Oh Happy Day!

Friday, June 21

Kinley was taken off of her breathing tube today! She is quickly catching up to her sister (health-wise anyway). Doctor still wanted to give her time to rest and adjust to breathing on her own, so we still haven't been able to hold her though. Well, Daddy did get to hold her while the nurses changed her bedding. She was quite the mover today...wiggling like crazy! At one point she even managed to get her finger stuck between her oxygen tube and mouth. Luckily Daddy rescued her finger because she was not a happy camper.

                                                           Proud Daddy with Kinley

Both girls have been taking their feedings well, so they were both upgraded to double the amount of milk they receive every three hours. We are hoping that they will start gaining weight soon. Devyn continues to do well. Her lungs and vocal chords are definitely working....she likes to make her frustration known when you take her out to hold her or change her diaper. She cries until she gets warm and comfortable again.

     Skin-to-Skin time with Devyn

Daddy brought in a shirt for his skin-to-skin time with the girls...something that can be unbuttoned and opened easily. He's already trying to pressure the girls into being sports fans....

                                                        Devyn and Dad's Padres jersey


The girls continue to be very popular and frequently have visitors. Today, friends Frank and Jada stopped by to say hello and drop off a special gift. These girls already have more clothes than mom and dad combined!

 



Frank, Kinley, and Jada

 

 

We thank all of our friends and family for your continued support and prayers.



The girls have made amazing progress in their first four days of life. We are truly blessed!

Snuggle Time

Thursday, June 20

Today was another great day in the Marsh wing of the NICU! The girls continue to "eat" every three hours. Each girl has lost a few ounces of their original weight, which is normal. But we are hoping that with continued feedings, they will start to get a little fat on those precious bodies.

When I went down to the NICU this morning, I was shocked when the nurse asked if I wanted to hold Devyn! Of course I did!!! Once the girls are stable enough, they encourage as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. It helps the baby to learn your smell, feel your heartbeat, and adjust their heart rates to your own. I knew Justin would be jealous...but luckily he arrived from work just in time. We both got to hold her for about 15-20 minutes.

                                                                        Snuggle Time!

 


Each girl is assigned "touch times" with their nurses each day. Now that they eat every three hours, their touch times are every three hours as well. These are the times that the girls get their diapers changed, their temperatures taken, etc. Both Justin and I got to help out today and finally do some of our parental duties. I checked Devyn's temperature and changed what was her second poopy diaper (too bad Daddy couldn't have done that one but he was at work). When Justin arrived, he did the same things with Kinley.   

 

What a Pro!

 





The girls continue to get time under the jaundice lights each day. Their levels will be checked tomorrow to see how they're doing with that. It will be nice to be able to see their faces more once they are done with the lights and their eyes won't need to be covered all the time.

The doctors have decided to take the girls off of their preventative antibiotics to start building their immune systems. Of course, this means that the girls' conditions may decrease a bit during this process, but it is necessary nonetheless.

 

Mom, Dad, and Devyn

 



 

Devyn, of course, got most of the attention today. Luckily her sister was snug in her bed and didn't seem to mind. We hope that her lungs improve quickly so that she can be taken off of her breathing tubes and can be moved around more easily.

 

 

Kinley-snug as a bug!

 

 

We love that the NICU is open 24 hours a day to parents and families. I was discharged from the hospital this afternoon, and it was difficult to know I was leaving the girls behind. We went back for a late night visit tonight and Daddy got to hold Devyn one more time.

Got Milk?

Wednesday, June 19

Today was a great day for the girls! Devyn had her breathing tube removed this morning and is now breathing on her own. She struggled at times and her oxygen levels had to be adjusted often throughout the day to support this process, but she made it the whole day on her own, so hopefully she can keep it up. She also got to try out a pacifier to practice her sucking reflex. She hasn't been a huge fan of it so far...but I'm sure she'll grow to love it!

                                                            Devyn and her pacifier


A NICU nurse gave Kinley's PICC line another try this morning and was successful! So now both girls can get their fluids and medication through this tube instead of having to be stuck for IV lines. Her poor little leg and foot are quite bruised from the procedure, but it will be so much better for her now that it's in!

