Introducing...

Henry Harold, born on February 2nd, 2009. 45cm long, 4 lbs. 2 oz.


AND

Eli Derek, born February 2nd, 2009. 40 cm long, 3 lbs. 11 oz.

Both boys are doing remarkably well considering their very early arrival. Neither needed to be put on oxygen and both are very active. Eli has gotten himself the nickname "Wild Man" by the nurses as he is so successful at removing all his IVs, monitors, and tubes. Henry is pretty good at getting them out too, but he is more interested in moving around his isolette and getting into interesting and awkward positions. Both are still being fed predominantly by gavage (a tube to the stomach) though Henry has figured out how to latch and has begun to breastfeed for up to half his feedings when I'm there.

The early arrival occurred when, on the morning of February 2nd, as we were preparing to head to the hospital for an ultrasound, Henry broke his water. Talk about a shock! As it turns out, I would have been giving birth ASAP anyways as I had been quickly developping pre-eclampsia complicated by HELLP Syndrome. I spent the day, following the boys' birth, drifting in and out of consciousness, pretty much unaware of what was going on. I was in the ICU for two days until they were able to stabilize me. Because my kidneys and liver had stopped functioning I swelled up like the Michelin man. For some reason that defies explanation, both of the boys and I also had high levels of pottasium. Evidently that can be bad!

Eventually with medication expirimentation it came down in all of us. All my organs are on their way back to normal again. I stayed in hospital for two weeks and now we're doing a lot of running back and forth to visit the boys who will be in the NICU until they have gained sufficient weight and are also able to take all their feedings by bottle or breast.