I started a blog about our baby girls with updates, pictures, prayer requests and praises. I figured with all the updates, it might dominate this blog or my photography blog.
I will update every Sunday and Wednesday, and if anything comes up between them. Please add to your google reader or follow along.
Thanks for all your love
www.heheardmycall.blogspot.com
Some of you may know what happened but sadly, I haven’t been able to get a hold of some of my dearest friends. I don’t have a phone. I tried to use it on Wednesday to get a hold of people but it wasn’t working with me. Then in all the chaos, it vanished and with it went all my contact information. If you’ve been trying to get a hold of me, I don’t have a phone so I have not received texts or voicemails and unless Scott has your phone number, I can’t get in touch with you. Please email me with your contact info!!!
This past Wednesday, Scott and I had plans to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. Instead, we found ourselves driving to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. From the minute the nurse told us that we were having triplets, our biggest concern has been pre-term labor. Despite all precautions, the human body is not designed to accommodate more than 2 babies at a time. At 26 weeks, I was already past the size of a woman carrying one full-term baby. We entered the hospital with mild symptoms but were confident along with doctors that we would be sent home, we just wanted to be safe. Unfortunately, tests indicated that my water might have broken. They began me on heavy medication that stalls and delays labor and we began talking about me being hospitalized and on complete, absolute bedrest for as many weeks as we could delay their delivery.
Scott and I have countdown timer applications on our phones. I have a countdown to 28 weeks gestation where premature babies have a great rate of survival with few complications. Scott’s countdown is to 33 weeks, our goal for our triplet pregnancy where our babies would spend only a little amount of time in the NICU. We were hit pretty hard with the prospect that 33 weeks would now be a very big stretch and we had to switch our focus to 28 weeks which was still 13 days away. The nurse monitored me while I waited for the medication to slow and diminish the mild contractions I was having. Instead, despite upping the medication and trying an additional second drug, I rapidly switched into advanced labor to the shock of all, including the doctors. It was the most chaotic and scary moment I have ever experienced as alarms went off, people started yelling and I was being raced down the hall into the operating room. One of the last things I saw before the door swung close and I was put under was the scared face of Scott putting on scrubs in the hall. I would be told later that he wasn’t even allowed into the room. I was put completely under and I have no memory of what followed.
On Wednesday, July 28th 2010, a little after noon, our three daughters were delivered by emergency C-Section. They were born 3 and half months early at 26 weeks and 1 day gestation. Allison “Astro” Sunaoka weighing 1 lb 12 oz. Rory “Gizmo” Sunaoka weighing ~ 2 lb 4 oz. Casey “Slugger” Sunaoka weighing ~ 2 lb 4 oz. Allie and Casey were rushed to the NICU. Scott and I are heartbroken to share that a few hours after birth, our little Rory “Gizmo” had passed away.
About a month and a half ago, we learned through ultrasounds and echocardiograms that Rory had a serious heart defect that was terminal. The past 6 weeks have been an emotional journey as each week and each scan brought new questions with unhappy answers. We have been struggling with how to share this news publicly as we know so many have shared in this pregnancy and excitement. Our girls are beyond cherished and loved by all, and our family has expanded in the last 6 months to include so many thrilled “aunties” and “uncles.” There were so many questions that we had to deal with. Our future changed from week to week. We were even looking to possibly giving birth in San Diego and uprooting our lives for a year. We didn’t know if we wanted a baby shower, or even how to register for baby items. I would break down in tears when it came down to deciding quantity. At night, we mainly talked about how we might want to spend Rory’s time after birth with her. Above all, we did not want to give up hope of miraculous hearing and every week and every doctor visit, we just kept praying that this was the week that would bring us good news. Unfortunately, we just ran out of time far quicker than we could ever have imagined and nothing…nothing could have prepared us for saying hello and goodbye to our daughter in less than a day.
