Overdue Update

Since our last post a large number of events have passed. Jacob, Sienna, Michelle and Kathy have taken a trip to Christchurch on the plane. The kids did well with no major difficulties encountered during this new experience.
Kidzone has been and gone and everyone enjoyed four or five nights sleepover at Kathy and Pauls house during the event. Michelle used her V.I.P status to beat the crowds and was sometimes leaving before the general public was allowed in.
Our regular Plunket checkups have passed without incident and the kids have progressed extremely well having almost doubled their expected weight gains during some intervals.
The Child Development person has visited and is also pleased with their progress with no complications due to Jacob and Sienna being prem.
Teeth have arrived and at the moment both Jacob and Sienna are two tooth's!!
Sienna and Jacob are now fully fledged Catholics with their Baptism being held at the start of August. A big thanks to Trudy and Nathan (Jacobs Godparents) and Janine and Blair (Siennas Godparents).
We have had another training Nanny (Rachel) live with us for a fortnight and help Michelle with the day to day tasks. This has enabled Michelle to do some extra activities that would be taken for granted for singletons. Having two children for social excursions creates some interesting car packing and on occasion while only one car left two were required to carry everything home again.
My wifes committed attitude towards the kids is bloody amazing; at almost 10 months she continues to breast feed both kids. No mean feat realising the extra complications she endured early on. Michelle creates all of their solid meals and even runs a stock take system of meals on hand. Probably the biggest gloat is that Jacob and Sienna sleep a sound 12 hours a night and have done so for months. This helps everyone in the family.
With spring almost here we look forward to some warm days that will allow Michelle and our kids out of these four walls more.

Kidzone Fun!

Jacob clearly loved the snow at Kidzone this year.

Sienna experiencing her first snow at Kidzone 2010.

During the past two weeks we have had our second training nanny. Laura was a big help in the day to day tasks and will no doubt be a confident nanny when she finishes her training. Jacob and Sienna have had Bev and Laurance from Te anau visit during the past week which was great. Great grandad Pirie also stopped in and the kids went to visit Grandad Pirie while he was in hospital with pneumonia.

mmmm Pies

During the week the kids have started on solids Kumara Carrots Pears Baby Rice and apples have been demolished by our two bundles of fun. Carrots seem to be a crowd favourite and the success rate from spoon to stomach is sometimes limited and extra washing created. The kids have outgrown there original sleeping arrangement and are now in independant cots. They have also outgrown their pram and this has been changed to a stroller. Michelle has made several trips to town and is constantly stopped by strangers wanting to have a look at the kids.

Jacob and Sienna getting singing lessons.

Sienna catching up on some R and R

jacob keepin an eye on his super 14 picks.

Both Sienna and Jacob are progressing well. At the last Plunket weigh in sienna had made a large indent in the weight advantage that Jacob held. Jacob has turned into a thumb sucker over the last week and this is suspected to be teeth on the way. Sienna may also be following this path as extra dribbling has started from her too.
We have had a visit from the child development service who routinely see premature kids and all is well in this department.
Both Jacob and Sienna have a extremely active day as Michelle spends her day entertaining them.

mum knows best

Michelle's day to day rituals have paid off for the Pirie Family. Michelle has followed a programme from a book recomended to her by another member of her family with twins and this has paid dividends. Both Jacob and Sienna at five months can now sleep a full twelve hours without waking. This is a great asset and allows Michelle and I a chance to catch our breath and some sleep at nights.
Michelle is still able to supply both kids feeding needs and they continue to thrive. Over the last month or so a number of problems have been worked through and solved contrary to some of the profesionals advice which has gone to show " mother knows best"

The sleep deprivation has arrived! While in hospital and for a short time at home the kids had hardly cried. Not because their needs were being tended to or their laid back attitude but because they didn't have the strength or maturity. I'm happy to reveal we have two strong and healthy babies both with good lung capacity and we have even dealt with the first flu... times two!!
Our Plunket Nurse was amazed at the progress they have made and continue to make. She stated that an average child is expected to gain 20-30g per day. Jacob had doubled this expectation and Sienna was also about average.
Michelle has a firm interest in the mailbox and waits for the mail man every day and has enjoyed the very generous gifts the babies have received (although the mail man will no doubt be tired of coming to the back door with parcels!
There is a slight disappointment that our two children are growing up and the realisation that they will not remain small babies forever has set in! Although there is great delight taken in seeing them progress and develop unique personalities. Lots of smiles, giggles and rolling which make all the hard work worth it!

we are out of here.

