Wonderful update!

I was finally able to go in and see the boys!

I walked up to Addison's isolette and his eyes instantly opened. He didn't really look directly at anything but he fluttered his eyes around most of the time I was with him. He is still tolerating most of his feedings. He had a little bit of green stuff come back at his feeding this morning but it wasn't enough for them to stop feeding him. He is getting 2ml, every 4 hours. He hasn't pooped since yesterday and they think it may be part of the reason he's not handling his feeds well. They were going to give him some glycerin to see if that helps.

His lung and stomach x-rays were 100% normal! The wheezing is gone and the murmur hasn't been heard in days! He has his repeat brain scan tomorrow to check for brain bleeds but we're not as worried as the first scan since 75% of brain bleeds happen in the first 3 days.

His IV is still in place and the doctors are amazed. They've talked about trying to do another PICC line but if he tolerates his feedings well enough, they hope to just avoid the PICC line and wean him completely off the iv meds. Also, as soon as he stops having tummy troubles, I'm allowed to hold him! He was weighed today for the first time since birth and is now up to 1lb. 6oz.! He gained back whatever weight he lost after birth and then some!

Riley does have his eyes open but the little bugger kept them shut the whole time I was there. When I initially went up to him, he was sound asleep on his tummy with his little bum sticking up in the air. He was not too happy when we woke him for his diaper change and feeding. He is getting 4ml of breastmilk right now and starting tomorrow, he'll be getting 5ml (1 whole teaspoon!) He is tolerating them really well and very little is coming back up. He had his second brain scan this past Friday and everything was all clear! Riley was weighed today also and it now up to 1lb. 4oz.! He also still has his original IV in from this past Thursday and the doctors are also trying to hold off with another attempt at the PICC line, in hopes that he'll tolerate feedings.

Riley got start wearing his little shirt today! His nurse put it on while I was there and although his one arm can't go through the sleeve (because of the iv), he looks cute as ever!

Neither of the boys are showing any signs of an infection which hopefully means that they're in the clear from catching whatever the heck I had.

Sunday morning

I'm on the mend but now Ian has come down with what we believe to be the same thing I have. I'm staying away from the nicu for one more day just to be sure that I'm not running a fever and until my lab results come back tomorrow.
Addison has resumed feedings! He's now getting 2ml of breastmilk and so far he's tolerating them well. He had an x-ray this morning to check his lungs and stomach but again, only the doctor can give the results and she was busy. We went back to our favorite saying, no news is good news. Addison's iv is still in place which is amazing considering the nicu nurses said they usually need to be changed every 1-2 days.
Riley is also tolerating his feeds. He's still under the bili lights and should be out from them tomorrow. He has spent a lot of time resting. His iv is also still in place. His stomach is still a little bit distended but he's going to the bathroom just fine and not showing any problems.

Small evening update

I am finally able to kind of talk so I called the nicu and was able to get an update first hand.

Addison is scheduled for an x-ray tomorrow to look at his lungs and his stomach. He is still on hold with his feedings. Otherwise, he has remained stable throughout the day.

Riley is back under the bili lights. We were told this is common after a blood transfusion. They plan to keep him under the lights for one more day. He has remained stable and is getting about 30% oxygen. He is tolerating his 1ml feedings so far and even pooped without the help of glycerin.

My sister stopped by the nicu to pick up bottles for me and she handed her phone off to one of the nurses and she got a picture of each of the boys for us. Addison's eyes are open but of course, he was sleeping when they took the picture.

Ramshackle update for Saturday...

Lindsey is still very sick, but slightly better today, and we are going to try some soup. I was able to do all of the laundry, vacuuming, and a softener salt/tissue/med run before I started to fall ill myself.

My mother, father, brother, sister-in-law and niece are out playing with Skylar and Leah all day, which couldn't have been better timed. THANK YOU, MOM!

There is quite a bit of news to dish out.

