Update on Faith & Makaila 22

Well...the day has finally come!! One of our girls is coming home!! We're planning on bringing Makaila home from the hospital tomorrow. It's been almost 4 months of trips to the hospital, sleepless nights, tears, family visits, typing blog entries, more tears, countless prayers...and FINALLY we get to have one of our daughters at home with us!! Graham and I went out for dinner and a movie last night - knowing that our lives are drastically going to change in one more day. We reflected a bit as we were sitting at 'Ethical Addictions' (a local coffee shop). Are we ready for this??? In one way I would say a resounding "YES!" I have dreamed about this day for soooo long. There is however, a little part of me that is feeling a little nervous and anxious. What is it going to be like having two kids at home? How will Isaiah respond to his new sister? How will we prevent germs from spreading in our house (so that Makaila doesn't get sick)? What if she does get sick...will she need to be hospitalized again? How will I manage with three kids when Faith is discharged from hospital? How much is Graham going to be able to help when he's working full-time and is required to travel with his job? I stayed awake most of the night last night just thinking about all of this.

I've been doing a lot of running around today - buying diapers and other things that I will need when Makaila is here. I'm off now to do some cleaning. I guess as a typical Mom I am experiencing 'nesting'.

Update on Faith & Makaila 21

We are happy to report that both girls are doing well. Although Faith had a rough week (she had a relapse with her cold), she seems much stronger now. Just yesterday Makaila's NG tube (a.k.a feeding tube) was removed. She's been eagerly taking a bottle ever since (YEAH!!!) This is a huge step towards coming home. She's managing to feed herself entirely on her own, and she's not getting too tired!!! While she's currently still hooked up to all of the monitors, we know that this will be changing soon. Apparently, as parents, we need to get used to seeing our daughters on their own (free from all computer monitoring that tell us how their heart rate and oxygen levels are doing). As soon as we get used to this (which won't take too long)...we'll be bringing her home! Praise the Lord!

Update on Faith & Makaila 20

The girls are officially 111 days old today. In some ways the time is flying by, while in other ways it seems like it is taking forever for the girls to come home. I went to the hospital this afternoon for the 5:00pm feed. Once again it was a rather frustrating feed. Faith managed to take 20 ml from me and then we tube fed her the rest. She is taking a total of 53 ml now. Makaila, on the other hand, would not wake up to feed so we had to feed her entirely by tube. This is the way it seems to go - one day the girls are eager to eat - and the next day they are too tired. Apparently this is typical behavior for 'extreme premies'. Whatever we do, we cannot push them too hard, otherwise this will just set them back. Graham and I are both trying to be as patient as possible, but at the same time, we desperately want our lives to normalize. I can't wait to stop all of the visits to the hospital!

It seems like the number one question that most people ask us is: "How much do the girls weigh now?" Well...as of two minutes ago (when I last called the NICU) Makaila weighed 7 lbs 11 ounces, and Faith weighed 6 lbs 5 ounces. As a typical mom, I already feel a sense of sadness when I see them outgrowing some of their adorable premie outfits.

On a different note, Larry's time with us is almost up. He'll be heading back to Victoria at the end of February. He's been living with us for the last 3 1/2 months, and he's been such a huge blessing. I honestly don't know what we would have done without him. He's been our 'lifesaver' when its come to taking care of Isaiah and helping out around the house. Just this past week, he babysat Isaiah for a night so that Graham and I could go to Birch Bay WA for a belated Valentine's Day celebration. After Larry leaves, Graham's mom (Terry) will be coming to stay with us for a few days. My mom will then move in with us for the month of March. Thank you God for the amazing parents that you have blessed us with!!!

Thanks again for your prayers. We are happy to report that both girls are feeling much better.

There's been two more photos added to our photoblog!

Update on Faith & Makaila 19

Faith and Makaila have both had colds the last two days. They have been stuffed up and have had a difficult time coordinating their sucking with their 'plugged' little noses. As a result, my efforts to breastfeed have been rather frustrating and we've resorted to feeding by tube instead. With their colds, they have also been very exhausted and have spent most of the last two days sleeping. Yesterday our nurse moved Makaila to an incubator to help her with her breathing (the humid air is much easier to breathe). Faith is still sleeping in her cot, however, she may be moved to an incubator as well if things don't get better soon. Apparently last night both girls experienced spontaneous episodes of 'brady' (low heartrate) and 'desats' (low oxygen levels), which required giving them oxygen (with a mask) and chest compressions to remind them that they needed to breathe. I've been told that there have been fewer incidences the last few hours - so that's good!

With the exception of the fact that the girls are sick right now, we did have some positive things happen this week. On Wednesday morning when I visited the girls, I found them 'co-bedding' together in a crib. They looked so cute snuggled together in their cozy pink blankets - just like it was meant to be. Makaila was wide awake staring at her big sister who was just inches from her head. She looked quite excited and was moving her little arms around - almost like she was trying to grab Faith's hand. This was a moment that I had been waiting for since I first found out that I was carrying twins. My girls - together as last!! Needless to say, I was quite 'teary-eyed'.

I talked to our pediatrition this week (Dr. Cohen), and she said that while Faith may still be in the hospital for at least one more month, Makaila could come home earlier (depending on how her feeds continue to progress). At this point, I just want them to both be healthy again. I get quite emotional just thinking about the fact that they are having a difficult time breathing. Yet again - we feel the up and down motion of the roller coaster continue.

Graham and I can't wait to get off the ride.

Thanks so much for your prayers.

New photos!

We have posted some new photos on our family photo blog (mcmahon-family-photos.blogspot.com) so be sure to check them out! We have some more recent ones from the MSA hospital in Abbotsford that will be posted soon. Enjoy!

Blessings,

Graham

Update on Faith and Makaila 19

The girls have been at MSA hospital in Abbotsford for one week now and they are both doing well. Makaila weighs almost 7 lbs. and Faith is approximately 5 1/2 lbs. They are even starting to outgrow some of their premie clothing! I (Karyn) have been going to the hospital for two feeds every day. This takes about 4 hours. It's quite a long process to feed two little girls who are just learning how to suck. Right now they are both doing a combo of breastfeeding, bottle and tube feeding. As they get stronger and can suck for longer periods of time, the tube feedings will eventually stop. While both girls are considered stable, we were reminded the other night just how fragile they still are. Faith had a massive "brady" (low heart rate) and "desat" (low Oxygen level) following one of her feeds. She turned blue and took a few minutes to recover. Needless to say, it was a very scary moment for myself and Grandpa (who was also there to witness everything). I left the hospital that night feeling relieved that they are not at home with me yet.

So far nothing has been said to us yet about when we can expect the girls to come home. We know the date isn't too far off though, so we're busy getting our home ready. We've recently been trying to get Isaiah accustomed to sleeping in his "big boy" bed - which has been a challenge. We were hoping that we could contain him in his crib a little longer (until he was 2 maybe?), but he started climbing out of his crib last week and had a few rather painful crashes onto the floor. He still doesn't understand that he has two sisters who will be joining our home shortly...so we're trying to do everything that we can to make the transition as easy as possible.

As always, thanks again for your ongoing support. We cannot thank you enough for your encouragement, visits, cards, gifts and most importantly...prayers. We have felt people around the world praying for us. Our God is so amazing! I feel absolutely overwhemed with thanksgiving that Faith and Makaila are both doing so well. They are truly MIRACLE babies!

We love you all...
Karyn, Graham, Isaiah, Faith & Makaila