Friday, November 25, 2011

Our First Thanksgiving

Today was the girls' first Thanksgiving. We really didn't do what we had planned to do which was go up to the Coast Guard base since Daddy had 24 hour duty and eat the feast that the morale group took up there for people that had duty and their families. We didn't go because it was at 5:00 pm and this year they decided to do Black Friday early and the traffic was crazy. There were also kids there which is a no-no for us right now. So we all just hung out and I did some online shopping for Christmas and played with the girls. Here is a cute video of Presley laughing at Kourtney. I have no idea what on earth was so funny but she was in a very good mood :)





Saturday, November 12, 2011

Daddy's 29th Birthday and RSV Again

Daddy celebrated his 29th birthday on November 3rd, 2011 and although we didn't do a whole lot, we did have fun. Daddy just hang out with his girls here at home and we ordered one of his favorite meals-sushi and ate cake-chocolate cake with chocolate icing-Daddy's favorite kind of cake. Then Daddy opened presents. The girls got Daddy a coffee mug with their pictures on it and I filled it with Hersey hugs and kisses. He loved it! I also had the girls "sign" their Daddy's card by taking their handprints and putting them on the card with ink. he absolutely loved it! I got him some pearl snap shirts which are his favorite and that he is desperately need for-some new clothes. I got the girls all dressed up in their frilly little dresses and they were so happy and were full of giggles and smiles.

Great Grandma Ada suprised the girls with their first pair of diamond earrings- 1/3 carat LEO diamonds! These are way better quality than my earrings--these are some spoiled little munchkins! :)

On November 8th, Travis was at work as he had 24 hour duty. I had just fed Kourtney and was getting ready for Presley's midnight feeding when I heard that all too familiar seal like barking cough that I remember from the last time she had RSV. All I could think of was CRAP! I looked over and saw her go into a coughing fit and turn purple, then blue. I rushed over, put her on the couch propped up and called 911. As I was on the phone with 911, I started giving her Xopenez through her nebulizer like her pulmonologist, Dr. Hardy, had told me to do had another incident like last time occur again. The paramedics were here within 5 minutes and they called Travis to come stay with Kourtney while I took off in the ambulance. RSV positive again which didn't suprise me. I blame this one on Tricare since they have been holding us up on the Synagis shot since November 1st-they approved the wrong dose. I really hope this gets worked out ASAP because I refuse to go through this again! Kourtney caught a little infection too as she was running a 101.3 degree fever and I had to also take her down to the emergency room when Travis had come to drop me off some clothes and toiletries. The doctors have said that everytime she gets an infection that this will occur because of her narrow airway. The medicine used to treat it is only allowed for use in a hospital setting so looks like we will be going to the hospital every single time she gets a little cold.

The next day after being released from the hospital, we went to our GI appointment. Although Kourtney has gained over a pound and has good head growth and length growth, she was not happy with her progress. Needless to say she was no where near happy with Presley's progress. She told us that in 3 months, that if there is no improvement or weight gain for Presley that she is going to put a NG tube in. I refuse to allow her to do this. Being that Presley has a narrow airway and these kind of respiratory distress incidents occur, putting a tube down her airway to make it even smaller does not sit well with me and doesn't make sense. When I explained this to her she tried to assure me by saying she would admit Presley into the hospital for 2 days to monitor and see if it is going to cause any respiratory issues. She didn't understand that I was trying to tell her that it isn't an option in my book and my pediatrician doesn't feel comfortable with it either. When I told her this she said then she would schedule a date to perform surgery and put a G tube in-a more permanent solution. I told her no way I am doing that either. If Presley was weak, skinny, scrawny, not developing then I would maybe consider these options but she is so full of life, happy, learning, hitting all of her milestones, and has chubby cheeks and thighs-why would I do this to her? An NG tube is very vulnerable to infection and she is already shown she is very susceptible to infections and I am not going to do anything extra to increase that risk. We need a new GI doctor. She did however agree to go up on the calories making Presley's milk 28 calories and Kourtney's staying at 26 calories. 

Every time these incidents happen, it takes a toll on me and I hate seeing Presley blue and unable to breathe and it just really gets to me and takes me a while to sort through what has happened. Sometimes I feel like I can't keep these girls healthy no matter what I do and that I haven't done anything right from the very start when I couldn't keep them in until they were term. I know that most people say it wasn't my fault and maybe it wasn't but I am the cause of it. It took a good friend to remind me that their are mothers out there that are watching their children go through cancer and much worse and that I can do this. I feel so blessed that the girls are actually here and I am one of the lucky ones as things could be so much worse.


Daddy's Birthday Presents!

The girls' card to their Daddy





Ever since her first lollipop on Halloween, she is always after them!









Presley playing

Kourtney is ready for Christmas!


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Happy Halloween!

This was the girls' first Halloween and although we opted not to go to the NICU Halloween Party like we had planned to do when they first left there months ago, we still had a little bit of fun here at home. We decided not to go due to what happened with the RSV and hospitalization and the doctors have recommended for us to stay away from small toddler children and other babies as they are the germiest. We also have to take special precautions when going on this flu season, such as showering after getting back from doctors, grocery stores, and malls, etc because RSV has many strains and there is no guarantee that they will not get it again-but I have vowed to try to avoid that at all costs. The girls will also be getting a shot named Synagis which helps with RSV and prevents it from being so severe. I only wish that we had gotten this back in September but since we were one of the first cases they didn't even start making the vaccine until this month since they had predicted the flu season to be starting in November here. Boy, were they wrong! On another note, Halloween was spent just Presley, Kourtney, Mommy, and Daddy and Daddy brought home Halloween buckets from McDonalds and we ate and decorated them while the girls wore their costumes and had their first taste of lollipops.We also watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Hocus Pocus, and Casper. Kourtney also can now sit up for a few seconds on her own and has started doing raspberries like her sister Presley! Here are some pictures: