Message From Mommy

Tom thinks that I should post some thoughts, so here I go trying my hand at "blogging". Well, it's been two weeks and a day since my girls arrived and it sure has been a whirlwind. One good thing is that the past two weeks have been so hectic that they flew by like two days. If it continues like this then the next two and a half months should hopefully go by fast too.


I have to admit this whole experience is still a little surreal. I look at pregnant women and get a little jealous, like hey, I should be pregnant too. The fact that I have three children hasn't really set in because I haven't been able to care for the girls for more than a couple of hours at a time, which only consists of taking their temps and changing their diapers. One good thing recently is that we've started skin to skin therapy. You'd be surprised how much that little time of closeness helps you bond with your babies. They are so little, they feel like nothing more than little dolls laying on your chest. When they cry they sound like baby kittens. All the nurses call them feisty little girls, and you can tell that they are strong for being so premature. I'm very proud of them for how well they have been progressing. They have a lot of hard work to do on a daily basis: breathing, eating, pooping, keeping warm - it all seems so simple, but it's a struggle for them. The nurses tell us that they've passed the most critical phase getting through their first two weeks, but we'll still have to be cautious about regression until they are close to coming home.


I still haven't quite found the balance of leaving Evelyn to go to the hospital, and then leaving the girls to come back home. I end up feeling really torn every day. For the most part Evelyn has been doing very good. Just this past week, she had a few bad days where you could tell the confusion and change in routine was weighing on her. She just about broke mine and Tom's heart one night when she cried because she said she missed us. Luckily, she's really bonded with her daddy through this time which helps me when he can do more to care for her. Now that I've mentioned daddy - thank God for him. He's been getting the blunt of my stress during this time. Poor guy. Good for me, he can keep a level head and let my tantrums roll off his back. Hormones and emotions - lethal combo. God picked the right family to send three precious girls to because Tom is good with girls.


Again, Tom and I thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes. I know that we owe Kathryn and Sophia's progress to all the prayers that have been said for them. That's the one thing that gives me comfort during this, is knowing that our family and friends are praying for them. Please know how grateful we are to all of you.

Tom is trying to post as many pictures as he can, but its difficult to get quality pictures because of the low lighting, no flash, and limited opportunities to snap a good picture. He will post more soon. Thanks again everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

At 3:02 and 3:04 AM last night, it was exactly 2 weeks since our angels were born. Where did 2 weeks go? I know most of the time people don't recognize weekly birthdays, but in thier case, it's very important. So Happy Birthday Kathryn and Sophia, your family and friends love you dearly!

Love,
Mommy, Daddy, & Evelyn

Quick Update: Emily has been spending several hours per day with them and finally getting to do skin-to-skin contact with them. Unfortunately, I have not been able to witness this, but from what I hear, the girls get pretty comfortable. Kathryn's eye is getting better, but it still can spread, Sophia is doing well and eating more everyday. From what I hear they have also moved up a size in diapers and were wearing onesies yesterday. Keep praying for them and keep them in your thoughts! I will post more pictures in the coming days.

Happy Halloween!

I know it's a week early, but I just had to show everyone our princess Evelyn. Every year we take her to the Hallowee'n at Green Field Village in Dearborn. Evelyn FINALLY got to dress up in her princess outfit; earrings and make-up to boot. She insisted that I be her prince for the evening, but the only thing I could find was a child-sized King's outfit. It didn't matter to Evelyn, I was her prince for the evening, and it was a wonderful date. Emily Jo was the crippled old witch in the wheel chair and who knows what Larry and Teresa were thinking, anyhow, enjoy some fun pics of our night! Next year I will have (3) dates.

Getting ready for our evening date. Doesn't she make a beautiful princess?

The prince and princess

(Evelyn has a wierd face because she doesn't like the flash)

Wizard of Oz characters?

Larry with hair? What is the red hat society going to think about Teresa?

Latest Update

I am trying to update this as much as possible to keep everyone informed, but it's been kind of hectic now that I am back to work. The girls are doing very very well, thank you to everyone for the kind words and prayers, it seems we cannot thank you all enough. It has been 11 days since their birthday and they are getting better every day.

Just to give everyone an update as to what has happened in the past week, the girls are off ventilators and have been since last weekend. Being off ventilation is the most important factor on their road to recovery. We were surprised when Sophia was put back on mid-last week because she was struggling to breath and putting in more effort than she needed, but has since been removed again. Kathryn was on a CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure), which keeps hers lungs full of air, most of last week but has since been taken off that as well. The good news is both of them are now off any machines and breathing normal room air with no increase in oxygen levels. They only have to use a nasal cannula now which gives them a little air flow. So, we can finally see their adorable little faces without all the large tubings. Every now and then they have apnea spells where they forget to breath and their heart rate drops, but a quick "nudge" from the nurse gets them going again. When we see this happen, it is pretty scary, but the nurses assure us that this is typical preemie behavior and they would be surprised if they didn't occasionally have apnea spells.

