Final Homecoming - AND Happy 1 month Birthday

Monday, February 28, 2011

Keilin was doing well enough today that they discharged her and we all came home as one family!  We brought Dominic in with us, so we got pictures of all of us.

Got them both in the bassinet for naps/bedtime.  They seemed to do well together - amazingly they can sleep through the other's fussing!


Happy One Month Birthday Babies!

Last Full Day of Hospitals?

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Chris' parents came to stay with Dominic for a few hours, so we could go to LPCH to feed and visit Keilin.  The doctor/nurses were hopeful she would go home on Monday.  They started her on Alimentum formula in the afternoon and she was tolerating it well.

We decided to move Dominic to the front room to sleep in his bassinet.  We just couldn't survive on such little sleep while hearing his every breath!

Family Visits

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Everyone was excited to see Dominic without the tubes and monitors!  Our first home visitors were Uncle Mike, Aunt Sharon, and cousin Josh.  I left to get to Stanford to feed Keilin just after they arrived, but Chris got pictures with them all. 

While I was at Stanford, other visitors came and hung-out at the house, including:  cousin Mike/Stacey/Chloe and cousin Michelle/Mario. 

I was much more comfortable nursing Keilin and giving her her bottle.  Michelle and Mario came down to Stanford in the afternoon for awhile to hold/meet Keilin.  Finally, I made it home to Chris and Dominic for dinner.

First Pediatrician Appointment

Friday, February 25, 2011

You could say that we were starting to realize why sleep deprivation is a form of torture...  I probably got a few hours total of sleep with Dominic sleeping (snoring) just feet from my pillow.  Breast feeding took awhile, too.  We had our first pediatrician visit with Dr. Leman at 10:15am.  I couldn't help it between being hormonal and sleep deprived, I cried...  She deemed Dominic fine, though!

Afterwards, we took him and went to Stanford to visit Keilin and get her update.  They had their first blood-free diaper!!!  Now, to restart her on breast milk first, then gradually introduce her to a new hypoallergenic formula.  I was excited to get a "free" lunch (i.e. $5 off and $5 off breakfast and/or dinner if we were around), since this is a benefit for breast feeding moms.  Chris had to pay, but my grilled cheese was free.  Dominic did well the whole time.

It was hard to leave Keilin for the evening/night, but we called in before bed and first thing in the morning for her progress.  Things were starting to look up!

Waiting Game Cont'd - Into Not so Good News

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 (through) Thursday, February 24, 2011

Again there wasn't improvement in Keilin's condition, but on the hopeful side, there was no deterioration either.  We felt so sorry for our tiny baby girl.

The doctor/nurses arranged for our overnight with Dominic.  It was all finalized later in the afternoon.  After going home for pjs, overnight pack, and Chris took his shower, we headed back to Sequoia about 11pm.  By the time we got our room down the hall, got sheets on the beds, and settled down, it was nearly midnight.  I fed Dominic and then we all tried to sleep.

Dominic did better than us.  He was such a NOISY baby!!!  At 3am he fed again, and we tried to sleep again.  Poor Chris was on a cot that was totally uncomfortable.  By 6am we'd had enough, so we took Dominic back to the nursery and then headed home to get breakfast and I took my shower.

When we got back to the nursery at 9am, the doctor met us and said she'd feel better if Keilin was transferred back to LPCH's NICU.  She just wanted the main hospital to rule out (or rule "in") NEC.  This was not what we wanted to hear.  After I shed a few tears of fear, I went to call my mom, then my boss.  I asked my boss to alert our boss (Dr. Prober) of the transfer and that if he had a moment, could he come visit us in the NICU in the afternoon.  When I came out of the parents lounge, the Sequoia nurses had Chris surrounded and he was tearful.  They had put on such solemn faces and kept saying "it's the best place for Keilin" and "she'll be okay," that they scared him! 

