Peer Pressure

There will soon be some changes to the photo-video site. I've received several complaints about the redundancy and quantity of pictures posted on the picture site. I've tried explaining that my favorite picture may not be someone else's favorite picture and I'm trying to give those of you that download and print options, but they aren't buying it.

So, beginning in March, I will post two sets for each month. One - the "best of the best" AKA the short version. The second group will be variations of those that may highlight a certain smile, moment, or slight difference. If you are in a hurry, you can quickly click through the short version. If you have more time, you may leisurely stroll through all the babies' smiles, head tilts, and cuteness and decide if you like sweet and pretty pictures or cute and quirky.

Oh - February pictures are up as well. They aren't labeled yet though - give me a few more days. Be sure to check out the ones in the red dresses. They are just precious. Here's a sneak peak:-)

Weigh-In

We had a doctor's appointment today for their monthly synegis shot (for RSV) and a weight check. Heavyweight Abigail weighed in at 6375g or 14lb 0.8oz. In the lightweight category, Natalie is 5935g or 13lb 1.45oz.

In general, this is good news. They have gained very well since their last visit on March 7 which was post-illness. Abby was then 12.11lb - up 1.5 lbs. Natalie was last 11.132lbs - up 1.4lbs. That's really good for 3 weeks and 3 days.

However, when you at the specifics, it doesn't look as good. They were at the pediatrician Feb 28 - pre-sickness. Abby then weighed 13.84lbs. So, she's only really gained about 8-9 oz in a month. Natalie was 12.66lb. She's gained about 11-12 oz. I guess it's not too bad really. If they had stayed on their previous curve, they would have gained a little over a pound each. So, I guess they are only down from 4-7oz.

The bad part is that they have nearly stopped eating again, especially for me. I am most distressed. They will eat okay for Ben, but I can barely get 80mls in them. I'd like to think it's because they have colds, but somehow I don't think so. We are back to the crying, fighting, squirming behavior. Their totals have been really down. Abby didn't even hit 500mls yesterday.

I keep thinking that one day I will get to stop worrying about how much they eat and how much they weigh. I really dread feeding times. They are the worst times of the day. The only time I don't hate it is the last feed, when they are asleep. It's the only time they don't fight me tooth and nail.

Cruising The World

I have just discovered how I want to spend my retirement years, or at least a few of them. I saw today on the Travel Channel today this incredible marvel called The World. It's a ship managed by ResidenSea (clever, isn't it). You BUY an apartment or small studio and live on the ship as it travels to ports of call all over the world. It's a floating condo. It's incredible.

The apartments are two bedroom/two bath with hot tubs on the verandas. You can sit in the hot tub on the deck and watch the ocean go by. The apartments have their own kitchens or you can eat at one of the restaurants on board. If I read it correctly, the food and drink are included in your yearly maintenance fees.

The apartments go for about $3.5-$4 million. Maintenance fees on the 2 bedroom, including food, are about $270,000 a year. No problem. So, I figure we have 30 years...if we save about $135,000 a year we can purchase the apartment outright. Then we only need an income of about $$350,000-$400,000 a year for fees and travel expenses at all the ports. That should cover a spa treatment or two at the on-board spa -after I work out in the fitness center following a few laps in the pool.

Seriously, it's the coolest thing I've ever seen. If I win the lottery - I'm buying me a floating apartment!! You can all meet us at the different ports and stay in the guest room:-)

UNC - Final Four

Woo Hoo - once again the TarHeels have shown why they are the #1 team in the country. There were a few tense minutes when Louisville pulled within one point, but in the end we won by a hearty 10 points. Now, we are Texas bound!

Ben had the good and unexpected fortune to attend the game and watch the Heels in action. I'm not sure of the details, but there were tickets roaming around at his work and he was asked if he would like a ticket. He and a few co-workers left this afternoon for the game and will return around 2 or 3 this morning.

I'm very happy Ben was able to go to the game. Nevermind that I'm the UNC grad. I'm not jealous at all. No, no, not me...

