4 Months Old

Posted on January 20, 2015 by oliverschmoliver

Here’s another picture heavy, long overdue update. The babies are now 4 months old and I can’t believe how fast time goes by. Liam is up to 9lbs 7oz and Nora is 9lbs 5oz. They are both gaining adequately and we’ve completely done away with fortified breastmilk bottles and are just breastfeeding! For the most part they are very good babies. They have a fussy time for 1-2 hours right before bedtime and sometimes randomly throughout the day but nothing out of the norm. They are good nighttime sleepers already. Technically their adjusted age is 2 months since they were so early. They are both doing well holding their heads up and are precious with their smiles and babbling. We are still just so in love with these two.

2 Months Old!

Baths! 2 Months Old.

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving 2014. Dad was overseas for work- boo!

3 Months!

Picture with Santa.

Christmas Card 2014

Nora

Liam

Nora and her pup, Sasha.

Christmas Nora

Christmas Liam

Christmas 2014

What Liam thinks about his feisty sister sometimes.

Nora’s monkey hair!

Bath! 4 Months Old.

4 Months!

9 Days Old

Posted on September 27, 2014 by oliverschmoliver

Just a quick update!

Liam: He had a rough go in the beginning. He was briefly intubated on low settings with umbilical lines in place and then went to a lesser form of support called NIPPV then CPAP. After he was extubated and his umbilical line was removed they inserted a PICC line. He is currently on a high flow nasal cannula and his PICC line was pulled and fluids discontinued because he is tolerating full feedings via NG tube!

Nora: Was on NIPPV and then CPAP and is also currently on a high flow nasal cannula and her PICC line was pulled and fluids discontinued because she is tolerating full feedings via NG tube!

As many of you know, I’m actually a neonatal ICU nurse so this is what I do for a living. It was been a whole new experience seeing it from a mommy’s perspective. I know I’ll be able to take from this experience to give even better care when I return back to work. My husband says he doesn’t know how he would deal with this if I wasn’t a NICU nurse. He says he just looks at my face to gauge if he should be worried or not. All in all I am thrilled with the progress we’ve seen in our strong little babies!

They are 32 weeks today so we will be in the NICU for a minimum of another 3 weeks. And now the fun part.. Here’s a bunch of pictures!

My first time holding both of my loves together…

Looking at my husband as I hold both of my babies together for the first time. Such an amazing moment…

Best. Feeling. Ever.

Daddy holding both babies…

Nora and her gigantic (normal sized) paci…

Nora and Liam in their first outfits and doing well!

Correction: BabIES on Board

Posted on April 2, 2014 by oliverschmoliver

That’s right! We had our first ultrasound and official OB appointment today and we are having TWINS! We are totally in shock but very excited. They are measuring exactly spot on at 6 weeks 5 days. Baby A had a heart rate of 137, Baby B had a heat rate of 124. They are in separate sacs and we were told that everything looks great!

I’ve still been feeling pretty darn good. I don’t start working again until next Monday so my routine has been something like:

1am- bathroom
3am- bathroom
4:30 am- bathroom, then eat apple sauce so I don’t wake up queazy from an empty stomach.
8am(ish) roll out of bed. Eat.
10am- go back to bed.
Rest of the day: Eat (small meals), sleep, repeat.

Other than extreme exhaustion, I really haven’t felt that bad. I know it’s still early and it will probably hit me like a ton of bricks soon but for now..I’m knocking on wood. I’ve had some heartburn which is a new experience for me but it hasn’t gotten to the point where I’ve even had to take anything.

I thought I’d get this shiny packet at my appointment today with all of the Do’s and Don’ts and when to expect what.. What I got was my doctor (who I love) walking in saying “Congrats! Any questions?”.. Umm… Yes, about 478 of them. Where shall I begin? My instructions were literally: continue meds, next appointment in 3 weeks, cook lunch meat before eating it, NO caffeine until 12 weeks, still no lifting anything over 10lbs. Good thing I know where to supplement my curiosities! She said with twins I can expect to have appointments about every 3 weeks and weekly monitoring starting between 28-32 weeks.

