our little miracles

Since they were born, our children have amazed us!  They truly are little miracles.

Matt and I have remained strong and positive through this entire process but it hasn't always been easy.  Many people have exclaimed "It is wonderful that the babies are doing so well" and, while we agree, we had to explain "for fighting so much every day they are doing a great job where they are." 

We know we haven't been great at updating about what they have been through so I want to take a little time to share the big events with you of the last eight weeks:

When the babies were born, they both needed to be intibated.  They didn't breath many breaths on their own but the ones they did were very small.  The doctors attempted to extibate them and move them to Compressed Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) on day three but both babies returned to ventilators.

On Day 6 (20 June) I held Zoey for the first time.  We started kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact between baby and parent) and got thirty minutes together.  While it was the shortest thirty minutes of my life but it was incredible to finally hold her and get to know my baby girl.   

Bryce was extibated on Day 8 (22 June) and was transferred onto CPAP.  He did very well with extibation and was starting to take breaths on his own.   

Getting ready for the transport to Fargo on Day 9 (23 June) was the first time I held Bryce.  I helped to transfer him from one isolette to the other and had just enough time to give him a kiss.  While it was very short it felt great to have my son in my arms for those few minutes, especially before such a big night.

On Day 10 (24 June) Matt got to hold Bryce for the first time!  He was glowing with excitement and Bryce immediately cuddled against him.  It was also a happy moment for me to see my two boys so close together!

Zoey extibated herself on Day 13 (27 June) and was transferred onto CPAP.  This was the third extibation and she did very well with it.  She decided she was ready to continue and let us know...we will be in trouble when she is a teenager!

This day was also the first time Matt was able to hold Zoey.  Again, he was thrilled and she quickly got comfortable.  It was beautiful to see Matt begin to bond with his children.

On June 28th we got rooms at the Ronald McDonald House in Fargo.  They had enough space for Mom to have one room and Matt and I to have another.  The two rooms are connected and have a doorway between them.  The facility is amazing and has more amenities that we could have dreamed of.  Check out their website to learn more about them or donate to a wonderful organization.

Day 18 (July 2nd), my Dad arrived in Fargo for the weekend and met the babies for the first time.  We had a great visit and even though he was scared of the babies he was able to hold both of them during his stay.  It was wonderful to see him and introduce him to his grandkids.

That same day, Bryce came off CPAP and onto blended flow oxygen.  He started at 2 liters of support and did very well with it.  We continued to be amazed with how quickly he came down on his oxygen support.

July 8th (Day 24) Zoey came off CPAP and onto blended flow oxygen.  Like Bryce, she started at 2 liters.  She also did well but took a little more time coming down on her support.

Day 24 was also the first time we were able to have Zoey and Bryce side-by-side.  Mom was able to hold both of them (I wasn't feeling well and they both needed to be loved on) and they cuddled right into each other.  This is the closest they had ever been!

Day 25 (9 July) Matt's parents came out to Fargo and meet their grandkids.  They were able to stay for the week and Syd even went back to Minot for a few days with Matt to work on the house.  They both got to spend lots of time with both babies and even had the opportunity to hold them.  It was a great visit and a joy introducing our children to more family.

July 23rd Bryce came off all oxygen support.  He did really well with the transition and seemed to love not having the tubes in his nose.

On the 25th of July Bryce started nippling (eating from a bottle).  It took him a little while to adjust and he only started by taking about 7mL of his 40mL feeding.  That is still very good for the first time.

Dad also returned to North Dakota the same day to help with the house but made a stop in Fargo to visit his grandkids!

Bryce and Zoey got to meet Uncle Sean on the 30th of July (Day 46).  He had just finished ten months with the Denver campus of Americorps and was on his way back to Virginia.  He made a few day stop in North Dakota to meet his niece and nephew and help with our house. 

Day 48 (1 August) Bryce went into a crib.  It was a slow transition that took about 24 hours of slowly adding more clothes to him while turning down his isolette temperature.  He did really well with the transition and was able to maintain his temperature once he was in the crib.

On the 4th of August, Zoey came off all oxygen support.  However, the next morning she needed to go back on a low-flow of oxygen.  She only received about 10 mL of support but it is enough to make her more comfortable and keep up her oxygen level.

Bryce got his first tub bath on Day 53 (6 August).  While the babies are in the isolette they get a sponge bath inside the isolette so they don't get too cold.  Now that Bryce was in a crib he got a "real" bath and he loved it.

On the 7th of August, Zoey started nippling.  She took 10 mL the first time which is great!  We thought she would do really well with it since she had been cueing for several weeks.

