Zachary

Last night when we went to see the boys we walked into their room to find Zak hooked up to some new tubes. So the doctor came in and explained it all to us. At his noon feeding yesterday he seemed reluctant to eat his whole feeding and then he vomited some of it back up. They looked at his belly and there was some skin discoloration and his tummy was distended. Since preemie babies can have intestinal problems they like to be more cautious than normal. So they took an x-ray and saw that his intestines were swollen, but that there was no air or anything else bad seen. They decided to stop all of his feedings for 48 hours and keep him on an IV for nutrients just to give his intestines a break. They also have him on antibiotics just in case there is an infection, but have not found any through blood work yet. He also has a tube in his mouth which goes into his stomach and is suctioning out anything in there just to keep his intestines completely empty. He did not gain any weight overnight, but also didn't lose any so that is good. Hopefully he will get to start eating again because he was doing really good with eating from the bottle.

Ryder is doing good as well. He gained more weight again last night and now weighs 3lb 6.4oz. The nurses have been trying to get him to eat from a bottle and some feedings he will eat about half the meal and others he chooses not to eat any from the bottle. He is working on it though.

Bottle Feeding Battle

Well, we are now on the roller coaster of trying to get the boys to eat from a bottle. Zak has taken to it much better than Ryder. Ryder took his first bottle great a few days ago, but since then has decided he doesn't like to work for his food. So he is getting his feeds through the feeding tube still. Zak on the other hand has been doing pretty good eating from a bottle. He will generally eat about 25-35ml of his 35ml feeds by bottle. The nurses and Ben have had good luck with getting him to eat, but he seems to just sleep through his feeds when I try to bottle feed him. It is extremely frustrating, but they are slowly getting there. The nurses and doctors say it is something that will just click with them one day and then there will be no turning back. So I am just waiting for that day to come so i can bring my boys home. We took the car seats in to the hospital last night so they could do the car seat test sometime. The nurse today told me that they tried last night, but both had problems so when they are closer to being ready to go home they will try again. The car seat test is just putting them in their car seat and making sure they can stay in them for 1 hour without dropping their breathing or heart rate. When they are young their neck muscles are not strong enough to hold their heads up which can cause breathing and heart rate problems. Also, Ryder had his hearing test today and passed.
The whole situation of the boys coming early has been very tiring physically and emotionally for both Ben and I. We know the boys are doing good and will be coming home at some point, but it just gets hard some days.

Ryder Made Another Change

Well, this morning when we went to see the boys their nurse let us know that Ryder was going back into the heated isolette. The doctors feel he was using too much of his energy and calories to maintain his body temp which resulted in him not gaining weight. So when we left the NICU today they were getting him a new isolette heated up. Hopefully he will continue to gain weight once he is back in it and will be ready to come out for another try soon.

Rollercoaster Ride

Everybody told us that the NICU would be a roller-coaster ride and we are starting to really see that now. Earlier today we were told that Ryder was going to go back into the isolette because he was not gaining weight. When we got there tonight he was still in his crib and the new nurse said they decided to wait and see how his weight was tonight. So she weighed him and he had gained about 35grams from last night so he is now 3lb 3.2oz and Zak weighed 4lb 6.4oz. So he got to stay in the crib for now, but will be watched very closely. The nurse then offered to let us bottle feed them their feeding so Ben took Ryder and I took Zak. Zak ended up taking in half of his feeding by bottle before falling asleep and Ryder took his entire feeding by bottle. So that was a big step for both of them. I will keep everybody updated on Ryder's weight gain and how they both do eating.

Ryder Update

Ryder made it out of his heated isolette Friday night around 10pm. He has been holding his temperature good while in his crib. So they are both out and in regular cribs next to each other. Today Zak weighed 4lb 4.3oz and Ryder was 3lb 2.1oz so they are both above their birth weights. Still no luck with bottle feeding, but the nurses say that they are both showing good sucking reflexes with the pacifiers so that is good.

Update

Zak & Ryder both had their eye exams done 2 days ago and the results came back good for both. They will have a follow-up eye exam in 3 weeks to make sure they are still developing on track for their age. Zak has his hearing test done and passes. Ryder will have his done once he is out of the isolette which will hopefully be soon, he is getting very close. Today I had the lactation consultant come to meet with me and the boys to get some pointers about how to help them latch on and nurse. They are not 100% ready yet, but are getting there and slowly showing signs of interest. Hopefully they will both take to the bottle or nursing soon because once they get that down and take all feedings by mouth they will be ready to come home. Last night Zak weighed 4lb 3.2oz and Ryder was 3lb 2.8oz so they are both above their birth weights now which is good.

