November ??? I don't even know what the date is.

Things are going good for the girls. Ashlyn did have a little set back last week. She got a bacterial infection in her intestines. It could have been very serious but, she has recovered. She has been feeding from an IV and is not very happy about it. She has been very fussy!! Ashlyn will be able to eat again on Tuesday!

Ellah is doing great! She is working on breast feeding and eating from a bottle. When she can take all her food that way she will be coming home. Right now she takes 1/2 to 3/4 of her food from bottle or breast when she is feed that way.

The rest of us are doing well. Brandon is full of energy and still thinks his sisters are so cute and beautiful. Brian has been working on the house and I am feeling like a dairy cow.

Week 1

It has been a week since Ellah and Ashlyn were born. I feel like our life has been crazy this week. We are adjusting to spending time at the hospital with our girls. It has been pretty stressful trying to adjust to life in the NICU.

This week we also put our house on the market. I didn't think it would ever happen. There has been quite a few bumps in the road over the past few months that set us back. But finally it is done!! I am very happy about that.

Ellah and Ashlyn are doing very well. They both had their IV's removed yesterday and are now working on eating. They are doing pretty good at breastfeeding. They do get tired and still need to get food through their feeding tube. Once the girls are able to take all their food by bottle or breast they will be able to come home. Ella is now 3lb 15oz and Ashlyn is 4lb 6oz. They are both gaining weight and are able to keep themselves warm.

Today we had Ellah and Ashlyn laying together and they wouldn't stop looking at each other. They were holding hands and Ashlyn was trying to suck on Ellah's fingers. It was so cute! They are so content when they are next to each other.

I want to thank everyone for all their thoughts and prayers. We wouldn't have been able to make it through the past months without all your love and support. If you do want to see the girls while they are in the NICU please let me know. We are starting to get some what of a schedule of when we are visiting Ellah and Ashlyn so we can try to coordinate a time to meet.

Ashlyn

The cords look more intimidating then they are. The club on her hand is where here IV was. The green, black, and white cords measure her heart rate and respiration rate and the tube coming from her nose is her feeding tube.

The top picture is Ellah sleeping in her Daddy's arms.

Their Here...a few days earlier than planned!

Ashlyn Grace 4lb 10oz and Ellah Nicole 4lb arrived right before 11pm on November 11, 2008.

Ellah

I was checking the girls heart rates early in the evening on the 11th and both of them were fluctuating quite a bit. Usually when this would happen after about 10 minuets or so the heart rates would even out and this time they didn't. Brian and I decided that we should go to the hospital to get monitored.

Ashlyn

Once we got to the hospital and I was all hooked up to the monitors, it was me having the issues not the girls. I was having contractions about 5 minuets apart. The doctors decided to give me fluids to try and stop the contractions but they continued to get closer together. After they were were 1 minuet apart we decided to deliver the girls.

Both of the girls are healthy and doing great. Their cords were twisted together and there were not any knots. Ellah was born first at 10:55pm and Ashlyn followed at 10:56pm. We spent 3 days at Fairview Riverside and then the girls were transferred to Fairview Burnsville on Friday afternoon when I was released. I was able to ride along for their transfer.

Here is Ashlyn waiting for Ellah to join her in the bassinet for the ride!!

The first time that Ashlyn and Ellah had seen each other since delivery...they were very happy together. When we got to Burnsville they were laying with their heads together.

November 8th

November 8th is my birthday. A day I had shared and celebrated with my dad for almost 31 years of my life. This year he would have turned 55 years old.

My birthday snuck up on me this year. Usually, the day is spent in some type of celebration but this year was different. The day was pretty mellow. Not only because I am pregnant with twins and giving birth in a week but I spent the day at my dad's house without him or my grandma there. I spent the birthday I shared with my dad gathering his things and going through some of my grandma's personal belongings. It was fun to look at old photos and reminisce with the "Knapp" side of the family.

It is so weird, thinking about what happens to a persons belonging after they pass on. I mean here we all were going through and wondering what to do with some of grandmas things. What do you keep??? What should you keep??? What should you get rid of??? You feel kind of guilty throwing out something that another person kept for years. Then there is the memento that you want to remember that person by.


At my grandma's memorial service one of my aunts came up to me and told me that I could have anything of grandmas that I wanted, just to let her know. Before she had said anything the though really hadn't crossed my mind. What would I want of grandmas??????? What I truly wanted was not to forget my favorite memories of her. The way she snag and played the piano. Her love for life, the way here sugar cookies tasted and the tone she would get in her voice when she would get irritated with something inappropriate that my dad would say. The physical things that I would have wanted were the maracas we would play when I was young and the bonnets that she would put on her head before she went to bed. Things that were probably long gone and only memories in my head.



I am sad. I miss my dad and my grandma. I wish I would have been able to say goodbye.

Scrambled Eggs for Lunch

Brandon wasn't feeling good today so he stayed home from "The Party House" (daycare). He wanted scrambled eggs for lunch and I let him help me make them. Usually, Brian is the egg man but since he was out on a ladder I thought that I could handle the eggs today.

Brian's scrambled eggs are a little different then mine. His are more omelet style. Where he lets is all cook and then kind of chops it up and mine, I stir as I go. When I told Brandon the eggs were done, he noticed something wasn't right. He told me that the eggs still needed cooking.....alright we cooked them a little longer and then went to eat. As Brandon sat in front of his eggs and moved then around with his fork he said "Mom, these are not good! They are not delicious".

Anyway, we had another eventful week. My Grandma Knapp died in her sleep early Sunday morning. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer about 3 weeks after my dad died. I swear that he knew she was sick and worried himself to death! Almost every time I would talk with him before his death he would say "I don't know what I will do if Ma goes first". I think he knew something the rest of us didn't.

We had a growth ultrasound this morning and my mom and Grandma Fearing joined us. I am 32 weeks and 5 days. These "girls" are still doing good! "A" is 4 lb and "B" is 4lb 2oz. Hopefully, they will grow about another half pound before we deliver on November 17th!!! The picture was taken this morning in our NEW shower. I am still feeling good for the most part. I am just really sleepy since I am up 6 times a night going to the bathroom:(