We had hoped to get as far as long as possible to give Rory the best chance at birth, and to give us the most time with her. Being born at 26 weeks erased a lot of our options and plans, and it is still hard for us to face. The hospital staff were aware of the situation and made her as comfortable as possible. Rory did get to spend a lot of quality time being held by daddy and close family and friends before she returned home to be with her other “Daddy.” Such a short time with us, but we cherished every moment and I’m thankful for every second I had to be her mom. It was a blessing and an honor.
We are recovering and there’s a lot to deal with as we were not very prepared at this early a stage. We know you love our families and we ask that most communication be through email or texts or fb (so modern huh) and not through phone calls. We don’t have much time to spend on the phone although we want to keep everyone updated. Please don’t feel that you can’t ask us about Rory. We certainly want to celebrate her life. I’ll be posting soon about Rory for those who never got to meet or know her. I’m so proud of her and I want everyone to know how amazing she is.
We have two little babies in the NICU who also still need our attention and a lot of prayer. At this stage, their lungs, immune system, brain, and digestive system are still underdeveloped and they are kept isolated to mimic still being in the womb. Allie, our petite little 1 lb 12 oz firecracker, was moved off a breathing tube and to a less invasive breathing assistance called a C-PAP. Today, they will do an echo on her heart to see if she has any heart problems related to her identical sister’s heart problem. Casey, last to arrive at 2 lb 4 oz, is having more difficulty. She’s not been able to move off the breathing tube and is having a rougher time managing her oxygen levels. She had a lot of swelling but it has gone down a lot in the last day. We’ve been warned that with micro-preemies, there will be a lot of steps forward and just as many steps back. We’re praying for those steps forward. These girls may have been born in Honolulu, but I am pretty sure I see some Big Island in them=)
Prayer Requests:
-Slugger is able to move onto a C-PAP today
-No apnea spells for Astro
-Today’s fetal echocardiograms show perfect hearts for both girls
-Astro to be able to move to a PIC-line
*we still refer to them by Scott’s crazy nicknames, it’s a habit I can’t kick unfortunately
My sister has five girls and I adore my nieces. My 3 year old niece, Lauren, has two little twin sisters who since turning a year and half and learning to walk have been promoted to official twisters. Scott and I made a goal of trying to watch Lauren once a week to let her have some "Lauren" time and actually spend some time playing with toys without having four smaller hands snatch them away. When you babysit, you always feel that urge to have to entertain them. So my sister gave us some leftover Christmas crafts and this visit we attempted to bake and decorate our own home-made gingerbread cookies.
The party included:
Lauren's friend, HB, stopped by for some playground and coloring book fun but left before the culinary lesson began. Here's Master Baker Scott showing a preview of our final creations. I may have to explain Scott's cookie a little. That's actually supposed to be a gummy heart in the middle and the "A" is for me...his nickname for me. Well, by nickname, I mean, my real first name. And, no, I will never divulge it.
The kit came with a really cute little booklet of instructions. We were a little waylaid by the fact that you had to add a few ingredients to the kit of your own. Honey. I didn't own honey, I actually don't like honey. So, just be forewarned to check the back of these cute kits before attempting at home. We mixed the ingredients together and let it sit in the fridge for half an hour. I followed the directions but the dough was a little crumbly and weird looking at first. It began to take a more doughy texture after we had worked on it a bit. Here's Lauren who learned to to knead it herself.
Now, you may notice above a spray can of Pam nonstick cooking spray rolling around. I couldn't for the life of me find a rolling pin (hmmm, seems the roommate left it at someone's house)...so I had to improvise. Washed the outside of the Pam can and sprinkled it with flour. Hey, it worked pretty decently.
3 year olds are a great age. Lauren caught on and was able to roll up the dough, roll it out, and then cut out a shape with the cookie cutters all by herself. Her favorite was the heart shaped cookies. After we had assembled most of the cookies, I left her with a little bit of dough to play with like play-do (Hey, I just got the name....hah, it makes sense now) and went to put the cookies in the oven. But she kept running to the kitchen with more heart cookies that she was just milling out by the second.
After fifteen minutes in the oven, out came beautiful gingerbread cookies, all shapes and sizes.
