Oh yeah, weights.....Connor 5lb 13oz and Logan (soon to be the 5 pounder) 4lb 14.5 oz!

Connor....home???

They started a multichannel test on Connor last night. This is a test to determine the need for an apnea monitor. It is done over 12 hours and it takes 4 hours to read. If the test shows he needs a monitor (most likely scenario) then we will be rooming in tonight to learn the monitor. Then....Connor comes home!!! WE also have to bring in the car seat for Connor to do the test in that. Since this is happening so soon, we still have to do CPR while there and watch umpteen videos. We are so excited! Cant believe this is happening.

Last night Logan decided to scare the @&*#! out of me. I had changed his diaper and taken his temperature to prepare him for his bottle. Well, the humidity in his tube went gushing into his nose and he sucked it up. He turned blue, his heart rate went down to the 30's and his respirations were 0. He just lay there gasping. I yelled for help and the nurses had to come over and started to stimulate him and suction his mouth. He had all sorts of mucous in his mouth. He finally started to regain his color and cried. I am so not ready for them to come home. What if they choke like that at home?? All of my nursing knowledge goes out the window!! I want them home so bad, but I dont. I am so afraid to have them do this stuff at home and not be able to help them.

Trevor gets to hold Connor

Trevor and Connor
"Hi little guy"

Trevor finaly had his wish come true. He got to hold his brother Connor while Daddy was feeding Logan. He did such a good job and was very good and careful with his brother. He even scorned me for using the flash on the camera, stating that "Connor doesn't like the flash." He is too cute. Today there was actual talk of Connor coming home "soon". He continues to take all of his feeds by mouth and is having less frequent bradycardias. He will hopefully be coming home on a monitor to alert us if he is having these during his feeds and sleeping. Logan will hopefully not be far behind his brother. He is having another echocardiogram on April 4th. So far he has been doing pretty good on 23% at 2 liters. He didnt tolerate room air for very long.

We are so pleased with all of thier progress.

Weights: Connor 5lb 11 oz and Logan 4lb 13 oz.

Still getting bigger! Logan is 4lb 11oz, and Connor is 5lb 10.5oz. The NG tube went back in Connor, as he needs to play catch-up and rest. Hopefully his energy will catch up with his efforts and the tube will come out all together. Logan too is pretty worn out after a marathon run of bottle feeds. He spent the majority of the day on around 23%, but got turned up to feed. He fell asleep during his feed, nipple still in the mouth. They are so stinkin cute I can't stand it.
Tonight our good friend Zach got to come and visit and was able to hold Connor. There were no order changes on the boys tonight. We are hoping 1-2 weeks for Connor to come home. Logan will definately be longer. I wish for them to be home so bad, but I want them to stay as long as necessary to be healthy.

Nursery Pictures

Here are the pictures of the nursery which was painted by Aunt Korrie and myself. I can't claim any of the animals except the clam. My absolute favorite is how we turned the light into an octopus and his head lights up light blue. The gorgeous angel fish are there in memory of Alexandra's girls Jada and Jaelynn. They will watch over the boys. I dont see how we will ever manage 2 cribs in this tiny room.

A tired, tubeless Connor

After eating all of his feeds by mouth for 24 hours, Connor got to have his NG tube removed. He was so tired during this feed that he had several heart rate drops and desaturations. Unfortunately this angelic, tubeless face will be short-lived as I am betting he will have a tube go in again tonight. Logan did his whole bottle again for me. He was so fussy and gassy (must be the broccoli I ate) so eating wasn't fun for him. But he did it!!! Also, even though the flow went up to 2 liters on his cannula, his concentration of oxygen is down to 23%. He had no desats during his feed either.

That's my boys!!

AWWWWWWWWW

Logan and Connor

Finally, here is their 9 week picture. This one you don't really notice the size difference between the two. Logan is on the left and Connor is on the right. Both boys have taken all of their feeds by mouth since yesterday. Tonight, we are going to start Connor using the Avent bottles so he is prepared when he comes home. He is still wrestling with some heart rate drops, so it could still be a little while. Logan is hogging his feeds down. He is sucking them down in 20 minutes. If we keep going at this rate the ugly NG tubes can come out! WOO HOO! Weights stayed the same this time, so we will see what they are tonight.

Introducing a five and a half pounder...

