RSV

On Sunday, September 11th, I woke up to one of the girls coughing weird-I had never heard that kind of a cough before so I got up to check and see if they were alright. I put my hand on the chests to see if they were breathing like I usually do when I get up in the middle of the night for some reason- and I didn't feel Presley's chest rising. I flipped on the light and she was totally blue! I couldn't believe it-it was my worst nightmare. I quickly handed her to Travis told him to do CPR and I called 911. Travis gave her her 3 rescue breaths and she finally came to but she was wheezing and pale and still kind of blue. The ambulance got here and we went to CPMC. When we got there she was totally blue again and it took them exactly 40 minutes to get her breathing on her own again. It was awful and I hope I never have to see either one of them like that ever again. After 2 albuterol nebulizer treatments and finally a epinephrine vaporizing treatment she was OK and stable. They already had called the RT guys to come in and prepare to intubate her but at the last minute her airway opened up most likely because of the epinephrine. They told me it was RSV which is a really bad cold virus that is really bad for preemies and what they had always warned us about in the NICU before going home. I was really scared. They told us that the RSV would get worse in 2-3 days and that they may need to either give her oxygen or put her on the ventilator. Luckily, it did not progress and the doctor's were thinking that Sunday morning was probably the peak of the virus. Everyone came in and told Travis what a great job that he did and that had he not done the rescue breaths, she would not have made it. I am just now catching up on sleep since the breathing treatments contain caffeine and that makes little Miss Presley so hyper. I think I stayed up a whole 24 hours at the hospital with her that first night since Daddy was at home taking care of Kourtney. Here's a picture of Presley and her Daddy who saved her life:

Presley and her Daddy:her hero

Hello Sunshine!

The weather has been really great here with temperatures in the mid 80's so I decided it would be a great day to sit outside with P & K and enjoy the warm weather. They loved it! I put their sunglasses on because it was pretty bright and made sure to take some pictures and a video. They also have discovered their feet and they love to look at them and are just amazed by them.

Presley and Kourtney enjoying the warm weather

Presley

Kourtney

Checking out their feet

Hi Mommy!

A New Toy

I decided to get the jumperoo out yesterday evening because I felt like the girls were getting kind of bored with their other toys. I don't think they are quite ready for it since they are still so small and short but it was an absolute hit! They kick and "talk" and love the lights and little animals on it. I had to put something under it so that their feet could reach to bounce up and down on it but they love it. Travis got home early today so they enjoyed spending some time with him before their afternoon nap.

Kourtney with Daddy

Secrets :)

K and P

Sisters! :)

Presley in her jumperoo

Presley

Kourtney

Daddy's home!

Presley doing tummy time

Presley

Wow! Cool Momma!

Kourtney excited in her jumperoo

Kourtney

Presley waiting for her next turn

Presley looking at her tucan

Presley showing her Daddy her belly button

Presley and Daddy

6 Months Already?

Well, it has been a little over a month since I last updated this website and that is because a lot has been going on! The girls are now 6 months old actual, and a few days shy of 3 months adjusted and are weighing in at 11 lbs 2 oz. for Presley and 11 lbs even for Kourtney. They are 21.75 in (Presley) and 22 inches (Kourtney). It's still hard for me to believe that they were once only 1.5 lbs and 1.4 lbs at birth! They were also 12.75 inches and 13 inches at birth so they have almost double that now! We are still in newborn clothes but we are getting closer and closer to the 3-6 month clothes. We have been having a really hard, hard time with feeding issues which is the most common issue with preemies, especially micro-preemies like Presley and Kourtney. After a recent stint in the hospital for one week, and them losing a pound each, I think people actually started taking us seriously that there was a big issue with the formula. Even though, we had to give up the formula that was the absolute best choice for them, they are doing really well on the new formula as far as keeping it down. Kourtney got sent home on a feeding tube that lasted a whole 2 days before she decided that she wanted to eat from a bottle and pulled out the tube. The doctor didn't feel the need to put it back in as she was starting to eat well again. There still is oval aversion that we are dealing with but it is getting better and better, one step at a time as they learn that eating can be an enjoyable thing. In other news, the girls are smiling and are starting to "talk" a lot more. Presley is really good a tummy time while Kourtney is a bit weaker. Kourtney talks a lot more more than Presley though. They love to play and have recently discovered their hands and that keeps them entertained just looking at them all day. They love looking at themselves in the mirror and love to kick their legs a lot when they get excited. They also look at each other a lot more and seem to play together. They enjoy watching Mickey Mouse Playhouse, Winnie the Pooh, and Spongebob Squarepants. Presley enjoys Mickey Mouse the most and in the mornings it is the first thing I ask her if she wants to do and she just gives me the biggest smile! Kourtney kicks her legs in excitment for Spongebob and Daddy sings them a song he made up saying "Presley Polkadotpants and Kourtney Polkadotpants" instead of Spongebob Squarepants during the theme song. Haha! Grandpa and Grandma Vick also came to visit from Texas and Grandma Della spent a whole week here with the girls. We didn't do much but it was a nice visit with the girls and we managed to fit in some shopping time :) Grandpa also came for a visit but couldn't stay longer than a weekend because of work. We all went to the beach, out to eat, and also went for a walk on the trail near our house. He also bought the girls their highchairs. The developmental specialist has been coming to visit us at home to make sure that the girls are hitting all of their milestones as far as development goes and she said that so far she doesn't see any setbacks! She also said that she expects them to catch up to their age group before they are 2 years old. By then she suspects nobody will ever be able to tell that they once were micro-preemies! The girls also had their ears pierced and as soon as 2 months is up and we can switch out of their birthstone earrings, their great grandma is going to buy them their first diamond earrings! Here are some pictures and videos from the past month: