 2 pounds 15 1/2 ounces...just shy of 3 pounds!!! YEAH!! (See the below pictures of me holding Addison-- taken on Tuesday, May 19th.) Yes, she does look a little uncomfortable in this picture, but we have to hold her a certain way so her neck is properly placed. But trust me, she was totally comfortable. She slept for almost 2 hours like that & was breathing at 99% the whole time!

Alexis is currently weighing in at 3 pounds 7 ounces!! Alexis had another blood transfusion on Monday because her red blood cell count was a little low. The doctor seems to think that this will help her be able to get rid of the c-pap soon! We really hope so! I can't wait to be able to see her little face everyday!! Yesterday she had it off for a little bit while the nurse was readjusting everything. I couldn't believe how much alike they look all of the sudden. We are still awaiting the results of the pathology reports from the placenta to find out if they are fraternal or identical. I'm really starting to believe that they may actually be identical.

All and all the girls are having another great week!!! Yes, I'm still working on my Q & A blog. We've just had a lot of stuff going on this week. I hope to finish it soon! If you have a question please feel free to email me at: cardinalsfan0718@netzero.com

MARVELOUS MONDAY!!!

Today we got fabulous reports on both the girls. Addison's brain bleed is still continuing to heal on its own. The doctor explained to me this afternoon that the blood clot has significantly decreased in size and the spinal fluid that had accumulated around her brain has decreased by half the amount since last Monday. This is GREAT news!!! It sure does make it a little easier to sleep at night knowing that she is getting better. We definitely still continue to be concerned about the long term ramifications of the bleed but are ecstatic that it is healing without medical intervention! Addison has been appropriately nicknamed "Angel Face" by Dr. Simon. She has the brightest eyes and is very curious about everything going on around her. She definitely is the more laid back of the two. She is currently weighing in at 2 pounds 14 ounces.

Alexis also got a great report today. Nothing much has changed with her. She is still on her c-pap which we hope she can get rid of soon. The doctors tell us that due to her prematurity she just isn't ready to be off it. She continues to have a feisty attitude and has been put in "time out" more than once by our night nurse Lisa. Alexis likes to help with all her assessments and gets a little fired up when she has to be suctioned out. Her "time outs" consists of having her "frog" (which is nothing more than a super tiny bean bag) put over her arms and legs to help restrain her from helping the nurses do their job. She really doesn't mind the time outs, it actually calms her down a lot. Alexis is weighing in at 3 pounds 2 1/2 ounces.

I'm still working on my Q & A blog. If I was allowed to take my laptop into the nicu that would make things much easier, but I wanted to answer a question really quickly. My friend Jody had one of her baby boys (David) on Saturday (just shy of 26 weeks) at 2:01a.m. The doctor opted to deliver only one of the babies. From what I understand she is basically in a holding pattern until baby Derek is ready or until an onset of an infection is found. Baby David weighed 1 pound 13 ounces. Jody and her boys could really use all of our prayers right now! Please pray for David to continue fighting and for him to become stronger each day....For Derek to hang in there as long as possible... And for Jody and her husband's continued strength as they continue this roller coaster journey.

Terry and I truly thank you all for the continued support and prayers for our girls. The response to my blog has been tremendous and we love reading all of your comments!!

Below are a few pictures from the last couple of days....

Above is Terry & Addison sleeping. This was too cute not to take a picture of.

Above is Alexis without her c-pap on after a bath. She's listening so intently to Terry talking to her. She loves to chat!

Above is Addison's dead man's pose. She loves to be all spread out when she sleeps....another trait she gets from her father.

Happy Friday!!

Yesterday both girls got baths, eye exams and Hepatitis B shots. Here's the fun details....

Their baths went great and during the process the nurses decide to remove the girls from their warming beds and put them in just regular isolates. They now get to wear clothes full time and are maintaining their body temperatures on their own. YEAH!! Not that they didn't before, but they are looking like little people now in their own clothes. Terry and I found some great deals on preemie clothes at the Wal-Mart by the hospital. We've been looking everywhere and one of our nurses suggested that we try there. Right now, their clothes have to consist of sleepers with snaps. Zippers do not allow for their leads to be easily maintained, with snaps the leads can slide through the holes. We've been doing a lot of hands on stuff with the girls so I always forget to take pictures, but I plan to try and snap some tomorrow of them in their clothes.

Both girls eye exams went great!! The pediatric opthamologist came in with some crazy get up on his head that he used to examine them. He dilated their eyes, which they did not enjoy. But he said that as of right now everything with their little eyes looks great!! They will get another eye exam in two weeks.

Both girls also got Hepatitis B shots yesterday. I couldn't watch. They prepped them with some Tylenol so they wouldn't be too fussy but Addison did not enjoy this at all!! She screamed for about a minute and then Liz (my favorite nurse) called me back over to help settle her down. Alexis let out a little yelp but she did surprisingly well.

