Sadie Poops

Just to prepare you, this is a post solely about poop.  I never imagined this topic would creep into my daily conversations so frequently.  I suppose that is my life now (no complaints). 

I plan to someday including these blog posts in some sort of scrap or birth story type book for the girls so they are able to look back and realize how awesomely witty and charming their mother is.   I imagine a 17 year old Sadie looking through the book with a friend or boyfriend and coming across this particular post.  I imagine the discomfort on her face as she realizes that this post is dedicated to her making a bowel movement...  On the other hand, she probably won't understand the excitement of a new parent whose child had received 3 suppositories in 6 days finally pooping... or at least I hope not; hopefully someday I won't have a post that says "Sadie was just chosen by MTV's 'Teen Mom 6'!!!!!!".   So here it is - my apologies to the Sadie of 2030. 

The neonatologist does rounds every morning/early afternoon to receive updates on the last 24 hours and make any necessary adjustments to the girls' care.  This morning we once again discussed the fact that we were quickly approaching the 48 hour mark since Sadie's last bowel.  Another suppository was ordered... I started to mentally prepare for the crying that the evening and the suppository would bring.

Shortly after, I was able to hold Sadie while she ate.  She kept making these noises and her face would get all red and I just kept thinking that my daughter hates to be held by me; she is so uncomfortable and stressed.  Her heart rate would jump... and then she would relax and all would be fine for a couple of moments. Repeat.  It was after a couple of these spells that I began to feel "movement" in her diaper area.  I could hardly contain myself until the next time the nurse appeared and I proudly stated, "Pam! I think Sadie just pooped!!"  

That is right.  I was proud.  It was as if my child just won a race (a difficult one - not like "I won my heat v. a Hoover High runner" type of race), qualified for state, received an A in a difficult class, etc.  If this is any indicator of the future - I suppose my girls won't really have to work hard to exceed my expectations.  They can just continue to go to the bathroom and their mom will be perfectly content. 

I hope you enjoyed reading about Sadie's poop as much as I enjoyed the moment when I realized she was doing it! :)  Below are pictures is chronological order of Sadie's big moment: 

"Hey Mom... I am not sure what is happening here..." 

"Whoa... what was that?!"

 "Yeah... that's right.  I just pooped.  I am going on to do BIG things in life." 

... and she is out.  Exhausting morning.  

  

Weekend Update

I promised daily updates and I have already failed you! I know anyone who has been reading this blog has just been clicking "refresh" nonstop since Friday... But seriously, I was unable to find my wit and charm you all love and so I thought I would hold off.  Last week ended with really great news and we were very excited with the girls' progress.  While they are still doing very well, this weekend was a little rough on mom and dad.  

Ella Update

Ella is back under the photo therapy lamps after their bilirubin levels went up quite a bit between Thursday and Saturday.  Last night (Sunday) her numbers had increased even more, so a second lamp was added.  The good news: she projectile pooed all over Ryan last night and pooped twice more since.   Ever think you'd be reading a blog about poop?  I never thought I would be writing about it.  Again, pooping helps to get rid of bilirubin, so an explosive projectile poop is great news ... except for maybe Ryan (who was pooped on) and the nurse who had to learn how to take the incubator bed apart to clean it.  I, on the other hand, thought I may have split my c-section stitches because I was laughing so hard.  Lamps aren't a huge deal - it is just difficult to see them (1) take a step backwards; (2) put a mask back on; and (3) not be able to be swaddled.  

I wrote last week (I think) that Ella was able to go off of oxygen.  The first couple of transitional days were a little rough for her - or probably more rough for me - as we are told that a few drops in heart rate are common in babies, premature babies, and premature babies who are going through a big change or transition.  She was pretty good until Saturday when her oxygen levels started dropping and continued through last night when after one especially low drop, they decided to put her back on oxygen.  While we were obviously disappointed to see her take this step backwards, it came almost as a relief knowing that we wouldn't have to standby and watch her struggle to breath so much.  The nurses here can each tell us a hundred times that it is common in premature babies and that it isn't "the worst thing" - but it doesn't necessarily make us feel better when we can't do anything but standby and watch.  Absolutely the most helpless feeling.  

Sadie Update
Sadie is a rock star when it comes to breathing - but she just cannot poop!  This girl has had two suppositories (we were very disappointed to learn what those really are... poor girl).  Unfortunately, she has not yet been able to go without the suppository.  My sister-in-law, Tiffany, told me to be prepared because we would be praying for poop for years to come.  Yay: things to look forward to. 

