Gaining Weight

Sorry for the lack of posting but we moved back into our house this week. After 4 months of living at Scott's Dad's house, we are back! There is still some work to be done and many boxes to unpack, but it feels good to be home (and have new stuff!). Jake seems very excited to see many old toys that we left behind, have his swing right out back, and be able to walk from room to room (due to lack of baby proofing at Scott's Dad's we forced Jake and Emmett to stay in one room to play). Emmett has been a little displaced, but also seems excited to have more room, play with cars and trucks on various window ledges and realize that we had a train table (totally rocking his almost 18 month old world). He has been sleeping in a pack and play for the last 4 months, so after no real nap the last two days he finally settled into his new (old) crib and slept 3 1/2 hours today.

Millie and Ruby are finally gaining some weight. I was starting to worry, but they just needed some time and today Millie weighed 2 lbs 4 oz and Ruby weighed 2 lbs 2 oz! Millie is up to 20 mls of milk every 3 hours (that's 4 teaspoons) and Ruby is up to 19 mls of milk per feed. Today Scott and I got to give them a bath (which means I bathed them and Scott watched - he was too scared the wuss!) Scott got some great pictures, which I will share. They did not like getting their bodies washed, but both liked getting their hair washed. I got to really look at them closely this way, and they do look very alike. Until I get them side by side it's hard to make a true assessment. Millie seems a lot bigger, although there's only a 2 oz difference. She also has a birth mark on her belly that Ruby doesn't have.

Happy New Year's! Love, The Doolots

Ruby getting a bath!

Ruby post bath with her bear lovey (thanks Alison, Joyce and Kate)

Millie getting a bath!

Millie post bath with her bear lovey.

Merry Christmas

I meant to get this out yesterday, but Christmas kept us busy. I had mixed feelings about Christmas this year. Up until two days ago it hardly seemed like Christmas. I spent most of December in the hospital, Jake and Emmett don't really "get" Christmas yet, and we're not living in our house so there was no decorating. Since we're living at Scott's Dad's house, his Step-Mom was nice enough to decorate here and put a tree up, so that helped. On the other hand, it certainly got me out of a lot of shopping and got me thinking more about family and the spirit of Christmas on the actual day. I felt pretty sad going to visit the girls Christmas day. They are only two weeks old, but I definitely felt like a part of our family was missing at home.

Scott finally got a chance to do some kangaroo care. He was nervous, but he really enjoyed it once he relaxed. It made me nervous at first too. They are so light and seem so fragile, but they settle right in once they get on our chests.

Millie now weighs 2 lbs 3 oz and she's up to 18 ml of breast milk every 3 hours. Ruby still weighs 1 lb 15 oz and she's taking 16 ml of milk every 3 hours. I'm amazed that they can take that much since the MD has increased the feeds every day, but so far so good. They still have their PICC lines, but they are only getting some saline in the line. The MD is giving them a little more time to prove they don't need it before they take it out. Both girls have had some spells where they drop their heart rates and oxygen sats. Apparently Millie dropped enough times last night that the MD put her back on 2 L of flow through the nasal cannula today. Her nurse told me that they did find a kink in her tubing this morning, and she also had some big boogies clogging her nose, so that may have been what it was. Their nares are so small that a big boogie can really affect them. Other than that, they are really doing well and that's the best Christmas present of all. I am so thankful for their continued progress and grateful for all our family and friends that are holding us up through this time. It helps more than you know.

Scott holding Ruby

Millie today in her new pink hat (thank you Dana!)

Back to Birth Weight!

Millie is back to her birth weight - 2 lbs 2 oz and Ruby is back to her birth weight 1 lb 15 oz.  The neonatologist has increased their breast milk feeds to 12 cc's for Millie and 11 cc's for Ruby. He has turned off their TPN (the nutrition they are getting through IV). They will keep their PICC lines for a few days to prove that their stomachs can handle the increased feeds, but if all goes well then they will get the PICC lines out (it's a potential source of infection, so getting it out is a good thing if possible).

I am continuing to kangaroo care them for an hour each every day. It is a special time, but I found my mind wandering today and thinking briefly about what I could productively think about while holding them. I then realized that I have been given such a gift to hold them and not have to think about anything but Ruby and Millie. The first day I sang and talked to them the whole time, but now I've realized that the girls like to sleep and maybe they would like a little silence (especially if they are like my college sorority sisters who told me to mouth the words to our rush songs!).

