Happy 2 months birthday!!!

Mia and Allison reached their 2 month birthday today. It is hard to believe so much time has passed. Mia now weighs 3 lbs 11 oz and Allison is at 3 lbs 15 oz. They have grown so much and seem more like little girls everyday. To ring in the new month, both girls got immunizations which threw them for a loop. Allison was bagged out of spells 7 times in the night and Mia was bagged for three. They really seem to keep us in check. Anytime we seem too proud of their progress, they do something to remind us that this growing up stuff is hard work. The nurses had the girls all dressed up nice for their birthday. I got to hold Allison while Shawn tried to settle Mia enough for holding. We'll try again later tonight to see if she's a bit less touchy.

Many thanks to all of you who have supported Shawn and I through the last 2 months, from the doctors and nurses providing 24 hour care to family and friends sending cards and messages. Your efforts and caring presence has meant so much and has been very needed. I hope it's OK if we continue to lean on you all, although we're hoping the seas ahead are a bit calmer!

Mia, once again, wasn't up for pictures. She thumbed her nose at the camera instead...

Finally, they're homeless!

We had a nice surprise waiting for us last Sunday when we went to see the littles. Allison was laying in a basinette all snuggled up in blankies. She had gained enough weight that she told the nurses she'd like to try regulating her own body temperature. So, once she had her spells under control, she moved out of her house! A couple days later, her slightly more petite sister got to move out too! It is so nice seeing them in their little cribs (plastic buckets, really...). Suddenly they look less like patients and more like little babies. They also seem very portable. We can just scoop them up when we want to hold them (although we still need to run it by the nurses...). The best part is that now we can kiss them on the head whenever we want! I just can't wait for them to come home, but they'll have to make some strides in the eating department first.

Dr. Dad helps out with nebulizers

Both girls are still getting neb treatments to help with their breathing. Shawn got to mix business with pleasure as he snuggled Mia and gave her her treatment. The respiratory threrapist got to take a little break! It seemed like second nature for Shawn. (The mask is in the shape of a turtle- Shawn's favorite animal!)

First bath picture!

I was given a little demo as to how to give a complete bath to the littles. This is Mia, newly clean and looking quite cozy! It is funny how, when given the chance, a simple sponge bath can make you feel like you're all thumbs. It makes it a lot easier when the nurses let me in on the tricks of the trade. Allison didn't seem to mind her bath too much- my first solo flight. She just crashed a bit when I tried to change her jammies...

Auntie Amy, Uncle Chris and Aunt Katie came in to see the little girlies. I think they were impressed with how much they've grown. Aunt Amy agrees with my that they look incredibly squeezable. (It really is hard to resist!)

Our first family portrait...

Three pounders!

After what seemed like a bit of a plateau on the growth front, both girls have had a very progressive week. Allison is 3 lbs 3.5 oz and Mia is 3 lbs 1 oz. I think the majority of their weight gain has occurred in their pudgy little cheeks! Mia is now off of CPAP and is using a nasal cannula just like her sister. Today when I went to visit I found Mia in little jammies as well. All of this progress makes me pretty nervous though... I used to be able to clearly tell who was in each picture based on the tubes each one had or didn't have. Now that they are equal in both nose attire and PJ attire, it has become really hard to tell them apart.

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Both girls are having periods of alertness where they look all around. The nurses have been putting Allison's bunny up on top of her isolette so they can look at each other face to face. She looks up at him for a long time and then squeezes her eyes shut when she reaches 'bunny overload'. Of course now that they're looking all around it has become time for eye exams. They had their first one on Saturday. Evidently the exam is really unpleasant... the girls took a while (a day and a half) to relax afterwards. Because of their prematurity, both girls are at high risk for retinopathy, problems with retinal development that could cause vision trouble or even blindness. So far the exam showed no signs of retinopathy, but their retinas are still very premature so the risk is still there. They'll have weekly exams from now on.

A visit from Uncle Jay and Aunt Sarah

My brother and sister-in-law came for the weekend and it was so nice to have them here! They hadn't seen the littles since their birth. They reassured us that they look so much bigger and stronger. They also helped us get motivated to paint the office/nursery (really, they did the majority of the painting), and even made a couple pans of apple crisp. As it turns out September 15th is Neonatal Nurses Day so we took one pan over to the hospital to celebrate. Who knew such a specific holiday existed? I love it when my family can come and visit. I often wish Madison, WI were about 5 1/2 closer. Here are some pictures of the girls first snuggle with their Madison aunt and uncle.



When we got to the hospital, we found that one of the more creative nurses had made us a little surprise! The girls never got footprints taken when they were first born so it is so nice to have these little keepsakes.

One more surprise was waiting for us when we arrived. Allison was wearing pajamas!!!! They were a little roomy...

Video of Little Mia in motion

Here's a little video to show the holding process. Uncle Jay and Aunt Sarah (Jen's brother and sister-in-law) came for a visit and are showing us how to do some more sophisticated stuff with the blog!

A Joint Effort...

For the first time, Shawn and I got to tag team snuggle time. Shawn held Mia and I held Allison. Because of oxygen hoses, etc, we had to sit on opposite sides of the girls' room , but it was really nice to get to see Shawn with his little one while I got to snuggle mine. Shawn 'won' though... I had to put Alli back after 10 minutes because she got so comfy she forgot to breathe. Shawn continued to hold Mia for another 20 minutes!
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A couple days ago I went to see the girls and saw that Mia had an IV hook up in her head. I guess the veins in her arms and legs had all been used, so the next best spot was in her scalp. It is kind of scary looking, but I'm assured she won't be needing an IV line for long. Of course my big worry, having been a hairless baby, was that the tape used to hold it in place would pull all of her hair out when it's removed. The nurses promised they'd be gentle when the time comes.
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Both girls are becoming more vocal. From time to time we hear squeaks and sometimes full out cries. Shawn and I were with Allison yesterday when she started to cry. She seemed so sad, so like a true Affeldt would do, I started to cry too.

