One Coming Home, One to Go!

Well, as I write this we are back at AMH doing a "room in" study with Sidney until the morning. If she does well on the monitor, she goes home with us in the morning! We are very excited, though we are both sad Chloe will have to stay here.

But, at least one gets to meet the boys and get settled in. Chloe won't be long behind and we will see her everyday!

A Homecoming Soon?

According to our babies nurse last night, Sidney is doing so well she might be coming home as early as mid-next week! She is feeding perfectly. Chloe is doing great as well. She has regained some weight and her feedings are up to nearly 20cc's per day! They hope to get her on the bottle within the week too. Once she does, and if she does as well as her sister, then she can get ready to come home too!

They are so small...we can't even imagine taking care of them, but we are ready! We can't wait!

Does Sidney Look Like Brady or What?
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Mom and Chloe
JBS Productions

Baby Update

Well, mom is getting better and things are starting to settle down....for now!

Sidney - She is rocking along! Eating well, alert and very responsive. Everyone says both of these girls look like me (Brady)...oh well. They are cute though! She is in an open bed and just waiting to gain a little more weight and stabilize. She is on nothing more than a heart and lung monitor. We've both been able to bottle feed her.

Chloe - She is doing good too! She is in an incubator now so she stays warms and uses her calories to grow and not keep warm. She is still tube feeding but will be taken off IVs soon. We've been able to rock her while eating and such. She is so stinking cute!


What's Next?

Well, they need to eat more and digest well. Sidney is doing just that and looking great. If she continues, she might come home soon! She is up to over 30cc's of food a feeding now. Chloe is doing good but needs to gain about 1lb before going on the bottle. Once she does, she will take the next steps to coming home.

Thanks!

We're Home! Girls Are Doing Great!

Well, the last 5 days are a complete blurr but we are home and everyone is good. The only thing I can compare this all to is our wedding....the busyness, stress, joy, socializing, happiness, peace, anxiety, fear, anticipation, shock, and tiredness all wrapped into one period! Wow. It is something to experience and it WILL change you! It has us.

Julie had a rough first night home and is resting, but she'll be back in the grove in a few days. I've taken up the reigns now in running errands, going to see the babies, and trying to keep my business going, all at once. I did manage to run off to a Cowboys VIP party tonight. It was a good break from everything. (Yes, my wife is the best...considering all the Cowboys Cheerleaders were there. I did get a calendar signed by almost all of them, for "the girls" of course.)

Anyway, her parents are here and helping and mine are a call away. Things are under control and hopefully will settle down by the weekend - some.

The girls are just trucking right along. I spent 2 hours with them today and rocked them both. They just starred at me. That is an amazing experience. They know their daddy. Their heart rate goes up as soon as I speak to them and they start moving like mad. I love it!

Sidney will likely come home soon and Chloe will be a few weeks later.

Thanks for your prayers. See our website for all the pictures I've been taking like mad!

www.bradyandjulie.com

NEW BABY PICTURES!

Checkout our website for updated pictures. More coming tonight and tomorrow. I can't take them fast enough!!!!!!

www.bradyandjulie.com

Thanks for all the prayers....they are doing good!

Nurse said to us today, "They threw their own little party all night last night, gooing and ooing and wiggling all over the place!"

My Wife is My Hero

At the "Fellas Weekend" this summer, one of my long time friends from San Antonio told me I would learn the truth about love and how my wife is truly a hero. Boy have I! She is.

There is no stronger person I know than Julie. She has carried these girls for months, dealt with me for years, loves our dogs like they are kids, is a great friend to tons of others and the biggest servant I know.

But having these babies and going through all of this is the biggest thing I can ever imagine. She's there, in pain, tired as can be, naked in front of the world, and there I am with my camera, dressed in baseball cap and Hawaiian shirt, looking all suave. I truly am a wimp compared to her. I could never do all she does and has done.

I love her now more than ever.

I just hope the babies are as strong and beautiful as my bride.

Baby Update (#? of many)

Ok, quick here. Babies are doing awesome. God is truly watching over them! To the point where one of the night nurses watching over Chloe happens to be a family friend!

They are off breathing machines, eyes are open and they recognize both Julie and I. She got to see them this morning. The doctors words were "You could not ask for anything better than how they are doing." That, my friends, is the power of all your prayers. Thanks so much...

More later...

Sidney Pictures

Here is Sidney, our other girl.

Chloe and Daddy's Hand!
JBS Productions

This is our girl Chloe! 3lbs, 5oz, 16inches!
JBS Productions

Babies Doing Better!

Chloe Grace Speers (on top) and Sidney Nicole Speers (on bottom)

Ok, it has been a few hours and I ran home to shower, eat, say hey to the freaked out dogs and upload some pictures.

Before I left, things had gotten much better. The girls are stable-critical, but that is good. They are almost breathing on their own, x-rays look normal and YES they do look alike, though Chloe is the smaller one. She is the fighter. Her umbilical chord was the size of a small straw instead of a human thumb. She is going to have a bone to pick with her bigger (but 1 minute younger) sister later in life!

Anyway, we are now in room 3316 (same room Curlees had two weeks ago!) and the plan is for Julie to leave Tuesday. (I tried to push it to get home in time for the Cowboys game Monday night, but got shot an interesting look for that comment. :>)

The girls will be there for 2-3 weeks and Chloe might stay a little longer. Just really depends. Pray God grows them supernaturally and they come home sooner.

