Extended Visit with Suttle Surprises!

Last night I went to visit the boys. They are getting so big and maturing so quickly. I never thought I would say it but, it makes me a little sad to see how fast they are growing. It just reminds me that once they're actually home, time is going to go by faster and faster with each passing year.

Most of you have read that we have been trying to work on getting the babies to associate sucking with having a full tummy to attemt to prepare them for bottle feeding. Well last night when I went to visit, Logan was so into his pacifier. He has never really been one to try to suck his thumbs, eat his fingers, or his sleeves. He would suck some but just was not nearly as thrilled about the paci as Nolan. To see him doing so well with the pacifier last night was just so exciting! It means he is maturing. That need and desire to suck before a feed and "root" for food, those are all steps to "maturing"! We were even able to get Logan to keep his hand in one spot so that he could "hold" the paci in his mouth as opposed to sucking once or twice and it flying out of his mouth! We are still unable to hold Logan due to the RV (Rhino Virus/Common Cold). Last night I was able to change his diaper and help with his hands on care. I at least get to have some contact with him that way. His nurse did take a culture yesterday to see if the RV is still hangin out. Hopefully the results will come back this afternoon/early evening and they will be NEGATIVE! It was so neat to see Logan so alert yesterday.

During his hands on care and feedings he was very into what was going on. He did not seem to be the least bit bothered by it. He was just very relaxed and went with the flow! One thing that I was just thrilled about was his amount of movement. He had wiggled himself ALL THE WAY to the bottom of his isolette. The distance from where he is normally to the bottom is about a foot but, for a baby that shouldn't even be here yet, thats pretty stinkin far to wiggle! These guys continue to amaze me on a daily basis! Considering all of the things they should not be able to do, they sure are doing a whole lot! Logan is almost on full feeds at 31mL and is doing well with them. The nurses have started running his feeds over 45 min on a pump and this has really helped with his reflux issues. I wonder how I will manage to do that at home? I am sure we will learn, even with out all of the fancy NICU equipment. Logan's isolette is set to 26.5 degrees celsius. Room temperature is between 27 and 26. Do you know what that means? It means that once Logan is able to bottle feed and off of his feed tube and over his sickness, he will be movin out of the isolette and into a BIG BOY BASSINETTE! We are very excited about all of the upcoming goals we are trying to reach!

As for Nolan, he is also surprising Mommy and Daddy more and more every day. He too was very alert last night. They are starting to actually act more and more like full term babies every day. From a respiratory stand point, the boys are definitely improving. They were maintaining a respiratory rate of anywhere from like 120bpm down to as low as like 20bpm. Full term babies will breathe at a rate of 20 bpm to 60pm. This is ideal. We were beginning to get concerned with their bpm and adding it to the list of things to stress Mommy and Daddy out during visits. Yesterday (and the day before) Nolan (Logan too) were breathing anywhere from the high 70s down to 20bpms! They are starting to "just get it". Things are clicking and starting to come together for these guys in a positive way! Nolan was, as usual, constantly looking for something to eat/suck on. This is AWESOME! The more they show they are ready to nipple, the easier it will be once we attempt it on Monday! I hope to get a couple of pictures of this main event tomorrow. Life would be so simple if there were a photographer to follow me to the NICU during my visits! :) Grandpa is a self-proclaimed photographer so, we will just have to make him come up with us a little bit more often now wont we! Last night during my visit I was able to hold Nolan.

I got to talking to his nurse and before I knew it, he had been out for about 2 almost 3 hours! His body temperature should be at 26.5 degrees celsius as a minimum but, when we checked him he was a little cold. However, he was only wearing a onesie, was wrapped in one blanket, and, was out with NO HAT! He had only dropped his temperature to 26.0. Not too shabby for this little guy at all! I put his hat on him and wrapped him extra tight. Within a half hour or so, he was right back up to where he needed to be and then some. Nolan has been actively trying to take himself off of his Nasal Cannula. I am pretty sure he is sick of having that thing blowing up his nose! Poor Guy! One step in

the right direction to losin' the tubin' was made yesterday! Nolan was not only getting 25% Oxygen through his cannula but also to his isolette. The awesome respiratory guys finally decided he proved him self ready and they shut off the oxygen to his isolette! YAY! That means that he is now only on 25% oxygen and room air (what you and I breathe) is 21%! I was so excited to hear this! Nolan also had his feeds increased and is up to 21mL every 3 hours! While Nolan is proving to be the chunkier of the two, we are starting to believe that most of his weight is from water retention. He was given an extra dose of his lasiks two days ago and continues to get them every other day. The docs are dicussing whether or not to put him on daily lasiks like his brother to rapidly decrease the edema (swelling). Nolan's ID bands were just replaced two days ago and he is already either out growing our out swelling them, one of the two. The lasiks, in my opinion, are much needed at this point. Nolan is also going to try to bottle feed on Monday....Mommy is super excited and can't wait to give it a try! :) Upcoming goals for Nolan are to master bottle feeding and get a new bed!! I think we are closer to the new bed than the bottle feeding but....it is all about patience. We are no longer on our own time but rather, Twin Time! I left the hospital around 1am and the boys were both sound asleep! I just hate leaving them. It's almost time to wake up Daddy and head up for another visit!



NWM sound asleep!

 


LLM sound asleep!