A couple of close-ups

I thought I'd add a couple of close-up pictures of the twins to show you how they have grown in their first week with us. Neither is over 5 pounds yet, but they are making progress. If the pink hat doesn't give it away, the first picture is Kate and the second is Ethan.



One nice thing about having twins is that you definitely don't have to fight to hold a baby. There are plenty to go around. Here is a shot of Lauren holding Ethan and Dad holding Kate. This pic also gives you an idea of how our little room at the NICU looks.

Visit from Dad

Dad came into town for some meetings this weekend. Although he was here last week when the twins were born, he didn't want to hold them because he had been in several procedures with different patients that week, and didn't want to take any risks, however small they might have been. But this time he was all set and here are the pictures to prove it.

Two steps forward, one step back

No pictures this update but there is some news. Ethan and Kate both had their feeding tubes taken out, which means they are taking their bottles most of the time. We think Ethan will stay off his, but Kate's will likely go back in unless she continues to shine. Also, both babies were taken out of their incubators and placed in regular, open-air, "cribs" (plastic bins pretty much). All of this is good news and count as the "two steps forward'. The "one step back" part of this post is that two days in row now, Ethan has registered abnormal drops in his heart rate where he'll dip down into the 70's for a little while. He seems to come back up on his own and it doesn't appear to be a big deal (because "this is just something that premature babies do") but what it means is this: Babies can't come home until they have been free from these episodes for at least five days; so each time this happens, it sort of resets the clock til they can go home. So as of this post, the soonest Ethan could come home would be Wednesday, assuming no more episodes.

I'll try to post a few pictures later.

Babies move to the penthouse

Today we showed up at the NICU for our usual morning visit and were told that they had moved our babies upstairs to the less intensive NICU. They now have their own private room for just the two of them. We like it up there. Pretty much the same idea, but less intense situations with the babies. Our nurse actually moved up too so it was nice to see a familiar face on the new floor.

Ethan is doing well. Eating most of his bottles, but still getting a bit of help. Kate is still struggling through her feedings and getting a lot of help. One nurse told us today that she thinks that Ethan will be ready to come home by Monday, but that there is no timetable for Kate yet. We are excited to take Ethan home, but realize that once he is with us, we won't be able to visit Kate together anymore.

Here are a couple of pictures from the new floor. The incubators are much closer together so we can get the babies closer now without breaking too many rules or causing too much trouble. I have no idea what Kate was doing in this picture.


Here is a picture of Lauren holding Kate while she feeds. The tube taped to the chair is Kate's lunch.

Random picture from a few days ago.

Another shot of the kids together. We like getting to compare their little faces.

Their personalities are already starting to come out. Ethan likes to sleep and doesn't really care about anything else. Kate is feisty and wiggly and she will let you know if she isn't happy. We are very happy that they have joined our little family.

How small are they?

Many of our friends tell us that it is hard to tell how small our little babies are from the pictures. They just look "small". We though this picture might help a little. When you are imagining how little they are, just look at your thumb and pretend it's a foot, and you'll get the idea.

Today's Visit

Today we had another great visit with our little ones. Ethan is done with his "phototherapy" and Kate is well on her way. They are both making progress with their eating, sometimes finishing their tiny bottles on their own, other times getting too sleepy from trying and needing the feeding tube to finish the job off.

Together at Last!

Tonight, for the first time, the twins were reunited! A nurse was
kind enough to bring Kate across the room so Lauren could hold them
both at same time. They frown on it because it means they have to
take her off her monitors for a little while, but it was definitely
worth it to get to see them together and finally be able to compare
faces. We determined that Kate looks more like Greg and Ethan looks
more like Lauren. We think both are pretty darn cute.

Kate

Ethan

Sun-bathing

Ethan and Kate both have high bilirubin counts, and the treatment for that is "phototherapy". In other words, our babies are laying out in the sun, complete with goggles.

I guess California will be a good fit for them!

First Feeding

Lauren was able to feed Ethan for the first time a couple of days ago. Here are some pics from that first feeding.

Ethan and Kate's First Nights in the World

After things had settled somewhat the night the babies were born, I was able to go down to the the NICU and see our babies for the first time. These were the movies I took. Can you tell that tonight is "catch up on posting night?"

Ethan's First Night

Kate's First Night

Ethan and Kate have Arrived!

We wanted to let all of our friends and family know that on Wednesday, March 19 at around 9:00 pm, Ethan Douglas Packer and his sister, Kate Helen Packer, decided to join the world.  Lauren's delivery went very well, but with some excitement, where our doctor actually had to spin Kate around to get her facing the right way after Ethan had already been born.  Her heart rate had dropped for several minutes and our doctor was just about to begin a C-section when Lauren managed to give some great pushes to help her along.

