My sweet babies

Wow! I don't realize how often I don't post blogs until I do it! Life is a little crazy right now. In fact, if you are reading this and I owe you a thank you note--I am trying my HARDEST!! Know that I haven't forgotten. I have a little notebook full of all of the sweet gifts and meals that everyone has brought to us. My goal is to get all notes finished by the time Lindy gets home! I don't know when she'll be coming home. She is still having some feeding issues. They took another look at her swallow and saw that it is getting better--maturing. They have decided to take her off the breastmilk for her bottle feedings because the milk is thin and she loses a lot of it. So...they put her on formula for those feedings. The formula was working okay but they still wanted to thicken it up so they added rice cereal to it. I told Lindy that I would be bringing her a Happy Meal next time I come! She is getting so big! She was 6 pounds 5.3 ounces yesterday! I am trying to be patient. I do want her home really bad. They apparently have figured out the right consistency for the bottle and now they are building her up to taking all of her feedings by bottle. When that happens-she can come home!! Her eye condition that is due to prematurity is improving each week! I am just amazed at what God is doing in our lives. We are so blessed. Lanie and Lindy both got RSV vaccines yesterday. The nurse came to our house and weighed Lanie. She is 9 pounds!!! I can not believe it! What a little butterball! I am going to try to load some pictures today. I know I said that last time. Sorry!

Proof

Lindy,

This picture reminds me of how grateful I am that you are here. You are such a tiny, sweet miracle. You are proof that God exists and evidence of His love and tenderness. When I look at your precious face, I am reminded of how very blessed I am. Please always remember that you are living proof that prayer works and that God is faithful. This picture is my favorite today for many reasons. Maybe it's because there were days that I didn't even know if I would ever hold you. Or because even the best doctors had doubts... But your little life has taught me not to rely on man's wisdom, but on God's power! I am so thankful for that. What a wonderful testimony you are of God's sweet surprises!

He answered our prayer-with you, Lindy Claire!

It has been so long since I posted a blog... I guess that shows how busy things are around here! Lanie is doing great at home. She is such a good baby. I guess I can thank the NICU for getting her on a great schedule! Lindy still isn't home. We were going to bring her home after her eye exam on Monday but then she started having some feeding issues. They ended up examining her swallow and found that it is still really immature. They watched her as she drank a bottle and saw that the milk came super close to getting into her lungs. So...Dr. Whitton decided to put the feeding tube back in for a week and then do the swallow study again to see if she's more mature. If she is, they will reintroduce the bottle and we'll go from there. I really think it will be at least two more weeks until she's here. I was disappointed, but I know that she's getting the best care possible. I would be nervous about these issues at home anyway. So I guess it's best to keep her there until she's really ready to come home. She is weighing 5 pounds 4.9 ounces now!!! I just can not believe how much she's grown. It's hard to believe that she was only 1 pound 15 ounces when she was born. What a miracle!

Please continue to pray for us-life is really hectic with having a new baby at home and one across town! We are being pulled in so many directions. Kyle is getting up in the middle of the night and feeding Lanie so I can sleep and he's working all day. We try to give Molly as much time as we can in the evenings because we know what a big adjustment this is for her. She is going to get to hold Lindy today. I will take some pictures and post some new pictures tonight!

I'd forgotten!

I have quickly remembered what it is like to have a newborn in the house!! No one sleeps... Lanie being at home has been wonderful. I love having her right there to cuddle and look at-all night and day! She's such a sweet baby. Molly is having so much fun being a big sister. She LOVES holding Lanie and helping me change diapers and give baths. Dr. Whitton says that Lindy will be home sometime next week-Tuesday at the earliest! I'll be so excited to finally have everyone home! What will TWO newborns and a three year old at home be like?! :)

NICU photos

Here are some pictures that Kristin Mosura took of Lanie and Lindy last Friday. They are absolutely wonderful pictures and really show what our precious babies look like! Enjoy!

TV Stars!!!

Okay...the NICU segment will air tomorrow morning (September 18th) at 6:20 in the morning. So all you early birds check it out!

Lights, Camera, Action!

I am happy to report that Lindy and Lanie will be making their first television debut next week!! Channel 3 is doing a report on the new NICU unit at Willis Knighton South and my precious babies were nominated to be featured! We will tape the segment Monday morning and I don't know when it will air. I will update when I get more information. No autographs, please! :)

Photo shoot

Today Lanie and Lindy had their first photo shoot. Kristin Mosura came to their room and took pictures of them together! I know they are going to be great. Here is a sneak peek... Of course, if my digital camera can take a precious picture like this, imagine what an incredible photographer's look like!!! I can't wait to see them! Thank you, Kristin-you're awesome!

Big Sister

Today Molly got to hold Lanie. She was so excited and so very sweet to her little sister!

Update!!

First of all, we found out yesterday that it looks like Lanie will be coming home at the end of this week!! Dr. Whitton says it looks like we will have to split them for a couple of weeks because Lindy is still just too small to go home. He is saying that Lanie will probably come home Friday unless they can find any reason to keep her. I have told him that I want him to keep them together as long as he can!

They are doing well. Lanie is taking a bottle every time she eats and sucks it down in about 7 minutes! Lindy is getting a bottle twice in a row and then they feed her through the feeding tube once. She is doing well with the bottle too. Lindy will probably be in a crib by the end of the week when she is 4 lbs!! I can't believe how fast they are growing...they even have a few teeny fat rolls!

So far, all of the "issues" (which aren't very many), are due just to prematurity. Hopefully they will grow out of them. Please keep praying for their progress. They have done remarkably well considering how early they were. We are thrilled with the way things have turned out and hope that each new milestone in their development checks out okay! Thank you for thinking about them and us and for keeping these two precious girls in your prayers. Our family is so grateful!