A Few More Pictures!

Here are a few more pictures from the past week - we're just having fun getting to know them!!

Grandma Gibson with
Savannah

Delcenia feeding Alicia -

Katie has a magic touch with Ms. Alicia!

Savannah is sharing those beautiful brown eyes...
Alicia hanging out in her panda outfit - check

out her feet!

More bath pictures for Ms. Alicia -

Settling In At Home

Hey Everyone - well - our new family has been settling in at home over the past week. Mom and Dad (and yes, after several 2:30 AM feedings, we feel that we have now earned these titles) are working on getting the swing of things, and enjoying getting to know their two daughters! Alicia and Savannah have distinct personalities which come through primarily in their facial expressions - they have provided us a lot of laughs over the past week. The week has been filled with a number of "firsts" - this is a picture of Alicia's first bath (which she did NOT enjoy); a picture of them together side by side for the first time since birth (necessitated by learning how to feed them by ourselves at the same time)

And a visit to the peditrician's office -

Dad took the week off from work which gave him an opportunity to really get to know his girls and help us all get settled -

We've had a number of family members visit and spend time with the girls - their Auntie Gale, Uncle Andre, Grandma Gibson, Aunt NeNe and Aunt Sandy, Uncle Karl, Grandpa Bob, Grandma Joyce, Aunt Sherail, Uncle Lawrence and Cousin CJ. Cousin Matthew Cosgrove (Margaret's son) and his father Mike just stopped in Memphis on their way to taking Matthew to Bard College in New York and were able to pay a visit as well! We are looking forward to having Margaret Buckman and Kathy's Mom visit us towards the end of the month.

Thanks again to everyone for your well wishes - they are much appreciated!

Kathy and JW

We're Home!

Hey folks - well, as you might have guessed, we have made our way home with the girls. They went from the intensive care unit on Friday to an intensive care step-down unit. We we're given a room with both of them in a crib...and advised that we needed to "room-in". Kathy is convinced that the step-down unit really was a "see if you have ANY clue whatsoever as to what you are doing with these children unit!!".

Their feeding tubes were removed, and we began breast and bottle feeding every three hours. Kathy sent JW home early evening with the request that he get well rested, as she needed to be able to lean on someone over the next couple of days as one of the two of us handled the round-the-clock care.

Here is one of our first pictures of them together, and the first time we saw them both with their eyes open!

Kathy spent the night with them Friday night, and with the help of a wonderful nurse who was doing everything possible to get us out of there and on our way home....we made it through the night intact, but without much hope of being discharged on Saturday because Alicia had lost more weight post-delivery than is typical.

We also spent some time Friday evening and Saturday with the birth mother letting her meet the two little ones that she had so faithfully carried for close to nine months. She is truly an amazing person to have done this for us...one of her happiest moments during all of it was seeing the biggest smile she could ever imagine on JW's face after she delivered. Here's a picture of us saying our goodbyes.

Saturday morning arrived, and we greeted the doctor at around 8:45. He obviously had looked at their records, including their feeding log over the last 12-16 hours, and asked Kathy some questions about how they were breastfeeding. We apparently passed the test, because he then looked at JW and asked if we were ready to go home! With a resounding yes, the doctor wished us luck and sent us on our way. We quickly scrambled to finish the 8:30 feeding, headed back to the hotel so that Kathy could take a shower, and we could pack bags. We made it back to the hospital in time for the 11:30 feeding. Our nurse had packed up all sorts of supplies for us (thankfully, as we at least knew what to do with what we had been using in the hospital - not so with all the stuff at home) and had discharge papers ready to sign. Here's a picture of all four of us ready to leave the hospital!

The trip home was uneventful - they slept the entire way. The last 48 hours since our arrival back in Memphis has been a bit of a blur - we'll provide further update later - it's feeding time again!

Kathy and JW

The First 24 Hours -

Thanks folks for your comments - Alison - you are certainly Aunt Ali - and can't wait to have Brianna babysit - yes, even with a live-in - we'll be looking for babysitting help!

