daily news

Picture Update

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Let me give you a mental image:  This morning Tim left late for work because he wanted to get the girls’ breakfast and feed the dogs so I could sleep in a little (until 7:35 a.m.).  He knew that my baby (we switch boys each night to be fair) had been up since 4:50 a.m. while his had slept until 7!  Once he left I got Kennedy in the shower, made myself toast and the all important cup of coffee.  My morning “rush hour” as I call it ended with my breastfeeding both boys simultaneously while Kennedy sat in front of me reading her homework so I could comb her hair.  That was until my alarm went off blaring “I like to move it, move it…”  through out our home telling Kennedy it was time to get her shoes and jacket on.  She had one shoe securely fastened when her bus pulled up – seven minutes early!  Still breastfeeding, I threw her incomplete homework in her backpack before she slung it around her shoulders.  I shouted my “I love yous” and told her to zip up her coat and put her hood up over her sopping wet hair as she ran for her bus.  Not my best parenting but at least she was clean and going to school, right?!  Ten minutes later I finished breastfeeding and burping the boys, and settled into the couch to snuggle with the boys and Addie to watch Super Why!  Phew!

Another “rush hour” down, and I didn’t even mention my two barking dogs!  So it is clear why I haven’t had the time I would like to write on my blog.  I really want to – but my hours just slip past me and another day goes by without a post.  That is why I thought I would do a post of pictures.  That I can fit into my day – so here you go!  Here are some pictures of our family from the past couple months.  Some are from my phone, so the quality isn’t great but I don’t always have the hands free to grab my big camera.

You know you’ve been in the NICU too long when…

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  1. Your son’s nurse knows you so well she asks you if you want her to hit your husband when he makes some sarcastic comment.
  2. The nurses know your oldest daughter’s gymnastics schedule.
  3. You receive mail there.
  4. The security guards in the hospital lobby know your name when you go to sign.
  5. You understand what the doctors are saying when talking to each other about a treatment plan.
  6. You no longer hear the constant beeping that is the soundtrack of the NICU!

It has almost been three months since our boys were born, and it is difficult to remember what it was like before I spent my days at their bedsides’.  I feel like it was forever ago when I was just getting the sense of what it was like to have babies in the NICU.  Now I can’t imagine what it will be like to have them at home.  Three months ago I would lay awake at night wondering what I was going to do to get through this time in the NICU.  Now I lay in bed wondering what I am going to do to get through the next few months with two newborns at home!  Three months ago I worried about brain bleeds, ventilator settings, heart problems and if I could touch them.  Today I worry about keeping up with the laundry of four kids, balancing my time between two newborns, a two and a half-year old and a kindergartener, having time to make dinner and if I will ever sleep again once the boys come home.  My head is spinning thinking of all the preparations that need to be made before the boys come home.  Three months ago all I wanted was to fast forward to the day that the Doctors would step up to my boys’ beds during rounds and say “Not much to report.  He is eating and growing.”  And now that time is here!  While the boys each have their hurdles to jump before being discharged we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Carter could be home in the next week and Griffin should only be a couple of weeks behind him.  True to form, Carter still has bad lungs and will come home with oxygen support (a whole new bag of stressors!), while Griffin is still having eating/digestion issues and will stay in the NICU until this is ironed out. 

In the end, the NICU hasn’t been that bad.  I wouldn’t want to do it again and I wouldn’t wish what we went through on anyone…but all in all, it wasn’t terrible – the staff there made it bearable  and I believe my boys will come out on top when all said and done.  I can definitely say that I am a better person having been there and having gone through this experience, but I am happy to see our NICU time coming to a close in the next month.  Only time will tell what the lasting results will be given what we have been through since Ocotober 8th.  Just think, three months from now my post will be all about my lack of sleep, the number of diapers I changed and how many times Addie cried because I couldn’t do something for her until I was done feeding one of the boys.  Ahh, won’t that be wonderful to have such simple problems!

Day 3, treading softly

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Griffin and Carter are doing well.  As well as can be expected for two boys born 15 weeks early. 

I probably won’t go into details with my updates, because the constant status changes are overwhelming for me, and I am here to witness them.  But here is where we are right now…

Both boys: being so little and young there are some issues that they each have that goes for any baby this size.  Our biggest worry is brain bleeds.  Since their little heads are so fragile they are in danger of brian injury.  Today they each had a head ultrasound to check for bleeding and came out looking good.  Phew!  They will repeat the test in a week to check again.  If they come out on top for that test the chances of brain bleeding decreases.  They are both have tubs coming out of their umbilical cords.  These are for medicines, transfusions and such.  They receive antibiotics to ward off any infections they may have.  They are given a medicine to help with lung and heart development.  They are both on ventilators to help their tiny lungs.  They are on feeding tubes which will be the case for months as babies don’t develop the ability to suck and swallow until around 32 weeks (Thanksgiving time).  Their skin is really fragile so they are resting in about an 80% humidity incubators, to protect them.  This percentage will hopefully decrease by 5% everyday until they can handle natural air.  They are under blue lights to help with liver function, and this requires protective eye patches.  All of these things seem to be treated as though they were expected by the experts from babies at 25 weeks.

Griffin:  He had a rough day 2.  He was moved up to an oscilator, which is a ventilator that gives tiny fast shakes to the baby’s lungs to help open them up.  It was  a tough transition for Griffin and he was not happy with it – but he has since relaxed and adjusted to his new movements.  He has had a few other issues here and there and is being tended to by his own nurse (usually each nurse has two babies).  She watches him and adjusts as needed.  Last night his nurse referred to him as a “one night stand” saying that he definitely knew what he wanted and let it be known.  I think she was trying to say he was high maintenance!  Surprise, surprise – the one that looks like Tim is already having girl trouble 🙂

Carter: He has had an easier few days than his big brother.  He has to be put on sedation every once in a while because he is a mover and a shaker.  Every time you look at him he is stretching, adjusting, flexing.  While this is a good sign that he has a lot of fight and energy in him it is not the best way to be for a baby with wires everywhere!  Tonight Carter was put on the oscillator like Griffin.  He too needed the extra support for his lungs.  This is all in the realm of norm we are told but it is not easy to watch these little guys shake so fast, it can’t be comfortable.

I touched them each once.  But refrain from doing so in general.  Whenever they are touched they jump a little and the last thing I want to be is the cause for an IV to come out.  The nurses and doctors try not to touch them often either and practice what they call “cluster care”.  They try to do things that may disturb the boys in clusters as to get it all over with at once, this way they can rest for long periods of time.  The nurses treat them like their own babies and I am always content when I leave knowing that they are in great hands.