In addition all of this, Zoey has had two blood transfusions and Bryce has had one, both of them have been on meds to jump start their red blood cells to replenish themselves, both have been under lights for jaundice, and both of them have been working through some reflux problems. Yet, through all this they are continuing grow and develop beautifully.  God truly does amazing things!

Also during the last eight weeks, my mom, "Mimi", has been able to be out in North Dakota with us.  It has been a huge blessing to have her here.  She has helped with the house, hospital runs, late night break-downs, and everything in-between.  Having her here has made a stressful situation more relaxing.  Plus, the babies love her...they both open their eyes when she talks and smiles when she holds them.  I am truly blessed to have such a supportive mom.

While it has been a long eight weeks, we have been extremely blessed to watch God perform miracles in front of our eyes.  The well wishes and prayers have been extremely helpful and we now have healthy babies that are continuing to grow and develop as they should.  While it will still be several more weeks we are getting excited about getting them home!
.katherine.

a record flood

While Zoey and Bryce adjusted to the new hospital in Fargo, we anxiously awaited the Souris River (also known as the Mouse River) to crest.  Inbetween hospital visits watched the news, checked facebook and the news for photographs, and looked at projection charts.  On June 26th the moment Minot had been waiting for occured...the river crested and we watched as our town was transformed.  The Souris River set a new record crest of 1561.72 feet above sea level, three feet higher than the record set in 1881!  About 12,000 people were displaced from their homes, 20% of Minot was under water, and more than 4,000 homes sustained damage.  We watched the screens in horror as images of our town appeared.  Below is a photo montage of Minot from the local news station set to the song "Fix You" by Coldplay.

It was still days before we knew if our home sustained damage.  We suspected that we had some water in the basement but were praying that it didn't get to our first floor.  On July 2nd we finally saw a photograph of our home from the local news station but didn't know what day it was taken.

On July 4th Matt was finally able to get into our home.  There was still over two feet of water in the basement but we could see that the water level was going down.  It looked as the water level had been about four and a half feet high.  Thankfully the damage was contained to the basement of our house.  Matt was only able to send me this one photo but we now knew how much damage we obtained.   

Knowing how much water was in the basement still didn't prepare me for what would have to occure for it to be liveable again.  We had to gut the entire basement down to only the studs and outside walls.  The water heater, furnace, washer, and dryer were also lost and would need to be replaced.  We started making phone calls to get the process rolling.  Only a week after Matt first saw the basement we had the FEMA inspections finished and the cleaning crew began the process of gutting the basement.  The walls we had put up, the floors that Matt had worked so hard to refinish, our new furniture that we couldn't move out of the basement, and the space where we spent many hours relaxing was now sitting in our front law.  The comfortable rooms that we had worked so hard on were now cold and ugly.

We are extremely blessed and our family jumped right in to help us.  Over the last month both our fathers, my mom, and Sean have helped us get the basement to a point where we could live in the house again.  The basement was cleaned, cracks were filled, framing for walls was put up, concrete was removed, and the stairs were rebuilt.  

Over the next week the furnace, water heater, and plumbing will be replaced and we will be able to live in our home again.  We are looking forward to all being in same place and back in our home.
.katherine.

a trip to fargo

Tuesday, only six days after the babies were born, the town of Minot announced mandatory evacuations again due to the water level of the river.  This time, however, the water was expected to reach record highs and flooding was inevitable.  While we were still not in a mandatory evacuation zone we prepared to leave our home.  With the help of friends, Mom and Matt moved what we could up to the main level of our home over the next few days.  Between trips to see the babies we watched the predicted elevation charts to make the most educated assessment of our situation.  On Thursday, the town announced a water level four feet higher than previously expected and we chose to leave our home.  Roads were being closed between our house and the hospital and the water was already on the streets a block from our home.

While there was more that could have been done in the house, I felt a calmness come over me and I knew it was time to leave.  We packed up the last few items, gathered the dogs, and piled into the cars.  We were blocks away from the house when Matt pulled over to the side of the road.  We waited but he didn't start driving again.  I went to check on him and heard the tail end of a conversation: "Thank you Dr. Carver, we will call you back shortly."  My heart dropped; why had the babies doctor called, what was wrong?!?  Standing in the middle of the street Matt informed me the babies were being evacuated out of the NICU in Minot due to the impending flood that night and we needed to decide if we wanted them to go to Fargo or Grand Forks.  I couldn't stop the tears...I was scared, worried, and just wanted to see the babies.  Matt and Mom remained strong, came up with a plan, and we choose to send the babies to Fargo.

