I have been meaning to throw these into one of my posts but never found a place so I will just make one :)
The snugglers...
Pat and I noticed these ladies in blue jackets. They would come into the nursery pick up a baby, rock them, put them back, and leave without a word really to anyone. We also noticed it was typically always the same babies. Of course I started to wonder two things...
1) do the pick up my baby when I am not around?? Not that I would mind but I was curious..
2) do they not like my baby???
So I asked Patsy to give me the details..... Turns out they get "assigned" to babies whose parents don't visit often or they will "call in the snuggler" when a baby is being fussy since the nurses are typically too busy to just sit and rock the little people :) The only stipulation was baby had to already be in an open crib. Since I was there often and my Jamison was SOOOO good we never had a snuggler.... or so I thought.............
The day we came to pick up Jamsion I come around the corner and there he is... in a rocker with a lady in a blue coat....... when I hear nurse Patsy talking about Jamison "raising the roof" he cried so much that morning they had to call in the snuggler. hahahaha Best part is I guess this wasn't his first call down for the snuggler. I said "but he is always so good" and got the response "ya when you are here......" to which they all decided it was time for him to go home :)
The next day when we came back to visit Weston we said "wow its so quiet in here" and Patsy said "thats because all of the loud ones went home..." she started to name the loud babies when she slipped and said Jamison, I could hardly believe she was talking about our little Jamison.... now........ I BELIEVE!!!!!
Sir Poops-a-lot
Weston poops......... ALL THE TIME. Each diaper change and sometimes in between (which is why we thought about a possible food allergy). For such a small baby its ALOT of poop, you would be surprised... wouldn't be a problem but he STINKS, I mean really this kid can clear a room.
The other day we were there and I went to change his diaper and the nurse asked if I could put it in another room!! She said that when she had changed him earlier.....
"I almost threw up!!! It was terrible!!! The worst..."
When you think of how many baby's poopy diapers she has changed in her nursery career, and he is the WORST, that tells you something.
The other day his isolette was so bad from the poop smell being locked inside with my little poop machine they actually had to AIR IT OUT!!!! How many babies have they had to do that for in the past you ask???? NONE!!! He is by far the smelliest :) Really he must get this from his daddy :)
The latest was a new nurse who was assigned to him for the first time and I was getting ready to change his diaper and I mention to her it was a poopy... and say "he poops alot.." she said... "thats what I hear..." OMG I laughed. My baby isn't even out of the hospital and his reputation precedes him. So funny the other nurses warned her about the possible gagging involved in changing his behind.
He now has the nickname Sir Poops-A-Lot :)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Saturday 10/30
Well tomorrow is Halloween... and as you know Weston didn't make it home in time for his first holiday... BUT...... he will be home for the next one............ he will most likely even be home before celebrating one more weekend in the hospital!!!!
It has been a great week for him which I would have loved to update you all on sooner except some jerk (I have a few other choice words for this person however I will keep it clean for the kiddies) hacked my computer, gave me a virus and sent out emails from my account. It STINKS. I was so worried because every picture I have taken of the boys was on there and I was so upset thinking I would loose them but my hero... I mean my husband... will be able to get them back for us, but our computer is still shot (thanks mom for letting me use yours). I guess the light at the end of the tunnel is Pat was getting me a new one for Christmas anyway, I just maybe getting my present a bit early this year :)
On my last post Weston had just barely broke 5lbs, next night he was 5 lbs 3oz, the next 5lbs 5oz and last night 5 lbs 6.5oz!!!! He is really filling out his cheeks :) The best part was with the added chunk he is finally able to maintain his temperature and is in an open crib!!!! All in just 3 days!!! I am so proud of my baby, this was tough for him but he must have decided he was done and ready to come home...either that or he heard how much Jamison is getting spoiled and wanted in on the action......or maybe he was afraid of all the new parents screw ups we would have and he wanted all of the kinks worked out on his brother :) He is still having some spells but they have been quick and he has been able to fix himself which is a big step although I was still thinking he needed to go a few days with none before they would start talking about him coming home.... I was wrong (and I don't admit that often... ask Pat hahaha)
Today when we went for our visit with the little guy our Dr came by and said...
"well he is eating great, gaining weight, maintaining his temp... looks like its time to start thinking about sending him home"
I was so surprised. The Dr. isn't concerned about his spells since they are so brief so all he has left are his circumcision which will be done tomorrow, car seat challenge probably Monday and as long as nothing crazy happens baby Weston will be home with his family Monday or Tuesday!!! Our family will finally be complete. Honestly just typing that brings tears to my eyes. It has been such a long road and I want nothing more then to see my babies together, hold them together, let them play together and just be together.
Jamison has been doing great, eating like a champ (minus the fact if you give him formula like we are supposed to twice a day he WILL NOT eat it unless its mixed with breast milk, he hates it... not that I can blame him, I tasted it and it taste worse then it smells... which is hard to believe)... however he MUST work on this "hold me or I cry" business. Maybe he is trying to soak up every bit of attention possible before his brother gets here..... which will be quite the adjustment for him since now we all fight over who gets to hold him (so maybe its more our fault then his..). In the middle of the night (still asleep) he will scream, you barely lift his butt off the mattress before he stops, eyes still closed, if you dare attempt to put him back down you will be sorry... 10 seconds or less he is back to screaming... Mamma is going to start baby boot camp for this little one :) He is so darn cute though.... that makes him one of two people who can wake me up in the middle of the night playing these little games and get hugs and kisses instead of in trouble :)
I had to stop at Kohl's yesterday to do an exchange and right next to the service desk was all of the Christmas goodies. As I was waiting I was looking at the trees all lit up remembering this time last year.... I had just had my failed cycle, so sad I wasn't expecting during the holidays which is always that warm and fuzzy time of year. I remember beginning the medications at Christmas time for our second cycle of IVF so hopeful that this year we would be celebrating with our new baby. Now here we are 2010 coming to a close and we have not one but two beautiful healthy baby boys and I am still in awe of the whole thing. It was hard to get pregnant, hard staying pregnant, hard to see my babies in the NICU but it will never be hard to love them with all my heart and I would do it all over in a heartbeat.
When we pull away from that hospital with Weston in the car it will be an amazing day. We will be closing a big chapter as we begin a new one. We have spent a total of 14 weeks in this hospital. I have met some amazing people, nurses, doctors, and even other patients all which truly helped us get through each part of this journey. They kept all three of us healthy (me both physically and mentally there have been more days then I can count when a nurse would stop by and give me a hug or words of encouragement on particularly bad days) and I will forever be grateful of the care we received.
Thank you INOVA Fairfax!!!!
It has been a great week for him which I would have loved to update you all on sooner except some jerk (I have a few other choice words for this person however I will keep it clean for the kiddies) hacked my computer, gave me a virus and sent out emails from my account. It STINKS. I was so worried because every picture I have taken of the boys was on there and I was so upset thinking I would loose them but my hero... I mean my husband... will be able to get them back for us, but our computer is still shot (thanks mom for letting me use yours). I guess the light at the end of the tunnel is Pat was getting me a new one for Christmas anyway, I just maybe getting my present a bit early this year :)
On my last post Weston had just barely broke 5lbs, next night he was 5 lbs 3oz, the next 5lbs 5oz and last night 5 lbs 6.5oz!!!! He is really filling out his cheeks :) The best part was with the added chunk he is finally able to maintain his temperature and is in an open crib!!!! All in just 3 days!!! I am so proud of my baby, this was tough for him but he must have decided he was done and ready to come home...either that or he heard how much Jamison is getting spoiled and wanted in on the action......or maybe he was afraid of all the new parents screw ups we would have and he wanted all of the kinks worked out on his brother :) He is still having some spells but they have been quick and he has been able to fix himself which is a big step although I was still thinking he needed to go a few days with none before they would start talking about him coming home.... I was wrong (and I don't admit that often... ask Pat hahaha)
Today when we went for our visit with the little guy our Dr came by and said...
"well he is eating great, gaining weight, maintaining his temp... looks like its time to start thinking about sending him home"
I was so surprised. The Dr. isn't concerned about his spells since they are so brief so all he has left are his circumcision which will be done tomorrow, car seat challenge probably Monday and as long as nothing crazy happens baby Weston will be home with his family Monday or Tuesday!!! Our family will finally be complete. Honestly just typing that brings tears to my eyes. It has been such a long road and I want nothing more then to see my babies together, hold them together, let them play together and just be together.
