10 Weeks Old!

The babies turned 10 weeks old today!

To celebrate the both PIGGED out all day.  Henry took 4 ounces at his largest feeding; the minimum amount he should take is 40 CCs (1.33 ounces), and anything more is bonus.  I’d say we have a piggy on our hands!  Holland isn’t about to let her little brother show her up; she took over 3 ounces.  We are so excited we have eager eaters on our hands!  At weigh-in, Henry tipped the scales RIGHT at 5 pounds, and Holland is sitting steady at 4 pounds, 11 ounces.

       

This should be the LAST “week picture” taken in the hospital!?!?!  The babies are still on for discharge tomorrow!  Hearing tests, car seat tests, final eye exams…they’re all done!  We had At Home Medical deliver our what our babies will require to be home.  We are the proud “owners” of two large oxygen tanks (think the helium tanks that fill up balloons), lots of tubing to follow our babies around, two nebulizers, some travel gear, and all our prescriptions filled!  We hooked up Henry to his apnea monitor to make sure we knew what we were doing (success!), and went over the final discharge “checklist” with Penny.  We have a visit with a home health nurse on Wednesday evening (hopefully we’re all still standing), and are heading to the pediatrician on Thursday morning for a meet’n’greet and weigh-in.  We will head back to the eye doctor on Tuesday, and hope that Henry will be “released”; his eyes are almost “mature.”  Baby girl is still showing some signs of ROP, but her stage/level combination usually takes care of itself, or so Dr. Pardone told us.  We sure hope she’s right!  As you can see, we’ll have a lot of follow-up appointments in the next few months…we probably won’t take Henry and Holland many other places.  They are super susceptible to everything, and we are not planning to risk getting sick!  Time to hole up in the house with some Netflix and snuggly babies!

We are also almost ready here at the house.  We did a pretty deep clean, got the bottles sterilized, organized all their equipment, finalized things in the nursery, and even gave the pups a bath so they’re ready to meet the babies, too!  Over the last couple days, I’ve made a list of some easy, throw-together dishes we can make for dinners.  Tonight I went to the grocery store and filled up my cart with all sorts of goodies–it felt a bit like shopping before Hurricane Sandy–very strategic and thought out.  Friends have already dropped food off, and we have a lasagna coming tomorrow…helping us out in a major way once again!

We feel so many different things about bringing Henry and Holland home.  We are obviously over the moon with happiness, nervous about dealing with everything they need, and just a tad scared about figuring everything out.  I still am in complete disbelief; 10 weeks ago I wouldn’t have thought that my babies would have come home.  When my complications started, I was sure I had lost the babies.  I remember lying on the floor on November 17 while the EMTs started an IV and thinking about the cribs upstairs and how we wouldn’t need them.  Now they’re set up waiting for two little bodies.  At times after they were born, even though 26 weekers typically have a 75-90% chance of survival, I was overcome with the fear of losing them.  Now we’re taking them home…for good!  While I would’ve never chosen for things to play out the way they have, our NICU experience has been almost entirely positive…our babies did so well, and had so few complications and bumps in the road…way to go, Henry and Holland.  Let’s keep up this overachieving business, okay?  Free ride to college?  Make it happen!

We can’t believe that tomorrow at this time, we’ll be snuggling with this stinker at HOME!

Praise the Lord!

Say That Again?

Henry and Holland will be home this week.

That’s not a typo.

Tomorrow they will be 10 weeks old, and if all goes according to plan, we should leave with them on Tuesday. (There were words of shock when we were told that..Some don’t deserve to be repeated!) They’ll be just under 37 weeks gestation, and home. How is this even remotely possible?

One word: God.

I had a friend in college who upon seeing a beautiful sunset while chasing a hot air balloon (the things you have time for in college!), commented “I don’t underestand how someone could see this (the sunset) and NOT believe in God.” These words stuck with me for the last 11 years or so, and when I see something especially beautiful I often think back to them. Over the last ten weeks, I’ve often thought of them and said them to myself. How could anyone see our perfect babies, who were born too soon and so small, see how far they’ve come and NOT believe in God? His hands are all over this story, and we are so thankful for His supreme goodness and guidance.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t often question why this happened…I certainly have. My fears often got the best of me (particularly the first two weeks), and I couldn’t trust that all would be well. Thankfully we had the prayers of so many people to lift us up and help us know that all would, in fact, be well.

