Sunday Funday

Ha, I posted this on Facebook today. Sunday funday's are a lot different than they used to be. In a very good way of course. :) They used to be about bloody marys, beer, and football. Now it's about groceries, laundry, and getting ready for the upcoming week.

Anyway, the kids are doing well. This past week we had a physical therapist and a nurse come out from the Birth to 3 program. Birth to 3 is a special program that the kids qualified for due to their prematurity that helps them with development should they need it. We went over a bunch of questions and the nurse looked at the kids. At the end of the visit they said that both kids were right on track with development so far. Yeah, that made me so happy. Unfortunately, we found out after the first visit that there is an income qualification associated with Birth to 3 and they want us to pay to continue the services so we aren't sure if they will be coming back.

Both kids are holding their heads up and just love looking at all the things going on around them. Dillan will follow a person across the room. Tyler isn't quite there yet but he's close. Tyler is the stronger of the two. It looks like he is doing push ups on the floor when you put him on his belly. He can lift his head all the way up. He can't quite bend it to look up at us yet but it should be any day now. Dillan can also lift her head when on her tummy but she does it more to turn from side to side. She can't really hold it up on her own yet.

Tyler has decided that he doesn't like to sleep much during the day and then he gets really cranky in the evenings. This weekend I found out that the only thing I could do to calm the poor kid was sing to him. Poor guy. It's not like I have a good singing voice but hey, if it works, I'll use it.

Dillan is usually pretty happy unless she gets a big gas bubble or something. She is still very vocal and has learned that she can make her voice get louder for short times. She's so funny. It's cute now but I'm sure I won't think so in a couple of months.

The kids are eating around 4.5 ounces every feeding now. At night they will usually go 4-5 hours in between feedings. Once in awhile we get 6 hours in there and we really REALLY appreciate that. It doesn't happen very often though.

Corey is off this coming week so hopefully we will get to do something fun as a family. Maybe for their 4 month birthday we will go somewhere fun. We also have a doctors appt this week so I will update if we learn any more new information.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Growing Fast

What a fun week we have had. Today the home health nurse came and weighed the kids. Can you believe that Tyler is 10lbs and Dillan is 9lbs 2oz??? It was great to have her come over and see exactly how big the kids were. I knew they were growing but I had no idea how much. No wonder they are growing out of their clothes so much. The nurse also showed me how the kids are growing compared to other premiee's and they are growing right on track. Yeah!!!

We have now seen a couple of the proofs from the kids pictures. They are so cute. I can't wait to see the entire group. It's going to be hard to choose which ones to buy.

I finally purchased a bug net for the kids's stroller so tonight after the kids eat we are going to finally go for a walk. It's a beautiful 75 degrees today and there is a little breeze so hopefully the bugs won't be so bad. The dogs will love getting out.

We have had lots of visitors lately and we love having the company. It's nice to have people visit during the day because it's so hard to load them both up and get out of the house. It's much easier to have people come here.

Well time to feed my little peanut and get out of the house for bit while it's still light out.

No More

Happy Tuesday all, today I get to run off to the dentist by myself and Grandma is coming over to watch both kids for a little while. The longest I've left her with both kids is an hour so I hope they are good for her.


Let's see, updates. Friday we had their three month pictures done. Oh my they are going to be so cute. I can't wait to see all of the proofs. It's a long process to get twins to take pictures. http://www.lmpreciousdesigns.com/ This is the website of the wonderful woman who came to our house and did the pictures. What a process. She was here for over three hours. Between changing, feeding, posing, and just getting them to cooperate it was an interesting process but it was so fun. The kids were pretty good and I think we will be getting some really cute photos.

Tyler is doing great without his oxygen. I think we will keep the tanks around the house for another week and then call the medical supply company to have them picked up. It feels really good to have him off of it. Tyler can now lift his head off the ground and hold it up for a couple seconds. He's getting really strong. Yesterday Tyler had his final eye appointment of the year. The doctor said his eyes are developing normally and everything looks great. YEAH!!! So, both kids are set until next year with eye appointments.

Dillan is also still working on her head movement. We have them on their bellies a lot so she gets lots of practice. I'm hoping to have the public health nurse out later this week so we can get a weight check on them. I'm curious to see where they are at because they feel so much bigger to me.

Sunday we had a busy day out of the house. We finally got over to Grandma and Grandpa Skandel's house for the first time and hung out with them for awhile. After that we ventured over to Billings Park for the Ray of Hope Annual Meeting picnic. What a fun afternoon. A couple of my girlfriends run this non-profit and they had a wonderful afternoon for their annual gathering. So the kids got to meet a couple more people and enjoy the fresh air. When we returned home we had a visit from my cousin Sarah who was up from FL visiting family. My mom and dad came over and we had a nice little BBQ and got to catch up. It was an awesome day.

We've been trying to get out and go for lots of walks lately because it's been so nice. We tried to go for a walk on the road last night and the mosquito's were so bad we had to turn around after about 2 blocks. I couldn't believe it. Usually the stroller is moving so fast they don't bother with it but last night they just swarmed. So today I'm going to look for a bug net to see if it will fit over the stroller. Otherwise I'll have to pack the kids up and take them into town to walk on one of the trails.

Happy Tuesday all, hope you are enjoying the week. The kids are both sleeping now so I'm going to try to sneak in a shower! :)

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Surgeon Follow Up

Hi All, it has been an interesting week. Corey went back to work on Monday so it's been just the kids and I all week. Well, not really because I've had lots of visitors and help from Mom and Becky but it's still different not having Corey home during the day. I've also been trying to let him sleep at night so I'm not getting much rest. 3-4 hours a night is about it.

The kids are currently not on the same schedule. I know I need to get them there but it's been hard for me to wake one up when the other one is up. When they sleep I am just happy they are sleeping.

Today was a big day for us. Tyler had a follow up appointment from his surgery and we brought Dillan along for the ride. Wow, it is really something to try to get two kids out of the house and to an appt on time. Good thing Mom was here to help me out. I'm not sure what I'd do without her. So, Tyler's belly looks good. He had a little piece of suture sticking out so they surgeon trimmed it but other than that it is healing nicely. No more work needed there. Yeah.

After that we stopped and had coffee with Joanna. I needed the caffeine and I was happy we were able to catch her with a free minute in the office. Once she took off back to work we made our way over to the NICU. We've been having a hard time with Tyler's oxygen. He has figured out that the plastic thing on his face comes off if he pulls hard enough. What a pain. Most mornings we come in the kids room and he's pulled it off his face completely. I wanted to talk to the doctor to see what the options were. I either needed some heavy duty sticky stuff or try him without the oxygen and see how it went. Well, thankfully the doctor said to give it a try with no oxygen. YEAH!!! So our little man is cannula free. He is so handsome without it. We are keeping the oxygen in the house for another couple of weeks. If his apnea monitor starts going off more frequently or we notice he isn't the same we should resume the oxygen but we will see how it goes. I really think he will be great without it.

After we left the hospital we met up with Mel, Andrew, and Emily for a really nice walk on the Millennium Trail in Billings Park. The raspberries are out so we walked, chatted and ate berries with the kids. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Oh yeah, update on Dillan! She is doing great. We've been practicing her head control during tummy time and she's getting really good at it. She's growing into more and more of her clothes.

The kids three month pictures are tomorrow and I'm so excited. A girl I graduated with is coming to the house to take their pictures and they are going to look so adorable. I can't wait. It will be fun.

That's all for now. I'm off to try to get a little sleep tonight. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

All Is Well

Hi All, not much new to report. On Friday we had our first visit from a lady from Birth to Three. It's a program that the kids qualify for through the state that provides physical therapy and an RN to develop their mobility and eventually language skills. The meeting went very well. The RN that came over said she was very impressed with how the kids are developing. She said usually with micro-preemies (kids born before 28 weeks) you see more complications. It was nice to hear that she thought the kids were doing so well.

