The Larry Family

It's been awhile

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:21:00 +0000

So I know it's been a while since I've updated and I apologize for that. Since I've started back at work it's nearly impossible to find time to sit and update. Not a whole lot going here just the norm for the Larry's. Basketball season is in full swing, translation daddy's gone ALOT! It really wasn't too bad until this weekend. It all started on Wednesday night when the head coach's son was injured pretty badly at his own game. He ended up having surgery late that night and they discharged him around 3 or 4 in the morning. The poor kid ended up having a bad reaction to the anesthesia and got pretty sick at home. The next day both JV and Varsity tournaments were starting, so Jyusef stepped in to help so the coach could get some rest. Oh yeah and Jyusef had to drive the Bohemian team around in the midst of all this. To make a long story short I saw Jyusef on Thursday night and didn't see him again until 8:30 or 9:00 Saturday night. I forgot to mention that I've been sick as a dog since Friday. I was camp at my parent's until Saturday afternoon. It is so hard to take care of two babies while you have no energy and feel like you are about to barf. I almost called my friend in Tennessee for advice. She has twin girls, so I'm sure she's been here a time or two. Luckily, today my fever has broken and my stomach has calmed down a little. Enough about me, on to the boys. They are the loves of my life! Everyday I look at them and I am truly amazed. They are both rolling over, scooting, and sitting up now. It won't be long until they are crawling and then I'll really be in trouble. The talk and talk all day long and it cracks me up. Sometimes I swear they are holding a conversation with me. It's really funny when they talk to each other. The both eat like horses so I will be glad when we move to table foods. The are on 2nd foods right now and eat 3 containers each everyday. When it's time to get more food I'm gonna start them on mixed dinners and meats. Honestly the site of the meats makes my stomach turn. I said I would wait until 3rd foods before I tried making it myself but the meats might jump start it for me. Jordan is having surgery on Thursday to have his hernia repaired and it looks like they will make him spend the night. They want him to weight 15lbs in order to send him home the same day but he won't be there yet. I don't know exactly how much they weight but it's somewhere around 12 1/2 to 13 lbs. Please pray that the procedure goes smoothly. I promise I will update after surgery. I'm gonna go for now because I burned my hand pretty badly on the oven and it's starting to really hurt to type.

Finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:37:00 +0000

Finally, I have time to sit down and update this thing. I started work on September 30th and I have been going full speed ever since. I'm an assistant director at a preschool so I take the boys with me 3 days a week. It was really hard for me to trust someone else to take care of the boys but, with me being their boss they know that they have to take extra special care of them. I am in and out of their room all day long. Of course within the first week of them being there, they got sick! I knew it was going to happen since they are around other children. They did get the first part of the flu shot a couple of weeks ago so they should be good to go. They get the second half of it in 2 weeks. They have also started with their synagis injections. These injections actually give them the antibodies that fight RSV. They will get these once a month for 6 months. My poor babies are going to be pin cushions by their first birthday.
We have advanced their diet so now they are stage 1 foods and we added oatmeal cereal. So far we have tried bananas, pears, peaches, applesauce, squash, and carrots. The only thing the boys aren't absolutely crazy about it the peaches. They will eat them but I think they are a little tart for them. We are going to try green beans and peas this weekend. I hope they taste better than they look. I had a really weird lady ringing me up at Walmart last week. I have 22 double packs of food in my basket and she says "do you think you got enough food there?" It might sound like a lot but I got through 4-6 containers a day so it's only 7-10 days worth of food. That was besides the point, the lady was a weirdo. What if I had a box of condoms and a tube of KY in my basket? What would she have said then " I know what you're going to be doing tonight." We will go a couple more weeks on the stage 1 foods and then move up to stage 2. It's funny because the boys are such big eaters! They eat oatmeal cereal and a fruit for breakfast and then still take 5-6 ounces of milk.
Jordan is currently weighing in at 10 lbs 8 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. Jaxon is 11 lbs and 23 1/4 inches long. Yes folks Jordan has passed Jaxon in length! The moved up to 0-3 month clothes for about a month and a half but now we are wearing 3-6 month clothes. Some of them are a little baggy but the need it for the length. Technically the weight range for 3-6 month is 12-17 lbs, but the length is starts at 23 inches.
I know I promised a certain someone pictures but I am not at home and I don't have my camera with me, so Kristen take what you can get! You can go to www.ashleyallenphoto.net, click on enter site, go to galleries and click on babies to see by precious babies as Internet models.