Jamison has been doing great, eating like a champ (minus the fact if you give him formula like we are supposed to twice a day he WILL NOT eat it unless its mixed with breast milk, he hates it... not that I can blame him, I tasted it and it taste worse then it smells... which is hard to believe)... however he MUST work on this "hold me or I cry" business. Maybe he is trying to soak up every bit of attention possible before his brother gets here..... which will be quite the adjustment for him since now we all fight over who gets to hold him (so maybe its more our fault then his..). In the middle of the night (still asleep) he will scream, you barely lift his butt off the mattress before he stops, eyes still closed, if you dare attempt to put him back down you will be sorry... 10 seconds or less he is back to screaming... Mamma is going to start baby boot camp for this little one :) He is so darn cute though.... that makes him one of two people who can wake me up in the middle of the night playing these little games and get hugs and kisses instead of in trouble :)
I had to stop at Kohl's yesterday to do an exchange and right next to the service desk was all of the Christmas goodies. As I was waiting I was looking at the trees all lit up remembering this time last year.... I had just had my failed cycle, so sad I wasn't expecting during the holidays which is always that warm and fuzzy time of year. I remember beginning the medications at Christmas time for our second cycle of IVF so hopeful that this year we would be celebrating with our new baby. Now here we are 2010 coming to a close and we have not one but two beautiful healthy baby boys and I am still in awe of the whole thing. It was hard to get pregnant, hard staying pregnant, hard to see my babies in the NICU but it will never be hard to love them with all my heart and I would do it all over in a heartbeat.
When we pull away from that hospital with Weston in the car it will be an amazing day. We will be closing a big chapter as we begin a new one. We have spent a total of 14 weeks in this hospital. I have met some amazing people, nurses, doctors, and even other patients all which truly helped us get through each part of this journey. They kept all three of us healthy (me both physically and mentally there have been more days then I can count when a nurse would stop by and give me a hug or words of encouragement on particularly bad days) and I will forever be grateful of the care we received.
Thank you INOVA Fairfax!!!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday 10/26
Finally I have some time to post :) My sweet little Jamison is sleeping great at night and is on a pretty good schedule of up every 3-4 hours for a bottle.... the only little hiccup is he likes to cry and grunt while he is sleeping so every... like... 30 minutes (sometimes more) I am checking on him... this all adds up to a very tired momma, grandma and lately even Miss Maggie since we are all in the same room (as daddy sleeps nice and soundly all by himself... although I can't complain someones got to make the money hahaha).
Jamison is doing FABULOUS. His home nurse came out for a visit yesterday and after his evaluation she said he did so well that she doesn't have to come out any more :) She weighed him while she was here and I can't believe he is already getting so big.... 6lbs 7 oz!! Momma's milk does this little guy good!
As for my little Weston... we did the breast milk only for a day and he didn't gain any weight so the next day we went back to every other feeding formula, he gained an ounce so today the Dr suggested trying formula only for a 3-4 days to see how he does "as long as thats ok with you..." I am not a breast milk crazy person, if formula is best for this baby then that is what I want him to have... I know some moms really want to nurse and get really upset if they can't.. I guess I am just not one of them. Weston's health and gaining weight is so much more important and maybe his metabolism is just faster then his brothers??? With his thyroid test coming back normal they are back to all of his issues being weight related... gain more weight, have more fat, regulate temp better and it will cushion the nerves causing the spells to stop... at least that is what we are hoping. With the added calories in the formula, fingers crossed we will be there in no time. Tonight he finally crossed the big milestone........... HE IS 5 POUNDS!!!!! That make me so happy :)
He is getting super long too, 17 1/2 inches, for such a lightweight baby he is a bit of a string bean. I had said that I wouldn't put either boy in newborn sized clothes until they came home, I don't know why but it just made me feel like I wasn't missing as much. Jamison wore his first newborn outfit the day we brought him home but unfortunately last night I had to suck it up and bring Weston all newborn sized sleepers. The preemie clothes were beginning to pull tight in the legs and shoulders... he looks so cute in his new outfits. Looking at him now in this size reminds me of how little he looked when I first put him into his very first preemie sized sleeper, he was swimming in it and now he is swimming a bit again :) I also had to give in and realize my goal of having him home for Halloween just isn't going to happen, he will spend his first holiday in the hospital... but he will be the cutest baby there sporting his pumpkin onesie!!!
You know how sometimes things happen to put life into perspective?? Tonight I had one of those moments. The elevators I usually use had one down and was taking FOREVER so when I saw a nurse getting ready to go up I asked if she cared if I road up with her in the patient services one. She said sure and when I got in there was a full sized stretcher inside. From behind you couldn't see who was in there but when I went to the back of the elevator to get out of the way I saw..... it was a little boy, I would say about 3 years old who looked so tiny in the big ole bed, it just swallowed him up. This little guy and a neck brace, a breathing machine, heart monitor, his arm in a brace with multiple IV lines. He looked at me, I smiled, and with his tiny hand that was barely able to move because he was so weak he lifted it up and he waved to me.... it was so sweet......
Its so hard to have Weston struggle daily, I want him home with his family......... but we ARE so blessed. He WILL be fine in time and sometimes seeing just how much worse it could be makes me remember how lucky we are. I don't know that little boys story and I will probably never see him again, but one thing I do know is that his mom's heart breaks for her son, and I am sure his fighting spirit keeps her going as Weston's does for me.
Enjoy the pictures.. the diaper only picture was just before I went to put Weston to bed after Kangaroo care with daddy and when I pulled the blanket back I thought he was so adorably snuggled in... little peanut :) Of course I had to include some new ones of sweet Little J too!!!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Updates :)
It has been a busy week between visiting with my parents, visiting Weston and of course spending time with my little Jamison.
Weston is doing ok.... he had a few good days with no spells and then the last few days he has had some bad ones :( They have increased how much he is eating (now they let him eat as much as he wants and this baby has a good appetite) from what they say sometimes after babies start to eat more their reflux gets a little worse till their body adjusts to the new amount... the reflux=more spells so hopefully in a few days he will be doing better. His temp is still all over the place so the Dr said he wanted to try him outside of the isolette, put him in a crib and cross our fingers to see how he does.... here is how it went...
We bundle him up
-long sleeve tshirt
-onesie
-sleeper
-hat
-swaddle sleep sack
-blanket
an hour later he is cold so they add
-a hot blanket from the warmer
a little later he is even colder so
he is back in the isolette :( I cried..... I know he should technically still be in my belly and he is doing well overall but this step back is just one more step away from my baby finally being home. He still has so many hurdles before we can even think about him coming home and UGH!!! He temp dropped so low so fast they are now re-testing his thyroid levels, really trying to come up with any reason his temp would be so unstable at this point. We are still not certain its not a food allergy at the root of all of his problems and they told us today they are going to go ahead and try taking him off of the formula totally (he was getting it 2 times a day and then they went to every other feeding trying to put weight on him) and going with fortifying breast milk with extra calories and seeing how that goes.
His weight has been up for a few days and then last night he had lost a tiny bit so now he is 4lbs 14oz, he will soon be 5 pounds and for some reason I am thinking that number maybe when he really gets moving in the right direction.
I know that they say babies don't understand much... and that may be true but Weston melted my heart the other day... and daddy was there to see it.
When we got there for our visit I walked over to his isolette and looked in, he was wide awake, I opened the little port hole and start saying hello, telling him I love him and all of the normal momma stuff and all of the sudden he picks up his little arm and sticks it out of the port hole (he has never done this before) so I let him grab my finger.... he squeezed tight and pulled it into his little bed and up to his face. OMG I loved it.... who knows what babies really understand but at that moment there is no doubt in my mind, he knew his mom was with him. I can't wait till he is home.......
Jamison is doing awesome taking 3 oz each bottle and now going almost 4 hours between feedings (more sleep for me yay!!!!!) He is a very good baby, very little fussing and he is super hugable and kissable :) We do tummy time every day and you would be surprised at how well this pint sized baby can hold himself and his head up.
Of course Pats mom is still here and she has been spoiling all of us. I honestly don't know what we would have done without her here.... I am sure I am making her crazy, you can say with the baby I am a bit more.... um...... picky??? But really she has been a huge help. Thanks Mom!!!
Hopefully I will have some good updates on our little Weston soon, at least I will get some new pictures up :)
Weston is doing ok.... he had a few good days with no spells and then the last few days he has had some bad ones :( They have increased how much he is eating (now they let him eat as much as he wants and this baby has a good appetite) from what they say sometimes after babies start to eat more their reflux gets a little worse till their body adjusts to the new amount... the reflux=more spells so hopefully in a few days he will be doing better. His temp is still all over the place so the Dr said he wanted to try him outside of the isolette, put him in a crib and cross our fingers to see how he does.... here is how it went...
