Not a lot to report lately, but wanted to give an update for those asking.

The girls continue to put on weight and are growing well. We aren’t getting much sleep at all, but we’re doing our best to remember that this won’t last forever. *Experienced twin parents- send me all the tips for helping twins sleep longer and at the same time, please!!

The big kids are great! They seem so big next to the babies, and they adore their sisters so much.

My mom is a saint- truly being fully immersed in this hard season of life with us. She’s taking multiple late night feedings, helps care for and transport the big kids each day, and does plenty of laundry and dishes. We would be lost without her.

My dad and my mother in law watch the babies on my chemo days, which are long, sometimes 5-6 hour days. They’ve become quite the team and we are thankful.

I still have 9 more chemo sessions, and I hate how they drain me. Living on limited sleep is enough, but adding on dealing with the awful side effects of these drugs just seems so unfair. But still, I keep going. There is no other option. It is looking like my surgery will be sometime in June.

We are beyond thankful for prayers, cards, and all the food. Our church, Grace Point, set up a meal train for us when the babies first came home from the hospital, and some dear friends have dropped off food as well. We found an unexpected blessing in a meal train from another church, St. John Neumann. One family at our sitter’s attends there and shared our story. I’m so moved that people we’ve never met are bringing meals to get us through my chemo days. It’s so hard to accept help, but we are beyond grateful!

Sending love and many prayers to our family and friends. Hope everyone is finding joy in the journey and trying to focus on the good in this broken and chaotic world. ❤️

Quick update- chemo went great today! Thanks for all the prayers! The fear of anaphylactic shock was wiped away; God is good and the new drug worked!

We pray for our big village too- may you all be safe and healthy. We love you!

The girls are almost a month old! They are eating like champs and gaining weight really well. They have to eat every 3 hours so Michael, my mom, and I are losing lots of sleep. We’re still trying to figure out the best way to get the girls all their feedings and trade off who does which one. We’re doing the best we can. Lily is a bit bigger and a better eater, but Mia is our better sleeper. The big kids have adjusted wonderfully. They love their babies and are so sweet and gentle with them.

Today I restarted chemo. That turned into a disaster. I started a new drug and the plan was to have that drug infusion weekly for 12 weeks. However, I had an anaphylactic reaction to the drug within 5 minutes of it being administered. My nurses and doctor were completely ready for a possible reaction (it happens in 30% of patients) and they got me all the help I needed very quickly, including 2 doses of an epi-pen, lots of reversal meds and steroids, and oxygen. It was immensely scary, as I couldn’t breathe and my blood pressure and oxygen levels dropped dangerously low. It was an incredibly awful day. I’m so thankful for Michael holding my hand and keeping me calm.

My oncologist already has another plan and another drug to try next week. Hoping and praying that infusion is reaction free 🤞🏼

The girls are home! We were anticipating they would still be in the NICU over the weekend, but the doctors surprised us and said if Mia reached 4lbs, she could go home. Lily had already surpassed that on Wednesday.

Yesterday was full of watching discharge videos in the NICU, passing the car seat tests and waiting on all the approvals. The big kids waited up late and finally got to meet their baby sisters around 9:30pm. It was pure joy watching C and H smile and ooh and ahh at these tiny, yet mighty, girls. They are in love and we couldn’t be more excited to have all our family under one roof.

We are so thankful for everyone’s prayers! We saw our girls through some tough circumstances and our hearts just ached these past 10 days. We are praising God and are so thankful for our village. We are blessed. 🩷🩷

Babies are still in the NICU, and we’re driving back and forth to see them each day. We’re trying to be there for all their day feeds, which are 8:30, 11:30, 2:30, and 5:30. They are keeping up with their feeding requirements by bottle, but it takes them a long time to get through their feeds.

The doctors want them both to get back to at least 4 lbs. That is definitely a requirement for discharge. If they fall behind on their feeds, they will have to get back on their feeding tubes. Both girls have had great bilirubin checks for a few days, so no more light therapy for anyone.

Michael and I have been through plenty of difficult seasons in our marriage, and have always come out stronger. This has to be the hardest so far. Cancer, twin-pregnancy with complications, 2 premies, NICU time, 2 big kids at home that need care and attention who have yet to meet their sisters, our families stressing themselves out to meet our needs, and all the emotions that come with all of this. This isn’t easy and feels so unfair.

We pray for things to be easier, we pray for things to go our way, but so far, we wait.

Thanks for hanging in there with us. 👶🏼🩷👶🏼

Little girls are doing great today! They’re both off of their IV fluids and feeding tubes and are taking a bottle like champs. Both are testing well also, so blue light might be going away today as well. Just continuing to develop their stamina so they can take a full feeding session with mom and bottle without tiring out.

Still a long way to go for them to go home, but all signs point to these little ladies getting bigger and healthier day by day. We were officially discharged last night so we are staying at the hospital today to “care by parent”, essentially just guests in the hospital to be closer to the girls for an extra day.

We’ll be leaving the hospital later today without the girls. While we absolutely understand that the NICU is what is keeping these little babies healthy and safe for the time being, it is incredibly difficult to think about leaving the hospital without our little girls.

We’ll be driving back and forth plenty in the upcoming days to see them, feed them, and help care for them. We can’t wait to introduce them to Charlotte and Harrison and to the rest of our family and friends that have been so supportive in this incredibly stressful time. Until then, we’ll keep taking this journey one day at a time.

We were able to see their beautiful faces today!

We headed to the hospital around 6am yesterday after my water broke spontaneously at home. I labored all day and the girls entered the world after 10pm last night on January 13, 2025. Lillian was born naturally but Amelia made things tricky and was born by c-section. We are so thankful for my incredible nurses and doctor that acted quickly and made great care decisions.

Lillian weighed 4lbs 4oz and Mia was 3lbs 14oz. Both girls needed breathing support so after meeting them they headed quickly to the NICU. They both currently are on a CPAP machine and a feeding tube, but no oxygen support was needed. We hope this continues to go well and they can be off those supports in a week or so.

The girls will also need to work on maintaining body temperature and being able to eat before they head home. We are looking at a minimum of 2 weeks in the NICU, but perhaps more.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us and continue to pray for us! We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful community near and far. Our girls are strong! 🩷🩷

Lots to share soon! The girls are here!

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The babies scared us on Sunday, and we thought they might be making an early appearance into the world! Thankfully we decided to go to the hospital before the snowstorm to see what was going on. I was having some painful contractions that wouldn’t let up. The doctors were able to confirm that I wasn’t in active labor and I was able to get meds to stop the contractions. I’m 32 weeks and 5 days, and we are hoping to make it until 34-36 weeks. We are so close, but to keep them out of the NICU, we really need 2-3 more weeks! Thanks for praying with us.

My last chemo was Jan. 2, and I’ll be off chemo until about 2-4 weeks after the babies are born. Chemo went really well last week and I’m so thankful to have a break! A BIG thanks to my mom for doing all the cooking and cleaning lately!

We can’t wait to meet our sweet girls. Here is a sneak peek of their names- Mia and Lily! 🩷💜