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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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. :)

Oh Jake......

Early Wednesday morning Jake passed away.

He was our smallest baby but he was our biggest fighter. Jake was also the biggest troublemaker. He was always keeping the nurses on their toes. And his brothers would follow his lead. He was the first to pull out his breathing tube. When Jake got switched over to a high-frequency oscillator ventilator, his brothers followed suit.
He also started this whole ball of wax rolling. When the doctor examined Christine she felt Jake's knee and that was the tipping point that resulted in a C-section.

Mommy and Daddy love you Jake.
We will miss you forever.
Goodbye

NICU Babies

Last night I touched the boys' hands for the first time. Their skin was so soft compared to my hands that I almost wasn't sure I could feel it.
I read to them so that they will get used to my voice. I had just begun to read to them in the womb. For their first book I choose The Hobbit. Adam has a copy and I thought if it was good enough for Tolkien's children it should be good enough for mine.

Today is their birthday! At least it's their 1st week birthday........

Christopher and Kyle have been bumped up to 1 ml of mother's milk every 4 hours now. Jake was having some issues so he remains on 1 ml every 6 hours. The great news is they are slowly gaining some weight back.
Our little boys are troublemakers too. Christopher liked pulling off his sensors so often they've placed him in preemie confinement.


Kyle is the best behaved right now. He just likes to wave his arms and legs around. He's sleeping peacefully here.


And good old Jake! He's on a different ventilating system now because he pulled his first breathing tube out. I'm sure that caused a bit of work for the nurses. Jake's bruises caused by his early jailbreak into this world are slowly healing.

Mt. Sinai Appointment

On Tuesday we received appointments for Mt. Sinai. Seems like we're to receive the best of care as this hospital is one of the two best in the province for neonatal care. We meet the director next week and undergo their first ultrasound in May with our new OBGYN (sorry, I'm a guy - I think that's right).
Excited? Yes!
Concerned? Of course. Having triplets automatically puts us in the high risk category. If we can make the 32 week barrier (mid-September?) then our little tribbles will be fine and will spend less time in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).
I feel upbeat having helped raise one excellent child already. Or should I say so far? He's just 9! Now if only the next 3 turn out to be as awesome as Adam........you guys have some pretty big shoes to fill!