We bundle him up
-long sleeve tshirt
-onesie
-sleeper
-hat
-swaddle sleep sack
-blanket
an hour later he is cold so they add
-a hot blanket from the warmer
a little later he is even colder so
he is back in the isolette :( I cried..... I know he should technically still be in my belly and he is doing well overall but this step back is just one more step away from my baby finally being home. He still has so many hurdles before we can even think about him coming home and UGH!!! He temp dropped so low so fast they are now re-testing his thyroid levels, really trying to come up with any reason his temp would be so unstable at this point. We are still not certain its not a food allergy at the root of all of his problems and they told us today they are going to go ahead and try taking him off of the formula totally (he was getting it 2 times a day and then they went to every other feeding trying to put weight on him) and going with fortifying breast milk with extra calories and seeing how that goes.
His weight has been up for a few days and then last night he had lost a tiny bit so now he is 4lbs 14oz, he will soon be 5 pounds and for some reason I am thinking that number maybe when he really gets moving in the right direction.
I know that they say babies don't understand much... and that may be true but Weston melted my heart the other day... and daddy was there to see it.
When we got there for our visit I walked over to his isolette and looked in, he was wide awake, I opened the little port hole and start saying hello, telling him I love him and all of the normal momma stuff and all of the sudden he picks up his little arm and sticks it out of the port hole (he has never done this before) so I let him grab my finger.... he squeezed tight and pulled it into his little bed and up to his face. OMG I loved it.... who knows what babies really understand but at that moment there is no doubt in my mind, he knew his mom was with him. I can't wait till he is home.......
Jamison is doing awesome taking 3 oz each bottle and now going almost 4 hours between feedings (more sleep for me yay!!!!!) He is a very good baby, very little fussing and he is super hugable and kissable :) We do tummy time every day and you would be surprised at how well this pint sized baby can hold himself and his head up.
Of course Pats mom is still here and she has been spoiling all of us. I honestly don't know what we would have done without her here.... I am sure I am making her crazy, you can say with the baby I am a bit more.... um...... picky??? But really she has been a huge help. Thanks Mom!!!
Hopefully I will have some good updates on our little Weston soon, at least I will get some new pictures up :)
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Weston's Picture Time
He is getting bigger!!! Yippeeeee!!! Tonights weigh in is 4lbs 14.5 oz!! Weston and I have come to an understanding, he is to get bigger and be home in time for Halloween.... no ifs ands or buts :) So far I think he is going to be a good boy.
I wish I had more of him with the family being spoiled like his brother but so far they all have only seen him through the nursery glass... although I am sure his time will come :) If you can tell he is sideways on the scale... little boy would not stay still and for being such a peanut, he is pretty good at moving his body all over the place!! And the little mark on his forehead... not sure what its from we have been playing is that a bruise or is that a birthmark along with the nurses I guess time will tell, you might not be able to see but it is heart shaped in real life... I think he was kisses by a tinsy tiny angel :)
Picture time for Jamison
All of Jamison's grandparents loving on him :) The poor little girls.... kids have germs, what can I say hahahaha. If he was a full term baby I wouldn't have been so cautious, but with a preemie in flu season I have to... the best part is when I went to take this picture I told them to "smile" I guess old habits die hard :)As you can see (in the video) little J has found his thumb. I have some ultrasound pictures of him sucking on it that I think are adorable but I think its even more adorable now!!
Oh and a side note.... we gave him a bath today (first one at home) and he pooped in the tub.... I have seen that happen lots of times with big babies but it cracked me up to see such a tiny one do it :)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tues 10/19
Tooooooooo tired to write out a nice long winded post.... this back and forth to the hospital, pumping in the middle of the night along with some night time feedings is kicking my butt...
Jamison is doing great and is back on track with a great schedule :) The noise and lights have done the trick for sure and this guy is eating a ton! We even made it to our first pediatrician apt yesterday and he was a trooper weighing in at 5lbs 12oz still but that is most likely a different in the scales between their office, the home nurse and the hospital. We have another home nurse visit sometime next week to make sure he is gaining on target. Best news for Little J is he has had NO SPELLS!!! He just wanted to be home :)
Weston is doing pretty good. He is still struggling a bit with his temp but he gained weight finally and is now exactly one pound smaller then his brother, ringing in at 4lbs 12oz :) Thank goodness little peanut is getting bigger! The weight will help with both his temp and occasional spells. This boy can eat though! He is now eating the same amount if not more then Jamison, hopefully that means he will catch up in size soon!!
My parents (and little sisters) are in for a visit and of course LOVED seeing Jamison. Tomorrow they will get to see Weston through the window of the nursery and I have my postpartum check. After that taking the family to a quick site seeing tour through Alexandria/DC (Grandma Crockett is baby sitting, she is getting some quality time with the baby without me making her crazy) should be a fun and very busy day :) I have lots of pictures I will try to post some tomorrow, for some reason the blog site photo uploads are down until tomorrow.
Jamison is doing great and is back on track with a great schedule :) The noise and lights have done the trick for sure and this guy is eating a ton! We even made it to our first pediatrician apt yesterday and he was a trooper weighing in at 5lbs 12oz still but that is most likely a different in the scales between their office, the home nurse and the hospital. We have another home nurse visit sometime next week to make sure he is gaining on target. Best news for Little J is he has had NO SPELLS!!! He just wanted to be home :)
Weston is doing pretty good. He is still struggling a bit with his temp but he gained weight finally and is now exactly one pound smaller then his brother, ringing in at 4lbs 12oz :) Thank goodness little peanut is getting bigger! The weight will help with both his temp and occasional spells. This boy can eat though! He is now eating the same amount if not more then Jamison, hopefully that means he will catch up in size soon!!
My parents (and little sisters) are in for a visit and of course LOVED seeing Jamison. Tomorrow they will get to see Weston through the window of the nursery and I have my postpartum check. After that taking the family to a quick site seeing tour through Alexandria/DC (Grandma Crockett is baby sitting, she is getting some quality time with the baby without me making her crazy) should be a fun and very busy day :) I have lots of pictures I will try to post some tomorrow, for some reason the blog site photo uploads are down until tomorrow.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sun 10/17-
So our first night with our little man was......................HORRIBLE!!! Well he was super sweet but my lord he was wanting no part of sleeping... well he wanted to sleep... but only if we were holding him, and of course he wanted no part of eating his bottle either.
I must admit it was more our fault then his. Jamison is so used to lights and noise all the time from the nursery and bringing him home to a dark and quiet room was just not cozy for him.The problem lies with wanting him to sleep in our bedroom last night, Pat is a super light sleeper, sleeps with ear plugs every night, so he wanted to see how it went trying to get him to sleep in the same conditions we normally do.... against my better judgment (even though he also was right there when the nurses reminded us it may be easier if we left the tv on or something) I went along with it........ yep not happening tonight. Jamison and I both moved into the nursery (with Grandma)... He has already been sleeping in his crib for about an hour.... thats approx. 55 minutes longer then the total of last night so I think we are off to a good start :) He was on a great schedule at the nursery and I am determined to keep him on it. When we went to visit Weston today everyone asked how last night went... and when we told them he didn't sleep for us AT ALL the first thing they asked was if we kept the noise going?? hahahaha The good news is we are working out all of the kinks now so it should be smooth sailing for Weston.
Weston had a pretty good day, no spells, he put on a little weight (he is now ringing in at 4lbs 9 oz) and he nursed today!! He did fantastic and was so pooped after it was hysterical. The day nurses were all the same ladies today as they were yesterday and ... they made all of my mommy bones hurt. They told us after we left that Weston just looked super sad... she said "I don't know how much the babies REALLY know about what is happening but he was just pitiful, so sad". I guessed they all took turns giving him extra TLC and she said she was so glad when she found out I had made it back to visit him last night because she thought he really needed his mom... after the little guilt trip he gave me last night when I saw him and then them talking about everything today I was almost in tears... poor little Weston :( I promise I will spoil him rotten when he makes it home!!
Off to try to get some rest before Jamison gets fired up :)
I must admit it was more our fault then his. Jamison is so used to lights and noise all the time from the nursery and bringing him home to a dark and quiet room was just not cozy for him.The problem lies with wanting him to sleep in our bedroom last night, Pat is a super light sleeper, sleeps with ear plugs every night, so he wanted to see how it went trying to get him to sleep in the same conditions we normally do.... against my better judgment (even though he also was right there when the nurses reminded us it may be easier if we left the tv on or something) I went along with it........ yep not happening tonight. Jamison and I both moved into the nursery (with Grandma)... He has already been sleeping in his crib for about an hour.... thats approx. 55 minutes longer then the total of last night so I think we are off to a good start :) He was on a great schedule at the nursery and I am determined to keep him on it. When we went to visit Weston today everyone asked how last night went... and when we told them he didn't sleep for us AT ALL the first thing they asked was if we kept the noise going?? hahahaha The good news is we are working out all of the kinks now so it should be smooth sailing for Weston.
