Hi friends! It's been a little quiet here on the blog, but things have been hopping in life. After a bit of a scare and a pre-eclampsia diagnosis, I was rushed from my Dr's appointment Friday afternoon {March 9} to the hospital, where I delivered two beautiful baby boys by emergency c-section.
Kellan was born at 8:08 pm, weighing in at 6 pounds 1 ounce and 17 inches long. His identical twin brother, Trevor, was born at 8:09pm, weighing in at 6 pounds 2.4 ounces and 19.5 inches long. We're so unbelievably proud of our boys. Because they were barely 36 weeks, they still have some developing to do, and have been in the NICU since moments after delivery. Both are still needing assistance breathing, are still on a nutrient IV and are unable to regulate their body temperature as yet. We're told a lot of this is normal for pre-term babies, but it's still hard seeing them hooked up to all the tubes. They are getting stronger each day, and it's so heartening to see them looking more comfortable each time we visit. We are hopeful it will only be another week or 2 before we can bring them home, but they've prepared us that it might be up to 4 weeks.
My road to recovery has been slow. My spinal for the surgery was extremely difficult, taking over 30 minutes and 3 attempts. Then due to the pre-eclampsia I was given a 24 hour IV of magnesium to prevent seizures. Unfortunately the magnesium made me so ill that I was even throwing up the fluids from my IV for the entire 24 hour period. And after a c-section, vomiting is the LAST thing a person wants to experience, believe me! But once the magnesium was out of my system, I started feeling better. So late Saturday night I was finally able to be wheeled down to see my sweet baby boys in the NICU. There is much pain associated with the failed spinal attempts, as well as the surgery, but I'm on the mend and getting stronger each day, just like my boys.
On Tuesday, Trevor was finally doing well enough that they allowed me to hold my sweet boy for the first time. And then yesterday, we were given the okay to hold both boys, so Mark held Trevor while I got my first holding session with Kellan. Talk about little heart stealers... these boys are so precious! We still haven't seen them side by side, but they look so similar. Kellan is slightly smaller right now and Trevor has adorable little chipmunk cheeks, but those are the only differences we've noticed so far. Yesterday they were both starting to open their eyes a bit, and we glimpsed just a bit of Daddy's blues. Kellan is still on the c-pap mask for breathing, but Trevor has graduated to a nasal canula that pumps oxygen into his nose. Next step will be room air, which they are hoping he will be able to tolerate in another day or so.
I was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, but we've spent lots of time at the NICU since then visiting Kellan & Trevor. They're just the sweetest little guys. We'd appreciate your prayers that they will continue to improve and be able to come home with us soon. Cards are also very welcome to decorate their NICU room. You can send them to:
Julee Tilman
PO Box 170359
Boise, ID 83717
Enabler's List:
Hi friends! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Yesterday I got my first post-delivery stamping time and decided it would be fun to play along with the Waltzingmouse Blog Party this month. When I got home from the hospital, there was a Waltzingmouse order waiting for me, and I couldn't resist inking them up while Mark caught up on a little work he needed to do.
Okay, that's all from me on the card front. I'm spending more and more time in bed as the weight of the babies are well over 12 pounds combined, and that's just downright uncomfortable, any way you slice it! We've made it to the average delivery time for twins (36 weeks), so it's just a waiting game now. Hope you have a fabulous weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!
I'm Julee Tilman, creative soul, lover of coffee and Hello Kitty, and Mama to 11 year old identical twin boys.