Who knew?

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:26:00 +0000

Well last week was pretty crazy around here. Tuesday morning my mom sent me a text saying to call her asap because she needed my help. When I called her back she was frantic because my little brother had a date to homecoming(which was on Friday, as in 3 days later) and this was the first any of us heard anything about it. His date's mom called my mom trying to get details. So I spent all morning in the flower shop trying to get a mum ordered for this poor girl. The rest of the week was spent getting details and all that good stuff. The funny part about the whole situation was that Michael just thought he would go on Thursday night and pick up a mum. Boys are so clueless! Everything turned out wonderful and Michael and Gabriella looked so cute together(but they are JUST FRIENDS)! I can't believe how grown up he looked in his suit and tuxedo vest. Apparently just wearing the vest is the in thing these days. Wow, I feel so old saying that!

Well in the middle of all of this homecoming drama we had a few appointments for the boys. Jordan had ANOTHER appointment with the eye doctor. I was really confidant that this would be the last one, but the wind was quickly taken out of my sail. He wants to see him one last time(he promises) just as an exit exam. We saw a different doctor this time, who I liked allot better. He says that Jordan's eyes are stable and clear but he just wants to make sure we have crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's. What they don't realize is that my poor child is extremely cranky for the rest of the day after these exams. I don't blame him because the exam looks like cruel and unusual punishment. His poor little eyes are all puffy for the rest of the day. So hopefully this man keeps his promise and this will be our last visit to the torture chamber. Originally, this was the only appointment for the day but, I had to make a last minute appointment with the pediatrician. Mr Jaxon is losing his hair! Everyone kept telling me that it was normal and that all babies go through this but, I knew something wasn't right. First of all, Jaxon had already gone through that stage and it wasn't nearly as drastic as what is going on now. We all thought that he had a bad case of cradle cap so I have be treating his head for that(olive oil 15 minutes, scrub with cradle cap brush, and then regular shampoo). I started noticing that his hair was coming out in the brush and then it got to the point where I could just pull his hair out straight from the scalp with no effort at all. His scalp is also extremely dry and somewhat crusty looking. When I told all of this to the nurse when called she told me come in. Well when Dr Savrick looked at his head she took him to see her partner to get her opinion. She came back and said we both agree that is it RINGWORM! I just kinda looked at her like "did you just say ringworm?" Apparently it is extremely common in kids and it's a fungus, not an actual worm. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how he got it so I started doing some research. You treat ringworm of the scalp and beard differently that ringworm on other parts of the body. There is no topical ointment or lotion for it. You have to attack it from the inside out. So Mr Jaxon is taking a medication for the next 8 weeks! The doctor said that it is important to take it for the full 8 weeks even if it seems to have cleared up. I also can use a medicated shampoo for a week to stop it from spreading on him and passing it to other people. I also learned that ringworm is an airborne fungus and someone can be carrying it and never be symptomatic. So he could have caught it from someone that held him or just in the air. Don't worry he is not contagious , just in case you are around us. The worst part of all of this is that he will probably lose all of his hair before it is over. I'm soooooo glad we had their pictures done already.

If this ringworm thing wasn't enough Jaxon has also been acting like he doesn't feel well lately. So he's been very clingy and decided that he doesn't want to take a bottle anymore. All he wants to do is nurse. Oh did I mention that I start work tomorrow. Great timing Jaxon! I was getting really nervous yesterday because I didn't know what I was going to do if he wouldn't take a bottle. I remembered that I have some playtex drop-in bottle which are shaped like a breast. Eureka! It worked! It's funny because when I first tried these bottles he wouldn't have anything to do with them. I believe that Jaxon is going to be my picky child.

All in all the boys are great! The are talking up a storm(baby talk that is). It's really funny and cute. They are a handful but we have fun and I love them to pieces.

