Not a good day for Kayla...

Today was a rough day for Kayla (and me and Kiko)...it all began at 3 am when the hospital called. They were calling to let us know that Kayla was having several severe apnea episodes and she had blood in her stool. They needed to run an infection workup which included blood tests, xrays and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). My heart was racing thinking about my little angel having to go through the pain of a spinal tap. Needless to say we didn't sleep much after that and raced up to the hospital as soon as they allowed visitors again. Once we got there, we found Kayla had been moved out of her incubator and had several IV's coming out of both arms and was on an oxygen canula to help her breathe. She was looking very pale and having trouble breathing.

The Dr came by and let us know that Kayla has Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/nec.html. Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is primarily seen in premature infants, where portions of the bowel undergo necrosis (tissue death). There is no real known cause for NEC. She is on antibiotics to try and fix the problem, but there is no guarantee that it will work (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't). Her feedings have been stopped to allow her intestines time to heal and get everything out and she will not be allowed to start eating again for at least 10 days. She is receiving nutrition via IV in the meantime. She will have multiple xrays and blood tests over the next few days to see if the antibiotics are working...if they are not and the condition worsens, she can develop a hole or tear in her intestines at which point she will need to have surgery to remove the affected portions. She is so sick and it just breaks my heart to see her like this again...and the thought of another surgery for my little girl is too much to even think about. This also is a set back of at least a couple of weeks for her. We will keep you posted as things progress, but please keep her in your prayers that she is able to fight this latest problem. As much as it pains me to see her like this, here is Kayla from today...she looks kind of puffy :(.

Kamryn is doing ok today. She is still struggling with her bottle feedings but she did better today than she did yesterday. They have decided to place her on supplemental oxygen during her feeds to help her remember to breathe...they will try that during tomorrow mornings feeding. Here's Kamryn showing her dad what she thinks of all the pictures he keeps taking.

Here is a picture of our little area of the NICU. Kayla is in the open/heated bed and I'm holding Kamryn in front of her incubator.

Here are some pics!

Here are the pics from the girls first two days of feeding from a bottle! So cute!

Kayla:

Kamryn:

ughhhh...

I'm having computer problems at home so I haven't been able to update the blog much...quick update, but no pics :(.

The girls continue to put on weight...Kamryn is holding steady at around 4 lbs, 13 oz and Kayla is at 3 lbs, 9 oz. They have not been able to complete their feeds as well on the bottle the last couple of days. Kayla has been doing really well at it, but they keep upping her feeds so she gets tired towards the end of the timeframe. Kamryn just keeps forgetting that she needs to breathe while she's eating and gets worn out...poor thing. They say this is normal (how many times am I going to hear that!)...so we just take one day at a time.

That's about it for today...I'm hoping I can get some more pictures uploaded tonight if I can get my computer working at home. I'm exhausted so it may not be till tomorrow...

Day 19 in the NICU

Another great day for the girls!! The occupational therapist came today to check to see if the girls were ready to try and feed from a bottle for the first time. It's kind of a tricky process for preemies as they sometimes don't have the right coordination to get the sucking, swallowing and breathing process down. The goal is have them be able to take their designated amounts within a 20 minute timeframe. BOTH girls were able to take the bottle and finish within 20 minutes!! I was so proud of them!! I have to scan in the pictures of them with their bottles so you'll have to be a bit patient on those :).

Kamryn is now up to 4lbs, 12.5 ounces!! Kayla weighs 3 lbs, 7.5 oz!! They are both growing so fast!!

Here's a picture of Kayla sleeping:

And here's a picture of Kamryn in one of her little outfits:

Day 18 in the NICU

Not much to report today other than I have the cutest little girls!!! :). Ok, some of you knew that already...LOL. Kiko and I didn't do very well on the photographing of the girls front today...it's hard to get good photos when we're both holding a baby. Kiko did take this one of Kamryn with his cell phone which I thought was pretty cute!

