Their Time Has Come

Newsflash...Kate and Will were due yesterday, and today had their 3 month "birthday". Things have been going well at home with all three kids and Papa and Gammie. Both Kate and Will have been emptying bottles and look to be packing on the weight. It seems that life with infant twins is really pretty simple: eat, sleep, cry, diaper, eat, sleep, cry, diaper, eat...

Saturday we had a local photographer come to the house and take pictures of the family. There is a little sample below. We've also been spending as much time this weekend as possible outside with Ben, taking advantage of the snow that is still left (there is plenty...). He and Papa built his first snowman last week while on a short hike (the pint-sized one in the pictures) and then Saturday, he and Papa and I built the larger, Frosty Lovekamp.

Home at Last

So...where do I begin. The last time we posted the kids were about to be sent home and MH and I were much more well rested. Just kidding (sort of). As planned, Will and Kate both came home on the 30th. Their big brother was VERY happy to finally see them after not being allowed into the NICU in Flagstaff and having been a frequent visitor when they were still at the hospital in Phoenix (see the video).

Ben was very excited to see his brother and sister coming home!

Although in hindsight their first few days home seem to have been pretty uneventful, plenty has been going on. First, I should preface everything with the fact that they are both still on oxygen and hooked up to apnea monitors. This means that they each have a significant amount of baggage. Taking them from their cradle (which for now is downstairs in our room) to the kitchen 100 feet away is no small task. We do, thankfully, have travel-size oxygen canisters that we can take with us when we go places (like the doctor's office) which makes it more a matter of managing tubing and wires than heavy tanks.

Will and Kate were all dressed up to party into the New Year.
Will was "All Dressed Up" in his tuxedo onesy and Kate
looked beautiful in her "Little Black Dress" onesy.

On Wednesday, after having been released from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, we made a trip to the pediatrician's office for an initial visit and weight check (Kate - 4 lbs 13 oz, Will - 5 lbs 7 oz). This was followed by another quick visit on Friday morning to the pediatrician's office for another weight check (Kate - 5 lbs 0 oz, Will - 5 lbs 12 oz). Without even taking Kate out of the car, part of the family turned immediately back around and headed to the eye doctor in Phoenix. Phil (MH's dad) and Ben joined Kate and I and hung out at the park in the warmth of Phoenix for a few hours while they waited for us to return from the doctor. This also gave MH and Kay a little bit of a break with just Will at home. As for the reason for the trip, Kate passed her eye exam and was cleared for 2 years and she is officially free of R.O.P. like her brother.
Saturday, sadly, MH's parents said goodbye and headed home to South Carolina. Kay has been here through it all since mid-September and will definitely be missed. These last 3 months would have certainly been much different without her help and support.

Kay and Phil soaked up as much of Ben, Will, and Kate as they could in
their short time all together during their visit

The departure of Kay and Phil meant that, for the first time, it was just MH, myself, and the kids. Very weird.

Since then, MH and I spent the better part of Saturday and all day Sunday trying to adjust to our new routines with two new babies at home. I think the sense so far is that we are definitely going to be more busy cleaning, doing laundry, and feeding people than probably either of us could have imagined and with much less sleep than we are accustomed to. That said, I think we have both really enjoyed the last few days and are very thankful for these two new additions to our family and for their big brother, Ben. I cannot say enough what a great kid we have managed to create over the last 3 years and I can only hope that we can fumble through the next few years like we have the last 3 and end up with two more great kids!
As for the future, my parents, Gammie and Papa, are coming to town on Tuesday. My dad will be here for a week and my mom for almost 3. Since I am going to be back at work with much more regularity, I know that MH will be anxious for the help once again and Ben will be more than happy to have another set of grandparents at home.

Momma I'm coming home!!!

Ozzy Osborne said it best, "Well, Mama, Mama, I'm coming home." Yes, that is right. After 11 weeks and 3 days, we are getting to take Will and Kate home on December 30th, which is ironically 3 years to the day since we took Ben home after his 3 day stay in the NICU.