I am also enjoying spending time with Jake and Emmett. They don't understand that they have sisters yet, but Emmett seemed to need a little kangaroo care of his own yesterday when he fell asleep on my lap (yes I am wearing my robe, but I had gotten Emmett dressed, so that should count for something!). I promise to update more about Jake and Emmett when I get the chance. I may not be writing about them, but trust me when I say they are getting plenty of attention!

Kangaroo Care

I got to "kangaroo care"with Ruby and Millie today. I held them each for 1 hour. Kangaroo care is the practice of holding preterm infants skin to skin on your bare chest. The baby is wearing only a diaper and placed on the parent's chest and covered with a blanket. Kangaroo care was first implemented in the late 70's in Bogota, Columbia where there was a lack of power and reliable equipment (incubators) to care for very low birth weight babies. Neonatologists discovered that babies whose parents did kangaroo care had much better outcomes. The practice was adopted in North America in the early 1990's, but even today not all NICUs use kangaroo care. Studies show that the benefits of kangaroo care include fewer infections, better weight gain, decreased stress and pain response, and improved sleep patterns.

The girls' nurse told me yesterday that it was easiest to wear a button down shirt when I came to kangaroo. We are currently living at Scott's Dad (Bob) and Step-Mom's house because we are renovating our house (just to add to our craziness but the renovation was planned unlike the pregnancy - ha!). I didn't have a button down, so I wore one of Bob's old flannel ones I found in the closet. I first had a red and green one on, and I felt like I was really in the Holiday spirit, but then Jake snotted all over it and I had to change. My second choice was a little bit more drab, but it worked great for kangaroo. I also couldn't find any socks this morning, so I grabbed a pair of Bob's. When I got to the NICU I realized I had grabbed blue socks and not black. So my look was large old flannel shirt, maternity pants, blue socks and black clogs. I'm pretty sure I got voted best dressed in the NICU today. Enjoy the pictures!

Kangaroo Care with Millie

Blue Socks!

Holding Baby Girls

Ruby

Millie

No words necessary. Happy Mamma. Happy Baby Girls. It was like holding little cloud pillows. Santa hats courtesy of Scott's Aunt Charlene.

PICC Lines are In!

Ruby's Christmas Ornaments made by her nurses!

Millie cracking a smile!

As of tonight both girls have PICC lines in! Hooray - I am so relieved. Both girls also got blood transfusions today and that probably helped their veins not be so fragile, but regardless I am thrilled. Their nurse had actually started peripheral IV's on Ruby and Millie before they got the PICC lines in, because the neonatologist had decided to start Millie on Indocin today too (Ruby got her first dose last night). The Indocin is supposed to help close their PDA's. They get three doses total 24 hours a part, so we won't know if it works for another day or so.

Ruby's stomach looked better this morning, and she is not acting like she has an infection, which is also good news. We'll have blood cultures back tomorrow or the next day. Both girls looked really good this afternoon after their blood transfusions. The nurses have made ornaments using their footprints which is adorable.

The picture of Millie is after she got her peripheral IV this morning. Scott and I were visiting, and it was heart breaking to hear Millie cry when they placed the IV. She did not cry long and once the nurse finished, and we came over to her she started cracking little smiles. I know they are not real smiles, but I felt like it was her little way of saying she's ok.

I think I will be able to hold the girls tomorrow since their umbilical catheters are gone. I can't wait. Thank you for all your prayers and words of kindness. Today was a good day.

What's in a name?

Scott and I had a running list of girl names for most of the pregnancy. I kept the list on my I-Phone and I would update it every time we heard a name I thought sounded list worthy. We also did a lot of googling of   baby names although I would change up the search words just to see if I would get a new or different name to add to the list. "Baby Names, Girl Baby Names, Celebrity Baby Names, English Baby Names, Popular Baby Names, Unusual Baby Names, Baby Name Meanings" etc etc etc. It was harder than I thought to come up with two names (four actually when you include middle names). Do the names sound good together? Will they roll off the tongue when I am shouting for my FOUR children....Jake, Emmett, ? and ?.  Ahh the pressure.

