Ms. Jan's Crew!

"Jan's Crew" showing their support for their beloved teacher. Thank you Jan for being Jesus to our kids. For those of you that don't know Jan Middleton you're missing out. She and her husband, Robbie, are long time two year old Bible class teachers at Western Hills. For those of you that have never taught the two year olds at church, that puts them in the running for sainthood. Recently, Jan was diagnosed with cancer . She had a very successful surgery and all her tests came back perfect & cancer free. (A HUGE answered prayer) As with most cancers, even though her tests all look great she is currently undergoing treatment to assure that there is no cancer now or in the future. Jan has beautiful curly blonde hair. Next Thursday she will be receiving her second treatment and her hair will begin falling out. In order to beat the medicine to the punch she is going to buzz her hair off on Wednesday. Because of all she does for the children of Western Hills, Rian, Cayden Job, and Hayden wanted to show their support for their teacher and "best friend," that's a quote from Cayden, by also shaving their heads. They sat more still during their haircuts than they ever have. They were all so excited to show Ms. Jan how much they love her and can't wait to see her at church tomorrow.

Cutter & Cooper 1 month old

CUTTER & COOPER. Erica and her mom (Loretta) are the photographers behind this picture.

Sleep - Who needs it?

Well, in case you are wondering if we have just given up on this blog all together the answer is no. However, it would not be an understatement to say that our life has undergone a small shift. Erica and I have decided to spend as much time with our children as we possibly can. To accomplish this we have given up distracting activities such as sleep. Our lives now are measured in hours between feedings. (no more than four if you are keeping track). There is something challenging about caring for twins. When it is time to feed both parents must get up. So it has been a week since either Erica or I have slept more than 3 hours in a single span of time. I am as tired as I have every been but it is a great feeling of exhaustion. My family is home and together. For that alone I am grateful.

Keep us in your prayers.
Sweet Dreams!
Scott

WE'RE HOME! This pic was taken as we loaded up Cutter & Cooper to finally bring them home. No more sleep for us!

Cooper with Nurse Jillian. One of the many special angels who took care of her. The NICU is full of nurses with a very special job and ministry. We are grateful.

Cutter with nurse Heidi. Just one of the many angels that have cared for him. Heidi always refers to him as "Mr. Cutter."

Going Home???????

Well, today was the FIRST time we have discussed possible discharge dates. Babies are typically kept in the hospital for 1 week after having a heart rate drop. Both kids have only had one heart rate drop- which is really good. Cooper's was on March 27 and Cutter had his first on April 3. Because of that it looks like the soonest they would go home would be possibly on Monday. Cooper's genetic testing to look for Cystic Fibrosis all came back negative! Praise the Lord!
Cutter is gaining about 2 oz per day and weighs in at 4 lb 8.5 oz. Cooper got her IV taken out today and weighs in at 4 lb 13.5 oz. (She is already eating almost as much as her brother!)
When they come home looks like we will be home bound for about a month. At that point they would be about 40 weeks.
Thanks again for all the prayers and comments.
erica

ps today the nurses were having a little fun and changed cooper's shirt from "if you think i'm cute you should see my aunt" to "if you think i'm cute you should see my NURSE!"

Getting Fat

Scott asked me to write a quick update on the kids. Their goal in life right now is to eat and get fat! (don't you wish you had such high goals?) Dr. Cipriani said they may be ready to go home within a week.
Cooper- She is much more content now that she has started eating. Since Thursday she has increased her feedings from about 7 ml to 22 or so. By the end of the day today she should be around 25 ml because she increases 1 ml every 2 feedings. She is eating well and yesterday weighed in at a hefty 4 lb 11 oz. She is sleeping a lot now which is nice because her tummy is full. Cooper is still in NICU but should get her IV taken out Tuesday. Hopefully they will move her to Special care with Cutter soon. (sure would make it easier on Mom and Dad.) Still no news on her test but we will fill you in when we know something.
Cutter- He is still quite lazy but is more awake during his feedings and is only eating from a bottle now. He is on a type of eating plan that allows him to eat anywhere from 43 ml to about 55 ml- depending on how hungry he is. He's been eating 45 ml -50 ml pretty regularly and weighed in at 4 lb 4.9 oz yesterday.

I got a chance to visit with briefly with Jailen's dad yesterday and Jailen looked good. They were feeding him and I got to see him open his eyes.
erica

Baby Jailen

We wanted to give you all an update on Baby Jailen. He had his heart surgery on Thursday, March 31 to repair a hole in his heart. He made it through the surgery and his parents are very grateful for all the people praying for him. He still has a long way to go but the surgery went well.
Thanks to all that prayed for him. If you want to leave a comment or prayer we will print them out and leave it for his parents to read. Like I said, they have been very encouraged by the love of people they don't even know. (We've bragged on all of you!) They have moved to Temple recently to be close to S&W and hopefully will visit us at Western Hills soon. They have a daughter that is in the second grade also and seem like an all around great family. We are glad to have met them but wish the circumstances were different.
erica

News & Pictures

We want everyone to know that both Cutter and Cooper are getting stronger everyday. Here is the quick details on each:

Cooper- has ended the antibiotics. No NEC! She began to bottle feed yesterday which is the first time in over a week. Erica was there to give her the bottle and they got some good mom and daughter time. She continues to do well and right now all signs look good.

Cutter- just rocks along without too many cares in the world. The nurses are trying to move Cutter toward more bottle feedings than tube feedings. His appetite is increasing and is now up to about 30cc's per feeding.

Thanks for all of the ongoing prayers.
We still do not know when they will get to come home but we are hoping it will be soon.

Love Ya Much
Scott

Cutter Jon, letting loose with a BIG yawn.

Cooper Joy in an outfit given to her by adopted "Auntie Piper".