Our babies are growing!

It's been a week since the hospital made some changes with their rules around the NICU since they noticed that their infection rate went up. Some of them are: you have to "really/actually" wash your hands before entering NICU (some parents, visitors and even nurses didn't bother doing it before), no more stuffed toys, no more colored blankets and linens, and only parents, grandparents and siblings of the babies can visit. These are some of the restrictions for now until everything goes back to normal.

We were told that our babies are doing so well and maybe they can transfer them next week to LEVEL 2 of NICU where "not so critical babies" are. So we are still being trained to do some of the stuff that nurses usually do. And here's daddy changing Josh's poopy diaper. Before, he used to pretend his cellphone was ringing just to get away from doing it! But not anymore!!

Since Joshua is doing so well with his breathing, the next step was to get him on Nasal prongs. His cycle is 6 hours on CPAP and 4 hours on prongs...

And of course, our little "Miss Attitude" loves her soother so much!

From Joscel's birth weight of 660 gms, she is now 1065 gms. And Joshua, from 620 gms, he is now 966 gms. Even if we are at the hospital to visit them everyday, it's amazing to see them growing!

Today, their eye surgeon came to check on their eyes and praise God, she said that they have no ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity which is a disease of the eye).  Hopefully, they won't get it in the future because of their continuous oxygen intake.

And before heading home, we go to their pods to pray for them, say "nyt-nyt" and check to see what they're doing....

Enjoying cuddle moments...

We've been enjoying cuddling our babies so we didn't have the time to update our blog,, sorry!

2 Days after Mommy had the chance to cuddle Joshua for the first time, Joscel had her chance to be cuddled too! At first she was a little uncomfortable, but she got used to it afterwards.

And of course, daddy's most awaited moment,, he got to hold Joshua for the first time. And here they are, having their boys' alone time.

Jo is already teaching Josh how to sleep and slack for 24 hours....

If daddy's holding the baby, mommy has to steal some kisses too right?

Joscel's nurse gave us a chance to take a peek of Joscel's face without anything on it. And here she is.....

We know it's a little silly but Jo and I used to argue who to cuddle who (knowing that we have TWINS alright?). But finally, we decided that he will hold Joscel and I will hold Joshua and do alternate the next day.

Updates about them:

The nurses stopped feeding Joscel for almost 4 days because they found blood in her stool. They constantly did some xrays on her and today, the xray showed that her abdomen is fine so they started feeding her again. And Joshua's feeds increased up to 7.1 mils every 2 hours and it seems that he's tolerating it really well. They are also looking forward to changing his CPAP to nasal prongs since he's doing so well with his breathing.

Jo went back to work yesterday so our schedules changed a little bit. I'm trying to go to the hospital early by myself to visit our babies and thank God for Jo's family who offers to give me a ride.

That's it for now, we'll try to update our blog again soon!

Mommy's First Cuddle

What an amazing experience for both Cey and I. After much arguing (or commanding on her part) we (she) decided that she gets to cuddle Joshua first, and maybe I get to cuddle Joscel when she's ready, Not. Either way, it was a great feeling to have Joshua out of the incubator and onto Mommy's chest. It's called Kangaroo Care, and it said to help the babies a great deal. They are able to feel the warmth, as well as follow the heart beat and breathing patterns of the "parent". Notice how I emphasized "parent", as both moms and dads are allowed.

Joshua has finally graduated from the tube down his throat, to the CPAP which goes to his nose. He is able to breath a little more on his own, and so they switched him over. He still has a tube down to his stomach to feed him, but he's able to make some sounds now. We can hear him cry, but sounds more like a cat's meow.

Here are some pictures of the process.

A first look of his entire face without the tubes. We call him "Little Old Man".

They then manual ventilate him while they prepare the CPAP.

He then has to wear a special hat so they can keep all the new tubes and straps "in place". Joshua thinks he can do it on his own, and keeps taking the tubes off. One time the nurse found his oxygen line on his cheeks, and he was still doing fine. But he still needs it for a few more days.

Mommy lends a hand, or two, with the linen changes as well. We are encouraged to help with some of the tasks, like linens, facial cleaning, and diaper changes. It's great to have some involvement with their daily routine.

And finally the awaited moment. Mommy got to hold him for about an 1.5hours, while Daddy took pictures and video taped. I snuck a few kisses on Joshua, and got to smell his baby breath. Next time, I'll have my opportunity.

Until then they can just cuddle with their stuff toys.

One Month Old

Well it's been 30 days since it all happened. Our two little Angels decided to come out 3months early. It's been a stressful, heart-wrenching, and heart warming month.