On Christmas Eve Michelle Jacob and Sienna had impressed everyone at Kew Hospital enough to be discharged. Even though we had wanted to get home it was a big step to leave behind the exceptional care from the staff at Kew and walk out the doors for home. After a lot of deciding on what was to be worn for the trip home the kids were loaded into their double barreled pram and wheeled out for their last goodbyes to the staff who were on duty. Sadly, not all the staff got to see the kids leave or for us to be able to thank them all but Michelle and I plan to head back to keep the friendships that we have made over our long stay.
Both Jacob and Sienna have progressed well and our lives now seem to work in four hour cycles. Michelle continues to feed the kids well and the only time the kids are bottle fed are at 4am so Michelle can continue to sleep. Dealing with two kids and two bottles at the same time takes some coordination which I'm yet to master completely. I some times wonder if they are absorbing as much as they are swallowing.
The kids routine is amazingly settled and they seem to be able to wake within minutes of their time whether Michelle and I are ready or not. Both kids enjoy their time on the floor together and even look for each other while feeding and playing. Although not alot of work gets done outside of the house, our days seem to be reasonably busy and any time to catch up on some sleep is sort after.

Since our last blog the kids have maintained their milked fueled march towards a discharge from the hospital to home.
Michelles $65 taxi trips (protocol) to and from home only lasted a short time as a room became available in the same ward as the kids. Now that she is within yelling distance Michelle has been able to take an extremely active role in the day to day caring of the kids.
Sienna is very much like her mother with her dark hair and looks. She has progressed well and has on occassion been able to take a full feed from Michelle although this came to an abrupt end during the weekend which had alot of people scratching their heads. After some tests were run it would appear that Sienna is very much her mothers daughter as she is low in iron. This explains her unusal feeding problems and has been rectified with a small blood transfusion.
Jacob has had another fascinating week of looking at the inside of his eye lids and on occasion wakes to be supplied with more ammunition that he discharges at a frightening rate. Jacob is progressing well with Michelles milkbar and is only being substituted with tube feeds only occasionally now. This has taken a lot of time, effort and dedication from his mum to get him to this stage and he may end up passing on a few tips to his sister to get her up to speed.
Today Jacob and Sienna had the pleasure of meeting Lucas and Ashton who are Michelles twin nephews. Even though this took place from a distance (through a window due to infection control) there looks to be some fun times ahead for these four.

Jacob and Sienna continue to progress extremely well without any hint of a speed bump. The heavier bragging rights has changed on a number of occasions and Sienna has been placed on her first diet as she progressed too fast during the week and managed to advance 120grams in two days, which her care givers saw as being a bit excessive for such a small lady.
During the week both kids have progressed into cots and no longer need there temperature regulated to the same degree.
Each day they become slightly more active and on occasion slightly more audible as there strenght grows.
Michelle has started teaching them how her portable milkbar works but it will be sometime before the kids master this new fandangle. Children don't develope the suck,swallow and breath reflex untill around 35 weeks but there's nothing like a headstart.
Sadly our flat at the hospital is needed for bigger and better things and Michelle and I once again reside at the farm with michelle traveling each day to spend time with our kids.

sunday 22nd nov

The kids have taken off in the weight stakes.Both Sienna and Jacob have now past their birth weights and are looking to break the 100grams increase over two days. We have been close with an 85 gram increase but no one has made triple figures yet.
The fridge at neo natal now resembles a milk bar with 20 bottles stored in the fridge for future parties.
Michelle and I have been watching antenatal class mates come and go and it is slightly frustrating watching them leave for home knowing we are still a wee way away from making that step ourselves.
Both Jacob and Sienna are doing exceptionally well and its a credit to the staffs constant care and attention that this continues to happen without any setbacks. This week both of the kids had eye checks performed much to the distress of their mother. Both had no complications and impressed all those concerned.
The kids have also had some new company in the last few days with another set of twins sharing their room although they hope to head home around Wednesday.