So, that's about it for today. The girls are having a great week and we continue to pray that they keep it up!!

I'm working on another question and answer blog. I hope to have that up in the next few days. I've been meaning to get to every one's questions for awhile but things have been crazy!!

One month old....

The girls are officially 30 days old today!! YEAH!! There for awhile we weren't sure if we were going to make it... But the doctors told us that if they survive 30 days then our chances of losing them has pretty much diminished.

Things so far this week are going good. Addison's head ultra sound on Monday continues to show improvement. The blood clots are continuing to lessen and the spinal fluid is continuing to drain on it's own. This was great news for us on Monday!! We still continue to be cautiously optimistic but it's nice to get great news. She will have another scan next Monday. Addison's weight as of this afternoon was 2 pounds 9 1/2 ounces.

Alexis is also doing well. She had to have her CPAP put back on Tuesday because she was struggling to breath, so the RT decided to put it back on her. I wasn't happy about this, but it truly is what's best for her right now. I just miss seeing her cute little face!! Alexis had her head ultra sound this morning and the doctor said that it looks great!! She will get another scan in a month. Alexis' big news today is that she hit the 3 pound mark!! As of this afternoon she weighed exactly 3 pounds.

So that's the latest and greatest with the Smith girls. I will continue to try to post a few times a week. I'm starting to feel less stressed so hopefully it will become easier for me to find time to update.

On another note.....we received a package today for FedEx with preemie clothes in it. It appears that it was shipped from The Preemie Store?? There was a cute note on it but it wasn't signed?? We have no idea who sent this to us and would like to thank them for the adorable outfits they sent. If you sent the girls these outfits would you please email me and let me know. My email is cardinalsfan0718@netzero.com Thanks!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Very quickly, I've been meaning to post this for a couple of days now, but I have been really scatter-brained.... Another quick prayer request... As you all know, my girls are having a massive round of tests done tomorrow for their one month birthdays. While you are saying your prayers for my girls, If you wouldn't mine throwing in a quick prayer for my friend Jody, I would appreciate it. Jody is/was a major part of my support system during our whole pregnancy. We met on a message board through webmd.com. Her situation regarding infertility & her triplet loss has been pretty much identical to ours. Jody will be 25 weeks pregnant with two boys on Tuesday. She is currently in the hospital with a thinning cervix and is having contractions. Please pray for her continued strength and that she is able to keep her little men (Derek Leo & David Richard) cooking for a few more weeks. As we know all too well....Even a few days in utero makes a world of difference!!!

Today we celebrated my first Mother's Day! We started with brunch down town at Adobo Grill which was great. If you have never been there we highly recommend it! They have the best guacamole! Then we visited the girls. They got me my Vera Bradley diaper bag that I wanted, some flip flops & a card. Oh, and 13 lottery tickets. 13 is now our lucky number because the girls were born on the 13Th. Unfortunately, none of the lottery tickets amounted to much but it was the thought that counts.

The big news with the girls today is that ALEXIS IS NOW OFF HER C-PAP!!!! She was cracking me up today.... As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we asked the nurse if we could put the girls in clothes today for pictures. The respiratory therapist (RT) suggested that if we were going to take off her c-pap for pictures that we might as well try her again without it. The minute the RT took it off her c-pap she let out a huge sigh as if she was saying..."YES, it's gone! I hate that thing". We are hoping that she continues to thrive without it and can stay on the nasal cannula. She also had her first experience with a pacifier today. Shockingly she loved it! She took to it right away and appeared to be seriously chomping on it. She was so cute the way she held it in her mouth herself. See the below pictures.

The above picture is Alexis trying to figure out where her c-pap went & debating on whether or not she wants to open her eyes.

The above picture is Alexis & Mommy. She likes to hold hands or should I say "fingers".

The above picture is Mommy and Alexis. (Again, the lighting in the nicu makes it difficult to get good pictures sometimes.)

The Above picture is Mommy, Alexis and Daddy.

The above picture is Alexis hanging onto her pacifier.

She says "This picture taking stuff makes me sleepy!"

Today Addison pooped all over me. I'm not talking a little tiny poop either!! For being little tiny gals these girls have some massive diapers. While I was changing Addison today, she decided that she wasn't finished. Talk about projectile pooping! She did this three times. While Terry stood laughing at us, Liz (our favorite day nurse) and I cleaned her up and changed her bedding. Despite the fact that she made a huge mess, it was pretty comical actually. While some may think that this is strange, I love these little moments. Since the girls aren't home with us, we seriously cherish every minute we get to spend them. Below are pictures of Addison today in her clothes.

The above picture is Addison. I was talking to her. She listens so intently. I know that they say that their eyes are not developed enough yet to see us, but I don't believe it because she always looks right at me when I talk to her.