I've been getting asked by a lot of people some questions so I figured I'd take the chance to answer the top 2 questions:

1) How am I doing?? I'm doing pretty well I think...A lot of people can't believe I'm up and working again only 2.5 weeks after a c-section. I guess I'm more focused on the girls right now and don't really notice that I'm healing from surgery! I know...I should be resting some too...maybe next week...

2) When will the girls get to come home? There are several milestones the girls have to pass before they can come home. They must be able to feed from a bottle (which hopefully will begin tomorrow)...and they have to finish their feedings within 20 minutes and must take at least 5 bottles a day. They must be able to maintain their body temperature and consistently gain weight. They must also be free of apnea episodes for at least 5-7 days. I think there are a couple of other tests also...best guess right now is no earlier than mid-February.

Day 17 in the NICU

Today was a good day for the girls! Not such a great day for me and Kiko since we both had to go back to work...but I'm only planning to work until they come home from the hospital and then I'll take some time off to get them adjusted and do some much needed bonding!

Kamryn Update: Kamryn now weighs 4lbs, 7.4 oz!! She is doing great on the gavage feedings and is now up to 40 ml/3 hours. She had her PICC line (IV tubes) removed today which is a great milestone!! I can't tell you how nice it was to have one less set of tubes coming off my little girl! They also moved her gavage tube from her mouth to a smaller tube through her nose...this is in preparation for trying to start her feedings on a bottle sometime this week. So she will have a thin tube going through her nose into her stomach to assist with feedings, but her mouth will now be free to begin learning how to use a bottle and/or breast feed!! This is the next step in being able to come home!

Here is a cute picture that Kiko got before they removed the tube from her mouth. She is also able to wear "real" preemie clothing now, so she's wearing her first outfit from her "Aunt Erica" :).

Here is a picture of Kamryn without any tubes obstructing her face!! This is the first time since she was born that I've been able to see her beautiful little face!!

Kayla Update: Kayla is also doing really well! She now weighs 3 lbs, 3.4 oz!! She had her head ultrasound this morning and the Dr's indicated no changes. She still has the Grade I and Grade II bleeds into the ventricles in her brain, but they haven't gotten worse which is a relief. They will also be trying to move Kayla to bottle feedings sometime soon as well! She is up to 18 ml/3 hours for her feedings so she's progressing nicely! I'm hoping that they will remove her PICC line sometime tomorrow or Wednesday! We didn't get any pictures of Kayla today unfortunately :(. I was holding her most of the time and Kiko was holding Kamryn so we didn't have any free hands to take pics. We'll take a bunch of her tomorrow though!

Sunday afternoon edition!

I promised another post for today...so here you go! The girls are doing "OK" according to the neonatologist today. They are both still having some issues with apnea so they did a few things today to see if they could try and slow them down...they both have been upped on their caffeine dosages (which makes me wonder why I had to cut out the Starbucks during the pregnancy!!!) and if that doesn't work, than they are going to have to start running some tests to rule out infections...so let's hope the caffeine works. They also have been putting on a little too much water weight and not really going to the bathroom much so they were given some meds for that too. It seems the weight that Kayla put on yesterday is more water retention than actual weight...so I'm afraid to put down how much they weigh right now as it may change tonight...but here you go for those keeping track :)

Kamryn - 4lbs, 7.5 oz
Kayla - 3lbs, 2.5 oz

I'll add some pics of Kamryn we took today later on...gotta run again!!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday...

Yesterday was kind of a hectic day so I didn't get to post...so I'll just post twice today! The girls are doing well (besides the usual apnea episodes, which they are both having and both scaring their mother with). They are starting Kayla on caffeine now to help try and resolve them. Kamryn has been on caffeine and still having them so I'm just hoping they are mild and not causing any permanent damage. They are both scheduled for another head ultrasound on Monday so I'm anxious to hear that their IVH isn't getting any worse...does the worrying ever stop?!?!?! (Not until they are 18 I hear...probably not even then...).

