December 30, 2006

Everything is moving along here in Dallas. Lesley is getting around more, but probably still doing more than she should . . . trouble maker! My Mom and Dad are still here to lend a hand, and that is a huge help, since there are so many restrictions attached after a c-section. Reese is now up to 5 bottles a day, and she is 4 lbs. 3 ounces. She had a bradycardia episode last night, and they won't discharge you until you have gone 5 consecutive days without an episode, so hopefully that will be the last one! We still have to get to 8 bottles a day with her finishing the entire bottle, but it looks like it has finally "clicked!" Brady is doing well at home, taking everything offered to him! I don't know his weight now, but I'm sure it has increased since Tuesday!

Taylor thinks that Brady's name is "BradyandReese," since she has not concretely seen or touched Reese. They won't let children into the Special Care Nursery, so I guess she won't consider us having 2 children until she has actually seen them both. She is very funny. She will go around the house screaming and making all kinds of ridiculous noise (which does not effect Brady in the least bit), and then she will turn around and tell us to "be quiet!" Any time Brady makes any noise (grunt, burp, gas, stretch, etc.), she says "ooohhhh gross!" But I think she is really infatuated with him. She keeps trying to knock down the gate blocking the entrance to Brady's room! She is trying to be our helper!

We hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year!

December 26, 2006

Brady had his first doctor appt. today. He received an A+, and hopefully we will be going home before he needs another one! He was 5 lbs. 4.5 ounces, so he is really getting to be a big boy! He thanked the doctor for his services by peeing all over the exam table, so I'm sure they won't be sad we aren't return customers!

Reese is taking 4 bottles a day, and she is finishing most of them. She is now 3 lbs 14.8 ounces, so we are pretty sure she is going to be the big 4 lbs soon! She doesn't seem bothered by the Special care nursery at all. Many of the other babies cry frequently, but she is very content and patient. Her Nanna stayed with her for a couple of hours while Gary and I went to the doctor's appt, and Nanna claims they had a good time! We still don't know how fast she will progress or when discharge may be. She is doing fine for her age. They are 36 weeks today!

Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas! Gary and I are up at the hospital visiting Reese, since Brady was discharged on Saturday. We had a rough night the first night he was at home, but last night was much better! He opened his presents early, and she is opening later! Brady will be going to the Pediatrician tomorrow or Wednesday for follow-up, but he was 5 lbs 1 ounce as of Friday night. He is quite the eater, and doesn't complain much! He makes a lot of funny noises in the night that scare us to death, but he has been wonderful.

Reese is taking 2 bottles a day and gradually getting better. She has to take 8 and tolerate to be discharged. She has had fewer apnea spells, but she has to be absent an episode for at least 5 days before discharge. We will be splitting our days, but maybe that will help us gradually transition to parenthood! Too late for that!

Taylor had a great Christmas, and she loved the "kitchen" my parents gave to her. She stopped unwrapping for awhile, since she needed to get the "play time" in. We will have dinner tonight at Lesley's house, because Justin and Ragan just got into town.

I am going to try to attach the address to see Brady's discharge picture. The computer is not letting me cut and paste, so I don't know if it is right. The password is Napolitano. Reese will have hers after she gets rid of that stinky feeding tube. She wants hers to be perfect and free of tubes!

We love you all! Merry Christmas!

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage.asp?UrllD=8l1l6B6Z1P

December 22, 2006

Well, we think Brady may be packing his bags for discharge this weekend! Gary and I are rooming in tonight to take care of both of them, but Reese will probably still be here for another week or so. She still has to work on feeding with a bottle more frequently, but she is gaining weight and doing great. They are both in open cribs, because they are maintaining their temperature, and Brady will have his car seat test done today. We are excited to see Nanna and Papa back in town, so it will be an intersting Christmas weekend!

