The Burkett Bundle

Well, I did it. I took the babies somewhere all by myself!

I guess it started Monday morning when Kyran decided after his feeding that he was going to cry until he made himself spit up. I thought maybe I was overfeeding him, so I didn't supplement as much the next time, and the same thing happened. That continued until yesterday morning, when I had gotten very concerned because it seemed to be getting worse. I called the doctor and they said to bring him in, in 45 minutes!

I've never had just one baby, but I have taken care of one baby, and been around plenty of friends and family who have one baby. I know how hard it is to gather up the diaper bag, bottles, extra clothes and the baby to take him or her places. Take that difficulty, add another baby and apnea monitors and it multiplies by about five.

First, I made sure the diaper bag had all of the needed supplies. Then I got Kyran in his car seat, unplugged his monitor and packed it up so it was ready to go. Next, I did the same with Karyssa. Then I brought the babies downstairs, one at a time and then put them in the car, also one at a time.

The car ride was not so bad. Neither fell asleep, but they were both quiet for the entire trip. When I got to the doctor's office, I was blessed with the best spot possible, the first regular spot closest to the door and it was also next to a handicapped spot, which meant I had a "loading zone"! I pulled the stroller out of the trunk (not an easy task as the thing literally weighs 40lbs), unfolded it and locked it into place. Then I unhooked Kyran from his monitor, took him out of the car and placed him in the stroller. After doing the same for Karyssa, we were ready to go inside.

The stroller is huge, but surprisingly easy to maneuver, so with a little help opening doors, the inside of the doctor's office was not so bad. When the visit was over, I took all of the previous steps in reverse. Loaded Kyran in the car and hooked him back up to the monitor and the same for Karyssa. Folded up the stroller and struggled to get it in the car (even harder than getting it out). The way home was not so easy as Kyran decided to cry for the entire trip. Once we got home, I brought them into the house one at a time and upstairs one at a time, plugged the monitors back up, laid Karyssa down in her bassinet and started to feed Kyran.

While this was far from the easiest thing I've ever done, I am just happy to know that I am capable of doing it alone!

We did get some good news at the doctor's office. Kyran's crying (supposedly) is because he had outgrown his dose of Zantac, so she increased that. She also went ahead and weighed and measured head circumference for both of them, so that we don't have to go back for our scheduled visit on Monday. She said they are right on track as far as both are concerned. Kyran weighed 10 lb, 7 oz and Karyssa was 8 lb, 14 oz.

One other piece of good news is that RSV and the Flu are gone!! That means that we can slowly start taking the babies more places and introducing them to more people! It's going to be a slow adjustment, especially since it takes a half hour to get them out of the house and we have to be home to eat every three hours, and the fact that they're still on the monitors, but we're looking forward to being out and about more often!

We got the results of Kyran's monitor download yesterday. It showed that one-third of his respiratory alarms were associated with heart rate drops, so he'll be on for at least another month. The good news is that he did not have any isolated heart rate drops. We're still waiting to hear about Karyssa's results.

On another note, please be in prayer for the Burkett family. Jason's grandfather, Harry Burkett, passed away yesterday. He was 90 years old and had an amazing wife, 12 children and many, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Kyran and Karyssa did not have the chance to meet him, but they will know him through our stories! We will miss you, Grandad Burkett!