Kangaroo Love!

Day 8: Another great day with a very big surprise! Our morning started out like every other so far as we wake up early and start our day.  Being that we are staying an hour away from the hospital we grab our morning breakfast and we are on our way, venturing out in the heavy Ft. Lauderdale/Miami traffic trying to find quicker ways to the hospital with no luck.  As we are driving to the hospital we try to predict what are day will be like.  Today we knew that we would have some Kangaroo time with Haylee but since I did it yesterday it was Ashley’s day today.  We were so anxious to get there and of course we had to blare our girls theme song “Fight Song” when it came on the radio.  We attempted to knock out DEERS (military folks understand) by going to SOUTHCOM but there was only 1 person working with about 80 people in line so we scratched that and decided to get to the hospital earlier.  We will just have to reattempt that on a later day.  When we got to the NICU both Haylee and Rylee had already ate in the last hour so kangaroo time was a go as soon as we got in.  As Haylee was in Ashley’s arms we noticed the nurse moving Rylee’s IV over closer to the chair Ashley was sitting in.  We were confused, so I asked and what do you know, the doctor OK’d kangaroo time with Rylee as well because they are finally going to remove her umbilical line tonight!!

Since Haylee was already in her mommy’s arms, guess who got to hold Rylee for the first time…that’s right, daddy! It was such an amazing feeling.  She is so much smaller than Haylee and I could almost cup her in one hand if I could.  As Ashley already posted, we were able to kangaroo both babies together at the same time!

Haylee is on full feeds now so it looks like her PICC line will be removed soon and Rylee is 1 ML away from full feeds.  This is very good news and we look forward to them having one less less line connecting to them.

Also, we are so excited for tomorrow and for my brothers wedding and Emily becoming a permanent member of the family.  We wish so much we could be there but we will be thinking about them throughout the day!  Stay Strong!

The Diaper Incident

Day 7 
Happy One Week Birthday Haylee and Rylee. It was another pretty good day for both girls. We were a little anxious going into today because of the situation with Rylee, but all test came back negative. She is showing no signs of any abnormalities, and the brain scan looked good as well. After talking with the doctor both girls are handling their feedings well, and so the doc will slowly continue to increase their intake. This is a great sign and we are very proud of them! Even though they are increasing the amount of food, they are still losing a little weight, which is pretty normal.

On a more entertaining note Haylee had a nice little surprise for her daddy today during her touch time. Right before Ryan was set to change her diaper Haylee had a big blow out poop, then mid change she continued to let it flow! It was too funny. Not only did she have a big blow out, but daddy wasn't quite fast enough and she managed to get both feet into the dirty diaper! Poor Ryan, luckily the nurse came over to assist, while mommy laughed. After all was said and done Ryan and Haylee were able to have some kangaroo time. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, Ryan or Haylee. The second she was cuddled up with him she was out and did not stir for the entire time he had her. 

As far as Rylee's day goes she is still unable to kangaroo, but we are just itching for the opportunity for that. She did give mommy a bit of a scare today, but apparently everything is normal. After her feeding she spit up quite a bit and it had a yellowish color to it. It turns out she has a little bit of acid reflux, and was very uncomfortable. I was a little taken back with how much her discomfort bothered me, and how I wished I could make it go away! Other than that she is doing great! 

They are now breathing pretty much on their own, only on 21% O2, which is basically what everyone breathes. If they continue to do well breathing without the forced air then we may see the NG tubes removed. So overall things are continuing to go well, and both girls are doing better than expected. Stay Strong!

At Long Last

Since our last update quite a bit has taken place. I would like to start out by first thanking our friends Jackie and Danny, who has been gracious enough to look after our lab. I would also like to thank my parents, not only for everything they have done for us since we got the the hospital, but for also taking our other dog as well. Knowing they are being taken care of is a huge weight off our shoulders, and we can't thank you all enough!!

Yesterday  was another great day for the girls. Haylee was able to have her arterial line removed, which meant the next day she would be able to do skin to skin (Kangaroo time). I was beyond overjoyed and could not wait! Along with her line being remove, both girls were taken off their UV lights. With the lights being gone so were the masks. We could finally see our girls' eyes and let them see us. As I was doing touch time each one of them opened their eyes and looked right at me. It was all I could do to not cry right there!! As we left the hospital I was beyond excited to come back tomorrow and finally be able to hold my little girl!

Today was the day! After touch time with both girls, I was able to Kangaroo with Haylee. It was possibly one of the greatest moments in my life thus far. Being able to feel her breathing and sleeping while I held her was beyond amazing. She is such a strong, beautiful little girl and I soaked up every minute I had with her. Unfortunately, Rylee still has an umbilical line and is not yet able to Kangaroo, but I look forward to that day as well!

Though most news today was great news, there was a same bit that we are anxiously waiting to hear about. The doctor informed us today that Rylee had a condition called Single Umbilical Artery. This means that instead of having two arteries and one vein in her umbilical cord, she only had one of each. The doctor said because of this he was going to be checking her kidneys tomorrow and we should know more. He did also mention that he was not too concerned that there would be anything abnormal, but lets face it I am going to stress until we know! From what I was able to read 75% of the time the infants are perfectly fine.

Below is our kangaroo time is Haylee and Rylee with her new favorite item, the pacifier.
Stay Strong!
 

