I have to say that my "check-in" at the NICU was successful! Taking care of 3 boys without Dad and still pumping was A LOT of work and I think I got a total of 2.5 hrs of combined sleeping sessions. I was happy with the progress made so I have taken a "slip leave" from my Dr. Mom duty and Dad is there for some night time feedings to make sure all is still going well and on track for some homecomings!
I am going to try and do a brief recap...I have a 2.5 yr old to read stories to and, of course, pumping to get to! (Update: I did not keep this brief and had to take a break to hang with B and resume during a pumping session, ha!)
Ben left me at the NICU yesterday at about 4pm as I was on mission to get to the bottom of why Evan has been kept longer for reason being feeding "episodes" that we never witnessed between 10am and 10pm.
I started with the 5pm feeding and all boys did great. I finished up around 6:30pm (Payton was still finishing through his NG tube) and did a pumping session before heading downstairs for dinner.
I returned for the 8pm feeding with the night RN who had been reporting episodes of O2 and heart rate stats drops for Evan during his previous two 11pm feedings. I started noticing inconsistencies immediately. She brought me 75ml of milk in a short fat milk storage bottle instead of 60ml of milk in a long skinny feeding bottle. Evan did drink all 75ml but the bottle was horrible! With his side-lying feeding order this bottle was too fat to keep a nice flow into the nipple and resulted in him taking in a lot of air with his feed. I asked the RN to never use these storage bottles for feeds again, please.I was not able to burp him completely and get him settled enough to lay down for over 30 minutes. I handed him off to the RN to keep him vertical while I moved on to R and P. I did not finish feeds until 10:40pm, just enough time to pump and start all over again!
For the 11pm feeding Evan did not even want to wake up. Who can blame him, he over ate (his Dr only has him ordered for 60ml according to his weight) at the previous feed and took over 90 minutes to fall asleep from being so uncomfortable. The more I thought through this all I started thinking, REFLUX! I got him to eat 27ml but he would not wake up and I told the RN I wasn't going to push it and he was done for now. Even with this small amount once I lay him down to move on to Riley, he was uncomfortable again!! I don't think I finished all boys and pumping until 1am!
At 2am I was awoken by a hungry Evan who took his entire 70ml (still, too much) bottle down without any signs of pre-mature feeding like we have been getting told. In fact, he was eating like a champ! After this feed I was burping Evan when he let out a really good one! BUT, about 20 seconds later I watched milk slowly flow out of his mouth and him starting to gag...REFLUX! Luckily the RN saw the whole session and agreed that he was eating great and yes, this looks like reflux to her too! Finally- an answer to why he was choking and dropping stats, not during, but AFTER feeds.
The rest of the story is more of the same...no sleep, change, feed, burp, pump, repeat. Throw in a car seat test Riley, a visit with another newly delivered triplet family (Congrats SCHHHH~that makes up Mom, Dad, Big Bro, and impressively big trips of 2 boys and a girl! From, BBBEPR :) ), a glass of OJ over ice with graham crackers and PB, and a whole lot of heart racing for Mommy as I lay listening to various alarms and wimpers, and you have the rest of my night in a nut shell ;)
I was very happy at 8am to share the reflux revelation with one of our favorite day RNs who will be with us for 4 whole days in a row, that's an eternity in NICU schedules! We came up with a game plan to switch to Dr. Brown bottles, cap feeds off at 60ml for now and start Prilosec on Evan...all we had to do was convince the Dr :) Luckily, that wasn't hard either! Ben came and had breakfast with me after a snowy drive in (crazy weather) and we had a nice consult with the doc. The NEW plan is for Riley to come home tomorrow and to see how Evan does once the meds kick in and he uses the new bottles. If he does "perfect," the earliest he will be home is Sunday. We are hopeful, but also not holding our breath. We are ok with him staying now that we know what we are dealing with and just pray that the meds help and we get happy, "Easy Evan" back and ready to come home. It's too funny that our small-but-mighty-Rowdy-Riley showed his brothers he wasn't messin' around and stole the 1st homecoming show!