The transport team arrived and by 11am they had Keilin loaded and were off to LPCH.  We asked if Dominic could stay until we got things settled at LPCH - no problem.  We then headed home for a quick bite of lunch then rushed down to Stanford and got there just behind Keilin.  By the time we arrived, the nurse told us that they immediately ruled out NEC, but were thinking that it could be a milk protein allergy.  They would start her back on my breast milk as soon as they had one blood-free diaper and start from there.  There was discussion that I might have to change my diet - cutting out soy, milk, etc...  Yikes.

Dr. Prober did come by and was comforting that it wasn't NEC.  The nurse that had Keilin was nice and very reassuring.  We stayed until late afternoon, then headed back home to get Dominic from Sequoia for our homecoming.  To be honest it is all a blur, but we got him home and into the bassinet in our room.  I think he probably slept 100x better than us that night!

Awaiting Hopeful News

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Today was quite long as we checked in on Keilin's progress frequently.  She was still having blood in the diaper.  Her x-rays and labs didn't show any negative changes, but nothing positive either.  All we could do was hold her and rock her, as she couldn't eat anything.  The nurses said they felt so bad for her and wouldn't let her cry long before holding her and getting her back to sleep.

Dominic was a trooper - eating away and gaining weight.

Change of Plans

Monday, February 21, 2011

Tonight we planned to "room in" with Keilin to get used to her noises and prepare ourselves for her homecoming.  For most new parents a baby's homecoming is so soon after birth.  For us it was almost a month, but we STILL felt totally unprepared!  Yet, at the same time, we had so much more practice with our babies than most first-time parents.

However, when we came in this morning for the 9am feeding we were greeted with some not so good news...  Keilin started to have some blood in her diapers.  When we looked with the nurse, we could see what we thought might be an anal fissure, so that could have been the culprit.  We weren't too disturbed.

Now, the doctors started to talk about Dominic being able to go home Wednesday!  Wow x2!

Since our nurse seemed really fun, we brought in hand/footprint tins to the noon feeding, so we could capture the babies' tiny prints.  However, upon our return for the feeding, Chris went to changer Keilin's diaper and found a lot of blood.  Yikes...  The nurse was concerned - we could tell...  Suddenly things started to change quickly.  They stopped Keilin's feedings, did x-rays, and ran some IVs for fluids.  They started to talk about preemie's sensitive digestive tracks, allergies to cow's milk, and I think this is when we started to hear about Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) http://www.seattlechildrens.org/medical-conditions/digestive-gastrointestinal-conditions/necrotizing-enterocolitis/?src=gg_surgery_necrotizing-enterocolitis&gclid=CN_G4JKGjqkCFRFOgwod2xmIqw

Needless to say, our tentative excitement to have our babies coming home was twisted.  The doctor was pleased with Dominic's progress, but we were scared about what was happening with Keilin.  Sadly, Keilin grew unhappier as they decided to continue the suspension of her feedings and check her progress via x-rays in the morning.

We asked that Dominic be started on the NeoSure dry formula, so we knew if he had any issues. We didn't "stay in" tonight since there wasn't anyone to bring home quite yet.

Keilin Coming Home?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The doctors said they were putting Keilin on powdered NeoSure formula and that if we liked, we could "room in" Sequoia with her before taking her home.  Wow!  Things were moving fast!  We asked if we could have one more day to get home and prepare for her homecoming.

Yikes!  For most new parents a baby's homecoming is so soon after birth.  For us it was almost a month, but we STILL felt totally unprepared!  Yet, at the same time, we had so much more practice with our babies than most first-time parents. 

We went out to dinner, thinking that it would be our last time for a long time to be just a couple going out to dinner...

Getting Ready for Homecoming(s)

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The doctor's started talking more earnestly about Keilin coming home TOMORROW and Dominic not being too far behind.  We really hustled on getting their room ready, clothes washed, and trying to mentally prepare for the "real" parenthood looming. 

Keilin had been out of the incubator for awhile and Dominic came out around this time.  They babies had decided on their own that they'd had enough of the feeding tubes and yanked them out of their noses.  We moved to all bottle feedings (except when I had help from a nurse - Teresa? - who was a mom of twins...she helped me tandem breast feed the babies) and they were doing fine. 

