Saturday, February 26, 2011

Introducing...Our Babies!!

You all must have responded to our prayer requests in a big way yesterday! By the middle of the day, Becca’s breastmilk had started to come in and she was able to take a few milliliters to the NICU for the babies. It was enough for all of them to have a little taste! She also was able to get some solid food in her stomach which made her very happy.


Update on the Babies:
All babies have been under phototherapy for at least some period of time for their bilirubin over the last two days. The doctors have also tried to move all of them off of their ventilators and on to a CPAP, but they’ve each only made it a limited amount of time. They have all become too tired from having to work so hard to breathe that all are back on ventilators. All four have had a couple of feedings of mother’s milk as their feedings are only about 1 milliliter each at a time. That will increase over the next days as Becca’s milk continues to come in.


Caleb- We’ve been told that he has been doing really good but is tuckered out and needs rest today. The nurses have made the area around his incubator very dark and have placed extra sound dampeners around him to reduce noise to give him a break. He’s positioned so that he is in as womb-like conditions as possible.


Abby - She is very restless today which is very unlike her in her short life. She was the one in the womb who always held very still for the monitoring and the sonograms and really didn’t kick Becca much at all. Now that she is Ex-Utero, she enjoys stretching but today she is very fidgety as if something is wrong. The nurse said that she is doing well, so we aren’t sure why she is so restless. She did receive a blood transfusion yesterday and all of her levels are good so far today. Maybe she is just tired also.


Elijah- He is going to receive a blood transfusion later today but for the most part is doing well. He is very chill when we go see him. He kicks back in his little snuggly blanket and loves to keep his hands up by his face. He doesn’t like to have his legs trapped in the blanket, so Becca jokes that he looks like he is on an inner tube floating down the river.


Elizabeth- Our little runt is doing the best out of all of them, which is ironic when you consider she is the smallest. Her levels have remained pretty stable for the most part. She is a stomach sleeper. This morning, she was sleeping on her stomach with her legs tucked under her which made her butt end up in the air. It was very cute!


With all of our drama going on here in the hospital, we can’t forget that life continues on outside these four walls.
Sean’s grandmother, Twilla, wanted to come see her new great-grandchildren but came down with the shingles. Sean had this the first year that we were married and it was very painful and crazy. If she crosses your mind, please pray that she is able to recover quickly and easily…and then come meet her great-grandchildren!

We are really aware of our marriage right now as we have been going through this pregnancy/hospitalization/NICU stay. We would love it if you would take a minute to pray for two other marriages that are close to our hearts right now. Becca’s sister Hannah is getting married to Jeff two weeks from today, and Sean’s brother Nathan who married Jen last summer. Please pray that both of their marriages would be God honoring. From everything we have heard (and experienced so far!), the first year is the roughest. Life can hold some seriously unexpected curve balls, and we would love to see them get off to a good start so that they have a solid marriage that can handle what comes in the future.

And now…FINALLY!...introducing our beautiful babies!!


 



Sean and Becca during the cesarean section.


 


Caleb-taken by Grandma Stolberg


 


Mommy getting to touch Caleb for the first time on the way from the Recovery room to the Mother/Baby unit. Katie, my nurse, was really good at navigating the NICU with me still in bed!


 


Abby-taken by Grandma Stolberg


 


Daddy doing hand containment with Abby. She's trying on Daddy's wedding ring!


 


Elijah-taken by Grandma Stolberg


 


Elijah getting his first taste of Mommy's breastmilk. The nurse used a cotton swab to let him taste a little of it, and he seemed to enjoy it! He was even moving his jaw a little bit to roll his tongue over it!


 


Ellie-taken by Grandma Stolberg


Ellie in the operating room just after delivery.


