Hello everyone, here is a picture of what our lives looked like from 2:30 until 9:00pm (that's when we moved rooms) . One of the monitors is for the babies heart beat and the other one is to monitor the contractions.
All the nurses that took care of us were so sweet! If yall are reading this thank you so much for everything!
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.
- Psalm 139: 13-16
Praise the Lord life begins at conception!
Below you can see the babies moving in my womb. (You can hear their heart beating in the back ground.)
We have been so blessed by so many people during this pregnancy, I just wanted to send out a quick blog entry to say THANK YOU!
Thank you for all the emails, cards, flowers, giving Destinee rides, making food, mowing the lawn, taking care of Kenya, keeping us company, and most of all thank you so much for all of your prayers! This has been such a sweet time for us a family and such a sweet time for us with the Lord.
God is good and has used you all to encourage and comfort us during this time!
THANK YOU ALL YOUNG AND OLD FOR ALL THE GREAT REMINDERS!
After a long 24 hours we are HOME! Thank you all for your prayers and support we just got home and are tired, but happy that I was not in labor.
After we left the hospital we went by to see my doctor, he explained to us that the contractions are going to be normal from here on out. We have 6 pounds of babies in there (each one weighs about 3 pounds), my uterus is the size of a full term uterus and my amniotic fluid level is twice as high as it should be. So my body thinks it's full term and it's ready to deliver these babies.
I am not dilated so that is good news and the test to see how likely I am to go into preterm labor came back negative. So from what he could tell I'm not very likely to go into preterm labor in the next two weeks. After that they will do the preterm labor test again and see what it says. As long as I'm not dilated he is going to leave everything as it is. But if my cervix starts changing he is going to deliver. We will be seeing him every week from here on out.
Please be praying for my body that it would be able to hold these babies in there until I'm at least 36 weeks.
Please be praying for all the medical staff that God would give them wisdom in dealing with our care and if any of them don't know Him that they would repent of their sins and put their full trust in Jesus for their salvation.
Please be praying for our kids (Destinee and Kenya) that their hope would be in the Lord.
Please be praying for my sweet husband who has taken over everything so all I have to do is rest.
Please please be praying for Melody and Madison that the Lord's will would be done. That He would keep them in my womb and on this Earth as long as He sees fit.
And most of all pray that God will be glorified through our sweet babies lives!
It's is roughly 11:10pm and I just got off the phone with my brother.
Vanessa Kay is going to try and get some much needed rest. Jason is reading and will hopefully sleep.
The staff will continue to monitor Vanessa Kay through the night. After breakfast, they will make a decision on whether Jason and Vanessa Kay can make their way home or not.
She is still having up to 12 contractions per hour.
Please pray for rest for our brother and sister. They are physically tired. I know it takes a long time for Vanessa to get comfortable and sleep with ease due to the fact that she is carrying Madison and Melody.
You can check here for regular updates. I will be updating until Jason and Vanessa Kay get home safely.
Jason and Vanessa Kay are thankful for your prayers and love all of you dearly.
May our God continue to work even as we sleep. Antonio.
The hospital staff ran some tests and Vanessa Kay is not in pre-term labor. Her contractions were getting stronger for a moment but have since gone down.
The staff has decided to keep her overnight for observation.
They are currently waiting to be moved to a room. She is not dilated which is wonderful.
I feel like Vanessa's smile is a wonderful testimony.
With a sincere heart. Antonio.
PS. Mom across the world approve of blogger (ie. VK)
Jason, Vanessa, Madison and Melody are at hospital right now.
Earlier this morning, Vanessa's contractions had accelerated to more than 10 and hour. Their doctor requested that they go into the hospital for further observation. Please pray with us that the contractions would stop. The contractions are currently 1 minute apart from each other.
Jason educated me on the wonders of having children. Currently, Vanessa is 31 weeks into her term. She must go at least 34 weeks for the babies to have the possibility of breathing on their own.
As I spoke to Jason on the phone, I hear the heart monitor ringing periodically. The frequency was beautiful and moving. God is the designer of all life. He is an artist and architect far greater than we can imagine. He is the engineer of all things; the foreman and sculptor that we should never take for granted.
The heavens declare the glory of God;the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech;night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or languagewhere their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth,their words to the ends of the world.In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, Psalms 19. 1-4.
144 beats per minute never sounded so lovely once you realize that God has directed the music that hits your ears.
Jason and Vanessa will be updating me as the evening progresses.
Please join us in earnest prayer as God's work is mighty. He will glorified in the outcome and He alone is sovereign. Please pray for peace and strength for their family.