My hope is that once E and R are home that Payton will continue to improve, hopefully at a faster pace now that all of the hospital attention will be on him only. We are in for a busy 10 days as we await the arrival of Nana and Papa L, but we are looking forward to some nice family memories in the making :) We will nap when the 'grents arrive!
All of this discharge talk with the Dr has been a real eye-opener for us as well. They have some rules for us, and they mean business! Since it is still the beginning of flu season in Portland and there is a nasty respiratory bug going around they are putting us on "preemie house arrest."
-They only want us leaving the house to go to the NICU to see brothers or to appointments (I already have SIX scheduled for Riley!! "Small but Mighty" buys you lots of outpatient peds/lactation/eye/ear/therapy referrals!!), and even then we are not to wait in the lobby or any confined spaces with other peeps- especially kids.
-We are to limit visitors to those who are there to help for a significant amount of time and who have had their flu shots. This is the hardest one as so many people are waiting to meet these special little boys! Soon my friends, soon! They understand that we may have visitors stopping by with meals, well wishes, etc, they just ask that these visits are minimal and don't involve any cuddling.
-Brody is to avoid daycare as much as possible and to not bring additional kids into the environment with the babes. We all know how germ friendly kids can be! I think B's hands will be as chapped as ours from washing in no time at all ;)
-They encourage walks outside in the fresh air! Maybe we can introduce the boys to some friends during an afternoon stroll ;)
We understand the need for the strict rules, hearing that a simple common cold could cause a re-admittance for any one of these boys would be THE.WORST.THING.EVER. They say that preemies being hospitalized and on a vent for longer than when they were first born is a very real possibility, and I am not willing to mess around with that! So don't be surprised to see multiple bottles of hand sanitizer strategically placed around our house for the next year, haha! And please use them... a lot!!
Please pray that 1) the meds/bottles will work for Evan and he won't have to be put on an inclined mattress which will only delay his homecoming 2) Payton continues to improve with his feeding skills and potential weaning off of oxygen 3) for a safe homecoming of Mr. Riley Warren, and 4) for our family to transition quickly to these big changes and struggles of having a preemie or two at home and one still in the NICU.
xoxo, B
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
And so it goes...
Another emotional week for the Wainds! We were all set to bring Evan home yesterday but a late night "choke" on a feeding bought him some more time with his brothers. For some reason the RN thought I would be happy with this news (thinking I didn't want them to come home separately), but boy was I NOT!! Listen, I carried these precious babes for many hard, long months and now 4 weeks later and I still go home every night without a baby!?!? Are you kidding me, I will take anyone I can get! Of course I want to take them home ASAP and in any order they decide to come :) but know that we have to put the Dr's safety concerns in front of our parental need.
Updates at 1 Month old:
Evan: Weighing in at a whopping 6lb 8 oz! He continues to stay true to his nickname of "Easy Evan" although he does get a voice when he wakes up hungry or fills (and I mean FILL) his shorts. The waking up hungry causes him to be a bit over zealous with the bottle to start and is what we believe is causing his "episodes" that the RNs have experienced the last few nights. We have not witnessed this with him, but we know that we must really monitor his intake for the few minutes and make sure we stop the flow for him. After that, he settles into a nice pace and enjoys every last drop of his feed. Evan makes us take a double take many times, he looks like an identical to Brody as a newborn, it gives me the chills.
Payton: At 1 month weighs 5lb 14 oz! Payton continues to make "baby steps" in his progress. The last couple days have been the best yet though, we have not had to turn up his oxygen during feeds and he is actually taking partial feeds. Last night for the 1st time he took his entire bottle for the RN, yahoo!! Granted, he has slept through everything ever since- but still, baby steps! We heard the Dr say "chronic lung disease" for the first time yesterday regarding his condition, but we are all optimistic that he will out grow his need for oxygen in no time. There is still a chance he may need to come home on the O2, but we have a couple weeks to see how things play out. Pretty Payton is sure to melt anyone's heart when he flashes the giant grins he gives so freely!
