They were born at Chedoke McMaster Hospital in Hamilton,Ontario, at 1 am, 12 weeks premature. We are still not sure why they came so early, apart from there was two of them and Judith was about the size of a full term singleton pregnancy, so I guess they just wanted out!!
Photo of Mum 2 weeks before Birth
Birth weights were:
Rachel: 2 lb 7 oz ; Ellen 2 lb 4 oz
They were rushed straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where they were intubated and put on ventilators. We have some photos of the girls 2 days old.
They spent a total of 3 weeks in the NICU. Rachel was off the ventilator very quickly, but Ellen remained on it for about a week. Ellen then had Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) tubes up her nose for the next 2 weeks to assist her with breathing-which were kind of uncomfortable for her. Rachel made good progress at first, then got a Blood infection just as she got off her IV tubes, so was put back on for antibiotics.
Ellen also has a Heart Murmur, so had some drugs for that which seemed to work. After about a week we were allowed to get the girls out for cuddles, so here are some photos of the girls with mum and dad at 2 weeks old.
All of a sudden, after 3 weeks, they were transferred to a Special Care Nursery at the Grand River Hospital, Kitchener, Ontario. This was brilliant, as it meant they were on the mend, but scary, as we had a new hospital to get used to.
Thanks to Dr. Bandell who deliverd them, Dr. Kirpilani was responsible for them in the NICU, and Annie their Primary nurse, and all the other nurses in the NICU.
The girls had just about regained their birth weights when transferred, and spent the next seven weeks being fed, monitored and growing. We have soem photos taken at 6 weeks. Rachel was diagnosed as having anemia, but managed to recover without a blood transfusion.
At an eye check, Ellen was seen to have Stage One ROP, a potentially serious complication in premature babies eyes.
Finally, on November 20th, we were allowed to bring them home. Weights on discharge were:
Rachel: 6lb 2oz ; Ellen: 5 lb 8 oz
Many thanks to all of the Nurses in the Special Care Nursery, and Dr.Thornback for his care.
Progress has been steady since then. the first round of Growth and Development Checkups has passed OK, Rachel weighing in at 8lb 3oz and Ellen at 7lb, Ellen's eye cleared up as well, which was a relief.
The Girls are participating in a Nutrition study, which is looking to see if Preemies benefit from being on Fortified Formula after coming home from Hospital. At present preemies get special formula while in Hospital, but are put on normal formula when they go home. I will keep everyone posted when we know the results (some time yet!!).
The girls have been out shopping, been to their first Twins club Party, have met Santa twice [Click Here for Photos] and finally have been home for their very first Christmas.
No official weights at the moment, but our best guess is 10lb for Rachel, and 8lb plus for Ellen, they are putting on weight fast!!
Well, back to work after Christmas....amazingly enough we seem to be coping. We had a visit from Grandma and Aunty Kathy, which was nice, especially for Jude as she had 2 people to hold the girls for her for a couple of weeks. It's been so long since i've updated this, and the girls have grown so much it's hard to say what happened when! Anyway, here are some 5month Photo's.
We had a scare in March, everybody was Ill with colds and Flu, so we were
going to the doctors every other day or so. Ellen did not seem to be getting
much better, and ended up being admitted to Guelph General, with RSV and
Pneumonia, third Hospital, but the nearest so far! RSV is a viral infection
that babies get, which sometimes gets down onto their chests and affects
respiration. As Ellen is so little, and had had difficulty breating at
first, so she had problems, and ended up in a cold mist tent and on medication
for a week. It was so hard leving her there every night, when it was so
obvious she didn't want us to leave, but we had Rachel to look after at
home as well. The up side was we had a week of only having one baby in
the house! When Ellen came home it was sooo good, and scary when I took
her back to the ER the next night in a panic, but she came straight back
again.
Now we are seven months old (4 months corrected) . Rachel weighs 12lb 9oz, Ellen 10lb 9oz. We have had our six month shots, and checkups- Eyesight is OK, and growth is normal for Ellen , and above average for Rachel.
Both girls are beginning to talk, Rachel first (as usual). Rach sings and chatters, and is generally very noisy, finding a new noise every day. Ellen is getting there, but is still a couple of weeks behind her sister. Both girls are showing signs of teething- chewing everything and dribbling a lot, especially over Mummy and Daddy!
Crawling is not going to be far away. Ellen is ahead here-she's got the moves down, just can't work out that she has to support herself on her arms and legs to move, not just lie on her belly and wiggle!!
They are getting huge, well to us- every one else still thinks they are tiny. Here are our 7 month Photo's hope you enjoy them!!
Well, unlike my promise, guess what- another 4 months before an update!!!...
Importatnt stuff first
Things are sure fun at home now, we have all started solids, and are VERY aware of everything- and into everything. We want to be awake and playing all of the time- even nights- so bedtime is a bit of a sulk session now. We now roll everywhere- not crawling yet, but we can just get onto hands and knees. Rachel's favourite trick is to roar at everyone that she sees, very loudly, and Ellen blows Raspberrys!!
More soon..(promise,promise,promise)
Last updated 8 July 1997
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