The staff started Keilin on NeoSure powdered formula in the afternoon.  This would be her supplement to my breast milk.  She'd been on the NeoSure liquid formula for a few days and things seemed fine!

Recently, parents of other preemie twins (boy/girl) had come to the Special Care Nursery, so we were chatting more with them.  Their babies were gestationally 3 weeks behind Dominic and Keilin, and they were born just a few days later.  They seemed sooo small as compared to ours.

Mommy goes to a meeting

Saturday, February 18, 2011

I went to my first DAR meeting for the year.  The ladies wanted to hear how the babies were doing and I brought pictures to pass around.  The Board gave me a Babies R'Us gift card, and another member gave us some baby clothes.  How sweet!

During the lunch part of the meeting, I snuck into the women's restroom to pump.  I found it embarrassing and yet hilarious when I got all hooked up (having to sit in the handicap stall) and started the outrageously LOUD pump, that one woman asked, "Is that the fire alarm going off?"  My answer was, "No, it is my breast pump."  Then a little later another woman came in and asked me if I was okay..."Yes, just pumping breast milk."  DOH!!!  I quit a few minute into the pump and called it good.

Chris spent the time feeding the babies at Sequoia, then came to get me and we headed back for the 3/3:30pm feeding.  Sigh...

Otherwise Quiet Week

February 15-18, 2011

Relatively "quiet" week with our running to the hospital for feeds, doing errands in the off-times, and trying to prepare for the babies' homecoming. 

Here are some pictures from 2/15/11...



Look at how Dominic prefers to sleep!  Awww how cute!




Together for awhile.  Note how small they are based on my hand behind Keilin's head!




Awww...holding hands and Keilin "kissing" Dominic.

 2/16/11 - Happy Birthday Uncle Mike!

Unhappy Valentines Day

Monday, February 14, 2011

Today I called our regular vet first thing in the a.m.  They said I could bring Bandit in about 4pm - I already told them we found out he had a mass and that I thought it would be a trip to put him to sleep.

Our feedings today were shadowed with the sadness that the babies would never know Bandit.  But, we also knew that it was for the best in a way, since he would have hated the addition of two babies - he already was mad at us for bringing home Bella.

To distract myself - and to let the nurses know we appreciated them - I baked several dozen spritz cookies in the shape of hearts.  We took them in later in the day.  The nurses seemed to like them, but I still got a lecture about how I was supposed to be napping/resting...not baking!

The vet was so kind.  He looked at the x-ray and explained that he could see the mass as well.  He didn't try to sell us on surgery.  Instead we signed the paperwork and they took Bandit out of the room.  Chris and I shed our tears as we said goodbye.  The vet also said we could leave right away and they'd send the bill later.  I was glad I didn't need to stand in the lobby to deal with that. 

Next Valentine's Day should be 100% better!  Here's my tribute to my (aka John's) cat:

Dread

Sunday, February 13, 2011

We did our feeding schedule with the babies, but in the afternoon I thought we'd best take Bandit to the weekend vet.  They did an x-ray and found a huge mass in his abdomen.  I let them talk me into another $300 of blood tests, but in reality we knew that at his age and how fast that tumor developed there wasn't going to be much hope. 

Just what we needed...a sick cat and two preemie babies in the hospital...

Mommy & Daddy "party"

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Today we did the 9/9:30am feeding, then headed out to Half Moon Bay to Lemore Farm for Chris' second-cousin's birthday party.  I tried to pump in the car on the way over, which was quite humorous - and awkward!  It was wonderful weather - lucky for February!  It was nice to see family and Grandma Sandy brought the brag books to show everyone.  Daddy brought the cigars to handout (both the gum and real type).

The babies were doing fine, but I was getting increasing concerned about our cat, Bandit.  His behavior was "off" and he just wasn't "right."  He was 14 years old - kind of old, but not tooooo old for a cat.

