Finally, after what has seemed like an eternity, our baby girls were released on Thursday February 25th. That date alone has proven to be my lucky day in so many ways already. On February 25, 2004, I closed on the purchase of my new home in Phoenix; on February 25, 2005, I met the man who would become my loving husband; and on February 25, 2010, my precious girls came home from the hospital with us. We are so blessed, and happy.
We have settled in--or better said--they have settled into their routine very well, and although we are tired, we have managed to sneak in naps throughout the day and are getting pretty good at taking care of them together. It is only Day 3 of their time with us, and we've already gotten them on a 3 - 4 hour feeding schedule. They also love sleeping in their slings when we are busy with other chores around the house.
They love us, and each other, so much. You can see it in their eyes. When they sleep next to each other, it's so precious. They stare at each other dreamily at times, and it's just the sweetest thing.
We will post pictures soon. I know everyone is dying to see them already. Thanks again for helping us through this long journey, and we look forward to sharing many sweet moments with you in the future.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Valentine's Day {Zoë and Eva at 8 weeks}
Valentine's Day this year was especially nice for us. We went to the Mission in Old Town Scottsdale for a delicious brunch, and then went to see 'Valentine's Day' at a matinee showing. As nice as those experiences were, though, they were not the highlights of our day.
The best part of our day was visiting with Eva and Zoë. They started Eva on bottle feeds during our visit. She really took to it quickly, and was able to finish half of her full feed during her first feeding session. We are so happy and proud! She is going to be a fast learner, it seems. Zoë will follow, soon enough. They expect her to start bottle feeding by Friday. In the beginning, they will feed from a bottle once a day, and then gradually move to once every twelve hours, and eventually build up to taking every feed through a bottle. Once they can feed from the bottle exclusively, they will be ready to come home. During this process, I will also have them experiment with breastfeeding, but I can work on that more once we bring them home. As they progress, we are just happy to know they are getting closer to being released.
Another big event was that they are now co-bedding. They were moved to a crib, together, on Sunday evening. Last night (Tuesday 2/16) when we visited them, they were finally together again. We carried them each for a while, and when we put them back in their crib, it was so heart-warming to see them look at each other in such a peaceful manner. We are sure they have missed each other so much...
Our baby girls arenine eight weeks old today, Wednesday February 17th.
The best part of our day was visiting with Eva and Zoë. They started Eva on bottle feeds during our visit. She really took to it quickly, and was able to finish half of her full feed during her first feeding session. We are so happy and proud! She is going to be a fast learner, it seems. Zoë will follow, soon enough. They expect her to start bottle feeding by Friday. In the beginning, they will feed from a bottle once a day, and then gradually move to once every twelve hours, and eventually build up to taking every feed through a bottle. Once they can feed from the bottle exclusively, they will be ready to come home. During this process, I will also have them experiment with breastfeeding, but I can work on that more once we bring them home. As they progress, we are just happy to know they are getting closer to being released.
Another big event was that they are now co-bedding. They were moved to a crib, together, on Sunday evening. Last night (Tuesday 2/16) when we visited them, they were finally together again. We carried them each for a while, and when we put them back in their crib, it was so heart-warming to see them look at each other in such a peaceful manner. We are sure they have missed each other so much...
Our baby girls are
Thursday, February 11, 2010
You make my heart smile {Zoë and Eva at 50 Days}
Today, Eva and Zoë are 50 days old. It seems only yesterday I was admitted to the hospital, due to complications in my pregnancy. I remember being so scared and thinking we might not even make it past the first night. Patience and prayers got us through it all, as well as support from our dear friends and family.
The past seven weeks have been full of all sorts of emotions. We feel such joy when we visit our precious girls, anxiety with each update from their doctors, and such emptiness when we are sitting in such a quiet home. Everyone says to enjoy this time while we can, because soon we won't have any free time anymore, but we'd give anything to simply have them home with us, and hearing their little cries will be music to our ears.
