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Preemies
AmandaFaith
member
Intro: 25wk b/g twins! (Long...)
AmandaFaith
member
in Preemies
Hi everyone! I've been lurking on this board since late last month and decided it was finally time to sit down and introduce myself. 
I was originally part of the May 2014 board, but our little ones decided they preferred January instead.
A little back story: My husband and I had already endured many ups and downs along the our road to parenthood prior to our preemies' arriving. Before learning the cause for such, we had three early miscarriages and a stillborn son (Cayden) whom we lost in December 2011 when I was 19wks along. In March 2012 we discovered that I have a rare chromosomal abnormality which does not affect myself (only my children) and we decided to start saving for donor egg IVF. We were elated when we conceived twins on our first round of treatment this past fall and have been anxiously awaiting Spring 2014 ever since. Our due date with Cayden was 05/15/2012, and ironically enough, the twins were due 05/14/2014.
Other than a small subchorionic hematoma early on (around 9wks) that sent us to the ER in a panic, my pregnancy with the twins was pretty uneventful. At 22wks I had a cervical check and everything looked great. By my growth scan at 24wks though, things had changed dramatically and the doctor discovered I was dilated 2-3cm. I was since directly up to L&D and placed on hospital bedrest where the medical team did everything they could to try and buy our babies a little more time in utero. Thankfully I was able to get the steroid shots, because three days later my baby girl's water broke. Even still we were able to make it four more days before the twins arrive. On January 29th, at exactly 25wks, Cali & Camden decided they couldn't wait any longer. Since Camden was breeched and my doctors didn't want to take any chances, I was prepped for a c-section. Cali was born first, weighing only 1lb 9oz, and Camden arrived three minutes after his sister, weighing 1lb 15oz. Both babies came out crying.
Cali did very well for the first week or so after birth and was extubated to CPAP after only a couple days. Other than having an infection which the doctors believe she contracted from my water being broken for so long before delivery, she was thriving. She eventually began to struggle again respiratory-wise though. The doctors found that she had a moderate to large size PDA but we're able to avoid surgery by treating it with a three-day course of IV ibuprofen. Even after the PDA closed (about a week or so ago), she continued to struggle. The doctors decided to begin start her on steroids this past Sunday and she had been improving ever since. She was actually reextubated again today and given a nasal cannula, which she is tolerating well so far. Her feeds are steadily increasing and she is up to 19.4cc every 3 hours.
Camden had a much rougher start than his sister. The morning after surgery, we were awoken by a member of the NICU team at 5am telling us that he was struggling respiratory-wise and was very sick. The respiratory therapists had already tried a few different ventilators with him as nothing seemed to be working. Their last hope was the JET which was what they had just out an order in for when they sent someone up to talk to us. Thankfully, Camden LOVED it. His respiratory status improved almost instantaneously and he began to stabilize, but as we would find out the next day, damage had already been done. Our little boy has a grade 4 brain bleed on one side. The doctors are monitoring it closely and do not believe it will spread to the other side, but we will not know for several years what the logistics if the situation actually are. While we were initially devasted to hear this news, we have since started coming to terms with the situation and are accepting things for how they are and taking one day at a time. When Camden was five days old, emergency surgery was performed due to bowel perforation. A small segment of his intestines were removed and an ostomy bag and mucous fistula were placed. He has been recovering well from surgery over the past few weeks and started improving respiratory-wise as well, being extubated to CPAP. He was on CPAP for only a couple days before needing to be reintubated, but the doctors have assured us that any sort of break from the ventilator is great. We recently learned that Camden also had a PDA, which the doctors were able to treat using two three-day rounds of medication. We just found out today that the second round was a success. He's still struggling with his blood pressure, but the doctors believe that is because of an infection that he has at the moment and are hoping the antibiotics will get rid of very quickly.
Our precious preemies are perfect in every way and we are so incredibly blessed to be their parents.
