WHAT AN AMAZING JOURNEY!!

So I finally decided to start a Blog for our little boys Jaden & Jaxson to keep everyone updated. It has been a very long journey but we are so blessed to have brought home two healthy boys!

HERE IS OUR STORY!!!

THE PREGNANCY...
At 12 weeks we found out we were having twins and were very scared but knew everything would work out. At 17 weeks they realized the boys weren't growing at the same rate and there was about a 3 week difference in size which was not normal. We got sent to a specialist and that day they found out the boys had Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome. It is a very rare thing that identical twins get and can have very bad outcomes. They gave us several options, one of them being terminating assuming they wouldn't have the best life. That was not a choice for us. There is a surgery done on the placenta in 8 cities in the US for TTTS and we decided to go through with it. Me and my mom left that very same night to Seattle to get the surgery done ASAP! We had a very great support system that met us at the airport to pray before we left, THANK YOU ALL! Our time in Seattle ended up being longer due to some other issues they found. They realized they boys also had Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction and didn't know if the surgery would benefit them or make things worse. We stayed for the weekend while they watched things and ended up going through with the surgery Monday January 19,2009. They prepared us for our little Jaxson not to make it and let us know they did everything they could. We stayed that night in the hospital and at the ultrasound the next morning both boys had heartbeats!! What a great sound! They still warned us his chances of making it through the next two weeks were very slim. But at our next ultrasound his little heart was still beating! What a fighter. The rest of the pregnancy we had ultrasounds weekly to check the growth, fluid levels, and blood flow. It always up and down but both boys stayed stable throughout the remainder of their time in mom. At 25 weeks the boys decided they were ready to come. We were in and out of the hospital and I was on several medications for contractions. They did a FFN test to see if the boys had a high chance of coming in the next two weeks and it was positive. I just remember crying when I got the message and felt so overwhelmed but I knew God had got us this far and he knew what he was doing. On March 25 we had an appointment and my cervix had thinned out from a 3.4 to 0.3 in one week so I got put in the hospital on complete bed rest. THAT WAS NOT FUN!! But it bought us more time...

THE DAY OUR MIRACLE BABIES WERE BORN...
April 08,2009 our beautiful babies arrived at 10:53pm and 10:54pm. I had an ultrasound done that morning and Jaxson's fluid level was completely gone. They decided that if his heart rate dropped more than three times in an hour it was time to go in and get them. The doctors explained it was better to have early stable babies than to let his heart rate drop to the point it didn't come back up and have a very sick baby when they were born. He warned me I could be delivering in the next 24-48 hours. After my ultrasound it became very real to me we could be having our babies VERY SOON. Trevor left work right away to come be with me while we waited things out. I started having stronger contractions around 8:00 pm that night and Jaxson's heart rate would drop every time I had a contraction. The nurses were having me change positions constantly but nothing seemed to help. Dr.Kezolka came in the room and gave us a smile and said it was time. My heart sank as did Trevor's!!! The hardest part was when they took me back to get prepared and Trevor couldn't be there. Thankfully we had an amazing doctor and he held my hand the whole time I had to be without Trevor and kept reassuring me this is the best thing for they boys and everything would be okay. Once I saw Trevor I calmed down and knew everything would work out. It felt like forever until the boys finally arrived. Jaden came first at 10:53pm weighing 3lbs 7oz and 16 1/2in long. Jaxson came second at 10:54pm weighing 2lbs 2oz 14in long. They were so little but SO PERFECT! They stole mom and dad's hearts from the second they were born. They stabilized them in the OR room for about 15 minutes then took them to the NICU and Dad followed. I laid there by myself as I got closed up and the silence was hard. Tears started to roll down my face and many things ran through my head. Are they going to be okay? Will they make it? What are they going to do to my babies?... But I just stopped worrying myself and prayed. Prayer is an amazing thing and got me through everything. After recovery I finally got to see our precious little boys for the first time. They were small and sick but the NICU nurses were amazing from the start and we knew our boys were in the best of hands. We were both very exhausted and only spent a short time with them that night. What a wonderful day we will never forget!!

