36 weeks gestation, 7 weeks old!

A total of 2 hour car rides there and back almost every day to see our little angels!  The days are starting to get long and everyone is getting tired.  Our twins have really progressed in the last week or so.  So far, both babies are no longer in their isolettes (or incubators I call them), there are now in their sweet little cribs or basinetts which it is so much easier to see and touch them!  Both babies have now begun feedings by bottle, but it is a learning process.  Both are very slow at it, but are working very hard to master this task.  Some even better news is that Brielynn has been off the nasal canula for the last 48 hours and has been doing great breathing on her own.  We are hoping that Ashton will be following her lead shortly.  Brielynn now weighs 5lbs 7oz and Ashton is 4lbs 3oz.  They are continuing to thrive and gain weight every day. 

Now, everyone keeps asking us "when do you get to bring them home!"  That is a question I wish I really knew the answer to, there are a few things that need to happen before their arrival at the Hop household:
1.  Feeding by bottle for every meal and finishing it
2. Breathing on their own with no assistance (ie. nasal canula)
3. consistantly gaining weight
All I can say is that we are getting close, but we are not there yet.  As soon as we know, trust me, everyone else will know to:)

Its also been a while for photos, and yesterday I asked the nurse if we could get photos of them together.  Now our little ones have not seen or been next to each other touching since they were in the womb, so it was a very exciting day for us, enjoy!

Brielynn is on the Left and Ashton is on the Right and both are yawning from there long morning with mommy and daddy.

I think Ashton is thinking "get out of my crib, your too big to fit in here with me".  Also, notice the size difference, a pound really shows in babies, plus Brielynn is a little bit taller all of which we think is preparing her to deal with 2 brothers at home.

The proud dad and our adorable twins!

34 weeks gestation, and 5 weeks since they were born!

Im so excited to say that our babies seem to be doing well and we just keep praying that they continue to progress in the way that they have been!  Friday night our beautiful babies got their first sponge bath and from what I am told Brielynn loved it and Ashton did not.  Their next bath is due this week and Im so excited that they are going to try and get us involved with the process.   Our babies are also getting bigger Brielynn is now up to 4lbs 8oz and Ashton is 3lbs 5oz.  It makes me so happy that Ashton is finally starting to gain more weight, even with his photo below he is now starting to get some adorable cheeks!!!

Brielynn the day after her bath, and if you look closely you can see a little fohawk that occured in her hair, I love it!

Ashton finally has a sleeper on like his sister, and look at those cheeks he is starting to get, I can't wait to just squeeze and kiss them!

And of course, we can't forget Branson, here he is today helping daddy mow the lawn, and he ran out of gas, so daddy said he could get some "water gas" just too cute!  Ahhhhh, my 3 little loves.....

So I would be in complete denial if I would say that things have not been stressful, emotional and one complete roller coaster!  I cannot tell you how many times I have cried and/or had a breakdown, but all I think are good things and they do help me relieve some of the stress.  There is one thing that hasn't changed and that is the fact we are a family and even though we are split apart at the moment we will be back together hopefully soon.  With all of that said, I haven't posted in a while because things had really stayed the same, until a few days ago...........

Both babies are now completely off IV nutrition and are relying on breastmilk with the addition of a fortifier for extra calories and protein.  Ashton and Brielynn are now receiving feedings every 3 hours, like a normal feeding a newborn would have.  Both seem to be doing really well on the feedings and they are gaining weight.  Brielynn now weighs 3lbs 15oz and Ashton is 2lbs 14oz!!!  When you see them in person you can really tell the size difference, Brielynn is really starting to get chubby cheeks so we are hoping that Ashton will catch up soon.  The other BIG news is that our babies have graduated and they have moved to a level 2 nursery!  This is such exciting news in the world of preemies.  Tuesday we got the phone call saying both of our babies were ready and they would be trasported to Abbott in their Special Care Nursery.  We were just elated to hear this news, that means we were going in the right direction.  Chris, Branson and I visited the twins in their new temporary home, and realized it was much different.  There were more babies around, and it was not as private as before.  Plus, both babies seemed to be a little bit stressed from the move.  After we left, I had one of my emotional breakdowns and really doubted the decision to have them moved.  Our original plan was to keep them at Children's but unfortunately they had no room, so the closest location would be Abbott (we were trying to avoid an ambulance ride for our babies when in transition). 

