teacherspice

The babies and Lake Tahoe pictures.

Debbie holding Chantrell after her feeding.
Debbie is feeding Brenna her bottle. Brenna is wearing the preemie hat that Erica bought for her.South Lake Tahoe, looking towards the casinos.

View of the lake, looking north.

Barry and me at Lake Tahoe.

Close up of Barry feeding Brenna her bottle today. She is drinking 50 ml of formula at every feeding.

New colors on the blog for my little girls.

The girls are not home yet. We almost had Brenna out of the hospital on Saturday but she didn't do well on her feeding. Her heartrate dipped below 100 (it's called a "Braidy", like in the Brady Bunch, I probably did not spell it right) and when that happens the bell goes off on her monitor. The nurse had to report it to the doctor and they felt she wasn't ready to go home yet. Chantrell has had a few Braidy's too during her feedings. You have to pull the bottle out and sit the girls upright and then they remember to breath. Other little babies have their monitors going off all the time. I never noticed how often my girls would have these problems before. Now, that I know more about the machines and what they monitor, I am super sensitive to what happens during feeding times.

I love giving the girls their baths, even if they are slippery when wet and I almost drop them in the little tubs. I have to visit with them every day, sometimes twice a day. They are so cute and cuddly and smell so good. The nurse and doctor keep saying that the girls may come home in a couple of days. But Brenna has her feeding tube back in again because she can't keep up with the demanding feeding schedule. We will have to wait and see when they are actually in the carseats in the car, then I will believe that they are coming home.

Barry and I have enjoyed having Debbie visit with us for the last week. It is nice to show off the girls and have some more family here. We have gone shopping at Babies R Us for bottles, a bottle brush, crib blanket and burp rags. Thank You to Lisa for the gift cards!!! Debbie also showed me this cool store called Once Upon A Child that has gently used baby furniture, toys and clothes. She got me a wipey warmer, two receiving blankets, and a play toy that changes as the baby grows up. We had lunch afterwards at Baja Fresh, my favorite place to eat. Monday, we went to Lake Tahoe for a drive to look at all the pretty sceanery. It was nice to breath in the fresh mountain air and see the gorgeous blue lake. I will post some pictures soon.

Our 4th Anniversary and Baby May Be Coming Home.

Today is our 4th anniversary. We went to see "Ironman" in the movie theaters. It was a good action packed movie, and we had yummy popcorn and drinks too. We haven't been out to the movies in about 8 months. Thanks mom and dad for the card and check for our special day. We found out that Brenna, the little one will be coming home soon. The nurse pulled out her feeding tube because she drinks bottles at every feeding. Brenna now weighs 5 lbs. 8 ozs. We have been invited to spend the night at the hospital with Brenna in our room. We will feed her and change her every three hours. It is like a trial run I guess and if we have any questions, the nurses are right there to help us. We are going in tonight and she might be coming home with us tomorrow!! Fingers crossed!!! Now Chantrell needs her feeding tube out and she can drink all her bottles too. She has gained weight and now weighs 7 lbs. 3 ozs. We think that they are both ready to come home now. They both drink from bottles and have steadily gained over an ounce a day. This Saturday they will be 3 weeks old, but still two weeks from being full term. It won't be long before both babies are home and then I can have them all to myself. Of course I have to share them with Barry, Tony, and Debbie too. My weight has gone down again. I have lost over 50 lbs. since the girls were born. Yahoo!! Clothes fit better and I feel lighter. My c-section is all healed and causes me no pain. I still have high blood pressure but it is coming down each week. Pretty soon I won't have to take medicine to control it. Here are the latest pictures. Enjoy!!! This picture is upside down or sideways. It is of Brenna having her hearing tested. The girls look like space cadets with all the electrodes on them. Both of them can hear just fine.

Barry holding little Brenna.

Me holding Chantrell during her test. The nurse tried to explain it to me. The girls hear a clicking noise and they react by their facial movements or neck muscles and then the nurse can tell that they can hear. I think that is what she said. Otherwise, how can you tell if a newborn baby can hear?? Make loud sounds and see if they jump??

Picture of Brenna at 10 days old stretching in her crib. There is a video clip of her at the end of the post.

Tuesday night, we went in at 10 pm for the girls bath time. This is me washing Brenna. She hardly cries during her bath.

I am removing the heart monitor sticky tab and getting ready to wash her body.

I love this picture of Brenna all curled up. She is still so tiny and precious. Her hair is a light strawberry blond color.

