A Happy Home

     Last Thursday our little Gardner came home from the NICU!! As you can imagine things have been very busy, we have gotten little sleep, and I am making less and less sense with each day, but I am in HEAVEN! There is nothing better than waking up to not one, but TWO, little pairs of eyes staring up at me wanting to eat!  It is so incredible to be at home and know that both my girls are with me and i'm not leaving a piece of myself at the hospital every day... Looking back, I just don't know how we did it, and I know the memory will be even more difficult to fathom with time, as I cannot imagine either one of them being anywhere but right here beside us!! This will probably be the last post for a while so we are leaving you with a few sweet pictures from the BEST DAY OF OUR LIVES!...

    Once again, we would have never been able to make it through each and every day of that experience without your continued love and support.  Friends and Family are priceless, God is faithful, and time heals everything. Please keep us in your hearts in the days to come as we will still have bridges to cross, but know that we are blessed to have come as far as we have and are grateful for your prayers.  We are looking forward to all of the blessings 2013 will bring!

Happy New Year to you and yours from our happy home! We love you!

God Bless you friends,
Brandon, Caroline, Gardner, and Julianna

One Month

We were One Month old on December 14th!  

We are still not supposed to even be here... 
Our due date is January 20th!

A Message From The Girls

A word from Julianna:
    I am so happy to be home with my Mama and Daddy! I am eating so much, sleeping good, and making my parents smile and laugh all the time. They are not getting any sleep but they don't care because I am so darn cute!  I sleep in a bassinet at the foot of their bed and make adorable sounds all night long. I went to Dr. Cheek's office Monday morning and she said that I now weigh 4 lb. 14 oz.! Pretty soon I will be a whopping five pounds! Everything else checked out nicely and I will go back in a week for another check-up... something tells me I'm going to be getting some shots soon. :(
    I miss my sister, Gardner, so very much, but Mama and I are trying our best to be patient... Daddy is very practical (as opposed to an emotional driven Mama) and is helping us to be patient and listen to doctor's orders. We all can't wait to have her home!!

This is a face that I like to make at feeding time... "Little Birdie"

A word from Gardner:
    I am eating so well! I am tolerating every bottle and nursing some too!  I am add lib feeding (which means I can take as much milk as I want, and must take at least 33ccs,) with every bottle. The nurses say that I make the cutest faces and keep everyone in the NICU smiling daily... I am wide eyed all the time and paying attention to everything going on around me.  Mama came to visit tonight and cried and cried as she was holding me... Happy Tears! She is so very proud of how far I have come.  I am a real trooper and a fighter!  I weigh 3 lb. 4 oz. now and will soon be going to an open crib!  My biggest news tonight was that I am wearing clothes for the first time!! This means that I am starting to wean heat in my incubator and if I can maintain good temperatures all night, i WILL be in an open crib and start the path toward home!! Mama is dying for me to be home for Christmas and it just may happen! But if not, it will be God's perfect timing and I can be patient, as I have done so well thus far. We're trying not to count our chickens before they hatch.
     I can't wait to see my sister again and be in the crib next to her in our beautiful nursery.  Mama talks to me about Julianna and Daddy all the time and tells me how much they all love me and can't wait to have me home...

My first night weaning heat... such a trooper. Pray for me! 

We received some precious Santa hats from our sweet "Debba" today and Mama had fun setting us up for this photo shoot... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Julianna: top right and bottom left 

Gardner: top left and bottom right

We are moving right along and have both come so far. Everyone is very proud of us and we are lucky girls to be loved by so many.  What a special Christmas this is for our whole family... We are blessed to be here and have already brought so much joy to our parents.  Thank you to all our friends, who we are so excited to someday meet, for all of your prayers and support. Thank you for taking such good care of Mama and Daddy.  You have all prayed for them, brought food, sent sweet cards and emails, and poured your love into the hearts of us all...  We are so thankful for you!!  May God bless your families this Christmas as he has ours. 

WE LOVE YOU!

Julianna and Gardner

...Night, Night...

Together in Spirit

    
     We are just LOVING having little Julianna at home!! She has been such a sweet sweet girl. She hardly ever cries, sleeps well (only to wake up for feedings), and is eating so well! She has her first bath yesterday and did great! It was very short, as Mama was paranoid about her getting cold, but so fun! I smelled her little body all day long... Just can't get enough loving! We both love snuggling with her on the couch, watching her sleep, watching her make sweet faces and noises, and feeding her chubby little cheeks... She misses her sister and can't wait to have her home.