Sophia is now up to 6 ml of breast milk every 3 hours and is tolerating her feeds very well. Kathryn is having difficulty with digesting milk so they are feeding her 1 ml of a specialty formula every hour until her system can tolerate feedings better. Since they put her on the formula, she has been digesting it well, so they will soon be moving her back to breast milk. With any newborn, preemie or full term, a decrease in weight is expected. Both Kathryn and Sophia went from 2 lbs 8 oz to around 2 lb 2 oz, but both have since gained about 3-4 oz back already. Unfortunately, we just found out yesterday that Kathryn has a bacterial eye infection that she is getting antibiotics and eye drops for. The infection is not serious and is caused from being inside the incubator environment (warm and humid). However, because of the contagiousness of the infection we have to wear gloves and gowns around her. They are telling us it should be gone in a couple of days, but we have to take precautions so we do not infect her sister or allow the bacteria to spread to other areas of her body (ie. stomach or lungs), which would be more serious.

All of the doctors and nurses at TCH have been spectacular and keep us informed on everything. This past Sunday, they let us hold the girls for almost an hour, Mom in one rocking chair and dad in the other. Even though they're not at home with us it is an unbelievable feeling to hold them close and just stare at them. Both were wide-eyed and bushy tailed. Sophia stared at me with her bright blue eyes the entire time and I swear she was smiling during our "conversations". The nurses say both of them are feisty girls, but Sophia seems to be the calm one and Kathryn is the lively one. Once you hold them though, they melt into you. They let us change their diapers and I must say, I've still got the touch. Mommy forgot to follow the rules (always have a diaper under them while you're changing them) and Sophia decided to soak her blankets, no accidents for daddy so far.

I've added some pics below, but there isn't much new news. We get very good news on a daily basis when we visit and/or call. I contribute part of their vitality and good health to the continued prayers of everyone, especially Evelyn, who prays for them every night. Enjoy!

Kathryn in her favorite sleeping position. Doesn't she look like one of those Anne Geddes pictures?

I told you Sophia smiles at me. That one is just a smirk.

Kathryn with her bad eye infection, poor baby.

THANK YOU!

I wanted to take a quick moment to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for the kind words, thoughts, and most importantly, prayers that have kept us and the girls going this past week.

I want to thank Emily's parents, Larry and Teresa for all of thier help through this tough time and thank them for being there for Evelyn and making her feel like the princess she is. I want to personally thank my mom, Luan, for being their for us, watching Evelyn so we could see the girls, making TONS of food, and being there when we needed her the most. Thank you to everyone that was at the hospital that night, Mom & Dad, Larry and Teresa, Ben & Ashley, David & Kelly, Emily, Patrick & Reese, and to Andrew and Tara for watching Evelyn during that time. Also, thank you to Emily's childhood friend (and maternity floor nurse) Natalie, you are a true friend and an amazing nurse, I envy your passion for your work. Thank you for staying by her side that night and keeping us informed, we don't know how things would have been without you. Thank you to Dr. Ahadi, the nursing staff, and the team from Toledo Hospital, our babies are alive because of you!

A very special thanks for all the flowers, gifts, cards, food, and kind words from grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and friends. I don't want to forget about my co-workers at INCAT, thank you for the gift basket, Evelyn LOVES all the chocolate. Thank you to the members of the Greater Detroit Workroom Association (Emily's work) for the beautiful bouquet of flowers that were delivered to the house today. Thank you to St. Pauls United Methodist church and Pastor Bentley for keeping the girls in your thoughts and prayers.

Again, THANK YOU for everything. Please continue to pray for Kathryn and Sophia so they can build the strength they need to come home with us for good. God Bless all of you!

Your probably asking, "What happened?"

As most of our family and friends know, we were expecting twin girls on January 5, 2008. Just as with our first pregnancy, everything was going perfect, no pain, no problems, perfect ultrasounds, and a healthy mom. Then our biggest surprise ever...


