January 31st

Casen is doing well this morning. His swelling is improving nicely with the diuretic, so he's beginning to look more like our baby boy. In hopes of extubating (removing his breathing tube), they stopped feeds early this morning & also stopped his sedative. Without sedation he is more alert, but also fights the tube a little bit. They gave Case a trial run today to see if he could breath well on his own. Unfortunately, when they came to watch him for the test run, he decided to hold his breath. They opted to slow down a bit, leave the tube in, & try again tomorrow. They started back on feeds & are actually supplementing his breast milk with a high calorie formula for an extra boost.
We got some lab results back today which actually change his diagnosis a bit. Our hospital in Longview had positive tests for RSV, type A flu, & type B flu. Dallas Children's repeated these tests with a more sensitive testing method, & they all came back negative. It's strange to get conflicting results... they think that he just has Group B Strep bacteremia (a bacterial blood infection) & there must have been some sort of environmental contaminant in Longview that turned the other tests positive. The good news is we no longer have to scrub in to go into his room & Bryan doesn't have to sleep in a gown, mask, & gloves!

January 30th

Another day... another disease! We found out this morning that Casen's blood culture from our Longview hospital is growing a specific type of bacteria that they assume to be Group B Strep (GBS). GBS is a bacteria normally found in certain places in the body of adults, but can cause serious (even deadly) infections in newborns. So Casen is now being treated for 4 different infections - RSV, type A flu, type B flu, & now Group B Strep. What a tough little man... he got hit pretty hard! The good news is, he's doing very well. He is actually much more alert today - Bryan caught him with his eyes open this morning.

The doctor is hopeful that he'll be strong enough for his breathing tube to come out tomorrow morning. As long as his labs remain stable, that's the plan. More good news... he got to eat today! Not very much - they started a very slow trickle feed, but at least it's something in his tummy! They also started him on a diuretic to remove excess fluid, & his swelling is improving.
Because we don't want Collins exposed to any germs at the hospital, she stays at the Ronald McDonald house with myself &/or Bryan's mom. At night, Bryan has been staying with Casen at the hospital. In the pediatric ICU, we have to "scrub in" each time we enter Case's room - gown, gloves, & mask. This helps to keep us from bringing germs to Case and from spreading his germs to others. The bad news is you also have to sleep scrubbed in, too... poor Bryan!

Bryan & I are both very touched by the outpouring of love, support, & prayers we have received for Casen & our family. From the Facebook messages and phone calls to the hospital visits & care packages - we feel very loved! Thank you for interceding on our behalf - we couldn't ask for more!

January 29th

When I took Casen to the doctor on Friday morning, we noticed some mild swelling & redness on the back of his neck. When he woke up this morning, that swelling had significantly worsened and spread along his jawline.


Concerned about the possibility of an infection, one of Casen's doctors immediately ordered a CT scan. While the results were pending, they also added 2 more antibiotics to his medication regimen. Luckily, the CT scan did not show an abscess - just swelling. The localized neck swelling is strange, but not overly concerning at this point.
Casen's doctor would like to take out his breathing tube as soon as possible. Because they think Case is close to being able to breathe on his own, they have not allowed him to eat (if they remove the breathing tube, he cannot have anything in his tummy in case they had to replace the tube - he might throw up & aspirate). Bryan & I are not excited about the fact that our baby hasn't eaten in over 30 hours, but the doctor did agree to feed him tomorrow morning regardless of whether or not he can be extubated.