So, all that aside…

Holy cow, our babies are going to be home in 2 days.

They had their “poly” today, which helps determine what meds they might need at home (caffeine, Zantac, etc). The extra strip under their cannulas is what senses everything. They will have oxygen at home, but their settings are so low…1/4 liter, 100%. Ina said she can blow harder than that! We are hopeful that they won’t need it for long, and once we know the logistics of it, I’ll feel much better about it.

They don’t look too stressed at the thought of going home…though we think Henry might try to pack Ina in his suitcase and bring her home!

We have about a bazillion things we hope to accomplish before we pick’em up for good…the most important thing, is that they are ready to go home…even if we aren’t 100% set (and really, what new parents are?), we will figure out being a family of four in our own time.

Don’t stop praying now! We need it more than ever!

Home Stretch

Well, it seems as if we’re in the home stretch of this NICU business…things are really winding down!

*Henry is now receiving EVERY feeding via bottle!  We gave him his 3 pm feeding and his 9 pm feeding.  He took the 3 pm feeding like a champ (after a little nipple mishap–he worked at it for 10 minutes or so before we realized the nipple was defective!).  We were also there for the 9 pm feeding, and he got a little tuckered out; he took about half of it and then started protesting a bit.  He took the rest of it through his feeding tube, and was happy as a clam.  Keep working on it, little boy!

*Baby boy is also down to about 1/2 liter, 100% oxygen.  They’ll keep moving him down as they can!

*Holland is back at bottle feeds, and doing just as well as she was before all this UTI business!  For her 3 pm feeding she scarfed down her whole bottle in about 5 minutes!  Girl’s got skills!

*Little lady is at just under 1 liter, 100% oxygen.  We’re hoping that once she’s off the antibiotic (3 more doses), she’ll require less and less of the O2!

*Chris and I are being trained on how to work the apnea monitors tomorrow (Friday).  The babies will definitely go home on these, and we’ve heard that most babies discontinue monitoring after their second round of shots (between 4 and 6 months).

*Tonight we helped with a breathing/nebulizer treatment.  The respiratory team administers these to both babies at 8 am, 2 pm, and 8 pm.  They basically hold the tube in front of the baby’s face, and the medicine/steroid (Pulmicort) is inhaled.  Henry loved it, and would almost lean his face into the steam.  Holland not so much…she just about jumped out of her crib to get away from the tube.  Thankfully she let out a few good yawns and inhaled some of the good stuff!  I think it’ll go better if someone is holding her.

*We’re busy getting things ready for these babies to come home–most things are assembled, the baby clothes are washed, sorted, and put away, and we just need to put some finishing touches on the nursery!  We’ll be busy getting a head start on some cleaning and shopping this weekend…we think we’re just about ready!

Henry is not impressed.  With anything.  Especially burping.

Baby girl is still rocking the open crib and maintaining her temperature!  We’re hopeful that they’ll wheel the isolette out of her room soon…no need for that thing anymore!  We’re hoping to get the two of them in the same room, but we’re not sure it’ll happen before they come…home!

We can’t believe we’re even using the word “home” in the same sentence with the term “our babies.”  Keep trucking along, babies!

 

10 Days

When asked when he thought Henry might make his homecoming, Dr. Ramos replied “About 10 days.”

‘Scuse me?

Seriously?

Chris and I felt a combination of excitement, anxiety, joy, and sheer terror at this estimate.  Holland won’t be too far behind; we can’t get over the fact that Henry has pulled “ahead” of his big sis.  We’re hopeful that once her course of antibiotic is through she’ll be back to her butt-kicking-and-taking-names self!  She’ll start taking one bottle a day again tomorrow, and our hope is that she’s just as good at it as she was initially!  Henry is taking a bottle for every other feeding, and still doing fairly well…he tends to tucker out a bit toward the end, but that should get better.