With love and devotion, from a satellite heart to our Savior above. Antonio (Uncle Toe Toe/Toby/Little Tony)
Today we had our first appoint with the neonatologist. He was really sweet and did a great job explaining himself to us in terms we could understand. He was especially interested in our case because he is not only a neonatologist, but also a cardiologist. More than that, he found out when his wife was pregnant at 12 weeks that they had twins and one of them had a enlarged head that would be fatal to his child. Abortion was also not a option for them, so they delivered and their one boy lived until he was 9 months, the other twin is still alive to this day. So not only was he a expert in the field that dealt with our situation, but he also understood what we are going through emotionally, and all the hard decision making we have that goes with it.
He and his NICU team (26 in total) have been discussing and looking into our case for the last 5 days or so. Since finding out about our situation there have been 2 more cases of conjoined twins just like ours. One set of conjoined twins was delivered last week but has already died.
He called the top 3 hospitals that deal with cases like ours this week to see if there was anything they could do, but all of them said none of them would do any surgerys based on our babies heart condition and the way they were conjoined since 100% of the surgeries done to help babies like this end up in the babies dying withing 1 to 3 days. He was looking for some kind of ray of hope and was surprised that there wasn't anyone that would even try anything.
Our twins are Thoracopagus - joined at the chest; share a single heart and have some cardiac connection issues; some organs in the abdominal region may be malformed (about 40 percent of conjoined twins)
After we were done talking with him, my doctor (who is a pernatologist) and the cardiologist came in to make sure we were all on the same page. I'm so thankful for all of these doctors but especially my doctor, it was great to have him in there.
So as it stands, there is nothing that can be done medically to help our babies.
We now pray that the twins would be born breathing (since that is still a concern) and that my (Vanessa's) recovery, from the csection, would be quick so I can spend as much time with the babies as possible. We also pray that God would heal their heart. We pray that God's will be done and that Jesus Christ would be glorified no matter the life span of Melody & Madison.
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. - Ecclesiastes 11:5
Hello everyone, we went to the doctor today and I just wanted to give a quick update.
Melody and Madison each weigh a little over 3 pounds and both girls were moving their mouths during the sonogram. They are getting so big and are so cute!
We were glad to hear that my blood pressure is good, my feet and hands are not swollen, and the amniotic fluid level is good.
We set a tentative delivery date of December 22nd. We chose this date for many reasons, but mostly so that Destinee would be on Christmas break when Melody and Madison are born. Most twins are born around 36 weeks and I will be 38 weeks when we deliver so please be praying we will make it to that date if it is the Lords will. Also pray for a quick recovery for me after the csection, there is a chance that I will be in the hospital on Christmas which is a bummer but I want to do what's best for our family. We still have to meet with the babies heart surgeon and if we choose to do surgery we will have to move the delivery date up a week.
So that's all the new news. Thanks for keeping up with us.
Well we went to the Pediatric Cardiologist today to have an ECHO (a really long sonogram for their heart) done.
The doctor that did it was so nice, she had a great bed side manner and was just so sweet. We got a ton of information about their heart, however, none of it was good.
As you know, they are sharing a heart with one ventricle, and now it looks like the baby on the right has a better connection to the heart. I don't know all the technical terms but basically this babies arteries have a better connection that goes from the heart to the lungs.
Regarding the baby on the left, her arteries may not even go from the heart to her lungs. In fact she may not even have lungs.
The next step is to have a CT/MRI done to see if the baby on the left has lungs. After they figure that out then there are three options,...none of which are good.
1) Do nothing after Melody and Madison are born (granted that they are born alive) and just spend time with them and see how long they will make it. The baby on the left has a heart defect that with in a few hours to days after birth will be fatal for both babies if they are left together.
2) (If they both have lungs and are born alive) Do open heart surgery to put shunts into their heart to help it pump better. Even if they do this they are not sure how long the girls will live because a heart with one ventricle will eventually give out. It's not strong enough for one baby let alone two.
3) If the baby on the left does not have lungs (and the other is still alive) then separate them after birth and give the baby on the right a chance to live. The life expectancy is still unknown because the baby will still only have a heart with one ventricle, and a donor heart will not work since each baby does not have the right connections (or artery hook up) since their heart and what is connected to it is currently malformed.
Please understand that we would NEVER in a million years separate our babies and allow one to die so that the other one could live. They only way that we will separate them is if the baby on the left does not have lungs, because neither one of them would make it at that point if we left them together.
