Yesterday and Today

Yesterday I was able to hold Haley skin to skin (Kangaroo) for the first time. It's so special to be able to have their little bodies against mine. I can't explain the emotions and the feelings that I get from holding my precious daughters skin to skin.

Mommy holding Haley skin to skin



The girls have had a great weekend. Both girls have been able to be weaned down on the cpap pressures from six to five and both have tolerated it well. Both Rachel and Haley have also been able to come down a little bit on their O2 requirements. Rachel got her immunizations today. Haley will get hers when her infection has cleared. Haley will have to be on Amphotericin for a full 28 days. She has already had it for 7 days now. Haley did have to be changed over to continuous feeds as she is now having too much poo coming out of her ostomy. She continues to get breast milk, but if her output doesn't decrease she will be switched to a special formula. I hope the output will decrease and she will still be able to get my breast milk. We continue to thank an all knowing and all loving Heavenly Father, it is only through him that our little girls and Thomas and I have been able to get through this experience in life.

Rachel Just Being Herself

Skin to Skin holding

Tonight we were able to hold our little ones skin to skin or also known as kangaroo holding. I held Rachel and Thomas held Haley. We used a Zak's Sack to help hold them secure. A zak sack is a wrap that zips up. Rachel tolerated it well and just slept the whole time. Haley wasn't sure what to think of it, but we will continue to hold her skin to skin to get her used to it. Its such a wonderful feeling to be able to hold my babies so close. This is another exciting step forward. The doctor even said that they are going to start weaning the girls cpap settings in preparation to transition to nasal cannula. It will be so exciting to get them on the nasal cannula. They continue to make wonderful progress. We hope they continue in this direction. We love our girls so very much and are so proud of them.

An update on Haley's eyes. Dr. Coats checked her eyes this morning to see how things were going. He said there was a little less haziness and it looks like her eyes are slowly improving. He will check her again on Tuesday (11/10).

Mommy holding Rachel skin to skin



Haley loves her pacifier.

Three Months Old!

Today Haley and Rachel are three months old or 36 weeks gestation. Time sure has flown by. Even though it has been an emotional roller coaster ride the past three months it has gone by faster than I though it would. So many wonderful things have happened the past 3 months for Haley and Rachel. They have made good progress. 1. They are on full feeds and off the TPN. 2. They got off the ventilator and onto the cpap. They are still on cpap and doing well. 3. They have made it to 5 pounds. 4. They are able to maintain their own body temperature. 4. They get to wear cute clothes. We are so grateful for the big accomplishments as well as for the the little ones. Before we know it another month will go by and little Haley and Rachel will be home with us. We continue to look forward to the day we bring them home and get to raise them. The best is yet to come. We love our little girls so very much and have been so blessed.

Eye Exam Day

The girls both had their eyes examined today. Dr. Coats told us that Rachel's eyes are looking really good. One eye is almost out of the woods so to speak, and the other eye is pretty close behind it. Hopefully by next week they will be out of the woods. Dr. Coats also examined Haley's eyes today, He said he couldn't get a clear view of her eyes. He told us that they were still hazy from the surgery. He did say he could still see plus disease in her eyes. He will check again in a week to see what they are doing. He said it is common to have the hazy eyes after surgery. We hope and pray that her eyes clear up this week. Haley also has not had a positive culture since Sunday for the yeast infection, thank goodness for that. Our Stake President, President Banks assisted Thomas this evening in administering blessings to both girls. Thomas and I have a great love and appreciation for President Banks, He is a great man who knows the Lord and wants to serve him. He has been such a huge blessing to our family. A big thanks to President Banks for always being there for our family. I would say over all the girls had a great day today. Rachel and Haley both continue to grow and develop right before our eyes. We just love being able to hold them and talk to them each night. Our love for Rachel and Haley knows no bounds. We want and desire nothing more than to be able to help them reach their potential. It's all about them. With the help of a loving Heavenly Father we will be able to raise these beautiful girls.

Rachel



Haley

Keeping Us On Our Toes!!

The girls are growing bigger by the day. Both girls seem to have had a pretty good day today. Rachel had a little episode as we were coming in to see her this evening. Her heart rate was high and she was upset. Come to find out she had a high temperature of 103.1. She was wearing warm fleece PJ's plus the isolette she is in is covered and it must have gotten too warm for her. She might be moved to an open crib very soon, if this continues. Rachel began to cool down once her clothes were removed and I held her. She eventually got back down to normal temp. She is doing good. Rachel is up to 4 lbs 13 oz and is 17 inches long. Haley had a pretty uneventful day which is a good thing. She seems to be ok since she has had the anti fungal medication. They took another culture today from her and so far it hasn't come back positive for yeast. We will continue to pray that the culture they did stays negative. Dr. Thompson did tell us last night that the cultures can stay positive for several days after the anti fungal med is given. We are praying that it doesn't come back positive because we don't want her to be on that anti-fungal medication (Amphotericin) for a long time as it can effect kidney function. We hope her kidneys do not get any more damaged with the use of this medication. Haley is weighing in at 5 lbs 4 oz. We didn't get her length this evening but we will tomorrow. So over all the girls had a pretty good day today. We continue to be amazed with their fighting spirits. They have a glow about them, that melts our hearts every time we are able to be with them. They are such beautiful little girls. Thomas and I feel the Spirit so strong when we are with them. They are so pure and innocent. I know that they have been sent to earth by a loving Heavenly Father to bless our lives. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for these two precious little girls. The impact they have already had on my life is describable. We feel like the luckiest parents in the world to be able to have and raise Rachel and Haley. We know because of the sacred covenants that Thomas and I have made in the Temple that they can be our daughters for eternity, if we live everyday worthy of those covenants. There is no greater knowledge to me than to know that because of Sacred Temple Covenants, and because of a Savior who gave his life for all, that we can be united as a family with all our precious sons and daughters in the world to come. Thomas and I have to now do our part to be worthy of such wonderful blessings. We love our little girls and are so so happy they are still with us here on earth.