Little Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:24:00 +0000

Well it's been a little crazy since I've last updated. I experienced my first hurricane(well that I can remember, I survived Alicia as an infant). We all fared well, which is amazing considering some of our friends had some serious damage. I can't even imagine what the other side of Houston and Galveston is going through. We still have friends that have no power and Jyusef has been out of school since last Friday. He will go back tomorrow but the students won't return until Tuesday. Since Jyusef had some what of a vacation we decided to go to Little Rock to visit friends and family. We ended up flying because continental was running an awesome special ($69 each way). Yes, the boys had their first airplane experience. I will have to say they were wonderful. Both flights they were very good boys. People kept saying "I forgot they were even babies on the plane. I was a little nervous about their ears popping but we had some ear drops that numb the ear-thank you Melissa! On the way there I gave them Tylenol just in case the drops didn't work, but on the way back we just used drops. The only bump in the road we had was Jaxon spit up all over me 15 minutes into the flight in the way back. I kinda had a feeling he would because he was very full wouldn't burp. Combine that with the turbulence and pressure you get baby vomit. We had a great time in Little Rock and of course, the boys are now spoiled rotten. Between family and close friends the boys we held all the time! I really want go to Searcy and visit Harding but time just got away from us. Hopefully we will get to go to Spring Sing.

On another note, my little brother turned 18 today! I am having a hard time with this one. It seems like I woke up and Michael is all of a sudden a man. I am going to have to brag a little now. Michael is such a good boy! I know that makes him sound all of two but he really is a good kid. He makes such good decisions and you never have to worry about he getting into trouble. He's such a good example to his friends and his nephews. I love watching him with my boys because I know he would throw himself in front of a bus for they. I can already tell they love their Uncle Mike. So happy birthday Michael, I love you very much.

We're back!

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:34:00 +0000

Many of you have been all over us about updating so here I am. Life with twins is definately an adventure. These boys constantly keep me on my toes but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are doing absolutely wonderful! We have been free for oxygen for a little over a month now. The only doctor that we are still following up with (besides the pediatrician of course) is the eye doctor for Jordan. He still has a tiny amout of residual ROP left. It is inactive but it until it is all cleared up we have to follow up for eye exams every 2 weeks. It is quite a pain to be honest with you. No matter what time we make the appointment for we end up waiting at least 2 hours to see the doctor (who is in there a whole 5 minutes tops). The entire time he is torturing my baby. Other than that, the boys are 100% healthy! They just started with rice cereal this weekend and they seem to like it. I will post pictures of this experience below. I am giving it to them before bed so they will sleep longer. Right now they sleep for about 5 hours which is great. Jordan is knocking on 8 lbs and Jaxon is knocking on 9. They are both hungary right now so enjoy the pictures!

Jordan tasting cereal for the first time

He loved it!

Jaxon tasting cereal for the first time

Jaxon full of cereal

Okay, okay we hear ya!

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:20:00 +0000

Let me just start off by saying the JYUSEF was suppose to post an update when Jordan came home, but apparently I have to be super mom and wife (hehe)! The boys are doing absolutely fabulous. We had our first big outing on Sunday to church. Everyone swarmed us and it was so great to the reactions on their faces. I kept hearing everyone say "oh they are so tiny" but I'm thinking THEY ARE SO BIG! We have taken alot of pictures since they've been home and we will post them soon. As happy as we are to be home we are kinda sad that we didn't get to say goodbye to one of our favorite nurses, Erica. We were really hoping she would be the one to discharge Jordan but they didn't need her that day. We did, however, have Lija and she is another favorite of ours. These two were our primary nurses and we couldn't have asked for better people to care for our sons. We miss you guys! We have had a couple appointments already and so far so good. Last week we have eye exams and Jaxon got a clean bill of health(no more ROP). Jordan still has a little bit left but the doctors says it's looking better and better every time he sees him. He will go back next week for another exam. We also have seen our pediatrician and she is WONDERFUL! She was just amazed at how well the boys are doing considering how early they were. Both boys are growing and developing right on track.

Well I think that is that. Sorry about the delay but I promise we will get "life at home" pictures up soon.

Just a growin'

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:18:00 +0000

The boys are doing great! They are getting so big and developing so well. It's hard to believe how tiny they were when born! Jyusef got to hold both boys together today and it was so cute! Of course it ended up turning into a photo shoot (thanks to yours truly)! As you can see, I placed the boys side by side so you can see, they do indeed, look ALOT alike! That's about all for now, enjoy the video!

