Updates

I wanted to make sure and update my loyal blog readers to let you know that Jason and I had a little talk with the boys before bedtime. We let them know that they weren't allowed to throw a party last night. They said they understood, and they were very good about going to sleep last night. They were even quiet during their 2 AM feeding. Reed waited very patiently (okay, he was asleep) until I was finished with his brother. I think Jason was actually able to sleep through the whole process. I also wanted to point out that today is the day the boys were supposed to be born. They still would have been 3 weeks early from their due date, but today WAS the scheduled big day. My mom's favorite thing to say to the boys is, "You're not even supposed to be born yet". So, I guess she'll have to stop telling them that.... although I have a feeing she'll keep on for 3 more weeks. Finally, if you check out our comments from the last blog, my cousin, Lu, says that she is going to replace my "blueberry muffin" story with the "party time" story about the boys for her Homemaking Class. (I know it's not called "homemaking" anymore, but I like being retro) Anyway, in case your curious about the blueberry muffin story.... When I was in college a friend of mine (it was Jon Sacks for my those of you that are college friends) and I were trying to make blueberry muffins. We got a little confused on the directions, so we called the number on the back of the box to ask for clarification. The people on the phone were really nice and explained what we needed to do to finish the muffins. So, the moral of the story is: you should use the phone numbers on the box if you need cooking help. Of course this story is hilarious to people who can actually cook because they can't believe that:
A. There is a phone number for people who are having problems following directions
and
B. That people actually pick up the phone and call to ask for help

Sadly, my cooking skills aren't much better now, I guess I better get to practicing...I've got all these boys to feed around here now!

Par-tay Time

Our new little additions to our family thought it would be fun to throw a party last night. They seemed to forget to run their plans by Jason and me first. Looks like they are already ganging up on me, as party time started at 1:15 AM last night. They slept all night (except for feedings) on Monday night, so I guess they were ready to get rowdy. Having party time start at 1:15 wasn't too bad since they eat at 2:00, but being that they take after their parents, they weren't ready to shut down the party so quickly. Oh no. Party time went right on through until their 5:00 AM feed. At 5:00 they had partied enough and went on to bed. They've been recovering all morning/afternoon from their festivities, and I'm not sure I've even seen their little eyes open. They're even eating with their eyes closed. Let's hope they've had enough and decide not to whoop it up tonight!

On My Own...Sort Of

My mom is here to help, but I wanted to try and feed the babies on my own last night to see if I could do it. Jason still helped with the 11 PM and 5 AM feedings, but I did the 2 AM myself. Kyle decided that it would be fun to wake up at 1:15 AM and fuss, so I actually got up for the 2 AM feeding then. I was able to do it, and I was climbing back in bed at 3, so I think I did pretty good. I started with Kyle and fed him, then put him in his boppy and then fed Reed. Kyle is the more vocal and hungry of the two, so it's best to start with him. One of their nurses in the NICU told us not to worry if they didn't always want to eat a lot because "sometimes they want steak and sometimes they want salad". I think Jason and I are getting pretty delirious at our 5 AM feedings because we came up with our own code words to describe how much they are eating. If they drink all their milk then we say "they had double meat", if they drink almost everything we say, "they had the salad bar", and if they only eat a little bit then they "had a salad". I don't think Kyle has ever had "a salad", and he's only visited "the salad bar" once or twice. Reed doesn't love eating as much as his brother; so he'll eat "a salad" every now and again...he must take after his Granny Sherry.

I thought these pictures were pretty funny...

Kyle kept hitting Reed (you can see Kyle has just pulled his hand back) so Reed is giving him the "talk to the hand" sign.

Here they are in their boppys after eating. They seem to sleep really good in them. We just happened to have them faced toward the TV and when Jason came home he said, "They're in there watching E! News".

