What a difference a year can make!

`

Sorry it has been such a long time since we have updated our blog. The boys have kept us more than busy over the past several months. We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! The boys have been growing so fast and are doing great.

Cohen is crawling, feeding himself and pulls up to everything. We are waiting for him to take off walking at any moment. He is full of energy and has been showing us some of his mischievous side. At his One year appointment he weighed 23 pounds 13 ounces and is 30 inches long. He has made it to the 75th percentile on the regular growth chart. Our Pediatrician has taken him off baby formula (YAY!!) and he has fully transitioned to regular milk. He is not picky about food and eats anything we offer him.

Bryce has finally had a nice streak of normalcy. His shunts have been working like they should and he has been surgery-free since December now. If you would have told me a few months back that we would be out of the hospital for longer than a month, I would have never believed you. We have been so very fortunate that Bryce has had time to be a baby. He has been through so much in his short life that I couldn't be more thankful that God is giving him some "down-time." Bryce still has physical therapy once a week and works with a developmental interventionist twice a month. He is doing good, but still has a lot facing him. He doesn't sit up on his own or crawl yet, but we work hard to get him to that point. He is now 15 pounds 4 ounces and is 26.5 inches long. He hasn't hit the growth chart yet, but his line is going straight up. He is the happiest baby and smiles at the mention of his name.

We participated in the March for Babies this year! It was such a proud moment for us. We chose not to take the boys this year since the weather for that day was questionable. There were a total of 13 that walked with us (in our Family Team). As a team, we raised over $1,500. We saw people walking for their babies or someone they knew... We also saw people with t-shirts that read "in memory of." I realized that day just how lucky we were. We have been so blessed!

The boys had the First Birthday Party at our new house (failed to mention we have moved since the last blog- so much more room!). We had a monkey themed first birthday. The cake and cupcakes turned out so cute and the rain held off just long enough to have a very enjoyable party in the back yard. They both loved their cake and all the gifts they received.

I promise to keep the blog updated more often... With all we have been through as a family, I feel that it is very important to share our story. Hopefully we can bring a smile to someone's face or just provide a little inspiration to those who need it.

Happy Holidays!

We just wanted to be sure and thank everyone for all of their love and support over the past year. It has been very difficult, but both boys are finally home and doing well. We have started to make great memories and we treasure every moment!

Cohen is interested in just about everything. He is eating his big boy food- cereal, fruit and veggies. He is 17 pounds 14 ounces and gets bigger daily. He is playing, talking up a storm and craving some of Bryce's attention. He is such a happy baby and smiles and talks all the time.

Bryce had bilateral (inguenial) hernia surgery on December 10th. That bought us another night at Children's... The surgery went well and he never seemed to be in much pain from it. We were very glad to have that finished, another check off the list. He continues to do good. We have a physical therapist coming in every Monday and a developmental interventionist that works with his twice per month. He weighs 10 pounds 6 ounces....

We are so thankful to be where we are today. Given our history, we felt like this time would never come. December is also Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) Awareness Month so we wanted to mention that. We hope in the future to give back, but for now we just wanted to bring it to everyone's attention. Don't take anything for granted this holiday season. Squeeze the ones you love extra tight this year. We sure will!

Home Sweet Home

I know that it has been quite some time since we have been able to update everyone on the boys. So much has happened over the past few weeks, we weren't able to keep the blog updated like we had hoped. 

Bryce had got to come home with us on our anniversary, September 29th... We couldn't have asked for a better anniversary gift than that! We spent the first couple of days just the four of us, we had waited months and months to be able to do that. Unfortunately over the next five days Bryce started getting sick. He had a high temperature, wasn't tolerating his feeds and just wasn't himself. I took him to the ER the Sunday after he got home and we found out that he had a staph infection from his last surgery at Children's. That news led to another 3 weeks in the hospital, we were devastated. Matt and I went back to taking turns staying with Bryce and seeing each other for just a few minutes as we switched spots.

Luckily, we were able to bring Bryce back home once the infection cleared... It is just a few days shy of being 2 weeks at home, the whole family... Bryce has done great! He is growing and eating like crazy. He has finally made his way to 8 pounds 10 ounces. He is starting to smile and laugh and play. He has  never had an opportunity to do this before. It has taken time and will continue taking time to show him that we aren't here to hurt him. We are so happy to finally have him with us at  home!

Cohen has been doing great.. He is 15 pounds 3 ounces and eats eats eats. He is starting to be very interested in toys and his surroundings. He is starting to teethe as well... It is so hard to believe that they will be 6 months old in just a few weeks.