Thoughts from Mommy

To say that you can never prepare yourself for this type of Journey is an understatement. From the trip to the ER, to the helicopter ride,  to the birth of my beautiful girls time has just flown. We are so blessed that the girls were at least 31 weeks, and that we were able to hold off a couple days to allow enough time for the steroids to be used. 

One thing that continually amazes me and reinforces the love I have for my husband is how solid and wonderful he has been. Because I had to have an emergency C-section he has had to be the rock for us both, and the girls. He has been there to take care of me, as well as the girls, and even more so with my limitations. Though I know he has been stressed and overwhelmed beyond belief he has remained calm and strong for all of us and there are no words to express what that means to me.  To see his love and dedication to his daughters instantly warms my heart, and to see them react to him is priceless. They know when their daddy is in the room, and it seems to have a calming effect on us all.

Along with my husband, the support of family and friends has been a huge help. From the first sign of trouble on Monday the 20 of July to Wednesday the 22nd, all the grandparents were able to fly in. Having them there to help and support us was invaluable. I loved that they were able to be a part of the birth of their granddaughters. Without question this whole process would have been far more difficult without their presence and assistance.

Day Four

Last night around midnight we received a call after going back to our hotel that Haylee and Rylee graduated from NICU level III to level II. They have been doing so well maintaining levels to justify the move. The one thing I’m having a hard time adjusting to is that in level III they had their own private room together with their own nurse. In level II, they are essentially in a ward with 6 other babies with a few nurses who rotate around. I hate that there is so much activity going around and I just want to be able to be with them by their bedside with my wife and their grandparents. Besides that, they are doing very well again today. Still not able to have kangaroo time but we know in time we will be able to hold our girls for the first time!

Also, as we were driving to the hospital a very well played song came on in the car and I had to fight back tears. I hereby dedicate “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten to Haylee and Rylee. Please take a listen if you haven’t already and keep them in your prayers! Stay Strong!

Day Three

First let me begin with last night…food was introduced to them for the first time! They gulped that up so fast. Since last night they have doubled their intake. So as far as today…today was a major step in the right direction. We received some good news during our morning touch-time (diaper changing time). Both Haylee and Rylee were going to come off their breathing tubes and be switched to a less intrusive breathing apparatus that pushes oxygen thru their noses. I apologize for not giving the medical terms for all of these things, it’s been a large dose of information given to us and to keep up with the technical terms has been difficult. So after lunch they switched them out and we were able to hear their voices with some faint cries now that a tube is not pushing on their vocal cords. It was so amazing to finally hear them. Since the removal of the tubes they continue to breath well on the new machine, so much so they were able to introduce pacifiers to them! They love it. We couldn’t have been happier.

Ashley was discharged tonight as well. On one hand its great we are finally out of the hospital but sucks that we are no longer a hallway away from them. This is going to be one of the hardest things to deal with. This is going to be a long road but we can already tell our girls are fighters and want to get home to Mommy and Daddy as soon as possible! Stay strong girls!

Day Two

Day 2 was such a good day! Both Haylee and Rylee are doing well. Daddy got to enjoy some touch-time by changing his first diaper for both. Nurse graded me with an "A" I might add. Haylee had to get a PICC inserted tonight...so far so good. We are also waiting anxiously to get the call from the nurse to watch their first feeding and Mommy is slowly recovering and was able to walk to the NICU on her own for the first time. Day by day!

Happy Birthday Rylee and Haylee

To all friends and family,
Thank you for you prayers and support during this difficult time. It was always something we were told there was a chance could occur but never did we think it would come to reality. For anyone who isn’t aware, my wife Ashley was flown out of Key West via helicopter to Miami very early on Tuesday morning. She was 31 weeks with our baby girls and started to go into pre-term labor. After a lot of poking and prodding and continuous rounds of magnesium amongst other things, her contractions slowed to manageable levels but lasted 3 days.

For 3 days we were in South Miami Hospital’s High Risk Antepartum unit who is full of nothing but wonderful, amazing nurses and Doctors who have been so great! We have really been impressed with this staff! With dosages of magnesium and some magic pill that all I know starts with an “E”, her contractions decreased but still continued. The good thing with all of this is that we were able to hold them off until a few much needed steroid shots to help speed up the growth of the baby’s lungs. I will say this…my wife is a trooper! She has been so strong thru all of this!
On Thursday night her contractions started to increase and the doctor came in and realized she went from 1cm to 6cm dilated in no time. With that said, the rush began! I know grandparents have been posting things but we want to welcome to the world our two AMAZING girls!
Haylee Bradi Roush born at 8:53pm weighing in at 3lbs 10 ounces, 16.34in
Rylee Elizabeth Roush born at 8:55pm weighing in at 2lbs 15 ounces, 14.57 in
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for everyone’s amazing support and continued prayers! We will keep everyone updated as we progress. This will be a long run and not a sprint that is for sure!
Thank you to our wonderful parents as well, who immediately flew down here and were with us throughout!

Welcome to our Blog

On July 23, 2015 our twin daughters, Rylee and Haylee, were born at 31 weeks. Through this blog we hope to keep everyone posted on their status and provide a place for us to share our journey with everyone as we wait to bring our beautiful girls home.