Long Awaited

I am so sorry that it has taken so long to update the blog. But I have a really good excuse. I've been in Louisiana with Cher and the babies and didn't have internet access. Plus, I promise to make it up to you with lots of cute new pics of both babies!

Let's see, where should I start? Well, first of all, Kayelyn is adorable. It amazes me how she is so petite and delicate and feminine, and her brother is so big and robust and masculine. If you saw them both without the wires, it would be hard for you to believe that Brayden is the sick one. Clearly, God knows what He is doing though, because Brayden is strong enough to withstand the treatments he's had. Anyway, back to Kayelyn, or KayeKaye (KK) as we sometimes call her. She is sweet and a great baby. I went with Cher to KK's doctor appointment last week and the doctor said that Cher must be doing something right because KK looked great. She's healthy and doing well. She sleeps ALL day, almost never opening her eyes, and doesn't do as well at night, but she'll get over that eventually. And, she's not a very hearty eater yet, but I suspect that will all change soon enough, too. Isn't funny how we keep trying to figure out ways to get her to eat MORE, whereas I'm working on figuring out how to eat less??? Sorry, I digress. Remember that these babies were not born premature and Kayelyn weighed 5.10 when she was born, which is a decent size for a full-term twin. Nonetheless, she is soooo tiny and her newborn clothes are all too big for her. To give you an idea of her size, Cher and Aunt Andi took pictures of her in a shoe box. It's a men's size 10 athletic shoe box, but still . . . she fits IN a shoe box!

So, on to Brayden. He is doing remarkably well - praise God! I drove Cherilyn and Andrew to New Orleans to see him last Wednesday and Cher got to hold him for the first time since the surgery. She didn't know she was going to get to hold him and was pleasantly surprised. She couldn't move her arms much because of all of his wires, so she sat perfectly still even when her arms started to hurt because she didn't want to quit holding her baby. (Sidebar - Aunt Andi got to hold him, too!) Unlike his sister, Brayden had his eyes open for almost our whole visit. It was great to see him and hold him, but this was bittersweet for his mama. Cher cried all the way home at having to leave him in New Orleans. Apparently this was easier on her when he was medicated and out of it, but now that he's alert and can be held, it was really hard for her to leave him. Unfortunately, she's also sad when she has to leave KayeKaye to go see Brayden. Nana loved it though, because it meant she got to keep KK for the whole day. Nana even threw an Open House for people to come see Kayelyn!

The next day, they started introducing a bottle to Brayden. They were afraid that he might not take to it well since he'd been fed intravaneously his first two weeks of life, but no worries. He's a much better eater than his little sister!

Our parents took Cher back to New Orleans on Saturday to see Brayden again. This time, she not only got to hold him, she got to feed him his bottle. The most recent update I got from my mom is that Brayden is eating well and regularly and will soon be moved to a different unit in the hospital and before long they should be able to start making plans for him to come home. Yay!!!

I want to say something about my sister. I had no doubt that she would love her kids. I had no doubt that she would be a good mommy. But spending the last week with her and her babies, I was really super-impressed with what a fantastic mommy my baby sister is! I love my new niece and nephew dearly, but it's clear that she loves them in an entirely different way. I am so proud of her!!! But, please continue to pray for her. Caring for one newborn is exhausting. Up until now, she has handled the stress and strain of this trying situation really well. But it's finally starting to catch up with her. She currently has a migraine and her stress-induced eczema is returning. As exciting as it will be to have Brayden home, that means she will be caring for TWO newborns, one with special needs. And though Brayden is doing fantastically well, and we are grateful for that, please remember that he is a special needs baby and his battle isn't over. I don't mean to end this post on a down note, I just don't want folks to quit praying for my sister and her family because they are going to need those prayers for a long, long time.

Now, off to figure out how to post some pics for you guys!