Let's see...No pics this morning, but I'm sure we will have some tonight, late. Oh...Kamryn weighs a whopping 4lbs, 5 oz now!! Kayla...well, we have no clue what Kayla weighs right now because I think something was up with their scale. At 1 pm yesterday, she still weighed 2 lbs, 12 oz (which is where she's been for the last four or five days)...then at 8 pm last night, the nurse said she weighed 3 lbs, 2 oz!! I find that hard to believe she gained that much in 7 hours after not gaining the last week...although, I'd be thrilled that she weighed over 3 lbs!! Will find out more this morning. (They say you know your a mom of a preemie when you get excited over ounces of growth and not lbs...so true, so true...).

They have upped the feedings also for both girls...Kamryn is at 28 ml/3 hours and Kayla is at 13 ml/3 hours...need to start pumping more to keep up with their appetites soon!

Happy 2 week birthday sweethearts!!!

Today is the girls' TWO WEEK birthday!!! And for their birthday, they BOTH got new hats AND to see each other!! I don't think they realized the other one was there just yet...but Kiko and I did and we took A LOT of pictures!!! Not much to update today...just trying to fatten the girls up and hope that the apnea episodes stop. Kamryn's feedings have been upped to 24ml every 3 hours and Kayla's feedings have been upped to 12ml every 3 hours! They are both gaining a few ounces every day!! Now for the good stuff...PICTURES!

First Family Pic!!

Just the girls...Kayla is on the left, Kamryn is on the right.

Kamryn and her "No more pictures please!" Pose!!

Kayla and her cute little smile! Kiko even caught it this time...so adorable!
Me and Kayla

Day 13 in NICU

I wonder if anybody reads these posts...LOL. It makes me feel better writing them anyway so I guess that's all that matters :).

Kamryn Update: Kamryn is growing so much! She now weighs 4lbs, 1 oz!!! Woohoo!! She's still having a lot of problems with the apnea...she had about 4 episodes yesterday and today and she had a couple of problems while I was holding her this afternoon. It is really very scary to worry about them constantly stopping breathing...the nurses have all the monitors to alert them, but I worry about when I bring her home. Other than the apnea, she's doing great!! They have increased her feedings to 18 ml...hopefully they will be able to try her out on a bottle soon!

Kayla Update: Kayla had a great day today...she didn't have any apnea episodes so I'm hoping those are behind her. She hasn't gained any weight in the last couple of days but I hope she starts soon. She's only receiving about 6 ml of formula every three hours and seems to be handling them ok. Hopefully they will be able to increase her amounts soon so she can start gaining weight. Daddy finally got the courage up to hold little Kayla today (he's been nervous since she is so tiny)...here are some pictures...

Day 12 in the NICU

Kayla Update: Kayla had another good day today...she had two apnea episodes yesterday, but as of tonight, she hadn't had anymore so hopefully she was just having a rough day yesterday. They have upped her feedings to 6 ml and she seems to be handling them well. I just talked to the nurse and she said that she was having a bit of a crises earlier and was very upset but when they found her pacifier she was a very happy camper again! She said the way she's sucking on that paci, she might be ready to try bottle feeding in the next few days!! That would be a great step for my little girl!! I got to spend about an hour just holding Kayla today and she was awake when we first started...her big brown eyes were looking all over the place and as I sang and talked to her, she focused right in on me and I swear I saw her smile a few times! Kiko thinks it was just gas...well, she is her daddy's daughter...LOL. As always, here is a picture of Kayla with her beautiful little eyes open...

Kamryn Update: Kiko spent some time holding Kamryn while I held Kayla today...it is amazing how they are only 1 lb apart in weight but how different in size they look!! Kamryn is doing great and her apnea episodes have seemed to slow down some. I hope that she continues to improve like this!! Daddy always likes to have fun with the girls so here is a picture just for my Aunt Sandy and Uncle Doug (and any other Longhorn Fans out there...) and another picture of Kamryn with her eyes open.

