HAPPY B-DAY HANK & HAYDEN!!!! YOU'RE 2 WEEKS OLD!!!

Another fairly boring day (we love those!). My mom, grandmother Gilbert, and I visited the twins this morning, and they were both still off the vents. I couldn't believe it! I really didn't expect them to go this long breathing on their own. They've both gained weight--Hank is 1-13 and Hayden is 1-14.8 (what a chunk!). She is tolerating her continuous feedings very well, and they've increased her to 2cc/hour. Hank is up to 5cc every 3 hours. His head scan came back unchanged. The dr said that's what he expected. This means that the bleeding hasn't been absorbed, but it hasn't bled anymore either or caused any swelling. He said that this is a slow process, so it could be some time before we see any major change. They will do another scan in a week. Hayden's scan came back completely clear. Everything else remains pretty much the same. My dad and LeWair visited tonight, and they said both babies were resting soundly. Jay is debating on going over tonight. His team lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs in Hattiesburg today... in the last 15 seconds of the 2nd overtime. He's pretty bummed, and said he wants to see the twins on their birthday, so we may be headed back later on. If there are no changes, then I won't be updating again--"No news is good news!" Even though things have been going smoothly over the past few days, please don't scratch us off your prayer list yet! We've still got a long way to go! We appreciate each and every one of you!

High-maintenance Hayden

I just spoke with the babies' nurses for today. Both are still on CPAP (off the ventilator), but Hank will probably be going back on the vent pretty soon. He's had several apnea spells, so they gave him a boost of caffiene, which only helped a little. His lungs are just still very immature. They will do another head scan this afternoon, and we hope to have the results by tomorrow afternoon, but you never know on a weekend. He weighs 1 lb. 12.8 oz. Hayden is still on CPAP and doing very well. She still doesn't like it when they fool with her, so they leave her alone unless there's something they absolutely have to do. They are putting her on a continous feeding tube that will slowly release 3cc of milk to her over a period of 3 hours. They feel that she will tolerate this more than one big 3cc feeding every 3 hours. She weighs 1 lb. 12.3 oz. Please pray for good results on Hank's head scan and both of their chest xrays. Also pray for the NICU staff and the other little babies in there. They are all so precious.

Don't worry, be happy

We just returned from my dr appt in Jackson. Thank goodness my dr liked what he saw and didn't re-open my incision! We had a good visit with Dr. Robbins, the babies' doctor this week. He told us that right now, the only thing we need to be worried about, as far as long term effects go, is Hank's brain bleed. They will be doing another head scan in the next few days to determine if the bleeding has been absorbed or if it has caused any swelling. H & H were both off the ventilators today. That's a great improvement, that they are breathing well on their own. However, it most probably won't be permanent. It is very common for preemies to go on and off the vent, but any time spent off the vent means their lungs aren't in too bad of shape. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, specifically that Hank's brain bleed will be resolved. You are all so precious to us!

No news is good news...

It was a slow news day for the Harrison family today, and I'm not complaining one bit. Both babies seem to be doing fine. Hank is not showing any signs of pneumonia, and Hayden is a little less sensitive than she has been. Jay & I drove over to see them this afternoon, but they wouldn't let us in. The NICU had a new admission right when we got there, and they were having to work on the new baby pretty hard. It was tough to leave without seeing H & H, but we'll get to see them about noon tomorrow after my checkup. Hopefully, the doctor will like what he sees with my incision and not want to open it back up. Jay won his game last night, so his team moves on to the 2nd round down at Oak Grove Saturday at 3:00. Please pray for them to have a safe trip and that the babies continue this boring streak. I wish I could email each of you personally, but that would take forever. Know that we are so grateful for all of you!

Go Vikings!

I didn't update earlier today, because the morning report was pretty bland (Thank the Lord!), except that Hank pooped on his nurse ;). However, they called tonight to say that he had some aspiration of milk, which means he spit up, didn't get it all the way out, and sucked some down into his lungs. She said this is common but can cause pneumonia. They are extra cautious when it comes to this, so they immediately put him on antibiotics and will do another chest xray in the a.m. They haven't had to go up on his ventilator settings, so that's a good sign. Hopefully, we'll have a good report in the morning. Jay is on his way over there after winning his first-round playoff game tonight 2-0 (GO VIKINGS!). If he has anything to add after seeing them tonight, I'll update you later. There was a nice article in the Vicksburg Post today about Jay's team and the babies. Click this link to read it Vicksburg Post Article. Thanks so much for passing along the site to your friends and family. I think H & H are famous around the nation, now! It's a good thing that God doesn't have a set number of phone lines up there, because I don't think anybody else would be able to get through! You all are wonderful!!!

No murmur...

We received a good report at our visit with the twins tonight. Hayden's echo came back saying her PDA had closed--no murmur. They've also been measuring Hank's head, and he's had no swelling since birth. They'll do another head scan at the end of the week. Please pray for the results to be good ones (no more bleeding), and that Hayden will begin to tolerate my milk again (her feeding had been suspended due to the meds for the PDA). Both of them opened their eyes and looked at us tonight--so sweet. Thanks again for your support!

PDA gone???

Just spoke with the nurse. Both babies are stable. They haven't done Hayden's echocardiogram yet, but they're optimistic that the meds worked. They haven't heard a murmur any of the times they've listened to her heart this morning. They are trying to leave her alone, since she doesn't seem to like being bothered. She just wasn't ready to be here, yet! Her weight is up to 1 lb. 13 oz.--right where she started, so we are excited about that. Hank is weighing 1 lb. 13.9 oz., and there really isn't any change in his condition. We are blown away by all of the people who are still checking up on our babies. Thank you so much for taking the time. We have added more pics of the twins to the site. Click on the photo gallery link near the bottom of the page. We've taken a ton of pics, but it's not like they're home with us where we can dress them in different outfits and pose them really cute, so we haven't posted many pictures, since they all look pretty much the same. We hope you enjoy them, regardless.

