Tiny bodies, Big hearts

Would you like a peek at Tyler and Jack?

The neonatal nurse at Memorial has taken photographs of the boys and posted them at the following:

The Hollar Twins Pictures

There's a photo section, just click on that and you'll get to see a couple of photos of the babies taken shortly after birth. Keep in mind there isn't much in the photograph to give you a sense of scale. Tyler was born 1 lb. 2 oz. Jack was born at 1 lb.7 oz. Tyler was 12" long at birth (Jack is slightly longer) so just get out a 12 inch ruler and try to imagine a human being no longer than a foot. Speaking of feet, Ben says he can tell Tyler has the same kind of toes that Ben has. The boys came out of one amniotic sac so they are identical twins rather than fraternal. The diapers that they wear measure 3.5" by 2 ". Try cutting out a piece of paper that size and imagine wrapping a diaper like that around a person.

As of late Wednesday night the report was that it had been a very good day for the Hollar twins. They had been active during the day, accepted Megan's colustrum fed intravenously through their umbilical stumps, and had fallen happily asleep after their feeding. Grandma Angel and Ben got to see them in the neonatal unit. The hope is that today, Thursday, Megan will be cleared by her doctor to ride down in a wheelchair and see them for the first time. Pray for her to have peace and acceptance over not being able to hold her babies yet.

Grandma Kim got to visit with Megan and so did Hannah and I. Megan has been moved to an extraordinarily nice hospital room with a big glass door that looks out onto a patio with a tree. As of yesterday she was the only one in the two bed room so Ben could sleep there last night if he wanted. Pray for the parents and grandparents and siblings of Ben and Megan to get the rest they need to keep up with the new schedule of hospital visits.

Megan looked wonderful, and had a wonderful peace and graciousness and calm about her. She feels your prayers tangibly. She is very grateful for the staff at Memorial hospital and has a good relationship with the nurses that are helping her and the twins. All of her bio signs have returned to normal and she just needs to heal and rest.

Having past their second key hurdle of 24 hours, it is now a "day by day" challenge for Tyler and Jack to thrive. It is not uncommon for premies to "crash" and then be revived repeatedly in their first few incubator weeks but we are praying that the boys just rest and grow without any traumas or respitory failures. In the pictures you will see they have little oxygen masks but all yesterday they were breathing on their own, the masks were just there to give them a fresh supply of air.

Most remarkably, within the first 24 hours of their lives, Jack and Tyler were prayed for by what we believe to be hundreds of people in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. I am collecting stories about how believers have spread the word about these babies and about how their lives have immediately been used to witness to the glory of God. Not only will Tyler and Jack have a published record of their warm reception by the Body of Christ but everyone connected by prayer to them have reason to praise the grace of God.

Thank you for your part in this blessing!

-S