Saturday, October 11, 2008
Signs
We're starting to pick up on the girls little signals around food time. Emma puts her fingers in or by her mouth. Mady sucks her thumb and sticks her tongue out. Mady found her thumb for the first time on Thursday! The are both now totally alert at each feeding, which is every 3 hours.
Together Again?
We can't seem to get a straight answer as to when the girls will be able to co-bed at the NICU. The nurse last night was shocked that they aren't together yet and found out there are 2 open rooms in the E pod, which is the pod where twins can co-bed. Because the nurse to patient ratio is a little lower, the babies in the E pod need to require a little less. When I called in this morning, that nurse thought it was too early. We are going to try to talk to the doctor about it this weekend. We can't wait to see them together.
The nurse last night also told us that Madelyn's repeat brain U/S came back showing that she doesn't have PVL and we think her cysts may have gone down. The nurse couldn't fully explain, she said we'd need to talk to the doctor, but it sounds like good news to us!
Madelyn is up to a bottle every other feeding and is the champion feeder in the pod. Her O2 requirements are now at about 27%. Emma is feeding from a bottle every 2nd feeding. Her O2 is at 35%, but varies greatly. 35% is usually her highest and 29% is her lowest.
I woke up with a scratchy throat and feel like I might have a cold coming on, so this may be the first time in 38 days that I will not see my girls. I can go in with a mask and not touch them if I choose to, but I don't want to risk anything. Christian didn't get to see them Thursday because he wasn't feeling well and had a slight temperature. It's an awful feeling to have to go a day without seeing your babies.
When are they coming home?
I have NO idea. We know they are doing well, but we don't know when they'll get to leave. It will be before Halloween, we at least know that. Every week I think the next week is THE week. I wish they could just tell us when, but they can't predict what the girls will do over the next few days/week. This is on our list to talk to the doctors about as well.
The nurse last night also told us that Madelyn's repeat brain U/S came back showing that she doesn't have PVL and we think her cysts may have gone down. The nurse couldn't fully explain, she said we'd need to talk to the doctor, but it sounds like good news to us!
Madelyn is up to a bottle every other feeding and is the champion feeder in the pod. Her O2 requirements are now at about 27%. Emma is feeding from a bottle every 2nd feeding. Her O2 is at 35%, but varies greatly. 35% is usually her highest and 29% is her lowest.
I woke up with a scratchy throat and feel like I might have a cold coming on, so this may be the first time in 38 days that I will not see my girls. I can go in with a mask and not touch them if I choose to, but I don't want to risk anything. Christian didn't get to see them Thursday because he wasn't feeling well and had a slight temperature. It's an awful feeling to have to go a day without seeing your babies.
When are they coming home?
I have NO idea. We know they are doing well, but we don't know when they'll get to leave. It will be before Halloween, we at least know that. Every week I think the next week is THE week. I wish they could just tell us when, but they can't predict what the girls will do over the next few days/week. This is on our list to talk to the doctors about as well.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
They Passed!
The girls are now both in open air beds and doing really well. They are also getting more bottles a day! They nurses will do one bottle then two rounds of tube feedings. As the girls get better, they'll do bottles every other feeding. As soon as there is an opening in the E pod, the girls will get to co-bed!
I had to stop in this morning to bring them more milk, as they are now up to 40cc's and I had to go into my own frozen stash so that they would have enough for them today. No pressure there! When I stopped in, I had to make it quick because I was heading into work. It was so hard to leave them. They were both awake and looking up at me... as if to say "mommy please stay with us". Tonight I left earlier than usual because I am just plain exhausted. I was hoping to breast feed with Madelyn, but I just couldn't do it. I did get to meet with lactation yesterday. We did Emma while she was there. She did great. I learned a couple of tricks and also learned that they will not be able to fully breast feed until at least 4o weeks, so looks like I'll be pumping around the clock for at least 5 more weeks! UGH!
The girls were 34 weeks yesterday. It's hard to believe we've had them in our world for 5 weeks now. It's amazing how far they have come and how much our love for them grows every single day. I do have more pictures to post, I just have to find the time to do so!
I had to stop in this morning to bring them more milk, as they are now up to 40cc's and I had to go into my own frozen stash so that they would have enough for them today. No pressure there! When I stopped in, I had to make it quick because I was heading into work. It was so hard to leave them. They were both awake and looking up at me... as if to say "mommy please stay with us". Tonight I left earlier than usual because I am just plain exhausted. I was hoping to breast feed with Madelyn, but I just couldn't do it. I did get to meet with lactation yesterday. We did Emma while she was there. She did great. I learned a couple of tricks and also learned that they will not be able to fully breast feed until at least 4o weeks, so looks like I'll be pumping around the clock for at least 5 more weeks! UGH!
The girls were 34 weeks yesterday. It's hard to believe we've had them in our world for 5 weeks now. It's amazing how far they have come and how much our love for them grows every single day. I do have more pictures to post, I just have to find the time to do so!