Yesterday Tyler pulled his oxygen leads off in the morning and he was due for his monitor leads to be changed so we left him off of both his monitor and his oxygen all day. It was so nice to see him without any cords. I really don't believe he still needs the oxygen. He did great all day. Even when Tyler was in the NICU he really only needed the oxygen when he was having a fit and was angry about something. We gave him a little sponge bath and took some pictures of him without the oxygen on. Tyler still throws up every once in awhile when he eats but the majority of the time he eats like a champ and does really well. When Tyler smiles it's the best thing ever. He's got the cutest dimples I've ever seen.

Dillan also continues to do well. She just eats and grows and impresses us every day. Her head control is getting so much better and she is awake more and more. She has the cutest round head and is so adorable. Her skin is just perfect.

Last night both kids decided it would be fun to keep us up ALL night so Corey and I were both pretty tired today. Tomorrow Corey goes back to work so it will be interesting to see how it goes with me home with both kids. I know my mom and sister will be coming over during the day but it will be different not having him here all day.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I'll update again soon.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Happy Due Date Day

Well today is the official day that the twins were supposed to be born. Although I wish things would've been different and they would've grown longer while they were still inside of me, it has been a blessing to see them grow from the little 2 pound peanuts that they were to the 7 and 8 pound newborns we have today. It's amazing that such little tiny babies can have such different personalities already.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to have them weighed and it was so fun. Dillan is now 7lbs and growing like a weed. She loves to eat. She's starting to get little chubby arms and legs and I just love it. If Dillan could she would already be sleeping in bed with us. She gets up every morning around 4am and wants to be held. I've brought her into bed a couple of times but had to put a stop to it because I don't want the kids to end up sleeping with us.

Tyler as usual is still a little bigger than his sister. He is now 8lbs 2oz and we are so happy that he is. After his surgery last week he is putting on weight like he should be. When Tyler is hungry he doesn't let you know quietly. He puts out a blood curdling scream from the second he is hungry until you bring him a bottle. Keep in mind that his screams still aren't very loud, but there are times when he will end up coughing because he is crying so hard.

Today we ventured into downtown Duluth for the sidewalk days. It was again nice to get out of the house. It will be different next week when Corey goes back to work. It won't be as easy to leave the house but we will still be attempting it if we can. The kids love to go on walks and I love the fresh air. It will just take a little more coordination.

Enjoy the nice weather everyone. I hope the mosquito's aren't as bad where you are. They have eaten my legs already this year and I'm ready for them to be done. I hear Dillan crying, gotta go.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

4th of July

Ok, I know I'm a little late but thought I'd give everyone an update on how we are doing.

Tyler is home again and doing great. His surgery went very well and he is eating a full throttle again. Actually, he's eating better than he used to and he never really had a problem before. The issue also seems to have helped with some of the other smaller problems he had. He's not as uncomfortable as he used to be which is great. Since all of the food can now leave his stomach and not just sit there and make him uncomfortable he is so much happier. He is awake a lot now during the day and it's fun to see his beautiful blue eyes.

Tyler is still on his 1/8liter of oxygen but we don't have him on it all the time during the day. If he is happy and not having a fit he doesn't have it on. I try to give his little face a break from having those little stickers on it all the time. We really don't think he will need it much longer. He also continues to have his apnea monitor. It really is a stress reliever for us to be able to sleep at night and know that if he were to stop breathing it would alert us right away. And it's nice because it really doesn't go off that often and if it does it beeps once and then shuts off. Still, the piece of mind is nice for now.

Tyler had an eye appointment on Monday. The doctor said his eyes are just a little behind where he would like to see them now that we are approaching my due date but he doesn't see anything that causes him concern. We will go back one more time in two weeks just to make sure everything is progressing as it should be.

Dillan also continues to do well. She's eating close to 4oz every feeding now which is about double where she was when she came home. She's also sleeping longer too which is nice. She has now outgrown all of her preemie clothes and even some of her newborn stuff. She's getting bigger but still looks like a little peanut compared to her brother.

Dillan also had an eye appointment last week and her eyes are doing awesome. She doesn't have to go back for another year. YEAH!!

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We packed up both kids and headed down to the parade in Superior. It was a beautiful hot day and we parked under a tree. We didn't really watch much of the parade though because everyone wanted to see the little twins. I wasn't surprised. Auntie Jen, Uncle Andy, and cousin Bob were all there as well. Afterwards we stopped at our friend Rob and Mel's for awhile and invited them out for a BBQ. We had a house full of kids. Dillan & Tyler, Bob, Andrew, & Emily. It was a lot of fun.

I will update again soon. Thanks for all the continued support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Tyler Surgery

Hi all. Well we had a great weekend with Tyler. Sunday was Corey and I's one year anniversary and it was so nice to be able to spend it with both of the kids. We loaded them both up and drove over to Barkers Island where we got married and walked around the island with them. It was 85 degrees and beautiful. I could not have asked for a better anniversary gift.

But of course things changed on Monday. Over the weekend Tyler threw up a couple of times but nothing really concerning. On Monday things continued to get worse and by Tuesday Tyler couldn't keep down anything. Poor little guy was pretty miserable. We brought him in at 4pm on Tuesday and the doctor had a suspicion that he may have what is called pyloric stenosis. Basically what happens is there is a muscle at the bottom of your stomach that allows food to pass from the stomach into the small intestines. Well, Tyler's muscle was abnormally large and therefore was not allowing any food into his intestines. When the food had no where to go the stomach would reject it and he'd throw up. Thankfully, the procedure to fix it is pretty common. Of course this type of thing is usually only seen in five to six week old full term babies but we all know that Tyler does things at his own pace and his muscle was already large before his full term due date.

So, Tyler's surgery was today to correct the muscle. I bet Corey and I seemed extremely odd to the surgeon because we were so excited. We had to explain all of the things that Tyler has been through and how this was the first time he'd actually been diagnosed with something and we were so excited to get him on the road to recovery. His surgery went very well. The surgeon made a small incision above his belly button and was able to cut the muscles easily which should allow food to pass through normally. But we all know that Tyler can't do anything normally, so of course his complication came in the anesthesia. When the anesthesiologist tried to put the tube in his throat for him to breathe they discovered that his trachea wasn't lined up down the middle of his throat like it should be. It was off to the left side of his throat which made putting a tube in it very difficult. It took them 45 min before they were able to get it in and ready to go. Uggg. So, after his stomach procedure was over, they called in an ear, nose, and throat specialist to look to make sure there wasn't something else going on. Thankfully, there isn't. Usually they would expect to see a cyst or a tumor but there was nothing there. Tyler's cords are just built a little different (not surprising). :) They believe as he grows his cords will straiten and he shouldn't have any problems in the future!!! Thank goodness.

So tonight Tyler is resting. I left the hospital at 9:30pm. He was supposed to be able to start eating at 9pm tonight but he was still really sleepy from the surgery so we are just letting him rest until he is ready. They start by giving him half an ounce of Pedialite every 2 hours and slowly convert the pedialite over to formula over the next couple of days. Once he's eating everything again he can come home. Wow, what another crazy week it has been with our little man. We are so thankful that he is such a strong little guy. He's had more to deal with in 2.5 months than I have had to in 30 years. His strength is amazing. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he heals over this fun holiday weekend.

A short update on Dillan is she is doing amazing. He eats, sleeps, and loves to cuddle. Today Grandma Arnold and Auntie Becky got to babysit while we were at the hospital and she was so good for them. She continues to get bigger and she talks constantly. I love just hanging out with her when she is awake. We talk the entire time. Unlike most babies that are happy to just stare and take things in when they are awake, Dillan talks the ENTIRE time. She is very vocal and I'm sure she'll be talking by Christmas. :) She is the sweetest little girl.

Mom and Dad are exhausted but loving every minute of it. We are so blessed to have such amazing babies. Their personalities show through more and more every day. We love watching them grow.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July weekend. Thanks again for all the support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Tyler is Home

Yeah, it finally happened. Our little man Tyler is finally home. He was able to come home yesterday after 10 weeks in the NICU. We are so happy to have him home.

