I hate the flu!!!

Just a quick post. Please pray for Shawn and the girls. Shawn has the flu pretty bad. We aren't sure if it's the Swine flu or not, b/c his doctor didn't test for that. He said there are too many false positives/negatives, and no matter what, he has the flu. So, he prescribed him some Tamiflu, and he's been on it for 36 hours and his temp is still climbing. I'm hounding him with tylenol and advil, but ugh, this thing is fierce. Please pray that the twins don't get this. For now, they are in the best of spirits, and showing no signs, but we just need those extra prayers right now. Will post Halloween pictures tomorrow.

Much love to all,
Stephanie

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PEACE!!!

So, today I went up to my old work, to pick up my belongings. It was so good to see everyone!!! And they all got a kick out of the babies. One of my friends there, Michelle Collins, made me these beautiful afghans for the twins. As soon as I got home, I had to break them out and put the babies on them right away. So, here are Brooke and Kamryn on their new afghans. Aren't they beautiful??? Michelle, thank you so much! They are so lovely! The girls are going to keep these forever!!!



So, then of course, they decided to show off their bellies. Or maybe Kamryn is trying to show off her scar, and Brooke is copying her. Who knows, but it's so darn cute, I had to snap this picture.



And then, they grabbed hands, and held them like that for quite a long time. They are starting to really bond!!!



And of course, Hollie had to get in on the action, so she put her own "peace" shirt on, and posed with the girls. This one is frame worthy!!!



That's all for today. We're fixing to break out the sweet potatoes again. Wish me luck! LOL!

Love to all!

Stephanie

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Mmmmmm, Sweet Potatoes!!!!

But first things first... Shawn and I took the babies to their 4 month well visit. Drumroll please.... Brooke weighs 18 pounds, and Kamryn is just 5 ounces shy of 14 pounds. They are both growing and developing perfectly. We couldn't be more pleased!!!! They said to go ahead and start introducing solids, which I already have somewhat... But, he said to go ahead and try new flavors, soooooo last night was Sweet Potatoes (Thanks to my friend Tandi, who gave me some - Thanks Tandi!!!). Brooke is a champ. It's hard to get her to open her mouth to put the potatoes in, but once she does, she's quickly learning to swallow the food, instead of spitting it back out. Kamryn, on the other hand, is quick to open her mouth, but once I put the sweet potatoes in, she spits them right back out. But, she smiles the whole time doing it, and thinks it's oh so funny. Below are pics.

Kamryn





Brooke





And look who found their thumb... This is Brooke.



Brooke is soooo close to rolling over front to back. We're going to practice today with the video camera, so I'll be sure to get some footage of that.

That's all for now. More soon!

Love,
Stephanie

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Great!!!!! Hollie has the Swine Flu!!!!

Yep, that's right... I was on my way to take her to meet my sister, brother in law and my niece, so that they could take her to Six Flags, to celebrate my niece's birthday. I noticed something was wrong when Hollie wouldn't eat the donuts I bought her for the ride over there. She wasn't talking much. I kept asking her if she was excited and nervous about the roller coasters, etc... Finally, I felt her head and she was burning up. I pulled over to the closest Walgreens to get some Motrin and a thermometer. Sure enough, she had 101 fever. I immediately gave her the motrin and called my sister to call off the trip. Hollie was so scared that she would disappoint Madelyn and my sister. She didn't want them to be mad at her for cancelling. I told her that she wouldn't have any fun if she went feeling this badly (not realizing yet that she had the swing flu). I decided to go ahead and meet them in the parking lot to give them a hug anyway, b/c I don't see them much. Well, on the way, I get a ticket for running a stop sign. It was more like a stop line, on the feeder road. It was the weirdest place for a stop sign to be, and I realized I ran it right afterwards. And sure enough, flashing lights were behind me in no time. The whole time the officer is talking to me, Brooke is wailing in the backseat (if the car is not in motion, she goes bananas). I thought for sure, this officer would cut me some slack, seeing that I had twins in the back, one crying and a sick 7 year old in the front. But nope, he just said that he knows how I feel, b/c he has a 3 month old at home. REALLY???? YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL??? SHEESH!!!! Sorry, just had to get that out.