Riley:

Right eye OPEN! Second cranial/renal ultrasound NORMAL. 30% oxygen. Still using the same peripheral IV. No sign of infection, and the antibiotics are done. Feeding attempts are resuming today... and we pray and hope for further good news this evening.

Addison:

I will dispense with the bad news first. Due to some green aspirates and distension they are halting Addison's feeding regimen for now. He continues to be stable, and is on 28% oxygen. BOTH of his eyes are open!! His second ultrasound will be on Tuesday, but they have no reason to expect anything but a normal result. They have NOT heard his murmur for 3 days now, and this might indicate the duct has closed of its own accord. He still has the same peripheral IV in, so not more pokes or prods. He's sleeping on his tummy right now.

Overall this was a day full of good news, and I'd gladly trade my health for the babies' any day of the week.

We are lucky to have such a caring and dutiful son who for some reason delights in caring for the sick, as we will surely need a hand later today and when the babies arrive. Even little Leah likes to fill the water bottles with ice and water for us. They ought to be back soon.

Thank you everyone. Lindsey's sister will be picking up some more bottles at the NICU and is going to ask the nurses to take some pictures of our boys as we can barely stand not seeing them for this long.

I'll post them should they materialize.

Ian

QUICK update...

Lindsey is home, and the doctor has ordered a throat culture and urinalysis to determine the culprit. They believe it is either strep throat or a bladder infection... She is once again immobile on the sofa, and her medicine will be ready for pick up in an hour.

LATE morning update...

It has been a very busy day for me, and I am just finding time to post an update on events.... So:

I awoke early this morning already having the hospital trip and some other personal things requiring attention, and had scheduled a work-from-home day.... Which went smoothly from around 5-9. Leah and Skylar awoke in that order (Big Brother likes to sleep. A lot... Leah, not so much)

Lindsey was still sleeping on the sofa from the night before, and not thinking anything off it I packed up the kids and stole away to do the errands.

As I was about to head home I got a call from Lindsey who's voice BARELY audible. She was extremely ill, and couldn't even make it up to the shower. When I arrived home I had to help her about a good bit and then her father took her off to the doctor. That was an hour and a half ago. I certainly hope that it's nothing extraordinary, but need to write an update on the kiddos before I pop.

Addison's lungs seems just fine after the albuterol and z------x(?) he received yesterday. They couldn't detect any fluid or wheezing whatsoever. In addition, his murmur has been conspicuously absent for 2 days now. His feedings continue to increase, and his IV is holding.

Riley is still distended a bit, but is showing no fever or other signs of infection. The antibiotics will continue for a few days, all the same, while they culture the samples they took from him yesterday. I am waiting to hear the results from his x-rays earlier today.

Everyone is stable, and no one has so much as dropped below 80% oxygen levels in the last 24 hours.

Lindsey's sister was kind enough to stop at the NICU and pick up additional bottles, bags, and supplies that we were needing.

I hope that I am able to visit them tonight, but Lindsey is not capable of even supervising the children, let alone actually caring for them.

That is all for now everyone. Thank you for everything as always.

Ian

Evening update...

So today was our first really saddening day from an update perspective... I mean every day your child is in the hospital is somewhat sad, but the lack of forward progress and general problems of the day was a real upsetting thing for us.

When I arrived home Lindsey was very ill, feverish, and immobile. She barely was able to ask me to call the doctor to cancel the appointment. If she is still anywhere near this sick in the morning I will drag her over to her doctor.

On another note, I had a temperature of 99.5/6 consistently which was just enough to really make me doubt my health. Suffice it to say that neither of us saw the babies, which is a first and as it turns out? A very difficult experience.

I was able to speak with the Nurse Practitioner who was on site at the NICU today and she informed me that Riley's PICC line attempt was, as Addison's, unsuccessful. Riley is feared to be septic, so is on a 48-72 hour regimen of antibiotics. Both of them had "air leaks" today, cause by the fact that their airways outgrew their intubation prosthesis... so, they were up sized to a more "air tight" tube, and have since been more stable from an oxygen saturation perspective.

