It's All Relative

"How much longer?" That's the question that plays over and over in your head when your little babies are somewhere that you don't want them to be. Today would be day number 10 in the NICU for our little men. They've been steadily getting better every single day, which makes this whole thing a lot easier. But the questions remain. "When will they get out? What's keeping them in here? Do they really need to still be here?" The answers come few and far between. Doctors and nurses never like to put a date on when they'll get to come home. One will say, "Oh, probably another week and a half..." and the next says, "It could be a couple of weeks yet..." and still another says, "Soon." What in the world does soon mean? It's definitely all relative. Soon to us means two days, three days? But in the world of the health care providers who've seen kids measure their stays in months, and even years, soon takes on a much different definition. We know that there is a reason they're still here, and we're trusting that this is what's best, but sometimes it makes you wonder.

The latest reports from the doctors are all positive though. Maguire's latest chest X-ray looks "Good" (Another term that we've learned is very relative) and he's starting to eat a lot. He's surpassing his recommended feedings, and the nurses say that's a positive sign. He's also gaining weight, which is great to see. They're increasing the number of feedings he gets from the bottle, and we're hoping he gets off his oxygen. The oxygen is the biggest hurdle that he needs to surpass. He's nursing very well, and last night took in 62CC's (Over 2 oz.) from nursing at one feeding. That's more than Alex ate, and it's 16CC's more than what the nurses are supposed to give him. So that's a great sign.

Alex is the one that we wonder about, and often ask, "Why is he still in here?" He's getting bigger every day, and eating very well too. He doesn't have any other medical issues. All he needs to do is prove to the doctors that he can eat well every time, and then we think he can come home. Hopefully he comes home soon (our definition, not the doctor's). We had a little "photo shoot" the other day. And these are the results. Enjoy!

Maguire getting burped. It doesn't look like too much fun...

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...

Brothers Don't Shake Hands, Brothers Gotta Hug...

For the first time in their young lives, Alex and Maguire finally held hands! (It was a setup, but still) It was such an exciting night last night, that I had to post again early this morning.

They're both stable enough that we were allowed to "unhook" Alex completely from his monitors, and bring him over to the other crib where Maguire is. He's still hooked up to IV's and oxygen and other monitors, but we got to put them together and finally get some side by side pictures! It was so very cool.

Of course Carrie and I both got the chance to hold the boys together, something we've been longing to do since they were born. It really made us realize that we actually have two babies! It was just crazy! I couldn't stop smiling when I got them both in my arms last night for the very first time. It's hard to imagine what it's like to have both of your children in those stupid incubator things for days and days without getting to hold them together.

As for their progress...

Maguire is still on oxygen like I said, and he's still getting antibiotics for a "possible" infection. They don't know if there still is an infection somewhere, but they're just making sure they treat it if there is one.

Alex is doing well as always, and really nursed well last night. At other feedings he's been getting about 20 CC's (whatever that means) but last night he took in 48 CC's! So that's a good sign, he's really getting a handle on nursing already!

That's about it for today, we've been going up there a couple of times a day for a few hours at a time. It's hard not to be up there all day, but Ellie needs us too. So we've been doing our best. Thanks again for your prayers, they're so very much appreciated!

Paging Dr. Daddy

(<--Maguire's Chest X-Ray. I can totally read it. Well, maybe not.)

It's amazing how fast you learn what all of the bells, whistles and numbers mean in the NICU when you live there every day, and your children's lives depend on them. I feel like I'm on "rounds" every morning when we go in to see our little fellows. I walk into the room and talk to the nurse and say, "So how is his respiratory rate? What are his SATS like today? How many CC's of milk have you given him? His NG tube looks good...is the PICC line still doing well?" I feel like I should get a huge paycheck (or wish, I guess) for everything I've learned. I won't hold my breath. But it seems the answer to those questions from every nurse and nurse practitioner and any of the other dozens of health care workers that poke our boys on a daily basis is: "They're doing great. Better every day." We're so very thankful for that, and today was another wonderful day. We're just praying that they continue. Today we got to hold Maguire even more. The big thing today was that Maguire got his first shot at eating out of a bottle! That's huge, considering two days ago he wasn't even eating anything because his lungs were infected. They've told us that the pneumonia is basically cleared up already, and the hole in his lung is gone. We praise God for all of it. We know many of you have been praying for healing, and we know the Lord is answering those prayers. Maguire's other big accomplishment today: moving to a wide open crib! He's been in the isolette, while his brother's been in a crib for two days now. Maguire's catching up, and we hope he's neck and neck with Alex soon. Maguire's also been taken off the "spotlight" he's been under for jaundice. He doesn't get to wear the sweet shades anymore, and he's much more comfortable now that he can be wrapped up in a blanket. Small steps grow into big leaps we hope. Alex continues to nurse very well every day, and they're continuing to increase the amount they're feeding him. Hopefully he'll continue to get bigger and stronger every day, and maybe sometime soon we'll hear, "He's about ready to go home." There couldn't be any sweeter words in the world.