Riley: Our lil peanut is now 5lb 7oz! Thinking back to when he was just 2lb 15oz this seems truly amazing. Riley has really stepped up his game the last day and I just heard from the Dr that he may beat his brother Evan in the homecoming race, crazy! Riley's feeding tube came out and he hasn't looked back once, I even breastfeed before his (and Evan's actually) bottle and they both suck the bottle dry every time now. Riley is going to have his car seat test today and the Dr just mentioned that he may even come home tomorrow! Who would have thought he would be the first one! (I just got the phone call as I am typing this!) We may be getting some bad weather, so weather permitting we may think it is more safe to keep them there and bring Evan and Riley home together this weekend, we will see what tomorrow brings. "Rowdy Riley" continues to make us laugh and coo multiple times a day.
Mom and Dad are continuing to use each other for support more than we ever could have imagined. We are truly lucky to have each other as our best friend during this most difficult time. We are quite the team and have impressed many nurses on how well we work together and "conquer" the care routine we have come to love! Now that we are "solo" for the next 10 days we are going to have to take some things on alone since we don't have in home care for Brody. I think that I will be spending the night at the hospital to help ensure that Evan does in fact get to come home soon and pray that it is only the feeding the technique that is causing these episodes that have kept him there. We figure that if we take the one constant variable out of the equation (the ever changing nursing staff) that that may be his ticket home! Fingers crossed!!
I mentioned that we are "solo" for a bit, Ben is actually driving G&G Waind to the airport right now :( We can't believe how fast their 2 week trip flew by! We also can't believe they came and went before a babe even came home. They were still a great help and really prepared us further for life at home with these boys. They surprised us with a beautiful new gliding chair/ottoman for feeding in our room and also installed cross bars on top of our van so we can use a luggage case/thingee! This really was a surprise, one we didn't even notice and it had to be pointed out to us a few days later, HA! Brody will miss them for sure and we are grateful that they were able to help us set up all the co-sleepers and other baby paraphernalia in preparation for their arrival. They spoiled all in true grandparent fashion :) We do have some great pics of them snuggling with the boys which I will post soon too!
Here are a few pics from one of our photo sessions ;) I love having nurse Susan who gets just as excited as I do about getting the boys together for photo ops! She saw the hats in their clothes basket and couldn't wait to set up a back drop and capture the moment with us! Enjoy!
Updates at 1 Month old:
Evan: Weighing in at a whopping 6lb 8 oz! He continues to stay true to his nickname of "Easy Evan" although he does get a voice when he wakes up hungry or fills (and I mean FILL) his shorts. The waking up hungry causes him to be a bit over zealous with the bottle to start and is what we believe is causing his "episodes" that the RNs have experienced the last few nights. We have not witnessed this with him, but we know that we must really monitor his intake for the few minutes and make sure we stop the flow for him. After that, he settles into a nice pace and enjoys every last drop of his feed. Evan makes us take a double take many times, he looks like an identical to Brody as a newborn, it gives me the chills.
Payton: At 1 month weighs 5lb 14 oz! Payton continues to make "baby steps" in his progress. The last couple days have been the best yet though, we have not had to turn up his oxygen during feeds and he is actually taking partial feeds. Last night for the 1st time he took his entire bottle for the RN, yahoo!! Granted, he has slept through everything ever since- but still, baby steps! We heard the Dr say "chronic lung disease" for the first time yesterday regarding his condition, but we are all optimistic that he will out grow his need for oxygen in no time. There is still a chance he may need to come home on the O2, but we have a couple weeks to see how things play out. Pretty Payton is sure to melt anyone's heart when he flashes the giant grins he gives so freely!
