4 Weeks Old and 29 days

4 weeks old; No tubes, no wires, no cords!!!!!!
(Reid is trying to hold her hand!)

The twins holding the twins!

Matt and Rylee, Walt and Reid

We have had a few very exciting days for the Blocker Babies!!!! Yesterday morning when the Dr. came around for rounds he mentioned that they were doing great and the next step would be to move them upstairs to the Newborn Nursery, or the regular nursery. I asked him when that would happen and he replied "Oh, today!" Then he proceeded to tell us that if they continue to do so good, we should be home in about a week. So yesterday we moved to the 3rd floor where full term or healthy babies are. This means we have no more tubes, wires, or cords connected to us and we are fully healthy!!!!! WAY TO GO REID AND RYLEE!!!!!!!!!

They have both slowed down on their feedings which is a concern. They had a good feeding at 2:00 yesterday and a good feeding today at 2:00. We finally put our heads together and realized that at both of those feedings they used regular nipples on their bottles instead of the slow-flow nipples. We immediately switched to regular nipples, and they had good feedings at 5:00 and 8:00. Pray they both continue to do good with their feedings. Rylee has lost some weight in the last few days, and Reid has pretty much stayed the same. This morning they both weighed the exact same, 3 pounds 14 ounces. We have to get this weight up to go home!!!!

Rylee is having a little problem with her temperature... it is too low. They consider normal 97.0-99.0, and Rylee has been running very low 97's or upper 96's. Our next big step will be to move from the incubator to a crib.... but they have to regulate their own temperature. Rylee is not able to do this at all. When we get her out of the incubator her temperature drops and she doesn't bring it back up until we put her back in. Pray that she begins to have a higher temp. and that she starts to regulate it on her own. Fortunatly Reid hasn't had a problem with this.

Now for me.... I woke up yesterday morning with a reoccurance of Mastitis. It has now moved to my right side. By lunch I felt terrible. Mom brought me back to the house, I pumped as long as I could, then I took a good nap. I even missed the 2:00 feeding yesterday, because I was napping. But I can say that nap did me a lot of good. Today I feel much better. It is still red and warm, but not as painful. Hopefully this will be my last round of this.

I had a surprise visit from Allison, a friend from work. It was great to see her! Walt and Matt also came today. They stayed long enough to go to dinner with us. It was pretty great to see the "twins holding the twins." They got here before Brent and I took them to see the babies. One of the nurses came over and asked if Walt and Matt are twins. We said yes, and her response was "Which one is the dad?" We got a kick out of that!!!! Then when we went back with Brent, another nurse wanted to know if Walt, Matt, and Brent were brothers, b/c they look so much alike. Our response was, they might as well be!!!!

Brent got here around 4:30 today. He will be here until Sunday. Mom is still here, but she will be leaving tomorrow. If we get to go home next week, this may be her last visit before we go home! I know she is ready for a break!!! Just today she did 5 loads of laundry, cleaned the room, changed the sheets, did our RMH chore, and I don't know what else. No matter what anyone says, there is no one like a MOM during times like these!!! Dad is suppose to come tomorrow for Thanksgiving Dinner, then he will leave when Mom does. Margaret is coming for the day Friday. She has been a busy bee at home.... she put my Christmas tree up for me (you know how much I love Christmas), she cleaned out the guest room, and I have no idea what else. I have the best Mother-in-Law in the world!!!!! There is no way we could have gotten through all this without her.

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Not a typical Thanksgiving for us, but a very special one. This year I have more to be thankful for than I could ever imagine. I have a wonderful family (parents, mother-in-law, grandparents, etc.). There is no way we could have made it through the last 4 weeks without them. I have a husband that has shown me his strength and love in ways I could have never imagined. During the past 4 weeks, he has shown me a side of him I have never seen, and I have fallen in love with him all over again. I have TWO beautiful, healthy children that I love more than life itself! I never knew you could love two little people as much as I love them, and the love for them is amazing. I had never seen these two miracles, then the moment I layed eyes on them, I was in love. Then for them to be healthy is another blessing in itself. Being around the other families here and learning about what other families are going through has really made me aware of how blessed my children are. We are small... that is the only thing keeping us here. Once they grow and regulate their temps., we will be home. I am so blessed.... This Thanksgiving I will take time to praise God for my blessings and thank him for his love and power.

I do want to take a minute just to mention a few of the families here and what they are going through. I know that almost everyone that reads this prays for us daily, but I want to ask you to pray for the other babies and families as well. I don't know who to start with, so I will start with the ones I met first.
Nikius is a baby boy who doctors thought would never make it. His mom would always respond with "If God didn't want him to live, he wouldn't have made it this far. He is still very sick, but is a fighter.
Sadie is a baby girl about the same age as Rylee and Reid. She has had problems with apnea, but will go home Monday if she doesn't have any more spells. Pray she doesn't have any spells.
Dylan is a miracle in itself. He was born very early, around 27 weeks I think. He had a brain bleed, and also had to have a whole in his heart repaired. He made it throught surgery fine, and is doing good, but he still only weighs a little over 2 pounds.
Anna Kate and Abby are twins. They are 2 months old. One still has problems breathing and the other will have to have surgery on her skull in 4-6 weeks. Her skull fused together in 3 places before it should have, and now her brain doesn't have room to grow. My heart goes out to this mother and I pray for her daily. Anna Kate and Abby had another sister Lindsey who lived 22 days. They were triplets. Not only is she dealing with the loss of a child, she is also dealing with her other 2 still in the hospital and one facing surgery.
Morgan is a baby boy that will hopefully go home Monday. Everything is going great... his parents have become friends of mine, and I wish the best for them and Morgan.
There is another child that is 14 waiting on a transplant. Another who is 17 that was in a major car crash and in a coma in ICU. A baby in NICU turned 1 year old 2 days ago... he has never left the hospital. I could go on and on.

After sitting here writing all of that, I realize even more now how thankful I am for my two little miracles. It could be so much worse. I'm sorry this Blog was so long, but I hope you are able to see how fortunate most of us are. We overlook the blessings we have daily. Please take a minute this Thanksgiving to say a special prayer for the blessings you have that are overlooked, then pray for the babies I mentioned above, along with all the others here.

May God bless each and every one of you for following the progress of Reid and Rylee. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for each of you. The prayers and support you offer is amazing and I am truely thankful.

With love,
Brent, Jessica, Reid, and Rylee