In case you wondered ....

... what happened to our family blog, we decided to consolidate it with Esther's parenting multiples blog at estherslittlewonders.blogspot.com

We hope to see you there!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas greetings!

All the Christmas letters from friends and family are a highlight at this time of year. We so enjoy hearing from you and look forward to connecting in this way.

This past year for us has been the most difficult and the most wonderful year in our lives. Hands down. Many of you are familiar with the story.

January
We began the year with a healthy IVF pregnancy, expecting identical twin girls! We also snuck in a last trip to Germany to see Esther’s family before the babies’ arrival.

February
After returning from Germany we started having complications with the pregnancy and our girls were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome – a blood vessel disorder in the placenta, resulting in a 90% mortality rate if left untreated. We took a last-minute flight to Houston, Texas for an in utero laser surgery.

March and April
The surgery was successful in treating the TTTS, but the uterus did not like being disturbed and a blood imbalance eventually recurred. Esther spent two months on bed rest in the hospital and Bjorn commuted back and forth between our home town and Minneapolis, spending the nights on the hospital sleeper chair in Esther’s room. From 23 weeks gestation on, we prayed to make it one more day.

May and June
At 30 weeks gestation, on May 4th, Esther’s water broke and Liana Sophia and Amaya Noel were delivered safely via c-section, weighing 2 lbs 6 oz and 2 lbs 12 oz. Due to the earlier in utero complications, the attending neonatologist told us later that he had not expected Liana to survive beyond delivery. The girls spent the next 3 weeks in the NICU at Children’s Hospital Minneapolis and then another 4 weeks in the Special Care Nursery at Abbott Northwestern.

July to the present
We celebrate each day of life we have with our girls. We dread each night of sleep deprivation! These two little wonders have brought us more heartache, more anxiety, more work, and more joy than we could have ever imagined. We are also deeply indebted to the many doctors, nurses, family, friends, and strangers who have cared for us with such compassion and excellence.

Everything else in our life is just a side note compared to the story above. We are enjoying life and work here in Minnesota. Esther escapes to the YMCA twice a week to teach a spinning class (indoor cycling). Bjorn is into his second year of ministry at a local Lutheran Church. Esther’s parents visited us from Germany twice since the girls have been home. Bjorn’s parents live close by and are the most gracious babysitters ever!

This Christmas we are celebrating three births. Amaya. Liana. And most importantly, our Savior Jesus. We praise Him for our two precious gifts and for our life in Him.

Blessings in the New Year,
Bjorn and Esther

Pictures ..... Fotos!!

Happy 6 months, Little Wonders!

I've been working on a video of the girls' NICU time for a while, and it seems pretty fitting to post it on their 6 months birthday. The last 12 months have been quite the journey, starting with an emotionally and physically draining IVF treatment, the nightmarish pregnancy due to the girls' TTTS, their premature delivery and time in the NICU and then those tough first few months at home. To look back at it all and see how far we've come is simply amazing. Happy 6 months birthday, Liana and Amaya.

Enjoy the video!
(P.S. Turn up your volume, my voice over at the beginning is a little soft.)



Es ist kaum zu glauben, dass Amaya und Liana schon 6 Monate alt sind. Ich habe ein kleines Video ueber ihre Zeit auf der Fruechenstation gemacht und dachte, dies sei ein angemessener Anlass, um es auf den Blog zu stellen! Die letzten 12 Monate waren eine aufregend-anstrengende Zeit, und zu sehen, wie weit wir schon gekommen ist, ist einfach unglaublich!

Pictures ..... Fotos!!

We had these pictures taken on the girls' due date - July 13. They were 10 weeks old that day.

Wir haben diese Fotos am eigentlichen Geburtstermin der Maedels machen lassen, am 13. Juli. Die beiden waren an dem Tag genau 10 Wochen alt.

Sister love. Liana in yellow, Amaya in white.

Little Angel Amaya

Mom with her two loves. Liana left, Amaya right

"Mom, stop kissing me!"

No worries, I don't usually let the babies sleep on the dresser :)

Lil' Liana

Happy 2 month birthday, babies!

Yesterday, the babies turned 2 months old. Of course, they don't look or act like typical two-month olds ... which is no surprise considering the fact that they're still not even supposed to be born yet! (My due date was July 13). They are doing very well, though. After 7 weeks in the NICU/Special Care Nursery, they came home at the end of June ... and have been keeping us plenty busy since :) Here are a few pictures.


Gestern wurden die Zwillinge 2 Monate alt! Sie verhalten sich natuerlich nicht wie typische 2-Monate alte Babies, und sehen auch noch nicht so aus ... immerhin waeren sie eigentlich immer noch nicht geboren! (Ihr Geburtstermin war der 13. Juli). Aber sie wachsen und nehmen zu und es geht ihnen gut. Nach 7 Wochen auf der Fruechenstation kamen sie Ende Juni nach Hause ... und haben uns seither maechtig auf Trab gehalten :) Hier ein paar Fotos.

Sister love. Liana left, Amaya right.
Schwesternliebe. Liana links, Amaya rechts.

They're two handsful!
Wir haben beide Haende voll zu tun!

Daddy napping with Liana.
Papa beim Nickerchen-machen mit Liana.

Our daughters are here! -- Unsere Toechter sind da!

Our apologies for not updating this blog for such a long time, but the last few months were about as crazy as they get. After our laser surgery in Texas to reverese our babies Twin-to-Twin-Transfusion Syndrome, Esther ended up on bedrest for preterm labor. Mid-March, the babies started taking another turn for the worse, and Esther was admitted to Abbott Hospital, where she spent the next 8 weeks on strict hospital bedrest under constant monitoring for the babies' well-being. We were told that our daughters could be born any day, and were so thankful that they didn't make their arrival until May 4th, 2009.

Liana Sophia was born at 11:13am, weighing 2lbs 6oz. Her sister Amaya Noel was born a minute later, weighing 2lbs 12 oz.

They are both doing great, especially considering all the complications they endured during the pregnancy and their resulting prematurity. They are now at Minneapolis Children's NICU, where they are slowly growing and gaining weight. Here are some pictures:

Esther holding Amaya.

The proud parents will little Liana.

Es tut uns echt leid, dass wir diesen Blog schon seit Ewigkeiten nicht mehr auf den aktuellen Stand gebracht haben ... aber die letzten Monate hatten es in sich. Nach Esther's Laser-OP in Texas Mitte Februar, die das Zwillingstransfusions-Syndrom der Babies aufheben sollte, traten eine Woche spaeter die ersten Wehen auf, so dass Esther Bettruhe verordnet wurde. Am 16. Maerz wurde bei einer Untersuchung festgestellt, dass es den Babies wieder nicht gut ging. Die folgenden 8 Wochen hat Esther unter strenger Bettruhe im Krankenhaus verbracht, wo die Babies staendig dur Ultraschall, Herzfrequenz-monitor, usw. beobachtet wurden. Uns wurde gesagt, dass man sie eventuell jeden Tag holen muesste. Wir sind deshalb sehr dankbar, dass sie es noch bis zum 4. Mai 2009 ausgehalten haben, bevor sie per Kaiserschnitt geboren wurden.

Liana Sophia erblickte um 11.13 Uhr das Licht der Welt und wog 1070 gr. Ihre Schwester Amaya Noel wurde eine Minute spaeter geboren und wog 1260gr.

Es geht ihnen erstaunlich gut, aber dennoch werden sie die naechsten 6-8 Wochen auf der Fruechen-Intensivstaion verbringen.