Quick Update

We had a wonderful weekend filled family and friends; I love weekends where we get to see the ones we love, but it makes me a bad blogger! We went to my parents on Sunday and when we got home, there were so many bottles to wash, babies to feed, laundry to fold, dinner to cook that I didn't sent down to update the blog.  I'll have all the pictures from our Mother's Day weekend adventures tonight, but I wanted to give a quick update today.

Tony and I wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for Miss Harper and her feeding issues. We have seen a turn around in our little girl this weekend. She had been pushed to the point in her eating that she would scream and cry when being fed, gag, refuse the bottle, and throw up at least once a day (sometimes more). Here are the things we've changed in her feeding:

-increase in thickness (from 3 1/3 tsp of rice to 5 1/2 tsp of rice)
-swaddle hands (to help her organize herself)
-feed when she cues to eat (instead of every 3 hours during the day like brother)
-stop feeding when she seems upset or finished even if she has taken very little

I know some of these things sound like common sense like "feed the baby when she's hungry", but all the doctors in the NICU had her on a feeding schedule to get in the calories she needed and Jack eats every 3 hours like clock work. It seemed like letting her go longer during the day would be more harmful (because she would get offered one less bottle than Jack, thus less calorie intake), but she seems to be much happier when she controls when she eats and she actually put herself back on a 3 hour schedule yesterday. We have also been throw up free for 3 days! I know that this does not seem like much, but in our house it's huge. It's amazing how much happier she is when she isn't choking and gaging during dinner and we know now that she's actually getting every drop of forumla she takes.

Harper has also started to smile while she eats and she's making eye contact- a very big deal for us because she had a far away stare for so long when she was fed. We hope that these changes will be what it takes to get our girl back on track with her weight and keep her full and happy :)

Feeding Results

Harper's time at the feeding clinic went well today and we are very hopeful that her new routine will yield some promising results.  Here are the updates:

-Her thickened formula was not thick enough
-We are moving from 3 1/2 tsp of thickening rice to now 5 1/2 tsp
-She was having a problem arching and hitting at the bottle, so now she's going to be swaddled for feedings only
-She needs a distraction to take her mind off eating and to calm her anxiety- Sesame Street and Baby Einstein are our new friends and will be watched each time Harper eats
-Prevacid will still be given to curb reflux problems, but we might go from twice a day to three times a day

So far, the feeds we've done at home have been less stressful than the feeds yesterday. We have noticed that she does not cry as much while we're trying to get her to start her bottle, and she seems more relaxed eating. Harper still hasn't finished a bottle yet today, but she's I'm hoping she is working her way up to it.

While we were having Harper's eating evaluated, we asked the OT about her head shape. She evaluated Harper and said her shape didn't look too bad, but she needed to stretch for more mobility. The OT was nice enough to show us a couple of stretches, so we can implement those into our daily routine. On a side note, I tried to do the stretches to myself and I need to work on my own mobility as well; I could only hold those stretches for a few seconds at time.

So, our homework this weekend is to get some DVDs for Harper to watch while she eats, work on stretching as much as possible, and cheer her on while she puts down those bottles. I hope we have a good weekend; she coudld use one.

She's In!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Harper is getting into the feeding clinic on Thursday.  Prayers for our little girl would be greatly appreciated. We are hoping that this clinic will be able to help us help Harper. Any improvement would be a blessing. We can't wait to see what the occupational therapist has to say!

While We Wait

If you read the entry about the twins 4 month check up, then you know that Harper is going to be involved in another swallow study and, hopefully, will get to go to the feeding clinic to get some help for her eating. If you've also read any of the blogs about Harper's last few weeks in the NICU, then you know about her eating problems.

These eating problems have both Tony and I at the end our ropes. We don't know what we need to do to help Harper, and when we feed her now it's a fight. She has gotten to the point where she will hit the bottle away, put her hand in front of her face, or swat at the hand trying to feed her (thankfully, no biting- ha).  Harper's new thing is to wrap her legs around your arm, like she's trying to climb a fireman's pole, and just start screaming and crying. 

Not only is this frustrating, the girl MUST eat, but it is also emotionally draining. I feel like we're hurting her. When she does eat (which she eats some from every bottle- haven't had one yet that's totally refused to take), she gets a far away look in her eye and then chugs the whole bottle. It's almost like we're asking her to take a great big dose of nasty medicine so she goes to her "happy place" to get it all down. 

We were concerned with her eating when she came home. We were frustrated with her eating when she wouldn't take more than her minimum required. We are now beside ourselves because we don't know what to do to help this little girl. It takes everything I have to feed her some days. I know she has to eat and she need the nutrition, but watching her heart break when she sees the bottle, and holding this girl with a beautiful smile who turns into a crying mess as you lean down to feed her, that is rough. There have been nights when Tony and I have switched back and forth because we were both so worn down, worn out, worn through. 

Please say a prayer that we can get Harper into the feeding clinic ASAP; we need them to call and set something up. We've been waiting four days and I don't want to wait four more.