First Night/First Day

I'd like to begin today by stating the obvious...two babies are a lot more work that one baby. Actually, they are both really good, it's just a lot more time consuming to feed two babies every 3 hours. Jason has been awesome, he has fed one of the babies at every feeding, so I'm not actually sure how long it is going to take me to feed them both by myself. I'm thinking it's going to be about around and hour and half minimum, as Jason and I can get everything that needs to be done in about an hour. Jason has taken on the job of bottle preparer, which is great. He gets all the bottles that we will use in 24 hours ready at one time. You should see what 16 bottles all lined up looks like, not much room for anything else on the top shelf of our fridge! They seem to be enjoying being together. I keep moving them apart so they won't wake each other up, but they somehow seem to keep scooting closer together. Kyle seems to always be touching Reed's face or arm. One time I walked by and he had Reed's hand in his mouth! I guess they are used to each other, they don't ever wake each other up, even if one is crying.


We got out of the house for a little while today. JR's fever hasn't come back, and he seems to be back to normal (although he is taking a nap right now). We decided to go outside for a little while. So JR rode his 4-wheeler around while I pushed the babies in their stroller. They slept through the whole thing, but it was nice for all of us to get some fresh air!

The Big One Comes Home...FINALLY!

All the Ingersolls are under one roof tonight...Woo-Hoo! No more trips to Katy twice a day...Woo-Hoo! JR's didn't have a fever all day...Woo-Hoo! So, let's start with the oldest and work our way down. JR stayed home from school again today. His teacher even called to check on him. He had a fever this morning, but Jason started giving him Tamiflu last night (and that is a procedure in itself because it tastes so bad) so that has kept his fever down the rest of the day. Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw were here all day to keep JR and Reed, and when I got home tonight JR had a new Transformer, so he was very excited about that. I got to the hospital at 11 today and the monitor lady met me about noon. The monitor is quite easy to work, and she was literally with me about 10 minutes. The NICU wanted me to have 2 feedings with Kyle to make sure I was comfortable with it, so that's where the 6 hours came in. We just hung out in a little room off from the NICU all day. I actually got to take about an hour nap, which was awesome. We left the hospital a little after 6 tonight. The nurses were so sweet and told us how much they had enjoyed the boys. They really took awesome care of them. If your having a baby and need NICU for them, I highly recommend Memorial Herman in Katy, my nurses and the boys' nurses just couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. For those of you keeping score, Reed spent 10 days in the NICU and Kyle spent 18. I didn't get to see much of little Reed today since I was at the hospital, but he seems happy to have his brother next to him again. Here are some pictures from today...Kyle coming home from the hospital, the boys in their bed, and JR and Hunter.

Big Day

Here's Reed at his first doctor's appointment today. His pediatrician said he is doing great, and he is weighing in at 5lbs 11oz now. Since he was breach he will have to go for an ultrasound on his legs and hips in 6 weeks just to make sure they are developing right. He also had his first real bath tonight. I have a picture of that, but I won't post it. Basically it looks like everybody's first bath picture...he's red and screaming. Looks like Kyle will be coming home tomorrow. I am supposed to spend the day at the NICU tomorrow learning how to use the monitor that he will be on for awhile. His sleep test showed that he does have reflux. He holds his breath when he is refluxing (since it hurts), and that is what makes his heart rate slow down. They told me to be prepared to spend about 6 hours there tomorrow. This must be some fancy piece of equipment if I'm going to need 6 hours of training! Hunter wants me to tell everybody that he also had a big day because he had to go get groomed....he seems to think that's worse that Reed having to go to the doctor. JR's fever is back, so he missed school again today...not such a big day for JR, hopefully he'll get over his flu soon so he can get back to having big days too!

Another Award

Oh yes, the Ingersoll Family has won yet another award...Kyle has now been in the NICU longer than any of the other babies in there. Jason and I were sure that a baby girl named Jordan would still be there when Kyle went home, but Jordan went home today, so Kyle wins. To add to his winnings, he is now weighing in at 6 lbs 3 oz! We are still awaiting his test results. They told us today that they won't let him go home until they know what the test says. Our nurse told us that Texas Children's is supposed to read the test tomorrow, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they will pass on the results tomorrow, so it's just a big waiting game. Reed will have been home a week tomorrow so he is having his first trip to the pediatrician. Hopefully he will have gained some weight so he can try and keep up with his brother. Poor JR still isn't 100%. He went to school today, but his teacher sent home a note that said he didn't eat any of his lunch and he went to lie down early for nap...Now you know JR is sick if not only is he napping, but napping early!

