We are home!

On Saturday June 25 Emma was released from the NICU.  Friday night we "roomed in" with little miss Emma.  We had a pretty good night but mommy and daddy didn't sleep very much. I was so paranoid by every sound and without the monitors on her I was nervous she wasn't breathing.  Saturday morning after being checked out by her doctor Emma was free to go. It felt so weird coming home with her.  We have driven home from the hospital for 52 days without the babies so it was weird to have one in the car with us.  We had a pretty good day and night with our little miss. The next morning Levi was released from the NICU. I had such relief that both babies were home but I was also terrified.  I was nervous about not having the nurses there to rely on.  They have both been home for four days and we are surviving. Thank GOD I have a great mom who has stayed with us since they came home!  We have definitely had a few rough nights but we are managing.  I mean to tell you it really makes a huge difference when you add a second baby. You would think two babies two adults but in reality you really need three or four adults to get the job done.  Last night I did one of the feedings by myself. yes, it was unorganized and crazy but we all survived. 

Here are a few pictures from the past week.

Sweet Emma Girl

Levi

Rooming in with daddy

Rooming in with mommy

E and L weights when they left the hospital. At the pedi on Tuesday Emma weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and Levi weighed 5 lbs 9 oz.

In my swing (Levi)

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Emma in her swing

In Levi's crib.

First Family Picture

Gotcha Day

When a family adopts a child the day that they bring that child home is called the "Gotcha Day".  I feel like I am about to have my version of the "gotcha day".  On Saturday if all goes as planned Emma will be coming home!!  Levi will be coming home either Sunday or Monday!  I am so excited I can barely stand it.  I am feeling a bunch of emotions.  I am nervous, happy, anxious, and terrified all at the same time.  I feel incredibly blessed and I know God will help Clayton and I through this new adventure!  I will post more once they come home!  Thank you for your constant support and prayers!

The Countdown is on

Big things are happening in the Wilkerson house hold.  The babies are so close to coming home!  I cannot believe it. Tomorrow the babies will have been in the hospital for 7 weeks.  It has both flown and crept by.  I cannot believe that 7 weeks ago I was pregnant. I cannot believe that technically I should still be pregnant.  I feel incredibly blessed by our stay in the NICU.  The NICU is not generally a happy place and seeing sick babies and sad situations is hard on families.  We have been lucky to have had minimal setbacks during our stay.  Even though we have been extremely lucky I still have anxiety waiting for something bad to happen.  Each day I go to the hospital my stomach is in knots. Then I see my precious babies and my anxiety goes away.  I am so excited for the day when we get to say adios to the NICU. 

As of today both babies are eating all their feeds by bottle or nursing.  Levi is doing slightly better at finishing his feeds and got have his feeding tube removed today. Emma is getting there and should have her tube removed in the next day or two.  They are both on the "brady" countdown.  In order to go home the babies must be "brady" free for five days in order to go home (a brady is a dip in heart rate).  Emma had her last brady on the 19 and Levi had one last night.  Please pray that they will both be brady free soon.  Once they have been brady free for three days they will have their car seat test. Each baby will have to sit in their car seat for an hour without any bradys. These bradys rule my life these days.

Here are a few pics from the last couple of days.

Levi with no feeding tube. Isn't his face sweet?

Reunited and it feels so good. After nearly 6 weeks of being separated. My babies are back together!  Twins are almost never separated but because of the "almost infection" that Emma got they were separated. Last week Levi got it also and now they can be back together. I say "almost infection" because they are both just colonized with this infection and do not actually have it.Mommy was not happy having them separated but am thankful they are back together!

In our own room TOGETHER!!!

Holding my babies together for the first time ever!

Sweet Emma girl!

Daddy holding Levi and Emma.

First family picture!

We both weigh over five pounds!

Thank you for your continued prayers!  We continue to covet them daily.  Please pray that both babies will remain healthy and that they will be able to come home.  Please pray that when both babies come home we will have patience, strength and some sleep!

A Quick Tour

We are still working on getting everything ready for when Emma and Levi come home.  When we found out we were pregnant with twins we debated about whether or not to put them in the same room.  We decided that we would put the babies in the same room until they grow up a little bit.  I searched for many many hours before and after my hospital stay for the perfect bedding.  It is really hard to find boy/girl bedding that is cute and not boring.  I know, I know that they will have no idea what their room looks like and if they have matching bedding, but for some reason I want their room to be cute.  Here is a brief tour of their room. I didn't get really good pictures.

View from the door.

cute shelf we got at target. 

Emma's name that my mom and I painted!

Emma's crib! cute pink bedding

changing table

cute wall hanging i got from etsy.  This was a pain to put up but it is cute!

Cute curtains my mom made

Levi's crib. Matching green bedding.

Levi's name.

