Home Page for the Mollenhauer Kids - Adam and Sara
Now that Adam and Sara are just another pair of toddlers growing up at home, their adventures and milestones will be documented in their photo album and BLOG. We will eventually replace the content on this site with material as the kids get big enough to help compose and maintain it (in a few years). For now, we'll keep it as-is for historical reference of how far they've come.
This page is to provide information for friends and family about the babies, their parents, and the progress of their development in a single source. We will post links to photos, doctor's reports, and gift registry information here. There is also information in the FAQ's section about twins and preemies, decorating and gift-giving ideas, and a link to our blog.
Important stats and facts: Click the link for progress charts and tables
Current age/corrected gestation (Friday, July 31, 2009):
130 days (17 weeks) old
+5 weeks corrected gestation
Current weights:
Adam - 9 pounds 10 ounces (as of Friday, July 31)
Sara - 9 pounds 12 ounces (as of Friday, July 31)
Current lengths:
Adam - 21 1/2 inches (Friday, July 31, 2009)
Sara - 21 inches (Friday, July 31, 2009)
Due date: June 24 (that's a full 40-week term for singles)
Expected date: about 5 weeks earlier (Dr. Kindred says most twins arrive about 5 weeks earlier due to overcrowding)
Actual birth date: Thursday, April 2, 2009 (28 weeks gestation, 12 weeks premature)
ADAM HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!
Monday, June 1, 7:45pm - Adam's discharge was final and the much-anticipated home monitor delivered at lunch time today. Riding home in his upright carseat he managed to not spit milk all over the upholstery or set of his alarms. An afternoon snack with sister Sara, Mom, Dad, and Aunt Dawn and the wonder twins went back to sleep. After dinner, the kids were placed facing each other and they commenced a bit of conversation before taking another nap. Although Adam consumed only about one third of his snack time bottle, he came back at dinner with the Playtex Vent-aire and downed a whopping 40ml without much effort. Sara continues to drain virtually every bottle at a volume of 42ml each.
They will be visiting Dr. Neese Tuesday morning for Sara's 3rd and Adam's first check-up after which they will go back to napping, along with Mom and Dad. Pictures of the shared crib arrangement have already been posted in this week's album on picasa.
MOM AND DAD PREPARE FOR ADAM'S DISCHARGE, SUPPORT TEAM DEPLOYS
Monday, June 1, 3:50am (yes, A.M.) - To ensure there are no other obstacles to Adam's discharge and homecoming on today, Mom and Dad decided to continue feeding Adam for all but one of his remaining meals once he passed the 8 bottle mark. That meant continuing to be at the hospital every 3 hours around the clock for 48 more hours until his likely discharge time after 11:30am. In order to preserve some sanity and energy, help was called in to take care of Sara, Ivy, and Muffin, and keep the household from disarray. JoLynn's mom, Marilynn, came in Friday night from Morris for the weekend. Sunday night, Dawn Henderson stopped in to care for Sara during one rotation while Shannon slept and JoLynn was with Adam and will return this morning to offload Sara's care while everyone rests and heads back to the hospital for Adam's final two feedings and discharge procedure.
The phone will be ringing off the hook at the local Apria Healthcare office as soon as they open at 8am, making arrangements to get Adam's monitor delivered to the hospital in the morning. Had the company offered weekend service, Adam would already be home, but they only make emergency or critical care equipment on the weekends. Dad is thinking of sending Apria the bill for Adam's extra day and night of care. :)
Sara continues to be a little angel for everyone who cares for her, providing an adorable yet flatulent presence for all who behold her. Dad has nicknamed her "Tootie."
Be sure to read the new items on the FAQs page regarding the twins both being at home, opportunities to visit them in their permanent residence, and ways you can help the parents avoid prescription medications or energy drinks.