Now that I am driving again, I visit Zoë and Eva nearly every day, for hours on end. Whether I'm changing their diapers, taking their temperature, holding them in my arms, or simply enjoying their tiny grasp on my fingers, I always feel such love for them. Their tiny presence has changed my life forever, and every day I'm grateful for the tiny steps they've taken to bring them one step closer to coming home with us.
They are strong little fighters, and are such happy babies despite everything they've been through, both during my pregnancy and in the NICU. It's unbelievable how calm and mellow they are, even when the NICU seems to be a sea of chaos full of screaming babies. When we visit them, nothing else exists but our perfect little family of four.
That's why today as I reflect, all that comes to mind is "You make my heart smile". This is dedicated not only to my two precious angels, Zoë Elyse and Eva Grace, but also to my loving and, always supportive, husband, Victor.
The past seven weeks have been full of all sorts of emotions. We feel such joy when we visit our precious girls, anxiety with each update from their doctors, and such emptiness when we are sitting in such a quiet home. Everyone says to enjoy this time while we can, because soon we won't have any free time anymore, but we'd give anything to simply have them home with us, and hearing their little cries will be music to our ears.
Now that I am driving again, I visit Zoë and Eva nearly every day, for hours on end. Whether I'm changing their diapers, taking their temperature, holding them in my arms, or simply enjoying their tiny grasp on my fingers, I always feel such love for them. Their tiny presence has changed my life forever, and every day I'm grateful for the tiny steps they've taken to bring them one step closer to coming home with us.
They are strong little fighters, and are such happy babies despite everything they've been through, both during my pregnancy and in the NICU. It's unbelievable how calm and mellow they are, even when the NICU seems to be a sea of chaos full of screaming babies. When we visit them, nothing else exists but our perfect little family of four.
That's why today as I reflect, all that comes to mind is "You make my heart smile". This is dedicated not only to my two precious angels, Zoë Elyse and Eva Grace, but also to my loving and, always supportive, husband, Victor.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Go Suns!
Saturday (1/23), I returned to my first Suns game since before the babies were born. I had missed going to a game for so long, and was so excited about returning, that our sales representative welcomed us back with upgraded seats. We were seated courtside, in the first row, in the corner behind the basket facing the visiting team (Golden State Warriors). I was so happy and grateful! It is good to be back to normal, and it's nice to see so many people expressing their support for us in so many different ways. GO SUNS!
Update on Eva and Zoë [4 weeks, 5 days old]
Eva and Zoë are growing so quickly! Eva now weighs 3 lb 8 oz, and is 16" long; Zoë's weight is 2 lb 10 oz, and she's 14.5" long. It's so amazing to see what a difference a few ounces make in their appearance; the doctor confirmed they are identical, but we can still tell our two princesses apart!
They have both been doing really well, and are feeding on my breast milk almost exclusively---they also receive additional calories from fortifiers. Both of our darlings are very alert, yet at the same time very peaceful and mellow. We've had the opportunity to change their diapers and take their temperature when the nurses do their rounds, and they rarely fuss or cry when they're handled. Every time we carry them, they look right up at us with their beautiful brown eyes, and within moments fall asleep peacefully.
Today, I was fortunate enough to begin kangaroo care, with Eva. It was the sweetest thing! She lay right on my bare chest while I held her, covered with a blanket. She looked up at me the whole time, and gripped my pinky tightly as I whispered softly to her and kissed the top of her head. When it was time for me to put her back, I could tell she didn't want our time to end yet. She wriggled around and clutched at me, so I could keep holding her. It was the hardest thing, to leave her behind. I'm just happy I got to hold her so closely, and that she's doing so well. Tomorrow, I hope to start doing the same with Zoë. It will be great when I can hold both of them like that together!