Action shot of me washing Brenna. One time the nurse washed the babies in the pink tub and this nurse wanted the babies washed on the towel and just use the pink tub to rinse them off in. Each one does it a little different.

Baby Chantrell after her bath. I took a movie with the video camera of Barry giving her a bath and just a few photos of her afterwards. Next time I will film Brenna getting her bath. I love my little girls so much. I can't wait to have them both home!!!

Barry is dressing Chantrell in her pink little outfit. Chantrell cries loud during her bath. She doesn't like getting wet at all. It is so cute to hear her.

Ok, here is the story of why I have flowers, balloons and teddy bears delievered again. When I was in the hospital having the twins, mom ordered two dozen pink roses, two balloons and two teddy bears. I received two dozen red roses, one balloon and one teddy bear. The flower company made a mistake on my order. So, I get a call from the owner who promises me a new delievery on Mother's Day to make up for the missing items. I got nothing from them on Mother's Day. So mom e-mails them and tells them to refund her money or fix the order. Today, I received the beautiful pink roses and two more balloons and two more teddy bears. The company finally came through and now mom and I are both happy. I'm going to press some roses and put them in the babies books.

A picture of the balloons and the flowers.

The teddy bears are white and are on the counter.

Close up shot of the pretty smelling roses. They are really beautiful.

Our visit to the girls today. Brenna, without the feeding tube in her nose, is drinking from a bottle for Barry. In the background you can see the car seats. We were excited when the nurses told us to bring them in for the girls to try out. The babies get to sit in the car seat for an hour and the nurses make sure that they can breath while sitting in a new position.Close up shot of Chantrell sucking on her pacifier. She drank her whole bottle for me today. We want her feeding tube out because she can drink really good from a bottle now. The nurse said that she would talk to the doctor today.

Baby is not coming home yet...Wah!!!

Well, here we go again. Don't get your hopes up until you get the baby home. The doctor put the feeding tube back in for Chantrell. He wants her to drink 70 ml in her bottle at every feeding and she can only do 40 to 50 ml. She gets tired and stops sucking. So, the last part of the milk has to be fed through her tube. It is a little set back, but I guess I am getting used to it. I have to be patient and just help the babies drink from the bottles and hope they get enough down to gain weight. The nurses say it just happens overnight. The babies get the whole suck, swallow, and breath pattern down and then they can take more in their bottle. They are still only 36 weeks old, and we were told not to expect them home until their due date, which is June 7th. Hopefully, one or both will be home when Debbie comes to visit. Otherwise, it will be visits to the hospital which is not as much fun as having them home, all to ourselves. Barry and I went to the hospital the other night and watched as the nurse gave the girls their bath. We watched and learned how to do it. It is pretty easy. We both have experience giving babies baths. Sometimes the nurses think that we don't know how to do anything. I am still pumping breast milk and bringing in little bottles for the girls to drink. It makes me feel like I am doing something that nature intended me to do. I have some more pictures to post of the girls. I will put them on the blog soon. For now, it's late and I have been reading everyones blogs and catching up on comments.

One baby might be coming home.

We talked with the doctor today about Chantrell and Brenna. Chantrell pulled out her feeding tube and now all her feedings are by bottle. They say she is ready to come home in a couple of days!!!! I am super excited to have one little girl home. Brenna only takes a bottle every other feeding. She is smaller than her sister and hasn't quite got the whole suck, swallow, breath down yet. Barry and I will take turns staying home to take care of Chantrell and visiting Brenna. We are looking forward to Debbie's visit next week. It will be nice to have an extra pair of hands and her expertise with babies. Barry and I have been asked to stay the night at the hospital withthe girls and they will sleep in the same room with us. It will be like being home with the girls feeding and changing them every 3 hours. If we have any problems or questions the nurses will be there for help. We will keep you updated with pictures and information soon. Erica and Debbie I answered your questions in the comments box. Check it out. Love to everyone.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Today is Mother's Day and it is my first!!! I feel so lucky to have my little girls be born so healthy and beautiful. They both are in the same crib today and that was a nice surprise. Brenna is on a different formula now so she can gain more weight. Chantrell also is on a different formula with soy in it. She might be lactose intolerant like me. I try to bring in little bottles of breat milk for the girls, but I don't make enough to feed them eight times a day. Hope all my sisters, nieces, aunts, friends and my mom have a great Mother's Day today.
The girls sleeping together in the twins crib. They are very happy and content to be together.