December 21, 2006

We have made a lot of progress! Reese is off of the oxygen, since she has had any apnea/bradycardia episodes with minimal help. She has gained several ounces, and tolerating feeds well. She is responding to nippling like most 34 week babies would . . . she shows interest, then forgets. She is taking a bottle 1-2 times a day, and having gavage feedings for the remaining 6 feedings. The developmental specialist said that she is surprisingly strong for her age (stronger than Brady, but don't tell him that)!

Brady is eating so well that he may be getting out of here soon! He is now taking 6-8 bottles a day, so he could go home as early as Saturday! We are not going to count on that, but it would be nice. We will have to split our days staying at home and coming to the hospital, but hopefully Reese won't be too far behind! We would love for them both to be home by Christmas, but I really don't think that is a possibility!

Lots of good news for the holidays! We love you all, and can't wait to see you!

NICU Grads!

Our children have had their first graduation! We have moved out of the NICU to the Special care nursery! Now we are "feeding and growing," so we don't need intensive care anymore! We are very proud of our little ones for hitting so many milestones so quickly! They were not expected to be able to coordinate their sucking, breathing, swallowing, but they are doing great. Brady is taking 3 bottles a day (the rest are tube feeds), and Reese had her first bottle today! She sucked that thing down so fast that I think even the OT was surprised. She is only taking 1 ml less than Brady, so their quantities are similar. They should hit goal tomorrow.

I think the plan is that they will gradually increase feeds and nippling until they are tolerating and thriving without any problems. I wish I could say that it would be next week, but I don't think that is how it works. My understanding is that most babies have good days and bad days. We have had so many good days that we anticipate that there will be some not so great ones to come. They both got rid of their IVs, and they may even move out of the isolettes to cribs soon. Gary and I are at the hospital all day long, because they let us do the feedings, changing, baths, temps, holding, etc. Our days go by really fast!

December 17, 2006

Lesley was discharged from the hospital today! Yeah! Taylor was glad to have her home, and I am sure Lesley is looking forward to sleeping in her own bed. I know I am looking forward to a real bed, too! I just hate being so far away from the hospital. I am having a little separation anxiety already!

Gary and I came back to the hospital after we moved back into Lesley's house. Brady and Reese have been moved into the same pod area, so their beds are right next to each other! This made me really happy! We participated in "kangaroo care" this evening, which means we held them close to us (skin to skin) in the fetal position, and we all really enjoyed it. I wish I could download the pictures, but I am not at my own computer! Gary looks real cute in a hospital gown!

Brady is now taking a bottle 3 times a day, and tolerating feeds well. Reese is going to start trying a bottle once a day, and we will see how that goes. They both lost a few ounces, which was to be expected . . . Reese is 3lb 7 ou and Brady is 4 lb 10 ou. Brady looks like a giant compared to Reese, but it was wonderful to have a picture together as a family. Reese got back on a little oxygen, because her heart rate was dropping a little after feeds. This is completely normal for 34 week babies. They are progessing well.

We love you all! Good luck with your Christmas shopping!

December 16, 2006 - Day 3

Brady and Reese had a great day yesterday, and it is looking like today is even better! They are both advancing their feeds to every 3 hours, and the ounces will be increased each feeding. If they continue to tolerate, their IVs will be out tomorrow! We get to put them in "people" clothes today, so I can't wait to dress them up! They will probably start trying to feed with bottles/nipples next week! I think they are fast learners, but I am obviously biased!

Lesley is doing great. She is still sore, but getting to go home tomorrow! She is trying to get up more, and Taylor will be coming to visit today, so that will be the true test! Lesley is such a hero to me, but I know you all know that. She is even pumping, so the babies have the best nutrition they can get! She is truly amazing.

More updates to come!

Delivery Day!

Brady and Reese are here! I am just now updating, since I have obviously been busy! Many of you already know the details, but I am going to try my best to update you to this point on each baby. They were born on Wednesday, December 13. Brady arrived at 1:28 p.m. and Reese arrived at 1:30 p.m. Gary and I were both present and accounted for, along with about 20 other staff in the room! I still can't download pictures, so I will do it asap.

