Our First 4 Weeks

Thursday, Feb. 4~ Hadlee & Kooper were placed on ventilators to assist them in breathing and PICC lines were placed in because the twins kept pulling out their IV's. They also started receiving surfactant- a steroid to help develop lung tissue. The twins were placed in isoletts to help control their body temperatures and they were placed under biliruben lights to help with jaundice.

Mommy checking on her little girl

Hadlee Maelynn 2/5/2010

Daddy visiting Owen Kooper

Mommy & Kooper

He loved sleeping on his side!


Friday, Feb. 5~ Nick helped me get out of bed once again & take a much wanted/needed shower. Every time I moved, I would gasp with the pain. Nick had to help me wash & dry off because I couldn't move around well. It did feel nice to put on my own PJs! As we were getting ready to leave my room to go see the twins, their NICU doctor came in for us to sign a consent form for Miss Hadlee. She needed a blood-gas line placed in through her belly-button. We signed the forms, talked with the Birth Certificate lady, & also visited with Abbie & Dustin. By the time we managed to get to the NICU, they had already finished the procedure on Hadlee. My blood pressure was still high, so throughout the day Friday, I became more & more swollen. Friday evening, several of my co-workers stopped by to visit me. It was so nice to talk with them & catch-up on what was happening at our school. The faculty at TMS was kind enough to have a baby shower for us even though I was not able to attend. My co-workers brought lots & lots of goodies to us at the hospital! I work with some of the most generous people in the world!!!!

Sat., Feb. 6~ Nick had to go back to work. His gym had a competition at Clemson, so at least it was at a nearby location that allowed him to drive back & forth to the hospital. My family was still in town, so I visited with them & tried to rest since my blood pressure was still too high. Nick's parents also drove down to visit us for the weekend. While I was in the NICU, the twins' doc stopped & talked to me about the fact that their lungs were not responding well to the surfactant steroid. They had already received 4 rounds, plus the round I had received a week prior to their delivery, but their lung tissue had not changed. He questioned whether either of our families have had a history of respiratory diseases, premature deaths, etc.... This of course made me nervous.

Sun., Feb. 7~ My doctor decided to place me on BP medicine b/c it was refusing to lower. Although my Mom was staying the remainder of the week to help me, my Dad & Tera left early Sunday morning to drive back to Indiana. By early afternoon, I was discharged! Nick & I decided to go home after visiting the twins, un-pack & rest, and then we (including my Mom) went to Corby & Katie's house to watch the Super Bowl. Although the Colts lost, it was still a nice time b/c we got to visit with lots of our friends & share pictures of the twins. Since they are in the NICU, only Nick & I are able to visit them. Which I hated since my Dad & Tera had come all the way from IN...but Tera did a fantastic job finalizing our nursery!!!! We went back to the NICU after the game & saw the twins.



Mon., Feb. 8~ Now that I was home, I thankfully had my Mom to help me go back & forth to the hospital while Nick was working. The first few days, I was exhausted & extremely sore, of course.

Tues., Feb. 9~ Nick got to hold Owen Kooper for the first time while Kooper was eating!

Wed., Feb. 10~ Twins are 1 week old!!! Both twins had their vents removed & only using the C-pap machine to get assistance with breathing & oxygen.

Thurs., Feb. 11~ Nick & I had just arrived to the NICU when I realized my c-section incision had busted open & was bleeding. I called my Doc, Nick & I went to her office & she determined that a hematoma had formed. For the next several weeks, I had to have the opened area drained, cleaned, & packed with gauze strips. Nick kept wanting to place a plastic eye-ball or snake in it to scare me & my doc. He is such a comedian!