Here's a picture of us yesterday with Alicia - you can see that she is laid back - enjoying the open air! Early indications are that she may be our tomboy!!

Here we are with Savannah - Check out that head of hair - it's ready for a bow!! When she was first born and it was still wet - it was curly/wavy. We think she will have beautiful hair. JW is convinced she will be our girlie, girlie of the two. We shall see.

These pictures were taken about 10:00 AM yesterday - an hour after they were born.

Just a quick update - the girls are doing better this morning -again, the only issue they have is letting their lungs dry out - Savannah swallowed a good bit of fluid at birth, and Alicia had some as well - they are still in intensive care, but I got to hold them late last night for a few minutes - and they both had their eyes open looking around - it is amazing!

They have been feeding them through a tube so far - but they are using our breastmilk - next step will be to try breastfeeding, which we are slated to try later this afternoon - Savannah has been sucking her thumb vigourously - and so she should be able to feed well (in fact, Kathy is a bit apprehensive about getting her on the breast); Alicia will suck if given the stimulation, so she should be fine as well.

They are talking about letting us go home tomorrow or Sunday - they will just continue to monitor for any jaundice which can occur in the first several days of life, and if there are any issues, may keep them an extra day to address that -

That's all for now -

They Have Arrived!!

To everyone - the Gibson Girls have arrived - and they are beautiful!! Delivery took place this morning at 8:56 AM - Savannah arrived into this world with a headful of hair - Alicia doesn't have as much but certainly has a good bit - there won't be any problem telling them apart though (at least initially). JW was so afraid that we wouldn't be able to know one from the other, that he purchased some beautiful bracelets for them!



Both babies are in the intensive care unit for at least a period of time - transition time as the nurses call it - they swallowed fluid in delivery, and want to monitor them and their breathing as they work to expel any remaining fluid - so, we haven't been able to hold them yet, but are with them in a separate room in the intensive care. Hopefully we will be able to hold them this afternoon, and Kathy will be able to try nursing them. Savannah is already sucking on her thumb - so she is ready to go!



They came in weighing more than we anticipated - Savannah weighs 6 lbs. 11 oz., Alicia weighs 5 lbs. 15 oz. Still don't have lengths on both of them - but will shortly. They both clearly have the long fingers and toes of the Gibson side of the family!!



Having trouble uploading pictures, so I will continue to work on that -



Thank you for everyone's love and support - we're going to have lots of fun over the next several months with these two!!



Kathy and JW

A Bit of A Delay

Hey everyone - well - a bit of a set back and certainly unexpected (I guess we should get used to it) - everything was scheduled for us to deliver Wednesday morning until we learned midday on Tuesday that the birth mother changed the date to Thursday - apparently she determined she had a conflict with an exam in a class she is taking, and convinced the doctor to change the scheduled delivery. Yes, it has been a long 9 months - as much on this end of things as on her end - promise.

So we are headed over to Little Rock in the morning, with a new delivery date and time of Thursday, 8:00 AM. Will keep you posted.

Kathy and JW

Getting Ready!

Hey Folks - just wanted to give you an update on the status of the girls - everything is set for our birth mother, Shelley, to deliver on Wednesday, July 22 in Little Rock - unless they decide to come sooner. The last OB and specialist visit this past week went well- both girls measured over 5 lbs. and appear to be very healthy. We will be traveling over to Little Rock Tuesday evening, so we are in making final arrangements here at the house (made one more run to BabysRUs today), and packing our bags! We expect to be over there several days...how long will of course depend on how they are doing. Hopefully we will be back home sometime this weekend.

Kathy has been following the protocall for induced lactation and it is working!! She has found a very good breastfeeding doctor here in Memphis who has some experience with induced lactation, but even she has not had experience with someone who has actually prepared for it prior to birth. She and the doctor are working together to determine the best way to provide the babies the initial milk she produced, as it is very different than what she is producing now!

We will post pictures once they are here, and update you on status! We appreciate everyone's well wishes and please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.