Sadie also had to go back under the photo therapy lamps.  So she also is back to wearing her super hero mask and basking in the "sun".  I just received word that her bilirubin levels have dropped significantly and she may be able to get rid of the lamp today... keep your fingers crossed!! 

Photo Update
Fortunately,while both of the girls were out from under the lamps and were able to be swaddled, I was able to get a couple of really cute pictures! 

"Eat your heart out, Lebron" - Sadie (top pic) and Ella (bottom pic)

Ella's thoughts on photo therapy. 

No funny caption here... Sadie just looks so cute!

"I just pooped all over my dad and $25,000 bed just so I could get another bath." - Ella

Okay - so some of you may not believe me, but I swear that every time I read "Where the Wild Things Are" and get to the part where the "Wild Things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth...", Sadie smiles like this!  I tested this theory by reading it to her 4 times on this particular day and she smiled each time.  I read this out loud throughout my pregnancy so I am convinced she recognizes it! 

Another one where I have no caption - just a cute picture of Ella! 

#Fail

You know that nightmare you have right before a final exam when you wake up convinced that you have slept through the test?  Well ever since we found out we were having twins, my nightmare was not being able to tell them apart - these fears were heightened when I learned we were having two girls.  Everyone just laughed at me and said I would "just know"...

Well at the end of yesterday's post I included a picture of each of the girls sucking their pacifiers.  Except, both of those pictures are of Sadie... as it turns out, I really cannot tell them apart.  Looks like I am going to have to take some pointers from Dwight Shrute and mark them with a permanent marker. *Also, Ryan felt it was very important that I note that it was he who pointed this out to me.   However, I would like to note (about his note) that he only knows them by the sheets they are laying on, not their faces.

Oops.  I suppose I have time to figure it out... and if I don't, these girls are going to get away with a lot of shit.  :)

Either way, here is the first family photo.  Again, we only get to hold them for kangaroo care so please excuse the near-nudity! I am holding Sadie and Ryan is holding Ella (or at least I think... who really knows?).

Week One

Happy one week birthday to my beautiful baby girls!  This post is much more informative than fun... but that just makes it better for me!

What a week this has been!  A week ago this morning I was on bed rest hoping for a good ultrasound photo of their slightly alien-looking faces (I still think 3D ultrasounds are a little creepy) and today I have hundreds of photos of them doing pretty much the same thing with very slight variation... laying around just looking so stinking cute!

Their one week birthday came with a few awesome presents from the doctor this morning:

Sadie Update
Head Ultrasound.  Doesn't that sound terrifying?  Maybe it is just me - it probably is because I was the only one who seemed to be nervous about it!  I try to tell the NICU nurses that I will eventually become a less neurotic parent: it may be an empty promise...  Anyway, Sadie had a head ultrasound this morning to check out ventricle sizes and to ensure there were no bleeds.  All looked "within normal range".  We will be repeating this ultrasound next week to watch her development (because she is so much smaller).

Food and Poop. Until yesterday, Sadie had only been eating 2 mL every 6 hours.  Yesterday they increased her feedings to every 4 hours.  Today we are eating 3 mL every 3 hours!!  This is definitely a positive move forward.  The problem?  Baby girl needs to poop!  She hasn't gone to the bathroom in almost 36 hours - poor girl! If she doesn't go by 5:00 tonight, they will give her a suppository to help out... at that point I think I'll just let Ryan change all of her diapers!!

Big obnoxious lamps.  At 8:00 tonight, Sadie will be all done with the phototherapy lights!!  This means she won't have the face mask any more to cover her eyes and we can finally swaddle her!  Swaddling is so very important because it mimics being in the uterus and is very soothing to the girls.

Ella Update

Head Ultrasound.  Like her little sister, Ella's head ultrasound looked good.  Because she is a little bigger, she will not have to have another until she reaches 36 weeks (gestational age).

Food and Poop.  Sadie is now eating 8 mL every 3 hours (doubling the amount of food she now receives)!  This is an increase from 4 mL!  So far, she is doing great.  Ella has had much better luck in the poop department.  She had her first near-blowout last night...  I am not sure I am ready for the real thing.

Big obnoxious lamps.  Ella will also be done with the phototherapy lamps at 8:00 tonight.  Hopefully both girls can keep their bilirubin levels under control so they get to spend more time with mommy and daddy holding them!!

After a week of all "status quo" rounds with the doctors, today's changes were very welcome!  More steps forward and closer to getting big and strong and going home!

These girls suck!  Seriously - look at them both going to town on these pacifiers! And they make it look so damn cute!  I don't want to brag... but they ARE both holding their pacifiers on their own.  They are pretty much kicking ass at life!