                                              Kinley resting after her PICC line procedure

The best news of the day is that both girls were given their first dose of breast milk this evening. It is fed to them via a tube that goes directly into their stomachs. Both girls handled the milk well, and will now continue getting a very small amount every 3 hours.


The girls had some new visitors today. Grandma Carol and Auntie Kim were here to see them. They flew in from Minnesota last night. Cousin Courtney just so happened to be in Las Vegas for work, so she has been coming over to see the girls as well.

                                                    Kinley with her admirers:-)


The doctor has said that I will be discharged tomorrow. I am excited to sleep in my own bed, but am not looking forward to adjusting to being so much farther from the girls. Luckily the hospital is only about 15 minutes from home, so we'll be making multiple trips throughout the day.

We are very thankful for such a wonderful day but we realize that not every day may be as successful. The NICU nurses refer to our adventure as a roller coaster ride, so we will sit tight and wait for whatever is waiting around the next corner.        
 

Wrapped Around Daddy's Finger

Tuesday, June 18

It's hard to believe our girls are only a day and a half old. I feel like I've been living in the hospital for a week now!

This is one loved family!!! Grandma and Grandpa Marsh flew in yesterday morning to meet their first grandbabies. We are so thankful for their support. And my mom and sister will be flying in later tonight. In addition to the support of our families, we have been constantly surrounded with visiting friends for the past two days. Add to that countless texts, emails, and phone calls from other friends/family sharing prayers and happy thoughts. Words cannot express how appreciative we are to feel so much love and concern for our family.

Devyn and Kinley are doing well today. Currently, improving their lung function and breathing is the NICU's top concern. They both received additional medication for their lungs this morning. The nurses have been trying to insert PICC lines into both girls so that they will not need to continue inserting IV lines into their tiny little veins. The PICC lines will allow them to give the girls the medicine and fluids they need more easily. The first attempt today was unsuccessful, but they will be trying again tonight sometime.

Both girls have jaundice so they are getting their first "tanning bed" treatments today. Daddy likes their little sunglasses:-)

                                                               Kinley in her "sunglasses"

                                  Who's wrapped around whose finger?!?!    --Devyn and Daddy



Both girls open their eyes often. We haven't been able to hold them yet, as we are trying to help them develop by not stimulating them. This helps them put all their energy into catching up developmentally. We can reach into the incubators to touch them, but only briefly. Currently, the girls receive all their nutritional needs through IV. The NICU hopes to try mom's milk in the next day or two.

An Unexpected Introduction

Monday, June 17    (Birthday)

Hello Family and Friends! We thought a blog would be a good way to try to keep everyone up to date on the girls. I've never blogged before...so we'll see how this goes:-)

Yesterday morning around 5 am we welcomed our beautiful baby girls into the world. It was quite an unexpected introduction. We spent Father's Day weekend in Albuquerque to spend time with family and to celebrate my 3rd baby shower. We arrived back home in Vegas around 11:00 pm and I was feeling completely fine. BUT...around 12:30 am I started feeling some pretty severe pain. It was a constant pain, however, so I truly didn't think it was contractions. Luckily, Justin talked me into going to the hospital. So off we went....

By the time we arrived and I was sent to the triage room, I was already 4 cm dilated. Quickly I was put into a delivery room... although our main goal was to prevent delivery! I was given a steroid shot to improve the girls' lungs as well as given medication to (hopefully) stop the contractions. The medication worked for a short time, but soon I was feeling the contractions again and they were getting more painful.

When I was checked again I was 6 cm dilated, at which point we were told that the girls would need to be delivered. After a quick ultrasound to check the girls' positions the doctor determined we would need to deliver by C-section. The doctor was called in, and I was prepared for surgery. By this point, the two of us were somewhere between complete panic and utter shock. Up until this point I had experienced an "easy" pregnancy with next to no complications. It was difficult to accept what was about to happen.

The surgery went well. Devyn Marie arrived first weighing in at 3 lbs. 3 oz. and about 15 inches long. Kinley Grace arrived a minute later weighing 2 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 13 inches long. We were happily surprised to hear both girls cry during delivery. They were soon taken to the NICU and just like that...we were parents!

                                                            Devyn Marie Marsh

                                                      
                                                                 Kinley Grace Marsh