Nov. 28, 2007

Okay, I know James said we would only post about once a week, but I am a sucker! I had a few extra minutes and wanted to share the girls hospital pictures with all of you. Here is the link, our password is Benson: http://www.our365.com/webnursery/WebNursery/BabyFinder/BabyFinderFamilyResults.aspx
The girls had a great day. James and I are hanging in there and trying to sleep whenever we can. We are going to be very busy in the next few weeks with doctors appts and basic survival! I want to thank everybody that has helped us and prayed for us over the last few months. I can't begin to count all of the way that we have been blessed, but I want to make sure that each one of you know how thankful we are for you. Enjoy the pictures of the girls!

Daddy holding his girls
Rambo and Daddy with the girls

Nov. 27, 2007

The girls finally came home. This has been the hardest time of our lives. The past 2 months have been filled with so many emotions; everything from being terrified not knowing what would happen to our girls, to absolute joy and happieness becoming parents and bringing them home. I can't thank everyone enough for all of the prayers and support given to us. We know we couldn't have gotten through this without that. So that's it! The journey of our girls from birth, through the NICU, and home. I will not be putting posts on daily from now on. I'll post every week or so to keep everyone updated on the girls and how they're doing. Again, Emerson, Stella, Emily and I want to thank you all so much for the love and support.

Emerson and Stella waiting to go home!

Emerson and Stella arrive home

Nov. 26, 2007

One more day! Tomorrow is the big day for our family. We will finally be able to take our daughters home. It's unbelievable. Today was yet another wonderful day for the girls. They both passed their hearing tests and they are off of all of the monitors! There are no more dinging monitors on the girls. They will have their last eye exam early tomorrow morning and we should be home by the afternoon. Emerson is 4 lbs 14 oz and 17 1/2 inches long and Stella is 4 lbs 10 oz and 18 1/4 inches long.

Stella & Emerson

Nov. 25, 2007

The girls had a very eventful day! They were both put into an open crib this morning at around 5 a.m., so no more isolettes! They are being fed every 3 hours. They gained a little bit of weight last night and are back to 4 lbs 12 oz for Emerson and 4 lbs 8 oz for Stella. They also had their car seat check today to make sure they can sit in a car seat without dropping their heart rate or dropping their oxygen saturation. They did great, no problems! The plan is still to be bringing the girls home on Tuesday!!

Stella & Emerson in their open crib!

The girls passing their carseat check

Nov. 24, 2007

Today was a long, crazy day. The girls are doing great. We are adjusting to not getting much sleep, and the girls seem to be adjusting to having us around constantly. Emerson is officially in an open crib! Stella is still working on being weaned out of her isolette, and will hopefully be in an open crib sometime tomorrow. Stella is back up to 4 lbs 8 oz, and Emerson is back up to 4 lbs 12 oz. The girls are handling their feedings better, and we are still hopeful that we will be home early next week.


Emerson Emerson

Stella

Stella

Nov. 23, 2007

The girls were discharged from the NICU and transferred to Pediatrics today! Emily and I are staying at the hospital with the girls and learning to be their primary care givers! The girls are doing great with being weaned out of their isolettes. It's hard being at the hospital but being with the girls and knowing they're going home with us soon makes it all worth while. Emerson is 4 lbs 11 oz, down a little from yesterday, and Stella is 4 lbs 7 oz, same as yesterday.

Our Pediatric area!

Emerson

Stella

Nov. 22, 2007

HAPPY 1ST THANKSGIVING!!!! The girls had another great day. They are being weaned from their isolettes and are handling it well. They're taking their feedings well too. Emerson is 4 lbs 12 oz and Stella is down a half ounce at 4 lbs 7 oz. We are going up to pediatrics tomorrow and are looking forward to it. We'll keep up to date on how they're doing.

Stella

Emerson

Nov. 21, 2007

Today was another good one. The girls are able to come out of their beds for all of their feedings, they are being weaned out of their isolettes, and we're planning to go to pediatrics on Friday. The doctor said that as long as all goes well, we'll be able to bring the girls home on Tuesday of next week! The venture is almost over. Then the REAL fun starts!

Precious Little Angels ;)

Emerson

Stella

Nov. 20, 2007

The girls are so cute! They are now on a 4 hour feeding schedule. They get 60 cc's every 4 hours. We're looking at going up to pediatrics on Friday! Emerson weighs 4 lbs 9 oz and Stella weighs 4 lbs 7 oz. For those of you who are wondering...YES...they are the most adorable girls EVER!!

Stella's saying HI to everyone!!

Emerson has the cutest chubby cheeks ever!!

Nov. 19, 2007

The girls are doing great. They were increased to 60 cc's every 3 or 4 hours. They're trying to switch up their feedings a little bit so they aren't eating when they're tired. Emerson is 4 lbs 8 oz and Stella is 4 lbs 6 oz, so our suspicions over their huge weight gain last night proved to be right.

Stella

Emerson

Nov. 18, 2007

They just keep growing! Stella weighed 4 lbs 10 oz (we have our suspicions) and Emerson weighed 4 lbs 7 oz! They now get to come out of their isolettes for 5 feedings a day, and their feedings were increased to 45 ccs. Hopefully we will start weining them out of their isolettes this week and continue to increase their feedings! We are so thankful to have another great day with our girls!