It has been a long, hard road, but we all made it to the other side with just a few scars to show for it (only Kate and MH's incisions). Now, that we have learned the routine of the NICU, it is going to be a little adjustment when we get home. A lot of the things are normal newborn things: waking up during the night, changing dirty diapers and clothes all of the time, etc. However, they, being the adorable preemie babies that they are, have decided to add on some more fun and anxiety for mom and dad. Will and Kate are both going home on oxygen and apnea monitors. Sure will make travelling fun. Some of you would say travelling, where are you going? Well, although we are told not to get the kids out very much so they are not exposed to sickness, we have an endless number of visits to germ-invested doctors' offices in the near future. This all begins not even 24 hours after going home, with a trip to the pediatrician's office in Flagstaff. Then, 2 days later on Friday, we have to go down to Phoenix for an eye doctor appointment for Kate. We'll round out what we know of for the month of January with a number of additional pediatrician visits and a second trip back to Phoenix for an appointment for both Will and Kate with a Pulmonologist on the 19th.

So, it seems that the craziness has just begun in the Lovekamp household. Thankfully we've still got help for a while longer from MH's parents and my parents will arrive just a few days after hers leave.

The other, more entertaining part of our lives, Ben, has had a great week with both Christmas and his birthday. As he says, "my birthday is stuck to Christmas, and Christmas is stuck to my birthday." He has opened a year's worth of presents and has had a good time sledding and playing in all the snow that we've had over the last few weeks. Probably a little over 3 feet all together. Daddy sure has had a good time shovelling it all off the driveway, the porches, the sidewalk, and especially the roof too!! Good Times!!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. We'll get some posted in the next few days. All three of the kids are just as cute as they were the last time we posted...

Merry Christmas!!

The nurses at the NICU in Flagstaff surprised us with a few photos of Will and Kate wearing nothing but a Santa hat. I'm sure you'll agree they are very cute!
Speaking of Will and Kate, they both have been doing very well and seem to be in the final stages of being "prepared" for a homecoming. They have been weaning them down on their oxygen requirements and they are both doing very well eating. So far today, they have both eaten all but one of their feedings from a bottle and have a few to go through the night. All indications are that they'll be heading home this week sometime. We are VERY excited to get them home, although I think Mary Hampton and I are beginning to realize the extent of the work that they will both require for the next year or so. A labor of love...

As for the rest of the family, we all had a wonderful Christmas and spent the day with family (MH's mom - Kay, MH, myself, and Ben) and friends. MH's dad, Phil, arrived late tonight after having a few travel issues making it from South Carolina to Flagstaff. I guess it still beats driving...
Ben had a great time and really enjoyed learning about and experiencing Santa this year. He was also very happy to receive all of his presents and had a great time playing with them all. Below is a bird's eye view of some of the present opening festivities.
We hope that you all had just as Merry of a Christmas as we did! We'll try to update with more pictures and news soon.
Josh, MH, Ben, Will, and Kate

Mommy's doing great

Just wanted to send out a picture of the best experience I have had in a couple of months. On Wednesday, I was able to hold both of my babies at the same time. Wow!! What a feeling. Looking forward to many more of these experiences.

Home Sweet Home!

So, the whole family is in Flagstaff...FINALLY!

Will, Kate, and I flew on a small plane (see photo) up to Flagstaff from Phoenix on Friday afternoon while Mary Hampton was in hot pursuit in our car loaded full of 3 months' worth of stuff (she opted out of the flight). MH's mom and Ben drove up Thursday with another car full of stuff in anticipation of our move home. Needless to say, Ben was very excited to get reacquainted with his toys.
As for our other two kids' accommodations, they received a rather warm reception at the Flagstaff Special Care Nursery, which had a crib decorated with their names ready and waiting.

If that wasn't enough, MH and I came home later that night to a welcome home banner and a Christmas tree that was delivered by some very thoughtful friends. (We were also greeted by Ben, who was more than eager to get the Christmas decorating underway...)

Being back home has been nice, although we apparently got here just in time. We got a few inches of snow on Saturday night and are expecting between 2 and 3 feet of snow this week! What happened to the warm Arizona weather??? Also, being at a different hospital with different doctors and nurses has and will continue to take some getting use to. The nursery here is very quiet with only about 8 babies, including our two. That said, Will and Kate seem to enjoy it and have done well with the transition thus far. Both of them have been eating the majority of their requisite formula by bottle, although they have required a little more oxygen now that they are at 7000 feet elevation. The doctors here insist that the extra oxygen is not a concern and that all that they need to do to get home is to eat all of their food from the bottle and gain weight consistently. They will almost definitely be bringing their oxygen home with them anyways (as long as they don't have to carry it with them to school I'm happy...).

So, other than trying to move back into our house and, with Ben's help, get the house decorated for Christmas, things are pretty quiet around here. Enjoy the pictures and we'll try to get another update out sometime this week. If we are snowed in we should have lots of time to write...

