Handing Over The Reins...

(<--Maguire bright eyed, ready for some lunch)

After a week of writing updates on our two little boys, I'm going to hand over the reins to my keyboard (just this once), and allow the grandparents to give you their perspective on things at this point. It won't be easy. It took a lot of prodding (and bribery) to convince me to do this, but I've agreed to it, and I won't go back on a promise (probably). I promise.

But first, here's a little update on their conditions. Maguire is doing very well, and is actually weighing over his birth weight, which is pretty rare at this point in life. He came out at 5lbs 4oz, and last night he weighed in at 5lbs 6.7oz! That's one of the "milestones" that the boys have to reach, is gaining weight at least 3 days in a row. So he's well on his way. He's still taking some oxygen, but they're trying to reduce that every day, and it's been working pretty well. Hopefully only another day or two and he'll be done with those tubes. He's lost quite a few tubes already, so that's a good sign.

Along with Maguire, Alex gained weight again yesterday. He's less than an ounce away from his birth weight. He weighed 5lbs 15.9oz last night (he was 6lbs at birth), so they're both progressing nicely. We're pretty confident that Alex could go home this week! They're giving him vitamins, and the nurse said, "That's a good sign that he'll go home soon." That was nice to hear. But Maguire will most likely have to stay a bit longer. Both of the boys are off of the "Billi Blankets" for their jaundice too. So that's nice to see. That's about it. They really are doing well, and we're so very thankful. So that's it from me. Alright...here it is...I'm handing it over...just wait Linda, I'll be done soon...Ok...here she is...welcome to the keyboard, "Grammie Eiesland!"

Greetings from Grammie and Papa Eiesland! Yes, we really have twin grandsons! It was so amazing to finally be able to hold them together in our arms. Thank you, Lord! We have loved being a part of welcoming these sweet little boys into the world. Everyone will be glad to have them home. We do appreciate the cautious manner the hospital takes to make sure their little babies are at their 'peak' performance before going home even though it can seem like a long process. Ellie is so fun to spend time with and she and Papa have spent hours playing "Princess". We are becoming better acquainted with all the Barbies and how to mix the best pink juice. She isn't quite convinced that the boys are REALLY here and informed Papa that she wouldn't be a big sister until the boys were home! We are so blessed. Thank you all for praying and for checking up on the blog. Thanks to Chris for handing off the reins to this Grammie to say hi to everyone. Did I mention that he's my favorite son-in-law? :) Love you all! Grammie

Hi from G-ma and G-pa Studer! It was awesome to finally see the boys after keeping tabs on them by phone for almost a week. My first response was, "They're SOOOOOOOOO tiny!!" And, of course, they ARE. They are considered "premies" yet, and have all sorts of tubes and monitors, but we do get to hold them, which is great. Maguire is doing much better, and we are so thankful for that. Alex is nursing like a trooper. It's even fun to hear them cry -- which Alex is doing in this picture. We thank everyone for their prayers, and can't wait until the boys are finally at home with big sister, Ellie. Ellie finally actually thinks I am OK, so it's fun to play with her, too, and get to know her better.

Alright, I lied. I'm back. I hope you enjoyed the grandparents. But I thought I would write a little about Ellie. Unfortunately she's virtually disappeared from the blog lately, for which we're very sorry. She's been such a strong little girl over the last week. Her world's been flipped upside down, and she's doing remarkably well. Besides pictures and video we bring home from the hospital, this is the only way she has seen her brothers. It's a web-cam set up, where they patch video from the room to a TV in the NICU lobby. She loves to touch the screen and give her little brothers some kisses. She doesn't totally understand why she can't go back to the room, but hopefully they'll be at our house soon enough, and she can get her hands on them.

Soon we'll have pictures with our 3 children (Wow That's scary to say out loud!).

Until next time...