Archive for the ‘General News’ Category

Today we spent some time with Olivia’s body and our pastors before we said goodbye to her ‘earthsuit.’  We’re comforted by what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8(NIV):  “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  We live by faith , not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” The picture above was given to us by our pastors and will be a constant reminder of Olivia’s very meaningful life here on earth.  The picture also reminds us that we ultimately look forward to doing exactly what Olivia has already done…putting our hand in our Lord’s hand.

As we continue to grieve the loss of Olivia we want to ask you all a favor.  We’d like you to take the time to share the impact that Olivia’s life had on you.  Allison and I believe that hearing your heart will help us grieve and also help us keep her memory alive.  If you would like to share your thoughts please drop us a line in the mail or send us an email to one of the addresses below.  Thank you for celebrating Olivia with us.

allison.clooten@gmail.com
mjclooten@gmail.com

2860 Big Bluestem Parkway
Fitchburg, WI  53711

It’s the end of our third day.  As the pictures show(Madison on left), Madison no longer has the tube going into her stomach.  She still coughs up some blood from every so often but the doctors say it will take some time for her to clear what she ingested during the birthing process.  They decided it would be best to keep her overnight (Monday) as they wean her off her isolet (temp controlled environment) and transition her from the IV for feeding to breast milk alone.  Allison has been able to pump successfully so Madison has been getting the “good stuff” through a bottle.  We feel very fortunate that Allison was able to carry the girls to term and that we’re off to a great start.  We expect to leave Wednesday and are praying that Madison will be eating well and ready to go with us.  We are truly enjoying this time!  God is amazing and we are so thankful for His goodness.

Ruby Elizabeth – 11/28/09 – 2:17am – 5 lbs. 12 oz. – 18 in. long (on left)

Madison Lynn – 11/28/09 – 2:18am – 4 lbs. 13 oz. – 17 in. long (on right)

Both babies are doing very well.  Madison took in a little blood into her stomach and that’s why she has a tube in her mouth.  The doctors wanted to keep her up in the NICU until Monday morning just to be sure she’s doing all right.  We go up to see her often and feel great about the care she’s getting.  Pray with us that she gets to join us on Monday.

Allison is doing great also.  She’s a bit sore and tired as you can imagine but we’re both so thankful to God for these two amazing blessings.  Celebrate with us!

We had more growth measurements done on Thursday (11/5).  Ruby weighed 5 lbs. and Madison weighed 4 lbs. 7 0z.  For the first time in weeks we got to see Ruby’s face and here it is.  In case you’re having a hard time figuring out what you’re looking at, you should be able to see a tiny bit of her left eye, her nose and her juicy lips.  Unfortunately, no pictures of Madison.  We hit 35 weeks this Wednesday.  We are more excited everyday!

Can you believe we’re at 32 weeks and 5 days?  I have to apologize for not updating much lately.  The reason for this is that there hasn’t been much to report.  Here’s a summary of some significant happenings for the girls.  Ruby weighed 3lbs  11oz and Madison was 3lbs 8 oz when we had our last growth appointment on October 15th.  We’re told they are gaining 8 oz a week right now (increases to a pound a week at 34 weeks) so we think they’re pushing around 4 lbs.  There aren’t anymore scheduled growth appointments so the next time we talk weight will be when they are born.  We’re still going in twice a week for amniotic fluid check’s and non stress tests.  Everything has looked great so far.  Thank you Lord!

Allison has been a champ.  She wakes up often at night (up to 8 times) but usually is able to go back to sleep.  She’s been adjusting well to doing less activity each day.  We’ve been so blessed by the generosity of the care group that is making meals and cleaning the house.  Because we’re so well cared for, all of her daily decreasing supply of energy is going towards taking care of the babies and herself.  With the cribs up she’s also putting the finishing touches on the nursery.  The nesting is in full swing!

Here are some pictures of our doctors in Cincinnati.  Unfortunately, these pictures were the first I’ve taken with an iPhone so user error is the reason for their poor quality.  The first picture is with Dr. Lewis.  He is the one mentioned in an earlier post that prayed with us during one of the more difficult times.  The second picture is with Drs. Lim and Jaekle and the nurse coordinator Judy.  Unfortunately we were unable to get a picture of Dr. Van Hook.  Lewis, Van Hook and Jaekle were the three-member team of maternal fetal doctors and Lim was the fetal surgeon.  God truly used this team of professionals to help bring us through one of the most difficult times in our lives.  Their professional excellence can only be beaten by the way sincerely cared for us.  We will ALWAYS be grateful for them.