The staff have been very, very good to us, and willing to make sure SOMEONE can answer any question that we have. After a 30 minute conversation, the NP told me to call as much as we have to to sleep tonight... which we probably will.

Leah and Skylar are doing well, and have adjusted to the situation about as much as you can expect a 3&1/2 and 7 year old child to adjust. We are blessed with wonderful children.

Everyone is stable, everyone is safe. We miss them a lot, and can't wait to see and potentially hold them! Having had enough negativity for this Thursday, I'll end with our good news for the day:

Addison continues to accept increasingly larger feedings, and both boys now have "standard" IV lines (like you or I would have in the leg or arm).

Good night everyone, and thank you.

Morning Update...

Addison seems to be developing some fluid in the lungs, and as such they have decided NOT to move forward with the CPAP placement and have also begun some respiratory treatments to help with the moisture issue. They were also unable to run a PICC line or normal IV into his arm so he remains on the umbilical line for now. That is not an issue at the moment, but may become one eventually so we are praying that one of the NP's is able to install that PICC line (a line entered in through a vein in the arm or leg, and then fed up to the heart area through larger internal veins...) He is still stable, though, and has had no major events.

I spoke with the doctor regarding Riley just now, and they have begun antibiotics as a precaution should he have an infection. There is distension and intolerance to food, so for now it's completely preemptive. He was unable to comment on whether or not the PICC line was successful or even attempted for him. He remains stable as well.

I sure miss them both very much. Lindsey is running a low grade fever around 100.5 and needs to go to the doctor's office this afternoon for some tests to see what it is and get precautionary antibiotics as well since she is pumping. She won't be able to visit the babies today because of it and it is very hard emotionally to deal with that.

I'm not feeling so great myself, but can't be sure if that's my new schedule and not enough food, so I will be taking my temperature as soon as I reach home.

Thank you all for your support, very much.

Ian

A better evening update

I was kind of hesitant to go back tonight. Ian and I put on our brave faces and went in there prepared to hear more bad news. Luckily, things went better than this morning.

Addison is still tolerating his feedings. He's getting 4ml (5ml is 1 teaspoon) every 4 hours. He's got a small little slit in his right eye that the nurse didn't' even notice. The respiratory therapist had talked about downgrading him to the cpap again but they're going to give him a few doses of caffeine to kind of jump start his body. He's breathing primarily on his own but when he gets into a deep sleep, he rides the ventilator. Hopefully he'll try the cpap again in a few days.

Riley still has his feedings on hold. He was getting a blood transfusion when we were there today. The nurse did tell us that he may go back under the bili lights and that's it's a pretty common reaction to getting a transfusion. His oxygen saturation were a little more stable and he actually had his oxygen level turned down a little bit. His left eye is about halfway open. Ian was finally able to see his pupil and I got a picture of his little eye trying to open.

Neither of them got their PICC lines today because they got busy with 2 new babies. The plans for now are that they will both get them first thing tomorrow morning. I may hold off on my morning visit tomorrow if they're still being worked on close to their morning touch time.

We bought micro preemie size shirts for each of the boys and we put it in the drawers of the isolettes. As soon as they're able to wear clothes, they'll get their cute little shirts.

We might also be able to start holding them in the next few days. I can't wait to cuddle my little guys.