Kyle's First Test

When I went to feed Kyle today he was having his PH/Sleep test. I'm not sure if it is called a "PH test" or a "sleep test" since I have heard the nurses refer to it both ways. Basically they have put a little tube in his nose that goes down his throat and then measures the acidity in his throat. They are trying to see if it is reflux causing his Bradycardias and if it is, they can tell how bad his reflux is. This test will also show us if his Bradycardias are bad enough for him to come home on a monitor, or if he can come home sans monitor. They started the test around 10:30 this morning and it is a 6 hour test, so he should be all finished when we get there for his 8:00 feeding tonight. The only problem now is we just have to wait. They send the test to Texas Children's (as do all the hospitals in Houston) and then Texas Children's reads all the tests once a week. So, I'll let you know the results when we know them. JR is feeling better today. He is still coughing, but his fever is gone, so he'll be going back to school tomorrow...Yeah! Reed is still doing good. He is eating and sleeping well, and he loves being the baby brother. Speaking of Reed, I'm watching Jason try to change his diaper right now....there's some definite action going on over there, as Reed just peed all over the wall...somehow Jason stayed out of the line of fire! he!he! Thanks again for all your well wishes and prayers!

When It Rains....

I haven't posted anything new because things around here have been/are pretty crazy. Our child who has "never been sick", got sick. JR has never really been sick or had a fever (I think the sickest he has ever been was when he threw up on a train ride to Shanghai). Wouldn't you know it, we bring a preemie home and Saturday JR comes down with a cough and 103 fever. He is still sick with both this morning, so we are doing our best to keep JR upstairs while Reed and I have pretty much moved into the master bedroom. Kyle has decided that he is going to make the NICU his permanent residence. Over the weekend his bradycardias seem to be getting worse instead of better. Hopefully we will find out today what our/his next step is. Other than the bradycardias he's doing great; he's laying up there enjoying the nurses and trying to be the first 10 pound baby in the NICU...his weight is now up to 5 lbs 11 oz! Reed is eating good and sleeping pretty good. He was up from 2-5 AM last night, but he doesn't really cry...just lots of squeaks and plenty of hiccups. Jason has already nicknamed him Squeaker. Poor Hunter is trying to stay as close to Jason as possible. Now that Reed is here, I don't want him anywhere around the baby or me...He's busy trying to figure out why he has been downgraded to the foot of the bed and why I don't want him in my lap. Hopefully I'll have some news to pass along about Kyle soon!

Here's Kyle working on his 10 pound baby in the NICU status, and Reed doing his imitation of Sweet Pea from Popeye.

The Little One Comes Home

Reed is home with us! We picked him up about 8:00 last night. I was sad to leave his brother behind, but Kyle is still having one Bradycardia a night, so they won't let him go. I told Kyle that we are a lot of fun so he needs to hurry up and come home with us. I told him that I think he's just wanting to hang around the NICU so he can flirt with the pretty nurses (you know how those Ingersoll men can be!) We made it through the first night...I don't think Jason or I got much sleep. Anytime Reed made any movement or noise I was checking on him. I'm sure I will get used to him, but he still seems so tiny! He left the hospital weighing in at a big 5 lbs 2 oz, Kyle has gained another ounce too, and is now 5 lbs 7 oz! I think he is the biggest one in the NICU. My mom and dad are here today to feed Reed while I go to the NICU to feed Kyle. That is going to be our biggest challenge for the next week(s) is having one preemie at home and the other 30 minutes away! I'll keep you updated on Kyle's progress on coming home, and Reed's progress in learning how to be an Ingersoll! Here's Reed's homecoming picture...I took an outfit to the hospital, but it was so big on him it looked funny, so I just took a picture of him sleeping at home.

JR the next Bruce Lee

Yesterday was family night at JR's karate class. The class put on a show so we could see what all they have learned this past semester. JR loves karate...I guess it's because of his Chinese heritage ;-) But, really, what sport could be better for a 4 year old who loves to kick, punch, and jump around? Here's JR in his fighting stance and in mid-kick
.