The above picture is Addison displaying her future piano playing fingers. This girl has some really long fingers.

The above picture is Addison and her Mommy.

The above picture is Addison in the middle of a sneeze. A-choo!

The above picture is Mommy, Addison & Daddy. She gets so excited when we open up her isolet that she just looks around checking everything out.

I hope everyone had/is having a GREAT Mother's Day. Mine has been one that I will never forget!!

So sweet....

I didn't really plan on actually being a Mom this mothers day, but I'm continually reminded lately that God has other plans for our family. My day began with the sweetest gift from our favorite night nurse, Lisa. Lisa has been the best night nurse so far. Terry even comments that I sleep better when she is working because I know that the girls are getting the best care. This morning when I arrived to visit the girls, Liz (our favorite day nurse) told me that they couldn't wait until tomorrow to give me what Lisa had made last night. She handed me a kleenex and a card. They obviously already know me so well there.....the kleenex was definitely needed!!! Lisa had made me a card with the girls hand prints and pictures on it. She actually had arranged with the respiratory therapist to get pictures of Alexis without her c-pap and Addison without her nasal cannula. She also knew that I was upset about not getting the opportunity to get pictures taken of the girls at birth for their announcements. So, she made special arrangements with the doctors to allow them to wear clothes to be photographed. It was so sweet. It continues to amaze me how great everyone in the NICU has been. Below is a picture of the card she made for me. It didn't scan that well, but I stll wanted to post it. The poem says....

These are our hands....

Our hands will do,

A 1000 loving things with you.

And you will remember

When we are tall..

That once our hand's

Were just this small.

Happy Mother's Day!

We LOVE you!!

Addison Grace & Alexis Faith

They are going to allow us to bring in our own clothes tomorrow evening so the girls can be photographed for their one month pictures. After tomorrow I will decide which photos are the best for their announcements and I'm sure I will post the rest.

The girls have genuinely had a good week. Nothing major to report, but here is a quick update... Addison is currently weighing 1120 grams (yes, I still hate the metric system...no change there!)which is about 2 pounds 7 1/2 ounces and she is eating 20ml very three hours. Alexis is currently weighing 1300 grams, which is 2 pounds 14 ounces. She has surpassed her sister in the eating area. She is now up to 22ml every 3 hours. Alexis is scheduled to have her picc line removed tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day so I probably will not be posting. But we again ask you to pray that things go well on Monday. The girls will be 1 month old already and they have a whole round of tests scheduled for both of them. Both girls will be getting head ultrasounds so I will do my best to post Monday evening with all the results.

Addison's BIG day!!!

• Today's post is going to be short and sweet.

Addison is no longer on her c-pap!!! YEAH!!! She currently is on a nasal canual but is breathing 100% on her own!!!! It is so nice to see her cute little face now! Her hair really isn't blonde anymore, but it's still hard to tell. She was very alert today and awake for quite a bit.

They also tried to take Alexis off her c-pap today but had to put her back on it after about 3 hours. She was just working to hard trying to breath on her own. They are hoping to try again in a couple of days.

Both girls had great days and continue to be more and more alert everyday.

3 Weeks Old!!!

Yes, I know I said I was only going to post on Tuesday's and Saturday's. But, I think that instead of trying to make rules for myself to follow right now, I'm just going post whenever I feel like it. I will make every attempt to post at least twice a week, if not more.

So here is today's update...

Addison had her usual Monday brain scan this morning. The doctor explained to us that the bleeding in her brain has gotten a little bit worse. He said that the blood has started to clot more so they are thinking that it could potentially resolve on it's own. This would be great if it actually happens!! Originally the doctor told us that he would make a decision as to what he wanted to do in regards to draining the fluid today. He told us that he is going to be "cautiously optimistic" and doesn't want to do anything at this time. She will continue to be closely monitored by the neuro surgeon and we will repeat this process again next Monday. I feel bad but I don't have any new pictures of Addison to post today. :-(

Alexis was quiet as usual today. Her feedings are now up to 14ml every three hours. I also feel bad because I neglected to ask about their weights today. I will get an update tomorrow. But the big news with Alexis today.....Her Father got to hold her for the first time FINALLY!! He's such a proud Daddy! We both can wait for them to come home!!!!!

All the pictures on todays post are of Alexis. And NO I don't always wear a hat, as you can see from todays pictures. Terry on the other hand, pretty much always wears a hat.

Yes, I'm an idiot....

For those of you who tried to access the links to the youtube videos yesterday..... You are correct, they didn't work. Somehow my links were set to "private". I have since fixed the issue and you should be able to access the videos now. If you can not, please let me know.

Off to the hospital to see the monkeys now!! Keep your fingers crossed we get good news!!