Started the day off rough

I went in this morning and it seems we've hit a few small bumps. Riley did not tolerate his feedings so they've stopped them for now. While I was there his oxygen level was dipping into the 70's and the respiratory therapist had to come adjust his ventilator tube. It was the first time I saw anyone really working on one of the boys and it was a bit overwhelming. I thought about just walking out and going home but I felt like I should stay there and be by their side. Riley is also getting his second blood transfusion today. Riley does have about half of his right eye open. He opens it a little more every day.
Addison is tolerating his feedings really well. He is up to 4ml of breastmilk every 4 hours. I noticed that he had the smallest little slit open in his left eye.
Both boys are scheduled to get a PICC line today. I'm really nervous that they won't be able to get it in so please keep your fingers crossed that they're able to get the line in easily.
Ian will be home soon and we'll be heading back for our afternoon visit. Hopefully they'll be finished getting bothered and we'll be able to touch them.

1 week old

Not much to update this evening. Both of the boys are tolerating their feedings well. They're both pooping and peeing a ton.

Riley seems to like his isolette better than the saran wrap bed. He got his own little blanket that was knitted by some volunteers. He's got a killer grip. I just sat there and held his little hands for a good 5 minutes.

Addison doesn't seem to like being touched very much. I can hold his hand but he gets irritated and pulls away.

Riley is the one with the green blanket.

Tuesday Morning Update

Hi everyone... I just got received the morning update for Riley and Addison from the NICU.

Addison continues to be stable and they have decreased the number of assisted breaths processed by the ventilator as he is keeping up on his own. He is on room air, and his feedings were tolerated yesterday so they are increasing him to 2ml per feeding. He seems to be enjoying his new isolette environment.

Riley has also been moved to an isolette and is on room air. He began feedings last night and is on 1ml now. He has been sleeping a LOT, which is very good, and has even been tolerating the labwork well. I was told that his eyes are no more open than they were, but Lindsey and I are very excited for that day to come!

We will be seeing them daily at 2PM and 2:30PM until they stabilize completely.

That's all for now. Thank you everyone.

Evening visit

It was a last minute decision to drag everyone to the nicu tonight. Ian went back to work today and was very busy. My mom had asked to go see them so we gathered the whole crew into the car and the kids waited in the waiting room with my sister, while Ian, my mom, and I went in to see the babies.
Addison seems to be tolerating his 1ml feeds so far. He had a very full dirty diaper. I was surprised at how full his diaper was. I needed 2 whole baby wipes to lean my little 1lb. baby.
Riley is still under partial saran wrap but they were hoping to get him moved to his isolette tonight. They hope to start feeding him breastmilk in the next few days. They like to wait at least a day after taking out the arterial line before starting feedings.
I was able to see where Riley's right eye is starting to open. You can tell he's trying really hard to open his eyes. I'm so used to seeing my babies with their eyes closed that it will be quite a shock to see them looking back at me.

Started small feedings

Addison got his first taste of breatmilk this morning! I went in to see them and was pleasantly surprised to see them prepping 1ml of breastmilk that they fed through a syringe and feeding tube. It's not a lot, but he'll continue to get 1ml, every 4 hours, unless he would start to not tolerate it. Addison is doing well in his isolette. He had his oxygen level lowered and it's only at 23% now. I was able to change his diaper for the first time today. He continues to remain stable. He escaped a lot of the major problems that happen in the beginning so now that he's getting breastmilk, we've stared down a whole new road.
Riley is still under the plastic wrap. He is having his arterial line taken out today and will be moved to an isolette. He has been getting labwork done twice per day but is now only having it done once a day because he has had such good bloodwork results. He's completely off the dopamine and although his urine output has gone down, it's still within normal ranges. He hasn't gotten breastmilk yet but we're hoping that in the next day or two, he'll get a taste of mama milk :)
The nurse from night shift noticed that Riley's right eye has the smallest little opening and you can tell he's really trying to open his eyes.
We've been waiting for their birth announcement to be published in the paper and I finally asked about it today. Turns out, the paper doesn't publish birth announcements until the babies are discharged for security reasons but they make exceptions for nicu babies. We have the option of having it published right away or we can wait until the babies are closer to going home. I asked that they publish it now so it should be in the paper in the next few days.