ADAM PASSES CAR SEAT TEST ON FIRST TRY, SCARES MOM WITH PRANK
Saturday, May 30, 6:50pm - Adam took the last major step in discharge by undertaking his car seat test between lunch and dinner. Mom arrived as he had 10 minutes to go and had so far been doing fine. The nurse reminded Mom that the last ten minutes can be the most challenging since the child has been sitting for an hour and 20 minutes already. With five minutes to go an alarm began sounding and would not stop. Mom walked over to the monitor to see what was wrong and why no one else was responding. It turned out to be a LOW BATTERY ALARM. Psych! Inside sources report a giggle was heard from Adam's car seat.
Remaining steps for discharge include some paperwork but the big stumbling block may be getting the portable monitor he must go home on over the weekend. Hopefully, Apria Home Health has someone available to deliver the monitor to the unit on Sunday. Otherwise, Adam spends an extra night on Glen Oak Avenue before heading home to Washington and his spunky sister.
ADAM COMPLETES FIRST TRIATHLON IN 21 HOURS. SARA TAKES WEEKEND OFF.
Saturday, May 30, 12:30pm - Adam began a feeding triathlon including the events of suck, swallow, breathe, at the 2:30pm feeding on Friday afternoon. His support crew included Mom and Dad who took turns feeding him every three hours until he completed 35ml of each bottle for 8 consecutive feedings. Finishing his 8th and final bottle completely in record time at 11:45am, Adam was quoted as saying "BURP! I need a nap." His nurse will now remove his NG tube shortly before the 2:30pm feeding and schedule his car seat test which he will attempt in his own Graco Snugride32 in the distinctive red and brown color scheme.
Meanwhile, Sara chose to keep a low profile from the media and hang out with Grandma Marilynn who came to Washington on Friday night to assist with the grueling sleep schedule and keep her on track. Her primary goal for the weekend is to simiply blow past the 5 pound weight mark.
Many questions arise regarding the care of the twins both at home and while one is still in the NICU, so we've created a Frequently Asked Questions page to clarify some of the things that happen for those who are thinking "why do they do that?" or "that's not how I was taught." Click here to see the FAQs on preemie care and development.
New pictures and albums uploaded Wednesday night, May 27.
Birth through 4-18 collection - assorted pics gathered for last week's baby shower.
How are they doing? (Last updated: 05/22/09 at 5:10pm)
HOW'S MOM DOING? (Last update: 04-27-09 at 9:00am)
JoLynn is working a little each day from home and mobility is good. The middle of the night pumping and emotional drain of seeing her babies only twice a day in another city are wearing, naturally. She has already been able to wear some of her pre-pregnancy pants and is almost back to pre-pregnancy weight. Much of that is due to the restorative qualities of breastfeeding which causes the uterus to contract to normal size faster and the fact that pumping/breastfeeding burns at least 500 calories per day.
Prayer requests
Sara adjusts to sharing the crib with brother when he gets home
JoLynn doesn't collapse from the pressure of pumping more frequently as directed by the lactation specialist while trying to work part time
Adam learns to "work around" the damage caused by the IVH in his brain (this will be a long-term situation, probably years to develop/monitor)
Speedy conclusion to Shannon's job search
Praise reports
Adam maintains his track to finish at least 35mL of each bottle for two days straight
Adam passes his car seat test after finishing the first 8 consecutive 35mL bottles and having his NG tube removed from feeding
Adam quickly recovers from blood transfusion given on Monday, May 25.
Adam regains his normal feeding pattern and doesn't have any more intestinal trouble so he can stay on milk and grow
Sara's anemia resolved without transfusion
Adam's bradycardias have diminished and may be related to his sleeping or resting position of being too curled up
Adam has passed "the line" on his feeding chart and will soon have his PIC line removed (hopefully the last)
Adam is off of air flow
Both are wearing clothes and not needing much heat supplement from their beds to maintain body temperature
Adam gets to a 1 liter flow rate on his canula and continues improvement on apneas and bradycardias
Side-by-side spaces for them in their current room assignment
Mom is healthy (except for total exhaustion) and getting used to sleep pattern (better than Dad)
Photo album at Picasaweb - NOTE: We're putting each week's photos in a separate album to keep the size manageable. Please use the following link to go to the site and then click the appropriate date folder.
Click here to go to the "official" photo album.
Links to other information (under construction)