Freaky twin stuff

You know how people talk about identical twins being freakishly alike? Well it's freakishly true. I didn't realize how much the boys mimic each other until I went to change Nolan's diaper today. I had just changed Adrian's diaper and since his was messy Nolan's would be too. Naturally, right? It was at that moment that I realized how much expectations were constantly being set based on the actions (or poops) of the other twin. If Nolan is in a grumpy mood, you better bet Adrian will be. If Adrian is in my arms smiling and cooing, don't be surprised to hear a giggle from the other crib (which has actually happened on more than one occasion). It's strange that these boys act and do so much alike when they technically haven't even seen each other since the morning of their birth. It makes you wonder how much of it is real and how much they are planning with their telepathic twin conversations. Either way, it's something that I am finding quite enjoyable to witness.

Nolan = mealtime rockstar

Nolan took his full morning feed from me today! He must be feeling pretty motivated because he latched on and didn't stop! And not only did he eat during his 9am feeding but he took another 10 mL at his 12pm feeding. Woohoo! Adrian, on the other hand, is one lazy bum today. He's been too sleepy to eat anything. We have yet to beat his record of 25mL but tomorrow is a new day. Maybe he'll realize that he's being shown up by his brother and pick it up a bit. In the meantime we'll just turn mealtime into cuddletime:)

Today is a good day. 1/3/2012. 38 weeks gest./ 6 weeks old

I'm just hanging out next to Nolan and Adrians cribside thinking about how grateful I am to have these beautiful babies. Sometimes I look down at them and think "how did somebody so beautiful come from me?" they are just so perfect.
Today we are continuing to work on breastfeeding. This morning went well. Adrian took 14 mL and Nolan took 18 mL. To put that number in perspective, Adrian normally gets 50 mL from his feeding tube and Nolan gets 43. They are slowly getting better and better!
I took a break a little while ago and visited the gals from the diagnostics center who did my hour long NSTs during the pregnancy. It was so good to see them! It really made my day. I really got to know these girls during my stay at the hospital so it was nice to finally see them again.
So far, today is a good day.

Pictures!

26 weeks pregnant

29 weeks pregnant

The day before they arrived

My last night of pregnancy

Adrian 3 lb 6 oz 15.5 in

Nolan 3 lb 14 in

My first time touching Nolan

My first time holding Adrian

Billy's first time holding Adrian

Billy's first time holding Nolan

Nolan

Adrian

Nolan in his "snugglie". He looked so cramped in that thing. It was so sad!

Adrian

Nolan

The first time me and Billy held the boys at the same time

Nolan's first outfit 

Nolan

Nolan

Adrian

Adrian

Nolan

Update on Adrian and Nolan- 5 weeks

This is going to be quick-

We are working on breast feeding with the boys and man is it tiring!! I spend most of my day at the hospital just trying to get these babies to suck on the teet. They have both done well once but every other time they have either been too sleepy or just not interested. It's fun being able to hang out with them though.

The boys have such different personalities. Adrian is super chill and super wiggly. He likes just hanging out with his mom and dad but he is always kicking and grabbing whatever he can, including his oxygen tube. It makes nursing really hard because his hand will somehow break free from his blanket and before you know it he has ripped his tube out! I was sweating today because I was getting such a workout just trying to feed him. He is quite entertaining and so cute. He definitely makes me work, though:)
Nolan is sooo laid back. He will be wide awake, looking around and smiling and his whole body will be limp. He is the happiest little baby. Unless you change his diaper or touch him with anything cold, then he let's out the saddest little cry. I love hanging out with his cute little self.

As much as I love hanging out with my sweet, handsome little guys I hate being at the NICU. It is such a stressful place to be. Having screaming babies all over the place, nurses that didn't get the memo about your baby's special needs, and an attending that makes you feel like it's your fault their not breast feeding all make it a pretty crappy place to be. You can tell that Adrian and Nolans new environment, which is full of noise is really taking a toll on them. They have rarely had enough energy to keep their eyes open, let alone suck on a boobie. I hope some of these babies go home soon so that the boys can get more rest to learn how to eat. If they learn how to eat and Nolan can ween down from his oxygen a little, they can come home! We are still a few weeks away but I can't wait.

Life in the NICU

Adrian and his daddy, together for the first time

Nolan and his daddy, together for the first time

Man, I am really bad at blogging!