Brady was 4 lbs 13 ounces and 17 1/4 inches long. He has lots of dark hair, and appears quite chunky compared to Reese. He initially had some respiratory issues, and was intubated the first day, because he was being a little lazy and needed some help. That helped him become very comfortable, and he was on a nasal canula the next day. Today he is on room air, and moving into an isolette, since he is maintaining his temperature on his own. He started tube feeding today, and seems to be tolerating well. Brady likes very little noise and stimulation, but enjoys a good hold and pacifier. Gary changed his first poopy diaper, and they are both glad that is over!

Reese was 3 lbs 10 ounces and 16 1/2 inches long. She has white hair, and very petite facial features. Her head appears smaller than my palm! She has long limbs, and did much better with respiratory issues than Brady did, even though she was smaller. They expected that, since boys usually have a tougher time. Reese was on CPAP for a day, and went to room air the next day. She is also moving to an isolette, and started feeds today. She has a very fiesty temper, but looks like an angel when she sleeps!

I have a million details I could spill, but I am going to have to share later. We love you all, and can't wait to introduce you!

34 weeks

We had a busy night last night. Lesley was taken to Labor and Delivery around 9:00 p.m. last night, because her contractions were lasting about 5 minutes with very short breaks. She received 2 injections that did not stop these persistent contractions, so they took us down for hydration and monitoring in that department. She is slightly more dilated, but not enough to be considered active labor. Needless to say, no one got much sleep, but Lesley is resting now. They brought her back up to the room, and she is off all meds (excluding Ambien!). They will keep us this afternoon, make her have more activity, and see what happens. If we don't go into labor, we will probably be discharged, which will be a welcomed change. Mom drove from Austin last night, since we were lead to believe that the babies were coming last night. We will update if there is any more change.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! We are hanging in there!

December 11, 2006

Well, we had another sonogram today, and we are getting sprung from this joint tomorrow . . . pending possibility of going into labor. They are taking Lesley off the meds at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, and letting her get up and walk around more. If no cervical change, we will leave late tomorrow evening.

Brady was 4 lbs 15 ounces, and Reese was 4 lbs 14 ounces. She gained over a lb in the past 2 weeks! We anticipated that they would only gain 1/4 lb./week. They are very active, and very healthy. We could see them both practicing their breathing during the sonogram which is a good sign of a healthy infant! Their heart rates are 144 bpm and 143 bpm, so everything looks great. Now that we know they are going to be over 5 lbs, our newest bets are on the actual dates we will get to meet them!

December 7, 2006

We have had a pretty good day today. Harley came up and served as our "Pet therapy" visit. We didn't let it hurt our feelings when he ignored us and searched the room non-stop for food. If you have ever seen Harley, you would understand! He did get in Lesley's lap and accept some good scratches. Taylor felt she needed to compete for attention a little bit, but she was a big help in walking Harley out to the car! I will try to attach some pictures once we are back home. Today is Nick's birthday! Happy birthday Nick!

December 6, 2006

Yesterday was 33 weeks, so one more to go! One of the physicians in the group came in to see us, and gave us a "tentative" plan for week 34. If we make it to that point (which we are very optimistic about), they plan to take Lesley off all the meds on Tuesday morning. They will let her get up, have more activity than in the past few weeks, and see what happens. If she goes into active labor, they will not stop it. If not, they should discharge her to bedrest at home. I think we all know that our little busy bee will have a hard time resting when she is at home, but we will be here to help. Her doctor does not see letting her go past 35 weeks.

We have a lot of visitors today, so we will be busy. Lots of love to everyone!

December 4, 2006

We had another sonogram today, and everything looks good. No cervix change, and the babies appear to be healthy. They did not check the weights again, because they only do that every other week, so that may change some of the "guesses" that have been placed. Anyway . . . everything is fine, and tomorrow is 33 weeks.