Getting ready to change and fed little Brenna. She is usually wearing a yellow hat in most pictures.I am changing Brenna and there is not much in it. Usually when Barry changes her, she gives him a big surprise. Today, he got to change Chantrell and it was only wet.

Me holding both girls together. It is a great feeling to hold them both at the same time. I am so amazed that I had them in my tummy. They are getting bigger every day.

A smiley picture of me and the girls.

Barry, aka Wolverine, who needs a shave is holding his little girls.

Daddy's little girls!!!!

Barry and I enjoy our visits to the girls daily. It just melts my heart every time I see them. I want to hold them and smell them and kiss them all over. We will have to see if maybe they will be coming home in the next week or two. They just have to get the feeding tubes out and show the nurses that they can drink whole bottles at their feedings and keep it down. Both girls are in cribs now. Brenna is out of her incubator because she can hold her body heat up where it needs to be. Here are some pictures of the girls and some short video clips.

Brenna in her crib and Barry is getting ready to change her diaper.She is crying after being woken up and changed. I love the little outfits the girls wear. Brenna is crying and you can see her big birdie mouth open for food.

Here is Chantrell sleeping in her crib. She is 5 days old now.

I tried to download a video of Barry changing Brenna. It took 3 hours to download a 2 minute clip and it just wouldn't work. I did get one picture of Barry changing her in the incubator. Brenna is hard to change in there. Barry forgot to have her diaper ready to put under her and she peed and pooped her outfit. It was pretty funny.

Barry is holding Brenna and having her practice sucking on her pacifier while she is being fed. She has to wear a little hat to keep her temperature up.

The twins are born!!!! May 3rd, 2008

Hi Everyone, I am now home from the hospital after having a c-section on saturday. The babies look so cute and are doing well in the NICU. There have been a few set backs with the girls. Brenna is back in a heated incubator to help her regulate her heat. Chantrell has an IV in her head to help give her the nutrients she needs. Both girls try to latch on and nurse when I go for visits. They haven't learned how to suck, shallow and breath at the same time, which will help them with bottle feeding and nursing. They both have to be fed by tubes that go down their nose into their tummies. I love getting to hold them and change their diapers. They are so tiny and precious it is hard for me not to cry everytime I see them. My hormones are crazy and I cry all the time. I miss my big pregnant belly and wish they could still be in there growing. They had to be delievered early because of my health. I still have high blood pressure and have to take medicine, but my feet are not so swollen and my diabetes are gone too. I went from a high of 288 lbs, to a now 250 lbs. That was a lot of baby and water weight to lose. Here are some pictures of the girls and Barry and I. I will post more info on the girls and their progress soon.

Me in the hospital about 4 days before the girls were born.Barry, visiting me daily while I waited for the babies to be born.

Baby Brenna in the nursery when she was first born.

Brenna in the nursery and Tony is visiting her.

Baby Chantrell in the nursery when she was first born. She has a little darker hair and skin tone, then Brenna.

Another picture of Chantrell.

When I woke up from the surgery, the guys came to visit me. They showed me the pictures of the girls and then I took this picture of them.

Mom and Dad sent me beautiful roses, a big teddy bear and ballon for the girls birth. It was so nice to receive so many phone calls from family members. Thank you!!!

The nurse in the NICU is holding up Brenna for her feeding.

Another picture of Brenna trying to drink from a bottle.

Chantrell lying on her tummy practicing sucking on her pacifier.

The nurse is checking Chantrell's temperature.

Chantrell all dressed up with a pink bow in her hair.

Barry is holding little Chantrell. The girls are about 3 days old in these pictures.

Barry loves his little girls so much. He worries about them all the time. As, do I. He has been great supporting me through this tough time.

Me holding baby Brenna.

The happy family!!! We love our little girls so much.

Another picture of us all together.

Baby Brenna in her crib. The volunteer grandmas make these beautiful quilts for the newborns. This was when Brenna could hold her own body heat in. Now, she is back in a heated incubator.

Some of the nurses make the babies these cute name tags for the cribs.

Chantrell's name tag.

Another picture of the flowers, balloon, and teddy bear from Mom and Dad and little teddy bears from Barry.

I took this picture of myself at night after visiting the babies. Have you ever seen a sadder picture of me? I laugh and cry at myself.
Baby Chantrell holding her hands together like she is praying. She does this all by herself.