What a day!

Today has been a big day for our wee monsters.
Firstly Michelle has been asking the staff if she can start transporting her milk by truck to the kids as the containers supplied are no longer sufficent (she filled the bottle today).During her afternoon nap Mum was woken by a phone call explaining that the kids would soon be changing rooms. With much gusto Michelle headed down to make sure nothing went wrong during this large journey(across the hall). All went well in this large expedition and the new view has done wonders for all concerned.
Sienna has also changed her taste in decor and has been supplied with a different isolette.
Jacob has also had a change.His monitor which keeps an eye on his vital signs has been given the heave ho and replaced with one that keeps an eye only on his breathing.
What we have since found out is that the room, monitor and Isolette are needed for a new admission.
Jacob and Sienna are also no longer top of the heap and have progressed down the nurses board which means they should not be needing as much attention as those above them.
Today was also a milestone for the family with the first person other than Michelle or myself to hold the babys.Paul,Michelles dad celebrated his birthday and rather than buying a flash shiny present Michelle took the easy and cheaper option of using her new additions as a present for her dad.

Isolettes

These are the incubators that Sienna and Jacob are being cared for in.
Both Jacob and Sienna have their own personal Isolette although they have been in the same one on occasion for a catch up on all the goss. The floor or bed is raised slightly at the head end and the kids spend the majority of the day sleeping in their "nests". The nests are soft cotton beds with slightly raised sides so the kids feel secure.
The temperature is regulated accordingly as Jacob and Sienna are unable to regulate their body heat, just like most newborns.In the last few weeks of gestation all kids spend this time producing a layer of fat under the skin. Because Jacob and Sienna were in a hurry to meet Mum and Dad they bypassed this faze and are now in catchup mode. As this layer is put on the temperature is slowly decreased each day and the kids supply there own heat accordingly.The temperature and temp history from the last few hours is also recorded on the blue monitor.
The pillows are made from a silicon jelly so they mould round the monsters heads and distribute the weight evenly. Because their bones and skulls are so soft it is possible for flat points to develop and the nurses do a fantastic job rotating each body to eliminate this problem.
The isolette has the ability to supply oxygen to the kids and the air is moved round at a gentle rate.
The "port holes" are for easy access without a large temp drop from opening and closing the main door and the doors fold down to allow Mum access to tend to their needs. At some stage over the next few weeks the isolettes will be kicked to the kerb and Jacob and Sienna will graduate into cots.

The race is on.

Both Sienna and Jacob have platoed and now the race is on in gaining weight. After Jacob being initially shown up by his sister at birth in this department he has pulled out and passed Sienna on the way to reaching a weight where the proud parents can take him home. What Jacob may have overlooked is he won't be leaving without his sister! Sienna has taken a more lady like approach to the task at hand and after a more conscienious start is now progressing well. Sienna has shown in her recent tests to be low in sodium and her feeds have been cut back slightly to not put pressure on her kidneys. Sodium is being administered and she should be back up to speed soon while Jacob continues his bull at a gate approach.
Michelle (Mum) has had a busy few days preparing meals every two hours and coming to terms with her interrupted sleep. While she is discharged from the hospital she remains confined to the institution under the role of boarder and spends her day having skin on skin time with the two wee monsters and tending to their cleaning!!. There have been a few outside excursions and she returned home for a few hours yesterday to be totally pleased with the state of her house and commented how clean and organised it was during her absence?????

The roller coaster ride of one week!

What a week! On Tuesday we celebrated Sienna and Jacob's one week birthday with two cakes.
The care that our two wee monsters are receiving from the dedicated staff in the Neo Natal Unit is tremendous. Not only do the staff tend to the childrens needs but the care and support shown to Michelle is also terrific. While this experience is totally new to us both, being prewarned by the staff as to what to expect emotionally has also been a great help.
Sienna has started out early in the latte stakes and at the moment gets a daily shot of caffeine which acts as a stimulant. This is very common for prem kids. Jacob is a "steady as she goes" kind of chap and doesn't see the point in fandangle caffeine fads. Both kids have now started to increase in weight and will be asking for the keys to the car in no time.
Michelle has done extremely well and has managed to supply for both scallywags which is no mean feat after the initial shock of an early arrival.