Sunday, August 17, 2008

Isabel speaks!!!

Well, not really, but the pictures below document Isabel's first attempts at communication.....using some hand signals with universal meaning :-)







Believe it or not, we did not pose her...this was all Isabel.

Definitely Daddy's little girl :-)

12 day update....

So it has been 12 days so far since the twins were born, and a lot has happened. After they were born, Meghan remained in the hospital for 5 days and was released on Saturday, August 9. She is doing very well recovering from the c-section delivery, with no complications so far (knock on wood!).

Cameron and Isabel are still in the NICU at Beth Israel. They have been progressing very well, but the staff still cannot tell us a date when they will come home, only that they will come home when they are "ready". "Ready" is defined as: 1) regulating their own temperature in an open air crib; 2) breathing on their own without any "spells", or times when they forget to breath; and 3) taking all of their feedings without the help of a feeding tube. Cameron jumped out to an early lead, storming through criteria #1 and #2, but has stalled at #3. Isabel was a slow starter, but we think she was plotting and planning a methodical approach (making her more like her Mom!), storing her energy in the early days. So she slowly conquered #1 and is close to conquering #2 (she has a few spells here and there), and she has almost caught up with Cameron on #3. So hopefully they will both start taking all of their feedings very soon and get to come home...together!
Below are some pictures of the little munchkins from the last several days.
Cameron at changing time in his cool outfit!
Isabel and her Auntie Chele (visiting from DC).
Baby Mama and wee little Cameron, curled up in a ball.
Isabel showing off the grip that will make her an Olympic champion in 2026!
Isabel at her pre-Olympic weigh-in...she's 4 lbs 13 oz, 1 oz above her birth weight!!
Jason and Mini-me, otherwise known as Cameron!
The Darling Family, together in room 977 of the Beth Israel NICU.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Big Day

At about 5:30 am on Tuesday, August 5, Meghan woke up with a very painful contraction. Shortly thereafter, she noticed a spot of fluid on the bed and decided to get up and use the bathroom. During this trip to the bathroom, she was disturbed by more fluid running down her leg (just a slow trickle) and wondered: "Is this my water breaking? Or am I just losing control of my bladder?" She returned to bed and the leaking seemed to stop. Then she got up to go consult our small library of pregnancy books to see what she should do, and the leak started again. When she returned to bed, the leak stopped. Hmmmm, what to do?? At this point, she decided to wake Jason (who was sleeping soundly through all of this, as usual) and they discussed what was going on and decided to call the Doctor's emergency line. The Doctor recommended she come into the office (by now it was getting close to 8 am, opening time for the office) to get checked out.

The trickle of fluid seemed to stop until Meghan was making the walk from the car to the Doctor's office, when it started again and she exclaimed: "I feel like I am peeing myself!" Upon arriving at the Doctor's office, the fluid had stopped again (of course) and when they checked her out, they decided it was not amniotic fluid. But when Meghan stood up to leave, the leak started with a vengeance and she sat back down and the Doctor checked again and sure enough, amniotic fluid! Meghan's water had broke (or at least sprung a leak).

So we made the drive to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, calling family along the way. We had to go to Beth Israel, since the twins were only 34 weeks along and considered preemies, and Beth Israel has the NICU for preemies. After a couple of hours at Beth Israel waiting for the Doctor to be available (see photo below of Baby Mama in waiting), Meghan was wheeled into the operating room for a C-section. Jason decided to stay on the "non business" end of the surgery, sitting next to Meghan's head (see picture below) until the sweet sound of babies crying was heard.


At that point, he went to meet his new son, Cameron James Darling, born at 2:29 pm, 5 lbs 3 oz, 18.7 inches. Below is a photo of Cameron and one of Cameron holding Daddy's finder.


Shortly after Cameron was born, his "younger" sister Isabel Clare Darling followed right behind at 2:31 pm, weighing in at 4 lbs 12 oz and measuring 17.3 inches. Below is a picture of Isabel and another one of her holding Daddy's finger.



Currently, Meghan is recovering well from the C-section. She is very sore and weak, but has already been able to get out of bed and walk around a little.

Cameron and Isabel were taken off to the NICU shortly after being born. They are both doing very well and breathing on their own, but will need to remain in the NICU for at least of couple weeks while they continue to mature (they were only 34 weeks when they were born). We'll add more posts to the blog as things are updated.

Thanks for all of the emails, phone calls, and prayers. They are all appreciated!!