Another first

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:25:00 +0000

Today was another very exciting day for us. I got to hold BOTH boys together at the same time today! It was definitely not an easy task, but very fun. The hardest part was getting them both situated. Once one of them was comfortable the other wasn't because I was moving to much to make them other one happy. It was so amazing watching them sleep side by side because their heart rates and respirations were exactly the same. All three of us stayed kicked back for about two hours. I absolutely loved it! Jyusef wasn't there when all of this happened so when he finally got there he almost had a heart attack. Jordan's crib is the first bed you see when you come into the pod and Jyusef froze when he saw the crib was empty. I didn't see he at first, but apparently he stood there frozen for about 20 seconds. He said the first thing that popped into his head was emergency surgery. The nurse was took a picture of this special occasion so I hope you all enjoy!

Weekend Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:14:00 +0000

Please continue to pray for Baby Samantha. She was home for 8 days when she ran into some complications from her previous surgery. She is now back in the hospital. We saw her dad on Friday and he said that Baby Noah is doing great. Please pray for Baby Samantha and her family as they go through this difficult time.

As for the boys, they are doing pretty good. They have become a lot more alert this week. Their vision is progressing well. Jaxon will have his vision tested again in three weeks and Jordan will have his tested in two. Also, they both passed their hearing test. I'm not sure exactly how they do all of these test, but it is pretty amazing that they can check those things out.

We haven't heard anything, but we are hoping that the boys will be able to come home within the next month. Jaxon now weighs 5 pounds 15 ounces and Jordan weighs 5 pounds 5 ounces. Jaxon lost a little bit of weight after he came off of the fluids when he had his infection. The doctors say that is perfectly normal.

It is really funny to see Jaxon now, because when he was sick he wasn't as alert. He slept all of the time. Now he has his eyes wide open almost as much as his big brother.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for Jordan and Jaxon in hopes that they will continue to progress and be able to come home soon. Also, please remember to pray for Baby Samantha and her family. Please continue to pray for the doctors who oversee our children at this wonderful facility.

Web Albums Updated

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:05:00 +0000

Click here to view the updated web albums.

The Answer Is B, Jaxon then Jordan

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:25:00 +0000

I admit, it really wasn't a fair question, but it was fun. Jaxon now weighs 6 pounds and 1 ounce and Jordan weighs 4 pounds 13 ounces. Jaxon tends to be a little "lazy" and so I think that is helping him pack on the ounces. Jordan on the other hand is always awake as is evidenced by the pictures that show him with his eyes open all of the time. I called to check on them the other night at 1 AM and the nurse said, "Jaxon is sleeping, he's doing fine. Jordan is just laying in the bed with his eyes open looking at the ceiling." I guess we know who the night owl is. I am working on uploading new pictures as we speak.

Can You Tell Who Is Who

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:55:00 +0000

Please comment on who you think is who. Here are your choices:

A) Jordan on the left, Jaxon on the right
B) Jaxon on the left, Jordan on the right
C) Both pictures are of Jordan
D) Both pictures are of Jaxon

Good luck, I will post the answer by Saturday.

"I Want A Giant Leap Headline Too Daddy!!!"

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:14:00 +0000

During the course of my last posting, doctors came around and bumped Jordan up from five bottle feeds to six. Those six feeds along with the two he can receive from mom each day means that he can now receive all of his feeds by mouth. As mentioned earlier, that is one of the hurdles the boys have to clear in order to make it home.

I also failed to mention earlier, that as of last Sunday Jordan was 17.5 inches long. His little brother, Jaxon, was 18 inches long. So much for the little brother comments. Jaxon is a half inch taller and 1 pound heavier than older brother. I still believe had they stayed in until July 22nd, their original due date, they both would have cleared the two foot mark. What are you guys laughing about? You already thought I was crazy, why would I try to change your opinion on a blog.

One Giant Leap

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:09:00 +0000

Well, this has been quite an interesting week. It started on Sunday when the Nurse Practitioner called and told us they were going to hold Jaxon's feed as a precautionary measure. It turns out that Jaxon did have a urinary tract infection and staph infection. The good thing is that since they were so proactive and started treating this with antibiotics on Sunday it really didn't hit him too hard. He is scheduled to go off of antibiotics and back on his feeds on Monday. I know he will be glad about that. It is too funny watching him suck his pacifier so anxiously and never get anything out.

In the midst of all of the infection talk, Jaxon decided it was time to take a giant step forward today. We got to the hospital to visit him at 3 PM and were excited when we saw that he was on room air. Yeah!!! That's right, no more nasal cannula for Jaxon. He has been on room air since about 11 AM this morning and his oxygen saturation level, the ET thing they put on your finger, is still registering in the range they want it to. Jaxon now weighs 5 pounds 6 ounces.

