Renaissance Festival

The twins got to take their first trip to the Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur. It was a nice cool, albeit slightly drizzly day, which I appreciated. I did not appreciate the 15 minute hail storm with the mad scramble by everyone present for the little bits of shelter that could be found in the little shops. For a moment I didn't think we would find a shop with any space left for our massively over-sized stroller, but finally we found a poor little shop that apparently nobody liked. So all turned out well.

Teagan and Wesley both enjoyed the festival a great deal, at least at the few times they decided to be awake. They weren't even woken by dad's grunts and groans as he tried to maneuver 30 pounds or so of baby and stroller up cliffs on dirt paths. I was sore for a while after, but had a great deal of fun none-the-less. The only down side of the festival was that, due to the constant drizzle, we were reluctant to take the twins out of their dry, comfortable stroller to take pictures. We did get a few toward the end though - mostly with an animatronic pirate.
The only souvenir we could really find that worked for infants were these towels that transform the twins into Dragon Babies.





And, finally, here is the photo that shows just why babies scream in the bath-tub.

Ga-Ga-Ga-GHOST!?!

Sibling Rivalry

Wow. A New Post.

Well, it's been a while. Both of the twins have been home for a while now (3 weeks, where did it all go?) and are doing great. They ended up getting released from the hospital on the same day (May 6, 2009) after being in the hospital for a month. Each had their own unique issues that kept them from coming home for so long.

Teagan got an infection. I can't remember the actual name, but it's abbreviated as NEC. I'm told that it can be quite serious if it is not caught early. Fortunately for us, Teagan's was caught early and it amounted to a long week where he was not allowed to try eating food so his bowels could heal. They started his feeding progression from the beginning again and moved him slower than they did the first time in hopes of the infection not repeating. There was a period of time where we were sure that Wesley would end up coming home a week or so before Teagan due to this reset, but Wesley apparently could not bare to be away from his brother, so he came up with his own issues.

First were the SVTs (stands for Super Ventricular Tachycardia). Wesley's heart would on occasion suddenly start beating excessivley fast. It sounds scary, but, as we were taught at a more recent appointment with a cardiologist, it is not likely to be life threatening for him. It is mostly a comfort issue that can be managed with medication, that he will likely out-grow on his own, and that has a fairly simple procedure to fix if he does not out-grow it. However, when they first popped up it scared everyone a lot and thus delayed his homecoming.

It didn't delay his homecoming enough for him though. Right around the time where it looked like he would be coming home any day, he suddenly started letting his O2 sats drop. He ended up getting put on low flow oxygen (the smallest amount that the dial would actually go to). They would try every so often to take him off it, but he would still let his O2 drop. So they sent him home on oxygen. A week later (or what felt like a long weekend day) he was taken off. By himself. By ripping his oxygen tube off his face three times in a couple of hours. He hasn't looked back since.

Every one is doing well now. I am back at work and Heather is getting a handle on taking care of the kids while I'm away. Were getting into something resembling a working routine - at least when the twins decide to allow such a thing. Speaking of which, I hear screams. Back to the bottle again.Wesley all bundled up in the NICU

Teagan ready to leave the NICU

Twins sleeping together in the NICU

Wesley at home

Teagan at home

The Beginning of it All

It all began the night of the blizzard. It wasn't much of a blizzard, I'm sure the blizzard from the week before made fun of it and gave it a wedgie, but it was a blizzard none-the-less. Heather's pregnancy had taken some bad turns and we were spending a lot of time in the hospital. So, we feel a little ashamed to admit this, we were a little relieved when the doctor told us that it was time for the twins to come. Sure we were anxious about the fact that this was far earlier than the babies should come, but after a week going on an eternity in the hospital we were ready to end that chapter of our life and start writing the next.

And so it came to pass that Teagan Arthur Davis and Wesley Moore Davis came into the world on April 4, 2009. Never has a man been so excited to hear a baby cry as I was when Teagan let out his first tentative whimpers. Yes! They can breath! Wesley came out a minute later voicing his opinion about being pulled out of his warm home as well. The nurses quickly pulled me over to the corner of the room where I could watch the backs of the six doctors who were currently attending to the twins. One doctor eventually moved and I could see my sons. A doctor - after weeks of seeing a different doctor every day I gave up on trying to keep them all straight - gave me scissors and pointed me at Teagan's umbilical cord. It took me three cuts to get through it. I just couldn't seem to get my hand to move where I wanted it to. Another doctor wisely cut Wesley's cord for me.

A nurse handed Wesley to me and gave me orders to go show my wife. So I walked back around the operating room like a man carrying a bar of soap in a prison shower, unable to look away the bundle I was carrying to see the thick cluster of medical devices between me and Heather. Eventually I made it, and I managed not to drop the baby even once. I sat down on a chair by her head - the rest of her was still covered up for the sake of all - and brought the baby as close to her as I dared. And so Heather got to see one of her sons for the first time.

A nurse held Teagan out to me. I was scared enough holding the one baby and really didn't think my first experience holding two babies at once should be over the hard floor of the operating room that was of course filled with numerous sharp and dangerous instruments as most OR's are. I tried my best to communicate this to the nurse through the exited stammers and murmmers that I was capable of - I was pretty excited to see my sons - and she got the message. Instead the nurse held Teagan out to Heather so she could see and touch both of her children. We were now a family.

After what seemed too short a time to me - and I'm sure felt like a blink for Heather - the nurse informed me it was time to carry the children to the NICU. I got to carry Wesley the whole way. Our friend, Jen, was waiting just outside the operating room. Despite our best efforts to keep people away Jen had come any way, and we thank her for it. With out her we would never have gotten these, each babies first photos.

Teagan's First Photo

Wesley's First Photo

We made our way to the NICU and I set Wesley down in his bed under the Rhino. Teagan was placed under the Camel. I spent the next few hours watching the doctors and nurses attach their various tubes and wires and do their various checks on my sons. I ducked my camera in where ever I could find an opening to snap a few pictures. Heather would need them as she was not going to get to see them again until the next morning. Eventually I managed to tear myself away from their bedside and get back to my wife. We went back to her room together - completely against our will, but there's not many options about where to go when you can't feel your legs - and left the babies in the NICU for the night, feeling optimistic about how well they were doing. We never imagined that almost two weeks later they would still be there, seemingly no closer to getting out, stuck dancing the NICU shuffle. Three steps forward, two steps back. The dance that never ends.