Weekend Warriors

We were busy little bees this weekend trying to enjoy the spring weather and get out and about with the kiddos. Friday Tony had the day off and spent all day with kids by himself for the first time. I left at 7:15 hoping they would have a good day, and I returned at 4 to a happy Dad and two smiling kiddos-success! We celebrated the victory with dinner out with the Sterlings, which means 4 adults and 3 kiddos; we were lucky all 3 kids were well behaved (no melt downs until dessert arrived). We got home from dinner and tucked everyone in to watch some tv and unwind.

Saturday we were busy with chores, but managed to take a quick trip to Target where we were stopped by two different families to talk about the twins and how well behaved they were- thankfully no meltdowns at Target and we the kids came out with two more books and The Muppets Take Manhattan on DVD :)

Sunday we made a grocery store run and then had some visitors. I was so excited to get to introduce the kids to my long time friend, Laura, and her family. Laura and her daughter, Charlotte, were visiting from Virgina and got to spend some time with us. Charlotte was interested in the babies, but was much more excited to see Abby, and I think Abby was excited that finally someone was visiting her. :)

Nana also came over to see the kiddos this afternoon and the kids had fun showing her how much they've grown and smiling while she talked to them. It was nice to have guests today so Tony and I could finish up some chores and get ready for the long work week. 

We also managed to sneak in a quick photo shoot of the twins in their cute "h" and "j" onesies that they are finally big enough to wear. A big shout out to the Sandbergs for their attire.

Wiped out at the end of the weekend and ready to rest...

4 Month Update

We went on a adventure to the doctor’s today and the twins got their 4 month check up, which included shots all around. The kids were brave during their doctor visit and Tony and I are excited to share their updates.

Harper:

8 lbs and 5 oz in the 6% for her preemie growth curve

21.8 inches long in the 33%

15 inch head circumference in the 31% (2% of a full term growth curve)

She got an A+ on her physical exam, but has a few issues that we’re going to get help with.  Harper is still having feeding issues. I know I posted a week or so ago that she was finishing all of her bottles, but that only lasted a couple of days. Right now, Harper takes about 14 ounces of formula a day and she should be around 16 or 17. We also discussed the mannerisms that we’ve noticed during her feedings: gagging, crying, seeming overwhelmed, pushing the bottle away, etc. Our pediatrician is going to refer us to a speech therapist to help Harper with her eating skills and she’s going to get a new swallow study done. The doctor thinks she may still be aspirating her formula and wants to make sure we address that.  Harper is also a little more of a challenge with her head shape (something they worked on constantly in the NICU), so we have a physical therapist who is going to show us some exercises to help loosen up her neck and help with her head shape.  Aside from eating and noggin shape, she looks great- Praise God!

 

Jack:

A whopping 10 lbs 15 oz in the 60% for the preemie growth curve

22.3 inches long in the 55%

16.3 inch head circumference in the 95% (the 40% of a full term growth curve)

Jack is doing really and rockin’ his eating. Right now he’s taking about 20 ounces a day and he finishes all of his bottles. We also talked about his reflux problem and were told to keep him on his medicine. He is still choking and spitting up, but he spits up about an hour ½ to two hours after he eats. This makes his sleeping arrangement a little tricky; we’ve elevated the head of his bed, but that isn’t fool proof and it’s a little scary to wake up to the sound of your infant choking. I hope this reflux is something he outgrows soon. Aside from that, he looks great; great head shape, good motor skills and also an A+ physically.

We are so blessed to have such healthy kiddos and we wanted to share some cute photos of them too- enjoy!

 

 

It's Been A While...

Believe it or not, the little babies that we brought home from the hospital are now 4 months old! They were 4 months old on Tuesday, the 30th (my grandfather's birthday- it's heart warming to me that they'll always have a small connection to him in that way). Today, the kids go in for their check up and we'll have offical height and weight stats that I'll post this evening along with their 4th month pictures I took- they are really cute.

In the interum, however, I thought I would share our new "thing" that Tony and I have started. When the kids came home from the hospital, poor Abby and her walks fell down on our priority list. In addition to having tiny infants, this was aided by the cold weather. Now, when we have a beautiful sunshiney, 85 degree day, it's much harder to put Abby off; we know how much she loves to walk in the sunshine.  So, we have devised a plan to help Abby get her walk in and to keep us both sane. The person who is walking Abby, also dons the Baby Bjorn and takes a kid with them on their walk. This helps all in a variety of ways: Abby isn't going stir crazy inside the house, the person walking Abby isn't trying to manuver the stroller and Abby (a feat for sure), the kiddo on the walk gets some fresh air and oustide time, the adults each get some one on one time with a kiddo, the adult left at home has a much higher chance of doing something productive at home (like washing bottles or folding laundry) with only one child to take care of. 

We've tried this twice and it's worked out pretty well.  Here's a shot of Harper and Tony after their walk. 

P.S. Carrying a baby on your chest (even a small one) while you power walk a mile with a 50lb dog encouraging you to move faster is a no joke workout!