Day 11 in the NICU

BOTH girls are now in the Level II NICU...I can't tell you how nice it is knowing that they are making progress...even though sometimes it is hard to tell that it's progress! I just know that they are one day closer to being home with us!! Here is our first semi-family pic with Kamryn!!

Updates:

Kayla: Kayla was moved upstairs to the Level II NICU this morning!! She isn't in the same pod yet with Kamryn, but hopefully soon! Then we'll be able to sit next to each other holding both of our girls! I can't wait for that to happen. Kayla was doing very well today but she had her first apnea episode today right while I was standing there. Why do they insist on scaring their mother like that!?!? Anyway...the nurse ended up stimulating her and she recovered well. I am worried that she is now also having apnea episodes like her sister...but I just have to keep telling myself that this is normal for preemies and that it will be ok. She has also started on formula feedings and doing ok so far. She has put on a little weight and now is a whopping 2 lbs, 13 oz! :)

Kamryn: Kamryn is doing better today...she only had one apnea episode today so far. She's on some antibiotics for a small infection where her PICC line is inserted. Hopefully that will take care of it and be the last one. She and Daddy had a good time bonding today!! I left them alone for a little while to spend time with Kayla and when I came back, they were both asleep...so cute!! Kamryn is now weighing 3 lbs, 11 oz.

I just LOVE my baby girls!!

I know it's obvious, but I just had to say it...I LOVE my baby girls!! Every time I hold one of them, my heart just swells! :)

Today was a good day for the girls...Kamryn was moved up to the Level II NICU and Kayla was also put on the Level II upgrade list, but she won't move up there until there is room for her next to her sister. I'm hoping to be able to take a picture of ALL of us together soon!! Here is a picture of 3/4 of our new family that we took today with Kayla!

Updates on the girls:

Kamryn: Kamryn is doing great except for the apnea episodes. She had five episodes today already which really has me worried. She had one while we were there visiting which really scared me...she recovered well, but it doesn't stop you from worrying. The doctor was going to start her on some caffeine to try and stimulate her. If that doesn't work and the apnea episodes continue, they are going to do an infection workup. This involves taking blood, urine analysis and a spinal tap. The thought of my poor little girl having a spinal tap just makes me want to cry so I'm praying that the caffeine works and that she doesn't have an infection. I just want the apnea episodes to stop whatever it takes. Other than that, she is doing great and just eating and putting on weight! Here is today's picture of Kamryn resting...she gets more beautiful every day!!

Kayla: Kayla is now breathing unassisted and doing great! She was also upgraded to Level II NICU...but is just waiting for a spot near her sister. The big news today was that both Kamryn and Kayla received their first ultrasounds of their brains. The not so great news is that both girls have what is called an Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH) which is bleeding inside or around the ventricles, the spaces in the brain containing the cerebral spinal fluid. IVH is very common for babies born prematurely and most of the time resolve on their own with no damage to the brain. Sometimes, it can worsen and can cause bleeding into the brain itself which can damage the nerve cells and lead to brain damage. Right now, both Kayla and Kamryn have a Grade 1 bleed on the right ventricle and Kayla has a Grade 2 bleed on the left ventricle. Grade 1 is the mildest form, indicating just a small amount of bleeding at the ventricle. Grade 2 indicates slightly more bleeding inside of the ventricle. If the bleeding worsens into the ventricle (Grade 3), than it can cause increased pressure and then bleeding into the brain (Grade 4). They will both have daily head measurements and weekly ultrasounds to make sure there is no swelling indicating a worsening of the condition. I'm praying that both girls will recover completely with no long lasting neurological effects. If it does worsen, than a neurologist will be called in to discuss our options. I believe in the power of prayers and I know so many of you are already praying for our little miracles...but if you could add this on to your list, we would all be so appreciative!! Here is an updated picture of our little Kayla...she also gets more and more beautiful each day!! Yes, I am biased :)

Each day is one step closer to home...

