Anna and Kate meet the Fam

This week, Mom & Dad, Chad and his fam, and Katie and her fam came to Georgia to visit.  We spent the week chasing 10 kiddos around and having a blast.  I can't wait for Kate and Anna to be able to play with their cousins!

Rylee and Landyn made these for the girls so we hung them up in their hospital room

Mimi feeding Anna

 Aunt Katie feeding Kate

Aunt Katie with Anna

Aunt Katie with Anna and Mimi with Kate

Aunt Lauren and Kate

Pop Pop and Kate...he said she was too fragile to hold!

Pop Pop thought he would listen to his heart while at the hospital!

All of the cousins have coordinating pajamas...here are Anna and Kate in theirs...they couldn't be in the picture with all of the cousins:(

Kate (L) and Anna (R)

Anna (above) and Kate (below) in their Christmas jammies

Merry Christmas

This Christmas has been quite different than most years!  It has been a whole lot quieter than most...what, without 10 kiddos running around Mimi and Pop Pop's house!  Phil's dad is visiting and we spent the morning hanging out and eating breakfast.  Then we went to church and afterwards I headed to the hospital to be with the girls.  Phil and Frank came up later and then we headed home to make some Christmas Pizza....YUM!

Stockings, ornaments, and Chick fil A cows for the girls from previous NICU parents.

Phil's dad got to hold the girls for the first time!

Pop and Anna

Pop and Kate

 The girls got daddy Seminole bibs for Christmas:)  As you can see, they are a little big right now!

Kate

Anna

Pepperoni & Sausage

BBQ Chicken & Bacon

Merry Christmas from the Collier Gang!

Daddy's Touch

Yesterday when we were visiting the girls, I had nursed Anna and was trying to get her to fall asleep.  She was fairly restless and Phil gave me a few "suggestions" on how he had gotten her to go to sleep after her previous feeding.  Wouldn't you know it...it worked!

Today, the same thing happened after I nursed Anna, but after holding her for awhile, she still wasn't going to sleep.  Phil asked if I wanted him to hold her until she fell asleep and about 2 minutes after I handed her over, she fell fast asleep!  Only 1 month old and already a daddy's girl!

Our Favorite Nurse

Today, our favorite nurse, Staci, brought the girls these princess blankets that she made for them.  They are absolutely adorable!

Anna

Kate

Look who's 5 pounds!!

Today, Kate hit the 5 pound mark!!!  I can't believe how big both of the girls are getting!!  (I also can't believe that 5 pounds seems big!)

We Match!

Although I have promised not to be "that mom" who always dresses her twins in matching outfits, a sweet woman (Emily) from church gave us these preemie outfits for the girls and they looked too cute not to take pictures!  There are matching pants, but I couldn't get them on because of the wires:(  Can you guess who is who??

Today Aunt Melissa went with me to visit the girls.  Heidi came too and then we went to Sweet Magnolia's for lunch...YUM!

Just in the Nick of Time!

Look what came in the mail today...just in time for Christmas!  Now Santa can fill their stockings!!!

Santa comes to the NICU

Today, Santa came to visit all of the babies in the NICU! One of our favorite nurses, Staci, set this up with a man that goes to her church.  She is so sweet and takes really good care of Kate and Anna!   It was fun to take the girls' first picture with Santa!

A Bump in the Road

Earlier this week, there was talk that the girls might be able to go home sometime this weekend. Phil and I both felt that the girls weren't quite ready and we expressed our concern to the nurse.  Wouldn't you know it, but they both started having "episodes" where their oxygen levels and their heart rates drop. Yesterday, they were moved back down to the Intermediate Care Nursery from the Special Care Nursery so that they could be monitored more closely.  All along we felt that maybe the girls were being pushed a bit too hard, so when they were moved downstairs we were actually relieved.

Today, while I was at work, the girls' nurse called to get my consent to give Kate a blood transfusion.  They have been checking her hematocrit levels for the past few days and they have been dropping (this means she is anemic).  They were trying to avoid the transfusion, but her levels dropped lower than the doctor was comfortable with, so they went ahead with it.  Phil and I both left early from work and we were able to be with the girls for several hours today while Kate got her transfusion.  They also decided to put both girls' feeding tubes back in so that they could tube feed them both for 24 hours so that they can rest. 

 Kate did really well!  Poor thing had to miss two feedings because of the transfusion and she was a CHAMP!!

About two weeks ago they did head ultrasounds on both girls. Kate's came back clear, but Anna had a small bleed (supposedly the size of a needle tip) in her head.  Today they did a follow-up ultrasound on Anna and hopefully we will get the results tomorrow.

Anna getting her head ultrasound

This is the same ultrasound technician that did the ultrasound the day we found out we were having twins!!!

Although much of what has happened is considered common for preemies, it is pretty scary when it is your child!  We are so thankful for the comfort we have in knowing that God is sovereign and is taking care of our sweet babies!  We are prayerful that Anna's ultrasound will come back clear and that Kate's hematocrit levels will improve after today's transfusion.

Too Cute

When the girls were born, the hospital gave us these hand-knitted hats that were made by a volunteer...aren't they adorable?!

Look's like Anna is ready for Christmas!

Kate can't wait to meet Santa!

Bath Time!

Tonight when we went to visit the girls they both got a bath!  Then they both got dressed in their cute Christmas jammies!

Bath time for Anna

Hmmm...I don't think she liked it very much:(

Nice n' clean!

Now I feel better!

Kate's turn

This isn't so bad!

Never mind.....I don't like this at all!

Comfy cozy!

The girls are really doing well and are consistently gaining weight and taking all of their feedings by nursing or by bottle (no more feeding tubes)!  Anna weighs 4 pounds 12 ounces and Kate weighs 4 pounds 6 ounces!