Week 28 - Welcome to the Third Trimester!!!

We are so glad to welcome Week 28! We are thrilled to be entering the third trimester, a wonderful milestone in the babies’ development!

We hear that a lovely time was had by all at the Ohio shower last weekend! Andrea enjoyed talking with so many of you that day! We also enjoyed savoring the delicious variety of fresh fruit in her edible bouquet; a rare delicacy in hospital life, and such a fun surprise! Now that the shower games have all been played, we are able to post the previously classified information about the babies’ weight estimates. Last week at their growth measurements, Katharine’s estimated weight was 2.1 pounds, and Christopher was at 2.5 pounds. It was wonderful to learn that their growth is right on track for their gestational age! The next growth estimates will be in three more weeks.

Our weekly sonograms continue to measure the membranes and fluids surrounding our little ones, and we continue to learn more and more about the babies’ development and their lives on “the inside”. Today we caught Katharine doing some more “practice breathing”, which is amazing to see! The positions of both are almost the same; head down, somewhat parallel to one another (Christopher to the left, and Katharine to the right). Their legs and feet form an arch at the top, with her legs under his. Ah - this explains the slightly more intense movement going on in that area! :)

Photo opportunities this week showed that Katharine is very fond of her hands and fingers, and is discovering fun things to do with her tongue. Christopher is not interested in sitting for portraits, the clearest picture being yet another view of his backside. Two photos are shown below. And both are very active, doing all the moving and stretching they need to grow!

And we are doing well here at "Hotel Fairfax"! As always, we are so thankful for all your love, support, and prayers!

With love,

Andrea and David

Welcome to Week 27!

Welcome Week 27, indeed! After almost four weeks under our belt here at “Hotel Fairfax,” we can’t believe how quickly time is passing! Wednesday’s monthly sonogram for growth measurement brought the news that the babies are developing beautifully! We cannot share their estimated weights yet, as we understand it would give an unfair advantage to blog readers at an upcoming shower! :)

Profile pictures were a little more challenging to capture this week. Christopher has mostly stayed put, snuggling in closer to his sister, who simply has nowhere else to go! He was facing his Mom’s back, however, which made his profile a little trickier to find. It was also tricky to get a clear profile image for Katharine, as she has discovered that her hands and fingers will reach and fit into her mouth!

We are so proud of them both, as they are working to grow big and strong! We continue to be blessed daily by the caring, dedicated doctors and nurses here; and by the love, support, and prayers from you, our family and friends.

We want to wish all the Ohio shower-goers a wonderful time and safe travels this weekend! We will be celebrating with you in spirit, and can’t wait to be home again later this year, with our new little ones!

With love,

Andrea and David

Week 26 Graduation

Welcome Week 26!

Just as Wednesdays bring our weekly sonogram and "Graduation Day," Thursdays bring the celebration of starting a new week of development for our little ones!

Yesterday's sonogram was a joy. It is always wonderful to see the babies kicking and growing; We are glad to see the development that takes place each week. This week's highlights were the profile pictures of each, and a little yawn captured from Katharine. :)

Also, Christopher has staged another move! After spending the first 24 weeks hanging out horizontally above mom's belly button; last week he shifted downward to the left, ending up vertical, parallel to his sister! And then this week, after another Tuesday afternoon spent trying to find him during heartbeat monitoring, we were not surprised to learn at Wednesday's sonogram that he has moved again! He is in the same neighborhood, but is now head down, with his long legs extending up above and to the right of mom's belly button. Live it up, Christopher, while there is still room in there!

And as the babies continue to grow and move, we are enjoying feeling and seeing their little stretches and kicks more and more, and are realizing that as they grow, they are also beginning to get stronger.

Finally, we are so thankful for all the visits, cards, care packages and phone calls from friends and family! Thank you for all the prayers, love, and encouragement! We can't express how much you mean to us and how much we appreciate your support as we wait for the Keller twins and prepare for their arrival.

With love,

Andrea and David

Week 25 Graduation

The Kellers, At Home At “Hotel Fairfax”; Week 25

As we approach the end of our second week here at Fairfax Hospital, fondly dubbed “Hotel Fairfax” by some, all this free time spent resting presents the opportunity to include narrative for this journey our family is on; as we await the happy, safe arrival of the sweet little Keller twins!

Our first week here was a roller coaster for us emotionally, as you can imagine. In the days of recovery which followed an initial period of heavily medicated monitoring, we learned a lot about how preterm labor is defined, treated, and suppressed to give the babies the longest possible stay in their warm, safe home. As my body recovered and adjusted to the new medication, we saw fewer contractions and began to get comfortable with our new home and routines here.

Our second week allowed time to settle into our new private room, adding conveniences like a small refrigerator and some other personal touches to remind us of the comforts of home. With fewer to no contractions under the new medication, we have also been thankful for time and energy to reflect.

Conversations with other patients and nurses here have helped us understand how much more frightening things could have been for us these last weeks. We can't help to realize that we have been blessed to find out about the preterm labor before it had progressed too far, and to now be receiving such excellent care every day to keep it that way. The doctors, nurses, and assistants, are wonderful and truly love what they do. We have been so thankful for the way people go out of their way to make sure you are getting the best care possible; as well as going over and above just to make your day better.

An unexpected blessing: Our experience here is teaching us so much about the babies, how they are growing, moving, and interacting with their environment and one another, and how they react to us and the outside world. In a way we could not before, we are seeing, feeling connected with, and understanding their growth, which is an amazing blessing!

And we’ve been so blessed by the support of all our friends and family! Thank you for being there when we need encouragement; and for all the emails, calls, cards, flowers, and visits that are helping us to start feeling normal again! And most of all, thank you for the prayers that carry our family through this experience. We are so grateful for every one!

So that is where we are at the end of our second week here, in the middle of week 25! Now that we’re all caught up, posts in the coming weeks are likely to be shorter updates.

Thank you for sharing this journey with us!

Week 25 - Looking Great!