Newborn Intensive Care Program

Because the boys were in the NICU more than than 72 hours, they were put in a state program called Newborn Intensive Care Program (NICP). Every few months, a development specialist comes to the house to see the boys and see how they are developing. On Aug. 24th, the nurse came for the first time. She weighed the boys and took all their measurements and then did excercises with them. She was just amazed at how well they are developing. Below are their stats.

Carter

Weight: 15.1 lb~above 99th percentile (he was off the charts) based on his adjusted age with due date of 7/1

Length: 24 inches~90th percentile based on adjusted age

Head circumference: 15 3/4 inches

Brandt

Weight: 12.14 lbs~ 90th percentile based on adjusted age

Length: 23 1/4 inches~ 80th percentile based on adjusted age

Head circumference: 15 1/4 inches

Because the boys were born premature, they are measured on the percentile charts based on their adjusted age. Their adjusted age is determined based on their 40 week due date of July 1. When the nurse was here, they were about 3 months old (real age), but their adjusted age was 7 weeks. They will be measured on the percentile charts based on their adjusted age until they are two.

Overall, I think this program is great! It was so reassuring to have a specialist tell me they are doing great. She seemed so impressed with their strength ability, size, and alertness and gave me some more excercise ideas to do with them.

My favorite part of the meeting was when she asked me how they are sleeping at night. I didn't really know what she meant by that. "Ummm...they are sleeping well I guess. They sleep from 8 pm-6/6:30 am." She was so surprised and asked if I was following BabyWise. I told her I was and she told me that she sees moms with multiples who don't follow a schedule and they are just a mess when she sees them because they never get any rest. Yaaay for BabyWise!

She also suggested I get on WIC (Women and Infant Care) since I'm no longer working and told me to tell them that I premie twins. I'd been planning to look into it, but I called them that afternoon. They said their next available appointment was in October. I told the lady on the phone I had premie twins. She put me on hold and came back and asked if I could come in the next day! I went to the appointment and now we get WIC checks. I can't believe I get 18 cans of formula for the boys each month! Wow! It is such a huge help. I also get checks for food. It's great!

The End of an Era....

It's official, I am a stay-at-home mommy! I gave my notice to McGladrey & Pullen a few weeks ago. Although I can't imagine going to work after having the boys (and especially after the BIG health scare), I am really going to miss being out in the work force and working with my M&P peeps.
It's going to be an adjustment no longer being in public accounting, but I am thrilled to spend every moment I can with the boys.

Aisha's Wedding

My dear friend, Aisha, got married a few weeks ago. In her Pakistani culture, the weddings are celebrated for three days. The first day is called Mehndi and is a ceremony to dote over and prepare the bride for the wedding. The second day is the marriage ceremony and the third day is a reception thrown by the groom's family. The wedding was so much fun and Aisha's family was so gracious. Below are some pictures from the wedding.

Appetizers at Aisha's Mehndi...so good!

Aisha before the ceremony. She had to wait in a back room for her groom, Shaharyar, to arrive and make his entrance first.

Aisha's henna turned out so good! During the Mehndi ceremony, part of the tradition is to put henna on the bride. She had her henna put on in advance so during the ceremony, everyone was faking it.

Aisha and I laughing away. It was so great to spend some time with her before the whirlwind weekend she had. I think I was telling her she forgot to put her makeup on in this picture. She had to explain to me the whole purpose of the day's celebration and she wasn't supposed to wear makeup.

Shayarhar entering for the ceremony

Aisha entering for the ceremony

Here, Aisha's telling me what to do. I had to put henna on their hands (they had something in their hands so you really didn't put the ink on them), put oil in their hair, give them sweets, and then give them money.

The centerpieces at the wedding ceremony (held on second day)

Aisha's parents walking her in.

Look at Aisha's outfit. Isn't it so pretty? I just loved it and she looked so beautiful!

Here's Aisha on the third day that was a celebration held by Shayarhar's family. I couldn't go and really wish I had been able to. This dress is so gorgeous as well. What a handsome couple. Congratulations, Aisha and Shayarhar!

Taking Naps

This can't help but make you smile!

After changing Carter this morning, I was goofing around and dancing for him to get him to smile and I got this!

What we've been up to...

After my last hospital admission, Eric decided to take a 2 week vacation so he could study for the Step 2 of the boards. So, for the past two weeks, he's been studying hard (well, as hard as you can when you have two adorable little boys in the house who you have to love on all the time!). He started a two week anaesthesiology rotation this week that he really likes...good thing since that is what he wants to do!

We went to a baptism orientation at our church for the boys last week. We are so excited they will be baptized on September 13th. It should be a lovely service and we are having people over after at our house to celebrate.

I've been seeing my doctors on an out patient basis since I got out of the hospital. The pathology report from the D&C indicated I had chronic endometritis. Dr. McKernan was surprised as I didn't have symptoms for that, but by doing the D&C, he was covering all his bases to figure out what was wrong with me.

The week after I was discharged, my wbc was 4.4 (normal range is 4.1-10). We were so happy because it seemed that the D&C did the trick. By the end of that week, though, it was down to 2.9 and a week later, it was 2.7. My last appointment with the hemotologist was on Monday and my count was back up to 3.9.

According to the hemotologist, it seems like my wbc dips are cyclic and appear to be tapering off. I surely hope so! As aggravating as it is that no one knows why this is happening, I just want it to be gone! It really messes with your head when you're constantly worried about getting another fever and having to go back to the hospital.

The boys are growing and getting really chubby. They had their 2 month well baby check last week. Carter weighed 12.8 lbs and Brandt weighed 10.13. If we work really hard, we can get them to smile, but they are not smiling on their own yet. The dr said that they are a little behind developmentally, but are doing really well and normal for being premies. Although it makes me sad they are growing up, I can't wait for them to smile and laugh!

Tummy Time

Here's a video of the boys doing "tummy time." Since we've started doing it daily, the boys have really improved! The boys can now prop themselves up on their forearms and keep their heads up. This video is from one of the first few days. Brandt is trying hard, but is very unhappy about it. Carter, well, just wasn't really into it that day!

Please forgive the really bad filming. It was my first try :)