We actually expected Tyler to be home on Monday but at the last minute we decided to try a couple of things with him. Over last weekend they slowly converted his food. The formula that he was on was a very expensive pre-digested formula that he went on after his big infection. It was the easist thing for him to be on since he was having so many issues digesting his food. It took about 3 days but now he is on a regular formula that any premature baby would be one. That was one relief.

The other thing they tried to do before he left was to ween him off of the small amount of oxygen that he was on. The doctor said we'd give it a try. If it worked great, if it didn't work what we would do is come home on the oxygen and forget about trying to get him off of it for a little bit. Tyler did really good for about two days but then he needed a little help. So, he did end up coming home on a small amount of oxygen. Now that he is home the focus is on growing and getting stronger, we will worry about weening the oxygen slowly over time.

Tyler also came home on a sleep apnea monitor. If the monitor doesn't pick up a breath from him over 15 seconds it goes off. And let me tell you, it really goes off. It's a blessing to have because we can sleep at night and not have to worry about if he's breathing or not. His monitor did go off once last night and Corey and I both jumped out of bed. By the time we got to his room which is next to ours the alarm had shut off which meant he was breathing fine again. You judge a lot with preemies by their color and he looked fine. We just adjusted the way he was sleeping because that is one reason that babies can't breath well. Thankfully he was fine the rest of the night.

Last night was our first night home with both kids and man, is it different. They were not on the same eating schedule when we got home last night but now we've got them together. If one wakes up then we feed both. It works out great now since Corey is off but it will be interesting to see how it goes when he goes back to work. Most of the time they are up every three hours to eat but we did get one four our stretch this morning. We are quite tired today.

Tyler came home from the NICU weighing 7lbs 9oz. He is very filled out and looks like a little newborn. We had Dillan up at the NICU the night before last and weighed her while she was there. She is now 5lbs 11oz. She's still really tiny but she is growing and getting the cutest chubby cheeks. She talks constantly!!!! From the moment you lay her down until the moment she gets up again there are grunts and noises coming from her crib. It's pretty cute.

So, now we start life at home. If feels so good to be home after literally living in a hospital since the end of February. It's been a long journey but we are so blessed to have such adorable little babies. We can't thank the doctors and nurses enough for everything they did for us. Tyler especially made some really connections with a couple of the nurses in the NICU. They would literally fight over who would get to care for our little guy. It made us feel really good that they thought so highly of him.

I will continue to post updates on how everything is going. We've already got follow up appointments on Monday. TGIF everyone and thank you all again for all the love and support you have shown us over the last couple of months.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

37 Weeks

Hello all, I looked at my email today and there was an email saying today I would be 37 weeks pregnant. That means my kids would've been born next week had all gone according to plan. It's funny to think of it now and how big I would be.

Dillan continues to do well at home. Today she upgraded to Newborn diapers. The preemie diapers just weren't holding enough for her. She is also out of most of her preemie clothes. She has gone from being a preemie to being a newborn. She's so cute. She has her good days and bad days with sleeping at night. Last night was good, the night before was not. But that's all normal stuff that we should be dealing with.

Tyler has been doing great and they are in the process of getting him ready to come home. His feeding tube has been out since yesterday evening and he's now trying to take all of his food by bottle. So far he's been doing great. He does the best for Corey when he's there so I told him that when Tyler comes home it will be his job to feed him. Whenever I try it he just falls asleep. Yesterday we went to the hospital and had home monitor and oxygen training for him. It will be very interesting when he comes home because of the extra equipment that comes with him but we are so happy to have him on his way home. I know we will receive a crash course in patience in the next week with both of the kids home. Tonight Tyler's nurse is switching him over to all the equipment he will use when he comes home so he's used to it. The monitor makes different noises so it will be nice that it's not such a shock for him. He will have a big enough transition as it is. Tomorrow Corey is bringing in Tyler's car seat and he will do his car seat trial. He has to be able to sit in his car seat for 1.5 hours and maintain all of his oxygen stats. I hope he does well.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the week. Thanks again for all the support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

1 Week Home

Hi All, sorry it's been so long. It's been a busy week this week having Dillan home. We've had doctor appointments to get to and we try to get up to visit Tyler as much as we can. Dillan is doing great at home. She is such a good baby. She eats and sleeps and just continues to grow. She's on her last package of preemie diapers and I'll be upgrading her to newborns. Her preemie clothes don't fit anymore but she still drowns in the newborn stuff. There isn't much in between. Tonight she got a bath and is sleeping on my chest as I type this. On Thursday we met with her pediatrician for the first time and on Monday she had a follow up eye appointment. Her eyes are developing as they should be. They are obviously behind for a two month old baby but they are perfect for her gestational age.

The dogs are still getting used to Dillan. Bosco was really mad at me the first day we got home and wouldn't come around at all. Cinder thinks the noises she makes are strange and she always runs to her when she cries. I think Cinder will be her little protector.

Tyler is trying his hardest to get home with us. His oxygen has been changed to what it would be if he has to come home on oxygen. He is now receiving 100% oxygen but it is on the very lowest flow setting there is without shutting the oxygen off. The doctors are trying to wean him off of the oxygen before he comes home but we will see. Tyler has been eating great. He ate everything from a bottle for about a day and a half and then he got too tired and had to have some of it tubed. He now weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces. He's gaining weight like crazy and trying to get big and strong to come home. Tomorrow Corey and I have training on how to use a home monitor and oxygen for when Tyler comes home. He will for sure come home on a monitor but the oxygen is a just in case thing. The really exciting news is that if Tyler continues to do well he will be home within a week.

I will keep everyone posted on Tyler's progress this week. We are just so happy that he's doing well. He's been through so much in his short little life we just can't wait to get him home so he can just be a spoiled little baby boy.

The kids are already two months old. It's been a long road in the NICU but it really has gone by fast. Everyone I talk to tells me to cherish this time when they are so small because it goes by so fast. I think of that statement every night when I am up feeding Dillan in the middle of the night. We are blessed that we get EXTRA baby time with both of the kids because they were born so early. The journey has had it's ups and downs but we are so thankful for every day we get to spend with our kids. We are very lucky.

Thanks everyone for your continued love and support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Dillan Is Home

Hello all, I am so happy to write and tell all of you that Dillan is home with us. The last few days have been so crazy. We have been staying at the hospital in one of their separate rooms with her to make sure everything went ok. She did wonderful and was discharged from the NICU today. She did great overnight in the rooms. She eats and then sleeps for a 2 - 2.5 hours and we were actually able to get a little sleep. It was a great transition to home. We've been home since about 3 this afternoon and she's adjusting good so far. She's sleeping right now next to me in her crib. So we are already pretty tired from the last two nights. It will be interesting to see how we do now that we are home.

Tyler was having a really good week but Sunday he decided that in his world breathing was optional and he had two spells where he held his breath. Not fun. So, the doctor took another look at him and now they think it might be reflux causing him distress. So, they are trying him up on a wedge to see if that helps with his digestion. He's so stinkin cute, he loves being on his belly and he's enjoying being up in his little sling on the wedge. So we will see what happens. The good news is that Tyler is doing awesome on his feedings. 10 days ago he wasn't eating anything and now he's taking a majority of his feedings by bottle. It's just awesome. He came a long way in that 10 days and we are so proud of him. He just needs to get a little bigger and stronger and his lungs need to mature a little more. He will get there, he just needs more time.

It was hard for me to leave him in the NICU today. I'm very comfortable going in there every day and spending all day with both of the kids. Now the majority of my days will be at home with Dillan and visiting Tyler when I can. Dillan has two appts already this week and next so I'll be able to stop in and see Tyler before or after those.

It was also hard for me to leave my friend Crystal today in the NICU. Today it was 8 weeks for us in the NICU but she's now been there 11. I can't thank her enough for being such a great support to lean on. Crystal don't worry you are almost there.