Poppy and Nanny Surprise

Poppy and Nanny were visiting Manteo, NC this weekend and decided to stop for a surprise visit Saturday afternoon. It turned into a brief overnight stay. They have to leave very early in the morning to continue to Ingram, VA for a church service.

However brief, Natalie and Abigail were thrilled to see Nanny and Poppy for a little play time. The one thing that binds us to this area (or at least NC and VA) is having grandparents and aunts and uncles so close. At least 3 or 4 times a week, I wish we could check out that job we turned down in Maui. Hawaii calls to me. Then, I think of how happy Natalie and Abby will be getting to know their grandparents and aunts and uncle. I also think of how happy getting to see Natalie and Abby makes the grandparents. I know it would just break all their hearts. I have the most amazing relationship with my grandmother. I hope so much for Natalie and Abby to have a similar relationship. I know it can only come from personal contact and time spent together. Phone calls and letters just aren't the same. So, for the sake of the girls, and our parents, Hawaii must wait and we will rejoice in the time we all have together.

Mommy's Frustrations

Well, it seems I spoke too soon about the miracle of the babies' eating. They are reverting to their old ways: the struggling, the crying, the barely eating. Mommy is frustrated, annoyed and did I mention frustrated. I can barely get them to eat anything. Fortunately, Daddy has better luck. But, since I have the girls for at least two feeds on my own, it does not make make for a happy day for Mommy.

On a very slightly good note: When at their 7ish feeding tonight, they refused to eat, I tried some baby sweet potatoes instead. To my great surprise, they ended up eating the whole jar. Even Abby, who usually clamps her mouth shut, ate quite a bit. It certainly didn't make up for the calories they would have received in a bottle, but at least it was something.

I know I whine a lot about them eating, but when they are fighting me so much, it greatly affects my mood. I really dread meal times and get very easily frustrated and ready to give up.
I try to stay calm, but I'm not very good at it. It's a combination of annoyance that they aren't cooperating and worry that they will stop gaining weight and we will be back where we started.

We do have a doctor's appointment Monday. They have to get their, hopefully last, synegsis shot (for RSV) and a weight check. That will give me more information as to whether I should start worrying again.

Eating Update

Natalie and Abigail have had a stellar last 10 days of eating. They have consistently hit 700mls and even over 800mls one or twice. We are so proud of them!

The last two days haven't been as good, however. We are just making 700ml - barely and with much fighting. They just don't seem to want to eat as much anymore. But, they are eating more than they weer before they were sick so we are still a few steps ahead.

We weighed them tonight on our special baby scale. The results were pretty good. March 16, 10 days ago, Abby weighed 13 lbs 9.5 oz. Natalie was 12lb 4oz. Tonight, Abby was 14lb 0.5 oz and Natalie was 12 lb 15oz. So, 7 ounces in 10 days for Abby and 11 ounces for Natalie! That's amazing for Natalie. If the scale is right, this is by far the most they have ever gained since being off the NG tube.

If I do a little math based on what they should have weighed had they not gotten sick taking into consideration their usual 4 oz a week weight gain and using the last weights on Feb 29 at the doctor's office...

Abby should weigh about 14 lbs 6-7 oz. She's only off about 5 ounces - about 1 week of growth. Natalie should be about 13 lbs 4-5 ounces. She's also only down about 5 or 6 ounces. This is fantastic considering they lost nearly a month's growth in the week they were sick. We go back to the doctor on March 31 and I'm anxious to see what their scales say. But, so far - so good. Yeah Natalie and Abigail!!

NBC Preemie News Report

My friend, Amy, graciously called and told us that NBC was running a segment on Preemie babies and long-term developmental effects. Duke was actually the featured hospital. The segment started rather dramatically suggesting prematurity is a sentence of doom. I turned to Ben and said, "hmm, maybe we shouldn't watch this". We did anyway, and it really wasn't that bad. The bottom line was that some preemie babies have later difficulties - and some don't. And they can't tell until it happens. Well now, that's informative.

