LOTS O' CRYING

Yesterday was a long, hard day- for the twins and us.  Even though it was the babies doing the crying, I think by the end of the day we felt like crying ourselves. It all started out in the morning with us getting a little off our normal schedule.  We didn't think it would make such a big difference but apparently it did.  Aaron and Andrew didn't sleep AT ALL the entire day from 6:30 a.m. to about 8 pm except for a few short 20 min. segments here and there.  But they sure did a lot of crying.  The more overtired they became the harder it was for them to eat and fall asleep.  We tried everything we could and nothing seemed to work.  Aaron seemed colicky and sounded like he was in pain much of the day.  Even a drive in the car only temporarily distracted them from their misery. By the evening our stress levels were high and we were completely exhausted. By 8 pm., we changed, fed, and made them comfortable then put them in separate rooms, turned the monitors off, closed the doors, and turned on the TV. After a while of hard crying they finally fell asleep around 8:30 pm. They we so exhausted they stayed asleep till 2:30 am. They then each vacuumed down their bottles an didn't wake again till 7:00 am. Today we got them back on their schedule and they are doing much better, as well as us.(PICTURES: These pictures are deceiving, these are the only naps they took all day)

On a much happier note, last Thursday both Andrew and Aaron smiled a genuine, sincere social smile!  Previous to this they have smiled many times but it was usually after passing gas or while they were asleep.  We can't believe how much progress they make even from day to day.  They are both more alert each day as they notice things around them and maintain eye contact for longer.  Yesterday morning the twins were laying on this little play mat we have on the floor and were waving their arms around.  We were watching with anticipation as Aaron repeatedly hit a toy hanging from above him.  We don't think he realized HE's the one making it move but he definitely notice it moving.  

THANK YOU AUNT NANCY

We would like to say how wonderful it was to have Aunt Nancy stay with us last Saturday and Monday nights on her way back and forth from St. George. It was so nice to have an extra set of hands to take care of the boys. Even though her stay was only for just a short time, she dug right in and helped us feed, clothe, wash and burp the babies like a pro. She even made us a very tasty dinner Monday night. The conversations we had with her during her visit were always the best. She always has something interesting to say on just about anything, but they inevitably turn to discussions about some sort of body function. : ) Of course were always more than willing to add to the conversation.

Andrew and Aaron continue to do very well and continue to grow. They have now out grown all of the newborn (NB) clothes we had and are now wearing the 0-3 months clothes. Also Andrew's complexion has improved. Since his last surgery he had been somewhat pale, but now his skin has pinked up, his cheeks are more rosy and are getting more plump. We can also tell he is feeling better too. Although he sometimes has painful swallowing due to a little acid reflux now and then, but he continues to eat most everything we give him and is gaining weight. He now weighs 9 lbs. 12 ounces. Aaron seems to be getting the routines down better lately. He has been sleeping longer at nap time and for the most part is able settle down for naps better. We hope they continue on their progress and will soon begin to sleep longer through the night, to allow mom and dad a little more sleepy time for themselves.

SLEEP DEPRIVED

What new parent, especially of twins, can say they are well rested each day?  Certainly not us.  We go to bed much later than we did previous to their births, we get up earlier than before (at least I do), and in the middle of the night we are up once to feed them.  At least it's only once.I guess it could be worse.  Fortunately, they are good night sleepers. Usually.   After we feed them around 3 a.m they go back to sleep right away- and so do we.  But during the day, while we'd love to take naps and catch up on our much needed rest, the twins seem more interested in what's going on around them.  Trust me, there's not much, but they seem to think so.  Some days Aaron is awake most of the day while Andrew sleeps really good and other days it's the opposite.  And then there's the days where BOTH of them want to be up together.  Rarely do both take all their naps during the day.  Maybe I should start giving them a dose of Tylenol each morning to give them a little help.  But really, I'd be helping myself!  

