The Eyes Have It

According to today's examination Kyle's eyes are much better after last week's laser surgery. They seem to be healing well and will continue to be checked each week. Kyle's starting to slowly gain again and weighs in at 2250g. He is still on biphasic CPAP in the NICU but improving. Is that a wee birth mark on your thigh little buddy?

Christopher has one eye that seems to have abnormal growth due to ROP. The results of next Monday's appointment will determine whether he also needs laser treatment. This morning the doctors decided to challenge Christopher's breathing. They took him off CPAP and placed him full time on the nasal cannula. As of this evening he is handling this latest breathing method well and measures 2195g. The preemie roller coaster dictates that he will have the surgery next week, mess up his breathing and won't gain weight for another week. Until then, rest up Christopher!

35 Weeks

Christopher continues adjust well to the nasal cannula spending up to four hours per day on it. He now weighs 2090g! For the past week, he has been spending an hour or two of private time per day with Christine. He has been restless the past few evenings when Mommy goes home but once in her arms he calms right down. From today's photos you can see that it has been paying off. This is what it's all about!


Kyle lost a bit of weight and is 2240g now. Since Wednesday he has moved from ventilator to jet ventilator to biphasic CPAP but is still in his isolette in Level 3. With today's move to the flexible head gear we can once again hold him. He has recovered slowly from the anesthetic but is back on full feeds now. We hope that in a few days Kyle will be back on regular CPAP and can then return to the Annex with Christopher.

10 Weeks - Already?!

Our boys have been through so much over the past 10 weeks. We are so proud of both of our big little fighters!

Kyle had his laser eye surgery Wednesday morning to treat his ROP. We hope that his vision will be as close to normal as possible and will not have to have to undergo further operations. To understand ROP better please see http://www.schepens.com/retinopathy_of_prematurity.htm
Kyle started to wake up Thursday evening and should be switched from the ventilator tube to CPAP later today. The doctors will also try to see if he can tolerate his feeds again. Hopefully he will be moved from Level 3 to the Annex with Christopher tonight. Kyle weighs about 2.2kg now. He is now one of the "giant babies" we remember seeing 10 weeks ago now that he has returned to an isolette in Level 3!


Since his last infection Christopher has been gaining weight steadily and last night weighed just over 2 kg! His breathing also has improved as he matures. The nurses remove his cap and CPAP for several minutes during handling times to clean him and test how he copes with breathing on his own. Oxygen from a face mask is positioned nearby during this period.
Earlier this week Christopher started being taken off CPAP for first an hour then two hours once per day and breathes with low-flow nasal cannula. This is a plastic tube that wraps over the ears and delivers oxygen directly into the nose through two small prongs. It is the final step on his way to breathing without mechanical assistance.
Additionally, Christopher can be held by Christine when he is on low-flow and is being introduced to breast feeding, a new experience for both mother and son. At this preemie age he has problems with breathing, sucking and swallowing at the same time. But he is improving every day.

34 Weeks +

Christopher made it to his new crib on Sunday! Both boys are in massive pediatric cribs designed for much older children. They might be moved to smaller ones if they become available and if the boys stay long enough. We hope not!

New beds mean new clothes. Here's Christopher in an outfit that Kyle's already worn. Don't worry Christopher, you've had your share of firsts and you'll have many more.


Kyle will be going to Sick Kids hospital on Tuesday for a second opinion about his eyes. The doctor examined him Monday and thinks that he will require laser eye surgery for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). It is a fairly common, 15 minute procedure that usually has good results. We will have to wait to see if Kyle and possibly Christopher will wear glasses at an early age.





We love you all you boys.

Kyle's Groovy Threads

We're in the Annex now! Christopher and Kyle were moved there Thursday night from the noisy Level 3 NICU. The Annex is a smaller quieter area where stable, lower maintenance babies are held as they progress towards the Level 2 nursery. The boys will be there for possibly a few weeks until they are no longer breathing with CPAP assistance.
Christopher weighs 1770g on his way to 4 pounds and Kyle is 2070g. Since Kyle has been staying in the steel crib he's enjoyed modeling various haute couture designs.

Changes

We're past 33 weeks and the boys will be 9 weeks old on Thursday. How time seems to fly now!

Christopher has been growing slowly but steadily up to his current weight of 1690g. The nurses can no longer find veins for IV antibiotics so he now receives them in his thighs. Fortunately he only has another 5 days to go to be drug free again. Tonight I videotaped our angry little boy flipping his head from one side to face down for a minute to his other side and back again. I have never seen him so active! He really didn't appreciate the prone position before dinner. Once the nurse moved him onto his back Christopher calmed down nicely. He has been on "room air" (no extra oxygen) since Monday so we are hoping that he can be graduated soon from biphasic to basic CPAP.

