Sunday, November 22, 2009
Best Birthday Ever!
Kirk said today was the best birthday ever! We got to go see babies and he got to hold them both for the first time together today! Followed by a lovely get together with both sets of parents and both sibling and their families...We tried to get a picture of Daddy with Alyssa but she promptly ran away when she saw the camera, so once again its just pictures of the babies.
Baby wise, no new news which is always good. Blake was on room air today on air flow, doing much better on just mommy's milk. Both have had excellent weight gains still, Leah was down a bit last night but Blake was up 71 grams overnight without fortifiers!! So their totals for today are almost the same as each other, Leah is 1361 grams and Blake is 1364, which my friends is 3 pounds!! WOOHOOO!! Both babies have hit the 3 pound mark! Now of course they could go down a bit but for today they are both at 3 pounds!
It was pretty cute when Kirk was holding them both, I think he was a little overwhelmed having them both. Leah was staring up at him quietly and Blake was squirming around making all kinds of squeeky noises. It will take awhile to master the 2 baby hold, especially since they feel like a wet noodle its hard to readjust them...Wow should be interesting to tandem nurse them! Why I want to try I'm not sure but that is my goal.
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Leah was looking a little chubbier today, her face seemed fuller
Baby wise, no new news which is always good. Blake was on room air today on air flow, doing much better on just mommy's milk. Both have had excellent weight gains still, Leah was down a bit last night but Blake was up 71 grams overnight without fortifiers!! So their totals for today are almost the same as each other, Leah is 1361 grams and Blake is 1364, which my friends is 3 pounds!! WOOHOOO!! Both babies have hit the 3 pound mark! Now of course they could go down a bit but for today they are both at 3 pounds!
It was pretty cute when Kirk was holding them both, I think he was a little overwhelmed having them both. Leah was staring up at him quietly and Blake was squirming around making all kinds of squeeky noises. It will take awhile to master the 2 baby hold, especially since they feel like a wet noodle its hard to readjust them...Wow should be interesting to tandem nurse them! Why I want to try I'm not sure but that is my goal.
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Looks like Blake is going for the oxygen to try and pull out
Leah was looking a little chubbier today, her face seemed fuller
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Ah-ha!
Today when we went to the babies they said that Blake had been having the same problems overnight again. His tummy blew up again 1cm more over night than normal which I guess is a lot for a tiny baby, and he was desating quite a bit and he was really fussy and upset...Since Tuesday when he was first having his breathing issues and tummy troubles they stopped they human milk fortifiers he was on and only have mommy's milk...Last night they reintroduced the fortifiers into his milk and he instantly started having problems...So there you have it we have found the culprit to his problems!
Not that I am happy that he is having these issues, I am happy that we have been able to pin point a problem that we can now try and fix. His blood work and x-rays and everything coming back normal of course was great too, but at least now we have something to go with instead of being stumped.
They immediately stopped the fortifier and by the next feeding he was doing much better! His tummy had gone down and he was able to keep the full amount down with out pushing it back up. I guess what was happening was the fortifer was very difficult for him to digest and he would get so bloated that it made it hard for him to breath because his abdomen was so full of air, which of course was causing him to be uncomfortable and fussy.
From what I am understanding is Breast milk doesn't have enough calcium and minerals in it for a preemie baby, it does for a term baby just not these tiny babies. If they were still in utero they would be getting enough calcium from mom to harden their bones. So he does for sure need some kind of suppliment with the proper amounts of calcium and minerals to ossify his bones. Monday, Tuesday they will consult with a dietician to see what alternative we have to the human milk fortifier. I guess this does happen occassionally so I'm sure they will have the solution...So in the meantime he's only getting mommy's milk. He did have another big weight gain over night anyways so he must be getting enough nutrients to gain weight...
We held him for quite some time today, that little stinker is just such a little boy it makes me laugh. You almost have to hold his hands to stop him from pulling out his feeding tube and oxygen (which was at 23% today after his rough night)..He is so squirmy and he was making all kinds of grunting noises...and he looks just like Kirk!