Evening update

So, a pretty good update to end the day. When I went in this afternoon, Addison was moved to his new little house. He's in an isolette and is no longer covered with plastic wrap! His oxygen was down to 22% even though he was annoyed with being moved. The doctor was getting ready to go into a delivery so I wasn't able to talk to him about the echo results. I called Ian as I was leaving the hospital and he had just gotten off the phone with the doctor. The doctor said that they did find a very small opening in Addison's ductis but that it wasn't big enough or causing any problems to warrant any type of medication or surgery!!
Riley is still under the plastic wrap but he will be getting his arterial line taken out tomorrow and then he'll be able to move to an isolette. His oxygen was turned down to 24%. He's still peeing a lot and is otherwise stable.
Both of the boys are still out from under the bili lights so I was able to get pictures of them without their masks on. Riley is still under the plastic wrap so I apologize that the pictures aren't very clear. Hopefully I'll be able to get better pics tomorrow.

Another day

We've had a pretty busy morning and we're finally able to update.
They're both off of their bili lights again (Addison's bili level was 0.7. The nurse said she didn't know it could be that low). They both have the humidifiers removed and their sodium levels have come down a lot. Their skin looks fantastic for their gestational age. They're also both getting less oxygen through their ventilators.
Other good news is they're both being moved from their little bed with saran wrap, to an isolette.
As we were getting ready to leave, Addison was getting an echo done on his heart. He has a murmur. They have to upload the results to a cardiologist at Hershey medical center, and wait for him to call with the results.
We had to sign consent forms for PICC lines for both boys. They don't like to leave the arterial line in for more than 10 days and our options were either a PICC line (that can be left in for weeks), or a regular line in the vein that usually only lasts 1 day. There are risks to the PICC line but we were told they're very minimal and we'd rather have one line than having the boys get pricked daily.
I'm heading back over there in a few hours since I have to pick up Skylar at a party just down the road. I'm hoping that the results will be back by then.
We got a lot of hands on time with the boys this morning. Ian took Riley's temperature and I got to change his diaper. I got to give Addison his little wet q-tip to suck on and clean out his mouth.
Ian also got to read them their new books.
Another slightly but fantastic uneventful day.

First steps back

This was bound to happen sooner or later but it still seems to catch you off guard.
Addison had to be put back on the ventilator. He was just getting tired and his breathing rate started to drop. He did well though for the few days he was on the cpap.
Both boys went back under the bili lights. We'll have to wait to get a picture of them without their masks but that's ok.
Ian and I found a store online that sells micro preemie clothes so we decided to buy a shirt for each of the boys. They won't be able to wear them as long as they have the lines in their belly buttons but we're sure the lines will be out before they outgrow these shirts.
We can't wait to get back in the morning to love on our little guys.

No brain bleeds!!!!

We went this morning to see the boys and were finally able to talk to not only the nurse practitioner, but 2 doctors. Neither of the boys have brain bleeds!!! That was such incredible news! They will do repeat scans in a week to make sure none have developed but we were told that 75% of all brain bleeds happen within the first 3 days.
They both were taken off of their bili lights! Their bili levels are low and there's no need for the super bright lights. That also means that they don't have to wear their eye masks anymore. I was able to see their faces, something we have only been able to do once or twice since they were born. Neither of the boys have opened their eyes yet but you could see them moving their eyes and their eyelids fluttering.
I got to change Riley's diaper for the first time. He's a tiny little guy and I was afraid I was going to break his little legs while I tried to put on his new diaper. He's still on the ventilator but he's remained stable and is doing well.
Addison is still tolerating his cpap. He's getting 30 assisted breaths per minute but breathing well above that on his own. The nurses gave him a little hat and it's so cute.
The doctors have now upgraded their survival chances from 50% to 65%. We also have discovered that the boys are IDENTICAL! We've been curious but it's also good for the doctors to know since they'll more than likely share any allergies to medications and stuff like that.
After going to see the boys, Ian and I went to babies r us and bought each of the boys a little board book and a toy to keep in their isolettes. The nurses showed us where they keep a little library of books so we can read to the boys anytime we want.
A lot of people have asked us about a registry. We have most of the big things that we'll need but we did register for a lot of the smaller stuff.
We registered primarily at babies r us but we also have a few things online at target and amazon.com. Here are the links.
http://www.toysrus.com/ControllerServlet?target=viewDetails&operation=authenticate_user&registryNumber=96467644&from=registrySearch