Riley: Our lil peanut is now 5lb 7oz! Thinking back to when he was just 2lb 15oz this seems truly amazing. Riley has really stepped up his game the last day and I just heard from the Dr that he may beat his brother Evan in the homecoming race, crazy! Riley's feeding tube came out and he hasn't looked back once, I even breastfeed before his (and Evan's actually) bottle and they both suck the bottle dry every time now. Riley is going to have his car seat test today and the Dr just mentioned that he may even come home tomorrow! Who would have thought he would be the first one! (I just got the phone call as I am typing this!) We may be getting some bad weather, so weather permitting we may think it is more safe to keep them there and bring Evan and Riley home together this weekend, we will see what tomorrow brings. "Rowdy Riley" continues to make us laugh and coo multiple times a day.
Mom and Dad are continuing to use each other for support more than we ever could have imagined. We are truly lucky to have each other as our best friend during this most difficult time. We are quite the team and have impressed many nurses on how well we work together and "conquer" the care routine we have come to love! Now that we are "solo" for the next 10 days we are going to have to take some things on alone since we don't have in home care for Brody. I think that I will be spending the night at the hospital to help ensure that Evan does in fact get to come home soon and pray that it is only the feeding the technique that is causing these episodes that have kept him there. We figure that if we take the one constant variable out of the equation (the ever changing nursing staff) that that may be his ticket home! Fingers crossed!!
I mentioned that we are "solo" for a bit, Ben is actually driving G&G Waind to the airport right now :( We can't believe how fast their 2 week trip flew by! We also can't believe they came and went before a babe even came home. They were still a great help and really prepared us further for life at home with these boys. They surprised us with a beautiful new gliding chair/ottoman for feeding in our room and also installed cross bars on top of our van so we can use a luggage case/thingee! This really was a surprise, one we didn't even notice and it had to be pointed out to us a few days later, HA! Brody will miss them for sure and we are grateful that they were able to help us set up all the co-sleepers and other baby paraphernalia in preparation for their arrival. They spoiled all in true grandparent fashion :) We do have some great pics of them snuggling with the boys which I will post soon too!
Here are a few pics from one of our photo sessions ;) I love having nurse Susan who gets just as excited as I do about getting the boys together for photo ops! She saw the hats in their clothes basket and couldn't wait to set up a back drop and capture the moment with us! Enjoy!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Still learning
Well, all 3 boys are still NICU patients. This has been a very hard week for Ben and I mentally and emotionally. I don't think we ever thought all of them would be in the NICU for a month (this Saturday) especially after the great start that Evan and Riley had. They are both still doing great and gaining weight like crazy (makes me sad how fast they are growing, but of course it is what we want). The only thing keeping E and R there is that they aren't taking all of their feedings by bottle, they tire out at times and have to finish by the feeding tube. As soon as they look like they can handle the entire feeding the Dr goes and ups their feeding amounts! Haha, I guess we will get there someday. E and R also got circumcised yesterday, Dad was by their side but I chose to stay and keep Payton company; there are just some things Mom doesn't need to see ;) We made sure to give them extra cuddles afterward!
Payton is slowly coming around, but still has a lot of catching up to do. The way the Drs are talking now it is more realistic that he may be sent home on oxygen and a monitor :( The lung hemorrhage he had on Day 2 really did a number on him I guess and it is just taking him a while to recover. He doesn't eat as well either; PT/OT says that he has learned to protect his airway at all costs so he blocks the bottle with his tongue and fights any milk in his mouth. We learned a few tricks yesterday and actually got him to take half of his feed without any drops in his stats, we hope that the nurse had some luck over night as well, we will see. Payton also has reflux that has been making him pretty uncomfortable and unstable at times after feedings, poor bug! We move him into bed with his brothers when can, but he always gets put back in his single inclined bed by one nurse or another.