Well, off to heat up a bottle for the little pumpkin. I plan to cherish every ounce of being completely exhausted with her. I can't wait to repeat (or add to) the process with Tyler when he comes home.

Thank you all for your continued love and support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Conference

Happy Saturday morning everyone. I have some good news to share. We had a conference with the doctor yesterday and if all goes well over the weekend Dillan will be home on Tuesday. I am so excited and nervous. The doctor is really just keeping her at the hospital for this couple of days to ensure that all the caffeine is out of her system and she doesn't have any spells where she forgets to breathe. She hasn't had any since the took her off last Monday but they just want to make sure. Sunday night I am staying at the hospital overnight to be there for all of her feedings. Then on Monday night Corey and I will both stay there over night in one of their patient rooms with Dillan. It's a trial for us and her. She won't be hooked up to any machines or monitors so it's really to make sure we are comfortable taking cues from her without a monitor to back us up. It's going to be an interesting night. We are very comfortable with the backup of the monitors so it will take some getting used to. But, the doctor asked me if I wanted her to come home on a monitor for my own sanity and I said no. She's been so good and I know she will do just fine without it. I believe last night Dillan weighed 4lbs 14oz so she should hit the 5lb mark by the time she comes home. Dillan will be coming home at 35+ weeks so she's still considered over a month early. We are so proud of how well she is doing. The doctors continue to remind us that she's above average with how well she is doing and to try not to compare her to her brother.

We also got an update on Tyler. Tyler had a really good week. Yesterday they moved him to a crib and started bottle feeding. He did so well. He's holding his temperature just perfect, which isn't too surprising considering his size. He started the day taking 10ml in his bottle, went up to 15ml in the afternoon and by 10pm last night he was taking 35ml of his 55ml in his bottle. At that point he gets tired and just wants to sleep. They aren't pushing him at this point to finish the whole thing. He just takes what he can and they give him the rest through his tube. Last night when we were there he was really fussy and was dropping his stats quite a bit and we couldn't figure out why cause he'd been really good all day. Well Corey went to change his diaper and found out he left us a huge present in there. After he was changed his was back to being his normal self. Guess he was trying to tell us something. :) In our conference yesterday the doctor made the comment that Tyler could possibly be ready to come home in the next two weeks if he continues to improve as he has. We will wait and see how he does over the next week but he really has improved 100% over where he was last week. We hope he now just gets bigger and stronger and is able to come home with us soon.

Today's goals include making sure their room is ready to go and putting away all the stuff that mom and I bought yesterday while we were shopping at rummage sales. Enjoy the weekend everyone. I will try to update again before Dillan comes home but it may not happen. Thanks again for all the continued support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Crib

Hello all, things seem to have quieted themselves down for our kids these last couple of days and we are so happy for that.

Tyler is doing much better this week. They ran A LOT of tests on him this weekend and so far everything they have run has come back negative. Yeah!!! He had a really good day today. He was awake and happy, he is eating 30ml of food every 3 hours and he's even pooping. We really couldn't be happier. Last night the central line that Tyler has had in for almost a month broke and they had to remove it. That was ok but they did have to put in an IV for the nutrition that he's still getting because he isn't eating enough. However, the doctor is going to continue to increase his food this week and he's hoping the IV can come out in the next day or so. YIPPIE!!! Tyler still has the nasal cannula in and is at 1 liter of flow. He was at about 30% oxygen the last couple of days but today he was mostly at room air. That was nice to see. So, he had a rough weekend but we are happy that he's doing better now. I know I didn't get into a lot of details around that but it's hard to write about the sad days. Oh and did I mention that Tyler is now 6lbs 5oz??? He's such a big handsome boy. I call him pork chop because he's got the cutest chubby chin. I just love it.

Dillan is doing well. She is now in a crib and holding her temp well. The last thing she has to be able to do is bottle all of her feedings. Today she bottled the first 3 with ease but by 5pm tonight she was tired. She took about half of it and then fell asleep. She's almost there. Today they stopped giving her caffeine and changed her milk to be exactly what she would get at home. I can't remember if I explained that but they give preemies caffeine to remind them to breathe. If possible they like to stop the caffeine before the babies go home. She had her last dose yesterday so now we just have to see how she does. If she continues as she has I know she will do well without it. She is absolutely adorable and she loves to dress up in all the pretty outfits she's received (even the pink ones). :) The doctor told me yesterday that she would hopefully come home sometime next week. Today he told me she's doing so well it could be sooner than later. I was so excited. I can't wait for her to be home with us. Dillan is now 4lbs 11oz and we are hoping she will hit 5lbs by the time she comes home.

Thank you all for your continued support. It's been over 7 weeks in the NICU and it feels like 7 months. We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses that care for our little ones every day. The staff has been great and we can't thank them enough.

Hope everyone is enjoying the short week this week. My days in the NICU are a blur. I can only imagine what it's going to be like with the two of them at home. Ahhh I can't wait.

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day everyone. I hope you all got out to enjoy the beautiful day and honor anyone you know that has or is serving our country.

I'm just posting a short update tonight. It's been a trying week for us. Tyler continues to have issues with eating, digesting, and breathing. We are searching for some answers but the doctors haven't been able to provide us with any yet. Our poor little guy has been through a lot and it's been very frustrating for us to not be able to help him. I won't get into details of everything that has gone on but just know that Tyler needs lots of prayers. He's trying to tell us that something isn't quite right and we're trying as hard as we can to figure out what it is.

Dillan on the other hand has been our super star. She is now being weened into a crib and is taking most of her food through bottles. The doctor said yesterday there is a chance she could come home with us this week. How exciting is that. So we've been trying to get things ready for her to come home. She weighs 4lbs 9oz now and we're hoping she will break 5lbs by the time she comes home.

So, we've had our ups and downs this weekend. We are hoping for some answers as to what's going on with Tyler this week so we can focus on getting him home. He is so big and so handsome we can't wait until he's home with us.

Thanks to everyone for your continued love and support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

34 Weeks

The kids would have been 34 weeks today with only 4 left to go to be considered full term. We are getting closer to when they should be able to come home.

Got to the hospital today and cuddled with Tyler for an hour. He literally screamed at me once when I was holding him. It was the first time I'd heard his lungs. It was nice that I was able to sooth him because for so long I wasn't able to do that. After that I fed Dillan her once a day bottle. She drank 26 of her 37ml's. Yeah. She did very good and gave me big burps today. This afternoon I had my 6 week follow up appt at the doctor and everything looked good so I'm cleared to return to normal exercise!! It will be interesting to challenge myself now that I know I'm medically ok to do it. Got back to the hospital and had a nice surprise. We got moved to the very, very back corner of the NICU. It's actually a little L cove area with just enough room for twins. It's very private which is nice when you're dealing with the little ones. They like things quiet and dark. When Corey got there after work he cuddled with Tyler until the eye doctor came for their first eye exam. Both kids looked great. No issues or concerns at this point. They will be seen again in a couple of weeks. After the doctor left I cuddled with Dillan while she had dinner from her feeding tube. She slept through the entire thing.

So that was the day in general. No changes were made to Dillans care today. Tyler's feeds were increased to 12ml's per hour. The doctor told me today he has to get to 16ml's per hour to be considered full feeds. He's almost there!!! However, he still isn't pooping. He got another suppository today and it didn't really help. He did pass some gas tonight which is a good sign and I'm sure made him feel better. I think things are moving, they are just moving really, really slow.

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow is Friday and then three day weekends for most. Enjoy the nice weather.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

4lbs

Happy Wednesday all, we had a really good day today with the kids.

I have a new schedule that I'm following with them every day now in order to try to get as much time with each of them as possible. I am at the NICU by 9am in order to cuddle with Tyler for an hour before I have to feed Dillan. That usually takes me until after 12pm. I have to pump and eat and get back to the NICU by 2pm if I want to feed Dillan again and be there when Tyler's care at 3pm. Corey always gets there right after 3:30 and he holds Tyler for another hour or so before we go home for the night. I can usually get out of there a little after 6pm. It's a long day but it goes by fast and I LOVE being there to be involved in the kids care as much as possible.

