3 Months Later.....

We're 3 months or 13 weeks old on Thursday!
When Christine arrived at the hospital Tuesday morning she found a nice surprise waiting in Christopher's bed. One of the nurses had picked up Kyle, removed his CPAP and carried him over to lie beside his brother. Kyle was grumbling and crying a bit because it was his feeding time and Christopher managed to sleep through the whole experience. Okay, so perhaps I was wrong in thinking that Kyle had the bigger head!


The coil on Kyle's cheek is his NG feeding tube. The orange Gum Drop soothers (colour-coded for size) teach the boys to associate sucking with feeding time, exercise their throat muscles and assist in self-comforting. Sometimes they are really worked hard!

As for Christopher's eyes, both are zone 2, Stage II which means "moderately abnormal blood vessel growth. Many children who develop stage II improve with no treatment and eventually develop normal vision. The disease resolves on its own without further progression." If they progress to Stage III, surgery will be required. Yes, I stole that little bit from the Internet....

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!

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.