Leah was such a little doll today, she is so good and content we held her for probably 2.5 hours and she didn't make a peep. She'll look around for a bit and then she'll fall asleep, then she'll wake back up and suck her soother, then back to sleep...what a difference between the 2 babies...Leah doesn't look like anyone to me yet, just like Leah...She had 2 days in a row of huge weight gain but last night she lost a bit, I guess thats pretty normal though.
They told me 2 exciting things today, first was they will start getting to try out nursing this upcoming week! Not to get any milk but to just learn how to...2nd thing was after prying a bit I did have a nurse practitioner say they will likely be home for Christmas!!!!!! Now of course they follow that with, not for sure, things change fast around here, don't get your hopes up...but I'm telling you my hopes ARE up...I really think by then they will be ready to come home...They would be 37-38 weeks gestation which is when they were suppose to have been born...Plus 2 sets of twins around us just got released this week at 36 weeks, so here's hoping!!!
Anyways, thats the loooong update for today!! Happy 32nd Birthday to my honey!!!
Not that I am happy that he is having these issues, I am happy that we have been able to pin point a problem that we can now try and fix. His blood work and x-rays and everything coming back normal of course was great too, but at least now we have something to go with instead of being stumped.
They immediately stopped the fortifier and by the next feeding he was doing much better! His tummy had gone down and he was able to keep the full amount down with out pushing it back up. I guess what was happening was the fortifer was very difficult for him to digest and he would get so bloated that it made it hard for him to breath because his abdomen was so full of air, which of course was causing him to be uncomfortable and fussy.
From what I am understanding is Breast milk doesn't have enough calcium and minerals in it for a preemie baby, it does for a term baby just not these tiny babies. If they were still in utero they would be getting enough calcium from mom to harden their bones. So he does for sure need some kind of suppliment with the proper amounts of calcium and minerals to ossify his bones. Monday, Tuesday they will consult with a dietician to see what alternative we have to the human milk fortifier. I guess this does happen occassionally so I'm sure they will have the solution...So in the meantime he's only getting mommy's milk. He did have another big weight gain over night anyways so he must be getting enough nutrients to gain weight...
We held him for quite some time today, that little stinker is just such a little boy it makes me laugh. You almost have to hold his hands to stop him from pulling out his feeding tube and oxygen (which was at 23% today after his rough night)..He is so squirmy and he was making all kinds of grunting noises...and he looks just like Kirk!
Leah was such a little doll today, she is so good and content we held her for probably 2.5 hours and she didn't make a peep. She'll look around for a bit and then she'll fall asleep, then she'll wake back up and suck her soother, then back to sleep...what a difference between the 2 babies...Leah doesn't look like anyone to me yet, just like Leah...She had 2 days in a row of huge weight gain but last night she lost a bit, I guess thats pretty normal though.
They told me 2 exciting things today, first was they will start getting to try out nursing this upcoming week! Not to get any milk but to just learn how to...2nd thing was after prying a bit I did have a nurse practitioner say they will likely be home for Christmas!!!!!! Now of course they follow that with, not for sure, things change fast around here, don't get your hopes up...but I'm telling you my hopes ARE up...I really think by then they will be ready to come home...They would be 37-38 weeks gestation which is when they were suppose to have been born...Plus 2 sets of twins around us just got released this week at 36 weeks, so here's hoping!!!
Anyways, thats the loooong update for today!! Happy 32nd Birthday to my honey!!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Not much to report...