Ben and I had a "talk" (read: cry) with our Dr and Charge RN yesterday to explain some of our concerns of late and we are hoping that some things improve so we can get through the frustrating slump we have been experiencing this week. I have cried more in the last few days than I ever have I think, the good thing is that the slew of people in and out of room understand and don't look at me like I'm crazy (they already did that when they found out we have trips!) It's hard to explain, I could probably write a book, but what we really want is to be home, as a family...finally. We have been the one constant in the trips daily life and the RNs change constantly, this has become very tiring for us (by yesterday we had have 5 new day RNs in 4 days! Yes, one day shift was split by 2 different (new) RNs, that was fun). It's like we have to start over (sometimes everyday, 2-3 times a day) every time we have a new nurse taking care of them. They do not know our routine and how involved (and competent) we are, we have to listen to their opinions, stories, remarks, etc and also coach them on the boys. It's not that the nurses aren't taking great care of them, it's that they all have a different style and practice and don't offer the consistency that the boys need right now. We feel that this inconsistency may be what is slowing down their progress, it is disappointing when a RN sets you up to tube feed Evan because she thinks he will be tired (before he is even assessed) just because he nippled his last 2 bottles. No, that is what he is suppose to do! This then turns into a frustrating experience (which in this example we were right, Evan drank the entire 3rd feeding in row, no tube needed!) and leaves us questioning the progress that is made while we are not there. This is one small example of many, I have luckily vented enough the last day or so (Thank you Ben, Mom, Katie and Angela!!) that I don't have to do it all in writing here!! :) Don't get me wrong, our boys are getting great care and we LOVE their Drs and primary Nurses, we are just more than ready to be our family and not have to share our space with a nurse. (Keep in mind, most parents of singletons see their nurse 2/3 of the time less than we do as the nurses each have 3 babies to care for. Since our boys make up 1 nurse's assignment they don't have anywhere else to go....so they are with us ALL.THE.TIME!!! Can a lady pump in peace, please!?? Unless of course we have a nurse that knows us and our boys, then they respect that we know the "routine" and they let us be to take care of the boys- those days we leave the hospital as very happy parents!!)
We appreciate all the prayers for Payton and the rest of our family, we are feelin the LOVE!! We are hoping to put this bag of emotions behind us now and move forward with positive attitudes and concentrate on helping these boys learn and move on! We are SO ready to be physically exhausted (at home) as we think that will be more manageable than this emotional exhaustion, ha!
Happy Valentine's Day from Evan and Riley!! Do they not just melt your heart!??!!
Evan looks like such a big boy in his little preemie outfit!
Pretty Payton~ still looking good after taking down half of his bottle for Mommy!
Proud G&G Waind with Riley and Evan
I can't believe how big they are getting! Evan will be 6 lbs by the time we get to take him home!
xoxo, Brooke
Payton is slowly coming around, but still has a lot of catching up to do. The way the Drs are talking now it is more realistic that he may be sent home on oxygen and a monitor :( The lung hemorrhage he had on Day 2 really did a number on him I guess and it is just taking him a while to recover. He doesn't eat as well either; PT/OT says that he has learned to protect his airway at all costs so he blocks the bottle with his tongue and fights any milk in his mouth. We learned a few tricks yesterday and actually got him to take half of his feed without any drops in his stats, we hope that the nurse had some luck over night as well, we will see. Payton also has reflux that has been making him pretty uncomfortable and unstable at times after feedings, poor bug! We move him into bed with his brothers when can, but he always gets put back in his single inclined bed by one nurse or another.