My Mom brought Taylor up today, and my Aunt Cindy brought dress up clothes for her. That entertained us for a little while, because Taylor loves to play dress up! We have people bringing movies and magazines, so that should keep us busy for a little while.

We will keep you posted!

December 2, 2006

It has been pretty uneventful over the past few days. Thursday it snowed, and we enjoyed watching that out the window. We were really grateful we didn't have to get out and drive in it!

Yesterday I left to do laundry and make some lasagna. Lesley found a hair stylist to come to the hospital to cut her hair, and it looks great! We brought Taylor to the hospital last night and had a "Christmas" party. She got a new leotard, and I don't think she has taken it off yet! She has some Christmas cupcakes (she calls them all birthday cake), and we sang, "Merry Christmas to you . . . " She seems to be great at going with the flow!

I have a couple of my very good friends coming to visit today and bring loaded french fries. We are real excited about that! I am also going to bring Lesley's dog, Harley, up for a visit, since we had it approved. See how we manage to stay busy even with nothing to do!

The doctor just came in, and everything still looks fine. No progession of dilation, but still continuous contractions. When they start to be a minute apart, she receives the terbutaline injections, and that knocks them out for a little while. She takes the percardia (sp? pill) now 6 times a day.

I will continue to update as we go!

November 30, 2006

We started out early this morning! The doctor came in around 6:15 to listen to the babies. That must have made them irritable, because the contractions started immediately after! Lesley received the injection, and they stopped (or temporarily subsided). We had another FFN test to try to predict possibility of delivery within the next 2 weeks, and it was negative again. That means that there is a good chance that the injections will continue to work longer. Apparently after awhile they are not as effective.

It is very cold here! We may see some snow! There was a 40 degree temp drop, but we are obviously not getting out in it!

November 29, 2006

Our camping out at Presby hospital continues, and we are doing fine. We have a calendar up every day and put down all our "appointments" and "errands" to take care of. It helps us feel like we are actually doing something but sitting here staring at TV!

Lesley is still contracting, and it sometimes occurs every 1-3 minutes. She is still responding well to the injection, and the plan remains to try to hold out until 34 weeks. They discontinued the order to receive more steroid injections today, because I guess the babies don't need it . . . or they think we will stay pregnant another week. Everyone has been very good to us here.

We are having a little competition for the next appointment regarding the weights of the babies. Obviously we have nothing better to do! Lesley thinks Brady will be 4 lbs 8 ounces, and Reese will be 4 lbs 3 ounces. I think Brady will be 4 lbs 7 ounces and Reese will be 4 lbs. 1 ounce. No prizes are awarded to the winner, just the satisfaction of being right! Ha Ha!

Talk to you all soon!

November 27, 2006

I wanted to do a quick update, since I am not supposed to be using this computer for personal use! Oops!

We saw the specialist today, and Brady is 4 lb 3 ounces, and Reese is 3 lbs 13 ounces. They should grow 1/4 lb/week in the next 2 weeks as opposed to 1/2 lb for single babies. They look great, and no distress there. However, Lesley and I will almost definitely be here another 2 weeks to hold out to week 34. At that time, we should either deliver or possibly be discharged to see what happens. They just want her to remain pregnant, if at all possible, until 34 weeks.

All is well, and we will talk to you soon!

update, November 25

I just wanted to try to post a quick update, since it has been difficult to get the news to everyone. We are at Presby, and doing fine. The babies have shown no signs of distress throughout the contractions, and we are at 31 weeks 4 days. They are trying to prolong delivery as long as possible, because every day she remains pregnant reduces our NICU stay by 3 days. We had a NICU tour yesterday, and it is a very nice facility. We both know what to expect based on when we deliver, so it is nice to prepare. The physician says that every week without a delivery is like a year in our time, so it is important to stay pregnant if at all possible. The good news is that Lesley has responded well to the injections and oral meds. They can delay the contractions from 1 hour to 12 hours. The bad news is that it is obviously exhausting for Lesley to experience contractions so frequently, and we cannot leave the hospital until she has been off the injections for 2 days. She has not dilated any more since Wednesdays "activity."