Anyway, we see my sister, give quick hugs. I changed the babies, fed them a quick bottle, and we were on our way to the after hours clinic. We timed it just right, b/c we were the first ones there. No waiting AT ALL!!! They did a strep and flu test. No strep, but she tested positive for the Swine Flu. Sssooooooooo, they gave her a prescription for Tamiflu and 3 pharmacies later, we were able to get it filled. Shawn's mom came over to pick up Kamryn and keep her until Hollie is better. I've washed all the babies linens that Hollie has touched, and "lysoled" all their toys, swings, bouncers, etc... Shawn and I are so nervous that they or we will get this. Please pray that Hollie heals quickly, and that Shawn, me and/or the babies do not get this. Hollie is doing really well. I'm keeping the motrin in her and she's busy coloring and watching tv.

That's all for now!

Thank you so much for your prayers. We appreciate it.

Stephanie

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Quick Update, Pics and other exciting news...

It's hard to believe that Brooke and Kamryn are approaching 4 months. They are both doing so well, and have the sweetest personalities. This morning, I decided to break out the high chairs, and try some cereal. Just for funsies! It was so much fun. Brooke was fussy, until I put her in the high chair. Once she was in it, she enjoyed the different view and couldn't wait to see what was coming up next. Kamryn, on the other hand, fussed once she got in the high chair. Once we started the cereal, Brooke just giggled and cooed. Kamryn fussed more. But, she ate better than Brooke did. It was so fun to watch them!!!

My days are constantly busy and filled with bottle feeds, diaper changes, rocking babies, soccer practices, soccer games, bible studies, carpool lanes, homework and more. I love my new job (stay at home mommy)!!! It's everything I could have asked for and so much more. It's challenging and rewarding every single day, so it just doesn't get better than that!!!

Here are some pictures...

This one is of Kamryn a few weeks ago. I can't get over that smile!!!



This is Kamryn doing "tummy time" in the onesie that my step sister gave the girls. I couldn't resist taking this picture. Becki, what do you think???



These next two are Brooke and Kamryn this morning having cereal for the first time. Check out Brooke's face. She was totally getting into this cereal thing...







Also, we are so blessed and excited that Jordan and Claire stopped in Dallas for a quick visit, so that Kamryn could meet Max. Although the visit was short, we had a wonderful visit, and it was so good to swap CDH stories. Jordan and Claire, Max is beautiful, and we are so thankful to know you. Thank you for driving a little out of your way so we could all meet. We know you were pooped from the drive. We're so glad you made it home safely! Below is a picture of Kamryn and Max - Two courageous CDH Survivors!!. So cute!!!



I'm so sorry that our posts are farther and farther apart than they used to be. We are just so busy!!! Like I said earlier, my days are filled with non stop baby/7 year old action. I promise to post more often with pictures, since the girls are close to settling into their daytime routine!!!

One more big announcement... Shawn has decided to go back to school to get his MBA, so when he's not helping me with the babies (which is quite often), he's reading books or writing papers. I'm so proud of him for all the hard work he puts in for our family at work and at home. He's a great daddy, and a wonderful husband. I'm so blessed to be married to such a remarkable man!!!

That's all for now. Much love to everyone!!! More soon!!!

Love,
Stephanie

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Surgeon Appointment and Video

Hi everyone. Well, it's been a very busy past couple of weeks. With Hollie starting school and all of her after school activities, and then the twins, I feel like I'm being pulled in all different directions. I'm LOVING staying at home with the girls. I love walking Hollie to school every day, and picking her up in the car pool lane. Brooke and Kamryn are usually fed up with sitting in a non-moving car (engine still running of course) in the car pool lane, by the time we get Hollie, but it's still fun. I just love to see the look on Hollie's face when she sees me. It's the best reward ever!!!