January 28th

Thw twins are 1 month old today - we can't believe how fast time has flown by!
We've had quite a scare with Casen - yesterday he started to not eat as well as normal & he became extra sleepy. When he woke up this morning lethargic again and not interested in eating, we decided to take him to the doctor. I took him to the clinic @ 8:30am. While there, Casen began to fuss & root for food - normal behaviors for a hungry 1 month old. Even though he looked pretty good in clinic, because of his age and lethargic symptoms at home, Dr. Sam decided to admit him to the hospital for further work up. I drove to the hospital, registered, then took him to our room on the pediatric floor. When I reached down to take Case out of his car seat, I was shocked to see him bluish-gray in color! I quickly scooped him up. His color improved, but remained dusky even after Bryan arrived a few minutes later. Our nurse was also concerned with Casen's coloring & sluggish behavior and asked Dr. Madhu to take a look at him quickly. Dr. Madhu ordered a slew of tests, including flu & RSV swabs and blood, urine, & spinal fluid cultures. This meant he had blood drawn, a catheter placed to collect sterile urine, & a spinal tap done - Ouch!! Casen was a trooper & made it through all of the tests well. We soon found out that he tested positive for RSV, type A flu, & type B flu! As we were waiting to start meds, his oxygen saturation began to drop. Soon after that, we noticed his heart rate dropping, & then he began to have episodes of apnea where he stopped breathing for 25-30 seconds at a time. At that point, he built up a pretty good audience! The respiratory therapists continually stimulated him to keep his heart & respiratory rates up and the decision was made for him to be intubated (placed on a breathing tube) then transported by air to Children's Medical Center in Dallas. I cannot describe the terror of standing by your child's bedside as he struggles to live... praying for him to continue breathing, for his heart to keep beating... terror!
Casen was stabilized on the ventilator shortly before the transport team arrived from Children's. The team was wonderful & made us feel as comfortable as possible in light of Casen's situation. I was able to fly along with Case to Dallas - he traveled in his very own jet plane!
Casen's jet plane - won't he think this is cool when he grows up?!?

Casen made the trip without any problems and remains stable in the PICU at Children's. They are repeating a few of the tests he had done at Good Shepherd & ordering a few new ones as well. Until his culture results come back, they have him on 2 different antibiotics & 2 antivirals for broad coverage. He'll most likely remain on the vent for several days, & they told us to expect to be here for about 2 weeks.
Our brave little man... such a fighter!

While we were flying in, Bryan went home to pick up Collins, packed quickly, then drove to meet us. We are all in Dallas now and are blessed to be able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house nearby.

January 23rd

Our precious babies... Casen Ray & Collins Elaine


Parenthood is definitely the best thing we've ever done! We still can't believe how lucky we are!

We started to get somewhat of a regular routine started this week as Bryan returned to work. It's challenging to work around the exhaustion, but we're splitting up nighttime feedings, & Michelle's parents are helping as well. They are also moving out of our house & into their new home this week - we will miss their help! Good thing they're only a few miles away!

Sleepy guys... Daddy & Casen snoozing after work.

Our sweet baby boy...

Mommy & Casen catching a quick nap on the couch.

Michelle's parents LOVE being grandparents!

Bryan's parents & sisters drove in from Dallas to visit last weekend. The NICU only allowed parents & grandparents to see the babies while they were in the hospital, so Aunt Megan and Aunt Lindsey came to meet Casen & Collins for the first time. They all had a great time getting to know each other.

Casen and Collins had their 1st well-check appointments this week with our pediatrician, Dr. Kae McCrory. They surprised us both by weighing the exact same - 4 lbs 6 oz. It's reassuring to see the weight gain, especially from Casen! He carries most of his weight in his arms & legs and is actually a full inch longer than Collins! He barely fits in some of his preemie clothes now and the majority of sleepers fit his arms at three quarter length! He is starting to fill out in his face, though & we're glad to see a little baby chub! For now we're still on an every 3 hour feeding schedule until they get closer to term baby weight (6.5 or 7 lbs.) Dr. Kae is happy with how they're both doing so far and we go back for our next well-check in 3 weeks.

