Luca left, Finley right
My day- depends on which touch time I go to but I typically go to the 11am one. I get up at 7am (after 1-2 times up in the night to "make food" for the girls), pump, have some coffee, see the big kids & watch the Today show for a bit, shower/get ready, leave for the hospital by 9:30. I get to the hospital (drive takes 35-40 min) & again pump, label & check it in to the NICU, go in to see the girls. Start by taking Luca's temp & change her. If holding her, I change into a hospital gown (open to the front) so I can be skin to skin with her. Her feeding lasts 30-45 minutes right now, has lasted over an hour & a half in he past. The milk is fortified with a powder to add extra calories to the breast milk, is put in a big syringe & into a machine that pushes it through their feeding tube over a specified amount of time. Then it's Finley's turn. If I'm holding Luca the nurse does temp, diaper & tube feed for Finley. I alternate days for holding each one. If I'm holding Finley that day, I am still able to do temp & diaper on Luca, she just stays in her bassinet for her feeding. We've introduced them both to the breast, called nuzzling to get used to it while they are tube fed. Their oxygen has to be at a low enough level to move to each next step for feeding (nuzzling, nippling, bottle). Breast feeding or nipping as they call it in the NICU-because of their prematurity they aren't really able to stay awake long enough to get enough milk so they have to be tube fed after. After 3 days of trying to breast feed they can be bottle fed the feeding times I'm not there to nurse. The whole process from time I leave the house until time I get home is about 4-4 1/2 hours. Then I go home & nap, up by 5 to get dinner ready, eat, kids to bed, some hang out time & then sleep. I'm going to try to go for 2 touch times in a row starting tomorrow so they can both get breastfed each day. I pump every 3 hours during the day, every 4 hours at night. We've had to buy a deep freezer for all of their food, I am absolutely blessed with an abundance of milk for both babies.
Bryan's day-up & gets ready for work at varying times depending on if it's a gym day or not. If t's a gym day, he gets to the gym around 5am then back home to get ready. He goes to work, comes home, eats dinner with me & the big kiddos, goes to the hospital to see the girls. He goes through the same routine with them for their touch times-minus any nuzzling or nipping :). Then home for a little time with me & then sleep. Repeat. We don't get to go to the hospital together very often :(.
1-10-14
1-11-14Luca
As of yesterday Luca was on .5 liters of oxygen, very low % of O2, Finley was on 0 liters, 100% O2 which they call "going home oxygen". It sounds like Fin is on more but it's less & is better than what Luca is on. Next step is to start weaning her off all together with Luca shortly behind. Both have hit the 5 pound mark which is so huge! We are hopeful that they won't have to come home on oxygen.
Anika & Brody can't wait to meet them! Brody keeps saying "I so cited for our babies to come home!" It's adorable. He colored them a Hot Wheels picture & asked me to hang it for "our babies" to see. It's hanging in their NICU bay along with Ani's My Little Pony pictures. Anika gets upset when we are at the hospital. She tells me she doesn't want me to go & at night she asks over & over again if daddy is at the hospital. I asked if she's afraid I won't come home & she says yes. It's hard to reassure her that I'll come home it she is happy when I do. They have both been a lot more clingy to me since I came home,but the snuggles are nice. They are hanging in there like champs though!
When do they get to come home? Once they get their breathing & eating is down. Then when they do, they have to remain brady free (no heart decelerations) & no low sat's (decelerations in breathing below certain limit) for 5 days in a row. They also need to pass a car seat test hitch means sitting in a car seat for an hour & a half with no issues as well. We don't have a specific discharge date for either of them yet. They can go home at the same time or different times. We are just so happy with their progress & pray hat they continue on his track. Typically a baby who is doing well as they are would go home between 38-40 weeks gestation or by their original due date. They are 36 weeks, 2 days gestation, original due date is March 8th. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
When do they get to come home? Once they get their breathing & eating is down. Then when they do, they have to remain brady free (no heart decelerations) & no low sat's (decelerations in breathing below certain limit) for 5 days in a row. They also need to pass a car seat test hitch means sitting in a car seat for an hour & a half with no issues as well. We don't have a specific discharge date for either of them yet. They can go home at the same time or different times. We are just so happy with their progress & pray hat they continue on his track. Typically a baby who is doing well as they are would go home between 38-40 weeks gestation or by their original due date. They are 36 weeks, 2 days gestation, original due date is March 8th. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
1-10-14
1-11-14
Finley
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