Home At Last!!

We have all safely arrived home!

Anna was discharged Sunday at midnight, and we had had to leave Rachel behind in ICU. We were planning on visiting her on Monday morning back at the hospital, and as we were preparing to leave, the nurse called and told us we could take Rachel home too! (I think I hurt the nurse's ear over the phone with my unrestrained "Yahoooo!") After visiting with several other parents whose babies were in NICU for WEEKS, we are grateful to be able to take our baby home after only 5 days. We’re finally together as a family of 4 -- Wow!

Anna is on "phototherapy," a treatment which helps her body clean her blood until her liver function catches up. They sent us home with an in-crib BiliLamp for this purpose. This will not be a long-term problem. Enjoy the UFO picture :)

Both girls are still learning how to breast-feed (their suck and swallow reflexes are weak), so we're in an intensive stage of constant coaxing, pleading, jostling, cheering the babies to learn this new skill. It takes some time, and a lot of patience. But we’re VERY thankful to the Lord for Mary’s above-average-for-this-stage-in-the-game production, and the lactation consultants at Northside have been amazing. I'm immensely proud of Mary for her perseverance and patience at what could be a very frustrating experience. And she's doing all this while recovering from surgery! Anna and Rachel need to gain some weight (they're still under 5 pounds), and we're charting their daily intake and progress like a couple of statisticians on Starbucks.

Thanks for praying for us and our little angels. I'm sorry I can't respond individually to all your emails yet. And I’m sorry that the girls are still too weak to accept visitors -- we’re not allowed to hold them much between feedings because they need to sleep deeply in order to grow! And we are trying to sleep as much as we can between feedings, too. Please know that you are greatly loved and cared for and look forward to having people over to love on them when they’re stronger!


Several of you have offered to bring food, which would be very helpful. Our 3 moms are rotating helping us with the babies, but when they’re here, it’s all hands on deck, and there’s no time to grocery shop or cook. Mary’s stepmother Gail will be coordinating our meals, and since she has a spare fridge/freezer, and ours is small, it’d be great if you would contact her and drop food off at her house (only 10 min from our house).

Her contact info is:
Gail Chambliss 770-552-7344
alpc@bellsouth.net
You can Mapquest directions to her house: 155 River Point Court Alpharetta, GA 30022

In gratitude,
Adam, Mary, Anna and Rachel Hoyt (I just love the sound of that, don't you?)

Baby update #2

All four Hoyts are doing really well hanging out at the hospital, and we're so grateful for our little ones.

Breastfeeding has presented a huge learning curve, to Mary, to Anna and Rachel, and even to papa Adam. Thanks for understanding our need for privacy and modesty during this "intimate" time at the hospital. We're anxious for you all to get to know them, and we know you are too! We appreciate your patience, as well as the cards, phone calls and treats you've sent our way. Again, keep your eyes peeled for the "all clear" email from us to let you know we're ready for visitors and drop-ins.

Anna is getting better and better both at the breast and at the bottle. Rachel is still having some challenges, though nothing out-of-the-ordinary for a baby born a few weeks early. Basically, her "swallow" skill is not as developed as her "suck" skill. Which means she tends to choke on milk/formula because she gets ahead of herself. And sometimes, when focusing on "suck" and "swallow," she forgets another important component: "breathe." But that little snafu happens infrequently, and they're monitoring her closely in the NICU.

We're here in the hospital till Sunday at midnight. We hope and pray Rachel can come home with us, but we understand they may need to monitor for an additional time.

The hospital staff is nothing short of amazing; between the Lactation Consultants, Occupational/Physical Therapists, Pediatricians, friendly nurses, and our OB/GYN and neonatologist whom we absolutely love, we are in great hands.

And your prayers to our Father are taking good care of us too!

Love,
Adam, Mary, Rachel and Anna Hoyt

P.s. A huge blessing: Adam's dad Phil was able to visit- this brings us unspeakable joy, since it was only 4 months ago that we were told he had a 7% chance of surviving to see his first grandchildren. Praise God for rewriting THAT script!!

Multiplying Exponentially

Our dear friends and family,

Here's the announcement you've all been waiting for:

We welcome to the world Anna Katherine Hoyt and Rachel Grace Hoyt, our fraternal twin daughters, born Wednesday, October 12th, 2005 at 3:14am. They are BEAUTIFUL, weighing in at 4 lbs 14 oz (Anna) and 4 lbs 8 oz (Rachel.)


Celebrate with us!!

The details: By caesarean birth, at 35 weeks 2 days gestation. (Mary's water broke at home in bed at midnight.) She is recovering well and very grateful for the epidural and ibuprofen and the prayers.

The waiting game: Rachel WAS in the neonatal ICU "staging area" since shortly after birth, gaining strength and genuinely wowing the nurses, who thought she would have to be admitted to the full NICU. She joined us and her slightly bigger sister Anna with us in our room after 9 hours of painful separation!

Mommy requests no visitors at this time, as she's learning to breastfeed and still recovering from surgery. We'll send an "all clear" email to you to let you know when you can drop in and see us at Northside Hospital.

We love you and are unspeakably grateful for your love and nurturing you've showered on us at this time.


Love,

Adam, Mary, Anna and Rachel Hoyt

P.S. Mary's mom Julie pointed out that today (at sundown) is the beginning of Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. What a fitting day for these two "grace" babies to enter our lives.