Happy 2nd Week Birthday

Friday, February 11, 2011

Today we went to the nursery a little early to meet with Astrid - she is also a twin mommy who is the NICU/Sequoia parent liaison.  She was so friendly and helped ease some of our fears.  Her babies are now older (I think either 3, 4, or 5) and doing just fine!

We also came in earlier for the 9/9:30pm feeding to introduce my friend Brenda to the babies.  She was tickled to meet them and it was nice to see her again.

Check-up

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Busier day than normal for us!  We missed the 9/9:30am feeding in order to get to my ob/gyn check-up at 9:15am.  Doctor thought things were going well, but wanted to see me again in a few weeks.  We made it to the hospital for the noon/12:30pm feeding.

At about 2pm, Molly stopped by to say "hi" and drop-off a huge bag of hand-me-downs for Dominic.  After her visit we went in for the 3/3:30p feeding.  We headed up to Daly City to Gary's so I could get my hair cut.  Originally that had been scheduled for the day the babies were born!

Bath Night

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

We didn't realize that bath nights at the nursery were Saturday's and Wednesdays, so we missed the first bath night.  Tonight though, the nurse showed us the routine.  I guess if there is a good thing about your babies being in the hospital, you get a lot of expert guidance and hands-on experience in how to care for your children!

Sometimes I was terrified of how small the babies are, but slowly I was getting used to them.  Most often, Chris did the feeding (still via tube into their tummies) while I did my pumping.  He is also the expert diaper changer - I hadn't changed a one to this point!

To pay tribute - Chris was my awesome friend, partner, and love through this entire experience.  He was my rock when I was scared, my shoulder to cry upon, my caretaker when I was in pain, and never once did he complain!  He was amazing with the babies (still is), never afraid of them and willing to do anything/everything for them.  I'm soooooo lucky to have snagged this guy!


Daddy & Dominic.



Fighting Insurance

Sunday, February 6, 2011

I have to say that while I'm glad we have insurance - actually two between my insurance from Stanford and being covered under Chris' insurance - sometimes it is a plain 'ol hassle.  We'd heard that hospital grade breast pumps are "covered" while babies are in the NICU/nursery.  However, I couldn't seem to get my hands on anyone at insurance to help with that.  So, Chris and I decided to bite the financial bullet and rent one from a place in Palo Alto.  We were prepared to kiss-away nearly $100 for a monthly rental.

Later, I put in a grievance and my insurance said they'd pay all but $13 (they claim I was overcharged).  This has been a total fiasco that I'm quite sure put more stress on my milk production than having babies in the NICU!  Needless to say, the insurance cut the check to the rental place, who returned it to the insurance since they got paid (yes, I'd left a message and called them several times...we had an agreement they'd cash it and give me the money, but apparently they "forgot" about that).  My insurance claims they cut me a check on rush and I should get it soon...It is now going on June 1st and I've yet to see the money...  ARGH!

Here is my advice to anyone that needs it:  use Apria Health Care to rent your equipment if your babies are in the hospital.  They'll deal with your insurance and all you have to do is give them info and then relax.  Wish I'd known that on February 4th...and saved myself trouble and tears!

Happy One-Week Birthday

Friday, February 4, 2011

The babies were one week old!  I even caught a glance at the wall clock at approximately 10am and said Happy Birthday to Keilin!

Chris had to go in for his Chicken Pox booster shot, so mom went with me to Sequoia for the 3/3:30pm feeding.

We're getting the routine now.

Discharged

Thursday, February 3, 2011

I had to wait awhile for the doctor to come in with the discharge info.  Oh well, at least I got to eat my breakfast.  She took out my c-section stitch and then I got dressed and we headed for Sequoia.

The nurses at Sequoia were so warm and welcoming.  They seemed excited to see me and to have twins in the unit.  Unlike "The Big House" (the nurse's term for LPCH), there were no "closed" hours - we could visit anytime for however long we wanted.  There were other babies there and over time Keilin and Dominic were in, we saw them all depart for their homes and new ones arrive.