Al in all, it wasn't anything we didn't already know. The only one particular bit of info I found interesting was some evidence that female preemie babies can have high-risk pregnancies themselves. The doctor suggested that it may be a good idea for those mothers-to-be to see a high-risk ob from the beginning. That's definately something I'll store away for later use.

One of our doctors, Dr. Ricki Goldstein, was one of the main doctors they interviewed. We also caught a glimpse of one of our nurses. It was strange seeing all the NICU rooms and the little babies. It's hard to believe that Natalie and Abigail were once two of those tiny, tiny babies hooked up to a dozen machines. They have really come so far.

One bizarre bit of possible trivia: while watching the report, they showed a birthing room with a women lying in the bed and three doctors that entered the room to talk to her. Ben and I both started and said, "is that ME?" We re-ran it (gotta love DVR) over and over, and we still aren't convinced it wasn't. It looks just like me. We saw so many doctors that I honestly can't remember if we met the three that came in the room on the film. I definately don't remember any camera men. But, seriously, it looks just like me!! We still have it saved and I am going to embark on some detective work using the photos we took in the room and the video we have to see if I can pick up any clues that confirm it was my room. I'm intrigued. If you want to see my possible nation-wide debut and cast your vote, just come on over to visit.

The Photographer Photographed

Since I'm usually the one behind the camera, there are comparatively few pictures of me and the girls. I've even taken to setting up the camera and taking self-photos.

For Easter, however, we finally got a few good pics of me and my babies. I'm determined to work harder at requesting pictures of us so that I don't look back and realize there aren't any! I have to say that Ben is very willing to take the pictures - when I remember to ask.

Note to all dads out there (or whoever is NOT the "picture-taker": take the camera every now and then and photograph the photographer. Your loved one and your children will thank you later.

Gotta Love Grandmas

Natalie and Abigail were so happy to spend their first Easter with Gramy and Mema. The Easter Bunny AKA Gramy was kind enough to bring the girls formula and pampers along with an Easter bunny.



It should come as no surprise that the wooden baskets the bunnies are in were actually from my and my sister's childhood. Have I ever mentioned that my mother keeps everything:-)





We were happy to be able to attend church, and the girls were so good. They ate a little bit and just looked around and checked everything out. Natalie started talking a little so Ben had to take her out for a few minutes. She probably wasn't really that loud, we just didn't want to disturb anyone. They wore the cutest peach dresses and sweaters with matching hats. They really were so cute.

After church, Uncle Wayne came over again to visit for a while. The girls napped, mommy napped, the Tar Heels beat the snot out of Arkansas, and the girls went to bed without a fuss. All in all - it was a pretty good first Easter.

Grandparents, Aunts, and Cousins, Oh My!

It has been quite an Easter weekend. We really just need to have our own little motel. If I could build the perfect house, it would have a guest wing with about 4 small, yet comfortable rooms and two baths. We are among the few that actually use our guest room (and the couch and the air mattress).

Our most special visitors have been two aunts and a cousin that were able to meet the girls for the first time. Aunt Susie, Richard's sister, was in from Michigan and Aunt Judy, Richard's former sister-in-law, and her daughter, Becky, were visiting from northern Virginia. They had all attended our other cousin's graduate voice recital in Atlanta and decided to visit her as well.

Aunt Susie, especially, has been amazing keeping up with the girls and checking on them. She was so excited to meet them, and of course, Natalie and Abigail loved their Aunt Susie. We will get to hang out with her more Monday and maybe even Tuesday.

We had a great time Saturday with a hamburger and hotdog cookout and some of Ya-Yai's amazing egg rolls for an appetizer. The weather was just beautiful and we were able to eat out on the deck. Aunt Susie especially appreciated that since they have had something like 80 inches of snow this winter. We put the girls outside on a playmat and let them just enjoy the weather and check out the grass. It was really so much fun.

Somehow we missed getting a group shot of everyone, which I really, really hate. I don't know what we were thinking. We had everyone outside, and naturally we had the camera taking pictures of the girls. We took some shots of Aunt Sue and the girls, but missed Becky and Judy. If you are reading this - I'm so sorry. I really wish we had taken a group picture:-(

It was a great day though with lots of family around: Yai-Ya, Grandpa, Aunt Susie, Aunt Judy, Becky, Kimberly, Jeff and Reagan, Gramy, Mema, my uncle Wayne, Ben, me, and Natalie and Abigail. It was really a houseful of love.