Please be praying for Melody and Madison and that if it is the Lord's will that He would heal their heart.
Please be praying for wisdom for the doctors in the up coming weeks.
Please please be praying for Jason and I we have some very hard ethical choices to make in the next few weeks, choices which we hope to answer with wisdom, the council of others, and prayer. As the situation stands, it seems like they all result in death which breaks our heart. Jason and I are deeply grieved by all the news we heard today but we still say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord who gives and takes away!" (Job1:21)
After we heard the news and the doctor stepped out of the room I (Vanessa) just started singing the first part if this hymn Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
1. Praise to the Lord, The Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise Him, For He is thy health and salvation! All ye who hear, Now to His temple draw near; Praise Him in glad adoration.
Here are the rest of the words. (Verses 2 & 3 kept running though my [Jason] head)
2. Praise to the Lord, Who over all things so wondrously reigneth, Shelters thee under His wings, Yea, so gently sustaineth! Hast thou not seen How all your longings have been Granted in what He ordaineth?
3. Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee; Surely His goodness And mercy here daily attend thee. Ponder anew What the Almighty can do, If with His love He befriend thee.
4. Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him! All that hath life and breath, Come now with praises before Him. Let the Amen Sound from His people again, Gladly for aye we adore Him.
This was one of the harder days I (Jason) had, it was impossible for me to be strong for my wife at this time, I had a lump in my throat for hours and was trying so hard (with tear stained eyes) not to breakdown. But once Vanessa went to the bathroom and came out she found me even unable to speak cause I could do nothing but cry. One verse that kept going through my head was:
"Though he slay me, I will hope in him;..." Job 13:15
Though we know the theology of God's sovereignty and suffering (which I hope to blog about soon) and I am glad we do (otherwise we may wind of cursing God rather than hoping and trusting in Him), it is times like these when you just need to weep in your wife's arms and be still and know that God is God. I am so thankful for the body of believers who are standing with us and even weeping with us. I am thankful to God for saving me,...I can only imagine that I would be in utter despair at this time if I was not a Christian with a living hope. There is no other sufficient answer but Jesus Christ and his great name and renown.
Have you thanked God lately for giving you a heart that works properly? And for you Christians, have you thanked God lately for removing your heart of stone (the heart which is deceitful and wicked above all) and giving you a heart of flesh (a tender heart that loves Him and finds your highest joy in serving Him)? This alone is possible with God. Praise Him!
Thank you for all the love and support, we will continue to seek God's face and His will during this time.
We love you all,
Jason, Vanessa, Destinee, Kenya, Melody and Madison.
Jason and I have been asked lot's of questions lately so I wanted to post some on here.
1) How do twins become conjoined?
All conjoined twins are identical, so that means that one sperm fertilizes one egg then on about the 4th day after conception the egg starts to split into two babies. It has from the 4th to the 11th day after fertilization to split into two babies if it doesn't finish by the 11th day they become conjoined.
2) Did you take fertility medication?
We did not take any kind of fertility medication. The Lord blessed us with these babies with out any medical intervention.
3) How are the twins conjoined?
They are conjoined from their chest, down to right above their umbilical cord. This is hard for some to picture so look at the picture on the right from the Buckles Twins (still living and separated, now age 4) that are conjoined like ours our. To see more pictures of them right after their birth to see how these conjoined twins look, bathe, drink a bottle, and how they are held, check this out.
Our twins also share a liver and a heart.
4) Where do you find clothes for them?
The way our babies are conjoined we will be able to buy outfits with buttons, dress them in there own outfits, then just button the front and the back together. I know it's hard to picture that so check out the following picture from the Buckles Twins:
That's what it looks like. The Buckles website has helped answer a lot of questions. Their twins were joined like ours are and they were able to be separated. I have talked to the mom, Melissa, on the phone, she is so sweet and answered a lot of questions for us.
There is also a different family that has conjoined twins just like ours. They are 2 now and she would buy 2 outfits and sew them together. She told me she would send me their clothes if we wanted them. What a huge blessing! Here is their website.
5) How did you find these other families of conjoined twins?
Jason's aunt Stephanie sent me a link to a private support group on Yahoo for families of conjoined twins. There are about 30 families on there. I have really enjoyed talking to them. It's been a huge blessing knowing that were not the only ones going through this. If you know anyone who is having conjoined twins or has had conjoined twins give them this website.
6) Will you have a c section?