Since we came home, we've been gradually introducing our dogs to the babies. Zeke is oblivious, but Mia has been extremely curious since she heard their first little cry. She's done really well & has been very gentle around the babies. However, she's also shown a slight bit of unhealthy interest in the baby's things - she chewed up a dirty diaper(YUCK!), chewed up a bottle, & did her best to curl up on their newborn lounger. We're trying to keep her stocked up on pets as much as we can when she's not misbehaving!

Even now we are seeing Case & Collins' personalities shine! Collins rarely fusses... Casen is a bit more vocal. He was disgruntled for some reason during nap time & somehow wiggled his way out of his blankie & half way out of his sleeper! It's a good thing Collins can sleep through the distraction!

January 14th

We came home from the hospital on Tuesday evening, January 11th. The week has flown by as we attempt to settle into a daily routine & catch up on sleep when possible. Casen & Collins are adjusting well - they sleep in their pack n play next to our bed & are quite content there until feeding time comes around every 3 hours. We started to tandem breast feed (feeding both babies at the same time), & they're doing surprisingly well. Casen still takes a supplemental bottle of pumped milk after breast feeds & is doing great!

Last night, they had their first baths since coming home. Bath time is not a favorite with either one of them. Here's Collins giving us a piece of her mind...

I love these little hooded towels!
Here's our little frog prince.

And our beautiful princess.

The towels are a little big for them right now. In fact, they actually fit well in the hoods alone! Check out Casen & Collins "in the hood" :)

January 11th

Casen Ray - what a cutie!
Today started a little rough for Casen. He ripped out his NG tube for the 5th time. Luckily he has been eating well enough that the nurses didn't feel he needed it put back in. I guess a little stubborn persistance pays off sometimes.

Casen showing off without his feeding tube - he's holding up one finger for each time he yanked the tube out himself! We're all glad to be done with tube feedings - especially Case!
He was also circumcised today. He took it like a champ. I (Daddy) went to see him afterward and he was calm and relaxed. I was never so happy to have him catch me off guard and pee on my hand (it still works:)!

Case didn't pass his newborn hearing screen in the nursery today, so we'll have to follow up with an audiologist in the next couple of weeks to repeat the screening. He most likely failed because his ear canals are so tiny. Hopefully after a couple weeks of good growth he'll be able to pass the screen with flying colors.
After a difficult start to the day, we all got some exciting news when they told us Casen was being discharged home! We packed up our room at the Shepherd House & took our babies home for good - what a GREAT feeling!

Casen & mommy ready to check out of the NICU - exciting day!!

Casen dressed & ready to go.

Making it home with our newborn twins. Chilly weather - there's still snow on the ground!
Collins has been waiting patiently for her brother. She fills her time eating and sleeping - she must get that from her daddy. So far she is an extremely well-mannered baby. She did get to leave the room every 3 hours during the night to help daddy drop mommy off at the hospital to feed Casen. She does not particularly enjoy cold weather, but loves riding in the car.
We are so thankful to Good Shepherd for allowing us to stay so close to the hospital and to our friends and family for stopping by, bring meals and helping us take care of things while away from home. We are truly blessed and loving every sleep-deprived night with our kiddos.

January 10th

Casen weighs 4 pounds 1 ounce today. He has really improved with his feedings - today is the first day he has finished eating without needing to use his NG tube. Way to go, Casen! Keep up the good work! Since he is doing so well, the nurse practitioner okayed for him to breast &/or bottle feed at every feeding now. If he continues to do well, we may be looking at an earlier discharge date - possibly Tuesday or Wednesday!
Collins is doing great! We took her to my clinic today to check her weight. She seems to be doing just fine - when we go back next Tuesday for her well check we'll be able to compare weights to make sure she is gaining like she should.

January 9th

Look who made it out of his incubator!?! Casen weighs 4 pounds 0.3 ounces today & has been controlling his body temperature well. They allowed him to move back into an open-air crib early this morning & he's doing great! Dr. Chen is also allowing him to breast/bottle feed every other feeding now instead of just twice a day. It won't be long before he's feeding completely on his own & won't need the NG tube anymore. That can't come early enough for Case - he pulled his NG tube out tonight for the 4th time since we've been here... little stinker!

