Finally some good news!

I took Michael to the eye doctor and his eyes are fully developed and the ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) is gone! I don't have to take him back for a whole year! This is the first time we have gone to a doctor's appointment and not been given a condition or instructions for a follow up appointment. For those of you who don't know the babies currently have seven doctors. We are hoping after January we will be down to four or so. As nice as it is to get out of the house, sitting in the waiting room at a doctor's office is not exactly a getaway. Emily goes back to the eye doctor January 9th and will probably be cleared for a year as well. For now, we are celebrating today's results!

Finally some pictures of the babies!

Michael is home!

A quote from the Special Care nurses, "Look who is finally going home!" Michael came home today at 5:30 p.m. after being in the hospital for 12 weeks. He weighs 6 pounds and 9 ounces. So far we are all busy but doing well. We will take some pictures of the babies and try and post them tomorrow. Thank you to everyone for your continued support and prayers; we know prayer had a lot to do with the health of our precious little ones.

Hernia surgeries successful!

On Tuesday afternoon Michael and Emily both had their hernias repaired. It turns out they had both started to develop a second hernia so they each have two incisions. Emily spent the night in the NICU and came yesterday afternoon. Michael spent the night in the NICU and then went back to the Special Care Nursery. We are not sure when he will get to come home, but he will stay there at least until Monday. Hopefully we will all be together soon!

Emily is home!

Emily came home Saturday! We were thrilled to be able to bring her home after 9 1/2 LONG weeks. It was a bittersweet day though because we had to leave Michael at the hospital. He will probably be there another two weeks. He had another eye exam today and there is no change which is good. We are hoping his eyes correct on their own. He will have to have surgery on his hernia sometime soon but the doctors want him to get bigger first. Hopefully he will be healthy and home very soon. Emily is doing well adjusting to being at home. She has an appointment with the surgeon about her hernia on December 9th to find out when her surgery is going to be. She should only have to be in the NICU for 24 hours for the surgery. We know there will be a lot of doctors appointments over the next year, but we couldn't be happier with how well the babies are doing. Thank you for everyone's continued support!

8 weeks old!

Emily and Michael turned 8 weeks old today (36 weeks gestational age). They are both up to four bottles a day and continue to look bigger each time we see them. Tonight Emily weighed 5 pounds and 5 ounces. Michael hadn't been weighed yet for the evening, however last night he weighed 4 pounds and 9 ounces. Emily sucked her thumb for the first time today (see video). The ocupational therapist told us Michael has such a strong sucking reflex that he collapes the nipples on his bottles. We are relieved that Michael's problem may be that he is too strong for his own good rather than him being too weak. The doctors are very positive about their progress and think they may get to come home in a few weeks.

Eye Exam

Overall the twins had a good day today. They did have another eye exam this morning from which we received some unsettling news. Emily's eyes are normal premature eyes right now. Michael however, has stage 1 retinopathy (spelling?). The doctors say it could still correct itself so pray for that, otherwise, he will eventually have laser surgery to prevent blindness. Please say some prayers for us!

The Roller Coaster Continues

Yesterday was a great day: Michael was taken out of his incubator and put into a bassinet and the babies were moved to the special care nursery. Today we received some not so great news. Emily has a hernia and will have to have surgery. We don't know when it will take place, but it will be several weeks so she can get bigger first. We don't know how the surgery is going to be effected by the PDA in her heart or if it will impact when she has the PDA surgery. Michael seems to be doing well. They are watching his belly because he has had some redness and swelling, for now his x-rays look good though. We are hopeful that the babies will continue to improve and come home soon. Thank you for your continued prayers!

We've been upgraded!

The babies have graduated from the NICU and been moved to the special care nursery. We were just moved at 5:30 p.m. today so we are still learning the ropes. We have a huge private room all to ourselves. Our room is bigger than the nursery we shared with two other babies over in the NICU! We'll take pictures soon! Happy Halloween!

We have a 4 pounder!

Emily and Michael turned six weeks old yesterday (34 weeks gestational age). It was also a big day because Emily was moved from her incubator to a bassinet. So far she has been able to maintain her body temperature on her own. They are both continuing to work on bottle feeding and growing. Michael's latest weight is 3 pounds 11 ounces and Emily has grown to 4 pounds 3 ounces. The nurses are optimistic that the twins will be moved to a garden room or the special care nursery sometime in the next week. The garden rooms are still in the NICU but are away from the regular ICU nurseries. Both locations specialize in "feeders and growers";these are the babies that no longer have any major medical needs and just need to learn how to eat and get bigger. The doctors are still closely monitoring Emily's PDA (heart ductus) and Michael's brady episodes. They seem to get bigger and stronger everyday! Hopefully they will be home in 4 to 6 weeks in time for the holidays!

Emily on Bottle #3

Bottle Feeding Made Easy

Emily had her second bottle today....Michael had his first. The occupational therapist said they did a good job and should be good eaters. They obviously inherited this from their mother.

Getting Bigger!

Hey Everyone...Here is the latest and greatest with the twins....Emily is now 3 Lbs 11 Oz. and started bottle feeding today. She polished off her bottle in 10 minutes, so we are taking this as a good sign of things to come. Michael is now 3 Lbs 5 Oz. and graduated from C-PAP to the nasal canula. Emily is completely free of any breathing tubes as she is strictly on nose power.

The Twins turn 1 month!

The twins are 1 month old today and are doing well. Emily has grown to 16 1/2 inches and weighs 3 pounds 3.8 ounces. Michael has grown to 15 3/4 inches and weighs 3 pounds. Michael continues to try and pull off all of his equipment; we think he is trying to escape. Emily is so laid back that she sleeps through or patiently waits while the nurses examine her.

Week 3

The twins continue to grow everyday. This week we experienced our first "NICU hurdles". Emily received medicine for her PDA (heart ductus that didn't close like it was supposed to), however the treatment was not successful. The doctors say she is not having ill effects from her PDA so they will continue to observe her. The hope is it will correct itself, if not she will eventually have surgery to correct it. Michael was treated with antibiotics for an infection and also given a blood transfusion. Unfortunately he had to be intubated and put on a respirator to help him breathe while he was weakend from the infection. We are happy to report that he was taken off the respirator and put back on the nasal cannula on Thursday; he seems to be stronger than ever!

The Twins Birthday

The twins were born on September 16, 2008. Emily Ann Schwabe was born at 5:22 p.m. She was 2 pounds 8 ounces and 15 1/4 inches long. Michael Zumwalt Schwabe was born at 5:23 p.m. He was 2 pounds 4 ounces and 15 inches long.