An hour later, after taking all the back roads, we arrived at the hospital.  Babies were being transported, parents looked concerned, nurses were running around, and Bryce and Zoey rested peacefully.  It helped me to see them but there were still so many concerns.  The transport team was about an hour away but we still didn't know if I would be able to fly with Bryce and Zoey.  We quickly got some dinner and Matt left to start the drive to Fargo while Mom stayed with me.  Nervously, we waited.

The transport team arrived with traveling incubators that looked intimidating.  There were oxygen tanks, cords, and bags of supplies everywhere.  Our peaceful little corner was quickly transformed.  Even with all the commotion I was able to relax a little as I watched the transport team, every move was precise and planned; I knew our babies were in good hands.  The nurses were very kind, informed me that I was able to join them on the flight, and even let me help move Bryce since I hadn't held him yet.

From the hospital, we took ambulances to the airport.  Each baby had their own ambulance with two nurses per baby (one of which was also a respiratory therapist).  As the babies and I left for the airport, Mom left to make the drive to Fargo.  Driving to the airport was erie...the main road through town was closed  Emergency vehicles and construction trucks were the only cars allowed on the road.  Our town was already very different than I was used to.

At the airport we boarded the smallest plane I have ever been in.  The door was just wide enough for the isolettes and it was only a little longer than the two isolettes and cockpit.  There were only seven seats in the entire plane (including the pilot spot).

We arrived in Fargo about an hour later and took another ambulance ride to Sanford hospital.  The babies and I were greeted by another team of nurses, the nurse practitioner, and the doctor.  The staff was amazing!  They transferred the babies to new isolettes, filled me in on what was going on, gave me a tour of the facility, and even did a quick procedure to put in a PIC line.  Matt arrived in Fargo shortly after we did.  He was also able to see the hospital and meet the staff that night.  Mom arrived in Fargo very early Friday morning and we all finally got a few much needed hours of sleep before we needed to be back at the hospital.

Both Bryce and Zoey did amazing with the transport and adjusting to the new hospital.  We were extremely blessed to have a wonderful transport team and staffs on both ends.
.katherine.

babies arrive

On tuesday, 14 June, I began to have contractions again.  When the nurse saw them on the monitor she called Dr. Bozeman.  They were similar to the ones I had on Saturday but Dr. Bozeman wasn't worried.  My water hadn't broke and it was normal to get contractions at 27 weeks with multiples.  We didn't think much of it but I didn't sleep well. 

The next morning the contractions woke me up...they were more intense and closer together.  Dr. Bozeman came in around eight and didn't have any immediate concerns.  When I told him about the contractions he told us that we wouldn't do anything until I was at least 5cm dilated or my water broke.  He planned to do an exam but didn't think there would be any changes.  As soon as he checked we could see the expression on his face change...he looked at us and said we were having babies.  We asked how long it would be and he said as soon as he made some phone calls but as soon as possible!  Matt quickly called Mom (who was at the house getting ready) and told her to get to the hospital.  There was another whirlwind...I got a new IV, furniture was moving, the anesthesiologist came in, I signed more forms, and I got more meds.  Mom got to the hospital right before I was taken down to the operating room.  By 9:30 I was in the room getting the epidural.  Matt and Mom were not allowed in the room...they waited in the hall to get news.  They were told that if the babies were doing well they would be allowed in to see them, if not someone would come out as soon as they could to fill them in.

Everything in the operating room seemed to happen so slowly...I just wanted to know that the babies were ok!  The anesthesiologist was amazing and talked to me during the entire procedure to inform me of what was going on and what to expect.  When they took the babies out it was the most intense pressure I have ever felt, like an elephant was sitting on my chest and a vacuum was pulling out my stomach, but it stopped suddenly when the babies were born.  Zoey was born first at 9:53 and Bryce followed shortly at 9:55.  I didn't get to see either of them because they were rushed to the other room but Bryce did let out a little cry.  It was one of the greatest things I have ever heard!  I was in the room another twenty minutes but I knew the babies were ok when I saw Matt and Mom smiling at me through the window...they were in with the babies!

Matt was able to touch both babies and cut their cords to the proper length.  They both weighed in at only 2lb, 6oz.

Bryce Alexander:

Zoey Rose:

As I went downstairs to recovery I passed Matt and Mom in the hallway and was informed that both babies were doing well.  Over the next few hours I was monitored and tried to get a little rest.  Six hours after they were born I was able to go see the babies for the first time!  Matt and I were blessed with two beautiful little fighters.

.katherine.