Ben and I had a "talk" (read: cry) with our Dr and Charge RN yesterday to explain some of our concerns of late and we are hoping that some things improve so we can get through the frustrating slump we have been experiencing this week. I have cried more in the last few days than I ever have I think, the good thing is that the slew of people in and out of room understand and don't look at me like I'm crazy (they already did that when they found out we have trips!) It's hard to explain, I could probably write a book, but what we really want is to be home, as a family...finally. We have been the one constant in the trips daily life and the RNs change constantly, this has become very tiring for us (by yesterday we had have 5 new day RNs in 4 days! Yes, one day shift was split by 2 different (new) RNs, that was fun). It's like we have to start over (sometimes everyday, 2-3 times a day) every time we have a new nurse taking care of them. They do not know our routine and how involved (and competent) we are, we have to listen to their opinions, stories, remarks, etc and also coach them on the boys. It's not that the nurses aren't taking great care of them, it's that they all have a different style and practice and don't offer the consistency that the boys need right now. We feel that this inconsistency may be what is slowing down their progress, it is disappointing when a RN sets you up to tube feed Evan because she thinks he will be tired (before he is even assessed) just because he nippled his last 2 bottles. No, that is what he is suppose to do! This then turns into a frustrating experience (which in this example we were right, Evan drank the entire 3rd feeding in row, no tube needed!) and leaves us questioning the progress that is made while we are not there. This is one small example of many, I have luckily vented enough the last day or so (Thank you Ben, Mom, Katie and Angela!!) that I don't have to do it all in writing here!! :) Don't get me wrong, our boys are getting great care and we LOVE their Drs and primary Nurses, we are just more than ready to be our family and not have to share our space with a nurse. (Keep in mind, most parents of singletons see their nurse 2/3 of the time less than we do as the nurses each have 3 babies to care for. Since our boys make up 1 nurse's assignment they don't have anywhere else to go....so they are with us ALL.THE.TIME!!! Can a lady pump in peace, please!?? Unless of course we have a nurse that knows us and our boys, then they respect that we know the "routine" and they let us be to take care of the boys- those days we leave the hospital as very happy parents!!)
We appreciate all the prayers for Payton and the rest of our family, we are feelin the LOVE!! We are hoping to put this bag of emotions behind us now and move forward with positive attitudes and concentrate on helping these boys learn and move on! We are SO ready to be physically exhausted (at home) as we think that will be more manageable than this emotional exhaustion, ha!
xoxo, Brooke
Sunday, February 13, 2011
3 weeks old
What a beautiful site for Mommy to capture~ my 5 boys!! Words can't express the flood of emotions...just look at Ben's face in the last pic! The boys were 3 weeks old yesterday (35.2 gestation) and really enjoyed their visit from Big Brother and G&G Waind. I had a rather emotional day, as it was one of those "3 steps back" days with Payton. He was having multiple spells where he needed stimulation to get him to start breathing again, poor little guy is confused and doesn't quite comprehend just how important continuous breathing really is :( I believe every time he has a spell (that he doesn't come out of on his own) it buys him 7 more days in the NICU. I think I had high hopes of bringing them all home this week and I realized last night that it more than likely isn't the reality anymore. I just need to look forward and remind myself that this isn't forever and we will get through it! Thankfully our family and friends are outpouring support, prayers and comforting words that help immensely! We are very fortunate to have a great support group, we love you all!! xoxo
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Not to brag....
BUT, I am keeping up with the milk supply of 3 thriving lil babes! Evan weighed in last night over 5 lbs! Payton is doing great at 4lb11oz and Riley at a whopping 4lb4oz! No more 3 pounders ;) They all earned an increase in their feeding amounts by the Dr today so Mama may have to add another pumping session soon, or at least quit hitting the snooze button through a night session, oops.
