Here are some more pictures of the babies since they've been home. Click here to view all the new pics. Below are a few of my favorites...
The babies together again:
A sleeping baby Frances:
A cute baby doll Grace:
A cute baby doll Grace:
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Baby Checkup!
The babies had another check-up at the pediatrician office today. They are both doing well. Both got their second dose of the Hep-B vaccine. Daddy doesn't like shots so mommy did the dirty work of holding them still.
Frances is 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 inches long.
Grace is 7 lbs. 15.5 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.
So the gals are right on average for length (50th percentile). They are sooo close to 8 lbs. - they'll probably be there by tomorrow! They are in the 10th percentile for weight. But considering they would have been full-term 40 weeks on tuesday the nurse practitioner said they are doing excellent and gaining weight like champs! I think they are just going to be tall and skinny like daddy.
Well the girls have been getting fussier every day. We described the symptoms to the nurse and she said it sounds like colic - that it "usually" reaches its peak by 6 weeks and then tapers down from there. But because we have preemies the time will be extended - so it could be 16-17 weeks before they get over it. In the meantime we've done the karo syrup to help with constipation. Today she said to try some mylicon to help with gas. And we're also going to try a different formula for sensitive stomachs. Hopefully something helps. But who knows.
The girls can go out for walks now. We asked about visitors again. She said visitors are always fine - they should have common sense not to come visit if they are sick - no matter what age our kids are. I guess that's a big "duh" - I wouldn't want people visiting while they were sick whether we had kids or not - I don't wanna get sick! hahaha.
Anywho the fussing is commencing as I type so I must go back to mommy mode.
Frances is 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 inches long.
Grace is 7 lbs. 15.5 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.
So the gals are right on average for length (50th percentile). They are sooo close to 8 lbs. - they'll probably be there by tomorrow! They are in the 10th percentile for weight. But considering they would have been full-term 40 weeks on tuesday the nurse practitioner said they are doing excellent and gaining weight like champs! I think they are just going to be tall and skinny like daddy.
Well the girls have been getting fussier every day. We described the symptoms to the nurse and she said it sounds like colic - that it "usually" reaches its peak by 6 weeks and then tapers down from there. But because we have preemies the time will be extended - so it could be 16-17 weeks before they get over it. In the meantime we've done the karo syrup to help with constipation. Today she said to try some mylicon to help with gas. And we're also going to try a different formula for sensitive stomachs. Hopefully something helps. But who knows.
The girls can go out for walks now. We asked about visitors again. She said visitors are always fine - they should have common sense not to come visit if they are sick - no matter what age our kids are. I guess that's a big "duh" - I wouldn't want people visiting while they were sick whether we had kids or not - I don't wanna get sick! hahaha.
Anywho the fussing is commencing as I type so I must go back to mommy mode.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Sticker Shock!
So we've been steadily receiving the itemized bills from the hospital. It's not actually "our" bills, but the bills they will be sending to the insurance company.
My hospital charge: $10,600
My doctor's charge for surgery: $6,500
9 day NICU charge for Frances: $14,600
9 day NICU charge for Grace: $14,700
TV/phone: $40 <-- just added this because it's amusing compared to the others
I'm sure there will be more charges from the anesthesiologist, maybe the neonatologists... who knows who/what else.
So while we don't have to pay that all out of pocket - I still thought the figures were pretty amazing - in the wholly crap, glad we have some insurance-sense!
My charges are covered under my insurance. The girls are under Richard's insurance. The unfortunate part is that because Richard has a family deductible for his insurance - we'll have to pay a pretty penny for the NICU. I think his deductible is $7,000? We're pretty sure we'll be charged the full deductible. Even with the insurance company's contracted rate for services, we doubt the cost of the NICU charges will come down below the deductible. Oh well. Whew! Good thing we've been saving every cent in anticipation that something like this might happen. It definitely helped to find out we were having twins early on in the pregnancy. It helps to plan ahead!
My hospital charge: $10,600
My doctor's charge for surgery: $6,500
9 day NICU charge for Frances: $14,600
9 day NICU charge for Grace: $14,700
TV/phone: $40 <-- just added this because it's amusing compared to the others
I'm sure there will be more charges from the anesthesiologist, maybe the neonatologists... who knows who/what else.
So while we don't have to pay that all out of pocket - I still thought the figures were pretty amazing - in the wholly crap, glad we have some insurance-sense!
My charges are covered under my insurance. The girls are under Richard's insurance. The unfortunate part is that because Richard has a family deductible for his insurance - we'll have to pay a pretty penny for the NICU. I think his deductible is $7,000? We're pretty sure we'll be charged the full deductible. Even with the insurance company's contracted rate for services, we doubt the cost of the NICU charges will come down below the deductible. Oh well. Whew! Good thing we've been saving every cent in anticipation that something like this might happen. It definitely helped to find out we were having twins early on in the pregnancy. It helps to plan ahead!