Ok, updates on the kids. Tyler is still on his new formula and so far things are going ok. He is up to 9ml's per hour which is 27ml's every 3 hours. Before he got sick and started having the stomach issues he was eating 30ml's every 3 hours so he is almost back up to that amount. He is still getting his feeds continuously instead of all at once but it seems to help and we are happy for that. He is not really pooping on his own yet but he gets a suppository once a day and today he had a decent poop. I know it's gross but we celebrate the small things. If Tyler's feeds continue to go ok he will hopefully be off of his IV supplements within the next week and they can remove the central line. That will really free up the amount of cords he has attached to him. Tyler's breathing has been pretty good. Again, he only drops his oxyen when he's bearing down and uncomfortable. Otherwise he's really good. He really enjoys cuddling with Corey and I during the day. He is so comfortable and his oxygen and heart rates are perfect. Today auntie Becky was shadowing the Occupational Therapist (OT) that works in the NICU and they actually got to work on Tyler. He loves his OT and PT (Physical Therapist) and does so well with them. It was great that Becky got to work with him.

Dillan continues to do well. Yesterday I asked the nurse if she could try a bottle. She said they usually wait until 34 weeks before trying it (that would be tomorrow) but if I wanted to try it she'd be there with me. I told her that I really thought Dillan would do well on it and I really wanted to give it a try with her. She's been such a trooper and I wanted to see how it would go. So we gave it a try and she did AWESOME!!! She finished about half of her bottle before he got tired and fell asleep. So we gave her the rest of her feeding through her tube. I was so proud of her.

Today the speech therapist came and sat with me while we did the bottle again. She is the one who evaluates how the babies are doing with the bottle. Well, she said Dillan did awesome. Yeah, happy mom!!! However, the one thing she told me is that it takes a lot of energy for the babies to bottle when they are this little so she only wanted me to do it once a day. Ok, I can live with that. Once Dillan takes over 75% of her bottle then we can increase it and try to do 2 a day. I have a feeling it won't take her long. So, we will do her bottle when she's most awake during the day and just cuddle with her during her other feedings.

So the kids are doing well. Corey and I are so happy that they continue to make strides towards coming home. We really can't wait. Enjoy the rest of the week. It's been beautiful here so far this week. I hope it stays that way so everyone can enjoy the memorial weekend.

Thank you all for the continued support.

Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Eating

I can't believe I'm this far behind and no one has yelled at me for not posting. Here is an update on the kids.

Dillan continues to do well. She is now nursing when I am there during the day and then they feed her the remainder of her food through her feeding tube when she's done nursing. She doesn't get a lot, but if she is awake she does pretty good. Tomorrow I think they will try to feed her with a bottle. I'm excited for that because if she can concur that she is one step closer to being home. She is currently 3lbs 10oz and is still just a little peanut but she is doing very well.

Tyler has had another week of eating problems. On Friday he started having a reaction to the formula he was on and they stopped feeding him AGAIN. Poor guy. They wanted to let his intestines and bowels rest because his belly was very big again and they did an x-rax which showed his bowels were inflamed. So, they stopped that formula on Friday. His belly returned to it's normal size and today his chest actually looked bigger than his belly for once. He still seems really uncomfortable all the time. He grunts and pushes like he is trying to push something out and when he does that he holds his breath and drops his oxygen. When he is calm and resting his oxygen stats are fabulous.

Tonight the doctors are trying something new. Tyler is getting yet another formula and this one does not contain any protein. However, instead of feeding him every three hours like he has been the doctors have him on a very slow continuous feed. That way his stomach doesn't get bombarded with larger amounts all at once. He is currently getting 6ml over a three hour period so it isn't very much food in total and we will see how his belly does.

On a positive note with Tyler tonight the nurse turned his oxygen flow down to 1/2 liter per hour and he has been on room air for most of the day. This is wonderful news for him. They will test how this goes overnight and see if they can continue it tomorrow. Tyler is at 5lbs 1oz now. He really has grown. He is such a handsome little guy. He looked really good today now that his belly is back down to size and he's not so puffy. We just hope and pray that this new formula does the trick and we don't have to worry about other issues going on inside of him.

That's the update for the weekend. Thank you all for your continued love and support.

Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

Good Day

I love when I can post about good days at the NICU.

Tyler's feeds were increased to 22ml's today. He still has a big belly but has been tolerating his feeds well. He's even started pooping. When the nurse told me that it was music to my ears. Let's hope he can keep that up and continue to do well on his formula. His oxygen level was at 30% for most of today. Right now he usually doesn't have big spells where he just stops breathing. The spells he has are mostly because his belly is so big and it pushes up on his lungs. When that happens he takes shallow breaths and his oxygen level drops. It usually just takes a couple of seconds and he catches up with himself and is back on top of things. Today I finally got to hold him after two weeks of being hands off. He feels like a different boy because he's so much bigger than two weeks ago. He just loved being held. Dad came in when he was out too and got to see him outside of his isolet. One other milestone for Tyler is he got moved up into newborn diapers today. So in case anyone was thinking about it, please don't buy us premie diapers because Tyler is already out of them and Dillan probably will be by the time she comes home.

Dillan had another good day. We tried feeding twice today and she does really well. She doesn't actually get any milk but she latches on really well. Tomorrow we may try feeding before I pump so she can actually try to get some milk. Other than that there were no changes to her care. She's eating well and just keeps growing. They nurse weighed her right before we left tonight and she was 3lbs 7oz.

I can see after today how hectic life will be when we get home. I would hold Dillan and try feeding her and then I would jump to Tyler and just hold him while he ate. By the time we were done with that it was Dillan's turn to eat again. Wow! Thank goodness we have so much support and help around to get us through the really busy first couple of months. We are so lucky.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

5 Weeks Old

The kiddos turned 5 weeks old today and they must have been celebrating because they both had pretty good days.

Tyler is currently 4lbs 8oz. He grows and grows and grows and his body is still trying to catch up. He is still eating 15ml of the formula and seems to be tolerating it well. The doctor did a little "procedure" on Tyler last night to try to stimulate his bowels to poop. I know, too much information, but I like to try to capture everything that's happening. Well the procedure seems to have worked a little because he FINALLY went last night and today. We were so happy. It's amazing what makes you happy living in the NICU. :) Today Tyler's oxygen was up to 30% (21% is room air). He had a couple of spells today where his oxygen dropped and every time they nurses would try to turn his oxygen down he'd have a fit and they'd turn it back up. So, he still needs to work on that part. But I did call tonight and his nurse said he loved his bath and has been a really happy boy all night. We love getting reports like that when we call in the evenings.

Dillan had a big day today. She currently weighs 3lbs 5oz and she looks just like a mini baby. Today we tried breastfeeding for the first time. Again, this may be too many details but like I said, I like to capture it all. The doctors repeatedly told me not to get discouraged if she didn't do anything because she is still very early but they wanted us to give it a shot. Dillan did so well. She latched on wonderfully and even sucked just a little bit. Then she'd just fall asleep until we woke her up. The lactation nurse I was with said she knows she got at least two swallows of milk and that was great for a first time. I was happy. After that we just cuddled while she got the rest of her meal through her feeding tube. That was enough for one day.

Well, so we thought. Tuesday is bath night and we've been helping give the kids little sponge baths but tonight Dillans nurse said she was big enough and stable enough to have a real bath. We were so excited. So, we learned how to give her a real bath and she loved it. The water must have been perfect for her because she just relaxed and took it all in. It was great. Afterwards, she gave mommy another surprise. While I was toweling her off she decided to poop all over the towel. She is such a good pooper, I wish she could teach her brother. But we got her all cleaned up, lotioned, redressed, and wrapped up in a warm blanket. Dillan did so well and we were so happy to take part in one more step of her care. It felt great. It was a big day for our little girl and I'm sure she will sleep good tonight.