Yes, that's right, Connor is officially a 5 lb 8.2 oz (er). Logan gained .7 of an ounce and that puts him at 4lb 10.7 oz. He is such a big boy and his cheeks are filling out so well. I am working on posting the most fabulous picture of them together yet, but it will have to wait as it was taken by the NICU staff and I have to scan the actual photo. Sigh, they are just gorgeous! They had on matching outfits.
It is hard to believe this blog was started just when I first hel my guys and they were still in the 2 pound range. Now they seem so filled out and and "normal" looking.
Since I was off today, I was able to feed both boys often. WEll, we discovered a problem and think we may have fixed it. A while back I bought some Gerber Preemie bottles. I was going to take them back when the nurse said she felt the nipples the boys were currently using seemed very big for their little mouths. So I washed them and took them in......and it worked!! Both boys latched on better, didnt gag, less spilling out the sides of the mouth, and finished the bottles!!!!!!!So now I am on a mad dash to buy more so we always have clean ones on hand for the nurses. They were just the right size for my boys. I was happy too to see Connor only have one minor heart rate drop and he recovered without turning blue!! Logan dids great too, although he has always exceeded brother in this area!

Well, despite the eating difficulties, the boys are doing very well in the weight department. Logan is weighing in at 4lb 10oz and Connor is weighing in at 5lb 6 oz. The little guys are really filling out. Tonight I went out to do a little shoppign and bought the boys some little outfits for easter. Guess what????? I bought 0-3 months-not preemie!! It would be a dream to have them home by then, but if not, they will be smashing inthe NICU.

I am starting to feel a little better. I still cry at the drop of a hat and am still having a hard time dealing with the prolonged nICU time. Tonight while gavage feeding Connor, he refluxed and his heart rate dropped to the 40's, he went limp and turned bluish. I was holding the tube and unable to pick him up, so I yelled for the nurse and then cried. This is the hardest thing to see.

I promise to post pix tomorrow when we are 9 weeks old......

Ouchies and such...

Connor's weight is up to 5lb 2.5 oz. Logan was 4lb 5 oz.
Today was immunization day as the boys are 2 months old. They each had 5 to get, but had to only get 4 today since Mama Terri ran out of thigh room. When I arrived Connor had just had his and I got to love on him. He did well and Terri said he barely cried. He ate 1/2 of his bottle and decided he had expended enough energy for the night. The rest went down his tube. Next, it was Logan's turn. I was able to gently hold his arms and head and keep the paci in his mouth. He cried for each stick. It was very hard on Mama Terri and I to do this. We know it is for their own good though. After, I was able to snuggle while he got a tube feed. Connor is up to 50cc a feed and Logan is up to 37cc per feed. Connor is starting to outgrow his Preemie sleepers. Some he has "handed down" to Logan. The others fit him perfectly, but he will be out of them soon and into newborn sizes.

Still no discharge plans in motion for Connor The poor guy just has to learn to eat. Both boys are anemic and they are reluctant to transfuse more RBC's out of fear of hindering their body from making them naturally. Their bloodwork shows they are making cells, just slowly. They are both on vitamins with iron in them. The anemia causes them to tire easily. I am confident they will overcome.

Logan's repeat echo from yesterday showed no change in the ASD or 2 VSD's. His PDA is still open and measuring 2-3mm. WE are still on a "wait and see" basis.

Well, reaching the 2 month mark has really taken a toll on me. I think I have hit a wall and am sad alot lately and have shed quite a few tears. I know it is hormones and going back and forth. I am worn out physically and emotionally. I am thankful to all of the persons who give me support. You are all wonderful. This has been one of the hardest journeys of my life.

Logan and I after infant massage last night.

Connor "put 'em up"

Connor in a deep sleep

Logan looking quite surprised!!!

Connor and Nanny. This picture was taken yesterday, but I couldn't get it to post.

2 months old..

Connor's weight was up to 5lb 1.1 oz. I didn't get Logan's weight as I had to get home to give big brother a bath. Logan was stated on a 3rd diuretic to try and pull off some more fluid in his heart to try and wean him down off the oxygen. He is still on the 1 liter at 30%. The nurse tried to wean him down and he did great at 28%, so she tried 26% and he had several desats in a row and had to go back up to 30%. He did not tolerate it well. He has a repeat echocardiogram tomorrow to look at the holes and the PDA. Logan is now able to nipple as tolerated, so as long as his respirations are less than 70, he can try to eat from a bottle as often as he can.