Official 10-month group shot

I tired to post this a few days ago, but it wouldn't work for some reason. But, here is their official "together" shot. It was a last ditch effort with a poor background, but at least we got something. If I kept trying every day to get the perfect picture, it would have become the 10 1/2 month picture, and honestly, that's just getting ridiculous. Of course the 86 pictures I took trying to get the perfect shot aren't ridiculous at all.

A Visit from Poppy

Natalie and Abigail had a great time visiting with Poppy on their first Easter weekend. He was able to come down Wednesday night and stay until Saturday morning. I know he would have liked to stay all weekend but Easter Sunday is usually one of the days ministers are required to work.

As always, the girls had so much fun playing and laughing with Poppy. They all took a walk together in the beautiful spring time weather we have had. We missed Nanny this time since she was visiting with her children. Natalie and Abigail are so lucky to have grandparents who love them so much!

IOU - our tab is running...

My sister has been here for a few days for Easter. Kimberly is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, but more importantly, she is a professional child care consultant and sleep trainer. As I mentioned previously, the girls' nap schedule has been erratic and putting them to bed at night has been awful. When she arrived, we decided it was time to sleep train.

I must say, my babies are the smartest in the world. Of course there was a little crying, but tonight, after only 4 days, they were asleep within 5 minutes of being put in their beds. My sister is a genius. So far, her system is virtually fail-proof. She's even sleep-trained babies who have been through the Ferber Clinic. She is working on a web-based consulting business - www.parentingunlimited.com. It's not up yet, but if you have kids I would bookmark it for future use.

As far as our tab...her usual rate is $500 a night. She was here two nights and two days. I figure we owe her about $2000. I'm hoping we will get a 99% discount.

I have to say, however, I can fully understand why people hire her. Babies that sleep are worth every penny - so is my sister:-)

10 month pics - TAKE TWO

I tried more pictures today. What can I say - I'm a perfectionist and I like playing with my camera. Today's pictures would have been amazing. I took them outside and used the blooming flowers as a background. It was sunny and beautiful and...too cold. It wasn't really cold exactly, but a little too cool for the girls when the wind was blowing. I am using the cutest coordinating summer outfits and it was just too cold. I only took a handful of shots of Natalie because she didn't look very happy.

The few I did get were cute, and I got some good ones of Abby. I still don't have any good ones of them together.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, so I will try once again. Maybe third time's the charm...

ps - check out the cute little bow in their hair. I can't decide if I like it better with or without. Anyone wanting to weigh in can leave a comment.

Happy 10 Month Birthday!!

Today, Natalie and Abigail are 10 months old. Unbelievable. I know I say that every month, but I really feel that way every month! They will be one whole year old in two short months. How did this happen? Where did the time go?? How is this possible??? Where are my Baaabies??????? I'm crying already. I did take some 10-month birthday pictures, but I wasn't very pleased with them. It was cloudy here and my light wasn't very good. Neither was feeling particularly photogenic either. Abby would only gape her mouth wide open with her tongue hanging out. I couldn't get any good pictures of them together. I'm going to try again Sunday.

I am officially declaring the girls getting sick one of the best things that's happened to them. Maybe it's coincidence, maybe they decided they didn't like being hungry, maybe their bodies were starving for a week and decided that was BAD...I don't know, but for whatever reason, the babies have gotten the hang of this eating thing. Here are there totals for the last 3 days:
Wed
Nat - 635mls
Abby - 745ml

Thurs
Nat - 645ml
Abby - 830ml

Fri
Nat - 700ml
Abby - 740ml

Currently, they are sitting at 660ml for Nat and 630ml for Abby. They each have one more feed. I'm speechless.