Sat., Feb. 13~ Yay! Today, we both got to hold a baby! I got to hold Owen Kooper for my first time and Nick got to hold Hadlee Maelynn for the first time! It was a wonderful "early" Valentine's day gift. Although the isolett's are in different areas of the NICU, we were able to angle our chairs so that we could at least see each other. Hadlee looked so tiny in Nick's arms! They pretty much just slept while we held them, but it was still such an exciting time! Plus, the March of Dimes had created little V-day hats for each of them, so they looked so cute wearing them! Nick had to leave for a competition in Gatlinburg for the weekend, so my Mom & I decided to go see Avatar 3D and have dinner since my Dad was coming down to pick her up.
Daddy, Mommy, & Owen Kooper (our first pic together)

Mommy, Daddy, & Hadlee Maelynn (our first pic together)

Mommy's first time holding her little boy

Daddy's first time holding his baby girl


Sun., Feb. 14~ My Mom & Dad left and Nick's Dad & Mom arrived. Kooper got to come off the C-pap and just getting his oxygen via a nasal cannula! They are both still in isolett's and under the bili-ruben lights.

Mon., Feb. 15~ I finally got to hold my little girl! Since Hadlee is still on the C-pap, I had to hold her oxygen tubing up to her nose while I held her & she kept wiggling her little arms out of the blanket so that she could pull on it. She does a lot of wiggling around!


Tues., Feb. 16~ The twins got to have their PICC lines removed!

Wed., Feb. 17~ Miss Hadlee & Mr. Kooper are 2 weeks old! Little Miss Hadlee is now 4 lbs. even and her "big" little brother, Kooper is 4 lbs 6 oz!



Fri., Feb. 19~ Hadlee Maelynn finally got her c-pap removed and is getting her oxygen through a nasal cannula like her brother. I got to hold both babies a few minutes each. They are starting to gain enough weight that their faces are filling out & getting rounder!

Sun., Feb. 21~ Twins are removed from their isolett's and are now sleeping in open cribs, yay! The Dr. said they were both "toasty warm" but that their x-rays were still showing lung disease- due to being premature.

Tues., Feb. 23~ Thank goodness, the twins passed their eye exams. We were quite concerned b/c premature babies often have developmental issues with their eyes & the fact that they are requiring high amounts of oxygen can also cause eye issues.

Thurs., Feb. 25~ Mr. Kooper received his first bath by Mommy! His cord had fallen off on Wednesday, so he got to sit down in the water. He wasn't a huge fan of the bath & kept kicking his legs, but once he got his paci he seemed to calm down.



Fri., Feb. 26~ We get a phone call that they had to place Hadlee back on c-pap. She had been requiring 100% oxygen for several days & was desating too often, so the Doc decided to place her back on the machine to help her lungs breathe. Shortly after that, her heart rate was up to the upper 190's and 200's. This was a huge concern to the Doc and he ordered another x-ray, a KUB (x-ray of lungs & belly), and blood cultures. He is concerned that she may have an infection hiding and if so, she might need a spinal tap or a blood transfusion. She was such a big girl when the nurse was drawing her blood work. Thankfully, none of the tests showed any bacteria or infection, so the Doc said we just had to wait for her lungs to strengthen.
It was a big day for Mr. Kooper too. He was able to drink 16 cc's from a bottle! I loved giving it to him, but because he has to exert so much energy to take the bottle he only gets to try once a day or every other day so that he doesn't lose weight.

Mon., March 1~ Hadlee has the c-pap removed once again & is receiving oxygen through her nasal cannula.

Wed., March 3~ ***HAPPY 1 MONTH BIRTHDAY, Hadlee & Kooper!***
Today, Hadlee weighed in at 4 lbs. 12 oz! She is a whole pound bigger than when delivered. Kooper weighed in at 5 lbs. 8 oz! He has gained 1 pound & 4 oz. since delivery! It is amazing how much they have changed in the first 4 weeks. They have been able to wear clothes since they were removed from their isolett's. Although they are both still wearing preemie onesies & sleepers, Koopers are getting short enough that he will be wearing new born ones soon. Miss Hadlee on the other hand, has plenty of room to grow into her preemie's. Their personalities are very similar as they were in the womb. Hadlee does a lot of wiggling around & grunting, but Kooper is calm even when he has the hiccups that shake his entire body!
H & K- your mommy & daddy love you both so very much & are praying everyday for you to come home! Marley & Gage love smelling your blankets & clothes and want you to come home so they can meet you as well!
Miss Hadlee Maelynn *1 month old*

Owen Kooper *1 month old*