DAYS IN THE NICU...
APRIL 2009
The beginning was hard but we quickly learned we were blessed with very strong boys! Both boys were only on the ventilator for 1 day then put on CPAP. Jaden remained on that for a week and Jaxson was on it for about 3 weeks. They then were moved to nasal canallas which Jaden was on for a week and Jaxson is still currently on. He has more immature lungs and the oxygen helps him stay relaxed and grow! Both boys had pic lines that ran from their arm into their chest that they got fluids and TPN threw while they weren't getting fed. Jaden's PDA valve took 4 days to close and Jaxson's took 8 days. Jaxson's wasn't closing on it's own so they gave him medicine to help it and it closed! On April 11, 2009 we got to hold the boys for the first time and it was such an amazing moment. It was very hard not to cuddle and give kisses to your new precious children. Trevor held Jaden and I held Jaxson. We had to do skin to skin because they were still very fragile. Both the boys enjoyed it very much and we never wanted to put them back (but we had too unfortunately). For about the first month we were only allowed to hold the boys once a day so we always looked forward to it. I sat with them everyday and just watched them. It was hard to see them with so many wires hooked up to them but they were growing strong and doing great! Their first head ultrasounds came back great which was a huge blessing for us. The doctors said we got very lucky considering how early they were and all the complications during the pregnancy. Jaden wore clothes for the first time when he was 13 days old and Jaxson was 16 days old! At 2 weeks old Jaden weighed 3lbs 9oz 16 3/4in long and Jaxson weighed 2lbs 4oz 15 in long. Their first month both boys got their PIC lines out, got up to full feeds threw their ng tube, got baths for the first time, and got be held by their Grandma Linda and Mimi Kim. They boys made great progress their first month of life and changed so much! They are little fighters!!!
MAY 2009
Both boys started out with recreational breastfeeding then moved to "the real thing" this month. They both do very well with breastfeeding which is wonderful. They also got eye exams done this month (twice) and both times their eyes were immature. Their one month head ultrasounds came back normal again! Most days were good but there was a few days they had their "bad days" which made it hard on mom and dad! We knew they were tough and would make it through their struggles. At 1 month old Jaden weighed 4lbs 7oz and Jaxson weighed 3lbs 2oz (both gained a pound...GREAT). Jaden started getting all oral feeds the middle of the month, but didn't really care for his bottles. It took him awhile to get the hang of it but did just fine once he did. Jaxson's oxygen got moved down a lot this month and he made very good progress. At the beginning of the month he was on a liter and at the end of the month he was on 1/2 liter. Jaden came home on May 24 weighing 5lbs 3oz and what a bittersweet day it was! We were so excited he was coming home but it was so hard leaving our little Jaxson behind. Things got very busy once Jaden made it home and it was a little more challenging going to visit Jaxson but we still made it down there everyday!
JUNE 2009
Jaxson got changed to Homo2 oxygen at the very beginning of the month and did great with it! It is 100 % oxygen but a very low flow (this is the kind of oxygen he comes home on). Jaxson got his ng tube out several times this month but just couldn't take enough orally so he got it replaced. It took Jaxson some time to finally get the hang of taking his bottles. Once he did they thought he was aspirating into his lungs and wouldn't let him take anything orally and were thinking about doing a surgery to help with his reflex. Thankfully they didn't have to go through with it. They thickened his feeds and it has worked wonders for his reflex!!! They took his ng tube out again on June 26 and never had to put it back in!! He took all his feeds great and gained weight. Jaden did great the first month he was home and gained 3lbs!!! He is such a great baby and sleeps at night between feeds.
JULY 2009
Jaxson came home July 04,2009 after spending 84 days in the NICU! It was such a wonderful day and we are so glad to finally have both boys at home. He has done great since being home; eating well, gaining weight, breathing good (he even got his oxygen turned down already), and overall just so much more relaxed! Jaden is loving having his little brother home and they are starting to be very interested in each other! It is co cute!

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Sorry for taking so long to get the blog started but I just actually found out about blogs about a month ago! I could have wrote much more on their progress thus far but just thought a recap would okay! It has been a crazy 10 months but we wouldn't change it for anything! God knew what he was doing and he continues to bless us and our boys everyday! Great things can happen when you put your faith in God and know it is out of our control!!! We are so thankful for our miracle babies.... they are perfect!