Today was a quick visit to the NICU...we got there kind of late and right before they close to visitors for an hour...so we only got about 10 minutes of time in there today before we were booted out. Bummer. I cried, I felt so guilty. I wonder if I will ever stop being emotional??? Sigh....anyway, even though it was a short visit we got some good news!

Kamryn: Kamryn was upgraded to Level II NICU! That is great news as she is one step closer to being able to come home. She will be moved to the Level II NICU as soon as there is room for her in there. Her blood pressure has been stable, however the Dr detected that her heart murmur is back. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but while we were there, I noticed her heart rate and breathing was a bit erratic...this worried me and fortunately the neonatologist was there and saw it too. He said she was scheduled for another echocardiogram of her heart tomorrow so they will make sure she is ok before moving her. She does have an enlarged right ventricle and they are concerned she may have the same leaky ductis that Kayla had...so we shall see what comes of that. She also has had a few apnea episodes since being taken off the ventilator...this is common with preemies so I'm trying not to worry about it too much. The Dr said she will come home on an apnea monitor, so Kiko and I will need to take Infant CPR classes before she can be released.

Kayla: This little girl is a BIG fighter, let me tell you! I think she got wind that Kamryn was doing really well and didn't want to be outdone! She had the CPAP removed this morning and is now just using a nasal canula for some additional oxygen...what a beautiful sight that was! I can see her little face and yes...she and Kamryn are definitely identical! She is having some problems digesting my breast milk they started her on yesterday...so they are backing off of that and going to try again a little later. Hopefully she will be able to tolerate that soon as it will help her put on weight and come home sooner.

Didn't have a chance to take any pictures today...but I'm planning to take a lot tomorrow! Stay tuned...

Another GREAT day!!!

I hope every day that the girls are in the NICU can be as good as the last few days have been. I got to hold Kayla today for the first time and it took everything I had not to just cry from happiness. She is just SO tiny, I felt like I was going to hurt her. Here is a picture of Kayla being held for the first time:

Kayla: My little fighter had her first poopy diaper today! Woohoo!! Actually, she had THREE! I think this is a sign of things to come...LOL. She also started on breast milk through a tube today which is a huge accomplishment. Now they will watch her to make sure that she is tolerating that well. I didn't think she would be on that so soon...guess I need to start watching the spicy food now! She has a little bit of jaundice and is back under the lights for a few days, but that is ok. Oh she now weighs 2 lbs, 11 oz! So she's put on a little bit of weight which is great!! She is still on the CPAP but doing very well with breathing on her own.

Kamryn: My little super girl is doing just great! She looks so big compared to her sister! She now weighs 3 lbs, 8 oz so she also has put on a little weight. Her blood pressure has been stable so far which is great news! They have increased her feeding amount also so she is handling the food well. She has had a few episodes of apnea since being off the CPAP, but she didn't have any today so I'm praying those are done now. Here's a picture of Kamryn "vogue-ing" for Daddy!!

I'm so happy with their progress so far...I pray that the worst is behind us now and that all they have left is to just grow and gain some weight so we can bring them home! My hope is to have them home by Valentine's Day...I can't think of a better Valentine's present for Kiko and I than to have our little girls home with us.

What a wonderful day...

I think today was one of the best days we have had since the girls were born...appropriate since it is also their one week birthday!!

Kayla was able to be weaned from the ventilator today and is breathing essentially on her own with only very little assistance from a CPAP machine!!! And Kamryn was taken off the CPAP machine and is breathing completely on her own!! I was so overwhelmed with relief and excitement that I broke down crying when I heard the news. Yes, you can cry just as much with good news!!

