Introducing. . . .

Princess Bethany on her throne! 

The nurses set her up in a bumbo seat and took her picture.

 It totally made our day!

A Hood Ornament!

Monday the 19th, I went back up to Spokane to spend the day with Bethany.  I was dissapointed to see that they had to move her IV to the top of her head!  Now she looks like a Unicorn!  At least they didn't shave her head again!!  She was in pain still, so they gave her some morephine. It was kinda a crappy recovery day.  But, before I left to go home, she gave me a couple of good smiles!

Here she is..... finally in a big crib.

Post Surgery

NO Tubes!!! NO Tape!!!

On Sunday, we all went to see Bethany. She looked so Beautiful with nothing on her face or head!!

We just gazed at her all afternoon.  She was pretty tired still. My mom and Josh were able to see her.

Her hair was coming in and looking good after her horrible NICU haircut!

 (Sorry, a little out of focus!)

Surgery Day

Bethany has had many nurses.  They all have loved to take care of her.  There are a few of them that have formed somewhat of an attachment to her.  On surgery day, a couple of them were fighting for the opportunity to take her to surgery.  One of them conceded, but she came back the next couple of days to be with her.  We are so grateful for the loving care that Bethany has received.
After I talked with the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the assisting nurse, I was fixing Bethany's blanket and noticed her hand was laying on her chest and flipping the bird!!!  As if to say,"This surgery is my ticket out of here! Get me into surgery so I can go home! So long Hospital!"
The nurse said that when they took her back, she was eyeing the anesthesiologist with her "Big" eyes!  The anesthesiologist was astonished and didn't want to start on her until her eyes were closed!  The surgery went well, and Bethany did fine.  They wheeled her back into the room where I was able to see her. 

She needed to be hooked up to the ventilator again.  It had to stay in for a couple of days. It was so sad to see her in that kind of bed again and all hooked up and drugged up. The G tube is the blue nob thing by her belly button. She was a trooper and was trying to look at me when she heard my voice.  I soon went home so she could  rest.

2 Months Old!

The Twins 2 Month Birthday was March 9th.  They each have a Teddy Bear that is in the photo with them so we can measure their growth!

Alexa went to the Doctor this day and had her immunizations.  She was very sad all day.  She weighed in at 8lbs. 6oz.

Bethany wore her twin outfit for the occasion.... Her OT helped me set up a photo shoot on the hospital floor. Bethany was getting hungry, hence the pacifier. She weighed 6lbs 5 oz.

This picture was taken after she vomitted all over me and her outfit:

"Ah, Oh!"

Gastrostomy Tube

Bethany is having surgery on Friday, March 16th, to have a Gastrostomy tube put into her stomach.  She is staying about the same with her feeds, so she needs to have the tube put in.   She is still learning to take the bottle and is doing good with nursing.  She just doesn't take in the volume she needs to thrive and grow. Bringing her home and taking out the other feeding tube that goes in her nose and down her throat, will help her feeds get better.      The hospital staff is so thrilled that the "G" tube is the only thing that Bethany is going home with.  Bethany's Dr. told us he thought she would go home with oxygen for 6 months. When talking about Bethany at birth, the nurses say, they thought they would have to send us home with only one baby. So we are so grateful that the "G" tube is all we have to deal with. She has come a long way. She will still need to work with an occupational therapist. But, we are so happy with the progress she has made! For more information on "G" tubes, here is a good website link I found:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/surgery/g_tube.html
She will have the tube for about a year. We will continue to feed her with a bottle and nurse. Whatever volume she gets from a bottle or nursing, we will subtract that from what we give her through the tube. She can do normal actvities, the tube will be hidden under her clothes. The Pediatrician takes the tube out when it is time.