Everything is just the same as yesterday...Blake is doing fine, they have taken him off the oxygen and he is just on air flow..he did have 3 brady's over night last night and he did desat several times throughout the day...He also had one brady when I was there, but mostly he is doing good... His tummy is still big so they aren't sure what is causing that. He did have a big weight gain over night which is excellent since he's only on mommy's milk and no fortifiers. He jumped from 1309 grams to 1357 grams, they said that sick babies don't gain weight...Guess we'll just take that as a good sign. I held the little boy for a good half an hour today and maybe its just my wishful thinking but with some love and some whispers in his ear his oxygen went up to 96-97 % while I was holding him...I hope tomorrow he'll be mostly back to normal. Leah was as good as ever, I held her for at least an hour. She sucked intensely on her soother most of the time, which is good...I think she is getting ready for a bottle or to try nursing soon. I think probably within a week or so we should be able to give it a try...Blake has actually been liking his soother too, and his little mouth makes a sucking motion while he's sleeping so I guess he's getting ready too! Leah also had a good weight gain yesterday from 1287 to 1311 grams...Kirk always jokes that I make straight cream seeing how chubby Alyssa always was, so here's to hoping I'll fatten these babies up in no time! Thats it for today, thanks for checking in! In means the world to me to know how many of you out there are reading so often and keeping tabs on us!
Just for fun, here is Chunky monkey #1... this is Alyssa at about 7 months old...
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Just for fun, here is Chunky monkey #1... this is Alyssa at about 7 months old...
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Blake Update
So the little man is about the same as yesterday. You can see he still has his oxygen on from yesterday. He's fluctuated between 21% (room air) and 30 % today but it was 21% when I left. He still has a distended tummy and does desat when he's not on the oxygen. Blood work all came back normal, X-ray is normal so thats a good sign. He's pooped good today too, also a good sign... so that leaves us with a big fat question mark...
They have said that sometime these little guys do well for a few days then they just get tired out and need a break so to speak. So hopefully overnight and through tomorrow he'll slow himeself off the oxygen...I didn't hold him today, he always desats when I hold him, he gets too comfy in mommy's arms and forgets to breath so I thought it would be for the best to leave him be and get him a little more stable..
Maybe tomorrow he can have a tiny snuggle..he sure did look cute though!! Also he weighed 1309 grams today, he was 1310 when he was born so thats good that he's almost back to his original weight. They have also taken him off the human milk fortifier and is only on Mommy's milk until his tummy troubles and oxygen levels improve...Thanks for all your concern and messages, I'm sure in the next few days he'll be back to his normal self.
Little Girl is doing GREAT!! She always has perfect Oxygen levels, heartrate, never has brady's or destats...she's the little golden baby of the NICU. Today she weighed 1287 grams which is up from her birth weight of 1250!! Woohooo!!! Grow baby grow!!! I held her today for 2 hours most of which she was asleep, she did wake up a bit to suck on her soother...I happily held her and looked at all the tiny things on her, her microscopic veins and her weeeny little fingernails and adorably cute litte eyelashes...What a little pumpkin...I can't imagine what she will look like in 1 month from now or even 1 year...
They have said that sometime these little guys do well for a few days then they just get tired out and need a break so to speak. So hopefully overnight and through tomorrow he'll slow himeself off the oxygen...I didn't hold him today, he always desats when I hold him, he gets too comfy in mommy's arms and forgets to breath so I thought it would be for the best to leave him be and get him a little more stable..
Maybe tomorrow he can have a tiny snuggle..he sure did look cute though!! Also he weighed 1309 grams today, he was 1310 when he was born so thats good that he's almost back to his original weight. They have also taken him off the human milk fortifier and is only on Mommy's milk until his tummy troubles and oxygen levels improve...Thanks for all your concern and messages, I'm sure in the next few days he'll be back to his normal self.
Little Girl is doing GREAT!! She always has perfect Oxygen levels, heartrate, never has brady's or destats...she's the little golden baby of the NICU. Today she weighed 1287 grams which is up from her birth weight of 1250!! Woohooo!!! Grow baby grow!!! I held her today for 2 hours most of which she was asleep, she did wake up a bit to suck on her soother...I happily held her and looked at all the tiny things on her, her microscopic veins and her weeeny little fingernails and adorably cute litte eyelashes...What a little pumpkin...I can't imagine what she will look like in 1 month from now or even 1 year...
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