Their feeding schedule was:  midnight (K), 12:30am (D), 3am (K), 3:30am (D), 6am (K), 6:30am (D), 9am (K), 9:30am (D), noon (K), 12:30pm (K), 3pm (K), 3:30pm (D), 6pm (K), 6:30pm (D), 9pm (K), 9:30pm (D), etc.  We knew we couldn't make them all, so our plan was to make the 9/9:30am feeding, 3/3:30pm feeding, and then the 9/9:30pm feeding. 

My mom was in town and had lunch for us when we got home, which was nice to have waiting.  She also had dinner ready, which was awesome.  Bella (the dog) didn't seem to notice I was finally home, but Bandit (our cat) took over my suitcase, sleeping on my clothes!

Going outside of LPCH's NICU

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Happy Anniversary to my in-laws - Tony & Sandy! 

The day started like all the others (i.e. no breakfast until late morning)...but rapidly picked-up in the afternoon.  The NICU doctor told Chris that they'd be transporting the babies to Sequoia's nursery in the afternoon.  WHAT!!!!

I put in my call to my ob doctor, so I could get released, and in the meantime we visited the babies in the NICU.  We planned to say goodbye to them about 4pm, but then they were delayed.  My doctor wasn't ready to release me, so we agreed that if my bp stayed down for the night, I could go in the morning.  Chris called me about 7pm from the NICU to tell me the babies were in the incubator for transport and then he came to rush me up to see them off. 



Dominic & Keilin toe-to-toe.



Twin transport.



They left about 8:30pm and after returning me to my room (to finally eat a cold dinner), Chris drove over to Sequoia.  He told me that the transport nurse said they slept the whole time.  The staff at Sequoia gave them baths and then Chris got to hold them both at the same time for the first time.  While I was happy they were out of the NICU and close to home, I suddenly felt very lonely at the hospital.



A new month of life

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

I couldn't understand it, my breakfast wouldn't come before 9am - after taking BP medicines I was always crashing into sleep.  My mornings were quite hazy as I tried to stay awake even through my hunger.  Later, I found out the nurse put a sign on the door saying to check with her before entering the room - so the food folks wouldn't bring in my breakfast!  Although my BP wasn't much better, my other labs were getting slightly better each time. 

Spent longer in the NICU with the babies.  There was increasing talk of moving them to Sequoia's LPCH Special Care Nursery.  That sounded great to Chris and I, as that is soooo close to home.

One cool treat to the maternity ward is that they provide new mom's with an afternoon snack!  I loved the apple covered with chocolate and granola!  Some days there was cheese and crackers, one day there were chips/salsa.  One thing is after getting late breakfasts, I wasn't hungry (until the early a.m. rounds of blood draws/bp checks) after 9am!

Day Four of Life

Monday, January 31, 2011

Dominic got off the CPAP today.  While they both had to do under the bili lights for jaundice, they were touchable/holdable!

I was the first person (outside of NICU staff) to hold Dominic today!  I made Chris promise that no one would hold him first - and no one (but Chris) could hold Keilin before I got the chance.  Yay!  Needless to say all the grandparents wanted to get their hands on Keilin (and Dominic) as soon as possible.



Mommy holding Dominic for the first time.



Daddy holding Dominic for the first time.

 

Mommy with Keilin & Daddy with Dominic.

I made a call to my office to let them know they could come say "hi" to me (I was lonely in the mid-day).  Chris played the role of NICU tour guide for several of the ladies from the office.  They seemed excited to get to see the babies.  My BP was still high, but the meds were helping enough I could see the babies twice today.  You could have fooled me that it wasn't 100 degrees in the NICU and hospital - everyone was wearing long sleeves and turning blue when they came in my room, but dang I was hot!

I got the cath out today AND they had to take out my iv lines today and switch them to the other arm, so I showered for the first time since Thursday night.  I was weak, but it sure felt great to shower!  Dehlia reinserted the ivs on the other arm, sadly...