Check out our Texas snowstorm. They're predicting slush, ice, & several inches of snow in our East Texas area. So glad we're close to the hospital where we can still see Case!

As you can see, Collins is very interested in her first experience with snow... slept right through it! She'll feel differently when she gets older.

Mommy & Collins taking snow pictures indoors.

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January 8th

Casen weighs 4 pounds today! He did awesome with his morning feeding - I had to stop him after 15 minutes of breastfeeding so he didn't wear himself out too much. He is also making progess with bottle feeds & took a full 16cc bottle this morning. We're so proud of him - he's doing great! Dr. Chen doesn't want to push him too fast, so he is keeping him in the incubator for now. Tomorrow he will let me increase breast & bottle feeds from just twice a day. Dr. Chen estimates that Casen will be able to go home in 3-5 more days depending on his progress. I think Casen is going to surprise him with how much he can do... he's a tough little guy!

Collins had a great night last night. She's very content once her tummy is full & barely made a noise. The twins both eat every 3 hours. Since we've had Collins, I've been staying at the house with her while Bryan takes the nighttime feedings with Casen. Then Bryan will try to catch a little sleep (or a little playoff football with his awesome daughter:) while I take the majority of daytime feedings.




Michelle's parents have come up the last 2 nights to watch Collins so we can go see Casen together. "Wompa" loves holding her - we'll just have to make sure she doesn't get too spoiled! Michelle's mom also came up to visit this afternoon.

January 7th

Casen weighs 3 pounds 15 ounces today. He almost weighs enough for them to consider putting him back in an open-air crib, but they're still monitoring his temperature control closely. He had another good feeding session today, but continues to have trouble with bottle feeds. I'm hoping they start allowing us to practice with him more than twice a day.
Collins stayed with us for the first time last night. She did very well - just a bit fussy several times throughout the night. Tonight we'll have to make sure we top off her tank before bedtime - she's a little piglet!
Having the twins has of course changed our lives in BIG ways! Bryan & I were talking the other day about what has most surprised us in this whole baby journey. I think we both expected that having the twins would easily distract us from one another. Their schedule is strict & exhausting - it would be easy to forget our relationship in this whole experience. But surprisingly & thankfully it has only brought us closer together. We are now partners in an entirely different way, & it's tremendously rewarding to see how well we do this parenting thing together!
I'm blessed to have a supportive husband. He helps with feedings & pumpings; he sterilizes my pump attachments, he takes videos of the twins' first baths even though their red-faced screams make him want to cringe. He sympathizes with my protective mommy instincts & allows me to push myself too much on occassion. Because of all these things, he's probably the only person I'll listen to when I really do need to sleep; & then he's the one who will go feed Casen so I can stay at the house to rest. We are blessed in so many ways, but largely because we have each other. Parenthood wouldn't be near as much fun if we weren't doing this together!

January 6th

Collins weighs 4 pounds 3.8 ounces today. She is feeding great, controlling her own temps, & the best part is... she's leaving with us!! Collins was discharged from the NICU this morning after a 9 day stay. She will stay with us at the Shepherd House over the next week while we wait for Casen to be discharged as well.

Our sweet baby girl! I'm not sure how we got so lucky...

Casen weighs 3 pounds 13.1 ounces today. He had a good feeding session this morning & actually breastfed for 10 minutes - the longest stretch so far! He's also slowly increasing the volume he can draw from a bottle & got up to 10cc this morning. For now, he's still in his incubator with his NG tube in place.

Nana & Pop (Bryan's parents) drove in this morning from Dallas for a quick visit. They couldn't resist getting to see their grandbabies, especially since Mike had to go back to work last week before the NICU allowed grandparents to hold them.

January 5th

Look who's been moved back to an open-air crib!