We hit week 30 on Wednesday (10/7) and had a full schedule of appointments.  The first was on Tuesday and it was the weekly  ultrasound(Doppler’s).  This appointment went really well.  The doctor said Madison’s Doppler’s have completely normalized and was encouraged by everything she saw.  Ruby’s have been normal the whole pregnancy and looked great this time as well.  At this appointment we decided to cancel the echo cardiogram that was scheduled for Friday.  We were encouraged by the doctors in Cincinnati back in August to do consider a re-check on Madison with an echo after we had been home for 4-6 weeks.  Well, since the Doppler’s have normalized and because the last echo that was done on Madison after Olivia passed away was normal, the doctors here in Madison decided that the echo was no longer medically indicated and wouldn’t give us any information that was actionable.  We have a ‘growth’ appointment next week and we will get to know what the girls current weights are (we know Allison’s current weight too and aren’t planning on sharing that).  Last time we checked the girls was September 24th.  Ruby was 2 lbs. 8 oz and Madison was 2 lbs 7 oz.  We’re excited to see the progress next week!

On Thursday we were in for a check up on Allison.  Everything looks great for her.  Her hands are starting to swell a bit but you pregnant ladies all know that’s par for the course.  We got to see our regular doctor for this visit.  She said we were ‘coasting’ our way towards the birth.  What that means is everything is stable.  The nurse coordinator said to relax and laugh a lot.  Our next big milestone is 32 weeks (October 21).  As an interesting aside one of the wholesalers I work with has triplets.  He laughed when I told him our doctor said we were ‘coasting’ because they ‘coasted’ to 31 weeks and then delivered in the 31st week.  In short, yes we’re coasting but my conversation with Ryan was a good reminder that we could deliver any day and need to be ready.

You’ve probably noticed that there haven’t been as many pictures lately.  There is good reason for that.  Ruby’s head is so low that the sonographer’s have a hard time seeing it.  The only image of her we could get was a nice foot!  Madison has been a bit more accommodating.

Shopping these days has been a bit more exciting then usual.  Since August we’ve been using the carts and wheel chairs to get things done at places like Target.  These carts are quite handy and can move through most aisle’s in the store.  However, not all aisle’s, as you can see by this action shot Kimmi took when her and Allison were on a clothes run in Cincinnati.  We’ve had a lot of laughs as she’s weaved her way through the store taking out the clearance rack, an end-cap of garlic containers and most recently making “Mary” from Target gasp as she smacked into an aisle in the baby section.  One of the things I love most about Allison is her laugh and these trips have provided plenty of laughter.  For those of you Seinfeld lovers, my brother Ned was reminded of George’s experience with the carts and sent me a clip below.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csuZHyW-iGI&NR=1

We were in for our weekly ultrasound on Thursday (9/24).  The purpose of the appointment this week was not only the usual look at the ultrasounds/Doppler’s but also the doctors were looking at the growth of the girls.  “Growth” appointments occur every 3-4 weeks.  The ultrasounds/Doppler’s were normal and encouraging.  Praise God.  Also, the girls are growing.  Ruby is now 2 lbs. 8 0z and Madison is 2 lbs. 7 oz.  The doctors reminded us that 28 weeks was a big milestone.  Each day is to be celebrated but the next big milestone is 32 weeks – 10/21.  Thank you for continuing to pray with us.

We went back in for an ultrasound on Tuesday and had a great appointment.  Our doctor said she was encouraged by what she saw and went so far as to say “you may have dodged a bullet.”  By this she means that she was encouraged by the results of the ultrasound/Doppler’s for Madison.  So we’ve had two good weeks of appointments since we’ve been back and are thankful for that.  Additionally they did the gestational diabetes test for Allison and it came back negative.  We had a Butterfinger bar (one of Allison’s favorites) to celebrate!

Obviously, we were encouraged good reports from our doctors but are reminded by Psalm 20:7 who our trust is ultimately in.  God is so good!