It's been a while....

...since my last post so I figured it might be a good idea to write another. A lot has happened since the last time I posted. The biggest development is that the girls' developmental pediatrician has decided that it's time to put the girls in helmets. They look like the one pictured here...



That's a little sad for us, but the alternative is a crooked head because the girls lay on their right side all the time which has created a flat spot on the right side of their heads. They'll have to wear the helmets 23 hours a day until the problem goes away. This is all of course IF our insurance or Medicaid will cover the helmets. They're 1700 bucks each so if not then the girls are just going to have to live with crooked heads :)

We have taken a few vacations since my last post. First we took a weekend trip up to Michigan. May parents joined us up there and we also introduced the girls to many people on my mom's side of the family. After that we took them to Florida for a week. We drove both times because even though flying would be cheaper for us (with my benefits) we didn't want to subject our girls to the germs and varying pressures they'd experience in airplanes. We drove through the night down to Georgia and stayed a day with my parents before driving through the night to get to Florida (where we stayed with Abby's family). It was a great trip and I can't wait until we go back for Christmas. We really miss Florida. Abby has taken TONS of pictures since the last time I've posted. I will give you a few of them here...


Us at my parents' house

The girls with all of their cousins

Alana and Alexis

Alexis (top) and Alana (bottom)


Also, here is a quick video of Alana talking away...

No real issues

So sorry it's taken me so long to get back on here. It's been a busy week. We checked into the hospital for 24 hours of monitoring and the girls didn't really act up at all. They were like a finicky car that acts up until you take it to the shop. :) We ended up getting discharged before the full 24 hours was up and we did go to Michigan. Pictures coming later. The girls still are only eating about 15-20 oz. a day. They used to eat 24 oz. at their peak. We think they're teathing. They show all the symptoms of teathing except fever and swollen gums (we don't think they're swollen anyway). It does seem early for three month (adjusted age) babies to be teething, but it is possible from what we've read. It would explain the loss of appetite. We're also not using Avent bottles as of right now. We spent a lot of money on them, so we're hanging on to them. The girls don't seem to eat as well with them as they did with the hospital provided bottles. We are still on for our trip to FL next week.

Minor setback

Our girls haven't been eating as much as normal for the last few days. We finally called the pediatrician about it yesterday and she set up an appointment for this afternoon. We showed for the appointment and she looked over the girls. Our original plan was to go to the appointment and then head straight from there to Ft. Wayne to stay the night with Abby's great uncle on our way up to Michigan for the weekend. Funny how quickly plans can change. Our doctor watched the girls eat their bottles and said, "I hope you guys aren't in a hurry to go anywhere." Haha, Really? At the end of our time there she said, "I'm going to admit them to Community North (the hospital where they were born) for 24 hours of observation." So, here we are in Indianapolis tonight. We are at home and our girls are in the pediatric unit at Community North.

The first 2 feedings the girls had in the hospital were typical for them for the past few days. They didn't eat much for either one. For the 3rd feeding they hooked up oxygen sensors to see how much oxygen was in their blood while feeding. They gave Alana oxygen with her feeding and she did great. So we though, "Hmmm, maybe they need oxygen while eating." Alexis killed that theory when they decided to see how her saturation would be during feeding WITHOUT oxygen and she ate a bunch and her o2 levels were good. So then the doctor at the hospital says, "Well guys, I honestly don't know what's going on." I don't know if that's good or bad. I think it's good, as I hope that maybe the last few days have just been a fluke. What we know now... in the past week they've each gained 2 oz. (8 oz. would be normal) and they had chest x-rays that showed some minor improvement from the last ones. No one is too concerned and we should have them back with us tomorrow. Keep them in your prayers and hopefully soon this will be just another memory.

Still hanging in there

Things have been great lately. The girls are still sleeping over 8 hours a night. We've been garage saling with them already. We got lots of great stuff for not so much money. I had the girls for several hours by myself today. It went pretty well. They're such good babies. Although, they have both found their fingers and thumb recently. When we go into their room in the morning they're both sucking on either their thumbs or fingers now. Not cool!

We're taking our fist family trip as the four of us out of state this weekend. We're going up to Michigan to see my (Jason's) mom's side of the family. It's exciting. It's also a test run for our long trip down to Florida at the end of the month.

Below is a picture of the girls I took just a few minutes ago when I started writing this post. They're sitting in Bumbo seats that we found at garage sales over the weekend. We're actually going to trade the blue one for another pink one with a person we found on Craigslist. If you have kids and don't know about that site... you're missing out! Also, there is a video below of Alexis sleeping in the swing. I'm assuming she's dreaming because of the sounds she's making. Her facial expression would never give it away, but her voice sure does.

Alana on left and Alexis on right (looking up at mommy).

The 4 of us

We haven't been home alone as a family of four (ever) until today. My sister just left this morning for Georgia. She's been with us since before the girls came home. Also, Abby's mom and then sister and her family have stayed with us since the girls' homecoming. It's been really nice to have all of the family and especially the help that they gave us. It is really nice to be home just the four of us though. It really does feel like we're a family.

Below are a few pictures taken over the past week or so. Also, there is a video of Alana dancing to Michael Jackson as well.