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/6FTPZC1BPQWV/guestview

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/baby/37NSJ9ZL2R09J

No news is good news

So, we've been waiting all day for the results from the brain and renal scans. Ian called tonight before heading out to dinner with a buddy and I talked to the nurse. Apparently, the nurses can't give out the results. Only the doctor or the nurse practitioner can give results. They did tell us that if there's something majorly wrong that we would have been notified right away. Well have to wait until we go tomorrow to talk to one of them. So, I guess we'll just keep with the old saying, no news is good news.
Addison is tolerating the cpap well and maintaining his gas levels. He doesn't like to have his diaper changed though and usually needs a little extra oxygen until he settles back down.
Riley is peeing a lot which is GREAT news! Otherwise, he's active and just kind of going down this smoothly paved path.
I can't wait to go see them tomorrow morning. It feels very weird to be home from the hospital, not be pregnant, and not have my boys.

I added some pics that I took of the boys this morning. They already look better than the day they were born.

Mid day update

I went to see the boys late this morning. They're both still critical but stable. They still hadn't gotten their scans but expect them sometime before lunchtime. They're both getting brain and renal scans, nothing else. One of the nurses this morning told me they were getting more but it turns out, they're not.
Addison has a heart murmur and they hear a very slight murmur on Riley. It's nothing that they feel is critical right now. They're waiting until they boys kidneys are working better before starting the medication for the murmurs. I guess the medication for the murmur can interfere with the kidney function. They're expecting to start the meds sometime next week. They have 2 different meds to try before they talk about surgery.
Addison seems to be holding his own on the cpap but the doctor did tell us that there's a 50/50 chance of him needing to go back onto the ventilator. He's currently getting 30 assisted breaths per minute on the cpap but he's taking at least twice that on his own.
Riley may have his arterial line pulled today. When they do his ultrasound today, they're going to check the flow of his liver and kidneys and see if the arterial line is putting too much pressure on him.
Ian is down there with my mom right now and we're getting ready to head out of the hospital. Skylar is here keeping me company and he's been promised $30 worth of DS games as a thank you gift for being so well behaved and such a helper while all of this is going on.
I'll update later tonight after we get the scan results back.

Early morning update

I try to call and check on the boys every morning, soon after I wake up.
Addison has moved to CPAP. His ventilator tube came out a little bit (they said it was probably a combination of the double humidity in his bed and the tape that holds it in place. So, he has been doing well on the cpap all night. They said it's not uncommon for them to do ok for a few days and then get tired and have to go back to the ventilator but sometimes they do really well with it. They're going to keep monitoring his gas levels to make sure he's getting all of the c02 out of his system. So far, he's been doing great.
Riley is still peeing. They did have to put his ventilator up a little bit. His oxygen level is turned up to about 33% (normal room air is about 21% oxygen so hes just getting a little bit of help) He is having a little trouble getting rid of the c02 so that's why that is all turned up. He's got a little bit of a busier day than Addison. He's going to have the brain u/s, but he's also going to get a scan of his kidney and an echo for his heart. They told me to expect him to need his levels turned up throughout the day due to all of the stuff going on.
So, overall, they had a stable night and I couldn't have asked for better updates!

He peed!!!