Baby Update:  Emma and Levi are doing well. We are expecting them to come home probably the last week in June maybe sooner.  Emma is eating 6-7 times out of  8 and Levi is eating o4-5 out of 8.  Today Levi was reunited with his sister.  For the past several weeks (I think 4) they have been in separate rooms.  About 4 weeks ago Emma got MRSA.  She does not have the infection just a colonization in her system. which means it is just present in her.  They are having a mini outbreak at the hospital. They don't know how she or the other babies got it.  Well today when I arrived at the hospital I found little Levi in the same room with Emma. It has been hard having them separated and we knew that Levi would probably eventually get it when they came home but we didn't expect him to get it before then.  it is nice having them next to each other and will make our visits much more pleasant.  There will also be more consistency between them which there wasn't much of.  I am happy that both babies are healthy and this is a blip in the road that we will deal with and move on.  Please pray that both babies eat well, stop having bradys, and get to come home soon with no complications!  Happy Wednesday!

Things I never Knew

There are several things that I never knew before I began on this journey.  Here they are:

• I never knew what true exhaustion felt like
• I never knew that a person can truly do a lot for love
• I never knew that two little people would forever change my life
• I never knew how protective I would feel over my two little ones
• I never knew what motherly love felt like
• I never knew I would celebrate weight gain, eating and poop they way I do now
• I never knew that worrying about your kids would never stop

Update:
Emma and Levi are doing well and are on their way to being able to come home.  With each passing day they both get stronger and I am eternally grateful for how well they are doing. The other day while visiting Emma alittle boy across the pod stopped breathing and needed to be intubated. This little one also has brittle bone disease so this was a scary process. It was heart wrenching to sit there and watch what this little guy was going through.  I said a million prayers for him and also thanked GOD for how well my babies are doing. No one can truly understand what it is like in the NICU unless you have been there. It really is a roller coaster and we havent even been on a crazy one. Our babies have been blessed with very little problems.  I feel like these babies are really meant to be here and GOD has great plans for them.  I cannot wait until I get to bring these babies home. 

A few things that happened this week:

• Both Emma and Levi had their hearing and vision checked and they are perfect in every way. Emma's eyes showed a little prematurity but the doctor said he believes with time they will be perfect normal. 
• Both Emma and Levi weigh over four pounds. As of today (saturday) Emma weighs 4 lbs 10.5 oz and Levi weighs 4 lbs 5 oz!
• Emma can now eat 4-5 times by bottle or breast. She is doing really well with eating and the nurses told me they think she will come home in two to three weeks.
• Levi can now eat 2-3 times by bottle or breast.  He is a little lazy when it comes to eating. Apparently boys do not do as well as girls. 

A few people have asked about the criteria to come home. Most people think it is based on weight but that is not true. In order to come home the babies need to be able to eat all eight feedings either by bottle or breast.  The second criteria is that they cannot have any "bradys" for five days. A "brady" is a dip in heart rate.  Both babies are still having bradys but this is typical and completely normal for their gestational age.  I pray often that they will stop doing this as it is scary for mommy and daddy.

Here are  few pics of our sweet babies!

Levi now weighs four pounds!

Sweet Emma Girl

Mommy giving Emma a bottle

levi and his frog hat

A side by side comparison. Everyone thinks Levi looks like Clayton and Emma looks like me. I think they look similar but not too much a like.  Levi on left Emma on right.

 Mimi and Levi!

Happy One Month Birthday!

Yesterday Levi and Emma turned one month old.  I can't believe it.  I should actually still be pregnant. The babies are 34 weeks gestation.  It really funny that this is what the doctors and nurses ask not how old they are but what week gestation they are. In the world of preemies this is important.  We are looking at 3 to 4 more weeks in the NICU.  I feel like the past month has gone pretty fast so I am hoping the next one will too. I am desperate to bring them home but on the bright side I am still recovering from the bed rest and surgery as well as getting the house ready for these two sweet babies.  I was at the doctor the other day and she mentioned maybe I should be doing some physical therapy.  I am still trying to build back up my muscles that I lost and still feel pretty weak. Especially in my legs which makes doing things around the house hard.  She said that it could take months if not years to build my muscles back up to what they used to be.  Weird. 

The babies have had a big week.  On Wednesday when Clayton and I arrived at the hospital we had a surprise waiting for us.  Levi had been moved out of the isolette and into a bassinette.  I was so excited!  We were told that they would not be able to come out until they were four pounds but because he had been regulating his temperature so well on his own he was able to come out a little early. My little over achiever!!  The yesterday our sweet little Emma girl got her own big girl bed also!  She couldn't stand to be in the isolette if her brother wasn't.

My sweet Emma Girl!

Levi in his big boy bed! 

Mommy and levi in his big boy bed

Emma's Big girl bed. 

Levi's first bottle!

Levi is one month old!!!

Emma in her new bed

Emma is one month old. Notice she and Levi are laying the same in their one month picture!

Daddy being crazy!

Emma has hit the four pound mark!  so proud of my little pumpking

The babies started eating this week.  Right now they can get either bottle or breast twice a day.  Emma is doing pretty well and last night finished a whole bottle. Levi is so laid back and is not interested.  they are still pretty young so it will take time! I am so proud, happy, excited about their progress.  I can't wait until the day when they come home!