Almost home!!!!

The countdown begins. We should be excpecting Edwin and Serena home in about 2 weeks! No exact date has been set, but we are definitely almost there!
Thursday Edwin, my mom, and myself will be meeting with the pulmonologist and his team. For those who don't know his role, the pulmonolgist will be following the twins from a respiratory standpoint (checking their oxygen settings and slowly weaning them off O2). I should get a better idea of how long we should expect them to be on O2 and what requirements they must meet in order to be weaned. Right now Serena is at .3 and Edwin is at .5 for their flow. (I'll explain that in another post.)
Next Tuesday Edwin and I will be trained on how to use the oxygen and monitors with the twins at home. Next Wednesday Edwin, my mom, my step-dad, Edwin's mom, and I will be trained on how to administer infant CPR (just to be safe and overly prepared.) I have already contacted the gas company and electric company to notify them that we will have infants in our home on oxygen and monitor equipment. We will have top priority if the electricy were to go out. The social worker should be getting our handicap placard applications prepared and we will be getting those in the mail in about 7-10 days. We will be doing at least 1 overnight next week with all the equipment we will have at home. It will be the first time we will be completely alone with the kids in a room. I am excited! They also need to pass the car seat check, which just means they have to sit in a car seat for an hour or so and breathe well. They will both have follow-up head ultrasounds on Monday, will each need a hearing test, and Little man will be circumsised. There are quite a few things to be put in order, but we have a plan and we are almost home as a family. I was approved for nursing hours, but I am still not sure how many we will actually get and what shifts are available.
My original due date was 1/21/07, so the twins are basically on schedule. Quite an accomplishment for 23 weekers. The average stay is 120-130 days for 23 weekers according to the NICU our twins have been at.
Having Serena and Edwin home will amount to the best day of my life. I can't even describe how excited I am to FINALLY be talking about discharge. Bean and Champ have accomplished sooo much and have come sooo far. They were basically fetal-like and could barely breathe. They had so many obstacles to overcome, and they have been so strong and brave. I couldn't be more proud. Becomming a mother is the most wonderful experience of my life. I am with a man I truly love and we have 2 beautiful children who mean the world to us. My life is filled with so much joy.
I am going to be very busy these next couple of weeks, and I realize I still have not sent out all the thank you cards from the shower! I feel horrible about that, but I hope everyone understands.
Check out the new pictures my mom took over the weekend. I love how different Edwin and Serena look!
-Stephanie