Alexis, Cocoa, and Alana

Alexis and Alana with those dolls from the NICU

Nana, Aunt Sarah, Alexis, and Seth (cousin to the girls)

Anna (cousin), Alexis, Alana, Nana

First Outing

The girls had their first outing last night. We went over to the home of their NICU neighbors (Lucy and Sage). The girls had a blast together and we got to take a few pictures. It's really nice to have friends who have twin girls that are the same age as ours. I hope they'll be friends for a long long time.


Alexis, Alana, Lucy, and Sage (starting in the top right and going clockwise)


Alexis, Sage, Lucy, and Alana

HOT little naked babies!!!

Our air conditioner broke last night so we're sitting in a really hot house right now. The girls had clothes on earlier but they got really sweaty so they're now naked. The poor girls are burning up... along with the rest of us. Fortunately there will be a repairman here tomorrow. I hope he gets it fixed. At this point I don't care how much it costs (unless of course that repairman is reading this!) Our house thermostat has read at least 88 degrees all afternoon! No fun. The babies are doing well in spite though. They both got baths in cool water to help a little. No pictures today. They're cute though I promise :)

Another week at home

I haven't posted much on here lately not only because it is a little hectic with the girls, but because there really isn't much new to write. Things have been pretty status quo (whatever that is with twins) lately. Don't get me wrong, this is a good thing. I don't mind missing out on the "roller coaster" ride that was the NICU. It's nice to have the girls home and healthy. I honestly wasn't sure that was going to be the case earlier this year, so life is good. For those of you in Michigan, we are bringing the girls up (along with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend - Josh). Our plan is on coming up July 17th - 19th. We are then planning on going to Florida at the end of July. We don't have solid dates for that yet, but we will probably leave here on the 30th and get to Florida on the 31st. We'll probably make a stop in Georgia on the way up and down (we'll be driving) for anyone in Georgia who would like to see them.

These posts don't feel complete without at least one picture, so below is a funny picture Abby took of our girls in the same outfit, literally. Alana is on the left and Alexis is on the right.



Also, here's a quick video of the girls looking AND acting alike. Just a couple seconds long, but they stick their tongues out at exactly the same time. Kinda funny.


My Montage 6/19/09

Photo Contest

I'm not even sure if they're eligible since they're twins, but I entered them in a photo contest. The contest voting OPENS July 6th. Vote for them at the following link...

http://beautifulbabies.trb.com/wxin/babies_home_gallery,0,4359108,permalink.ugcphotogallery?u=BartonMiracles

Thanks!

ROP test results

The girls had another ROP (retinopothy of prematurity) exam today. They only checked their left eyes because their right eyes were already fully developed. The results were good! They are fully vascularized in each eye. Alana is up to 9 lbs 9 oz and Alexis is up to 8 lbs 9 oz.

Abby's Grandpa Harold and Grandma Carol came up to our place to see the girls. Here are a few pictures with them and the girls.

Abby, Alana, Grandpa H, Grandma C, Alexis, Nana (Abby's mom)

Alana and Alexis

Finished the montage

I finally finished the girls video montage of their nicu journey. It's a little over 9 minutes long (sorry if you have A.D.D.) but it took that long to get a good cross-section of pictures from the past 4 months! Here's the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXwzpx92F_I

Hope you enjoy!

6/2/09

We (Abby and I) are pretty much settled into a routine now. It consists of the following...

8:00am- Wake up and feed the girls

8:30am-11:30- Free time (ie: NAP time)

11:30am-12:00- Feed the girls

12:00-3:00- More free time

3:00-3:30- Feed the girls

3:30-7:00- Play with the girls (they're usually awake in the afternoon)

7:00-7:30- Feed the girls

7:30-11:00- Play with the girls (or free time if they sleep)

11:00-11:30- Feed the girls

11:30- Go to bed

4:00am-4:45- Wake up and feed the girls

4:45am- Go BACK to sleep until 8:00 and then REPEAT

Of course we don't strictly stick to those exact times, they are approximate. You get the point though. They are better at going to sleep now. 2 nights ago Alana did cry again before bed but she eventually fell asleep. Last night she was out right away. We really are fortunate to have babies that sleep through the night. I wouldn't wish a NICU stay on anyone, but one nice side effect is that the girls have a routine down before they come home.

This morning after the girls' feeding they were both awake so we had a little photo session...

A pretty good day

Last night was Alana's first night with us and it was interesting at first. We really are quite blessed with two quiet babies. Alana was loud for her first 45 minutes in bed last night. She kept crying and fussing on and off. It started to get old (and a little frustrating) but then she went to sleep and slept through the whole night. She did wake up a little after 4am for the middle of the night feeding, but other than that she slept the rest of the night.
Today we let the girls watch a Baby Einstein video. Surprisingly enough they did seem to pay attention to it for a few minutes. Abby held Alexis right up to the tv and she got bug eyed and stared at the tv with her jaw to the floor. It was cute. Below is a picture of them watching tv together. It's so great to have them home!

Abby feeding Alana and Jason feeding Alexis on their first day home together.

New Blog

If you've stumbled across this blog and are unaware of what our girls have gone through to this point, check out www.carepages.com/the_barton_miracles (you have to create an account to view but it's quick, painless, and FREE)

Since the girls are out of the hospital, we're done with CarePages... however, we will still definitely continue to keep everyone updated AND post plenty of pictures. The updates will probably be a little more sporadic though. Welcome to our new blog!