I went to say goodnight to the babies and found out Riley peed! His little gauze pad only weighed 3 grams, which is not as much as they like, but it's something! He was in the middle of getting his first blood transfusion and he was tolerating it well. They both got x-rays to check the placement of the tubes and everything is right where it should be. I got to take Riley's temperature. We talked to the nurse about being able to hold Riley when they move him to an isolette. Hopefully that will be within the next week.
Addison was moving around a lot which was weird for me to see. Riley is usually the one squirming around and it actually freaked me out a little bit to see Addison so active.
They have their head ultrasounds tomorrow morning and after we get the results, we'll be heading home.

slow and steady

We've got a bit of good baby related news today. My milk came in so I'm sending good amounts of breastmilk down to the nicu. The caseworker that is handling our insurance came to talk to us this morning. Our insurance normally approves a rental pump for 1 month but because the babies are so early, they automatically approved it for 3 months. We only have a $30 copay for the whole 3 months and if we need it after that, it's only $65 a month. It's a Medela Symphony, supposedly the best available right now. The rental place will deliver it to me at the hospital by 10am tomorrow!
So, onto the boys. Riley is doing really well. I asked about his apgar scores from when he was born and he was a 3 and then a 7. They also did one at 10 minutes and gave him a 9. They also told me that he didn't get the ventilator until 6 minutes after he was born and he was breathing primarily on his own. His skin looks good and there's no sign of the skin breaking down. He's even started tugging on a few of the tubes. He's also sucking on his fingers and twisting his tongue around the tubes in his mouth and trying to suck on them. They had to make him a little belt out of a blanket to keep him in place. He had a little bit of extra oxygen added in today and he still has yet to pee. They've started him on dopamine (spelling?) to help stimulate his kidneys and liver.
Addison is having a little bit of a tougher time. They had to pull his line out of his belly button yesterday and they tried to put a new one in his arm but they weren't able to get it threaded so they're still pricking his heel for now. He's got some bruising on his leg from having his leg held while they do the heel prick but his circulation is all better now. He is going to get his first blood transfusion today. We signed forms when they were first born to approve transfusions for both of them. As they do blood work, the babies aren't able to make enough blood to replenish so apparently this is pretty common for micro preemies. Addison was sucking on a little q-tip when we went to see him. They use the sterilized water to rinse out their mouths and let them suck. His apgar scores were 4 and 7.
The one caseworker we talked to today said that we can start holding them hopefully in the next week or so. We'll be able to do kangaroo care even if they're still on the ventilators which was really nice to hear.
So, one day at a time is our motto right now. They're doing well right now and that's what really matters.

New at this

So, this is the first time I've ever posted a blog. I wanted to set something up so that I can update friends and family on our boys, Addison and Riley.
Addison and Riley were born on June 17th, 2008. Their due date was Sept. 26th, 2008. I was 25 weeks and 4 days pregnant when they were delivered via c-section. Addison weighed in at 1lb. 5.2oz. and Riley weighed 1lb. 3oz. They both measured 12 and a quarter inches long.
They were immediately whisked off the the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and it was about 6 hours before we were able to go see them. They were both put on ventilators and by the time we went to see them, they were taking additional breaths on their own and they were both receiving room air (no additional oxygen added).
They both got central lines through their belly buttons. One line was to draw blood for lab work and the other was for nutrition. Addison had to have his lab work line pulled yesterday because it was putting too much pressure on the veins in his leg and it was causing circulation problems. As of now, they have to prick his heel to do blood work. Addison was peeing and pooping on his own but he stopped peeing due to a medication to help prevent brain bleeds. It sometimes affects the kidney and liver.
Riley is a feisty little man. He was the baby that would not stop kicking me while I was pregnant. He has peed very little and only had one poop. They are giving him extra fluids to try to kick his system into gear. They also stopped the medication for preventing brain bleeds. He's been the more stable of the two. He's been on room air pretty much since the beginning and taking extra breaths while on the ventilator.
I'll try to keep this updated regularly and add pictures and video of the boys.