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Below you will find the updates
on the babies as we progressed on our journey through the N.I.C.U.
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April 9, 2003 |
100 DAYS Later........
It's time to CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!!!
100 days after their birth, both babies are now at home. Kira came home first in late March and got to spend time with mom by herself before her little brother Kenan came home a few weeks later in April.
Both babies are doing very well. They both have apnea monitors that keep track of their heartrates and breathing patterns, and Kenan came home with supplemental oxygen to help him grow and progress as quickly as possible. Other than that, everything is wonderful and we're really happy to be here.
At the doctors visit earlier this week, Kira weighed in at 5 pounds 12 ounces, and Kenan was at 4 pounds 4 ounces. Such a huge weight gain in just 3 1/2 months - it's amazing!
Anyhow, everyone is doing well, and we are having loads of fun trying to coordinate monitors, babies, oxygen tanks and supplies into the car in a single trip - but it's all totally worth it.
Thanks again are due to the wonderful doctors - Donna H. in particular - for taking care of my wonderful and precious little ones during their stay in the
NICU.
Please keep us in your thoughts, and I'll keep you updated as the babies progress through the next month or so.
* JOY is seeing a set of twins together again *
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| March
26, 2003 |
OHMIGOSH! Babies, Babies, Babies - that's all we're allowed to think about right now. Between home and the hospital - life is a bit hectic.
Congratulations go out to Kira for being released from the hospital on Saturday, March 22 and getting to go home with Mommy. It was a bummer to have to leave Kenan behind, but we all know that he will follow fairly soon. Kira has to be on an apnea/heart monitor for a few months to make sure that she doesn't drop her heart rate or stop breathing (preemies tend to do both, so it's a safety measure). It's a bit of a coordination effort to manage her with all of the leashes, but it's all worth it to see my daughter scaring away the cats. Symphony, my oldest cat, makes sure to walk on the opposite side of the room when he has to go past her for any reason - pretty funny if you know my cats.
Trinka, on the other hand, seems oblivious to the new person in the house, and has managed to headbutt Kira in order to add pheramones to the baby - Grrrrreat (or NOT).
Kenan, not to be left out during this time of change, came off oxygen for a whole day before he decided that it wasn't a good idea. So, the bummer is that he will be coming home with an oxygen tank (another leash for me to have fun with), but is starting to grow again and is taking all of his feedings from a bottle starting today. He is just 3 pounds 5 ounces, so we have a while to go before he can have his hernia surgery at 4 pounds. The good news is - as soon as he recovers from surgery, he probably gets to come home to be with Kira. He's been told that Kira is playing with all of the toys, so hopefully he'll be jealous enough to hurry up and gain more weight.
Today we had Kira's first 'official' doctor's appointment - everything is wonderful and she is doing exactly what she is supposed to be doing - cooing, eating, looking around and sleeping
alot. She weighed in at 4 pounds 13 ounces today, just a few ounces away from 5 pounds! It wasn't too difficult to manage with the monitor, but I can see that having 2 babies with 2 different types of support (monitor & oxygen tank) may improve my ability to coordinate everything before I make any sudden moves.
And, just in case you haven't heard me say this - I want to thank EVERYONE who has been so supportive, caring, and wonderful since the arrival of Kira and Kenan. The nurses, doctors, friends, family and everyone else have made this experience into a positive memory as the babies have progressed so well. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and well wishes - you are loved and cherished by all of us.
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| March
10, 2003 |
Wow!! What a huge week the babies have had. First, Kira moved to the Continuing Care Nursery & out of the NICU, then Kenan had eye surgery on the 6th, and now he has moved down to the CCN to be next to Kira.
Kira is now officially baby sized at 4 POUNDS even, and 18.5 inches long. Because of the surgery, Kenan lost a little weight and is holding at 2 pounds 10 ounces, but is now 15.5 inches long. He's starting to get ready for bottle feeding, and is weaning off the oxygen that he still is using. Maybe by the end of the week he'll be feeding and just on room air - Keep your fingers crossed!
The babies room is pretty much ready for my little occupants - and I'm just anxious for them to be released so I can spend some good quality time with the babies, enjoying their arrival and cherishing the smiles that they send my way :-)
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| March
3, 2003 |
Hello! This has been a very big week for the babies. Kira has been progressing nicely and is no longer on oxygen support at all. She has a small hemangiloma (mass of capillaries) on her eye which may need to have steroids in order to shrink - but we won't know until later. She's over 3 1/2 pounds now, and taking every-other feeding from a bottle. Pretty soon she's going to be eating like a big girl.
Kenan is growing well, but unfortunately for him, he will need to have laser surgery on his eyes this week. He has retinoplasty of prematurity (ROP) which causes the retina to be pulled out of place due to the extra fast growth of his eyes. The surgery should only take about 20-40 minutes and is fairly common with preemie babies, so I'm confident that he will do well. He's also been growing and filling out more each day. At 2 1/2 pounds, he's starting to look less like an old man and more like a baby boy.
The best news of the week though, is that the babies finally get to sleep in the same crib. Co-bedding is the official term and many studies have proven that babies that co-bed have better stats, grow faster, and do better overall than twins that are kept in separate beds. I've been hoping that they could co-bed for a while, and it's finally happening. I finally got to 'see' both babies together for the first time, since every other time they've been together I was holding them. Kira looks even bigger next to Kenan, but I think that he'll start to catch up now that she's next to him and clobbering him in the head every time she rolls over.
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| Feb
25, 2003 |
Wow - Such a lot of growing has been happening with the babies. Kira is sprouting so quickly that she is now bottle feeding at least half of the time in order to keep up :-)
Kenan is just trucking along - relaxing now that he doesn't have to have the nasty ventilator or air pressure mask (CPAP) in his face anymore. He's starting to fill out, and doesn't look like an old man as much anymore - and he's starting to look more like Kira everyday.
Last weekend the babies got to hang out together in the same crib for a little while. I wasn't there to see it, but the nurses said that the babies were linking arms and holding hands.
Pretty soon Kira (and hopefully Kenan) will be graduating to the Continuous Care Nursery (CCN) instead of the critical care NICU. I suspect that Kira will be moving in the next few days because she is doing so well.
Stats as of Feb 25:
Kira is 3 pounds 5 ounces (1525 grams) and 16" long
Kenan is 2 pounds 3.5 ounces (1033 grams) and 14.5" long
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| February
16, 2003 |
Kira has been growing as fast as the weeds in my backyard. She is just about 3 pounds, and is totally adorable in her valentines dress & hat. She's learning how to eat, and has the whole NICU thinking that she is the cutest little girl.
Kenan is now off the ventilator - and is doing well at over 2 pounds. He is off the vent even sooner than I thought he could be, and will hopefully just be on oxygen in a couple of days. He got to wear a little baseball jersey and hat for valentines day - even though it was still a bit large on him.
Both babies are progressing quickly, and there's starting to be talk of them coming home soon - maybe even in March!
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| January,
2003 |
Hi everyone! The twins have arrived and finally are willing to share their information.
Kira was born at 02:30 am on Dec 30, 2002, weighing in at just 1 pound 8 ounces. She has beautiful dark hair and is 12 inches long.
Kenan quickly followed, arriving at 2:32 and weighed in at just 15.2 ounces - the smallest little guy to arrive at the Hospital. He has the luck to have pale blond hair, and is 11.5 inches long.
Both are growing quickly in the NICU, and will hopefully be coming home sometime around their scheduled due date - April
2003.
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