We spoke with the pulmonologist (Dr. Dodze), who is starting them on some different breathing treatments.  They’ll continue them once their home as well.  He seemed to think that the babies would come home on some oxygen assistance, though when he found out Chris was a pastor, he said “you can talk to God and He can help them with their breathing.”  (English is not his first language!)  Since the home oxygen doesn’t have a “blender” (the ability to change the percent–it’s always 100%), the staff has the babies set at 100%, and is changing the pressure (liters).   They had been set around 40% at 2 liters, but they’re now at 100% at 1 liter; the pressure number will gradually go down.  Both babies seemed happy with this new set-up, and Kathy was thrilled that their monitors weren’t going crazy!  We’re hopeful that they’ll continue to do well with their new set-up!

Please excuse the short blog entry…the babies keep looking good, and we’re in “get ready” mode–I’ve got laundry in the washer (will it ever end?!?!), Chris is putting together pack’n’plays, rock’n’plays, and other baby gadgets, and we’ll soon be off to get some sleep while we still can!  Eeek!  Here’s to hoping that Henry and Holland keep up their great sleeping habits when they’re home!

          

Weekend Recap/Nine Weeks/Two Months/Oops, I Haven’t Blogged!

Well, it’s been awhile!  The good news is, the babies are trucking away…

Henry is taking just about every other feeding by bottle!  I tried nursing him on Saturday, and he wasn’t too interested in having to work too hard for it.  I tried again on Sunday, and he figured out what he needed to do!  We’ll work on it.  He is a bit of a lazy eater…he either stays asleep or falls asleep–we’ll work on that, too!  At weigh in today, he tipped the scales at 4 pounds, 13 ounces!  Up 3 ounces from last week!  Chubster!

Holland is back OFF the optiflow, and back on the regular nasal cannula!  She was a bit back and forth with her temperature, so she is back in her isolette, which should help keep her warmer.  The nurses think that after a few more days (and maybe putting on a few ounces), she should be better at keeping herself warm and get out of that isolette once and for all!  Baby girl weighed 4 pounds, 8 ounces still today (same as last week)–Dr. Ramos wasn’t worried since she’s not yet back at full feeds.  She’s still on an antibiotic for her urinary tract infection (from last week), and hopefully once she’s cured, things will go back to normal for her!  Poor baby!

Today the babies turned 9 weeks old!

We can’t believe it either…

You can see that Holland was rather sleepy, but Henry was wide awake!  He’s been more and more alert, and having more awake time during our visits.  It’s fun to watch him look around and check everything out…he looks a little less worried (sometimes).

See?  More contentedness, less concern!

We caught sweet baby boy in the middle of a yawn!

When he’s not awake, looking around, or worrying, baby boy is waving to everyone he sees!

Baby girl is not to be outdone.  Her little brother may be looking all over, but she’s giving out “smiles”…

Real or simply gas-induced, we’re claiming it!

She’s also all about stretching out to show us how loooooong she is…no more preemie clothes for this supermodel!

And, just for kicks, every once in awhile, she shows us her baby blues, too!

Heart.  Melting.  Could she be any sweeter?!?

Along with turning 9 weeks old today, the babies also celebrated their 2 month “birthday” on January 19th.  Don’t worry–it was documented!

Someday these babies will earn their keep and hold the sign on their own!

The babies got to meet some dear friends this weekend.  Katie and Kyle (who we’ll affectionately call Uncle Kyle and Aunt Katie) have been waiting to meet these little stinkers for quite some time!  “Auntie Kirsten” saw them when they were a few days old, and was amazed to see how they’ve grown…what a difference 9 weeks makes!

We keep hearing the word “home” used frequently in reference to our babies.  We can’t quite wrap our heads around the idea of these guys coming home!  We can’t wait, but we also have some apprehensions–it’s going to be a bit scary to have these delicate little packages in our care (and not have nurses nearby!).  We anticipate that the babies should come home the first week of February–perhaps at the same time?  The nurses have told us to expect them to come home with some oxygen assistance, and they’ll definitely have apnea monitors for the first few months.  This certainly isn’t the way we anticipated bringing home our firstborns, and we (especially me!) need to adjust our expectations.  They’ll be meeting with a pulmonologist, and we should know more about what the first few months home will look like then.  Phew!

