Daddy's Turn!

Big news of the day...Daddy got to hold Elsie!

Nurse Barbara making the transfer

First snuggles

One happy Daddy!

Hopefully today Miguel can hold the boys as well!  I am still enjoying lots of kangaroo care with the babies, which the nurses like to do for about 90 min at a time, so it feels the day flies by between care time and holding babies!  Almost like a normal day :)  And the babies are becoming more responsive and alert during holding times.

Danny with his eyes wide open during Mommy time - he kept trying to turn his head and look up

Elsie looking alert during kangaroo care

The other big news is that all babies are now at a full feed, so all of their PICC lines have come out!  The nurses put an added protein fortifier in my breast milk in hopes of bulking them up, so we are noticing even in the last 2 days a difference in their legs and faces.  

Now that they are on full feeds, they are acting like normal babies and getting fussy as feeding time approaches.

Mommy soothing Danny as he fusses close to care time

Elsie super relaxed right after feeding time

Every picture of Sammy is the same...sleeping.  He likes to eat, and he likes to sleep.  The boy knows what he wants.  Although he does fuss on and off throughout the day, it is usually when he is disturbed from this pattern of eating and sleeping :)

Sammy sleeping

A rare view of Sammy awake and opening his eyes!

And he is sleeping again...

This is his 'Shhh everyone, I am sleeping' look...

Looking forward to celebrating another milestone tomorrow with 3 weeks!

Elsie leads the charge!

Day 18 today!

So not a lot of variety in today's blog, the doctors still have the 2 main objectives of upping their breast milk intake and getting them off the ventilators.

We extubated Sammy on Monday, and he moved to CPAP, which means he has to do all the breathing on his own.  The mouth tube comes out, and is replaced with little oxygen nose tubes that provide oxygen support without breathing for him.  He tried hard for a solid 12 hours, but had to be reintubated late Monday night because he was getting pale in color from working so hard to breathe on his own.  Even though they told us it is very common for preemies to not be able to do it on the first try, it was a rough day for us emotionally when we had to see him struggle to breathe.  We will try Sammy again in a few days.

Danny is looking like he will get his chance off the tube later today or tomorrow.  He had a little pneumonia and they want to make sure he has full capacity before making him do all the extra work.  He is the fussiest of the crew, and so it is also important that he is ultra comfortable before this big transition.

And then there is Miss Elsie Mae...leaving the boys in the dust! (She knows this may be the only time in her life she has the advantage since there are two of them and she is taking charge!)  Elsie jumped to CPAP on Monday evening and is doing fantastic.  Breathing on her own, low oxygen settings, and resting comfortably with good color.  They have also upped her feedings and so her PICC line was taken out because she no longer needs additional IV nutrition now that she is tolerating a good amount of breast milk.  Without the vent tube and the IV line and all the wires associated she is looking naked and we love it!  She only has the body temperature sensor and the oxygen sensor now, which means easier transfer for skin to skin time :)

I have now gotten to hold all 3 babies, so in my eyes it's been a great few days.  This bonding time has also helped my postpartum and has almost doubled my milk production so it's a win win all around!

Here are a few pics...

Danny - VOGUE!

Danny with his eyes wide open 

Danny in his Blueberry hat!

Danny wrapped in his swaddling cocoon!

Mommy and Danny snuggling for the first time!

Big yawn for Elsie

My little flower hat

Mommy's first hold with Elsie

Cuddling with my Carrot hat on!

2 days in a row Sammy gets to snuggle Mommy!  Yaa!

Sammy likes to scoot down and throw his feet off the bed!

Or to pull his foot out of the covers :)

Look at Sammy's cool Apple hat!

Even when Sammy's locked down in the bed he manages to scoot down to hang his feet!

2 WEEKS OLD!

Get your tissues out...
I got to hold Sammy today! I've been waiting 14 days to hold any of my babies!!!