Sun Bathing

Jaundice is a condition caused by too much bilirubin in a newborn's blood.  It is a substance created when the body breaks down old red blood cells.  Shout out to WebMD.com for that explanation.

What does it mean to me?  It means that Ella and Sadie spend 23 hours a day under photo-therapy (big obnoxious lamps), mom and dad don't get to hold them other than that 1 remaining hour a day, they have "blinders" cover their beautiful dark eyes, and they don't get to be swaddled (which is very soothing to them) because we want them to have as much exposure to the lights as possible.

Silver lining?  It means we get to catch them in some pretty awesome poses.  As I am typing this - Sadie has her foot in her mouth... but since I didn't capture that, I'll share some of the others with you...

Ella is pretty stressed out about this whole having to breathe on her own thing ... I think she has taken up yoga as a form of relaxation.  

 Just a little sun bathing - Ella has got her shades and paci and is just chillin' under the lamps.

 Ella also found yoga to be too exhausting, so she tried out sucking on her thumb.  This seemed to work for a while. 

Like her dad, Sadie loves to sleep curled around a body pillow. 

Here is what Ella thinks of my taking so many pictures of her doing the same thing... note the middle finger.  Attitude. 

 Sadie also attempted yoga as a form of relaxation - they must remember the terrible, terrible prenatal yoga video whose instructors had names like "Poppy" and said things like "your heart is blossoming into a lotus flower".  I don't even know what that means. 

Sadie is so unladylike.  We will have to talk to her about proper etiquette before she does any real sunbathing. 

Sadie likes to sleep with a body pillow like her dad (see above). 

Ella, however, likes to sleep with her hands above her head like her mom (although I don't think that my arms are usually spread out quite like this...).  

Fathers' Day

First, I know I am a few days late.  Story of my life.  Second, I am not an overly sentimental or emotional person; at least, not publicly.  However, I must give credit where credit is due.  Just know that if you are uncomfortable reading this, I am likely 10x more uncomfortable writing it for an audience!  My deepest apologies to my husband for this public display of affection...

I always knew Ryan would be a great dad - but when we became pregnant, I was still a little surprised at how easy he wanted to make pregnancy on me.  He forced me to walk when I was tired (or being lazy), guilt-ed me out of THOUSANDS of Dairy Queen calories, and even agreed to go to a "breast feeding for twins" class (don't worry - never in a million years would I have actually made him go to something like this, it was a set up so his brothers could surprise him with a night out).  Although I know he was not happy about having to do something like this and complained to some of our friends about it (John Strawn tattled on you, Ryan), he never let on to me that he was annoyed by my insistence that we attend this class.

Then when I had high blood pressure, he removed what sodium was left in my diet and made sure I had my feet up as much as possible.  And when they put me on bed rest for preeclampsia, he didn't leave the hospital for days, slept on a cot made for someone half his height, and walked down the hall to fill my water glass anytime it was anywhere close to low.

Finally, when it was time to deliver, although I was a mess, he was the greatest support.  He held my hand through the c-section, sent a million pictures and videos in those hours I couldn't see the girls, and described their distinctive features (i.e., their HUGE feet).  Now when we do get to interact with Ella and Sadie, it is pretty awesome to watch him (creepy, I know).

So to round out this embarrassing tribute to my girls' dad, enjoy some pictures of Papa T with his little girls (I should note that Ryan is usually wearing clothes - but the only time we get to hold them at this point is for "kangaroo care" which consists of skin-to-skin cuddle time - so most of our pictures with the girls are topless... good thing this isn't a Mothers' Day tribute!):

Look at those tiny toes!!!! Although they are so incredibly cute right now... I am sad to report that I think Sadie may even have her dad's toes.  Ryan has terrible toes - the second two are outrageously longer than the first "big" toe.  And while I may be exaggerating on how ugly they are - it isn't that much of an exaggeration.  

First diaper change.  Let me start by acknowledging how stupid it is that I took a photo of the "first diaper change".  In my defense, this is one of the few times during the day we actually get to touch the girls - changing diapers is one of my favorite things to do.  

Ryan and Ella - every time he holds her, she will crane her neck up and open her eyes to "look" at him.  

Ryan and Sadie - I know she is small, but seeing her laying with Ryan just blows my mind.  What a sweet little peanut! 

So I am now realizing that there are a ton of photos on Ryan's phone that I will need to download before I can share them with you... #inexperiencedbloggerproblems.  I doubt he will be helpful if he knew what I was posting.

Happy Fathers' Day, Ryan!!  With love, your favorite ladies! 

Introducing...

INTRODUCING... 

