Weekly Recap #6

This week was mostly spent at the hospital visiting the twins in the NICU. It was so weird going back there on Monday, after being discharged from the hospital myself just the day before. Weird, and sad at the same time. I absolutely hate having to drive there by myself and leave by myself. :( With visiting the twins, this was a very busy week. Here's the daily play-by-play (with pictures!).

Monday - Even though I was just released from the hospital yesterday, there were still things that needed to be done, and people I needed to feed. I went grocery shopping by myself in the AM. I seriously regret pushing myself because I felt awful. I powered through, but I probably should have waited.

And, I have some really awesome friends. Knowing how awful I was feeling for having to leave the twins in the NICU, they sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Ans, the emotional mess that I am, I totally cried.

Then, it was off to the NICU. Today I visited from 5:45pm to 10:30pm. I really didn't like their morning nurse from 7am to 7pm. Her care reminded me of some teachers. You know how there are really great teachers that love there jobs, and how you can tell who is only there for a paycheck? Well, I found that that extends to nurses as well. We've had some really great nurses so far, but then there are some, like this morning, who I feel don't really try. The night nurse from Sunday put their feeding tubes back in because they regressed a bit Sunday night which was really hard to hear.

Peyton

On Tuesday I drove myself to the doctor's office to have my c-section staples removed. Thankfully, it did not hurt as much as I thought it would! I went to the same Thai place for lunch that I visited a few weeks ago, Mai Thai Cafe in Wheaton. A few weeks ago, I thought the place was great, but now they don't offer table service anymore, just carryout. It was weird - and the food wasn't as good. I wonder what happened.

I visited the NICU from 12:30pm - 6:00pm on Tuesday. The twins had a better nurse this time (Jami). I was so happy to see NO feeding tubes. I was told that the twins are now on an "On Demand" schedule where they don't have to drink a certain amount of food, and they are fed when they want food. The goal is for them to gain weight on their own, without being force-fed. While I was there, Lauryn was awake alot, but Peyton has day/night mixed up and is more awake at night. Later that night from home, I called the night nurse and she said they only lost 5 grams (they are weighed every night around 9pm) which is less than 0.2 of an ounce. Their original feeding goal was 55 cc's for Lauryn and 50 for Peyton. Last night Lauren took 65 and Peyton took 60! They are doing so well!

Lauryn

Peyton

On Wednesday I was headed back to the NICU, of course. The hospital is more than 20 miles away from my house so it's quite a drive each day. I had the opportunity to stay at the Ronald McDonald House during the day (not overnight), but I mostly stayed home and played with Brayden during the day. He seems to be having a rough time lately ever since I was in the hospital. He goes into his room a few times a day to "relax" and I worry about him. He seems a little depressed so I'm trying to spend as much time with him as I can.

Lauren held in her paci with her hand - so cute! Was told that I should bring in outfits for them to take photos, and their car seats so the nurses can perform a car seat test that would last an hour and a half. They won't be going home tomorrow, but it's better if they get this mandatory test (for kids born at less than 37 weeks) done before we are discharged. All they need to do now is gain weight for 2 consecutive days and they can come home! Woo hoo! Late that night I got a call from one of the nurses (that I requested because I needed to know if they gained/lost weight) and was told that they both GAINED! One more day and they'll be released. I was so happy to hear that!

On Wednesday, I also stuck to one of my New Year's Resolutions and made a new recipe this week. I love almost everything The Pioneer Woman makes, and this week I decided to make her Salisbury Steak Meatballs from one of my Pinterest boards. Oh my word - those things, over egg noodles, are the BOMB! what's even better is that my whole family - including my super-picky-he-only-eats-chicken-nuggets 5-year-old - loved it. I'll definitely add this to my favorites rotation!

Thursday - I spent a lot of time organizing today. I put together all of the baby swings and bouncers that we had, spent some time tidying up the basement, and making sure we were just about ready for the twins to come home. Today I was asked to bring their car seats to the NICU so they can perform a car seat test. All babies born prior to 37 weeks gestation need to pass a car seat test. After a feeding, the child is placed in their car seat for 90 minutes while the nurses monitor their heart rate and oxygen levels to make sure they can handle a long car ride without slouching and cutting off their oxygen. They are almost ready to come home, ya'll! I also brought in some outfits for their photo shoot that's scheduled for tomorrow morning. They were asleep for most of the time I was there today though. :( And I was there for 6 hours! I also called the nurse to see how their weight was, to hear that they both GAINED again!!! Woo Hoo! It still isn't for sure that they will come home tomorrow though since Peyton only gained 5 grams, which is less than 0.2 of an ounce. It's all up to the doctors tomorrow.

Here's their NICU room. It's just about time be be outta here!

On Friday afternoon we learned that...

The twins can come home!!!

We got the call early afternoon and decided to pick them up later in the day. My son has been having cabin fever lately, and we feel really bad for not being around much to do stuff with him. My husband earned his #1 DAD title today by taking Brayden to the mall, that included a trip to the bouncy house place. Brayden was in heaven. He was affectionate with my husband and thanked him so many times. Then it was off to get those babies!

Bringing those babies home!

Saturday was spent mostly inside with the twins. I was so busy, I hardly even took any pictures (I did take a few though!). Talk about sleep deprived! I only left the house to buy a few more items at Babies R Us, and I had to cut my time short in order to get home before the twins were ready for their next diaper change/feeding. They are on a 3-4 hour schedule that the NICU nurses set them up on. Like clockwork, one wakes up first, and the other follows about 20 minutes later. It's great! My husband helps a lot with feedings, he's just not as comfortable changing them because they're so small. I got a few naps in late evening so I'm grateful for that.

On Sunday my dad came over for a visit. I don't know why I didn't get a photo of him with the twins. He didn't hold them, though, so maybe that's why. Lol I'm thankful that I didn't leave the house at all today. It is COLD in the Chicago area! We'll have to take them to the pediatrician either tomorrow or Tuesday, so I'm hoping it's at least a little warmer.

Daily visits to the hospital were part of my daily routine this week, but was I able to stick to any goals? Here's how I did.

• Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week. This one is starting to get easy. I really haven't craved soda lately so that's a good thing!
• Goal #2: Attend post-holiday party on Friday. Nope. I really wanted to, but the twins came home on Friday - WAY more important!
• Goal #3: Spend 30 minutes organizing the basement. I finally started this on Thursday! It's going to take a lot more time, but I'm glad I at least got it started.
• Goal #4: Organize one kitchen cabinet. Not yet. The twins were in the NICU most of the week, but this is a priority for me since they're home now.
• Goal #5: Purchase and install blackout blinds for the twins.  Not yet, but I'm positive this will get done next week.

Two out of five this week. BOO! I have got to get with it! These are the goals I hope to tackle this week.

Goal #1: Eliminate soda for 1 more week - this would be the 3rd week in a row! I've actually been feeling pretty good since I gave up soda. I think I can make it another week.

Goal #2: Make sure all Christmas decorations have been put away. We are 12 days into the new year, and we still have our Christmas decorations up. It's time for them to go.

Goal #3: Spend 30 more minutes organizing the basement. It felt good to start on this this week, I'm hoping I can get it in again.

Goal #4: Organize one kitchen cabinet. While the twins nap, I have got to get this done. My husband already took some baking items out that he wants me to store in the basement. He's starting to get impatient and I need to get it done. Shouldn't take too long.

Goal #5: Purchase and install blackout blinds for the twins. This has eluded me 3 weeks in a row. I vow to take this off the goal list this week!

I'll let you know how it went next week!