Kyle, on the other hand, really has turned out to be a sausage! He now weighs 1980g, just shy of 2 kilos. Early Monday he was evicted from his isolette and transferred to an open air crib. Now behind bars, he is also forced to wear baby clothes for the remainder of his sentence. Unfortunately it's harder to see him as they hang a dark sheet over top of the crib shielding him from the bright lights. Kyle still needs supplemental oxygen with his biphasic so we have an odd situation where the heaviest baby needs the most assistance. He does looks adorable in preemie clothes!

Lucky 9-9-9

Christopher was tired today after pulling out his breathing tube and, of course, recovering from sepsis. The jet ventilator was replaced with his old friend, the biphasic CPAP device with the crazy head gear. He's healthy enough again to be back on full feeds now. Thank goodness his guardian angels caught this bug (Enterobacter cloacae) so early.
Here Christopher sleeps peacefully Tuesday night.


Christine was in for a surprise when she arrived at the hospital this morning. Kyle's primary, Cora, had him dressed up in preemie clothes for the very first time. And yes, I do believe he's very cute despite his puffiness!


More pictures of the boyz

Big Improvement!

Christopher is doing much, much better today. He is breathing better on a lower O2 setting, is much more active and is eating a little again on top of his TPN. He even gained 60 grams today. But is it sad that from experience I know it takes him about 3 to 4 days to regain most of his strength after a serious infection? I really shouldn't have to know that.....
Kyle is still cruising along. He seems more pale than Christopher but we think/hope that's just due to the recent transfusion Christopher received Saturday.

Kyle, our little sausage boy


Christopher plays peek-a-boo with Daddy

Critical but stable...

We really don't enjoy the 3 AM phone calls from the hospital. On Saturday it was for Christopher. His condition - critical but stable. OK, roller coaster time.

We went to bed after Friday night's phone call to the NICU thinking all was well with the boys. We are fortunate one of Kyle's primaries who knows the boys very well was watching him that night and noticed about 2 AM that he had become lethargic and his skin was pale and mottled. She informed the doctors and they started him with wide spectrum antibiotics and called for a blood work up. His white blood cell count was very low so platelets were ordered. His CO2 was far too high, his lungs were hazy and he stopped breathing for himself so he was moved off the biphasic CPAP and placed back on the jet oscillator. No more mother's milk for Christopher either as he was back on TPN (intravenous feeding). Sunday's preliminary results from the blood culture indicated he had a gram negative blood infection which was the most disturbing news as that was what had taken Jake from us. So back on two different antibiotics to focus on this infection and he was taken off the penicillin G which he had almost finished for his gram positive infection from three weeks earlier. As of Sunday he looked much better as we visited with Adam and he even opened his eyes once as Mommy was talking to him. He is still very lethargic and pale and last night more platelets and plasma were ordered for him. But it seems like he is out of the woods at this time. Thank goodness for the sharp eyes of their guardian angels!
As a result of his two infections in the past three weeks poor Christopher has not gained as much weight as Kyle. In fact, Kyle is about 1750 g so he might be moved to an open crib sometime this week! No more isolette and Mommy will get to use his preemie clothes. Once he is breathing by himself he can be moved to the level 2 nursery and soon after that either to Newmarket hospital or even home (6 - 8 weeks???). However, both the staff and his parents are watching him closely for any symptoms of infection because our little boys seem to imitate each other.
Score:
Christopher - 3 infections, 4 blood transfusions, bottom of roller coaster
Kyle - 1 infection, 2 blood transfusions, top of roller coaster

Pictures to follow...

We're Getting There.....

I was going to report that there was nothing too exciting this week. The boys will be finishing their antibiotics soon so hopefully we won't see any new infections. They are receiving eye tests every week now to check for a variety of problems caused by too much/too little oxygen.
Christine tries to hold each boy for an hour or so every day. She finds that Kyle is especially cranky about how he likes to position his head and fights her when she moves him. He'll receive special "treatment" once he gets home!
And then we found out today that around 1800g the boys will be moved to a "crib" in the NICU. In just a few weeks they will be out of their isolettes! As for current weights, Christopher is 1500g and Kyle is 1610g. They do seem to be growing quite quickly now!
The other good news is their puffiness should disappear at 37 weeks or about 5 weeks from now. Perhaps the nurses start the boys on a serious weight training routine.... :-)

The boys taking a wee break from their biphasic CPAP headgear. Can you name them?