So it's been exactly 3 weeks and 3 days since the twins were born and they are doing better and better every day. Adrian just hit the 4 lb mark and was moved into an open crib. Nolan is right behind at 3 lb 14 oz and should be in an open crib just like his brother in the next few days. They are getting closer and closer to coming home! I can't wait!
Life in the NICU is stressful, to say the least. There are so many things to learn. We've had to learn what alarm means nothing at all and what alarm means PANIC! Luckily we've only heard the panic alarm a few times and it wasn't even necessarily a time to panic. It just meant that one of the boy's heart rates and oxygen level dropped for just a second and then came right back up. It's pretty common with preemies but I'll admit that I hold my breath each time it happens.
Although the boys are doing great, we have definitely had some scares with both of them. At first they thought that Nolan had entire pieces of vertebrae missing in his neck and were worried that his spinal cord was unstable. They immediately scheduled and MRI at Primary Children's Hospital but it wasn't for a week after the initial scan. That meant that poor Nolan had to be put in this special wrap that didn't allow him to move. Needless to say, we were also unable to hold him. It was so hard not being able to hold our baby but the worry and unknown were the hardest. I don't think I slept that whole week. Finally, on December 7, he had his MRI done. A few days later we found out that his vertebrae were fully formed and that his spinal cord was stable. What a gigantic relief. We did learn that he has some fused vertebrae in his neck but we wont know what that'll mean for him in the long run until he grows more. I really hope that it grows properly and doesn't cause him any problems. His neck moves better and better every day, so I am extremely hopeful that he will be a normal boy and will be able to do anything he wants to.
Then there's the scare with Adrian. I received a call one day a couple weeks ago from the charge nurse at the NICU. She told me that they did an x-ray of Adrian's lungs because they were worried that he had an infection. She said that his lungs looked fine but the x-ray showed a hole in his intestines. The second I heard this I lost it. I was hysterical. The charge nurse continued to tell me that they were going to take another x-ray but if it was as bad as they thought, he would be rushed over to Primary's for surgery and that I should get to the hospital as soon as possible. Luckily my dad was here to take me. It was the longest car ride of my life but we finally made it. Billy had arrived there right before us and was at the sink washing his hands when we walked in. He told me that he was just informed that the x-ray came back negative and that there was no hole but Adrian did have an infection in his tummy and they needed to do some other tests. I was still extremely worried but so relieved that he wasn't as sick as they thought he was. Later that day all the tests came back negative. He had an upset tummy but all they ended up having to do was give him antibiotics and take him off feedings for a few days. The strange thing is that later that night, Nolan's belly did the same thing. They weren't worried about a hole but they took the same precaution with him and took him off feedings as well. A few days later they were both back to normal.
What a scary few weeks. I am so glad that my little guys are doing so much better. They are even starting to breast feed (sorta). They just need to be able to eat on their own and then they can come home. It's still a long ways away but we are slowly getting there!

Hospital/boys update- 31 weeks 4 days

Update:
We are almost there! Billy and I will be parents to the two most adorable baby boys first thing Tuesday morning. I can't believe it's here. It feels like I've been here in the hospital for an eternity but the real journey is finally about to begin. There have been so many ups and downs since we first found out the difficult situation of our twins. There have been moments of fear but there have been so many more moments of triumph and celebration. Every Tuesday has marked a new gestation week and that means that every Tuesday my boys have been given a better chance. This following week will be the biggest celebration of all, their arrival! It feels like I'm 5 and it's the most exciting Christmas that has ever existed. I'm having trouble sleeping because I get so giddy thinking about them!
We still have a bit of a challenge ahead of us, seeing as they will be 8 weeks premature but these boys are going to do just great! They are definitely fighters. I mean, they've had to fight each other in the womb this whole time. Sometimes on ultrasound it looked like they were really brawling against each other. Baby A is definitely more on the defensive with his closed fists blocking and Baby B is the one that throws the punches. Silly boys. It'll be so interesting to see if they act similar once they're on the outside.
Today has surprisingly been a really rough day so far. The boys have decided to mess around with mom and make her worry as much as possible before they come out. Their heart rates have been hanging out in the one-teens, which they haven't done until today. They are usually 125-135. I've hooked myself up to the monitor a few times because I'm getting sick with worry. The doctors have come over a couple of times to tell me that they look just great. They are having good variables in the heart rates and they are both having good accelerations, which is a sign of maturing brains. They said that a maturing fetus' heart rate will often lower as it gets bigger. But c'mon boys, now?! The really really good news is, though, if they did decide to come out today I've already had my first of two rounds of steroid shots for their lung development. They won't though. I think it's just pre-mommy jitters.
Well, wish us luck!  I will keep everyone updated on their condition when they come out. I might even post some pictures!