When it came down to it (in the hospital room after my water broke), we wanted names that were special to us and the generations before us. We wanted the girls to be named after the strong women in both our families. Ruby Margaret is named for Scott's step-grandmother and his biological grandmother on his Father's side. His biological grandmother (Margaret) died when Scott was little, and Ruby is the woman that his grandfather married after his grandmother died. Scott's grandfather passed away many years ago, but Grandma Ruby is still a special part of our lives. She lives in St. Louis and she is one of the spunkiest, sweetest, most fashionable, energetic women I've ever met. She is in her 90's and she told me on the phone this week that she was a little tired, because she headed up the decorations committee at her Retirement Home.

Millie Durand is named after my Mother and Scott's Mother. My Mother's name is Mildred, so Millie is in spirit named after her. We just couldn't use the actual name Mildred for reasons that I think most of you understand (as does my Mother). Durand is Scott's Mother's (Laura) maiden name. My Mother is called Mimi by her grandchildren and Laura is called La La by her grandchildren. We couldn't survive without Mimi and La La. They have stepped in to help us time and time again and our children adore both of them. My Mother is one of the strongest, kindest and most giving women in my life. She has been here for me in the most selfless way. I hope that I can be the kind of Mother that she is to me. La La has an energy and enthusiasm that is contagious and always brings a smile to those around her. She also has such a kind heart, and I can't believe how lucky I got to have such a sweet Mother in Law. You always hear horror stories about in-laws, and I seem to have hit the jackpot with Laura, Bob and Anne. We are truly blessed. I don't know how we would have made it through all our life challenges without our families support.

Today's report on Millie is that she continues to do well off the ventilator. Her chest X-ray looks about the same. She hasn't improved, but it will take awhile for the right side of her lungs to look better. The good news is that it isn't worse, and she is tolerating the nasal cannula on room air oxygen (21%). Her feeds have progressed and she is now getting 3 ml's of breast milk every 3 hours. Her jaundice is still an issue. They decreased her bili lights to 1, but then increased back to 2 when her labs came back today. She is still weighing in at a hefty 1 lb 15 ounces, but I expect she will start to increase soon.

Little Ruby is also still on the nasal cannula and 21 % oxygen. Her nurse noticed last night that her belly is starting to look a little discolored. She called the nurse practitioner and they ordered an X-ray of her abdomen. The X-ray showed a little gas in the upper part of her intestines but was otherwise normal. The neonatologist was concerned when he saw her this morning. He has ordered blood cultures to be drawn tomorrow morning to rule out infection. He also heard a heart murmur in the last few days that sounded worse to him today. This is the same patent ductus arteriosus that Millie has. The other possibility for the discoloration is that her blood is not oxygenating well due to the PDA, and so her intestines are not getting good oxygen perfusion. The MD put her on Indocin which helps the PDA to close, but it means that she can't get any breast milk feeds (not sure why). They are not putting Millie on Indocin yet, because they usually give the PDA 10 days to close on its own, and she is not having any problems from it.

PICC lines were attempted again last night and failed. They will try Ruby again in the morning. They did have to insert a peripheral IV in her leg to give her the indocin. They girls can't keep the umbilical catheters much longer, and they are no longer getting blood to draw up from the umbilical lines. This means they will have to stick both girls to get blood tomorrow. Once the PICC line is in then they get give medication and draw blood from the line.

Please pray that they will be able to get Ruby's PICC line placed tomorrow (and Millie's but not sure when they are attempting hers again). Also pray that her blood cultures will be negative, because an infection would be very harmful to her.

Off the Vent!

Ruby with my ring around her hand.

Millie off the ventilator and opening her eyes!

They took Millie off the ventilator today. When they did a chest x-ray this morning it was obvious that the right side of her lungs was not expanding like it should be (from when they got over expanded the other day). I don't understand all the logistics (yes I went to nursing school but not respiratory therapist school), but the thought is that the ventilator is making it worse. The respiratory therapist thought that taking her off the ventilator would help, especially since she was on so low of a vent setting. He switched her to a nasal cannula just like Ruby's, and she did great. Millie and Ruby are both now on nasal cannulas with room air oxygen (21%). I happened to be there when they did the extubation, but I couldn't watch. It's not a big deal procedure, but I've found that I can't watch anytime they do things like suction their mouths or reinsert the feeding tubes. Just writing this I have a big frown on my face. Any other patient I would be fascinated, but my own children - no thank you! When I left Millie's oxygen sats were dipping down into the 80's (normal sat is 90 to 100) and the alarms were beeping on her monitors, so I was very nervous. Her nurse said this was not a big deal unless it got worse or stayed like that. It's normal to dip up and down with preemies, and especially if Millie has a big PDA (the open ductus arteriosus I mentioned the other day which prevents her blood from oxygenating well). I called later in the day and she was still doing well. YEA!