Speaking of sleeping, it's off to bed for me. Pumping starts early! Have a good night all and thanks for all your continued support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

4lbs Weekend Update

It's been another busy weekend for all of us. Yesterday we took a day off from the NICU to take a short trip to the cities in hopes of buying a stroller. Corey's been fighting a cold and trying to stay away from the NICU so we thought it'd be a good day to go. It was a beautiful day for a road trip. We did find our stroller at REI. It's really easy to fold up and fits great in the trunk. We love it and can't wait until the kids are helping us walk the dogs all summer.

Tyler hit 4lbs on Friday. Yippie, another milestone! Today is was 4lbs 3oz. He's getting so big and is filling out really nice. On Friday he started eating a small amount of the new formula they are trying. He had 5ml's per feed on Friday, 10ml's per feed yesterday and today he went up to 15ml's per feed. The doctors and nurses have told me he's tolerating his feeds very well but he still doesn't want to poop. Today they gave his another suppository and as he has in the past he just pushes it out before it has a chance to properly do it's job. So, he pooped a little but nothing like they wanted. So, we will see how his belly does on this formula. Stay tuned. Tyler's breathing continues to improve daily. On Friday they had oxygen flowing into his nose at 1.5 liters per hour. Yesterday they weened that down to 1.25 and today it was down to 1 liter per hour. I saw in his orders that the goal tonight is to get him down to .75 but we will see how that goes. The nurses told us that sometimes he does really well and sometimes he's naughty and needs a little help. He will get there, he just needs a little more time.

Dillan continues to be a little trooper. Her feeds are up to 30ml and she weighs 3lbs 4oz. When she's sleeping she has these perfect angelic cheeks that you just want to touch. She's absolutely beautiful. My exciting news with Dillan is this week we get to start feeding her. It's not really feeding but just seeing if she can start learning the concept. The doctor wants me to pump like I normally do and then put her up to my chest and see what she does. It's more of a trial and error thing this week but it's an exciting step. When she picks up on this concept I will be spending a lot more time at the hospital so I can be there for as many feedings as possible.

It was a beautiful weekend in Superior and today I went for my first walk with Corey and the dogs since last fall. It felt so good to be out and moving but I can really tell I haven't used any muscles for 4 months. Wow. But we will take things one step at a time. At least I feel good enough to get out and give it a try. It's another two weeks before the doctor says I should really be trying anything besides short walks so we will stick with that.

Hope you all had a good weekend. Continued thanks for the love and support!
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

1 Month Old

What a busy day today is and what a busy week it has been. Today the kids turned one month old. It's hard to believe a month ago I was still sitting in the hospital waiting for something to happen or not happen and today our little babies are a month old.

It's been a busy week and I can't believe I haven't written all week. Well here is an update.

Dillan continues to do well. In fact, today she finally hit 3lbs. She's getting so big and is really starting to look like a little baby. She's such a cutie. She is currently eating 28ml of food per feeding and is doing well. I held her while she ate today.

Tyler is finally starting to feel better. He had another culture today and it came back negative for infection so he just has to finish out his antibiotics. Unfortunately, now he is having some problems digesting his food. On Monday they started feeding him breastmilk again after he hadn't eaten for a couple of days. They fed him Monday and Tuesday and by yesterday morning his belly was really big and hard again so they stopped feeding him. Poor little guy. They give him all the nutrition he needs through his IV, I just wish he could eat. So, now when they start feeding him again they are going to try a formula that has already been broken down into the simplest form so his belly doesn't have to do a lot of work. They will try that and see if that helps him. We will go from there. So, although Tyler isn't eating actual food he is growing!!! Today he was at 3lbs 15oz just one oz away from 4lbs. I expect him to his 4lbs tomorrow. How exciting.

Today we had a conference with the doctors to go over the kids care in detail. It was nice to hear everything beginning from when the kids were born until today. We get great information from the doctors and nurses on a daily basis but it was nice to have it all laid out at once.

The NICU experience continues to have it's ups and downs and daily challenges. We've met some amazing people that help us through and we are so thankful for that. Hope you are all having a good week. I promise I'll try to post more often. :)

Happy 1 Month Birthday to our little Dillan and Tyler. We love you more than you will every realize and can't wait until you are home with us.

Monday

Short update today....

Tyler got to start eating again today. They are trying a small amount of breast milk to see how he handles it. They also put another central line in his arm today. He had one in about a week after he was born but it was removed after his staff infection. So, they put another one in today because they ran out of places to put his IV. When I went there today his IV was in his head. Ouch. I talked to one nurse who said it's a great place for an IV but it sure looks icky. When I left they'd just done an x-ray to confirm that the line was in the right spot. The doctor reviewed it with me. Other than that Tyler had a good day. He still has his cannula in but wasn't requiring any extra oxygen. Yeah, that made us happy.

Dillan continues to just do well. Her nurse today told me to watch out because when you change her diaper she tends to explode!!! Ha ha, that's the third nurse that's told us that, PLUS the time she did it to Corey. I think I'll let Corey change her after she comes home. :)

Corey and I finally worked on the nursery tonight. The furniture is all in but I need to put everything away and wash all of the bedding and clothes. It looks really cute!!! I will post pictures once the bedding is all in place.

Hope everyone had a good Monday.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler :)

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the mom's out there!!! My first mothers day was absolutely wonderful. I got to have a wonderful lunch with my family and got good updates about the kids today.

Dillan continues to do well. Her feeds are still at 25ml every 3 hours. The doctor told me they just come in and say hello to her, feed her and change her and she's happy. She just needs to get bigger and stronger.

Tyler is doing so much better. What they found out was Tyler has a form of strep which is very dangerous. Usually, this type of strep is passed from a mother to a baby during a vaginal delivery. I was never tested for it and the kids were never tested for it because I delivered them via c-section. The doctor said it's very rare for a child to contract this type of bacteria without that form of delivery. However, now that they know what the bacteria is, the antibiotics for it work very well. He will be on them for 14 days to ensure that they kill all the bacteria. They take no chances because the bacteria grows so fast it can take over a child's entire system and shut it down very quickly. The doctor said Tyler is a great fighter and was very lucky he didn't have to have more medical intervention. He did a great job all on his own. So, we will let the antibiotics run this course and hope our little man gets better soon.

The other thing going on with Tyler is his distended belly. Again last night after his feedings his belly got really big. The doctor said he's pooping some and his belly is soft but they were concerned there was something else going on. They'd done an x-ray on it when he got sick the other day but they did another one today just to make sure they didn't miss anything. The good news is that everything looks good. They think he may have some gas and air built up in his intestines that he's having a hard time getting rid of. So today they stopped feeding him again. They want to give his system time to work out what was already in there before putting more in. We will see how he does tomorrow and if they start feeding him small amounts of food again.

Auntie Becky came up to visit with me today and see the kids. I cuddled with Dillan for an hour while we were there. She really is a little peanut. Both kids had mothers day cards with their pictures in them waiting for me when I got there. They were so cute.

Thank you to everyone for the mothers day wishes. It really is sweet and means a lot. I really enjoyed my first mothers day and got the best present ever. Time with my kids, positive reports that they are doing well, and time with my family. It was a great day. Thank you all for the love and support.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler :)

Steps

They say life in the NICU is like a rollar coaster. You take two steps forward and one step back. Yesterday our rollar coaster took a step back.

According to what the doctors tell us Tyler started out having constant spells where his oxygen levels would drop and he looked very pale. They considered this a change in his behavior and decided to do another work up on him. They also tested his white blood cell count and found that to be high which is a sign of infection. They started him on two antibiotics and drew some blood for testing to see if he actually did have an infection.