Unfortunately we are entering RSV season and with the flu being so bad we have to keep the boys on lock-down. They are getting monthly shots to help their immune system fight off these types of illnesses through April. We can't wait to take them out and let them meet everyone... from family to friends. Of  course, I would love to show them off to absolutely everyone!

Life is starting to come together and we couldn't be happier. We want to be sure and thank everyone for helping us through this tough time. Also thanks to everyone who participated in the benefit for the boys, your support is much appreciated. There is no way we can ever repay or thank everyone enough for all that has been done for us and our two miracles!!! Thank you~

A short video of the boys

Who Dey!

Life has been very hectic. It is so hard to put into words what we go through day in and day out... What Bryce goes through...  He has had a total of 8 surgeries now and we hope that we stay at that number for a while. The last surgery he had was last Friday and so far things seem to be going very good. His shunt is now internalized and his 4 incisions are healing. The hope is that he will take a few more days to recover and continue to work on his feeds. Once he can get his feedings down he can come home. It is so exciting talking about Bryce and coming home in one conversation. We keep hope that all will go well and somehow he come home with us this coming week. If he doesn't we at least know that there is light at the end of this tunnel. He is up to 7 pounds 11 ounces and continues gaining.

Cohen has been doing great... He is really starting to develop a little personality and is starting to be very interested in everything around him. He smiles all the time and has to be talked to when he is awake. Two weeks  ago he was at 10 pounds 2 ounces, but I am sure he is way past that now. He goes back on Tuesday of this coming week for another check up. He has been a real trooper going with Mommy to see brother when Daddy has to work. 

Today we spent the last day together (all four of us).. until Bryce comes home that is. The hospital is now under a lock down because of the swine flu. We are no longer able to take Cohen along with us and only Matt and I can visit Bryce... not even grandparents can come anymore. The news would have been upsetting, but we are confident that Bryce will be coming home soon!

The boys got to watch their first Bengals game with Dad.... first of many. We all had our Who Dey gear on until Mr. Cohen had a little accident all over his and we had to change him. 

Thanks to everyone for their continues support and prayers.... 

Sorry it has been a while since we have  been able to update everyone. So much has happened in the past couple of weeks. Cohen has been adjusting to life at home, it seemed at first that he wasn't sure about his new life outside of the hospital. It took a few nights for him to settle in, but he is doing great sleeping for four to five hours  through the night. It has been so nice to have him home, he has finally made us feel like parents. He is up to 8.11 lbs and is close to the growth curve of a regular newborn. Cohen even gets to go back to visit his brother any day. We try not to make too much of a habit out of it.... We don't want to risk getting either of them sick or putting too much on Cohen, but it is hard not to take him so that we can all be together.

Bryce has went through a lot of changes since we last posted an update. His infection that was found in his CSF fluid did not clear, so another operation was formed to externalize the shunt. It was hard for me to think about having a tube come out of his head draining fluid. I pictured something very graphic that you would see in a horror film. Once I was able to see him after the  surgery it wasn't near what I thought it would be. The shunt has to be external until they have fully treated the infection. At that time, the shunt will be replaced and we will hope and pray that his surgeries will be over. This makes surgery number four and number five will soon be on its way. Once the next surgery is over and Bryce has recovered, we will just need to work on feedings  with him... Then we will finally be able to go home. He has  made it up to 6 lbs.... 

Thanks to everyone who continues to follow the boys.... We appreciate all the love and support.

Home Sweet Home

Finally some good news.... COHEN IS HOME!

We were able to bring Cohen home two days ago (August 6th). It felt so good taking him off the monitors and being able to freely move about the room with him. It was very bittersweet, we felt terrible leaving Bryce behind. It made their room seem so lonely. We keep waiting for the day that he will be coming home with us.

The first night it seemed that Cohen didn't care for his new bed. He didn't fall asleep for us until 5am. The nurses had told us what a great sleeper he was at night, we started thinking that maybe they had been lying. The second night was much better, he only got us up a couple of times. He seems to be enjoying home. Our dog Tax has been very interested in this new little thing we brought home. He wants to be right next to Cohen no matter where he is.

Bryce has been doing relatively well. He is still being treated for the infection caused by his first shunt. He is now taking over 30 percent of his feeds through a bottle. It has been so exciting to watch this little guy take more and more by mouth. He is fighting his way home. Bryce will have an MRI on Monday to take a more detailed look at his brain and to make sure the new shunt is operating effectively. He seems to miss his brother, but we are able to take Cohen back with us when we need or want to.

It is hard having one home and not the other, but we are truly closer than what we were before. They are now 40 weeks gestation and 12 weeks old!!!

Thank you to all who have been and continue to support our family.