Convertible Crusin'

The boys got the convertible top put down on their incubator last night! They took off the top about 11:00 PM. The nurses told us that if their temperature is going to drop it usually does it in the first hour, but both of them have been fine. It's a lot easier to change diapers now that I can just reach in! They also have both gained weight. Kyle is now 5lbs 6 oz. and Reed is 5lbs 1oz. Kyle had another Bradycarida this morning about 5:30AM, so they are going to start reflux medicine today. Every time he has a Bradycardia they tack on 5 more NICU days, so it looks like Reed will definitely be coming home without his brother. The nurse said they just can't tell the insurance company, "Reed needs to stay so he can babysit his brother." We have to take the car seat with us tonight because Reed will need to have his car seat test. They have to be able to sit in their car seats for an hour without any problems before they will let them go. So we many have a new little baby at our home very soon!

1/15/08

Jason and I had lunch with the babies today. Kyle was really hungry when we got there, and he was letting us know! The nurse said something about him having the "more dominant personality" Ummm, Let's see....I think I already have 2 of those dominant personality types at home! Kyle had another Bradycardia at 6:30 this morning. The nurse thinks it might be due to reflux, so they are going to try putting some rice in his feedings. The good news is that he gained 2 ounces. Reed's weight is staying the same, but he is doing great. He had a big case of the hiccups after lunch, I didn't know anybody that small could hiccup that loud! Here they are after lunch, they are sleeping back to back in these pictures.

When we went to see them at their dinner time they were both doing good. JR was excited to take a present to the boys tonight. My sorority sister, Adrienne, sent the boys the softest blankets

ever. So, JR took one of the blankets to the hospital to put over their crib so that they didn't have to have the generic hospital blanket cover anymore! He has really been wanting to help with the babies, so he was very excited to get to do something for them!

Roomies Again

The boys are a week old today and they are also back together. They are still working on getting their temperatures to hold, but since they are off their IVs they have let them move in together. When I got there today they were facing each other and Reed was reaching out and feeling Kyle's face. After their feeding the nurse laid them with their backs to each other. Neither of them had any Bradycardia episodes last night, so that was great news. If they can go a week without having any episodes then they probably won't ever have anymore and that is one less thing we will have to worry about. So here they are....roomies again!

And a Little About JR

I had to post a little about JR since it seems all the talk is about the twins these days. We took JR over to the mall between baby feedings today and he was very proud of himself that he could climb the rock wall...they even gave him a little medal that he wore the rest of the day (and showed to the babies) So here he is finishing up his rock wall climb.

Sunday 1/13

The boys are both off IVs! I was really excited for them to have those out of their arms, and that's one less cord/wire that they have to be hooked up to. They are both eating really well. JR was a great eater when he was a baby, so hopefully they will take after their big brother in that department, let's just hope they aren't as picky as he is now! They still aren't ready to come home; they have both had spells of Bradycardia. Reed has only had one, but Kyle has had about 4. Bradycardia is a significant slowing of the heart below the normal minimum rate for newborns of one hundred beats per minute. The good news is both of them were able to overcome it themselves without stimulation from the nurses, but of course, it still makes me nervous. The nurses keep telling me it is a common condition for preemies, but if they continue to have these episodes they will have to stay longer in the NICU. I'll continue to update, hopefully we will have lots of good news in the days ahead!

Babies Are 5 Days Old

I guess we will be doing a lot of going back and forth from the hospital in the coming week(s). JR's eyes flew open at 6:45 and ran down to inform us it was morning time, so since we were up we got to the hospital before lunch today. It was pretty quiet this morning and the nurse was really sweet and let us just sit and hold the babies and then feed them. I even changed Reed's diaper. We will be making the trip back this afternoon so we can be there for their 5 o'clock feeding. We might get to feed them, but it depends on their nurse. They really don't want you messing with them too much since they are trying to monitor them, and they really just need to be sleeping. They want them to use as few calories as possible so they can just continue to grow. But here are a few much promised pictures....

Jason and Kyle (The Big One) Look at their identical noses!












Granny Sherry and Reed (The Little One) She had him all to herself this morning. Lots of holding and she got to feed him.


Here's Kyle asleep in his incubator


And here's little Reed snoozing

Home For Me

I'm at home now. I can't believe how hard it was to leave the babies! I know they are in the best place they can possibly be, but it really upset me to come home without them. Not much change with the guys. They are still on IVs and they have them in incubators to see if they can maintain their own body temperatures. We still don't have many pictures (it's kinda hard to take them with them in their incubators) but here's some short video for now.