Kamryn was also moved to an isolette today, which is an improvement. We will also be able to hold Kayla tomorrow when we get to the NICU...needless to say, I'll be bugging Kiko to leave first thing in the morning!! :)



Here is a picture of Kamryn (sorry it is so dark...we only had the video camera and it doesn't take very good pictures). Now that she doesn't have the CPAP on, we are able to see her beautiful little face!!! And let me tell you...she looks JUST LIKE DADDY!!! I mean, there is no mistaking these are Kiko's little girls!!!! I'm ok with that too...let's just hope they have my brains and charisma!! LOL!






















I want to take a second to thank everyone who donated blood and have been saying prayers for our little girls. I can't tell you how much it means to all of us. I want to have our precious girls just wrapped in a cocoon of prayers to keep them safe and for all of God's healing powers!! We do have enough blood now for both girls for a few weeks so please feel free to pass along our thanks!! All donations made now will be used for the general population.

An exciting day...

Today was an exciting day for Kiko and I...we got to hold one of our girls for the first time!

Kamryn is doing well enough for us to spend a few hours holding her and it was so wonderful. She didn't open her eyes and she's still so small with a LOT of wires, but it was truly wonderful seeing this beautiful girl in my arms. Here are a couple of pictures. I love her little hat! Volunteers came around and gave her a new little beenie hat...so cute!! You can barely see her little face past the CPAP on her nose.

Kayla is hanging in there! She is still on the ventilator and morphine for comfort following her surgery, but she is showing some signs of improvement. The doctors want to give her a day or two to get her lungs healthier before trying to wean her off the ventilator. She is very comfortable but it is hard to see her like this. She's so sweet and tiny...my little fighter!! Here's a pic of her from today also!

Updates on Kayla and Kamryn

I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to post but it's been a bit hectic lately...now that I am finally home (YEAH!!!) I hope to update this blog every evening with the latest and greatest news on our little girls!! First of all I'm working on getting the pictures up somewhere for everyone to see...this blog is too limited for ALL of them that DADDY KEEPS TAKING!!!!

This is one of my favorite pictures...This is right after they wheeled me into the recovery room and brought Kamryn in to see me...this is as close as I could get but it means so much...

KAYLA ANNE: Here is the latest on our little fighter! Kayla had minor heart surgery yesterday afternoon to repair a leak in her heart that was sending blood into her lungs. This was causing resperatory problems for our tiny girl and if we didn't repair it would not have allowed her to live. The doctors performed the surgery right there in the NICU which is amazing and took about 45 minutes but she was a trooper and everything is better now. She does have some anatomical irregularities with her heart (I don't know all the technical terms) but she's got an extra vein or something that isn't supposed to be there but they have reviewed and decided it shouldn't cause her any problems in the future. She is still on the ventilator and will be for a few more days while she heals from the surgery...hopefully they will be able to wean her off of that soon. She's still so tiny, probably only about 2 lbs right now...but she's our BIG FIGHTER right now!! Here is a picture of Kayla Anne right after being born. You can see the difference between her and Kamryn due to the TTTS. Kayla was the "donor" baby and if we hadn't delivered when we did, we most likely would have lost this little girl. I'm so thankful for my Dr and the wonderful nurses at Woman's hospital for keeping all of us safe!!

KAMRYN GRACE: Here is the latest on our super girl!!! Kamryn keeps us guessing from one day to the next that is for sure! She is our bigger girl, weighing about 3 lbs right now. She was initially on the ventilator for several days but is now breathing only with some assistance from a CPAP machine which is wonderful!! She has been having problems with high blood pressure which the doctor's are trying to figure out. They initially thought it was due to a line that they inserted into her stomach...they removed the line and her blood pressure came right back down. However, last night and today it's been creeping back up again...the doctor's are looking into her kidney function now as a culprit so they will be doing some testing and ultrasounds tonight or tomorrow. I hope they can find something so she doesn't have to go onto any heavy duty blood pressure medication. Kamryn also started on breast milk today!! This was very exciting for us to hear...they will watch how she handles the food over the next few days as she's at risk for tearing her intestines at this young of an age so it's a slow process to wean them onto breast milk. The Dr also said that hopefully tomorrow we will be able to hold Kamryn for the first time!! I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to hold one of my little girls...wires and all!! I'm scared to death, but I know the nurses will be there to help me figure it all out. I hope to have pictures of that tomorrow! Here is a picture of Kamryn from when she was first born...she has lost some weight since this was taken, but I definitely think they both look a LOT like DADDY!!!

