NICU Graduates

We are so fortunate that my mom was able to come out here for the past month.  I'm not sure what we would have done without her.  She took care of me after my c-section.  She did our laundry.  She cooked and cleaned.  She took Jack and Luke to the park and watched them everyday so that Jay and I could be at the hospital with the babies.  I'm 30 years old and I still need my mom :) 

We took her to Gettysburg because we wanted her to get to do something fun while she was here.  We had a great time!  My dad came out last week to see the babies and to collect my mother :)  Jack and Luke were so happy to have Grandpa around for a few days :)  They left on Saturday and we have been on our own for two days.  It feels a little weird.  Luckily, Grandma Holly is coming tomorrow!  The boys are so excited and we are so grateful that we have family to help us until the babies come home :)

This week, our boys graduated from the NICU!!!  WAHOO!!!  They are now in the Intermediate Care Nursery.  Basically, they have the same care as they did in the NICU, but the babies in the IMC are more stable and really just there to finish growing :)  We are so pleased with their progress!

Jay and Charlie.  Don't be fooled by the size of him.  There are 2 blankets wrapped around him.  He is still the size of a squirrel :)

 

 Tripp holding my hand.

 

Here is Charlie without his nasal cannula!!  He was breathing without it for about 2 days, but his oxygen saturation wasn't staying high enough so he had to go back on.  At least his sore little nose got a break for a few days.  

  

 Here is our little corner of the NICU.  It really is starting to feel like a second home.  Even the security guards recognize us.  We are becoming part of the hospital family :)

 

Tripp also had to go back on the nasal cannula.  He was off for about 4 days, but they just get really tired of doing it all on their own.  His red blood cell count was also low, so he had to have a blood transfusion.  That has helped his oxygen levels quite a bit, so hopefully he can try again without the cannula.  He LOVES his binky!  Which is a good sign that he might be able to try bottle feeding soon.

(Charlie loves his binky too, but he gets distracted by it and forgets to breathe :)  He hasn't learned to multitask yet.)

Charlie after his bath getting his hair combed.  So cute!

When I hold the boys together, they throw a few punches, make a few squeaks, and then they calm down and snuggle right in :)  They are such boys.  Wrestle = Love.  (Charlie on the left, Tripp on the right)

Tripp is now 3 lbs. 9 oz. and Charlie is 3 lbs. 4 oz.  What little chubbers! 

As for these two, yes, they still exist :)  Unfortunately they aren't getting much blog time.  They have been such troopers through this whole thing.  Jack has been such a great brother to Luke.  They really are great friends. 

Jack has been busy perfecting his dance moves.  He really is pretty good.  Once things calm down I should think about getting him into something.  And Luke has become obsessed with the Lumineers song "Ho Hey".  He walks around the house all day yelling, "Ho!!  Hey!!!"  They are pretty cute and we can't wait for our house to be overrun with all of our little men soon :)

Twinner Reunion

I can't even explain how crazy life is.  You just never know what is going to come next.  I suppose that is what keeps one from getting bored.   We have gone through a couple of roller coaster-moments in the past few weeks.   One day we are elated, the next day we are deflated.  I think this may be exactly what I needed.  I am such a planner and a control freak that it is good for me to learn to roll with the punches. 

We survived the hurricane!  We had a ton of rain and a few pretty good wind gusts, but really, that is about all we got.  We are so grateful as so many others were not as fortunate as us.  I don't think I have ever prayed so hard for the power to stay on.  We just bought a deep freezer to store all of the milk I pumped.  I didn't want all of those hours to go wasted.  We had one flicker of the lights and that was it.   We weren't able to go up to the hospital for a couple of days because Baltimore was partly flooded, but the nurses kept me well informed during the hurricane and they assured me that if their power went out, they had generators to keep the babies alive :)