On a sadder note, Payton is now flying solo again :( his oxygen stats have been dropping more than they'd like, even with the nasal cannula, so this bought him an inclined bed to see if reflux is causing the declines (his HR stays normal). I hope whatever it is it passes fast as we think Evan and Riley are soon to be knocking on the door at home pretty quick. I am not saying much else as I have been known to jinx good progress on this blog, argh!! We are lucky and happy to have Ben's parents here now helping us make the final preparations for the transition home. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Papa Haydn's today- trying to get in some good food before the house arrest starts- thanks G&G Waind!! Which reminds me- we have dessert takeout to eat! (the horrendous pumping schedule allows for lunch out, but dessert too- that's pushing it ;) )
Brooke
On a sadder note, Payton is now flying solo again :( his oxygen stats have been dropping more than they'd like, even with the nasal cannula, so this bought him an inclined bed to see if reflux is causing the declines (his HR stays normal). I hope whatever it is it passes fast as we think Evan and Riley are soon to be knocking on the door at home pretty quick. I am not saying much else as I have been known to jinx good progress on this blog, argh!! We are lucky and happy to have Ben's parents here now helping us make the final preparations for the transition home. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Papa Haydn's today- trying to get in some good food before the house arrest starts- thanks G&G Waind!! Which reminds me- we have dessert takeout to eat! (the horrendous pumping schedule allows for lunch out, but dessert too- that's pushing it ;) )
Brooke
Monday, February 7, 2011
Recent Happenings....
Over 2 weeks old already, crazy!! Last night Evan weighed 4lb13oz, Payton was 4lb8oz and Riley was 3lb15oz!! The Drs are very happy with all of their weight gains. So far I am keeping up with the milk supply for all 3 boys, but it is pretty exhausting! I am not stressing about it and will do the best I can for as long as I can :) The boys still have good days and not-so-great days. Last night Payton had to be put back on oxygen, luckily just a very low flow through a nasal cannula and not CPAP, he was looking much better this morning and the Dr says he will do great eventually and is just out-growing his lung immaturity. Evan and Riley also didn't feed that well last night and I left the hospital feeling frustrated...but this morning they both ate like champs and reminded me that this is all just a work in progress. The neonatal Dr that received the boys after I delivered was back on rounds today after being off since the day after they were born. It was great to hear his positive report on how far they have come since birth, he can really appreciate their milestones since he has been off, makes us remember to be thankful for them too! They say one day the switch will flip and they will "just get it". Here's to hoping that day will come sooner than later!
The boys were also moved from the level III NICU to level II in the wee hours of the morning today, this is great news! Level II is basically for "growers and feeders" so we are thankful for the confidence they have in the trips health. We love the new SPACIOUS room with lot's of windows, it is very refreshing and much quieter. It's nice to be in a room where we are not tripping over each other and I know the sunlight has to help these boys' spirit!
We are sad that Uncle T is leaving tomorrow, he has been a great help and we love having him around. We took a couple of hours this afternoon for "fun" and we all took Brody out for lunch and some game playing, it was nice to be out laughing and having fun!
The boys were also moved from the level III NICU to level II in the wee hours of the morning today, this is great news! Level II is basically for "growers and feeders" so we are thankful for the confidence they have in the trips health. We love the new SPACIOUS room with lot's of windows, it is very refreshing and much quieter. It's nice to be in a room where we are not tripping over each other and I know the sunlight has to help these boys' spirit!
We are sad that Uncle T is leaving tomorrow, he has been a great help and we love having him around. We took a couple of hours this afternoon for "fun" and we all took Brody out for lunch and some game playing, it was nice to be out laughing and having fun!
Friday, February 4, 2011
All together...finally!!
This was the most incredible experience, one that we have been waiting 2 looong weeks to see!! Since Payton has improved so much over the last 24 hours we were able to sandwich him in-between his brothers for their 1st (of millions) photo-ops! Evan, of course, was not phased and pretty much slept through the entire process, Payton was not sure what to think at first but calmed down eventually and Riley was his usual inquisitive self and didn't get rowdy until he had a diaper full that he wanted changed ASAP ;) As soon as they can maintain their temp (Riley just needs to grow a bit more) they should be moved into a bigger crib together and be able to bond more- we can't wait!!
Evan Lyal
"Easy Evan" has been just as laid back the past 2 weeks as he was for the 32 weeks he spent in-utero! Evan has done great learning how to breast feed and bottle feed and is holding ground as the biggest of the 3 boys. Evan has a very sweet and sometimes silly demeanor, he brings many smiles to all of us daily. We can not explain the flood of emotions we feel one hundred times over each and every day that we have spent bonding and getting to know these special guys. We have a bright future ahead, that's for sure!