Please welcome Kayla and Kamryn Novilla to the world!!!

Sorry for getting to this so late!! But we are happy to announce that Kayla Anne and Kamryn Grace Novilla entered this world at 8:40 am on January 9, 2009!!! Kayla weighed in at 2 lbs, 6 oz and Kamryn was 3 lbs, 6 oz. They were born at 31 weeks, 4 days and are currently in the NICU.

As I wrote in the last post, the girls were scheduled for a c-section on Saturday afternoon but it turns out they and my body had different plans. On Wednesday night, Jan 7, the Dr came in and said she didn't like how the girls were handling the environment on their heart rhythms, indicating they were getting stressed in utero. The Dr decided they couldn't wait till Saturday and wanted to deliver the next night on Thursday, the 8th. No problem...except that I had already been given my blood thinners for the night which could cause problems with me having a c-section by epidural. So Thursday came and went with my blood counts not being good enough to do the c-section the way we wanted. We could have done general anesthesia, but then Kiko could not have seen the birth and I had previous problems with general that the Dr wanted to avoid. Not to mention, that stresses the girls out even more with that type of surgery...so we tried again for Friday morning the 9th. My bloodwork was still borderline but the Dr felt we needed to get them out now and waiting was no longer an option. Either surgery was going to be risky so we let the Dr decide for us because I was a wreck and couldn't make a decision either way!!

Now the latest, the girls are doing "OK" in the NICU right now. Since they were struggling in utero with the TTTS, they are having some problems right now also with the changing over to the outside world. Both girls are on ventilators to help them breathe easier, both have heart murmurs (which aren't really a problem but could be) so they will be getting extra testing done today on that, both have jaundice and both have anemia. Little Kayla who was the smaller of the two babies seems to be doing a little better than her sister right now, the Dr's say it was because she was so distressed inside me, getting out is almost like a breath of fresh air!! Whereas Kamryn was pretty comfy in there and really didn't want to come out and now she's having to struggle a little more to get adjusted. She's got some problems with high blood pressure right now and they are trying to pinpoint the cause, it could be from low blood counts (so they started her on a blood transfusion yesterday), she could also have a heart problem or kidney problems. So she will be going through more testing this morning to see if they can get her blood pressure down as it can cause hemorraging, blood clots, etc.

Well that's the latest, check back later and I will have Kiko post some pictures of the girls for you to see. Thank you again for all the well wishes and prayers!! We will keep everyone updated as best we can!!

Love,
Kristen, Kiko, Kayla and Kamryn

And the big news is...

Well it looks like Kiko and I will be parents by the end of the weekend. The Dr has scheduled my c-section for this Saturday (assuming there are no problems before then that would warrant an emergency c-section). Little Kayla has reached her limits and the girls will be better off in the NICU than in me unfortunately. She has fallen below the 10th percentile range and has reached 5.0 in her amniotic fluid. Her heartbeat is strong and steady and there is still good cord flow, but she is just not growing anymore and her BIG sister is taking more nutrients than Kayla can get. So the Dr wants to try and get as close to 32 weeks as possible before taking them out hence waiting till this weekend. Kayla now weighs 2 lbs, 7 oz and Kamryn weighs 3 lbs, 10 oz as of Monday.

Sorry this is so short, but having contractions as I try to sit up and type. Keep us all in your prayers and I will try to update as soon as we can!!

Love, Kristen and Kiko