Ruby is now getting 3 ml's of breast milk in her feeding tube every 3 hours and seems to be tolerating it fine. Millie is now getting 1 ml of milk every 3 hours. They will keep increasing as tolerated until it is considered a real feed and not just stimulating their stomachs. Ruby now weighs 1 lb 10 oz and Millie weighs 1 lb 15 oz. This is expected weight loss and their weights the last two nights stayed the same, so maybe now they will start gaining weight. 

Both of the girls have umbilical catheters (like an IV through the belly button) where they are getting medication, TPN (total parenteral nutrition), and get their blood drawn. These catheters are not permanent for several reasons (they can come out easily when the babies are moved, so we can't hold them, they can get infected etc). The goal is for the girls to get PICC lines placed (peripherally inserted central catheters) which is a semi-permanent IV that gets inserted in the arm and threaded over the shoulder until it reaches a larger vessel near the heart. They attempted to place Millie's last night and Ruby's this afternoon. Neither attempt was successful. The girls veins are so small and fragile. They told me that they could see the veins, but when they tried to insert that the vein moved or rolled, and they couldn't get it. It breaks my heart to think about it, because I know it hurt to have it attempted, and now they will have to try again in a few days. I was told that both girls were not bothered for long and they did give Ruby some sucrose during the procedure (not sure about Millie). It also means more days that we can't hold them. 

That's it for now. I feel like I am being very wordy and maybe not everyone wants all the details. It helps me to process it and very therapeutic for me to write it. At least you can just look at the pictures if you don't want to read it all!

Mamma is Home!

Emmett was waiting for me in the driveway when I got home!

Anne (Scott's Step-Mother) decorated the gates to the driveway.

Jake and Emmett wearing their Big Brother shirts! (What you don't see is my Mother squatting behind them and holding their shirts to get them to stay still for 1 second to get a picture!).

The girls had a good day today, so it was nice to leave the hospital knowing they were doing well and in good hands. We have already had the best nurses, and I met another one of the neonatologists today (Dr. I). I have absolute confidence in the care the girls are getting at Centennial. This morning when I met with Dr. I he told me that Millie's lungs were over expanded when they put her on the ventilator. Once again her lungs are so fragile from the prematurity and not having amniotic fluid to "swim in" the last two weeks, so the pressure from the ventilator was too much for her lungs to take. It caused some small tears throughout her lungs which caused some fluid to leak and swelling to occur. I am not sure that I am describing it in the best way, but the end result is that damage to her lungs occurred, but it should heal with time. They lowered her vent settings to decrease the pressure, but the good news is that she is tolerating the low setting just fine. Her nurse told me that normally they take babies off the vent when they get to this low of a setting, but they are leaving Millie on to allow her lungs to heal.

Both girls are tolerating some of their feeds (Millie every 6 hours and Ruby now every 3 hours). Both girls bilirubin levels have come down, and they have decreased the number of bill lights shining on their skin. When they get completely off the lights then the nurses can swaddle them somewhat to make them more comfortable. They both twitch and jump a lot. Their immature nervous systems can't handle all the sensory input they are getting.

It was great to come home to the boys today. I tried to get a picture with the boys, but there were two problems. The first is that the boys would not stay still long enough. The second is that when I saw my picture it was clear that I am not fit for public viewing. 12 weeks of bed rest combined with anemia from pregnancy and blood loss have not been kind to me. Not to mention that I have not highlighted my hair since June (apparently my natural color is brown with some gray highlights), and blah blah blah. It's not about me, but it is my blog and you're not getting any pictures of me at the moment!

All of the calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages have warmed my heart and given me a lot of peace. I may not get to respond to all of you, but please know how much it means to me, and I am very grateful to have wonderful friends and family. Elizabeth

Ventilator and PDA

Millie did have to go on the ventilator last night. She was working too hard to breathe and needed a break. They intubated her last night and have already moved the ventilator down 2 settings. It will now be a process of weaning her off it and getting her back to the CPAP. I have no idea how long she will be on the ventilator, but my understanding is that they will keep trying to lower the settings and wean her off, and it depends on how she tolerates that. Dr. K also heard a pretty significant heart murmur this morning when he was assessing her, so he ordered a cardiology consult.