I am new to the world of blogging - so be patient as I try to navigate this new world and figure out what it is you do and don't care to read about!  My main purpose in starting this blog is to keep family and friends updated on the progress of our two amazingly strong and beautiful additions, Ella Claire and Sadie Marie.

Unfortunately, because of their age, we are only allowing few visitors (immediate family).  Although we would love nothing more than to be able to show off these two feisty little girls, the stress of visitors and the risk of spreading illness is too great for this new mom's comfort (and on the advice of NICU doctors and nurses). Please know that we are so excited for Ella and Sadie to meet everyone, the NICU just might not be the best place.    Hopefully my blog will help you get to know these girls in the meantime!

So here we go...

Ella Claire Thorson

Ella was born on June 13, 2013 at 3:09 p.m. by "surprise" c-section.  She came out with one of the two most adorable cries I have ever heard.  I am sure someday I will be wondering what I found so adorable about this cry - but given the circumstances, nothing could have sounded better.  

Ella weighed 3 pounds and 7 ounces.  We aren't exactly sure where this hair came from (her mom didn't have any until she was about 2) and she has a much better hair line than either of her parents! Also, at times it looks a little wavy - I am hoping that will stick around! 

Ella has been on oxygen - I think maybe she was comfortable in her breech yoga position and wasn't ready to make her debut.  If I had to guess, she is just pissed at this inconvenience and is going to take her time.

Sadie Marie Thorson

Sadie was born on June 13, 2013 at 3:10 p.m. also (of course) by "surprise" c-section.  She is the proud owner of the other super adorable cry.  Although Sadie had become a champ at practice breathing in the days leading up to her delivery, she was also the little one whose umbilical cord was delivering reverse flow and so we were so relieved she was strong enough to cry right away.  

Reverse Flow:  I am still not an expert on exactly what this means - I know that it prevented her from receiving the proper nutrients in the last several weeks of my pregnancy; that seeing reverse flow is rare enough that our specialist of 20 years "almost never sees it" and that our ultrasound tech was in awe because she had never actually seen it before... I was thrilled to provide all with this learning opportunity (please note the oozing sarcasm); and, finally, that it was this rare spotting that prompted the c-section. 

Sadie weighed in at 2 pounds 6 ounces.  Her hair is much lighter in color and is a little thinner.  Depending on the day, it almost has a reddish hue - of course, that could just be the jaundice lamps! Sadie is our little feisty fighter and, amazingly, was taken off oxygen by the morning of June 14. 

Meeting Ella and Sadie

What I knew but never could have been prepared for is the first 24 hours after a c-section, specifically after one occurring as a result of preeclampsia.  I knew that after a c-section, the babies were almost immediately removed to a different room and that rarely did mom get any real time to see or hold the baby/ies.  What I did not know before being prepped for surgery is that when you have preeclampsia, you are put on a magnesium drip which requires hourly monitoring for 24 hours, prevents you from getting out of bed, and prevents you from being able to visit your babies until the magnesium is discontinued.

[The magnesium drip prevents the risks of preeclampsia/eclampsia such as stroke, seizures, etc. I was told that in the dose I would be receiving, I would likely experience side effects that would surpass my worst hangover... clearly they don't know pre-pregnancy Paige very well; the symptoms of a post-Thursday night Dos Rios margarita(s) are far worse.]

Fortunately, Ryan was able to be with the girls soon after delivery.  He took pictures and videos and sent them to me while I was in recovery (the photos in my first posting, "Introducing...").  Before taking me to my room, they wheeled me into the girls' NICU room.  Because they wheeled me in on a bed and I could not sit up, I could really only see their feet.  This makes sense because their feet are HUGE.  I mean.. they are small - but given the girls' size, they are HUGE.  I suppose I should not be entirely surprised given my and Ryan's height and shoe size...

Check it!!! Miss Ella on top and Miss Sadie on the bottom.  Even these photos really don't do justice.  I'll work on finding/taking better pictures!

Friday afternoon was probably one of the longest!  Fortunately, my mom was with me to hang out and keep me calm as the hours wore on and I still hadn't had a chance to see and meet my little girls.  Of course Ryan continued to send pictures, but pictures are not quite the same. FINALLY, at about 6:00 that night, I was allowed to spend about an hour in the girls' room - looking - not touching.  I was allowed to go back again at 9:00 and Ryan and I were able to hold them for the very first time; they were about 30 hours old.

Mommy and Ella

 Mommy and Sadie

Daddy and Ella

Daddy and Sadie

We do have one family photo - but my vanity prevents me from sharing.  I am sleep deprived, red, puffy, and wearing a hospital gown. I am doing you all a favor. :)