Weston had a pretty good day, no spells, he put on a little weight (he is now ringing in at 4lbs 9 oz) and he nursed today!! He did fantastic and was so pooped after it was hysterical. The day nurses were all the same ladies today as they were yesterday and ... they made all of my mommy bones hurt. They told us after we left that Weston just looked super sad... she said "I don't know how much the babies REALLY know about what is happening but he was just pitiful, so sad". I guessed they all took turns giving him extra TLC and she said she was so glad when she found out I had made it back to visit him last night because she thought he really needed his mom... after the little guilt trip he gave me last night when I saw him and then them talking about everything today I was almost in tears... poor little Weston :( I promise I will spoil him rotten when he makes it home!!
Off to try to get some rest before Jamison gets fired up :)
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Finally... a very good day!!! Saturday 10/6
Sorry its been a few days. Thursday I had gotten a flu shot and it made me sooooooooooooo tired I couldn't stay up long enough to do a post.... Friday I was too sad (will get there in a minute) and then here we are today with great news~~~~ Our little Jamison is finally home!!!
Jamison had been doing so well they had me get all of the discharge paperwork and instructions taken care of yesterday so he could go home today. I was on cloud 9! So Pat and I were going to keep it a secret and not tell his mom before hand, just act like we were going for a visit and surprise her with the baby when we got back. So to pull off the surprise I asked her to take Pat back to the hospital for his evening visit mentioning I was running late and had to pump. She left, I got everything together and when they returned they both told me he had a spell during his bottle.......... I was so upset!! The spells typically reset the clock to come home by at least 3 days (and was what the nurse was telling us). I honestly thought they were kidding because he had been doing so well.... I started crying and told her what the original plan was so no surprise for Grandma, but it turns out it was a very small spell and since he was coming home on a monitor when the Dr. did her rounds she said it would be safe and sent him on his way, I was back to being happy :)
I went to say goodbye to my little guy and started to tear up. I know Weston will be home soon but he was awake and just staring out from his isolette like "hey guys what about me, where are you going?" broke my heart to leave him behind. Juggling the time for both babies (with the hospital schedule) is going to be a bit challenging, the only benefit is now that I no longer have to rush to finish his visit so I can get to Jamison by his hands on time. Now I can really take my time and spoil him while I am there... like I did tonight :) Although I think he was giving his momma a tiny little baby guilt trip. I fed him and rocked him and rocked him and rocked him and he was wide awake like "oh no you don't I know as soon as I fall asleep you are outta here..." Poor guy. After an hour and a half I had to leave to get home and pump (and to be sure Jamison was safe with Daddy and Grandma hahahaha). I can't wait till he is home and we are finally all together.
Weston is doing better. After 3 days of losing weight and one day of being stable he has finally put some weight back on!! He was 4lbs 10 oz went down to 4lbs 7 oz and is now at 4lbs 8.5 oz so he is on the right track, yay Weston!! His temp has been better and most importantly, his brain ultrasound was normal thank the lord!!!
Tomorrow we have a home nurse coming to check on us but for now I am going to try and get some sleep although someone... not to mention any names... is not really cooperating :)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday 10/13/10
Today my babies are one month old! Happy birthday little guys :)
Pats mom and I hit our class today for how to operate the monitors for the boys... wow! It just kind of hit me... this is what life is going to be like. They talk about all of the emergency steps that need to be in place like your CPR guidelines, important phone numbers... calling the power company and phone company to tell them in case of outages they must turn ours on immediately due to life saving medical equipment.... its kind of scary. The thought of needing to give either of the boys CPR gives me the chills..... please God don't ever let us need to use it.... Just carrying the machines, which are compact and lightweight, made me think what its really going to be like when they come home (someday they will come home??? Right?). To go to the Dr. I am going to have two babies, two car seats, the stroller to put the seats in, two monitors, one large diaper bag, and my purse!!!! Thats alot to haul around, of course all worth it, but an armful for sure.
Westons test results to see if he was sick came back normal today... you would think that was great news right? Well it is, however since he is still having the problem with his temp (and loosing weight but they are more concerned with his temp) they are still a bit concerned... now they are saying it could be a brain bleed :( He doesn't have very many of the symptoms for one so I truly hope and pray this is not the case. I know brain bleeds are common in preemies but I still don't want that to be the cause, it just sounds awful. We should have those results in the next day or two. Other then that he had a pretty good day, tried to nurse him, to which he wanted absolutely nothing to do with and got to show off to Grandma who got to visit through the window of the nursery.
Jamison did well for his follow up with speech and had a great physical therapy apt. He was so alert doing all of his little exercises. He was staring at me while she was working with him like "what is going on?" he is so sweet... but really, really needs to stop the spells, mommy wants him home. He made some big improvements with the new thickened milk but he still had two quick ones. When we called tonight and I found out he had the second one I kind of lost it, just so upset. It has been a month and I just miss them both so much, babies are born and supposed to be with their parents.... with these spells it just feels like they are never going to get here, not to mention all of the things happening with Weston. I guess I have a bit of guilt because I have spent so much more time bonding with Jamison overall because Weston has been a bit more fragile, can't hold him as long because we need him warm or his oxygen drops so I have to put him in his bed to try to position him better... Every day that passes, is just one to many.
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course my little boys are my world but I have learned two non baby related things in the last day......
1) Virgina has some freaky insects (and I thought Florida was bad) on the outside steps last night I saw a big spider and went to step on it... IT JUMPS!!! Of course, I did too when I saw that, guess I missed that lesson in science class! I think Pat thought I was crazy because when he saw it the thing was crawling away.... fast forward to 2:00 am. I am half asleep walked downstairs in the dark to put breast milk in the freezer, decide to hit the potty before heading back to bed... I see a spider on the bathroom floor.... I go to get it and sure enough it JUMPS!!! And jumps and jumps... for the record the LAST thing you want to do when you are half asleep in the dark in a very small bathroom is try to escape from a ticked off jumping spider, needless to say I was no longer half asleep, I was freaked out thinking its buddys were on me... I knew it wouldn't be him, I had him trapped under the plunger... a present for Pat (more like proof)... the only thing is he never got to see it. His mom is apparently way tougher then I am and after I warned her it was there she took care of it... and yes it did jump for her too, see I wasn't crazy :)
2) While nursing bras and tank tops are very convenient, beware those suckers are pressure loaded. It could be the giant knockers I have going on now but there is alot of tuggin happening to hoist these bad boys and the clips back in place........... yesterday I was just about to snap the clips and........I slipped........ proceeding to PUNCH myself in the face..... ummmmm??? Why are there no warning labels on this crap? They put "Hot" on coffee cups now for those idiots that may not know the possibility of the freshly brewed beverage inside the cup to be a tad warm..... what would be the harm in a quick note attached like "know that when lifting boobs twice your normal size there potential for bodily harm" or something along those lines :)
Pats mom and I hit our class today for how to operate the monitors for the boys... wow! It just kind of hit me... this is what life is going to be like. They talk about all of the emergency steps that need to be in place like your CPR guidelines, important phone numbers... calling the power company and phone company to tell them in case of outages they must turn ours on immediately due to life saving medical equipment.... its kind of scary. The thought of needing to give either of the boys CPR gives me the chills..... please God don't ever let us need to use it.... Just carrying the machines, which are compact and lightweight, made me think what its really going to be like when they come home (someday they will come home??? Right?). To go to the Dr. I am going to have two babies, two car seats, the stroller to put the seats in, two monitors, one large diaper bag, and my purse!!!! Thats alot to haul around, of course all worth it, but an armful for sure.
Westons test results to see if he was sick came back normal today... you would think that was great news right? Well it is, however since he is still having the problem with his temp (and loosing weight but they are more concerned with his temp) they are still a bit concerned... now they are saying it could be a brain bleed :( He doesn't have very many of the symptoms for one so I truly hope and pray this is not the case. I know brain bleeds are common in preemies but I still don't want that to be the cause, it just sounds awful. We should have those results in the next day or two. Other then that he had a pretty good day, tried to nurse him, to which he wanted absolutely nothing to do with and got to show off to Grandma who got to visit through the window of the nursery.
Jamison did well for his follow up with speech and had a great physical therapy apt. He was so alert doing all of his little exercises. He was staring at me while she was working with him like "what is going on?" he is so sweet... but really, really needs to stop the spells, mommy wants him home. He made some big improvements with the new thickened milk but he still had two quick ones. When we called tonight and I found out he had the second one I kind of lost it, just so upset. It has been a month and I just miss them both so much, babies are born and supposed to be with their parents.... with these spells it just feels like they are never going to get here, not to mention all of the things happening with Weston. I guess I have a bit of guilt because I have spent so much more time bonding with Jamison overall because Weston has been a bit more fragile, can't hold him as long because we need him warm or his oxygen drops so I have to put him in his bed to try to position him better... Every day that passes, is just one to many.