Update On the Boys

They are doing very good. Zak is out of the heated isolette and Ryder is getting very close to being able to come out and go into a regular crib. They took off one of the monitors today so now they just have their feeding tube and heart rate monitors on. Today they allowed each of them to try and bottle feed. The nurses said that they did not take to the bottle, but did suck on it a little bit. This afternoon they allowed me to give each boy a chance to experiment with breastfeeding as well. Zak showed interest, but quickly fell asleep. Ryder was more awake and interested, but also got tired pretty quickly. But it was a good start for both of them. I will post new pictures of the boys as well. Today they weighed 4lb and 3lb 15oz.

Update On the Boys

The boys are doing good and making improvements daily. I have been trying to make 2 visits a day to see them and Ben makes it there each night to also see them. We try to hold them when we can during the visits. They are both breathing on their own. They are taking their feedings through the feeding tubes, but they have increased how much they are eating. They are weaning both of them off of the heated isolettes so once they can maintain their body temp at room temperature then they will come out of the isolette and just be in an open bassinet. I have added a few pictures of the boys, but will add more once I get them downloaded off of the camera.

Home from the Hospital

I was discharged from the hospital yesterday. It feels good to be home, but hard to not be closer to the boys in the NICU. Ben and I have plans to make 2 visits daily to see them. At the moment we are unable to be hands on with the boys so our visits are usually not long.

Both boys are now breathing completely on their own and 100% room air. They are both getting phototherapy for being jaundice, but that is very normal for early babies. They have increased their feedings through the feeding tube. Zak has been having slight problems with constipation, but they are working on it. Ryder has been stubborn and continues to get his IV out so they tend to leave it out unless he needs extra fluids.

Very Unexpected Delivery

Well, to make a long story short...the boys decided they could not wait any longer and made their appearance at 8:41am and 8:43am Sunday morning (8/5/07). Now for the long story...
I woke up at 2am Sunday morning to discover that my water had broken. I then started having contractions so Ben and I made our way to the hospital. At first they were going to try and hold off the delivery as long as possible so they put me on antibiotics since my water had broken. But the contractions just got closer and stronger and the boys just wanted out. So I was admitted at 3am and had the boys at 8:41am and 8:43am through c-section. It was pretty scary since it was so unplanned, but we held it together and pulled through well.

As for the boys:
Zak was born first and he was breech. He came out screaming and kicking. He weighed in at 4 pounds 2 ounces and did not require a ventilator. He was put on some extra oxygen just through his nose to help, but he is doing good. I was able to hold him Sunday evening. Ben and I both got to hold him Monday afternoon. He has taken 2 feedings through a feeding tube today.
Ryder was born second and he was also breech. He was not as active at birth, but was breathing. He weighed in at 3 pounds. They did have to put him on a ventilator and some medication for his blood pressure. The bp medication was stopped Sunday night and he was taken off the ventilator Monday afternoon. They are watching him closely for any signs of trouble with breathing and also looking for a possible infection, but he is also doing good. He has taken 1 feeding through a feeding tube so far which is really good.

I can speak for myself and say that I just so beside myself every time I look at my boys. I can't believe they are here now for me to hold and kiss. I am looking forward to the day they get to come home with me, but until then I know they are in good hands. I will post some pictures of them in the next few days.

30 Week OB Appointment

These are the appointments I dread going to, but have to every week. Today they found protein in my urine which can be from many things so they want to do a 24 hour urine sample which I will take in on Monday and get some blood drawn. So waiting to find out about how that goes. I have been 1cm dilated since my hospital stay with my last check-up 10 days ago. Today they found that I am now 2.5cm dilated. Along with having really bad back pain the past few days. So I am just waiting to see what happens. I go back to them on Wednesday next week. Will keep everybody updated.

30 Week High Risk OB Appointment

These are the appointments I like to go to because they do long ultrasounds and I get pictures also. They said the boys look good and are growing good. Baby A is still breech with his head practically in my hip. He is weighing 3 pounds 6 ounces now. Baby B is still transverse and sitting up much higher, right by my ribs. His head is laying on top of Baby A with his butt and legs above my belly button. He is weighing in at 3 pounds exactly. I will post the ultrasound pictures.