11-21-10

I just want to take this opportunity to tell you about a family that is in need of your prayers. Baby Isabella and Baby Ian were born at 23 weeks. Both babies were in critical condition. Baby Isabella went to be with the Lord on November 10th. Baby Ian is still fighting and will continue to fight. Please pray for his parents, Kelly and Chad and for Baby Ian. The news of Baby Isabella hit me hard. I was driving when I found out she went to home. I couldn't stop crying because all I could think about was how thankful I was for my girls. I was frustrated with myself for not thinking of a way to show how thankful I feel. I know what this family is going through and I just want to hug them. I hope that I could give hope to a family that needs to know that miracles are possible. The Lord is with us and I see that everyday in Quinn and Brooklyn. I am very thankful. It makes me so excited to start walking for the March of Dimes.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the NICU clinic and saw Dr. Leigh. He thought Brooklyn was Quinn because of her size. She is really trying hard to catch up with Quinn. Ultimately, they got a good review but he wants them in physical therapy more. He walked in the door and said "Oh, it is the House Divided." A friend of mine keeps him posted and shows him pictures. She is a nurse on Mother/Baby unit and he will ask how the girls are doing.

Later that night, we visited the NICU and saw the nurses. They were so excited to see them and just adored the girls. Of course, Q and B was just as excited. They were showing off their cute skills and smiled the whole time we were there. They even showed them how well they could talk. We gave them pictures to put on the breakroom fridge. They were just thrilled to see them and couldn't stop praising them. They have requested a Christmas visit. We even went upstairs to see the High Risk Nurses and Mother/Baby nurses. It was really great to show off the girls. It felt good to show them the two results in them continuing to cheer me on. I am proud of those two girls and I don't mind letting anyone know.

We did find out that one of the girl's nurses in NICU, is naming her soon to be baby girl...Brooklyn. I remember that she told me how much she loved the name. She is a sweet girl. I was glad we gave her the name idea.

Physical therapy posed some new concerns. I have been bragging about the girls being so strong. Apparently, this is not a good thing. They have too much muscle tone. Yep, they are too strong. Their muscles are so tense and we need to loosen them up. We have many exercises to help them arch their back so they will be able to sit up and balance themselves. Their back is so tight that they do not relax it to hold themselves up. We have a bit of a long road for this one. Also, when they are on their belly and lifting on their arms, they are lifting too much and not pulling their legs under them. This is just another step in our journey. So it will all work out.

We made a trip to Statesboro for Homecoming. The girls did amazingly well on this trip. They had their first tailgating experience. Of course, everyone loved them. They truly are great travelers. And with two of them, I am very thankful for that special trait.

Quinn has gotten a neat little trick. She lures you in and tries to eat your face. No harm done except the tons of slobber you have on your face. She is a trip when it comes to fighting her sleep. That is when she does it the most and I love it.

Brooklyn and Quinn have learned and mastered the spitting with their tongues out trick. To get your attention, they will perform this trick and just drool everywere. It isn't so much fun during feeding time. But it is so stinkin cute.

I admit that I have been excessively frustrated with Toby. So frustrated to the point of threatening to get rid of him. Then I realized how much the girls love him. Quinn will watch him and just bust out laughing. Just watching him walk around is the funniest thing to her. Now Brooklyn has started laughing at him. How can I take that away from them. I am just so tired of dog hair in my house. Any suggestions? Not to mention, when they are rolling on the floor, they will roll to him and abuse him. Brooklyn was pulling on his skin, hitting him and kicking him in the face. When he got tired of it, he just got up and moved to a different spot. He is so gentle with them and they love them. Guess I have to suck it up and just sweep EVERYDAY. Urrrrgggghhhh!

Since I love to talk about their poop. I had a very interested morning last week. Now, first diaper change in the morning is rarely a poop diaper. Well, I was in the process of changing Quinn and putting Aquaphor on her little booty to prevent rash. I was rubbing it on her butthole and I felt something a little rough. YEP! It was a turd exiting her little booty hole. And I rubbed it. Lovely. So I just folded the diaper on her and held it there til she was done. I was gonna change her again. She had three poopie pellets. They are usually smooshed in her butt crack but since the diaper wasn't all the way on her tush, they were round and mobile. As I was removing the diaper from under her bum, and pellet made its getaway. It rolled out of the diaper and I had to retrieve the poopie pellet and grasp it with my fingers and put it back in its resting place...the dirty diaper. Awww, the love of a mother. It was an interesting morning and yet I wouldn't give anything for that experience.