    Gardner is doing so good! She is bottle feeding for every feed now and weighs 3 lb 4 oz! The doctor mentioned weaning her heat today (which is the first step to getting into an open crib), but her nurse seemed to think she was still too small and needed to grow a little more. While this is understandable and we will try our best to be patient, it was still good to hear the doctor even mention it... I guess just knowing that it is the next step is a good feeling. I do want her to go at her own pace though. We are still keeping an eye on her anemia and have not done a blood transfusion as Dr Chen wants to revisit the issue next week... They are giving her iron, and gone up in calories and volume on her feeds. Hopefully, she will correct herself and the transfusion will not be necessary.
   
    With the twins in two different places and stages it is a stressful, yet exciting time! I am so very thankful to have Julianna home, but it almost makes it that much harder to have another child in the NICU. Its hard not to feel guilty about being either at home or at the hospital, because it feels as if I am giving up time with one or the other, although I know that they know no different at this point...  I know that time will heal all of this if we can just hang on for a little while longer.  Please pray that I will continue to have patience and understanding that Gardner is where she needs to be and that we will all be together some day soon. That will be the best day of my life... When our little nest is finally complete! But until that last little bird comes home, we have hope in His master plan and we will keep the faith... and remain "together in spirit."

Julianna

Gardner

May the Peace of the season be with you all!!

With Love,
The Fields

Homecoming Part One!!!

Julianna came home from the hospital today!!! I have been busting at the seams to tell the world this news, as the doctors told us on Monday. We were advised not to discuss it too much as there is always a possibility of things changing. We had to do a little CPR training, get some shots, have 72 hours of maintaining good vitals, pass a car seat test (Julianna had to sit in her car seat for about thirty minutes without dropping heart rate or stop breathing), then we were out of there! I cannot believe it has been ONE MONTH already and that one of my Angels is already HOME!

So as you can imagine, the feelings are bittersweet; it is a somewhat mixed emotion for me. My heart is bursting with joy for the accomplishments of both children and especially for Julianna's homecoming, while my heart aches to think of Gardner still there. While we celebrate this joyous occasion, please keep them both in your prayers but pray especially for sweet Gardner to get on the fast track home as well! We are going to hold off on her blood transfusion for now (maybe next week, maybe not at all, just watching red blood cells) but will keep all updated. 

Here are some pictures from the days events...

While we of course would love visitors later on down the road, please understand that Julianna is still VERY little and her immune system is still delicate... we are trying to not expose her to too much for a good while, so I will continue to update the blog but our family will probably need some time alone to "adjust" and "grow."  I am also going to be pretty tired and trying to sleep while she is sleeping and make occasional runs to hospital to feed Gardner. 

Keep us in your prayers. We are almost there!!! Can't WAIT for Homecoming part 2... Missing Gardner more than ever...

Love,
The Fields

All I Want for Christmas is My TWO little girls...

Dear friends and family,

We have finally reached a personal goal of mine and I like to say Gardner's too... She has reached the 3 pound mark!! She is exactly 3 lb. 1 oz. , and our little "chunky" Julianna is 4 lb. 5 oz.  So so proud of these girls and there progress!!!

Julianna either nurses or bottle feeds every three hours and Gardner bottle feeds twice, then feeding tube, then two bottles, then feeding tube... And so on, with occasional nursing as well.

We did receive news that Gardner's red blood cell count is low and there is a possibility for her having a third blood transfusion so please keep her in your prayers. We hope that isn't the case, but of so it is not a terrible set back because it will help her get back on the right track and could be just why she needs to pick up her eating and regulating her temperature enough to get In the open crib. They are doing some blood work today so we will keep you posted.

With so many things going on here, time seems to be flying and I am slacking on my blogging, but just know that no news is probably good news!

I hope that you all know how much I appreciate your checking in on us, your thoughtfulness, and lifting these girls up in prayer!

In the meantime... The Varner sister "elves" have been extremely busy... Mary Lovett and Anna spent nearly all week preparing this beautiful nursery! I can't WAIT for the baby girls to see their room...

Finally, an Update!

Being new parents of their tiny little girls has consumed every waking minute of

every day for Caroline and Brandon.  As Julianna and Gardner continue to grow,

there are more and more opportunities for lots of hands on interaction from their Mom and Daddy. Caroline asked me to update the blog for her today since she can’t seem to find time to write as often as she would like.