This last Sunday we drove to St. George to attend the mission farewell of my aunt and uncle who will be leaving for Fiji this Saturday to serve as mission presidents for 3 years.  This would be the first big excursion for Aaron and Andrew. The day was filled with sacrament meeting, family gatherings, and two long drives.  They got to meet many new relatives for the first time who adored them, of course.  Both babies were passed around to many of their cousins and I was amazed at how well they tolerated all this stimulation.  It wasn't until yesterday that I realized just how much it wore them out.  Both Aaron and Andrew slept most of the day and almost straight through the night, waking occasionally for short periods to eat, and then quickly returning to sleep.  I had to check in a time or two to make sure they were still alive.  Much to my relief they were.

LOTS OF DOCTORS

It has been two months since the twins have been born. Can you believe that they are two months old. We can't believe it either. It seems they were born just yesterday. Andrew is now 9 lbs., 9 ounces. So in two months he has gained more than 4 pounds since birth. As for Aaron he is about the same. Since he doesn't see a doctor as frequently as Andrew we don't learn of his weight as often. Since Andrew has been home it has taken both of us to feed them during the night. So the amount of sleep each of us gets has much less than we are used too. But we are beginning to learn how to cope somewhat to the sleep deprivation. But we hope they will soon be sleeping through the night.

We are also beginning to learn what it's like to frequently see a lot of doctors. Earlier this week we learned that Andrew has to see ANOTHER doctor, Ugh. Andrew's acid reflux has been getting worse so we've had to take him to see a GI (gastrointestinal) doctor today. He has prescribes some new medicine which we hope will help. The thing I hate the most about going to the doctors is the time.  It can sometimes be an hour or two just to wait in the lobby, not to mention waiting in the room for the doctor to come in.  But I guess we sometimes don't have a choice.

I counted up how many different doctors Andrew must see.  FIVE!  Five different doctors!!  And that's just Andrew.  What about my neurologist, OB/Gyn, and the Family Dr.?  Oh, and I'm told I need to see an Internist because of my consistently high blood pressure.

Here's the five-

1.  Pediatritian- that's obvious

2.  Pediatric surgeon- she did the TEF surgery. We'll probably see her only once more

3.  Pediatric Urologist/Surgeon- she performed the kidney surgery and we'll be seeing her for while.  She's WONDERFUL!

4.  Pediatric nephrologist- we'll start seeing him for long term follow up on his kidneys since this will most likely be a long term issue with Andrew, and

5. Pediatric GI- We'll probably see him long term too since Andrew will probably suffer from this for a while.

However the other day I reminded myself that even with this hassle I'd gladly do it.  These doctors are helping Andrew stay healthy and alive.  If it wasn't for doctor #2 Andrew wouldn't even be here.  Doctor # 3 has helped Andrew's urinary system work better.  Hopefully doctor #5 can help him eat better without being in so much pain.  And taking Andrew to the doctor has allowed me to have some one on one time with him.

GHOST CRYING

Our twins are really good babies.  (I can say that now because both of them are peacefully asleep) Sure, they do their share of crying- especially when they're hungry, or tired, or bored, or they have a dirty diaper, or for no reason at all. Yesterday there was a period of loud crying from either Aaron or Andrew and sometimes both.  Eventually, after a lot of effort, both of them were finally asleep in their crib.  I was downstairs trying to relax while Steve ran some errands.  The crying wouldn't stop, though at least I THOUGHT so.  I checked the monitor- no sound, no moving.  Maybe it was broken. Now I KNOW I heard crying.  Just to make sure I tiptoed into their room and peeked and still heard no crying.  When I came downstairs though it was still there, it wouldn't leave. Finally I had to admit that it was my imagination and that I hear crying so much throughout the day that when everything is quite my mind begins to play tricks on me. I guess every mother goes through this at first. They become so hypersensitive to any noise a baby makes that they start to hear it in their minds. Does anyone know if there is a name for this phenomena?

