Aron Update

Mommy visited Aron today while Daddy and Aden had some mantime at home. Aron has made some big strides in the past couple of days. He's been taken off his little nose tubes and moved out of the incubator into an open crib. If he continues without troubles and continues to feed well over the weekend, he may be home early next week. Mommy thinks Aron is going to be our little linebacker; he seems to be bigger and stronger than his brother. We'll see, can't wait to get him home....

One Home, One To Go....

Aden came home with us this evening. He fell asleep in his carseat and rode peacefully through Houston rush hour traffic. Mommy has done a great job putting the finishing touches on the baby room and everything else over the past couple of days in eager anticipation. The ranch is ready for babies. We've had a successful feeding and diaper changing so far tonight. We've been holding him almost constantly. We'll see how the 2am and 5am feedings treat us....

Aron Graduates to Level 2

Today was a big day. Aron has been doing well in the level 3 NICU, taking bottles, off his IV, and breathing without oxygen. He's officially been moved to Level 2 and has taken up residence right next to his brother. Aden is doing great, he's about to move from the incubator into an open crib. He should be coming home soon.

They're Here!!!

We rung in the new year in a truly festive fashion with the arrival of Aden Michael and Aron Patton at 7:50am and 7:51am on January 1st, 2009. This was quite a shock as Ardis had just visited the doctor on 12/30 and there were no signs of them coming anytime soon. Our New Year's eve was relatively lame in that we crashed early in the night and missed the strike of midnight. Apparently the boys felt like partying. Ardis woke up at 4:25am to a kick and a sudden gush. She woke me up to "Alex my water just broke!" My response was, "Are you kidding me...zzz..." (It's miracle I survived to see their birth given this reaction, but I think Ardis needed me to help get her ready, so my life was spared) After less than a second, Ardis's words registered and I quickly shot up out of bed. Ardis's sister Eden spent the holidays here with us and was an amazing help wrapping up the nursery setup and doing things around the house. Eden must have sensed a tremor in the force as she was already up and knew what was happening when we went out to wake her. We all three jumped in the car for the trek to the hospital. Poor Eden had to squeeze into the back seat between the car seat bases we had installed a few days prior; with Momma in front and Daddy driving we were off to the speedway.....after a quick stop for gas. Despite some of these little hiccups in our escape plan things were going well, then Ardis started having major contractions. I did my best Mario Andretti impersonation and got us to the hospital in record time. We got signed in and put in a room and the first strategy was to try to stop the contractions. The word was that even with a broken amniotic sac Ardis could be stabilized and kept in the hospital for up to a week. We settled in for a long haul. Meanwhile Ardis was a champ handling the contractions. She squirmed, and remarkably gently expressed her discomfort verbally. 30 minutes later the nurse announced that since the drugs weren't helping with the contractions it looked like we were having babies, and in the next 30 minutes or so. The doctor came in to do a quick exam and realized that Ardis was already fully dialated. These babies were coming. I got handed scrubs and wisked to a waiting room while the anesthesiologist did scary spine things administering the epidural. I was so happy I wasn't invited for that party. Ten minutes later the nurse grabbed me and brought me into the operating room. Ardis was laid out on the table with the little screen blocking her view and two surgeons working on her already. I had no desire to look over the curtain; I could get enough of a sense of what was happening over there to know that I wanted no part of it. I took up my spot next to her and held her hand. She was so nervous, but so brave. In no time flat, the doctor announced, "Dad, get your camera ready!" In a flash, Baby A was out of mom's tummy. We got that reassuring baby cry immediately and were very relieved by how big he was. The doctors held him up and presented him for his first photo op. I suddenly realized that we needed to figure out who was who. Ardis told me that Baby A was Aden.

A minute later Baby B entered the world; little Aron. Same reassuring cry, such a big strong little guy.










The nurses whisked them away and cleaned them up. Another nurse took me to them while the surgeons wrapped up the operation on Ardis. I was amazed at how wonderful and healthy they looked; great color and active. They achieved high marks on their Apgar tests, our little over-achievers. The nurses foot-printed them for their birth certificates and foot-printed my scrubs and little hat. Once they had them cleaned up it was photo op time again. My favorite is when they moved the two of them together for a picture.

After that they were swaddled up and brought to the Operating Room for Mommy and Daddy to hold them for the first time. So tiny.




After their first visit with us, they were moved to incubators for transport to the NICU. An unexpected surprise was that they were wheeled by the waiting room so Grandma/Grandpa Clinton and Auntie Eden got to see them pretty soon after birth.

Once they got to the Level 2 NICU, they had their official weigh-in. Aron went first, he was our little heavyweight at 4lbs 6oz and 17" long.