Monday, August 09, 2010
Note to Visitors
Many people have asked about visiting the girls. People are welcome to visit. They are preemies so if you are feeling at all under the weather... or suspicious that you may be coming down with something - we ask that you postpone any visit until you are feeling better. They are too vulnerable at this time to be exposed to anything. Also, just as in the NICU we ask that people with children under 4 postpone visiting with their kids until we get the all clear on the preemie front. As long as the child understands handwashing and the importance of not spreading germs - we're cool.
The fact that they are preemies also means they are on a strict feeding and sleeping schedule. This is to conserve energy so they gain weight. We feed at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m. during the day. If you want to see them "awake" - I suggest arranging a visit with us around those times. Otherwise, they are sleeping - we just wanted to give people the heads up on that. We don't get play time with the babies like parents of regular newborns.
We're crossing fingers that by their next appointment (the end of August) they'll be off the preemie formula and we'll be able to have some more play time. Which will be more fun for potential visitors as well.
The fact that they are preemies also means they are on a strict feeding and sleeping schedule. This is to conserve energy so they gain weight. We feed at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m. during the day. If you want to see them "awake" - I suggest arranging a visit with us around those times. Otherwise, they are sleeping - we just wanted to give people the heads up on that. We don't get play time with the babies like parents of regular newborns.
We're crossing fingers that by their next appointment (the end of August) they'll be off the preemie formula and we'll be able to have some more play time. Which will be more fun for potential visitors as well.
Luck o' the Draw
The babies turned 3 weeks on Sunday - feels like they are older than that. Maybe that's the sleep deprivation kicking in? hahaha. Actually they are doing fairly well on their schedule. My mom has been a huge help with cooking dinner, doing laundry, house cleaning, etc. Richard went back to work the week after they came home. But he was still getting up to help with the night changing/feedings. We realize we'll be sharing the task anyway when I head back to work.
This past weekend was a bit more difficult. My mom went back home for a long weekend (and much needed break). And on top of that Richard got sick. Seriously, he's rarely sick, so ain't that the luck o' the draw? With the babies being preemies and so vulnerable we wanted to play it safe, so Richard went to the doctor. He mentioned that we have preemies, so the doc put him on antibiotics right away and ordered him to "stay away from the babies" until today. He's still on the antibiotics and still recovering, but doing better. Anywho, with mom being gone and Richard off baby duty - I was doing all the baby stuff since Friday. It's hard work anyway with two people feeding, cleaning, changing, etc. But when you are alone, you can only take care of one baby at a time - everything takes twice as long. And one baby is screaming while you feed the other one, which makes you feel horrible. So I was getting even less sleep. And my body is still recovering from surgery so I tire easily. I can't wait till they are big enough to "prop" with their bottles - that will make things much easier! ....... of course, by then we'll have new issues to deal with hahaha.
My mom came back this afternoon. And Richard is back on baby duty. So things are feeling less hectic :-) But I did survive on my own and there is some satisfaction and comfort in knowing that it can be done!
On another note... I stepped on the scale with the babies and I'm guessing they are about 6 pounds now. It's by no means accurate. They definitely look a lot fatter and feel heavier. They have that double chin coming and dimples on their hands. They still have a lot of growing to go though.
Also, I'm down 34 pounds! I had reached 190 pounds the Thursday right before I delivered. I still have 13 pounds to go before I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. I can't believe it! Although it's all in the stomach and seems like it will take a long while to disappear. The swelling in my legs and face has gone down soooooo much! I feel like a new person!
This past weekend was a bit more difficult. My mom went back home for a long weekend (and much needed break). And on top of that Richard got sick. Seriously, he's rarely sick, so ain't that the luck o' the draw? With the babies being preemies and so vulnerable we wanted to play it safe, so Richard went to the doctor. He mentioned that we have preemies, so the doc put him on antibiotics right away and ordered him to "stay away from the babies" until today. He's still on the antibiotics and still recovering, but doing better. Anywho, with mom being gone and Richard off baby duty - I was doing all the baby stuff since Friday. It's hard work anyway with two people feeding, cleaning, changing, etc. But when you are alone, you can only take care of one baby at a time - everything takes twice as long. And one baby is screaming while you feed the other one, which makes you feel horrible. So I was getting even less sleep. And my body is still recovering from surgery so I tire easily. I can't wait till they are big enough to "prop" with their bottles - that will make things much easier! ....... of course, by then we'll have new issues to deal with hahaha.
My mom came back this afternoon. And Richard is back on baby duty. So things are feeling less hectic :-) But I did survive on my own and there is some satisfaction and comfort in knowing that it can be done!
On another note... I stepped on the scale with the babies and I'm guessing they are about 6 pounds now. It's by no means accurate. They definitely look a lot fatter and feel heavier. They have that double chin coming and dimples on their hands. They still have a lot of growing to go though.
Also, I'm down 34 pounds! I had reached 190 pounds the Thursday right before I delivered. I still have 13 pounds to go before I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. I can't believe it! Although it's all in the stomach and seems like it will take a long while to disappear. The swelling in my legs and face has gone down soooooo much! I feel like a new person!
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