Hehe - right this second, the girls are lying on their play mat in our office...they both are lying on their backs holding on to their little feet. They are just so cute:-)

On the downside, in exchange for eating well, they've decided not to sleep they way the should. They still sleep great through the night, for which I am very grateful. But, their nap schedule is a mess. They WERE taking a short nap between 7:30/8pm to 8:30-9pm, then having their 9pm bottle. Then they would go back to sleep for the night. They were usually asleep again by 10:30pm. I would feed them again at midnight, but they never even woke up.

Currently, it's 11:46pm and they are still up. Wait - Abby is trying to chew on a phone cord - okay, fixed. (Nat is sucking a toe:-) The only good thing about their new sleeping plan is that they sleep until about 11am. I'm afraid they have their mommy's sleep habits. Next week's task: Nap training.

A New Record

Woo Hoo!! It's 1:13am, Thursday morning, and I just finished feeding Abby her last feed. She had 740mls today!! That's the most EVER! I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it. Natalie should hit about 600mls which is fantastic for her. 740mls translates into about 24.5 oz. Wow. Maybe one day we will be able to start measuring in ounces and not mls. Yeah Abby!

Thank God for Digital

If you check out the picture/video site, you will notice that there are 200 pictures for January. If this seems like a lot, I just thought I would put it in perspective for you.

Total pics for January - 464
Total pics for Feb - 739

Total pics since birth - 7,746

Yes, that's in thousands.

So, if you get tired of clicking through pictures - it could be worse!

ps - Anyone who would like to view all 7,746 pictures is welcome to join us for a weekend - or two! Maybe three if you want to see the videos too! There are nearly 400 of those.

January pics and videos are up!

I have added pictures and videos from January to the picture site. Be sure to look at their 8 month pictures. They are so cute!

Keep an eye out for February's pictures. They are coming soon!

Better than Ever!

I hate to say it, but maybe getting sick was a good thing. Abby is eating better than ever. Yesterday and today she drank 150mls in one sitting! That's the most ever. She also had several 120-130mls.

Natalie is eating about the same as before as far as the bottle goes. But, she is chowing down on homemade applesauce. She loves it.

Maybe they discovered what real hunger was like and decided to make sure that didn't happen again. Whatever the reason, YEAH!!

Hopefully this means they will gain a little more than their usual 4 oz each week and start gaining back a little of what they lost.

That's What you get for Panicking

The doctor's assistant called me Monday and it was far better than I expected. She said there was no need to do anything drastic. Kids get sick and lose weight. We just need to work on getting them back to eating like they wore and weight them in about two weeks to make sure they've started gaining weight. Eventually, they would catch back up.

WOW! I was so surprised. I was completely prepared to haul the girls in for a painful, tearful tube decision. That's what I get for panicking. I've never really been one for excessive worrying and panic. Family members have had biopsys and PET scans and other tests, and honestly, I just don't worry about it until the results come back and I need to. My mema has always said, "show me how worrying helps and I'll worry for you!". I kind of live by that. HOWEVER, I was in full-out panic mode Friday and Saturday. And, it was all for nothing.

In any event, I'm so happy the girls are clear to recover without drastic intervention. They are doing so much better. Sunday they finally started playing and eating better. They are a little weak and their muscle tone is a little low, so we have to go back to working on that. Natalie is not sitting up as well as before and Abby isn't "crawling" backwards around the room as well. But, they are getting their strength back and eating quite well.

Speaking of eating, I think I mentioned before, but just call me Martha Stewart! Homemade applesauce is a huge hit! Natalie absolutely loves it. She grabs at the spoon tries to put it in her mouth. Abby is less enthusiastic, but still shows more interest than she did in anything else.

We have also tried some yogurt, but they don't like that quite as much. And, no, I didn't make that from scratch! I will try some pears shortly and see how they like those.

It's really nice to have my smiling and laughing babies back. Today, we all lay on the floor and I read them books. Abby would just cackle every time I turned a page. She was so funny. I really missed their personalities while they were sick. Although, now I do kind of miss their really long naps!

Damage Control

It's been a pretty rough week. Friday I decided to take the girls to the doctor just to make myself feel better. I didn't think there was anything they could do, but I figured I'd go anyway. The girls were still not eating well and weren't playing or perky at all.