--You wouldn't like it either if you had a bunch of plastic up your nose.

--Maguire loves his shades -- especially purple ones.

Alex sleeps a lot lately, but he's starting to put on weight!

Best Day By Far

<--(Mommy holding Maguire for the first time!) Every day you walk into the NICU it's the same drill: Sign in, get a new name badge sticker, wash your hands up to the elbow for like 3 hours (ok, it's 3 minutes, but still) and then head back to the room. It's not a long walk, but in your head you're thinking so many things. "What will they tell us today? How many tubes will be taken out of their heads? Will there be new tubes? What are they going to look like today? I hope everything's better...We could really use a good day..."

And thankfully today was the best day yet. The biggest triumph was that we got to hold Maguire. He was born 4 days ago already, and we hadn't held him even once. The nurse said that he's very stable now and breathing really well, so just for a few minutes we got to get him out of the isolet and hold him. It was SO very awesome to get our hands on him, and to be able to squeeze him tight. I just broke down when I got that little man in my hands for the first time. Carrie just laughed and giggled when she got a turn. Who knew I was the cry baby?? But Carrie said today, "Now it feels like we actually have two babies!" It's hard to get it into your head that they're both ours, because we've barely had a chance to touch the little guy. Also, Maguire had a spinal tap to test the fluid so they can make sure he doesn't have an infection in his brain. Those test results came back and they look good. So there's a little less to worry about. The full results should be back in a day or two.
<--(Maguire's first kiss from his Pop)

Meantime, Alex is doing great. He continues to eat very well, and nursing is starting to come along. He still has a feeding tube, but for the most part he's eating very well without it. Hopefully it can come out soon. One less tube would be nice.

There's still no clear timeline on when we can take one or both of them home, but hopefully that will start to take shape over the next couple of days. It seems like if Alex keeps eating well and getting bigger, he could come home soon. Maguire might take a little while longer, but he's starting to eat some, and hopefully he'll get stronger in the coming days. They're both a little jaundice now too, but that's normal. They're both under lights for the time being. But only Maguire gets to wear the sweet shades...you'll see what I'm talking about in the pictures below.

Ellie's still doing pretty well too, considering her Mom and Dad are gone a lot lately. She's playing with Carrie's parents and they're having a great time together. Ellie got a new Barbie from her baby brothers today too. She's been wanting one for weeks (those advertisers on the Disney Channel are genius) so when she opened it she said, "I've been talking about this Barbie, it was on that commercial!" It also has butterfly wings...bonus.

Just another big THANK YOU again to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. We can feel them each and every day! We're so blessed to have so many friends and family members to support and love us!

-Maguire and his sweet shades. They're to protect is little eyes from the spotlight they put on him for the jaundice. Where did that baseball come from?? That's weird...

Alex has a baseball too. Crazy...

Update: NICU Day Three

Sorry it's been a couple of days since we've updated -- it's been quite crazy around here lately, as you can imagine. So here's the latest:

Carrie was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, but unfortunately we had to leave and come home without our babies. That's about the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Both are still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for the time being. It's so incredibly hard to take, but we feel blessed that they're really doing pretty well.

Maguire, the poor little guy, has had it the hardest by far. He came out not breathing very well, and suffered a small tear in his lung when they forced air into it right after he was born. And now, they think he's developed pneumonia. We don't know why, it doesn't seem to be because of the lung tear. He still hasn't been fed any real food yet, just some fortified water I guess. He's still breathing a little hard, but we're told that these are just minor and temporary issues that he needs to get through. He's still on some oxygen, but they've taken off the oxygen "hood" that he was under. But they put an IV in his head. Looks brutal, but they say it's the best place because his arms weren't working well for putting in IVs. We haven't been able to hold him either, which is just terrible, but the doctors say he needs to stay in the incubator thing. But his eyes are a little swollen as you'll see from the pictures, and one side of his head is getting a little flat since he's been laying on one side most of the time. Poor kid hasn't had a good start in this world. But hopefully it'll start getting better real soon. They say it could be another week, maybe two before he'd be ready to take home. Maybe longer, but we're definitely praying against that!