Also, based on the fact he was so pale (anemic) and they thought he may have an infection they decided to give him some blood. The doctors talked to us about this over the weekend because Tyler had been pale but they didn't want to give him any blood because they want the babies to make the blood that their bodies need. If they provide the blood for them then the body doesn't think it needs to make as much. However, the doctors thought the infection may be affecting his blood production and thought it best to give him the blood he was lacking.

On top of all of this our little buddy was so tired from fighting off whatever was in his system that he didn't have the energy to remember to breathe all of the time so he was put on a si-pap machine. Si-pap is similar to c-pap. It's a little mask that goes over his nose to constantly keep pressure on his lungs. The difference with si-pap is it can be set to only give the pressure at a certain interval. The good news is that Tyler is doing most of the breathing on his own and without extra oxygen. The si-pap machine kicks in every 15 seconds or so and just gives him a boost of air into his nose.

Tylers culture tests came back this morning and he has a strep infection. The last infection he had was a staff infection so this one is different. He will now be on this antibiotic for at least 10 days to fight off the infection. The doctors are hoping he will start to feel better within the next 24 hours and hopefully gain enough of his strength back that he can come off the si-pap machine. We will see. When we were there today he was really fussy and you could tell he really didn't feel good. His color was much better compared to yesterday but the poor little guy just needs to rest and get better. It's heartbreaking as parents to know that your child is in pain or doesn't feel good and there is nothing you can do about it. All you want to do is pick him up and tell him it's going to be ok and you can't. All we can really do is talk to him.

On a positive note, Dillan is doing wonderful. Yesterday her cannula was removed and she's breathing completely on her own now. She really does just look like a really small baby. She makes the cutest little faces and she really talks to you with her hands. No real changes to report other than her breathing is going well.

Corey said yesterday he thinks he's coming down with a cold. He is fighting it the best he can and getting lots of rest. Last but not least my infection came back and I started antibiotics yesterday for mastitis again. Yesterday was really not our day.

That's the update for today. Please say a little extra prayer for Tyler as he fights off whatever is invading his system. He is our little fighter. Hope everyone has a nice weekend. I will update again tomorrow.

Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan & Tyler

31 Weeks Today

Hi all, I don't have a large update on the kids today. Yesterday everything stayed the same. The kids did really well. Today the kids would've been 31 weeks. It's amazing how fast the time goes by and yet how slow it seems.

Our nurse said the doctor said that Dillan could try going without her oxygen cannula yesterday but I'm not sure how comfortable the nurse was doing that last night. As of the time we left, she was still wearing it. She said it's just easier to give her oxygen if she needs it if the cannula is on. Makes sense to me. As much as I would LOVE to see her without it, I know it makes it easier if they do have to intervene and help her.

Tyler continues to grow and get stronger. There were no changes to his oxygen. He is still having the occasional spell where they have to bump up his oxygen and remind him to breathe. Many people are starting to comment that he looks like Corey.

Last night Corey and I had dinner with three other couples from the NICU. It was really nice to just go out for dinner and relax. We all told stories about our experiences and laughed a lot. I think we all needed it. These are the people that understand the emotional ride that you are on and it was really nice to bond with all of them.

Thank you all for your continued support.
Love
Joscy, Corey, Dillan, & Tyler

3 Weeks Old

Hi all, here is a short update from yesterday when the kids turned 3 weeks old. Both kids had a good quiet day yesterday. Their oxygen levels were both down and they were both doing quite well.

Dillan's weight is 2lbs 10oz and Tyler's weight is 3lbs 4oz. Both feeds stayed the same overnight.

Grandma and Grandpa Arnold came up to visit for a bit. Corey had Dillan out and was cuddling with her when they were up so they actually got to see her without being in her isolette. Tuesday night is bath night so I got to give Tyler a bath. Poor little guy. I really stressed him out but we got through it ok and afterwards I cuddled him up in a warm blanket and held him while he ate. Tyler's color and his belly both looked a little better yesterday. It was good to see him feeling good.

That's about all I have for an update today. Quiet days are good days and we are thankful for each one. Happy Cinco de Mayo today!

Holding Both

Morning all, here is yesterday's update. I walked in and Dillan had done a number on her blankets so they were changing out everything in her isolette. They asked me if I wanted to hold her while they worked. Sure! So I sat down with her right away. Well, then it was Tyler's time to eat so they asked me if I wanted Tyler as well while he ate. Umm, I think so??? How do you hold two at once??? So they got me all set up and I got to hold both kids at the same time. It was the first time I've had both kids so close to me since they were still in my belly. It was awesome. I told them both that their dad would be jealous!

Dillan continues to do well. Her feedings were increased to 24ml yesterday and she is no longer getting caffeine. She weighs 2lbs 10oz now and just continues to get bigger. She is still at 500ml of flow into her oxygen cannula but she pulls it out of her nose whenever she gets a chance.

We got a little more information on how Tyler is doing yesterday. Tyler's last dose of antibiotics was due yesterday morning but they would've had to put a new IV in him so they decided against giving him the last dose. So Tyler is now IV free. :) Our little man is now 3lbs 3oz and continues to grow and grow. One of the things we asked about yesterday was Tyler looks very pale, especially when you compare him to his sister. The doctor told us that Tyler's body hasn't been able to keep up with the amount of blood that his body needs because he's growing so fast. In the extreme case of this they will give the kids a blood transfusion but they really try to challenge the body first to produce more blood. That is what they are currently doing with him. They are also giving him extra vitamins with iron to encourage his body to produce more blood. They keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't look like he's getting sick, and therefore causing him to be pale, but yesterday that was not the case. The doctors just think he needs to catch up with his body.

The other thing we asked about Tyler yesterday was his belly. His belly has been distended (big) for the last couple of days and we weren't sure what that meant. The nurse flat out said he's just being lazy!!! Ha ha here is why. They tried to give him a suppository yesterday to try to get his bowels moving and as soon as they inserted it (they put it directly in their butt) he pushed it back out. He did this twice so they just left it out. They know everything is working with him he just doesn't want to push it out. I think he just likes to make sure we are worried about him.

So overall the kids are doing well. We just got some more info yesterday which made us feel better. The other thing we did yesterday was said we wanted to schedule what the hospital calls a "care conference" for both kids for next week when they turn a month old. Care conferences bring in all the people that care for the kids (doctors, nurses, social worker, OT, PT, dietitian, etc.) and go over the kids from head to toe and talk about what they think the plan is for the kids. It will be interesting to get everything in detail.

The kids are three weeks old today so I'll try to get some pictures posted from today. It's amazing how fast the days fly by and I run out of time to do things. Thanks again everyone for your continued support.

Big Move

Yesterday the kids made a big move to the second row of the NICU. The way the NICU is set up the kids with the most medical care are in the first row and the farther you go back the closer you are to discharge. Well yesterday both Tyler and Dillan moved to the second row. (There are three rows total.) We were so happy. The second row is a lot quieter since it's farther from the nurses station and you just feel like you have a little more privacy. I suspect we will spend most if not all of the remainder of our time here.

Another big milestone yesterday, Tyler hit 3lbs!!! Yeah, we are so happy that he continues to grow bigger and stronger. Today he was up to 3lbs 2oz. He is still eating 26ml of food per feeding but the nurse tonight was going to try feeding him without the extra calories in his milk. She thinks they may be causing him some extra gas which can affect his breathing. So, we will see how that goes tonight. Tyler is still at 2L of oxygen which is quite a bit of pressure going into his nose to remind him to breathe. Because he's got so much air going in, he tends to swallow extra air which makes his tummy really full. This could be another area affecting his breathing because if his tummy is full of air, there isn't as much space for his lungs to expand out. Another big milestone for Tyler, he was upgraded to preemie diapers. There are two sizes in the NICU before regular preemie Pampers and both kids had been in one size smaller than preemie. Finally, Tyler should be finishing up on his antibiotic tomorrow and then his little IV can come out. One less cord for him. :) So Tyler had a lot going on yesterday on the first of May.

