3 weeks old and growing!

This week has been a great one for our family. This week started out with Grady and Adalynn getting to meet their Great Aunt Brenda. Monday was a great visit and we welcome any visitors that want to make the drive to Houston. There aren't many restrictions as far as visitors go, other than you cannot be sick. Just let Taylor or I know if you want to come and visit, because one of us has to be there!

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful when it came to the babies health. We keep hearing from the doctors, "Nothing has changed, our plan is still the same." We cannot think of anything better to hear! As long as they are doing good...we shouldn't have much to hear from the doctors. 

As of this Wednesday, the doctors were ready to move our babies to Level 2 NICU. They had 2 bed spaces available for the babies so they could be together, but Grady and Adalynn seemed to have other plans. There was just a little hiccup with their oxygen, so they spent Wednesday night in Level 3. For those wondering, Level 3 NICU is a NICU for babies who are much sicker and need more assistance than babies in Level 2. Level 2 NICU has a higher nurse to baby ratio (1 nurse for every 4 babies) and it is the last step where babies go before they get to go home. 

Thursday proved to be very exciting for us. The doctors decided to have a meeting to decide what the best course of action for our babies would be. Some doctors  were toying around with the idea of sending our babies back to The Woodlands, the other doctors were wanting to keep them at TCH. So, needless to say, our babies spent another night in Level 3 NICU so the doctors could get a better idea of what was best for our babies. I also got to hold both babies together today for the first time. It was so sweet to see them side by side, to see their similarities and differences. 

Grady is on the left, Adalynn is on the right! Look at how chubby their cheeks look! ;)

Today has been the best day thus far, except for the day our babies were born! ;) The doctors made the decision together to keep our babies at TCH for 5-6 days or so to transition them off of this special fortifier that is added to my milk. This specific fortifier is not available at St. Luke's so they are transitioning to a fortifier that is available in The Woodlands. If the babies tolerate the new fortifier, then they will be able to transfer to St. Lukes. They are having another Echo Test done on Monday to check on their murmurs, and hopefully by Wednesday or Thursday our babies will be transferred via Kangaroo Crew back to The Woodlands. As I was leaving today, both Grady and Adalynn were being transferred to Level 2 NICU at TCH. 

Hope that all of you are enjoying the updates, and again we thank you all for the prayers!

Love,
Jessica and Taylor 

Thankful, Thankful, Thankful!

This week has proven to be one with many things for Taylor and I to be thankful for. Since my last update, many things have changed in regards to our babies. Here is a look at how our week went!

Saturday: The doctors discovered a heart murmur in both of our babies. They said that murmurs are very common in premature babies and that we shouldn't worry about it right now. They ordered an Echo test, which is an ultrasound of the heart for Monday to determine how large the murmur was in both babies. The test would indicate the size of the murmur and if it was closing on its own.

Monday: The day of the Echo Test! The babies both did really well during their test, but it did prove to the docs that Adalynn had a moderate to large murmur and Grady had a moderate sized murmur. This of course really started to worry us. The doctors didn't seem too worried about it, because like I said before, they believed that it would close on its own. They did decide to lower the amount of their feedings to restrict fluids and they at this point were still on their CPAP machines. These things would help improve the murmur hopefully!

Tuesday: The babies had some visitors! Aunt Rachel and Big Momma came to visit the babies. It was Rachel's first time to hold the babies since they were born. It was a very special day!They also got to meet Mrs. Kay and Auntie Jessica! They appreciated all of the visitors! Grady also was upgraded to a nasal cannula which is kind of like the oxygen wires you see on older people that require oxygen all the time. He looked so good without all of those wires! Adalynn was still on CPAP today, she wasn't quite ready for the nasal cannula, but the doctors had a feeling she would be off of the CPAP very soon. The nurse told me also that I could bring clothes for the babies and that really made me happy! I never thought that dressing my babies would make me so happy!

Wednesday: Tuesday was such a good day and Taylor and I were ready for Wednesday to be just as good! When we arrived, Grady had his nasal cannula removed and he was breathing on his own. :) Talk about proud parents!! We were so happy for our baby boy! Adalynn also got the upgrade to the nasal cannula and we were so proud of her too! The docs also gave us more good news...that we could start trying to bottle feed each baby once a day and non-nutritive breast feed once a day. The babies did okay for their first day of both, but it will take some practice for them to get the hang of it! Here is a look at our babies all dressed up!!

Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving from all of us! Taylor and I are so thankful for all of the prayers, and thoughts that have been coming our way! One reason we are thankful is because our prayers are being answered and a lot faster than we would have ever expected. Today was a good first Thanksgiving for the babies. Taylor and I had Thanksgiving lunch with my parents and then we all headed down south to visit the babies. Grady and Adalynn were so happy to have visitors on their first Thanksgiving. They got to meet Uncle George and their great grandma, Maw-Maw. Grady had to be put back on his nasal cannula because his little body was just working too hard to breathe. He is on the minimum amount of oxygen just to help him out so his little body doesn't get too worn out. The nurse also said that the sound of the murmurs is reducing so that might mean that they are closing but the doctors didn't officially visit that today during rounds. We were told that on Monday they are going to re-evaluate the babies progress to see if they can be transferred to St. Lukes The Woodlands. We are really hoping for this, but if not, we will be content with them staying at TCH. We of course, want the best for our babies, and if TCH has it, then so be it.

Our first family photo!

Friday: Our babies are 2 weeks old today! Today we are going over to Taylor's parents to have Thanksgiving with his family. After lunch, we are all going to head to Houston to see the babies! Hopefully the doctors will have some more wonderful news for us! Again, we are so thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers coming our way!

One Week Today

I couldn't think of a better way to keep all of my friends and family updated on our sweet babies than through blogging. I hope to post weekly updates on our babies letting everyone know how they are growing and getting stronger. 

Just this first week has been so overwhelming and fast paced. The  babies are a week old today, and they have already made such huge leaps and bounds. This week both of them lost quite a bit of weight but as of today, November 16th, Adalynn is less than an ounce away from her birth weight and Grady is just a little behind his. Both of them are breathing very good on the CPAP machine. They are both on the lowest level of CPAP which is a 6, and they are breathing room air oxygen.

This morning they had a head ultrasound which was to check for any bleeding or abnormalities in the brain. They performed this scan at 7 this morning and by lunch time we received the result of NORMAL for both babies. As far as everything else goes, they have good heart rates, their lungs sound good, and they are producing plenty of wet and poopie diapers for mom and dad to change! They have both changed so much already!

We are so thankful for the continued prayers and thoughts! Taylor and I feel so blessed to have such a good support system to lean on. We are very thankful that our babies are healthy and getting bigger and stronger everyday! We are just smitten with our two little ones, and are so blessed to be their mommy and daddy! 

Here are some pictures of Grady and Adalynn without all the wires and tubes on their faces. We think they are so precious, but of course, we are partial! ;)

Grady with his dark hair....he didn't like having his face messed with! 

Here is sweet Adalynn! She says hello world! Look at her hair....we can't tell if it's blonde or strawberry blonde!! :)

Much Love,

Jessica and Taylor