Brandon heads to the hospital early each morning on his way to work to have the first visit of the day with his girls. Caroline follows around mid morning and spends most of the day feeding, diapering, and learning how to care for her little angels. Brandon returns at lunch and then they are both back for the 5:00 feeding. Many nights they make one last nighttime visit to tuck the twins in bed for the last feeding. This exhausting schedule leaves little time for anything else, including much needed rest and rejuvenation. In between all, Caroline and Brandon manage to share their little wonders with a huge, loving family who want to sneak a peak almost daily!

Julianna  now weighs a whopping 4 lbs. 3 ozs, and is taking bottles/nursing every other feeding. She has done really well since graduating to an open crib and the doctors predict she may get to come home before Christmas!! Gardner is now up to almost 3 lbs. and also getting bottles/nursing every other feeding.  We predict she will be in an open crib soon.  Both of the girls are adorable and already have stolen our hearts.  We are so looking forward to the day when both of them are at home and we can give them lots of hugs and love.

  We are all so very grateful to our wonderful friends and family who have showered us with love and prayers (and food!)  that has sustained us through some uncertain days. We ask that you continue to keep Gardner and Julianna in your prayers as they get bigger and stronger. Thank you for reminding us of God’s continual presence through your many kindnesses. 

Mary ("GG")

From today's feeding!

Thank you for your prayers... God Listens!

It comes as no surprise to me that today was an amazing day for both our girls in the NICU!  Prayers have definitely been answered... directly!  Its amazing to witness God's healing powers when people pray and we all keep faith and hope alive...

Gardner went through the entire last night and day today without spitting up her food once! She also was able to go up on feeds AND was able to try a bottle again today, due to her success.  She finished the whole thing! The doctors say that if she tolerates one more night of feeds, we will increase the volume tomorrow and finally get the Picc line out! Hallelujah!!  She also weighs in at 2 lb. 10 oz. (4 oz. above her birth weight). She will continue to increase rapidly if she keeps tolerating the feeds. She is still wide eyed and observant, making eye contact, being "nosey," as one of our nurses jokingly says, smiling, and growing mentally and physically right before our eyes. :)

Julianna is still doing great regulating her body temperature in her open crib. She is also so alert and is making connections with everyone who talks to her... She smiles so much, especially at her Daddy.  She makes a lot of funny faces when she wakes up and it is the cutest thing! I have been having fun dressing her in different outfits and having photo sessions, since she can now wear clothes! I can't wait until her sister can do the same. Julianna has also gained weight; she is 3 lb. 14 oz. (7 oz. above her birth weight). She is doing so good back on the bottle that they have added another bottle to her daily schedule, so she will get three bottles a day OR two bottles and I can nurse for the third. We tried today for the first time and she did wonderful!! We are going to do our best to nurse every day.

Both girls did so good with tolerating feeds today and I felt that so many prayers had been answered; however we still need to keep in mind that just because they are holding the food, doesn't mean that the reflux is gone and both girls are still a little uncomfortable from time to time... and the breathing blips are still pretty regular (although he nurses say that they will outgrow this).

Please keep Julianna in your prayers tonight as she has her third ultrasound. We are hopeful for good results!

A few pictures from today...


             Daddy and Julianna...                                                         Julianna

        Mama and Gardner                                                        Gardner

Goodnight!

Love, The Fields

The Power of Prayer

Posting a little later for Monday night...

I have been discussing the power of prayer lately with several friends, as it has become so evident in our lives these last couple weeks.  It's amazing how far we have come and I am 100% positive that it is due to all the prayers you've lifted for our girls...

I would like to ask of you all tonight, could you say another special prayer for little Gardner? She went up on her feeds today, but continued to spit up and had some heavy breathing and, of course the reflux. It is apparent that she is uncomfortable. So, they are going to back down a tad bit on her feeds and just watch her closely. Needless to say, we  will not be able to get her picc line out today or tomorrow. It's a little disappointing because I am just dying for her to put on weight and feel better... But we have to take it slow and be patient, as I'm reassured by the doctors that it is the best thing for her. I know she'll get through it but my prayer, tonight, is that she just finds peace and comfort...

Julianna is doing well in an open crib!! She's maintaining temperature well. She also was able to try a bottle again today, and took down about 15 ccs! This was so neat to see (her actually sucking and swallowing while maintaining her breathing) and I have hope that she will do even better tomorrow! Julianna is keeping her food down but she also needs prayer for her reflux as she gets really
uncomfortable and holds her breath a lot. She gets hiccups often, as does Gardner, which is another common reflux sign for preemies.

So, thank you again for your prayers and love! We will keep you posted on our precious babies

Eating, Growing, Healing!