Payton James
Riley Warren
Riley continues to grow and thrive every day! He is small but mighty, that's for sure. He has earned the keep of his nickname "Rowdy Riley" that started with his actions inside the womb...always giving us a run for our money and making us work so hard to find where he escaped to inside the belly. Words can't explain the love we feel for each one of these tiny miracles.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Quick Update
Just want to let everyone know that when we saw the boys this morning we were very happy with Payton's progress!! It looks like he may finally be on the constant road of improvement. We are expecting his nightly weight tonight to be down (from 4lb8oz) due to him finally getting rid of some of the fluid he was retaining. His limbs were very much improved and his face too, I think by this weekend his face will be less puffy and will be back to looking just like his brothers :)
Payton's lab culture also came back negative for bacteria this time. This means no infection and the last lab draw did get contaminated as they were suspecting. He is also increasing his feeds, got a sponge bath today (that should lift his spirits!!), is practicing breast feedings, and should be off of his IV (and PICC Line) by this weekend. These are all great steps that make us very happy :) Now he just needs to grow and mature a bit, he still has to work very hard to just do one task and when his oxygen stats drop it takes him a bit to recover. For example, after we gave him his sponge bath today he was completely wiped out that we decided to not put him to the breast. Dad held him for his tube feeding and that even caused him to drop stats a bit and needed some help with oxygen to get back on track. His brothers on the other hand have enough strength to bath, breast feed, bottle feed, and finish their tube feeding before passing out in the typical "milk coma". We think that by this weekend Payton will be much closer to keeping up with his bros! Overall the Drs and RNs continue to be very impressed with these boys, and stating that there is usually always 1 that had it much easier in the womb and wishes that they were still in there!
We are hoping that they will be able to be moved into a bigger bed to get some bonding time in pretty soon, Payton needs to join the crew! Riley and Evan are often reaching over from their side to let the other know they are there, it can melt my heart in an instance!!
Right now we are looking forward to our nighttime visit (just gotta pump, eat and run out the door!), and are very lucky that Uncle T is here right now to tuck Brody in shortly after we leave. Brody has really been adapting to all of this very well and it makes things so much easier knowing that he is happy with the loving care he has been receiving over the last few months from family (and friends!).
xoxo, Brooke
Payton's lab culture also came back negative for bacteria this time. This means no infection and the last lab draw did get contaminated as they were suspecting. He is also increasing his feeds, got a sponge bath today (that should lift his spirits!!), is practicing breast feedings, and should be off of his IV (and PICC Line) by this weekend. These are all great steps that make us very happy :) Now he just needs to grow and mature a bit, he still has to work very hard to just do one task and when his oxygen stats drop it takes him a bit to recover. For example, after we gave him his sponge bath today he was completely wiped out that we decided to not put him to the breast. Dad held him for his tube feeding and that even caused him to drop stats a bit and needed some help with oxygen to get back on track. His brothers on the other hand have enough strength to bath, breast feed, bottle feed, and finish their tube feeding before passing out in the typical "milk coma". We think that by this weekend Payton will be much closer to keeping up with his bros! Overall the Drs and RNs continue to be very impressed with these boys, and stating that there is usually always 1 that had it much easier in the womb and wishes that they were still in there!
We are hoping that they will be able to be moved into a bigger bed to get some bonding time in pretty soon, Payton needs to join the crew! Riley and Evan are often reaching over from their side to let the other know they are there, it can melt my heart in an instance!!
Right now we are looking forward to our nighttime visit (just gotta pump, eat and run out the door!), and are very lucky that Uncle T is here right now to tuck Brody in shortly after we leave. Brody has really been adapting to all of this very well and it makes things so much easier knowing that he is happy with the loving care he has been receiving over the last few months from family (and friends!).
xoxo, Brooke
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