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course my little boys are my world but I have learned two non baby related things in the last day......
1) Virgina has some freaky insects (and I thought Florida was bad) on the outside steps last night I saw a big spider and went to step on it... IT JUMPS!!! Of course, I did too when I saw that, guess I missed that lesson in science class! I think Pat thought I was crazy because when he saw it the thing was crawling away.... fast forward to 2:00 am. I am half asleep walked downstairs in the dark to put breast milk in the freezer, decide to hit the potty before heading back to bed... I see a spider on the bathroom floor.... I go to get it and sure enough it JUMPS!!! And jumps and jumps... for the record the LAST thing you want to do when you are half asleep in the dark in a very small bathroom is try to escape from a ticked off jumping spider, needless to say I was no longer half asleep, I was freaked out thinking its buddys were on me... I knew it wouldn't be him, I had him trapped under the plunger... a present for Pat (more like proof)... the only thing is he never got to see it. His mom is apparently way tougher then I am and after I warned her it was there she took care of it... and yes it did jump for her too, see I wasn't crazy :)
2) While nursing bras and tank tops are very convenient, beware those suckers are pressure loaded. It could be the giant knockers I have going on now but there is alot of tuggin happening to hoist these bad boys and the clips back in place........... yesterday I was just about to snap the clips and........I slipped........ proceeding to PUNCH myself in the face..... ummmmm??? Why are there no warning labels on this crap? They put "Hot" on coffee cups now for those idiots that may not know the possibility of the freshly brewed beverage inside the cup to be a tad warm..... what would be the harm in a quick note attached like "know that when lifting boobs twice your normal size there potential for bodily harm" or something along those lines :)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday 10/12/10
Awe another day to hold my babies together... I LOVE IT!! Its funny how each nurse has their rules and quirks. Today we had the same nurse as yesterday and so when she offered of course I said I would love to!!! Tomorrow (as long as everything goes as planned) she is going to let me have kangaroo time with both babies!!! I can't wait!
For today's updates:
Mr. Jamison... this little stinker was still having spells!! I had gotten to the hospital at 8:00 am so I had caught the Dr. fairly early on her rounds and asked about thickening his milk again. She said she would like to give it some time because he had a few good days (when they were thinking of sending him home) she just wanted to wait and see. Of course we talked about the monitors, he still needs to go 2-3 days with no spells but as soon as he does we can bring the little guy home. Tomorrow Pats mom and I (she got in today and is staying for a month to help with the babies, so happy to have her!!!) are going to a class so we know how to operate the machine and we both had to go to CPR classes. I am certified already (so is Pat) but I figured a refresher course wouldn't be a bad idea, my class was today, hers is tomorrow. So after that we are all set.
Well at 9:00 am it was time for his feeding and he had 2 spells while he was drinking, one just because he went to fast and one because he started to choke... I was watching the numbers on the monitors so I saw them happening and helped him out of them before he alarmed, but still they happened... After he finished he was wide awake so I was talking to him and all of the sudden he spit up and he had a big spell... A nurse (not ours she was on break) came by to record it and when she saw his record with all of his spells being the same situation, during a feeding or with a spit up she asked if he was on thickened milk and I told her I had been asking them to try him on it for awhile now with no luck she said "hmmm... well maybe they just need to see more documentation...." so she wrote down a few more notes. When my nurse came back I mentioned to her what happened (she also thinks he needs it) and a minute later the Dr. came walking through the nursery. We called her over and with the new info she finally agreed to have speech come evaluate him. I was worried that he wouldn't act up for the therapist and would have a great feeding (thats when they do his testing) but he was such a good boy (well naughty actually but that was what we wanted) he had a spell, threw himself at the end of his feeding, turned red and was grunting... her diagnosis.. just as I thought, he is having a reflux problem... and what did she recommend???? Thickened milk!!! I really hope this will help him, so far it looks like it has. He had 3 bottles since switching and no spells! I feel bad that these spells are most likely caused by pain from reflux, my poor baby :( Fingers crossed he will get some relief. Tomorrow they are going to do a speech follow up for him and for his brother.......
Ugh.... my little Weston is back to giving his momma gray hair. Not so much from spells which he is still having occasionally but for the last few days he has been losing weight :( For sure not what we are wanting. He is finishing his meals (sometimes slowly) so its not that he isn't eating enough, here are a few other reasons they are saying could be causing it.
-the fact that his temperature has been inconsistent making him burn to many calories to stay warm
-he is getting sick
-he is working hard to eat burning too many calories that way
They sent off some blood work to see how his white blood cells are doing which of course will let us know about any possible sickness and then they will go from there. I also am keeping in the back of my mind a possible food allergy. He has been going poo like crazy, which is partly what is bringing this to my attention. Pat has an allergy to soy and that is his reaction, if he eats alot he looses weight fairly quickly. Both boys are primarily on breastmilk but all of the preemies get two bottles of formula daily. I mentioned this theory to the nurse who told me "oh there is no soy ingredients in either brand we use, I know they have checked into that before". I found that hard to believe because I have grocery shopped and cooked for Pat for 4 years.... soy is in practically EVERYTHING. Of course I double checked and sure enough its in both brands, the 3rd ingredient in one and the 4th in the other. Not sure if that could have anything to do with it but I think I will mention it to the Dr. tomorrow... couldn't hurt right??? I REALLY hope he is not getting sick, that would be worst case scenario at this point.
For today's updates:
Mr. Jamison... this little stinker was still having spells!! I had gotten to the hospital at 8:00 am so I had caught the Dr. fairly early on her rounds and asked about thickening his milk again. She said she would like to give it some time because he had a few good days (when they were thinking of sending him home) she just wanted to wait and see. Of course we talked about the monitors, he still needs to go 2-3 days with no spells but as soon as he does we can bring the little guy home. Tomorrow Pats mom and I (she got in today and is staying for a month to help with the babies, so happy to have her!!!) are going to a class so we know how to operate the machine and we both had to go to CPR classes. I am certified already (so is Pat) but I figured a refresher course wouldn't be a bad idea, my class was today, hers is tomorrow. So after that we are all set.
Well at 9:00 am it was time for his feeding and he had 2 spells while he was drinking, one just because he went to fast and one because he started to choke... I was watching the numbers on the monitors so I saw them happening and helped him out of them before he alarmed, but still they happened... After he finished he was wide awake so I was talking to him and all of the sudden he spit up and he had a big spell... A nurse (not ours she was on break) came by to record it and when she saw his record with all of his spells being the same situation, during a feeding or with a spit up she asked if he was on thickened milk and I told her I had been asking them to try him on it for awhile now with no luck she said "hmmm... well maybe they just need to see more documentation...." so she wrote down a few more notes. When my nurse came back I mentioned to her what happened (she also thinks he needs it) and a minute later the Dr. came walking through the nursery. We called her over and with the new info she finally agreed to have speech come evaluate him. I was worried that he wouldn't act up for the therapist and would have a great feeding (thats when they do his testing) but he was such a good boy (well naughty actually but that was what we wanted) he had a spell, threw himself at the end of his feeding, turned red and was grunting... her diagnosis.. just as I thought, he is having a reflux problem... and what did she recommend???? Thickened milk!!! I really hope this will help him, so far it looks like it has. He had 3 bottles since switching and no spells! I feel bad that these spells are most likely caused by pain from reflux, my poor baby :( Fingers crossed he will get some relief. Tomorrow they are going to do a speech follow up for him and for his brother.......
Ugh.... my little Weston is back to giving his momma gray hair. Not so much from spells which he is still having occasionally but for the last few days he has been losing weight :( For sure not what we are wanting. He is finishing his meals (sometimes slowly) so its not that he isn't eating enough, here are a few other reasons they are saying could be causing it.