In preparation for Sammy to come off the vent in the next few days, they switched him to a different vent that monitors how much breathing is actually his and how much is the vent working.  Because of this, he has a little less tubing and Nurse Donna said if he was stable throughout the day we could try skin to skin care.  We got the blood work back mid afternoon and we were a go.  I got to sit holding him for a little over an hour.  

He did great, and Donna was able to lower his oxygen input to the lowest it has ever been.  It is amazing how the human body is meant to help a baby stabilize and thrive. He also did all the things a baby is supposed to do to breastfeed which is encouraging since preemies don't always evolve to feeders since they have a long delay before their first available moment.  Because they are still on small specific amounts of feeds, I am not allowed to let them feed as that would be comparable to eating 6 gallons of milk in one sitting. :) 

Here are a few more pics... (notice he is wearing Judy's homemade 'apple' hat!!!)

Also, it is funny to note that the entire time Sammy cuddled with me, both Elsie and Danny had almost identical stats of heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation percentages.  The nurse said this is common with multiples, and is wicked cool in my eyes.

Until Elsie and Danny come off the jet vents, I won't be able to hold them, but it won't be long, and it will be just as enjoyable!

I really thought this would be a super emotional experience and I would cry the whole time.  I've been struggling with some Postpartum this last week times 3 and it seems everything else has made me cry.  I tie my shoe. I cry.  I eat my turkey sandwich.  I cry. I blow my nose.  I cry. Miguel keeps reminding me that pumping should be enjoyable.  I cry. Ok maybe I should be crying about that one! All this crying is utterly ridiculous, but the doctor said to expect this as I am technically losing 3 pregnancies at once and all the hormones that go with them.  But holding Sammy was so exciting and unexpected that I couldn't help but just be elated the entire time. And I felt great the rest of the day as well. 

The doctors think Danny might have a little pneumonia in his left lung, so we are doing some cultures and x-rays to treat that.  Thankfully, it doesn't appear to be bothering his comfort level, and he continues to stabilize and enjoy nap times. He also likes to be the surprise pee and pooper when you are in doing his diaper change.  He got Mommy good the other day when he pooped in one direction and shot up pee in the other at the same time.  Glad he is in an enclosure or that could've been messy on Mommy!  Here are a few highlights from the last few days :)

Miss Elsie is doing well also, and will most likely jump directly to the Cpap setting in the next 1-2 days.  This will mean she will be extubated and we will hear her when she cries.  She is also done with light treatments, so now she gets to show off her pretty eyes all day. The boys each have both eyes open now too, but not this wide, and not as alert.

 

Can't believe they are 2 weeks old today!  Another milestone!  Looking forward to the next one!

Hands, Feet, Eyes, and Mouths!

So what is more difficult than trying to get the hand prints and foot prints on 3 micro preemies?  Not much I say, not much at all.  They were fairly cooperative with their feet, but holding all 5 fingers out on each 1lb 10oz baby was challenging to say the least.  Patience was the key and Miguel proved to be more patient than them.  And me. :)

So we now have a total of 4 eyes open...67% of the way there!  Sammy and Danny each have an eye open and Elsie is leading the charge with both open for several days now.  We've been taking lots of pics trying to catch an eye fully open, but they are quick little rascals!

All babies are increasing feeds every day.  Sammy is almost at a full feed and we can see his body plumping up.  He gets 11ml every 4 hours.  Danny is in a close second with 10ml every 4 hours, and Elsie is up to 4ml every 4 hours.  Because she was smaller at birth, her stomach and intestines were not as fully developed and she just needs extra time to get there.  But the fact that she is taking 4 and not spitting it up and still pooping are all signs of progress.  I put pictures of their boards from today to see their current weights.  Danny is getting close to 2 lbs (900 grams=2lbs)

The doctors and nurses continue to wean down their ventilators so that the babies are challenged to do more breathing on their own.  Baby steps here in order to be successful. Feeding and ventilators are still the main focus of the doctors until each baby is off the vent.  Sammy tried to get off the vent on his own today when he decided to pick up his head and turn it to the other side.  This was no easy feat!  He probably has double his body weight in tubes to pull with him.  Apparently he was determined.