They've gone through the delivery by C-Section of course, breathing problems, infections, heart-rate drops, blood pressure inconsistencies, lots and lots of medications, blood transfusions, stomach surgery (Joshua), heart surgery (Joscel and Joshua), and many more things, including the NICU bad haircuts.

Now they just want to be left alone. Joshua still doesn't mind being handled during his routine check-ups, but Joscel is something else. She will squirm, fuzz and kick if you touch her. That's why she's been paralyzed so many times, because otherwise she'll just stop breathing altogether.

You can see her attitude now... Cranky, Feisty, Wild, and Bossy...I wonder where see gets that from?.....certainly not Daddy.

BE Quiet, I'm Sleeping.

Joshua is still Cool, Mellow, and Laid Back.

Yo!!..Westside Dawg....wassup?

And once in awhile, they'll give you a heart-melting little smile that makes everything seem alright.

Recovering Well

Well it's Day 4 since their heart surgery. Joscel and Joshua are doing very well in their recovery. They are both behaving a lot better than the Nurses expected.

Joscel had a few episodes with her heart rate dropping whenever they touch her. She hates being disturbed and she's not afraid to let her Nurses know. We always warn the new Nurse of her crankiness, and they find it to be true almost immediately. She is ready to feed, and will have her first taste to Mommy's milk today. Hopefully she'll take well to it, unlike Joshua.

Joshua is still in his usual state, mellow and laid back. He often just drops his oxygen when Joscel acts up, but it doesn't last long. He just lets us know that he's still there, when Joscel grabs all the attention. They will check his bowels thoroughly before they'll start to feed him again. The last time they tried, he perforated his intestines and had to get an emergency surgery. They think that his bowels healed themselves, but they just want to make sure.

That's all for now. Thanks again to all for your continued prayers and support, it's a long road ahead, and we hope to share our joy with you when they are well enough to bring home.

Bringing in the New Year!!!

Thank you to everyone of our family and friends for their thoughts and prayers since the beginning of this nerve racking yet exciting change in our lives. God has surely blessed us with our two beautiful and handsome children.

At this time, we would ask everyone to join us in prayer for this New Year. Joscel and Joshua have been scheduled to have their heart operation on January 1, 2009 @ 8:30am. This operation is vital to have them get over some of the difficulties that they currently have, including their oxygen and heart-rate levels being inconsistent.

We are praying that God would prepare all the Nurses, Doctors, and Surgeons, both mentally and physically. Also for Him to guide their every move, as this surgery is done under a microscope, and the slightest flinch can complicate the procedure even more. Finally, that Joshua and Joscel would react well to all the medications and recover quickly from the procedure.

Again, Thank you for all your support, and remember the...

So Please JOIN US...

A Christmas to Remember

Well, we didn't imagine our first Christmas with our twins to be in the NICU, but hey what can you do?...they wanted OUT, and they're the boss! It was difficult for us to not be able to hold them, kiss them and help them open their present, but it was so satifying to see them both doing well on Christmas. It was their way of giving us a present.

Cey and I made them both their own Christmas trees and decorated their pods. They are separated right now and they may move them together eventually as availability permits. Their cousins all wrote a special message on a card and we placed them around the tree, along with their growing collection of stuff toys and personalized ornaments. Their Primary Nurses also spoiled them with their own blankies and books.

Visits from their Aunt Kath and Des.

Joshua showing off his Christmas suit and wishing for ...

"One Miiiilllllion Dollars"

"mmm mmm, Finger Leakin' Good"

Joscel with her Christmas suit as well sleeping on her stomach. She started to do very well when they found that she breaths better in the position.

A hug from Daddy.

"Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

now leave us alone, we're tired and sleepy"

...Joshua and Joscel...

Mommy and Daddy too...

Joscel Getting Us Worried

Sorry for the late post, but Joscel was playing a lot of tricks and keeping ALL the Nurses and the Doctors busy. She wants a lot of attention, and when she gets it, she starts to act up. They don't call her "feisty" for nothing. Since our last post, her breathing and heart rate was unsteady and spastic. She retained a lot of fluid, and got really puffy. Here are a few photo's of what she looked like during the past week.

Day 11 Joscel started to puff up from the fluids.

My Ladies comforting each other

A mom from previous years donates a stuffed toy to all the Preemies every year.

Twins Taking Turns

Joshua is recovering very well from his surgery with his stomach. He gave us a good scare when we found 6-8 Doctors and Nurses huddled around him when we came to visit him on his 5th day. The On-Call Surgeon came around 11pm that evening and performed a 15min operation to bypass his intestines so that the waste doesn't enter his body.