-the fact that his temperature has been inconsistent making him burn to many calories to stay warm
-he is getting sick
-he is working hard to eat burning too many calories that way
They sent off some blood work to see how his white blood cells are doing which of course will let us know about any possible sickness and then they will go from there. I also am keeping in the back of my mind a possible food allergy. He has been going poo like crazy, which is partly what is bringing this to my attention. Pat has an allergy to soy and that is his reaction, if he eats alot he looses weight fairly quickly. Both boys are primarily on breastmilk but all of the preemies get two bottles of formula daily. I mentioned this theory to the nurse who told me "oh there is no soy ingredients in either brand we use, I know they have checked into that before". I found that hard to believe because I have grocery shopped and cooked for Pat for 4 years.... soy is in practically EVERYTHING. Of course I double checked and sure enough its in both brands, the 3rd ingredient in one and the 4th in the other. Not sure if that could have anything to do with it but I think I will mention it to the Dr. tomorrow... couldn't hurt right??? I REALLY hope he is not getting sick, that would be worst case scenario at this point.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday 10/11/10
Here is what I learned today......... the rules depend on the nurse :) I got to hold my babies together!!! Of course this lead to our very first family picture!! I can not believe we are now a family of 4... excuse me.... I am sorry Maggie... a family of 5 :)
You could probably guess that was the highlight of my day... what wasn't the highlight...both boys had a spells today, Jamison more then Weston. They are still talking about sending him home since they are mild and typically during his bottle, but they are now planning on sending him home with a monitor, I am supposed to hear more from the Dr. on that tomorrow. I actually think this will help calm some fear in me anyway. I was pretty nervous thinking something could go wrong while I was sleeping and I wouldn't be able to help him... I know these monitors often have false alarms but I would rather have a false alarm and know he is safe :)
The little guy is still in his isolette. They keep trying to wean down the temp so he can move to an open crib (the next step for him to get closer to coming home) but each time they try his body temp drops, he is just not ready.... we need to fatten him up!!! This boy needs some insulation on his little body :) He was struggling a bit with this today, he was on the cold side and when he gets that way he won't really eat and usually he is a great eater... They got him all warmed up by this afternoon and he ate much better the rest of the day thank goodness... he can't afford to be skipping any meals :)
Enjoy the little videos. Weston kept this "talking" up for a long time today it was pretty funny and of course little Jamison with his hiccups... again. He must of got wind of me saying he sleeps all the time because the last few visits he was been super alert, I love it!!
Oh and a quick weight update for mommy... 31 lbs down... 14 lbs to go...I am pretty happy with that for 4 weeks but I can't wait till I get ok'd to start exercising. Hopefully I can get the rest off in no time :)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Thursday-Sunday 10/10/10
Funny writing the date today..... This was the date I wanted the boys to be born on, I thought it would be a really cool easy to remember birthday... they obviously had other plans :)
The last few days have been so great, Jamison and Weston both went days with no spells and are growing like weeds... Jamison 5 lbs 8oz Weston 4 lbs 10oz (and that was from a Friday so I am sure they are even bigger now). Weston is now up to eating almost as much as his brother (which also means I have been spending lots of quality time with my breast pump). With them having such good days, I have been having such great visits (so has their daddy of course).
We have had some company in town so we had a busy weekend (hence my slacking in the blog posts)... for a few highlights of the last few days..
- a few nice meals out
-walking around Old Town Alexandria
-Seeing the harbor
-getting some fancy cupcakes (can you say yummmy???)
-hitting the George Washington Masonic Memorial
-getting locked out of the house (4 adults, two sets of keys and we still managed this)
-Pat climbing a 6 foot fence, scaling a wall, ripping out a screen and pulling himself through a window..... barefoot
-getting a big piece of metal stuck in my tire, very flat, got a new one
-our 6 month old washing machine decided to start leaking....
But really it was a fun weekend.... and then..... this morning Pat came in (after going out to buy new screen and a new tire) and told me .....
"I just got a phone call and one of my friends is coming to spend the night tomorrow, its someone who will make you really happy... guess who???"
No I am not going to share who I guessed (um there may, or may not be some of his friends I like more then others hahahaha) and he finally told me.....
"Its Jamison"
I have to admit it took me a second to realize he was talking about the baby, I was like "I don't know any of your friends named Jamison..." And of course I was super excited!!! He just needed to pass his car seat challenge and have his circumcision.... well between the time they called and gave us the great news and the time we got there to bring the car seat for the test, he had a spell during his bottle :( It was short and he fixed himself (and really it was right after they worked on his little pee pee, can't blame him for not doing so great). So unfortunately it will be just a wee bit longer. The good news is he did pass the car seat test so he is all set when his Dr. gives the green light for him to come home.
I have to say I was pretty upset. I know its just a few more days but it has already been almost a month. I want my baby to start to know me as his mom and not just a nice lady who visits. He has had so many other nurses holding him and taking care of him and I feel like I missed alot.... I guess it does give his brother a few more days to catch up :) Although I think Weston had some sympathy pains or something, he had a spell today too... or maybe after seeing what they did to his brothers pee pee he wants to stay put awhile longer :)
I will try tomorrow to post some new pictures of the little munchkins and hopefully we will get a good timeline for when our little peanut can come home.
The last few days have been so great, Jamison and Weston both went days with no spells and are growing like weeds... Jamison 5 lbs 8oz Weston 4 lbs 10oz (and that was from a Friday so I am sure they are even bigger now). Weston is now up to eating almost as much as his brother (which also means I have been spending lots of quality time with my breast pump). With them having such good days, I have been having such great visits (so has their daddy of course).
We have had some company in town so we had a busy weekend (hence my slacking in the blog posts)... for a few highlights of the last few days..
- a few nice meals out
-walking around Old Town Alexandria
-Seeing the harbor
-getting some fancy cupcakes (can you say yummmy???)
-hitting the George Washington Masonic Memorial
-getting locked out of the house (4 adults, two sets of keys and we still managed this)
-Pat climbing a 6 foot fence, scaling a wall, ripping out a screen and pulling himself through a window..... barefoot
-getting a big piece of metal stuck in my tire, very flat, got a new one
-our 6 month old washing machine decided to start leaking....
But really it was a fun weekend.... and then..... this morning Pat came in (after going out to buy new screen and a new tire) and told me .....
"I just got a phone call and one of my friends is coming to spend the night tomorrow, its someone who will make you really happy... guess who???"
No I am not going to share who I guessed (um there may, or may not be some of his friends I like more then others hahahaha) and he finally told me.....
"Its Jamison"
I have to admit it took me a second to realize he was talking about the baby, I was like "I don't know any of your friends named Jamison..." And of course I was super excited!!! He just needed to pass his car seat challenge and have his circumcision.... well between the time they called and gave us the great news and the time we got there to bring the car seat for the test, he had a spell during his bottle :( It was short and he fixed himself (and really it was right after they worked on his little pee pee, can't blame him for not doing so great). So unfortunately it will be just a wee bit longer. The good news is he did pass the car seat test so he is all set when his Dr. gives the green light for him to come home.
I have to say I was pretty upset. I know its just a few more days but it has already been almost a month. I want my baby to start to know me as his mom and not just a nice lady who visits. He has had so many other nurses holding him and taking care of him and I feel like I missed alot.... I guess it does give his brother a few more days to catch up :) Although I think Weston had some sympathy pains or something, he had a spell today too... or maybe after seeing what they did to his brothers pee pee he wants to stay put awhile longer :)
I will try tomorrow to post some new pictures of the little munchkins and hopefully we will get a good timeline for when our little peanut can come home.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wednesday 10/6/10
What a happy day!!! After the other day's post I was feeling fantastic... yesterday I was down again, but today I am back. This has been such an emotional roller coaster since the little ones have been born. Both boys had some bad spells yesterday and when they have bad days I do too.. although their spells were bad, the day wasn't all bad... we had the same nurse as we did on Monday (her name is Sue, she is a bit crazy and I LOVE HER she is very pro baby)
Jamison will fit into his car seat which is great and Weston was feeding so well (they did thicken his milk in hopes to help the reflux, fingers crossed it will work) his nurse asked if I wanted her to put him in his bed, I do it all the time so I said, no its ok I got it, she gave me a wink and said "Let me put him back I think he may accidentally pull out his tube". Of course I quickly handed him over :) Two seconds later she said "oops naughty baby, pulled his tube". She, like Patsy, knows the other nurses will use it if its there even though the baby can eat just fine (mostly its night nurses) so she "helped" him along.
Next they both had eye exams. Let me warn you, if you ever have a little baby and they need to have an eye exam, do yourself a favor and DO NOT WATCH. My boys rarely cry... and I mean rarely (I know that will change soon but for now they are the quiet ones in the nursery) but they were absolutely pitiful, even though it was just for a few minutes they cried as if you were torturing them.... poor kids :( The good news is they both passed with flying colors.
Todays visit was great.... well the boys were fair at best both having spells and neither eating real well (um... nobody is ever going to get to come home if they keep this up) but the great part was..... for the first time I had the boys side by side!!! I was so happy to finally get them together :) What I didn't know until today is the hospital rule is for risk of infection you can't hold them together (same parents so I don't get it but its the rule) so till today we have only been able to have one baby out at a time. It just happened to be that I was holding Weston when Jamison's physical therapist came to work with him so I asked that since she was holding him if we could just put them next to each other so I could see them and thank goodness I had my camera!!! Jamison was not really up for picture time so these aren't the best pictures of him and the little guy just slept through it.