 

--Posted by Sean and Becca

21 comments:

  1. Wonderful! Thank you for the update and keep them coming! You are great parents!

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  2. Its good everything is going well. Thanks sharing the pictures. Thats good news the Becca's milk has came in, that will definitely help the babies grow strong and help their immune system out. Steph so wanted her's to come in, but with the infection it wore her out and she had to stop, because she wasn't getting any better. When she did produce some they had to throw most of it out, because of the drugs she was on. She did get give some to the babies enough for like one feeding i believe.

    Well you two hang in there, you have 4 healthy babies to look forward to seeing every day. If you have any questions for us about how our NICU stay was, feel free to ask.

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  3. Praise God for the good news and will continue to pray for everything else. I think the pics with a wedding ring by the baby give the most perspective on how tiny preemies are! They are precious. And yay for breastmilk, God's miracle drug!!

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  4. so precious guys! We are still praying! Thanks for taking the time to update us all! Lots of love to your family!

    Jon and Cassie

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  5. Beautiful, beautiful. PTL for prayers answered and those that are being answered.

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  6. SO awesome! Wonderful pictures. Your children are all beautiful! The wedding ring on Abby's hand is a treasure. Will pray for Twila's speedy recovery and the marriages of Hanna and Jeff, and Jen and Nathan. Also adding Rebecca's Mom - four new grand-babies in NICU, daughter recovering from a C-section, AND Mother of the Bride.

    Couldn't help but note the depth of your character, that you have care and concern for others you love (at a time when we all, quite naturally, could be self-focused with our own cares). You are high-quality people. God knew what he was doing when He chose you two to parent those four new souls. Bless you! Thanks again for sharing the wonder of your lives with us.

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  7. Sean and Rebecca....I just love looking at your beautiful babies over and over! They are just adorable! That's awesome that your milk is in...it's such a good feeling to know you can actually "do something" to help the babies when they are so helpless! It's so neat how God made it that we as ladies could "mother" from day 1~ You both are amazing ....what a neat testimony that you are loving others and looking beyond yourselves in the midst of your own trial. Love you!

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  8. Oh, my, Oh, my Wonderful!!!!!!!

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  9. I am so amazed by your strong faith! I found your blog through a news station that did a story on you awhile back. I have followed your story ever since. I pray for you and your family often. Your children are precious!

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  10. love love love it! thanks for the update and glad everyone seems to be doing well still!!! thank you for answered prayers!

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  11. You guys have certainly hit the ground running! Amen for the successful birth and your spirites in this. Keep your chin up Mrs. Ishum- there is life outside of that hospital!

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  12. So touched by your post, it brought tears to my eyes. May God continue to bless your little family.

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  13. Glad to hear your brood is doing so well for arriving at 28 weeks!!!! Praying for them to continue to grow strong. Rest up, you guys ... when the kids come home, it is ON! ;)


    Keep up with me, Ted, and our Fab Four at four-by-two.blogspot.com.

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  14. Sharri Adkins ZahnterFebruary 27, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    Each baby is absolutely precious! They will require a lot of rest. Remember they thought they would be resting in mommy's tummy for a couple more months. I look forward to the updates & will continue to pray for the entire family. God bless you all! Sharri Adkins Zahnter

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  15. Congratulations! We are in Dan Hurst's Sunday School Class and also picked up the In touch with our people at church today and got all the news about the babies.

    We are parents of 2 boys and 2 girls (individual births)
    We are expecting our 4th grandchild July 20 and that will give us 2 girls 2 boys also.

    You just accomplished this feat in one swoop!!

    We will be praying for you and the babies and look forward to following the e-mail up dates.

    Barbara Chambers

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  16. The Amazing Ishum family! We are praying and we love you guys so much.

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  17. They are beautiful! You, your immediate family and extended family are in my thoughts and prayers!! Take good care! Kathi

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  18. What beautiful babies! I've only been following your story for a few days but have kept your family in my prayers. I hope the babies continue to do well and get stronger. Your family is so blessed with these 4 little miracles.

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  19. Thinking of you all and keeping everyone in my prayers!

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