In other news, we’ve found a pediatrician!  Our beloved Dr. Bautista (who is on this weekend!) happens to have a wife who is a pediatrician…who practices in Colt’s Neck.  Seriously, we make one turn to get to the office!  We went on a tour of the office today, met the office staff, and are planning to submit the babies’ paperwork ASAP.  The office manager showed us around, and when we explained our babies’ history, she said they would make special allowances for our babies–appointment times when there are fewer people in the office, being taken directly to the exam room and not waiting in the waiting room–all good things for preemies with not-so-great immune systems.

Keep praying…for Holland, for Henry, for us, for the other NICU families, for the nurses, for the doctors…it’s been truly amazing to see how much prayer makes a difference through this whole process!  We can see God working each day, and know that His hands are the ones leading us all through this…all the way home!

Lost and Found

I’m thinking we may have to watch these two closely…

…they seem to lose accessories (like hats!) pretty easily.  I can already see my future as a parent digging through the lost and found at school for the missing item of the day.  Oh, babies!

This mommy stayed home from the NICU today…with a tickle in my throat, I thought it might be a bad idea to go see my super-susceptible-to-anything babies!  After gargling saltwater a few times, I’m hopeful that I’ll be as good as new tomorrow morning!

Daddy headed to the NICU by himself, and reported back that the babies are doing just fine!  Holland seems back to her normal self, and after clear chest x-rays and negative cultures, they’re going to keep her on a precautionary antibiotic, and re-start her feedings tomorrow!  Henry is still trucking through his bottle feedings (up to 2-3 a day!), and gave a slower flow nipple a try today.  Chris reported that he was a bit disgruntled about having to work harder for his milk…get used to it, Henry!  Dr. Torrine said we would try nursing him (direct from the source) once I was sore-throat-free!  C’mon, sore throat…leave me alone!  My babies are counting on me!

We’re still busy getting ready here…I’m going to start some “artwork” for the nursery tomorrow.  I like to think I’m super crafty…here’s to hoping that it turns out the way I want it to!  The nursery is almost complete!  Pictures to come!  (I know you’re all on the edge of your seats!)

Rollercoaster

We’ve read and heard that a NICU stay is a lot like a rollercoaster.

We don’t especially like this analogy, since neither of us are particularly fond of roller coasters, but also because we know that through this whole process we have so much to be thankful for despite the ups and downs.  There are bound to be good days and bad days, and as long as we take each as they come, we know that we’ll get through it!

However, the ups and downs of rollercoasters are pretty accurate in regards to the last few days.  Yesterday was such a stellar day, with lots of excitement and positive developments.  Today wasn’t the opposite, but it didn’t follow suit!

Apparently Holland had been having some residuals after her feedings (unlike her), doing a little de-satting (even at high O2 settings), and just not looking like herself (poor coloring).  Penny had a chest X-ray done: it was clear.  She had a blood test done: all counts were good.  She did a urine culture: it was interrupted…yes, you know what I mean.  It seems that after she relieved herself, Holland felt better and was herself again.  By the time we arrived, she seemed totally normal!  As a precaution, she’s receiving an antibiotic to cover some basics, was put back on optiflow (heated oxygen), and taken off of her feeding schedule.  Hopefully she’ll be able to get back to normal tomorrow!

She was a vision in polka-dots today (and yellow!)…Penny held her up for a picture (which is why her face looks a little wonky), and we hoped she’d open her eyes.  We tried chatting with her…no go.  We tried turning down the lights…

…no go.  Better luck tomorrow!  Feel better, baby girl!

Henry James just keeps rolling along!  He’ll be receiving 2 feedings by bottle each day, increasing as each goes well!  Chris was able to give him his 6 pm bottle, and he did so well (both of them)!  Penny again told us how great it is that they’ve both taken bottles so well right away…good things!  We’ll try him on the direct source this weekend; he needs to nail down that breathing while eating thing!

Remember what this is?  Trust us, you’ll like it, baby boy!

And we’re in!

Time for a burp!  I think we’ll have some fun contests at the dinner table with these two…they clearly take after their great-grandma Neerhof in that arena!  These babies can burp!

