31 Weeks & All's Well

Over the past week both boys have been steadily gaining weight and tolerating full feeds. Kyle now weighs 1460g (3 lb 3 oz) and Christopher has reached 1330g (2 lb 15 oz). Was it only 6 weeks ago they were half this size?
On Wednesday Kyle started breathing with the same biphasic system that Christopher has been on for the past two weeks. Now their heads and faces are hidden from us by their padded helmets so all we get to see are puffy eyes and puffy cheeks. One side effect of the humid biphasic system is that extra fluids accumulate throughout their bodies creating puffiness everywhere. A much nicer consequence is that we can now hold the boys outside their isolettes once per day. Christine has been able to hold Christopher several times over the past week and today I got to hold Kyle for his (and my) first time!

Kyle's chubby cheeks
Christopher returns to his isolette
Chubby leg
Hands

A Good Weekend

After last weekend's difficulties, it was nice to see the boys doing so much better! The medication seems to be doing its work. Christopher was off food for several days until Tuesday when he was healthy enough to start again. By the middle of next week he should be back to his normal size feedings. Despite his infections, Kyle has been gaining weight steadily. He's now ahead of Christopher because he was healthy enough to keep eating despite his infections. And is he ever eating! Kyle is up to 1280 grams or a little over 2 3/4 pounds. He's so fat he can't keep his tongue in his mouth. OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration. He's retaining fluids right now which should be resolved in a few days.


Here Mommy gets to hold 1100g Christopher for some "Kangaroo care" (skin to skin contact). He cried twice when he was being moved, not much more than little whimpers! I had never heard him make sounds before. Christine is now allowed to hold him every day as part of his daily care plan. His flexible biphasic breathing device allows him some "out of the pen" time on days when he is strong enough. Of course, moving all his wires and tubes is a lot of work for the nurses. Many thanks Josephine!

5 Weeks Old

Infections all around! Over the past 5 days both boys have had their share of infections. Actually I'm getting confused as to who has what. Strep B, sepsis, UTIs. On Wednesday the doctors told us that Kyle's lumbar puncture indicated that he had meningitis. OK, now this is definitely not something that a parent wants to hear! But today Christine was told that they now believe there was some contamination in the sample so a second LP sample will have to be taken and cultured. Whatever.......

Meanwhile the boys look better again. Both are lively, over 1100 grams and fattening up enough to look like cute "real" babies. Here Christopher gives his father the eye indicating that someone should be stop bothering him and leave him to sleep.


And Kyle shows that guys can have a softer side.

Another Weekend, Another Battle

When we saw Christopher Saturday morning he was abnormally quiet, not responsive, very pale and his heart rate was 190-200 beats per minute (normal is 150-170). We spoke with the doctors when we saw them during rounds about 20 minutes later and asked about his condition. Christopher shortly received blood work, a lumbar puncture, broad spectrum antibiotics and later a blood transfusion. Because his breathing tube was leaking he was switched to a larger, big boy size tube. A change of ventilators helped remove his excess CO2. By the time we left about 10 hours later he was exhausted but looked much, much better. On Sunday Christopher was even more improved and by Monday he was almost normally active but puffy due to side effects from medication.

Kyle, on the other hand, spent Saturday and Sunday resting and behaving himself for a change while his brother received most of the attention. However, on Monday Christine noticed that Kyle was lethargic, pale and had a higher than normal heart rate. Sound familiar??? She let the doctors know of her observations and with the support of the nurses got Kyle on antibiotics. He was already better Monday evening but will also stay on antibiotics for two weeks. Yes, Strep B again.......

The good news is that the meds will hopefully buy the boys another few weeks without too many surprises. And both boys now weigh around one kilogram! The bad news is the side effects of some medications can be quite nasty. Retaining fluids can really, really suck!

Four Weeks Old. Big Changes!

Thursday was the boyz' 4 week birthday. To celebrate how far they've come I've posted before (July 16th) and after (August 13th) pictures. We're so proud of them!!!

Kyle weighed 700g when he was born. He lost weight during he first week but as of last night he was up to 920g. And he consumes 12cc of fortified Momma's milk every 2 hours.
















Chris almost broke the scales at a whopping 710g on July 16th. He's now at 940g and guzzling 13cc per feed.



















Does anyone else notice that these cuties look a little alike? :-)

Busted! Preemie in Prison!

Naughty Kyle was caught trying to escape from his breathing apparatus! He's been sentenced to being tied down - at least until he figures out how to pull a Houdini from this new rig.

On a scary note, he managed to drop to 4% oxygen (ideal is 88-94%) this morning before the nurses resuscitated him. Just a breathing tube that needed repositioning......

Big Boys in the NICU

Tuesday was a good day. Both boys are gaining weight and seem to be progressing well. Kyle weighed in at 910g and Christopher was 930g last night. For the older readers (which is most of us), that's slightly more than an amazing 2 pounds!!!

It's taken almost four weeks to get there but it's days like this that make it worthwhile. High fives all around!

Kyle caught on video trying to hide from the paparazzi.


Sorry, still practicing with the video camera and converting mp4 to avi. If you have any suggestions about the conversion process, please let me know.

Better News

Victims of the NICU rollercoaster

We are very relieved that Kyle is looking much better this morning after his second blood transfusion. The doctors now don't think he has an infection but believe that yesterday's spells were breathing related. X-rays of his lungs showed signs of chronic lung disease (BPD) which unfortunately is common for such premature babies that rely on mechanical ventilation and extra oxygen for breathing. Changing the position of his breathing tube has allowed him to breathe more easily with fewer O2 swings.

Next week another X-ray is likely and based on those results Kyle might be switched to a jet ventilator which might reduce the amount of damage to his lungs.

On a happier note, Christine and I were able to hold Christopher for the first time outside of the incubator. He is doing surprisingly well (we think) for being on the CPAP device.

Another Call from the NICU

At 7:15 on Saturday night we received a call from the NICU about Kyle. He is receiving another blood transfusion as well as antibiotics. They described him as being lethargic and had to turn his O2 up to 90% which is very unusual. Normally Kyle is in the 25 - 30% range. The doctors don't yet know what is wrong and we hope that the cultures come back quickly. 48 hours is a long time to wait.

Please hang in there dear son! Mommy and Daddy need you here with your brother Christopher.

New Head Gear

Saturday brought more changes. Christopher swapped out the oscillating ventilator for a biphasic CPAP Friday evening. Wazzat you say? How about a different type of breathing apparatus. It means that Christopher is trying to breathe by himself with less assistance from machines. Baby steps!

Christopher shows off his Vader helmet


Kyle seemed a little quiet today. His O2 level dropped dangerously low or "desatted" while I was watching. Temporarily turning up his incoming oxygen resolved this fairly common problem.

Happy 3 weeks!

The boys popped into this world 3 weeks ago Thursday. This makes them 27.5 weeks gestational age. Both Kyle and Christopher are at full feeds of 9 ml of mother's precious milk every 2 hours. Both boys weigh in at 830 g. So now it's an even race to the finish as they bulk up before they come home.

Christopher tackles Daddy's finger



Kyle Rests (For a Change)


The spotted white bean bags leaning against the boys are lovingly called "frogs". They are used to support little body parts and also help to control flailing which consumes precious calories.

NICU Daily News

We've spent the past 6 days in the NICU watching the boys sleeping, eating, being changed and sleeping some more. Here's how we pass the time.......

Sleepy Boys
Taking advantage of breaks in between periods of holding, the boys assume their favourite positions.


Busy hands in the NICU
Christine giving her first sponge bath while nurse Tori assists.


Daddy changing his first diaper in the incubator
Come on - this is tough! You must remember to put one hand in each door or the nurses will laugh at you. And you have to fold the preemie diapers to make them smaller so that they fit the little guys properly. Mommy's already a pro. :)