Will we need help? YOU BET! All we can get!

You can email Julie 'cause I will set her up on the laptop. Her email is jules75@charter.net

Love you all!

Sidney & Chloe Have Arrived!

Well, it was a tense morning, and still is, but our baby girls are here! At 8:58am, Chloe was pulled out weighing 3lbs, 5oz and at 8:59am, Sidney joined the world weighing 4lbs, 11oz. They both had lots of curly black hair, but Chloe was much smaller than Sidney and smaller than we all thought. It was a good thing we went in and got them today.

Pray for their breathing, eating and color as it is still touch and go. It has only
been a few hours.

Julie did great and I didn't pass out! It is so incredible to experience this. Words cannot explain.

More details and pictures to come.

Wow, we are parents....

12 Hours and Counting...

Wow. It is really happening. I am about to be a Daddy.
Julie is resting and I am WIDE AWAKE and a little anxious. Not really nervous (yet) but just trying to absorb every minute of this....how God creates life is just mind-blowing. It freaks me out.

This part of this entry is more for me and Julie.

Thanks to all that have called, come by, talked to and emailed and I know many others plan to tomorrow or Monday. So many friends - Scott and Karen, Becky and RJ, Paul and his mother, Amy and Brian, Jason, Adrian and Kelly, Matt and Mel, Donnie and Sarah, David and Kat, Russell and Jenny, Clint, Pat Locks, Brenna, Johnny T, Michael, Chris, Greg, Leslie, Amy, and of course the grandparents!

Our nurses so far have been Jean, Patty, Belinda and Krisitian.....they have been great. Doctor Neill and his team of course rock as well!

Time is ticking. Our lives are about to change as we know it. But we can't wait! My next entry will be when the nurses can look at the babies and ask, "Whose Your Daddy!?"

Sunday is the Day!

We are set for an 8:00am C-section....

It's a Fluke!

Well, here we are at Arlingtom Memorial Hospital on a Friday night and it is almost midnight. Julie is hooked up to tons of devices to monitor the girls and we are looking for a Sunday morning delivery! August 21st babies!

Thanks to all for your calls, visits and emails. We have the best friends and family ever...

Things are good now that we are here. Our visit today with the prenatal specialist revealed we needed to take this precaution because Chloe is for some reason not getting the nutrition she needs to grow. Something was weird with the umbilical chord and has caused concern.

Things are good now. Julie is resting and I am going to do my darndest to sleep on this plastic feeling semi-lazyboy.....whatever!

I can't wait though.

Bye the way - why is it a fluke? Well, they are evidently IDENTICAL twins! That is where the egg splits...has nothing to do with genetics. It's truly a medical "fluke" but we all know God has His plans!!!!

I am pumped that they are though!

We are in room 2317 if anyone wants to call or come by!

News - Not Bad, But Not Good Either

We normally keep our personal requests to a minimum asking people to keep us in their prayers, but this one warrants such. We went to our doctor visit today and the news wasn't real bad, but not real great either. Chloe isn't growing for some reason and is still 3.5lbs. Sidney is 4.5lbs. That's a big difference. Dr. Neill is concerned and we are going to a specialist tomorrow. He says one of three things is likely to occur:

1. We may have to have these babies via c-section as early as Saturday - yes, as in 2 days. This would freak me out....
2. Julie might be admitted to Hospital bed rest and see how long we can go, so they can monitor them hourly. Fun, fun....
3. Best case - specialist says things aren't that bad and we can stay home and just go see him every-other-day all next week. Not likely.

Either way, he assured us these girls are coming early and likely in the next 10-14 days!

So, suddenly we are here. It has arrived my friends. Wow. Doc says the girls will be fine, they just want to make sure they do what is best for them. They might need to stay in the hospital a week or two cause of lung issues, but should be fine cause we are at close to 35 weeks. Issue is simple - if Chloe will not grow in the womb, then they need to get her out so she can grow outside.

Seems her sis likes to eat. Guess she gets that from daddy.

Anyway, we are good, but things are getting a little emotional for both of us. I'll post another update Friday. Love you all!

Week 34 & Counting!

Well, Julie is ready to get these girls out of there and into our world. Braxton Hicks are more frequent and her body seems to be getting ready to spit these girls out...could be any day!

The boys (our dogs... see http://maxandsam.blogspot.com) are ready too. Sam goes over to the babies playpen, smells it and then whines. Then he goes over to the swings and pushes them with his nose and turns his head in wonderment! Max, well he lays his head alot on Julies belly. Really neat. It's like they knew who's coming!

Sidney Speers
JBS Productions

Chloe Speers
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Nursery is Done and Ready for Action!

Sidney and Chloe's soon to be home...

Only a Few More Weeks....32 and Counting!

Dr. Neil, our GYNO, is tellings thing us could happen at any time, but he really wants us to make it another 2-3 weeks. 35 weeks is kind of the magic time frame, but the girls could join us any day.

Julie is feeling worse as the days go one, so we are not sure how much longer she'll go. Right now the girls are about 3.5lbs each and about 15 inches long. They are small but doing great!

We are ready for what's ahead, but nervous at the same time!