The appointment left me even more worried and quite honestly, panicked, If you know me well, it takes a good bit to panic me. Their weigh-ins were worse than I thought. Natalie weighed in at 11 lb 13.2 oz. One week prior she was 12lb 6.6 oz. She had lost about 8 oz in a week. Abby weighed 12lb 11oz down from 13lb 8.4oz - down over 12 oz. If you add the 4 oz they usually , gain each week, it's even worse. It's almost a pound each. That's a whole month's worth of growth gone in a week.

And, then I panicked. I just don't know what we need to do for the girls. I'm so afraid the doctor will want to put in a g-tube immediately. Or, we may need to ng tube for several weeks to try to put on some weight. I absolutely hate both those ideas. I know they will be so miserable if we have to ng tube (tube in nose) them. It breaks my heart to think they may get g-tubes just because of being sick. They were doing so well.

I will have to talk to Dr. Malcolm tomorrow and see what he wants to do. I'm so worried about them. The only thing that makes me feel better is that today they have eaten much better and played more. They still aren't quite themselves, but we are getting closer.

UNC tragedy

It may not make the news in all places, but this week UNC has suffered a terrible tragedy. Early Wednesday morning, the Student Body President, Eve Carson, was found murdered a few miles from campus. She was found shot several times and lying in the middle of the road. As her car was missing, it is surmised that it was some kind of carjacking. She was a senior, a Morehead Scholar, and a Carolina Fellow.

The campus, is, of course, in mourning. Once the story broke, thousands of students filled the quad to hear Chancellor Moeser speak. Thursday night a candle light Vigil was held at the Pit. From the view on TV, I suspect at least a thousand were there as well. Right now, the police aren't saying if they have suspects. I can't imagine what her family is feeling. Oddly, I actually had a class with her my last semester. She was in my recitation of my Gnosticism class. She was very friendly.

There are actually very few murders in Chapel Hill and crimes such as this are unusual around campus. It's very scary for everyone. Please keep Eve's family and friends in your prayers.

I think we are getting better

I am definately at full strength again. Full ability to take care of the girls, full ability to avoid housework; full ability to eat normally. Shoot - I've always wished that loss of appitetie thing would hang around even after I'm well.

Natalie and Abigail are mysterious. They are definately not themselves, although Abby played a little today. They are still throwing up a few times a day, but I think it's reflux related and not sickness related. They are doing a lot of "swallowing" in the reflux way you do to keep food down. The downside of that as well is that they throw up their reflux meds. Then we have a vicious circle. Natalie, especially, acts very tired and hasn't shown much interest in playing at all. I'm really not quite sure what to do about it all. They are drinking enough to not be dehydrated, but they are not nearly at their pre-sick intake. I think I'm going to take them to the doctor tomorrow, although I'm not sure what good it will do. They aren't exactly sick, but they aren't exactly well either. The doctor will think I'm silly, but I think it will make me feel better.

On a good note - I made some homemade applesauce a few days ago and the girls LOVED it. We also tried some yogurt yesterday and today and they like that too. They actually move their tongues around and swallow. Natalie is so cute. She tries to grab the spoon and put it in her mouth. I'm not sure why the light bulb went off in the middle of being sick, but hey, I'm not complaining. We'll take food in any way we can get it.

It's Official

Well, a week after a new station broke the story, Ben's work, Motricity, confirmed that they were indeed laying off 250 employees and moving headquarters to Washington State. Ben will likely have his job until June. So, the job hunt, begun in earnest last week, shall continue.


The good news is we aren't at the panic stage yet. We are really quite thankful this didn't happen last year when the girls were critical. That would have been horrible. Also, thanks to some aggressive savings, a few bonuses, our expected tax refund and Bush's stimulus check, we are in better shape than ever before to weather this storm, if necessary. And, there's always my mom's basement:-)...or Maui:-)

On the mend...