Wide eyes.  Dribbly chin.  Happy boy!

The eye exams went well yesterday; Henry’s still show normal immature development (which is good).  The doctor is going to keep a bit of a closer eye on Holland, but there’s no major concern.  Any issue that arises this far along would probably be fairly easy to correct (with laser surgery…think LASIK)…but as always, we’re hopeful all will be well!

At the end of the day, the babies are good, and we are thankful.  While today wasn’t a banner day in the NICU like yesterday, things are moving in the right direction!  We have two beautiful, almost-fully-healthy, almost-term babies who are growing and developing as well as they can…for those things, we are so incredibly thankful!

8 Weeks!

Henry and Holland are 8 weeks old…

…and oh-so-very-tired!

We had a BIG day today!  We don’t want to brag, but our preemies are amazing!  Henry had his PICC line re-dressed and re-taped by Dr. Torrine right after we arrived, and we were chatting about how crazy it is that our babies are 8 weeks old.  We started talking about going home (gasp!), and she asked if I hoped to nurse the babies.  I told her I hoped to eventually nurse (and chuck the milker into the Atlantic!), and she suggested we try it with Holland today!  I was so happy that Penny was the nurse with us today; she was super supportive and helpful!  She got us all set up (put a blanket over the window), and we gave it a try–and baby girl did great!  It was amazing how she knew just what to do…smartypants!  I kept her on each side for 5 minutes, and then we continued with her bottle feeding.  So, do the math–baby girl was hungry!  Ravenous even!  Once again, we are so thankful that she’s picking up this bottle business so quickly!  Speaking of bottles…

Henry James gave his first bottle feed a try today!  Under Penny’s watchful eye, I gave him his very first bottle!  At first he got a little too into it, and we could see (via his monitor numbers and his skin color…eek!) that he was focusing too much on the sucking and swallowing and NOT on the breathing bit.  I took the bottle out of his mouth for a bit, let him pink up, and he pretty much had figured out that he needed to breathe along with everything else!  Within 15 minutes or so he had finished his bottle, given us a few good burps, and had sufficiently impressed us all for the day!

Show-off!

See how big he looks?  I remember watching the nurses feed other babies bottles a few weeks ago, and thinking that it would be forever until our babies took bottles…and here we are!  Penny assured us that Henry and Holland did so well with their “nippling” (bottles and breast), and that some preemies take a looooong time to figure it out (even at 34 weeks gestation)…I guess you could say the twins are fast learners!  Future valedictorians?

This picture kind of gives an idea of Henry and Holland’s set-up.  I took this photo of Henry from Holland’s room; they each have a small room, and we can peek into either room from the other through a window.  Each room opens into the same “front area” where their nurse has everything she needs.  Like I said before, we’re hoping to get them into the same room in the next few days!  Henry was hanging out here after having his PICC line taken care of…and also after having a rather large, messy diaper!  Penny and Dr. Torrine basically had to give him a bath again after discovering his very full diaper!

It’s clearly exhausting to  fill a diaper so that it goes all the way up your back!  This was my first lesson in rinsing , pre-treating, and washing (literally) soiled baby clothes!

The babies had another eye exam after we left this evening, and we’re hoping for more normal results!  We’re also hopeful that the babies can continue maintaining their temperatures–they’re swaddled and covered in their open cribs, but may have to go back in an isolate if they have some low temps.  They’re doing well so far, and we just hope it stays that way!  Their oxygen settings are about the same, and we’re hopeful they’ll do well once they start weaning and lowering the levels.

As the babies have been ticking things off their “To Do” lists, Chris and I have been doing the same!  Washing and organizing baby clothes in the dressers, putting car seats in the car, and making up the cribs!  These babies aren’t the only ones getting things done!  Next on the agenda?  The stroller…and more laundry!

Playing Catch-UP

Please excuse the blogging hiatus–the twins have had a busy few days!

Grandma and Grandpa Jacobsen from Iowa came in to finally meet Henry and Holland! They didn’t even stop at the house on the way home from the airport; they headed straight to the hospital to get to the sweetest babies around!