Day Three of Life

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Today I wanted soooo bad to see my babies.  I was kind of out of it in the morning, as they didn't give me breakfast for a long time, and the BP meds made me so sleepy.  After lunch, my doctor worked with the nurse to get my BP down by doing two IV pushes.  They had a wheelchair on standby and when it dropped low enough, Chris, the nurse (Dehlia), and I headed to the NICU.  They let me hold Keilin and I got to touch Dominic (he was still on the CPAP).



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Mommy holding Keilin for the first time.



Keilin's tiny feet.



Dominic in the incubator, Daddy, & Mommy holding Keilin.



Dominic holding Mommy's hand.



I think we were there for an hour.  I felt hot and tired.  When we got back to my room, the nurse insisted I sleep...I got about two hours of good sleep.

Day Two of Life

Saturday, January 29, 2011

I was stuck in the maternity ward trying to get my blood pressure back down.  The day is again kind of a blur for me.  I do remember another two meals of liquid diet (breakfast and lunch).  My visitors included my in-laws and Sharon Violanti...perhaps others (remind me!?).

Chris did his back-n-forth between the NICU and my bedside.  He gave me updates on the babies and shuttled visitors to/from the NICU.

I got moved to my "permanent" room in maternity.  I thought it was sooooo HOT, but according to everyone it was freezing!  The night before, I'd been in "intermediate care" - not sick enough for the ICU, but not healthy enough for the regular maternity ward.  My new room was private, so no one else to share with, but not that I could rest much.  I had these leg things on that would inflate and deflate every so often to keep my blood flowing.  I started to get to eat soft diet meals.  My cath was still in, as my fluid level was still decreasing.  It was annoying though as every little bump was quite uncomfortable (and some of my guests didn't realize they'd bumped it).

Sadly, it was their second day of life, and I still didn't get to see Keilin and Dominic.  :(

Welcome Babies!

Friday, January 28, 2011

9am - Prep'ing for c-section.  I'm scared, but Chris is my rock.  They tell us that the babies may not cry, but that doesn't mean they're in trouble. 

10am - Keilin Hope Violanti is born...screaming!  She is 4 lbs 12.5 oz.  I got a quick peek and kissed her on the cheek before she was whisked-away to the LPCH NICU.

10:01am - Dominic Robert Violanti is born...also screaming! He is 3 lbs 7 oz.  Again, I got a quick peek before they took him off to the NICU.

Chris went with the babies to the NICU, since there wasn't much he could do for me in recovery.  It took nearly 2 days for my blood pressure to come down enough for the doctor to allow me to go to the NICU to see the babies for the first time on 1/30/11.

I got to my room in maternity about 5pm.  Liquid diet...ugh...  I had a private nurse, since my BP was so high.  I can't recall her name, but I think she was from Lithuania or that area.  She was nice and I had her again later in my stay.  My day was a blur, but I do remember visitors including:  Mike Violanti, Tony & Sandy Violanti, and Nick Gaich.  If you visited and I didn't post your name - remind me!

Chris was good at giving me baby updates.  Keilin had some "soapy" stuff (surfactant) injected into her lungs, but otherwise healthy.  Dominic was on the CPAP (Constant Positive Air Pressure) to assist his breathing.  Both were in the isolet chambers to maintain their temperatures.  Chris gave glowing reports about the nurses caring for the babies.  My next task was to get producing milk for the babies...

Here is our Facebook posting:

Baby update

by Mara Violanti on Friday, January 28, 2011 at 7:55pm

I am posting this for Mara who is resting and getting better: Keilin Hope was born at 10:00 am and weighed 4 lbs. 12 1/2 oz. and Dominic Robert was born at 10:01 and weighed in at 3 lbs. 7 oz. Both are doing well with a little help from NICU. Mara had a little harder time than we would have liked, but is now getting back on track. Will post pictures when things aren't so hectic. Thank you to everyone for keeping us in your thoughts and we will try to keep you updated.

Chris