GROWING LIKE WEEDS

Yesterday Andrew came home from the hospital. Unfortunately we were just too tired at the end of the day to update the blog. Other than a large bandage covering the tiny incisions he had from the surgery he was completely tubeless and wireless. He also seemed very happy and content to be home, although occasionally you could tell he felt a bit achy at times. But overall his recovery has been so far very quick. It was so nice to be able to hold and feed him for the first time without the nephrostomy tube and bag in tow. Before we would occasionally forget about the tube and it would accidentally get pulled just a bit to cause him some pain. We then got an ear full as a result of our mistake. So having him free from all of that allows us to better enjoy holding him and have more quality snuggle moments. (PICTURE: Andrew sporting his new bandage)

Today Aaron and Andrew are EIGHT weeks old!  Can you believe it! It has gone by so fast, yet seems like ages have past. We can't believe they will be two months old already on the 11th. Earlier this week I was changing Aaron's clothes (which happens multiple times throughout the day) and couldn't believe it- his onesie was tight on him. I swear, just last week the same onesie was loose on him. And now, only a few days later, I can't get the newborn size clothes on either of the twins. Some of their clothes they only wore once and then they were too big for them. I am so sad because it means they're getting bigger. Well such are babies. Even though I look forward to all the fun stages ahead (especially sleeping through the night!) there's something special about newborns. Then again, I don't think they've even reached 10 lbs which is about how big I (Katie) was at birth. When we went to the pediatrician last week Aaron was 7 lbs. 15 oz and Andrew was 8 lbs. even.  Four days later when I took Andrew for his pre op assessments at the hospital he weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. (PICTURE: Hey Mo...nuck, nuck)

When I got up this morning I realized it was the first day I didn't have to go anywhere. Neither one had to go to a doctor's appointment and I didn't have go to the hospital to visit Andrew. I was able to enjoy the morning (relatively speaking) and didn't have to rush off anywhere. I also was able to give Andrew his first real bath. Before I had to give him sponge baths because of his tube, but now he can get fully wet. As I was bathing him, I just about peed my pants when he unexpectedly released a tiny stream of bubbles from below. The tiny zipping noise the bubbles made and how he so matter of factly let them out made me laugh so hard. He seemed so unaware what he was doing was sooo funny. We are just so overjoyed to finally have team Andrew and Aaron home for good now. (PICTURE: Andrew taking his first bath)

ANDREW'S KIDNEY SURGERY A SUCCESS!!!

Andrew finally had surgery on his left kidney and we are glad to say everything went well. Andrew was quite the trooper during the whole ordeal. Before the surgery Andrew was not allowed to have any food after 4:00 am, so he was really hungry before the surgery. But amazingly he remained fairly calm through it all.  The first phase of the surgery was in radiology where they hoped to get a clear picture of his ureter and kidneys and do a few tests to see how clear the his ureter is.  Luckily the doctors were able to get a clear picture of his ureter and were able to tell that he still was able to pass urine into his bladder. So they were able to proceed with the surgery.  The surgery took about four hours to complete, so when the surgeon came to report the surgery was a success, we breathed a big sigh of relief! The surgery consisted of repositioning his ureter in a new location and placing a stint within the ureter, which allows his left kidney to drain while it heals.  Fortunately he no longer has the nephrostomy tube and will come home completely wirelss and tubeless.  The nephrostomy tube has been somewhat difficult to handle, because any accidental pull on it could pull it out of his kidney. In roughly 6-8 weeks the stint will then be removed and POSSIBLY the right kidney could be repaired at that time too.  As for now, the plan for the right kidney is to continue monitoring it but there is no certain plan to repair it.  The Doctor feels that as he grows larger the restriction may clear itself.  Although there continues to be some restricted flow but not to the extent of the left kidney.  

Following the surgery we were able to see Andrew for a short time and were amazed at how well he was doing.  He was awake but fussy-- not due to pain but because he was very hungry.  Unfortunately he won't be able to eat until tomorrow morning. He was eventually moved to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit or PICU. Before the surgery they had trouble establishing an IV because he has had so many IV's and blood draws in his hands and feet, so his veins were all but useless. They had to resort to a central line IV which was established in a vein in his neck.  That was hard to see but fortunately he won't have it for long.  This time it seemed more difficult to see him go through this again than it was the last time. Our basic instinct is to ensure that he doesn't experience any pain, so it was hard to see him have to go through more surgery.

We are so grateful to all of you for your many prayers in his behalf.  Those prayers have been answered in so many ways.  Thank you also for those who have been bringing dinners and have watched Aaron while we've had to spend time at the hospital.  It has allowed us to be with Andrew without worrying too much about Aaron.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!