They're Heeerreeee....

I'm officially off bed rest since the boys are here! Hopefully this will be my one and only blog entry from my hospital bed (love wireless internet!) Seems like my mom was right...I guess I was a little more "touch and go" than I thought I was, and the babies were actually "coming any day". Jason and JR came home Sunday night from JR's favorite cousin, Caleb's birthday party and I was unusually hungry. As Jason puts it, I "ate more than he had seen me eat the whole time I was pregnant". I feel asleep about 10:30 and got up at 12:30 with terrible indigestion. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that I couldn't breathe and that I hurt really bad. At 2:30 AM I told Jason we needed to go to the hospital because I was really worried about fluid being on my lungs. We were in the emergency room until about 5:30 AM and that's when my contractions started. They sent me up to labor and delivery and tried to stop the contractions all day (I was on an IV of magnesium), but they never could get them under control. Around 9:30 PM on Monday they took blood and said my magnesium levels were too high. At that point we really had no other choice, and it was time for the babies to come. So, at 10:17 PM January 7th Kyle Garic Ingersoll was born and at 10:18 PM Reed Jason Ingersoll was born. Kyle came in at 5 lbs 4 oz and Reed was 4 lbs 15 oz (for those of you keeping score at home, that's 10 lbs 3 oz of babies I was waddling around with!) Poor Jason was still in his pajama bottoms from the night before and the only camera we had was Granny Sherry's cell phone! We definitely weren't prepared for the big night (Kristi, you can see I tried really hard to have them on Caleb's birthday!) The boys are in the NICU and are doing good. I still call them "The Big One" and "The Little One". The Big One needed a little oxygen at first so he slept under a little oxygen bubble hood, and he had a feeding tube in his nose for awhile, but he has since gotten rid of both of those. The Little One looks just like a mini JR and he has been such a big man, no oxygen or feeding tube for him...and just like JR he loves his pacifier! They still have lots of machines monitoring them and they both have IVs, but the nurse told me today that are going to let them starting sharing a crib as soon as they are ready. I'm sure they miss each other! JR has been excited about his new duty as big brother, and is also doing good. I'm sure we will all have plenty of rough days ahead when we all get home, so I'm just going to enjoy the calm right now. I want to thank all of you for all your prayers and well wishes. I can tell you that we have seen them answered and in action! I don't have any pictures for now, but I'll be sure to get some posted when I get home. Looks like I will be heading home Friday afternoon, and hopefully the babies can follow about a week after. Love to all from all FIVE of us!

1-6-08

I had two China friends call me today to check on me and the babies, so I figured I'd better do an update. Anita told me she had read our blog to see if I had them. Then, our China friend, Katie, called tonight to check in. So....as it is now, no news is good news. I went to the doctor on Friday and told her how their movement had really slowed down. I assumed it was because they are just running out of room, but she had me go over to the hospital and let them monitor me just in case. The nurse at the hospital actually told me she thought I was "small for twins"! Bless her heart, I think she's my new best friend. They hooked me up to all the machines for about 45 minutes and their heart rates and such were fine. They really are just out of space. My mom is back here with us since JR starts school again tomorrow...She thinks the babies are coming any day and tells everybody I'm "touch and go". (If you know my mom I'm sure you are giggling right now.) I really wouldn't call it 'touch and go', more like bored, fat, and uncomfortable ;-)

Happy 2008

We actually had plans for New Years Eve! The Parker Family (Jay and Sheryl and their 3 kids) came over and spent the night with us (Jay and Jason have been friends since high school and Jay introduced me to Jason when we worked at Nalco together). The kids had a blast playing together since they are all close to the same age...2, 4, 5, and 6! JR, still thinking he is half Chinese, refused to say Allison and Abby's names and referred to them as "the big-little girl" and "the little-little girl" Of course since Lance is a boy JR called him "the little boy". The kids did lots of playing on the tree house, riding on the 4-wheeler, and playing the smart cycle. The adults did lots of eating and talking. Jay and Sheryl are living in Grand Junction, Colorado and we haven't all been together since last Christmas, so we had lots of catching up to do. There certainly were lots of laughs!