Dear Billie, John, Eden and Holland, Wow! How exciting that you finally got to hold Holland, and hopefully by now Eden will be back with her sister at St. Joe's where you all can be together. You know we are with you every day in spirit and we cheer here at home each time we learn of a new triumph that brings the girls closer to going home where they belong. Many smooches to you all, remember we love you! Hi to grandma and grandpa too! Love, Julie and Lisa
Mon Aug 16, 10:00:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...
Dear Billie and John,
I'm so glad to hear things are going good. I will try and stop by and see you again soon. Please call me if you need anything. Love, Amber, Rick, Ireland, and Logan
Mon Aug 16, 01:28:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...
Dear Billie and John: I was so glad to read that the girls are doing well! You are in my thoughts and prayers constantly. Take care of yourselves, and Billie, let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Much love to you and the sweet babies. Love, Kendra
Mon Aug 16, 04:17:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...
Billie and John, So happy to hear you can finially cuddle your babies, I am sure those times will be treasured memories you will both enjoy. If I can do anything, let me know. Billie, I wrote you a personal email, try to find time to read it soon, it could be of some use to you. Take Care, Brenda & Family
Mon Aug 16, 04:29:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...
I'm thrilled that things are going so well with the babes. See you guys soon. (I hope John is using all this extra stress to write some insightful micro preemie twins lyrics!).
Love, dave white
Mon Aug 16, 08:21:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...
Hi John and Billie
I love the website! Its great to hear the encouraging updates on those sweet little babies. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers.
I look forward to seeing the updates and new pictures on this site, but even more so, I'm glad to see that the girls are improving. I am thinking of your family often and pray for many more miracles in the future for all of you! Love you, Jen
Tue Aug 17, 01:57:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...
Dear Billie & John may the blessings you have given others be returned to you and your children. You are all in my heart and prayers daily. The love and faith surrounding all of you is positive strength - today and all days. Love Always Candy
Tue Aug 17, 11:29:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...
Billie and John- We are so happy to hear of their progress. You 4 are in our thoughts daily. Tim and I would love to bring some soup by upon our return. We send only the best wishes and positive thoughts from Vancouver Island. Love Donna and Tim
Tue Aug 17, 11:50:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...
Dear Cousins, We are praying for you and your family. It's nice to see the updates and pictures on your website. May God continue to bless you and give you and the girls strength. Mark, Jill, Melissa, Amanda & Alan
Wed Aug 18, 11:12:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...
Dearest Billie and John - It was such a pleasure to meet your two beautiful daughters. We will treasure those moments forever. Please know that you are in our thoughts each day and we love you dearly. Love, Jessie and Dave
Wed Aug 18, 11:16:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...
Hi all! I'm back in LA and I just wanted to send you my love, and tell you how much I enjoyed spending time with the girls on Monday. They are looking so good! I think Holland is a future dancin' machine...I can't wait for more updates and pictures. Talk to you soon. Love, Lisa
Wed Aug 18, 01:24:00 PM EDT
[Image]Today was a good day for both of our daughters. The most exciting part was that we got to do Kangaroo Care with Holland! This is where you hold your baby against your bare skin all wrapped together with warm blankets so your baby can get to know you better. I held her for a half hour before her Daddy held her. We'll start doing this on a regular basis once the girls are stable enough. Thanks so much to Holland's nurse, Kim, for helping us make it happen! It was a very fulfilling experience and helped us feel even more connected to our baby.
[Image]They took Holland off of her ventilator today and tried out a CPAP. Instead of breathing for her, this is a machine that holds some pressure in her lungs as she takes her own breaths. She stayed on it for about 20 minutes, but had to go back to the ventilator because she just wasn't breathing enough. She is on caffeine to stimulate more breathing on her own, and we'll try CPAP again in a few days. Holland also began feeding today. Yay! Finally a use for all that stored breastmilk! It makes me feel good to know that I am able to do something to help make her strong.