Ethan and Kate are very little and had to be taken to the NICU after birth.  Ethan weighed 4 lbs. 12 oz. and Kate weighed 4 lbs. 8 oz.  Both were 18 inches in length.  They are doing well with Ethan breathing well on his own, and taking his meals through a bottle.  Kate is having a little bit tougher time, getting a little help with her breathing and feeding through a tube.  Both are coming along nicely though, and we notice big improvements each time we visit.

Lauren is recovering slowly but surely--she is still in the hospital but planning to go home tomorrow.  Unfortunately the babies won't be coming with us, but we expect to take them home soon and are looking forward to that day.

Ethan

Kate

We love them so much already and can't believe that two days ago they were still swimming around in Lauren's belly.  We hope you are all doing very well and that you'll keep these beautiful babies in your prayers over the next several days.

Not so bad...

This morning I had a minor breakdown/ pity party for myself because I haven't been able to buy a single piece of clothing for the babies (I mean that I picked out myself, not that they'll be naked). My justification for the sadness was that shopping for your unborn children is arguably the funnest part of being pregnant. So, I decided to make a list of the top ten reasons it's not so bad being on bedrest. 10. My hair has gotten pretty healthy. I haven't blow-dried my hair in 3 months and 4 days (not that I'm keeping track)- silky smooth results. Also, no super expensive hair salon visits. On the same note, no make up either, but this didn't lead to the same results, so it doesn't get its own bullet point. 9. I learned how to knit. Thanks, Melissa. 8. I don't have to wear maternity clothes. Of course, it was was kind of a waste to get all maternity clothes for my birthday, but oh well. I never had to hate them. 7. I missed an entire Chicago winter. Okay, so we all know a Chicago winter really goes from, like, September to June, but the actual calendar winter is December 21st to March 21st and that's what I'm counting. 6. I've been able to read a ton. A Thousand Splendid Suns, In Cold Blood, Marley & Me, and The Time Traveler's Wife have been some of my faves. 5. I made a new friend. Her name is Sonya. No, she's not a spider on my wall (although she's pretty cool, too), she's the nurse that comes to our apartment once a week to give me a shot. She's pretty much the greatest nurse ever and I love her visits. 4. Chocolate milkshakes every night. Enough said. 3. I can watch Regis, Ellen, and PTI every day if I want to. And... I... usually do. 2. Lots of rest. This sounds pretty obvious, being that I am on bed REST, but with twins coming, I feel it's a blessing that should be noted. 1. I found out even more just how wonderful of a husband Greg is. All the cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery and other shopping, and entertainment without a word of complaint. My life is pretty great. I feel better already. The best part of bedrest is that it's almost over and I'll get to bring home two little babies that are much bigger and healthier than they would have been if I weren't so careful and spent my life on the couch. The doctor said if I'm still pregnant in two weeks, she'll induce me. That's great news, especially because it means that the twins will be healthy enough. YAY!!!

It's starting to look like a nursery!

Brace yourselves for something special, folks. I, Lauren Ann Packer, am making my first post on our blog. Greg keeps telling me to make a post, but let's be honest. No one wants to hear about the ceiling of our apartment. It doesn't really change. Well, now that our second bedroom is starting to resemble a nursery, I thought it counted as an actual event in my life and merited a post. I hope you agree.

Still experimenting with layout

I'm still playing around with layouts on this site so don't be alarmed if things look different from visit to visit for the next few weeks.

Today's Doctor Appointment

Today was our typical Monday doctor's appointment. Our appointments are usually 3-4 hours these days. We start with the non-stress tests, which always take a while because they have trouble getting the monitors to pick up both babies, and making sure that they aren't both picking up the same heartbeats. Then, we move on to ultrasound where they look at heartbeats, sometimes measure growth, and check for any problems that might crop up. Finally, it is to the nurse's station for the taking of vitals and then to the doctor. Each stage is separated by a half-hour to 45 minute wait in the waiting room. So on the whole, we start at 8 am and leave by around noon.

Today was especially exciting. Lauren has been having some problems lately with the way she is positioned in her non-stress tests and ultrasounds--she gets pretty lightheaded and feels nauseated. One time, she fainted. Well today, she got real sick, real fast. I ran to the nurse for something to catch what was about to come up in, and she hands me a container about the size of a dixie cup. I'm thinking, "yeah right" but run back to Lauren just in time to place the container in front of her, catch the first heave of vomit in the cup, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth heaves on my hands, arms, Lauren's towel, shirt, pants, chair, floor, and pretty much everywhere else I can think of. Nothing says "I love you" like holding a small cup while your wife overflows it with vomit. It smelled really bad and I had to excuse myself very quickly to avoid adding to the scene.

After getting cleaned up, we went to the rest of the appointments, where things are continuing to look good, but our doctor thinks these babies are coming sooner than later. The only thing holding the twins in at this point are the stitches, which can't be overstressed, so anything above about 2 contractions means we go in. That may be tonight, this weekend, next week, or in two weeks (hopefully). We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. As I'm writing this, Lauren is telling me she is having a contraction, so let's hope we don't have another.