Emerson

Stella The Girls in their bassinet

Nov. 17, 2007

Emerson and Stella are doing great. Emerson's nasal cannula was taken off again today, and we are hoping she won't need it again. They are both doing great with their feedings and were increased to 42 ccs. We toured the pediatrics unit today, and will hopefully be going up sometime this coming week. Emerson weighs 4 lbs 6.5 oz and Stella weighs 4 lbs 5.3 oz. They are getting so big! Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We really appreciate everything that our friends and family have done for us over the last 10 weeks1

Emerson

Stella

Nov. 16, 2007

Stella

Emerson

The girls had a pretty good day. They had their final shot last night, so they're a little worn out. Emerson needed to go back on her cannula and Stella needed a little blow by oxygen to help get through feedings. We will be pushing back going up to pediatrics until probably next week sometime. Emerson is still 4 lbs 4 oz and Stella is at 4 lbs 4 oz too!

Nov. 15, 2007

The girls are doing great. They're taking their feedings well and they can now stay in their clothes all the time instead of just when they're taken out of their beds. Emerson is 4 lbs 4 oz and Stella is 4 lbs 3 oz. Here are a couple pics of the angels.

Stella

Emerson

Nov. 14, 2007

The girls had another great day. They didn't seem to have any problems with the second round of shots, and they keep making progress. Emerson weighs 4 lb 4 oz and Stella weighs 4 lb 2 oz. We are so excited about all of the progress that they are making, and we can't wait to FINALLY bring them home!

Emerson
Stella

Nov. 13, 2007

The girls had another wonderful day. Emily was able to take the girls into the feeding room without any monitors or oxygen. It was the first time Emily has been able to be alone with the girls! It seems so surreal thinking about the girls being almost ready to come home. It seems like yesterday when we didn't know how or when it was going to end. Thanks again for everyones prayers and support through this crazy and stressful time. Here are our lovely little girls in the bassinets.

Stella relaxing in her bassinet

Emerson in her bassinet

Nov. 12, 2007

The girls seem to be doing even better today. Emerson weighs 4 lb 2 oz and Stella weighs 4 lb 1 oz. They are both 15 3/4 inches long. They are growing like weeds! We found out today that we may be able to go to the pediatrics unit earlier than we expected! If we go earlier, we will have to stay in peds longer, but it will give us some time to get comfortable caring for the girls with less assistance. We are very excited about this opportunity, and should know more as we get further into the week. Although we will miss all of our NICU friends, we are so excited to take another step closer to bringing our girls home!

Stella

Emerson

Nov. 11, 2007

HAPPY 2 MONTHS!!!!! The girls are doing pretty well today. They were still a little tired from the shot they received on Thursday, so they're going to wait to give them their second shot until tomorrow. They were put back on the nasal cannula to help them get through the next round of shots. Not only are they 2 months old today, but they both broke the 4 pound mark! Emerson is 4 lbs 1 oz and Stella is right at 4 lbs!

Emerson & Stella

Stella

Emerson

Nov. 10, 2007

The girls had a better day than yesterday. They were still a little under the weather. They are both off of their oxygen and doing better. They will give them their second shots tomorrow. This round of shots should be easier than the last. Definitly need to keep them healthy. Emerson weighed in at 4 pounds and Stella is not far behind at 3 pounds 14 oz. Here are the young ladies today!

Stella & Emerson

Nov. 9, 2007

Thei girls had their first round of their 2 month shots today. They had a couple set backs because of the shots, they had some apnea and had to go back on the cannula's. The doctors said after the rounds of shots they'll jump right back on track. Their weights stayed the same. Here are our precious girls.

Stella (L) & Emerson (R)

Stella (front) & Emerson (back)

Nov. 8, 2007

Emerson's nasal cannula was taken off, so they are both off of their oxygen! Emerson is 3 lbs 14 oz and Stella is 3 lbs 13 oz. We still don't know when they'll be coming home, but they're progressing very fast. Here are the gorgeous little ones!

Emerson (R) & Stella (L)

Stella

Emerson

Nov. 7, 2007

The girls had another great day. Emily said they were hitting and messing with each other in their beds today, so she had separate them. They're definitely their father's daughters! Emerson is 3 lb 13 oz and Stella is 3 lb 11 oz. Thank you all so much for your continued support. We could not get through this trying time in our lives without the thoughts and prayers of family and friends. There will be more pics tomorrow.

Nov. 6, 2007

They both had their second eye exams. The eye exams came out great. They are both a little uncomfortable after the exams but they're doing good. Emerson is 3 lb 11 oz and Stella is 3 lb 10 oz. Stella was put back on the nasal cannula just for the eye exam. They're making a lot of progress...hopefully they'll be home soon!!!

Stella

Emerson

Nov. 5, 2007

Emerson is now 3 lbs 11 oz and Stella is 3 lbs 9 oz. Everything is great...Growing, growing, growing!

Emerson & Stella

Emerson

Stella