I was originally part of the May 2014 board, but our little ones decided they preferred January instead. A little back story: My husband and I had already endured many ups and downs along the our road to parenthood prior to our preemies' arriving. Before learning the cause for such, we had three early miscarriages and a stillborn son (Cayden) whom we lost in December 2011 when I was 19wks along. In March 2012 we discovered that I have a rare chromosomal abnormality which does not affect myself (only my children) and we decided to start saving for donor egg IVF. We were elated when we conceived twins on our first round of treatment this past fall and have been anxiously awaiting Spring 2014 ever since. Our due date with Cayden was 05/15/2012, and ironically enough, the twins were due 05/14/2014.
Other than a small subchorionic hematoma early on (around 9wks) that sent us to the ER in a panic, my pregnancy with the twins was pretty uneventful. At 22wks I had a cervical check and everything looked great. By my growth scan at 24wks though, things had changed dramatically and the doctor discovered I was dilated 2-3cm. I was since directly up to L&D and placed on hospital bedrest where the medical team did everything they could to try and buy our babies a little more time in utero. Thankfully I was able to get the steroid shots, because three days later my baby girl's water broke. Even still we were able to make it four more days before the twins arrive. On January 29th, at exactly 25wks, Cali & Camden decided they couldn't wait any longer. Since Camden was breeched and my doctors didn't want to take any chances, I was prepped for a c-section. Cali was born first, weighing only 1lb 9oz, and Camden arrived three minutes after his sister, weighing 1lb 15oz. Both babies came out crying.
Cali did very well for the first week or so after birth and was extubated to CPAP after only a couple days. Other than having an infection which the doctors believe she contracted from my water being broken for so long before delivery, she was thriving. She eventually began to struggle again respiratory-wise though. The doctors found that she had a moderate to large size PDA but we're able to avoid surgery by treating it with a three-day course of IV ibuprofen. Even after the PDA closed (about a week or so ago), she continued to struggle. The doctors decided to begin start her on steroids this past Sunday and she had been improving ever since. She was actually reextubated again today and given a nasal cannula, which she is tolerating well so far. Her feeds are steadily increasing and she is up to 19.4cc every 3 hours.
Camden had a much rougher start than his sister. The morning after surgery, we were awoken by a member of the NICU team at 5am telling us that he was struggling respiratory-wise and was very sick. The respiratory therapists had already tried a few different ventilators with him as nothing seemed to be working. Their last hope was the JET which was what they had just out an order in for when they sent someone up to talk to us. Thankfully, Camden LOVED it. His respiratory status improved almost instantaneously and he began to stabilize, but as we would find out the next day, damage had already been done. Our little boy has a grade 4 brain bleed on one side. The doctors are monitoring it closely and do not believe it will spread to the other side, but we will not know for several years what the logistics if the situation actually are. While we were initially devasted to hear this news, we have since started coming to terms with the situation and are accepting things for how they are and taking one day at a time. When Camden was five days old, emergency surgery was performed due to bowel perforation. A small segment of his intestines were removed and an ostomy bag and mucous fistula were placed. He has been recovering well from surgery over the past few weeks and started improving respiratory-wise as well, being extubated to CPAP. He was on CPAP for only a couple days before needing to be reintubated, but the doctors have assured us that any sort of break from the ventilator is great. We recently learned that Camden also had a PDA, which the doctors were able to treat using two three-day rounds of medication. We just found out today that the second round was a success. He's still struggling with his blood pressure, but the doctors believe that is because of an infection that he has at the moment and are hoping the antibiotics will get rid of very quickly.
Our precious preemies are perfect in every way and we are so incredibly blessed to be their parents.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Intro: 25wk b/g twins! (Long...)
At 5 days old we discovered Anna's brain bleeds, grade 4 on the right and 2 on the left. She also eventually developed hydrocephalus and required surgery to place a shunt at 5 months actual. She is very delayed in her gross motor skills but she is making progress and cognitively/socially she is on track for her adjusted age. She came home from the hospital without oxygen and today she nurses, takes a bottle, and loves trying new foods. Every baby and every brain is different but so far she is doing much better than the grim outlooks we were given.
www.virginiakkent.blogspot.com
I'm so sorry to hear about your prior losses. My prayers are with those angels.
C&C sound like they are fighting really hard and I'm sure they will make you prouder by the day. They are absolutely beautiful!
It sounds like your children are in great hands and the medical staff is on top of their care. It's tough to take a few steps forward, then a few back, but this will end one day.
Make sure you take care of yourself!!