The cardiologist came to see Millie this afternoon and did an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). She has a widely patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). The ductus arteriosus is a blood vessel that allows blood to bypass the lungs in the developing fetus because their oxygen comes from the mother and not from breathing air. In full term infants, the ductus arteriosus closes soon after birth, but it frequently stays open in premature infants. Millie's may have closed initially then opened back up yesterday with the stress of working so hard to breathe. The treatment is nothing right now, and they will give it 10 days to close back on its own. If it does not close on its own then there is medication that can help close it, and if that doesn't work then they do surgery. Dr. K told me that these days it is a small percentage of babies that need surgery. The good news is that Millie's heart shows no sign of enlargement or hypertrophy. She had an enlarged heart as a result of the twin to twin transfusion syndrome (those of you not familiar then just know that I will address that in a future post). Up until several weeks ago her heart was still showing some hypertrophy on ultrasound, so it was really good news that it was normal today.

Millie and Ruby are having trouble tolerating their feeds. They attempted to give them 1 cc of breast milk to stimulate their stomachs, but I am not surprised that they were not ready for that. They know that because they can check to see what to see what is left in the stomach after feeding and both of them have not been able to digest the breast milk. They are holding their feeds for now. They may try again tomorrow, but I am not sure of the exact plan.

Ruby's nose was getting smushed (not a medical term) from the cpap mask. Preemie's noses and faces in general are so fragile, and they have to fit the masks so tight. They decided to give her nose a break and try a nasal cannula (prongs that fit in the nose). It is still pressurized air (cpap), but it doesn't seal like the mask and they weren't sure if she could handle it, but she is doing great. She has been on the nasal cannula all day and doing fine!

Several people have asked about the girls' weights. They have both lost weight, but I don't even know what their current weight is. Losing weight is expected and actually means they are getting rid of the extra fluid they are born with (just like term babies), so that is a good thing. Ruby is the small baby, but she is doing better than Millie because weight doesn't have anything to do with it. Millie's water broke two weeks ago and amniotic fluid helps lungs develop. Ruby's water never broke, so she had more of a chance to develop in the last two weeks.

I am being discharged tomorrow. I am sad to leave the girls, but I have actually never had the experience of leaving the hospital with a baby since both Jake and Emmett were premature too (Jake came 5 weeks early and Emmett came 6 weeks early). Nevertheless it is always emotional to leave. Even if I am not up in the NICU all the time right now, I still feel better being physically closer to the girls. It will be good to get home to Jake and Emmett as I have missed them terribly while being here.

Prayers for Millie's lungs to get stronger so that she can get off the ventilator and also for her PDA to heal. Prayers that both girls' stomachs will start tolerating their feeds when it's the right time. Prayers for both Scott and I to handle the anxiety we feel over the future and the girls' health in general. We're trying really hard to stay in the moment and take everything day by day. Elizabeth

Pictures!

Baby Millie with her La La's hand by her head. La La is Scott's Mother Laura. 

Baby Ruby with my hand lying on her.

Scott and I ran into the neonatologist (Dr. K) outside the elevator by the NICU this afternoon. He made a point to tell us that so far Millie and Ruby are atypical 27 weekers. Atypical in that they are not on ventilators as most babies at their gestation would be at this point. He was very cautious though, and said that there is still a chance that we would need to ventilate one or both and to not be surprised or upset if this happens. Ruby continues to do great on room air (21% oxygen) with her CPAP. She was having some apnea spells when we were up there earlier. Dr. K said  that as long as she only has them every so often (up to 1 or 2 times per hour) then she is fine on the CPAP. If she starts having clusters of them and continually needs to be stimulated to breathe, then she would need a ventilator for a few days.