Thank you all for all the prayers, calls, and support. Unfortunately, we don't currently have internet access in the room, so email communication may be minimal. You can call our cell phones, but please leave a message if we don't pick up.

We love you all, and we are very positive that everything is going to be just fine!

November 20, 2006

Lesley is having appointments every week now, since we are starting week 31. They say that everything looks good so far. The babies have "dropped," and she is 1 cm dialated. Their goal still remains to shoot for 34-36 weeks, but Brady and Reese may have different plans.
Anyway . . . everything is going well! Have a Happy Turkey Day!

More Pictures

More pictures from Brady and Reese's party!

Party for Brady and Reese

Well, Brady and Reese are certainly being welcomed into the world with lots of celebrations! My friends from work through a wonderful shower for us at Jodi's house. If you notice, I brought our first picture of Brady and Reese, so they could join the party (next to the cake)! We had a wonderful time, and I am so grateful that I ended up working with this group of people. They have helped me feel like I was part of the family from day 1! I love you Ochsner friends!

Appointment Today

Lesley had an appointment today, and apparently our little ones are eaters! Brady is 3 lbs 13 ounces, and Reese is 3 lbs 4 ounces! Brady is in the 67% for singletons, and Reese is an average size for singletons. Lesley pointed out that their combined weight is more than Taylor was at birth (6 lbs 7 ounces)! We are at 30 weeks tomorrow. No wonder she is moving a little slower these days! Reese is still breech, but they will probably anticipate doing a c-section anyway. We are thinking it will be within the next 4-6 weeks, but they will not schedule it now. Lesley starts going to the doctor weekly, so I guess we will get updated frequently! Thanks for all your prayers!

Go Saints

I am attaching a picture of Gary's favorite baby gift thus far. It might have also been a good luck charm, because the Saints won today!

More pictures

They never let me upload all the pictures! Thanks to Sheri and Michele for taking them for me!

New Orleans Shower

My sisters-in-law and mother-in-law hosted a party for me at Wendy's house today. It was so much fun with lots of good food, beautifully decorated, and wonderful family and friends joined us. We are overwhelmed with all the support we have been given! Thanks to everyone! We love you all!

Parade at work

This is a blog just for Taylor . . . I wanted her to see that Aunt Jamie was one of her favorites for Halloween at work . . . Dora the Explorer! My coworkers were Dora's pals, so I included pictures of them, too! See if you can tell who they are! The nurses, dietician, and social workers took on the Saint's theme, and they looked really cute. The parade was one of our biggest events of the year, so as you can imagine, it took a lot of planning. We had 22 children participate, and they got so much stuff! Over 50 departments at Ochsner participated. It takes a lot of organization and work, so we are glad we have this one behind us!

October 16, 2006

Today we had 2 appointments with the maternal/fetal specialist and the regular physician group taking care of Lesley. Everything looks very good! Brady is 2 lbs. 3 ounces, and Reese is 1 lb. 15 ounces. Both of them are very fiesty, and they look like something out of alien when you can see them boxing it out across the room in Lesley's stomach! Taylor likes to get them wound up right before bed.
It looks like we still plan to deliver at the end of December, if all continues to go well. The only thing Dr. Rhinehart suggested was for Lesley to ditch the fancy (high heel) boots! Even though he did concede that she looked very fashionable and cute! Lesley and I were able to go out for a quick lunch before I had to head back. It was a very successful visit! 10 weeks to go!

More Pictures!

There were so many fun moments that I had to add some more pictures!

My surprise visitors!