Eden's chest tube was removed today and she will be returning to St. Joe's to be with her sister tomorrow. We're very ready to have her come back. She had a rough day on Friday trying to recuperate from her surgery. She was having some difficulty with her blood pressure being too low (hypotension) and was given several medications to raise it. Hydrocortisone, which is given as a last resort, finally worked, but has actually raised it a bit high. We've been worried about that the past couple of days, but the nurses assure us that it is okay and not too high at this point. We also found out on Friday that her doctors at U of M did a head ultrasound prior to surgery on Thursday and found that she has a grade 2 intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), also known as bleeding in the brain. We've been reassured by Dr. Weiner that most Grade 1 and 2 bleeds resolve on their own with no lasting effects, but it makes us nervous nonetheless. A followup ultrasound, which was done 24 hours post-surgery showed that there has been no change, so I guess that is a good sign that it hasn't gotten worse. Hopefully over the next few days we'll be able to report that there's been improvement. The good news is that Eden came off the oscillator yesterday and is back on the conventional ventilator and doing well. She really is moving in the right direction!
"Kangaroo Love"
12 Comments -
Dear Billie, John, Eden and Holland,
Wow! How exciting that you finally got to hold Holland, and hopefully by now Eden will be back with her sister at St. Joe's where you all can be together. You know we are with you every day in spirit and we cheer here at home each time we learn of a new triumph that brings the girls closer to going home where they belong. Many smooches to you all, remember we love you! Hi to grandma and grandpa too! Love, Julie and Lisa
Mon Aug 16, 10:00:00 AM EDT
Dear Billie and John,
I'm so glad to hear things are going good. I will try and stop by and see you again soon. Please call me if you need anything. Love, Amber, Rick, Ireland, and Logan
Mon Aug 16, 01:28:00 PM EDT
Dear Billie and John:
I was so glad to read that the girls are doing well! You are in my thoughts and prayers constantly.
Take care of yourselves, and Billie, let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
Much love to you and the sweet babies.
Love,
Kendra
Mon Aug 16, 04:17:00 PM EDT
Billie and John,
So happy to hear you can finially cuddle your babies, I am sure those times will be treasured memories you will both enjoy. If I can do anything, let me know. Billie, I wrote you a personal email, try to find time to read it soon, it could be of some use to you.
Take Care,
Brenda & Family
Mon Aug 16, 04:29:00 PM EDT
I'm thrilled that things are going so well with the babes. See you guys soon. (I hope John is using all this extra stress to write some insightful micro preemie twins lyrics!).
Love,
dave white
Mon Aug 16, 08:21:00 PM EDT
Hi John and Billie
I love the website! Its great to hear the encouraging updates on those sweet little babies. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers.
Love Harry, Janie, Brooke and Madison
Mon Aug 16, 11:22:00 PM EDT
I look forward to seeing the updates and new pictures on this site, but even more so, I'm glad to see that the girls are improving. I am thinking of your family often and pray for many more miracles in the future for all of you! Love you, Jen
Tue Aug 17, 01:57:00 AM EDT
Dear Billie & John may the blessings you have given others be returned to you and your children. You are all in my heart and prayers daily. The love and faith surrounding all of you is positive strength - today and all days. Love Always Candy
Tue Aug 17, 11:29:00 AM EDT
Billie and John- We are so happy to hear of their progress. You 4 are in our thoughts daily. Tim and I would love to bring some soup by upon our return. We send only the best wishes and positive thoughts from Vancouver Island. Love Donna and Tim
Tue Aug 17, 11:50:00 AM EDT
Dear Cousins,
We are praying for you and your family. It's nice to see the updates and pictures on your website. May God continue to bless you and give you and the girls strength.
Mark, Jill, Melissa, Amanda & Alan
Wed Aug 18, 11:12:00 AM EDT
Dearest Billie and John - It was such a pleasure to meet your two beautiful daughters. We will treasure those moments forever. Please know that you are in our thoughts each day and we love you dearly. Love, Jessie and Dave
Wed Aug 18, 11:16:00 AM EDT
Hi all!
I'm back in LA and I just wanted to send you my love, and tell you how much I enjoyed spending time with the girls on Monday. They are looking so good! I think Holland is a future dancin' machine...I can't wait for more updates and pictures. Talk to you soon.
Love, Lisa
Wed Aug 18, 01:24:00 PM EDT