Our little princesses!

I'll update with pictures soon! Our girls are doing so well. They have been off their ventilators for 4 days now, and are on nasal canulas (not sure if that's spelled right). They are requiring very little extra oxygen as well. They were fed with Mommy's milk today and tolerated it well. It's been fun to see their little personalities developing already. Bailey is so calm and serene and hardly ever fusses, even when they are working on her. She likes to open her eyes and just watch us. She also loves to sleep with her hands tucked up right against her face, just like her Mommy. She even tries to suck on the hand that has her IV and is covered in tape and cotton. Reagan is quite the wiggler and is more sensitive to the NICU sounds than her sister. She doesn't like a lot of stimulation unless it's coming from Mommy or Daddy. Then she calms down. She also puts up a fight if she is not sleeping on her stomach. That is her favorite position and she will fuss until the nurses turn her over. They all think she is the cutest thing because she is so tiny. Michael and I got to hold them for the first time yesterday and the nurse said she has never seen a baby do so well on their first Kangaroo care as ours did. Neither one cried, lost any body heat, or varied in their vitals. It was an amazing experience and we had so much fun doing it. 

So it appears that the twins are just as impatient as their daddy. At 9:18 and 9:20, Reagan then Bailey Orton were born and weigh 1 lb. 14 oz. and 2 lbs. 4 oz. Everyone is as healthy as can be expected and doing well. Here are our girls-

Taking the good with the bad

The good: On Sunday we learned that our sweet little Reagan is using her head to  plug up the hole in her sac. Needless to say, we are very proud of her!! She is having a difficult time getting enough nutrients from her placenta which is why she is so small, but she's holding strong. Our Bailey bug on the other hand is growing right on track and is very active. In fact she likes to keep her mommy awake at night with lots of kicking and moving. I am hooked up to heart monitors for the babies so Michael and I enjoy the comfort of falling asleep to those precious little heartbeats. 

Now for the not so good : The dr's  believe I have some sort of infection that is causing all of this. The even bigger problem is that they have no idea what the infection is. They know I have cholestasis and have put me on a pill to help relieve the itching that keeps me awake at night. I also had 14 vials of blood drawn in addition to the 2 they take each morning which are being tested for all sorts of infectious diseases. I'm also on medication to stop the contractions that have started again. This shouldn't seem like a big deal except that an infection could be potentially hazardous to our little one's. So for now we wait and rule things out one by one!

Thank you all for your love and prayers. I know that this is what will give me the strength to keep our girls healthy.

Pre-term labor

Sorry, this is about to get long. On October 1st my perinatologist sent me home on strict bedrest because Reagan was right on my cervix and it was beginning to shorten. On Friday, 10/03 I had an appointment with my OBGYN. She noticed that I was 1.5 centimeters dilated and that my cervix had really started to thin. She immediately sent me over to labor and delivery and they got me hooked up to some monitors. Turns out I was having contractions every three minutes. At about 12 that afternoon, Reagan's water broke. It has slowly been leaking, but the ultrasounds show that she does still have some fluid left. I am currently taking magnesium sulfate to stop the contractions. Talk about hot flashes! I thought my skin was on fire. I have also had 2 steroid shots to help mature both girls lungs and hearts. I'm also on a constant dose of antibiotics to prevent bacteria from entering Reagan's amniotic sac. My arms and hands hurt from the 12 blood draws I have had in the past 48 hours, and my back is very achey. But I know that I can stay strong for our baby girls. This is my job and I want to do it the best that I can. For now our goal is to make it to 34 weeks, only 7.5 weeks away. With all the love and prayers that we have been receiving and with Heavenly Father watching over us, I am hopeful and positive that this is possible. Thank you all!