Connor has reached 5 pounds!!!

This day (we thought seemed so far away) has finally arrived. Connor now weighs 5.03 pounds!!! Logan is now 4lb 2.4oz. Our boys have doubled their birthweights! Logan got his last bed. He is now in the open crib like Connor. Now they are able to push the cribs close together so they can see each other. Too cute. Now, if we can only fiure out the eating thing we can all be home together. It is hard to believe that tomorrow they will officially be 2 months old. We are so thankful for modern medicine and the fact that our boys have been given such a good chance.

Again we thank everyone who has donated to our March of Dimes walk. We are now up to $725. That is $225 higher than our original goal. This money goes toward further research to help preemies and better understand how their little tiny bodies work. Without their research, we wouldn't have our boys.

Off now to finish the nursery................

Connor stop eating your brother!

It was just before dinner and Connor was a bit hungry!

oh so cute....

Pic 1- Aunt Jodi and Logan

Pic 2- Logan

Pic 3 - Connor

8 weeks old today and meeting for the first time...

Logan and Connor

Today the boys are 8 weeks old. There is a whole pound difference between them. Logan is 3lb 14 oz and Connor is 4lb 14.3oz.
There are still some issues with eating. This evening, while feedign Connor, he had 3 bradycardias and turned blue. He scared me so bad. Aunt Jodi (Mommy's very good friend) came up to visit and she was able to hold Logan. We had a lot of fun taking these pictures of the boys together.

Finally, Connor's precious little gas smile!!!
Connor after his bath. This is Mama Sandy a frequent evening shift nurse.

Connor was so kind to christen the NICU floor with a great stream of urine which I managed to get a priceless picture of. I wont post it though due to it having him in his birthday suit. It will make great bribery material when he is a teenager!!

Logey was asleep the whole time, so we let him have his peace. Tomorrow will post pix of him!

Twin meets twin....

Something about you seems so familiar.....
Are you my Aunt Korrie?????

Tonight Aunt Korrie (my twin) got to hold Connor for the first time. This was the first time Connor had been held by anyone other than John and I. He just nestled right in. Connor was looking great without his oxygen tube, but there is still the darn feeding tube. Speech therapy came today to assess his suck reflex. He has a bit of work to do in that department. Logan will be assessed tomorrow. So we stuck around for Connors bath and he is up to 4lb 11.9oz!!! HOLY COW he is getting sooo big. There is even talk of discharge plans.

Logan was just chillin out tonight. His weight last night was 3lb 14.9 oz. He is just a smidge away from 4 lbs. He has been havign some episodes of reflux lately and he gets dusky as his SATS fall. WE are hoping this will resolve on its own soon.

The boys are doing well. Tonight we met with the PT/ OT therapist who talked to us about different developmental positions and milestones. WE also discussed speech therapy and getting signed up for First Steps, which is a developmental program that offers in-home therapy. She stated both boys had very good head control and tracking with their eyes. Next Tuesday we will meet and learn about doing infant massage.
Logan is still doing well on the one liter. He has had a couple of reflux episodes where he gags and then turns blue and he desats rapidly. We have to turn him on his side and rub his back to get him to recover. It is scary as he did this yesterday and he spit up projectile. I hope we get that worked out. All in all they are wonderful.

I wanted to post pictures, but it isn't allowing uploads at the time. Try tomorrow!

Special thanks to everyone who has or is donating for the March of Dimes. We are walking on April 29. So far $525 has been raised! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!

Connor is off of his oxygen!!!! He is doing it all on his own and is keeping his sats in the 96-97% range! Time to get those crib sheets washed and the nursery tip-top! I think we are on the home stretch. He still needs some help with nippling. He is just chewing on the nipple of the bottle. they are going to have speech therapy work with him a bit. When he eats all of his feeds by bottle we can come home!!! They even mentioned Logan coming home, but possibly on oxygen (ACK!!!) He is doing well too. Still on the 1 liter.

Lots of changes today..

Just when I go and worry to death about Logan, he turns around and makes a huge leap!!! Our boy is at 3lb 13 oz!!! He has really started to accumulate the fat in the last 2 days also. He had his oxygen lowered to 1 liter per minute nad is so far tolerating it well. He took 1/2 his bottle for me this morning. To both boys defenses, they had glycerine suppositories this a.m. and were trying to poop and eat at the same time. It wasn' t working.
Connor has been moved into an open crib- the last bed before going home!! His meds have pretty much been all discontinued with the exception of his Lasix (changed to only once a day). His oxygen has been lowered to the low flow cannula and he is on .5 liters per minute and will be weaned down throughout the day. He could be off oxgen all together by the end of the week!!! He is eating every-other feed by bottle too. His weight is up to 4lb 5.8 oz. They said he may lose a little since he has to maintain his temp and breathe, but we will see tonight.

Connor Pix

Connor having a cuddle with Dad
Connor getting a bath by Mom and Dad

Connor's weight was up to 4lb 4.4 oz. He is getting some serious fat on him. Look at those thighs!! It appears there is a slight umbilical hernia, but not bad. Maybe we will call him butterball since it pops out as he cries and when he tries to poop. He continues to do very well!

Logan Pix

Logan gets his smile on!
Logan eating his bottle

Little Lo did well with his bottle tonight. After finishing one yesterday for Mom, it was a lot of work to get it all down today. He took over half and then he needed the rest in his tube. He is getting so big-we will have his weight tomorrow. Last weight was 3lb 8.9oz. WE finally caught a "smile" on film.

Seven weeks tomorrow!!!!

Here are my little peanuts who will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. They are getting so big! Little Connor is up to 4lb 2.4 oz and Logan is 3lb 8.7oz. Logan finally got over the 3 1/2 pound mark. WEll, as Logan continues to lag behind and the gap between them continues to widen, we are havign to rethink the possibility of surgery again for the PDA. Logan is using up his calories to breath and he continues to be on the 30% of oxygen. He has not been able to be weaned. I will wait to hear what the Dr has to say tomorrow. Logan is just at a stand still when Connor seems to be taking off so quickly. The Nurses are showing the clinical evidence that the PDA is taxing his development and that if we can eliminate that on the heart, as this is the least invasive, it would be beneficial to him. WEll see. For now, they are so cute I just can't stand it. The picture of Logan is horizontal and the one of Connor is vertical.

Looks like we're going backward again...

OK, I am going to be with my boys tonight. I haven't seen them in a couple of days and I miss them. Well, Connor reached 4 lbs today. His weight was 4lb 0.3 oz. the nurses felt he had some fluid on board and they though possibly he might lose some weight because he was looking a little puffy. Logan lost weight again and he seems to be stuck in his current groove. He is now 1/2 a pound behind Connor and has not been able to be weaned off of the 30%. Despite the fact that he is on 27 calories per ounce and eats every three hours, he is not gaining weight the way we would like. I spoke to the nurse who feels I need to speak with the neonatologist about possibly reconsidering the PDA surgery. We will surely see. I hope to return from tonights visit with pix to post and an update. Logan is our little choo choo, I think I can, I think I can.....

Today Trevor and I are home sick. It started in the night, fevers, coughing, sore throats and Trevor's asthma is acting up. When we woke up there was a message from the hospital and my heart nearly fell-I thought something happened. Well, they wanted to know if I would let them use a new machine that tests for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) on the eyes. Since the boys just had an eye exam, they wanted to correlate the results to see how accurate it was on preemies. It is less invasive than the exam the DR does. I said "Sure"! I let them know I ran a fever last night and I held Logan. They said they will watch him and so now I cant go up there today to see them.
On a lighter note, we are being sponsored by our credit union (where aunt Korrie works) for WalkAmerica. This is the March of Dimes annual walk. We are walking on April 29, 2006. The link is.........www.walkamerica.org/86kellygirl Feel free to go out and check up on our progress!
We are very excited about this.
Both boys keep plugging away. Connor is up to 3lb 15 oz. They weighed him 3X because they couldn't believe his weight. Logan was up just 10 grams and is 3lb 7.7oz. They are getting so big now!

getting bigger...

Connor is up to 35 cc per feed and he was eating every-other feed by bottle yesterday. He finally pooped out at his 11pm feed and has rested since. His weight is up to 3lb 10.9 oz. Logan took 2 feeds by bottle yesterday and is up to 3lb 7.2 oz. Connor continues room air at 1 liter. Logan is still on 30%.

Little hi, little lo

How are those for nicknames?? Sis Diana called to check on little "Lo" and it dawned on me that in utero, they were high (Connor) and low (Logan). So, here are todays highs and lows.....

Little HI

Weights: Logan 3lb 5.7 oz. Connor 3lb 10.7 oz. Both boys are doing well. They are eating their bottles well, but Connor gets pooped remembering to suck, swallow, and breath. We are reminded that he is on room air though. I spoke with the neonatologist who said Logan's echo showed his PDA as a moderate size, but the enlargement of the heart was not noted this time. For now surgery is being held off. He will have a repeat echo in a week or so. If he continues to require the higher oxygen and is not able to be weaned, we will evaluate a need to ligate (surgically close) the PDA at a little later date. GOOD NEWS!!!

Little LO

Ugh, had to go back to work today. I was so sad. I kept looking at my boys pictures and wanting to run away to see them. I hate how my going back to work is good for everyone else but myself. (sorry, had to have my own pity party) SIGH...

Daddy is out of town for a trip for school to Alabama where he is reenacting various civil rights movements and doing community service in a poor section of the city. For this week, he will keep a journal of his experiences and will recieve a credit as a 400 level class. WE miss him.

Pressing forward

Connor
Logan

Wow. These two have come a long way in their 6 weeks of life. They look like such older babies. I am astounded at how much more they look alike with each passing day.

Connor is up to a whopping 3lb 10.5 oz. He is gaining weight so fast. On the down side, due to the changes made to his oxygen, he is having to work a bit harder to maintain his blood oxygen levels. This is causing some bradycardias (heart rate drops) and desaturations. Because of this, it is interrupting his suck, swallow, breathe pattern and making him regress a bit in his nippling. This is ok though, the nurses feel that he will catch himself up soon as he learns his new responsibilities on room air.

Logan has caught himself up in the nippling department. He is finishing all but 6 cc of milk in his bottle. He has a great rhythm going once he gets his mouth open and the nipple in. Tonight he remained wide awake through the whole feed. His weight is now up to 3lb 4.7 oz. He required a little bit of oxygen support for his feed, but all in all he had no desats or bradys while feeding. He has had no more PVC's or strange arrythmias for two whole days now. His Xopenex (breathing) treatments were stopped last week, and since that change, his arrythmias have slowed then stopped. We are thankful for that. Still waiting on the official report on wether Logan will have surgery to close his PDA.

So that's all we know for now folks. Thanks for checking in on us!

Today we are 6 weeks old

Wow! I can hardly believe that 6 weeks has flown by so fast! It seems like yesterday that these two cuties came into our lives. This also means that it is time for me to go back to work. I will miss them so much, not being able to do that 11 o'clock feed on Connor and then steal some snuggles after that. Not snuggling Logan afterward. I love leaving with their smell on me.

Well, Logan has finally reached to 3lb 3oz. Connor lost a bit and is down to 3lb 4oz. Both now get to wear clothes on a regular basis and have had their isolet temps turned down. They love being dressed and it actually seems to calm them.

Still no word on the echo and if surgery is a "for sure" thing. WE are waiting for the neonatologist, Dr Leezer, to get together with Dr Ghazali and the surgeon to discuss things. Of course I will report when there is a definate decision.

Both boys now are up to an ounce at each feed. Today Connor finished his early bottle and Logan ate 20 of the 30cc. He is really showing off that he can hang with his brother.

Logan's day

Today was Logans day in the spotlight. He was able to sport some clothes while Mom and Dad held him and he was able to try a bottle today. He is allowed to try one bottle a day. He took in 9 of the 28cc he gets. He did a good job trying. Dad also got to hold Logan for the first time today. Mom also got to give him his first kiss from me (Connor gets those everyday). Little Connor just wasn't too into his bottle today and left behind a couple ml that had to go down his NG tube. He was sporting yet another adorable preemie outfit and has created quite the pile of laundry for me. He was so wide awake (see picture), but then he pooped out when it was time to eat. He is doing so good on his 1 liter and is just on a whif (23%) of oxygen. Soon he will be in the open bassinet bed.
Logan had his echo today, and the preliminary report is looking like he will likely have surgery next week. I will know more tomorrow when the official report is back in. That is all we know for now.

yesterdays news

Well, weight wise, Connor is up to 3lb 7.2 oz and Logan remained at 3lb 2 oz. Logan's feeds have also been increased a bit to 28cc. We have the Echocardiogram today to determine if Logan needs surgery. Keep our fingers crossed. Connor is doing very well with 2 bottles a day so soon he might be on 3! That is all for now, will post later when we hopefully have the results of the echo.