Jordan weighs 4 pounds 7 ounces and has moved into his crib. He is getting closer to going on room air, but he is still not quite ready for it. He has managed to bump the number of feeds by mouth up over the course of this week. He currently can receive two feeds from mom and five feeds by bottle. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the hurdles they have to clear is being able to take all of their feeds by mouth before they can go home.

I can't really think of much else to share. Please continue to keep Baby Noah and Baby Samantha in your prayers. Baby Samantha got to go home on Thursday. I know her parents are excited. Please continue to pray that the transition goes smoothly and that both Baby Noah and Baby Samantha continue to recover.

UPDATES UPDATES UPDATES

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:51:00 +0000

The boys are doing pretty well. Jordan is pictured top left and Jaxon is pictured bottom right. Jaxon is now 5 pounds and Jordan is 4 pounds 6 ounces. They are both taking 2 of their 8 feeds by bottle. Jaxon has temporarily been taken off of his feeds just to make sure that he does not have an infection. If things turn out like that suspect they will he will be placed back on his feeds today.

A question that we have been asked quite a bit is “Have the doctor’s said when they can come home?” Well, one of the indicators is that they have to take all 8 of their feeds by mouth. As mentioned earlier, they are currently taking 2 of their 8 feeds so in that sense things are going pretty well.

Also, Jordan and Jaxon have been doing a great job being weaned down on their oxygen. Yesterday, Jaxon was on 25 ccs of oxygen and doing fine and Jordan was on 50 ccs. They started off on 200 ccs when they moved to nasal canula.

We’d like to thank everyone for their continued prayers again. It’s amazing the power that prayer has. Please continue to pray for the boys. Also, if you could, please pray for baby Samantha as well.

Since we have moved to Level II, we have met another family who is in the same situation we are. Their children were born at 23 weeks. Baby Noah is at home, but has some vision problems. Baby Samantha will has vision problems as well and is still in the hospital. They were born in January and Noah just got to go home two weeks ago. This has been really hard on the family I’m sure. They have been unable to hold Samantha because she had to have a procedure done to deal with her IVH. Evidently, the outlook for her IVH was not as optimistic as Jaxon’s. Please pray for Baby Samantha and Baby Noah during this difficult time.

Shots!

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:52:00 +0000

I can't believe that our boys are already two months old! They had their two month shots yesterday and they did pretty well. They only cried for a few minutes, but that first initial scream was awful. Jaxon did the hold your breath while you cry and Jordan opened his eyes really wide and screamed and screamed and screamed! It broke my heart! Luckily they ate right after so the calmed down pretty quickly and went to sleep. Yesterday was pretty big day for Jaxon, he nursed for the first time. I have to say that he shocked me because he did very well. The lactation consultant was pretty shocked too. He only did it for a few minutes then fell asleep. It was pretty funny actually. Jordan will probably have to wait a few more days because right now he's breathing too fast. Hopefully by the end of the week he will be able to do it. That's pretty much all the updates we have. Please keep us in your prayers.

Moving on up!

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:47:00 +0000

It's been a while since we last updated and we apologize for that. There has been a lot of things going on the last couple of days. I receive a call Friday around 2:00 from the hospital from the boys nurse. Let me remind you that everytime I see TCH on the caller id my heart junps into my throat. The nurses are really good about starting off by saying "your boys are fine" and then they go on with the reason for the call. Well once my heart was back in my chest where it belongs, the nurse proceeded to tell my that my boys were being transferred to Level 2!!! For those who don't know what this means let me explain. In each hospital there is a newborn nursery and a Level 2 NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). In select hospitals that are more equipped to handle critical babies there is a Level 3 NICU. Most older preemies (34 to 38 weekers) are sent to Level 2 even if it's only for a few days. The boys have been in Level 3 from the jump. The have finally graduated (and pretty early I'll say). Jordan is the only baby I've seen that is not in an open crib as of yet. He just needs to gain a few more ounces and he will be good to go. Level 2 is a lot more hands on for the parents and the ratio for baby to nurse is now 4:1 (level 3 was 2:1). The boys are doing very well with this transition. Last night Jyusef commented on how much more calm Mr Jordan seems to be when he's getting his diaper changed. That I credit to the nasal cannula.....SOOO much better than the CPAP. The boys are definately growing like weeds. Jordan gain 80 grams over night and Jaxon gained 60 grams. We are weighing in at 3 lbs 15 oz for Jordan and 4 lbs 13 ounces for Jaxon. If they have another big gain today like they did last night, I will and 4 pounder and a 5 pounder. Can you believe it?

