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.

Big Mama Belly!!!

OK, this is for Mom and Tiffany who requested a naked tummy shot of how big I am. I am even shocked at how big I look in these pictures. Today, it is a hot 82 degrees and Tony and I like to sit out in the sun. I can only stay out for 15 minutes or so because it is too hot for my tummy and my babies.

Ahhhh!! The hot Reno sun. But just for a few minutes. I wish we had a pool to swim in like back in Las Vegas.