     Gardner is still working really hard to keep milk down.  Nurses can't automatically up her feeds daily (as they typically do with most of the babies). They have to have doctors orders each day. However, the doctors are giving permission to advance her feeds (even though she spits up a good bit), but they are just increasing the length of time that the milk goes through the feeding tube. So it is good that they are doing this because she is now up to 14 ccs every three hours, yet the milk is programmed to go through tube over the course of a whole hour.

     Julianna is also working hard to tolerate her food. She takes a whopping 34 ccs! (also every three hours) She is keeping it down with little spit ups but has significant re-flux, like her sister. She started out a whole pound over Gardner, so remains our "chunky" baby. (Never thought i'd say that about a three pound baby!!)

      Good news is that both girls are above their birth weight! Julianna is 1710 kg and Gardner is 1180.. Not sure what that is in pounds but I think it's around  2.6 for Gardner and 3.7  for Julianna. With that said, I do believe that they are both out of the danger zone and going to start climbing the charts in weight!  (Gardner a little bit slower than her sister but that was to be expected).

Gardner's BIG NEWS: She gets her Picc Line out tomorrow!!! 

Julianna's BIG NEWS: She is maintaining her body temperature all by herself. If she can make it through the night with consistent good temperature reads, she will be in an OPEN CRIB tomorrow!

I am so so proud of my girls, they work so hard every single day and already have accomplished so much in their short little 2 1/2 weeks of life... These LITTLE girls can do BIG things. But we are also certain that they could not have come this far without your prayers, an amazing NICU staff, and a God with a big plan for the greater good of us all.

SWEET...

DREAMS.

We love you,
The Fields

Double Love

Last night was the BEST night I've had since the night I discovered I was pregnant! I was able to hold both girls (kangaroo: their skin to mine) at the same time! They have not been together or touched one another since they were in the womb. It was monumental...
I got Julianna positioned first, then the nurse placed Gardner on my chest right beside her. They were both wide eyed staring at each other and grabbing around trying to figure out what was going on. They almost immediately, after a few little noises exchanged, got comfortable and dozed off to sleep. Shortly after, Julianna reached over and placed her hand on top of Gardner's and squeezed. Gardner reciprocated, squeezing onto her fingers... I, of course, burst into tears as it was, without a doubt, the sweetest moment I've ever witnessed!  I can't begin to describe how it felt to be able to look at both of their faces at the same time, seeing their little naked bodies practically glued together, watching them become pacified by each other's existence.., truly amazing. It was such a special time for me, as it was just the girls and I by ourselves, for about an hour, in complete and utter bliss. Brandon then came and took some of these pictures...

Julianna is now wearing clothes in her incubator because they are weaning her. They are decreasing the heat  little by little, seeing if she can maintain her own body temperature. If all goes well, the next step for her is an open crib!

Both girls are struggling with reflux (which is common for preemies) but it affects their breathing and heart rates, so we are praying that they will start to tolerate feeds better and soon be over this hurdle.

Gardner is up to 14 ccs of milk each feeding- still not a whole lot but she is  increasing daily as long as she tolerates it. She is moving at a slower pace but it is the best thing for her right now.

Both girls are taking a break from bottles right now because we are thinking they may not be quite ready and don't want to push anything. A typical baby in utero does not start to suck, swallow, and breathe until around 34 weeks, so we are not worried and are sure they will master it by then! (our girls are still 32 weeks gestation).

So that was Saturday... other than UGA losing to Bama, it was a pretty great day!

Thanks for your prayers... Your support... Your big big  hearts...

Lots of Love,
The Fields

Precious Children of God

This morning, while at the hospital, I received an email with this picture on it ... 

Oh how I miss these sweet faces. Thank you all so much for the prayers and encouragement! Keep working hard and be sweet for Mrs. Koon. One day soon, I will be able to bring Julianna and Gardner to meet you!! 

I LOVE YOU!
Mrs. Fields :)

Lots of Baby Steps!

Hello Friends and Family! 

My busy days are taking away from blog time and I apologize for the delay in updates.  Here is what has been going on for the last 3 days...

On Tuesday:
Julianna attempted to drink a second bottle and was able to get down about 4 ccs. I was able to take her out of the bed and feed it to her which was such a special moment for me. Gardner was also fed a bottle by the nurse, which came as a surprise to me! I didn't realize they would let her try this soon as well! She ended up taking about 5 ccs on that feeding and I couldn't have been prouder.  Both girls are just experimenting with the bottles so they have not mastered suck, swallow, and breath all at one time, but that is the ultimate goal.