Millie was briefly on room air oxygen this am then she started struggling, and they had to keep increasing her oxygen needs. When they got up to 40% they decided to intubate her briefly to give her Survanta. Survanta is a medication that is put directly into the lungs (which is why they had to intubate her to give it). Survanta is actually surfactant which is a natural substance made by the lungs of term babies. Surfactant keeps the lungs from sticking together so that the baby can breathe normally. Premature babies do not make enough surfactant. This medication can be given up to 4 times total. This was Millie's second time to receive a dose. Our nurse told us that if she had been on the ventilator then they would have automatically given her several doses of it. Because she is not on a ventilator and it is traumatic for her to get intubated, then they wait to give it to her if she really needs it. This is the reason that Millie has gotten Survanta and Ruby has not. She has really needed it, but the good news is that after receiving it she starts to breathe much better and she is now back down to about 36% oxygen. 

While I was visiting the girls this afternoon they started feeding them colostrum. They were each given 1 cc  of colostrom through a feeding tube that goes into their stomachs. They already had feeding tubes in place to help get air out of their bellies (the CPAP pushes air into the stomach as well as the lungs). They will get this every 6 hours, and if they tolerate it then tomorrow they will get a little more. Obviously 1 cc is not for nutrition - they are still on TPN, but we are starting to test out their bellies and help them start working towards feeding through feeding tubes and not IV. That's it for now. Hope this is making sense. Let me know if there are questions and I will try my best to answer! Elizabeth

DAY Three of NICU

So I've been thinking about starting a blog for quite awhile, and having my twin girls two days ago has finally catapulted me into doing it. I have been in the hospital for two weeks now on bed rest, and thought I might start it during the bed rest process, but I ended up feeling so bad I couldn't manage getting any clear thoughts out. I did; however, read many many blogs that others had written about what I was going through including Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), Premature Rupture of Membranes (PROM), hospital bed rest and prematurity. I found it really helpful to read about other's journeys, and I feel compelled to chronicle our experience, so that it too can be a resource for others who may have to go  through what we have been through. In some ways I have already had a blog since our oldest son has a caringbridge site: www.caringbridge.org/jakedoolittle. More on that later, but now that I have so many other things to write about it it seemed like we needed a family blog. It's also a good way for us to keep everyone updated on the girls without having to send a million different emails!

On Friday, December 9th we welcomed to the world Millie Durand Doolittle and Ruby Margaret Doolittle.  Millie weighed 2 lbs 2 oz and was 13 3/4 inches long. Ruby weighed 1 lb 15 oz and was 14 inches long. The girls were born at 27 weeks and 1 day gestation, so they are 13 weeks premature. I will do more updating in future posts about their history and reason for early arrival.

Today is day three of their lives and they are doing really well. They are both on CPAPS which stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. This helps to keep the air sacs in their lungs open. The girls are breathing well enough on their own that they do not need mechanical ventilation. Ruby has been on the CPAP with room air level of oxygen since day 1. Millie has required a higher level of oxygen, but as of this morning she has been able to get by with room air level of oxygen as well. Millie has struggled more with her breathing since it was Millie's amniotic sac that ruptured two weeks ago. The lungs develop better when surrounded by amniotic fluid. I did receive steroid shots when I came into the hospital two weeks ago after my water broke, so this has helped the girls as well. The neonatologist commented yesterday that Ruby's lungs are acting more mature than her age. That sounds funny, but he just means that her lungs are performing better than your average 27 weeker. Both girls have started having some apnea spells which means that they forget to breathe and their heart rate drops. This is a common problem for preemies, and they have started them on caffeine which helps prevent apnea spells. Scott wanted to  know if they get Starbucks. They are also getting TPN for nutrition. This stands for Total Parenteral Nutrition and it basically means they are getting nutrition through their IV's. Their stomachs/intestines etc are too immature to handle real food yet. I do not know the plan here, but the nurse did mention that they might start giving the girls a tiny amount of breast milk in a day or two since I am pumping, and the colostrum is starting to come in. Colostrum is the first milk that comes in and it is full of antibodies to help protect newborns and most Mom's know that it is considered "liquid gold."

I have not seen the girls yet today, but Scott just got here and we'll be going up soon. I will try and get some pictures to share. I just took my first real shower and even shaved my legs, so the girls might not recognize me. Ha. I have taken showers since I got here two weeks ago, but always with IV lines etc attached so it was nice to get in the shower without being attached to a pole.

We are continuously amazed at the level of support we have received from family and friends throughout this entire process. Words cannot express our gratitude for this and how much peace it has given me. I will continue to ask for prayers for our little girls. They are doing really well, but they have a long way to go and many hurdles to overcome. With love, Elizabeth