We took Kamryn to see the surgeon today for a routine checkup. He was very impressed with her and how well she's doing. He said the scar looks like it's healing very well. He was very happy with her progress and doesn't see a need for any follow up appointments or x-rays for CDH in the future as long as we continue to have no issues. We just see the pediatrician from here on out like we do with Brooke. We were both so pleased to hear that and just feel incredibly blessed to be able to put all of this behind us. We know that with a patch Kamryn will always have a higher possibility of re-herniation, but he didn't use Gore-tex so this new type of patch should grow with her better. We both firmly believe that the lack of any CDH related feeding issues is due to this amazing surgeon. He truly is a remarkable and treated Kamryn just like she was his own child and we are fortunate to have found him. The whole time Dr. Megison was talking, Kamryn was just laying down looking up at him laughing and cooing. It was so cute. We then took her downstairs for x-rays. That was hard, because Shawn and I both had to hold her down for two different images. She was so happy up until that point. She HATED the x-rays. But, it didn't last long, and she was back to her chipper self. Dr. Megison emailed Shawn just a couple hours later and said Kamryn's heart has shifted to the left like we wanted, her lung has filled up the empty space completely in her chest, and all the fluid is gone. Everything else is exactly where it is supposed to be so she got an A+ on her images! We were also able to get some more pictures of the day Kamryn was discharged and just had to post this one. This is one of her primary nurses, Tamara, holding her before we left.
Attached is a video of the girls. I've titled it "We're All Sisters". You'll understand why when you watch it. Hollie is just so proud to be a big sister. It also shows how awesome of a big sister she is. She helps me out so much with both girls. Brooke is just in her bouncer chillin', and Hollie gets Kamryn out of the swing and sits down with Brooke and plays with them. The girls love to be held by Hollie. If they are fussy, all Hollie has to do is pick them up and hold them and they stop. They just adore her!!! Oh, and Hollie dressed herself that morning. Like the look?



Kamryn is close to rolling over from front to back. The twins are really starting to become aware of each other. When they are laying down beside each other, they will sometimes lock arms. It's really cute. My nights are 10 times better. My sister in law introduced me to these blankets called the Miracle Blankets. They are swaddling blankets that literally wrap around them a gazillion times. Last night, they slept through the night. 10 hours!!!! I'm such a happy camper!!! Anyway, that's all for now. Enjoy the video. They are fun to make and a lot more fun to watch!


I will post another video of Hollie tomorrow or within the next few days, along with more pictures.

Love, Stef

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Another Angel

This horrible condition has taken another precious baby far too early. Yesterday, Ireland Rose lost her battle with CDH after a very courageous fight on ECMO. Chanda and Mike had to make the most unselfish decision a parent could ever be asked to make and let their little girl go to end the suffering. We can only imagine the pain and heartache they are going through right now. We know that words won't take their grief away, but I am sure your words will help lift their spirits so please visit their blog and let them know you are thinking about them during this incredibly difficult time.

I find myself confused and angry by all the CDH babies that have been lost out here in the CDH blog world. I know the studies say 50% - 65% survival (depending on the study and case selection), but it seems like less than 50% are surviving this horrible diagnosis. Please pray for the medical community to put more resources together in finding more effective treatments for this condition. Without additional research, the odds of survival aren't going to shift in favor of these babies.

We also ask that you pray for Candice and Rob Beal who are struggling to cope with the loss of their Baby Jackson. We also ask that you pray for Baby Max who is putting up an incredible fight right now while on ECMO. After an amazing CDH run, he had a significant setback and is fighting like crazy to win this battle. We know Claire and Jordan are emotionally exhausted right now. Hang in there guys and know we are praying for you all!

Take care,

Shawn

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