Infection!!

Today started early with a call from our nurse practitioner Kim, who is very kind and caring. She called around 5 AM letting us know that Haley has an infection from her PICC line. Haley still had the PICC line for the TPN that she is still getting. Haley's PICC line was infected with yeast, the very same thing that our precious little Ashlyn initially got infected with. The good thing about it is that because of two wonderful and observant nurses Brandi, and Kodi it seems it has been caught early enough to treat, unlike Ashlyn. We are so grateful to Brandi and Kodi for being the kind of nurses they are. They are extremely good with our girls, and they are very good at what they do. They are not 100% sure yet if it is yeast, they will have a microbiologist look at it in the morning. They seem pretty confident that it is though. We just returned home from the NICU and Haley seemed just fine. They have put her on an anti-fungal medication called amphotericin. It is a terrible drug for the kidneys, but they are monitoring her closely. We spoke with Dr. Thompson this evening about the yeast, and she seemed upbeat about it. She said the signs look promising for Haley. Haley did not have to be re-intubated, her O2 requirements have not gone up, she seems to be more active since they started the medication. Those are good indications that the yeast has not spread through out her body. They will do different tests tomorrow to see if that is true or not. We hope they have indeed caught it early enough. We also pray that the amphotericin medication does not destroy her renal function. She has already had her issues with her renal function, we don't need any more. Thomas was able to give her a Priesthood Blessing this evening for this issue. We feel confident that she will be ok, and that they will not have to give the anti fungal medication for very long. I was able to hold Haley tonight and she did just fine in my arms. I adore this precious little girl, she is such a sweet little girl.

Rachel seems to be on cruise control thus far. We hope that continues, we don't need her to get any yeast in her blood or any where else for that matter. Thomas was able to hold her this evening. She seemed to do just fine for him tonight. The last time Thomas held Rachel she was very agitated and that made Thomas a little nervous, he couldn't get her to calm down. Tonight was better for him, I could hear him singing I am a Child of God to her and He got a little emotional as he was singing to her, it was cute. I truly love and admire Rachel, she is such a beautiful little girl. We are proud of both our sweet girls, they continue to bring us such joy and happiness. We continue to trust in our Heavenly Father. We know that Heavenly Father is in control, he will always do what is best for all involved. He will not do anything that is not for our good. He loves us so very much, he will not allow us to suffer any more than is necessary for our growth and spiritual development. I know from first hand experience that He loves me, that he has been there for my family every step of the way. I know that I have a lot of growing to do, and I am grateful for the greatest tutorer (our Savior) who has and continues to guide us along.

Haley with her teddy bear



Rachel Sleeping on her side

Happy Halloween

Today was the girls first Halloween. No trick or treating and candy for them today,, but that is ok because their day will come for that. It won't be long until next Halloween rolls around, and they will be out with mommy and daddy enjoying all the good stuffs that comes along with it. We held both girls tonight, that was mommy and daddy's treat this Halloween. I held Rachel and Thomas held Haley. The girls for the most part seem to enjoy us holding them. We truly love these beautiful little girls. They just seem to have a way of lighting up the room with their purity and the closeness they are to our Savior. I know He is there with them, helping them through these challenging times. I can feel that as I am able to hold them. He does love them and He has blessed them so much. I am in awe with all that a kind loving Heaven Father has done for my little family. He continues to lift our spirits, in times of doubt and worry. We do not know the long term effects that come from being born so prematurely, we do not know how developmentally challenged our girls will be, but one thing I do know is that We will love and cherish every moment we have with our beautiful daughters. They are daughters of an all loving Heavenly Father and He has entrusted them to us, we will do all with in our power to raise them and to love them the way he has intended for us to. Thomas and I are so blessed to have Rachel and Haley in our lives, they are our everything.

Haley wearing her Halloween hat. It didn't fit on her well due to the cpap tubes.



Rachel wore her Halloween hat over her feet/legs. We couldn't get hers on due to the cpap tubes.



Daddy holding Haley



Mommy holding Rachel



Rachel at Her post



Haley at Her post