Henry and Holland just keep ticking things off of their “To Do” lists, and amazing us! Over the last few days BOTH babies transitioned from optiflow to a regular nasal cannula with plain old oxygen! Holland was first to try it out on Saturday, and Henry followed right behind her today! Both were doing a stellar job, and what’s most exciting is that they can go home on this type of oxygen–our nurses don’t expect them to (their levels are pretty low already), but preemies do sometimes require oxygen at home for awhile…let me say that again…what’s most exciting is that they could come HOME as is (breathing-wise)…whoa!

Speaking of coming home, lots of people keep asking us “how much do they have to weigh to come home?” As it turns out, for our peanuts, weight is not a determining factor in their discharge date. At over 4 pounds, they can safely ride in car seats and leave the hospital. They obviously need to continue gaining weight, but not reach a certain magic number on the scale. Holland and Henry need to be able to take all their feedings from a bottle each day, breathe with consistency (ideally on their own), and sleep with limited apnea episodes. They are well on their way to each of these milestones…

…Holland took her very first bottle on Friday! The nurses do the first bottle (to make sure it goes well), but after that they encourage parents to give it a whirl! On Saturday I gave baby girl her 3 pm bottle, and she took most of it like a champ…and even gave us some great burps “just like a trucker” (words from our sweet “sub” nurse, Joanne). Today Chris gave her the 6 pm bottle, and she gobbled it down…in 10 minutes! They want the bottles to be finished within 30 minutes; if it takes longer, the baby ends up burning more calories than are in the bottle, thus defeating the purpose of the bottle. You might say our little girl put that 30 minute deadline to shame today!

Here’s our chow hound!

It’s interesting to see her doing something so “grown up”–we are in awe of how far these sweet babies have come!  After her bottle on Saturday, she was so wide awake!  We got some good glimpses of her pretty eyes, and she got some good looks at us!

We suspect that Henry will start his bottle feeds this week (perhaps tomorrow?).  We are hopeful that he takes as well to them as his sister…she should move up to two bottles a day (vs. tube feedings) this week (again, perhaps tomorrow!).  We are so incredibly thankful that the bottle feeds have gone well for baby girl!  HUGE milestone!

Henry was not to be outdone.  Holland may have started bottle feedings on Friday, but Henry made his way into an OPEN crib this weekend!  We’ve commented that these babies are like little furnaces, and baby boy is now responsible for maintaining his own temperature…and doing a great job (as to be expected!).

Big boy bed!

We’ve been bringing in the preemie clothes that we have for the babies.  Late last week, we heard that a few of the preemie outfits were a little small for Henry (particularly lengthwise).  Today after his bath we put him in a NEWBORN undershirt…it wasn’t even THAT big on him!

He fills it out pretty well, and we fully expect he’ll be long enough for it in no time!  Chris and I gave him a sponge bath (still working around a PICC line on him–Holland’s is out!) almost entirely unassisted (Kathy was close by just in case!).  It wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, but it was good practice for us!  He didn’t seem too traumatized…

Kathy brought in a heat lamp to keep our little bugger warm!  Check out that double chin!  Baby boy weighed 4 pounds, 6 ounces today!

After we had him all clean and dressed, we got him swaddled up!  We’ve said it before, but you can see it here again…Henry tends to look very concerned.  About what, we’re not sure.  His face above says it all, and we caught a good worried face the other day as well:

We assured him he has nothing to worry about!  (And Kathy assured him that we can always call with questions once we’re home!)

Today Miss Holland also made her way into an open crib…she seemed to like it!

She was doing a great job keeping warm, and Daddy liked how easy it makes kisses and snuggles.

We are hopeful that since they are both on a regular cannula and in open cribs, they might be put in the same room in the next few days!  We can’t wait to get them back together, and be a family of four all together!  It’s coming, people!  It may not happen this week, but it should happen soon; the nurses have told us that they’re going to be under “inspection” this week.  We’ve seen hospital employees busy getting things ultra-organized and having everyone on high alert. We’d be the first to tell these “inspectors” how amazing the staff and facilities at JSUMC are…just look at how far our babies have come!  The proof is in the pudding preemies!

Almost Wordless Wednesday…Just Pictures!

(We couldn’t believe he closed his mouth for this one!)