I want to take a minute to thank everyone who came to my shower yesterday. It was absolutley wonderful and I'm so blessed to have such a supportive family. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers and please continue to pray for the boys, after level 2 they get to come home!

Boys Are A Growing

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:11:00 +0000

Well, the boys have both been taken off of their CPaps and placed on nasal cannula. They will be monitoring their progress on the nasal cannula over the next 48 hours to ensure that they are ready for this step. It is amazing how calm the boys are now that they don't have those humongous tubes around their face.

In regards to weight, Jaxon, pictured top now weighs 4 pounds and 9 ounces and Jordan weighs 3 pounds and 13 ounces. Jordan, pictured bottom is really enjoying not having to try to free himself from the CPap.

Leaps and Bounds

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Yesterday was a big day for our boys. Jordan's CPAP was turned down to 6 and he is doing pretty well with that. They decided to wait to turn Jaxon down until Wednesday because they moved him to OPEN CRIB!!! That's right my boy is no longer in an isolette. They didn't want to do too much at one time so Wednesday is turn down day for him. Jordan still has to gain a little more weight before he can go to open crib. They want the babies to be 2000 grams before they transition them. Jaxon weight's 2010 (4 lbs 7 oz) and Jordan is 1635 (3 lbs 10 oz). Over all they are doing pretty well. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:59:00 +0000

Here is a quick run down on what's going on with the boys:

* Jordan*
- CPAP pressure of 7, will be turned down to 5 tomorrow
- Weighs 3 lbs 8 or 9 oz
- O2 saturation of 21% (room air!)

*Jaxon*
- CPAP pressure of 7, will be turned down to 5 tomorrow
- Weighs 4 lbs 6 oz
- O2 saturation of 23%

The CPAP lowest setting is 5 so if they do will with that then they will go to nasal cannula in a week. YAY! They boys really hate their CPAPs and I am told that the nasal cannula is MUCH more comfortable. The best thing about them being on the cannula is that they finally get to nurse (sorry if that it T.M.I. for some of you reading). This is a really big step and a moment I've waited my whole life for (you have to be a woman to understand).

We did try to upload a video from Friday but we are experiencing technical difficulties so please standby. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, we love you guys!

Growing like weeds

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:04:00 +0000

Well the boys are definitely growing! It's amazing how big (and incredibly cute) they look in their clothes. FYI Cheri and Laura the clothes that you both bought don't fit! I was really excited that needed bigger clothes but also sad that they didn't get good use out of them. They got to wear a couple outfits but that's about it. I will say that they are getting great use of the hats! So on Sunday I had to go buy some preemie onesies (up to 5lbs). When I opened the package I was thinking man these are going to swallow Jordan for sure and maybe be a little big on Jaxon. WRONG! They fit Jaxon pretty good and they are just a little big on Jordan (he has plenty of thigh room). I was so excited! I guess when you see them everyday you don't see the leaps and bounds they have made so I went back and looked at their pictures from when they were first born. It's amazing how great God is. My mom always jokes that Jaxon is going to eat his way out of the hospital and I think she's right.....my baby is 4 lbs 2 oz!!! That's right folks we have a 4 pounder! Mr Jordan is 3 lbs 5 oz and I say that he is going to squirm his way out of there. I laugh every time a new nurse has Jordan because she doesn't know what she's in for. I have never seen a baby be swaddled at tightly as Jordan and manage to get his arms free with in 5 minutes. I have a little Houdini on my hands. Needless to say all is well with the boys right now, please continue to pray for them.

CPAP Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:24:00 +0000

Well, they went in and turned the pressure down on both boys CPAPs. They are both now on a pressure of 7. Originally, they started at 12. Jordan has been at 10 for about the last 3 weeks and Jaxon at 9 for the same period of time. There plan is to ween them to 5 next in hopes of possibly removing the CPAPs this weekend if all goes well. Please keep the boys in mind. I am planning on placing more pictures online this weekend. Those will even include ones with them in their clothes. Now I just have to find a preemie Cubs outfit. Please continue to pray for Jordan and Jaxon.

