Buy One Get Two Free!: 7 WEEKS!

It really is astonishing to think we have been here for 7 weeks. We just keep chugging along...

Babies are getting spoiled getting some extra holding time in with visitors

Vavo holding Danny

Pedro holding Sammy

Our new medical term for the day for all you blogettes is bradycardic. By definition it means when your heart rate slows below 60 beats per minute, or a fainting spell. A preemie heart rate is usually between 140 and 180 beats per minute, so when they 'brady', their heart rate falls so much that their premature bodies can't self recover, leading to no heart rate and therefore no oxygen being pumped through their body. Our NICU nurses are in the isolette within seconds stimulating the baby with back rubbing, talking loudly, turning on the bright lights, lifting the baby to a sitting position, anything that makes the baby's brain wake up and tell its heart to start beating again. These methods are usually very effective, and are commonly used a few times a day per baby at this age. We are told that around 35 weeks their brains will be developed enough to know to breathe and keep their heart beating and these spells should fade.

That being said, we had a bit of a harrowing day yesterday. A reminder that although we have been here 7 weeks, and in the grand scheme of things the trips are doing well, we are not out of the woods yet. The nurse had to call a 'staff assist' on Danny today for an extended brady he was not bouncing back from. She hit a button on the wall that basically summons every doctor, nurse, and respiratory person to the room. Within 6 seconds there were 15 people racing through the door to assist. Watching them bag his lifeless body until it is bright red with oxygen saturation is nothing a mother wants to see. He recovered and did well for the rest of the day.

OK, back to the happy stuff. We decorated the babies' isolettes with pictures of Mommy, Daddy, Yoshi, Emmie and each of their brothers and sister. Now when they are laying on their backs they can see their family :)

I got to do kangaroo care with both Danny and Sammy today. This was awesome. That multiple bond everyone talks about is definitely the real deal. I held them for 2.5 hours. The first 2 hours they couldn't get enough of each other, touching and cuddling. Then at the 2 hour mark, Sammy planted both hands on Danny's face and pushed himself in the other direction. He'd had enough of that. Here are some pics.