Jack and Luke aren't allowed in the NICU so they haven't seen the babies yet.  Jack begged for us to take him to the hospital where he promised to wait quietly in the waiting room :)  We agreed to his terms and decided to have a fun outing on the way up.   We drive right through downtown Baltimore and the Inner Harbor to get to the hospital.  The harbor is lined with shops and restaurants and huge ships.  We took the boys to see the ships and have lunch.  Jack was in heaven.  Luke was mad that we wouldn't let him run around.  We took the boys to the hospital and Jack realized that waiting in the waiting room was pretty boring and it was ok for us to visit the babies without him next time :)

The babies have really been doing great.  A couple of weeks ago, the doctor told us that both boys have spiculated red blood cells.  Meaning, they aren't perfect circles.  They look like they have little bites taken out of them.  Most premature babies have some of these funny looking cells.  Usually around 5% of their red blood cells look like that.  Our babies have about 50% that look weird.  This put the doctors on alert and they started doing a few tests.  Jay and I both had our blood checked to see if we have that, which we don't.  So, they were concerned that the babies had a lipid disorder.  After a few consults with the doctors, I still had no idea what they were looking for or what any of it meant.  All I knew was that it could mean some really scary things for the babies.  We went through a week of worry and fear and sadness.  It was terrifying.  We prayed and prayed, and our families prayed and we fasted and we prayed some more.  Finally, the results came back and they were normal.

I have never felt such relief.  So, they still have weird shaped red blood cells, but they don't have the really scary disease :)  We will follow up with a Hematologist after they are discharged to make sure all is well with them.

The babies have the best nurses and doctors.  They are so intuitive and they really care about our boys.   Both Tripp and Charlie are busy babies.  They are excellent at pulling their feeding tubes out.  It frustrates their nurses, but they are impressed by their coordination :)  They can also move around quite a bit in their isolettes, which screws with their vitals.  The nurses have to strap them down to get them to stay put, so that the boys can sleep and grow :) 

Here is Tripp fast asleep.  Finally holding still. 

And here is Charlie.

And Charlie again.  They are growing so much that they have to keep going up in sizes for their hats.  They also graduated from ultra-preemie diapers to regular preemie diapers!  Wahoo!!

Here is Tripp trying to roll over.  I kept moving him and then he would just throw his head back where it was.  He knows what he wants I guess!

Here is Charlie in his seashell bikini :)  

Tripp made a giant leap this week and came off of his nasal cannula!  He is breathing completely on his own and doing very well so far!  There is a small possibility that he will have to go back on it because preemies get tired so fast and sometimes they need a break.   But, we are so proud of him :)  Plus, he is sooooo darling without all of that stuff shoved up his nose and taped around his face!

My mom got to hold Tripp today.  I think she is smitten with him.  How could she not be?  Both boys have what the nurses call a "toaster head".  Tripp's is worse than Charlie's.  Because it is easier for them to breathe lying on their bellies, their heads are always to the side.  The nurses are good about making sure they have equal time on each side of their head, but it just gets a little flat looking....like a piece of toast.  Eventually when they breathe better and they sleep on their backs, their heads should round out a bit.  Haha!

Doesn't he look like a little old man?  They even have wrinkly butts :)  So cute.

The big news today is that the babies were finally reunited with each other!!  They have had another baby between their isolettes in the NICU, so they haven't been able to be together.  Today the nurses moved their beds next to each other and I got to hold them both at the same time!! It was so precious to see them together.  They looked into each others eyes and made little noises....and then they held hands!!!!  Such a sweet little moment that I got to be there for.  However, holding two babies is not easy.  In fact, it is down right hard.  It is going to take a lot of practice.

Both boys are starting to put some weight on!  Charlie is 2 lb. 13 oz. and Tripp just hit 3 lbs! I go in every day to drop off my milk.  I'm like a personal dairy.   I'm thinking of going into business.  Anyone on the way to Baltimore that needs fresh milk, just leave a milk box outside and $20 :)