The boys have been very animated today. Isaac was looking at me after finishing his bottle with a kind of inquisitive look one gives a friend while meeting for coffee to catch up on the latest - hand on the hip and all.

We noticed Eden finally has the pudgy baby dimples on the backs of his arms.

We were finally able to get a second Boppy since they both enjoy laying in them so much. They are finally big enough to enjoy the Twin A and Twin B pacifiers we got as well.

We also think Isaac may end up having red hair......













They are growing like weeds. Tomorrow will be their two month check up.

Happy 2 month birthday to my little monkeys :)
Isaac on the left (nasal cannual out temporary - not there yet) Eden on the right

Today was my due date for the twins and is the first day of fall. It is not currently raining, the sun is out, the doctor appointment for the day is done and went well. Now I can nap with my angels :)

Maternity pictures and newborn pictures from last Sunday are now up. Go see them at www.jenharrisphoto.com under slideshows - Trish Maternity - password Rhodes and Eden & Isaac.

Mom took this of the boys and I agter getting back from test driving a car. If everything checks out and he accepts our offer, we may have a new (used) car. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Today is the day I thought I would be going into labor with the twins. I tried to hold Eden on my belly to see how big I would have been but he didn't like it very much :)

Thankfully we have no doctor appointments this upcoming week so I can "sleep in" a little bit. I picked out some fabric yesterday to donate to NICU and will probably include one of the pictures from their newborn photo shoot tomorrow after we get them back, so I need to figure out when 'll do that.

Aunt Kritty will be visiting in a couple of weeks and we'll be doing the hand/foot prints while she's here. It will be around their due date and they're hands and feet are chubby now so the prints should come out well.

They both have their eye doctor appointment follow up on the 22nd and then their 2 month check up with their first round of shots on October 1st. We got a letter in the mail that Isaac was approved for 5 months of the shots to help prevent RSV and now we're waiting on Eden's.

We're also starting to get in bills from the specialists, etc. at the hospital but we just made another large deposit towards our savings towards a car. We started seriously looking around for one so if you see anything you think we'd be interested in, let us know. Details required are:

• 4 doors
• prefer hatchback but at least a decent amount of cargo space (not a van - yet)
  
• good gas mileage
• automatic transmission (no manual for Joey - yet)
• cloth seats
• A/C & heat
  

I'd like to have power windows and locks but it's not necessary. We've found a Mazda 3 and an HHR I've got my eyes on but we don't have what they're asking saved up yet and the HHR is in TN. I know there should be a lot of local people selling cars as well, we just have to keep our eyes open for the good ones and then find a mechanic we trust that can look it over for us to make sure nothing is wrong in addition to a CARFACTS report.

Isaac had his 2 week follow-up weight appointment today and now weighs 6 lb 2 oz. I now need to make an appointment for both of the for their one month followup when they start getting shots. yay. Tomorrow all four of us go to the eye doctor then Isaac will go in October to the urologist and GI specialist and return to the beloved Dr. Lang (pulmonary specialist) in November.

We're all still trying to settle into a schedule and finally have the medicine administration down pat. Isaac made his first visit to their monkey bathroom for his big boy bath and the nursery afterward for a bottle and brief lay in the crib and seemed to really enjoy it. Once we feel more comfortable with the idea, we'll do a trial run with them sleeping in their cribs in the nursery. (I'll probably sleep on the futon aka park bench that night.

Grandma & Grandpa Rhodes got to come visit a couple times before returning to NC for work/daily routines and brought us some tasty chili which didn't last long. Grandma Moseley helped Joey watch the boys while he worked so I could have my own 6 week check up and everything is back to "normal" and we also took the little black scooter to the shop to finally get fixed (which should be by this weekend) so we can sell it - and even had interest from a customer in the store!

Exerpts from Facebook

7/29/09 1:34 AM: Eden & Isaac decided to come early yesterday via emergency cesarian. They are both 4lbs 2oz and 16 & 17 in. long respectively. Both they and I are doing well. I just had my first vertical experience since getting here at 8 am.


7/30/09 5:21 PM: Born premature at 32 weeks old on July 28, 2009 via emergency cesarean - Isaac was in a hurry to see what all the fuss was outside of the womb.

8/2/09 2:33 PM: Mini update: both boys are doing great, Isaac's PDA was resolved, both belly line's are out & iv instead, both off oxygen, Eden started on my Colostrum I have been pumping & Isaac should start tonight at 8. Thank you all for the continued prayers & support.

8/4/09 2:42 AM: I just got to hold Eden for an hour while he had his feeding.


8/5/09 12:00 AM: Just got to Kangaroo with Isaac for over an hour while he had his feeding - we both passed out :)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 10:31am: Things are going well. Joey and I are trying to manage our visit, pump, sleep, eat, house preparation schedule and progressing well. The boys are doing good too. I got to Kangaroo hold Eden Tuesday morning for an hour during his feeding and Isaac last night during his. I passed out with them both times - it was the most calming thing in the world.