Monday, October 6, 2008
So Amazing
Okay, so I know their smiles right now are supposedly just involuntary, but Madelyn breast feed again today and I'm telling you she smiled the whole time. She hated when we stopped! We are only allowed to do 5-10 minutes per side so they don't get tuckered out. I'm not sure how much milk she got, but she did a great job. Last time she hurt me pretty bad and this time she seemed to have the hang of it. I'm not sure if Emma will get a shot today because of her rough day yesterday. I'm going to meet with lactation tomorrow when I try Emma again so that they can watch us and offer suggestions, etc. I'm hoping I get some time to make up a list of questions before tomorrow!
Emma's O2 is down to 27% today and Madelyn is around 34%. These girls are constantly compared already! It seems like one day Emma is ahead, the next it's Mady. They are both being weaned back out of their isolettes today. Hopefully, they'll pass the test this time!
The girls nursery is ALMOST done! We ordered a glider/rocker that will hopefully be ready for us to pick up this weekend. Once that is in, I can fine tune the room and figure out where to put up the shelves, etc. It's looking great so far! I'm still so happy with the gender neutral theme. The girls can have their "princess" room in a few years :) I will definitely post pictures when we're done.
Emma's O2 is down to 27% today and Madelyn is around 34%. These girls are constantly compared already! It seems like one day Emma is ahead, the next it's Mady. They are both being weaned back out of their isolettes today. Hopefully, they'll pass the test this time!
The girls nursery is ALMOST done! We ordered a glider/rocker that will hopefully be ready for us to pick up this weekend. Once that is in, I can fine tune the room and figure out where to put up the shelves, etc. It's looking great so far! I'm still so happy with the gender neutral theme. The girls can have their "princess" room in a few years :) I will definitely post pictures when we're done.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Weighing In
Emma now weighs 4lbs 7.7 ounces and Madelyn is 4lbs 9.2 ounces. I think they may hit 5lbs before they go home! It's amazing how much they have grown since they were born!
Keeping us on our toes!
The girls had a good day yesterday. Madelyn, as usual downed her bottle in no time and is now going to receive a few feedings via bottle/breast per day. Emma did well, but at the end of her feeding she had some trouble and scared me pretty good. She desaturated pretty low and wouldn't come back up. I got to see that "blue" color that we so often hear about. A little while later she was fine as could be again. Their transfusions went well and as of right now, they will not be needing another.
We went in this morning to attend rounds and they were happy with the girls progress and wanted to give them a day with no changes. We asked about re-weaning them from the isolettes and they'll be trying that tomorrow. We were a little unhappy about Emma's o2 level (39%) when we came in, but eventually the nurse got her down to about 33%. We did the feedings and I had Madelyn and Christian had Emma. Emma got almost all down and did pretty well. However, about an hour later she started de-saturating and wouldn't come back up. We both got to see that "blue" color this time. Because of not being able to bring herself out of the desat without help, they decided to do an x-ray and blood work. Her belly was a bit distended so they did a belly x-ray as well. Her blood work came back fine, no signs of infection. Her lung x-ray showed signs of chronic lung disease, but this is another common preemie affliction. Her stomach x-ray showed what they think is just bowel so they gave her a glycerin chip to help her along. When we left her O2 was down to 29% and she was doing well again. I have a feeling it will be a few days before they up her bottle feedings per day. It was a little scary today, but everything looks good now. This is one of the many ups and downs they talk about in the NICU.
Mady had a great bath today and I didn't even have to up her O2. She was so alert this morning. Her eyes were wide open for most the time we were there. I guess realistically, they won't be leaving for another 2 weeks. We keep saying "2 weeks" as our standard answer, but that's always what we think! In 2 weeks they will be term for twins (36 weeks) so perhaps that will be the week!
We went in this morning to attend rounds and they were happy with the girls progress and wanted to give them a day with no changes. We asked about re-weaning them from the isolettes and they'll be trying that tomorrow. We were a little unhappy about Emma's o2 level (39%) when we came in, but eventually the nurse got her down to about 33%. We did the feedings and I had Madelyn and Christian had Emma. Emma got almost all down and did pretty well. However, about an hour later she started de-saturating and wouldn't come back up. We both got to see that "blue" color this time. Because of not being able to bring herself out of the desat without help, they decided to do an x-ray and blood work. Her belly was a bit distended so they did a belly x-ray as well. Her blood work came back fine, no signs of infection. Her lung x-ray showed signs of chronic lung disease, but this is another common preemie affliction. Her stomach x-ray showed what they think is just bowel so they gave her a glycerin chip to help her along. When we left her O2 was down to 29% and she was doing well again. I have a feeling it will be a few days before they up her bottle feedings per day. It was a little scary today, but everything looks good now. This is one of the many ups and downs they talk about in the NICU.
Mady had a great bath today and I didn't even have to up her O2. She was so alert this morning. Her eyes were wide open for most the time we were there. I guess realistically, they won't be leaving for another 2 weeks. We keep saying "2 weeks" as our standard answer, but that's always what we think! In 2 weeks they will be term for twins (36 weeks) so perhaps that will be the week!
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