Are you looking for special
baby shower decorations for preemies or twins?
Posted by kim on September 21, 2009
My daughter, Macy has a high pain tolerance. I attribute it to the fact that she endured a lot surgeries and setbacks as an infant. She was a very high-maintenance child, and I could actually tell when she was sick as she would be still, quiet and not throw her normal tantrums. So now when she does actually complain of not feeling well, which isn’t often, I know something is definitely wrong with her.
Since Macy’s stomach has been hurting on her main incision line across her abdomen and not stretching as she grows, I made an appointment with the surgeon. The other indented scars seen above are from her colostomy and bile drainage tubes.
We went to see Dr. Stephen Raynor at Children’s Hospital in Omaha last week, the same surgeon that performed all of Macy’s surgeries as an infant. He remembered her well, saying she was responsible for all of his gray hair. It was nice to catch up with him, as we haven’t seen him in over a decade.
We scheduled exploratory surgery for October 5th, as the doctor thinks she most likely needs some hernias repaired. He will also be able to do some scar revision and remove some adhesions. Macy is sometimes upset that she will never have a bikini-perfect tummy, but I told her she should be proud of her battle wounds, for without them, she would not be alive today.
We could have scheduled the surgery sooner, but Macy is also a certifiable socialite and didn’t want to ruin any already made plans. She was fussing a lot today of stomach pain, so much that I offered to call the hospital and see if I could move up her surgery. But I just got the eye-rolling look that she is not going to miss the big Homecoming dance. Everyone has priorities. 
Fostering a sharing and caring environment at home is nothing short of difficult. Especially for twins, who are often times expected to be each other’s best friends, expectations can be overwhelming.
Bunk beds for your twins can grant them individual spaces while still learning valuable lessons about compromise and cooperation. The bunk bed helps save space in the kids’ room while your twins work together toward a common goal, whether it be making the bed or deciding who gets to sleep on the top bunk. Comfortable, secure, stylish, and a space saver, bunk beds can also be a vital learning tool for teaching your kids an important lesson in cohabitation.
Posted by kim on March 20, 2009
This week CNN published Study: Average preemie costs $49,000 in first year.
The average cost of medical care for a premature or low birth-weight baby for its first year of life is about $49,000, according to a new report from the March of Dimes Foundation. By contrast, a newborn without complications costs $4,551 for care in its first year of life, the report said. Newborns with other kinds of complications, such as congenital defects, have medical expenses of $10,273 on average in the first year. Read Entire Article.
I think $49,000 seems like a low estimate. Considering by definition that a premature baby is one born before the 37th week of pregnancy, I can see how that can skew the results. My youngest daughter, Tatym, was born over 3 weeks early (thus before the 37th week), but was still happy and healthy and a bouncing 7 lb. 4 oz. I didn’t consider her a preemie at all.
Whereas my twins were born over 13 weeks premature, and they maxed out the $1 million lifetime benefits on our health insurance. See why I call Macy and Mallory my million dollar miracle babies?
I wonder how much the Octuplets‘ care is going to cost?! I think I’m going to dress up as Octomom for Halloween this year! Where shall I look for a Plus size costume?
Posted by kim on February 5, 2009
If you read our NICU story, you know that both of my twin daughters were diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) where the bowel become infected and dies. Macy had seventeen inches of her small intestines removed and a temporary colostomy. Mallory only had a few centimeters removed and was fortunate not to have to have a stoma put in. Back then (15 years ago), the mortality rate for infants infected with NEC was 77%. Thankfully my girls beat the odds.
I subscribed to TWINS Magazine when the twins were still babies, and met many new friends in similiar situations through their PenPal section. This is before we had the internet – imagine if I had access to all of the information online back then! I corresponded with several other moms of preemies, and I was especially interested in hearing from those who had experienced NEC firsthand.
I found some interesting trends among those that wrote to me, so when I started a website dedicated to my “Million Dollar Miracle Babies”, I made an online survey for others to participate so I could see if I got the same conclusions. Here are some statistics thus far…
NEC is more common among males than females
In twins/multiples, NEC is more common in the first born.
NEC is more common among formula fed infants than breast fed infants.
There is litigation that some PDA medicine may be linked to causing NEC.
Obviously my daughters skewed the stats being female. And usually in twins, only one (and usually the first born) has NEC. Whereas both of my daughters suffered from it, but Macy (Twin B) was worse off. My girls were formula fed and given meds for PDA, though.
If you or someone you know have had experiences with this deadly disease, I would love to hear your results by completing our NEC Survey. All of your answers will remain confidential.
I would also love to hear your NICU story! Share your story to be posted here on PreemieTwins.com!
We appreciate this month's PreemieTwins.com sponsor of
Gainsville AC service who helps us provide free resources for parents of premature infants and multiples.