Then, after my breakdown I got to spend the whole day with my little ones yesterday.  I got to hold both babies in the kangaroo care, while I sang and talked to them.  Ashton still seemed really stressed though, he kept having what we call "episodes" where his heart rate and oxygen levels would drop down severly!!!  From there blood work was ordered to rule out every possibility.  Everything came back normal, except that his hemoglobin levels were low which we already had known.  So, that leads us into today.......  this morning I got a call that Ashtons hemoglobin levels were still low and had dropped more from the day before, so that means another blood transfusion will happen today (hopefully it will be his last) and from there they feel this will help him progress further.  And lastly, both babies got their eye exams today and from what I am told they did very well.  Both babies eyes are looking great, they are immature which is to be expected for their age, but they are where they should be.  After all of this, things are starting to look good again and we just keep praying and hoping our babies will continue to fight and get bigger and stronger every day.


Ashton and his blonde hair, he is just too cute!

Ashton finally sleeping on his back, look at those adorable lips!

Branson giving his little sister a big kiss on the head.

Brielynn sprawled out on her back

Ashton sucking his thumb while being held!

Brielynn's little hand

Brielynn looking up at mommy, she likes to talk alot while being held

Update 8/5

Branson and I saw the twins today and they just keep looking so big!  Brielynn is now weighing 3lb 8oz and Ashton is 2lb 11oz!!!  They are now 3 weeks old and I cannot believe they both have gained over a pound since birth.  The nurse showed me their growth charts on where they should be according to the standards with other preemies and they both are following along perfectly.  Ashton is finally off IV nutrition and we are hoping to get Brielynn there sometime today or tomorrow.  The most exciting news I heard today was that we can bring clothing for our babies to wear, well onesies for now, but for me it just means they will seem more like babies and not only babies, but OUR babies.  Im so excited to go out this weekend to try and find a few preemie onesies they can wear.  I just keep praying that our babies will continue to progress in the way they have been because we are so eager and excited for the day when we can take them home.

Update 8/4

Chris, Branson and I were out visiting the babies last night and were so amazed to see how much bigger they looked in 1 day!  Brielynn is now up to 3lbs 5oz, gaining a full pound from her birth weight and Ashton is 2lbs 8oz.  Both are getting bigger and stronger every day. 

Today, Branson was at daycare so I took my first "big" drive by myself since the c-section and driving restrictions were off to see both of the babies.  I got the opportunity to hold both babies and really cuddled them.  We practiced what they call the "Kangaroo Hold" where you hold your baby skin to skin.  Ashton was first up and he did pretty well with it, but then his oxygen levels started to drop some so our cuddle time was cut short, but still worth every minute.  When we hold him, he tends to curl up into this tiny ball and tuck his chin under, like he is still in the womb, and with his chin being tucked it sometimes can affect his oxygen.  Brielynn was next up, and she did really well with the hold that I finally had to have the nurse take her away because my arm went numb. 

Both babies are doing very well.  I got to talk with the doctor in person and found that their IV nutrition will be removed with in the next day or 2 since they are doing so well gaining weight.  That means less wires for our little angels and more freedom.  Hopefully, this will bring us one step closer to them being more independent.


Brielynn sleeping so soundly, even with the flash going off on the camera.

Ashton posing so sweetly....... he is my little peanut!

Brielynn showing off her posing skills...

We don't have a photo with Branson and the babies yet, we really need one, but with the worries of germs he isnt allowed to get too close, but he has visited and loves them so much!  So next best photo, is him having breakfast this morning and posing so cutely, I love him!

Mommy and Brielynn today.

Showing off Brielynn's chubby cheeks she is starting to get.

Im starting to realize that this is Ashton's favorite pose, but I love it and look he is starting to fill out in those arms!

And one more of Brielynn and those chubby cheeks, so cute!

Update 8/2

The twins are still thriving in the NICU!  Both are still getting continuous feedings and they have decided to start increasing them a little bit more.  Ashton did have a little "episode" last night where he forgot to breathe for a minute, but he recovered well.  I was told he decided to take his nasal canula out and put it into his mouth and started to suck, what a little stinker!  Im hoping to take Branson out this week to get some photos of him visiting, he just loves his brother and sister soooooo much and he tells us he is excited to show them how to play cars.

Also, we have had some questions on how you say Brielynn's name so just to clarify it is pronounced BREE-LYNN, hopefully that will help with the different spelling.

Update 8/1

Today the twins are doing great!  Chris and I were out this morning and we each got to love and hold our babies.  They both decided to keep their eyes open for some time and kept an eye on Mom and Dad.  Brielynn is now up to 3lbs 2oz and Ashton is weighing 2lbs 6oz.  They still are not gaining as much weight as the doctor would like, so their IV fluids will still be running as well as feedings with additional nutrition/calories to help them gain some weight a little bit quicker.  The echocardiogram came back on Ashton's heart and all is well.  He still has the slight heart murmur, but nothing to be concerned about, some people have heart murmurs in life and his still could fully close.