We kind of forgot to explain to the 3 year old that these cookies were for the joy of decorating. Because after we down all the gels and sprinkles in front of her and then brought the cookies to the table, she reached out and started to grind on the freshly baked cookies. I think Scott and I startled her when we snatched them out of her hands and said "No." Ooops. We then showed her that you could decorate them first and then she went to town and had a blast. But after that, she refused to take a bite of any cookies, even after we had decorated them all. My sister arrived and we all tried to show Lauren that you could eat the cookies. I think I ate like three. But, nope...she wouldn't touch them. She just carried them around with pride.
The gingerbread cookie kit came with little eyes to put on your gingerbread men. I love that Lauren made an all-seeing Christmas tree. Magical.
Hey, I have some amazing pictures from a children session on the Big Island. Look forward to that post and pictures coming sometime next week.
December was chock full of holiday fun but it also marked other momentous events. I met Chrystie when we were both in the Master's Program in Cell and Molecular Biology at University of Hawaii-Manoa. We both obtained our Master's Degree but she continued on in her graduate studies in the PhD Program while I joined the workforce. While watching her dissertation, this flood of pride welled up as I watched her explain her work with stunning clarity and unheard-of vocabulary. I was proud that I slightly understood the first third and then it went beyond my capabilities. It also reminded me how much I love my background in scientific research. I started to try to work out how I could get back into research...considering volunteering in the lab after work. Then I slapped myself awake. There I go thinking I have 36 hour long days to cram all this stuff in.
The morning of the UH graduation, I was a little rushed. We had to skip the flower shop so we drove into the parking garage lei-less. Scott slowed the car slightly so I could jump out and dash into the Stan Sheriff Center. I made it in time to watch Chrystie receive her diploma and join the faculty as a part of the doctorate community.
Here's Dr. Chrystie flashing a shaka.
Chrystie and Janice
Me, Dr. Janice, Dr. Haymer, and Dr. Chrystie
Hmmm, my name looks so unimpressive next to these academic wizards.
Chrystie and her sweet family
An intimate luncheon followed at a Chinese Restaurant in Hawaii Kai. It was 2 hours of music, touching speeches, tears, crying...and then more crying....and then, just a little more crying. Chrystie has an amazing support system, her family, her church, and us (her friends!!!). Her sister, Malia, had just gotten married a month before and she was constantly at her sister's side. She laughed and joked with everyone that she and Chrystie had traded off, Chrystie was her servant at her wedding and now she had to return the favor. I was really touched by how close these two sisters are and how supportive they are of each other. I saw Malia and her new husband standing up and eating their lunch to let others have seats. Then Malia danced hula for Chrystie and the endless tears were streaming down their cheeks. When the notes faded away, they ran to each other and embraced forever. My sweet husband leaned over and whispered in my ear "Maybe I should hug my brother more often." Huh, that would be a sight to see.
For these pictures and more, check out the photo album on facebook. If you're already on fb, add me as your friend!!!
I may be college educated but I, for the life of me, can never remember whether I should be wishing people "Happy New Year!" or "Happy New Years!" I promise to google it before the end of this post.
I am in love with 2010. I've read that 2009 was a tough year for most and I'm no exception. What a relief to have a fresh new page to write on!!! I'm a huge advocate for making resolutions, even those resolutions that dwindle to soft wishes most of the time. Making changes for the better and striving for self-improvement is an easy sell for me. I taught high school science straight out of college at Maryknoll Schools and their motto is "to whom much is given, much is expected." What a firm reminder that I am blessed and the best way to show my gratitude is to live my life giving everything I've got. So here are my resolutions...and if I fall of the wagon, I hope I remember that you get a fresh slate every morning on any given day. There's a Nicole Nordeman song "His mercies are new every morning." I cling to that as my saving grace.
And because I know that even the best intentions get nudged to the side by the busy-ness of life, someone help me remember to revisit these resolutions every four months. April 1st let's see how I'm doing.
Darn, google didn't help me. Scott and I would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
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