I will be having a planned c section which is funny because we were planning on having a nice home birth. The Lord knows and He had other plans for this birth. I'm not sure when we will deliver. I'm going to ask the doctor when we go next Wednesday. I will be 37 weeks in the middle of December so I'm guessing it will be around then.
7) Vanessa, what do you do all day?
Kenya and I wake up around nine in the morning. I get us some breakfast something easy, then I lay down on the couch, check email, message Jason, do my Bible Study (please be praying I would be more dedicated in this), then I will sit on the floor and play with Kenya for a few minutes. Jason gets home early in the afternoon, so that is a HUGE blessing. He makes lunch for everyone, plays with Kenya, then we all take a nap (well sometimes)
Kenya is such an easy kid, she likes playing with all her toys which is nice because I don't have to constantly entertainer her.
8) Do you need any help?
We have needed a lot of help with getting Destinee to school, taking care of Kenya, cooking, cleaning...
Jason is the most amazing husband ever! He works full time then comes home and works full time around the house. He never complains about it either. He makes sure I keep resting even when I think I'm doing good and I will try to start doing stuff around the house but he wont let me. I love you babe, thank you for everything!
Our church family, blood family and friends have brought meals over for us which is such a huge blessing Thank you guys!
Jason's Mom came in town and spent a week helping us get stuff done around the house, she spent time with Kenya and cooked for us. Thank you Rose!
My Mom has also been helping a lot, we go to her house every Sunday for lunch before church. I call her if I need help with Kenya or just want company. Thanks Mom I love you!
Kenya also spends a few days a week at Jason's Aunt Ana and Uncle Dan's house. Kenya loves it.
We are down to one car and were not sure how we were going to get Destinee to school but some good friends of ours kids also go to her school, so she has been riding with them.
Oh and two of our friends have taken over the yard work, there is just not enough time in the day for Jason to do everything, so that has freed him up to do other things. Thank you Curt and Keith for mowing our yard!
Thank you everyone who has made us a meal we have really enjoyed all the different kinds of food. Also, thank you all for your prayers we have truly been blessed by all the love and support.
If you have any more questions please feel free to ask. We love talking about Melody and Madison!
After only getting 3 hours of sleep, I must admit that I was not initially excited about the circus,...but it was a blast!
Yesterday, we showed up to the circus a hour early so the girls could ride some animals. This included elephants, horses, and camels:
The fun was just beginning though! Before the big show even started we made sure to get loaded up on sugar: Then the show began. It had all the elements of a circus that you'd except and was full of different emotions and was overall a good time: At intermission we thought Kenya would enjoy some face painting: Anyone remember "Death Stare"? Kenya eventually didn't mind it and (Destinee's friend) Danielle and Destinee joined in the face painting fun as well: Then they had a live Burmese python put around them: The 2nd half of the show was great too: All in all the circus was a blast: And wouldn't of happened without the grandparents (THANKS GRANDPARENTS): You'll have to watch the 4 minute video below to get a better taste of the THRILLS, SPILLS, and,... well, you will just have to watch:
Today one of my favorite blogs My Charming Kids had a contest to see who would be the one millionth person to visit her blog. I was so excited at first,... I was going to win this (well there wasn't really a prize but bragging rights were enough for me). So I looked to see how many people had visited her site at that point and it was still several hundred away from one million. So then I decided that I didn't care anymore and it was not worth checking back all night to see if I was the one. Well my competitive side kicked in and I thought, "I'm going to go for it." I just knew I would be up all night waiting and hoping that I was the one. So I logged in and much to my surprise I was number one million and thirty eight, "Your kidding me,... right? One million and thirty eight!" There was no way, I was that far away from being the one millionth person. I decided to take a picture though because at this point I convinced myself that being number one million and thirty eight was pretty close to the winner. I know I'm sick.
Then after thinking about it for a while I got so sad I called Jason crying,...yes crying. He was in the middle of worship practice and couldn't talk but he called me back and I told him the whole story (and yes, cried again). I'm pretty sure this is the most ridicules thing I have ever cried over. Well there was that time when I was pregnant with Kenya and I couldn't find anything to wear (even though my closet was full of clothes) so I lay on the floor and cried my eyes out. But other than that this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever cried over!
With all that said, on a more serious note, please be praying for the family of the blog that I cried over. The Mom (she refers to her self as "Mck Mama") is a little less than three weeks from delivering their fourth baby. His name is Stellan and he has an enlarged heart, the doctors have given him a 50% chance of survival after birth. They are a very sweet family and I know they would appreciate your prayers.