Collins had trouble regulating her body temperature while she had to be undressed for phototherapy. Now that we can dress her to stay warm, they allowed her to go back to an open crib. Here's the best news, though... if she can regulate her own temperature, Dr. Chen thinks they may discharge her tomorrow!!

Casen is still in his incubator to help him conserve energy & regulate his body temperature. He is making slow progress with feedings, but still takes the majority of feedings through his nasogastric tube. Dr. Chen is telling us at this point that he'll be in the NICU at least another week. We're hoping that we can progress with feedings well enough to get out early. We'll see how he does...

Both of the kids have also continued to gain weight. Collins now weighs 4 pounds 3.5 ounces; Casen now weighs 3 pounds 12.1 ounces.

One of our sweet friends from church hand-made this adorable diaper bag gift for the twins. Thanks, Deniece! I love it!

January 4th

I can't believe Casen & Collins are 1 week old already!
Updated bilirubin levels came back this morning, and both twins are out of risk range - no more phototherapy!
Collins is a champion eater, but eating (especially nursing) takes a lot of energy. She has been spending more energy to eat than she has been taking in, so we started limiting nursing to 20 minutes then supplementing with bottle feeds while we monitor her weight closely. This morning she finally gained weight & came up to 4 pounds 2.5 ounces!
Casen is maintaining his weight so far at 3 pounds 11 ounces, & they okayed for him to begin breast/bottle feeds twice daily. His first session went really well & he continues to improve with each attempt. It won't be long until he is feeding as well as Collins.

We are blessed...
As tired as I am, I slept horribly last night. The hospital is filling up & we knew our time staying in a courtesy room would be limited. I woke up in tears just thinking about having to drive away from the hospital without my babies. Bryan & I happened to run into a friend while eating breakfast in the cafe'. Tia offered to contact Good Shepherd's social worker for us, & they were able to get us a room at the Shepherd House until we can take both babies home. Thank you, Tia! The house has 4 private bed/bath suites for families of NICU or ICU patients who need to stay close to the hospital. Its located directly across the street from the hospital - close enough for us to walk over every 3 hours for feedings. The room is beautiful & restful - just what we need. What a blessing!! God is certainly the great Provider.

January 3

Early this morning Collins was put in an incubator for the first time. She was regulating her own temperature but was using too many calories to do it. We will find out about 1:00am if it helps her gain some weight back.
Her bilirubin levels continued to decrease today. They took her off of her phototherapy. As long as her bilirubin doesn't go back up in the morning, she is done with the phototherapy for good.

She contiunes to be our good eater. Dr. Chen, this week's attending NICU Dr., told us that Collins can go home when she can regulate her own temp, eats well for 2 straight days, and weighs at least 4lbs 8oz. She currently weighs just over 4lbs 1oz. Eating doesn't appear to be a problem, so just put on about 7oz and stay warm and you're coming home with us!!

Casen is really doing well also. He is still in his incubator. His bilirubin levels dropped again today. He will also be tested in the morning. If they don't rebound back up, Case will also be done with his phototherapy. This is such a blessing because he just loves to look around. The shades were cute, but we like seeing his eyes more!
He has put on weight for 2 straight days. Way to go champ! He currently weighs 3lbs 11oz. Today was his first day to try breast and bottle feeding. He did great but tired quickly. We get to feed that way twice per day until he builds a little stamina. They increased his gavage feeds to 25ml every 3hrs and he is digesting it all. We have come a long way from 4ml every 3 hrs!

Michelle and I are still loving every minute of this!! The hospital allowed us 1 more day to stay in a courtesy room. It is getting busier here though and we anticipate that they will need this room for actual patients before too long. The twins had their first story time with daddy today - Children of God by Desmond Tutu is a fabulous book for kiddos of any age!


We also had some fun going outside today and installing our car seat. We are really hoping that we get to use it soon.



Psalm 127 "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord"