Weekend Update

First - let me address the photo situation. I know many of you are anxious to see updated pics of the boys. We've taken so many, I've decided to post them on snapfish or one of those sites. I'll publish the link in one of our next updates. Hopefully I'll get to that tonight. (By the time I get home from the hospital each day, I run out of steam pretty quickly...)

Now - on to the update for each boy from yesterday and last night.

Tommy continues to show improvement with his lungs. In fact, yesterday afternoon they dialed down the jet vent from 350 to 300 (which is a good thing). He was scheduled for another chest x-ray and blood gas check this morning, so we'll be able to post that info in our next update. Because they've limited his positions to his right side and his back (dividing the time equally), his nurse put him on a big fluffy "pillow" last night so he'd be more comfortable. He's at 8cc's with his feedings and still has some residuals here and there, but overall doing pretty well. They keep a close eye on tummy measurements - to make sure all the food is passing thru and not running into issues in their bellies. Tom's belly measurement has been a bit high, but is not raising any major concerns yet. I didn't get his weight last night when I called in to check on the boys, but as of yesterday morning, he weighed in at 2 lbs 6 2/3 oz. I got to hold Tom kangaroo style twice this weekend. I'll just keep working my way down the row to get as much "bonding" time with each one as I can.

Sammy is doing very well; we really don't have too much to report on him. They put him on a nasal cannula and took him off CPap earlier in the weekend and he's doing wonderfully on room air (no additional oxygen support). He's up to 10 cc's for his feedings (if Tim and I remember correctly...). His tummy measurements have also been a bit high, so they're watching that closely too - like Tom. Sam has gained a lot (relatively speaking) and is up to 2 lbs 7 1/3 oz as of last night.

Joey didn't receive any feedings over the weekend - as they want to conserve his energy for fighting the staph infection he's got. They believe this infection is what caused his apnea episodes last week that put him on a ventilator. He is scheduled for a scan of his belly this morning to make sure everything looks good before introducing the breast milk again. Hopefully he'll be back to eating today. He's also scheduled for an "echo". He may have the same issue with the duct from his heart that goes around his lungs not yet closing on its own (this presents as a murmur). So, like his brother Tom, he may need to go on some meds to close that duct, but the echo will tell us more. He's still doing well on room air with the vent and they turned the rate down from 30 to 25 yesterday afternoon (a good thing). His weight is up to 2 lbs 4 2/3 oz.

Henry is our champion eater - his feedings are up to 13 cc's! They actually removed the 2 nutrient IVs yesterday because he's getting all he needs from the breast milk. He is, however, demonstrating some apnea issues. He had a handful of low heart rate episodes yesterday - which required mild stimulation to "remind" him to breathe. They did some blood tests to check for infection (like with Joey) to nip this in the bud before it gets much worse. Those test results came back okay yesterday afternoon, but they're going to run the test again this morning to be on the safe side. Hank is still doing well on room air with his cannula - though when his heart rate has dropped, they bump him up to 24-25% oxygen for a few minutes to help him recover. He weighs the same as Joey: 2 lbs 4 2/3 oz.

All 4 boys are scheduled for routine head ultrasounds this morning. This is to check for any bleeds - which are typical for preemies. We'll have those results later today.

Mom was here this weekend and was able to get some serious bonding time with 3 of the 4 boys. She'll alternate weekends down here with Pat & Don. We also had a couple visitors at the hospital: Jen L. stopped by on Saturday and Cindy S. came by yesterday. Dana and Megan were on duty over in Special Care yesterday afternoon (my first room at the hospital) and came by for a short visit too. We love to have visitors - so if you'd like to meet the boys (or see them again), just let us know.

Tim drove to Michigan on Saturday. He picked up a freezer and a bunch of food from my Uncle Tim and Aunt Sarah (THANK YOU!). He also picked up a high chair and some toys from a buddy he knows from Chrysler. AND he moved my Granny's old dresser from Mom's place to Pat & Don's. Don does a wonderful job refinishing furniture and has agreed to work on this dresser for the 2nd nursery. Thank you everyone for your generosity!

I'm still sleeping at home at night (since Friday) - and it gets a little easier each day to leave the hospital. Though I hate being so far away from the boys, it is nice to be in "my own space" and I seem to rest better. I need to find that balance between taking care of the boys and taking care of myself, but it's certainly not easy. Once we get into a routine, I think it'll be easier for me to manage. Until then, we'll take it a day at a time.

Thank you to everyone that has been following our blog. It's a little overwhelming to think about the number of people that visit this site - many of whom we've never even met. All your positive thoughts and prayers have certainly helped our boys so far - we can't thank you enough for that.

Love
Kristin & Tim