Most of the first 48 hours of this ordeal was a blur, so please bear with me. It started Thursday, October 11, 2007. Emily called me that morning to say she didn't feel right, but was not worried about it. She had called the Dr. to be sure and they told her not to worry, but made an appointment for the following morning. That night around 6:00, Emily, Evelyn and I were eating dinner and she kept telling me she was getting "these pains" in her back and lower abdomen, but still really didn't think anything was happening. She could tell me when they came and went, and only lasted about 10 seconds each. We finished dinner and I told her to rest on the couch for the remainder of the evening. She kept telling me she could "feel it", so I began to write down the time and length of each. Emily was convinced what she was feeling were Braxton-Hicks (sporadic uterine contractions - sometimes painless but felt as early as 6 weeks). I became more and more concerned it was something more serious because I had measured the last six "feelings" Emily was having and they were exactly 10 minutes apart lasting between 10-20 seconds. I finally made the decision to take her to the hospital on the last one because I saw her wince. "That's it" I said, "we are going...". Even on our way to Mercy Memorial, she was telling me it was nothing and that she was going to be embarrassed because they were just going to send her home. "Great", I said, "then you have nothing to worry about..."


Uncle Andrew and Tara took Evelyn for the night and Emily's mom and dad accompanied us to the hospital. We got to Mercy around 9:00 PM, that's when our lives changed forever. The first nurse that checked Emily determined that she was fully dilated. "What?", no one in the room could believe it. The nurse nonchalantly told us she hoped she was wrong and was going to get another nurse. As you can probably guess, it was confirmed, the second nurse said "these babies will be here within 24 hours..." A collective feeling of disbelief overcame the room. They attempted to give her medicine to delay the labor as long as possible and corticosteroids to help the babies lungs develop as fast as possible. For the next four incredibly intense hours, they monitored her progress as the contractions became more frequent and more painful. Emily was finally given an epidural to ease her pain and stress on the babies. The prenatal team from Toledo Children's Hospital was put on notice to prepare for delivery and transportation to Toledo. Because of the high risk and seriousness of the pregnancy, the Dr. decided around 2:30 AM that she was going to take them by emergency c-section at 3:00 AM. I knew this time would come, but my heart dropped into my feet. Neither of us was prepared for this and my mind was racing as to what might happen to my wife, my unborn babies, and our daughter Evelyn. "How can this be happening?" I thought, the pregnancy was going great. It was time, I didn't have time to think anymore, all I did was pray for Him to watch over my family and give all of us the strength to make it through this difficult time. Our families were by our side hoping and praying as well (Thank You!).



We were in the operating room by 2:55 AM, the Toledo team had arrived (all 40 of them it seemed), and we anxiously waited to meet our newest baby girls. Less than 10 minutes later, both our babies were out and we heard them cry for the first time. The last six hours had come out in a flood of tears, I had never been overcome with so many emotions and questions in my lifetime. Are they breathing? Are they healthy? Do they have 10 toes? 10 fingers? What do they look like? Did I really hear both of them cry? All I could see was 30 people frantically trying to answer all of these questions for me. The Toledo team was spectacular and worked like a well-oiled machine. I could not believe how well orchestrated their work was, each knew what the other was doing and when. I could not have asked for a better outcome. I was still holding Emily's hand at this time trying to get a glimpse of my new daughters with no avail, I simply heard two cries and the dark hair on Kathryn's head. As fast as they had come, they were taken from the room to be evaluated by true undervalued professionals that I now have the utmost respect for.


For the next two hours (which felt like twenty), all we did was wait. It was not until around 5:00 AM that we got the news they were as well as could be expected for being delivered 12 weeks early. They were prepared for transport to Toledo and we had a couple of minutes to say goodbye to them. By this time Emily and I (and our families) had been up for almost 24 hours now, but in the last 8 hours Emily had gone into preterm labor, delivered twins, and they were now in the Toledo Children's Hospital NICU.


I apologize for the lengthy explanation, I just wanted to be sure everyone understood the exact circumstances that occurred. That night, our two newest angels on earth blessed us with their presence in a very special way. With all of that explained, I would like to introduce both of them to everyone. They were born on 10/12/07.


Kathryn Lydia Short
2 lbs. 8 oz.
15" long
3:02 AM

Sophia Grace Short

2 lbs 8 oz.
15" long
3:04 AM


Kathryn's middle name is from her great great Grandmother (and second cousin of the exact same name BTW) on my mom's side and Sophia's middle name is from her Emily's Grandmother. Kathryn is a dark haired brunette and Sophia is a light haired strawberry blond, no identicals here.

Enjoy some very early pics below.

Kathryn sleeping on her birthday, hugging her favorite blanket.

Kathryn already sucking on a standard pacifier

Mom holding Kathryn for the first time

Kathryn's tiny little fingers holding onto Daddy

To lower thier Bilirubin levels, they had to be placed under phototherapy lights to reduce jaundice, the nurses thought it would be cute (and it was) to draw "sleepy eyes" on thier eye covers. On top is Kathryn, on the bottom is Sophia. They look peaceful don't they?

Close up of Sophia being held by Mommy for the first time

Daddy holding Sophia for the first time (can you see her eyes open?)

Finally Sophia bundled nice and warm instead of being under the lights

More updates and pictures coming soon...