Alex on the other hand has been doing great. He's out of the incubator thing, and is just in a regular crib. They're keeping him in the NICU for the time being so they can monitor his eating, and make sure he's taking in enough calories and gaining weight. They put a feeding tube into his nose so they can make sure the amount of formula he needs is actually going in. It sounds like he may actually get to come home sometime soon, probably before his little brother. (Alex is 4 minutes older!) But we don't have an exact date.

Carrie and I are holding up pretty well. It's been incredibly difficult throughout, but yesterday was the worst day we've had. Coming home without your babies is the hardest thing in the world. But we're so very blessed. We've met several parents in the NICU already that have been there for long periods of time, with really no solid end in sight. We met a mother the other day that said, "Today's our 104th day in here..." They had twins at about 31 weeks, and they've been in there for over 3 months. We are SO blessed that there is good chance it'll only be a couple of weeks at most.

Ellie's doing alright, too. She doesn't understand much at this point about what's going on. The NICU doesn't allow anyone under 15 yrs-old in. But they have a camera system where they patch in the video into the lobby. So she got to see them on the screen. She said, "I can't get them out of that TV Daddy, let's get them out! I want to go in there, can I go in there?" I bawled of course. Then when Alex would move his hand she'd say, "Ooo, I felt his hand move!" So she sort of understands that they've been born, but doesn't know why she can't see them. Ellie's definitely missed mom and dad lately though. Carrie's parents have taken wonderful care of her over the past few days, and we're so thankful. But yesterday Ellie looks at Carrie and I and says, "Mommy, Daddy, are you coming to our house tonight?" So it was nice to be home to say goodnight to her, and be here in the morning when she wakes up.

That's about the latest, make sure to check back and see the progress over the next few days. I promise to keep it updated!!

Love you all, and thank you so much for thoughts and prayers! We need 'em!

(Maguire, suckin' on the paci)

(Alex and his little feeding tube)

(Maguire and his swollen eyes and flat head! Poor kid!)

The Babies Have Appeared!

(<--This is Maguire! The red thing on his face is from tape used to hold his oxygen thingy on. Looks tough doesn't it?)

It happened like a whirlwind. We walked in the door from church Sunday afternoon, with thoughts of lunch and a nap. I was prepared to lay on the couch and watch the big football games and doze off. But these babies had different ideas.
I had just taken my coat off when Carrie went to get some clothes for Ellie to change into from her church dress. Then she comes out and says, "I think my water just broke!" So of course I panicked and was running this way and that trying to get ready. The dishes weren't done, the house was messy, but we had to go!
We packed our bags, threw everything in our minivan and took off for the hospital. It took us several more hours of labor, but we ended up with two beautiful baby boys! We're so very excited, it's hard to put into words.

As for the much anticipated names, that we agonized over for months....here they are: Alex Joseph, and Maguire Fredrick. They weren't thought up lightly, and to be honest there are times that I question them (Carrie hates it when I waiver on the names...) but I've told myself I'm committed to them, and we're sticking to it. We could nickname them A.J. and Mac...so I like that a bit better. Who knows. The middles are after both grandpas, so that was easy.

As for the sizes...Alex is 6lbs even. 19 1/2 inches in length. Maguire's 5lbs 4oz and 18 3/4 inches. They're both doing relatively well considering they were a bit early (36 weeks). So we're hoping they can come home with us soon. They're both in the Intensive Care Unit but they're doing pretty well considering. Maguire could have to stay a little longer because of a punctured lung. It sounds worse than it is, at least that's what everyone tells us. So we're just praying that everything works out well, and that they get to come home soon. We have no timetable yet as to when they could come home with us.

We really appreciate your thoughts and prayers as our little fellas get up and going! Thanks again, and keep checking back to the blog for updates on their progress!!

<--This is Alex

(Maguire)

Mommy Holding Alex!

Alex takin' a little snooze. Takes after his Grandfathers, and his dad too I suppose...

11 Days And Counting

Carrie kind of figured this summed up her pregnancy at this point. I would have to agree, mostly because she needs help off the couch, doesn't wear shoes that tie anymore, and socks are the ultimate challenge.

Right now she's at 35 weeks and 3 days. The big news this week is that we have an induction scheduled for Monday, January 28th! She could go before that of course, but it looks like that'll be their birthday if Carrie keeps hanging on. The babies are doing great, and one measures at about 5.5 lbs, and the other is at about 6 lbs. So the poor girl's carrying around almost 12 lbs of baby in there. At her latest doctor's visit on Tuesday, she was measuring at 44 weeks pregnant (which is technically not really possible). No wonder she can't tie her shoes...

