Saturday Updates

There have been many positive updates since last weekend. It seems the end of their stay at Mount Sinai is coming closer and closer. Perhaps just another 2 or 3 weeks until they come home???

Kyle has joined Christopher in the Level 2 annex. Kyle has been doing well on low flow for the past week and there are rumours that he might be "challenged" or taken right off breathing assistance on Monday. Christopher has been on room air - no assistance - since Wednesday!

In the milk chugging arena, Christopher has managed to gain over 6 1/2 pounds and Kyle is well over 7. Boy, can that child eat! Kyle was able to polish off a 3 oz bottle of milk in less than 20 minutes. He obviously takes after his uncles.

Both boys passed their hearing tests on Friday which is a great relief. Some of the breathing equipment is very loud inside the incubators so their hearing is closely monitored until 6 months of age.

Unfortunately for Christopher they had to put an IV for his UTI in his head because his veins in his arms and legs aren't suitable. He doesn't seem to mind it too much though. It will be removed by the end of next week.

Daddy can't wait to hold both boys and feed them via bottle. It's been a week since my last visit. My cold has been shortened and reduced in severity thanks to copious amounts of Cold-FX. I hope to be back on Monday or Tuesday.

Christopher Mainlining

38 Weeks

Kyle has spent the past 48 hours breathing solely on low flow and has been taken off CPAP. As a result of his hard work he will graduate to Level 2 in the next day or two. We hope that he will stay close to Christopher but there are only three Level 2 beds in the annex.
Christopher has a urinary tract infection and is being treated via I.V. which has fallen out once already. He continues to eat well though and shows no signs of inactivity like he used to back in the dark, scary days of the NICU. Monday brings his next eye appointment. Our fingers are crossed!
Both boys are feeding "naturally" twice per day and are just beginning to be fed by bottle as well. They are more alert during their waking periods. Kyle made it to 3 kg on Thursday. Christopher is only several hundred grams behind.
Mommy gets to visit and take all the pictures now while Daddy recuperates from a cold. We can't afford to let the boys catch anything that could affect their breathing for the next 6 months. A simple RSV cold to us could cause bronchitis or pneumonia in the boys.

Kyle really seems to enjoy the bouncy chair and likes looking at the different hanging items.


And Christopher likes to sleep sometimes.

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....

A Long-Awaited Reunion

First, baby steps.
Christopher has graduated to Level 2! That means he is stable breathing on low flow - no more CPAP. As far as I can tell it also means his diapers aren't weighed any more and his weight is not taken every day. His move to Level 2 means Christopher is now farther away from Kyle's crib. He was moved 3 spots over across some invisible dividing line inside the Annex.
Kyle now weighs over 6 pounds. To me it all seems to be in his head! He surprised everyone Saturday when he stayed off any supplemental oxygen for over 4 hours. That gave him a chance to visit Christopher for their first reunion since they were separated at birth!!!

Mommy holding Kyle and Daddy holding Christopher


Mommy and her boys. Kyle is on your left, Christopher on your right.


A proud Daddy juggles the boys. Kyle is on your left, Christopher on your right.

12 Weeks - Update

12 weeks old. 84 days have gone by. Time seems to be moving faster now. The end of the hospital stay seems a lot closer.
Christopher now weighs 5.5 pounds (2490g). He is breathing with the low flow nasal cannula again full time and is on his second full day. His eyes will be checked again next week to see if he needs laser surgery.
Kyle is a little heavier at 5.8 pounds (2660g). He's up to 6 hours a day on low flow slowly getting used to doing more breathing by himself. The rest of the day he is back on CPAP. The doctor described Kyle's eyes as fine and won't need another checkup for 6 weeks. That's very good news!
The progress both boys are making during attempts at breastfeeding is also encouraging. When they are successful, the nurses have to reduce the amount of milk they receive via their NG feeding tube to ensure they don't receive too much.

...Big boys on the weigh scale...

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.....

We visit. We wait. We wonder. We are asked - when will our boys come home?
We don't know. We read the stories posted in front of the NICU of other children that were born so early. There are not many. One 25 weeker's story that stands out stayed at Mt Sinai for 108 days. Our boys are 82 days old today. One more month? Perhaps.
It depends on the boys. Once they are eating properly and breathing on their own, they can come home.
Peek-a-boo with Kyle

Christopher, it's not really a prison

A proud Adam holds his little bother