Ethan sitting in his swing
Kian in his bouncey seat
Dad with his boys
Dad, Kian, Ethan and Zio
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
FINALLY...HOME SWEET HOME for all 4 of us!
Yes...today was the day. Kian, Ethan and Mom & Dad were all united again & living under the same roof. Such a rewarding, exciting, yet scary day for Mom & Dad. It will be 12 weeks ago on Friday that Mom & Dad's angels were born. Who knew the outcome of these 2lb, 13week early children would be so great??!! It's been an emotional ride with some tears & smiles and we are forever glad this chapter is over! We've started a new chapter in our lives today- we'll be together forever! We will be forever greatful for all those nurses and doctors in the NICU and for all those that helped us with extra prayers in our time of need! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Ethan sitting in his swing
Kian in his bouncey seat
Dad with his boys
Dad, Kian, Ethan and Zio
Ethan sitting in his swing
Kian in his bouncey seat
Dad with his boys
Dad, Kian, Ethan and Zio
Friday, February 20, 2009
Cuddle time!
Daddy & Grammie take a trip to visit Kian. Kian is off oxygen (no more nasal cannula), he's in an open crib, and attempting to nipple every feed. We're waiting for him to catch on with nippling. It takes him longer than 30minutes still to take a bottle so he has to keep the NG tube in his nose for food. Love and hugs as we pray for Kian to come home soon!
Here's Grammie, Ethan and Zio all cuddling!
Here's Grammie, Ethan and Zio all cuddling!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Our first few hours home with Ethan
Our first night home together and a few other pictures...
Yes, Ethan has an umbilical hernia. That's not extra equipment!
It's been an amazing transition from NICU to home. We couldn't feel more blessed. We've been busy and Mom even was back at the NICU holding Kian <24hrs later.
Here's Ethan all dressed up and waiting for Grammie to come visit!!
Kian has been nippling a lot better. He's taking his feeds in less than 20minutes (which is the ultimate goal). We're hoping doctors increase the # of feeds/day via nipple. Our doctor went on vaction for the rest of the week so we're not sure how fast the oncall doctor will advance. We're patiently waiting for his arrival home.
Yes, Ethan has an umbilical hernia. That's not extra equipment!
It's been an amazing transition from NICU to home. We couldn't feel more blessed. We've been busy and Mom even was back at the NICU holding Kian <24hrs later.
Here's Ethan all dressed up and waiting for Grammie to come visit!!
Kian has been nippling a lot better. He's taking his feeds in less than 20minutes (which is the ultimate goal). We're hoping doctors increase the # of feeds/day via nipple. Our doctor went on vaction for the rest of the week so we're not sure how fast the oncall doctor will advance. We're patiently waiting for his arrival home.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Is it home sweet home??
A bitter/sweet start to the week. We are so excited, yet so sad all at the same time. Ethan was discharged home today, but Kian has to stay. It's been such a long journey, and we're super excited for the new chapter to begin! We just have to get our other munchkin home. He's doing well. Just learning how to suck, swallow and breathe without getting exhausted. He should be home in no time at all!
Ethan in his car seat enjoying the ride home. Here he is meeting his "brother" Zio!
It's sweet dreams for our first nap in our new home!
OUR LAST NIGHT IN THE NICU TOGETHER!! We were having fun and goofing off. What great family time!
Ethan in his car seat enjoying the ride home. Here he is meeting his "brother" Zio!
It's sweet dreams for our first nap in our new home!
OUR LAST NIGHT IN THE NICU TOGETHER!! We were having fun and goofing off. What great family time!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, MOM & DAD!!!
Kian and Ethan's Valentines Day card to Mom and Dad. They are absolutely adorable!!
After seeing them together, do you still think they look alike???
After seeing them together, do you still think they look alike???
Thursday, February 12, 2009
...and growing...
We're showing off our TU hats! Go TU!! Remember how big they were on us before????