They have both been doing really well, and are feeding on my breast milk almost exclusively---they also receive additional calories from fortifiers. Both of our darlings are very alert, yet at the same time very peaceful and mellow. We've had the opportunity to change their diapers and take their temperature when the nurses do their rounds, and they rarely fuss or cry when they're handled. Every time we carry them, they look right up at us with their beautiful brown eyes, and within moments fall asleep peacefully.
Today, I was fortunate enough to begin kangaroo care, with Eva. It was the sweetest thing! She lay right on my bare chest while I held her, covered with a blanket. She looked up at me the whole time, and gripped my pinky tightly as I whispered softly to her and kissed the top of her head. When it was time for me to put her back, I could tell she didn't want our time to end yet. She wriggled around and clutched at me, so I could keep holding her. It was the hardest thing, to leave her behind. I'm just happy I got to hold her so closely, and that she's doing so well. Tomorrow, I hope to start doing the same with Zoë. It will be great when I can hold both of them like that together!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Time to finish the nursery...
As the weeks go by, with our babies in the NICU, we have been working hard at home to finish preparing everything for their arrival.
I have had to order a few more clothes to fit them, since they will most likely still be smaller than 'newborn' size when they come home. I found out that BabyGap stocks some items in a size 'Up to 7 lbs' which will probably fit them better since they will probably be around 5 or 6 lbs, at the most when they come home. We also had to buy another shelving unit for our garage, to accomodate the overflow of items that will probably not fit in the nursery. We anticipate using it mostly for diapers and wipies, and also for their travel gear so we can save some space in their closet and in our home.
The nursery is essentially ready, with the exception of a few finishing touches. We have to hang their personalized picture frames, that will display their first tiny handprints and footprints along with their picture. We are going to hang these over their cribs---to help everyone tell them apart! I also plan to make a crystal pendant 'chandelier' to hang from the ceiling, but am still looking for some of the materials I need. It will be similar to the popular capiz pendant lamps, but with crystals instead of capiz shells. I am having a hard time finding the metal ring I need to string the crystals onto. We are also looking to put up some pretty floral wall decals to soften the space---see the ones I'm considering below (available at WhatIsBlik.com).
I have had to order a few more clothes to fit them, since they will most likely still be smaller than 'newborn' size when they come home. I found out that BabyGap stocks some items in a size 'Up to 7 lbs' which will probably fit them better since they will probably be around 5 or 6 lbs, at the most when they come home. We also had to buy another shelving unit for our garage, to accomodate the overflow of items that will probably not fit in the nursery. We anticipate using it mostly for diapers and wipies, and also for their travel gear so we can save some space in their closet and in our home.
The nursery is essentially ready, with the exception of a few finishing touches. We have to hang their personalized picture frames, that will display their first tiny handprints and footprints along with their picture. We are going to hang these over their cribs---to help everyone tell them apart! I also plan to make a crystal pendant 'chandelier' to hang from the ceiling, but am still looking for some of the materials I need. It will be similar to the popular capiz pendant lamps, but with crystals instead of capiz shells. I am having a hard time finding the metal ring I need to string the crystals onto. We are also looking to put up some pretty floral wall decals to soften the space---see the ones I'm considering below (available at WhatIsBlik.com).
Update on Eva and Zoë [4 weeks, 2 days old]
Eva and Zoë are progressing very well in their development, and growing stronger with each passing day. They have both been moved to the Intermediary unit in the NICU, which is one step down in terms of high risk. Eva has been taken off oxygen and is on room air only now, which is a big milestone. Zoë is sure to be right behind her, as she is almost ready to come off the small amount of oxygen she still needs to keep her stable all day. Zoë now weighs 2 lbs 8 oz and the last time we checked, Eva was at 2 lbs 13 oz, so they are steadily putting on weight as well. I have been able to pump milk during my recent visits to see the girls, and I am looking forward to starting kangaroo care, which is when I'll be able to hold them up against me, in skin-to-skin contact, to increase our bonding time and aid in their development. We are grateful that our babies are doing so well. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.
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