Its funny because I have had so many people ask me to label the pictures or tell me the boys look alot alike, and they do look like brothers however in the side by sides there is for sure a big difference..... well it almost looks like Jamison could eat Weston :) In real life Jamison is so small, he is only 5lbs but next to his brother he looks huge. I will be curious if as Little Weston fills out some if they will look more and more alike??? I guess time will tell. If you look close in the video (its super short but I had to document their very first "meeting") you can see Weston's little dimple pop up in the end and Jamison stick out his tongue. They are such precious little babies :)
I just called tonight for my updates, their new weights, Jamison 5lbs 3oz Weston 4lbs 5oz, and then they told me both boys had spells, Jamison during his bottle (very typical) and Weston's was when he was sleeping, his heart rate dropped from 140's to into the 40's- extremely low... the lowest so far actually, and that is very scary. Part of me wonders if Pat or I had been there if it would have gotten that bad....... I really don't think so. What I have noticed is the nurses wait a while to check on the alarms, often times a baby can self correct so they don't need to intervene so they tend to be very casual about them, especially if the baby has had one earlier in the shift. If we were there of course we would have helped him ASAP so it wouldn't of had time to drop that low. Unfortunately we can't be there all the time :(
Here is an example from today... I of course always watch my babies but if another baby by me alarms I always make sure someone helps them. There was a little boy across from us who was going home tomorrow passed his car seat challenge and was all set. I am the only person in this area of the room, he alarms no one comes, just as I went to help him (touching them usually is enough to bring them out of it) he corrected himself, 15 minutes later he does it again, still no nurse came, my nurse comes by to check on me (not his nurse and you could probably guess neither Patsy or Sue was there today) and while she is there he does it again and I mention to her the other 2 alarms and I said "I hope his parents get to bring home a monitor, thats his 3rd spell in the last 20 minutes" she tells me they were all false alarms (mind you she hadn't looked at the report yet). Well I leave pick up Pat and get back and she tells me I was right he had another spell and was now not going home tomorrow. I would like to think they would have caught this anyway but I am glad I said something and just very thankful Pat and I are at a place that allows me to spend the majority of the day there... I can't wait for them to be home.... and I want to have heart monitors for them both.... hey you can never be to careful and with their antics, I think I need them :)
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday 10/4
Happy 3 weeks to my little boys!!! To think they are already so much a part of the family and so much a part of Pat and I and they still aren't even supposed to be born yet.
Thank goodness for a great day for both babies!!! Well I must say we did have a great nurse.... once again I have to say how much that alone can effect everything.
She saw how well Weston eats his bottle and got the Dr to allow us to bottle feed him at every feeding instead of every other (before the second one was going in the tube) she got the Dr to order him some medication for the reflux (not sure if it will help but will try for a bit before thickening his milk) and she made this little neck roll thing to help support his neck/shoulders to keep him from clenching his airway............... and these things gave him his first full day with NO SPELLS!!!! Amazing!! She said with him eating as well as he does she wants to have his feeding tube out by Thursday :) My little peanut I so hope we have finally figured out what to do with you!!! They did send up the speech therapist and he passed his test with flying colors, meaning he is swallowing his food just fine it is the reflux that has been pestering him. I do know (and keep it in the back of my mind) that the we are still a ways from the finish line but it felt so good to see him have such great progress!!!
This lady is AMAZING with Jamison. He is a slow eater and they give him a time limit of 30 minutes to finish his bottle. He sometimes gets tired which is typically when he spells...for us he usually takes the whole 30 minutes, she can finish his feeding in under 15!! I can't figure out what she does differently (the Dr told me this nurse could get a fence post to eat a bottle) but it was great to see him do well and he also had NO SPELLS today!!! She wants us to start planning on him coming home by early next week :) Tomorrow I am bringing her the car seat to look at. The babies have to pass a car seat challenge (the put them in it for 90 min and monitor them to be sure they can tolerate it) before they can go home and since he is still fairly small they want me to bring it in so we can be sure he fits in it. This way if we need to go get another one we have time :) I can't believe we are getting close.. I CAN NOT WAIT to have him home... I will be able to love on him and snuggle him whenever I want... that will be a great day... of course when both boys are home, it will be the best day yet!
They are now up to 5 lbs 1 oz and 4 lbs 3 oz. Our little Weston is catching up :)
We have the same nurse tomorrow so fingers crossed we can have a repeat of today!!!
Thank goodness for a great day for both babies!!! Well I must say we did have a great nurse.... once again I have to say how much that alone can effect everything.
She saw how well Weston eats his bottle and got the Dr to allow us to bottle feed him at every feeding instead of every other (before the second one was going in the tube) she got the Dr to order him some medication for the reflux (not sure if it will help but will try for a bit before thickening his milk) and she made this little neck roll thing to help support his neck/shoulders to keep him from clenching his airway............... and these things gave him his first full day with NO SPELLS!!!! Amazing!! She said with him eating as well as he does she wants to have his feeding tube out by Thursday :) My little peanut I so hope we have finally figured out what to do with you!!! They did send up the speech therapist and he passed his test with flying colors, meaning he is swallowing his food just fine it is the reflux that has been pestering him. I do know (and keep it in the back of my mind) that the we are still a ways from the finish line but it felt so good to see him have such great progress!!!
This lady is AMAZING with Jamison. He is a slow eater and they give him a time limit of 30 minutes to finish his bottle. He sometimes gets tired which is typically when he spells...for us he usually takes the whole 30 minutes, she can finish his feeding in under 15!! I can't figure out what she does differently (the Dr told me this nurse could get a fence post to eat a bottle) but it was great to see him do well and he also had NO SPELLS today!!! She wants us to start planning on him coming home by early next week :) Tomorrow I am bringing her the car seat to look at. The babies have to pass a car seat challenge (the put them in it for 90 min and monitor them to be sure they can tolerate it) before they can go home and since he is still fairly small they want me to bring it in so we can be sure he fits in it. This way if we need to go get another one we have time :) I can't believe we are getting close.. I CAN NOT WAIT to have him home... I will be able to love on him and snuggle him whenever I want... that will be a great day... of course when both boys are home, it will be the best day yet!
They are now up to 5 lbs 1 oz and 4 lbs 3 oz. Our little Weston is catching up :)
We have the same nurse tomorrow so fingers crossed we can have a repeat of today!!!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sat 10/1 and Sunday 10/2
Sooooo you can see I am a day late in my posting.... it was on purpose. I have been so so so so tired from the midnight pumping sessions and all of the running around to and from the hospital and can also admit sometimes its hard rehashing the day when its been fair at best... these spells... I can't stand to watch them anymore......... So for my tardiness in posting I will throw in a couple new pictures.. check out Westons' Crockett dimple and Jamison's chunky little cheeks :)
The boys are both still acting up with their spells. I talked to the Dr. both by phone and during rounds about Weston's reflux and he said he wanted to give it some more time before doing one of two things, medicine or thickening his milk to try to help keep it down, basically saying that he doesn't like to give the babies medicine (which I respect and understand, however I do not want my baby in pain) and there isn't a whole lot of proof that either treatment really helps and that eventually the baby will grow out of it... Well today he had a couple really bad spells, once in Pat's arms and once in the bed, the one in the bed was a long one and took alot of stimulation to bring him back out... both just after feedings. When we talked to his nurse this evening she mentioned yet another really bad one just after eating as well and she was going to ask the Dr. to write orders for something to help him. I know I will see his Dr again tomorrow and I am going to really insist if he wants to wait. The baby loves to eat and enjoys his food, unfortunately his body doesn't......... (oh and little man is coming in right at 4lbs)
Little Jamison is getting so big (just past 5lbs) and all the nurses keep asking if he is ready to come home :( He keeps having trouble with spells during his feedings and with those happening, its going to be awhile. I have gone back and forth with both nipples on his bottles and now I am thinking he just had a good day that one time with a Nuk nipple because it doesn't seem to matter which one he uses anymore... Last night the little bugger had a spell in the middle of the night for no reason at all, it was a first for him. He is typically pretty predictable so I was really surprised that happened, I just hope it was a one time deal, the ones that happen out of the blue are much more dangerous then the ones we can expect during a feeding.
