Here are a couple of pictures of the girls to tide you over for a few paragraphs.

Lily, 1 week old

Avery, 1 week old

Every parent looks at their newborn with awe and wonder at this tiny new creation, as they well should! I cannot help but look at our girls and think of how they are fearfully and wonderfully made. The majesty of God’s creation overwhelms me. During my hospital stay I was followed by a team of Endocrinologists. I’m familiar with this type of specialist since I’ve had to be under that type of care for over two decades now. These were the happiest Endocrinologists in the world! They had stumbled on to the jackpot of their careers! A Panhypopituitarian who’s pregnant with twins!! They’ll go the rest of the lives and never be so lucky to have one like me cross their paths. On a regular basis I’d hold court of almost a dozen of them in my hospital room as they eagerly discussed my current state. They wrote out all the plans for how the delivery should go from the Endocrine standpoint and then were forced to wait like the rest of us. On Wednesday afternoon of last week, the whole crew found me in my post partum room. They were thrilled with the success of the delivery but most chagrinned at having missed it! They were supposed to be called if I went into labor and one of them would have been present. They didn’t even know I had delivered until they went to my old room and found me gone. Anyway, they were still overjoyed with the great success of their “little science project.” It was then that they began telling me just what a long shot the whole thing was, from conceiving to delivering the strong babies to my good physical tolerance of the delivery. It’s always nice to hear the doctors reminisce about just how lucky you are things went well. What speaks to my heart now are a few science facts they shared with me that further reveals God’s miraculous hand in our lives.
The most important medication I take every day is Cortisone. I can’t live one day without it. I can’t even make it a few hours into the day without my morning dose. When I get sick, I take an increased dose. If I’m thrown into a physical crisis I have to be injected with a large shot of it into a muscle. My parents and Noel have had to do this for me on more occassions than I’d like to recall. In the case of surgery, I have to receive it directly into my veins through an IV, which is what happened during delivery. What astounds me now is that the Endocrinologists theorize that it’s the very Cortisone I depend on that helped our girls develop a little faster than they should have. My disability, my complete dependence and frailty, God turned into our daughters’ strength. How can I not fall to my knees before my Lord when I know He used my greatest weakness to protect Avery and Lily? The doctors then told me how the increased level of stress in my womb also pushed the girls into a more rapid pace of development. The stress was a combination of the twin pregnancy, my own health issues, and that Avery had ruptured her amniotic sac. All of these factors together gave the girls’ system that extra push to get ready to be born. When all of these things should be negatives, God used them to show how He has us all in His hands. He is the God of our creation, the architect of life. There is no weakness He cannot grab hold of and turn into the greatest strength.
Our girls were born at 31 weeks 5 days of gestation, when a full-term, singleton pregnancy is 40 weeks. The neonatologist enthusiastically reported to us after the girls were just hours old that they were both sucking pacifiers. When she saw that I was not impressed, she further explained that they should not have the sucking reflex for a few more weeks! At one week old, they need neither respiratory assistance nor IVs; they regulate their own body temperature and eat formula! Every day they surprise us with what they’re already doing. They’re moving out of the NICU on Friday and are one step closer to home. They may be small, but they are mighty!
To God be the glory for these lives, fearfully and wonderfully made.

Lily having tummy time

Avery enjoying her pacifer