We weigh 6lbs 3oz and 5lbs 12.5oz. Ethan is bottle feeding all of his feeds and even breastfeeding like a champ. His next step is to decrease the amount of calories in his formula from 24kcal/oz to 22kcal/oz and see if he continues to gain weight accordingly.
Here's Dad- he's feeding his first bottle ever to his boys! Go DAD!
Kian is working on nippling 6 bottles per day and only 2 tube feeds. He still has an uncoordinated suck and it takes him more than the allotted amount of time (30 minutes) to get down 2oz of milk. Therefore, he stays at that step until he masters it. Mom & Dad are getting severely anxious and our patients are wearing thin, but we keep being reminded that "they would still be in utero" and wouldn't be doing these things anyway.
We would be 36wks 3days today
instead today we are 2mo old.
We've had our 2 month shots already and we took them like champs. Only a few whimpers and then all smiles!
Still- a discharge is in sight for Ethan. No date given yet. We will let you know when that happens.
We weigh 6lbs 3oz and 5lbs 12.5oz. Ethan is bottle feeding all of his feeds and even breastfeeding like a champ. His next step is to decrease the amount of calories in his formula from 24kcal/oz to 22kcal/oz and see if he continues to gain weight accordingly.
Here's Dad- he's feeding his first bottle ever to his boys! Go DAD!
Kian is working on nippling 6 bottles per day and only 2 tube feeds. He still has an uncoordinated suck and it takes him more than the allotted amount of time (30 minutes) to get down 2oz of milk. Therefore, he stays at that step until he masters it. Mom & Dad are getting severely anxious and our patients are wearing thin, but we keep being reminded that "they would still be in utero" and wouldn't be doing these things anyway.
We would be 36wks 3days today
instead today we are 2mo old.
We've had our 2 month shots already and we took them like champs. Only a few whimpers and then all smiles!
Still- a discharge is in sight for Ethan. No date given yet. We will let you know when that happens.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
We're still growing!
That's right...we're still growing! Mom and Dad are so impressed by our huge steps we're making. Not only are we almost 6lbs- yes Kian is 5lbs 14oz and Ethan is 5lbs 8oz- but we're making huge strides in our development.
Ethan was taken off his nasal cannula Saturday. He is now completely breathing on his own.
Kian still has his on, but is on room air mostly. He's having more difficulty breathing and doc has ordered some tests in the next few days to figure out why. We're hoping and praying its just "growing pains" and nothing anatomically wrong. Ethan and Kian are eating from a bottle 3-4x's per day and both are allowed to breastfeed 3-4x's per day. The other feedings are still through the feeding tube. Kian, because of his breathing, is struggling a bit with his eating but is still doing okay.
There may be an end in sight...Dr. has discontinued their caffeine. That's a good sign! That means we're on the home stretch. Caffeine helps stimulate their bodies and reminds them to breathe, so she's thinking it's time they do it on their own. Their caffeine levels must be below a certain level before they think about sending them home and it takes days to get out of their system. There has even been discussion about possible discharge soon- especially for Ethan- but no specific date. We have no idea when. It will be the next most difficult thing to do if have to take the boys home 1 at a time. That means either Mom or Dad have to stay at home with one and the other can go to the hospital.
We've already discovered Ethan is a Momma's boy. Dad was holding both boys, Mom left the room and when she came back and Ethan heard her voice he squealed and squirmed until Mom picked him up. This could be interesting!!
We'll keep you updated. We pray that Kian continues to make progress on his breathing/eating & Ethan just continues to eat, sleep and grow.
Ethan was taken off his nasal cannula Saturday. He is now completely breathing on his own.
Kian still has his on, but is on room air mostly. He's having more difficulty breathing and doc has ordered some tests in the next few days to figure out why. We're hoping and praying its just "growing pains" and nothing anatomically wrong. Ethan and Kian are eating from a bottle 3-4x's per day and both are allowed to breastfeed 3-4x's per day. The other feedings are still through the feeding tube. Kian, because of his breathing, is struggling a bit with his eating but is still doing okay.