Enjoy the pics (since that is what you are all here for)  ;)

Miss Elsie Mae's prints & goggles that are retired now that she is done with light therapy.

Daddy with Elsie

Elsie with both peepers open and a fancy new hat the volunteers made.  Hopefully Judy's carrot hat will fit soon! 

Elsie's board today at what would have been 26 weeks

Mom and Dad with Sammy 

Dad and Nurse Donna getting Sam's right handprint

Sammy's board today

Sammy resting peacefully :)

Danny during care time

Danny giving the touchdown arms

Danny's board today - 800 grams!  

We were given an Edible Arrangement and the card reads 'For the fruits of your labor'

Ups and Downs

The first 72 hours of life, the doctors say the babies go through a 'honeymoon' phase.  This meaning they don't realize they are out of the womb, and so their vitals stabilize.  After this, the babies will experience some minor setbacks as they adjust to learning to do everything on their own outside the womb.  We have seen this a bit the last 3-4 days as they get a dip in body temp, or drop in oxygen when they are awake and getting care.  Alarms go off and it is a little nerve wracking, but it usually resolves quickly.   It appears they are most stable during the resting times between care which happens every 4 hours (1 hour of care, 3 hours of rest).

Because of this, all 3 babies now are on the 'jet' or 'oscillating' respirators.  This ventilator shoots small steady bursts of air into their lungs instead of a big, regular breath.  So they look like their little chests are vibrating.  The doctors say this mode of delivery is less invasive and can minimize the inflammation caused by respiratory therapy.  The doctors say the next 1-2 weeks they have but one mission and that is to get all 3 babies off the ventilators.  Miguel and I are hoping all 3 babies are cooperative participants in this plan.  Only time shall tell.

Both of Elsie Mae's eyes are officially open.  YAAAAA!  Sadly, she is still on photo light therapy and therefore wears her sunglasses all the time so we don't always get to see them.  Danny is opening the corner of his left eye in the last 24 hours, and we are hoping to see his little peeper soon as well.  He does this eyebrow raise to try to open it that is so adorable.  Sammy has zero interest in opening his eyes as this would mean he would need to be awake more and he thoroughly enjoys his sleep.

Feeding has increased in all babies, and they each get milk every 4 hours.  Sammy is now eating 9ml each feeding, Danny eating 8ml each feeding, and Elsie eating 3ml each feeding.  As long as each baby continues to tolerate feeding (no spit ups and consistent poops), the doctors add 1-2 mls everyday at rounds.  This is fantastic and will bulk up the babies a little.  We have seen the effect already as yesterday all three babies hit their birth weight again!  (on average babies lose 20% of their weight in the first week and then work back up)

Tuesday is day 10 of life, and now that they just hit their birth weight we are going to get their hand prints and foot prints done.  I am looking forward to doing that when we get to the hospital today.

I really want to give a shout out to my most amazing husband.  Miguel is driving us back and forth, packing and carrying numerous bags in and out of the hospital daily, enforcing rest times for his stubborn wife, setting up and cleaning up my pump parts every 2 hours, walking all visitors on and off the NICU floor all day, doing all the baby laundry the hospital sends home, learning about every machine and term associated with the babies so he can ask the right questions and know the settings, standing guard over all 4 of us for the 12 hours a day we are in the NICU, participating in the rounds with the doctors every morning, and anything else he feels Superman would do in this situation.  I really don't know what I'd do without him.  I am so blessed <3

Here are some pics :)

Danny enjoying his tummy time (look at that bum!)

Danny trying hard to open his eyes 

Elsie showing off her peeper

Elsie loving her light therapy.  She goes from all curled up to completely sprawled out when the light hits her.  She will be a beach girl I think, thankfully she has Miguel's skin.

Sammy loving his nap time :)

This little doll is a sock.  It is thicker than Sammy's body, and almost as long. I will continue to use this as a size indicator :)