Isaac's PDA (Patent ductus arteriosus) is gone from the ibuprofen treatments and he's receiving medicine for his hydronephrosis (enlarged kidney) and probably will continue until he comes home - both things are very common in preemies. He's still on a little oxygen - they tried to take him off it yesterday, but he wasn't ready yet. His feedings are up to 12 cc's and he's handling them well. No more jaundice lights, though both of their bili-numbers are a little higher than they should be, Dr. Velez is waiting to see if they start coming down now that they are feeding on breast milk and that should start the liver to filter it out. Eden is just trucking along, his only "complication" right now is keeping his IV in. He's on room air and has been for a few days now. He's up to 24 cc's for his feedings which is his maximum before they take him off tube feeding. They have taken him off the nutrients he's been receiving via tube and hope to take him off the lipids today. They are adding fortifiers to both of their feedings for fats and extra calories. Eden had a big weight loss which is normal but he's working on bringing it back up. Eden weighs 3 lbs, 5.2 oz and Isaac is at 3 lbs 14.3 oz as of last night.

We've stopped asking when they think they'll come home because we've been getting anything from 2 weeks to their due date as answers depending on who we ask. We just hope they are able to graduate to the step down care together and eventually to go home at the same time as well, but we'll deal with that as it comes. For now, we're just trying to manage our time wisely and stay healthy mentally, emotionally and physically for them. Please keep us in your prayers - we've still got a lot to go through.

Sorry I've been bad with updates. Love you guys.

8/6/09 3:19 PM: Eden and I just had our first breast feeding lesson and we both did great! We'll give Isaac a bath in about an hour. Life is good =)

8/9/09 1:10 PM: Thank you to all who came to our "make-up" shower yesterday, it was good to see you all =)

8/9/09 8:17 PM: Got to start attempting breastfeeding with Isaac today and Eden moved over to the step down care side - one step closer to home!

8/10/09 12:19 PM: CELEBRATING - they just moved Isaac over to step down care with Eden and both will start bottle feedings today!!!


8/12/09 12:14 AM: Had my 2 week follow up appointment today - Dr. okay'd me to drive, get chiropractic adjustment, etc., so I have an appointment tomorrow. Lots to do still but the boys are doing good. Got to breastfeed both today for about 10-15 minutes each. ... Gave both baths and they got to see what wearing clothes is like - Eden REALLY liked it. Sadly Joey's last day off is tomorrow, but we'll make the most of it.


8/13/09 3:05 PM: Joey's back at work today =( but I survived my first tandem breast stim/bottle feeding on my own (ok i had a little help). Made me start to feel like a mom =)

8/14/09 6:13 PM: After baths last night, Isaac weighs 4lb 7 oz & Eden weighs 4lb 3.6 oz. Eden starts taking 2 bottles a day today & Isaac will probably start tomorrow.

8/16/09 11:55 AM: Eden is now 4lb 8.1 oz and Isaac is 4lb 11.2 oz. Both taking 3 bottles a day. Now we just need to ween Isaac off his oxygen...

8/17/09 11:19 AM: Eden is on bottle feedings every feeding now and Isaac us still on three a day but has a new formula that should help with his reflux. We brought the car seats in last night for testing and they both passed their hearing test. Not long now...

8/17/09 9:40 PM: Eden might be coming home in the next few days...

8/18/09 11:33 AM: I finally finished the mural - I posted pictures under the twin's photo album along with pictures of them from yesterday.

8/21/09: 1:06 AM: Isaac now weighs 5 lb 0.3 oz and Eden weighs 4 lb 11.4 oz. =)

8/22/09 12:18 PM: Sitting in the nursery at home with Eden. Isaac should be joining us sometime next week.


8/22/09 12:07 PM: Isaac at the hospital without his breathing tube in (oxygen delivered by "blow-by") experiment to wean him off = failed

8/24/09 3:45 PM: our little boys back together again

8/25/09 12:41 PM: wow - that was a loooong crazy night...

8/26/09 12:26 PM: Isaac's first docor appt. was at 8 this morning. I'm wiped for the day and I think he is too.

8/29/09 10:39 PM: Thank you for all my birthday wishes. I woke up to babies crying of course but couldn't have been happier about it. My amazing husband made me crab legs/claws and gave me cheesecake on top of "Coraline" on DVD. I am very tired but had a great day!


9/2/09 10:46 PM: going to pulmonary specialist tomorrow for Isaac. Keep us in your prayers.

9/3/09 7:56 PM: Isaac's appointment with the pulmonary specialist went well today - we were 30 minutes late thanks to bumper to bumper traffic on 285 but thankfully Dr. Lang still saw us - I LOVE HER! She was able to answer a lot of questions and address some c...oncerns I had. Isaac is doing well and will have a follow up with her in November. It was also our first trip, all four of us, and Joey and I head up a pretty good team :)

Today is September 4, 2009.

I am starting this blog to provide updates about my twin sons at the request of my mom. I will do my best to keep it updated, but I can't promise anything :)