On Wednesday:
Gardner's feeds were bumped up to 10 ccs through her feeding tube, with just a few spit up here and there, so she is moving right along.
Both girls are now trying bottles once a day. (along with their normal feed through tube) Once they get the hang of suck, swallow, and breathe the bottle intake will increase by one more bottle each day, until they are finally having a bottle for every meal. This of course is a long ways away and we are still in the experimental phase.
Both girls are also still doing well breathing room air (with no oxygen support).
They have both reached their birth weight and now we are just trying to pack on more weight. With that will eventually come the ability to maintain their own body temperatures and hopefully one day be in "open cribs" instead of the incubators. It's a step by step process but there is no time frame set. Each baby sets their own pace depending on several factors and we just have to be patient and trusting.

We are still kangaroo-ing the girls every single night which is extremely beneficial for both babies and us!


Today (Thursday):
We are learning and growing every second of the day!

Our nurses say we grow most in our sleep :)

Big Girl!!!

Never thought my babies would be brunette! 

These beautiful girls might look like their Daddy after all. :)

Snug as a bug in a rug... Goodnight!

A Morning of Smiles

                                                                       Gardner

                                                                      Julianna

Oh Christmas Tree

We thank God for Angel Friends who help to make the season a little "brighter."

Claire Slade, Jean Jones, and Sheila Kiggins put up this beautiful tree for our family today! We thank you guys so much for all your hard work. This is going to be a special Christmas season. We love you!

Happy Sunday

Both girls are off Nasal cannulas!! (this is the tube that provided supplemental oxygen to the babies). Gardner got hers of this morning and has been breathing fine on her own all day- so we are excited for this accomplishment and for both girls being a whole lot more comfortable! I can also see their faces so much better and am starting to see similarities in our identical little girls! Please continue to pray for Gardner as she is still having a few issues with her digestion and a little reflux. She is still trying to develop those little parts and functions. I know she will get there but am just praying for an easier road for her soon and so we can start to fatten her up! :) Julianna tasted some milk through a syringe into her mouth (actually swallowing for the first time in addition to the regular tube feeding) and she loved it! Hopefully this means we can think about feeding her a bottle in the next few days... We will see what the doctor says. We are trying not to push anything to quickly but are also getting excited to see rapid growth in certain areas. Our girls send their love out to you and we all have big grateful hearts for all that you do!!!  It certainly does "take a village" and we are blessed.

WE LOVE YOU!
The Fields

Encouragement from GiGi :)

A passage that Mama texted to me the other day... reading this many times over the last few days has been encouraging and reminds me to be still, patient, and trusting...

Looking back you will see that every step was planned. Leave all to Me. Each stone in the mosaic fits into the perfect pattern, designed by the Master Artist. It is all so wonderful! But the colors are of Heaven's hues, so that your eyes could not bear to gaze on the whole, until you are beyond the veil. So, stone by stone, you see, and trust the pattern to the Designer.

                                               (Julianna on the top, Gardner on bottom)

Update

   

 Friday was a happy day in the NiCU for our family. Gardner was able to hold down all of her feedings with minimal spit up and seems to be digesting a lot better. Our prayer is that we can increase her feedings soon and that her little intestines will tolerate it just fine. She is also starting to suck on a binky a little more, responding to our voices by opening her eyes, and showing several other signs of growth. Julianna is doing great as well. Her feedings just keep increasing and best news yet- she has been off of oxygen support for almost 24 hours! So much more of her sweet little face can be seen now that that big tube is out of  her nose and we are enjoying staring at this beautiful girl.  It is apparent to is that she is also SO much more comfortable.  She seems to be sleeping better and is very relaxed.  

      Both girls are connecting with us more and more as the days go by.  They respond when we touch and talk and it is so nice to see them opening their eyes and staring at us so frequently. My pounding heart can be heard around the world when I lock eyes with theirs.

     Another exciting event: Brandon and I were able to hold both girls at the same time last night. It was the closest they have been together since birth! We all four sat together for about an hour. Both girls slept like a log on our chests the whole time. I can't wait until the day that they do not have to be hooked to all the cords on their incubators and can lie side by side once again! I know it will do wonders for them physically and emotionally. 

   Thanks so much for staying in touch, praying hard, and being so supportive of this family. We are counting our blessings day by day and you are all part of that! 