I think we are on the mend. Yesterday was pretty tough - for Ben and Doy anyway. I was pretty useless. I feel MUCH better today though. The girls are starting to eat formula and are not throwing up. Natalie has been very tired today and has slept most of the time between eating. Abby has been tired and grumpy, and not wanting to sleep like she should between eating. Abby has also gotten used to sleeping in the swing and being rocked and cuddled to sleep. When you put her down in her bed, she promptly wakes up. Hmmm. Tomorrow will be spent getting the girls back on a real schedule and back to their old habits.

We are going to weigh them tonight (we have a special baby scale) to see how much damage this illness has done. It's kind of disheartening since they were doing so well. But, such is life and we'll just have to hope they rebound well.

So far, Ben is still well. He's just understandably tired. Hopefully, he can get to bed a decent hour tonight and get some rest. Thank goodness for Doy who has been extremely helpful both with the girls and with cooking and keeping the kitchen clean. We are so grateful.

And then there were 3

Sick people, that is. Natalie and I started throwing up Sunday night. Ben is the last one standing. We called in reinforcements and Richard brought Doy in at midnight - God bless him - and her. We are all mostly not throwing up anymore, but Abby and I are weak and whinny. Natalie seems rather chipper - talking and playing with her feet. What a trooper.

Just a little trivia - we recently discovered that the job Ben was offered in Maui is still open. Tempting.... When I started getting sick too and we were able to call Doy, my first thought was, "thank God we aren't in Maui!"

ER drama

We have had our first middle-of-the-night ER visit. Don't worry - no one panic. All is well, but it was, as ER visits always are, a long, long night.


So, Abby started throwing up during her 9pm feed. She ate about 60ml, threw up, then ate 60 more. It wasn't a big deal at first. We figured it was just a little reflux. After eating, she went to sleep. About 10ish, she threw up in her bed and woke up. Then, she threw up a couple of more times to the point where she was dry heaving and then throwing up yellow bile. At this point, we are thinking this is a little concerning. She's never thrown up like that before. But, she didn't have a fever or anything. We were a little concerned about her getting de-hydrated but I wasn't too concerned. But my mom and grandmother had just arrived and they were concerned and so was Ben. So we called the nurse on call and she recommended Pedialyte and gave us all the instructions on what to do. But because of their cortisol issues (remember they were on hydrocortisone for a while), she connected us to the Pediatric Endocrinologist on call at Duke. Ironically, we had just seen the Endo that day at Duke. We were supposed to go Monday am to have a cortisol stimulation test done to make sure they are doing okay without the hydrocortisone (which they haven't had since December). The endo on call said we should take her in and have the stim test done to see if she needed the booster shot of hydrocortisone to be on the safe side.

So, about 12am, off we went. It was very fortunate mom and mema were here since mom could stay with Nat. Otherwise I would have had to go by myself. It would have been fine, but I was worried about her throwing up and choking in the car. For the first time EVER I sat with her in the back to make sure she was okay.

Once we arrived at the ER, we fed her sips of Pediolyte and she did throw up again. In the end, we were there until about 4am. They drew blood (after putting in an IV which was so sad involving much crying and crying). Then it turned out the lab doesn't even run that test at that hour, so they gave her the meds just in case. We are supposed to call today to see the results - if they have them.

Poor Abby was so tired, but did manage to drink more Pediplyte and keep it down. We all finally got to bed about 4:30am. At 6ish Abby woke up fussing. I think she was hungry. I gave her some more pediolyte and she fell back to sleep. She did have a fever though - 99.8. We got up about 10 to feed Nat and give Abby a mix of pediolyte and formula. She did well. She was up for a while then went to sleep. At 12ish, I gave her another mix, but she threw up. So it's back to pedalyte. She's been asleep mostly today and thrown up a few more times. I'm just waiting for Natalie to catch whatever it is and start throwing up too.

So - that's our ER drama. Abby will be fine, poor little girl. The good news is that being sick is the best time to test the coritsol reaction, so now we will know how well she really is doing. We will still have to take Natalie Monday morning though.

We are pretty tired today, so it's nice having my mom here to help. Ben had a nap already, and mine will come after the UNC BB game.