She's feeling extra tired lately, but being home from work every day has helped that a little anyway. Carrie and Ellie get to sleep in every day now, (while poor daddy drags his butt out of bed at 2:30am, well, sometimes closer to 3:00...boo hoo hoo...) and they don't have to go anywhere, so they get to lounge around all morning until I get home. It's been great to have her home all day.

Carrie's blood pressure continues to be high lately, and has been going higher, so be praying that it stays at a reasonable level. If it doesn't, the babies might be here a few days earlier.

So we're plugging along, counting down the days, and measuring the circumference of Carrie's swollen ankles. We'll keep you posted on whatever happens in these next 11 days!!

Belly Watch 2008

It's really getting down to crunch time. These babies could realistically be here in two weeks, but we're hoping for three at least. Carrie's almost at 34 full weeks at this point. 37 is the ultimate goal (considered "full term" for twins), but anything over 36 would be fine. Carrie's feeling pretty worn out, so the doctor has ordered her to stay home from work until the babies are born. Her blood pressure continues to creep up, so the doctor wants her to stay off her feet more. She's not on complete bed rest, just "modified" bed rest. Whatever that means. Basically it just means I have to do the dishes from now on. At least that's what Carrie tells me.

Just continue to pray with us that everything goes well from here on out. The doctor says that the babies are doing great, and that they're growing at a steady rate. They've really gotten bigger in the past couple of weeks too, so that's very encouraging. The picture below could be disturbing to some, so viewer discretion is advised! I'm still surprised that Carrie's allowing this to be viewed on the net. She does know that it's the "world wide" web I hope. But she approved, so enjoy!

It's My Party, And I'll Cry If I Want To

I don't know if I've ever met someone who was so incredibly excited to get married. Carrie's little brother Nate, pictured here bawling his eyes out as the girl of his dreams walked down the aisle toward him, got married on Dec. 29th. Nate and his new bride Alissa started dating back in high school. Even then I remember Nate saying, "It would be a privilege to marry her, I hope I'm the lucky one." And as it turned out, he was. Of course I could call him a "Little Girl," or some sort of "Sissy Man," for sobbing so much. But I won't. I won't call him "Sally" or "Suzy" or "Girly Man." I just won't do it. All kidding aside, it really was a great moment, when she started down the aisle. Even I had a few tears flow when he first saw her. If you look close you'll see what my job during the wedding was! The camera probably shook a little as I wiped back a tear. But we're so very excited to have another member of the family, and wish the happy couple the very best in their new life together. I just hope Nate doesn't cry like that every day. What a wuss.











Here's Carrie's other brother Ben with wife Ryan and their little girl Lorna.

Did I Bring The Camera??

So we were busy getting ready for our big trip to the Great White North for Christmas last week, when I run down the virtual checklist in my head. "Clothes? Check. Underwear? Check. Shoes? Check. I think we're good. Wait, do we have the camera?" I decide we don't have it packed yet, so I head downstairs to grab it. While I'm down there, I decide to check the weather on the net before we embark on our trip.

I hop up from the chair, get a few last things upstairs, and we head out on the open road. About 45 minutes into the trip Carrie says, "You grabbed the camera right?" I think for a moment. "I know I went down to get it," I say to myself, "But the question is, did I actually grab it?" The answer's pretty obvious by now. It's still downstairs, sitting there all alone on the desk.

So we go on our big vacation without our camera. A trip that included Carrie's little brother's wedding, (of which Carrie sort of wanted pictures...can't imagine why) and a visit by Carrie's other brother, his wife and daughter who live in California. They make about 2 trips home per year. Carrie surprisingly wanted photos of that too. But alas, our camera lay dormant in the basement of our empty house.

But Carrie's mom managed to take, oh I don't know, about 75,000 pictures, so I think we captured the moments that needed capturing. When both grandbabies are home, the camera is a constant fixure. So here are a few photos of our big trip. We don't have any pictures of Nate's wedding yet. We'll post those soon though.

We found some time to hit the sledding hill a few times, and got a chance to make some snow angels. Ellie had a great time with her cousin Lorna, and got to show her what winter in the midwest is all about. Ellie was so good with Lorna all weekend, and even gave her a few kisses. If you know Ellie, those are golden. They also had time for a quick dip in the bathtub together.

There's a picture here of Great-Grandpa Eiesland with Ellie as they sat down for a "Tea Party" in the basement. They sat in the basement for quite awhile just chatting and "drinking" some tea. It was fun to see.

And this is a toy Great-Grandpa Eiesland made for both of the girls. They're little wooden pull-toy ducks. They're so cute, and extra special because of the man that put them together. Thanks again Grandpa!!