I will be full term, 37 weeks pregnant, in just 10 short weeks. At first I was really excited about that because I can't wait to meet and hold our babies, be able to get around easier, not be sore anymore (well once I recover from the csection), sleep better at night, pick up Kenya, the list goes on and on. But then it hit me today we may only have ten short weeks left with our babies here on earth. Only ten weeks left of feeling and watching them move all over my stomach. Only ten weeks left of sonograms getting to see our babies blink, swallow, and suck on their thumbs. That thought broke my heart. Don't get me wrong I know that God can heal their heart and I know that He can allow them to live, but at the same time He may allow them to die,...we don't know what His will is yet.
I have been crying on and off for the past few hours not knowing what the future holds for our family, but I am so blessed to know that God knows exactly how everything will happen and He will be there to comfort us just like He has this whole time.
I wanted to share with you all about my hard day because I want yall to know that I am a real person, I am not super human with some amazing ability to handle tragedy, though I am a child of God and He is ever present in my time of need.
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16
Well it's back to bed rest for me my dear friends.
I have had a lot of fun this past week getting out of the house and doing a little bit more here and there but as of today I once again think bed rest is the best thing for me. We are going to the circus on Saturday but after that no more running around. I have had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions today and they only stop when I lay on my left side. So that is what I will be doing laying on my left side. I just wanted to give everyone an update.
We went to the doctor today and only had to wait for about fifteen minutes to get in (the wait last time was over 2 hours). Mom my came with us since today is her birthday.
The baby below is baby B who loves the camera just like her big sister.
The baby bellow is baby A who never really wants her picture taken (poor baby is in for a rude awakening when she is born and meets her Momma). .
They did a pretty quick sonogram today so we didn't really learn anything new. The doctor told us that they are doing good and growing right on track with where they should be.
I just finished watching the sonogram video to see if I could find how much it said they weighed (they forgot to tell us) and I found it. Baby A weighs 2 pounds 5 ounces and baby B weighs 2 pounds 6 ounces. Can you believe it? They are growing so well! They can't get a really good measurement of their chests because that is where they are conjoined so the weight on the sonogram might not be exact, but they assure us it is close.
Jason and I have been just blown away by God's grace during this time. Thank you so much Lord for blessing us with these babies! For sustaining us during this time in our lives, we will continue to praise Your name, the name above all other names!
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Psalm 33:1
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Psalm 104:33
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! Psalm 146:1
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD! Psalm 106:48
Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1
Today, October 7th 2008, we are 27 weeks, 3 days pregnant and 151 pounds. I can't believe how far we have come. The Lord has truly blessed us. I am so thankful that we are still pregnant.
Look at this belly, I LOVE being pregnant! I love having a huge belly and having people ask "how far along are you?" then gasp in unbelief when I tell them "I'm only 6 months pregnant", I love feeling Melody and Madison move all over my stomach, and also being able to see them moving all over my stomach. I don't really love the fact that it feels like my ribs are breaking but it reminds me that I'm still pregnant so for that I am grateful!
Of course Kenya wanted to help measure my belly she kept saying "oh the Momma baby belly"
Today is my Mom's birthday. We had a fun filled day of opening gifts,
and eating at Babe's Chicken,...yum! I warned Destinee that I was going to put this on the blog so she had better take a good picture. Well this is what we got so enjoy.
Oh and after dinner we went and got Baskin Robins ice cream. Did you know that on Tuesday nights a scoop of ice cream is only one dollar. I don't know what it is normally but one dollar what a deal (I think). So everyone needs to go and have their pumpkin pie ice cream, it is soooooo good! I love you Mom and I'm so glad that you were born 48 years ago today!
Jason and I took Kenya to the park yesterday we had a blast.
I have been able to do a little bit more lately without having too many contractions. We were only there for about thirty minutes but we had so much fun.
I love this picture of Kenya holding Jason's hand. She pulled him all over that park.
We enrolled Destinee in a private christian school this year and we have loved it! They have small class rooms and the teachers truly care about the students. Destinee is doing really good in that school we are so proud of the young woman she has become!
The school hosted a ladies lunch so all the Mom's could get to know each other, it was such a great time of fellowship and such a relaxing afternoon. I love all these women and I have only met them once!
Kenya is only a few days away from being 2! I can't believe it.
Time has flown by and there so many moments in her little sweet life I have taken for granted. My desire is to train her up in the ways of the Lord and just enjoy her right now at the age she is. Try not to rush her on to the next stage, but just enjoy her right now as my little baby at 23 months. Okay, I know she is not a baby but I wont be able to say that after the 16th of this month when she turns 2.
