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!