The Boys Are Growing

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:10:00 +0000

The boys are doing great. Jaxon now weighs 3 pounds 14 ounces. He is receiving 33 ccs of milk every 3 hours. There are 30 ccs in an ounce so that means that he gets almost half of a pound of milk each day. Jordan now weighs 3 pounds 1 ounce. He is receiving 26 ccs of milk every 3 hours. That means he receives almost 7 ounces of milk each day.

On another note, we should have more news to report today. The doctors are going to ween both Jordan and Jaxon from their CPAP They believe that the boys may not need the pressure that is going through them and that they may just need the oxygen. If this is the case the boys will have their CPAPs replace with a nasal cannula. Below is a brief description from Wikipedia on just what a nasal cannula is.

The nasal cannula is a device used in the hospital, in a pre-hospital setting, or at home to deliver supplemental oxygen to a patient or person in need of extra oxygen. This device consists of a plastic tube which fits behind the ears, and a set of two prongs which are placed in the nose or nares. Oxygen flows from these prongs. The nasal cannula is connected to an oxygen tank, a portable oxygen generator, or a wall connection in a hospital via a flowmeter. The nasal cannula carries 1–6 litres of oxygen per minute. There are also infant or neonatal nasal cannulas which carry less than one litre per minute; these also have smaller prongs. The oxygen fraction provided to the patient ranges roughly from 24% to 35%.

If the boys are able to get onto the nasal cannula that would be a huge step. Jordan really hates his CPAP and Jaxon begin to hate his as well. We will update you when we find out. Please continue to pray for our boys.

Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Crichelle) — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:05:00 +0000

Anyone who knows me well knows that I think that birthdays are EXTREMELY important. I tell everyone that my birthday is a national holiday and they should feel the same about theirs. Well today was definately a very special day for very special girl, my sweet angel Ashlyn. I bet she had a blow out party in heaven with all her friends (Brock, Brody, and Josiah) and family. Needless to say today was very hard and emotional for me. There is no pain in the world like losing a child. As time goes by it does get easier but today was like ripping a bandaid off. All the vivid memories and recollection of the events that took place. Everything from feeling intense pain in my side, learning my child was gone, delivery, and all the pain there after. I went through my memory box and it felt as if someone was holding a pillow over my face, I could not breathe. I miss her some much and I know I always will. One thing I can say for certain is if we had not lost Ashlyn, we wouldn't have Jordan and Jaxon right now. I know she is watching over her little brothers each and every day. I can only hope that this day will get easier to get through as the years go on.

Quick update on the boys:

* Jordan is 2 lbs 14 oz
*Jaxon is 3 lbs 8.5 oz

Both are still doing well and we are hoping that they will soon be able to wear clothes! Normally they want them to be at a certain weight (2000 grams) but the nurse tonight said she would talk to the doctors about it since they do so well being contained. That's pretty much all the has changed, please continue to pray for our boys.

Keep On Growing

noreply@blogger.com (Jyusef) — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:55:00 +0000

I would like to first apologize for not updating in a few days. We are now in the Ronald McDonald House. We checked in on Monday, but Tuesday was our first night to stay there. We dropped in to check on the boys before we went to bed last night and they were doing fine. Jordan is 2 pounds 11 ounces and Jaxon is 3 pounds 8 ounces. Yes, I said that correctly. Jaxon Xavier Larry is 3 pounds and 8 ounces. He is really growing. I guess he heard about his brother putting on weight and decided to put some distance between the two of them.

The good thing about staying in the Medical Center is that we have the opportunity to see the boys all the time. During these last few weeks, Crichelle has come up with an observation about the boys' personalities. She believes that Jordan looks like me and acts like her and that Jaxon looks like her and acts like me.

Whenever nurses, or anyone else for that matter, are messing with Jordan he puts up a fit. He throws his arms and legs around all over the place. I was trying to hold his hands last night while Crichelle took his temperature and it was a tough job. He gripped my finger and starting moving my entire hand. He is also starting to let out a louder cry. Crichelle says that he has a temper and that she is responsible for that.

On the other hand, Jaxon is more mild mannered. When people mess with Jaxon you can see that he realizes it and that it bothers him, but he will sometimes just lay there as if he were saying, would you please hurry up so that I can get back to doing what I was doing. Crichelle says that is more indicative of me. Please continue to pray for both of the boys and again thanks to everyone for the thoughts, gifts and kind words. We have been very blessed during these times.