A calm Tuesday...

The girls are having a good day. It seems we're beyond the spells that happened for no reason. Both girls are remembering to breathe and acting like 31 week old babies (counting from their very beginning...). Today was a holding day for mommy again. Mia was a little restless so the nurse handed her off to me to see if she'd calm down. She did! It is such an indescribable feeling to have such a little thing find comfort in your arms, settle when they hear your voice, or feel your touch, especially when their primary care comes at the hands of the nurses. Despite our not being close to them all of the time, they seem to recognize 'mommy and daddy' and I think they like us!!! Mia even licked me a little as I held her. (Weird!)

Mia requested 'no pictures, please'. After being held she just wanted her privacy...

She even squished her face up in protest!

Little Allison was all snuggled in and sleeping well with a full belly. She's eating two thirds of an ounce every 3 hours!

Finally, some new pictures!

It's only fair to start by wishing a very happy 1 year birthday to our buddy Rudy. He's celebrating by laying on our bed (something he doesn't normally get to do!) OK, about the babies...

Here's Miss Allison, the more cordless version! Look at those cheeks!
Since Alli is done with it, the nurses put the CPAP on her bunny instead.
Shawn is smiley here because he just found out he could hold his little girl!
Auntie Amy was there for the holding too.
Shawn was pretty content with his little bundle! Alli is still little enough that it is hard to look down and get a good look while we're holding her. Maybe soon she'll be big enough that it'll be easy to lean down and kiss her on the head while we're snuggling.

Big steps forward!

Wow! Allison is off of CPAP and doing well so far! All of her IV lines are out now too. Now the only tubes she has are her feeding tube and an oxygen tube- the kind that rides under your nose with the two little prongs, like what grown ups use... She is now considered a 'feed and grow' baby now that the breathing issues are going so well. Shawn got to hold her again today and it was so easy to move her now that she's only connected to the wall with that one oxygen tube. We did take lots of pictures to make up for the last two times, but now the computer decided it doesn't "recognize the device". I'll work on it and try to get the pics up as soon as I can. Mia is also doing really well. She is on CPAP, the graduated kind that makes her do all of the work. Her feedings are going well and she doesn't seem to be having the same reflux trouble that she had earlier. Both girls are over two and a half pounds!
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The joy that we feel about the girls progress is only shadowed by the difficulties for Shawn's mom as she continues to fight cancer. Please send any prayers, love and healing energy you may have left to her and her family. (They say God doesn't give you more than you can handle, but it does seem (s)he likes to test your limits. We thank God for surrounding us with such supportive family and friends to make the test at all bearable.)

Shawn holds Allison- Second time's the charm...

It's strange thinking that Allison was over a month old before her dad got to try holding her, so when the opportunity finally presented itself, we were both so excited. (Of course we forgot the camera...) Last Thursday, Alli was having a really good day- few spells to speak of, so the nurses gave the go ahead for holding. Since I've held her a couple of times I told them we be back in the evening for Shawn's first turn. The nurses placed Alli on Shawn's chest and Allison had a spell, turned blue, and had to be put back in bed to be bagged. Though Shawn did get to have her in his arms for all of about 30 seconds, it hardly counted as a quality snuggle. She was due for a bed change the next day though, so we tried it again with much more success! Daddy held her for at least a half and hour. Allison did great! She didn't even pull out chest hairs like her sister tends to do. Together we read her the "Guess How Much I Love You" book (a great read at any age). After story time, the nurses tucked her back in bed. We did take some pictures with the non-digital camera that we got from the March of Dimes. I'll add pictures as soon as we use up the camera and get the pics developed!

First day of school for mom and a visit from Grandma Day!

Today was the first day of school with all students and aside from extreme heat in our un-airconditioned building, it went pretty ok. It was nice to see familiar students again and meet new ones. It was, however, not the start to the year I had pictured. It may sound silly, but I was really looking forward to starting the year with a big belly and revelling in all of the attention that would bring. Instead, I had to tell my homeroom students, who hadn't known I was pregnant in the spring, that I was a new mommy. There were a lot of puzzled and confused stares as they tried to piece together how that could happen over three summer months. I'm glad I had pictures with me to prove it. I guess I'll have to settle for "weirded out" as my reaction from students, again, not quite the way I had it pictured... I continue to mourn the loss of a "normal" pregnancy experience.

Grandma Day was able to come up to the NICU for a visit today. The consensus seems to be that the girls are definitely bigger!
Allison graduated to the more independent style of CPAP, although the decision was based on boogers more than anything... The other nose piece was getting plugged up so they thought they might be able to keep her nose cleaner with the different nose piece. She was doing really well with the change today! (Doesn't her belly look pudgy?! She had gained almost a full pound since birth!) She did have a bit of a set back today though. Her PICC line (IV that goes all the way in to her abdomen) became infiltrated, which I guess means it got backed up, causing her IV nutrition to leak in her vein and cause a burn. It is an inside burn, but you can see a sore on the outside. It should heal up fine as she absorbs the fluids, but it looks uncomfortable. (It's hard to have to see her deal with one more thing...)
Mia is still riding comfortably on the ventilator. They've decided not to rush getting her back on CPAP. I'm OK with that because it means I get to see her cute little nose better. There was concern about some inflammation in her trachea and they want to be sure that is resolved before they pull out the breathing tube. She is also about a pound over her birth weight! Her arms and legs are filling out!