Leo guards him after his surgery.

"...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

You can see the yellow "tube" surrounded by gauze at left side of his stomach.

Daddy assures him that all will be well as Joshua gasps daddy's finger. The lines from his belly button were moved to his arm instead. After a day, they noticed his fingers weren't getting any circulation and removed one of the lines.

You can see him a bit swollen here from all the fluids he's retaining. Most of the swelling have gone now. Yesterday, we found another group of Nurse huddled around him because he accidentality pulled out his breathing tube. He tends to like the attention from all Nurses, and I don't know where he gets that from. But they are still keeping a close eye on him.

Giving us a quick glance, before we headed off to get some rest ourselves.

The Roller Coaster Begins

Well here we go, this is when the "ride" begins. For the past four days everything has been relatively going well. The Doctors and Nurses called it the "honeymoon" period, where everything will seem fine and dandy. Then the babies finally realize that they are no longer in mommy's tummy and start acting up.

Joscel started out pretty rough with an infection and some blood clots in her head. After several ultrasounds, x-rays, and medication, things have settled down a bit and she's now doing alright.

Joshua on the other hand seemed to have it all together in the beginning. And tonight on the 5th day, at around 10:30pm he needed to get an emergency surgery. Throughout the day, he had some complications with his stomach. His intestines have started leaking and caused a lot of weird things. So as a result, they needed to move the two lines from his belly button into his arms. They then attached a tube onto his intestine and out of his belly so that his excriments will go through that. He is stable now, but hard to say how he will handle that post-opt.

Both of them still have a murmur in their chest, indicating that their PDA have not closed yet, causing fluids to accumulate in their chest. They have been taking medication to try to close it, but have not reacted positively to it. Some of which resulted to Joshua's condition. Joscel is in line to get a surgery to clip the vessel shut, and Joshua is to follow when he recovers from his recent surgery.

It's all a lot to take in, and we are trying to make sense of all that we are being told. So if my explanations don't make any sense, I'm sorry, but you'll have to read some books. Cey and I have been reading a lot of the materials available to us, but often times we just want to spend the time staring at them and hold a hand or foot.

I'll try to keep this blog up to date, but with all that going on, I can't promise to be too detailed and consistent with these posts. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you all for you love, support and prayers. We know that God is in control, and He makes no mistakes.

2nd Day Stay

Here are a some pictures taken on the 2nd Day.

THANKS to All of you who have called, emailed, visited, sent gifts & flowers, and for those who are praying for us.

Daddy and Mommy always excited to visit them frequently, and always wanting to hold them close. But we have to settle for a touch on the hand or foot.


Joscel Faith - Sunbathing... well... Phototherapy.

Joshua Caleb - Phototherapy - Looks like a scene from the Matrix with all the tubes and needles.

Joshua Caleb - "Mini Shades" - How you doin'?

Happy Birthday !!! "Joscel and Joshua"

As you may have well guessed, those are their names. And here are a few photos of each of them. They are both connected to a lot of tubes and machinery to help with development and most importantly survival.

Joscel (girl) came out 3minutes earlier at 660 grams

Home for the next 3months

Mommy's first touch, and a little perspective of their size.

Joshua (boy) at 620 grams.

No... that's his ambilical cord.

His first glimpse

See you soon!!!

Unexpected Expectancy

Hi Y'all. Well here we are at the hospital. Just to give you an update on what's been going on with us. Yesterday morning, December 10, at 1:30am, Cey was experiencing some, of what she thought, cramps. After about a half hour, she started to discharge a lot of blood, at which point, I called 911. She was immediately sent to Foothills Hospital by Ambulance. After a few test and checks they found out that she was actually contracting. At 5:30am she was fully dilated and ready for labour. For those of you who are thinking that time has passed you by so quickly, let me explain. To our surprise and fear as well, she is more than 3 months early. At 6:00am the doctors took her into the OR and performed a C-Section. Everything went well with the operation, but our children were immediately taken and had tubes and machinery inserted into them, then brought into Intensive Care. They will spend the rest of their term there, 3months. Cey is recovering pretty well from the operation, but its mainly the children that we're both concerned about. The Doctors and Nurses have all pre-warned us that after the first 24-48hours it will be a roller coaster ride, as they have a 60% chance of survival. But we know that God is in control of the situation, and that He has a purpose and plan amongst all the chaos. So we both ask that you all keep us and our twins in your thoughts and prayers. By the way, we have a Beautiful Baby Girl at 660grams, and a Handsome Baby Boy at 620grams. We still have not decided on their names.