This.is.so.surreal……………

Immunologic Info and (last) Treatment

Posted on March 24, 2014 by oliverschmoliver

I had my last intralipid infusion last Thursday! This topic has been weighing heavily on my heart to share with you all.

I feel that this is a common problem that is overlooked by a majority of RE’s who just don’t understand or know the latest research available. If you have unexplained infertility, endometriosis, history of chemical pregnancies or failed IUI/IVF cycles- please read these articles and advocate for yourselves. Ask your RE for immunologic testing or get a second opinion! The articles and webinar listed link to my RE’s page. I’m not saying to use my RE (although he IS amazing and I would totally recommend him) but he’s always available to do skype consultations no matter where you live. He’s one of the guys leading this amazing research and is very knowledgeable! It’s worth looking into!
Here’s a quick version of what his nurse said to me about NK cells when I found out they came back abnormal..
“Your Natural Killer cells did come back as abnormal. Allow me to explain what this means and what we are going to do to counteract these.
Natural Killer cells are a normal part of everyone’s immune system. They are what patrol our bodies trying to keep foreign things out of our bodies. Some people have Natural Killer cells that are a little more aggressive. In normal life, this is usually a good thing. Maybe they don’t get sick as often, or if a bad cold is going around it won’t hit them as hard. Natural Killers don’t realize there is a difference between embryos and germs though. They just see something is foreign and doesn’t belong and end up trying to keep the embryo from implanting inside the uterus. Dr. Sher has found that doing an Intralipids Infusion can help to calm these aggressive Natural Killer cells down to allow embryos a chance to implant inside the uterus. There would be an infusion prior to starting the monitoring process. After the embryo transfer if you are confirmed pregnant, there would be a second infusion done.
There are no side effects to the Intralipids Infusion as long as you are not allergic to egg or soy.”

Now go watch this webinar, read these articles and get informed!!!

Immunologic Causes of Infertility and IVF Failure Webinar

Autoimmune Implantation Dysfunction Article

IVIG & Intralipid Therapy in IVF: Interpreting Natural Killer Cell Activity for Diagnosis and Treatment Article

Will infuse for cupcakes..

Posted on February 22, 2014 by oliverschmoliver

Results from the infamous unnecessary, necessary MRI are back. Normal! That means that they didn’t see anything (fibroids, etc.) in my uterus that could cause problems with the embryo implanting when we get to that point.
Today was my at home intralipids infusion day. IL is what they use to treat Natural Killer cells and this is what my nurse had to say about it..
“Natural Killer cells are a normal part of everyone’s immune system. They are what patrol our bodies trying to keep foreign things out of our bodies. Some people have Natural Killer cells that are a little more aggressive. In normal life, this is usually a good thing. Maybe they don’t get sick as often, or if a bad cold is going around it won’t hit them as hard. Natural Killers don’t realize there is a difference between embryos and germs though. They just see something is foreign and doesn’t belong and end up trying to keep the embryo from implanting inside the uterus. Dr. S has found that doing an Intralipids Infusion can help to calm these aggressive Natural Killer cells down to allow embryos a chance to implant inside the uterus. There would be an infusion prior to starting the monitoring process. After the embryo transfer if you are confirmed pregnant, there would be a second infusion done.”
Since I work in the medical field, they allowed me to do an at home infusion. Thankfully one of my wonderful friends agreed to swap cupcakes for helping me start an IV. Everything went well and the infusion lasted about 1.5 hours. The Stuffed French Toast cupcake was amazing. I have missed this particular cupcake shop!
W is back from Finland and we have plans to see family tomorrow before leaving for 2 weeks for our appointments. It’s really happening!!

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	Donna Mcbryde on Still alive…
	sravan kumar on Week 16 Update and Gender…
	ursus on 5,6&7 Months Old
	Donna McBryde on 5,6&7 Months Old
	oliverschmoliver on 5,6&7 Months Old