Dillan is also growing and starting to fill out. She is currently at 2lbs 8oz. It seems weird to say she's filling out at that weight but you can really tell a difference. Dillan is still eating 22ml of food per feeding and is doing well with the extra calories. Dillan also still has the oxygen in but her pressure is down to 500ml. She has been at that setting for a couple of days now so we will see how long she stays there before she can try breathing on her own again. Dillan has very few spells where her oxygen levels drop so it could be soon. She continues to be our little trooper and are so happy that she's doing well.

Today at the NICU Corey held Tyler and I did some skin-to-skin kangarooing with Dillan. Grandma and Grandpa Skandel came to visit and can really tell the kids are growing. Corey is just finishing setting up the kids cribs tonight and soon our spare bedroom will start to look like a nursery. I can't wait.

All in all the kids had a pretty good weekend. Thanks everyone for your continued love and support.

It's May

Morning all, I have a fun story for you. Corey had the day off yesterday because he worked an overnight shift the night before. So he slept until early afternoon and we headed up to the hospital. We got there just before Dillan's 2pm feeding so Corey volunteered to change her diaper and take her temp. Mid change I heard this big bang. It was Corey's arm banging against the isolette because after he'd taken Dillan's diaper off she decided to poop all over him, her clothes, and all her blankets. It was great. Here are Corey and I, first time parents, trying to figure out how to clean all of this up and change her clothes through the two little holes in the isolette. I'm pretty sure it took us 15 min but we finally got her cleaned and then Corey went back to redressing her. It was a great first time parenting experience.

Let's see, I didn't get Dillan's weight last night but she is eating 22ml per feeding with the extra calories added in. Her oxygen level is at 1/2l and she does really well. 1/2l is the amount of pressure that the oxygen is flowing into her nose. It was lowered yesterday from 3/4 to 1/2 so she is moving in the right direction. Corey had her out holding her for over an hour and she did really good.

Tyler continues to be our little fighter. He is up to 26ml per feeding also with the extra calories. However, his oxygen was increased yesterday to 2l to see if that helps with some of his spells. Both Dillan and Tyler also get a boost of caffeine in their feedings once a day which is supposed to help with the spells they have. Tyler has 2 days left of antibiotics and then his little IV can come out. I had him out for over an hour as well yesterday and he did really well. He always seems to when he's with mom and dad.

When we had the kids out yesterday our nurse took a picture of all of us. If I have time this weekend I will post it. It will be our first family photo. Today our plan is to work on getting the kids room set up. We've got a lot of work to do there but it should be fun. Later this afternoon my sister-in-law Jen is coming up and we may actually go register at Target for baby stuff. I never got a chance to do it before the kids were born so we're doing it after the fact. I'm really excited. Hope everyone has a great Saturday.

Love
Corey, Joscy, Dillan & Tyler :)

TGIF

Morning all, I don't have a lot to report on the kids today. They are both going through their regular ups and downs on the oxygen levels which is extremely common in kids their age.

Dillan is at 2lb 6oz and Tyler is at 2lb 13oz. They increased the amount of calories they are adding to their milk to 24 yesterday to try to give them a little extra boost again and Tyler's feedings increased to 26ml per feeding. Tyler has a couple of days left on his antibiotics and hopefully he'll be able to focus on growing and getting stronger.

Yesterday Tyler was having a tough day but when I got there I held him for an hour and he was so good. The nurses showed me how to feel his little body to tell if he's getting to relaxed. When he gets too relaxed is usually when he forgets to breathe. Then a couple seconds later he'll take a deep breath to recover. So if you can tell his breathing is getting really shallow you can rub his back or pat his little butt to remind him that he has to focus on breathing. He did really well yesterday when I had him out. I just kept telling him how proud I was of him.

When Corey got there after work he held Dillan for about an hour. She's such a trooper and does so well. I caught Corey once telling her how spoiled she was going to be when she came home. There is no doubt in my mind she is Daddy's little girl. Let me tell you I know first hand what being Daddy's little girl feels like and she is so lucky. There is no better feeling in the world than that unconditional love and support.

Today is going to be my first day driving up to the NICU. I haven't driven a car since February and I'm really looking forward to it. Corey had to work an overnight shift last night so he's sleeping this morning. I'm thinking we will head up there this afternoon.

Again, thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers, and support. Have a great weekend and for everyone in WI I hope you all catch some fish!!!

2 Weeks Old 03/27/10

The kids turned two weeks old yesterday. We had such a nice day at the NICU. Both kids got to put real baby sleepers on for the first time and it melted our hearts. They look so cute. I attached some picutres so you can see.

Here is Dillan just sprawled out completely flat. My little girl that I swore would never wear pink looks completely adorable in it. She's my little princess. The second picture is her all tucked in with her little blanket. Dillan is up to 2lb 7oz now and she is over 15 inches long. She just contineus to get bigger and stronger. She's our little trooper.
And here is our little monster Tyler in his cute little baseball outfit. His antibiotics seem to be working well and he's starting to feel better. I didn't get Tyler's weight yesterday but he was at 2lbs 11oz the day before. He's not growing as fast as Dillan is but he's also been fighting his infection. He's been doing really well and we hope he's back to 100% soon. He is definetly his Daddy's little man. Corey always catches him with his eyes open.

Both kids are still on oxygen and the amount varies throughout the day. When the kids eat they tend to need a little more help because their bellies get full and they can't take good deep breathes. We expect the oxygen to continue for another couple weeks.

As of yesterday the NICU started adding extra calories to the breastmilk that the kids get. It's just a powder that they add. Breastmilk contains 20 calories per oz and this powder just bumps that up to 22 calories per oz. It's a way to increase their calories intake without increasing the amount of milk they have to digest. Tyler is now up to 24ml per feeding and Dillan is up to 22ml per feeding. It seems like so much compared to the 1ml they each started at.

You can't help but feel proud of everything they are doing knowing that they aren't supposed to have to do any of this stuff for another 2 months.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

1 Week Old Pictures 3/20/10

Here are some pictures of the kids at 1 week old.

Tyler just hanging out and relaxing and then hiding from the camera. I just thought that one was cute.

And here is Dillan. She loves being on her belly cuddling with her blankets.

The tubes you see going into their noses are their feeding tubes. Neither of them were on any kind of breathing help at this point. Since then they have both been on and off some oxygen help but they are both doing well. I'm hoping to post pictures on their weekly birthday's each week. Hopefully I can keep up with it. Hope you enjoy!!!

Quite a Week

Let's see, the last time I wrote, Tyler had just started his apnea spells. I believe Wednesday night they put Tyler back on the c-pap to help him breathe. They also did an entire workup on him to check for anything else and found he had an infection so they started him on antibiotics. He is responding well to the antibiotics which is good. Yesteday he came off the c-pap again and is breathing on his own again. Yeah. The doctors thought he may have needed the help breathing because he was so tired from fighting the infection. Poor little guy.

Then towards the end of the week, Dillan started having the same type of apnea spells that Tyler had earlier in the week so they immediatly started her on antibiotics and did a full workup on her. She has the little oxygen tubes in her nose now to give her a little help breathing and her antibiotics started yesterday.

To top off the week, I called mom yesterday because I had a temp and couldn't stop shaking. I asked her to come over and keep an eye on me. When she got here and took my temp again it was 103.7. So, we called the doctors office and they think I also have an infection. My infection is called mastitis, it's an infection in the breast. It's not contagious but I didn't go up to the hospital yesterday just because I felt so icky. So, Tyler, Dillan, and I are all on antibiotics.

Beyond the infections and the help with breathing this week both kids are growing fabulous. I know Dillan made it past 2 pounds on Thursday but I don't have her exact weight. I will have to get the updated numbers when I go up there this weekend. I know they are both eating larger amounts. Tyler is up to 15ml per feeding and Dillan is up to 13ml per feeding. They continue to get bigger and stronger every day. I will try to get some 1 week birthday photos up here today.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Please keep our little ones in your thoughts and prayers.