Aden weighed in at 4lbs 4oz and 16 1/2" long. He may have been slightly smaller, but I'm sure in the years to come he'll enjoy pointing out that he's the "older" brother.

Once they got in their little beds, the doctors and nurses assessed them a little more closely. Little Aden seemed to quickly realize that he had a bunch of pretty nurses attending to his every need so he kicked his heels up and leaned back with his hands behind his head as if he was just relaxing on the beach soaking up rays from the infant warmer. So funny.

Little Aron was breathing pretty rapidly and heavily so they put him under a little oxygen hoodie to see if that would help slow his breathing. Unfortunately they determined after some observation that they might need to feed him oxygen more directly so thay have since had to separate him from his brother and moved him to the Level 3 NICU where he is breathing on his own but receiving oxygen nasally to assist him a bit.

As of this post, they're both doing well. Aden is charming the nurses and still kicked back and relaxed in his little bed. Aron is still in the level 3 NICU with oxygen assist but slowly improving it appears. We received word that he's done some good crying and pee'ed on a couple of nurses. I take that sort of activity as excellent signs. Mom got to visit them this morning for the first time since their birth. Getting out of bed and scrubbing in and out of the two NICU's wore her out. Both Mom and the kids are doing great; time for me to run so I can go back to the hospital and see them again.

Let it Snow

It is the beginning of week 32 and we have had a couple of surprises in the last few weeks, one of them being snow. It was a treat in between the normal 70 degree days to have about an inch of snow. I think it is a good omen that it will be a good rest of the year.
Today's appointment went very well. The boys must have taken the snow as a sign that they need to start bulking up because they are each putting on a half a pound a week. They weighed in at an astounding 4 lbs each today and you could really see in the ultrasound their cheeks much chubbier than the last visit, and therefore acquired the nickname Butter Chubs. Also in the ultrasound we were able to see the gleam of wisps of hair and Alex, of course, had his reconfirmation of boy parts.
One of the other surprises we had in the last week was my diagnosis of gestational diabetes. The doctor and I are both of the opinion that the high blood sugar is a result of the medication I am taking to reduce contractions so he told us today that we can stop taking the medication. He was very pleased with our progress and if we can stay cooking for 2 more weeks then he said get ready for a mid-January delivery. The boys are getting ready. I have felt them start to drop and they are both in the head down position. We are excited and the weeks are going by so fast.
We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and we'll see you in the '09.

Turkey Time

We are at 29 weeks and the turkey was not the only thing festively plump at this year's Thanksgiving table. I am rounding out nicely with each boy weighing in at about 3lbs and 16" long. They are starting to put on their baby fat and we can't believe they have gained over a pound since their last appointment. At yesterday's doctor appointment it was hard to get a good image since they are cramped and fighting for space. Baby A is head down and Baby B is across my rib cage, however we are not sure who is who by all the moving. What we do know is that the baby gym opens at 11 pm because that is when they both decide to workout their arms and legs nonstop for about an hour. During the day there is kicking and moving, usually someone gets the hiccups, but like clock work 11 o'clock is business time.

Since my last entry I have officially stopped working and am at home on "bedrest". On November 21 I went into the hospital with contractions and ended up spending the weekend. The stress of working full time and not resting finally caught up with me. I am at home on medication to reduce the contractions and have a nursing service that monitors my contractions on a daily basis. My first week off work was Thanksgiving and that was convenient since I had Alex home to take care of me while I adjusted. I have made a list of all I want to accomplish with this time off, but it is amazing that in a week I have only managed to finish one book and yet to win something on Ebay.

Attack of the Clones

Time is moving so quickly. We are at 26 weeks and into our 6th month. The last few weeks have been exceptionally exciting with the increased strength of fetal movement. It seems in a matter of weeks we have gone from sporadic bubbles to kicks and rolls. Alex has been able to feel both of them on a regular basis and is developing a sympathetic understanding for the source of my discomfort, but even with the bruised organs I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

In the last week we had another doctor appointment and our baby shower. Every ultrasound is so fascinating to see how they have grown even in a few weeks. This week we were able to get good face shots; despite the constant squirming. We have suspected for quite some time that we might have one of each of us baking. Baby A has been my kicker and mover just like me who too was a kicker, hence the name Ardis. Baby B has been my content passenger just like his daddy so we are considering names which describe them. You can imagine our amusement when we saw their faces and the babies that act like us are suspect clones. The photos I have posted are our baby pictures next to our baby. The third photo is a composite that Aunt Anita did for the shower using a picture from our wedding shower. I am so excited to see if my predictions are correct. After all they have excellent genes to select from.