Home Alone

Jay just returned from visiting the twins (I'm restricted to visits only every other day for a couple of weeks). Hayden and Hank are both stable, still at the same breathing rates and oxygen levels. The nurse said that they found out that H & H do better if it's quiet and the lights are turned down, so they have turned off their bilirubin lights that help diminish their jaundice. The nurses gave me some little blankets to wear inside my shirt for a few days while I was in the hospital. They hold in my scent, and they've placed them in bed with the babies, so they can be comforted by my smell. Isn't that amazing??? Right now, they have the blankets over their heads to keep the light out. Jay took some video for me tonight, and all you can see are their little behinds poking out! They're giving Hank 10 ml of milk now...He's going to get so fat! Hayden's murmur is much quieter than it was, so they think that the meds are doing the trick. They will do an echocardiogram tomorrow to see if her patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) has closed--it being open is what's causing the murmur. It's very common for preemies to have this condition, but only 10% ever need surgery to correct it. Please pray specifically for Hayden's PDA to close and for Hank's brain bleed and his lungs since he has needed more help breathing than Hayden has from the beginning. Thank you again for taking time out to check up on us. (Happy Bday Uncle Danny & Jan).

We've got poop!!!!!

We received our nightly update from the twins' nurse, and it seems that Hayden and Hank have moved on from wet-only diapers to poopy diapers. Amazing--the little accomplishments that excite us!!! Hank has been fussy today when those around him are loud, so they've had to turn the lights down and keep quiet around him. Hayden can sleep through a tornado. Hank is weighing 1 lb. 12 oz. and is getting a whopping 8 ml of milk every 3 hours. Hayden is a petite 1 lb. 10 oz., and they've had to suspend her feedings, because of a slight heart murmur. They've given her some medicine to treat the murmur that might upset her tummy, which is why her feedings have been put on hold until tomorrow. Hayden is breathing mostly room air (21 % oxygen), while Hank is still fluctuating between 25-35% oxygen. Tonight marks a huge milestone in their lives - 7 days old. There are many bad things that can happen during the first week of life, and the risk diminishes after that week. Thank the Lord--He is so good!!!!

Missing in Action

Many of you are wondering why we haven't updated the site. It seems we are getting very good at surprise hospital admissions. Thursday night I noticed some redness near my incision, so I rode with Jay to visit the babies and have a nurse look at me. It turned out that my incision was infected and required me to be readmitted for 2 nights. It's now Saturday, and hopefully I'm back home for good--although I definitely didn't mind being just down the hall from the babies for a couple of nights! They are doing fine. We got a report Friday morning that Hayden had a Category 1 brain bleed, and Hank had a Category 3 bleed. Of course, it scared us to death, but these bleeds are very common and often will not cause any long-term damage. There is always a risk of cerebral palsy with a Category 3, but we were instructed not to hyper-focus on this. We do ask that you pray specifically for Hank's bleeding to be absorbed to eliminate these risks. Hayden is being herself--trucking right along with no major problems. Last night, the nurse let me take Hank's temperature, and we watched them get fed. Hayden is getting 3.5 ml of milk every 3 hours, and Hank is getting 5.5 ml. They are both tolerating it very well. Today is their 1-week birthday, and before we left the hospital today, I sang Happy Birthday to them. Hank wiggled around, so I'm not sure he enjoyed my singing, but Hayden was a trooper, as usual. We are amazed at how many people have checked out this site, and we thank you for your interest in our babies. Your prayers are definitely being heard and answered!!!

Back on the vents

I spoke with Dr. Owens today, and he said that both babies are back on the ventilators. This is not a bad thing, they were just experiencing some apnea, so the vents are just giving them some assistance. Hayden is almost on room air, and Hank is on minimal oxygen. They are getting 2 ml of breast milk every 3 hours, and both are tolerating it well. The transfusion went fine, and we can expect 2-3 more. They will probably get a routine head ultrasound tomorrow to check for brain bleeding. Jay will be visiting them tonight, since I'm only allowed to go every other day for a couple of weeks. I'll be updating the site when he returns tonight. Thanks again for your prayers

Wake-up Call

We are officially parents, and we now know what it's like to have your heart stop when the phone rings in the middle of the night. This morning at 2:50 the hospital called to get our consent for blood transfusions. I was too upset after seeing "Mississippi Baptist Med" on the Caller ID, so Jay handled the call and said that the nurse on the other end assured him that everything was fine. We knew that transfusions were a probability around Day 6, so we weren't alarmed about the procedure, just that it would happen in the middle of the night. Apparently, the transfusion just gives them some healthy blood to give them a little boost that they need right now. I'll be calling the doctor at noon today to get an update and will update the site as soon as I hear something. Thank you again for your prayers... They are so needed and appreciated.

Introducing Hayden & Hank

Hayden & Hank surprised us by arriving very early at 26 weeks--they definitely don't take after their mom ;). Hayden was born at 8:36 p.m. weighing 1 lb. 13 oz and 13 3/4 inches long. Hank followed at 8:38 p.m. weighing 1 lb. 12 oz. and 13 inches long. Sally came home from the hospital on Jan. 21 and is healing well. The babies will remain at Baptist Hospital for about 10-12 weeks or approximately their original due date of April 25.