Yes, folks. They finally did surprise me! Lesley kept a secret! I can't believe I didn't have it all figured out, but it was nice to have so many of my friends come, since everyone has been so busy! Katie just had Piper 1 month ago, and of course, she looks absolutely beautiful! Melissa skipped clinicals to come, and she never does that! Claire is working on her yard, just like I need to do, so it was so wonderful that she could come. I am attaching our pictures. We did one "posed" shot, but I thought the next shot was funnier, because it showed everyone in action. Benton is a good photographer like that!

October 14, 2006

Cindy and Mark hosted a shower for Gary and I, and it was absolutely beautiful! The decorations were unbelievable . . . very creative! I am going to attach some pictures. We all had such a wonderful time, and I am so grateful for all of our supporters! I have so many pictures, I think I am going to have to do a couple of different posts!

October 13, 2006

Wendy and Joey came to Dallas for our shower and to see Lesley and her family. We had a really good time, and Taylor enjoyed all the attention! They got her a doll with blonde hair and Taylor loved it! She carried it around, talked to it, put it to bed. She didn't seem to care that the rest of us were there!

Who Dat?

With a little help from our newly discovered good luck charm, the Saints have gone 3-0!!!! Gary and Vince are convinced that every time they see a little leprechaun before the game, the Saints will have a victory. Now obviously folks, they have not seen a lot of this little green guys based on the Saints' history, but it appears to be working! We had a great time last night, and we were completely exhausted at work today. We met a lot of people before the game (around 1:00 p.m.) and went to the pre-game festivities outside of the dome. The pictures will show the story of how the little leprechaun found us! We didn't get home until midnight, but it was a great experience! By the way . . . if any of my Texas family or friends want to know what they are actually saying (or meaning) during that little "Who dat" chant, I am going to have to refer you to Gary. I still have no idea.
Look hard at the last picture. You can see Vince in their with his good luck charm! I am going to publish some more pictures on a separate blog so the can fit.

Spike and Tuffy think the new room is for them

New baby update! Lesley went for another ultrasound today with the maternal/fetal specialist, and everything looks great! Brady is weighing in at 1 lb. 3 ounces, and Reese is a close second at 1 lb. 2 ounces! This is excellent for even single babies at this stage (22 weeks), so we are really pleased. He mentioned that Lesley looks to have no problems, and should be able to go to 37 weeks! Another huge accomplishment! Brady is head down, but Reese is sprawled out sideways. Gary says it is just like a woman to take up all the room! We'll show him taking up all the room!!!!! Every time the doctor put the ultrasound wand on Reese, she kicked at him. I guess he is already learning a thing or two about the women in our family. We are hoping that I will be able to attend the next appointment. Then I can kick him if he is bugging her!
On another note . . . Tuffy and Spike think the nursery is for them. I have been putting the furniture together, painting, organizing, and occasionally they sneak in. In the picture you can see Spike trying to lay in it, and the mattress isn't even there! Tuffy is more of an in and out kind of girl, but she loves the orange shag rug! She makes biscuits on it and rolls around like it is her long lost buddy!

Saints Victory!!!

You would have thought it was the Super Bowl win of the century in our house. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Saints won a football game! And they played well, too!!!! Vince came to watch with Gary and I, so I am going to completely embarrass them both and publish some pictures of them on the blog. Keep in mind these are completely impromptu pictures, since they had no idea I had the camera!
It is tough being a Saints fan, but victories are sweet!

September 9, 2006

Lesley's brunch was today, and it was a huge success. It was hosted by her very good friend, Heather, and we had a wonderful time. Lesley got gift certificates for massages, food delivery, lotions, pajamas, and all kinds of stuff to pamper her. That will certainly help, since she is carrying such important cargo! Heather did a beautiful job, and I was so grateful that we had an opportunity to honor Lesley and her family for their sacrifice.
I am attaching some pictures of the brunch!