We love you,

Caroline, Brandon, Julianna, and Gardner

Thankful for Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo Care has just recently been introduced to Caroline and Brandon. It seeks to provide restored closeness of the newborn with mother or father by placing the infant in direct skin-to-skin contact with one of them. This began in Colombia, where pre-term infants did not have incubators and this was the only way to keep their body temperature normal and able to thrive. Julianna got to be "Kangaroo'd" yesterday and Gardner today. Caroline absolutely loved this and said that both babies responded well to it! There is lots of information online about Kangaroo Care if you want to research it some more. It is very interesting and such a good therapeutic experience all four of them!

Julianna getting "Kangaroo'd"

Gardner getting "Kangaroo'd"

 Thanksgiving cards from our nurses!! These girls have been the most important people in our children's lives. They are so encouraging, uplifting, and tireless! They are truly chosen for this job and are sent from Heaven! Thank you to every one of Julianna's and Gardner's nurses. We love you!!!

Thankful

We are Thankful today for two beautiful baby girls. They are here, they are our little angels, and we are blessed with each moment God allows us to be with them. 

Here is an update on the girls from the past couple days:

Gardner has now had a pick line threaded through her arm over the shoulder. This is a permanent IV access that will stay in for weeks, as opposed to having to stick her every time try do lab work, etc. so it is a good thing to have this in place and also poses less risk of infection as well.  She is still having trouble with her feedings - her tummy is not digesting like we hoped and is on a little antibiotic so pray for her to get her nutritional intake mastered soon- the main thing is she just needs to put on weight.

  We got some head ultrasound results yesterday and Julianna's results were not what we had hoped so doctors are monitoring  her and we are praying for better results next week... While that was difficult to hear, later in the afternoon, I was able to kangaroo (hold skin to skin) with her for about an hour. It was such a  wonderful feeling holding her little body next to mine and i know it did wonders for her.. She slept so peacefully and would occasionally pop her eyes open when she heard her Daddy's voice. Hopefully, this will become more frequent and Brandon and I can start holding the babies more consistently.  

As most of you know it is a roller coaster in the NICU and Tuesday night and Wednesday  were kind of on the lower point for both babies and us- we are praying that Thanksgiving and the rest of the weekend brings good news and we can get back up on top. Either way, we just need to pray for patience as we watch Gods plan unfold.

Thank you for lifting us up every day.  Keep up the prayers. We love you all.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Fields four! 

Present

This is a prayer my Aunt sent me that has continued to help me through the dificult times... To rely on God's timing and plan, and to have patience to take things day by day. After all, today is all we are promised. Thank you Aunt Julie for this beautiful prayer:

Present

O God,

Our past is behind us; our future is ahead of us.  So in a very real sense, today is the only day we have; in fact, this moment is all that we really and truly have.

Help us, then, to live fully in the present, to live fully in the moment that we have.  Help us to be grateful for each breath that we take, for each thought that we think, for each blink that our eyes blink, for each beat that our heart beats, and for each insight that our mind has.

Help us to live fully in the present, to live fully in the moment that we have.  Help us to listen carefully to the person talking with us, to work attentively on the task in front of us, to think clearly about the situation confronting us, and to care deeply about the people around us.

Help us, in other words, to be fully present in the present.

And keep us ever mindful that you are also fully present in our present.

Amen.

Please continue to pray for our "little" family.  Pray that we will see progress and appreciate the "baby steps" we have to take. It is so hard to walk out of that hospital every night without my children in my arms, to rely on others to nurture them into the world while I am not there, and to go a second without them by my side.  Brandon is such an incredible source of strength for me but I know he needs prayers also. Thank you for being there for us and each and everyone of you encouraging us along the way. We are constantly saying to each other, " where in the world would we be without our family, our friends, our God."

Together, through prayer and love, you are ALL helping us through our "present" and for that I am eternally grateful.

We love you!!

Caroline and Brandon

B and C both held Gardner!

Brandon and Caroline headed to the hospital around 8 this morning on the way to Brandon's work and to their surprise, they were both able to hold Gardner!! This was so special to them and it was one of the things they have been waiting to do ever since Caroline held Julianna. Caroline is resting while they do Gardner's pic line and plans on going back for their nighttime feeding. Gardner is also off of photo therapy (for jaundice) and looks much better. She is going to be swaddled in her bed just like her sister in no time. :) Gardner is also going up on her feeding tomorrow and the amount will increase everyday. 

Proud Daddy and Gardner!

Brandon, Caroline, and Gardner this morning!

                                  Can't forget about this sweet girl! Julianna holding on to her daddy!