There may be an end in sight...Dr. has discontinued their caffeine. That's a good sign! That means we're on the home stretch. Caffeine helps stimulate their bodies and reminds them to breathe, so she's thinking it's time they do it on their own. Their caffeine levels must be below a certain level before they think about sending them home and it takes days to get out of their system. There has even been discussion about possible discharge soon- especially for Ethan- but no specific date. We have no idea when. It will be the next most difficult thing to do if have to take the boys home 1 at a time. That means either Mom or Dad have to stay at home with one and the other can go to the hospital.
We've already discovered Ethan is a Momma's boy. Dad was holding both boys, Mom left the room and when she came back and Ethan heard her voice he squealed and squirmed until Mom picked him up. This could be interesting!!
We'll keep you updated. We pray that Kian continues to make progress on his breathing/eating & Ethan just continues to eat, sleep and grow.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
We're growing up before Mom & Dad's eyes!
We've done a lot of growing up in the last few days. Since taking off the CPAP, both Kian and Ethan have behaved. They are still on their nasal cannulas, Ethan is on room air (21%) and Kian is being weaned from 25% to room air. Both are tolerating it really well.
Mom has been able to do some some non-nutritive feeding where Mom pumps first then attempts to get the boys latched on and the episodes ended up to be nutritive. Both boys stole some milk when they weren't supposed to. BAD BOYS!!
Because they did so well with that, the doctor decided it was time to introduce a nipple/bottle feed them. They are allowed one bottle feeding per day, one breastfeeding per day and the rest through the tube. The first day that the physical therapist worked with them, both Kian and Ethan had horribly uncoordinated sucks. The second day, the boys sucked like champs! Yay for Kian and Ethan. We're hoping that tomorrow doc increases the amount of times they can nipple(bottle) feed. Doc's worry is that she doesn't want to tire them out and they end up struggling to breath later in the day. Slow and steady wins the race but Mom is impatient!
CAN YOU GUESS WHO IS WHO IN THE PICTURES?? THEY'RE PERSONALITIES MATCH THEIR SHIRTS! Kian will always be blaming his brother for things (he's the laid back one) and Ethan will always think twins rock because he can get away with things by blaming it on his brother!! Wait til you meet them and you will agree!
Uncle Steve... Kian and Ethan told Dad they are ready for the big game. They're waiting for all your pointers!!! They said, "Put me in, coach!"
Here's Dad, another relaxing day, snuggling with the boys! oh...by the way... Kian has reached 5lbs. As of Monday night Kian weighed 5lbs4oz and Ethan weighed 4lbs13oz. We're getting fatter! Thank God for another blessed day!
Mom has been able to do some some non-nutritive feeding where Mom pumps first then attempts to get the boys latched on and the episodes ended up to be nutritive. Both boys stole some milk when they weren't supposed to. BAD BOYS!!
Because they did so well with that, the doctor decided it was time to introduce a nipple/bottle feed them. They are allowed one bottle feeding per day, one breastfeeding per day and the rest through the tube. The first day that the physical therapist worked with them, both Kian and Ethan had horribly uncoordinated sucks. The second day, the boys sucked like champs! Yay for Kian and Ethan. We're hoping that tomorrow doc increases the amount of times they can nipple(bottle) feed. Doc's worry is that she doesn't want to tire them out and they end up struggling to breath later in the day. Slow and steady wins the race but Mom is impatient!
CAN YOU GUESS WHO IS WHO IN THE PICTURES?? THEY'RE PERSONALITIES MATCH THEIR SHIRTS! Kian will always be blaming his brother for things (he's the laid back one) and Ethan will always think twins rock because he can get away with things by blaming it on his brother!! Wait til you meet them and you will agree!
Uncle Steve... Kian and Ethan told Dad they are ready for the big game. They're waiting for all your pointers!!! They said, "Put me in, coach!"
Here's Dad, another relaxing day, snuggling with the boys! oh...by the way... Kian has reached 5lbs. As of Monday night Kian weighed 5lbs4oz and Ethan weighed 4lbs13oz. We're getting fatter! Thank God for another blessed day!
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