We are moving back!!!

So, it has been a long haul, but we are heading to Flagstaff tomorrow. Will and Kate's eyes look great and they have been approved for transport. They will fly by fixed-wing plane with their daddy in tow, while mommy drives up the mountain. Thanks for all of your prayers!!

Oh, and by the way, Will had his first bottle today and has not stopped since. He has eaten every feeding from a bottle. Pray that they will both continue to eat so well and then they will be going home soon. We still have hopes have having two bundles under the tree at Christmas.

Out of isolation?

Ben, Mimi, and I went to the Phoenix Zoo yesterday, which was fantastic. Ben is finally at an age where he enjoyed actually watching the animals instead of just running around on the pathways thinking we were hiking (which, we could have done outside of our backyard for free). It was a little depressing, because Ben has seen Madagascar and wondered why the giraffes and zebras were not together and why monkeys looked through glass. He did think he would show them a thing or two about the outside world though.

And, speaking of isolation, Kate is now out of her isolette and in the bed with Will. How cute are they!!!! Ben, nor I, could get enough of it!! Josh made the comment that it really made it feel like we have twins now (then he left the room screaming...just kidding). Mimi even took advantage of their accessibility today and held both of them. What a treat!

They are doing great and we are anxiously awaiting the results of the eye exam tomorrow. If and when the doctors give them the go ahead for a return trip to the NyICU in Flagstaff, we will decide when we are ready to backtransport them to Flagstaff. Keep us all in your prayers during this time.

What a difference a week makes

We now have 2 babies that have grown up so fast this week. They have both started wearing clothes, being held by Mimi, regulating their body temperature, and remained on nasal cannula. Kate has continued to eat from a bottle for 4 of her 8 feedings a day. Will needs to get to 2 liters/min on nasal cannula to try to eat. He is currently at 3 and Kate is only at 3/4 liters/min, which one doctor said that was "like blowing in her nose." Will has finally moved out of his isolette and into a crib, where he is patiently awaiting his sister's arrival, because they will co-bed them now that they are both more stable. Will is currently 4 lbs. 4 1/2 oz. (1950 grams) and Kate is 3 lbs. 13 oz.(1730 grams). She needs to gain about 70 grams (= 2.3 oz.) and she can join her brother. Will also decided to join in being clean this week. He had his first bath on Friday and he loved it! We have truly had a wonderful week!!!!!

How fast they change

Yesterday, I went in to visit the babies and was surprised to find Kate in a shirt. It was just a white hospital t-shirt, but it was still adorable; however, I quickly changed her into a pink shirt that we had gotten as a gift. Matching hat to boot. We also put some socks on Will so he would not be so jealous of his clothed sister. And today, when I went in, I was able to put a shirt on Will, because he was IV free (no more antibiotics, which hopefully means no more infection).

Also, when the doctor did her rounds yesterday, she decided it was time for Kate to try a bottle. I asked the nurse how ugly this would be. She said that she probably would choke, spit, and not be able to finish her bottle. I will have you know that she sucked that bottle down in 10 minutes. She would even regulate her breathing, sucking, and swallowing, taking breaks to catch her breath. The nurse said she was very impressed. When they start bottlefeeding, they only do one bottle a day and the rest are tube-fed. Well, Kate had a different plan. She decided that she would pull her tube out last night, so the nurse chose to bottlefeed her last night for a feeding and she drained it. I got to give her a bottle today. It is definitely going to take some practice to get bottlefeeding down with a premature baby. Guess that is why they have to take all feedings from a bottle before they are allowed to go home. I was so ecstatic to give her a bottle today- actual mommy work instead of just changing her diaper. I am sure when Will is ready to start eating from a bottle that he will do just as well as Kate has.

Another fabulous thing happened today - Mimi (MH's mom) was able to hold Kate for the first time. Quite an exciting moment, since it means that she is more stable now and able to tolerate other people holding her. I know there will be many more of these similar pictures.

And one more bit of good news and a plea for prayers - Their doctor said if they continue to improve and they pass their eye exam for ROP on December 10th, then they will be able to be transferred to Flagstaff on the 11th via fixed-wing aircraft (of course, depending on the weather and with daddy tagging along). Pray for good eye exams, for more stability, no setbacks, and great weather. Thanks!

So, now that they are bottlefeeding and wearing clothes, I had a slight glimpse into my future of laundry and feeding and realized it has been kind of nice with them being tubefed and only wearing a diaper. However, these activites will certainly be welcomed when they are finally home.