Oh yes... remember the other day I mentioned the nurse didn't even try to give Jamison a bottle after his bath the other night and just decided to put it in the feeding tube? Well our nurse Patsy was NOT happy about that at all when I told her.... she was quite ticked actually. She said "this baby doesn't need that tube, he eats just fine...." and proceeded to explain just what I had expected, that when they are full and they are busy sometimes the night nurses will do that to save time... so what did she do to be sure it didn't happen again??? She took it out. hahahahaha She told me if she came in and the tube was back she would throw a fit :) I love nurse Patsy!!! Now fingers crossed Jamison does her proud and doesn't need it back.
Anyways with both boys having these spells we have no idea when either will be coming home :( They said anytime after 35 weeks (which is tomorrow) with no issues but each spell is a set back so who knows... its been 21 days and I have no idea when we will finally have them home, and yes that means I may have had (yet another) a sad "spell" of my own tonight. When we got there today for Weston's time, Jamison heard our voices and started crying getting upset as if we were ignoring him and as much as I wanted to pick him up and love on him for a second to make him feel better we can't... it wasn't HIS TIME yet... babies don't understand that crap he needed to feel secure and we really weren't allowed to do that for him. I want them home (of course I want them healthy I just want that sooner then later), I don't want to have to ask permission to hug and comfort my sons....
As for our other "baby", Maggie......... that dog is ridiculous. Some tough guard dog she is. Yesterday I went to clip her nails, she sat nice and still... after the third toe I went to readjust my grip, she slipped away and played dead under a chair, there was no moving her, no budging she was done... Just before this nail fiasco we had taken her for a walk... Since Pat insists she is just the smartest, sweetest dog ever (and I soooooooooooo don't agree, sweet yes, smart... um not so much) he keeps trying to walk her with out her gentle leader on, which is the thingy we use to help keep her from pulling us all over the place (ask my mom, it is NOT pretty when you don't use it... think pavement... on your face), he wants her to be "normal". Everything was going fine for the most part until some yo-yo and his two dogs come by. Maggie starts pulling and leaping trying to get to the dogs to say hello, Pats getting yanked every which way till Sunday... you would think this guy would keep walking since OBVIOUSLY we were having issues... ummmm nope, he stands there with his two dogs and tries to pet her, bringing his dogs closer which makes her more crazy.... Well Pat, Mr. I don't need the gentle leader was so busy trying to be sure his beer didn't spill he missed the fact that the dog completely took me out and I went tumbling to the ground.... he was to busy laughing to help me up till I kindly (ok maybe not kindly... maybe more like yelling) reminded him I had a c-section barely 3 weeks ago and needed some help getting up... don't worry he never lost a single drip of his precious beer.......... The yo-yo still not realizing there may be a problem just stood there..... I am still not certain if I am more upset that our dog is slightly crazy or at my "sweet" husband for thinking the whole thing was HILARIOUS......
Friday, October 1, 2010
Friday 10/1/10
Can you believe its October already??? Its funny when I was pregnant time was crawling by and now that the boys are here its flying.
Today was pretty darn similar to yesterday. Jamison had a great day, no spells for me or his nurse thank goodness although tonights nurse wasn't as warm and fuzzy... she gave him a bath so she decided to just put his feeding in the tube instead of giving him a bottle.... ugh so frustrating, I am sure it was a time issue since she didn't even try to start him with the bottle. He has been doing so well they were talking about taking it out and now this one feeding in his tube will set him back a few days... laziness makes me crazy.
My little guy Weston was giving me more gray hair.... and making his daddy loose a few. After each feeding today he had repeats of yesterdays events....... AWFUL :( The only good thing is I have been asking about possibility of reflux causing this and they are starting to agree this may be the cause. His day time nurse (Patsy) was pretty certain thats what is going on as well so she was helping me be a little advocate for him ... poor peanut. He likes to eat and does a good job, its just what happens after. When Patsy heard the speech people were coming she kind of rolled her eyes like "that is not his problem". It makes sense because they just started really increasing his food and now his tummy is getting full. I have been doing so much research (thank you google) on all of this stuff and it kind of explains everything.... the tummy gets full, the acid rises...when the baby is in pain they naturally clench down... this causing drops in heart rate and oxygen... Tomorrow during the Dr. rounds I am going to put my foot down (throw a tantrum if needed) until the Dr. at least agrees to try him on some medication to see if it helps... I can't stand the thought of him hurting all the time :(
Oh Patsy was pretty hysterical... she kept saying how she doesn't have favorites but..... she loved that Weston was such a snuggler, I guess he fell asleep on her chest... He also had a visit from the nurse who had him often when he was downstairs. She said she saw they moved him and she wanted to come by and sneek a peak in case he goes home before she gets back from her vacation (going on a long cruise). I am thinking I may have a ladies man on my hands :)
Its so funny how their little personalities are coming out. Jamison is just so so so mellow and sleepy all the time, he is asleep through all of his feedings, diaper changes, pretty much everything.. I try to wake him up but I very rarely see him with his eyes open. Weston is almost always alert and awake and checking things out, he looks for your voice if you talk to him like he doesn't want to miss out on anything. They are both so sweet if I do say so myself............ although I may be biased :)
I did go to the NICU support group today. It was different then I expected but still nice. Two families there had VERY early babies, one born at 23 weeks (has been there now for 13 weeks) and the other born at 24 weeks (has been there for 12) I can't even imagine... I am so thankful for my Dr.'s being so cautious with my pregnancy. The boys were early and obviously have some things to overcome, but it could have been much much sooner, for that I am truly grateful.
Back to the boys...we did get some weight updates tonight... I can't believe how much they have grown in such a short time :)
Jamison 4 lbs 13.6 oz
Weston 3 lbs 14.6 oz
Tomorrow Pat and I are hitting a big consignment sale put on by the twin group we belong too. We have to be there early because from what I hear they have a huge turnout, so after that we are off to visit the boys... can't wait to see their sweet little faces and get to give them some nice big hugs... my Mini-Pats!!!
Today was pretty darn similar to yesterday. Jamison had a great day, no spells for me or his nurse thank goodness although tonights nurse wasn't as warm and fuzzy... she gave him a bath so she decided to just put his feeding in the tube instead of giving him a bottle.... ugh so frustrating, I am sure it was a time issue since she didn't even try to start him with the bottle. He has been doing so well they were talking about taking it out and now this one feeding in his tube will set him back a few days... laziness makes me crazy.
My little guy Weston was giving me more gray hair.... and making his daddy loose a few. After each feeding today he had repeats of yesterdays events....... AWFUL :( The only good thing is I have been asking about possibility of reflux causing this and they are starting to agree this may be the cause. His day time nurse (Patsy) was pretty certain thats what is going on as well so she was helping me be a little advocate for him ... poor peanut. He likes to eat and does a good job, its just what happens after. When Patsy heard the speech people were coming she kind of rolled her eyes like "that is not his problem". It makes sense because they just started really increasing his food and now his tummy is getting full. I have been doing so much research (thank you google) on all of this stuff and it kind of explains everything.... the tummy gets full, the acid rises...when the baby is in pain they naturally clench down... this causing drops in heart rate and oxygen... Tomorrow during the Dr. rounds I am going to put my foot down (throw a tantrum if needed) until the Dr. at least agrees to try him on some medication to see if it helps... I can't stand the thought of him hurting all the time :(
Oh Patsy was pretty hysterical... she kept saying how she doesn't have favorites but..... she loved that Weston was such a snuggler, I guess he fell asleep on her chest... He also had a visit from the nurse who had him often when he was downstairs. She said she saw they moved him and she wanted to come by and sneek a peak in case he goes home before she gets back from her vacation (going on a long cruise). I am thinking I may have a ladies man on my hands :)
Its so funny how their little personalities are coming out. Jamison is just so so so mellow and sleepy all the time, he is asleep through all of his feedings, diaper changes, pretty much everything.. I try to wake him up but I very rarely see him with his eyes open. Weston is almost always alert and awake and checking things out, he looks for your voice if you talk to him like he doesn't want to miss out on anything. They are both so sweet if I do say so myself............ although I may be biased :)
I did go to the NICU support group today. It was different then I expected but still nice. Two families there had VERY early babies, one born at 23 weeks (has been there now for 13 weeks) and the other born at 24 weeks (has been there for 12) I can't even imagine... I am so thankful for my Dr.'s being so cautious with my pregnancy. The boys were early and obviously have some things to overcome, but it could have been much much sooner, for that I am truly grateful.
Back to the boys...we did get some weight updates tonight... I can't believe how much they have grown in such a short time :)
Jamison 4 lbs 13.6 oz
Weston 3 lbs 14.6 oz
Tomorrow Pat and I are hitting a big consignment sale put on by the twin group we belong too. We have to be there early because from what I hear they have a huge turnout, so after that we are off to visit the boys... can't wait to see their sweet little faces and get to give them some nice big hugs... my Mini-Pats!!!
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