Playtime

Owen and Ethan love to play!!!

Here is Ethan in his Excersaucer!

Owen is concentrating hard on grabbing toys!

Ethan is learning how to be on his tummy!

Owen is sitting up (with some help)!

Got cereal?

The boys are always hungry....So we tried giving them cereal. I'm sure Steve and I will get the hang of it someday!!

Easter Outfits

The boys are all dressed up for Easter! They had their first trip to church, and then out to breakfast!

Owen's Surgery

Owen had his heart surgery on Monday, March 10...He was so brave as they wheeled him on the stretcher...He looked at his daddy the whole way, and had so much strength in his eyes! He was in the ICU for a day and a half, and back to his room. We were released on Thursday, March 13...Can you believe it?

Now...he is doing amazingly well! He is gaining weight, and as of yesterday was 9 pounds, 11 ounces! His breathing is steady and calm, he is smiling and laughing, and trying to figure out who the big kid next to him is!! The changes in him are wonderful...While we certainly did not expect or want open heart surgery on our 10 week old, we are so thankful for the outcome!

Thanks to everyone who kept us in your thoughts and prayers....We so much appreciate all the love and support through this trying time!!

Ethan!

Ethan - Also known as Baby B - was always the bigger guy...He was on my right side, and was constantly turning around inside....I never knew which direction he would be when I went in for check-ups! One week he would be head down, the next week, on the diagonal or head-up! His movements were big, rolling motions.

As we prepared to leave the hospital after the delivery, we were told that Ethan had a condition called a VSD - a hole between the lower chambers of his heart. It is a small hole, and may even repair itself, but we were so sad to think of this perfect baby as having something wrong with him...So we took him home with the thought that he could, someday, need heart surgery.

Ethan never had a problem eating - It's one of his favorite things to do! So his heart condition has yet to impact him...However, he did develop another issue which caused a setback. He started throwing up at night, which became excessive one night, so we took him to the ER. After an x-ray and an ultrasound, it was determined that he had a condition called pyloric stenosis, which is when the pyloric valve becomes enlarged, and keeps food from passing from the stomach to the intestines. So...He was operated on at AI Dupont in Delaware to correct the situation. We spent three days in the hospital, and the problem was fixed! Now he just spits up like any other baby!

Owen!

Owen...Also known as Baby A...has always been the smaller of the boys. He was on my left side, and I could feel his specific movements early on -a hand, a foot, hiccups from time to time. He was pulled out first and is a whole 4 minutes older than his brother! Owen has always seemed to be a serious guy...with a pensive look about him. He's sensitive, too...as his brother's cries often alert him to worry. He was very quiet and easy-going early on, but when upset, was not shy about letting us know!

From birth, Owen had the usual spit-ups of most babies...but in time these became progressively worse. He started to throw up on average once a day in the beginning. He was slowly losing interest in eating, and it was clear he was not feeling good. He was still seeing his pediatrician once a week for weigh-ins, and eventually a heart murmur was heard. We took him to a CHOP cardiologist who discovered he also had a VSD, which is a hole in between the lower chambers of the heart. Owen's hole measures 7 - 8mm, and is keeping him from gaining weight. His heart is working so hard and inefficiently. it's as if he's doing a constant cardio workout. His little body is burning off more calories than he can take in. He also has reflux, which causes him to spit up more than the average baby, which is also working against him. He is now being fed through a feeding tube at CHOP, and we are hoping to see a trend toward gaining weight soon. He will probably be here through the week...The cardiologist here is considering moving his heart surgery up if his status does not start to improve. We are confident that he will be better than ever once this is all behind him....He is a strong little boy and will get through this! Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers!!

The Beginning....

As most of you know, Steve and I were blessed with the birth of our boys on Christmas Day, 2007. Owen weighed in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces and Ethan was a whopping 7 pounds, 9 ounces - we were off to a great start!