Sunday Best

Kamryn & Laityn: 2 Months Old

Hard to believe the girls have been home for a month already and are two months old! Their adjusted age is about 1 week, so it is starting to seem like they have been forever newborns. Everyday I try and get them to smile - getting so anxious for them to be able to do this. The doctor said give it a couple weeks yet, so I am waiting ever so patiently!

The girls are awake more often now and they eat a lot more. They now usually eat at least 3oz of a formula/milk combo, and about 2oz when they get up at night. A couple of weeks ago we received the okay to do an "on demand" schedule at night to help their mama and dada get some rest! It didn't really change much as they both would wake up about every two hours - about 4-5 times a night. Exhausting! Fortunately, we have now gotten the okay to feed them on demand all the time! We normally have kept them on the same schedule, but we are starting to try out letting them eat when they want, and not necessarily together. They usually always stay pretty close to the same schedule, though. We give them formula bottles at night to try and get them a little more full so we can get a little bit longer chunks of sleep! They are also on normal formula now, no more added calories so we hope they can continue to gain weight like they have been.

Here are some stats:
Kamryn: 8lbs 6oz, 20.5"
Laityn: 7lbs 14oz, 20" (Laityn has gained an entire 3lbs since birth!)
• They are now in the 2% for 2 month olds. We are so proud of them for making it on the growth chart!

Other happenings:
• We have now gotten the okay to go out in public! However, we don't let people touch or hold them. 
• Newborn clothes still fit them best, but a few 3 month ones are starting to fit their length
• Laityn's hair is growing back. Its still dark and sometimes looks even thicker than Kamryn's
• They both have nice times of being content and will watch their crib mobile while I get some stuff done
• They love to be held and cuddled. I love this too, except when you have to do other things!
• They don't really like their carseats and will scream for atleast 5 minutes once you put them in. Going on walks they cry too
• Bottling continues to go well, and we are starting to use stage 1 nipples instead of preemie ones 
• Their heads are starting to get stronger, but they cannot hold them yet
• The girls are starting to look more alike every day. You be the judge:

 People often ask if they are identical. The answer is yes, and we know this because TTTS can only happen with identicals. Then they ask if we get them confused or mixed up. The answer to that is not really, they aren't super identical yet, and they each have markings that if we are really confused, they can easily be identified. I have gotten them mixed up a couple of times - its easier to tell them apart when they are together.

The past month of being home has been a blur, but we are so thankful to have our wonderful girls! 

Test Results

Testing in progress

Laityn had her sweat chloride test in order to get a definite answer regarding her inconclusive Cystic Fibrosis screenings. So if you are wondering what a sweat test is, its where they collect sweat and the look at the sodium content to determine whether you have Cystic Fibrosis or not.

Slept through the whole thing!

 First, they apply electrode like things to the arm in order to stimulate the sweat. Then, they put a piece of gauze on the arm and wrap it with plastic wrap. Then they put some super warm blankets on her and left her like that for 1/2 hour. They do this to both arms in order to get enough sweat collected. They didn't get enough the first time around, so they did it again. Fortunately, they collected enough the second time so we didn't have to try again a different day. Whew! We were happy when the test was over - I couldn't stand staying in that 80 degree room any longer!

After the test we met with the pediatric pulminologist where they asked a whole bunch of questions regarding symptoms, family history, and what steps would be taken if the test came back positive. It would involve DNA testing for both Josh and myself and treatments for her. They didn't have the results back yet at the appointment, but about an hour later they called and said she passed! No Cystic Fibrosis! We were very thankful and relieved that no other actions had to be taken. We have for sure one more doctors appointment for Kamryn - the pediatric cardiologist to do an EKG and Echo to check her hypertrophy. This will take place the end of July. We are naturally a little nervous for this upcoming appointment too, but we are praying everything turns out okay.